Chapter 374 - Psychological Attack

The solemn Xiao Chen read the letter: “Honorable Senior Brother, the Devil’s Practice follower Xiao Chen has escaped with tremendously improved cultivation. I fought him at the Falling Flowers Valley the other day but fled when I saw that I’m no match for him. I fear he’ll seek revenge. Senior Brother, please return to the sect and prevent a catastrophe…”

The one who penned the letter was Qi Heng. Xiao Chen took a deep breath. He didn’t have to think hard about it. Qi Heng must have sent this letter to Danyang Zi using a flying pigeon but Su Lianyue happened to intercept it.

The rain finally stopped after a while but the cold wind on the mountain continued to linger. The gusts of wind rustled noisily as they sent the tree branches and leaves nearby quivering. Su Lianyue took a step forward. “Do you plan on allowing Danyang Zi to return and discuss how to deal with you or do you plan on burying him here forever…?” Her tone gradually turned dark toward the end of her sentence. One could detect a hint of a terrifying murderous intent that stood in stark contrast to her charming image earlier.

Even Xiao Chen could feel a chill nipping at his bones. He turned to the letter into ashes and said coldly, “Tell me your plan.”

He had gotten a taste of Danyang Zi’s strength earlier and knew his cultivation was far above Qi Heng’s. Moreover, Danyang Zi would pose an immense threat to him if the former was allowed to step into the true Apotheosis Realm. Even Gui Feng would have a hard time dealing with cultivators in that realm. With such intense enmity between him and the Order of the Divine Fire, the Order would soon hunt him down even if he didn’t provoke them. Rather than sitting around and waiting for death, he would rather make the first strike and cut off one of Order’s vital members!

“Since you’re so frank, I’ll get straight to the point as well.” Su Lianyue chuckled and walked up to him. She whispered into his ear, “There’s a place called the Precipice Peak 65 kilometers south from here. The Order of the Divine Fire is stationed there…”

…

The night quietly enveloped the mountains as Xiao Chen and Su Lianyue traveled about 50 kilometers south. The weather at the Miasma Mountain Range was incredibly unpredictable. During the day, dark clouds would fill the sky and yet the bright moon would show itself at night. Suddenly, the sound of rustling shattered the silence and two people landed in front of them.

“You’re both too slow, don’t you think? Brother Yi Yeqiu and I have been waiting here close to two hours.”

The one who spoke was a man clad in red. It was the man that Xiao Chen previously met, Seven Killings. Su Lianyue smiled sweetly. “We were delayed on our way here. Forgive us.”

Her suggestive-sounding words made Seven Killings smile and look at Xiao Chen. “Brother Xiao, we meet again.”

Xiao Chen ignored his greeting, choosing to pay attention to the man next to Seven Killings. The man’s facial features appeared sharp and distinct under the moonlight. Cold Qi hovered between his eyebrows. There was no expression on his pale, gloomy face. He crossed his hands in front of his chest. In his right hand was a sheathed sword, indicating that he would use his left hand in killing. This must be Yi Yeqiu from the Dark Shadow Hall.

Seven Killings noticed his attention on Yi Yeqiu and laughed. “Let me make the introductions. This is Yi Yeqiu from the Dark Shadow Hall. After autumn (Qiu) comes the dreary wind; in the cold water, one worries all night long.”

Xiao Chen continued to ignore him. He didn’t expect to meet the three great fiends of the Devils’ sects. If it wasn’t for their shared enemy, he would never work with Devil’s Practice followers. He would have to deal with his grudge against Feng You in the future!

Yi Yeqiu didn’t look like he was about to walk up and greet him either. He continued to be expressionless. If his chest wasn’t moving up, one would have thought that he was dead.

Su Lianyue said, “Once news spreads that you’re working with the three of us, I fear that it’ll be even harder for you to return to the Orthodox Path…”

“They don’t deserve to be called the Orthodox Path.” Xiao Chen interrupted her with a cold voice. Whenever he recalled how Wan Gufeng and his accomplice massacred the Three Pure Sect, he would find the term “Orthodox Path” even more ridiculous and despicable.

