Chapter 44: The Sky City's Battle of Wits

  The state of Qi occupies the most central and fertile land within the Great Ming border, to the north it rejects the State of Yan, to the east it borders the State of Wu, to the south it presses down on the State of Chu, and to the west it resists the Hu and Wei.

  Among the nine countries, Qi borders five countries, but it has always been able to keep its central territory intact. Even in recent years when Qin was weak and Liang was on the verge of collapse, it quietly dominated the Great Ming border.

  In a remote mountain range in the state of Qi, monsters roam, with steep peaks and dense forests. Those who are not skilled enough to enter will not be able to come out, only the outer periphery has been developed by cultivators.

  Gradually, no one went deeper, and the low-level demon beasts and ore veins on the periphery were enough for them to slowly dig up wealth.

  Deep in the mountains, a massive castle is floating in mid-air.

  The dreamy and ethereal mountain fog hid the Sky City within, while thick vines as wide as tree trunks formed a framework of bridges that enveloped the Sky City in greenery, also facilitating the ascent and descent of those whose cultivation was insufficient.

  Who would have thought that the legendary Sky City would be in this place, almost isolated from the world.

  Even if it is the Sky City scattered throughout the Great Ming border, there may be only a few bosses who know the specific location of the Sky City.

  The monks who hunted and mined outside the heavy mountains became a barrier for them, and anyone thought that the depths of this remote mountain range was a powerful demon.

  The castle in the sky has been rooted here for 23 years.

  In the castle of Laputa, today ten special guests arrived, making the atmosphere of the entire sky city tense.

  "After all these years, you still don't give up? Is a small country's land worth making you think so much?"

  A sea of people sat in the front row, next to a seat was occupied by a dignified-looking middle-aged man in purple clothes.

  One Sea drank the tea in his hand, as if he didn't worry at all that his arch-nemesis would poison the tea water, and on the other hand, tried to speak calmly with the middle-aged man in purple clothes.

  Yes, it's been 23 years in the blink of an eye.

  Twenty-three years ago, if it weren't for Liang Wang's timely intervention, you old fellow wouldn't have the chance to sit here and drink tea with me today.

  Hehe, this grudge will not be avenged, and I won't be at peace.

  "Moreover, there's also a country's land as compensation, I really can't think of any reason to refuse."

  The middle-aged man in purple clothes also took a sip of tea, with a smile on his face.

  If you just look at his carefree and smiling appearance, others would think he's chatting with an old friend he hasn't seen in years about some interesting past events.

  In this bright and refreshing room, there were more than twenty people sitting, but only Hai and the middle-aged man in purple clothes were talking, while everyone else was expressionless and secretly on guard.

  The deep-seated feud between Mount Huashan and the City in the Sky has lasted for a full twenty-three years, and it's hard to say when they will start fighting again.

  "Simadong Xu, this is a grudge between you and me, you shouldn't have interfered in the affairs of Liangguo."

  Besides, Nan Lin Wang Lang is a wolf-like person with wild ambitions, and it's not that easy to control him. Even if you help him take down the Liang Kingdom, there's no guarantee you can control him afterwards."

  One sea surface color calm, looks composed and unhurried, only to the purple clothes middle-aged Sima Dongxu analysis of the gains and losses, just like in Sima Dongxu as an aide.

  "Huh? A old fellow of the sea, I'm already in the middle period of Mahayana, 23 years ago you weren't my opponent, can you defeat me now?"

  "I don't know if Master Yidao has arrived or not, I didn't see him. Did you bring a few junior brothers with you?"

  Simu Dongxu was completely unmoved, and could even be said to have ignored Hai's words, directly skipping over the topic and instead probing cautiously.

  Moreover, while speaking, he transferred his spiritual power and shifted a thread of pressure onto Hai's body.

  Yi Hai lowered his head and took a sip of tea, as if the cup of tea served by Sima Dongxu was a rare treasure that he had not encountered in a hundred years. He remained unmoved by Sima Dongxu's probing.

  What! Sima Dongxu was shocked in his heart, he didn't expect that Yihai was also a Mahayana cultivator, and his strength might not be lower than his.

  Although he didn't see much that comforted him, Hai's incredibly strong power was absolutely not good news for him.

  "Has Yidao really gone wandering around the world? That would truly disappoint me."

  I originally thought I would have to die for this empty city plan today.

  In the end, neither of us can do anything about the other.

  "Why don't you just stay here for a few more days, and I'll make sure to serve you the best wine and dishes."

  Suddenly, Sima Dongxu was in a great mood. The Sky City was currently empty and only had one Mahayana cultivator. As long as Huashan came, he would be dead without a place to bury his body.

  As a result, he discovered that Yihai had already advanced to the Mahayana realm, which can explain why there has been no news from Yidong for many years. That is because after Yihai's advancement to the Mahayana realm, Yidong really went out to travel the four seas in order to break through his realm and become a true Buddha.

  He won the bet.

  Simadongxu's pride was all on his face, but unexpectedly he wasn't there. The elder of the Sky City was leading people to Nanlin Wang at this time.

  As long as Nan Lin Wang makes up his mind, with the help of Da Zhang Lao's great seniority in the late period of Mahayana, it is still quite possible to take down Liang Guo.

  Moreover, the Great Elder also brought along a warship from the Skypalace City, which was the strongest troop carrier. The power of the sixth-grade treasure was not to be underestimated, and when the time came, the divine soldiers would descend from the sky, and the capital of Liang Kingdom could be taken down with just a snap of the fingers.

