Chapter 00380: Betrayal
# Betrayal
Chapter 380
Novel: Abandon The Universe
Chapter 380: Betrayal
The Immortal Court Kings of Hengtong Immortal Domain, Jing Maoting, and Guangxuan Immortal Domain, Tong Yusha, were both stunned in their seats.
They had been following Xin Zhen all along, never expecting that Xin Zhen would suddenly claim to be acting in the best interest of the Five Realms Immortal World.
This left them both unprepared.
They couldn’t understand why Xin Zhen had made such a drastic change.
Was it simply because Lan Xiaobu had a new Immortal Venerable by his side? The Immortal Emperors of Weixing Immortal Domain were countless—what was one Immortal Venerable in comparison?
Lan Xiaobu glanced at the expressions of Jing Maoting and Tong Yusha and immediately realized that Xin Zhen might have been playing both sides.
If Xin Zhen had truly intended to act as he claimed, he would have informed Jing Maoting and Tong Yusha in advance, at least giving them a slight heads-up.
Aside from the threat posed by Gong Yunqi, Xin Zhen genuinely didn’t want the Five Realms Immortal World to fall into the hands of others and become a True Spirit World.
But how could someone like Xin Zhen have the audacity to challenge Weixing Immortal Domain? If he openly allied with Lan Xiaobu, it would mean openly opposing Weixing Immortal Domain.
Given Xin Zhen’s usual tactics, he must have had a backup plan.
Thinking this, Lan Xiaobu suddenly asked, “Brother Xin, who killed the corpses hanging outside Lingwei Immortal Domain earlier?”
“It was Ji Sa, a subordinate of Mu Wanyou. Mu Wanyou is the yellow-robed Immortal Emperor from earlier, and Ji Sa is the Immortal King whose hand was cut off,” Xin Zhen replied.
To the surprise of both Lan Xiaobu and Xin Zhen, Jing Maoting, the Immortal Court King of Hengtong Immortal Domain, suddenly spoke up, “Ji Sa killed them because they couldn’t produce the Immortal Court King’s seal and couldn’t agree to deliver the sect stone tablet of the Great Desolate Immortal Sect.”
Lan Xiaobu sneered inwardly.
He knew Jing Maoting was dissatisfied.
Xin Zhen had been playing them all along.
They had been working together smoothly, and now Xin Zhen suddenly switched sides, claiming it was for the sake of the Five Realms Immortal World.
It seemed the Immortal Court Kings of Hengtong and Guangxuan Immortal Domains were no good either, willing to sell out the Five Realms Immortal Court.
In fact, Jing Maoting was indeed thinking along these lines.
At worst, he could leave the Five Realms Immortal World and wander the void.
As an Immortal Venerable, couldn’t he survive without going to Weixing Immortal Domain? If Xin Zhen was willing to endure humiliation for the sake of the Five Realms Immortal World, then they were willing to sell out the Five Realms Immortal World to survive.
The stigma of betraying one’s own Immortal Domain was something he couldn’t bear.
If Lan Xiaobu hadn’t come today, they might have been sold out by Xin Zhen while still helping him count the money.
Jing Maoting suddenly recalled how Xin Zhen had jokingly told him not long ago that he no longer wanted to be the Five Realms King and planned to go to Weixing Immortal Domain to focus on breaking through to the Immortal Emperor realm, leaving the position of Five Realms King to Jing Maoting.
Jing Maoting shuddered, realizing that Xin Zhen might have been serious.
In the future, Xin Zhen would pin the blame for betraying the Five Realms Immortal World on him.
Jing Maoting glanced at Xin Zhen, thinking to himself that this guy was too cunning.
Xin Zhen quickly added, “That’s indeed the case.”
Lan Xiaobu nodded, “Brother Xin, since we’re all from the Five Realms Immortal World and have decided to unite against external threats, I’d like you to visit Mu Wanyou’s residence. Aside from sparing Mu Wanyou’s life, kill all the other schemers from Weixing Immortal Domain.”
