Chapter 72 Winning People Over with Virtue "You're not in good health?" Wu Chen asked, somewhat puzzled...
"You're not in good health?" Wu Chen was somewhat surprised.
Yu Jitang twirled the blade of grass between his fingers, pondering for a moment. "Yes. They are indeed all in poor health. I have a cousin who used to be a divine servant, and now he's an elder. When I was little, he always liked to play with me. I remember once he was talking to my father about something, but I can't recall the specifics. However, he said something like, 'Let whoever wants to do it do it. Don't talk about others; just look at the Zou family. Which one of them didn't end up as a sickly person?' My father scolded him at the time. He said it so casually that I didn't understand it then and didn't take it to heart. I only remembered the sickly person. Now that I think about it, my uncle must have been referring to the past divine officials of the Zou family."
Wu Chen's expression turned serious. "How long has Zou Gaoyang lived?"
Yu Jitang glanced at him sideways and suddenly laughed, "Why does your tone sound so much like you're plotting to usurp the throne!"
Wu Chen laughed as well, “I think your elders have good taste. If they don’t approve, there must be a reason. Since they say no, I should learn from them and not get involved.”
Yu Jitang scoffed. The two then returned to their main topic.
"Everyone says Zou Gaoyang is over seven hundred years old. I've never actually counted. He definitely didn't live to see the last Spirit Fruit ripen. However, there are plenty of experts over seven hundred years old. My family has several highly skilled ancestors who are younger than my father, though they don't cultivate themselves and spend their days fooling around. Don't glare at me, that's what one of my great-grandmothers said; I'm just repeating it. But these days, the world is generally peaceful. Even if some minor demons cause trouble, we can handle it. Tell me, what kind of kung fu did Zou Gaoyang practice to make himself like this?"
Wu Chen recalled Zou Gaoyang's outwardly strong but inwardly weak demeanor on Zhanghua Platform, and suddenly a thought struck him: "When did he spread the news that his training had gone wrong?"
“It’s been a few years.” Yu Jitang gradually caught up with Wu Chen’s train of thought. “Before you left the Divine Palace, I heard my father mention it.”
“The winter hunt is a pretext for the selection of priests, and the selection of priests is a pretext for the fruit of spiritual communication. Could it be that Zou Buming is actually a pretext for someone else?” Wu Chen said slowly.
Yu Jitang sat up straight abruptly. "You mean Zou Gaoyang is following Zou Buming around with so many people, just to hide Zou Gaoyang?"
“This whole matter is full of suspicious points. If it is just a struggle between the four of us divine servants, even if Zou Buming and Luo Heqing combine their powers, they still have no chance of winning. For example, right now, we are already standing under the Tree of Spirit Communication, and they have not yet arrived. If the Fruit of Spirit Communication is really just a fruit, we can each eat half of it, and no matter how many people they bring, it will be useless.”
"Then why is that?" Yu Jitang scratched his head.
Wu Chen shook his head. "I don't know either. But I guess, most likely... no, Zou Gaoyang must be in that team. That way, he can eat the Spirit Fruit immediately after obtaining it, ensuring that no accidents will happen again."
“Right.” Yu Jitang slapped his thigh. “The road back is so long. Even if Zou Buming really got it, no one can guarantee that he won’t swallow the Spirit Fruit. Sigh, what good is it if we guess right? Won’t they be even harder to deal with? Is it too late for us to run away now?”
“It’s too late.” Wu Chen looked into the distance. “They’re already here.”
Yu Jitang stood up, brushed the grass clippings off his clothes, and said, "What are you going to do? It's obvious we can't win this fight."
Wu Chen straightened his clothes. "Then let's reason with them. Win people over with virtue."
Yu Jitang muttered to himself: I really believed your nonsense.
But it was too late to run. Zou Buming and his men arrived in front of them at an extremely fast speed.
Both sides had good eyesight and saw each other's situation from a distance.
Wu Chen and Yu Jitang were dressed neatly and looked relaxed. They were just missing a low table and tea set. They looked like immortals.
Meanwhile, Zou Buming and his group looked exhausted, many with torn and bloodstained clothes, yet they showed no intention of tidying themselves up. Even more striking was the fact that their original force, which had exceeded a thousand when they set out from the edge of the Western Abyss, had dwindled to less than a hundred. Of course, even with such a drastic reduction in numbers, Wu Chen and Yu Jitang were at a disadvantage. Those remaining were all highly skilled fighters. Taking on ten opponents might be a risky endeavor, but taking on a hundred was out of the question for them.
