Although his scheme had been exposed, he was still extremely curious. He had always been very discreet, and even the three tribes involved had been completely in the dark, unaware that he was the one secretly stirring up trouble. How had these four found out?
Could it really be that Hongjun had calculated it?
Luohu was a little suspicious. Had Hongjun really become that powerful? Could he even predict things Luohu had yet to do?
"I only want to know how you four learned of my plan. Was it Hongjun?"
He asked the four of them.
"Hmph! How could we possibly betray our fellow Daoist?"
Yang Mei gave a cold snort, looking every bit like a man of honor who would stand by his friends through thick and thin.
But in truth, he was being clever. By saying this, he made Luohu rule the four of them out, and then...
That way, as long as Luohu had a brain, he should be able to guess where they had learned about the matter.
He put on a righteous expression and said:
"Today, for the sake of the countless living beings in the Primordial World, the four of us will fight you to the death!"
Shi Chen said solemnly, "Let us determine who is stronger—and settle this with our lives!"
How could he pass up a chance to show off? One cool line at a moment like this was enough to overwhelm his opponent with sheer presence.
"Don't you think it's beneath an ancestor's dignity for four of you to face just me?"
Luohu met their eyes with a cold stare and spoke contemptuously.
"Don't think we don't know you have the Four Swords of Zhu Xian. Their power is enough to rival an Innate Supreme Treasure. Add the sword formation's power, and you could face all four of us alone without being at a disadvantage."
Old Ancestor Yang Mei said:
"So there's nothing shameful about the four of us fighting you."
"Hahahahahaha! Good! Well said! Since you know I have the Four Swords of Zhu Xian and still have the courage to come here and die, I'll let you see just how sharp they are!"
After his scheme was exposed—and he had guessed that the four had been sent by Hongjun—Luohu stopped hiding his intentions. Killing intent filled his eyes.
"Once I've dealt with you, I'll naturally go find that old Hongjun and settle the score!"
"Huh? How did you know Daoist Hongjun told us about you?"
Yang Mei's eyes widened. He pointed at Luohu and asked with feigned surprise.
"Do I really have to spell it out? There are only a handful of Chaos Demon Gods still alive. Aside from those of us here, the only people you know well are Hongjun and Wangshu. That woman, Wangshu, is so righteous that if she knew of my plan, she would have come here with you. So the only one who hasn't shown up is that scheming old fox, Hongjun."
Luohu sneered.
Ever since he had first met Hongjun, he had felt that Hongjun would become a great enemy. He hadn't expected Hongjun to uncover even a plan this secret.
When had Hongjun discovered it?
And why hadn't he come?
"Hmph! Why hasn't Hongjun come? Could there be another scheme?"
"Couldn't we four have discovered your plan ourselves?"
Yang Mei let out a strange, cackling laugh. Exactly! Keep misunderstanding Hongjun! Hongjun was the one who had discovered this.
It might not accomplish much, but at least it was nice to pin the blame on that old geezer.
Hearing this, Luohu burst out laughing.
"Hahahahaha! You four? With your schemes? Heh. I don't mean to look down on you, but there's no way the lot of you could see through my plan!"
Luohu's expression was practically saying, "Your combined brainpower wouldn't amount to more than a few drops."
Yang Mei: "..."
Shi Chen: "..."
Shi Chen and Yang Mei felt as miserable as if they'd eaten shit. They had clearly framed Hongjun, so why did they feel even more frustrated now?
This was a case of hurting the enemy by five hundred and losing twelve thousand themselves.
"From the very beginning, I knew Hongjun would become my great enemy one day. So the moment I saw you come before me, I knew this had to be Hongjun's doing... I just didn't expect him to be so despicable. He sent the three of you to test me, the Demon Ancestor, while he watched from the safety of the sidelines."
"Hmph! Luohu! Your scheme has been exposed. Don't try to sow discord between us fellow Daoists. The four of us are more than enough to deal with you, which is why Daoist Hongjun didn't come."
Yin-Yang Ancestor said.
"Is that so? Then tell me, why didn't he come?"
Luohu smiled.
"Surely you can't just say he didn't feel like coming?"
"Uh..."
The three fell silent. Hongjun really had just decided not to come, without giving any reason.
As for Shi Chen, he had already seen through Hongjun's schemes. (Or so he believed.)
Yang Mei knew why Hongjun hadn't come. The reason was simple: he wanted the four of them to fight Luohu to the death, so he could reap the benefits afterward.
But Yang Mei had overlooked the presence of Daoist Shi Chen.
Besides, none of them had fallen out with each other yet, so Yang Mei couldn't just openly badmouth Hongjun.
"So you four are willingly letting him use you? You're just his dogs? I, Luohu, have to hand it to you—you're the best of the best! Tsk, tsk, tsk..."
Luohu clicked his tongue.
"I never thought you'd be so foolish. Haven't you considered that if you and I fight to the death, Hongjun will become the last Chaos Demon God in the world... Ah, no, there's also Wangshu. But that works out perfectly: the two of them can unite as Yin and Yang and rule the Primordial World together."
"..."
Luohu's words left Yang Mei feeling deeply frustrated. Shi Chen was frustrated too, of course.
He wasn't being used by Hongjun. Hmph! If they waited until after the War of the Three Tribes ended to fight Luohu, then they really would be letting Hongjun use them.
Coming to kill Luohu now was simply striking first to gain the advantage.
I'm playing chess on a higher plane!
But he didn't want Luohu to keep calling him a fool, so he spoke up:
"Luohu, you're truly skilled at manipulating people. Save your honeyed words. Today, one side or the other is going down!"
"Hmph! You don't know what's good for you!"
Luohu gave a cold snort. If he kept talking, those three might actually start thinking he was afraid of them.
Seeing that the conversation with the three was going nowhere, Luohu stirred his thoughts. Four streaks of blood-red light shot up from Mount Sumeru, and sword energy burst forth.
Four precious swords appeared in the air. In an instant, boundless sword energy surged through the sky, and the land of the Primordial World was instantly filled with endless death energy, killing intent, baleful energy, and sword energy.
The ceaseless sword energy felt as though a sword had been laid across the four ancestors' throats. They felt as if they were facing the Pangu of old, and could barely breathe.
An ordinary Great Luo Golden Immortal would probably have dropped to their knees on the spot when faced with sword energy like this.
Even the four ancestors present, all Quasi-Saints, struggled to withstand the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation.
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