Chapter 2524: Doomed to Fail
Everyone in Jiuyi City was watching this battle. The outcome was just as Ye Futian had predicted—Daoist Monk Mu was firmly suppressed by Li Qingfeng.
Until the sword will pa.s.sed through the body of Daoist Monk Mu, the sword domain that sealed up Jiuyi City shrank and turned into a sword-shaped beam of light surrounding Daoist Monk Mu. The areas around him turned to ruin. Only the place where Daoist Monk Mu was standing was left alone, leaving just that one piece on the mountain range.
“The seal is lifted.” All the cultivators looked up at the sky. The seal on Jiuyi City had been released because the result of the battle had been determined. Daoist Monk Mu was now under Li Qingfeng’s control.
Li Qingfeng stood above the void, looking down at Daoist Monk Mu. His eyes were like a sword as he said, “Give me back my thing.”
The Daoist Monk Mu smiled as he waved his palm. All the treasures on his body flew out, heading towards Li Qingfeng. He said, “Check it for yourself.”
Li Qingfeng swung his long sleeves and rolled the items in toward him. His divine consciousness then invaded and scanned all of the items. After a while, he had looked at all the treasures in his storage, and there were indeed many valuable things, but he didn’t find what he was looking for. Suddenly his face changed as he stared at Daoist Monk Mu and said, “Where are you hiding it?”
“Pavilion master Qingfeng, these treasures are all of my possessions.” Daoist Monk Mu said, “As for the thing you are looking for, it is not with me.”
Li Qingfeng stomped in the void when he heard the reply. Suddenly the sword will flowed, and the sword-shaped rays of light swept across the s.p.a.ce, causing a terrible aura of destruction to appear in the s.p.a.ce below. He warned, “Don’t try my patience.”
From the firmament downward, a strong murderous intent permeated. It seemed as if he would immediately slay Daoist Monk Mu if he failed to produce a satisfactory answer.
“If the pavilion master wants to kill me, all I can do is to fight to the death. But even if you kill me, the thing is no longer with me.” Daoist Monk Mu’s expression remained calm. Few people would act impulsively when they had cultivated to their level, so he trusted that Li Qingfeng would know how to weigh the pros and cons in this matter.
Li Qingfeng frowned. Then, those sword-like eyes suddenly looked up towards the firmament, looking at that unlocked seal of the sword domain. His face changed.
“I’ve been tricked!” Li Qingfeng suddenly seemed to have realized something, and a terrible look appeared in his eyes. He had sealed Jiuyi City for a long time to find Daoist Monk Mu. Now that he had found and controlled him, he did not continue to put Jiuyi City under the seal. However, he did not expect that Daoist Monk Mu would be so sly as to use him as bait.
“Who took it out for you?” Li Qingfeng looked down at Daoist Monk Mu below; his voice was extremely chilly. Although it hadn’t been long since the seal was unlocked, it was enough time for many people to leave Jiuyi City. Now, it was almost an impossible task to track anyone down because they couldn’t determine who it was.
And just now, no one noticed who had left Jiuyi City.
Daoist Monk Mu showed a smile when he heard Li Qingfeng’s words. He knew that the other understood what had just taken place. If so, his goal had been accomplished.
“Pavilion master, you have seen the current situation today. The West Sea Domain aside, forces from abroad have already arrived. Even if I give you back the Deity Map, do you think you can hold on to it?” Daoist Monk Mu did not say it out loud but communicated to Li Qingfeng via voice transmission.
Although Li Qingfeng was very unhappy, he had to admit that what Daoist Monk Mu said was the truth.
Even if Daoist Monk Mu returned the Deity Map to him at this time, it would be difficult for him to hold on to it. Now, unlike before, in Jiuyi City, countless eyes were fixed on the Deity Map.
However, Li Qingfeng did not respond; he was waiting for Daoist Monk Mu to continue.
Sure enough, he heard Daoist Monk Mu continue to say to him via voice transmission, “How about working together?”
“How?” Li Qingfeng asked.
“The Deity Map is within sight of various forces. If we join hands, I will go and get the Deity Map back, we can solve the mystery of Deity Map together and find the ancient imperial celestial mountain,” Daoist Monk Mu said via voice transmission.
“If I let you go now, what if you leave after you get the Deity Map and decide to go and find the celestial mountain by yourself?” Li Qingfeng responded coldly. He clearly did not trust Daoist Monk Mu all that much.
“It has been a long time since the Deity Map was in possession of the pavilion master. Naturally, you know that the mystery of the Deity Map is not as simple as it seems and cannot be solved easily. I would need the help of the pavilion master to do that. More importantly, all of my treasures were now in the hands of the pavilion master, and this is also to demonstrate my sincerity. These are all of my belongings, and the pavilion master must be able to see that they were very valuable items,” Daoist Monk Mu continued.
Li Qingfeng stared at him. These simple words from Daoist Monk Mu made him feel that the other man had been preparing for this for a long time. Moreover, his desire for the Deity Map was extremely strong. He had even taken all the treasures in his possession, along with his life as a wager, to bet on the map.
But this was completely understandable. Daoist Monk Mu was not just a thief in the West Sea Domain—he was also a top alchemy master at the same time. Because he was an expert at alchemy, speed, and concealment, his combat effectiveness was a bit deficient.
“Aren’t you afraid that after you find the celestial mountain that I will do something to you?” Li Qingfeng said.
“I am an alchemy master,” Daoist Monk Mu replied simply. Li Qingfeng seemed to be more satisfied with this answer. After pondering for a moment, he merely said, “Very well.”