Wan Gufeng would never dare to personally enter the Human World and commit a massacre without permission from the higher-ups. But what was truly despicable weren’t the both of them or even the Order of the Divine Fire, but the so-called Orthodox Path! A year had passed since and he never heard of the Immortals’ League interrogating the Order or any sect criticizing the Order. This was the laughable Orthodox Path! The only thing that differentiated them from the Devil’s Practice was nothing more than their cultivation methods!

Seeing his resentment gradually becoming more apparent, Su Lianyue smiled. “Forget it. Danyang Zi is a peak Nirvana Realm cultivator. We should discuss how to deal with him.”

The three Devil’s Practice followers had come here to eliminate Danyang Zi. One of the reasons was naturally the extraordinary treasure, but there was also another reason. In the past half six months, the Order of the Divine Fire had been gaining more fame and prestige in the Orthodox Path. In just three months, they eliminated ten or so smaller Devils’ sects and boost the morale of other Orthodox sects. This struck fear in the smaller Devils’ sects. Being Devil’s Practice followers, how could they allow this to continue? How could they not quell the Order’s might?

However, the three of them all had their own schemes. Why would they stand here so amiably if they didn’t have a mutual enemy in Danyang Zi?

A gust of cold wind flitted across their lapels, causing a burst of rustling noises. Seven Killings said, “The cave on the Precipice Peak is very, very long. Even on our swords, it’d take us fifteen minutes to fly up there. Both sides are connected and the terrains are steep. The Order of the Divine Fire’s people are experts of long-range fire attacks and they have three Nascent Soul Realm cultivators too. We’re at a clear disadvantage here. But if we distract them with some fake attacks, what do you think Danyang Zi would do?”

Su Lianyue said, “He’s a cunning old man. He’ll definitely be able to tell that those are feints. But he has always been arrogant and conceited, so he’ll massacre our true group of attackers waiting in the rear by himself.”

Seven Killings laughed. “The Fairy knows me best. When he’s by himself without anyone to help, do we still have to worry that we can’t cut off his head? So all we have to do is send a few troops to fake the attack and wait for him to dig his grave at the back.

“First make a feint, then lure him to the back. Brother Seven Killings, your plan is clever indeed,” Su Lianyue commented. She then turned to look at Xiao Chen with a smile. “What do you think?”

…

The wind that swept the forest was so cold that it cut right into one’s bones. 15 kilometers south from here was a cave called the Precipice Peak. There were around fifty to sixty people inside. The cave was spacious and the walls were lined with a torch every ten feet or so, casting a red glow on everyone’s faces.

These people were disciples of the Order of the Divine Fire. The three bearded old men sitting with them were the Junior Elders on the same rank as Wan Gufeng. On the other side of the cave was an old man sitting cross-legged. He exuded a dignified aura even with his eyes closed. It was Danyang Zi, someone of great standing in the Order. In terms of authority, he was second only to the Order’s leader. However, he had long surpassed the leader in true influence.

Next to him was a young man who looked too nervous to sit still. He was in his twenties and had a pair of limpid eyes. On his back was a sword, but it didn’t give him the imposing aura of a cultivator knee-deep in chaotic times. He was so nervous that every time he heard the faintest movement or sound outside, he would look out of the cave.

The night was getting colder and the wind more brutal. The young man could no longer stand it. He stood up and said nervously, “Grandfather, why don’t we return tomorrow? We have been here for so many days but there’s no sign of any extraordinary treasure. I fear that this is a scheme of the Devil’s sects. There are three major Devils’ sects lying in wait for us. I have a feeling that those three will come tonight…”

Danyang Zi opened his eyes and glanced at the young man. “Hong’er, sit down.”

“Yes, Grandfather.” Li Hong didn’t argue and sat down again, still distracted.

Danyang Zi’s eyes flashed with a dangerous glint. He said coldly, “The three reckless juniors are precisely who I’m waiting for. I’ll eliminate all three of them this time. With their severed heads, our Order of the Divine Fire will rise to an unprecedented level. When that happens, the Divine Mist Sect will no longer be the top Cultivators’ sect. We’ll be the representative of the Middle Continent in the next Immortal’s Sword Assembly!”

