When Shen Gongbao heard those words, he froze where he stood, and even the white-browed tiger came to a halt.
“Fellow Daoist, please stay your steps!”
‘Wasn’t that my line?’
Furthermore, that was a phrase he usually said to others.
He didn’t know how many disciples from the Sect of Interception had been coaxed down the mountain by those words, only to lose their lives in the end. But now, someone was actually using that phrase to greet him?
Shen Gongbao felt an inexplicable chill crawl up his spine.
He slowly and stiffly turned his head, wanting to see who exactly dared to say those words to him.
Not far away, a woman stood there with a beaming smile.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled light and shadows over her body. She looked incredibly relaxed and at ease.
However, alarm bells rang in Shen Gongbao’s heart. ‘This is bad!’
Why did he actually stop? Should he be running right now?
But since that woman had said “Fellow Daoist, please stay your steps,” should he… stay and listen to what she had to say?
Thinking of this, Shen Gongbao suddenly snapped out of it. ‘Pah! Listen to what? I know exactly how powerful that phrase is because of how many times I’ve used it to stop others!’
Every person he had called out to had obediently stopped to listen to him finish, only to become a pawn in his hands.
“Run!” Shen Gongbao slapped the back of the white-browed tiger’s neck hard. His intuition told him something was wrong. He needed to get out of here!
The white-browed tiger immediately transformed into a streak of white light and bolted forward.
Behind them, however, came the woman’s voice. “Don’t go, Brother Leopard!”
Shen Gongbao’s scalp felt numb. He had persuaded others to leave their mountains countless times, but only now did he truly experience the fear of being persuaded.
This was clearly a death warrant.
The white-browed tiger sprinted frantically, but the woman’s voice followed them like a shadow. When he looked back, she was standing not far away again, her smile unchanged.
“To the devils with this!” Shen Gongbao cursed under his breath. ‘No, I must use an escape art to lose this person!’
He immediately pinched a hand seal to perform an escape technique, but before he could move, a blinding five-colored brilliance suddenly erupted before his eyes.
In an instant, he couldn’t see a thing.
The last time he had seen such light was in the hands of Zhao Gongming. Which meant…
“The Sea-Fixing Beads?!”
In the next second, the Sea-Fixing Beads crashed into him. Man and tiger were both sent tumbling, flying dozens of feet away before slamming heavily onto the ground.
“Cough—” Shen Gongbao spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. He felt as if every bone in his body was shattered.
The white-browed tiger also rolled several times after the collision, lying on the ground unable to rise, whimpering in pain.
However, the woman walked toward him step by step, her pace leisurely.
The sunlight shone from behind her, as if plating her entire body with a layer of gold.
She crouched down, her voice as soft as if she were catching up with an old friend. “Brother Leopard, I was calling you. Why were you running?”
“Don’t be nervous. I just want to talk to you.”
“Who… who exactly are you?” Shen Gongbao’s voice trembled, and cold sweat poured down his forehead. “How do you have Zhao Gongming’s Sea-Fixing Beads?”
Su Fu did not answer the question. Instead, she reached out and brushed the dust off Shen Gongbao’s Daoist robe.
“Me? I am here to discuss a grand plan with you.”
Shen Gongbao, “…”
‘Then why did you beat me up like this? Is this how you discuss things?’
Just then, he heard the woman before him speak. “Perhaps, do you want to get your hands on the Investiture of the Gods?”
“The Investiture of the Gods?!” Shen Gongbao’s head buzzed, and he was instantly stunned.
That was something he thought about day and night but could never obtain.
His Master would rather give the Investiture of the Gods to Jiang Ziya, who was inferior to him in every way, than give it to him!
Wait, why was this woman saying this?
He thought of a certain possibility, and his voice suddenly became sharp. “You want to steal the Investiture of the Gods?! How… how is that possible! That was personally bestowed by Master.”
Su Fu let out a light chuckle. “If you want something, you have to fight for it.”
“What was that about having shallow roots? Lacking fortune? Do you believe that?”
Shen Gongbao’s pupils shrank instantly. Of course, he didn’t believe it.
Master simply favored those innate beings and looked down on those of his kind who were “wet-born and egg-hatched.”
On the surface, he talked about impure origins and heretical paths… He didn’t believe a word of it.
He worked harder than anyone else. Why should he be rejected because of his birth?
Seeing the emotion on his face, Su Fu added more fuel to the fire. “See, the Sea-Fixing Beads didn’t originally belong to me either.”
“But I liked them, so they came into my hands.”
She tossed the Sea-Fixing Beads in her hand. Under the sunlight, the radiance flowed beautifully, a sight beyond compare.
“Do you think… you are inferior to Jiang Ziya?”
“Of course not!” Shen Gongbao retorted almost instinctively, but he immediately realized he had fallen into a trap.
But the problem was, she was right.
