bioinnovel Chapter 258 Negotiations Under the Blood Moon
Chapter 258 Negotiations Under the Blood Moon
Meanwhile, at the Tower of Ten Thousand Beasts.
The night was as dark as ink, and a blood moon hung in the sky.
At the top of the tower, three figures stood silently facing each other in the night wind.
Lin Yan crossed his arms, his long, crimson hair fluttering in the wind, and faint flames flickered around him.
Manzhu stood quietly beside her, holding a strange umbrella in her hand even though it wasn't raining.
Opposite them, Meng Tianxiang stood alone, her blue robes fluttering in the night wind.
One against two.
No matter how you look at it, this is a standoff with no suspense whatsoever.
However, there was no fear on Meng Tianxiang's face.
"traitor."
Her voice wasn't loud, but every word was like a knife, carrying clearly through the night: "You two traitors, how dare you stand before me?"
Lin Yan frowned, about to retort, but was stopped by Manzhu raising her hand.
Manzhu remained composed and elegant. She gently twirled the Nine Nether Umbrella halfway in her hand, causing the spider lilies on its surface to sway as if silently mocking something.
"Tianxiang, what you're saying is really hurtful."
Manzhu's voice was as gentle as spring water, yet it carried a hint of sharpness: "I am the wife of the leader of the Moon Worship Cult, so how can you say I've betrayed you? It's you who—conspired with Bao Yunxing to attack my cult's headquarters, aren't you a bit ungrateful?"
"Ha, ungrateful wretch?"
Meng Tianxiang sneered, her blue eyes shining brightly in the blood moonlight: "You dare mention those words to me? Don't you know who killed my daughter?"
Upon hearing this, Manzhu's smile faltered slightly.
Lin Yan's expression changed slightly, but he quickly regained his arrogant demeanor: "That wasn't something we did, it was—"
That's enough.
Meng Tianxiang coldly interrupted Lin Yan.
Then, she took a deep breath, her voice suddenly rising, filled with a hatred that had been suppressed for countless years: "Do you know why I dared to come alone today?"
Lin Yan raised an eyebrow, about to make his usual sarcastic remark, but Meng Tianxiang's next sentence shut him down.
"Because Xue Youyou won."
Meng Tianxiang's voice carried an indescribable pride and certainty: "She defeated your leader, defeated Muyue, whom you revered as a god. Now, the strongest beast tamer in the entire Yuelan Prefecture stands on our side."
The night breeze suddenly stopped for a moment.
Lin Yan and Manzhu's expressions changed almost simultaneously.
They had already heard the news on their way back.
In their original plan, the place where an accident was least likely to happen turned out to be the place where the accident occurred.
Xue Youyou, whom they hadn't taken seriously at all, actually defeated Mutsuki.
"What's wrong? Can't you speak?"
Meng Tianxiang's lips curled slightly upwards, a barely perceptible hint of pleasure flashing in her blue eyes: "Your invincible sect leader is still with Xue Youyou. Whether he lives or dies, whether he is killed or tortured, depends entirely on Xue Youyou's word!"
"And Xue Youyou, she respects me very much!"
As soon as she finished speaking, a crack finally appeared on Manzhu's composed face.
Those eyes, which had always been calm and composed, now flashed with genuine worry, and even a hint of undisguised anxiety.
Mutsuki is her lover and another mother to her daughter.
And now, her lover is in someone else's hands.
Manzhu's fingers unconsciously tightened around the umbrella handle, her knuckles turning slightly white. The Nine Nether Umbrella trembled slightly in her hand, and the spider lilies on its surface swayed gently as well.
"What's wrong, Manzhu? Are you scared?"
Meng Tianxiang didn't let this opening slip by, and pressed her advantage, saying, "Do you think you're the only ones with hostages? You have Bao Yunxing and Lei Ying, and we have Mu Yue. We're all in the same boat."
The air froze again.
With both sides holding hostages, neither dared to make a rash move.
"Then let's just stay here and wait."
Lin Yan was a straightforward person who didn't bother thinking about things he couldn't understand. So he simply crossed his arms and said nonchalantly, "Anyway, Manzhu and I have already made arrangements. As soon as it's light, we'll hold a press conference to officially announce the takeover of the alliance. Almost everyone in the alliance is one of our people, so no one will object."
However, Manzhu thought it through more clearly.
Her deep eyes shifted slightly, and almost the instant Lin Yan finished speaking, she had already grasped the crux of the entire situation.
To put it bluntly, Meng Tianxiang's only advantage is Xue Youyou's martial prowess.
Apart from that, the other party had almost nothing: money, power, influence, and people.
The most fatal flaw lies in the premise that "Xue Youyou is one of their people"—this premise itself is untenable.
"Heavenly Fragrance".
Manzhu regained her composed and elegant demeanor, her voice unhurried, as if chatting with an old friend over tea: "You say Xue Youyou is one of your people, then you prove it to me—how can you prove that Xue Youyou still trusts you?"
Meng Tianxiang raised her head slightly, her tone filled with undisguised disdain: "Just because my granddaughter slept with her, is that enough?"
"Oh? Is that so?"
Manzhu smiled slightly, and gently twirled the Nine Nether Umbrella in her hand: "However, I heard from the people of the Moon Worship Cult that—"
She paused deliberately before continuing unhurriedly, "They interrogated Bao Yunxing and discovered that this Alliance Leader Bao had tricked Xue Youyou during the finals. She secretly used the real battlefield without Xue Youyou's knowledge. Her true intention was to kill Mu Yue and Xue Youyou together."
Meng Tianxiang's pupils suddenly contracted at that moment.
"What did you say?"
Her voice suddenly rose, filled with disbelief and shock.
Did Bao Yunxing secretly pull this kind of dirty trick?
If what Manzhu said is true, it means that Bao Yunxing not only wants to get rid of Muyue, but also wants to get rid of Xue Youyou as well.
Her granddaughter, Meng Yanqing, was also on that battlefield at the time.
Its heart is awkward!
The scene before the finals began flashed through Meng Tianxiang's mind like lightning—Bao Yunxing's unnatural urging, her unusual behavior, and the vague unease in her own heart.
At the time, she thought she was overthinking things, but now that Manzhu said this, the overlooked fragments pieced together revealed a truth that sent chills down her spine.
Manzhu saw through Meng Tianxiang's wavering and pressed her advantage: "Look, your Alliance Leader Bao has no good intentions whatsoever; she almost killed your granddaughter. You're her most loyal ally, and she still stabbed you in the back. And do you think Xue Youyou will still trust you after what happened?"
Meng Tianxiang opened her mouth, but for a moment she was speechless.
But her inner defenses remained intact—there was still an insurmountable barrier between her and the Moon Worship Cult.
The hatred for killing one's daughter is irreconcilable.
Manzhu took in every struggle on Meng Tianxiang's face and knew that one last spark was all that was needed.
She took a step forward, her tone suddenly softening considerably: "Tianxiang, I have a suggestion."
"Why don't you just bring Xue Youyou with you and join us?"