Chapter 423: Busted
Translator: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit
"Sadly, my abilities are limited. I couldn't get them anywhere else besides the pockets of the participating cultivators." Miao Yi shrugged helplessly. It's not as if he could have obtained them from the representatives, right?
Yue Yao's eyes brightened as she thought about the mysterious phenomenon that had been happening of late. She asked suspiciously, "You were the one who took all their things?"
Miao Yi naturally knew the meaning behind her question. He nodded, admitting to it.
Yue Yao was lost for words, unable to fathom why those people would hand their possessions over to him. She asked, "Did you take them by force?"
"Currently, private battles aren't permitted. How could I dare take them by force?" Miao Yi replied honestly, "I just called them out separately, and threatened to challenge them if they didn't hand their things over. At this stage, Geotranscendence Bangles no longer hold any meaning to them. Even if they defeated any more opponents, they would still need to hand them over to you guys. Their highest priority right now is survival. Thus, it was easy for them to make up their minds."
Yue Yao immediately understood, realizing that the root of the problem was in her own camp this whole time. And she even had the gall to push the blame onto the others and cursed them for being despicable. If the other representatives were to find out about this, they would surely call her all manner of names. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry as she asked, "Aren't you afraid that they'll report you?"
"As long as they handed over their things, they wouldn't dare to report me. Not only is it something shameful for them, but by handing their Geotranscendence Bangles over to someone else, they have undoubtedly caused trouble for their own representatives. Hence, they would obviously want to keep this under wraps and pretend like nothing ever happened. How could they dare expose me?" Miao Yi said casually.
Yue Yao glared at Miao Yi and said, "There's no way such a major incident can be concealed for long. The other representatives will eventually find out the truth. When that happens, they'll even think that I was the one behind your actions. How would I explain it if they come looking for me?"
Miao Yi firmly nodded in agreement and said, "Since Lord Sixth thinks that these Geotranscendence Bangles will attract trouble, and you're afraid that the other representatives will make things difficult for you, then I'll go and return them." He then walked up to Yue Yao and extended his arm to take back the storage ring in her hands.
Yue Yao immediately hid her hand behind her back. She had no intention of handing the Geotranscendence Bangles over at all!
The two stood facing each other. Since they were standing so close to each other, and because of the difference in height, Yue Yao realized she was looking up at the other party. The placid, self-assured look in his eyes made Yue Yao feel as though she was just a little girl being twisted around his little finger, causing her heart to race slightly.
'How did it end up like this?' Yue Yao was feeling a little flustered, but when she caught sight of the fleeting trace of mockery in Miao Yi's eyes, she immediately snapped back in anger, "What a joke! As if I'd be afraid of them. It's not like I got these Geotranscendence Bangles by breaking any rules, nor did I harm any of their members. They handed these over to me themselves. Who can blame me for it?"
'Little Sister, you're still a little wet behind the ears in front of your big brother!' Miao Yi smiled. Yue Yao's words obviously meant that she would accept the responsibility. He took a few steps back, cupped his fists and said, "Lord Sixth is wise. I shall take my leave now!"
As she watched Miao Yi leave, Yue Yao clenched her teeth. 'This bastard is so despicable. How dare he manipulate me!'
"Congratulations, Lord Sixth. With the thirty thousand you just received, you now have almost seventy thousand Geotranscendence Bangles in your possession. The number one spot of the Sea of Constellations Subjugation Crusade is as good as yours. The Venerable Sage will surely reward you handsomely once we've returned to the Realm Beyond Heaven!" Lan Ruo stepped forward to congratulate Yue Yao, then smiled and said, "Luckily, we pulled this Yan Beihong over to our camp. He really has been a great help."
Yue Yao scoffed at her words, "Had I not convinced the other representatives and changed the rules of the endgame, how could he have possibly gotten the opportunity to take all of this?"
Lan Ruo smiled wryly in response. However, she soon creased her brows and remarked, "Lord Sixth, something doesn't feel right. If I recall correctly, Geotranscendence Bangles weren't the only things that were lacking from those people's bodies."
Yue Yao's eyes glinted as she turned to look towards the door...
Just as Yue Yao had said, such a major incident could not be kept secret for long. Besides Yun Feiyang, the other representatives immediately noticed something was off the moment they gathered all their members' belongings.
