Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 238 The Demon Emperor and the Holy Lord are fighting over a man!

It's clear that the demon race still had the upper hand on the field, with Long Qinghuang still dominating the bone dragon. It's hard to imagine that even with their trump cards undermined, not a single person from the Tian Shuang Kingdom had deserted.

This performance is normal for an elite and powerful army.

However, given the sectarian alliance-like nature of the Tianshuang Kingdom's system, this is not quite normal; even with substantial rewards, it would be difficult to achieve such unity of purpose.

What are they after?

Unless there is a backup plan, or a firm belief that reinforcements will arrive.

In other words, they were prepared for the possibility of being discovered and had a backup plan. Even in their current predicament, they were confident they could pull Tianyao Holy Land into trouble.

Where did the confidence come from?
Lu Xingzhou's mind raced. He immediately whispered to Ye Tinglan, "Who told you about the dragon bone fragments? Control him, quick!"

But it was already too late.

A sword beam suddenly shot up from where everyone was hiding, heading straight for a certain demon clan member at the scene of the fierce battle.

Ye Tinglan suddenly turned her head and saw the old man who had shown her the dragon bone fragments earlier, and who was also the "successful bidder" in Hanlan City.

Ye Tinglan angrily retorted, "Who gave you permission to make a move without authorization!"

The old man said righteously, "I'm sorry, but I cannot tolerate the demon race slaughtering humans while we stand by and watch, especially since you're all lovey-dovey with that little puppy. What kind of behavior is this! If you won't take action, we will!"

Before Ye Tinglan could respond, Long Qinghuang laughed loudly from afar: "The Heavenly Kiln Holy Land is indeed nothing more than a bunch of petty thieves!"

Ye Tinglan grabbed the old man and said decisively, "It's too late, prepare for battle!"

Sure enough, countless demonic powers of various kinds from the distant demon race were already blasting towards their hiding place like a storm.

Whenever someone from the Tianyao Holy Land appears in the arena, the demon race's first reaction is to turn to them.

That was the greatest enemy of the demon race in the past few decades, and their level of hatred and vigilance was unparalleled. Compared to them, the Heavenly Frost Kingdom was nothing.

The people of Tianyao Holy Land were also forced to fight back. Amidst the clash of various powers, their hidden forces were completely destroyed.

Lu Xingzhou's worries came true—the Tianshuang Kingdom had a hidden agent in the Tianyao Holy Land, so they were certain that they could drag the Tianyao Holy Land into the mess. Once the Tianyao Holy Land was involved, in order to prevent their own people from being instantly killed by the opponent's strongest, the strongest of both sides would naturally have to face each other first.

Regardless of Ye Tinglan's previous considerations, at this moment, she must join forces with Si Han Gu Long to attack and defeat Long Qinghuang first.

Otherwise, if Long Qinghuang were to free up her hands, the others in Tianyao Holy Land would inevitably suffer heavy casualties.

"Bang!" Long Qinghuang shook off the bone dragon and punched Ye Tinglan.

With a gentle flick of her slender hand, Ye Tinglan created a Tai Chi phantom in the void. The force of Long Qinghuang's earth-shattering and city-destroying fist was trapped within it, disappearing like a mud ox entering the sea.

The two sides were locked in a stalemate for a moment, but Long Qinghuang's gaze passed over Ye Tinglan and landed on Lu Xingzhou and A Nuo in the distance, her expression somewhat cold: "You captured them?"

Ye Tinglan: "?"

"No wonder the Tianyao Holy Land also came to the same conclusion as me, that they were hiding in Tianshuang Kingdom, unaware of the mantis behind them. It turns out they had obtained his information."

Ye Tinglan didn't want Lu Xingzhou to get involved in such a powerful battle, fearing accidental injury, so she said, "This battle is not what I wanted. If you withdraw now, both sides can live in peace and fight again later."

Long Qinghuang was clearly surprised that Ye Tinglan would be willing to truce despite the advantage of being attacked from both sides with Bone Dragon Sihan. She was stunned for a moment before replying, "Transcription is fine, but let me take those two behind you with me."

