Chapter 292: The Fur-Covered and Armored One (5k, seeking subscriptions)

As long as Ying Dongqing could accept these basic terms and not go back on them later, although Meng Changqing still would not directly recruit her into his core forces, it would be easy enough to make her an peripheral subordinate and ensure she stayed far away from the battlefield.

After all, the battlefield would not be short one person with her, and as long as there were superiors willing to protect her, she could live on in peace without fearing that she would throw her life away in vain before achieving anything in her cultivation.

They did not talk for long about this matter.

When everything ended and the communication was terminated, Ying Dongqing was, if not pale with fright, at least drenched in sweat and deathly pale, still unable to recover.

Do not be fooled by the fact that Meng Changqing was only using a Foundation Establishment perfection clone to handle affairs; because he was currently within his own sect, he could borrow the prestige of his true body, displaying an oppressive aura that ordinary True Persons could not possibly radiate, very much approaching the situation when True Monarch Zhuding had personally met Du En previously.

It pressed down on Ying Dongqing until she could not catch her breath, making her feel like a small goldfish in a bowl about to suffocate—beautiful, yet powerless.

And once she recovered, her mood immediately became very relaxed.

Because the conditions were actually unexpectedly lenient!

It even made her have the thought at that moment of why she hadn't defected earlier.

Of course, she also keenly sensed that it was actually the factor of Du En that was influencing the weight of Meng Changqing's judgment.

Therefore, as soon as the communication ended, she tidied her appearance, turned around, and said to Du En, who was standing calmly at the doorway: "I truly must thank you, Traveler, for your recommendation; I will certainly need your guidance in the future!"

"I dare not accept the title of 'guide'; for now, let us focus on the trip to the Fudong Immortal Gate."

Du En turned and spoke, as he always did, yet it brought her a different feeling.

Previously, there had been the filter of a certain stance, but now that she had defected and her status was effectively far lower than his, seeing him maintain the exact same demeanor naturally led to different thoughts.

Truly, he treats everyone equally and is broad-minded and tolerant!

Seeing the micro-expressions here, which were quite similar to those of the old City Lord of Nanmo, Du En did not waste effort on such trivial matters and spoke bluntly: "Although the Hub City will soon have manpower support, if we really wait for them to come and reap the rewards, there won't be much left when it comes to evaluating merits and distributing rewards later, so we must still act as quickly as possible."

"What is the Traveler's idea?"

Ying Dongqing very quickly changed her own positioning, indicating that she would simply follow the flow.

"I will quietly leave the city next to follow behind Chief Zhang and the others, while City Lord Ying will remain in the city to hold the fort. While strengthening the city's defenses, you will put on a high-pressure facade of having brought the heavily injured me into the City Lord's Mansion for treatment, while you yourself are extremely angry and are screening the inner and outer cities."

"I see. Since the assassination attempt against you failed, I imagine they will have suffered repeated losses and will surely change their strategy; they might make mistakes in their haste, and there will be an opportunity to exploit!"

Although she might not be able to vent her anger personally this way, she still tried hard to echo him.

It just seemed a bit unpracticed, and her tone and choice of words were a bit forced.

Not the kind of forced where she was pretending, but that she was truly unpracticed.

Considering this person's current mood, Du En did not say anything more.

He felt he was still quite tactful.

Although as soon as he moved to leave, this City Lord Ying rubbed her temples, unable to help but mutter a little in her heart.

Even if it was well-intentioned, it was still a bit too deliberate; at the very least, he could have said a few more words, exchanged some polite flattery, and covered things up a bit.

Or was it that now that he had gotten his way with me, he didn't intend to pretend anymore? But looking at his previous conduct, it didn't seem like that, yet if that were the case, I feel even more hopeless...

Muttering in her heart was one thing, but she did not miss a single thing she was supposed to do.

She faked that Du En was severely injured, rushed him into the City Lord's Mansion, took out precious pills from the inventory, adjusted the spiritual energy environment, and immediately followed up with procedures like sealing the city gates, forbidding travel, stopping activities, and conducting extensive searches.

The whole process was smooth and fluid, handled with ease, ensuring that no one could see any falsehood in the short term.

"That Du En actually didn't die?"

