Chapter 830: Persuasion

"I am willing to help you, willing to let you obtain the Sovereign's treasure and become the Sovereign's sole heir. You already possess powerful strength, which shows you already have a large portion of the treasures. As for the Shengnyu, after this period of searching, she has basically obtained everything that could be easily taken; anything else that cannot be found will require meticulous searching. If the two of you combine your portions, even if it is not ten parts, it is at least eight or nine. That can basically be called the true heir, and no one will ever be able to shake your position. It is merely a matter of whether you overwhelm her, or she overwhelms you."

"Regarding the variables in this, if I may be so bold as to say, I can also count as an important weight on the Balance. If I help the Shengnyu, I fear your chances of winning are not high, but if I help you, then she will also find it difficult to escape this tribulation."

"And what I am thinking of now is... helping you."

At this moment, that sound, suspected to be a sneer, rang out from the fire again.

The sound of the sneer was clearer than just a moment ago; this time it was heard distinctly, clearly carrying sarcasm.

Gong Yubai, however, felt a secret sense of relief: Sure enough, the fellow lurking here was interested in his words. It was just that it had not yet let down its guard and would not show itself. Having emotions was the best thing; the only fear was that it had no emotions.

He continued: "Hearing me say this, you naturally feel it is unbelievable. I am clearly the Shengnyu's person; if she did not trust me, how would she let me be an envoy to probe the reality here? And since I am so trusted, yet I still put on a posture of wanting to betray her, it shows I am a fickle villain; how can I be trusted? Or perhaps... before I even stated my position, you had already considered me a villain in your heart, because I am a person of the Sacred Moon Sect?"

The flame on the Sheng Huo Tan "poofed" and burned more fiercely.

Gong Yubai smiled lightly: "Sure enough, you are from the Human World. In the Human World, if people are not of our Bu'er Yue, even the Eternal Night Court would have prejudices against the Sacred Sect and look down on us from the start. I cannot immediately change your prejudice, so just treat me as a villain. I will explain why I chose you from the perspective of a villain."

"The first reason is naturally because we are both human... Of course, people say the Sacred Moon Sect does not want to be human in its bones, but I have never thought so. Whether you believe it or not, I have realized: a human can only be a human; no one can deny that in terms of bloodline. Especially after working in the Lingjie for many years, I see it even more clearly that this matter of identity is unchangeable. Even the Shengnyu, she thinks she does not discriminate against me at all based on identity, but in fact, she discriminates against me everywhere. It is just because she looks down on me innately that she is exceptionally tolerant of me, and uses this as benevolence. In fact, with her stupidity, she is really not qualified to look down on me. If there are two choices that are roughly the same, I would of course rather choose my own kind."

"The second reason probably fits your imagination of me, and of us. That is, I believe your chances of winning are greater, so I stand on your side. Yes, many people in our Sacred Moon Sect worship the strong. Why do many believers prefer to abandon their human identity to worship the Heavenly Demons? Because those descending Heavenly Demons are truly powerful, so powerful that people cannot resist; only by worshipping and looking up to them can one feel safe. And I... am no exception. I am single-mindedly devoted to serving someone more powerful. Not only powerful in strength, but also with more prospects. I cannot yet confirm your strength, but I believe you have prospects."

"You probably think I am flattering you, but according to my observations, you have probably only been operating this matter for a mere month or two, yet you have completely subdued the Fire Spirit Clan and fundamentally turned them around to follow your pace. This shows, first, that your strength is enough to suppress the experts of this Fire Spirit Clan; you have at least the strength of a Sword Immortal. Second, you have ambition, means, and the boldness to take the initiative to do great things. This is where I think you are far superior to the Shengnyu."

"The Shengnyu clearly has a lofty status, extraordinary strength, and profound knowledge and technology. Yet she has never had the ambition to do a great undertaking, only thinking of doing her research, and those researches are just research; she does not care whether they are applied or not, she is simply without great ambition. The reason she is still willing to listen to me and keep the Sacred Spring in her own hands is entirely because she is confident that only she can make good use of the Sacred Spring. Once a Heavenly Demon with superior ability appears over there, or some old fellow with a glib tongue uses the name of 'righteousness' to suppress her, she can completely share the treasure, or even hand it over. How can such a person be associated with the 'Sovereign'? Even if she were lucky enough to obtain the supreme treasure, she would easily lose it, because her virtue does not match her position. I offer her treasures, not for her to keep and give away to others."

"A Treasure is only possessed by those with virtue. This 'virtue' is not moral character, but talent and virtue. She is destined to fail, and is not of my kind, so what is strange about me choosing you?"

"If you still have doubts about me, that is fine. A hero like you will certainly not turn away something beneficial just because of mere suspicion. The so-called 'use people without suspicion, do not use those you suspect' is just an ideal; true wise masters all suspect them, yet still use them. Since you already know the reason why I would choose you and help you, then you might as well listen to what I can help you with."

