“Thank you for the compliment, Senior. However, I do not possess such tremendous ability, and all the credit actually belongs to Junior Yun Jiu. We wouldn’t have crossed the swamp so easily if he hadn’t brought back a bunch of high-grade Black Crystal Reeds from Black Pond,” said Su Junqing, flashing a sly smile.
“High-grade Black Crystal Reeds?” Bai Lan exclaimed, her eyes lighting up.
They’d also gone to look for the Black Crystal Weeds, but they’d only found the ordinary ones. They’d also lost a few dozen people when they’d first entered the swamp. If they somehow managed to obtain high-grade Black Crystal Reeds, their lives would be saved.
“Yes, each disciple took two. I still have ten left. Senior Bai Lan, you can take them if you want,” Su Junqing offered. He eagerly took out the Black Crystal Reeds.
However, ten was obviously not enough to split. Bai Lan looked at the lower-ranking disciples and commanded directly, “Hand over the reeds.”
The faces of the disciples from the Number Two Peak instantly changed. They looked at Su Junqing, who was smiling scornfully. He did not want to stand up and help. He clearly bore a grudge against them for not respecting him earlier.
“The reeds or your lives. Choose for yourselves,” Bai Lan stated. She drew out her Bone Spur and aimed at it the lower-ranked disciples.
Behind her, three hundred high-ranked disciples all made fierce, ferocious faces. They were ready to go and snatch the reeds by force if negotiations didn’t go well.
“Senior Bai Lan, why should we choose to go the hard way when we can talk things through?” Yun Jiuge drew out her black Bone Spur and used it to block Bai Lan.
“Junior Yun Jiu, are you really going to oppose us?” Bai Lan squinted and jeered. A deadly aura overflowed all around her.
The Black Crystal Reeds were tied to their fates. They had to get them for themselves, even if that meant they had to murder.
“Senior Bai Lan, you have misunderstood my intentions. We are all disciples of the same master. Shouldn’t we help each other?”
Yun Jiuge knew that it would only bring destruction to both sides if she were to play this the hard way with Bai Lan. A confrontation would only bring more pain to the low-ranking disciples. So, Yun Jiuge turned and faced the lower-ranked disciples. “First,” she said, “everyone, please give me your extra Black Crystal Reeds.” It was her intention to help them out.
“Here you go.” Little Fatty and Bing Xinlian were the first to hand over their excess Black Crystal Reeds.
The other disciples then followed suit. They kept the better ones for themselves and surrendered the less desirable reeds to Yun Jiuge.
As Yun Jiuge collected the Black Crystal Reeds, she calculated the total number of people on Bai Lan’s side. Then, she took out 350 of the less potent pieces and handed them to Bai Lan, saying, “This is from all of the disciples from the Number Two Peak with sincerity. Please kindly accept it, Senior.”
Yun Jiuge heavily emphasized the phrase ‘all of the disciples.’
Little Fatty, Bing Xinlian, and the others behind her wore alert expressions on their faces.
The Rank Two disciples even clutched their bone spurs in their hands. This gesture signaled that they intended to fight until the end.
Bai Lan narrowed her eyes, staring at Yun Jiuge.
Yun Jiuge’s enchanting demonic face displayed continuous calmness. She had not even lost a little ground to Bai Lan throughout the entire confrontation.
“Senior Bai, use whatever we have. It’s good to step back at times so that we may get along well in the future,” said Yun Jiuge coldly.
The disciples of the Black Magic Sects also paid attention to morality. When others offered them benefits then tried to undercut them, they couldn’t be blamed for fighting back in despair.
“Okay, you win,” Bai Lan conceded. When she assessed the strengths of both parties, she determined that she was not on the winning side. She could only accept the pile of Black Crystal Reeds through clenched teeth.
“You’re welcome, Senior Bai,” remarked Yun Jiuge while completely disregarding Bai Lan’s anger.
Bai Lan then distributed the Black Crystal Reeds among the disciples. The higher-ranked disciples took the best of the bunch, while the low ranks received the worst.
