The light of the sword is like the moon reflecting on Kyushu

Chapter 2178 When besieging an army, leave an opening; do not press a desperate enemy.

Although the pot was quite large and there was a lot of stewed beef, there were just too many people eating! Feng Jiuxiao's group alone had eighteen people, not counting Venerable Bailian. Adding Venerable Bailian and his three junior disciples, twelve people from Maoshan Sect, and twelve people from Huashan Sect, the total number of people suddenly increased to forty-six!

So Zeng Yong and Pang Shiwu set up three more pots, making four large pots stewing meat at the same time!
Chang Zijin and Erni were responsible for cutting the beef from the first pot into small pieces and distributing them to everyone. In any case, the Tubo soldiers had enough tableware, so even if Feng Jiuxiao's side had another five hundred people, it would still be enough to distribute the beef.

Dozens of feet away, the martial arts heroes watched with longing as Feng Jiuxiao and his companions feasted!

Heavy snow fell from the sky, corpses lay scattered on the ground, and people were eating and laughing heartily—the scene was somewhat eerie!
Many young disciples from martial arts sects in the Central Plains swallowed hard, drawn by the aroma of beef wafting in the air. They were genuinely hungry. One disciple from the Diancang Sect whispered, "Uncle-Master, what's your relationship with Feng Jiuxiao like? Why don't we go over and apologize? Maybe he'll forgive us!" If he forgives everyone, getting a piece of meat will be a piece of cake, right?

Another disciple chimed in, "Yes, Uncle-Master, we don't actually have any deep-seated hatred for Feng Jiuxiao. It's just that we didn't help him in time back then. But everyone had just finished a fierce battle with the living corpses and was exhausted. We were willing but unable to help. He should understand. It's not that we didn't want to help him!"

Xuan Songzi was leading the Diancang Sect team this time. He rolled his eyes at the disciple: "Do you think Feng Jiuxiao will believe your story? Don't be so clever!"

The disciple didn't want to give up: "How will we know it won't work if we don't try?"

Xuan Songzi sighed, "Do you think I don't want to try? Do you think I don't even have the courage to try? Offending Feng Jiuxiao isn't so scary! He's a magnanimous and broad-minded person! But I just received news that your Martial Uncle Xingyunzi died on the way here, murdered by that vixen Xiong Mengyan! She, along with Shushan Wang Sheng and Yedi Zhai Duanmu Yan, killed hundreds of martial arts masters from the Central Plains!"

"What? Hundreds of them?" All the disciples were shocked!

"How could that witch be so cruel! Why is Feng Jiuxiao still hanging around with them... and getting so close to them?"

“Cough…” Xuan Songzi sighed, “This…”

Some of the disciples were indignant: "We never imagined that Feng Jiuxiao would become so morally ambiguous, unable to distinguish right from wrong! He actually consorted with a witch! You're too ashamed to say it, but you have the nerve to say it!"

"Exactly! He's hanging out with witches, so why should we apologize to him? He's associating with demonic women from the demonic sect; he's clearly fallen into the demonic path, and everyone should kill him!"

Xuan Songzi frowned and immediately reprimanded, "Don't speak recklessly! Who in the martial arts world doesn't know that Feng Jiuxiao and the Demon Lord are irreconcilable enemies? The Demon Lord even indirectly died at Feng Jiuxiao's hands, as everyone has witnessed! How could he possibly have fallen into the demonic path?"

"Hmph! So he was chatting and laughing with that witch from the Demonic Sect?"

"Are you blind?" Xuan Songzi roared. "It's obvious that the demoness was chasing after Feng Jiuxiao, and Feng Jiuxiao didn't say a single word to her, okay?"

The disciple was somewhat unconvinced: "Then he could have driven the demoness away, right?"

Other disciples chimed in, "That's right! Doesn't he claim to be a beacon of justice and uphold righteousness? Then he should kill the demonic witch to set the record straight!"

Xuan Songzi's face was grim, and he laughed angrily: "Do you fucking insist that I spell it out? Huh?"

Seeing their master's fury, the disciples immediately shut their mouths!
But! His face was full of defiance!
Xuan Songzi sighed and said helplessly, "Do you know why Feng Jiuxiao is distancing himself from us?"

