Reasoning to Convince Seizes the Heavenly Secrets; Kind Words Cannot Save Those Bent on Dying

Seeing that Yun Qingxuan was still hesitating, Su Li knew he had to act decisively!

Whether Zhuge Wuwei or Hua Yunxiao had ulterior motives was beside the point. If they really went to meet Zhuge Chunqiu, nothing good would come of it!

And if he really met Hua Lingshang, he would undoubtedly be doomed!

He had no trump card that could stand against an old monster who had lived for at least five thousand years. Nor was he as important as he had imagined.

Su Li silently withdrew his gaze, not showing even the slightest sign of disappointment.

Yun Qingxuan was still hesitating, so she could barely still be considered an ally. If he showed disappointment or hatred in his eyes now, things would only end even worse for him.

Every pitiable person had something hateful about them!

A madwoman who could slaughter even her own younger brother at any moment had no bottom line whatsoever!

Su Li felt the heavy pressure weighing on him and still forced himself to shift his body.

He was unaffected by abilities such as the Dao Marks of Laws, but those methods also contained physical force, and physical force could affect him.

"Wait!"

Su Li could speak without hindrance. His voice was displeased as he barked coldly.

"Hmm? Master Su, do you have an objection? Or has your compassion suddenly welled up, and you care about the lives of a few ants? Do you know that if the demonic soul truly revives, Wuyue City—and perhaps even the entire Nether Mountain Prefecture—will be plunged into a sea of blood?"

Zhuge Wuwei frowned, equally displeased.

If such a thing really happened, delaying like this would be a matter of the utmost importance!

Su Li thought, If everyone in Nether Mountain Prefecture dies, what does that have to do with me? If you're so noble, go die yourself! And what gives someone like you, using the greater good to pursue your own selfish interests, the right to say such things?

Su Li gave a cold snort and sneered. "If we leave now, we'll be heading west, right? Judging by Hua Yunxiao's fate and the signs that the transverse bone between his brows is spreading, we'll all perish soon.

"If you want to die, you can leave whenever you like. As for me, I'm not going anywhere for now. The earliest I'll leave is at midnight, or perhaps at the quarter past noon tomorrow.

"Of course, you can also suppress me and forcibly take me there.

"But are you sure you want to do that?

"Let's not even discuss whether my master would intervene. My life-bound soul artifact, the Five Emperors' Universe Treasure Coin, probably wouldn't want to see that happen either."

Since the other side had already made a move, Su Li thought it over and decided to take a hard line.

He was doomed either way. If things really turned ugly, all he could do was gamble on whether the system had some special function, and whether the Five Emperors Ancient Coin could save his life!

Besides, the spiritual energy inside him had not completely dissipated. He could activate the already-refined Wind Spirit Dust Avoiding Armor and those protective talismans, which should let him hold out for a few more seconds.

And in those few seconds, everything would depend on Yun Qingxuan's response—

In her current state, Yun Qingxuan could wield the Soul Perishing Tea Can. Su Li had personally experienced how powerful it was.

The Soul Locking Tower in her hands was also one of the finest treasures!

If she made a move in her current state and used the Soul Perishing Tea Can or the Soul Locking Tower to take him away, it would be dangerous, but not impossible.

But if he kept silent now, he would lose his chance to speak forever.

Once they reached the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion and faced Zhuge Chunqiu, who was even more outrageous than Zhuge Wuwei, every secret he possessed would be exposed!

And once the other party learned that he had been talking nonsense, there would be a one-hundred-percent chance of Hua Lingshang refining him to death!

Su Li had spoken with obvious displeasure, but Zhuge Wuwei's face instead darkened sharply.

At that instant, Su Li felt a terrifying force crash down upon him. It was like a bolt of lightning striking a high-voltage power line and setting off a violent explosion. The impact left him feeling as though he had been electrocuted all over. His eardrums burst in an instant, and his internal organs were struck as if by a heavy drum mallet. It felt as though they had been torn apart and knocked out of place!

The sensation was agonizing.

But worse than the pain was the wild fury that surged from his bloodline, from the depths of his very soul!

