Chapter 1087

While Zhuge Feng gazed west with an earnest wish in his eyes, a low laugh rang out from the highest peak in the western lands.

“Good. This is how it should be. Exactly how it should be.”

At the Blood Lord’s smiling nod, the messenger who had just finished his report felt a quiet sense of relief.

He had brought news good enough to satisfy him.

Unlike his comrades, who had become cold corpses one after another, he wouldn’t be killed by the violent man before him.

But it was too soon to feel safe.

This hour wasn’t over yet.

“So they’re all just watching and waiting to see what happens?”

At the Blood Lord’s question, the messenger lowered himself further, prostrating himself before he answered.

“That is correct. The Nine Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Families are watching the situation and strengthening their defenses, but they have made no further moves.”

“They used to praise one another as chivalrous heroes. Now that the moment has come, they’re scared stiff.”

The Blood Lord’s smile deepened. Then a clear voice rang out from somewhere.

“Better a coward than an idiot like you. Don’t you think?”

The Blood Lord frowned despite himself when he saw who had spoken, but soon answered in a leisurely tone.

“Couldn’t agree more. Stupidity leads straight to incompetence. That must be why he entrusted this plan to me.”

“And taking the sorcerers under my command and starting this without my permission?”

“I’ve been entrusted with everything in Qinghai. Why would I need to consult a defeated general?”

The Grand Sorceress smiled coldly at the reminder of her failure in Gansu.

“Your eloquence has certainly improved. Last time, was it your head that got cut off instead of your arm? I suppose I should praise you for getting a little smarter.”

For an instant, the smile on the Blood Lord’s lips faded.

Ever since Sword Saint Mae Jonghak’s strike had taken one of his arms during the incident the Central Plains Murim called the Shaolin Bloodshed, it had become a sore point he could not bear to have touched.

That damned woman.

Of course, he had accomplished his mission well enough.

He had stolen the Green Jade Buddha Staff, the most important prize, and killed numerous Shaolin Temple martial monks, including the Abbot, Hong Dao, dealing the temple a devastating blow.

But despite the success, the wound to his pride from how it had happened showed no sign of healing.

Merely remembering that violet Sword Force sent a chill through him. The place it had severed still throbbed, even now that a new arm had taken its place.

And he still carried his anger toward one reckless young pup who had stood against him to the very end without the slightest fear.

“Shut your mouth, bitch. You weren’t even there, so you’ve got no right to talk about it.”

The Blood Lord’s voice sank low. The Grand Sorceress gave him a faint smile.

“Right. That’s what I regret most.”

What?

“If I’d been there, you never could’ve come out with that nonsense about losing after fighting the Sword Saint for hundreds of exchanges.”

“…!”

“Be honest. After a life-and-death duel with the Fire King—that violent old man—you fought the Sword Saint for hundreds of exchanges? You’ve got some nerve, lying to him like that.”

“You’re imagining things. I’ve always told him the truth.”

The Blood Lord replied as calmly as he could, but he knew better than anyone that the Grand Sorceress was right.

It was true.

He had lied to the Lord of Heaven about his final fight with Mae Jonghak.

The first time he had ever lied—and the last.

Why?

It was simple.

He had been furious, and afraid.

If he had known Mae Jonghak’s identity from the start, prepared for his arrival, and conserved his strength, he wouldn’t have lost his arm before lasting even three exchanges.

And if he had reported everything without leaving out a single detail, the master he trusted and worshiped like a god might have cast him aside.

But he believed in me. That’s enough.

The Blood Lord quietly settled his thoughts.

It didn’t matter what the Grand Sorceress said to his face.

Whether the Lord of Heaven truly believed him or had simply pretended not to know, he had made no issue of it—and he never would.

“Enough. Keep this up and I’ll want to blow your head off.”

At the Blood Lord’s warning, his composure now restored, the Grand Sorceress shrugged.

“I doubt you could, but let’s leave it there. We have important work ahead. I don’t want to waste my strength.”

The Blood Lord nodded without a word.

The two of them had snarled at each other without pause, as if they’d been enemies since a past life. But carrying out the mission their master had given them mattered more than anything else.

“As you’ve probably guessed, the Central Plains won’t be able to interfere in Qinghai’s affairs for now.”

The Green Forest Alliance and the Yangtze River Channel League were still pushing west even as they spoke.

Of course, if the Murim Alliance gathered the Central Plains’ strength and brought it all to bear, it could crush them in an instant. But with the Moving Formations shackling it, taking that first, heavy step would be difficult.

