Chapter 425: 400 Sudden Arrival

"A lot of people died..."

Meng Huazhou led the group to look around the Duanlong Cave where the insect fight had taken place, leaving behind only this one sentence.

At this moment, the cave was covered with many corpses, fresh blood, and severed limbs. Although they couldn't be counted immediately, by piecing together the heads, it was clear that at least a dozen people had died. Looking at their wounds and postures, they must have died from killing each other.

Dozens entered, and one survivor came out—this was the standard ending for an insect fight. Meng Huazhou had seen it many times, and the winner of this insect fight was right beside him. Although the Disciple was a bit uneasy, it was mainly because he feared the Young Villa Master would think he was useless, not because he feared the Young Villa Master would hold him accountable for the crime of harming his fellow disciples.

After all, they had harmed each other plenty of times before; could an insect fight even be considered harming?

The main focus of Jingzhe Villa was on the mountain; those left at the foot of the mountain were all ordinary Disciples. Moreover, the Thunder-Struck Soil and the cliff terrain could defend Jingzhe Villa very well, so those Disciples served at most as sentries and greeters, and were truly dispensable.

In any case, the Young Villa Master didn't recognize any of them. If he saw someone, he might find them vaguely familiar, but if he didn't see them, he would never remember them.

Seeing such a tragic scene of total annihilation, Meng Huazhou was only slightly annoyed. The annoyance, of course, was that the people of Jingzhe Villa had been completely outclassed by Black Widow's people, making his own main altar lose face.

At this time, Black Widow said, "Young Villa Master, it is my people who don't understand the rules, to have actually done such a thing. I will catch them and bring them back for the Young Villa Master to deal with."

Meng Huazhou sneered in his heart. He wanted to follow up on this to embarrass Black Widow, but he forcibly restrained himself. Pretending to be nonchalant, he waved his hand and said, "Senior Sister, you are being too formal. What big deal is it for the youngsters to mess around? People of the Jianghu value decisiveness in killing. It is because of your excellent guidance, Senior Sister, that the Disciples have such courage. Let us not mention the matter of accountability again. Clean this place up, and let us head out."

After they went out, more Jingzhe Villa Disciples carefully cleaned up the scene, checking one by one.

No living people were found at the scene. They found Disciples under other leaders, but did not find Black Widow's people. No survivors were found on the perimeter either; they had likely realized they had caused trouble and fled.

In the past, doing such a thing would at least be considered contempt for the Villa, a crime of rebellion, and they would be hunted down by Jingzhe Villa, but now no one was pursuing it. On the contrary, if Black Widow successfully became the Manor Master, she might even commend these "capable" subordinates and make them new core Disciples of Jingzhe Villa.

Meng Huazhou couldn't be bothered to get entangled in such trivial matters. He gave Black Widow a way out, meaning the matter ended here, and said directly, "Senior Sister, let us rest for two days. We will set off on the twenty-eighth of the twelfth lunar month and arrive at Xishan County within two days; the timing will be just right."

Black Widow calculated the days and said, "The twenty-eighth of the twelfth lunar month, that really is almost the New Year."

Meng Huazhou said, "It is precisely to catch the New Year. According to my calculations, the collapse of Cloud Dream Xiancheng was on New Year's Eve one hundred and twenty years ago. And Cloud Dream Xiancheng happens to have a cycle of sixty years. Now, after two cycles, the Xiancheng is visible again. On New Year's Eve, at the peak of Xishan, we shall ascend the clouds to visit the immortals."

These last two sentences were spoken firmly and clearly, as if he were still that persistent youth who asked nothing of the world and sought only immortality.

Black Widow said softly, "So that is how it is."

She was also someone who had read that novel thoroughly, but she had never thought the date could be calculated to such precision. She couldn't help but think to herself: What kind of Internal Data does his family have to be able to research it to this extent?

Regardless of whether this data was accurate, Meng Huazhou held the sole right of interpretation, and she would not object. It was precisely because Meng Huazhou was so confident that Black Widow felt ripples in her own dormant heart; that hope, ethereal as floating clouds, seemed as if it could be grasped with a single reach.

The few agreed on a time to meet, and Black Widow took her leave.

