Volume 4, Chapter 193 – Settled

A day passed, and just as expected, Bai Xiang received a polite notice from the Sword Dao Association informing her that “Shenming Sword Dao has already advanced.”

As for the reason, the other side did not explain it, but it was nothing more than fear of the strength she had displayed when fighting Chu Weiping, and, even more terrifying to all the Void People, the fact that this power was in the hands of a “demon woman” who disliked acting by the rules and was exceptionally brutal and bloodthirsty.

Looking at it this way, every team she was supposed to face afterward had actually forfeited.

Bai Xiang checked the schedule and discovered that in the last few rounds of the Tongyun Division, her opponents had even included Qianyuan Sect. She gained a new appreciation for Daoist Luo Ying’s ability to adapt on the fly.

At the moment, Zhu Qingluo was still next door reconsidering her life, while the people from the dojo had already begun returning to Zhennan in batches. Bai Xiang was able to enjoy some peace and quiet. She only needed to stay in Wangyun Tavern and wait for the schedule to play out, and she would advance directly into the final stage.

“You really are the carefree one.”

Fresh from her bath, Bai Xiang came out of the washroom wrapped in a towel. She scooped up the white fox that was sprawled on the table with its head craned forward, then followed its line of sight and realized it had apparently been watching Feixiang Heaven bully Little Yellow on the floor.

Little Yellow Sword had struggled before. While Bai Xiang was away, it had twisted desperately, trying to wriggle free from beneath Feixiang Heaven. But unfortunately, it had long since fallen under Bai Xiang’s control, and Feixiang Heaven could practically be considered Bai Xiang’s avatar. Its resistance had achieved next to nothing. It was still pinned under Feixiang Heaven and continuously being drained, and by now it had shrunk to only palm-size.

After warning Feixiang Heaven not to “kill the goose that lays the golden eggs,” and telling it to “give Little Yellow some room to breathe and actively use the stockpiled swords to feed it,” Bai Xiang carried the little white fox to the doorway and bent down to set it on the floor.

“Go find her,” Bai Xiang said, looking down into the little fox’s eyes.

“You are of the same kind, after all.”

“Maybe it’ll be more effective if you’re the one to comfort her.”

“Ying, ying!”

The little fox let out a few soft cries and shuffled toward the door. Then it suddenly turned around, stood upright on its hind legs, pressed its two little paws together, and bobbed them up and down at Bai Xiang in a rather comical salute.

Has it already begun to awaken spiritual intelligence?

Though from the look of it, it was still rather muddled, relying more on beastly instinct than anything else.

Rеad oո KαtRеadіnɡCafе

Bai Xiang watched the little fox bow with amused eyes and saw it off. Only then did she take up her black dress, slip it on, and sit down on the bedroll to begin quiet cultivation.

Bzz, bzz.

Just then, the phone by the bed began to vibrate.

Drawing it over with qi, Bai Xiang swiped open the screen to check her messages, only to find that there was nothing new. At the very least, not a single person important enough for her to have enabled vibration alerts had sent her anything.

Then it was not the phone.

She flipped the phone over, found the Black Venerable Card tucked into the back cover sleeve, and instantly poured her consciousness into it, trying to browse the intelligence on the Venerable Net.

Although her account had already been banned and most permissions no longer worked, she could still see the large floating headlines on the homepage, and from those she could infer some of the broader situation.

After a while, Bai Xiang withdrew her consciousness and stared at the Black Venerable Card with a slight frown.

“The Venerable Net actually issued an active notice, telling everyone to stop using Black Venerable Cards immediately?”

What exactly was going on?

Could it have something to do with those two decrees, which contradicted each other before and after…?

After thinking it over, Bai Xiang snapped the Black Venerable Card in half, destroyed it with qi in her palm, then took out an ancient bronze mirror from the drawer.

The mirror had been sent over by the Silver Sea Merchant Guild. Steward Li, who had been unwilling to reveal his full identity, had said that “our young master does not trust the communication tools of the main-world humans,” and that “to avoid being monitored, the communication tool previously handed to Bai Zhuqing should also be presented to Bai Xiang as well.”

There were balsam-flower patterns on the surface of the bronze mirror, and every single line could be moved. Following the proper sequence, Bai Xiang shifted the patterns apart one by one. When she reached the nineteenth move, she heard a click. Uneven little cubes began rising on the surface of the bronze mirror, gradually carving out the face of a young man. It was none other than Meng Qiaosheng, the young master of the Silver Sea Merchant Guild.

“I still have to thank Venerable Lord Bai.” Meng Qiaosheng could also see Bai Xiang’s face being carved out on the bronze mirror at his end. Although he had no idea why she had contacted him so suddenly, he still began with polite thanks. “The Silver Sea Merchant Guild was able to take the fourth slot and ultimately advance into the final stage entirely because of the advantage of Venerable Lord Bai’s sword-weapon.”

