Chapter 30: The Lure of Profit

Standing in the hall were the majority of the immortal sect cultivators who had come to Ningyu, along with many Nightmare Masters. Among them was the familiar face of Ren Tang, the "second leader of the Nightmare Master Alliance."

"Su Zhaoqing? Was that Nightmare Master on Mount Chongdan last night you?" Ren Tang studied the woman in the hall.

"It was."

"You actually have the nerve to show your face! Hand over the spiritual artifact and the Xie family’s young lady at once!"

Wen Ci gestured toward him and said, "Ren, is that any way to speak to me? I am your predecessor as leader. If I hadn't abdicated to you, what qualifications would you have to stand here today and speak on behalf of the Nightmare Masters? You really ought to be thanking me profusely."

Wen Ci's talent for biting sarcasm was world-class; as long as he wasn't facing Ye Miwei, he was invincible. Ren Tang turned pale with rage and shouted, "Shut your mouth! A person of such twisted character, resorting to crooked ways to usurp the leadership—"

Wen Ci, having no desire to waste breath on him, cut him off directly. "I found the spiritual artifact boring and tossed it away long ago; if you want it, go find it yourself. As for the Xie girl, I set her free a long time ago. If she hasn't returned home, that’s no business of mine. Is there anyone from the Xie family here? Have you asked your Daoist Ceyin? Is Xie Yuzhu safe and sound now?"

Daoist Chengjun of the Fu Guang Sect exchanged a look with Xie Yuxiang, who gave a slight nod.

Vice Sect Leader Zhen of the Xiaoyao Gate sat on the left; his azure robes with cloud patterns were worthy of the "Xiaoyao" (carefree) name of his sect. He appeared to be in his early thirties, and he took a leisurely sip of tea, his demeanor remarkably composed.

"Su, what is your intention in suddenly summoning us here?"

"Nothing much. I happened to encounter Ye Miwei’s nightmare beast last night. I didn't manage to catch it, but I did obtain some information."

Wen Ci got straight to the point. He shook the silver scales in his hand and said blandly, "It told me that there is molten magma beneath Mount Chongdan, which will erupt in nine days."

At these words, the hall erupted in uproar. While the younger generation of the immortal sects might not know, most of the leading Daoists had experienced the volcanic eruption in Suzhou a century ago; the memory of that cataclysmic event, which caused countless deaths, still filled them with lingering dread. Practitioners might be ageless and immortal, using their bloodlines to command spiritual power and arts, rising above the mortal dust, but in the face of the Creator, they remained helpless—like ants looking up at humans, all their divine powers no more than the strength of flies.

"Recently, there have been strange noises in the mountains, many dead beasts, and trees withering for no reason. People thought it was the chaos caused by the arrival of the nightmare beast, but that is not the case. These portents originate from the mountain itself, and it is precisely because of this that the nightmare beast has appeared."

"When I saw it yesterday, it showed me a vision of the volcanic eruption and decreed that whoever can relocate the local populace to Jiazhou, a hundred miles away, will receive one Azure Crystal for every ten people. You will bring them to Jiazhou, and once ten people have pressed their fingerprints on the scale before departing and after arriving, an Azure Crystal will appear on the other side."

Wen Ci smiled faintly and said, "There are fifteen spiritual scales here. I reckon there are about ten thousand people in the villages and towns around Mount Chongdan who need to evacuate. One crystal for every ten people—that’s one thousand Azure Crystals."

His announcement caused a wave of discussion louder than before; gasps of amazement, joy, suspicion, and hesitation mingled together like a pot of boiling water. Regardless of whatever bad reputation or suspicions "Su Zhaoqing" might have had, if what she said was true, the benefits were immense. They had made a great fuss over the nightmare beast without being able to catch it, so bringing back some Azure Crystals would at least make the trip worthwhile.

Vice Sect Leader Zhen, however, furrowed his brows. He surveyed those in the hall, then looked at Wen Ci, saying coldly, "This matter is of great consequence. Does Su understand what she is saying?"

"I am perfectly aware."