"Hmph! He certainly has some methods; it seems he really is a good running dog!"

"However, even if he didn't die, facing the assassins we carefully deployed, he should be unable to move for the next few years, so we can temporarily ignore him."

"Since the operation here in Changle City has already failed and the City Lord has begun to increase vigilance, let us shift to the backup direction!"

The people lurking in the dark could not risk verifying it, so they were fooled for a moment and began to make new moves based on the changes in the situation as they knew and speculated them to be.

Du En had already left the city at this moment, quietly wandering and tracking.

He took the opportunity to bury the corpses and pile up the proficiency of his divine ability's current stage until only three remained.

This was the reason he wanted to get ahead!

Only by maxing out its current stage as quickly as possible could he better deal with the various expected and unexpected situations that might arise later!

However, to avoid falling into traps while being impatient, he remained vigilant throughout and did not let his guard down.

After all, having had the experience of being blocked on the outskirts of the border before, his Ice Breath Art, even if fully activated, could not actually guarantee absolute safety.

"Tell me, how much longer are we going to be led around by the nose?"

At night, in the wilderness, a group of people, dusty and tired, were currently staying here to rest.

The leader was Zhang Qing, the Inner City Chief of Changle City.

His voice was a bit hoarse at this moment, hiding deep dissatisfaction and suppressing an increasingly intense rage.

The others looked at each other, shrinking back, trying hard to lower their presence.

At the same time, they also had fire in their hearts, and it was burning brighter and brighter!

Those guys from the Fudong Immortal Gate really dared to lead them around like dogs!

They deliberately exposed themselves, deliberately left traces, leading the operation team to run everywhere, drilling into mountains and diving into water, even running into underground karst caves. But in the end, they encountered a bunch of mechanisms and traps, yet didn't even get a single hot meal; it was simply too bullying!

But because they could not accurately lock onto their tracks and could only confirm that they were still trapped within this sector, Zhang Qing and the others had no choice but to continue their passive tracking.

And so, the more they chased, the angrier and more frustrated they became!

"Hmph!"

Zhang Qing let out a heavy cold snort, making the others tremble.

Recently, this man had become increasingly irritable; if one didn't perform well and was caught being the target of his anger, it would be truly unlucky, and there would be nowhere to complain.

However, he wasn't actually looking to scold anyone right now, but rather to relay the communication he had just received: "The City Lord just sent word that the Hub City has finally squeezed out some leeway, so the two key items previously obtained by Traveler Du are being urgently deciphered. Comparing them with existing results, they cannot escape!"

As he spoke, Zhang Qing flipped his hand and took out a compass artifact, which had many complex geographical and astronomical markings on it. As his large hand swept across it, dots of scarlet light began to emerge.

In an instant, everyone's breathing became heavy!

This time, we have finally caught you bunch of mongrels!

Their momentum was like wolves and tigers; the futility of the past year or more, and the frustration and anger of being led around like dogs during this period, erupted instantly like a volcano, directly becoming uncontrollable!

Yet on the surface, they were extremely tacit, silently restraining their own auras and each employing their own methods of aura concealment.

Taking them by surprise, they would surround and flank them, crushing them completely, and seize a share of the credit before the main force from Shu City—which might come over to snatch the peaches—could arrive; otherwise, when it came time to discuss merits later, it would truly be too unsightly!

They all felt now that the Shu City side had been passive all along because they wanted to see the situation clearly before coming over to snatch the peaches, and in fact, this factor did indeed exist.

"It seems there is no need for me to say much more; then, let us move!"

Zhang Qing bared a mouthful of white teeth, his tone sinister and impatient.

The others had absolutely no objections, looking at each other and sneering silently in succession.

The next instant, they vanished from where they stood, having already launched their own actions.

At the same time, Du En, who was using the Ice Breath Art and hiding while following the vicinity, looked up at the moonlight in the night sky and began to ponder silently.

Was this incident really that simple?

The current situation indeed seemed to be a great boon for the Luoyu side, especially with the abundance of middle-to-upper-level personnel brought about by the lull in the war, which directly and significantly pushed forward the progress of cracking and locking down.

But since that group dared to infiltrate and dared to act, they must also have some contingency plans and reliance.

Furthermore, could it be a coordinated effort?

