Sword Among Us

The front hall of Sky Demon Sect actually resembled a huge altar. It was a huge hall that was supported by twelve dragon-shaped pillars. There was a grand and mysterious altar at one end of the hall.

At the center of the altar were the Dharma images of four deities who looked as if they were alive!

They were the Dharma images of the four guards of Heavenly Palace!

The Sky Demon Sect disciples and apostles in the front hall had all been killed. There was a small team of six people there which quietly surrounded the altar at one end of the front hall, and they carefully observed the Dharma images of the four deities…

“There are four Dharma images here, and they correspond with four Sky Demon Orders. There should be no error in this, but how do we use it?”

The group circled around the Dharma images in bafflement, but they did not find the correct spot to place the Sky Demon orders, so they could not activate the huge Recondite Steel Door of the front hall.

One of the people in the group was Elder Wu Kuo of Wind Assault Tower, and he had some elites from his tower.

Their leader was Phantasmal Shadow. She wore a white veil that hid her face and held a soft, coiled up metallic whip. She stood at the foot of the altar with extraordinary calm while holding a dark red flint in her free hand. Her gaze was on the brazier at the top of two stone pillars with dragon carvings on them. They were the pillars that were closest to her, but she said nothing while looking at them…

“Tower master, brutes as we are, we really can’t find where the mechanism is.”

“Lil’ sis, why don’t you come over here and help us? You’re the most attentive among us…”

The group had been wandering around the altar for a long time and tried every method possible, but they could not find the correct way to activate Sky Demon Secret Cave, which made them gloomy.

“Sky Demon Secret Cave has been hidden for thirty years, and no one ever noticed it. There has to be a reason for that. If you could find the mechanism from just a few Dharma images, I’d start wondering whether the elites from the other sects fell on their heads when they were kids.”

“…Urk, are you saying that the mechanism isn’t on the four Dharma images at all?” Wu Kuo understood the underlying meaning behind Phantasmal Shadow’s words, and he could not help but be stunned.

The others also thought that what Phantasmal Shadow said was reasonable.

“Could it be somewhere else?”

“That would be difficult. This place is huge. If we had to go through every nook and cranny, it’d take a lot of time.” Wu Kuo’s face fell because of how troubled he felt.

Phantasmal Shadow did not say anything. She just cast a glance at the two stone pillars with dragon carvings with a contemplative expression on her face.

“Don’t worry, someone will soon come here to help us find the mechanism,” she said in a calm voice.

“Are you talking about the people from Mu Clan?” Wu Kuo’s expression changed. “If they come here, will we even be able to get anything?”

Someone in the party agreed with him swiftly. “He’s right. The people from Snow Eagle Group and Towering Palace were all chased away by Mu Clan, so you can tell that Mu Clan isn’t really that good.

“They definitely are thinking of monopolizing Sky Demon Secret Cave. If we don’t activate it first, are we going to wait for them here and beg them to let us have a share of the loot?”

“Beg?” Phantasmal Shadow smiled faintly and said with great confidence, “That’s not necessarily true. We’d just be working together. Wind Assault Tower might not be able to compare with the four top-class sects, but we are still powerful. We don’t need to care about others when we do things, and Mu Clan isn’t as domineering as you think they are.”

“They occupied the resources in West Region and Changjiang River Basin. They also have some of the resources in two major counties in the central plains as well as Jiangnan, and you’re saying they’re not domineering?”

Wu Kuo rolled his eyes.

Phantasmal Shadow’s smile did not fade away. “But they did not occupy every single resource in all the lands you just mentioned. They only take half of it, and this already makes them much better than Class One Hall and Towering Palace.”

“That’s because the situation is different, right?” Wu Kuo looked at his sister with a strange gaze. “It’s impossible for them to completely control all the resource points, but Sky Demon Secret Cave is a secret spot for quests. No one knows what sort of secrets are hidden inside, so will Mu Clan be willing to share them with us?”

When Phantasmal Shadow heard that, a hint of relief appeared on her face. “Big brother, you finally used your head.”

