12: Chapter 12 Good Disciple

He stared fixedly at the three people, Bai Yu and the others, who were walking towards him step by step, the contempt in his eyes having long since turned into fear.

"You... you can't kill me!" Zhao Qingtian howled, "I am the Alliance Leader of the Heavenly Dao Alliance! I have the Upper Realm Messenger backing me! If you kill me, the entire Cultivation World will be buried with me!"

"Upper Realm Messenger?"

Bai Yu paused in his tracks and waved his hand to signal Mo Chi to stop.

He walked up to Zhao Qingtian and looked down at this stray dog from a height: "Five hundred years ago, the trap that besieged me—the Heavenly Dao Alliance was just an errand boy, wasn't it? Speak, who was the mastermind behind it?"

Zhao Qingtian's eyes flickered, and he kept his mouth tightly shut, refusing to speak.

"You won't talk?" Bai Yu smiled and turned to look at Mo Chi, "Old Second, this old guy's bones seem quite tough. Didn't you fail to cut to your heart's content just now? Carve out his bones one by one and see if they are also golden."

"Alright!" Mo Chi excitedly raised his sword and prepared to step forward.

"Don't! I'll talk! I'll talk!"

Looking at that heavy sword still dripping with blood, Zhao Qingtian's psychological defense completely collapsed.

"It's... it's the Shadow Demon Venerable!" Zhao Qingtian said tremblingly, "Back then, it was the Shadow Demon Venerable who found my father and gave our Heavenly Dao Alliance benefits we couldn't refuse. He also promised to help us unify the Cultivation World after the deed was done... That god king token fragment was also given by him!"

Shadow Demon Venerable.

Hearing this name, Bai Yu's pupils shrank slightly.

Deep in his memory, a wretched figure surfaced—one who always hid in the shadows, loved to play with people's hearts, and manipulated shadows.

During the Great War of Gods and Demons back then, this guy was the one who slipped away the fastest. He didn't expect that it was actually him pulling the strings behind the scenes.

"So it was that rat in the gutter." Bai Yu sneered, killing intent surging in his eyes, "He hid quite deep."

"I've said everything... can you let me go now?" Zhao Qingtian pleaded.

"Let you go?" Bai Yu looked at him like he was an idiot, "What I said just now was 'closing the door to beat the dog.' Since the door is closed, how can there be any reason to let the dog out to bite people?"

"You're going back on your word!"

"What credit is there to speak of with a dog?" Bai Yu waved his hand, "Old Second, do it."

Puchi!

Mo Chi's sword fell.

A fine head rolled to the ground. Zhao Qingtian's eyes were wide open; he died with grievances.

The Alliance Leader of the Heavenly Dao Alliance, fallen!

Seeing this, the remaining remnants of the defeated army didn't dare to stay any longer. Each of them wished they had two more legs as they scattered and fled, crying for their parents.

Bai Yu didn't send anyone to pursue them.

Don't pursue a cornered foe; besides, today's goal had already been achieved.

"Revered Master, where to next?" Gu Yelian withdrew her Evil Qi and obediently walked to Bai Yu's side, taking out a handkerchief to wipe the non-existent sweat from his forehead.

"First, find a place to heal Old Second's injuries, and by the way..."

Before Bai Yu could finish his sentence, he suddenly felt something vibrating in his bosom.

He reached in and pulled out a palm-sized bronze disc.

This was a trophy he had conveniently snatched from Zhao Qingtian's Storage Pouch just now; it looked like a communication Magical Artifact.

At this moment, the disc was emitting a faint blue light, and a mechanical synthesized voice without any emotional fluctuation came from inside.

"How splendid."

Only two words.

Bai Yu raised an eyebrow and signaled Gu Yelian and Mo Chi to be quiet.

"Who are you?" Bai Yu asked the disc.

"Revered Master truly is a busy man who forgets things easily."

