Chapter 492: Chapter 481: Three-pronged Approach
When it comes to relics, the matter becomes serious.
Only upon Lin Yun’s death could others inherit his relics, and similarly, only if the original owner perished would a Divine Artifact, which had recognized a master, consider recognizing a new one.
Almost all Divine Artifacts possess some intelligence, but to varying degrees. Little Gold was already a mature Divine Artifact. It had a vast array of experiences and was not just an ordinary Sword Spirit. Unless Lin Yun died, or another forceful and ruthless individual appeared who could make a Divine Artifact submit, it would not willingly acknowledge another master.
Wait a second...
Lin Yun suddenly thought through this line of reasoning and realized something alarming. Little Gold was coaxed over by him, Qiaobian and the Classic of Mountains and Seas were forcefully seized by him. This meant that he was not fated to possess these Divine Artifacts in the first place.
Tsk, tsk, tsk, these Divine Artifacts just don’t know what’s good for them. Look at the Heavenly Demon Instrument, it couldn’t wait to beg him to become its master, yet these other artifacts had to be forcefully taken. How terrible.
Lin Yun was silently criticizing in his heart, and at that moment, Fang Yu’s emotions were also incredibly complex.
She understood Lin Yun’s meaning and also knew why Lin Yu and Dongfang Hongyue would join forces, wanting to help Lin Yun claim the throne.
Because this was their most straightforward way of fighting against fate, a method well understood by those in the Enlightened Realm.
But fate is difficult to defy, the more specific and certain the event, the harder it is to change, especially when it’s related to life and death, increasing the difficulty manifold.
Take a simple example, suppose Fang Yu saw that her destiny was to be a Sect Leader for life.
Refusing to accept this, she abdicates on the spot, which could barely be considered breaking the Heavenly Mandate. But it’s not certain the Heavenly Mandate has necessarily been broken until the moment it concludes. Using the same example, if Fang Yu finds that the successor is not up to par and is forced to take up the Sect Leader position again, then this would not count as breaking the Heavenly Mandate.
Whether it’s broken or not remains an unknown state, but at least there’s some hope.
The situation is different when it’s related to life and death.
Discovering the day of one’s death more likely than not means dying on that specific day.
Life and death are hard to defy.
To reverse life and death is akin to defying the heavens.
Fang Yu suddenly had a flash of insight and understood the connotation of the Defiant Heavenly Realm.
"I understand now. This time, I’ll stand by your side."
Fang Yu stated resolutely.
She didn’t want to be looked down upon by Lin Yu. Who says I can’t adapt? Am I that dull?
"Thank you."
Lin Yun seized the opportunity to give Fang Yu a hug.
Hugging another woman in front of the two jealous ones, how thrilling!
But these are just details. With this hug, both jealous ones would get upset, but they wouldn’t have an outburst, lacking a proper catalyst. They could only watch Lin Yun hug Fang Yu, and gradually, their tolerance threshold would increase.
While manipulating the situation, Lin Yun sighed in his heart. I wasn’t this kind of person before, so why have I achieved such high proficiency without any guidance?
If this could also be considered a talent, he had probably maxed it out.
As of now, two high-ranking members of the Shenxiao Sect had become Lin Yun’s insider traitors.
The current principal of the Shenxiao Sect was Zhao Lingyu, with the two biggest pillars being Lin Yu and Fang Yu.
They held the greatest authority within the Shenxiao Sect, and comparatively, Honorable Zhao, who came in with Zhao Lingyu, didn’t have much of a say. Even with the cultivation level of Enlightened Realm, his strength was just so-so, and even his authority might not match that of Honorable Li, who had been with the Princess for a longer time.
Time reveals a person’s heart, and Honorable Li’s loyalty had been tested and proven.
"The most urgent task at hand is to unify internally. I believe the first issue we need to address is Zhang Biyu."
Dongfang Hongyue subtly moved Lin Yun away from Fang Yu a bit while casually sharing her opinion.