“…Ahem, can you let me preserve at least some of my dignity when we’re in front of other people? What do you mean by finally? Your brother is still considered wise and heroic, you know?”

“Alright, my wise and heroic brother, you underestimated Happy’s ambitions and tolerance. Even though he isn’t as openly domineering, fierce, and resolute as Dream Clouds, his placatory and tolerant methods helped him create an even stronger Mu Clan.

“He cares a lot about maintaining Mu Clan’s reputation, but from the methods he uses when he treats different sects, such as how he tries his best to be tolerant of large, middle, and small sects while being harsh on Class One Hall, you can tell that he is as ambitious as Dream Clouds.

“But his methods are easier to accept than those of Dream Clouds. He doesn’t give off the great hostility and desire to control everything as she does.”

“What do you mean?”

Wu Kuo scratched the back of his head while feeling lost.

Phantasmal Shadow placed her hand against her forehead in resignation and continued to explain. “Happy is trying to be as tolerant as possible to the other sects because he doesn’t want to make too many enemies. That’s one of the reasons behind it.

“The other reason is that those people aren’t strong enough to be of any threat to him. Besides, excavating from the resource points together will not affect Mu Clan getting stronger at all…

“As for Class One Hall, it’s because Happy can tell what threat Dream Clouds poses and how ambitious she is that he’s harsh toward them. He doesn’t want to give Dream Clouds and Class One Hall any space to receive nourishment and get stronger.”

At that moment, the other four elites who had not spoken looked at each other. One of the men with an axe could not help but ask, “But what does that have to do with our current situation?

“Will Mu Clan be willing to share the resources in Sky Demon Secret Cave with us? Don’t forget, Happy monopolized the resources in royal mausoleum by himself for a period of time.”

“But Happy does not take the initiative to kill…” Phantasmal Shadow’s analysis and understanding of Happy was rather deep, and her expression was as calm as usual. “Even if they really want to occupy it, they will mention it tactfully. They will not do as Dream Clouds does, killing everyone before telling them their intentions.”

Phantasmal Shadow looked at ease.

At that moment, the sounds of robes fluttering could be heard from the direction of the entrance.

Wary looks appeared on everyone’s faces, and they fixed their gazes on the entrance.

Happy, Silver Wolf, Wind Chimes, Momo, All-powerful Medicinal Stone, and Little North shot into the empty front hall of Sky Demon Sect as quickly as lightning.

They had two sets of fourth-echelon Golden Armor, one fourth-echelon Phantasmal Battle Armor, one Colorful Phoenix Dress. It was a lineup that made the group from Wind Assault Tower, which had been prepared to face them since a long time ago, be unable to help but suck in a sharp breath.

“Hey, there’s someone here!” a clear voice shouted out.

Phantasmal Shadow’s expression was the same as usual. She smiled and went up to Happy and his party. “I see, so it’s the elites from Mu Clan. I am Phantasmal Shadow of Wind Assault Tower, a pleasure to meet you.”

“Wind Assault Tower?”

“Phantasmal Shadow?”

Little North and the others exchanged a surprised glance. They did not expect that there would be a few elites already present. Phantasmal Shadow was one, and Wu Kuo was another. There was also a saying in the world that everyone in Wind Assault Tower was a great player and that their abilities did not lose to those of elites below Musical Note of Towering Palace.

“Haha…” Happy’s expression did not change. He just laughed and moved in front of Phantasmal Shadow.

In his previous life, he rarely had the chance to meet One Emperor, the two empresses, and three kings. Yet in this life, he seemed to be running into these famous elites wherever he went, and he wondered whether it was because the world was too small, or whether he was clearing the regrets from his previous life.

“Once we parted in Hero’s Mountain Villa, we did not see each other again, Tower Master Phantasmal Shadow. I hope you are well.”

Happy’s voice was steady, and his tone suggested that he was relaxed. He had the bearing and tone of those who stood supreme in the world of martial arts.

Phantasmal Shadow’s expression changed slightly…