Chapter 374 - Psychological Attack (2/2)
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.”