The Fudong Immortal Gate had no urgency to maintain the war on the battlefield; could it be that they were actually coordinating with the actions here?

If so, what was the goal? In this situation where they had been discovered, what more could they achieve?

If not, then what exactly was going on?

The more he thought about it in his mind, the more doubts he had, because the excessive lack of prior information and the sheer number of factors that could be connected overall made it impossible for Du En to sort anything out at this moment.

"... To be safe, it would be better to predict based on the worst-case scenario, which is that the two sides of Fudong are coordinating their actions, what they could still achieve next, and then, make inferences from the existing circumstances."

Du En began to try to sort things out, starting from this point, and then took actual action.

He did not continue to tail Zhang Qing and the others, but instead ran around everywhere.

Doing his own investigation and clearing.

While conducting this search, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Because he had found a trace of subtle lingering evidence.

The action team on Zhang Qing's side was, after all, not some useless mob, but was formed with Nascent Soul stage cultivators as the backbone, drawing from elite Golden Core stage cultivators, composed entirely of the best of the best, and they occupied the home-field advantage.

It could be called a lean and capable team.

Previously, the Fudong side had been hiding and not showing their heads, so they could still hide quite tightly, but recently, having been intentionally led around by them, they had to move into the open.

Even if they had been prepared, as time passed, Zhang Qing and the others would still bite closer and closer.

Naturally, the Fudong side would also start to become hurried, which is why they were now leaving behind some subtle traces.

However, if not for Du En having extraordinary spirit-seeking skills, it would actually be very difficult to detect these subtle traces left behind after the other party had used methods while wearing fur and armor.

So to speak.

"Is this their true intention?"

Du En followed the tracks and looked up, gazing far into the distance.

Crossing these deep mountains and old forests that ordinary people could hardly set foot in, where the spiritual energy was still quite abundant, was the mortal territory where the spiritual energy was thin and countless mortals resided!

"Striking the foundation, is it?"

Would this be the intention of the Fudong Immortal Gate?

By slaughtering the mortals in the mortal realm, to try to dig out and sever the roots of the Luoyu side?

Regardless of whether it was or not, since he had noticed it, he had to go and stop it.

Thus, Du En immediately launched into action.

At this very moment.

Three people were wearing fur and armor, disguised as ordinary beasts in the mountains and forests, moving forward through the deep mountains and old forests, completely inconspicuous.

These lurking elites of the Fudong Immortal Gate, even though they had already launched their actions and were wearing fur and armor, still had plenty to say when they were not engaged in combat.

They were quietly communicating using their divine sense.

"That bunch from Changle City are truly dogs; they are biting so tightly on our tails. If I didn't know better, I'd think they really wanted to eat shit. I even want to make a good pile and put it in a trap, waiting for them to lick it themselves!"

"Forget it, although they are a bit stupid, their strength is not made of paper. When we were leading them on, I even thought about taking the opportunity to kill one or two, but as a result, we set up a bunch of traps and couldn't even kill a single one!"

"It's mainly because this is Luoyu's territory; the supplies are sufficient, the personnel are dense, and they dare to exert themselves to the fullest. Even if they get injured, it's nothing. On the contrary, if we dare to be greedy, that woman will jump right in front of us. At that time, except for the Lord, no one else can block her."

"Eh? Is that woman that strong? Even if she is at the Nascent Soul perfection, she is only a strong first-class elite, and the Lord is a genius-level figure!"

"Hmm? Because of the boundary grand array?"

"It's quite different; it's the city area enhancement."

"Ah?"

"Eh, she has this kind of authority? Isn't that something only those at the Great Cultivator level have?"

"Heh, I also infiltrated the City Lord's Mansion of a small city, and only then did I accidentally find out. It was some upper-level person from Luoyu who, because they were concerned about our potential threat, specifically delegated a bit of authority here."

"In other words?"

"Could it be?"

"Yes, it is your 'could it be'. Now, this area is one medium and seven small, eight cities' jurisdictions connected together, so under the regional enhancement, it can directly boost that woman's strength by a whole lot. When the Lord found out at the time, he was speechless."

"Tsk tsk! There is actually such a thing? Is it real? Don't tell me they are bluffing us?"

