Chapter 160, Turning Point and A Flood Dragon Is Born

Translator: Raznick

 

Mist Province, Green Mist Pond.

 

It was that same desolate islet. Zhou Mingde arrived once more, waiting for the cultivators of the Dragonized Sect to arrive for the transaction.

 

Having completed several trades, he no longer felt the same trepidation he had initially.

 

Especially with the imminent result of Zhou Daoyi’s Sky Cloud Python transforming into a Flood Dragon, his confidence grew.

 

What shifted Zhou Mingde’s expression slightly was that the cultivator from the Dragonized Sect arriving for the trade this time wasn’t Lin Yan, the middle-aged woman he’s dealt with previously, but a red-robed elder.

 

“What’s going on over there? How could you suddenly change people without any prior notice? Do you even acknowledge my existence?”

 

On the islet, Zhou Mingde manifested himself, sternly scolding the red-robed elder with a displeased tone.

 

In response to his reprimand, the red-robed elder quickly bowed and explained, “Forgive me, Senior. Lin was injured recently and is unable to carry out this task. Therefore, they had to temporarily dispatch me.”

 

He then lowered his voice, adding, “Furthermore, the Guardian specifically instructed me to relay a message to you, Senior. She intends to personally come to this location to meet with you, and she hopes that you can prepare goods of a better quality next time.”

 

Zhou Mingde’s expression abruptly changed when he heard this, and he angrily said, “What does she mean? What does she intend to do? Wasn’t it agreed that she wouldn’t personally intervene?”

 

Seeing his anger, the red-robed elder was bewildered, unable to understand why he would be so agitated about Lin Hongyu personally coming to meet him, given that they were engaging in clandestine dealings.

 

Nevertheless, she continued to display a fearful expression, shaking her head repeatedly, “I am unaware. I am merely conveying a message from the Guardian, and I beg your forgiveness.”

 

“Hmph, then at our next meeting, I will personally speak with her about this matter!”

 

Zhou Mingde let out a scornful snort, taking the item from the red-robed elder, his anger still simmering, before departing the island.

 

Upon returning to the clan, he summoned Zhou Daoyi and Zhou Chun to his cavern for a special discussion about the sudden turn of events.

 

“Tell me, what game is she playing with this sudden change?”

 

Within the cavern, Zhou Mingde recounted the entire transaction process before turning to Zhou Daoyi and Zhou Chun to ask for their opinions.

 

Hearing his words, the two fell silent for a moment, their brows furrowed in thought.

 

After a long silence, Zhou Daoyi slowly spoke, “Though the witch possesses a volatile temper, we shouldn’t underestimate her intelligence. By notifying her a year early, she likely needs the strength of our Zhou Clan for a significant undertaking.”

 

He then posed a question to himself, laced with his own doubts, “But what great deed can we, the Zhou Clan, assist her with? Surely, she doesn’t believe she can hold our clan hostage to force us to pledge allegiance to the Dragonized Sect?”

 

“Could it be related to internal affairs within the Dragonized Sect?”

 

Zhou Chun interjected suddenly.

 

The moment those words left his mouth, Zhou Mingde and Zhou Daoyi’s eyes fixed on him.

 

Then Zhou Mingde turned to Zhou Chun and asked, “What do you mean? What have you figured out, Zhengchun?”

 

“I merely believe that for that Crimson Dragon Guardian, the most we, the Zhou Clan, can do for her within the Jing Kingdom is to supply personnel and intelligence, just as we are doing now.

 

“And as long as we haven’t overtly shown an intention to turn against her, she wouldn’t be foolish enough to force us to do something that could lead to the destruction of our entire clan.

 

“But if it’s for internal matters within the Dragonized Sect, and she wants to use us to eliminate her rivals, that’s still something that can be done, and if handled skillfully, it could benefit both sides!”

 

Zhou Chun offered a gesture of respect to the two seniors and expressed his speculation with a serious expression.

 

Having listened to his speculations, Zhou Mingde and Zhou Daoyi both wore expressions of deep thought.

 

Then Zhou Daoyi nodded and said, “Thinking about it, what Zhengchun said isn’t entirely without merit.”

 

“There are many factions within the Dragonized Sect, generally distinguished by the attributes of the Flood Dragon spiritual blood they embrace. Conflict over interests is inevitable among these factions.”

 

“But with the Sect Leader and Vice Sect Leader watching over them, even if they fight fiercely, they likely wouldn’t dare to engage in a full-scale conflict that results in fatalities.”

 

“Therefore, if a situation truly arises where a rival must be eliminated, the only recourse would be to use others to do the dirty work, leveraging external power to remove those deemed undesirable!”

 

Speaking to this point, Zhou Daoyi’s gaze involuntarily turned to Zhou Mingde.

