Upon hearing the intelligence from Lin Yun, Wang Wanqiu's mind was jolted, and she hastily inquired in her heart, "Where did you get this news?"
Only now did she understand why Lin Yun had been contacting her so frequently over the past few days. Unfortunately, by that time, she had already infiltrated the White Lotus Sect's group, and to avoid suspicion, she was unable to meet with Lin Yun.
Lin Yun shared with Wang Wanqiu the warning from Green Lotus to be on guard, which threw her into a state of turmoil.
This time, the Sword Sect had brought several Elders, and if they were to fall to an ambush by the Demon Sect here, the Sword Sect would suffer a substantial loss in strength.
Lin Yun was more concerned about whether his cover had been blown by the insider traitor. Judging from Green Lotus's behavior that day, Lin Yun felt he was still safe. Green Lotus knowing there was a move did not necessarily mean that it was Sword Sect's leaked information; after all, they were in an alliance with Li Fire God Palace and Eight Tones Temple. It could be information leaked from those factions.
But this was something that also could not be ignored. There were three Elders who knew his identity. The disciples under them, however, were not familiar with him and had little contact.
So, if any of those three Elders were to betray them, Lin Yun's situation would become very dangerous.
"Now that things have come to this, panicking is useless; you should think about how to salvage the current situation."
Lin Yun's reminder quickly brought Wang Wanqiu back to her senses. She said, "There are only two choices now. First, abandon the mission. The Sect Elders can evacuate, but there will be no more opportunities to assassinate the Red Lotus Demon Lord. She will know about our actions and will quickly investigate who betrayed her. It will be even harder to find such an opportunity in the future."
From the sound of it, she didn't want to give up, did she?
"Second, continue the mission. Although the Demon Sect knows about our plan and it's impossible to make the Red Lotus Demon Lord consume the Ghostly Spring Water, there's still a way to ignite her Yin Fire."
"What way?"
"It's to use the soul as a fire. I have reached the Divine Cultivation Realm. Though far from the Demon Lord's power, if I can see her, igniting my Divine Soul could at least cause the Yin Fire within her to become unbalanced. At that point, once the Red Lotus Demon Lord falls, the others in the Demon Sect will be of little concern."
Wang Wanqiu seemed to be leaning towards the second option.
Both choices meant death for her, but with the former, her spirit could remain, and she might have the chance of reincarnation. Once her Divine Soul is ignited, however, she would be completely reduced to ashes.
For a cultivator, the extinction of the Divine Soul is truly unacceptable.
"I suggest you choose the first option."
"You think I'm afraid of death?"
"No, it's just that you're taking too great a risk. The enemy understands our plan well, but we don't know how powerful they are. With the Red Lotus Demon Lord on guard, even if you trigger her Karmic Fire, it's still very difficult to kill her. For this, many seniors in charge of the beheading will have to risk their lives.
Once they act and fail, the only outcome is a dead end. It's better to bide our time and wait for an opportunity than to gamble with so many lives. Besides, although the Three Sects of the Demon Path are branches of the same tree, they also check and balance each other. As you have seen, there is discord between Green Lotus and Bai Feng, two of their Elders, which shows that the Three Sects cannot truly act as one.
If the Red Lotus Demon Lord dies, the other two Demon Lords will be even more tense and forced to unite because they will fear they cannot withstand the onslaught from the Righteous Path. Therefore, your risk is all harm and no benefit. Let's forget it!"
After Lin Yun finished speaking, Wang Wanqiu was stunned.
This...
That made sense.
She had only been thinking about exterminating demons and had not considered that the Righteous Path might actually benefit more from the Red Lotus Demon Lord being alive.
Actually, she was a bit afraid; to ignite one's soul fire required great resolution.
Lin Yun's analysis was also very logical. It weakened her determination to sacrifice herself for the Sect and the Righteous Path. When her sacrifice became meaningless, she naturally didn't want to make that sacrifice.
"You're right. If that's the case, then I'll look for a chance to escape. Fellow Daoist, you must also be careful. Although the Red Lotus Demon Lord fancies men, all the men she has doted on have eventually disappeared. There are rumors that her powerful Karmic Fire is because she turned those men into ashes, and their Divine Souls were absorbed into her Fire Seed."
Lin Yun: "..."
You're leaving just like that, why tell me a horror story!
Initially, Lin Yun had thought, at worst, it would just be that sort of thing once, but now you're telling me I could get burnt by fire after the fact...
That's too tragic, isn't it?
"The Demon Lord has arrived!"
Why did the Demon Lord suddenly come to the back hall?
On hearing this announcement, both Lin Yun and Wang Wanqiu panicked internally, but their expressions remained even calmer. They dared not make any hasty movements, and Wang Wanqiu also quickly retracted the Sound Transmission Talisman. Then, realizing that no one was paying attention to them, they hurried to imitate the other men and craned their necks to look toward the garden entrance.
A group of women dressed in red surrounded a woman as she walked in. The only person who could command such adoration from the disciples of the Red Lotus Sect, like the stars around the moon, had to be the legendary Red Lotus Demon Lord.
Lin Yun's imagination had been quite different; he expected that as a temptress, the Red Lotus Demon Lord would be barefoot, displaying a section of her slender, lily-white legs, clad in revealing clothes with deep, plunging necklines.
That's what a Demon Sect temptress is supposed to be!
Then, he would reluctantly let such a temptress spank him, which wouldn't be a loss at all.
However, faced with the woman who was being surrounded, Lin Yun felt disillusioned.
She was wearing a very conservative big red dress, which reminded Lin Yun of the Invincible East, except she wasn't wearing a hat but had several hairpins inserted in her hair, styled in a maiden's bun.
What disappointed Lin Yun the most was that she was rather plain.
With that figure, you qualify as a Demon Sect temptress?
This generation's temptress is really lacking!
Although she is quite pretty and seems to have nice legs...
It may have been Lin Yun's disrespectful gaze that caught the attention of the Red Lotus Demon Lord. She turned her head and looked directly at Lin Yun, then walked straight toward him.
Lin Yun's scalp tingled.
Damn, don't tell me you can hear my inner critiques too?
"What is your name?"
The Red Lotus Demon Lord approached Lin Yun, speaking in a tone devoid of any emotion, yet it made Lin Yun feel weak in the knees.
The might of the Demon Lord did not need to be deliberately displayed; just being near her made it extremely difficult to speak calmly.
Wang Wanqiu's heart raced as well. She had previously thought that igniting her Divine Soul might be of some use, but now she realized she had underestimated those who were higher up in cultivation.
The Red Lotus Demon Lord could probably extinguish her with just a glance.
"My name is Lin Yun."
Lin Yun tried hard to stand up straight.
He felt rather cowardly already, but there was a stubbornness deep in his bones.
I can't lose face too much.
However, no sooner had he finished speaking, than the Red Lotus Demon Lord in front of him suddenly burst into flames, the fire shooting straight into the sky, prompting the people around to scatter.
Lin Yun was dumbfounded in that moment.
I just gave my name, is there any need for such fiery anger?
Wang Wanqiu was also stunned. After all, wasn't the signal for them to start their operation a blaze reaching the heavens...