Chapter 230: The Emergence of the True Scripture
Sun Lingtong was naturally skilled at spreading rumors, and he was quite experienced. He estimated, “By then, the situation will be very tense, and indeed, the third wave of rumors will be crucial. At that time, we must act quickly, or else once the rumors spread, it will be easy for our opponents to detect and unite to extinguish them.”
Ning Zhuo, however, shook his head slightly. He had a different opinion on this matter. He told Sun Lingtong, “I would prefer if the third wave of rumors wasn’t spread by us.”
Sun Lingtong immediately became curious. “Little Zhuo, could there be another force that can be used by you?”
Ning Zhuo smiled and said, “Boss, I do have my own secrets, but when it comes to power, how could I possibly hide it from you?”
These words made Sun Lingtong even more puzzled, and he couldn’t help but ask, “In that case, who else could help us create rumors?”
Ning Zhuo shook his head and said, “I can’t say for sure either, and I’m not completely confident about it.”
“But I still think that when it comes time to spread the third wave of rumors, we should wait a little longer.”
“Are you sure about this?” Sun Lingtong felt concerned.
When it came to the spreading of rumors, he was very experienced and quite professional.
He had already accurately predicted the future situation: “If we follow the normal pace to spread the third wave of rumors, by that time, both time and space will already be insufficient.”
“In this situation, should we still wait another round, observe the situation, and then release the third wave of rumors?”
Ning Zhuo nodded. “I believe that taking such a risk is worth it.”
“The first two rumors we spread were relatively harmless, but the third wave, once spread by us, could very well become a flaw.”
“In this matter, Boss, I’d like to take a gamble!”
Sun Lingtong raised his head and laughed heartily, patting Ning Zhuo on the shoulder. “Fine, when it comes to the rules of the righteous path, Little Zhuo, you understand them far better than I do.”
“I’ll gamble with you.”
At that moment, a little girl with a face as red as an apple suddenly poked her head over, occupying Sun Lingtong’s line of sight, interrupting his thoughts.
“Grandpa, why are you lying here? Do you need me to help you get up?” The little girl asked in a soft, childish voice.
Sun Lingtong quickly sighed, thanked the little girl, and said he did indeed need help.
The little girl used all her strength to help Sun Lingtong get up.
Sun Lingtong transmitted his voice to her, “I didn’t expect you to shake off Zhu Xuanji so quickly!”
The little girl was none other than Yang Chanyu in disguise.
Yang Chanyu smiled lightly and responded to Sun Lingtong with a voice transmission, “If we were in the wilderness, Zhu Xuanji’s innate golden eyes would indeed be quite troublesome.”
“But Huoshi Immortal City’s terrain is complex, not an open space at all, and with the gaps in the formation you provided, how could I let Zhu Xuanji catch me?”
Zhu Xuanji returned empty-handed.
Facing Ning Jiufan and the other four Golden Core cultivators who had rushed over, he directly stated, “I lost her, but I’m sure it was Yang Chanyu.”
The other five Golden Core cultivators fell silent for a moment.
Ning Jiufan sighed, “We failed to catch Yang Chanyu, and the trap here has also been exposed. So, do we still need to guard Ning Zhuo?”
Zhu Xuanji nodded. On the way back, he had already thought about the next steps.
He said, “At the moment, we can’t be sure of Yang Chanyu’s motives. She might be after the demonic sect's true scripture herself, or she could have been hired by the City Lord’s Mansion.”
At this, Zhu Xuanji’s face showed a regretful expression, full of self-blame. “If only I could have captured Yang Chanyu.”
“Now, we still have no evidence.”
Even Zhu Xuanji himself had failed to capture Yang Chanyu, leaving the five Golden Core cultivators deeply disappointed and anxious.
Zhu Xuanji saw their expressions and sighed, continuing to explain, “Yang Chanyu had the advantage of the terrain. She slipped through the narrow paths between the city's great formation and escaped.”
Ning Jiufan said, “We can’t blame Lord Zhu for this. No one could have caught Yang Chanyu under such circumstances.”
Zhou Nongying snorted coldly. “The situation is actually quite clear now. It’s definitely the City Lord’s Mansion that hired Yang Chanyu to test us! And to ensure her safety, they must have provided a secret path through the formation.”
Zhu Xuanji shook his head at this. “We can’t confirm that yet because we have no evidence.”
Zheng Jianlian sighed. “To be honest, this is still the City Lord’s Mansion’s negligence!”
“According to standard practice, the city's defensive formation should be updated regularly to maintain security.”
“But recent city lords have not bothered to do so. I suppose they think it’s too troublesome and thankless.”
Zhu Xuanji moved his lips slightly, considering whether to speak.