 

Then, with an expression of worry, he said, “However, if she truly intends to use others to eliminate her rivals, the target will undoubtedly be a Guardian of some standing. In that case…”

 

The Dragonized Sect’s Guardians had each cultivated the Dragonized Sutra to the third layer.

 

With this secret art at their disposal, each Dragonized Sect Guardian’s strength would be formidable.

 

This was also an advantage that powerful organizations held; the formidable legacy of secret art they possessed ensured that the cultivators within their ranks were stronger than most ordinary cultivators from smaller factions.

 

Although Zhou Mingde’s strength wasn’t unimpressive, eliminating a Dragonized Sect Guardian would likely cost an exorbitant price.

 

Merely a possibility, that was all!

 

But at this moment, Zhou Mingde’s eyes flickered with a sharp gleam, and he said in a low voice, “If she truly uses us to eliminate her rivals, then that would be a fortunate development.”

 

“That way, she would also have leverage in our hands, and we wouldn’t have to worry about her suddenly turning against us and exposing our existence!”

 

“Even the dangerous deal from before, she could cancel it!”

 

The collaboration between the Zhou Clan and Lin Hongyu was entirely a matter of being squeezed—a reluctant compromise born from having leverage held over them.

 

If they could, in turn, find a way to hold something over Lin Hongyu, then there would be room for negotiation.

 

In Zhou Mingde’s view, this was even more secure than secretly assassinating Lin Hongyu.

 

After all, who could guarantee that Lin Hongyu hadn’t already laid a trap, that a contingency would be triggered upon her death, exposing the Zhou Clan’s clandestine dealings with her?

 

As for the cost of eliminating a Dragonized Sect Guardian, Zhou Mingde immediately turned his gaze toward Zhou Daoyi.

 

“If your Sky Cloud Python were to successfully transform into a dragon-serpent, with its assistance, eliminating a Dragonized Sect Guardian wouldn’t be impossible!”

 

Hearing his words, Zhou Daoyi was momentarily taken aback.

 

Then, with a complex expression, he murmured, “So, she anticipated this as well?”

 

Zhou Chun, listening to Zhou Daoyi’s words, instantly caught a glint in his eyes, as if he had uncovered something.

 

He’d already detected the unusual tone in Zhou Daoyi’s voice, and his designation of the crimson dragon Guardian was somewhat peculiar.

 

But even with his intelligence, Zhou Chun couldn’t fathom the true depth of intimacy between Zhou Daoyi and Lin Hongyu.

 

He merely suspected that the Clan Leader harbored a unique and complex grievance with the crimson dragon Guardian.

 

And Zhou Mingde, at this moment, waved his hand and said, “Regardless, these are merely our suppositions, but preparing in advance is being safe. Let’s proceed based on this assumption.”

 

But this preparation was something only he could undertake.

 

Zhou Chun couldn’t possibly intervene in battles of that caliber; he could only offer counsel and suggestions.

 

Therefore, in the time that followed, Zhou Chun managed clan affairs while simultaneously making the final preparations for switching cultivation methods with intense urgency.

 

A year swiftly passed.

 

Zhou Mingde journeyed to the island in Green Mist Pond as promised and met Lin Hongyu, who had come to meet him.

 

Upon his return to the clan, he summoned both Zhou Daoyi and Zhou Chun to his cave.

 

“He truly did guess correctly!”

 

“This time, she came to see me to ask our Zhou Clan to eliminate a competitor for her—and it was a Guardian from her own faction, a Red Dragon!”

 

“And she promised that, should we help her eliminate this competitor, she would no longer require us to provide her with personnel; she would simply maintain intelligence sharing and mutual cooperation to benefit our respective interests!”

 

Inside the cave, Zhou Mingde excitedly recounted his trip’s rewards to Zhou Daoyi and Zhou Chun.

 

It was clear that he was genuinely pleased with the outcome.

 

As he spoke, he reached out and patted his waist, producing an object from his storage bag for them to examine.

 

“This Poison Spike implement was specially prepared for our mission’s success; it was forged from the venomous fangs of a third-grade Poison Flood Dragon.”

 

“If we can find an opportunity to strike this artifact into the Red Dragon Guardian, the Poison Flood Dragon’s venom alone will be enough to doom her!”

 

Her?

 

Zhou Chun’s keen ears discerned the implication within Zhou Mingde’s words.

 

He immediately asked, “The Guardian that Guardian Lin instructed us to deal with, the Red Dragon Guardian, is she also a Dragonized Sect female cultivator?”

 

Upon hearing this, Zhou Mingde nodded, “Yes, according to Lin Hongyu’s account, this Dragonized Sect female cultivator is her biggest rival within the Red Dragon lineage. Not only does she possess mid Violet Palace cultivation, but she is also the favored concubine of a Red Dragon elder within the Dragonized Sect!”

