bookrebus Chapter 180 The Cloud Clan Retreats
Chapter 180 The Cloud Clan Retreats
Lightning flashed, illuminating the mountains and valleys in white.
A streak of crimson and white light, ten feet in diameter, tore through the void, its deafening roar almost as loud as thunder, engulfing the area where Luo Sifan was standing.
Given such immense power, it's not hard to guess what would become of Luo Sifan.
Yun Congsheng's soul could not see Luo Sifan's miserable state through the lightning waterfall's obscuring effect. A look of regret flashed across the old man's face. With a wave of his hand, the nine lightning stones that had lost their luster rolled down one by one and returned to Yun Congsheng's arms.
Gently patting the deer's neck, Yun Congsheng was about to turn around when the lightning, having exhausted its power, began to fade away.
Yun Congsheng's eyes twitched, and his hand froze.
What appeared where he had expected was not the ashes and ash, but instead, a radiant, carefree Luo Sifan, arms crossed and smiling, as if a god had descended to earth.
Yun Congsheng's heart skipped a beat, and Wu Lingsu's words came flooding back to him.
"Luo...Luo...Immortal!"
Yun Congsheng's teeth chattered slightly. Luo Sifan hadn't even reached the Golden Core stage yet, but he withstood the attack from the Xuan Tian Thunder Stone's array formation with such ease and casualness. Yun Congsheng really couldn't think of a better explanation than that of an immortal descending to earth.
"Senior Yun, that's an exaggeration. I may have some affinity with immortality, but how noble are immortals? I still need a hundred years of tempering, how dare I presume to claim that? Be careful not to offend the heavenly laws, or even the Nine Heavens Thunder Seal Master will no longer be able to be my brother!"
Luo Sifan, having withstood the lightning strike, showed no anger whatsoever. He smiled and looked at Yun Congsheng, casually boasting to himself once again.
Yun Congsheng knew the rules and realized that he had lost his composure.
"Young Master Luo! It's all my fault for speaking recklessly in a moment of panic!"
Stopping all talk of immortals and monsters, Yun Congsheng shamelessly flattered Luo Sifan.
As for the turmoil raging within him, Luo Sifan had no way of knowing.
Wu Lingsu then jumped back and gave her master a reproachful look.
"Alright, the fight's over, the lightning's gone. Senior Yun, would you grant me permission to mediate tomorrow's battle?"
The radiance on Luo Sifan faded, and his hands, which had been clasped together in a mudra, fell to their sides. He spoke calmly to Yun Congsheng.
"Very well, very well! Since Young Master Luo insists, my Yun Clan will definitely withdraw from tomorrow's battle. The nearly ten thousand clansmen in the valley will break camp and retreat by tomorrow morning!"
At this moment, Yun Congsheng was more worried about offending Luo Sifan and bringing disaster upon his clan. He had long forgotten about the battle with the Western Expeditionary Army and readily agreed.
"What about the other nine clans? Aren't there still 20,000 people? Senior Yun, you can't just abandon them, can you?"
Luo Sifan was somewhat dissatisfied with Yun Congsheng's cunning.
"Young Master Luo is overthinking it. The fighting strength of my Yun Clan accounts for at least half of the ten Tianmin clans. I led my troops to withdraw and explained a few words to the remaining clans. How could they have the confidence to challenge me again? Young Master Luo, please put your mind at ease."
Yun Congsheng explained with a wry smile.
The nomadic tribes have very weak mutual control. This ambush was actually initiated by Yun Congsheng after receiving intelligence from Wu Lingsu, who strongly urged the nine tribes to form a coalition army, intending to take advantage of the situation to severely damage the Western Expeditionary Army in one battle.
This time, with him leading the betrayal, even if Yun Congsheng uses his silver tongue, the Yun clan's status and reputation among the nomadic tribes will likely decline to a point where it will be difficult to recover for more than a decade.
Yun Congsheng could only grit his teeth and accept this loss. He could only blame his bad luck for running into someone with powerful connections like Luo Sifan.
Misfortune and fortune are intertwined. Although Yun Congsheng was depressed that the war could not be fought, he had a different kind of hope in his heart.
After hearing his explanation, Luo Sifan finally felt relieved and her opinion of Yun Congsheng improved considerably.