He spoke eloquently like this, not caring at all that he was performing a one-man show, although as he spoke, a golden outline finally formed in the flames. Gong Yubai lowered his head as if he did not see it, but he knew in his heart and became even more encouraged.

"First, I can help you avoid this danger. You sent the Fire Spirit Heavenly Demon to find the Shengnyu, mostly to investigate the origin and efficacy of the Sacred Spring. You succeeded, but you also aroused vigilance."

"I do not know if this was your strategy of 'beating the grass to startle the snake' or if you have follow-up plans; I only know that it did indeed arouse vigilance. That Strange Stone changing into strange gold was indeed stunning, but it was also too easy to recognize. Besides the Sovereign's treasure, where else could such a miracle exist? The Shengnyu has already nine times out of ten confirmed that your place is the other part of the Sacred Spring, and is just waiting for me to send her definite news, and she will send people to seize it. Although she has no ambition, she has a team of dozens of elite knights by her side. As long as she gives the word, those hot-headed youths will kill their way over and bring disaster to anyone who obstructs the Shengnyu."

"But if I send a vague message saying that it needs careful confirmation, with her temperament, she will hesitate and be unable to make a decision for a day or two. Of course, I will not directly say this is absolutely not the Sacred Spring; that would be too fake and would not fool her, but instead arouse vigilance. I can only buy you a day or two of time; at this moment, a day or two is enough to decide the outcome."

"Of course, the key is in the second step. I will go back to report, and by the way, bring you back. Bring you to the side of the Sacred Spring."

"Actually, you letting that Fire Spirit Clan kid enter the valley must also be for this idea. I saw a Bead on his neck, inside which is fire; it should be a wisp of your projection, or a Sword Image? But that is all it is. He can bring your Sword Image in and let you take a look at the Sacred Spring without anyone noticing; this is already the limit. Could it be that you could personally enter Wan Shen Gu? That he could take a look at the Sacred Spring today is not just good luck, but also my facilitation."

"It is not that I am claiming credit, but if it were not for me going with the flow, he would never have had the chance to go to the Inner valley to take a look at the precious spring water, let alone have the Shengnyu demonstrate to him how the Sacred Spring works. This can be considered a small greeting gift I give to you."

"If I take you there this time, it will be completely different. I can take you straight to the Inner valley, then leave you by the side of the Sacred Spring, and then leave with the Shengnyu, taking away all the troublesome people who might notice, leaving you time to collect the spring water."

"I do not know how long this merging ritual takes. If it is a few hours, it can be done easily. If it requires days, then we need to adjust the strategy slightly, for example, sacrificing the Fire Spirit Clan. I will still report that this is the Sacred Spring, but the Fire Spirit Clan guards it very strictly, and I am unable to move to collect the spring water, so I will ask her to come and do it herself. If she can come, that is naturally the best; she will bring the Sacred Spring water along with its roots, and at that time, the host and guest will be reversed, and setting an ambush will be truly easy. If she still insists on her post and refuses to come, then I will also persuade her to mobilize her trusted knight team, leaving only her and a few knights behind, with the interior empty. At that time, with your strength, a forced attack should be able to take it down."

"This method will have some sequelae; for example, the Fire Spirit Clan will inevitably be targeted and probably will not be saved. But I think you do not care; you just won't be able to enjoy the subsequent offerings, which is a loss. But Wan Shen Gu is very wealthy; besides the Sacred Spring, there are many other things to take, including the Shengnyu herself, all available for the taking. I think that is enough to make up for it."

He spoke unhurriedly, watching the image in the Sacred Fire become clearer and clearer, ready to emerge. He saw it clearly, but in his heart, he was somewhat surprised: this appearance seems different from what he imagined?

But on second thought, since he came to the Lingjie to be a god, shouldn't he change his appearance properly?

The other party looked like it was about to come out; this was the critical moment, so he became even more earnest, showing his sincerity.

"If you still do not trust me, thinking this is a tactic to trick you into the Shengdi, then I have also brought a small gift." He took an object from his sleeve and said, "This was given to me by the Shengnyu before she left, a drop of water from the Sacred Spring... or rather, a small spring eye of the Sacred Spring. You know what I mean. She gave me this drop of water, naturally expecting me to collect the Sacred Fire, but now I give this drop of water to you to merge into the Sacred Fire to increase your strength. You naturally know that this is not a conspiracy I colluded with the Shengnyu on, because the Shengnyu would absolutely never hand over such an important treasure, even if it were to be recovered in the future, it would be impossible, because the risk is too great."

As he spoke, he lowered his head and held up the small bottle containing the Sacred Spring water. He was not very worried that the other party would snatch it away; it was meant to be offered anyway. Compared to just taking a drop of water, the benefits he brought were more astonishing. Whether to eat one bite or eat it all, anyone with a brain would know how to choose...

Suddenly, a golden light flashed before his eyes, and a great force slapped him to the ground. He heard a voice cursing from above: "You bastard, you are the worst thing I have ever seen, with sores on your head and pus flowing from your feet; where in the Human World did such a thing as you grow from? Seeing you makes me sick, go die!"