A disciple with a fair complexion said, "He's entangled with the Demonic Sect, so naturally he'll distance himself from us, the orthodox sects! Otherwise... otherwise we..." Everyone knew what he wanted to say: "Feng Jiuxiao is afraid the orthodox sects will come after him," and so on! But he couldn't continue, because he lacked confidence! Why would Feng Jiuxiao care about the purges of these so-called orthodox sects? The battle between the Demon Capital and the Demon Lord was earth-shattering! The Demon Lord is dead; who in the world is his match? Who dares to stand tall and speak to Feng Jiuxiao? So he swallowed the rest of his words!
Xuan Songzi sneered, "You're new here, what do you know! Let me tell you, the moment everyone abandoned helping him and turned to scrambling for the Dragon Treasure, Feng Jiuxiao had already blacklisted everyone! To him, at that moment, we were no different from the Demonic Sect! We're all opportunists who betray their principles! We're all cold-blooded animals who stand idly by! We're all demons who would kill their own allies just to snatch a piece of dragon meat! You say he's fallen into the demonic path, but in his eyes, aren't we all fallen into the demonic path too? The reason he called on the righteous path of the martial arts world to go to the Demon Capital and fight the Demonic Sect to the death was precisely for the long-term peace and stability of the Central Plains martial arts world! Eliminating the Demonic Sect would bring decades or even centuries of peace and tranquility to the Central Plains martial arts world! Without the Demonic Sect's secret instigation and encouragement, the martial arts world would no longer be able to stir up a massive storm of bloodshed, and the occasional clashes would just be small skirmishes between local gangs!"

"But the major sects of the Central Plains martial arts world made a mistake they shouldn't have made! They shouldn't have exposed their greedy and selfish nature before achieving final victory! Almost everyone, including myself, went mad when faced with the Azure Dragon Treasure! All they could think about was how to snatch the dragon meat! Everyone was immersed in the frenzy of fighting for the fruits of victory, forgetting that the person who had always paved the way for everyone and created the future was still fighting desperately against the Demon Lord! Strictly speaking, we betrayed him first!"

“So,” Xuan Songzi glanced at his disciples, “in Feng Jiuxiao’s eyes, who are his friends and who are his enemies? Tell me!”

The disciples all fell into deep thought.

Yes, who are the friends? Who are the enemies?

Feng Jiuxiao commanded the heroes of the martial arts world to besiege the Demon Capital, naturally treating all the heroes and valiant warriors as her friends! Eradicating the Demonic Cult was for the sake of all heroes, and even all living beings! After all, if the Demonic Cult were to once again conquer the Central Plains martial arts world, the harm it would cause would extend far beyond the martial arts community!
He risked his life for the heroes of the world, but the heroes of the world betrayed him!
If you put yourself in their shoes, how would you handle the situation if it happened to you? You were risking your life for your friends, even complete strangers, against a martial arts master who was far superior to you and could kill you at any moment. Yet, these same friends stood by indifferently when you were in the most danger and needed your help the most, instead turning around to scramble for those so-called rare and precious treasures. Would you forgive them?
Many people have already given their own answers!

will not!

We are not saints. If we repay evil with good, how can we repay good?

If someone betrays their friend, is that still a friend? If a friend is no longer a friend, then why should an enemy be an enemy?
"We have no right to criticize Young Master Feng! Even if Young Master Feng is with the demoness from the Demonic Sect, we are the ones in the wrong first! Besides, he hasn't persecuted us, has he?" His expression suddenly turned gloomy, and he said, word by word, "Furthermore, don't forget! Most of us have signed blood pacts with him!"

Upon hearing the words "blood pact," many disciples' expressions changed drastically!

Some of the newly arrived disciples were completely bewildered and unaware of the reason, while the other disciples remained silent!
In the battle of Shanghai, due to the betrayal of many heroes, Feng Jiuxiao, in a fit of rage, made almost all the martial arts masters in the Central Plains sign a "blood pact"! Regardless of distance, kinship, gender, or age, he signed it all!
Only the three members of the Demonic Sect, Zhao Guangyi and his ministers, and Xiao Shengnan's group escaped the calamity because they hid far away.

Xuan Songzi said, "Tell me, how can I possibly face Feng Jiuxiao now?"

