91: Feed the devil with your own body, the whole audience is in dead silence

Qingyun Sect, Council Hall.

This was now the highest command center during wartime.

The earth continued to tremble, as if a dying behemoth was helplessly thrashing about.

From the ceiling beams, centuries of accumulated dust rustled down, mixing with the thick scent of blood and char in the air, making one's throat tighten.

The few Elders who remained behind had ashen faces, staring intently at the Sect's sand table.

On the sand table, the spiritual lights representing Formations and Disciples were extinguishing one after another at a heart-wrenching speed.

Each extinction represented the passing of a life.

The air in the hall was heavy like lead.

Just in this desperate silence, an unusually calm voice spoke up.

"I will voluntarily be devoured by the Demon Lord."

It was Lin Gou.

[System, being devoured by a pseudo-Nascent Soul Demon Lord and exploding from within, this quality of death should guarantee an S-rank rating, right?]

He calculated inwardly, his expression outwardly unperturbed.

As his words fell, time seemed to freeze.

The Elders' movements stiffened in unison, slowly turning their heads, their expressions shifting from shock to bewilderment, finally settling into an absurd look reserved for madmen.

"Lin... Junior Martial Nephew Lin, what did you just say?" An Elder's voice was exceedingly dry.

"I said, I will offer myself to the demon."

Lin Gou repeated, his tone steady, but his eyes held an undeniable seriousness.

"From its inside, I will detonate its energy core."

"Nonsense!"

Qingyun Sect Leader slammed the table, his face filled with shock and anger.

"How is this any different from seeking death! You are the Qingyun Sect's last hope, how can you harbor such self-destructive thoughts!"

"Sect Head, this is the only way," Lin Gou calmly replied.

"Mad! You must be mad!" Another Elder stood up agitatedly, pointing at Lin Gou, his fingers trembling, "We would rather the entire Sect fight to the last person than let you undertake such a suicidal endeavor!"

Objections surged like a tide.

Just then.

"Bang—!"

The heavy hall door was violently forced open by immense power.

A slender figure stumbled in.

It was Zhao Linger.

Her moon-white long dress was already stained and mottled with blood and dust, her hair disheveled, a few strands clinging to her tear-streaked cheeks, looking utterly disheveled.

She carried a mixture of the herbal scent of Medicinal Pills and the nauseating smell of blood, as if she had just crawled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

"Lin Gou!"

She shrieked, her voice hoarse as if scraped by gravel.

Her eyes only saw the figure standing calmly at the center of the storm, a sight that broke her heart.

She rushed over like a madwoman, grabbing Lin Gou's arm tightly, her nails digging deep into his flesh.

Tears, like a breached dam, gushed out.

"No!"

"I forbid you to go!"

Her plea was heart-rending.

"You promised me! You just promised me that you wouldn't 'disappear' again!"

"You liar!"

She looked up, using all her strength to hurl this most hurtful word at the person she trusted most.

"You're a big liar!"

Her cries, like a heavy hammer, struck everyone's heart.

Lin Gou's heart also twinged slightly at the word "liar."

He was about to speak.

Clang—!

A clear Sword Qi rang out, like a Dragon's roar piercing the sky, instantly suppressing all the clamor and wailing.

A bone-chilling Sword Qi stretched across the hall entrance, blocking the retreat.

Li Hanyue walked in.

Her steps were steady; each one seemed to land on everyone's heartbeats.

Her snow-white clothes were splattered with dark Devilish Qi blood, like plum blossoms of death blooming in the snow, carrying a cruel beauty.

Her face had no tears, no expression.

It was colder than the sword in her hand.

She didn't cry, nor did she pull at him.

She simply drew her sword.

The sword tip pointed directly at Lin Gou's brow, emanating a chilling gleam.

"If anyone is going, it's me."

Her voice had no fluctuation, as if stating an established fact.

"My cultivation is higher than yours."

"The chances of survival are greater."

"You are not allowed to go to your death."

Simple, direct, and irrefutable.

This was no longer a plea, but a cold rebuttal from a comrade.

Inside the hall, the atmosphere was tense.

However, just then.

A lazy, coquettish laugh, with three parts playfulness and seven parts allure, drifted out from the shadows of the hall entrance.

"Oh my, oh my."

"What a touching scene."

"One crying like a pear blossom bathed in rain, the other drawing a sword to threaten with her life."

A fiery red figure, like a ghost, leaned silently against the doorframe.

Su Meier, with her arms crossed, watched the unfolding drama with leisure.

She walked with a cat-like grace, ignoring Li Hanyue's sword, and went straight to Lin Gou.

"Little man."

She leaned in slightly, her red lips close to Lin Gou's ear, her breath like orchids.