  Killing Liang Wang can fulfill a wish and also control Liang State through Nanlin Wang, achieving two goals at once.

  Simadongxu had had enough of the Qi State's ruler by now and couldn't wait to move out of the Qi State immediately.

  "Living a few more days would be exempt, if the heavenly city's fine wine and delicacies are too much, then Old Monk is willing to share some with you. I wonder if the lord of Sima City has the generosity to send an old monk a gift of food?"

  At this time, Hai naturally understood that he had fallen into a trap.

  If Sima Dongxu didn't say that he sang an empty city plan, the two would continue to try and test each other repeatedly. After all, it's not necessarily possible for Mahayana practitioners like them to detect hidden ones.

  Now that Sima Dongxu has grasped eighty percent of the initiative yet hasn't made a move, it can only be explained that the Great Elder of the Heavenly Sky City is truly not present.

  The two people's seemingly casual conversation was actually a thrilling battle of wits, and Hai was the only one who could remain calm until now, even asking to take away the food with a thick face, if it were someone else, they would have been anxious to the point of having a blank mind.

  Actually, there's no other way around it; ever since Master Yidao came down from the mountain, Mount Hualein could only passively take the hits.

  However, this is relative. If one becomes a true Buddha, the situation will reverse instantly, and the Sky City, no matter how great an advantage it has grasped, will be annihilated in a single blow from the true Buddha.

  Is it really that easy to achieve true Buddhahood?

  This is not the key point, the key point is that Hai still can't figure out where the Great Elder of the Heavenly City went at this time.

  It's possible that he went to Hualien Mountain, or it's also possible that he went to Liangguo. One more thing needs to be known from Sima Dongxu's mouth.

  "A small gift is hardly worth mentioning."

  Simadongxu did not expect Haiyan to be so thick-skinned as to ask for fine wine and food at this time, but he thought again that a ring could not hold much anyway.

  Moreover, fine wine and delicacies are nothing special in his eyes. Even if he were to be served a mountain-sized feast, it wouldn't compare to the value of a fifth-grade treasure, and he has this kind of temperament.

  That was how a single sentence from him ruined half of Laputa's food reserves, and Hai Lao and Shang indeed still had their usual thick skin and black hearts.

  "Come to think of it, wasn't that Liang Guohuang, the crown prince of Liang, who participated in the Nanhai Martial Arts Tournament on Mount Huashan?"

  I've sent a top-notch player in his prime, just don't get killed by One Punch, okay?"

  Simadongxu spoke and conducted the next round of probing, he once guessed that one drunk was Liangxi, but for a moment could not be confirmed, can only try to judge from the performance of one sea.

  But there was no flaw in the ocean at all, which disappointed Sima Dongxu.

  "One drunkard with exceptional innate talent, already forming an elixir at such a young age. Do you think he could be the crown prince of the Liang Kingdom?"

  One sea did not directly answer that question, but intentionally guided Sima Dongxu, which made Sima Dongxu unsure of his own speculation.

  Moreover, Old Master calculated with a drunken junior brother that as long as my junior brother did not leave the South Sea, his life would be worry-free.

  At the same time, Hai didn't forget to counterattack, implying that: the mid-term Yuan Ying expert you sent out shouldn't not only fail to kill Yi Zui but also get killed by Yi Zui instead, or it would be a joke.

  However, Hai still had some worries in his heart.

  Cardinal Puppet Lulu's ultimate move, Sky Shattering Fury, has been used not long ago and hasn't recovered yet. If it were to clash with a mid-term cultivator of the Yuan Ying stage, the chances of winning would be very low.

  It's just hoped that a drunk can cleverly keep his life, and the outcome of the game is no longer important now.

  In fact, Hai would never have known that the words he casually used to provoke Sima Dongxu had become a prophecy, and Liu Xiu, who was in his prime at the time, had already been killed by a single stroke of the sword!

  The subordinate who went out with a handful of handcuffs returned with an ugly face, handed the handcuffs to Sima Dongxu's hands, and reported to Sima Dongxu that more than half of the reserves in the warehouse had been taken away.

  Simu Dongxu felt uncomfortable in his heart, but when he received the ring, he still smiled and handed it back to Yihai.

  It seems that neither side is ready to tear their faces apart yet, and for the sake of fine wine and food, it's not worth fighting to the death, especially when he has the upper hand now.

  At the same time, Sima Dongxu also felt nauseated by Yihai's super-large capacity Na ring. After calculating the time, it was about right, so he calmly and leisurely gave Yihai a blow.

  "Old fellow, I suddenly remembered that our Sky City recently sent some people to Hualian Mountain, and Wu Guo promised a lot of benefits."

  I wonder if the power you left on Mount Hua is still enough...

  "Hmm, today is probably the best day I've had in these twenty-three years."

  Simadong Xu deeply understands the truth and falsehood, but he doesn't speak to the point.

  He knew that Hai would choose to return to Hualien Mountain even if he had reservations in his heart.

  Because Mount Huashan is the top priority, if you return late, and the Great Elder of the Heavenly City is on Mount Huashan, without his leadership, even the protective array of the sect can't last for long.

  If the Grand Elder is in Liang Guo, then Nan Lin Wang has always been conservative and war will not break out immediately.

  One sea thought so in his heart, those who should know already knew, and those who didn't know wouldn't be told the truth by Sima Dongxu with good intentions. Now returning to Huashan was undoubtedly the most correct choice, so he stood up and bid farewell.

  As soon as they left the city master's mansion, several senior brothers of the same generation who came with Hai took a deep breath. The pressure was still quite great when they were fighting against Sima Dongxu just now.