This woman could even get her hands on Zhao Gongming’s Sea-Fixing Beads. One had to know that the old fellow Ran Deng had been so greedy for this treasure that his eyes had turned green with envy.
But she had succeeded.
Shen Gongbao swallowed hard, his heart racing wildly.
If she could get the Sea-Fixing Beads… did that mean she might also be able to… get the Investiture of the Gods?
“Are you serious?” Although suspicion showed on his face, his gaze was already wavering. “Can you really get the Investiture of the Gods?”
Su Fu spread her hands. “As you can see.”
Her voice turned low and eerie. “Besides, even if you persuade more experts from the Sect of Interception to go down the mountain and deal with Jiang Ziya, what of it? Do you really think Yuanshi Tianzun will sit idly by and watch?”
Shen Gongbao’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.
“You are performing a futile task.”
“It would be better to solve the problem directly at the source.”
“If the Investiture of the Gods were in your hands, you could naturally invest whoever you wanted. It would also prove that you are stronger than Jiang Ziya.”
Hearing the last sentence, Shen Gongbao was suddenly swayed.
Why should a man who had cultivated on Kunlun Mountain for forty years without making any progress be in charge of the Investiture of the Gods?
While he, Shen Gongbao, possessed extraordinary talent, yet was disregarded simply because of his birth?
Meanwhile, Chesia watched this scene from the side, feeling that something was strange.
‘Su Fu is way too good at grasping people’s weaknesses. Just a few words and she has Shen Gongbao wrapped around her finger.’
‘Speaking of which, why does this scene feel a bit familiar? Like I’ve seen it somewhere before?’
Before she could finish her thought, Shen Gongbao spoke hesitantly. “You… you also don’t want Jiang Ziya to have the Investiture of the Gods?”
“Naturally.”
“Actually, our allies are few. It might even just be the two of us.”
“But I know that Jiang Ziya is nothing more than a lucky mortal, while you are the one who should truly hold the power over the Investiture of the Gods.”
Shen Gongbao was completely swayed. How many years had it been… Finally, someone recognized his ability. Finally, someone shared his thoughts. Finally, someone thought he was stronger than Jiang Ziya.
“I’ll do it with you!” Shen Gongbao gritted his teeth and made up his mind. “Tell me, what do you want me to do?”
Su Fu curled her lips into a smile and reached out to lightly flick Shen Gongbao’s forehead.
“Go to sleep.”
Shen Gongbao was sent spinning by that flick, and golden stars exploded before his eyes.
“No… wait… how…” He couldn’t understand at all. Hadn’t he already agreed to cooperate? Why was she knocking him out?
‘Could she be tricking me?!’
Before Shen Gongbao could react, he lost consciousness entirely and collapsed onto the ground.
“You,” Chesia was also shocked. She looked at the limp Shen Gongbao on the ground and then up at Su Fu. “You finally convinced him. Why did you knock him out again?”
Wasn’t that redundant?
Su Fu stood up and slowly smoothed out her clothes, explaining, “Because I’ll need him to do something big soon, and he… might not be very willing.”
Chesia, “…”
She was silent for a moment before she finally couldn’t help but ask, “Is this how you treat an ally?”
Su Fu stated, “The Three Goddesses have already gone down the mountain. Once they set up the Nine-Bend Yellow River Array, the twelve Golden Immortals will definitely be defeated.”
“At that time, Yuanshi Tianzun will have no choice but to enter the fray personally, and he’ll even have to drag Laozi along to help.”
She continued, “That will be the perfect opportunity for us and Huangfu Yun to act.”
“But there is one problem… after we succeed and make our getaway, someone needs to take the blame.”
Chesia, “…”
“So you want Shen Gongbao to take the blame?”
But she soon shook her head. “No, with his skills, he wants to rob Yuanshi Tianzun’s place of cultivation? That’s impossible!”
Su Fu gave a thin smile. “So this blame must be pinned on another Saint, and that is Grandmaster Tongtian.”
Shen Gongbao was not the goal. The goal was to make Yuanshi Tianzun believe that Shen Gongbao was acting under Grandmaster Tongtian’s orders.
“In reality, only a Saint could achieve something of this level.”
And the only Saint acting against him was Grandmaster Tongtian.
Whether he liked it or not, he was going to take the blame.
Chesia sucked in a breath of cold air.
Su Fu continued, “Furthermore, after Shen Gongbao participates in this, he will have no way back.”
“Colluding with Grandmaster Tongtian and betraying Yuanshi Tianzun… Yuanshi will never forgive Shen Gongbao. He will have no way to turn back.”
“Aside from cooperating with me, he has no other option.”
It couldn’t be helped. Since Shen Gongbao could betray his Master, Yuanshi Tianzun, and his Senior Brother, Jiang Ziya, why wouldn’t he betray her?
She didn’t want to leave a time bomb for herself.
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