"Whether the volcanic disaster is real remains to be seen, yet you dangle such heavy profit as bait. This place is a mix of good and bad; there will inevitably be those who forcibly seize and coerce the people to Jiazhou. People are reluctant to leave their ancestral homes; once conflict arises, the casualties may be no less than the natural disaster itself!"

"Oh? So you're saying I should hand these spiritual scales over to you, Vice Sect Leader Zhen, so that a man of your high virtue and prestige can distribute them and prevent the ‘small fry’ from causing trouble?"

Wen Ci rested his chin on his hand and said flatly, "I originally came to let everyone get rich together, but it seems you have thought it through quite thoroughly. Since this is a grave matter, how about this: you elders and seniors go have a good talk with the county magistrates and provincial governors. Given the fame and prestige of your sects, they surely won't deny you. Let the government issue the order to organize the evacuation, and the immortal sects provide assistance. Once the government issues the order, I will hand over the silver scales. How about that?"

His words didn't sound like a spontaneous reaction, but rather something prepared long in advance. Zhen Yuanqi’s brows were tightly knit, and he did not answer. The leader of a sect below spoke up: "Does Su think she can manipulate us with just these few words?"

Wen Ci glanced at the middle-aged man and said calmly, "Senior Zhen hasn't answered yet, so why are you in such a hurry? Afraid you won't get a share of the scales? That shouldn't be; you look so dignified. Could it be that you are the ‘small fry’ I spoke of?"

When the young disciple of that sect saw his elder being insulted, his anger flared. One of them lashed out, saying, "Cease your reckless talk!"

His spiritual sword pointed straight at Wen Ci’s face. The elder behind him shouted, "Stop!"

But it was too late. The blue-clad disciple’s body froze in mid-air, his sword hovering inches from Wen Ci, unable to move another inch. His face turned deep red as he remained paralyzed. Wen Ci lifted his eyelids to look at him, then tilted his head with a smile—vivid and imposing.

"Did you think you were the only one who wanted to kill me? Of the seniors sitting here, which one isn't cursing me in their hearts? Which one doesn't want to snatch what I have? Haven't you wondered why they are still sitting there? Or perhaps you should think about how you even arrived here?"

A look of bewilderment appeared in the blue-clad disciple's eyes.

"I..."

The solemn Qinglian Hall collapsed with a roar, the broken pillars and ruins falling into a swamp-like darkness, slowly sinking and vanishing. The stone floor cracked, the tiles drifting as if in a sea of black mud. As the crowd swayed, they revealed their various arts, the light of different spells shining as they tried to find a footing in this bizarre space.

Countless muddy arms reached out from the sea of mire, scrambling upward. Zhen Yuanqi frowned, and a waterfall of ash surged from his sleeves, dancing through the air and instantly sealing the cracked stone tiles, creating a new, flat surface. The rising mud was pressed back down, submerged into the black sea.

"Isn't this going a bit too far, Su?" Zhen Yuanqi said.

Wen Ci clapped his hands. "Vice Sect Leader Zhen’s ‘Ash-Turning Smoke Technique’ is truly remarkable."

The world shifted instantly. The black mud turned into a vast, snowy plain, and they stood upon a frozen, thousand-foot-deep cold pool. Amidst the howling wind and snow, only the tables, chairs, and tea belonging to Wen Ci and the others remained as they were.

The crowd used their spiritual power to ward off the cold. Zhen Yuanqi sighed, "Instant birth and instant death, ten thousand breaths and ten thousand realms—three thousand worlds in a single thought. Your nightmare arts have reached perfection."

Wen Ci smiled. "Vice Sect Leader Zhen is better at compliments than I am."

The poor blue-clad disciple was still hanging in mid-air; he had turned pale with fright when the hall collapsed and had been covered in mud. Now, with filth all over his face and body, he was so black he was unrecognizable.

With a flick of Wen Ci’s hand, he and his sword fell onto the ice and were caught by his fellow sect members.

"When you are young, you should broaden your horizons and distinguish between the light of day and the daydreams you have at night."

