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Were his injuries already that serious?

But he had managed to hold it in until now, and even deceive everyone while he was at it.

Tang Jie had once said to him that the difference between success and failure was that the one who succeeded was good at persisting. They would never give up until the very last moment.

Tang Jie was definitely this sort of person, as was Mu Yi. No matter how difficult the situation was, they would keep struggling, not for the sake of the outcome, but for that singular opportunity.

Wei Tianchong had also once thought he was that sort of person, but he lacked that persistence.

Until now, until this very moment!

Wei Tianchong’s eyes flashed.

Wasn’t this the best opportunity to persist until the very end?

Who said my Basking Moon Sect has lost?

I’m still here!

Tang Jie is still here!

What does it matter that there are still four of them?

I won’t give up until the very last moment!

As Wei Tianchong’s eyes gleamed, his fighting will blazed to life.

The Seven Absolutions Sect students could see everything that was going on on Wei Tianchong’s face.

They all saw the look on his face, and one of them snorted, “What? Still not giving up?”

Wei Tianchong scratched his head and chuckled, “Actually, I was wondering from the start how Tang Jie had been defeated and didn’t really believe it, so I sort of forgot to leave. I didn’t think that… But since things are like this, I can’t just give up.”

The looks on the faces of the four Seven Absolutions Sect students somewhat improved.

One of them nodded. “If that’s what you want, we’ll give you a chance. Watch my sword!”

A brilliant sword was thrust at Wei Tianchong’s face. Wei Tianchong stepped to the side and dodged the blow, swinging his axe and unleashing a wave of energy at the other three.

These three students hadn’t expected Wei Tianchong to be so bold, provoking all four of them, and they rushed at him.

These four were all Mortal Shedding Realm students, so even in a one-on-one, they wouldn’t lose to Wei Tianchong. With all four of them attacking, Wei Tianchong felt the pressure soar. But to their surprise, while this fatty was normally quite timid, he was quite bold, holding out against the four and refusing to back down.

Wei Tianchong first used the shadow soldiers to hold them, after which he proceeded to a fighting retreat, dodging with his footwork, using Windshroud for protection, Fireball for long-distance attacks, and the Changfeng 13th Style for counterattacks. His performance was actually pretty decent, and the four soon found that Wei Tianchong wasn’t as easy to take down as they thought.

One Seven Absolutions Sect student grew impatient and drew back to cast an art, after which a cloud of red flames rushed at Wei Tianchong.

This red cloud was quite powerful, instantly smashing through the Windshroud and sending Wei Tianchong flying while throwing up blood.

The Seven Absolutions Sect student drew back his hands and smugly smiled. “You can give up now, right?”

The four of them looked at Wei Tianchong, who was splayed out on the ground. “Actually, I think it’s you guys who should give up.”

What?

The four of them were startled, and then they heard a sound behind them and paled. Turning around, they saw that Wei Tianchong’s puppet had seized the heads of Mu Yi and Lin Wang.

“Junior Brother Mu!”

“Senior Brother Lin!”

The four of them cried out in shock.

No one had expected Wei Tianchong to take hostages. It wasn’t that they hadn’t noticed Wei Tianchong’s puppet before, but rather that the puppet had automatically stopped in the middle of fighting Mu Yi.

As the puppet needed spirit stones to operate, almost everyone had believed that the spirit stone in the puppet’s body had been sucked dry, and based on how long the puppet had been used, it was also about the right time for it to run out. And Wei Tianchong had not given it an additional spirit stone.

But after fusing with the civet fiend’s soul, the combat puppet consumed much less energy than usual. It had not participated in battle not because its spirit stone had run out of energy, but because Wei Tianchong lacked the spiritual energy to command it. While recovering, in order to conserve the spirit stone’s power, he had stopped its movements.

This had given everyone the misconception that the puppet was out of energy.

At the start of the battle, Wei Tianchong had also not thought about using the puppet in a sneak attack. He truly had been planning to do everything he could and fight until the last moment. But when the four of them were chasing him down and beating him up, Wei Tianchong spotted the figures of Mu and Lin lying on the ground, and the idea of taking them hostage suddenly occurred to him.

Of course, Yun Wuji might have inspired him.

Regardless of the reason, at the crucial moment, Wei Tianchong had thought of it and had the ability to carry it out. The result was that the Seven Absolutions Sect, which clearly had the upper hand, was now at Wei Tianchong’s mercy.

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The four of them were shocked and enraged at the sight of the puppet holding Mu Yi. One of them pointed his sword at Wei Tianchong and said, “Release Junior Brother Mu, or else…”

Wei Tianchong made a smile so big that his eyes narrowed. “The puppet is linked to my mind. If you try and kill me, it will act at the moment of my death and crush their heads. One life for two? That’s perfect for me.”

