Chapter 235: Using Force to Strike Force

The Profound Heaven Sect’s camp was propped up by dozens of formation flags and guarded heavily by thousands of lingering spirits that had absorbed lightning. War beasts stood guard at the main entrance, while Thought Masters gathered in the heart of the camp.

Li Youyi had just arrived at the gate of the Profound Heaven Sect’s camp.

Lu Wensheng’s angry voice rang out: "It’s that scoundrel Li Youyi! Activate the formation and tear him to pieces!"

Li Youyi looked bewildered: "Brother Wensheng, what grudge or enmity do we have that you would speak such harsh words to me?"

Lu Wensheng pointed at him, gnashing his teeth: "I wish I could eat your flesh and sleep on your hide! Return my Spring-Gushing Coins, return my Heavenly Thunder Blade, return my magical war robe, return my thousand-year essence medicine... You and Zuoqiu Ting are two beasts who joined hands to deceive the world with arena gambling. What 'defeating the enemy in ten moves, five moves'—at the same cultivation realm, you can clearly defeat them in three moves!"

Li Youyi said: "So that’s what it’s about. But how can you call it deception? We were just meeting friends through martial arts... If Brother Wensheng truly feels Li has been unkind, let us fight another round. Not three moves, let’s make it one. As long as Brother Wensheng can take one move from me, I will return everything I won in full. That’s fair, right?"

"You are this confident?"

Lu Wensheng suppressed his anger: "Is a challenge fee required?"

"Of course! I’ll take a small loss, let’s say... hmm, one hundred thousand Spring-Gushing Coins," Li Youyi said.

Lu Cangsheng, who had walked out of the tent, saw his brother’s tempted expression. He frowned deeply and coughed twice: "He is already at the fifth stage of the Five Seas Realm now!"

Lu Wensheng’s anger flared up again, secretly hating himself for not having escaped the shadow of his gambling addiction and failure: "Since he has delivered himself to our door, we must not let him escape."

At the edge of the camp, the formation’s light veil opened a slit, and several experts of the Seventh Sea flashed out, surrounding Li Youyi.

Li Youyi glanced at them and looked toward Lu Cangsheng in the distance: "Is this the Profound Heaven Sect’s way of treating guests?"

Lu Cangsheng did not like Li Youyi, and he wore that dislike on his face.

But he knew that a heaven-gifted prodigy like Li Youyi would never place himself in danger without reason, so he asked: "Do you think you are a guest?"

"Can someone who can save your Profound Heaven Sect not be considered a guest?" Li Youyi said.

Lu Cangsheng’s gaze narrowed, and he said in a deep voice: "Li Youyi, is alarmism the only trick you have? Do you think I am some naive child?"

"If you were a naive child, you would certainly listen patiently until I finished speaking," Li Youyi said.

After a moment of silence, Lu Cangsheng said: "If you dare to enter the Profound Heaven Sect’s camp formation, I can give you a chance to finish your words. I just don’t know if you have the guts."

The young Wu Xiu of the Profound Heaven Sect present all sneered.

Qin Qian secretly admired Lu Cangsheng’s wisdom; with a single sentence, he had regained the upper hand in terms of presence.

If Li Youyi did not dare to enter the camp, he would naturally be mocked by everyone and end up slinking away in disgrace.

If he were provoked into entering the camp, it would be the perfect opportunity to capture or kill him.

"The Profound Heaven Sect’s camp is hardly a dragon’s pool or tiger’s den; why wouldn’t I dare to enter?"

Li Youyi smiled easily and walked into the camp gate.

"Whoosh!"

Behind him, the light veil closed.

Qin Qian was overjoyed and immediately ordered: "Use the formation to suppress him first."

Li Youyi didn’t even look at her, staring proudly at Lu Cangsheng: "In the Profound Heaven Sect, is your word just farting?"

Lu Cangsheng locked eyes with Li Youyi and raised a hand, stopping the formation masters from attacking.

Since the person was already inside, like fish on a chopping block, there was no need to rush.

Only then did Li Youyi smile: "Lu Cangsheng, I have come to cure your illness of headache and anxiety."

Lu Cangsheng observed Li Youyi, trying to see if he was feigning calm or truly full of confidence: "You are indeed as courageous as the legends say. But you wouldn’t be naive enough to think that with just your mouth, you can save the Zuoqiu Gate and the Nine Li Tribe tonight, would you?"