On the Buddha Nation mountaintop, Ba Jie stood beside Kong Zhi and was fiercely knocking on the wooden fish drum in his hand, a clear indication of the rage in his heart. A group of monks was standing quietly in front of him, their heads lowered as Ba Jie said coldly, "Yan Beihong! You've got some skill indeed! Not even in all the years I ran amok in the Realm of High Paradise have I ever suffered such a major setback. I've truly underestimated my opponent this time. How dare this bastard play this kind of game right under my nose!"
Kong Zhi said in a somber tone, "The one pulling the strings behind this is surely Yue Yao. He wouldn't dare do such a thing if he didn't have her support!"
The incessant knocking on the drum then stopped as Ba Jie revealed a cruel smile and ordered, "All of you, return to your original positions immediately. Pretend as if nothing happened. When that bastard comes tonight, I want you to catch him on the spot. I'll have him spit everything out the same way he swallowed them. That motherfucker. How dare he steal from a monk!"
On the Devil Nation mountaintop. Yun Feiyang was busy gathering his members' belongings, completely oblivious to the truth of the incident.
On the Yao Nation mountaintop, Bai Ziliang wore a dark expression on his face, while beside him, Lan Susu gnashed her teeth in hatred and cursed, "Yue Yao! That despicable bitch!"
On the Ghost Nation mountaintop, Hei Wuya was standing on the roof, staring at the Celestial Nation mountain. While his face remained unseen, his gaze was filled with mixed feelings as he muttered softly, "Yue Yao…"
Down below, one subordinate shouted, "Young Master, let's get back at that bitch, Yue Yao!"
Hei Wuya lowered his gaze at that subordinate and asked coldly, "What did you just call Yue Yao?"
The subordinate immediately realized his mistake, and he lowered his head and shut his mouth.
On the Boundless Nation mountaintop, Feng Ruxiu was standing at the edge of the cliff, gazing towards the Celestial Nation mountain and shaking his head as he smiled bitterly. "Yue Yao, I can't believe you would play such a trick. My impression of you is somewhat damaged now!"
Inside a certain cave on the Celestial Nation mountain, Zhao Fei and Gu Sanzheng suddenly rushed in from outside, the former nodding towards Miao Yi and the others, who were sitting cross-legged, and said, "As expected, Fairy Yue Yao has already set up a defensive perimeter!"
Sikong Wuwei immediately began rubbing his hands excitedly as he said, "Come come come, with Yue Yao guarding our backs, we can relax and tally our spoils."
Miao Yi turned to Pi Junzi and said, "Pi Junzi, keep a close ear and warn us immediately if you hear someone approaching."
Pi Junzi repeatedly nodded, and immediately splayed himself across the ground, placing his ear towards the earth.
Meanwhile, the other seven immediately sat in a circle to begin splitting the loot. Over thirty thousand storage rings and bangles were then taken out and spread across the ground. There were not many storage bangles; the pile mostly consisted of storage rings.
"Let's sort them accordingly. Orbs of Will in one storage bangle, crystal coins in one storage bangle, transcendent artifacts in one storage bangle…" Miao Yi waved his hand and instructed.
The seven of them then immediately took out several storage bangles from within the pile and placed them in front of where they sat. They would use these to store the different categories of items. After which, fourteen hands began to quickly sort out the items inside every storage ring.
As he sorted out the things, Sikong Wuwei would sometimes chuckle like an idiot to himself, his shoulders trembling in elation. The others would occasionally shake their heads and revealed smiles as well. Even Miao Yi had difficulty hiding the excitement on his face.
Little did they know that up in the sky, a crescent moon was silently descending upon the cave, and standing elegantly on that crescent moon was Yue Yao.
Still lying on the ground and listening for sounds, Pi Junzi couldn't help his astonishment when he saw Yue Yao gracefully landing in front of the cave.
As Miao Yi and the others were sorting out their loot, someone suddenly barged inside the cave. Everyone immediately turned their heads and barked, "Who's there?!"
When they saw it was Yue Yao, they were all dumbfounded.
Yue Yao was a little flabbergasted as well, staring at the group of people surrounding an entire pile of storage rings. How many storage rings did it take to form such a massive heap?
