Xu Yuan sighed, then raised two fingers and waved them in front of Tian Yan. “What I’m trying to say is actually very simple. When there’s a mole among the upper ranks, there are only two possible situations. Either the ship is about to sink, and if they don’t jump now, they’ll drown with it. Or the benefits they receive are greater than what they’re selling out. At least from the traitor’s perspective, the gains outweigh the cost. Tian Yan, which situation do you think Splendorbloom Sect is in?”
Judging from the real-world results in later generations, the Beguiling Divine Sakura was to the Splendorbloom Sect almost what nuclear fusion technology had been to nations in his previous life.
The higher-ups could sell out the sect if they wanted, but selling out something on that level was a bit too ridiculous.
Although Xu Yuan thought that bunch of infighting Splendorbloom higher-ups were very stupid, surely they could not be stupid to that extent.
Thought appeared in Tian Yan’s eyes, and piece after piece of information swirled through her mind.
After a long while, she said softly, “You mean the Splendorbloom higher-ups don’t know that the Beguiling Divine Sakura requires Wang Yuchu’s constitution to unlock it?”
“Yes.” Xu Yuan smiled and nodded.
Most likely, the nuclear fusion technology that was the Beguiling Divine Sakura had a lock on it. The Splendorbloom Sect higher-up acting as the mole had discovered that point, but did not know that this lock required Wang Yuchu’s constitution to open. In that case, they might as well trade the thing away for some tangible benefits.
As he spoke, Xu Yuan slowly rose from the ground. “The Splendorbloom Sect’s higher-ups will make a move against us very soon.”
Ten thousand years later, one of them had become the Beguiling Divine Sakura, the other the Leech King. That was an established fact. Then there was Tian Rui and Shen Weixiu’s attack, the ugly faces of the two factions among the Splendorbloom Sect’s higher-ups, and on top of that, a highly placed mole hidden among them.
Put all the information together, and although this illusion had changed quite a lot due to the butterfly effect brought about by the two of them, it was still not hard to guess what had happened ten thousand years ago.
Jing He and Wang Yuchu had survived the attack and preserved the Beguiling Divine Sakura. But because two geniuses from the Grand Purity Dao Palace and the Heavenwatch Pavilion had launched this assault, the Splendorbloom’s higher-ups had also learned of the special nature of Wang Yuchu’s constitution.
Because of this, the sect withstood the pressure from the Heavenwatch Pavilion and Grand Purity Dao Palace and protected the two of them.
Because of this, Wang Yuchu became the Saintess, while Jing He became a true disciple.
And then, on some future day, for the sake of the sect’s prosperity, the two of them were sacrificed together in blood to the Beguiling Divine Sakura.
Amid the silence, the evening sun gradually dimmed, and the mountain forest sank into darkness.
Tian Yan looked at Xu Yuan and asked quietly, “How long do you think it’ll be before they act?”
Xu Yuan thought for a moment, then said, “It could be the very day they appoint you as Saintess. It could also be several years later, or even decades later.”
Tian Yan listened to this answer that was basically the same as saying nothing, then took a deep breath. “Do you have a way to escape the Splendorbloom Realm?”
“Tian Rui left himself an escape route. The mole among the Splendorbloom Sect’s higher-ups gave him the location of a random teleportation array. We can borrow it.”
This was probably the secret teleportation point Luo Daofan had asked him about earlier. He had never found it in Azure Point in his previous life, yet here in this illusion, he had discovered it in such a roundabout way.
“Then let’s go,” Tian Yan said decisively.
Xu Yuan suddenly looked at her and smiled. “What? Not robbing me of Tian Rui’s Sumeru Ring anymore?”
Tian Yan lifted her foot to kick him, but Xu Yuan dodged it. Retracting her pink, fair jade-like foot, she swept back her hair. “No need. I’ll give it to you. With Tian Rui’s cultivation level, he wouldn’t have been able to come into contact with anything truly important anyway.”
“What a fickle woman.”
Tian Yan stared at him.
Xu Yuan ignored her gaze, glanced in the direction of his own residence, and asked, “Hey, do you need to go home and grab anything?”
Tian Yan also stood up and shot him an annoyed look. “At a time like this, what is there to grab?”
Xu Yuan swept his eyes over the scorched, battle-damaged outfit she was wearing. “You sure?”
“Actually... I might need to.”
“Heh. Let’s go. We can spare fifteen minutes.”
The two of them returned home, packed what they needed for the road, and rushed all the way to the entrance of the Dome Palace. But when they arrived, they found the place in complete chaos.
Before the grand white jade palace gate, cultivators hurried back and forth, and source qi surged restlessly.
Among the crowd, Xu Yuan even spotted a first rank Transcendent elder who held real authority.
At the sight of this, both Xu Yuan and Tian Yan’s hearts tightened.
Fortunately, the chaos had not been caused by Tian Rui and Shen Weixiu’s deaths, but by an old acquaintance Xu Yuan had only just met today.
It was Xiao Jianqing. He had run.
The moment he received the supplies promised by the Second Elder, he ran.
Relying on the humble, harmless impression he had built up over the years, he caught everyone off guard. He poisoned and killed the third rank steward elder guarding the teleportation array gate, two core disciples, and several inner disciples, then fled directly to the outside world through the teleportation array at the entrance of the Dome Palace.
By the time the others discovered something had happened at the main gate of the Dome Palace, Xiao Jianqing had already been gone for nearly half an hour.
Well, even while running for their lives, they could still run into a fellow professional.
When Xu Yuan learned about this, he was not surprised in the slightest. All the best resources went to their own direct descendants, but when it came to risking their lives in a death match, they forced outsiders to go up instead. Who wouldn’t run?
The only thing that surprised Xu Yuan a little was that Xiao Jianqing had actually managed to escape.
The man had some ability. And thanks to this fine example set by Xiao Jianqing, most of the Splendorbloom Sect’s attention had shifted to the teleportation array at the secret realm’s exit. That made Xu Yuan and Tian Yan’s own plan to flee for their lives much smoother.
After dealing with a few acquaintances inside the palace, Xu Yuan and Tian Yan successfully arrived at their destination,the rear mountain of a secluded hall.
Holding the token from Tian Rui’s Sumeru Ring, Xu Yuan sensed it briefly, then raised his hand and waved.
BUZZ! A hidden array instantly surfaced around the two of them. He poured source qi into it and activated it.
Very soon, a pitch-black teleportation gate appeared before them.
They stood there for a moment.
The surroundings were utterly silent. The wind rustled through the trees and brushed past the ends of her waist-length hair.
He reached his hand out to her. “Come on. Let’s go.”
She glanced at his hand, then silently placed her small hand in his.
Xu Yuan took Tian Yan’s hand and was just about to step inside.
But at that moment, the girl behind him suddenly spoke. “Hey.”
“What?”
“You do know what you’re doing right now, don’t you?” she asked.
If they fled now, the Splendorbloom Sect would no longer help them withstand the pressure from the Heavenwatch Pavilion and Grand Purity Dao Palace.
On the contrary, the Splendorbloom Sect would send people after them. And, whether because of the Beguiling Divine Sakura or because of Tian Rui and Shen Weixiu, the Heavenwatch Pavilion and Grand Purity Dao Palace would also send people to hunt them down.
After a brief silence, Xu Yuan curved his eyes in a smile and pulled her along.
“Don’t worry.
“This world is huge. More than enough room for us to hide.”
“Idiot.”
“Tsk.”
ᯓ➤
The technique transmission hall was silent. Sunlight poured in through the hole in the dome above.
Suddenly, Xu Yuan opened his tightly shut eyes.
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