The student froze, and then he angrily said, “Despicable!”

Wei Tianchong moved back, away from the tip of the sword. “The same to you! Didn’t your Seven Absolutions Sect also win through a scheme?”

A student immediately replied, “Wei Tianchong, Basking Moon and Seven Absolutions are not mortal foes. Aren’t you afraid of creating a grudge through your actions? You don’t have the guts to kill Junior Brother Mu!”

Wei Tianchong curled his lip. “I would already be dead, so why would I care about the relationships between sects? In any case, if you’ve got the guts to come at me, then I’ve got the guts to kill them.”

He walked around the four and toward Mu Yi and Lin Wang.

The four of them shared a glance, not knowing what to do. They had pretty decent strength, but they were used to obeying Mu Yi’s orders. Now that Mu Yi was unconscious, they fell into chaos at the slightest mishap.

One of the older students said, “You’re ruthless, Wei Tianchong! Why don’t we do this? If you let Junior Brother Mu and Senior Brother Lin go, then we can give you one treasure to take away. I swear an oath on the ancestors of the Seven Absolutions Sect that we won’t chase you down. What about it?”

Being tough wasn’t working out, so they immediately resorted to pleas and bribery.

Mu Yi’s scheme had made the Basking Moon Sect withdraw, and their two treasures now belonged to the Seven Absolutions Sect.

The Seven Absolutions Sect was willing to give up one of the treasures to ensure Mu Yi’s safety.

“This…” Wei Tianchong hesitated.

To tell the truth, these were good conditions. He was the only one left of the Basking Moon Sect, so it wasn’t like they could get more than a single spot. Considering that Tang Jie had also gotten the Stop Gate Banner, it now seemed like, even if the Basking Moon Sect had been defeated, they could at least keep two treasures, which was an unexpected surprise.

With this counterattack from Wei Tianchong, he could save the Basking Moon Sect from the fate of being a loser and get it a decent placing.

But for some reason, Wei Tianchong wanted to keep waiting.

He lowered his head and pondered, saying nothing.

The older student saw his silence and grew somewhat frantic, saying, “What are you still thinking about?”

Wei Tianchong hesitantly replied, “I want to keep waiting.”

“Wait for what?” The four of them didn’t get it.

“Wait for me,” someone casually said.

The four of them paled. “Tang Jie!”

Turning their heads, they saw a student flying toward them. Who else could it be but Tang Jie?

The moon-white uniform was in tatters from the battle, but when Tang Jie wore it, he still seemed rather elegant and carefree. He didn’t appear at all like someone who had been through a gruesome battle.

“Tang Jie!” Wei Tianchong excitedly shouted.

He finally understood what he was waiting for.

Yes, he was waiting for Tang Jie!

When he had seized that opportunity, he didn’t actually know what he would trade it for, but now that Tang Jie was here, he understood that he had actually been waiting for Tang Jie this whole time.

Unable to restrain his emotions, Wei Tianchong shouted, “Tang Jie, Mu Yi managed to trick Senior Brother Peng and the others into leaving!”

There was a sense of great injustice in his voice.

“I know,” Tang Jie said, landing next to Wei Tianchong.

This side could see Xiao Wen “ascending”, so how could Tang Jie not see Peng Yaolong and the others “ascending”?

When he saw the large number of light pillars rising up from that side of the mountain, Tang Jie knew that things had gone wrong. Without the other Basking Moon Sect students, not even if Tang Jie had undone the formation could he salvage the situation.

But he saw only eleven pillars of light, even though there were twelve students. One pillar of light never appeared.

Tang Jie didn’t know if it was because this person was dead or because they hadn’t left, but this gave him a boost of confidence.

The Basking Moon students had needed confidence, so why wouldn’t Tang Jie?

It was this confidence that had allowed Tang Jie to arrive so quickly.

He looked at Wei Tianchong and said, “You did very well. Leave the rest to me.”

“Mm.” Wei Tianchong vigorously nodded. He failed to notice that his attitude was more like that of a subordinate to his superior than that of a young master to his servant student.

Tang Jie walked over to Mu Yi.

The four Seven Absolutions Sect students grew nervous and wanted to stop him. Tang Jie loudly said, “You still haven’t fought enough? If you don’t want all the efforts of Junior Brother Mu to go to waste, obediently stand aside and don’t get in the way!”

The four of them froze as Tang Jie moved up to Mu Yi. He grabbed Mu Yi’s wrist and felt his pulse. Gasping in surprise, he gave Mu Yi a gentle pat and then sent spiritual energy into him. Mu Yi gradually stirred.