Still sitting cross-legged on the ground, Miao Yi and the others didn't know whether they should sit or stand up, or if they should put all their stuff away. More importantly, the other party was already looking at their pile of loot. It was too late to put them away even if Miao Yi and the others wanted to. Hence, they simply stared at Yue Yao, eyes wide and mouths agape, as they waited for her response.
'Just as I suspected!' thought Yue Yao. She scoffed, "Yan Beihong, it looks like you guys have struck gold."
To be caught by your own sister while you were splitting loot behind her back was simply too awkward! Miao Yi hurriedly stood up, laughing drily as he said, "Yue Yao, I mean, Lord Sixth, we haven't sorted everything out yet, so we figured it would be unwise to report an indefinite amount to you. We're just getting ready to tally everything. Once we have the exact figures, we'll report them to you."
As she watched how flustered Miao Yi was being, when he was normally so composed in front of her, Yue Yao suddenly felt a sense of pleasure in her heart. She teased, "You've got so much stuff here. I wonder if I can have a share as well?"
Before Miao Yi could say anything, the others were already scrambling up to their feet and nodding. "Yes, yes, of course!"
Miao Yi nodded as well, and added, "If Lord Sixth had not set the new rules for the competition, we wouldn't have been able to make such a fortune to begin with. You will surely get the lion's share of the profits."
They didn't have a choice. It was simply too dangerous to be carrying around such a huge pile of treasure. Without Yue Yao holding off the other representatives, there was no way Miao Yi and the others would be able to keep all this stuff. It would have been fine if Yue Yao hadn't discovered them, but since she did, it wouldn't be wise to still keep it for themselves. Nonetheless, Miao Yi thought, 'Little Sister, you're not lacking all these things anyway since you're already in the Realm Beyond Heaven. Not to mention, you already earned quite a significant benefit as well. Just let your big brother handle the rest for you.'
Yue Yao raised her eyebrow slightly as she thought, 'Do you guys really think I'm that stupid? As if I would believe you all. If you really wanted to let me know, why did you keep quiet about it this whole time?'
At this moment, Lan Ruo appeared outside the cave as well. As she slowly walked in and saw the massive heap of storage rings on the ground, her mouth fell open and she was frozen on the spot.
"Lan Ruo!" Yue Yao called out clearly.
"Here!" Lan Ruo quickly snapped out of it and responded.
"They just told me that I'll be getting the lion's share of all the stuff here. I want you to keep watch as they sort everything out. Once they're done, I'll be taking half. Let them split the rest among themselves!"
"Understood!" Lan Ruo replied excitedly.
'Half?' Miao Yi's expression twisted in dismay as he thought, 'She's my little sister alright. Even after so many years, some things never change. I only have myself to blame for not teaching her properly all those years ago, causing her to follow in Little Brother's bad habits. Just look at how unseemly it is for such a beautiful lady to act so greedy. I hope she won't have trouble finding someone to marry in the future.'
As she snuck a glance at the defeated Miao Yi, Yue Yao released a light, yet taunting snort. She raised her fair chin proudly, then turned around and walked away. There was a trace of joy on her beautiful face from having taken her revenge.
Miao Yi simply didn't know about the situation within the Realm Beyond Heaven. It's not as if Yue Yao had a limitless supply of Orbs of Will simply because she was Mu Fanjun's disciple. The tributes that were handed in from the entire Celestial Nation belonged to Mu Fanjun alone, and unless she decided to reward someone, it wasn't likely that she would share it with anyone else. As for her disciples, the source of their income came from the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce.
Currently, Yue Yao's cultivation was low, so she wouldn't use too big a sum of Orbs of Will for her cultivation. But once her cultivation was high enough, she would have to deal with the shortage of Orbs of Will as well. Yue Yao had been in the Realm Beyond Heaven long enough to be fully aware of this predicament. Hence, when there was such a massive heap of treasure in front of her, how could she possibly say no to it? Not unless she was an idiot, that is.
Miao Yi and the others looked at one another, then simultaneously shot Pi Junzi a vicious glare, evidently blaming him for not keeping a good lookout.
Pi Junzi was distressed as well. He quickly explained via voice transmission, "It's not my fault. Yue Yao is simply too cunning, coming down from the sky. My ability only allows me to hear things coming from the 'ground', not the 'sky'..."