It was as if rage had suddenly ignited in the depths of his body, mind, and soul.

"I'm going to kill you! Kill you! Kill your entire clan!"

Even a common man in a fit of rage could splash blood five paces!

But in this world, the tragedy of being an ant was that you were far beneath even a common man. An ant did not even have the right to splash blood five paces!

Su Li's blood surged violently, and he could not control it. Blood was already flowing from his mouth.

Blood also poured from the corners of his eyes, his nose, and his ears, hot and fresh.

He wiped his face with one hand, and it came away scarlet.

He had long known he was like a clown, constantly being laughed at. But never before had anyone humiliated him so directly, right to his face.

Su Li took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the fury threatening to erupt. His body trembled!

"Master Su!"

"Master Su!"

Hua Ziyan and Mu Yuxi both cried out in alarm and rushed over at once.

Zhuge Qingchen's expression had gone rigid. He cleaved apart the restricted area with a single palm strike, then shouted furiously at Zhuge Wuwei, "Master, what are you doing?! Picking on Master Su because he can't fight back? What is your cultivation, Master, and what is Master Su's?!"

"Qingchen, you're getting more and more disrespectful! Is that any way to speak to your master? Young Friend Su merely suffered a backlash from the Heavenly Secrets. I only helped steady his qi and blood! He's fine now."

Zhuge Wuwei's expression was gentle. He reprimanded him with a hint of reproach, then put on an air of magnanimity.

Zhuge Qingchen was taken aback, then looked toward Su Li.

By then, Hua Ziyan and Mu Yuxi had already helped Su Li to his feet.

He glanced at Zhuge Wuwei, then spat a mouthful of blood straight at his face.

Zhuge Wuwei raised a hand. A transparent barrier appeared and blocked the blood.

"Young Friend Su, divining the Heavenly Secrets brings a powerful backlash. Young people should learn to curb their impatience and build a solid Foundation Establishment. Otherwise, with your foundations, if you divine the future a few more times, you may well suffer a backlash from the Heavenly Secrets and put your life in danger."

Zhuge Wuwei did not take it to heart. He smiled, his tone gentle, like a kind and benevolent elder.

Su Li was just about to speak when Mu Yuxi suddenly raised her hand, took out a Profound-grade one-star Qi and Blood Pill, and gently fed it to him. "Master Su, don't speak. First calm your qi and blood and recover from your injuries."

Her voice was gentle. At the same time, while her back was turned to Zhuge Wuwei, she gave Su Li a meaningful glance, urging him to stay calm.

Su Li was about to answer, but Mu Yuxi had already pressed the pill into his mouth and given him a light embrace.

That embrace gave Su Li an intense sensation—not a surge of desire, but the fact that Mu Yuxi possessed the Mysterious Yin Sacred Body, an exceptionally frigid constitution.

That extreme chill was like icy water, instantly cooling Su Li's blood, which had been boiling as if it were about to explode.

The next moment, the pill sent a warm, fragrant current down his throat and into his stomach, cool and clear as sweet dew. Suddenly, it spread through his limbs and bones, bringing the indescribable comfort of spring returning to all things.

At last, Su Li's heart grew completely calm.

At the same time, Mu Yuxi took the pink gauze sleeve of her dress and carefully wiped the blood from his face.

"Master Su, Senior Zhuge's attainments in the Heavenly Secrets are extraordinary. Yu Xi knows that you're concerned for everyone's safety, but you shouldn't disregard your own well-being for their sake."

Mu Yuxi gently tried to persuade him again.

Su Li brought up the Life Archive System and checked. Zhuge Wuwei and Hua Yunxiao's information was still a sea of question marks.

Zhuge Qingchen's heart brimmed with anger. He was furious and ashamed at his master's despicable, shameless conduct, and he felt guilty, believing he had let Su Li down.

Hua Ziyan, on the other hand, believed it. She thought he had truly overdone his divination, gone slightly berserk, and provoked Zhuge Wuwei, who had punished him a little.

Fang Yueheng thought Su Li was too eager for quick results, too impatient.

