Chapter 429: Repaying Kindness With Evil, How Does One Repay Kindness?
Seeing that Chen Chao made no move after speaking, South Mountain Maitreya let out a sigh, "It seems that I can only trouble Fellow Daoist Xu."
Xu Bai said in a deep voice, "South Mountain Maitreya, aren't you afraid that this Xu will pursue you relentlessly for the rest of my life?"
These words were more than just a threat.
South Mountain Maitreya smiled, "Of course I'm afraid. So in the future, this destitute monk will have to keep my distance from Friend Xu."
Xu Bai's face turned unbelievably black.
But at that moment, a voice suddenly sounded in his mind, "Fellow Daoist, don't you see? If you and I fight, even if you win, you'll inevitably be injured. At that time, he'll kill you and your wife. What future will there be then?"
Xu Bai was taken aback, then similarly asked by transmitting his voice, "In Fellow Daoist's opinion, what should I do? This Xu really doesn't want to be enemies with Fellow Daoist."
Chen Chao was the first to speak. Despite his youth, he understood more about such matters than the straightforward Xu Bai, so he had a plan to deal with it. Chen Chao whispered, "We'll pretend to fight. I'll find an opportunity to kill him. If it's not you who attacks, he naturally won't harm your esteemed wife."
Even so, Xu Bai was still worried, "Will my wife be in danger? This bald donkey has always been vicious. He might do a mutual destruction."
Chen Chao sighed helplessly, "Fellow Daoist, before I die, he won't lay a finger on your esteemed wife. If he does, won't the situation turn into both of us ganging up on him?"
Chen Chao was really at a loss for words when it came to Xu Bai.
Xu Bai came to a sudden realization, "In that case, we will act according to Fellow Daoist's plan. But I hope that Fellow Daoist will be careful not to harm my wife. Otherwise, this Xu will definitely pursue Fellow Daoist relentlessly as well."
Chen Chao felt even more helpless now. Who the hell would threaten their ally at a time like this?
In truth, Chen Chao was not too worried about the current situation. If he wanted to leave, Xu Bai would not be able to stop him. As for South Mountain Maitreya, Chen Chao did not even consider him a threat. In fact, he might even have enough strength left to deal with South Mountain Maitreya after killing Xu Bai. It was just that from what he had seen before, this Xu Bai couple did not seem like the kind of villains South Mountain Maitreya was. Chen Chao just did not want to act against them.
Seeing Xu Bai remain silent for a long time, South Mountain Maitreya who thought that he was considering reached his hand out and grabbed Jiang Ying's neck, saying coldly, "Xu Bai, if you still don't take action, you husband and wife can reunite in the afterlife!"
Seeing this, Xu Bai turned to Chen Chao and said softly, "Sorry for this."
As he spoke, his flying sword unsheathed behind him. However, this time Xu Bai did not choose to control the flying sword but instead grasped his sword and strode towards Chen Chao with large steps.
South Mountain Maitreya did not find the current situation surprising at all. Xu Bai's sword cultivation level was indeed top-notch in the Yellow Dragon Prefecture. Facing a young martial artist like Chen Chao, he did not think Chen Chao stood any chance.
In the blink of an eye, Chen Chao also drew his saber and grasped it firmly, meeting this Great Beyond sword cultivator.
"Fellow Daoist Xu, when you first attack, don't hold back, lest this bald donkey see through any flaws."
Chen Chao could not help but remind Xu Bai again, fearing that the sword cultivator in front of him might make a mistake.
Xu Bai nodded imperceptibly from an angle that only Chen Chao could see. With his flying sword in hand, his sword qi surged. When the first sword strike was delivered, the dead leaves that covered the ground were shaken up by the sword qi, displaying a spectacular phenomenon.
Chen Chao also could not help but admire the Sword Dao attainments of this sword cultivator. It was truly remarkable.
However, at the same time, he looked forward to Xie Nandu's future when her cultivation realm climbed up.
Chen Chao raised his saber to meet Xu Bai and also did not hold back. However, even so, he only displayed the strength of a Bitter Sea Realm.