Li Youyi said: "I’m in a hurry, so I won’t waste words with you! I just had a fight with Jiang Ning, and I believe you have already received the news. We were ambushed, and the opponent used Golden Scale Fire Rain, along with seven Ashes of the Dead."

"So what? Are you trying to tell us that allies cannot be trusted?" Qin Qian sneered: "We have never viewed the Far West Ash Region as an ally."

Li Youyi kept his eyes on Lu Cangsheng: "The people who ambushed us were from the Dragon Gate. I wounded him, and he bled! If you view the Dragon Gate as an ally to live and die with, beware of total destruction."

Ripples appeared in Lu Cangsheng’s calm eyes: "Why should I believe that what you say is true?"

Li Youyi said: "The last ancient immortal beast in this land of the Lingxiao Life Realm is the Yujia."

"The Yujia gave birth to the Flying Dragon and the Flying Phoenix."

"The Dragon Gate are servants of the Flying Dragon, while the Far West Ash Region are descendants of the Flying Phoenix."

"The hatred between the Dragon Gate and the Far West Ash Region exists because when the Fog Son of Heaven slew the Flying Dragon back then, the Far West Ash Region did not step in to help."

"But according to what I know, the Flying Dragon had a son, which is the Qilin."

"After the Flying Dragon died, the Qilin and the Dragon Gate disappeared from the Lingxiao Life Realm together. It was only a thousand years ago, when the Fog Son of Heaven went missing, that the Dragon Gate dared to return."

"Now that the world is undergoing great changes, if the Qilin has returned and made contact with the Far West Ash Region, they are both descendants of the Yujia; it is entirely possible for them to turn hostility into friendship."

"Lu Cangsheng, if your vision only stops at the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival, then you have disappointed me greatly."

A stormy sea surged in Lu Cangsheng’s heart, but his face remained calm: "Regarding the Qilin, it has always been nothing more than a legend."

"I have said all I have to say."

Li Youyi prepared to leave; he didn’t expect to convince Lu Cangsheng, he only needed to plant a seed of doubt in his heart.

Once Lu Cangsheng began to deeply doubt the Dragon Gate, he would be completely isolated, and the choices he could make would be few and far between.

"Do you think you can still walk out of this camp?" Lu Cangsheng said.

Li Youyi looked around at the Profound Heaven Sect experts and then up at the formation above, using a mocking tone: "Old Lu, you only sent people to spread the news of Zuoqiu Hong, Zuoqiu Ting, and Cang Li’s deaths to break the will of the Zuoqiu Gate’s faction of Wu Xiu. You don’t actually believe it yourself, do you?"

"If I am detained or killed here, the Profound Heaven Sect will immediately become the number one enemy of the Zuoqiu Gate and the Nine Li Tribe."

"The weakest of the five major powers, yet you want to do the most attention-grabbing thing. If you don’t fail, who will?"

"Besides, the reason I came to talk to you is to leave you a way out. I don’t expect you to defect right now. But you don’t want to block the Profound Heaven Sect’s retreat right now, do you?"

Qin Qian glared with cold eyes: "This person is full of tricks; do not believe him."

Li Youyi pointed outside the camp, to the two shadows formed by Feng Yin and Zhen Yuyan in the distance: "I came prepared! If I am trapped here, they will immediately inform Cang Li, Li Jiufu, and Li Ling. But if I walk out alive, I can continue to deal with the imperial court and the Far West Ash Region."

"You should be a smart person who understands what is advantageous for the Profound Heaven Sect."

Lu Cangsheng looked into the darkness in the distance; Feng Yin and Zhen Yuyan’s movement techniques were extremely fast, and they had already disappeared. They were definitely top-tier experts.

Lu Cangsheng was secretly shocked; he hadn’t expected the Nine Li Tribe and the Zuoqiu Gate to have such experts.

"The battle of the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival is not over yet; it is unknown who will have the last laugh."

Li Youyi walked toward the camp gate with his hands behind his back. Suddenly thinking of something, he stopped and swept a glance at Qin Qian: "If your woman isn’t smart enough, make her talk less, otherwise it will easily bring you unnecessary trouble."