"Excellent! I, Luo, naturally believe Senior Yun's words!"
Luo Sifan clasped his hands together with Yun Congshengwei, preparing to ride his sword energy back to Bamianyuan to convey this important news to Mu Yuansheng.
"Young Master Luo, wait!"
Yun Congsheng quickly called him back and pushed Wu Lingsu in front of him. Wu Lingsu was involuntarily sent flying back to Luo Sifan's side by Yun Congsheng's palm.
"My disciple has long been determined to follow Young Master Luo. If Young Master Luo doesn't find her dull-witted, please keep her by your side and teach her a good lesson!"
Luo Sifan had no choice but to reach out and help Wu Lingsu up, who almost fell. He was exasperated by the master and disciple's perfectly synchronized performance and turned to Yun Congsheng:
"Out of respect for Senior Yun, I will definitely take good care of Wu Lingsu. Senior Yun, please do your job with peace of mind!"
Yun Congsheng smiled knowingly at Wu Lingsu, turned the deer's head, and a wisp of white cloud drifted back to the valley.
"Let's go!"
As the figure of the Sage disappeared into the white mist of the valley, Luo Sifan took Wu Ling's hand and turned to leave.
With important military matters on his mind, Luo Sifan was more anxious than when he arrived.
As dawn approached, the Eight-Sided Plain was brightly lit. Mu Yuansheng had roused the 20,000 troops of the Western Expedition to form ranks. Outside the Eight-Sided Plain, scouts were out in all directions, as if the army was about to set off.
Luo Sifan was stopped by the sentry. After a brief explanation, he was taken directly to Mu Yuansheng's camp by the military guards.
Mu Yuansheng, fully armored, was sitting upright on the commander's chair in the main camp, discussing matters with his generals. Seeing Luo Sifan lift the curtain and enter, looking relaxed, he couldn't help but smile with delight.
"Brother Lin! How are the negotiations with the vagrants going?"
The generals before Mu Yuansheng had no idea what Luo Sifan had gone out to do. They were just glaring at Wu Lingsu behind Luo Sifan with unfriendly expressions, and were very dissatisfied with the scout who had led the army of vagrants here.
Luo Sifan pushed Wu Lingsu aside, shielding her behind him, and smiled slightly at Mu Yuansheng:
"I have successfully persuaded the leader of the Yun clan. He should be arranging the withdrawal now. He promised that the entire clan will leave this place this morning."
The generals were in an uproar, their expressions of dissatisfaction turning into suspicion and uncertainty. Many thought Luo Sifan was just bragging.
Although Mu Yuansheng dared not believe it easily, the good news still eased his heavy heart.
"Yun Congsheng? That old man is a man of his word, he shouldn't deceive Brother Lin."
Luo Sifan smiled faintly, not in a hurry to argue, and gently pushed Wu Lingsu forward:
“Brother Mu, this person is Yun Congsheng’s disciple. If you have any questions, you can ask her. She was there to witness when I was discussing things with Yun Congsheng.”
Mu Yuansheng hesitated for a moment, then his gaze towards Wu Lingsu softened considerably:
"Miss Wu, what promise did your master make to Brother Lin? Please tell me."
Wu Lingsu's face was indifferent as she stretched out her hand without answering.
Mu Yuansheng was a little confused. This vagrant woman was arrogant and seemed to be asking him for benefits in public.
The generals who had been watching frowned upon seeing this, and some of the hot-tempered ones almost slammed their fists on the table and stood up to curse.
Luo Sifan was initially puzzled, but after a few breaths he suddenly understood:
"Brother Mu, did you confiscate a piece of her jade? Return it to her quickly. Otherwise, she won't say a word."
Mu Yuansheng understood immediately. With his magnanimous demeanor, he didn't take it to heart and beckoned one of his subordinates to whisper a few words in his ear.
He nodded, turned around, and entered the inner tent.
Mu Yuansheng looked at Wu Lingsu and smiled:
"This item should have been returned to Miss Wu originally. I was careless for a moment. I have already sent someone to look for it and will return it to you in a little while."
Luo Sifan was anxious for him and urged him from the side:
"Wu Lingsu, the jade will definitely be returned to you. The matter of the nobles withdrawing their troops is important, so you should talk to Commander Mu about it first."