Ye Tinglan was even more surprised by this response and blurted out, "No way!"

Long Qinghuang sneered: "Even the Holy Lord Tianyao has fallen in love? She actually dares to steal my man."

Ye Tinglan: "

what are you saying?
The people of the nearby Tianyao Holy Land silently fought with the demon race, and their anger seemed to have subsided considerably as they looked at each other.

This might be the least spirited battle that Tianyao Holy Land and the demon race have fought in recent years; everyone is listening intently.

Good heavens! The Demon Emperor and the Holy Lord of Tianyao are openly fighting over a man in front of the whole world!
What kind of outrageous script is this?
Unfortunately, some people don't want everyone to hear the gossip properly.

King Si Han of the Frost Kingdom, seated atop the head of the Bone Dragon, charged in from behind Long Qinghuang: "Lord Night Saint, I know you have your doubts and grievances. Let's capture the Demon Emperor first, then we can discuss this further. We will certainly give the Saint an explanation!"

With such a noble cause in mind, Ye Tinglan had indeed decided to defeat Long Qinghuang first before considering anything else, but she was still reeling from Long Qinghuang's words about stealing a man.

Long Qinghuang roared with her left-hand dragon fist, shaking off the bone dragon, and then slammed her right hand at Ye Tinglan: "Since that's the case, let's see if you can take her down!" No, I haven't even really made a move, why aren't you leaving? Are you really just trying to steal a man? Ye Tinglan accepted the attack, feeling as if she were in a dream.

The three-way battle eventually escalated into a conflict between two human kingdoms besieging the demon race. What began as the demon race overwhelming the Heavenly Frost Kingdom became a temporary stalemate, with the humans holding a slight advantage.

Lu Xingzhou didn't observe the battle over there; his gaze fell on the ground beside him.

The old man who had gone into the water in the Tianyao Holy Land was subdued by Ye Tinglan and lay slumped on the ground, with no one having time to pay him any attention.

Lu Xingzhou and A Nuo both showed kind smiles.

The old man remained expressionless.

Lu Xingzhou squatted down in front of him, smiling, and said, "Is it worth it? You're doing quite well in the Tianyao Holy Land, why would you want to be a traitor?"

The old man said coldly, "I am not a traitor, I just can't stand it!"

"Stop messing around. Your little tricks might fool stupid women, but you think you can fool me?" Lu Xingzhou pulled out a small dagger and pressed it directly against the old man's genitals. "Besides, if you can't stand something, you're going to cause trouble. Well, I can't stand you having this either, so can I just clean it off?"

The old man's eyes widened: "You dare! I am an elder of the Tianyao Holy Land! If you kill me, even the Holy Lord will have a hard time explaining himself!"

"What's there to explain about a traitor?" Lu Xingzhou toyed with his dagger and sneered, "From the moment you started bidding on the bone dragon fragment at the auction, weren't you already deliberately cooperating with the Tian Shuang Kingdom? The other bidder was most likely from the Tian Shuang Kingdom, and you were putting on a show together, weren't you?"

"Do you have evidence?"

"Do you think this is a female-oriented website? What time is it and you're still looking for evidence here?" Lu Xingzhou plunged a dagger into the old man's thigh.

The old man screamed, drenched in cold sweat, and pointed a trembling finger at Lu Xingzhou: "You, you..."

"I don't want to waste my breath on you. I'll just ask you one question," Lu Xingzhou said coldly, twirling his dagger. "The Heavenly Frost Kingdom has no right to make you betray them. Who's behind you?"

The old man angrily retorted, "What nonsense are you spouting? It's all just conjecture!"

"Speculation?" Lu Xingzhou pointed back to the fierce battle in the air behind him: "Long Qinghuang isn't retreating even at a time like this, do you really think she'd risk her life to take me away?"

Old man: "..."

That's a question for you to answer. How would I know?

