“Hostages? No, they should be active participants. They can teach each sect about their culture, which will help disciples understand and communicate with each other. But if it gets you to agree, you can think of them like that.” I wouldn’t be traveling close to his Leashed Claws Sect, so it had nothing to do with .
He grinned.
::You’re actually doing great, Sister Lin! You got this!:: Little Spring encouraged.
What did the brat an by ‘actually’?! I was always amazing, damn it!
I cleared my throat. “Each diplomat should learn with your sect’s disciples to facilitate communication."
Iron Fang crossed his arms. ”You’re basically asking us to welco your spies!”
The entire area quieted with that one comnt.
Apparently, many elders agreed with him and nodded their heads.
I turned to the asshole. ”Obviously, there will be limits for both sides. I’m not asking you to open up your scripture pavilions and spill your secrets. But these diplomats will risk their lives, so you’ll have to treat them well.”
Peerless Cacophony glanced at curiously. “What do you have in mind?”
”Each sect will have to guarantee the hostages’ safety up to a point. In exchange, the diplomats’ movents will be limited within the sect. They can learn and teach basic techniques, but nothing higher.”
It wasn’t like the sects hadn’t already studied those, anyway. I’d overheard outer sect disciples breaking down these guys’ attacks often enough to know that.
She tapped the table. “We’d have to set up a full-ti shadow guard... to protect them."
::Sister Lin, I’m pretty sure she’s implying that the guards will also kill the diplomats if they beco a threat.::
::Trust , I got that one.::
Whatever. At least she was thinking in the right direction.
“Of course!” I agreed. “And if the diplomats die in sothing like a demonic cult war, their own tribulation, or maybe… the Inter-Sect Tournant, that’s on them.”
Noxious coughed, which he turned into a throat clearing. “Master Lin! This was your plan to return to the Indomitable Will Sect?!”
He figured it out already? That was fast.
::Just help convince everyone! Little Spring and I need to get to that tournant through the Harmonious Sound Sect. Make it part of the war reparations if you have to.::
”Master, you can’t go there. They’ll have you assassinated to prevent us from having such a talented disciple. You’re just too eye-catching.”
::I know I am! But I can keep a low profile for two years.::
“Think about what you’ve done here and say that again.”
Goddamn it.
::It’ll be fine. Trust . I have a contact there who knows my real identity. They’ll help while I’m visiting, and my Indomitable Will sect will compensate them once I return safely.::
Plus, if shit went down, I could use Little Spring’s space.
”Master, my adorable little niece will never talk to again if you get hurt.”
I t his eyes and pushed the jade pill bottle closer to him. ::You owe this… I want to go ho.::
He stared at the bottle for a long mont, running his elegant fingers down the pale jade surface. He grabbed it and looked up.
“I agree with this idea!” He casually moved the bottle into his spatial ring. “It’s fair, and a chance to heal our wounds. Especially if you’ll allow our diplomats to compete in the Inter-Sect Tournant as honorary disciples.”
”Are you joking?” A vein bulged on Iron Fang’s forehead, and his face practically turned purple. “After every sll you put us through, you expect us to exchange disciples and learn to work together just like that? Even to the point where our own students would have to give away two of their hard-earned spots to your subpar sect mbers? I refuse!”
Noxious smiled and pressured him with his higher realm. The alchemist’s face paled.
I slamd my palm down on the table. “You don’t have to get along, or fully forgive each other, but if you don’t put your differences aside, then we’ll be right back where we were a couple of hours ago — ready to kill each other to the last man standing. The only people who win then are the demonic cultists and Chi Qi Tan.” I gestured to each elder. “Don’t you dare let those evil bastards succeed! If they do, then you’ll likely beco their slave ghosts and have to watch while this entire continent gets turned into a lifeless desert!”
I thought that would make them back down, but Iron Fang glared at as if seeing his worst enemy.
”Tell , Junior Linlin, why should we listen to a Foundation Establishnt brat like you? If you know what the demonic sect will do, and it's accurate, then what does that an about you?”
Little Spring took a step forward, his hand clenched into a fist. “Senior Iron Fang, it sounds like you’re questioning Elder Linlin’s loyalty after everything she’s done.”
He shrugged. “How am I supposed to know what she’s done?”
“She just helped your sect with its unfair contract!”