Tang Zhao was about to chase after her to speak with Black Widow, but Meng Huazhou suddenly walked up a few steps, brushed past him, and whispered in his ear, "Keep a close eye on Yue Lai for Senior Sister; he wants to harm you all."

Tang Zhao raised an eyebrow slightly. When he looked back, Meng Huazhou had already left nonchalantly, leaving him with an inscrutable back.

For a moment, Tang Zhao didn't know how to react, so he had to pretend to be expressionless.

Now that it had been whittled down to only a few people, was there still so much drama?

Tang Zhao caught up with Black Widow. The two walked side by side, leaving Xu Siyao and the others behind, and he said, "Sister Yin, what are you thinking? To go on this trip with him—are you planning to make a move on Meng Huazhou on the road, or have you set your sights on the Cloud Sword?"

Black Widow sighed and said, "I suppose I... have become greedy. Actually, I also know that taking the Jingzhe Sword safely is the right path. Following him to find the Xiancheng not only has slim hope but also adds unnecessary danger. Yet I was incited by him and developed a covetous heart for the Cloud Sword. I have fallen into his trap. But once the desire arises, I cannot suppress it. If I don't go, even if I sit comfortably in Jingzhe Villa, I will regret it for the rest of my life. I am still young; I don't want to do things now that I am destined to regret."

Tang Zhao heard this and actually let out a sigh of relief, saying, "So that is it. Then I will help you."

Black Widow felt a bit guilty and said, "It's just that I've let down Azhao. We had agreed on the succession, and you achieved it, but I have created complications and added danger for you."

Tang Zhao said solemnly, "Sister Yin, you speak too seriously. This is what I should do. If we can't find the Cloud Sword, so be it; if we find it, I will definitely do my best to win it for you."

He spoke so solemnly that Black Widow found it a bit strange, and thinking it over, she could only feel that Tang Zhao was a man of great loyalty.

The group arrived at the foot of the mountain to wait for departure. Black Widow already had a house in Five Immortals Town at the foot of Jingzhe Villa, and she warmly invited Xu Siyao to stay together. Xu Siyao had no choice but to stay with Black Widow. Yu Sichen claimed it was inconvenient to stay in Black Widow's boudoir, and Black Widow was reasonable, letting Tang Zhao and Yu Sichen stay in another small courtyard.

There were only three days left. Regardless of the hypocrisy between Black Widow and Xu Siyao, Tang Zhao and Yu Sichen lived in peace. Neither side had any intention of building a relationship, and they each occupied a room, living as neighbors.

Tang Zhao wanted to see if Weise had any response. Since there was none, he knew Weise's choice.

At the time, Tang Zhao had been very surprised when he saw the Jingzhe Sword.

He had recently been researching Weise's sword and the direction of his Inspiration, in order to cast a sword that best suited Weise.

After researching back and forth, the progress was never fast, and he only came up with a little insight—the Sword Seed Weise chose was not particularly compatible with Weise.

There was no help for it; after all, it was just one that Weise had picked out as relatively suitable from six Sword Seeds, not the most suitable one in this world.

If the Sword Seed Tang Zhao took from his own Soul was nearly 100% compatible with Tang Zhao, then this Sword Seed was at most 70% compatible with Weise. Of course, it was definitely higher than 60%, because anything below 60% would have no resonance at all.

In fact, most sword and Sword Guest pairings in this world were like this: 60% or 70%, just making do.

Even if one were as wealthy as the Land Inspection Division, a one-in-a-thousand genius could not refuse a sword that was about 70% compatible when choosing a sword. This wasn't picking vegetables at a market, picking and choosing the freshest ones, and if one family's wasn't fresh, buying from another. Sword selection was a seller's market—this is what you can handle, do you want it? If not, get lost; there are plenty of people who want it.

Besides affecting the difficulty of developing Sword Art, the biggest impact of the compatibility level was on the Sword Heart. And the Sword Heart was the most important path for a Sword Guest to raise their realm.

At the Sword Guest stage, 70% was enough. Anything higher would increase the risk step by step. Of course, seniors in the Land Inspection Division had successfully become Sword Heroes using 70% swords; it was just that they needed more Sword Essence, it was harder to comprehend the Sword Heart, and the risk of the Sword Heart going out of control was greater...