The bottom rank among the Number Three Peak’s remaining lower-ranked disciples was the Third Level of the Qi Refining Stage. At that moment, a few of these disciples were secretly studying the Number Two Peak’s low-ranked disciples. Obviously, they did not have good intentions.
The low-ranked disciples, who had been marching in a kind of huddle formation, hugged each other tighter when they noticed these malevolent looks.
Bai Lan didn’t care about the disciples’ behavior. She said enviously to Su Junqing, “Your Yin corpse is not so bad!”
If Su Junqing hadn’t spewed out cold air, thanks to the Yin Energy he received from his Corpse, and scared away the Iron-skinned Crocodiles, then the Number Three Peak would have lost a bunch of disciplines.
Bai Lan thought: It would be great if I could get one of those for myself!
“I’m flattered, senior,” answered Su Junqing modestly.
Bai Lan lowered her voice and asked, “I heard that your Corpse has a younger brother called Ye Yu. Is that true?”
This information was not a secret in the Yin Corpse Sect. Many individuals had already gone discreetly to the Lei kingdom to find Ye Yu.
Unfortunately, none of them had succeeded. It was said that Ye Yu had followed Yun Jiuge to the Shiwan Grand Mountain in the hopes of stumbling across a chance encounter.
“That’s right,” Su Junqing replied with a nod.
“I heard that this constitution is genetic. It is most likely to appear in those with blood relationships. You are the most familiar with the Ye Family, so why don’t you share some intel with your Senior? I will not forget your good deed!” enticed Bai Lan as she flirted with her eyes.
“Senior, it’s not that I don’t want to help you, but I honestly don’t know where Ye Yu went,” Su Junqing admitted, looking helpless.
He already knew that his chances of taking down Ye Yun were slim.
Even Elder Mo Hua had started sending people to the Shiwan Grand Mountain to search for him.
As the two of them chatted attentively, they did not notice the harsh light that flashed in Ye Yunzhi’s eyes. She was standing to the side, clenching her palms tightly inside her red sleeves.
Yun Jiuge, however, had been secretly observing Ye Yunzhi’s movements and noticed her unusual behavior.
It seemed Ye Yunzhi was indeed protecting Ye Yu. She would still be affected even when the treasure map’s power was sealed.
Yun Jiuge feared that Ye Yunzhi’s abnormality would be discovered by Sun Junqing. She hurriedly said, “Everyone, we’ve had enough rest. Let’s get ready to continue the journey.”
“Junior Su, there are not many disciples left on either side. Why don’t we join forces and go together?” Bai Lan suggested to Su Junqing.
The remaining disciples from the Number Three Peak were all high-ranked. It was only right that they crushed Number Two Peak’s low-ranked disciples.
Su Junqing was about to agree when Yun Jiuge piped up, “No, you go on your way. We will go ours and cross the plank bridge. It’s best that we don’t interfere with each other.”
“Oh, so you’re the decision-maker for the Number Two Peak now?” Bai Lan arched an eyebrow and glanced at Su Junqing.
Before Su Junqing could say anything, all of the Number Two Peak disciples answered, “We all listen to Senior Yun Jiu!”
Su Junqing’s behavior had left them out in the cold. Not to mention, Yun Jiuge was the one who had helped them come all the way!
“Look, Senior Bai, someone has usurped my power!” sneered Su Junqing, although he was not anxious.
The real danger in the Secret Realm was the Human-faced Peach. Even if Yun Jiu snatched his position as leader, it would be impossible for her to handle the Peaches.
“Junior Yun Jiu is bold, but I like it,” Bai Lan said and offered a flirting wink to Yun Jiuge. After settling the life and death issue, she again was in the mood to tease men.
Yun Jiuge’s attitude was cold, and she did not reply. She summoned Bing Xinlian, Little Fatty, and the others, then prepared to leave.
“Junior Yun Jiu, are you seriously not going to leave with us?” demanded Bai Lan. She refused to give up.
She couldn’t understand Yun Jiu. Low-ranking disciples were garbage. Why would Junior Yun Jiu protect them?
Yun Jiuge let her actions answer for her. She gathered the Number Two Peak’s disciples and left, choosing to go in an entirely different direction.
