Chapter 271: Cooperation

Li Yunxin sighed: "Did you break the Restriction I set up when you came up the mountain? Idiot. Did you think that was merely a Restriction? It was meant to capture your Qi mechanism and Spiritual Power to help me complete the formation, that's all. It's the same principle as in Weicheng that day. You people... are so rigid. You'll never know what flexibility is."

"Moreover, I knew how you used the magic treasure Profound Light Mist, I knew your cultivation level, your habits, your personality—this is called asymmetric information. You knew nothing about me yet thought you could control the whole situation—" He leaned down and looked at Fu Liangzi, "How can you play games with me?"

Fu Liangzi opened his mouth, about to speak. Li Yunxin had already stood up: "I'm too lazy to talk to someone as stupid and malicious as you. I know you still want to ask me how I knew so much—now I'll show you."

He walked over to Fu Liangzi's strong Profound Realm body and took out his Folding Fan. He opened the fan and lightly shook it—

A gust of Yin wind immediately swirled out from the fan. It lingered on the ground for a while, then entered the body.

A moment later... this "Kun Wuzi" let out a low sigh and slowly propped himself up to sit.

Fu Liangzi's face instantly looked like a spilled dye vat, blue, white, and red in turns. He stared at the sitting "Kun Wuzi" and kept saying: "You, you, you..."

Li Yunxin watched coldly for a while. But seeing that the "Kun Wuzi"'s movements were very slow, he reached out and pulled him up.

Then he stepped back two paces and said seriously: "The first time I saw you, you didn't kill me. The second time I saw you, you advised me to leave the Dongting and return to the Daoist Orthodoxy with you. Although the circumstances were different and each had its reasons, my impression of you was quite good; I thought you were a good person."

"In Trapped Sky Mountain, the White Yama King asked for your soul, and I protected you. Now I'm giving this body to you, hoping you can remember my kindness. If you encounter matters related to me in the future, think carefully—I am a person who is very difficult to provoke." Li Yunxin said this and sighed softly, "Now you talk to him yourself... Sect Master Kun Wuzi."

Fu Liangzi was already speechless. He looked at Li Yunxin, then at Kun Wuzi, his gaze shifting back and forth.

But Li Yunxin did not intend to tell outsiders that 'I am the Judge of the Mortal World and have the Book of Life and Death in my hand, and since a Profound Realm Great Cultivator like Kun Wuzi died nearby, the Book of Life and Death naturally marked him, so I immediately collected him before the Yama King'—

He had already revealed enough secrets, and to say more out of pride might cost him a valuable hidden card.

He watched Kun Wuzi, whose body was still not very agile, slowly walk up to Fu Liangzi. After all, his Spiritual Soul had been damaged. Even if a Great Accomplishment Profound Realm cultivator had unknown high-level techniques to prevent his consciousness from getting lost, it was still difficult at first to control a body that didn't belong to him.

Therefore, his expression was very dull. But because of this dullness, his stare at Fu Liangzi was even more frightening.

After watching for a long time, he finally made a faint, indistinct sound: "...Each serving their own master? No right or wrong? You and Tongfu are my two most valued disciples. Do you... truly think there is no right or wrong?"

Fu Liangzi was hesitant to speak, trying to avoid Kun Wuzi's gaze. But he finally lifted his head and said in a deep voice: "I... my Daoist name is Fu Liangzi. I am not the person you thought I was for the past forty-six years."

Kun Wuzi let out a labored, low, and fuzzy laugh: "Not the same? Even if the name is different, has the person been different over these forty-six years?!"

"So be it... Then what about your feelings for Ling'er? Were those acted out as well?"

Fu Liangzi's eyes suddenly widened. But he quickly gritted his teeth again: "Daoist Orthodoxy is boring, so I found some fun for myself. Even unrequited love is better than being emotionless and desireless!"

"Good, good, good. 'Better than being emotionless and desireless,' what a good saying." Kun Wuzi's words gradually became clearer. He seemed to be slowly adapting to the body. Although there were still many inconveniences, his speech was at least fluent now: "Then what about your Dao Heart? Since your thoughts all these years were fake—how did your Dao Heart form? You... once said you would protect the righteous path of the world—that was your Dao Heart!"

Fu Liangzi smiled: "The Dao Heart is for living people like you. What does a lonely ghost like me need with a Dao Heart."

While the two of them were talking, Li Yunxin walked over to Li Shan and Seven-Segment Brocade.

The Formation in the hall had been running for a long time now. The two demons were growing weaker and were almost unable to keep their eyes open. Li Yunxin searched their bodies, then tossed the two of them aside in a heap, and continued to listen to Kun Wuzi and Fu Liangzi's conversation.

But the conversation quickly became impossible to continue.

Fu Liangzi began to shut up, regardless of Kun Wuzi's repeated demands. After about two quarters of an hour, Li Yunxin walked over and stood between the two of them: "Don't talk about it here. You can take him back to Cloud Mountain and ask him slowly later."

Kun Wuzi was slightly stunned: "...You're handing him over to me?"

Li Yunxin smiled: "He and the other one go to you; Tan Liangzi stays with me. Firstly, I feel that you gave me so much information before—even though you were forced to. But our cooperation was very pleasant. Otherwise, today wouldn't have been this smooth. Secondly... you should know now. Your Daoist Orthodoxy and the Sword Sect have been riddled with holes by this group of people."