 

Hearing his words, Zhou Daoyi frowned, his voice low, “Since the target is a Golden Core cultivator’s concubine and possesses mid Violet Palace cultivation, can our Zhou Clan truly kill her?”

 

“Even if we could kill her, wouldn’t we inevitably incur the wrath of that Golden Core cultivator?”

 

This was also Zhou Chun’s concern.

 

The two immediately turned their gazes towards Zhou Mingde, hoping to hear his insights.

 

Facing their scrutiny, Zhou Mingde calmly said, “According to Lin Hongyu’s account, the target will be alone in half a year’s time; that will be the best opportunity for us to act.”

 

“As for whether we can truly kill her at that time, it depends on whether the implement—this Poison Spike—that Lin Hongyu provides is as effective as she claims.”

 

“Even if the assassination fails, Lin Hongyu’s secrets will be in our grasp, and we won’t need to be constrained or coerced by her again.”

 

Zhou Mingde paused, then said solemnly, “As for the matter of incurring the Dragonized Sect Golden Core cultivator’s anger after the killing, there’s nothing to worry about.”

 

“Let’s not even consider whether that Golden Core cultivator can trace the matter back to our Zhou Clan; even if they do find out, they won’t risk venturing personally into Jing Kingdom to deal with our Zhou Clan for a mere concubine. At most, they’d send some subordinates—Guardians—to handle it.”

 

“And then, as long as Lin Hongyu provides us with prior intelligence, how could we fear a few Dragonized Sect Guardians launching a rear assault?”

 

After finishing these words, Zhou Daoyi and Zhou Chun fell into silence.

 

The two knew that these were merely the best-case scenarios described by Zhou Mingde.

 

The worst-case scenario was that they wouldn’t just fail to kill that Dragonized Sect Red Dragon Guardian; they might even be ambushed and killed for venturing too far alone.

 

The losses to the Zhou Clan would then be catastrophic!

 

Yet, both understood that this opportunity, for the Zhou Clan, was indeed a golden chance to escape their previous predicament.

 

If successful, the Zhou Clan would not only be free from the control of others but could also reap immense benefits by exchanging intelligence and spiritual items with Lin Hongyu’s faction.

 

The crux of the matter was that they actually had no choice now.

 

Lin Hongyu’s faction still held the upper hand, able to expose them at any moment and plunge them into irreversible ruin!

 

“Six months should be enough for Azure; I can feel it’s undergoing a transformation!”

 

Zhou Daoyi murmured to himself, essentially agreeing with Zhou Mingde’s words.

 

And Zhou Chun didn’t say another word of protest.

 

Almost three months later, the matter of Zhou Daoyi’s spirit pet, the Sky Cloud Python, transforming into a horned dragon finally came to fruition.

 

Suddenly, that day, storm clouds gathered above Nine Peaks, and a dense layer of dark clouds formed in the sky.

 

At the same time, fierce winds howled, sweeping through the valleys of Nine Peaks, and many trees were uprooted.

 

This extraordinary spectacle instantly attracted the attention of all Zhou Clan cultivators.

 

Then, the imposing and majestic voice of Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi quickly resonated throughout the Zhou Clan estate.

 

“All clan members, hear my command! From this moment forward, everyone immediately enters a wartime state. All non-Zhou Clan cultivators, please immediately leave the Zhou Clan estate!”

 

The moment those words were spoken, the entire Zhou Clan estate erupted into unusual activity.

 

First, the rogue cultivators who were cultivating within the Zhou Clan were roused, and those guarding the Purification Pavilion were entirely replaced, swiftly dispatched from the estate, along with a waiver of their cultivation fees and assigned tasks for the day.

 

Immediately after, Zhou Clan cultivators rapidly proceeded to various nodal points of the protective array, adhering to wartime protocols, securing vital locations.

 

In less than an hour, only the members of the Zhou Clan and their Dao companion remained within the estate.

 

At this time, Zhou Chongshan, the Zhou Clan Second Elder, personally intervened, channeling the array’s power to dispel the phenomena.

 

A curtain of multicolored spiritual light enveloped the entire Zhou Clan estate, effectively shielding it from the harsh winds outside.

 

Simultaneously, a powerful beam of five-colored light shot towards the sky, striking the thick layer of dark clouds above, instantly shattering nearly half of them.

 

“What’s happened? Is a powerful being attacking the Zhou Clan?”

 

Outside Nine Peaks, the dozens of rogue cultivators who had been driven out of the Zhou Clan stared at the scene with shocked expressions, still unable to comprehend what had occurred.

 

At this moment, they couldn’t even hear a single sound emanating from within the estate.

 

Within the estate, the Zhou Clan cultivator, who had previously been just as perplexed, now witnessed a scene that left them utterly stunned.

 

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Silavin: We are dropping this novel due to low readership. D: