Chapter 1182: The Evil King’s Task

With the leader of the Heaven and Earth Alliance taking the lead in crossing the Mercury Moat, the last hesitation of the remaining seven Heavenly Dao masters was removed. At the same time, the leader’s early departure disrupted the balance among the eight Heavenly Dao masters competing for the treasures in the Desert Palace.

Wu Zun Bi Xuan, Old Master Qin, Ye Gu Cheng, Dong Fang Bu Bai, the Evil King, and the Queen of Darkness were all formidable opponents and certainly wouldn’t let the leader of the Heaven and Earth Alliance easily get ahead and claim the coveted treasures in the Desert Palace.

“The Black Storm won’t last long, and time waits for no one. Take your time to think—this lord will go first!” Wu Zun Bi Xuan was the one closest in strength to the leader of the Heaven and Earth Alliance. Now that the latter’s arm was injured, Bi Xuan felt even more confident in competing with him.

However…

The few survivors by Bi Xuan’s side became a burden to him. To chase after the leader of the Heaven and Earth Alliance, he had to leave behind these loyal subordinates who had followed him here.

“To achieve great goals, sacrifices are inevitable. Lord, please go ahead. As long as we’re still alive, we’ll surely find a way to reach you!”

“That’s right!” “Wu Zun, go ahead without worry. We’ll be fine.”

Bi Xuan’s subordinates spoke with firm determination, their heartfelt words truly admirable.

Looking at his subordinates who were ready to sacrifice themselves, Bi Xuan scanned them once more before gritting his teeth and nodding. He then headed unhesitatingly toward the sky above the Mercury Moat.

Seeing Bi Xuan successfully pass through the Fire-Spewing Cloud Beasts’ blockade using a similar method, his subordinates felt greatly relieved and pleased.

But others found it hard to feel the same ease.

As soon as Wu Zun Bi Xuan left, Dong Fang Bu Bai and Ye Gu Cheng naturally didn’t want to fall behind. Without hesitation, they flew away, passing through the Fire-Spewing Cloud Beasts’ blockade one after another and disappearing from the sight of the others.

In the blink of an eye, half of the eight Heavenly Dao masters had left.

Only the Evil King, the Queen of Darkness, Osaaya, and Old Master Qin remained.

It was then that the Evil King and the Queen of Darkness stepped forward, approaching Happy. Behind them were Wan Wan and Hou Xi Bai.

“Sir… may I ask what you need?”

Noticing the Evil King and the Queen of Darkness approaching Happy, the Face-Shifting Fox frowned subtly. Facing these two powerful Heavenly Dao masters, he still felt somewhat nervous.

In contrast, Osaaya and Happy remained calm and composed.

“No need to be nervous,” Happy reassured the Face-Shifting Fox.

Although the Evil King and the Queen of Darkness were one entity, in terms of combat strength, the two of them were by no means inferior—indeed, they even had a slight chance of winning.

Happy’s strength has already been shown just now… Even the leader of the Heaven and Earth Alliance was injured in the arm by Happy’s sword. If it were the Dark Queen, things wouldn’t be any easier for her. Osaaya and Happy believe that the Evil King and Dark Queen didn’t come here to cause trouble.
“Happy.”
The Evil King and Dark Queen wore faint smiles as they revealed Happy’s identity: “I didn’t expect you to be involved in the Desert Palace as well.”
Osaaya was slightly stunned. She frowned briefly before suddenly turning her head to stare at the young man in white: “Do you know each other?”
“We’ve fought a few times,” Happy replied calmly.
Osaaya immediately felt relieved… If Happy and the Evil King/Dark Queen had known each other for a long time, it wouldn’t have been good news for her. Happy realized this and clearly stated that their relationship was one of enemies, not friends, helping Osaaya calm down.
“Oh?”
Osaaya looked at the Evil King and Dark Queen with slight surprise: “Fighting here isn’t a good idea.”
“Don’t worry. Though Happy is of low cultivation, even I might not be able to handle him. I certainly won’t do something that harms both sides.”
“Then what brings the Evil King here? Is it for something good?”
Having encountered the Evil King many times, Happy asked casually, as if talking to an old friend.
“Of course it’s for something good.”
As he spoke, the Evil King glanced toward the mercury moat: “The three of us have only a shallow understanding of the laws of heaven. Crossing the moat, we can barely take care of ourselves. Wanwan and Xibai are our disciples and will become the leaders of the Flower Sect and Yin Gui Sect in the future. If the two of us leave, it will be difficult for them to leave the Desert Palace.”
“This seems like a matter between the Yin Gui Sect and the Flower Sect… What does it have to do with me?” Hearing this, Happy glanced doubtfully at Hou Xibai, who stood behind them in proper attire, and Wanwan, who appeared weak after being injured.
The Evil King smiled:
“Although the eight great masters of the laws of heaven agree that only those who can harness the power of the laws of heaven can cross this mercury moat and overcome the blockade of the Fire-breathing Cloud Beasts… Based on my understanding of you, Happy, you definitely won’t be trapped by this small moat.”
Hearing this, Happy grew even more puzzled. His gaze shifted between the enigmatic faces of the Evil King and Dark Queen, and those of Hou Xibai and Wanwan. He spoke cautiously: “The Evil King, just say it straight.”
“Haha…”
The Evil King laughed wildly.
“Good!”
“Then I’ll be direct. I’d like to ask Happy to do me a favor…”
“…”

