Huh? Is it so easy to increase the male lead's favorability?

"I……"

Xu Ying opened his mouth, then hesitated for a moment. He lowered his eyes, staring at his toes, and fell silent.

Shen Changche wasn't in a hurry. He leaned back in his chair, rested his hand on the seat, and tapped it absently.

Among the representatives of Wudang Mountain, there is surprisingly a cultivator who lacks both his own opinions and courage. It's hard to know what to say.

As he thought this, he began to wonder if Xu Ying was pretending to be weak while actually being strong.

Wen Jin thought so too.

She couldn't see Xu Ying's face now and couldn't glean information from his micro-expressions, but judging from Xu Ying's current body language, this seemed to be his personality.

Xu Ying stood there silently for a long time, but in the end, he didn't say a single useful word. He shook his head and repeated what he had just said: "The Grand Elder said that he doesn't want any outsiders to be present when dealing with the rift."

Upon hearing this, Wen Jin's lips, hidden beneath his black robe, twitched slightly.

Sima Zhao's intentions are obvious to everyone.

However, since Wudang Mountain was able to cultivate so many cultivators with considerable power through the cultivation of evil energy, it must not be lacking in evil energy. It must not have come to the Demon Realm just for this.

They even brought people from Kongtong Valley... Is it for the Kongtong Seal?

The purifying power of the Kongtong Seal is universally acknowledged, even in the upper realms. It is said that during the ancient war between immortals and demons, the demon god was severely injured by the Kongtong Seal, leading to its defeat. Is Wudang Mountain now using the name of Kongtong Valley to seek out the Kongtong Seal in order to seize this crucial artifact for itself?

Wen Jin went through his memories of several indirect or direct confrontations with Wudang Mountain one by one, and could only come up with this conclusion.

Therefore, the clues about the Kongtong Seal held by the Wudang Immortal Mountain are indeed in the hands of the Demon Clan.

Shen Changche sneered: "On my territory, does he have the right to make demands of me?"

Seeing that Xu Ying lowered his head even further, Shen Changche asked again, "What do you think? Should I agree to his condition?"

"The Grand Elder said that the Demon Clan urgently needs to resolve the rift issue, and it is of utmost urgency. Moreover, it seems that the Demon Lord has been troubled by this matter for a long time. However, the Demon Lord should not refuse such a simple condition, which is hardly even a condition," Xu Ying continued to reply.

Like a pre-programmed sequence, it's clear that the person who created this program has already provided the standard answer.

"I am asking for your opinion."

Shen Changche's voice grew even colder.

This was something he and Wen Jin had agreed upon—a gentle, persuasive approach. A person like him, lacking independent thought and subjected to prolonged oppression, desperately needs someone to plant a seed of self-awareness within him.

“I—” Xu Ying hesitated for a moment, then shook her head: “I agree with the Elder’s point of view.”

"Alright, you can go back now."

Upon hearing this, seeing that Xu Ying seemed to hesitate, Shen Changche waved his hand.

……

"The Kongtong Seal, is there any news about the Kongtong Seal within your clan?"

Wen Jin sat down, casually took off his hood, and asked.

Shen Changche shook his head without even thinking: "If there were any definite news, I would have sent people to search for it long ago."

“But Wudang Mountain has it.” Wen Jin pursed her lips. “The fact that they made such a big fuss this time, and even brought people from Kongtong Valley, means they must have confirmed the whereabouts of the Kongtong Seal.”

But where did they get the information from?

Wen Jin couldn't understand, and her brows furrowed slightly.

Penglai Immortal Island was unaware of this matter, neither were the demons, and the people of Kongtong Valley were completely kept in the dark, being led by the nose. Why was it that only Wudang Immortal Mountain knew about it?

Shen Changche couldn't figure it out either.

"Let them go, but make sure the people from Kongtong Valley go with them."

Wen Jin said, "I'll go find Boss Xia and Chief Deng tonight."

"I won't tell them about my relationship with you, so don't let it slip."

She instructed Shen Changche.

……

The evil energy within Ji Yunmiao's altar had diminished considerably, and the cracks seemed to have been mostly repaired. Cang Yan looked at it again and again before finally feeling relieved.

Although the demonic consciousness was still sealed within Ji Yunmiao's body, it seemed lifeless and drifting aimlessly within the seal, posing no threat whatsoever.

Ling Tian thoroughly inspected the seal before withdrawing his divine sense.

Things from the upper realm are really difficult to deal with in the lower realm.

He thought to himself, then shrank back into Ji Yunmiao's contract space.

"He'll probably wake up soon," Cang Yan said. "I don't know if he'll be able to make it in time for your operation."

"Cang Yan, do you know something?"

Wen Jin seemed to have caught the unspoken meaning in Cang Yan's words and suddenly asked.

"Maybe," Cang Yan said vaguely.

Upon hearing this, Wen Jin understood that it meant something couldn't be said.

Cang Yan's memories are many times more complete than Ling Tian's, but due to the rules of the lower realm, he has been unable to reveal them. However, judging from his expression, what he is about to do seems to be the most important thing they have ever known each other—after all, he has never cared so much about cooperating with others before.

But judging from Ji Yunmiao's current state, she probably won't be able to catch up anytime soon.

His current situation is special, so it's good for him to avoid contact with these evil influences.