“rely that? That was barely anything, and it has nothing to do with the demonic cult.”
“Elder Linlin destroyed the Scroll of 10,000 Evil Souls.”
I grabbed the kid’s sleeve and tugged as a warning.
He patted my hand. “And she killed Demon Lord Xu!”
Iron Fang narrowed his eyes on .
I let go of his sleeve and crossed my arms. He’d already said it. There was no taking it back.
“She was lucky enough to survive the soul curse that was left on his body by his Immortal Bone Creation stage master.”
Those elders who were only partially listening turned to like I had so kind of heavenly treasure. Shit.
“The curse’s failure sent a backlash to the Demon Sage, hurting him significantly, which is the only reason we have so much ti to gather our strength.”
::Brat! You didn’t have to go that far.::
::I’m sorry, Sister Lin. I know you rarely mind when people question you, but I just couldn’t stand how he doubted you even after you handled their ss. They should thank you and treat you with respect, regardless of your cultivation stage.::
This kid! How could I reprimand him when he said it like that?
Iron Fang stood up and paced with his hands behind his back. He turned toward . “You want us to believe that a little girl at Foundation Establishnt recognized the power of an Immortal Bone Creation expert? And that she survived a curse from him? How?”
“That does sound too suspicious,” Icy Lotus Flower agreed.
“I don’t want to imply anything, but,” he sharply turned to , “maybe he let you go on purpose?"
A couple of fast-thinking elders subtly pulled out their weapons.
Did this fucker just make people think I’m a demonic cult mber?! “To do what, exactly? Gather you all here just so we can plan to take him down together? Be realistic.”
He took a threatening step forward.
”Alchemist Iron Fang, sit back down,” the Leashed Claws sect leader said gruffly.
He stopped. ”All I’m saying is that she’s either a liar or a spy!”
I was absolutely both. Just not for the side he was thinking of.
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After suffering a glare from Dominant Restraint Master, the alchemist returned to his seat.
I crossed my arms. ”What do you even want from ? For to expose all of my secrets? In that case, you should go first.”
He narrowed his eyes at . ”I could soul-search you to find the truth.”
”I survived a curse from a Demon Sage, do you expect a little soul-search to work on ?”
”Whatever protection let you do that should have vanished after that curse.”
Noxious put his arm in front of . “You’re not soul-searching my sect’s precious elder!”
”How can you trust this weak little girl?”
Wrathful Waterspout mirrored my in-na disciple and glared at Iron Fang. ”Her contributions to the sect are so great that we had to give her the title of elder.”
The corners of Noxious’s lips turned up. “Actually, she was practically forced to take the title despite her low cultivation.”
“Practically?! I was forced.”
My face burned. Fortunately, large gray clouds blocked the sun, which was definitely the main culprit.
”What can you tell us about the Demon Sage?” The Harmonious Sound Sect Leader asked eagerly.
“Not nearly enough.”
Dominant Restraint Master tapped his knuckles on the table. “If you aren’t their spy, then explain how you survived.”
I grimaced. ”His curse backfired thanks to a protection my ancestor left on my soul.” If I considered the before I ti-traveled as my ancestor, and my massive soul as protection. “He’ll be very weak for the next few years. If we’re lucky, it will take him a couple of decades to gather enough life energy to repair himself.”
Peerless Cacophony nodded.
”If you can remain a strong unified front until he resurfaces,” I continued, “and focus on improving your cultivation and comprehension of earthly laws, you’ll have a good chance at beating him when he finally pokes his nasty, disgusting head out of whatever shithole he’s hidden himself in.”
My divine sense barely picked up the vile energy. It moved so fast that it seed to just appear in front of ... embedded in a crown-shaped shield.
Wrathful Waterspout’s powerful defensive tool saved my fucking life!
The corrupted earthly law in the shape of a black spear glowed with pink demonic energy. Just being near it caused my joints to crack from its pressure.
A chill ran down my spine.
Everyone turned toward the source.
”Ah, shit.” Iron Fang said. He scratched the back of his head, then smiled like soone who no longer had to hide their true self… or like soone had taken over.
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He smiled shyly before sending a complete telepathic ssage. ::I shouldn’t have done that. But those ignorant, face-losing insults were too much.