"What are you... talking nonsense about? It’s not like that..." Qin Qian snapped, but for some reason, her heart was beating extremely fast, and she had forgotten that she had to suppress and kill Li Youyi.

After leaving the camp, Li Youyi left quickly, fearing that Lu Cangsheng would regret it and chase after him.

Feng Yin and Zhen Yuyan flashed into view.

Zhen Yuyan asked: "What did you go to the Profound Heaven Sect for?"

"Naturally, to talk about cooperation with Lu Cangsheng."

Li Youyi sighed: "Lu Cangsheng is indeed a smart man. His vision is not limited to this small city of the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival, but is focused on the world. The imperial court and the Far West Ash Region are simply unreliable. He has already promised me that as long as the Zuoqiu Gate holds out until dawn, the Profound Heaven Sect will take action to create a new balance of power in the city."

"Do you think we would believe that?" Zhen Yuyan said coldly.

Li Youyi said: "Lu Cangsheng has no choice. Who told the Profound Heaven Sect to be the weakest? If the Zuoqiu Gate falls, they will die along with it."

Feng Yin said: "If the Profound Heaven Sect and the Dragon Gate join forces, they are enough to rival any power."

"But I told him about the Dragon Gate’s affairs. Haha... otherwise, why do you think I could walk out of the Profound Heaven Sect’s camp alive?"

Li Youyi laughed loudly and strode forward.

Feng Yin and Zhen Yuyan both changed expressions.

Feng Yin said: "He told us on purpose, wanting to ignite the conflict between the imperial court, the Profound Heaven Sect, and the Dragon Gate, to buy the Zuoqiu Gate a chance to breathe."

"But... if the Profound Heaven Sect really defects at a critical moment, and if the Dragon Gate really has a problem, the imperial court might be caught off guard. We must have someone go back and report this to Lord Ge," Zhen Yuyan said.

Feng Yin said: "You go report it, go quickly and return quickly. I will follow him first. My speed is faster than his, so I’m not afraid of him attacking."

Li Youyi sensed Zhen Yuyan leaving and breathed a sigh of relief; he had finally managed to use the Profound Heaven Sect to lure one person away.

Since the five major powers lacked trust so much, Li Youyi adopted the same method, heading to the Snow Sword Tang Court’s camp, where he met Wanyan Xiaose.

In the camp, Li Youyi didn’t see many Snow Sword Tang Court experts, so he asked with a smile: "Miss Wanyan, are you in charge of the overall situation here in the South City?"

"Brother Youyi, you aren’t here to plead for mercy, are you? I’m in a very difficult position." Wanyan Xiaose had her small hands behind her back, looking pitiful.

Li Youyi shook his head: "I’m here to ask for your help, but not for the Zuoqiu Gate. It’s that guy whom your Snow Sword Tang Court wants to get rid of the most; he has been following me, wanting me to join the imperial court."

Fengzhou is one of the seven states of the Northern Territory.

Feng Yin, the number one expert of Fengzhou, held Dragon Seed Tickets and Dragon Bone Tickets in his hands, which were exactly what the Snow Sword Tang Court wanted to obtain the most.

Li Youyi briefly explained: "If Miss Wanyan can take action to help me scare this guy away, or hold him back for a moment, Li Youyi will be eternally grateful and will save you at least once in the future. If we unfortunately become enemies in the future, I will definitely spare you once."

Wanyan Xiaose pondered for a moment and smiled brightly: "I thought it was something big! Feng Yin, fifth in the Northern Territory’s First Grade, I’ve long wanted to meet him!"

Up to this point, the Nine Li Tribe still had utility value to the Snow Sword Tang Court.

Therefore, the Snow Sword Tang Court had been dealing with the Zuoqiu Gate all night and had not torn their faces with the Nine Li Tribe.

After Wanyan Xiaose held Feng Yin back, Li Youyi took the opportunity to escape. He jumped into a large river and sneaked for several miles along the riverbed, completely erasing his tracks before going ashore, changing his appearance, and heading toward the West City.

No matter what, he had to go and see the situation with Li Ling and Cang Li first.

Dawn had broken.

On the morning of the thirteenth day of the New Year, the sounds of battle in the Qiuzhou state capital continued unabated, and all sides had killed until their eyes were red.