"That's what I'm saying, could the Luoyu side have such a kind heart? Why does it sound so wrong to me!"

"I heard from the Lord that it seems that the True Monarch Chang Meng Zhun would do such a thing. It is ten to nine that it is him."

"..."

"..."

"..."

All of a sudden, the three of them fell into silence.

Because one knows one's own situation best, the state of the Fudong Immortal Sect is far worse than that of the Luoyu Immortal Sect; to say nothing of anything else, at the very least, the Luoyu Immortal Sect still has Meng Changqing in the upper echelons, striving to try and change the status quo.

Du En was eavesdropping behind them, only then learning that Meng Changqing still had such actions.

"The resolution this time is truly quite tangled, which is why they were sneaky and didn't tell me, but once things are like this, it is understandable that Ying Dongqing changed sides so nimbly."

The main reason was of course the assassination matter, but if she hadn't received preferential treatment beforehand, making her attitude appear relaxed and mild to begin with, she wouldn't have immediately chosen to change sides after encountering the incident.

After all, there was actually still the option of formally leaning toward True Monarch Zhuding, although the other party might not necessarily be easy to talk to, nor necessarily reachable, and it was also possible... in short, she actually didn't have only one choice at the time.

"And, what about Chang Meng?"

This Daoist name is indeed quite subtle; it is practically negating Meng Changqing's grand ambitions. No wonder he himself would be particularly bothered by it, even calling the Sect Master an old immortal to his face.

"Perhaps there is also a deeper meaning, but since he himself does not want to mention it, there is no way to ask directly..."

Du En thought this to himself.

Then, he saw these three fellows, just as they were about to reach the blockade line and step into the mortal realm, suddenly fall into an eerie silence.

Their gazes and mental states changed drastically; compared to just a moment ago, it was as if they were two different people, with nothing left in their eyes but incomparably cold bloodthirst and a fearlessness of death.

Clearly, they were normal people of flesh and blood a second ago, but now they were like dead soldiers raised through brainwashing!

In fact, Du En had already noticed this polarized situation of theirs before.

When the pig-faced masked man first ambushed him, he was talkative as hell and his emotions were quite flamboyant; he didn't seem like someone who would directly choose to self-detonate and seek death. Yet, once he was restrained, he directly chose to self-detonate and perish, with abnormal decisiveness!

When undercover in Zhenluo, that lurker's performance was close to the situation of these three while chatting just now; their emotions and mental states were very normal, and they would feel depressed, get angry, and spout profanities.

But when it came to the subsequent actions of driving away the lower classes, and when he encountered ambushes in the city, those Fudong people he met were one more like a dead soldier than the next, completely lacking any normal human state of mind, and for the sake of completing a mission, they could decisively abandon their lives!

Now, watching their transformation at close range, Du En understood the answer within.

It was not because of the original mental suppression brought about by the secret art of "donning fur and armor," nor was it because the media like the beast-skin shells possessed similar effects, but rather another, purer, and more chilling situation.

This cold and resolute state was actually their true nature, while the normal human nature of chatting, laughing, and feeling depressed from just before was actually the outer covering!

That is to say, from the moment these people began cultivating, or perhaps even from birth, when they were screened and found to have spiritual roots, they had already been processed by the Fudong Immortal Sect, transformed at the root into absolutely obedient tools, and finally given a layer of skin to cover them.

Just like that art of donning fur and armor!

Perhaps, in the eyes of the Fudong Immortal Sect's upper echelons, normal human nature, normal human emotions, and everything about normal people are just clumsy, ignorant, uncivilized, and meaningless beasts!

By comparison, although the Luoyu side also has situations of raising dead soldiers, and those dead soldiers have also been brainwashed and similarly appear fearless of death.

However, their roots are actually still normal; when they truly encounter things that are difficult to understand, they will also have instinctive emotional fluctuations, and while they are cold and icy in ordinary times, it can also be said to be a manifestation of being extremely devoted to a certain emotional will.

It might even be easier for them to have a breakthrough, perhaps; after all, that can also be considered a very firm Dao heart and a very pure purpose.

So, simply put, it is that by being set off by the Fudong Immortal Sect, even the Luoyu Immortal Sect can barely be considered human.

Du En had truly seen the world.

(End of chapter)