"The current situation is the result of your second plan. The original plan was to have the demon race and the Tianyao Holy Land fight in the center of the glacier. On the surface, it seemed to benefit the Tianshuang Kingdom, as it would weaken both the demon race and the Great Qian Kingdom, allowing them to reap the benefits. But upon closer inspection, the Tianshuang Kingdom's system is disorganized, and it has no superior ranks. It is no match for the Great Qian Kingdom. Even if the Tianyao Holy Land is damaged, it will not affect the Great Qian Kingdom's crushing of Tianshuang. What practical significance does Si Han's operation have? If it fails, it will provoke the Great Qian Kingdom to retaliate against Tianshuang. Is Si Han an idiot?"

The old man remained silent.

"Besides Si Han, there is actually another person who would be very happy to see the demon race and the Tianyao Holy Land suffer mutual destruction... This person hates the demon race and is fed up with being suppressed and restrained by the Tianyao Holy Lord. Back then, when they attacked the demon race together, he and the Demon Emperor suffered mutual destruction, which allowed your Holy Lord to become the strongest in the world. This regret and resentment are like ants gnawing at his heart. He would like to make the Tianyao Holy Lord taste the same bitterness. At the same time, only he has the ability to turn people in the Tianyao Holy Land against their will, such as you."

The old man's eyes looked utterly terrified.

"This person has few forces that can join forces with to deal with the Tianyao Holy Land. The Tianshuang Kingdom is one of them. They may have even made a great promise, such as helping Si Han establish a unified Tianshuang Dynasty. Si Han feels that he will not lose out no matter what. The Great Qian royal family is causing internal strife against the Tianyao Holy Land, and he is naturally happy to see it happen. Therefore, Si Han is working particularly hard."

"But the situation has changed now. You've activated the second plan, which could also cause conflict between the demon race and the Tianyao Holy Land. However, as long as the leaders of both sides aren't stupid, they will try to clarify that they want to cease hostilities and won't foolishly fall into someone else's trap. Clearly, your sect leader already intends to cease hostilities, so why doesn't Long Qinghuang accept it?"

"It's not because of stealing a man, that's not worth putting the entire demon race on the line... It's more likely that she reached an agreement with someone else, switched sides, and joined forces against your sect leader. This is the minimum result the planner wanted to achieve, and for this, she was willing to temporarily cooperate with the demon race." At this point, Lu Xingzhou chuckled self-deprecatingly: "Even if there's some truth to the so-called stealing a man, it's just a side effect."

Old man: "..."

“Long Qinghuang will hold your sect leader back. When necessary, Si Han will switch his attack from Long Qinghuang to your sect leader. At her most unbelievable moment, the mastermind behind the scenes will strike, and the outcome will be decided.” After Lu Xingzhou finished speaking, he stared into the old man’s eyes and said coldly, “I just want to know, has Gu Zhanting come in person?”

The old man turned pale with fright.

He remained silent throughout, but by the end his lips were trembling, and he looked at Lu Xingzhou as if he were a monster.

“Most likely not.” Lu Xingzhou sneered, “It’s one thing that he’s still recovering from his injuries, but he’s also unwilling to reveal his identity, which has caused him to become estranged from Tianyao Holy Land. Since that’s the case, the only person left who can prove that he’s the villain is you. Do you think that if you stubbornly insist that you have no evidence and that you only acted because you couldn’t stand it, Ye Tinglan won’t be able to do anything to you? No, the person who will want to kill you in the future will not be Ye Tinglan, but Gu Zhanting. He won’t leave you, this living evidence, in the world.”

The old man looked dazed, and after a long while, he said in a hoarse voice, "He...did not come in person."

"He must be a senior member of the royal family of exceptional rank, who has concealed his appearance," Lu Xingzhou said. "If you want to live, you only need to do one thing."

The old man stared at him intently.

Lu Xingzhou said, "You must have some way to communicate with them remotely, it's impossible to rely solely on tacit understanding. Now all you need to do is send a notification to make this person appear in advance, and when the reckoning comes, I will save your life."

(End of this chapter)