Chapter 520: 474 Whereabouts

Hmm?

Tang Zhao's heart skipped a beat; he could tell that His Highness "Sun" was feeling a bit guilty. A complete Jinwu Sword cannot be captured?

Then what if it is incomplete?

The current Jinwu Sun is already a Broken Sword, missing at least one-third of its "Growth." Tang Zhao had known this for a long time, but judging by Sun's tone, how could it be even more broken than before?

Recalling what Zheng Yun had said earlier about its Jinwu aura being similar to his own, Tang Zhao had an even worse premonition.

Did he really guess right? This is a case of "the good doesn't work, but the bad does."

He immediately gave the Jinwu a way out: "This Array Diagram is truly vicious. Although you are not afraid of these petty scoundrels, it is not worth it to lock horns with them. Why don't you avoid…"

As he was speaking, he felt a tremor beneath his feet; it was the branches of the surrounding Fusang Tree shifting slightly.

Tang Zhao felt a little strange, but Ju Taiyang had already said: "That bunch is trying to communicate with me again. Ignore them."

Tang Zhao thought to himself: So this is how messages are sent to track someone? The big tree shakes? If you ignore it, it just keeps shaking?

Since it has anchored onto the person, the activation of a message should be felt by the main body. In other words, this Fusang Tree, just like the sun hanging upside down at the top of the tree, is its main body.

Since Ju Jinwu said to ignore it, Tang Zhao didn't pay it any mind. Just as he was about to continue his persuasion, he heard a sudden *chi* sound, as if some joint had been cleared, and a voice rang out on its own:

"Your Highness, it has been many days without communication. Are you well?"

Tang Zhao was startled, and Ju Taiyang was furious, cursing: "What is this thing? I didn't give permission, yet it speaks without authorization!"

It was unclear if the other party heard, but the voice continued unhurriedly:

"Your Highness, I know you do not like to hear me speak, but we have finally found a way to transmit sound; please spare a moment to listen. Once finished, I will not disturb you easily again."

"I hear Your Highness has been guarding thousands of zhang beneath Yunzhou, unmoved for a hundred years. I wonder if it is against your will? We have always known Your Highness possesses vast Supernatural Power, but now you suffer a minor misfortune, with a Relic Pearl at Wangliang Mountain. We intend to go to Wangliang Mountain to retrieve the treasure and offer it before Your Highness's seat to express our sincerity. I wonder if Your Highness would be willing to accept it?"

Hearing this, Tang Zhao's heart jumped, and he thought: Why is Wangliang Mountain involved again?

He heard the person say, "Your Highness lies dormant in the abyss, yet your heart is in the nine heavens; how could you be content to remain depressed beneath the nine abysses? Once the pearl is returned and the object is whole, we shall assist Your Highness in breaking through the dark clouds to return to the firmament, becoming a deity revered by the masses. When that time comes, our Imperial Court will wield the artifacts of the Human World, and Your Highness will rule the winds and clouds of the heavens. Who could stand against us in heaven or on earth? All things in the world will be yours to take as you please; would that not be wonderful?"

"If Your Highness does not believe our words, please wait a while. Within two months, we will surely pluck the stars and return; the truth will be revealed then. It will be like Clearing Clouds to See the Sun, and no one will be able to withstand the thunderous Momentum. Your Highness need only sit tight and await the good news. When the day comes for you to break through the earth, you shall see your true colors."

"I wish Your Highness eternal peace."

Tang Zhao was terrified. The tone of this message was extremely arrogant. Although the wording was somewhat respectful, it carried an air of: "We intend to use you, we are giving you some benefits, and we hope you do not fail to appreciate our kindness."

This Ju Taiyang has a very proud temperament; wouldn't this be counterproductive?

Tang Zhao felt that the benefit the other party mentioned—the so-called "Relic Pearl" of Wangliang Mountain—seemed truly important. He didn't understand it, but His Highness Sun must know exactly what it was; it might be an "irresistible" price.

What kind of good thing is actually at Wangliang Mountain?

Could it be…

If it really is that important object, would this Highness before him be tempted by it?