Yun Wanchu was suspicious. He even vaguely guessed that Zhuge Wuwei had definitely set his sights on taking Master Su's "Heavenly Secrets inheritance." But he did not dare show it, so he pretended nothing had happened. His mood was heavy, and he was also somewhat worried about Su Li.

Yun Qingxuan's current information and thoughts were likewise a sea of question marks.

Mu Yuxi, meanwhile, silently kept repeating in her heart, "Master Su, please don't act rashly. Please don't act rashly. Senior Zhuge is obviously trying to provoke you on purpose... Master Su, calm down. Otherwise, you'll truly be in danger. Even if Yu Xi gave it everything she had, I still couldn't protect you..."

Su Li closed the system panel and coughed up a large clump of dark-red clotted blood.

"Master Su, how are you feeling now?" Mu Yuxi asked worriedly.

"I'm all right now. I'm feeling much better. Fairy Yu Xi, thank you."

Su Li's voice had returned to its calmness. He glanced at the "52361" Heavenly Secrets Value still remaining on the system panel and prepared to speed up his harvest.

He knew he had cut a sorry figure this time. He had been utterly humiliated, his dignity gone, and his image as an unfathomable master had completely collapsed.

But it didn't matter anymore.

This time, unless he was truly dead—completely and utterly dead—

This matter wasn't going to end here!

"Master Su, it was the least I could do," Mu Yuxi said softly.

After wiping the bloodstains from Su Li's face, she silently returned to his side and gently held his arm. At the same time, she secretly circulated a thread of spiritual energy to keep Su Li from acting rashly and clashing with Zhuge Wuwei.

Zhuge Wuwei calmly glanced at Mu Yuxi. The coldness deep in his eyes flashed and vanished.

"Master Su, this matter is urgent. I hope you'll cooperate."

After a long silence, Hua Yunxiao spoke again.

Su Li sneered. "Hua Yunxiao, I've done your Hua Clan, the Wanli Holy Land, and your daughter a kindness, haven't I? And not a small one, either."

Hua Yunxiao replied in a low voice, "Indeed. Master Su's kindness to the Hua Clan, to me, to the Wanli Holy Land, and to A Li is greater than the heavens."

"Greater than the heavens, so you start by knocking me flat?"

Hua Yunxiao frowned. "You're overthinking it, Master Su."

"Then what if I say I won't go? I told you that this trip will bring a deadly calamity. If we set out now, we'll be doomed! The earliest I'll leave is at midnight, or at the quarter past noon tomorrow.

"You can't even wait that long?

"What, are you in such a hurry to refine me to death and seize my inheritance?"

Hua Yunxiao looked at Hua Ziyan, Zhuge Qingchen, and Fang Yueheng, all watching him with puzzled expressions. His face darkened. "Master Su, you jest. The demonic soul is about to revive. This concerns a calamity that will engulf the world—how can we treat it as a game? Naturally, it's urgent!"

Hua Ziyan suddenly spoke up. "Father, Master Su has never been wrong since he began divining. Since this trip brings the danger of death, why not simply wait a while? Or could it be..."

Hearing that, Hua Yunxiao could not help looking toward Zhuge Wuwei.

Zhuge Qingchen said coldly, "Master, I know what you're thinking. But the Imperial Lord had only just used the heavenly stele's descent to counterplot against Yun Yifan! Since Master Su even accurately divined a calamity of that scale, there's no reason he'd deceive you now. You don't need to feel embarrassed just because someone did you a favor by divining a crisis.

"Besides, our Heavenly Secrets inheritance values karmic ties above all. Master, don't let yourself be confused!"

Zhuge Qingchen's words were quite blunt.

Zhuge Wuwei's expression stiffened slightly, then turned rueful and helpless once more. "Enough. It seems you've truly misunderstood me. Since that's the case, we'll wait until midnight."

Only then did some of the tension leave Zhuge Qingchen's face, and most of his resentment faded as well.

Su Li did not want to waste time. He said in a low voice, "Since time is pressing, Old Yun, bring over the few true disciples from yesterday. There were some things I didn't explain clearly during yesterday's divination. I'll go over them again.

