A Scheme Where Both Sides Lose

The fastest update to Seeking the Dao in the Mortal World!

Qin Yi pondered for a moment, then asked, "Did you come here specifically to see me?"

"That's right," Zheng Yunyi said. "I deliberately encouraged this fool to make a move so that I could kill him. It would be both to temporarily strengthen my own forces to deal with the needs of this place, and also to give you a Testimonial of Submission my loyalty. I've shown my sincerity; the choice is up to Junior Brother Qin."

Qin Yi glanced at Cheng Cheng and Li Qingjun, and both women nodded. In the battle just now, Zheng Yunyi hadn't shown any skill, which had seemed strange at the time. Now it seemed clear he had been deliberately trying to trick the Witcher all along, and hadn't changed his mind only after Qin Yi recovered.

Since Zheng Yunyi hadn't shown any malice towards the two women, Qin Yi's hostility lessened slightly, though he still felt a bit of a headache. "Are you really not afraid of death? I'd just kill you with one blow without wasting any words, wouldn't you just be offering yourself up?"

Zheng Yunyi shook his head. "Everyone is curious. When I said to hold off, they naturally wanted to see what I had to say. Besides, Junior Brother Qin's cultivation is now far superior to mine, and he has enough confidence that he can listen before killing me."

Qin Yi shook his head. "You're clearly a smart person, so why have you always done things that are beneath you ever since I've known you?"

"Unfair?" Zheng Yunyi smiled. "Ye Bieqing used the painting to scheme against my family, and I retaliated by coveting the painting. So who was unfair first? Don't tell me that Ju Yunxiu and you have nothing to do with this. We are master and disciple. Who else would I go after if not you? If it were you, Junior Brother Qin... you are also someone who holds grudges. If Ye Bieqing's scheme was aimed at you and you guessed it, you would have acted even more directly than I have."

Qin Yi said calmly, "I might not collude with outsiders. Senior Brother Zheng, you flatter me."

"Perhaps that's your insistence." Zheng Yunyi didn't mind, patting his fan as he said, "As for other matters, those are sectarian disputes, I'm just an executor... Even this competition that brought hatred to the Immortal Palace, I was just an executor, there's no point in you blaming me."

Qin Yi said, "Then you should also wash your hands of what you did in Daqian."

"I went to Daqian because I deduced there might be a painting there, not to find you. But I didn't know exactly where the painting was, and before I even started looking, I saw that Luck Dragon... If it's something Witch plots, why can't I plot against her? It's hers!" Zheng Yunyi chuckled. "After contacting the Great Joy Temple and learning that you were involved, of course, I killed two birds with one stone, including you in my scheme. So, Junior Brother Qin, you've made a mistake that many people make: thinking you're the center of this world, and everyone revolves around you?"

Qin Yi: "..."

"Of course, I'll start by accusing you. I have nothing to say about being defeated by your counterattack. Afterwards, you made things even worse for me, and what did I say? As for whether it's respectable or not... I've never hated you. I treated everything as a battle between rivals, so perhaps that counts as respectable in a way?"

Qin Yi chuckled, "Perhaps."

God knows if you hate it or not, but if you really do, you've already lost.

"Alright, that's enough said. Junior Brother Qin, are you ready to cooperate?"

"Tell me about the details of the collaboration first."

Zheng Yunyi gathered his thoughts again before saying, "In fact, Master believed that we were destined to lose this time."

"Um?"

"To put it simply, this matter can be divided into two parts. The first half was our scheme to the Scheming Sect elder faction, and the second half was the actions of the newcomers."

Qin Yi said, "The first half is about using the situation to suppress the Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace, and then fighting on their behalf under the guise of helping fellow disciples. This would both make the Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace realize its current weakness due to a lack of capable successors, and also allow you to offer timely assistance, thus gaining the favor of most of the Immortal Palace's disciples?"

"That's right. At this time, the Palace Master is still recovering from his injuries, while our Master has already reached the Qian Yuan stage. If things go well, there is a real chance that he can reclaim his position as the master of the Immortal Palace." Zheng Yunyi said, "Overall, although there is a part of the conspiracy involved, it is a very mild approach. It means that a large part of the Scheming Sect still has a lot of affection for the Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace and wants to reunite with it rather than become enemies. Of course, we must be the masters."

Qin Yi nodded, indicating he could understand.