The remaining people included the experts from the Divine Palace led by Zou Buming, the experts from the Flame-Slaying Platform led by Luo Heqing, and Jin Manlou behind Jin Hua. There were also those truly powerful rogue cultivators and experts from small sects.
Wu Chen and Yu Jitang looked at each face one by one, hoping to find a resemblance to Zou Gaoyang. They did recognize many familiar faces, such as Qi Zhi and others, but none of them resembled Zou Gaoyang.
Seeing that the two of them remained silent for a long time, Zou Buming stepped forward and said, "Junior Brother Wu, Junior Brother Yu, I didn't expect you to arrive so early."
Yu Jitang retorted as usual, "Yes, we arrived a long time ago, you're late. There's nothing here, you should go back now."
Zou Buming smiled. "What's too late?"
Yu Jitang scoffed, "I don't know what's late. Since you say we arrived early, then naturally you're the ones who arrived later than us."
The other experts had no patience to listen to their cryptic exchanges. Someone shouted, "Look, the Fruit of Spiritual Communication!"
All eyes turned past Wu Chen and Yu Jitang, fixed on the crystalline wooden egg. This journey, fraught with bloodshed, was all for this legendary fruit of spiritual power, said to grant divine or saintly status.
Many people couldn't contain their impatience and rushed towards the spirit tree.
Dozens of fierce-looking experts rushed towards him, and even Yu Jitang was stunned, asking Wu Chen, "What should we do?"
Wu Chen glanced at Zou Buming, who was smiling, and decisively pulled Yu Jitang aside to make way for everyone.
Yu Jitang: No, what happened to your promise to win people over with virtue?!
Zou Buming's smile froze; he hadn't expected Wu Chen to offer no resistance. Seeing Wu Chen and Yu Jitang step aside, these desperate thugs charged forward without a second thought.
Zou Buming's expression turned cold. "Stop them."
The experts from the Divine Palace immediately rushed over. Along the way, everyone barely maintained the pretense of "mutual assistance and friendship," but at this moment, the experts from the Divine Palace brought by Zou Buming finally revealed their true colors to those rogue cultivators, attacking them from behind.
In an instant, blood and flesh flew everywhere. The two sides were locked in a fierce battle.
Yu Jitang stood far away, wiped away a cold sweat, and said, "What a fine example of winning people over with virtue."
Wu Chen assumed that he was mocking Zou Buming.
Upon seeing the Divine Palace experts fighting with the rogue cultivators, the experts from the Blazing Flame Platform immediately rushed towards the Spirit Tree. Jin Hua waved his hand, and the experts from Jin Man Lou immediately entangled the people from the Blazing Flame Platform.
The scene suddenly became extremely bloody and gruesome. People fell every moment, and years of cultivation vanished in an instant.
The battle on the field continued, while the reactions of those outside varied.
After his initial surprise, Yu Jitang simply treated it as a show.
Wu Chen and Zou Buming gazed at each other from afar, both remaining calm.
Luo Heqing pondered for a while, then slowly walked to Zou Buming's side and expressed his stance.
The only ones left were Jin Hua and a few experts around him.
Jin Hua's expression was grim. He had come prepared, but he hadn't expected the Western Abyss to be so fraught with danger, resulting in the loss of eighty percent of his men. Not only could he no longer maintain his lavish lifestyle, but now even his own safety was in jeopardy. After all, among the actual contenders, he was the weakest; without the protection of his skilled fighters, anyone could kill him.
Jin Hua, assessing the situation, glanced at Wu Chen opposite him, thinking: "This Wu Chen, no wonder he rose from an orphan to the position of Divine Attendant. He's incredibly cunning." At the first encounter, Wu Chen and Yu Jitang, with only two people, were actually the weakest. Yet, Wu Chen simply yielded, escaping from the position targeted by all sides, and even instigating a fight between the Divine Palace and the rogue cultivators. He hadn't thought things through earlier, fearing the people from the Blazing Flame Platform would exploit the situation, and thus fell into Wu Chen's trap. But now, Luo Heqing, quick-witted, understood and immediately sided with Zou Buming. Jin Manlou was now in danger. Once the rogue cultivators were gone, and the Divine Palace and the Blazing Flame Platform joined forces, there would be no way for Jin Manlou to survive. He was truly caught in a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat…
Jin Hua's smile had faded, and her face darkened.
At this moment, Yu Jitang loudly greeted them, "Rich man, it's been a long time. How are you?"
Jin Hua cursed Yu Jitang in his heart. "Good for you! Can't you see my current situation?"
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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 00:14:51 and 12:16:12 on August 4, 2020!
Thanks to the little angel who threw the landmine: Someone passed by with 1;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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