...
"Ransom? Of course we have to ransom him, but not now."
A cold smile curled the corner of Ning Fengzhi's mouth.
"Drag it out first. Let the people of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect quibble with Luo Nan and exhaust Luo Nan's patience."
"What we need most right now is time."
Ning Fengzhi stood up, walked to the window of the main hall, gazed at the distant mountains, and a fanatical light flashed in his eyes.
"Uncle Sword, there's no rush yet. Luo Nan has Dugu Bo as his trump card, and we likewise have our own trump card."
Ning Fengzhi turned around and looked at Chen Xin:
"I just received a confidential report that Tang Hao's whereabouts have been found!"
"He is currently living in seclusion in a remote small village in Fasinuo Province."
"Finding him will probably be a matter of these past few days."
"As long as we can persuade Tang Hao to join, the Clear Sky Sect will be able to agree to cooperate with us. By then, we will have three top-tier Titled Douluo joining forces."
"A mere Dugu Bo is simply not to be feared at all!"
...
Several days passed.
Inside the stronghold of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect in Heaven Dou City.
In the spacious conference hall, the doors and windows were tightly closed, and heavy curtains completely isolated the outside sunlight.
Third Elder Yu Tianci held his hands behind his back, his brow tightly furrowed into a deep shape.
He paced back and forth anxiously on the precious carpet in the center of the hall, the heavy footsteps sounding particularly harsh in the silent room.
"Still no news?"
Yu Tianci suddenly stopped his steps, turned his head and stared fixedly at an intelligence Disciple kneeling below, his voice as hoarse as two pieces of sandpaper rubbing against each other.
That Disciple shuddered all over, cold sweat on his forehead dripping down his cheeks onto the carpet, not even daring to raise his head as he reported tremblingly:
"Re... Reporting to Third Elder, the Disciples have been watching the movements of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect day and night these past few days, but... but there is still no movement over there."
"Other than routine Sect affairs, Sect Master Ning Fengzhi has completely no intention of sending people to negotiate with the Moon Pavilion, and even... even doesn't have a single public statement."
"Bang!"
Yu Tianci fiercely slapped a red sandalwood table beside him, and dense cracks instantly appeared on the hard tabletop.
"Ning Fengzhi! This sanctimonious hypocrite! Old fox!"
Yu Tianci growled through gritted teeth, his chest heaving violently.
"When he lobbied the Upper Three Sects to unite against the Moon Pavilion back then, his words sounded better than singing, talking about branches of the same Qi and advancing and retreating together!"
"Now that our Sect Master went in to test the bottom line of the Moon Pavilion and got stuck, he is fine, directly playing the coward with no intention of stepping forward to mediate at all!"
"He is trying to treat our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect as cannon fodder for pathfinding!"
The other several deacons and Disciples in the hall were all as silent as cicadas in winter, not daring to let out a major breath.
In their hearts, they also knew very well that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was making it clear that they would not save someone facing death.
Or rather, Ning Fengzhi was deliberately stalling for time, wanting to use Luo Nan's hands to further weaken the strength of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect.
Yu Tianci took a few deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down.
Anger could not solve any problems. The most crucial thing right now was how to keep Sect Master Yu Xiaolie alive, and how to stabilize the precarious Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect.
Although Sect Master Yu Xiaolie's strength could not be considered top-tier among past Sect Masters, and even this operation seemed somewhat foolish.
But after all, he was the current Sect Master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect and the face of the Sect!
If Sect Master Yu Xiaolie was really chopped into pieces by Luo Nan and fed to dogs, then the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect would completely become a joke throughout the Douluo Continent and would never be able to lift their heads again.
What's more, the Sect was currently experiencing a generational fault line; every high-tier combat power was extremely precious and could never be lost in vain like this.
"We cannot wait any longer."
Yu Tianci stopped pacing.
He knew that pinning hopes on that old fox Ning Fengzhi was tantamount to asking a tiger for its skin.
The longer it was dragged out, the more torture Sect Master Yu Xiaolie would suffer in Luo Nan's hands, and he might even be in mortal danger at any time.
"Since the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect cannot be counted on, we can only think of a way ourselves."
Yu Tianci turned around, his gaze swept over everyone present, and he issued an order in a deep voice.
"Get ready to go to the Moon Pavilion. This old man wants to personally go meet that Luo Nan and proactively negotiate with him!"
"Third Elder, no!" A deacon turned pale with fright and quickly dissuaded him.
"That Luo Nan is ruthless, and even the Sect Master folded in his hands. If you go to the Moon Pavilion now, it is tantamount to a sheep entering a tiger's mouth! In case he detains you as well..."
"Shut up!" Yu Tianci sharply interrupted the deacon's words.
"Could it be that we just wait here idly for the Sect Master to be killed?"
"Since Luo Nan sent severed fingers and a blackmail letter, it shows that his real purpose is to seek wealth, not simple slaughter."
"As long as we can produce chips that satisfy him, he might not necessarily refuse to release the person. This old man is going there to negotiate, not to fight!"
Speaking of this, a trace of deep helplessness and humiliation flashed in Yu Tianci's eyes.
As an Elder of the dignified Upper Three Sects, to actually have to lower oneself to beg a hostile force to release someone was simply a supreme humiliation.
But for the continuation of the Sect, he had no other choice.
"In addition," Yu Tianci turned to look at another trusted Disciple, his expression becoming incomparably solemn.
"The Sect Master's life and death are currently unknown, and the Sect is without a leader, which makes it extremely prone to changes."
"You immediately take my token, spur your horse to hurry to the small town on the periphery of the Sunset Forest, and call Second Elder Yu Luomian back!"
"Tell him that the Sect has encountered an unprecedented crisis, and we need him to come back immediately to take charge and preside over the overall situation!"
Although Yu Luomian was only a Spirit Saint and his strength wasn't much, he was the Second Elder anyway.
He was also the younger brother of the old Sect Master Yu Yuanzhen. Except for him, currently no one else in the entire Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect could stand up and manage things!
"Yes! Disciple obeys!" That Disciple accepted the order, immediately turned around and sprinted away.
Having arranged the way out, Yu Tianci took a deep breath and tidied up his slightly disheveled robes.
"Go to the treasury, take all those top-tier resources we brought this time, as well as those few treasured ten-thousand-year Spiritual Plants. Pick a few smart people to come with me."
Yu Tianci gritted his teeth. Although his heart was bleeding, he knew that facing someone with an extremely large appetite like Luo Nan, going to negotiate empty-handed was simply courting death.
Half an hour later, Yu Tianci, bringing four attendants and several heavy chests filled with rare treasures, quietly left the stronghold.
Unconsciously, that magnificent and palace-like Moon Pavilion building had already appeared within their line of sight.
Yu Tianci took a deep breath, forcibly suppressed the humiliation in his heart, put on a slightly stiff smile, and stepped forward.
"Trouble you to announce, Third Elder Yu Tianci of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect has specifically come to visit the master of the Moon Pavilion."
Yu Tianci cupped his fists at the guards at the door, carrying a bit of courtesy in his tone.
...
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