Wen Jin thought for a moment, then glanced at Ji Yunmiao one last time, raised her hand and flicked out a teleportation talisman, disappearing from the spot.

……

When Xia Zhilan saw Wen Jin, he took a step back in surprise, then quickly took a few steps forward and asked in a low voice, "Peak Master Wen?"

Seeing Wen Jin nod, he immediately looked around and said nervously, "How did you end up here? This place is full of people from Wudang Mountain."

He knew that Peak Master Wen had the ability to reach the pinnacle of the entire cultivation world, but the current atmosphere made it hard not to feel nervous!

"Are you going to work with Wudang Mountain to deal with the rift tomorrow?"

Wen Jin reassured Xia Zhilan, and then went straight to the point.

Xia Zhilan nodded upon hearing this.

“I’ll go for you tomorrow,” Wen Jinfei said quickly. “I’ll take you somewhere now. Stay there and don’t go out unless something unexpected happens. I’ll talk to Chief Deng about the rest.”

"Huh?" Xia Zhilan's mouth gaped open slightly. "Is it really okay to keep this from the Demon Lord?"

The Demon Lord has already reached the Mahayana stage of cultivation, and can see through many things at a glance. This really makes him uneasy. What if the Demon Lord discovers that Peak Master Wen has been discovered? How should she deal with it?

"I have my own way." Wen Jin didn't explain further, and instead stuck a teleportation talisman marked with the location onto Xia Zhilan: "Remember my words, don't go out."

……

The moon, which was full just a few days ago, is now waning, but it still shines brightly in the courtyard.

Wen Jin turned around, closed the door, and walked down the steps, her shadow gradually lengthening in the moonlight.

"What is Mr. Xia doing out so late at night?"

A voice suddenly rang out from behind her.

"Go and have a talk with Chief Deng." She turned around, a smile exactly like Xia Zhilan's usual one playing on her lips. "Tomorrow we'll deal with the rift, and I suppose we'll be searching for the Kongtong Seal behind the Demon Lord's back, won't we?"

"So persistent, huh?" Upon hearing this, a laugh came from beneath the man's black robe: "We only have information; we can't guarantee we'll find it."

“I understand.” Wen Jin nodded.

"Don't chat for too long, Mr. Xia needs to conserve his energy for the days to come," the man said at the end, before turning and leaving.

Wen Jin responded and continued walking towards Deng Lang's room.

She deliberately acted as if she was obsessed with the Kongtong Seal.

Deng Lang was somewhat surprised to hear the knocking.

He was even more surprised to see Xia Zhilan when he opened the door.

Wen Jin smiled and said, "Let's go inside and talk."

……

Shen Changche spotted Wen Jin, who was disguised as Xia Zhilan, at a glance, even through a row of people. He stared at Wen Jin for two seconds, then lowered his eyes and waved his hand: "I will have someone take you there."

It would be a lie to say I'm not worried about Wen Jin.

However, there is really no safer solution at the moment.

Sending Wen Jin would at least ensure that her disguise wouldn't be exposed by this group, whereas sending someone else might not be so certain.

Moreover, these demon cultivators all carry some demonic energy that is different from that of spirit cultivators, making it easy for high-level cultivators to detect the abnormality. Apart from him and Wen Jin, there are no other candidates.

If Ji Yunmiao hadn't met with an accident, that would have been great. Although his cultivation level wasn't as high as his, he could still handle the people from Wudang Immortal Mountain and would have been a help to Wen Jin, not to mention his superb alchemy skills.

It's a pity that only Wen Jin and the leader of the Kongtong Valley separatist faction, whom we've only met a few times and haven't even exchanged a few words with, are currently following Wudang Mountain.

I don't know if this person is reliable.

he thinks.

……

After Shen Changche's men led the Wudang Immortal Mountain group to their destination, they left on their own.

Wen Jin followed Deng Lang silently, watching as the people of Wudang Mountain began to get busy.

Evil energy surged from the cracks, surrounding the group and seeping inward little by little.

They didn't even try to avoid the people from Kongtong Valley.

The elders of Wudang Mountain had long been unable to resist. Their perception of the location of evil energy was far more acute than that of the demons, so they didn't need the demons to send someone to guide them, which wasted a lot of time. Therefore, as soon as the barrier was erected, they began to absorb it without any concealment.

"Chief Deng." The leading elder walked over, stirring up a surge of evil energy in the surrounding area.

Wen Jin and Deng Lang were surrounded by a faint white light, which completely kept the evil energy out while also seemingly being enveloped by a very faint layer of evil energy.

The elder looked at the "evil energy" surrounding the two men with satisfaction, and then said with feigned concern, "These evil energies can directly enter the body, so Chief Deng and Boss Xia should be careful."

After saying that, he turned to look at Wen Jin: "Especially Boss Xia, is your cultivation level enough to handle it?"

"It's nothing, I can handle it," Wen Jin replied calmly.

The elder nodded, not paying much attention. Anyway, Xia Zhilan had been like this ever since he agreed to bring the auction house to submit to them. As long as he didn't cause trouble, they would let him be.

"Our information is that the Kongtong Seal is located within this rift. We are currently having them set up an array to see if they can get closer to the rift."

The elder's gaze returned to Deng Lang: "I'll trouble you two to wait a little longer."