No—not just difficult. Nearly impossible.

Sending enough troops to save Qinghai would leave cracks in the Central Plains’ solid wall of defense.

“So if they want to save Qinghai, they leave the Central Plains exposed. And if they want to defend it, they have to abandon Qinghai.”

The Blood Lord’s smile returned as he continued.

“Looks like all that effort we put into those Central Plains bandits has paid off. A perfect checkmate, wouldn’t you say?”

Unlike him, the Grand Sorceress’s lips did not move beneath her veil.

“Of course I know. That’s why I regret it even more.”

“Why regret it? It’s only a matter of time before Xining, where they’ve gathered, is surrounded from both sides.”

“Is that all?”

“Take complete control of Qinghai, then, if possible, secure Jin Taekyung according to further orders. Wasn’t that what he instructed?”

The Grand Sorceress let out a hollow laugh at the Blood Lord’s question.

“I take back what I said earlier. You’re still just as stupid.”

What?

“Don’t you understand? If the Murim Alliance had moved this time, we could have taken the Central Plains Murim—or even everything he wants.”

The Grand Sorceress stared straight at the Blood Lord through her fine veil and added quietly,

“The whole world.”

“…!”

“You should have consulted me before making your decision. To waste those precious Magic Formations, each usable only twice, on something like this…”

A low hum rose.

Qi surged with her cold voice.

At that moment, the Grand Sorceress was truly furious.

Furious that the Blood Lord had moved so many troops without so much as a word of discussion with her.

In doing so, he had wasted the dozens of Magic Formations Dark Heaven had spent so long planting throughout the world—and missed a golden opportunity to take it.

Yet even as she seethed, the smile on the Blood Lord’s lips did not disappear.

If anything, it grew even broader.

What?

The Grand Sorceress realized something was wrong a moment too late. The Blood Lord spoke with a sneer.

“I think you need to take back what you just said. Did you really think I was that stupid?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The Yangtze and the Green Forest. We recruited those mangy bandits as bait from the start. I never intended to put real effort into bait.”

The Grand Sorceress’s eyes widened as she grasped what he meant.

“Then perhaps…”

“That’s right. It was for show. Though I wondered if the Central Plains might take the bait. Unless those fools are complete idiots, they’ve been on guard against Magic Formations for some time.”

That was why he needed to test them.

Had the dozens of Magic Formations Dark Heaven’s sorcerers secretly set up throughout the world been discovered?

And if not, did they still work?

“And now we know for certain.”

The test had succeeded.

A total of ten thousand Dark Heaven faithful had crossed into the Central Plains through the Magic Formations and joined the Green Forest Alliance and the Yangtze River Channel League. The Blood Lord had only just received the news.

From the messenger still unable to raise his head before them.

“Perfect. Unfortunately, a couple of the Magic Formations used when we attacked Shaolin may have lost their power, but most still have one use left.”

The Grand Sorceress, who had fallen silent as she listened, murmured,

“That’s enough. With that much…”

They wouldn’t need to bring all of Dark Heaven’s forces into play.

They could drop tens of thousands of troops into the heart of the Central Plains at once and bring down its major sects. A single great war would be enough to conquer the world.

But that alone could not quell all her anger.

The Grand Sorceress fixed the Blood Lord with a piercing gaze.

“I understand your reasons and your justification. But it’s not enough.”

“Why not?”

“We still have one last chance to activate the Magic Formations. But now they’ll be even more wary of us.”

“No. It’s the other way around.”

What?

“When bandits start rampaging all around them, wouldn’t it be stranger if we did nothing to help or intervene?”

“…!”

“It was something we had to do anyway, if only to keep watch over those two bandit gangs in case they change their minds again.”

If they could betray once, they could do it twice or three times.

The ten thousand Dark Heaven faithful sent ahead were also a deterrent against another betrayal.

Another shackle to keep the Green Forest Alliance and the Yangtze River Channel League from entertaining other ideas.

To make sure they wouldn’t even dare.

“No matter how this goes, we have nothing to lose.”

The Blood Lord rose to his feet and continued,

“If the Central Plains’ chivalrous heroes can’t bear their guilt and rise from their seats, the Magic Formations will prove their worth.”

Step. Step.

His voice scattered as his footsteps rang out slowly.

“And if they stay where they are, we’ll pass through Qinghai and head into the Central Plains.”

Rumble.

At the Blood Lord’s outstretched hand, the massive iron doors swung open.

Below them stood a vast army, blackening the mountain range.

“Raise the army. We march on Xining.”