"Not Yue Ningshuang?"
Fang Yu actually found the Guanghan Palace Elder, who was always hopping around, even more annoying. It was she who had forced her good friend Jiang Chenyu to be trapped on Purple Cloud Mountain. If Jiang Chenyu had held the authority, a heartfelt appeal, a reasoned explanation, and the lure of benefits from her would have likely convinced Jiang Chenyu to agree to help.
Once the Righteous and Demonic paths were united and with the Snow Maiden as one of their own, the unification of the Central Plains and the Grassland would only be a matter of time, perhaps even achievable by the end of the year.
Therefore, she thought it would be more appropriate to kill Yue Ningshuang first.
"Yue Ningshuang is merely a profit-seeker. We can see through her trump cards clear as day, but no one knows the depth of Zhang Biyu."
Dongfang Hongyue sighed. If she had known, she would have sent an insider to Zhang Biyu’s side to gauge her strengths and probe her depth, and to prevent Lin Yun from getting together with Fang Yu.
As for the allure that Zhang Biyu posed to Lin Yun...
Dongfang Hongyue didn’t think Lin Yun would like a complicated woman like Zhang Biyu. He preferred simple women, and someone like Zhang Biyu, adept at manipulating people and flourishing on all fronts, would certainly not be to Lin Yun’s liking.
Lin Yu nodded solemnly. She trusted Dongfang Hongyue’s intuition.
"In that case, we can split our forces," she said.
Only children make choices; adults know that when problems come, they come all at once—it’s impossible to solve just one and ignore the other.
"I’ll join Hong Yue in ambushing Zhang Biyu, Sect Leader, you will host a banquet and invite Yue Ningshuang to Purple Cloud Mountain," she suggested.
When Lin Yun heard this, he interjected, "If that’s the case, why not split into three groups? I will go to meet with the Snow Maiden and apply pressure on the Central Plains border. Don’t worry, I’ll protect those innocent people."
With this three-pronged approach, a unification of the Central Plains within a few days was very possible.
"Let’s do it this way."
This was a plan to collaborate from within and without, to deliver a decisive blow.
After all, it was a matter of life and death. If they could break the Heavenly Mandate as soon as possible, they would do just that.
As long as Lin Yun successfully became the Great Emperor, the Book Immortal’s prophecy would collapse on its own, and Lin Yun’s Heavenly Mandate would naturally be broken.
At this point, no one was concerned about the poison from the Yin Yang Soul Chaser Spider anymore. Lin Yun secretly rejoiced, and pulling Snowstep to his side, he mounted the horse, saying, "In that case, let’s part ways here."
Lin Yu: "..."
Fang Yu: "..."
Dongfang Hongyue: "..."
As soon as they spoke of parting ways, their expressions were identical. However, they were ultimately not ordinary women and did not indulge in petty moods over such significant issues.
Dongfang Hongyue gave Lin Yun a deep look, turned into a blaze of fire, and disappeared, followed by Fang Yu.
Lastly, Lin Yu was left alone.
Lin Yun had thought she would also depart on her sword, but after the two sisters had left, Lin Yu leapt onto Lin Yun’s horse and snuggled into his embrace.
Ah, this...
Lin Yu was unusually proactive today. Such an aberrant behavior—could she have discovered something?
Excited, Lin Yun inadvertently set himself up for a fall.
Lin Yu, with a slightly flushed face, leaned on Lin Yun, her breath as fragrant as orchid, and suggested, "How about we find a secluded place?"
Lin Yun excitedly nodded, hugged Lin Yu, and leaped upon a large tree. Now deep into autumn, the tree had become bare, but Lin Yun could release a thick fog to offer some concealment.
Lin Yun had never tried shaking a tree before. He silently warned himself to be gentle later and not to break the tree.
But when Lin Yu got onto the tree, she suddenly said, "Actually... you can’t solve your poison problem, can you?"