"Are you... addicted to dying?"

Her voice was soft, yet it exploded like a thunderclap in everyone's hearts.

She straightened up, looking amusedly at Lin Gou's unperturbed face, the playfulness in her eyes growing stronger.

"Or..."

Her tone rose slightly, carrying a deadly probing.

"That 'feigned death escape technique' of yours, which can only be used once and exhausts all your Origin..."

"Actually, has other secrets?"

"It's not some one-time forbidden Spell at all?"

Boom!

These words, like the sharpest dagger, precisely pierced the core of the problem!

They hit the nail on the head.

They were utterly devastating!

The temperature inside the hall suddenly dropped to freezing point.

The Elders froze abruptly.

Li Hanyue's sword-holding hand paused slightly, a deep scrutiny flashing in her cold eyes.

Even Zhao Linger, who was on the verge of fainting from crying, subconsciously stopped sobbing, raising her tear-filled eyes, looking at Lin Gou in confusion.

Yes.

If it wasn't a forbidden Spell... if he...

All eyes, suspicion, scrutiny, inquiry, confusion, converged on Lin Gou.

He instantly transformed from a tragic hero into a suspicious person harboring a huge secret.

[This demoness is indeed perceptive.]

A hint of admiration flashed in Lin Gou's heart, [However, it saves me a lot of explanation.]

He reached out, his movements gentle yet irresistible, prying open Zhao Linger's hands, which were clutching his arm, one finger at a time.

He didn't look at her.

Instead, he met Li Hanyue's aggressive sword point, his gaze open and frank.

Finally, his gaze fell on Su Meier's naturally alluring face.

He spoke.

His voice was not loud, yet it suppressed all suspicion and whispers with an unprecedented authority.

"My 'feigned death' can deceive it once, and it can deceive it a second time."

He didn't explain.

He was merely stating a fact.

He slowly scanned the room, his gaze sweeping over the Elders with complex expressions, over Qingyun Sect Leader.

"This is the only way to precisely hit its core."

His voice suddenly rose, like a great bell!

"Whose attack can penetrate the pseudo-Nascent Soul's demonic body and strike its Origin directly?!"

"Who can?!"

A question!

Two questions!

The entire hall was silent.

Yes.

Who can?

This silence was the loudest answer.

Just then.

Above the sky, the golden rainbow light that had been struggling to hold on suddenly dimmed.

An old, tired, yet infinitely resolute will, boomed directly in the minds of all Golden Core Immortal Masters in the hall.

"Enough..."

It was the Grand Elder!

"The entire Sect... heed my supreme elder's decree!"

"Do as Lin Gou says!"

The supreme authority of the supreme elder's decree transformed into an undeniable Sect iron rule, ending all disputes.

The dust settled.

Lin Gou slowly walked towards the girl who was still in place, her body trembling slightly, tears silently falling.

He reached out his hands and cupped Zhao Linger's pale little face.

With his thumb, he gently wiped away her endless tears.

His eyes were more serious than ever before.

"Look at me."

His voice was an unquestionable command.

Zhao Linger subconsciously looked up.

"Wait for me to come home."

"This is an order."

Domineering, firm, yet containing the deepest promise.

Zhao Linger's violently trembling body miraculously calmed down.

She no longer cried, but simply nodded heavily with all her strength.

Lin Gou released her hands, turned, and met Li Hanyue's complicated and unreadable eyes.

"Your sword slays external enemies."

"My life targets the internal core."

"When I return, we'll spar again."

He acknowledged her strength and defined their respective missions.

Li Hanyue pressed her lips tightly, and finally, slowly, she sheathed the spiritual sword that had been unwilling to return to its scabbard.

Finally.

Lin Gou's gaze fell on Su Meier, who still wore a playful smile.

His lips did not move.

A voice that only Su Meier could hear directly echoed in her mind.

"If I return, I will tell you a secret about 'Transmigration'."

"Will you take this gamble?"

The smile on Su Meier's face instantly froze.

Her captivating peach blossom eyes, pupils suddenly contracted into the most dangerous pinpricks!

An unspeakable horror, from the deepest part of her heart, exploded!

This word... how could he know this word!

Lin Gou no longer looked at her shocked face.

He walked to Qingyun Sect Leader, placing the supreme elder's decree, still warm from his touch, back into the Sect Head's trembling hands.

"Guard our home well."

He finished speaking.

He turned resolutely.

He strode purposefully towards the apocalyptic world outside the hall, shrouded in Devilish Qi and soaked in blood and fire.

His back, against the backdrop of collapsing mountain gates and flying Spells.

So solitary.

Yet so resolute.

He would become the sole focus, attracting all the Demon Lord's attention.

He would once again, voluntarily rush towards death.