“What?!” Xin Zhen was stunned.
He had decided to side with Lan Xiaobu because he suspected that Lan Xiaobu had an Immortal Emperor by his side.
Moreover, Lan Xiaobu was no ordinary person.
If he truly had an Immortal Emperor with him, dealing with Weixing Immortal Domain wasn’t impossible.
In that case, Xin Zhen wouldn’t have to bear the stigma of betraying the Five Realms Immortal World and could even gain Lan Xiaobu’s support.
Betraying the Five Realms Immortal World would do no good for his Dao path, even if he eventually handed the position of Five Realms King to Jing Maoting.
He would still be tainted by a bad reputation.
Besides, deep down, he truly didn’t want to betray the Five Realms Immortal World.
Giving up the position of Five Realms King to betray the Immortal Domain? He wasn’t that foolish.
But Lan Xiaobu was asking him to kill people from Weixing Immortal Domain.
That was going too far.
If he killed people from Weixing Immortal Domain, how could he survive afterward?
If he didn’t kill them, he could always claim later that he had been coerced by Lan Xiaobu.
But if he did kill them, there would be no turning back.
“What? Is Brother Xin finding this difficult?” Lan Xiaobu’s tone turned cold.
Xin Zhen frowned.
He was, after all, the Five Realms King.
Lan Xiaobu’s tone was far from respectful.
He had tolerated it earlier because Lan Xiaobu was new here and might not understand the situation.
But now that he had explained everything, Lan Xiaobu was still being so disrespectful, making it hard for Xin Zhen to save face.
Xin Zhen sighed and said, “King Lingwei, you know as well as I do that I can’t kill an Immortal Emperor. Moreover, the four Immortal Cities in our domain are all protected by eighth-level entrapment and killing arrays. We simply can’t resist.”
“So, Brother Xin’s earlier words were just lies to deceive me? And I’m telling you, you can kill them if I say you can,” Lan Xiaobu chuckled.
Xin Zhen gritted his teeth, “King Lingwei, I’ve decided to do it. If I’m truly no match, you must help me.”
After saying this, he immediately sent out a series of messages, then turned to Jing Maoting and Tong Yusha, “Kings of Hengtong and Guangxuan, come with me. I’m afraid I’m too weak to handle this alone.”
Lan Xiaobu was forcing him to make a pledge.
If he didn’t comply, this Lingwei King might turn on him immediately.
“Alright,” to Xin Zhen’s surprise, Jing Maoting and Tong Yusha immediately stood up and agreed without hesitation.
“Good. We’ll wait here for your triumphant return,” Lan Xiaobu said indifferently.
...
As Tong Yusha walked out of the Immortal Court King’s hall, he was still reeling from Jing Maoting’s message: Lan Xiaobu might have an Immortal Emperor by his side.
If they didn’t make a pledge now, they would be killed immediately.
By making the pledge, they at least had the option of fleeing into the void.
“I have a feeling this Xin Zhen isn’t very reliable. He’s probably saying one thing and doing another,” Gong Yunqi chuckled after only Lan Xiaobu’s group remained in the hall.
Lan Xiaobu replied, “He’s not entirely two-faced. He likely had a backup plan, which shows he’s quite cunning. Brother Gong, your actions made him realize that you might be an Immortal Emperor. But deep down, he naturally doesn’t want the Five Realms Immortal World to be occupied by Weixing Immortal Domain. After all, he’s still the Immortal Court King of the Five Realms Immortal World.”
“An Immortal Court King like him is probably not good for the Five Realms Immortal World,” Yan Xuan snorted, clearly displeased with Xin Zhen’s duplicity.
A man who only knew how to scheme and didn’t dare to take responsibility—what right did he have to be the Immortal Court King?
“Don’t worry. He won’t be the Five Realms King for much longer,” Lan Xiaobu said before turning to You Yihe, “Brother You, tell us what Xin Zhen did after he imprisoned you.”
