Duobao Daoren Admits Defeat

Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao once again knelt to the ground and respectfully accepted the two scrolls from Hong Ze.

The moment the scrolls entered their hands, both Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

Without another word, they put them away and did not forget to kowtow three times to Hong Ze.

Hong Ze reached out to help Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao to their feet, then spoke to them.

"I have read your faces. In the future, you may face a calamity of life and death. This calamity will be tied to a man riding a spotted deer and holding a ruler.

"If one day you encounter this man, avoid him if you can. If you cannot avoid him, do not believe his glib nonsense.

"Only then will you be able to survive this fatal calamity and avoid being used as a pawn by that man, losing not only your lives but also earning eternal infamy."

A trace of sweat seeped from Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao's foreheads. At the same time, they firmly etched the image of the man riding a spotted deer and holding a ruler into their hearts.

In the blink of an eye, several hundred more years passed, and the deadline for Hong Ze's wager with Duobao Daoren was almost upon them.

Over these past centuries, Hong Ze's little courtyard had been extraordinarily lively. Jie Sect disciples came to visit almost every day.

With the help of those Jie Sect disciples, Hong Ze's courtyard had even been expanded more than tenfold.

The originally crude Thatched Cottage had also been rebuilt into a Dao palace by the Jie Sect disciples using heavenly treasures and earthly materials.

However, not every Jie Sect disciple who came to Hong Ze was able to find their own opportunity and receive a gift from him.

Those who failed to gain anything from Hong Ze instead turned to Duobao Daoren.

As a result, the number of people on Duobao Daoren's side had soared, reaching three thousand.

By contrast, Hong Ze's side had only a mere few dozen people.

Of course, the Jie Sect had far more than just a few thousand disciples. Otherwise, it could not have been called Ten Thousand Immortals Pay Homage.

These three thousand or so people were almost all living on Golden Turtle Island. There were very few Jie Sect disciples outside Golden Turtle Island.

It was precisely because the tens of thousands of disciples were not on Golden Turtle Island that they naturally could not know about the wager between Hong Ze and Duobao Daoren.

Moreover, most of them rarely came to Golden Turtle Island except when Master Tongtian expounded the Great Dao.

This inevitably left Golden Spirit Mother with a trace of worry, and she regretted making that wager with Duobao Daoren that day.

Just as Golden Spirit Mother, Mother Wu Dang, and the others were discussing how to deal with the current situation, Fire Spirit Mother arrived outside Golden Spirit Mother's cave dwelling.

"Is Martial Uncle Jin Ling present? Your disciple-niece Fire Spirit has come to pay her respects regarding an important matter."

Hearing that Fire Spirit Mother had arrived, Golden Spirit Mother directly waved her hand toward the cave dwelling's gate.

The gate immediately parted to either side, and Golden Spirit Mother's voice followed.

"Since you are here, come in and speak."

Before long, Fire Spirit Mother arrived before Golden Spirit Mother and the others, obediently offering them the salute of a junior.

Golden Spirit Mother waved her hand and directly helped Fire Spirit Mother to her feet.

"I wonder why your master sent you to see me. Could it be because of the wager between your master and Eldest Senior Brother?"

Fire Spirit Mother nodded. "Martial Uncle Jin Ling is correct. This disciple-niece has come on Master's behalf to admit defeat.

"Master said that although he has three thousand Jie Sect disciples by his side, their highest cultivation is only at the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm.

"He feels that he cannot compare with Eldest Grand-Uncle, so he has decided to concede to Eldest Grand-Uncle, lest he continue making a fool of himself before others.

"He also hopes that Eldest Grand-Uncle can lead all the martial uncles at the Three Sects Dao Debate Assembly five hundred years from now and bring glory to our Jie Sect."

Golden Spirit Mother and the others had never expected Duobao Daoren to choose to admit defeat.

Yet for Golden Spirit Mother and the others, this was undoubtedly the best possible outcome.

Still, something about it seemed off, and they could not help exchanging glances.

Suddenly, Golden Spirit Mother finally understood the crucial point. Her expression instantly darkened slightly.

Just as Golden Spirit Mother was about to fly into a rage, Yun Xiao spoke first.

"Senior Sister Jin Ling, since Senior Brother Duo Bao has already admitted defeat, please make a trip to see Eldest Senior Brother. I believe Eldest Senior Brother will not make things too difficult for Senior Brother Duo Bao over this matter."

Seeing Yun Xiao signal to her with her eyes, Golden Spirit Mother realized that she had been too agitated. Now was not the time for her to get angry.

She immediately calmed her furious emotions, then nodded to Fire Spirit Mother and said.

"How can there be winners or losers between fellow disciples? Everything we do is for the future of the Jie Sect.

"Go back and tell Senior Brother Duo Bao that I, Golden Spirit Mother, will speak to Eldest Senior Brother about this matter."

Upon hearing Golden Spirit Mother's reply, Fire Spirit Mother immediately took her leave and returned to report to Duobao Daoren.

Only after watching Fire Spirit Mother's departing figure did Golden Spirit Mother speak to Yun Xiao.

"Fortunately, Junior Sister Yun Xiao reminded me in time. Otherwise, your senior sister truly would have lost her composure today."

Yun Xiao shook her head at Golden Spirit Mother. "Senior Brother Duo Bao's purpose in doing this is ultimately to make Eldest Senior Brother lose face at the Three Sects Dao Debate Assembly.

"I even suspect that when the Three Sects Dao Debate Assembly comes, Senior Brother Duo Bao and the Jie Sect disciples on his side may not step forward at all.

"Even if they do step forward in the end, it will certainly be after Eldest Senior Brother has already lost face. That is their ultimate goal."

Everyone nodded repeatedly upon hearing this, but Qiong Xiao wore a puzzled expression.

She then said, "Senior Sisters, why do I feel that something is not quite right about this?

"If Eldest Senior Brother loses face at the Three Sects Dao Debate Assembly, do you think Senior Brother Duo Bao and the fellow disciples around him can still restore the Jie Sect's honor?"

Bi Xiao, standing nearby, nodded repeatedly. "Second Sister is right. If even we return in defeat, Senior Brother Duo Bao and his people may not even have the courage to show their faces."

Golden Spirit Mother could not help furrowing her brows. Qiong Xiao and Bi Xiao were right: they simply did not have the ability to clean up Hong Ze's mess.

Then what was their purpose in doing this? Could it be merely to make Eldest Senior Brother lose all face, to the point where they no longer cared about the Jie Sect's dignity?

At that moment, Mother Wu Dang understood the key and spoke to everyone.

"I do not think that is necessarily the case. At the very least, Senior Brother Duo Bao and the others may not believe that they lack the ability to turn the tide.

"I once heard that Pi Lu Xian still does not believe Eldest Senior Brother crippled his cultivation because Eldest Senior Brother's cultivation was higher than his.

"He believes that all of it was Master's doing, that Master favored Eldest Senior Brother and bestowed upon him an exceptionally powerful Innate Spiritual Treasure.

"And at the Three Sects Dao Debate Assembly, disciples of the three sects are expressly forbidden from using magic treasures during the Dao debates.

"In that case, if Eldest Senior Brother crippled Pi Lu Xian by relying on a magic treasure, then Eldest Senior Brother will certainly lose all face at the Three Sects Dao Debate Assembly."