If he is tempted, that means he has chosen the side of the Turtle Bandits, and Tang Zhao is in great danger right now.

Furthermore, judging by the tone of the message, even if Ju Taiyang does not cooperate, the "Momentum" of Clearing Clouds to See the Sun is unstoppable. At that point, they would use an Array to forcibly capture and control him.

Ju Taiyang has already confirmed that the incomplete Jinwu Sword cannot resist the Array. Will it be a wise man who submits to circumstances…

Boom!

A bright light suddenly appeared before Tang Zhao's eyes!

Aside from the Fusang Tree, the surroundings were already full of dazzling, intense light. To be able to emit an even more intense radiance in such a situation shows just how astonishing the brightness was!

Tang Zhao almost thought he was going to attack, so he hurriedly gripped a teleportation Dharma Artifact and, in passing, grabbed Zheng Yun, pulling him behind his back.

The next moment, the figure of Ju Dongjun dissipated, and the brilliance swirled, condensing into a gigantic Jinwu!

The Jinwu let out a Chirping, its sound shaking a hundred miles!

The Fusang Tree began to shake. Unlike before, where only the branches and leaves moved, at this moment, the leaves, twigs, trunk, and roots were all in motion, as if the earth itself were trembling!

It is angry!

Tang Zhao felt its uncontrollable rage. When the Son of Heaven is angry, blood flows for a thousand li; how much more so for a deity!

Following its fury, the world of the sun trembled, and perhaps thousands of zhang above, the earth and rivers were trembling as well!

He did not know what the Jinwu's Chirping meant, but it must be an angry roar!

If it is angry, that means it refuses to agree, right?

Could such a proud Jinwu be capable of nothing but impotent rage?

After a while, the world quieted down.

The Jinwu did not dissipate, but the figure of Ju Dongjun appeared again, his brows knit and eyes stern, his face full of rage.

Yet Ju Dongjun's appearance was truly outstanding; even in such anger, his demeanor remained striking.

He stared at Tang Zhao and asked: "Tell me, who are they?"

Tang Zhao said: "If it is not the Eternal Night Court, then it is the Turtle Bandits. They just mentioned 'our Imperial Court,' styling themselves as the Imperial Court, so it must be the Turtle Bandits. In truth, they are merely remnants of the former Wei, rats that cannot see the light. They only wish to overthrow the current Imperial Court, and for this, they do not hesitate to harm millions of commoners."

Ju Jinwu asked: "How do they compare to you all? Who is stronger?"

Tang Zhao pondered: "We are stronger in Yunzhou, but if we speak of all their power, I fear they are stronger. They have been developing silently underground for over a hundred years; there is no telling how much strength they have beneath the surface. Moreover, they may have other allies. The Eternal Night Court is at the Qianxian, so they might be beyond reach, but there are some dark forces in the Human World that could also be their allies. For example, Wangliang Mountain…"

He remembered that Wangliang Mountain and the Eternal Night Court had once joined forces to deal with Baiyujing, and since the Turtle Bandits were colluding with the Eternal Night Court, by extension, could one say the Turtle Bandits and Wangliang Mountain were colluding? Even if they were not, birds of a feather flock together; there is always a risk of collusion sooner or later.

Of course, the "we" he spoke of referred only to Yunzhou—the forces under the Gaoyuan Marquis—and had nothing to do with the central Imperial Court. He did not know the Imperial Court, so how could he know what power it had? He could not even guarantee that the Imperial Court was truly at odds with Wangliang Mountain or the Turtle Bandits.

The Jinwu snorted: "If you all concentrated your power to attack Wangliang Mountain, could you take it?"

Tang Zhao pondered: "That is hard to say. Personally, I think it is not easy… Do you wish to attack Wangliang Mountain for the treasure there? Is that…"

He asked cautiously: "Is there not other power there besides the Jinwu Sword? They want to take the power of the Jinwu Sword out for you, in exchange for Your Highness taking action to obey them?"

The Jinwu snorted and said: "You possess a portion of the Jinwu Sword's power, don't you?"