The sect lost face, and the leading elder shouted, "Do not be arrogant, you witch! Don't think we cannot break free from your nightmare!"

"Whether you can break free or not, I don't know. Vice Sect Leader Zhen, I am sure our Leader Ren can break free—but so what if you do? Can you find me? Do you not want the Azure Crystals?"

"You!"

Zhen Yuanqi spoke up: "Su, let us not engage in a war of words here. Since this is for the sake of the common people, we should think of a solution. Even if the government believes us and orders an evacuation, the people are always attached to their homes and may not be willing to leave. We cannot coerce them."

"That is easy to resolve. The day after tomorrow is the Festival of the Golden God, and residents from all the surrounding villages and towns will come to Ningyu to watch the Golden God parade. We can put on a show then; it will naturally persuade the people."

Wen Ci handed one of the silver scales to Zhen Yuanqi and said, "I will give you one scale first, Senior. You and the others can test it to see if you can obtain the Azure Crystals. After the Festival of the Golden God, we will have only six days left; we must begin evacuating the people immediately from that point on."

Zhen Yuanqi took the scale and probed, "Why is Su so keen on saving people?"

"Does saving people require a reason? Oh, I’ve come here to watch the Golden God parade a few times and found it very lively and interesting, so I want to save them. Is that alright?"

Wen Ci remained impenetrable, blocking them off once again. Tempted by the promise of a thousand Azure Crystals, although the others were indignant at Wen Ci's conduct and kept saying they would break out of the nightmare, none of them actually did.

After they discussed for a while, Vice Sect Leader Zhen said, "The dancer who plays the 'Golden God' in the parade will need to cooperate with us."

Wen Ci set down his teacup and said readily, "I will do it."

"It requires dancing, and I hear that this dance takes at least five years to master. The locals who can perform it are..." Xie Yuxiang, who had been participating in the discussion, began.

Wen Ci didn't even lift his eyelids. "I will dance it."

Someone who had been to the Nightmare Master Alliance whispered into Xie Yuxiang's ear that this Su was incredibly talented and the number one entertainer in Fujiang City. Xie Yuxiang swallowed the rest of his words.

At the end of the discussion, the matter was tentatively settled. Just as Wen Ci was about to withdraw the nightmare and leave, someone loudly asked, "Should we really trust her? If the volcano doesn't erupt in nine days, our reputations will be ruined!"

Wen Ci turned back. The speaker was hidden among the crowd; no one knew who it was.

He leaned against the back of his chair and laughed. "What are you afraid of? Even if something goes wrong, you can blame me. Say I am a witch spreading falsehoods, that I have ulterior motives, that I am a disgrace to the Nightmare Masters who caused the people to be displaced, and that everyone should kill me. As long as the Azure Crystals are real, you will reap great profits. At most, you can use some of the money from the crystals to provide relief to the people, bring them back, and then go out and curse me two or three times. Naturally, the public will blame me and not you. Then you can come in full force to denounce me, just like..."

He paused, and as the nightmare suddenly vanished, Wen Ci’s voice rang out clearly.

"—just like you did to Ye Miwei."

As the dawn appeared, Wen Ci appeared before Ye Miwei. She was bowing her head, calculating something on the grass, drawing lines with a twig, and even humming a soft tune.

As he drew closer, he could hear it clearly: it was the music he had been dancing to on Eagle Return Peak the day before, when he had nothing better to do.

Wen Ci sat down beside her. He thought Ye Miwei was so absorbed in her calculations that she wouldn't notice, but she looked up quickly and asked, "You're back? Did it go smoothly?"

"Smoothly enough, all thanks to those thousand Azure Crystals of yours."

Ye Miwei nodded. Sunlight slowly climbed the mountains, pouring down in a dazzling stream. Her silver-white hair brushed against her deep gray eyes, which held the same tranquility they had for decades.

Wen Ci thought to himself that she had always been this way. Her world was so vast, capable of holding the sun, the moon, the stars, the rivers, the seas, and all the books and arts in the world.