The Serpent and the Scorpion

Mu Shentong wanted to say no, but the facts were right before him. The brat had walked up to him, taken out another Boundary Token, and then put it away in his Sumeru Ring.

Every one of those actions matched the despicable brat's oath: "I will obtain the Boundary Token and present it before Ancestor Mu."

Mu Shentong had guarded against every possibility, focusing only on the hidden trap in "present it before Ancestor Mu." Yet he had forgotten the method Xu Yi had promised to use to obtain the Boundary Token.

In the past, he would never have been so careless. But after entangling with that shameless brat again and again, he had spent all his mental energy. With so many twists and turns, how could his thoughts keep up? It was inevitable that he'd focus on one thing and lose sight of another.

And the entire scheme had involved Xu Yi deceiving him, then deceiving the other four ancestors. Everything had been communicated by voice transmission, so the other four ancestors couldn't help him think it through. How could Mu Shentong have kept track of it all? Worse still, he'd split his attention in half to figure out how to wheedle benefits from War Son of Heaven and the others.

All his wits weren't enough to deal with Xu Yi, let alone half of them.

"Mu Shentong, you fool! Give me back my treasure!"

King Jiang Bai roared, his voice ringing like metal striking stone and making everyone's eardrums ache.

Half of him was grieving the treasure Xu Yi had tricked away; the other half was pained by the essence he'd expended. The mouthful of blood he'd spat at the Yellow Jade Figurine earlier contained the essence of years of cultivation, rich with vital essence.

He'd plotted so