The dangerous glint in his eyes turned into a red-hot flame. The shadow he left on the ground appeared somewhat malevolent. Li Hong was still worried. “But I’m afraid those three will…”

Danyang Zi stretched a hand and sighed. He looked at his grandson. Hong’er was great in everything, he thought. Hong’er’ had the right amount of talent but he was too timid and was never one to vie for something against others. How could Hong’er inherit the great ambition of the Order of the Divine Fire in the future? How great it would be if Hong’er had the character of Divine Mist Sect’s Zuoqiu Yang.

Li Hong lowered his head and stopped talking. Right then, an old Nascent Soul Realm cultivator walked up to them and said deferentially, “First Elder, should we lay down defensive formations on both cave openings tonight?”

“No,” Danyang Zi replied emotionlessly. The three devils were not a major problem for him. His only concern now was the extraordinary treasure.

Since he had personally made the trip here, he would never leave the treasure to someone else. The reason for his obsession was, at the root of it, Xiao Chen. Xiao Chen destroying the Immortals’ League with his ancient divine zither was too shocking an event. It struck fear in everyone in the Order of the Divine Fire.

“If and when Xiao Chen escapes and comes seeking revenge, wouldn’t the Order suffer the same fate as the Immortals’ League and fall to ruins seeing as they didn’t have a magic treasure that could withstand the divine zither? The League had rebuilt itself in the past year but the Order couldn’t afford to do the same.”

The thought of this made Danyang Zi heave a deep sigh. Even now, he dearly wished that he had never provoked this person but there was no other choice now. If Xiao Chen could purge the Ling family with blood, then his next target would surely be the Order. The Devil Repressed Tower was unlikely to keep him imprisoned for long and he would make his escape one day. Before that, the Order must get a magic treasure that could rival the Fuxi Zither.

“We’ll keep searching the Ghost-wailing Hill tomorrow,” Danyang Zi suddenly said. Everyone in the cave turned to look at him with a trace of confusion in their eyes. They had no idea what their First Elder was planning.

The Ghost-wailing Hill was located deep within the Miasma Mountain Range. It was the most terrifying, dangerous, and peculiar place with miasma so thick that one couldn’t see the sky. The miasma was of the ancient variety and had claimed the lives of countless cultivators, including some Grand Completion Realm cultivators, since.

The night was deepening. Flames were flickering inside the cave but it was deathly still outside. Suddenly, a gust of wind sent the leaves shaking and shattered the silence with the rustling noise. Li Hong’s nerves became taut. “Grandfather, it’s the devils. They’re here to attack us…”

The rest inside the cave became nervous as well. Neither the Bloodied Fiend Sect, Fort Raksasa, nor the Dark Shadow Hall was weak like small Devil’s sects. It was one thing to have the three rising rookies coming here tonight, but what if an older devil had come as well? The consequences were unimaginable.

Danyang Zi sneered. “Relax. It’s just a feint. Those reckless brats want to lure me to the back of the cave. How naive.”

Prior to this, he had already exchanged blows with members of the three major Devil’s sects and lost nearly half of the Order’s disciples to those battles. There would surely be an intense fight before the extraordinary treasure emerges but that was within his expectations.

“What do we do now?” Li Hong asked nervously. Though he was a cultivator, he wasn’t fond of fighting or killing. He only wished to live a peaceful life.

Danyang Zi said, “Since they’d like to lure me into a trap, then I’ll return the favor with an ambush from all sides! Everyone, head to the back of the cave right now! Their men are likely lying in wait there. But remember not to leave the cave or you’ll lose the terrain advantage. You’re absolutely no match for the three of them. Just delay them as much as possible and try your best to exhaust their True Energy.”

“But Grandfather, you…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make a detour from the front. Once they’re exhausted, I’ll make the command to exterminate them!”

Even though Danyang Zi had the strength of a peak Nirvana Realm cultivator, he had developed a trace of fear for those three after fighting them several times in recent days. Or else, he wouldn’t have sent the disciples to exhaust their True Energy before catching them off guard and killing them.

Fifteen minutes later, everyone had gone to the other opening of the cave. He calculated it to be the right time. Until now, he could only hear the sound of nature from outside the cave. Not one person came in to attack.

Danyang Zi sneered. Just as he was about to leave the cave, he heard a voice carrying a hint of mirth from outside. “Senior Danyang Zi, you’re indeed clever to guess that we’re going to make a feint.”