The experts from other sects, who were several feet away, naturally heard the conversation between the Diancang Sect members and also fell into deep thought!
Feng Jiuxiao has already done more than enough by not coming to settle old scores!
Apologizing at this point will not only fail to resolve the other party's resentment, but will also increase their contempt or even anger them!
The disciples of the Heavenly Star Sect dared not step forward!
Their sect leader, Liancheng, the young master of the Three Qin, was said to have died at the hands of Feng Jiuxiao. The two were mortal enemies, and it was already good enough that Feng Jiuxiao didn't come to eliminate them completely. Who would dare to go and cause trouble?
Even the disciples of the Heavenly Blade Sect dared not approach them to beg for food! They were followers of Young Master Qi! Originally, they had an innate close relationship with Feng Jiuxiao; Young Master Qi was Feng Jiuxiao's sworn brother!

But they ruined a perfectly good hand!

He failed to show up at the crucial moment!
They really can't bear to show their faces now!
Whether it was the famous sects like Shaolin, Wudang, and Kongtong, or the gangs that relied on Yingyue Manor, such as the Xihe Sect, Jindao Sect, Baima Gang, and Beggar Gang, they could only watch helplessly as Feng Jiuxiao and the others drank and made merry.

Dozens of feet away, by the lake, a dozen burly men from the Black Tiger Gang surrounded their second-in-command, Li Wenzheng, completely absorbed in their task!
They only glanced at the chaotic fighting over there!
As long as it doesn't affect him, they won't let their guard down even if the sky falls!

Li Wenzheng tried to escape several times, but he was unable to break out of the encirclement!
His feet were just a step away from the lake water! If he took one more step back, he would fall into the icy Qinghai Lake!

Therefore, Zhang Xiaolin's objective was clear. As Sun Tzu's *Art of War* states, "Do not block a retreating army; leave an opening when besieging an army; do not press a desperate enemy." He sealed off three sides, leaving one gap. Qinghai Lake was the gap he left for Li Wenzheng!

He wanted to see Li Wenzheng forced into the lake, either drown or freeze to death!
But Li Wenzheng's nonchalant and confident demeanor made him very unhappy!
Zhang Xiaolin tried his best to control his emotions. He knew that anger could make people lose their rationality and impair their judgment. Perhaps Li Wenzheng's feigned confidence was just a ploy to provoke him and cause everyone to make a mistake!

Zhang Xiaolin thought to himself: Li Wenzheng's confidence means he has a trump card, but he doesn't dare to use it easily, which means he only has one chance! Could it be that he has the Nine Netherworld Demon Needles?

If he had the Nine Netherworld Demon Needles, none of these people could stop him right now! No matter who he fired them at, they could tear a gap in the enemy's defenses!
Does he actually possess the Nine Netherworld Demon Needle?

What exactly is he relying on?
Ah-Can said, "Boss, let's do it!"

Zhang Xiaolin said, "No! Let's wait for him to make his move!"

Even if Li Wenzheng has the Nine Netherworld Demon Needles, he only has one chance to use them! Once he fires them, he'll be like a tiger without claws, completely at the mercy of others!
Zhang Xiaolin can afford to wait!

Time is on his side!

The aroma of meat in the air grew stronger, making Ah-Can and the others' mouths water!
Zhang Xiaolin turned his head to look at the Tibetan military camp in the distance and sighed inwardly: It's a pity I couldn't get in touch with Feng Jiuxiao! Linghu Jing is quite lucky!

Li Wenzheng said, "Chief, are you really not going to let me go?"

Zhang Xiaolin said, "I'll let you go! But you'll have to cut off your own arm!"

Li Wenzheng said, "It wasn't for nothing that we brothers saved my head. Thank you!"

Zhang Xiaolin thought to himself: If I asked you for your life, would you give it to me?
He stared intently at Li Wenwen. "What? You agree to my proposal?" Trading an arm for a life seems like a good deal!
Li Wenzheng simply chuckled.

Zhang Xiaolin narrowed his eyes, revealing a sinister look: "So you don't agree?"

Li Wenzheng said, "Our bodies and hair are given to us by our parents! You have caused me to lose an arm. If I meet my mother in the afterlife, won't she be heartbroken and weep?"

Zhang Xiaolin said, "Then make your move!" More than a dozen gang members brandished their weapons, declaring that they were ready to fight at any time!

Li Wenzheng laughed and said, "You guys make the first move!"

Although Ah-Can didn't understand what kind of riddle the gang leader and the second-in-command were playing, he had figured it out: it seemed that whoever made the first move would be at a disadvantage!
The stalemate has started again!