As Weise's "teacher," and as a responsible Sword Smith, Tang Zhao did not want to shift the risk to Weise. He had been researching a plan, striving to increase the compatibility of the finished product, even if it was just to 80%. Increasing it by 10% would make the road ahead ten times easier.

However, he was, after all, a Sword Smith who had only cast a sword once and assisted once; he couldn't talk about experience at all. His Glasses had just had problems, losing their assistance, and relying on his own pondering and research, it was truly a long way off.

If Tang Zhao had no other choice, then so be it; there was only one path of meeting the difficulty head-on. But he happened to see the Jingzhe Sword.

Upon seeing the Jingzhe Sword, Tang Zhao felt that compared to the Sword Seed in his hand, this sword should be the most suitable for Weise, suitable to an unbelievable degree. Even considering that Weise happened to be outside and only came up the mountain through various coincidences, it really felt like "fate brings people together from a thousand miles away."

However, this sword happened to be a crucial sword, related to the ownership of the Manor Master of Jingzhe Villa. And Tang Zhao was entrusted by Black Widow, so how could he handle this sword privately?

Only... it was just too compatible.

That demonic sound of "this treasure has a connection with me" lingered in Tang Zhao's ears and would not go away.

Black Widow said she was tempted by greed, and in fact, Tang Zhao was the same.

After a battle between heaven and man, he finally decided to leave the sword for Weise, but he had to take responsibility for it.

Taking responsibility meant that if Weise took the sword, he must go and never return, and the subsequent karma would be settled by Tang Zhao.

First, Tang Zhao could not let Black Widow suffer a loss. The position of Manor Master of Jingzhe Villa could not be given away, and he had to compensate Black Widow with another sword—he immediately thought of the Cloud Sword at that time.

When Black Widow showed him the novel *Yunmeng Immortal Capital*, it already contained an intention to probe. Tang Zhao felt it was too illusory at the time and did not respond, and Black Widow did not force it; after all, it was just a dream of hers.

But now that Meng Huazhou had calculated the location of Cloud City, there was something to be said for it. Black Widow was also tempted after hearing it, which was why she accompanied Meng Huazhou in playing some game of setting questions.

Tang Zhao confirmed Black Widow's wishes and decided to change his mission—this trip would be to retrieve a sword for Black Widow.

Black Widow said it would be better if there was one, and if not, there was a fallback, but Tang Zhao knew there was no fallback. As long as there was a Cloud Sword, he must win it for Black Widow.

As for Meng Huazhou...

What happens to Meng Huazhou has nothing to do with Tang Zhao.

They have no friendship to speak of, and that Cloud Sword is not something from Meng Huazhou's own home; one cannot simply say that because his ancestors for generations have coveted that sword, it should automatically belong to his family, right?

Furthermore, Meng Huazhou intends to kill Black Widow in accordance with his late father's dying wish; since they are already locked in a life-or-death struggle, isn't it perfectly normal that only one of them—either Black Widow or him—can survive?

It just so happens that the one who didn't survive was him.

During these past few days, Tang Zhao has been quietly organizing his thoughts and watching from the sidelines with a cold eye.

Tang Zhao also wanted to see if Meng Huazhou would seek him out, which is to say, see if Meng Huazhou would seek out Black Widow's helper, "Tang Zhao."

The mysterious remark Meng Huazhou made to Tang Zhao at the end was likely a hint, meant to sow discord between Black Widow and Yue Lai so as to incite suspicion and Chaos.

The fuse has already been lit, so he should have a follow-up plan.

According to Tang Zhao's guess, he could have taken advantage of these few days to contact him, "explain" the stakes, and perhaps form some kind of alliance. He didn't expect that he wouldn't wait for him at all. It seems Meng Huazhou merely played a casual move.

Or perhaps he is waiting for him to take the initiative and go to him?

While he didn't wait for anyone here, Yu Sichen has been acting hurried lately, often going out under the pretext of drinking tea or shopping and not returning, and one night he even snuck out of his room, seemingly to meet someone in secret.

Tang Zhao saw it all clearly, yet he remained calm and pretended he hadn't discovered any clues.

Although there are not many people in this group, everyone is really getting into character.

Amidst the busy preparations, the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month arrived.

On this day, heavy snow began Drifting from the sky.