"Two of your most beloved disciples. That Yue Yunzi and Qingliangzi of the Mutual Aid Society have been colluding for who knows how long. And this one, Fei Yunzi, was simply impersonated by someone else—lurking under the nose of a Great Accomplishment Profound Realm cultivator like you for forty-six years, and you were killed without even realizing it. If it weren't for me, you might not have even saved your Spiritual Soul. So, think about it... you are about to start a war with the demons—is now a good time? You are the Sect Master of Langya Grotto-Heaven. When others see you like this again, your words will naturally carry weight."

Kun Wuzi was silent for a long time after hearing what Li Yunxin said. After a long while, he finally spoke: "Why are you doing this?"

Li Yunxin looked at him: "I offended the Daoist Orthodoxy because of the Lucid Jade Slip before. Now I am a demon. Once the Daoist Orthodoxy, Sword Sect, and the demons start a war, my situation will not be good. I know a great war is ultimately unavoidable, but I hope to postpone it as much as possible. It's both giving you trouble and giving the Mutual Aid Society trouble—my parents were killed by their people."

"And I can get a moment of respite for myself. To build up my strength and try to protect myself. That is all I'm thinking, it's reasonable—I'm just trying to survive. To survive, there are no eternal enemies or friends, only interests are eternal."

"...Only interests are eternal." Kun Wuzi frowned, repeating the phrase. He thought about it, then seemed to want to speak but held back.

Li Yunxin smiled: "Just say what's on your mind. We can talk a lot here in this Dongting today. But once you return to the Daoist Orthodoxy, our relationship won't be so simple. Perhaps the next time we meet, it will be a fight to the death again."

Kun Wuzi sighed softly: "It's just that I watch your actions and listen to your words... Alas. Although you are now a demon, you are also cultivating the Celestial Heart Orthodox Law. I will tell you something—demons gain immense speed in advancement from Incense Vow Power. But... if you don't cultivate your mind, no matter how great your fortune is, you can only stop at the peak of the Profound Realm, below the Supreme level. You are... an unparalleled prodigy. You have the potential to advance to the Supreme realm."

"I will only say this here in the Dongting—I don't want you to ultimately waste this heaven-sent blessing. You are already in the True Realm. Do you have a Dao Heart yet?"

Li Yunxin looked at him for a while, then smiled gently and sincerely.

"I understand this principle," he thought for a moment, and said earnestly, "But I am also a lonely ghost."

Kun Wuzi pondered his words for a while but didn't understand the deeper meaning. He sighed, said no more. He just said: "Fine. Then... farewell for now."

With that, he felt around in his sleeve and pulled out a small lantern. He looked at it and sighed: "This is something I gave him too."

Then he tried to circulate some Spiritual Energy, and the lantern immediately emitted a dazzling seven-colored light. He then pointed at Fu Liangzi on the ground—Li Yunxin unlocked the iron chain—and the Mutual Aid Society's wandering soul was immediately sucked into the lantern, falling silent.

He then walked to Seven-Segment Brocade and pointed at her again, and the female demon's body also became still instantly.

The Profound Realm Taoist priest collected the two souls, nodded slightly to Li Yunxin, and walked toward the hall entrance.

But just as he was about to step out, he heard Li Yunxin say calmly: "Oh, there's one more thing."

Kun Wuzi stopped and turned around.

Li Yunxin looked at him: "The people of Weicheng were killed by you. I lived in that city for a few months, and I have some feelings for it."

Kun Wuzi slightly frowned and looked at him: "Those were just mortals. And you are a demon."

"Even demons wouldn't do something like this to me," Li Yunxin tilted his head. "Besides, I have a subordinate who is a member of the Yu Family of Weicheng—you probably don't know the Yu Family. But his family was ruined because of you. If I don't get justice for him, I will look very bad."

"Furthermore, the Daoist Orthodoxy claims to shepherd all people. The people of Weicheng are also part of all people. The Daoist Orthodoxy also claims to represent the righteous path of the world. But if you don't take those words seriously yourselves... it will make me very disappointed."

Kun Wuzi looked at Li Yunxin with confusion. He seemed to want to figure out if the words spoken by this demon, renowned for his sinister cunning, were sincere.

He had lived for several centuries. Although he hadn't experienced many human affairs like mortals, he still knew how to read expressions. And precisely because of this, he was even more confused.

Because he felt that Li Yunxin was indeed sincere.

They looked at each other like this for a while, and Kun Wuzi suddenly looked up at the sky.

The sky was clear and blue, dotted with a few white clouds. The late summer sun was shining intensely, warming his newly acquired body.

Then, Kun Wuzi, the Sect Master of Langya Grotto-Heaven, turned his head and said to Li Yunxin: "I understand. I will return to Cloud Mountain, deal with these matters, and then enter a stone chamber to abolish my cultivation."

"If Heaven still favors me, perhaps I can re-cultivate. If it feels that is still not enough to atone for my sin, I will die as a mortal."

"I swear this by my Dao Heart."

Li Yunxin nodded: "A safe journey."

Kun Wuzi turned and left.