South Mountain Maitreya narrowed his eyes from afar and scoffed, "Indeed, just a Bitter Sea martial artist."
Xu Bai's swordsmanship had not been taught by any renowned master. Besides a few sword manuals obtained by chance, he had researched his techniques on his own. Plus, as an itinerant cultivator, he constantly clashed with demons and other cultivators. Displaying a fierce killing intent, there were actually no flashy moves that were lacking in substance.
He thrust his sword forward, and after Chen Chao blocked with his broken saber, he followed through with a downward strike. At the same time, waves of sword qi surged out during the downward strike, culminating in a dazzling sword light that directly tore through Chen Chao's black shirt.
Chen Chao smiled bitterly to no end. He had asked this sword cultivator to go all out, but he had not meant for him to genuinely want to kill him.
This sword cultivator was a little too honest.
Chen Chao tapped his feet, avoiding this sword strike that was brimming with killing intent. At the same time, he slashed towards Xu Bai's head with his saber. Xu Bai retracted his sword to block, and as the saber and sword clashed, Xu Bai's flying sword unexpectedly chipped.
It seemed that the flying sword of this sword cultivator was really not of good quality.
Afterward, the two exchanged blows in front of the dilapidated temple. At least, in the view of South Mountain Maitreya, both were going all out, and Chen Chao seemed to be struggling, teetering at the edge of danger.
South Mountain Maitreya narrowed his eyes, everything was within his grasp. Just as he thought, when Xu Bai exhausted his strength later, he would seize the opportunity to act. At the very least, he would be able to severely injure this sword cultivator. South Mountain Maitreya even thought that if Xu Bai won in the end, he might commit suicide in front of him when threatened with the life of his wife, Jiang Ying.
After a brief period of time, the two had exchanged dozens of blows.
Chen Chao suddenly shouted, "Master, I'm willing to hand over the antlers. Please spare my life, Master."
At the same time, Chen Chao threw the snow-white antlers from his arms, distracting South Mountain Maitreya as he looked at the snow-white antlers in mid-air.
On Chen Chao's side, Xu Bai understood and thrust his sword. This sword strike appeared majestic, but in reality, its momentum was grandiose while its actual power was small. Furthermore, it had the intention of borrowing momentum to push Chen Chao towards South Mountain Maitreya.
Chen Chao borrowed the momentum to move towards South Mountain Maitreya and threw the broken saber from his hand.
South Mountain Maitreya was already distracted. At this moment, he suddenly saw a flash of saber light appear before him. He hurriedly moved to block, but when he knocked away the broken saber, Chen Chao's figure had already arrived before him.
Chen Chao threw a heavy punch, directly forcing South Mountain Maitreya back several dozen feet. With this blow, there was now several yards between him and Jiang Ying.
Seeing this, Xu Bai immediately released the flying sword in his hand. The flying sword flew right by, stabbing straight for South Mountain Maitreya.
South Mountain Maitreya's expression changed drastically. He hastily used a string of buddhist beads to barely intercept the flying sword.
But the next moment, Chen Chao was already in front of him. He caught the broken saber in his hand and looked at South Mountain Maitreya with a smile. "Master, it's time to set off."
He raised his hand and the saber fell.
A round human head rolled down and tumbled along the slope ahead.
This vicious South Mountain Maitreya who had killed countless people probably never expected that his life would end in this way.
Chen Chao kicked away the corpse of South Mountain Maitreya. Such a person deserved to die without a burial ground.
When he turned around, Xu Bai and Jiang Ying were already standing side by side.
Jiang Ying's hand happened to be holding that pair of deer antlers.
Chen Chao did not speak.
Xu Bai had already recalled his flying sword and cupped his hands to say, "Thank you, Fellow Daoist."
Chen Chao nodded and then reached out his hand.
But Jiang Ying remained unmoved.
Xu Bai frowned. "Ying'er, give the antlers to this Fellow Daoist."
Jiang Ying was silent for a moment, her gaze complicated. "Husband, look at your flying sword. Shouldn't you have a better one?"
Xu Bai lowered his head at her words and saw that there were several chips in his flying sword. This flying sword was already considered crippled.
Afterwards, Xu Bai would inevitably have to find a new flying sword.
