Chapter 00172: Deceived
# Deceived
Chapter 172
Novel: Abandon The Universe
Chapter 172: Deceived
On the Nine Provinces Mountain, Yu Yi bowed deeply to Mu Yangzhe, expressing her gratitude for saving her life.
If it weren't for Mu Yangzhe, she would have fallen into Lan Xiaobu's scheme and ended up murdered by Yan Zetao.
Xue Nie's injuries had begun to heal, but he remained silent.
He understood that Lan Xiaobu had not yet entered the ranks of Earthly Immortals.
Even so, he felt utterly powerless in front of him.
If Lan Xiaobu were to break into the Earthly Immortal stage, he feared that not just himself, but the entire Nine Provinces Mountain could be easily obliterated in Lan Xiaobu's eyes.
At this moment, Xue Nie contemplated the significance of his presence on Nine Provinces Mountain.
It was not his true sect where he practiced and grew but merely a temporary assembly of Earthly Immortals.
He felt no loyalty towards Nine Provinces Mountain.
If staying here meant fighting for its survival without gaining anything substantial for himself, was there any point in staying?
Mu Yangzhe waved his hand and said, "Elder Yu, this time it was my rashness; otherwise, Elder Feng Han would not have fallen in Mubei City, and we wouldn't have suffered such a significant loss there."
Just then, He Zhishan, the head of the Immortal Peak of Nine Provinces Mountain, arrived.
Earlier, he only knew that their expedition had not gone well, but upon hearing this, he found it hard to believe.
Nine Provinces Mountain had sent many Earthly Immortals to Mubei City, yet they returned in defeat, even leaving behind their flying ship.
It was hard to fathom.
Moreover, Elder Zou Zheng had not returned, and the alliance leader hadn't mentioned him either.
Elder Yu quickly said, “It was my poor investigation; I didn't expect the city lord of Mubei to be this formidable.”
Xue Nie remained silent; he understood what Yu Yi meant by ‘formidable’—Lan Xiaobu was not just terrifying in power but also cunning.
He managed to dismantle the alliance between Nine Provinces Mountain and the five major sects, causing two five-star sects to backlash against them.
Otherwise, Lan Xiaobu, despite his seemingly prodigious capabilities, would have either been slain or forced to flee.
It was important to remember that at the time Lan Xiaobu infiltrated Zou Zheng's Universe Gold Ring, he was merely at the Golden Core stage, a level that Zou Zheng would consider insignificant, like an ant.
Yet, he had already begun plotting years into the future, showcasing a level of cunning that was fearsome.
With Lan Xiaobu's ever-increasing strength, what basis did Nine Provinces Mountain have to fight against him?
Mu Yangzhe sighed and said, “Elder Yu, Xue Peak Master, you must be wondering why I didn't save Elder Zou Zheng, right?”
Elder Yu and the others fell silent, clearly contemplating this very matter, though they chose not to voice their thoughts.
Mu Yangzhe continued, “This time, Zou Zheng bears a significant portion of the blame.”
“Alas, Elder Zou is too careless in his dealings,” Elder Yu remarked.
“Do you think it’s just carelessness?” Mu Yangzhe asked calmly. “He sees every method as a treasure and tries to grasp them all. Otherwise, how could an Earthly Immortal stoop to rob secrets of Golden Core techniques?”
Elder Yu and Xue Nie were left speechless; they felt that the term 'despicable' was a bit harsh, considering Zou Zheng was still an elder of Nine Provinces Mountain.
Mu Yangzhe pressed on, “Fifteen years ago, our elder, Tang Yinluo, was killed. Although I always harbored doubts, I couldn't be sure. Now I can confidently tell you all—it was Zou Zheng.”
“Ah…” Elder Yu exclaimed, suddenly recalling Mu Yangzhe's previous attitude.
When Lan Xiaobu pressured Zou Zheng, Mu Yangzhe seemed to encourage Zou Zheng to ask for evidence from Lan Xiaobu, which painted Zou Zheng in an unfavorable light.
"Alliance Leader, how could Elder Zou harm Elder Tang?" He Zhishan said in shock.
Sighing, Mu Yangzhe explained, “Twenty years ago, Elder Zou ordered the steward in charge of the Immortal Soul Tokens of Nine Provinces Mountain to check the tokens every forty-five days. Five years later, Elder Tang was ambushed. It took us over twenty days to discover that Elder Tang had been attacked. Such a long time passed, and all the traces were gone. Zou Zheng handled that case.”
Hearing this, both Yu Yi and He Zhishan recalled the old case.
“This matter was left unresolved, and I paid it no mind. But recently, Elder Feng Han from Mubei City was killed, discovered only one month later. I began to harbor suspicions; although I killed the steward at the time, I was very clear about the situation,” Mu Yangzhe said slowly.
At this moment, everyone began to sense something was amiss.
When the Immortal Soul Token broke for the first time, it took more than twenty days to discover it.
They should have promptly revised the practice of checking the tokens every forty-five days.
Yet, Zou Zheng did not change this practice, and that was suspect.
It indicated that Zou Zheng was worried that if he quickly changed the regulation, people would become suspicious of him.
After all, it had been his directive to check every forty-five days.
Once Tang Yinluo was dead, if he went back to the old ways, wouldn't it simply indicate to others that he had changed the rule to kill Tang without being immediately found out?