"This is about how they can overcome the calamity they'll face today against the Wanli Holy Land, and the calamities awaiting them personally."

Whether it was "Reasoning to Convince" or harvesting Heavenly Secrets Value, he had to pick up the pace.

He had no other choice.

Hearing this, Yun Wanchu first bowed, then turned to Hua Yunxiao.

Hua Yunxiao nodded. Only then did Yun Wanchu respectfully say, "Master Su, please wait a moment."

Soon, the group of disciples who had come the day before arrived as well. This time, Yun Qingxuan could no longer hide and watch from the sidelines. Su Li had "forced" her to come over with this method.

Once everyone had gathered again, Su Li looked first at Fang Yueheng.

He no longer wanted to advise Fang Yueheng. The man was clearly siding with Zhuge Wuwei.

But yesterday, he had already established a karmic connection with him—and a direct one, at that.

If he didn't "catalyze" it a little, he would be losing out badly!

So Su Li thought it over, then spoke solemnly. "Because I divined the Heavenly Secrets, the future has changed. Something will happen to your family at noon, but it won't be serious. So no matter what message you receive, don't go home. Can you do that?

"As long as you don't involve yourself in the karmic ties, you can't trigger them, and the outcome is guaranteed to be harmless. Once you get involved, you'll be doomed!

"The way to overcome this calamity is to go to the Blazing Wasteland right now and cultivate beside the Soul Suppressing Stele. There, you can obtain a great opportunity!

"If you trust me, you're certain to rise to prominence, and your family will be honored because of you!"

Su Li had barely finished speaking when Zhuge Wuwei cut in, before Fang Yueheng could answer.

"No. Fang Yueheng, your opportunity lies to the southwest. Young Friend Su has divined the Heavenly Secrets too many times lately and become overly tense. His divination has some flaws, and his words have been affected by interference from the Heavenly Secrets. You can't believe everything he says!

"You're a true disciple of the Wanli Holy Land, with the potential to become a Saint Son one day. Who in this region would pick a fight with you?"

Su Li glanced at Zhuge Wuwei and said nothing more. He had already said what he needed to say.

Besides, going to the Blazing Wasteland was certainly not a mistake. That place was both a deathtrap with a slim chance of survival and a land of rare opportunity.

If Fang Yueheng died amid the dangers there, then no demonic soul would dare venture there to seize his spirit.

For one thing, the place was perilous. For another, if Fang Yueheng died there, his soul would be scattered on the spot!

As long as Fang Yueheng, the central factor in this scheme, was eliminated, most of the plan would collapse in a bloody rout!

And if Fang Yueheng really managed to reach the Soul Suppressing Stele, he would undoubtedly gain a great opportunity. The stele itself was a heavenly treasure!

Under Su Li's direct gaze, Fang Yueheng glanced at Zhuge Wuwei, then respectfully said, "Disciple Fang Yueheng thanks Mystic Master Zhuge for your guidance and for recommending me."

After bowing, he straightened and turned to look at Su Li. "Master Su, I appreciate your good intentions.

"Please forgive Yueheng for speaking so boldly—but the path of cultivation demands a solid foundation. Don't be too hasty, especially in the way of the Heavenly Secrets, which involves divining the karma of heaven and earth and consumes an immense amount of one's vital energy, essence, and spirit.

"Yueheng also knows that Master Su is eager to prove yourself, win the favor of Saintess Li and Senior Sister Mu, earn the respect of others, and make your name known throughout the world.

"But this is truly the wrong way to go about it!

"Furthermore, Mystic Master Zhuge has earnestly pointed out your shortcomings, yet you pay no heed, turning a deaf ear and even humiliating him by spitting blood... That shows the greatest disrespect to a senior!

"Master Su, these words may not be pleasant to hear, but they come from the heart. I'm saying them to repay the life-saving kindness that Holy Lord Yun said you showed me.

"Only by accumulating strength and releasing it all at once can you truly make your name known throughout the world—not through opportunism and arrogant self-will!"