The voice changed. It was no longer a mechanical voice, but a male voice as gentle as jade, yet with an indescribable eeriness, "Not seeing you for five hundred years, Revered Master's demeanor is as it was then. That 'empty-handed white wolf' move just now to borrow strength for a Breakthrough was truly an eye-opener for this Disciple."

Hearing this voice, the expressions of Gu Yelian and Mo Chi changed simultaneously.

"Eldest Senior Brother?!" Gu Yelian exclaimed.

Mo Chi scratched his head with a silly smile: "Hehe, it's the Big Brother. Big Brother, are you coming to play too?"

The eldest Disciple, Qian Ji.

The guy known for "calculating all heavenly secrets," who held the world's strongest intelligence network in his hands, and was also the most mysterious and unpredictable.

Among the nine Disciples back then, this kid had the deepest thoughts. Bai Yu even suspected if this kid had installed surveillance on him.

"Qian Ji?" Bai Yu narrowed his eyes and spoke to the disc, "You've been watching the whole time?"

"This Disciple wouldn't dare not to watch." Qian Ji' voice carried a hint of a smile, "From the moment Revered Master stepped out of the Red Lotus Dungeon, every eye in this world has been watching you."

"Stop talking nonsense with me." Bai Yu scolded irritably, "Since you were watching, why didn't you make a move just now? You just watched your Second Junior Brother get bullied?"

"Second Junior Brother is thick-skinned and won't die." Qian Ji' tone was indifferent, "Besides, if this Disciple had made a move, how could I have seen Revered Master's Divine Might?"

"Fine, stop being so Yin and Yang sarcastic." Bai Yu interrupted him, "Where are you? Get over here quickly. Your teacher is currently short on money, people, and equipment. It's just the right time to empty out your 'Heavenly Secret Pavilion' to replenish me."

The other end of the disc was silent for a moment.

Then, Qian Ji' voice rang out again, this time with less teasing and more solemnity.

"Revered Master, this Disciple cannot show himself yet."

"Shadow Demon Venerable is only the beginning. This game of chess is even larger than you imagine."

"Go east, to 'Medicine King Valley.' Old Fourth has what you need most right now. However... you'd better hurry. If you're late, I'm afraid you'll only be able to collect Old Fourth's corpse."

Click.

The communication was cut off.

The light on the bronze disc went out, completely turning into a piece of scrap metal.

Bai Yu squeezed the disc, his expression looking a bit ugly.

"This Rebellious Disciple still loves being a riddler so much." Bai Yu cursed and tossed the disc to Mo Chi, "Use it as a whetstone."

"Medicine King Valley..." Gu Yelian frowned, "Has something happened to that medicine jar Fourth Senior Brother too?"

Bai Yu sighed and looked toward the east.

Old Fourth was an obsession of medicine; he usually wouldn't even step on an ant. If he were really targeted, he would probably be even more miserable than Old Second.

"Let's go."

Bai Yu turned and stepped onto the bone dragon carriage. His voice sounded a bit tired, yet it carried an unquestionable firmness.

"It seems this retirement life is completely out of the question."

"To Medicine King Valley. I want to see who is actually playing this game of chess. Anyone who dares to touch my people—even if it's the Heavenly Emperor himself, I'll flip the chessboard for him!"

The nine bone dragons roared again, pulling that blood-stained palace, turning around, and speeding toward the east.

Mo Chi sat cross-legged on the carpet, holding the bronze disc that Bai Yu had used as a brick just now, carefully wiping the blood off it with the corner of his clothes. His heavy sword lay across his knees, its body humming from time to time as if longing for the next slaughter.

Gu Yelian knelt by the soft couch, peeled a purple jade grape, and handed it to Bai Yu's mouth.

"Revered Master, open your mouth."

Bai Yu didn't open his mouth.

He held that yellowed map in his hand, his brow furrowed into the shape of the character 'Chuan'.

On the map, the Medicine King Valley to the east was circled in red; that was the path Qian Ji had just pointed out.

"Little Nine." Bai Yu suddenly spoke.

"Your Disciple is here."