Niu Yingmeng was stunned. Her understanding of warfare had been completely overturned.
But immediately, she hesitated. "But, Elder Brother, isn't this too treacherous?"
Xu Ning looked at her in surprise. "Treacherous? What do you mean by treacherous? Is waiting for others to attack you and take your territory considered 'not treacherous'? If you're so upright, why don't you just hand your territory over to those poor tribes?"
Niu Yingmeng paused, then gritted her teeth. "I'll listen to you, Elder Brother! But, Elder Brother, my cave is leaking, and it's raining over there. Could I stay at Feiyun Mountain for a while?"
"Don't worry, Elder Brother, I'll leave as soon as the cave is repaired!"
As she finished speaking, Niu Yingmeng's gaze drifted towards Tie Dan, her eyes filled with tender affection.
This? Xu Ning was instantly caught in a dilemma.
Damn it, he was planning to run away, but how could he escape now? Refusing was also risky for Xu Ning, after all, the other party was a Foundation Establishment demon.
"Elder Brother, Yingmeng's cave is ruined. It's so pitiful. Please let her stay!" Tie Dan pleaded hurriedly from the side.
Xu Ning was speechless, really wanting to give this love-struck fool a good shove.
After thinking for a moment, Xu Ning sighed. "Alright, let her stay."
In that instant, Xu Ning considered many things.
Tie Dan had followed him for over a hundred years, working tirelessly without a single complaint. During his time at the sect, he had mostly kept Tie Dan in the thatched hut, rarely letting him out.
He truly owed Tie Dan a lot. Now that he had finally met a little cow he liked, it would be really unfair to stand in his way.
As for the risks of keeping her here? Those hadn't arrived yet. It should still be fine for now. He'd stay and see how things developed.
Niu Yingmeng and Tie Dan were overjoyed upon hearing this and quickly thanked him. "Thank you, Elder Brother!"
Xu Ning waved them off and left, not wanting to stay and be a third wheel.
That night, Xu Ning had no idea what the two of them got up to.
The next day, all the mountain lords of Qingling Mountain gathered and then marched in a grand procession to Baishan Cave.
The cave lord of Baishan Cave was named Bai Xun, whose true form was a white deer.
Bai Xun was very enthusiastic about Xu Ning and his group's arrival and personally greeted them.
Niu Yingmeng didn't waste any words. "Cave Lord Bai, let's set off!"
Bai Xun was also anxious and immediately led the mountain lords of Qingling Mountain Cave to the front lines to join the battle.
Before coming, Niu Yingmeng had already explained the plan to all the mountain lords, and everyone strictly followed it. Whenever danger arose, they would immediately protect the mountain lord of Baishan Cave. Of course, occasionally, they might accidentally give him a shove or a stray attack might come from behind.
This tale has been pilfered from NovelFire. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Finally, after the mountain lords of Baishan Cave were either dead or wounded, the mountain lords of Qingling Mountain Cave suddenly attacked simultaneously, delivering a decisive blow to the enemy.
Ultimately, the enemy retreated, and few of the mountain lords of Baishan Cave remained.
Bai Xun witnessed everything, but with Niu Yingmeng watching nearby, he could only fume inwardly.
Seeing that the battle was over, Niu Yingmeng gave the order. "All mountain lords, send your men to occupy the mountain peaks!"
Bai Xun finally couldn't hold back any longer. "Cave Master Niu, what is the meaning of this?"
Niu Yingmeng looked up at Bai Xun calmly. "Cave Master Bai, since we've come to support you, let's support you to the end! We must continue to help defend your territory!"
Bai Xun's face darkened. "Wouldn't that be too much trouble for Cave Master Niu?"
Before Niu Yingmeng could speak, Xu Ning stepped forward. "Cave Master Bai, don't be impatient. The usual quota of spiritual herbs each mountain submits won't be reduced. In fact, we'll give an extra ten percent. How about that?"
Bai Xun was surprised and subconsciously looked at Niu Yingmeng. "Is this true?"
Niu Yingmeng nodded. "Truly."
Bai Xun's gloom vanished upon hearing this. He nodded directly. "Easy enough. Arrange the mountain peaks as you like!"
Niu Yingmeng subconsciously glanced at Xu Ning.
Xu Ning smiled, hands behind his back, watching as the mountain lords moved to occupy the peaks.
After the allocation was completed, Niu Yingmeng led the mountain lords back.
"Damn! I've taken over three mountain peaks! This is awesome!" Pig Six couldn't help but exclaim.
"I've gotten so many spiritual herbs! I've also taken over two mountain peaks!" Snake Skin added excitedly.
The other mountain lords also expressed their exhilaration.
Niu Yingmeng addressed them. "The fact that this went so smoothly is largely thanks to the Dung Beetle Lord. Everyone should thank him."
As soon as she said this, all the mountain lords turned to look at Xu Ning and expressed their gratitude.
Xu Ning was speechless. Why bring me up for no reason!
Chu Huai'an, however, looked at Xu Ning with a thoughtful expression in his eyes.
Back at the thatched hut on Feiyun Mountain, Xu Ning stood barefoot in the courtyard outside the hut, hands behind his back, quietly looking at the sky.
This was his habit when thinking.
To be honest, the demon race was no match for human cultivators in terms of strategic cunning.
Without exaggeration, Xu Ning could easily outmaneuver them.
But this was not what Xu Ning wanted. The reason he transformed into a dung beetle was to keep a low profile.
The result was quite unexpected. By a twist of fate, he had actually become the core of the Qingling Mountain caves. Where was the justice in that?!
Oh well, he'd just take it one step at a time.
Over the next month, the Qingling Mountain caves relentlessly conquered according to Xu Ning's plan, occupying seven caves in just one month.
This was even after Xu Ning deliberately slowed Niu Yingmeng's pace, arguing simply that everyone needed time to digest their resources and improve their cultivation.
Along the way, Xu Ning's schemes also won over all the cave lords of Qingling Mountain, even gaining the trust of several who joined his inner circle. If it weren't for his desire to avoid the spotlight, Xu Ning, in alliance with these mountain lords, could have already begun expanding even more aggressively.
However, the cave lords were, after all, powerful demons at the Foundation Establishment stage, holding important positions in the demon kingdom. Xu Ning didn't dare to act too recklessly.
That day, everyone gathered on Xu Ning's Feiyun Mountain to discuss their next move.
Xu Ning sighed helplessly. "We can't be rash now. Consuming our resources and defending our territory is the most important thing."
Snake Skin objected. "Brother Shit, we've already used up the resources we seized. There are still more than twenty days until next month's resource settlement. We're out of resources!"
Niu Yingmeng nodded in agreement. "That's right. If we have a continuous supply of resources, we can quickly become stronger, widen our advantage, and stay ahead of others!"
Bai Xun added, "Cave Master Niu is right. If we stop attacking now, wouldn't that be wasting the advantage we've painstakingly accumulated?"
Others began to voice their opinions, all indicating their willingness to continue the attack.
The more Xu Ning listened, the more his head ached.
Just as he had predicted: once it started, ambition would grow larger and larger. In the end, it wouldn't be something he could stop at will.
Just like in mortal wars, if you stopped, you'd be the one who lost.
To survive and secure future profits, the leader no longer had a say. It was either continue forward, or be replaced by a new leader who would continue, because stopping meant certain death for everyone.
This was Xu Ning's biggest headache. He didn't want to expand further; he wanted to keep a low profile.
But the group members had already tasted the benefits and were now unstoppable.
//senior masters please donate something to this poor junior