He froze when he saw Tang Jie’s face, and when he looked around and saw the puppet that was holding him hostage, he began to understand what was going on. “So I fell into your hands?”

Tang Jie smiled. “Your body is very weak. A cultivator, even one who doesn’t focus on body tempering, will have a much better constitution than the ordinary person, so why are your energy and blood in such a sorry state? If I didn’t know you aren’t that sort of person, I would really think that someone had hollowed you out.”

Mu Yi bitterly smiled. “It’s a symptom from when I fell into corruption in order to seek the Dao when I was cultivating last year.”

“‘Seeking the Dao by falling into corruption’?” Tang Jie was startled. “Do you cultivate the Dao Seeking Yellow Springs Scripture or the Heavenly Demon Revolution Scripture?”

“Both,” Mu Yi replied.

Tang Jie was given a huge scare, saying, “You’re seeking death!”

The Dao Seeking Yellow Springs Scripture was part of the Ghost Dao, but it belonged to the Ghost Dao texts that were difficult to get permission to cultivate. The Heavenly Demon Revolution Scripture was a text of the Demon Dao, and it was also difficult to get permission to cultivate this. The defining traits of both these texts were that they achieved fast results through falling into corruption to seek the Dao. And unlike other Demon Dao texts, there was no risk of losing one’s Origin Heart when cultivating these two texts. This was why one could get permission to cultivate them.

But the symptom of losing the Origin Heart was replaced with the eroding of the bones and the rotting of blood. This was why Tang Jie had asked Mu Yi which of these two texts Mu Yi had studied. But Mu Yi’s reply was simply horrifying: he cultivated both!

Mu Yi smiled, “Three years ago, when I was cultivating the Heavenly Demon Revolution Scripture, I invited a demon into my body. With no other option, I decided to cultivate the Dao Seeking Yellow Springs Scripture. A year ago, I had my spirit wander the Yellow Springs, battling with the demon there. I managed to survive, and even use that opportunity to comprehend the Dao. But that spiritual battle still used my body as the battleground, and it was left in tatters. Thankfully, the sect granted me many herbs, and Senior Brother Wang even went to Celestial Gate Mountain and stole a thousand-year Fiend Lotus for me, allowing me to keep my life… Ever since then, the slightest injury is liable to cause me to faint, and even eating medicines doesn’t do anything for me. Thus, I’ve developed a habit of only attacking and never defending.”

Tang Jie sighed and gave Mu Yi a pat. “I might be able to help you with your condition.”

“Really?” The one who spoke wasn’t Mu Yi, but the four Seven Absolutions Sect students and the recently awakened Lin Wang.

“Don’t forget what I’m best at.” Tang Jie smiled.

Yes, Tang Jie was famous for his strength. It was said that he was even better at body refining than Peng Yaolong.

Surprisingly, Mu Yi shook his head. “It’s useless. My sect’s Senior Brother Wang walks the path of Tyrant Body. In terms of physical strength, he’s much stronger than you, but even he couldn’t solve my problem.”

Tang Jie’s eyes flashed, and then he smiled and said, “It’s hard to be certain if I don’t try.”

Mu Yi replied, “But the chances aren’t good.”

The situation had changed again. Two sides that had been fighting each other to the death were now sitting together and chatting.

Wei Tianchong and the four Seven Absolution students exchanged glances, not knowing how to proceed.

In the end, Lin Wang coughed and said, “Then… why don’t we talk about that later, alright?”

Tang Jie and Mu Yi seemed to wake from a dream, realizing what was going on, and when they looked at each other again, they were unable to say anything.

Lin Wang saw their state and knew that he had probably said the wrong thing again, and he inwardly sulked.

He was unaware that Tang Jie and Mu Yi had actually been testing each other.

Tang Jie’s promise was a sort of temptation, trying to add on more chips, and Mu Yi’s rejection was telling Tang Jie that he didn’t know if Tang Jie had the ability to do it now, so it could not serve as a bargaining chip in this negotiation.

The two of them had wanted to keep testing each other, but Lin Wang had messed things up. They looked at each other for some time before Tang Jie finally said, “Fifty-fifty.”

Mu Yi shook his head. “I didn’t go through all that effort just to split the profits evenly. Moreover, there are five treasures, so we can’t split them evenly.”

“The Stop Gate Banner doesn’t count.” Tang Jie smirked. “Regardless, both Junior Brother Mu and Senior Brother Lin are still in my hands.”

“I’m awake, so I’m no longer in your hands,” Mu Yi coolly said. “No one can control me when I’m awake.”

Tang Jie shrugged. “I know, but when Junior Brother Mu was waking up, I actually poisoned you.”