You Yihe quickly replied, “He treated me quite well. Not only did he give me a good cultivation cave, but he also visited me every now and then to chat and provided me with many cultivation resources. Moreover, he had me send a message to the sect leader every so often, saying that an Immortal Emperor was seizing the four Heavenly Domain Tablets in the Five Realms Immortal World and that they were only missing the one in the sect leader’s possession.”
“So kind? That was a warning for Big Brother Xiaobu not to return easily,” Shi Yan said.
Gong Yunqi laughed, “Kind, my foot. He didn’t want the Five Realms Immortal World to be refined by others. I’m sure that if we hadn’t returned after some time, Brother You would have disappeared without a trace.”
You Yihe was startled, then recalled his own situation.
He had ample cultivation resources and servants attending to him, but he wasn’t allowed to leave the cave.
According to Xin Zhen, the guards from Weixing Immortal Domain were everywhere outside.
If they discovered that You Yihe had been released, not only would Xin Zhen be killed, but You Yihe would be as well.
It was clear that Xin Zhen had only been placating him.
If things reached a point where they had to leave the Five Realms Immortal World, You Yihe would be silenced.
...
Not a single mistake, not a single word, not a single piece of content was out of place!
Mu Wanyou stared in disbelief at Xin Zhen standing before him, “You dare to attack me?”
Xin Zhen clasped his fists and said, “My apologies, Elder Mu. It’s King Lingwei’s order. We have no choice. The area outside is now under my control, so there’s no point in resisting.”
“Do you not care about the consequences? I’m from Weixing Immortal Domain, here to save the Five Realms Immortal World. If you attack me, the Five Realms Immortal World will vanish from the vast universe,” Mu Wanyou felt a chill run through his limbs.
Things had gone far beyond his expectations.
He had thought that once Lan Xiaobu returned, Xin Zhen would handle everything.
The reason he hadn’t been present earlier was that Xin Zhen wanted to keep the Lingwei King’s seal for himself to gain better treatment in the future.
But now, his residence was surrounded, and Xin Zhen was about to attack him.
“Hmph, an outsider dares to covet our Five Realms Immortal World? Take this hammer!” Jing Maoting directly summoned a giant hammer and smashed it down.
Xin Zhen had been leading them by the nose all this time.
Today, Jing Maoting would be the first to act.
Let’s see if Xin Zhen could still manipulate them.
In a panic, Mu Wanyou quickly drew his longsword and activated several array flags.
Boom! The hastily drawn sword clashed with the hammer, and the sword was sent flying.
The violent backlash of immortal energy caused Mu Wanyou to spit out a mouthful of blood.
“You’re not an Immortal Emperor?” Jing Maoting was shocked.
He had gone all out, only to find that Mu Wanyou wasn’t an Immortal Emperor at all.
In fact, his strength was even weaker than Jing Maoting’s.
“You’ll regret this! Weixing Immortal Domain has countless Immortal Emperors. Once they arrive, you won’t even be able to reincarnate…” Mu Wanyou shouted, but Tong Yusha’s treasure was already flying toward him.
Now that they knew Mu Wanyou wasn’t an Immortal Emperor, what did they have to fear?
Xin Zhen had already guessed that Mu Wanyou wasn’t an Immortal Emperor.
Seeing Jing Maoting and Tong Yusha attack simultaneously, he knew they were dissatisfied with him.
He had no choice but to summon his own treasure and join the fight.
Mu Wanyou was filled with despair.
The array flags he had activated were useless.
The city’s entrapment and killing arrays didn’t respond.
...
An hour later, Xin Zhen, Jing Maoting, and Tong Yusha returned to the Immortal Court King’s hall.
Seeing Lan Xiaobu sitting in his seat, Xin Zhen was momentarily stunned, then filled with rage.
He was the Five Realms King! How dare Lan Xiaobu sit in the Five Realms King’s seat? But he quickly calmed down and clasped his fists toward Lan Xiaobu, “King Lingwei, all the people from Weixing Immortal Domain have been killed. Mu Wanyou has been brought here.”
(That’s all for today’s update.
Goodnight, friends!)
(End of Chapter)