As soon as he said that, the horrific aura of Swordsmans.h.i.+p disappeared. However, Li Qingfeng stared at Daoist Monk Mu and said loudly, “I will let you go for the time being today, but if you don’t return the thing you stole from me, I will not let this go.”
“Thank you, pavilion master,” Daoist Monk Mu said as the two seemed to have reached some kind of agreement. This scene puzzled everyone around them. The last dialogue between the two was more like act-playing. Perhaps they had been communicating through voice transmission. How did they reach an agreement that convinced Li Qingfeng to let Daoist Monk Mu off the hook?
Perhaps only the two of them would ever know the details.
But now, where was the Deity Map?
Probably not on Daoist Monk Mu himself.
“I will take my leave now,” Daoist Monk Mu said again. As soon as he said that, he turned into a gust of wind and disappeared somewhere between heaven and earth. It all happened at an alarming speed.
“Pavilion master.” Many cultivators from the Breeze Pavilion looked at Li Qingfeng with a questioning look. Why did he let Daoist Monk Mu go?
Li Qingfeng turned and walked down from the void. He did not bother to explain.
The reason for letting the man go was actually simple enough. Whether he let him go or not, he had not much chance now. He did not fully believe in the words of Daoist Monk Mu, but even if he did not believe it, he did not have another choice. If he killed Daoist Monk Mu, the rest of the cultivators would only keep even closer tabs on him.
The moment the news of Deity Map became public knowledge, as that ancient Celestial mountain may have already been out of his reach.
Therefore, Li Qingfeng chose to let the man go.
Let him go, and there may still be a chance. Kill him, and there would definitely be no chance.
“Is it over just like this?” The surrounding cultivators looked at all of this. It seemed that there were still no conclusive results as far as the Deity Map was concerned.
Ye Futian watched all this quietly. When he saw Daoist Monk Mu leave, he knew that what he had in his hand must be the Deity Map.
He turned around and walked forward to leave. It did not take him long before he was out of Jiuyi City.
Ye Futian did not stop but continued to head out, leaving Jiuyi Celestial Mountain and entering the vast sea.
Just as Ye Futian was walking into the coastal region, he suddenly felt a ray of divine consciousness fell on him, swept directly at him without the slightest disguise.
Here he comes, Ye Futian secretly remarked. A cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. He then sped up to continue his forward movement.
That divine consciousness locked onto him, chasing after him with incredible speed.
“Are we racing?” Ye Futian unleashed Buddha’s Celerity at the moment, and his figure disappeared from right where he was.
In the distance, someone was tracking Ye Futian with a terrifying method. This man was dressed in shabby clothing appeared to be extremely sloppy and grubby. However, his method was frightening as he stepped into the void, leaving countless shadows between heaven and earth.
But very soon, he stopped, hovering over the sea. His face suddenly had a terrible look on it. He lost track of him!
His heart throbbed. He had set the whole thing up perfectly. Did something happen at the last minute? he wondered.
How could he have lost track of him?
“Were you looking for me, sir?”
Ye Futian appeared in front of the old man.
The old man raised his head to look at the handsome face right in front of him, and his eyes revealed some confusion. The other, after dodged him, had unexpectedly come back on his own.
“How did you do it?” The old man asked Ye Futian.
Ye Futian took out a storage ring and looked at the old man, saying, “Sir, you first disguised your ident.i.ty by setting up a stand as a trader in Jiuyi City to get close to Breeze Pavilion so they would be familiar with you. After that, you stole the Deity Map but continued with your previously a.s.sumed ident.i.ty of the trader, thinking that no one would have suspected you. However, you didn’t expect Li Qingfeng to lock down the entire city. And with the arrival of cultivators from all sides, you knew that even if you stayed, you would not be able to take the Deity Map with you. Therefore, by way of transaction, you deposited the Deity Map into the storage ring and left a mark to keep track of it so that it might be retrieved at a later date.”
“So, you came here to find me,” Ye Futian said slowly. Although the old man in front of him looked different from before, how could Ye Futian not recognize him as that Daoist Monk Mu, who had the bones of an immortal?
“So, does this mean you will return the thing to me?” Daoist Monk Mu fixed his eyes on Ye Futian and asked. He felt something was awry.
He was convinced that there was no flaw in his setup. In his estimation, he should be able to take the Deity Map and have it finally return to his possession.
However, the Ye Futian that he encountered during the trade did not seem to be a simpleton. Not only did he dodge his track, but he had also pieced everything together correctly.
Ye Futian’s divine consciousness infiltrated the storage ring. The next moment, Daoist Monk Mu found that the mark he made had disappeared; it had been erased by Ye Futian.
The eyes of Daoist Monk Mu sharpened. Ye Futian knew of the existence of the mark and was able to erase it, but he did not do that. He was waiting for him. What did it mean?
“Sir, there is no reason to take back a thing that was given,” Ye Futian said lightly. Daoist Monk Mu’s plan was indeed superb. He was using someone from the outside to even the odds. If it weren’t Ye Futian that he encountered, most likely, the Deity Map would finally be returned to him.
However, Daoist Monk Mu seemed to be out of luck. The person he met was Ye Futian; therefore, he was destined to be disappointed. Did he really expect to get the Deity Map back from Ye Futian?
Obviously, it’s an impossibility.
“What if I insist on taking it back?” Daoist Monk Mu’s tone changed. He had paid a lot for this Deity Map, but now, he may have inadvertently given it away!