After Fang Yueheng finished, he cupped his hands slightly. Without even looking at Su Li, he respectfully walked over and stood behind Zhuge Wuwei.

Then he became that clever, sunny, adorable little boy again, a warm ray of sunshine, a little puppy.

Su Li's expression did not change at all. He merely nodded faintly, then looked toward Que Xinyan.

"Master Su."

Que Xinyan's face wore a hint of ingratiating deference, along with his habitual, ugly and obsequious smile.

He was truly dark, fat, and ugly.

Or rather, whether in his previous life or this one, he was the ugliest man Su Li had ever seen. There was no one else.

That face would make a perfect reaction image—one that would go viral in a single day, without even needing Photoshop.

Yet from that smile, Su Li saw something different.

Que Xinyan was an orphan, with neither father nor mother, so he had grown up among beggars.

Because he was ugly and naturally fat, he had been despised by others from the age of three or so, and had begged for food in Wuyue City.

Then, when he was six, he saw a little girl being bullied and rushed in because he could not bear to watch.

In the end, a passing cultivator rescued the little girl, while Yun Wanchu happened to notice the aura of a Yin Earth Spirit Physique in Que Xinyan's bloodline as he passed by and took him in.

Ten years later, Que Xinyan met that little girl again—Qiao Furong.

By then, Qiao Furong had become a true disciple of the Cloudglow Grotto-Heaven, while he was still only an outer disciple of the Wanli Holy Land.

Although he had been very self-conscious at the time, he had still happily told Qiao Fuqu about their childhood. Qiao Fuqu had been disgusted, so she simply gave him a Spirit Stone to repay him for saving her life and settle their karmic debt.

Que Xinyan had treasured it like a priceless jewel, and he still kept it to this day.

In the days that followed, because Qiao Fuqu was very fond of cultivating a special technique, she used those male disciples again and again, and then "fell out of love" over and over.

The technique had a major flaw: after every "breakup," she would sink into a state of extreme emptiness and loneliness for a while, suffering terribly inside.

So whenever the technique's backlash left her depressed, she would use heartbreak, melancholy, and the like as excuses to seek out Que Xinyan for a heart-to-heart.

And so began the tragic tale of a man kept as a backup.

Later, Qiao Fuqu was unexpectedly exposed for dating several disciples at once. The scandal was utterly humiliating, and Yunxia Grotto-Heaven crippled her cultivation and expelled her from the sect.

As a result, she wept to Que Xinyan, claiming that someone had framed her out of jealousy and that she had nearly lost her good name... So Que Xinyan exhausted his cultivation resources and drained all of Wanli Holy Land's contribution points to buy a single Tian Shu Pill. He successfully helped Qiao Fuqu change her appearance and restore her cultivation, then invited her to join Wanli Holy Land under a "new identity."

With Qiao Fuqu's talent, ability, and strength, it didn't take long for her to become an elite disciple of Wanli Holy Land.

This woman was now known as Qiao Lian'er. She was the very person Que Xinyan had been madly fawning over—the same one Su Li had tried to talk sense into earlier.

Su Li had taken a glance at her past at the time and discovered that she was rather conceited. She had named herself "Qiao Lian'er," comparing herself to a lotus—rising unstained from the mud, washed clean by clear waters without losing its beauty. I practice Dual Cultivation because I don't want to be bullied. I want to grow stronger! As long as I become strong, temper my body, and refine my soul, I'll be a lotus rising unstained from the mud!

Is there something wrong with wanting to become stronger?

Those damned, lowly cultivators are nothing but tools to me, stepping-stones on my path to strength!

When I return after enduring all this, those people will never again receive my favor!

Only that peerless man, a rare sight in the world even once in a million years—the Lord of Destiny—can become the husband in my heart. Only he can truly have me...

Honestly, Su Li had been genuinely shocked at the time. That was why he still remembered Que Xinyan so clearly.

Now, Que Xinyan was facing him just as he had faced Qiao Lian'er, wearing the same supposedly gentle, humble, harmless smile—the one he believed was his most ingratiating expression.