But he still shook his head and said, "If it weren't for this Fellow Daoist's help, the two of us would likely have died today. These antlers rightfully belong to this Fellow Daoist. How could we do such a thing?"
"Husband, I know you don't want to be a wicked person, but the flying sword is the foundation of a sword cultivator. Why don't I be the villain?"
Jiang Ying looked at Chen Chao in front of her and said bluntly, "Thank you, Fellow Daoist, for saving us twice, but can you give up these antlers?"
To say 'give up' was clear enough in meaning.
"The two of us are willing to offer everything we have in exchange for these antlers."
Chen Chao's face darkened, a hint of blood in his eyes. But he still looked at Xu Bai and asked, "What's the meaning of this, Fellow Daoist?"
Although Xu Bai was a Great Beyond sword cultivator, it did not necessarily mean he could not be killed. As for Jiang Ying, she was already severely injured and had no combat power at all.
Chen Chao narrowed his eyes. There was already some killing intent.
Xu Bai did not hesitate. He looked at Jiang Ying and said in a deep voice, "Ying'er, I know you're doing this for my sake. But in life, if we resort to any means necessary, we don't deserve to be called human."
Jiang Ying lifted her head to look at her husband, seeming somewhat reluctant.
She shook her head slightly, the bloodstains on her neck still visible.
Xu Bai saw it too, feeling a pang of heartache in his eyes. But he said it again, "This Fellow Daoist has helped us twice. If we do this to him, our conscience will be troubled. Even if we exchange this item for a flying sword, I'm afraid my sword cultivation will never progress in this lifetime."
"We can't do this sort of thing."
Jiang Ying was taken aback, then sighed as if resigning herself to fate.
She rarely saw her husband so serious. After a moment, she handed over the antlers and apologized to Chen Chao, "Fellow Daoist, it's Jiang Ying's fault, I'm sorry."
Chen Chao took the antlers, but before he could speak, Xu Bai apologized again, "Fellow Daoist, this Xu is sorry for the trouble, I'm truly ashamed. If Fellow Daoist ever encounters any difficulties in the future and needs my help, This Xu will not hesitate to help, even if it means going through fire and water!"
Chen Chao shook his head, "You're a good person, and your wife, she's not considered a villain either, she's just too concerned about you, Fellow Daoist"
Xu Bai looked full of guilt, about to hand over the demon bead he had obtained earlier to Chen Chao.
Chen Chao shook his head and said softly, "Keep it for yourself, Fellow Daoist"
Then he turned and left.
……
……
Jiang Ying stood on the spot. Before long, she actually started crying in low sobs.
"Husband, Ying'er was wrong."
Jiang Ying was in tears, deeply saddened.
Xu Bai sighed, wrapping his arm around his wife's shoulder, and whispered, "How could I not know that you're doing this for me? If not for me, why would you want to be a villain?"
Jiang Ying raised her head and asked cautiously, "Will Husband hate Ying'er?"
Xu Bai shook his head and said with a smile, "Even if the world sees you as a villain, in my eyes, everything you do is for me. How could I ever hate you?"
"But some things are more important than flying swords, even more important than life itself. We shouldn't do things just because there are benefits. In the future, don't do this again. Even if I never see the threshold of Nepenthe Realm in my lifetime, I still want to live as an upright person, and I hope you will too."
Jiang Ying nodded, leaning against her husband's chest.
Xu Bai whispered, "Especially now, if we had truly gone through with it, how would that Fellow Daoist have coped? If good deeds are never rewarded, then no one in the world would ever do good anymore."
……
……
Walking through the forest, Chen Chao suddenly stopped, bent over, and spewed out a mouthful of blood.
Afterward, he straightened up slowly, his face dark.
When Jiang Ying behaved like that earlier, he had almost failed to suppress the heart demon at the bottom of his heart.
If Xu Bai had made the same decision in the end, the heart demon would likely have planted a deep seed on the spot.
Fortunately, Xu Bai's choice in the end saved Chen Chao from eternal damnation.
Chen Chao wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said to himself with self-deprecation, "Even I almost didn't know what to do in the future."
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