pertwk Chapter 2394 The Earth Mother's Contract
Chapter 2394 The Earth Mother's Contract
Chapter 2394 The Earth Mother's Contract
“My attempts to stop it were useless; only Shangguan Biao could stop it. That’s when I realized that while the Earth Mother was ostensibly helping me, the one truly controlling it was Shangguan Biao!” Liu Yisheng said hoarsely. “His help wasn’t out of kindness; he wanted to be the last one standing. Now that I’m the only one left among the three forces, he will definitely target me!”
"You attacked him first?" Immortal Mingke gave him a thumbs up. "Well done."
He knew that Liu Yisheng was no pushover either.
When Sect Leader Wang tried to deal with Shangguan Biao, Shangguan Biao struck first.
Liu Yisheng anticipated that Shangguan Biao would target him, so he decided to strike first.
No wonder they share the same teacher.
“Ever since I began to suspect the cause of Master Wang’s death, I’ve been trying to win Shangguan Biao over as much as possible to lower his guard. He’s also prone to getting carried away, and he’s become increasingly disrespectful to me in public.” Liu Yisheng took a deep breath. “After the victory banquet, I sent him to attack Danyan Pavilion. Taking advantage of its unique terrain, I laid a trap and finally, with the help of the power of heaven and earth, pulverized it!”
Aunt Zhu then said to He Lingchuan, "Danyan Pavilion is located on the edge of Thunder Heaven Plain. Thunder Heaven Plain is a plateau very close to the sky, and it is struck by lightning tens of thousands of times every day."
He Lingchuan understood.
"When the news of the success came back, I couldn't believe it. But from then on, Mother Earth truly obeyed me."
Originally, the order of obedience to the Earth Mother was first Shangguan Biao, then Liu Yisheng. But with Shangguan Biao's death, Liu Yisheng rose to the first position.
The four looked at each other, and Aunt Zhu said subconsciously, "You've been tricked, haven't you? I feel like Shangguan Biao is using this to his advantage and lower your guard."
"After Shangguan Biao died, I began to reorganize the sect, hoping to start anew and rebuild Changfeng's glory."
He Lingchuan laughed and said, "You mean, eliminate the forces left behind by Shangguan Biao and the other two factions?"
Liu Yisheng ignored his sarcasm. Such verbal attacks, whether during his lifetime or after his death, were insignificant: "But this matter is really quite difficult. Changfeng Valley is like a seriously ill person, with a deep-seated disease that is hard to cure. I have been reorganizing for more than three years, and there has only been a slight improvement. However, it is not even one-tenth of the peak of the sect."
Let alone the fact that the morale of the people is low, it's hard to lead a team. Given the temperament of the Changfeng Valley disciples, once the sect loses power and weakens, it will hold no appeal for them whatsoever.
Once the tree falls, the monkeys will immediately move away; none of them are willing to stay and perish with it.
“On a night of blood moon, the Earth Mother betrayed us without warning. I was caught off guard and was killed by her! This thing even gathered a demon army to launch a surprise attack on Changfeng Valley!” Liu Yisheng closed his eyes. “You should have heard about this as well.”
All three nodded. This matter marked the end for Changfeng Valley.
"The Earth Mother's betrayal was something I couldn't understand even after I was imprisoned here, until someone came down from the mountain and stood outside the screen, which is where you are standing now." Liu Yisheng said, word by word, "Shangguan Biao! When I saw that face, I was absolutely horrified. Zhao Dongyang was so scared that he fell to the ground and couldn't even get up."
"Zhao Dongyang?" A new name.
Liu Yisheng took two steps to the side, and only then did everyone notice that there was a stone chain behind him, one end of which was attached to the ground, and the other end was empty.
“There were originally three prisoners here. Besides me and Li Yun, the remaining one is Zhao Dongyang,” Liu Yisheng explained. “Zhao Dongyang was Shangguan Biao’s senior brother when he first joined the sect. Later, they fell out. Shangguan Biao was demoted several times because of Zhao Dongyang.”
“Before Shangguan Biao became the cave master, Zhao Dongyang had already died, having been stabbed thirty-six times. But we didn’t know that his soul had already been extracted.” Liu Yisheng paused for a moment. “Shangguan Biao got tired of him and recently cremated him.”
"In other words, Shangguan Biao locked the three people he hated most behind the screen." Aunt Zhu looked at the stone carving next to her, "There's one more here."
"You've had deep contact with both the Earth Mother and Shangguan Biao," He Lingchuan asked Liu Yisheng. "In your opinion, how does Shangguan Biao control the Earth Mother?"
“A loophole in the contract.” Liu Yisheng said without hesitation, “I’ve been thinking about this repeatedly. When Shangguan Biao was working as a handyman, he served the Earth Mother. Maybe he did something! When I adopted his suggestion and changed the contract between Changfeng Valley and the Earth Mother, he may have taken advantage of the few moments when the old contract was invalid to preemptively sign a contract with the Earth Mother! Ha, he had planned it all along.”
"So his contract takes priority." Immortal Mingke pondered, "At that time, the Earth Mother had just finished the battle to protect the sect and was also seriously injured. She must have been very weak, right?"
"Yes, that's how Shangguan Biao got his chance."
He Lingchuan asked again, "What are the contents of the contract?"
“Originally, my sect had a pact with the Earth Mother, stipulating that unless the sect inflicted serious injury on the spirit beast without cause, causing potentially fatal damage, this pact could not be dissolved.” Liu Yisheng paused, “Shangguan Biao suggested that I exploit this loophole.”
It's not that Changfeng Valley was unaware of this loophole, but rather that the contract between the guardian spirit beasts is inherently like this: a "back door," or a "way out," must be left for the spirit beasts, otherwise the contract cannot be established. This is a limitation imposed by the laws of nature.
However, this contract was signed a long time ago, and not only do the higher-ups of Changfeng Valley not remember it, but even the later disciples do not know its contents.
"..." Aunt Zhu snorted, "During the Three Sects War, the Earth Mother fought bravely for your Changfeng Valley until she was seriously injured, didn't she? Instead of thinking about how to thank her, you're using her to fight for power and profit?"
"Yes." Liu Yisheng shrugged. "Of course I'm grateful to it. But at that time, the internal strife within the sect was intensifying, and the other two factions wanted to unite against me. Because we were all fellow disciples, we knew each other inside and out..."
Immortal Mingke understood: "So when they start attacking, they're even more ruthless than the outer sect?"
Liu Yisheng sighed: "At that time, our situation was already extremely precarious, but we had no choice but to use any available strategies."
Even if Shangguan Biao's method is unusable, let alone effective, we'll still have to try anything, no matter how desperate the situation.
As a former undefeated general, how could Liu Yisheng not be aware of the brutality and consequences of internal sect conflicts?
This kind of war can only be won, not lost.
"Your arrest by Shangguan Biao is a testament to the wicked being punished by the wicked."
Liu Yisheng gave a self-deprecating laugh.
Let these people curse if they want; after all, it's all ancient history from thousands of years ago, and he's almost forgotten how he felt back then.
Good or evil, it's all just fleeting smoke.
"What about the new contract?" He Lingchuan pressed. "How was it signed?"
"Shangguan Biao devised a plan to have the other two factions accidentally injure the Earth Mother. Because Shi Xin was severely injured and cracked, unable to bear the power of the contract, I changed it to signing a contract with the spirit of the Earth Mother."
(End of this chapter)