::When I think about how you stopped my thought-out war, which would have fed life energy, healed , and fulfilled my vengeance against the orthodox path, I just want to kill you so badly... But that is too light a punishnt. Right? I an, you dared to murder my precious disciple, so how could I possibly let you off that easily?!
::At this point, I don’t even care that it will cost this useful clone and my little spies in these sects… you’re going to live, and I’m going to make sure you spend the next two hundred years wishing you didn’t.::
Fuuuuuuck!
I put things together. Him being at the damn Alchemy Convention when the vines attacked the turtle. How the spies from the Leashed Claws Sect used the tactics of the demonic cult. Just now, when he accused of being a spy, like a typical projecting cheater.
Hell, even his sect leader looked at Little Spring, a pure orthodox cultivator, like he’d finally seen how far his sect had slipped.
This fucker had been the clone of the demon sage this whole ti. And the worst part was that he’d slowly corrupted the major orthodox sects on this continent! Not with demonic energy, but with sothing harder to change back: the demonic path’s culture.
Although only a mont had passed since Iron Fang had attacked , I expected Dominant Restraint Master to have already cut the guy’s head off. He hadn’t. Instead, he stared at the alchemist as if trying to make sense of everything.
Maybe the revelation had been too shocking, or maybe he assud that he could easily overpower him. Whatever it was, the clone took advantage of that pause. He suddenly dug his long nails into the old man’s scalp. His gasp of horror and shock caused the ground to shake.
For a brief mont, he gathered energy into his palm and struck at Iron Fang’s dantian, only to be casually deflected.
“Y-you—“
“That bad attitude of yours has to go!”
At the sa ti, Peerless Cacophony made hand seals while gathering her earthy law. Before her technique finished forming, Icy Lotus Fairy elongated her nails and reached toward the sect leader’s head.
The half-ford energy swung around, striking the oncoming nails. While this saved her, it also prevented her from helping Dominant Restrain Master.
“You always said that your relationship with Iron Fang was pure.”
The fairy didn’t respond.
A few elders in the orthodox sects sent precision attacks toward Iron Fang.
The clone, who was busy doing sothing to one of the most powerful cultivators on the continent, didn't bother blocking. He reached out with his free hand and snapped.
Several elders stopped fighting. Their bodies moved like high-quality puppets as they simultaneously ford hand seals. This created a Threefold Shield around Iron Fang and Dominant Restraint Master, which absorbed the precision attacks.
“You traitors!” An elder scread.
Instead of responding, they gathered and ford a human wall in front of the clone responsible for their current unusual behavior.
Noxious sent a blast of his poisonous fire, earthly laws at Iron Fang. They blasted through the Threefold Shield like sword Qi cutting through jade.
The clone casually lifted his hand, created a spear with his demonic earthly law, and deflected the energy toward Pearlescent Rose.
Fortunately, she had already taken out a teleportation talisman and finished ripping it in ti to get sowhere safe.
Iron Fang pulled his fingers out of Dominant Restraint Master’s head. They weren’t covered in blood. That didn’t an the sect leader was alright.
The Immortal Bone Creation expert stiffly stood up and turned to Iron Fang as if waiting for orders. His eyes had lost the spark they had before.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I knew what he did. That demonic fuck had been at that sect for a long ti. He must have gotten close to the leader when he was vulnerable and hid an incomplete, undetectable curse on his skull back then.
He either couldn’t activate it until now due to a lack of energy, or he didn’t have a reason to. But why he didn’t wasn’t the issue now. It was done. And we were fucked.
At that point, Wrathful Waterspout, along with the smarter elders on all sides, ripped their prepared teleportation talismans and vanished.
Shit! ‘Signing a treaty’ was going to have to move to Step 6, to make room for the new Step 5: Save the budding alliance from the Demon Sage’s Clone!
I pulled out the teleportation talisman Vengeful Siren left and hugged Little Spring with one arm.
As I quickly used my teeth and freehand to tear my talisman, my divine sense picked up on sothing zipping past the wall of puppet elders toward my direction. I soon recognized it as an impossibly fast birdcage spiritual tool. The weird fucking thing grew larger as it neared. Instead of opening a door, it grew a creepy-ass mouth with bars as its teeth. Just before it chomped closed around us, the two parts of my talisman broke off, activating the spell. We vanished.