Rеαԁ οn КαtReaⅾiոɡCаfe

That really was true. Meng Wanyu had already given him a strict order: preserving himself was the top priority, and if he ran into opponents like Qianyuan Sect or Zhengtian Dao, he had to forfeit.

But in this Tongyun Division, the entire stage of the competition had basically been shaped by Bai Xiang.

Some had withdrawn because they feared her.

Some had refused to withdraw out of sheer stubbornness and had been slaughtered by her to the last, their Dao-lineages wiped out.

There had been many such sects.

It had even affected Qianyuan and Zhengtian’s enthusiasm for the tournament. Those two had presumably seen that their points were enough to place them second and third, so they had completely stopped caring about the later matches and simply had an Association official mark them down as forfeits.

That had allowed the Silver Sea Merchant Guild to quietly edge into fourth place. After that, it only had to beat a few weak opponents at random, and advancing was all but certain.

“I came to ask Young Master Meng about something,” Bai Xiang said directly.

“Has Young Master Meng seen the Venerable Net notice?”

“Venerable Lord Bai means the matter of ‘abandoning the cards,’ I assume.” Meng Qiaosheng frowned. “This whole thing is very strange. I’m afraid I can’t provide much intelligence support from my side.”

Not just him. Even Meng Wanyu herself was completely in the dark right now. After the incident, she had told him not to act rashly and had gone off to call in favors herself, but even now there had been no news at all.

And Meng Qiaosheng was not stupid. Even if he could not make out the exact situation, he could still guess that the inside story must involve internal strife within the Sacred Court.

Discussing something like that with Bai Xiang was very dangerous. This was not the sort of matter he could neatly separate from his own role by treating it as a private exchange.

Taken together, he was already starting to think about hanging up.

“I have the coordinates to an Illusory Realm plane here. Inside it lies part of the inheritance of the ancient Golden Light Temple.”

Rеαⅾ оո ΚαtReаdіngСafe

Without the slightest hesitation, Bai Xiang raised the stakes and offered up part of the spoils from ambushing and killing Zhang Dai’s group.

Golden Light Temple…

Meng Qiaosheng’s expression turned conflicted.

The Golden Light Treasure King Buddha was regarded by many factions as a Great Saint. The value of this inheritance was in no way inferior to a complete Xuandi Scripture, and was most likely above the incomplete imperial scripture in Bai Xiang’s possession.

“…If there is any latest news, I will contact Your Lordship at once.”

After hardening his resolve, Meng Qiaosheng still decided to make the deal.

“And please rest assured about the others, Your Lordship. I will use every means at my disposal to help them leave the competition zone.”

“What I want is safety,” Bai Xiang said, “and secrecy.”

“At present, not too many people will be paying attention to them.” Meng Qiaosheng smiled. “It’s the final stage now. All attention is focused here.”

After exchanging a few more words and confirming that the man was not lying, Bai Xiang settled down.

“I’ll send Venerable Lord Bai a rough list involving information on the opposing sides in the final stage.”

Meng Qiaosheng was extremely meticulous in business; his service was practically comprehensive.

“At present, the five slots on our side are already fixed. They are Venerable Lord Bai’s Shenming Sword Dao, Qianyuan Sect, Zhengtian Dao, the Daoist sect team on my side… and a minor alliance of sects called the Heaven-Splitting Alliance.”

“On Wangbei Circuit’s side, the three currently confirmed are Taixu Monastery, Dameng Dao, and Haixin Sect.”

“On Huanglong Circuit’s side, the four are Canglan Sword Sect, Qinglan Immortal Sect, Mingyuan Temple, and Huashen Sect.”

Reαⅾ οո ΚаtReaⅾіոgСаfе

“There may still be a few slots left to fight over, but even if they make it in, they’ll most likely just be miscellaneous small sects, the sort that aren’t worth mentioning, like that Heaven-Splitting Alliance.”

Bai Xiang understood. “So among the other two divisions, the only sects worth paying attention to are those seven.”

“More or less.” Meng Qiaosheng nodded. “I’ll send the detailed information to Your Lordship in writing later.”

“And here are those coordinates.”

Returning the favor, Bai Xiang also gave him the coordinates of the Golden Light Temple ruins.

There was nothing to regret, because she no longer had time to go claim that treasure herself.

She might as well trade it to Meng Qiaosheng for intelligence and supplies. In troubled times, those were what held real value.

After ending the communication, Meng Qiaosheng finally came to his senses. He had once again gone against his mother’s orders and, without realizing it, deepened his relationship with Bai Xiang.

“Mother will definitely blame me when she finds out.”

Meng Qiaosheng looked somewhat restless.

But immediately afterward, the giant Buddha of thunder-light beneath the dark clouds rose in his mind, along with the stunning sword strike Chu Weiping had delivered toward that Buddha.

“…Business is a gamble anyway.”

“Venerable Lord Bai.”

“I only hope I haven’t misjudged what kind of person you are.”