“There might be two reasons for this. One is fear of suspicion, and the other is that he wanted to kill another Earthly Immortal,” Mu Yangzhe continued.
“Who is it?” the group instinctively asked.
“If I’m not mistaken, it should be Elder Hu You. Before he could take action or locate Hu You's cultivation place, Hu You was manipulated by Lan Xiaobu.” The crowd fell silent again.
Zou Zheng wanting to target Elder Hu was not surprising, as Hu You’s Seven Souls Cut was undoubtedly a treasure Zou Zheng would covet.
Mu Yangzhe's voice rose again, “Elder Tang was harmed by Zou Zheng because he had gained access to a top-tier divine ability.”
Yu Yi and the others turned towards Mu Yangzhe, who explained, “This divine ability is likely connected to the Three Saints Immortal Sect. It seems to be something of great significance. Clearly, it is now in Lan Xiaobu’s possession.”
Once again, the group fell into silence.
The seven Earthly Immortals who went to Mubei City couldn’t do anything to Lan Xiaobu.
Now, with only four Earthly Immortals left on Nine Provinces Mountain, what could they do against him? Even if they knew that Lan Xiaobu had taken the divine ability from an elder of Nine Provinces Mountain, they wouldn’t dare confront him directly.
Mu Yangzhe seemed to sense their thoughts and smiled faintly, saying, “We don't need to head to Mubei City just yet. Our priority now is to quickly improve our strength and set the goal of leaving Yuan Continent.”
Upon hearing this, Xue Nie, who had been rather detached, finally perked up.
The resources for cultivation on Yuan Continent were scarce; taking another step forward was incredibly difficult.
Earthly Immortals also had a lifespan limit, and if they remained stuck in the Earthly Immortal realm for too long, they would ultimately return to dust.
Mu Yangzhe took out a thick tome and placed it on the table before him, turning to Xue Nie, Yu Yi, and He Zhishan. “This is the 'Second Dao Classic' from the Western Kunlun Sect. I’m leaving it with Nine Provinces Mountain for three years. I've yet to read it, so I propose we study it together. One day, Nine Provinces Mountain will return to Mubei City and flatten that tiny region. Then we will find a way to leave Yuan Continent and seek out higher realms. This 'Second Dao Classic' will be our foundation.”
At this point, Mu Yangzhe stood up, his expression filled with excitement, “Our practice is ultimately for longevity and freedom, isn't it? Now we are trapped in Yuan Continent, where there is no freedom, and we are also stuck in the Earthly Immortal realm, living without longevity. Luckily, we have this 'Second Dao Classic.'”
“Thank you, Alliance Leader.” Both Yu Yi and He Zhishan stood up excitedly, and even Xue Nie was moved to rise.
Who in Yuan Continent wouldn’t want to cultivate the 'Second Dao Classic'? Now that it had come to Nine Provinces Mountain and the Alliance Leader wanted them to study it together, how could they not feel touched by such ambition?
Mu Yangzhe smiled slightly, “Although Nine Provinces Mountain only has four Earthly Immortals, as long as one of us crosses into the Earthly Immortal stage and enters the Earth Immortal realm, Lan Xiaobu will be as insignificant as mustard. Besides, this 'Second Dao Classic' is fundamental to leaving Yuan Continent and entering the Great Desolate Universe.”
After saying this, Mu Yangzhe opened the first page of the classic.
The minds of the others all fell upon the text, but they found to their shock that the first page was blank.
Mu Yangzhe hurriedly flipped to the second page—still blank.
Then he moved to the third, the fourth...
Mu Yangzhe flipped through the entire tome, only to find that every single page was blank.
At that moment, Mu Yangzhe's face turned as dark as iron.
He slammed his palm down on the table, which splintered into pieces, turning into dust. “Western Kunlun Sect, how dare you deceive Nine Provinces Mountain!”
All notions of composure and grace dissolved in that instant.
When he first obtained the ‘Second Dao Classic’, he hadn’t even had the chance to examine it before Feng Han was killed, and he hurried to Mubei City.
He never expected that this classic would be a fake.
Yu Yi sensed that the Alliance Leader didn't seem to be lying.
Hesitantly, she said, “I heard that the ‘Second Dao Classic’ is a chaotic classic, and usually, only one copy can exist. If it gets replicated...”
Mu Yangzhe immediately replied, “That's absolutely impossible. This classic comes from Mu Qian’s Daoist grounds. Regardless of whether this classic was left behind by Mu Qian himself or given to Yang Mei, it's beyond the capability of us cultivators on Yuan Continent to replicate.”
The reasoning was crystal clear.
For the 'Second Dao Classic' from the Kunxu to turn blank, there was only one possibility: the person who replicated it had to be far beyond the original writer.
If Mu Qian’s Daoist grounds originally had this classic, then unless a Sage came, who could possibly replicate it and allow the original to turn blank?
“Yes, that type of chaotic classic cannot be replicated,” He Zhishan nodded in agreement.
Xue Nie remained quiet, internally doubting Mu Yangzhe.
Regardless of whether they would seek trouble with Western Kunlun Sect, he had no intention of participating any longer.
But Yu Yi remarked, “With Nine Provinces Mountain recently suffering such great losses, even if we are to seek answers from Western Kunlun Sect, it would be best to wait a while.”
Mu Yangzhe said firmly, “I understand. Let’s all resume our cultivation. This matter, Nine Provinces Mountain will not let it rest.”
(End of Chapter)