When we reappeared, it was at the inner sect courtyard we had set the teleportation talismans to in case things went wrong during the negotiations.
Shit! That demonic asshole was serious about capturing !
I pressed my palm to my heart that was pounding at a mile a minute.
“Are you okay, Sister Lin?”
How could I be okay knowing a goddamn Demon Sage was after ?! But I couldn’t let the Little Spring worry about that.
I stopped hugging the kid and clasped my hands behind my back like the master I was. “I’m fine. That was nothing.”
The many elders there, including Vengeful Siren and Wild Hoof, stared at .
Whatever. I’d been through worse, damn it! I wasn’t even injured, aside from a few aching bones and joints from all the energy getting thrown around.
Resentful Shadow Snake and Noxious Fangstrike hadn’t arrived. They had to still be back at the arena, likely doing their best to prevent Icy Lotus Fairy from activating the curse on Peerless Cacophony and making everything so much worse.
“What do you think we should do, junior sect leader?” One of the elders asked.
Wild Hoof frowned. “Tell everyone to retreat to this location and activate the minor shield array around the inner sect.”
He was basically telling us to abandon the orthodox sects and all the Immortal Bone Creation experts.
I scowled. “We can’t!”
He glared at . “Elder Linlin, you dare—”
Little Spring covered his eyes like he couldn’t believe I’d just been so rude. Yeah, I knew I should be polite, but this wasn’t the damn ti!
“If we don’t join them in eliminating the demonic cult within their ranks, we’ll show them what kind of allies we are. That everything they think about this sect is true.”
Wrathful Waterspout shook his head. “We need to protect ourselves before we worry about others. Let the demonic cult fight against the orthodox sects and get weaker first.”
That was a valid strategy, just not in this case.
“That sounds good,” one of the other elders said. “Besides, after this fight, their sects may not exist!”
Several nodded in agreent.
Wild Hoof frowned.
I was losing them.
I knew from my past life that they definitely existed in the future. I didn’t know how they survived Iron Fang back then, but they had. “What if they do? What if they survive this, get better, and grow? Their leadership will rember how we didn’t help them when they needed it the most, just after trying to negotiate for a treaty.”
The elders who had argued with glanced away, embarrassed.
“But if we save them now, you’ll have filled up your dicine bottle in their eyes. All that arguing about not being able to trust each other will vanish.”
“I’ll help you, Elder Linlin!” Little Spring said. “Just tell the plan.”
I turned to the brat. ::What plan?! I’ve barely had ti to process this shit.::
He just stared at as if I would obviously co up with sothing.
Goddamn it. Fine, I’d do it.
I closed my eyes for a second, split my mind into six, and considered so options.
“I have an idea. But you’ll need to avoid killing the enslaved elders. They will be the ones attacking you who don’t use demonic energy. Work in teams to knock them out.”
Wrathful Waterspout shook his head. ”Sister Linlin, I know you want to save them, but you can’t undo a bond like that without ending their lives.”
I grinned. “Poison Sage Noxious Fangstrike has learned a way to remove their control bonds.” He used the Nascent Soul version two years ago when he helped Gold String Delicate Touch’s ancestor, Dreaming Winds. Now that he was in Immortal Bone Creation, he could learn the more advanced form. Frankly, I was shocked that he didn’t share the process with anyone else. “If he frees Sect Leader Dominant Restrain Master, we will easily overpower the demonic sect together! We can even save their elders! Just imagine how much more they’ll owe us!”
Everyone perked up and glanced at the Junior Sect Leader.
Wild Hoof frowned and faced . “Elder Linlin, I’ll let your disrespect go, considering the circumstances.”
“I appreciate that, Junior Sect Leader. Now, what about my plan?”
He sighed. “What do you think?”
“That you can’t resist outshining the orthodox sects while making them owe you.”
“Of course not!” He cleared his throat, but I could see the extra color around his cheeks. “You’ve never given us bad advice before. I’d be a fool if I didn’t use your plan.
“First, we’ll retreat here to gather our forces, then imdiately attack the demonic sect! Those who go up against an enslaved elder will pair up and knock them out.”
I nodded grimly. “I’ll explain the plan to our new Poison Sage.”
In-na disciple, Noxious Fangstrike, I choose you!
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