The Scheming Sect is a whole system of several hundred people, not just one person. The thinking of Heavenly Mystery Child or Zheng Yunyi doesn't represent the thinking of everyone. The vast majority have lived in the Immortal Palace for hundreds or even thousands of years, with friends and family everywhere, and a strong sense of belonging to their homeland; their emotions are there. The factional struggles at the top don't have much to do with the broader middle and lower classes. It's just that the upper class has been expelled, so the lower class naturally faces rejection. They have no choice but to follow the upper class, especially since Heavenly Mystery Child has treated them very well.

From Heavenly Mystery Child's attitude towards Zheng Yunyi and his initial act of protecting Zhou Yuncheng, it's clear that the internal relationships within this system are quite based on loyalty and camaraderie, not as aggressive as they might seem. Their outward aggression is simply a product of their principles.

It's too difficult to scheme without causing trouble. If you don't cause trouble internally, you'll always cause trouble for others. They're really fierce when it comes to dealing with outsiders. Heavenly Mystery Child went straight to the Profound Yin Sect and cooperated with Xuan Hao Zhenren to kill Cheng Yuan and eliminate future troubles. This move was truly decisive and ruthless. Qin Yi really admired it. Even if the idiots of the Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace thought for a hundred years, they would never have thought of this, including him, the idiot Qin Yi himself.

For Heavenly Mystery Child, returning to lead the Immortal Palace would be a triumphant homecoming, and perhaps even a small obsession.

Of course, their path has developed to the point where it is clearly in conflict with the Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace, making it absolutely impossible for them to reunite. If they were to reunite, the entire style of the Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace would change drastically. Ordinary disciples might not understand this, but people like Mo Wuzi were perfectly clear-headed and flatly refused.

Zheng Yunyi said, "Just based on the first half of this strategy, Master was convinced that we would lose. It's just that many people were unwilling to accept it. After all, it was a clear trend that various sects were beginning to resist the Immortal Palace. This was a great opportunity, so we shouldn't miss it. Master said, 'Then you should try it yourselves.' So we tried it ourselves. We were the ones who coordinated with the various sects. We had been preparing for over a year... To be honest, if Junior Brother Qin hadn't been so incredibly strong, we might not have failed. We had already anticipated that you were very strong, but we still didn't expect you to be this strong."

Qin Yi nodded. "And what about the second half?"

"The second half was implemented only after the failure of the first half. In essence, it's a contest between the old and new factions. If we fail and they succeed, the future path of the Scheming Sect might lean towards theirs. Master also believed they were doomed to lose, so he used this battlefield to let us compare ourselves." Zheng Yunyi smiled and said, "Actually, I know that Master also wanted to use this defeat to purge a group of troublemakers with their own agendas. Once these troublemakers are all dead, the remaining followers will be completely integrated into our sect. So, my collaboration with you to kill them can be said to be following Master's plan."

Qin Yi asked curiously, "Is Heavenly Mystery Child so confident? If things fail here, won't others come after him to cause trouble for the Scheming Sect?"

"Our people only acted secretly, dividing these people up. There was no real murderous intent here, it wasn't us who killed them. What does it have to do with us that Xian Yun died from a sculpture attack?" Zheng Yunyi kicked the Witcher's corpse and laughed, "I was the one who instigated this person to act, otherwise he wouldn't have shown himself. He would have been lucky to throw a tiny needle from afar."

"Alright, so what exactly are these... troublemakers planning to do, to sacrifice so many young heroes?"

"They are plotting a High Antiquity and malevolent formation called the Four Fiends Control Array, which gathers the souls of the Qiongqi, Taowu. This formation can rival the Supreme Purity and will sweep across the world, with no one able to withstand it. Originally, this was an idea within the Witch God Sect, but it was not approved."

"Why doesn't the Witch God Sect approve? This fits the villainous concept of the Demon Sect quite well."

"I heard it's related to something called Blood-Chilling Nether Marrow. There must be some conflict and trade-offs involved, but I don't know the specifics. In fact, I'm not interested in knowing, because it's normal that the Witch God Sect doesn't approve of it." Zheng Yunyi said, "This kind of evil spirit that needs to be summoned through blood sacrifice, and you have to do it four times? Are you kidding me? Even if you manage to succeed once by chance, it will shake the world. Who's going to give you a second chance? You're sick in the head. Don't drag me into this if you're looking for death."

Qin Yi scratched his head, realizing for the first time that he actually had something in common with the people of the Scheming Sect.