He knew some inside information about this.
It was actually the Southern Dou Royal Family’s deliberate neglect.
After all, Huoshi Immortal City was deep within the Southern Dou Kingdom and relatively safe. Replacing the city’s defensive formation would indeed be a waste of resources.
As a new city, Huoshi Immortal City had its own specialties and contributed a large amount of tax revenue to the royal family every year.
If they replaced the defensive formation, the royal family’s income would sharply decrease!
Zhou Nongying suddenly said, “Now that the situation has evolved to this point, it’s very unfavorable for us. We’re too passive.”
“Our manpower is all tied up with Ning Zhuo.”
“Even if assassins come to kill him, as long as we don’t catch them, we can’t tell whether it’s the City Lord’s Mansion or an act of personal greed.”
“Fei Si is a very cunning person! I think he may have already seen through our current intentions and is now delaying us.”
“Every now and then, he can just send or hire Yang Chanyu to test us, which will firmly hold us back. Most of our energy has to be focused on protecting Ning Zhuo.”
“In this way, we become even more passive.”
“So I’m thinking, instead of always being on the defensive, why don’t we turn the tables?”
Zheng Shuanggou curiously asked, “How do we take the initiative?”
Zhou Nongying smiled slightly. “It’s actually quite simple. Much easier than you think.”
“Aren’t there already rumors circulating? I believe a large part of them comes from the City Lord’s Mansion.”
“Now, we can also spread rumors and directly drag the City Lord’s Mansion into the mess, can’t we?”
And so.
The third wave of rumors emerged.
The rumors were very detailed, describing the events involving Ning Zhuo, the Mechanical Explosive Monkey, Yuan Dasheng, and the Huoshi Festival.
It emphasized that when Ning Zhuo was sixteen, he sought guidance from Chen Cha, but the City Lord’s Mansion stole the credit for his invention. He was then deceived into mass-producing the Mechanical Explosive Monkeys for sale. In the end, during the Huoshi Festival, Fei Si, holding his token, forced Yuan Er to watch Yuan Dasheng die without offering any help.
The rumors left people with three immediate thoughts.
First, Ning Zhuo was too young and was taken advantage of, which was pitiful.
Second, the City Lord’s Mansion likely already had the demonic sect's true scripture, and Fei Si used Ning Zhuo to silence Yuan Dasheng.
Third, the demonic sect's true scripture was likely in the City Lord’s Mansion. The City Lord’s Mansion was the secret mastermind and the biggest winner!
In no time, the whole city began discussing: Where exactly was the demonic sect's true scripture? Was it in the hands of the City Lord’s Mansion or with Ning Zhuo?
And the information Yang Chanyu had revealed before leaving, “So that’s how it is,” was also widely spread.
At the City Lord’s Mansion.
Fei Si escorted the Booklord out of the mansion.
He returned to his desk alone, his expression extremely gloomy.
The Booklord was a Golden Core cultivator from the All-Book Tower. He had come to Huoshi Immortal City, setting up and managing the All-Book Tower’s station while actively exploring the Lava Immortal Palace, quickly accumulating many achievements.
This time, the Booklord had come to propose a transaction with Fei Si.
If the City Lord’s Mansion possessed the demonic sect's true scripture, the All-Book Tower would purchase it at a high price.
Fei Si, unaware of any such scripture, directly told the Booklord that the deal couldn’t be made.
In the end, Fei Si saw the Booklord out.
“Even the Booklord believes that this third wave of rumors is aimed at me and the City Lord’s Mansion!”
“Who is trying to take me down?!”
Fei Si felt that his enemy’s intentions were becoming clear.
The first two waves of rumors had already made him feel uneasy, and he had been secretly paying attention every day.
Now, the third wave of rumors directly hinted that the City Lord’s Mansion had secretly obtained the demonic sect's true scripture!
Fei Si felt that the
matter was serious and immediately sent people to investigate the matter thoroughly.
As he investigated, another deep night came.
No moon.
Stars twinkled.
Boom!
A thunderous sound echoed, startling countless city residents from their sleep.
People rushed outside to check.
Some saw Yang Chanyu battling a Golden Core cultivator, retreating as she fought.
“Yang Chanyu?!”
“Wait, her opponent is... a shadow demon cultivator!!”
In an instant, the cultivators who saw this scene widened their eyes in shock.
After so many days, the shadow demon cultivator had finally reappeared.
The next moment, the shadow demon cultivator shouted, “Demoness, leave the true scripture behind!”
The cultivators were all shaken.
“The true scripture?”
“What true scripture?!”
“Yang Chanyu escaped from the City Lord’s Mansion. Could it be that she stole the demonic sect's true scripture?!”
(End of Chapter)