Tang Zhao knew it had sensed it and admitted: "I have fused with the Growth Sword Intent of the Broken Sword. Could it be that…"

The Jinwu had already said: "That's right, Destruction should be at Wangliang Mountain."

Having confirmed his guess, Tang Zhao only felt a toothache: Good grief, a single Jinwu Sword has three Sword Intents in total, and they were actually split into three parts and hidden in three places. Never mind an Immortal Sword, even a Saint Sword couldn't withstand being divided like this, right?

And to have them scattered in a place as complex as Wangliang Mountain—how on earth did they end up there?

Tang Zhao asked, "Back then, was the Destruction Sword Intent taken away by Wangliang?"

The Golden Crow said angrily, "It? It is worthy? What kind of thing is it? It is worthy to say 'taken away'? It was suppressed by Destruction in that so-called mountain and could not move. Of course, Destruction could not move either; they were just deadlocked there for a time."

Tang Zhao finally understood why the majestic Wangliang had remained at Wangliang Mountain for so many years without moving. He had thought it was because the Ruyi Sword had wounded it back then and it was still recovering. It turned out it was still being suppressed by the power of Dongjun; even though Dongjun was gone, the residual power, or even just a portion of that power, was still enough to suppress Wangliang.

Of course, it was not necessarily without the Ruyi Sword's involvement. The relationship between the Ruyi Sword and Dongjun was very close back then; perhaps there was some method used to employ Dongjun's remaining power to achieve the current situation?

He immediately reacted and said urgently, "We cannot let them go to Wangliang Mountain! If they take away the Destruction Sword Intent, they will also liberate Wangliang! If Wangliang is no longer restricted to Wangliang Mountain and runs rampant, it will be another catastrophe for the common people!"

The Golden Crow glared at him and said, "That is why I am telling you to go to Wangliang Mountain!"

Tang Zhao said, "We... are going to retrieve Destruction?"

The Golden Crow said, "Retrieving Destruction is fine. If you do not have the ability to deal with Wangliang, at the very least you must kill those turtle-button things or whatever they are, so they cannot take Destruction either. Otherwise? Wait for them to take my power and use it to control me? Since you came to find me and said you would fight for me, isn't this exactly the time for you to be of use?"

Tang Zhao nodded. Logically, there was nothing wrong with that, and Wangliang Mountain had long been their target. Baiyujing also intended to attack Wangliang Mountain to rescue the Ruyi Sword. Even without the Golden Crow's business, it would not be wrong to crusade against Wangliang Mountain.

However...

Their strength was insufficient. If they could have succeeded in the crusade, wouldn't they have done it long ago? They couldn't even win a crusade against Wangliang Mountain alone, let alone with the added power of the Turtle Bandits.

Tang Zhao's heart stirred, and he said, "It is our bounden duty to crusade against Wangliang Mountain. Moreover, there is Your Highness's will. Your will is our mission. There are many lackeys and henchmen in Wangliang Mountain, and we do not fear them. But Wangliang... Wangliang is a power at the Sword Immortal level. Even if it is suppressed by Destruction, it is still not something we can contend with. Only a Sword Immortal can contend with a Sword Immortal. A Sword Deity would also need to be invited to suppress a Sword Deity."

He then revealed his true intent and said, "Why not invite Your Highness to move to Wangliang Mountain? With you there to hold the line and confront Wangliang, we can charge ahead without fearing Wangliang. By then, not to mention the mere Turtle Bandits, wouldn't it be even more perfect to directly extinguish this great scourge of the world? Furthermore, once you leave this place, the Array of the Turtle Bandits will no longer be able to trap you, and you will be even more secure."

And you would also be able to leave from beneath Yunzhou, and Yunzhou would have one less great hidden danger.

Isn't this killing three birds with one stone?

In this way, regardless of the battle situation at Wangliang Mountain, the main purpose of his coming here would be more than half achieved.

The Golden Crow stared at him and said, "You have the ability to let me leave this place?"

Tang Zhao's heart skipped a beat, and he said urgently, "Can you not leave on your own?"

The Golden Crow said, "It is easy for me to leave, but what would happen to the living beings on the surface of Yunzhou?"