Happy listened, feeling increasingly annoyed.
He kept cursing inwardly:
“Although this guy openly admits he can’t do anything to me, his attitude is so arrogant at every moment, exuding a sense of superiority and oppression. Even when asking for help, he does it in such an overbearing way.”
But…
Despite his annoyance, he couldn’t ignore the task assigned by the Heaven Path masters. At the level of the Evil King and the Dark Queen, the fact that they came together like this was enough to show just how important this task was.
“Would the mighty Evil King need the help of a mere nobody like me? The Evil King must be joking…” Happy unconsciously entered the right state of mind.
The Evil King and the Dark Queen exchanged a glance.
The fact that Happy didn’t refuse on the spot meant everything.
Without wasting further words, they revealed their purpose:
“It’s this: With our combined strength, we’re not enough to take Wanwan and Hou Xibai away. But we believe Young Hero Happy can surely come up with a way to safely leave the Desert Palace. That’s why we want to entrust them to you…”
“What?!”
His expression changed instantly, and Happy almost drew his sword right there.
He had seen shameless people before, but never ones like this!
They were asking him to do something even the two Heaven Path masters weren’t sure they could accomplish.
Happy almost pulled out his Tianjing sword to strike the Evil King. The latter, considering his two disciples as burdens, wanted to dump them on his former enemy—entrust them to his enemy?!
“Young Hero Happy, don’t refuse right away. Consider our conditions first.”
The Evil King smiled broadly, seemingly unafraid that Happy would refuse, which only made Happy sneer loudly and drawl, “Conditions?”
“Unless you, the Evil King, take all the treasures of the Desert Palace and hand them over to me, there’s no talk of this…”
Happy immediately rejected the Evil King’s conditions.
But to his surprise, the Evil King then gave the Face-Shifting Fox a deep look and transmitted a message directly: “The person by your side—if I’m not mistaken—is one of the Four Great Thieves of the Central Plains, the one who stole the precious treasures of the Tianchi Sword Sect and is being held captive by you…”
Before he could finish speaking, Happy’s sneer froze on his face!
A loud system warning rang in his ears!
Ding!
System alert:
“The Evil King has figured out the true identity of the Face-Shifting Fox!”
“If his identity is revealed by the Evil King, according to the agreement, the Face-Shifting Fox is no longer bound by the oath and can end his role as a follower.”
Happy’s expression turned extremely ugly.
At that moment, Happy finally understood what the Evil King relied on!

Many experts of the Heavenly Dao thought their old servants around them were unimportant, but the Evil King saw through this. Not only did he uncover the identity of the Face-Shifting Fox, but he also seized its weakness—the Face-Shifting Fox was too famous among the thieves in the Central Plains. By this point, pride had outweighed its life for it. If the Evil King truly exposed it, he would immediately lose the leverage to keep controlling the Face-Shifting Fox and forcing it to work for him for half a year.

Ironically, the Face-Shifting Fox, who had mastered The Records of Strange People and Mountains and Seas, was the key to unlocking the Desert Palace…

Without this key, Kai Xin had no guarantee of being able to obtain the treasures of the Desert Palace from those experts of the Heavenly Dao.

The Evil King cruelly seized this key…

And he also handed Wan Wan and Hou Xibai over to him.

Staring at the Evil King’s triumphant eyes, Kai Xin’s face turned pale and blue in turn. He no longer wanted to know how the Evil King had uncovered the Face-Shifting Fox’s identity, but the Demon Sect indeed had many spies with extraordinary abilities. More importantly, Kai Xin sensed a dangerous message in the Evil King’s words…

Even if he chose to compromise and accept the latter’s conditions, the Evil King would likely push further, using the information about the Face-Shifting Fox to force him to do more, at least making his situation in the Desert Palace even worse and more passive.

At this thought, a cold murderous intent flashed in Kai Xin’s eyes. He pointed the Sky Crystal at the ground, emitting an astonishing chill, and spoke slowly, word by word: “So, the Evil King’s plan is… if I don’t agree to your demands, you’ll expose the information, and everyone will scatter. The Evil King really gets what he wants. Do you think I’d bow down to you just for a servant?”

“…”

The Evil King seemed unprepared for Kai Xin to be so easily angered. His smile faded, and he hurriedly explained, “Who am I! How could I use such information to blackmail you? You underestimate me too much!”

“Oh?”

Kai Xin tempered his sharpness a bit, but his tone remained icy: “I’ve never had trust in the Demon Sect. Who doesn’t know that you’ll stop at nothing to achieve your goals?”

“I can promise you that as long as you take Wan Wan and Xibai across here, I will never mention the Face-Shifting Fox again. Not a single person in my Demon Sect will speak of it.” The Evil King swore solemnly, then changed his tone: “In exchange, you must ensure Wan Wan and Xibai’s safety and bring them to the other side to join us.”

Ding!

System prompt:

“Do you accept the order from the Evil King Shi Xuan to protect Wanwan and Hou Xibai as they cross the moat, until you escort them to meet the Evil King’s Dark Queen?”
“If you accept the task, the Evil King promises to keep the secret of your identity as the Thousand-Faced Fox and will no longer make threats.”