Chapter 541: A Mutually Beneficial... Agreement

Chapter 541: Chapter 541: A Mutually Beneficial... Agreement

To be honest, there was an element of gambling in this statement.

But Chen Xuan wasn’t betting on whether Wei would believe him, but rather on not provoking a counteraction from the established history with this statement.

The Celestial Patrol had clearly stated that the history of ascension could not be altered. So where exactly would it take effect? Could it be that no historical detail could be changed, or would some key points be forcibly locked, or perhaps the process didn’t matter as long as the result led to ascension?

When he uttered this statement, he pretended to be very relaxed on the surface, but inside he was extremely tense.

After all, according to the history that had already occurred, Wei wouldn’t have met him until several years later.

He braced himself for five seconds, during which nothing seemed to change in the space around him.

Chen Xuan quietly breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed the first situation could be ruled out.

Wei’s silence lasted even longer; she seemed completely unprepared for the fact that he would come up with this identity.

After confirming that this meeting wouldn’t trigger any counteractions, Chen Xuan grew bolder and took advantage of her moment of daze to add quickly, "You can call me Chen Xuan. It’s a pity I don’t have that jade token with me, otherwise I wouldn’t even need to introduce myself. This should be the core area of the Lotus Cloud Sect’s Pocket World, and you are the soul-less entity created by Ji Lian to maintain the operation of the Sect Protection Array. Am I right?"

"Absurd!" Wei instinctively refuted, "Lord Ji Lian never disclosed anything about the array formation to anyone. It’s impossible for you to know this information from her—" ℯ

"I never said I asked Ji Lian. In fact, the person who told me this information..." Chen Xuan pointed at her, "was you yourself."

There was no need to continue speaking in riddles; he explained part of the past events to her. To avoid risk, he didn’t delve too much into the relationship between the Celestial Patrol and the Inner Demon, only mentioning that he was schemed against, forced into a desperate fight, and unexpectedly ended up traveling back in time.

Unfortunately, Chen Xuan couldn’t see Wei’s face, unable to gauge her thoughts from her facial expressions.

The "Mind Reading Technique" was also ineffective on her.

Probably because this technique worked on the soul, and a soul-less entity inherently had no soul.

"From the future..." Wei said again, "This indeed could explain why you can wield the Demon-Slaying True Sword. I can also temporarily accept that you bear no hostility towards the Lotus Cloud Sect, because at the moment I appeared, you did cancel the spell in your hand."

Even then, it’s only "temporarily"? Chen Xuan smiled wryly, "But you still don’t fully trust me."

"That’s right, I prefer not to let emotions sway my judgment." She admitted frankly, "Without a jade token, and without any way to independently verify what you said, it’s hard for me to let down my guard against you. The information you provided may not have any errors, but because it’s future information, anyone who obtains it can deceive me unilaterally."

"You have a point there." Chen Xuan said somewhat unexpectedly.

He didn’t expect Wei to consider that aspect.

"If you hadn’t terminated the spell, I would definitely have eliminated you. Even if I couldn’t, I would have driven you out of the Pocket World." Wei continued, "Maintaining the continuity of the Lotus Cloud Sect is my primary mission."

Chen Xuan knew she wasn’t lying.

As the maintainer of the array, Wei had the right to mobilize the entire Pocket World’s resources; her power even surpassed Ji Lian during her time as Sect Leader, something he couldn’t currently counter.

"Though you haven’t caused tangible harm to the Lotus Cloud Sect, it doesn’t mean what you’ve done isn’t suspicious." She explained earnestly, "First, since you claim to be Lord Ji Lian’s master, you should be well aware of the terror of the Inner Demon. What you did in Pei State, Luo Kingdom, may very well become the root cause for attracting the Inner Demon in the near future."

"Secondly, you expended such a massive amount of life force to cast the Demon-Slaying True Sword just to make me appear. This was indeed an unwise move. Even if you claim you’ve inherited the power of blood and flesh, with a life force far surpassing ordinary people, this remains a low-return action. Can someone with such a simple and crude way of thinking actually be Lord Ji Lian’s master? I have my doubts."

Chen Xuan twitched his mouth; could this count as a veiled personal attack?

"However, from a logical standpoint, what you said might indeed be true, so..." Wei pondered for a moment, "It is possible to have the array ignore the anomalous influence you’ve caused and cease sending the Demon-Hunting Letter."

He already sensed what she was about to say next, "There’s a ’but,’ right?"

"Indeed." The contours of her cheeks slightly extended, as if her expression had changed a bit. Chen Xuan thought, could it be... she just smiled?

"If you can complete a task for me, then I am willing to believe everything you say."

"What task?" he asked curiously.

Could there be a problem even the Sect Protection Array couldn’t solve?

Surely she wouldn’t ask him to eradicate the Inner Demon outside?

"Help me eradicate an Inner Demon." Wei stated her condition.

It turned out to be that?

Chen Xuan rolled his eyes, "If I could—"

"Not the one outside, but an Inner Demon sealed within the Lotus Cloud Sect." Wei shook her head, "It’s located in the southwestern abandoned area, also known to the world as the Wanshan Wilderness."

A scene flashed through his mind: three stone swords like Heaven-Reaching Towers leaning against each other, standing tall against the skyline formed by the mountains...

"You mean those Stone Swords?"

"It seems you’ve been to the depths of the abandoned area? No... maybe you’ve been there in the future." Wei’s voice softened a bit, "They belong to hundreds of deceased Sect cultivators, each a prodigy, and precisely because of their immense talent, the Inner Demon they formed is particularly strong. At that time, Lord Ji Lian couldn’t completely destroy it, and could only seal it."

"However, maintaining the seal requires continuous consumption of Spiritual Qi. This place has become a heavy burden on the Lotus Cloud Sect. If you can solve this problem, the freed Spiritual Qi will significantly enhance the array’s defensive level, and the Pocket World will be much safer."

So that’s it, Chen Xuan thought, action speaks more than words; whether or not he truly is Ji Lian’s master, as long as he makes a substantial contribution to the Lotus Cloud Sect, she would be willing to believe him.

"Of course, I don’t expect you to complete this task immediately. This Inner Demon is quite powerful; with just a slight mistake, everything could be lost. Feel free to take all necessary preparations before taking action." Wei supplemented, "During this period, the Demon-Hunting Letter will be paused, although I’ll be closely monitoring you, which I trust you won’t object to."

Of course, Chen Xuan would not object, this was undoubtedly a very favorable agreement for him.

"No problem," he readily agreed, "I just didn’t expect you to have such confidence in me, believing that I could handle something even Ji Lian couldn’t."

"If you are to be Lord Ji Lian’s master, you must have some extraordinary abilities," Wei’s voice seemed noticeably lighter.

"I also have one condition," Chen Xuan shifted the topic.

"Go ahead."

"The time I can stay on this side is limited, roughly four and a half years. To quickly eradicate the Inner Demon, I’m afraid I’ll need to employ more efficient methods to accumulate power." Chen Xuan said slyly, "Hope you can support my plans at that time."