Each With Their Own Plans
Seeing that Ao Xiao remained silent for a long time.
The Kuiwu first sighed, then continued:
"If we obtain these two items, and then have Lu Household with the bloodline of Wu Nuo cultivate the path of Witch Talisman, and then, with these two Spirit Treasure, and taking advantage of the pull of the Heavenly Descendant of Longchuan Heaven, we will surely be able to open the Purple-Blue Secret Realm left behind by Wu Nuo in the past... After all, Wu Nuo was a disciple of the Spirit Witch Dao Lord in the past, and there must be some connection between them."
Ao Xiao sneered upon hearing this:
"You're quite well-informed; even Prefect Yang didn't know about this and had to inquire everywhere."
The Kuiwu shook his head:
"He has no background and is caught in the middle of this situation, already powerless to control his own destiny. How could any powerful figure let him know?" He paused, as if choosing his words carefully, or perhaps weighing something, before continuing after a long while, "Ultimately, someone has to take the blame. Prefect Yang, who has no background, me, the many Purple Mansion in Nanzhao, and even you, fellow Daoist—who can truly remain uninvolved?"
Before Ao Xiao could reply, the Kuiwu sighed again, his voice even deeper than before:
"Five hundred years ago, Purple Mansion sprang up like mushrooms after rain in Nanzhao. But over the years, I've observed with a cold eye that most of these so-called 'newly promoted True Person ' were helped by someone using secret treasures to survive the Tribulation of Heaven and Earth Submergence and the Boundless Sea of Illusions. Their Dao Path to the Dao was long gone, but I was caught up in it at the time and couldn't see it clearly. Originally, I didn't understand why anyone would be willing to go to such lengths, but now that Longchuan Heaven and the Mysterious Gate has opened a branch academy in the south, I understand now. Most of these people are just expendable pawns to take the blame and die in the future."
Upon hearing this, Ao Xiao's lips curled into a cold smile, a smile that carried a hint of self-mockery and a touch of the indifference of someone who had been through it all.
"Why wouldn't they trade hundreds of years of carefree life and universal respect? Do you really think they didn't know? They just didn't know where they would have to pay the price. Besides, this deal had no turning back from the very beginning."
The Kuiwu's smile remained unchanged, but he gave Ao Xiao a deep look. That look contained too many things: envy, resentment, and a very subtle hint of jealousy.
He thought to himself: Although you are only a mixed-blood dragon, you still have the backing of the South Sea. Even if you are exiled to this remote place to be the god of a lake, your clan has never truly cut off your escape route.
You can't possibly understand how cautious and precarious it is for us, who came from humble beginnings and climbed our way to our current Purple Mansion, to do so through sheer hard work and perseverance.
It must be understood that he was from a clan with accumulated wealth; even if it wasn't hereditary Purple Mansion, he still managed to reach Purple Mansion every few years. If it was this difficult for him, one can only imagine how difficult it was for those who reached Purple Mansion in one lifetime.
Seeing that Kuiwu remained silent for a long time, Ao Xiao changed the subject and said:
"So what if they go looking for Su Yao?" He abruptly changed the subject. "Are you going to provoke him too?"
Upon hearing this, the Kuiwu's smile faltered for a moment. For the first time, a hint of seriousness appeared on his usually smiling face.
Ao Xiao, observing this, continued:
"Years ago, he sent someone to my Water Palace to deliver a message, and I merely gave him the cold shoulder and didn't show myself. Guess what? Somehow, the news reached the Dragon Palace of the South Sea, and my elders from my clan, far away in the South Sea, sent three or four letters in a row, each one scolding me for being ungrateful." He spoke in a calm tone, but every word seemed to carry a chilling, rotten edge. "You can abandon your family and clan, have no ties, and naturally have nothing to fear. But what about me? Once that edict from the South Sea arrived, I had no choice but to bow my head to him."
After Kuiwu silence, the burly man finally spoke, his tone losing some of its worldly sophistication, revealing a thin layer of sincerity beneath:
"Although I've only met Su Yao once from afar and exchanged a few words with him, I can tell that while he acts domineeringly, he's not unreasonable. The Lu Household overstepped their bounds first, and he wiped out all the cultivators in the Lu Household, but spared their mortal members; your Turtle Prime Minister spoke rudely, and he killed him with a single sword strike, but didn't hold a grudge against the other aquatic creatures in your Water Palace; later, when he sent someone to deliver a message, he only asked you to wait until they broke through to the Purple Mansion level before discussing the secret realm, and didn't use the power of Qixia Temple to forcibly seize it. He's not a rule-breaker, but his rules are for him to set."
He paused, gazing at Ao Xiao's still cold and stern face, and slowly said:
"Our plan today is not to antagonize Qixia Temple. We only want those two Spirit Treasure and a few members of the Lu Household to cultivate the path of Witch Talisman. The Lu Household's cultivators were wiped out by Su Yao back then, but the mortal members still exist. He forbade the Lu Household to produce any cultivators within twenty years, and now that twenty years have long passed. When the time comes, we can use a few mortals to enter the path of cultivation. As long as we don't provoke Qixia Temple, Su Yao won't turn against us for the sake of a few Lu Household descendants. As for Li Chaoxue and Ni Polu, they only met Su Yao once. Su Yao won't offend two of us, both Purple Mansion Rogue Cultivator, for two complete strangers."
Ao Xiao neither responded nor refuted.
Kuiwu observed this and understood the situation, then revealed his final concern:
"The two of us joining forces is only to deal with two rootless Rogue Cultivator; we're not going to make enemies of Qixia Temple. After it's done, the secret realm will open, and we'll each get what we need. We can also give the treasures they have to Su Yao, and even let Su Yao go into the secret realm to get a share. We might even get a favor in return. This deal is entirely beneficial."
Ao Xiao remained silent for a long time.
The undercurrent in front of the Water Palace gradually subsided, with only the four ancient seal characters "Cibi Water Palace" on the lintel flickering in the water's shimmering light.
After a long silence, he finally spoke, his voice low and hoarse, as if squeezed from the depths of his throat:
Where are those two hiding now?
A gentle, warm smile returned to his Kuiwu face, but this time, it carried a hint of barely perceptible excitement.
"Rest assured, fellow Daoist. They think they've hidden themselves well, but I've already locked onto seventy percent of the aura from the Morning Mist Drum and the Dusk Snow Flute. Once the time is right, you and I will strike together, and they won't be able to escape even if they have wings."
Ao Xiao turned around, his back to the Kuiwu, and looked at the tightly closed gate of the Water Mansion with his hands behind his back. After a moment of silence, he coldly said:
"After it's done, I want the Dusk Snow Flute."
The Kuiwu man nodded with a smile, "Deal."
Ao Xiao said no more, his figure transformed into a streak of gray light and disappeared into the gate of the Water Mansion.
The heavy door slammed shut behind him, shutting out his Kuiwu, smiling face.
The Kuiwu stood alone before the gate of the Water Mansion, gazing at the tightly closed door. His smile remained unchanged, but inwardly he sneered: You want the Dusk Snow Flute, I want the Morning Mist Drum. But who will ultimately possess the truly treasures of this Purple-Blue Secret Realm? That will not be up to either of us to decide.
He turned around, his robes silently drawing an arc in the water, and his figure transformed into a white streak, breaking through the water and disappearing.
The bottom of Cibi Lake has returned to silence.
Only the tightly closed gate of the water palace, reflecting a cold, bluish-green hue in the eternally still water, seemed to have never been opened.