Everyone paled at these words.

Only Mu Yi frowned.

Tang Jie was lying!

He knew his body best, and he knew that he wasn’t poisoned at all. Moreover, to tell the truth, he didn’t have the ability to silently poison him.

So why had he made such a flagrant lie?

Tang Jie nudged his body over, sitting next to Mu Yi. Using his body as cover, he began to write on the ground with his finger.

He wrote: “They’re watching.”

Mu Yi’s pupils constricted. With a light movement from his hand, he wiped the words away and said, “The people of the Seven Absolutions Sect won’t give in to threats, even if we have to die for it.”

Tang Jie immediately said, “Is that really necessary? Our sects aren’t mortal foes, so there’s no need to go that far.”

“The reputation of the sect stands above all. No matter what, the Seven Absolutions Sect cannot back down.” Mu Yi unyieldingly stared at Tang Jie.

He didn’t know why Tang Jie was telling him that people outside were observing them, but Mu Yi knew that he wasn’t being tricked, for he himself had felt this. It was impossible for their masters to not be observing a competition like this, and he also occasionally felt like someone was staring at him. It was just that he had never had any evidence. But since Tang Jie had said as such, he didn’t mind displaying a little of his sect’s self-sacrificing boldness.

“The problem is: do you really think you can make the Seven Absolutions Sect the ultimate victor like this?” Tang Jie countered.

Everyone was taken aback.

Tang Jie raised his hand. “Five art relics! There are five art relics here in total. Even if they all belonged to the Seven Absolutions Sect, you would only have half of them. Why are you so sure that you would end up as number one?”

Mu Yi’s eyes chilled.

He now understood why Tang Jie had told him that people outside were watching.

He asked, “What do you want?”

Tang Jie chuckled and peered into the distance.

On the other end of the blessed land, five treasure lights were flashing and constantly moving around.

The distance meant that it was difficult to surmise their trajectories as they moved around over small distances, but in Tang Jie’s eyes, these five beams of light were the clearest indicator of what was happening over there.

Pointing into the distance, he said, “The Thousand Passions Sect is about to break. Once they’re defeated, Horizon Ocean Pavilion will have five treasures, and given Lan Yu’s handsome appearance, even if he was the only one among them all to enter the top ten, the Seven Absolutions Sect wouldn’t have a chance.”

Mu Yi’s eyes flashed.

Tang Jie was right. In terms of looks, Lan Yu stood above the rest of the six major sects. Even Yun Wuji was lacking. In all honesty, Yun Wuji was a little too effeminate.

With Lan Yu around, the Seven Absolutions Sect had no chance.

Mu Yi looked at Tang Jie. “What do you mean?”

Tang Jie threw the Stop Gate Banner at Mu Yi. “I can give all the treasures here to the Seven Absolutions Sect, including the Stop Gate Banner, but you will have to hand me this treasure once everything is settled. The Seven Absolutions Sect will have five treasures, so it will definitely be number one. As a price, you must all leave after the twelve hours elapse.”

“And then you and Wei Tianchong will go and help the Thousand Passions Sect?” Mu Yi understood Tang Jie’s plan.

Tang Jie smiled. “The Thousand Passions Sect will get what the Thousand Passions Sect has, and the Basking Moon Sect will get what Horizon Ocean Pavilion has.”

With the help of Tang Jie and Wei Tianchong, the Thousand Passions Sect, which had only been a little lacking, would definitely crush Horizon Ocean Pavilion.

There was no doubt that Tang Jie was having Mu Yi give up on Horizon Ocean Pavilion.

That lie about the poison was to give Mu Yi an excuse. For the sake of “self-protection” and for the sake of the Seven Absolutions Sect, Mu Yi had to agree to Tang Jie’s request.

Mu Yi lightly nodded. “It seems we’ll have to do that.”

He was just about to agree when Tang Jie stopped him and said, “Right, Horizon Ocean Pavilion has three treasures, but my Basking Moon Sect has only two people.”

Mu Yi was startled, looking questioningly at Tang Jie.

Tang Jie casually said, “Don’t you think this extra treasure would be somewhat of a waste?”

Mu Yi’s pupils constricted. “And what about it?”

Tang Jie replied, “There happen to be six members of the Seven Absolutions Sect, but only five treasures. And five treasures can’t be considered an absolute advantage…”

Mu Yi fell silent.

After a long while, he said, “The Seven Absolutions Sect will not attack its friends.”

Tang Jie casually replied, “One person is enough. So long as the others don’t show their face, this can be considered a personal action, unrelated to your sect.”

He got closer to Mu Yi and said, “If you still don’t feel good about it, they can cover their face too.”