292: Deadly overthinking!

Beneath the starry sky, everything around seemed suppressed by an invisible force, save for the spatial rift that was slowly mending.

The violent astral winds, which usually sufficed to easily tear apart a Nirvana Venerable Rank Martial Artist, now returned to tranquility under the intimidating pressure of the auras emitted by many powerhouses, falling into a deathly silence.

In the distance, the towering Xuanqing Pass stood in the starry sky like a silent giant, quietly witnessing the impending storm.

Atop the city walls, the densely packed Human Race soldiers were all tense.

They held their breath and focused intensely, doing their utmost to control themselves so that not even a tiny sound escaped their mouths, as if any noise might shatter this silence as fragile as thin ice.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment, and the entire Universe fell into a state of near-stasis.

Finally, Li Heng's gaze swept seemingly inadvertently toward the distant Xuanqing Pass.

Then, with a slight turn, it landed on Donggong Li behind Ou Mo, before slowly moving toward the youth on the other side.

Just as he was about to cast his gaze toward the other human personnel, his movements suddenly halted, and his expression instantly froze.

Almost at the same moment, all the top powerhouses of the Yao Race made the same reaction.

Their bodies paused briefly as if a binding spell had been cast upon them; then, as if pulled by a powerful force, they all focused their gazes on that youth once again in unison.

Their pupils contracted slightly and involuntarily, their eyes filled with shock and confusion.

“You...” A voice full of suspicion and surprise rang out, but having uttered only a single word, it seemed to be choked back by the heavy atmosphere.

Under the gaze of the crowd, the youth's lips curled up slightly into a faint smile as he spoke slowly.

“In the battle of Chixuan Pass, Mangyu Demon Mountain was shattered with a roar.”

“Your race rushed back to defend, and my race retreated in a timely manner.”

“You know very well in your hearts that you have already fallen into the schemes carefully laid out by my race.”

“And without obtaining any valuable information, you decisively chose to ignore the Alliance's suspicions and adopted a strategy of responding to changes with constancy, solely to ensure your race wouldn't suffer even more tragic losses in this great war.”

The youth paused, his gaze scanning the members of the Yao Race before continuing.

“In your understanding, since my race dared to act this way, we must have something to rely on.”

“But you assumed that foundation wasn't deep enough to openly contend with the Five Races Allied Army.”

“The facts were indeed as you expected; not long after, another Demon Mountain collapsed and shattered in the flames of war.”

“Having been prepared, you immediately dispatched the vast majority of your core combat power here, attempting to seize key information about my race.”

“So you could tip off the other four races and restore the 'normal' state of this war in your minds—the Human Race being completely crushed beneath your Allied Army.”

Hearing these words, the expressions of many Yao Race powerhouses changed slightly.

Li Heng, Qiu Hen, and the other four Old Ancestors narrowed their eyes. Their gazes shuttled back and forth between the silent Ou Mo and the youth who was speaking, while their Divine Thoughts were released without reservation like a giant net, spreading to the absolute limit.

A moment later, the four of them looked at each other, their eyes filled with certainty.

“Hahaha!!” Li Heng suddenly threw his head back and laughed loudly. “Human Supreme One! What a 'Supreme One'!”

“As expected of that shining Prodigy who has created countless brilliant records in the starry sky!”

At this point, his gaze suddenly became incredibly sharp, like two cold, glinting blades stabbing straight at Ou Mo.

“Even if you guessed correctly, so what?! Show your Human Race's trump cards!”

Admittedly, despite the four of them searching with all their might, they hadn't found even a single trace.

But Li Heng was already certain in his heart that this must be a method carefully planned by the Human Race!

Because while they were searching, they were also secretly hunting for the whereabouts of the Spirit Race army and Zhong Kun.

However, the result was nothing.

Aside from the pungent, thick smell of blood permeating the starry sky—clearly from a tragic battle that had just occurred—there were no other traces revealed.

Therefore, Li Heng secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Lin Yan being at Xuanqing Pass was not unexpected, as it was already public knowledge.

The reason he felt relieved was that, in his self-righteousness, he believed he had already completed the most critical goal of this operation—successfully capturing key information about the Human Race.

That was: the Human Race didn't have any deep foundation at all, but were simply causing trouble by relying on a space-cutting treasure capable of shielding the perception of an Immortal King.

They had first used the unique characteristics of this treasure at Chixuan Pass to trap the two races' armies within, thereby triggering the chaotic situation in the starry sky.

And now, they were repeating the same trick, temporarily sealing Zhong Kun and that Spirit Race army within some mysterious space.

Because of this, he believed that what he needed to do next was to complete this final, crucial step.

Witness this miraculous treasure with his own eyes!

Even deep in his heart, a greedy thought quietly sprouted—he wanted to take this treasure for himself! He also wanted to thoroughly capture Lin Yan for the Yao Race this time!

So, following his own line of reasoning all the way through, a seemingly obvious conclusion presented itself.

The reason Ou Mo and the others were here, acting in a way that clearly showed they were waiting for them...

Was actually to stall for time, creating a favorable opportunity for those Human Race Martial Artists who were currently surrounding and killing the Spirit Race army.

This was also why Lin Yan had deliberately said those words—it was to intimidate them, throw their minds into chaos, and trap them in their rhythm!

It had to be said that sometimes, the ability to 'fill in the blanks' in one's head was indeed a terrifying thing.

It could unconsciously guide people toward a self-perceived truth, unaware that it might just be an illusory web woven by their own subjective assumptions.

But the illusory cannot last forever; whether it is that dreamlike web of imagination or a seemingly indestructible web of reality, when it becomes a shackle imprisoning justice and truth, a brave soul will inevitably step forward to tear it to shreds.

In Lin Yan's eyes, golden light flickered like lightning, as if slumbering stars were awakening, or like the first dawn before daybreak, piercing through the deep darkness.

On his usually cold and resolute face, a rare, slightly mocking and playful smile of amusement appeared, seemingly containing endless hidden meaning.

“You certainly have quite a few ideas...” Though his voice was soft, it echoed through the silent starry sky like a great bell.

It seemed to contain some unspeakable power, like a tranquil warning before the coming of a storm.