Jin Huang smiled and sat back. "It appears I was wrong. You are indeed worthy. To think you have such a motive—but why should I help you?"
Li Gang glanced at her and said casually, "I am just speaking casually. Why do you think I am asking for help?"
His meaning was clear: he had nothing to offer. Him being her ally was already enough of a deal. Since she already knew his identity as the Demon King of the South, she should understand how great his potential was and how useful he could be.
She chuckled, ignoring his words. "Why did you think I would be the one who could help you?"
As she spoke, she leaned closer. Her lips were almost touching his ear.
Li Gang smiled. "Why?"
He paused, then continued, "Your spiritual imprint is special. I don't know what it is, but my intuition tells me it is."
Li Gang's thought process was quite simple. Jin Huang's ability to figure out his identity meant she had read his memories. The clues were too insignificant for her to deduce anything otherwise. He believed she must have read them. Although he knew his memories could be read by certain enemies, that enemy should at least be an Emperor. Li Gang was already aware of higher-dimensional existences due to Lin Fan's existence.
Even within Lin Fan's memories of all sorts of cultivation techniques, there was none that could help one read memories. Shouldn't Li Gang consider the possibility that the Emperor who filtered the information he absorbed might have filtered out such knowledge as well?
Unfortunately, at this moment, Li Gang was unaware of such possibilities. After the death of Immortal Zhu, a very important psychological cue had been triggered.
Between Immortal Zhu's death and Immortal Chen once again overseeing the world, there was a small gap in time. The psychological cue triggered at that very moment, giving Li Gang a window of freedom and allowing him to make further plans by implanting more psychological cues.
The cue was this: if someone tried to take over his "Special Ability," which he believed to be some kind of treasure, and that person was blocked, then it would leave him a margin of freedom.
Even though Li Gang's conscious and subconscious thoughts were suppressed, his perception remained—and the psychological cue remained.
With his enhanced perception, he realized the death of another being. With Lin Fan's memories, he already knew the method to create psychological cues within his mind and to erase his own memories.
At this very moment, Li Gang had no memory of what he had deduced back then, nor did he know whether Lin Fan's memories had been tampered with. He was also deliberately restraining his cognitive prowess. As a result, he arrived at this conclusion directly.
Jin Huang understood his thought process. Even with flawed reasoning, he had struck directly at her sore spot. But, was that really a mere "flawed reasoning"?
This entire situation had been Jin Huang's plan all along. She wanted him to think he had control. From the very beginning, when she revealed his identity as the Demon King of the South, she had given him a way out. It was out of respect. A person who wished to dominate must have everything under his control. His mind could not be shaken, and his majesty could not be diminished. If he could not prove himself worthy, then he would have a hard time gaining true Domination in the future when he performed the ritual for Ascension. This moment might become an obstacle in his heart.
To attain True Domination, one needed invincibility in the heart. From the moment he decided to become a ruler, he had to remain proud, looking down upon all other beings.
This wasn't the main reason. The main reason was the Immortals.
From the very beginning, Jin Huang had been preparing an excuse for Li Gang. In one of the psychological cues, she discovered that he was going to reveal his worth by mentioning a "spiritual imprint." If Li Gang mentioned this without any concrete reason, it would arouse suspicion among the Immortals. Immortal Chen might even figure out the existence of psychological cues within him.
Jin Huang staged everything and led him to this conclusion in a reasonable manner, so that he could have a 'good' excuse.
But why was Jin Huang helping him? It had to do with Li Gang's actions and his next step. He would not trust Jin Huang without reason.
Jin Huang knew he was worthy because she had read the majestic scheme he was brewing without realizing it—yet he did not know his own worth.
Jin Huang's eyes widened, and a special smile appeared on her face. She instinctively said, "Impressive."
It was her way of appreciating him.
Li Gang said, "Now that I have proven myself worthy, it is your turn. Can you prove yourself worthy?"
Jin Huang looked at him deeply, then gazed at the beautiful sky. "I don't want this moment to fade."
She sighed, then said, "You are Li Gang from Azure Mountain in the Southern Region. In the last fifteen years, you have been active on multiple continents under different aliases. You have a younger brother, and you are extremely well-versed in alchemy and formations. You have been using the alias Ren Ying for some purpose—perhaps to reveal a hidden enemy? You deliberately chose to affiliate with the Wei Dynasty, as it is the weakest and easiest to control."
She continued, "You do not possess a Spiritual Imprint, and your mastery of the sword and bow is very high. In the last fifteen years, you have been spreading your influence across the Northern Continent in the name of selling pills, while occasionally traveling to other continents using the Spatial Order. Your business has already expanded throughout the entire Northern Continent. You are a Rank 5 Warrior but possess the battle strength of a peak Rank 8 warrior. This is due to some hidden treasure within you, so precious that it attracted the Immortals and nearly caused the destruction of the entire Divine Spirit World. However, a certain being interfered and helped you resolve the crisis."
Li Gang was genuinely impressed. He asked, "How did you deduce this?"
Jin Huang replied, "I wouldn't have answered such a ridiculous question if it were someone else."
She continued, "Your Spiritual Essence carries the aura of the Southern Continent, and your facial structure resembles someone whose entire lineage has lived in Azure Mountain. I know this because the last emperor had some connection to Azure Mountain. Your temperament is similar to those born as leaders—those who usually take on responsibility. You tried to hide it, but it did not escape my notice. Such a temperament usually belongs to the eldest son in a family."
"Even though you have disguised your aura, it still cannot escape my perception. Your eyes are sharp, often wandering over various objects with extreme focus, reflecting your high attainment in archery. The way you sit, the way you move, the way you stand—they all carry a unique stance that contains the essence of swordsmanship. Only those who have practiced the sword to a high level possess that."
"Your body carries a unique aura of various herbs and pills, indicating your status as an alchemist. You also tried to hide it, but much of it still lingers. In the Northern Continent, only Ren Ying of the Wei Dynasty possesses such an aura. From the descriptions given by my spies, I had already imagined how your aura would feel."
"In the Azure Continent, almost everyone was massacred. Even if they were not, they would be incapable of traveling across multiple continents—except for the Demon King of the South. The killing intent in your eyes also confirmed my suspicion. One cannot possess such a sharp killing aura without having killed at least billions of people or spiritual beasts."
"I had already pinpointed the exact location where the Giant Hand appeared when I saw it. It was directly above Azure Mountain. Thus, I had long known that the one who caused it was the Demon King of the South. I also knew that, no matter how powerful you were, you were incapable of resisting a being that exists beyond this world. I am certain someone helped you, and your presence is sufficient proof. I assume it has nothing to do with you personally, but rather with the being who attacked with the Giant Hand—unless you are in contact with an even higher existence, which I do not believe."
There was an important loophole in her deduction.
All the above premises were also valid for the Rank 8 Warriors who had escaped his clutches during the catastrophe massacre.
Even if they possessed significantly weaker killing intent compared to Li Gang, he had never intentionally revealed his killing intent, which should have offset the gap.
Jin Huang had read Li Gang's memories, so were all those deductions based on what she read? No.
If she had truly presented what she saw in his memories, she would have exposed this weakness and alerted the Immortals. She deduced everything based on the clues present. Of course, her judgment that he was the "Demon King of the South" was based on those memories. She had narrowed it down to either one of the two Rank 8s or the Demon King of the South. She confirmed the latter "by luck" within the Immortal's perception.
A one-in-three chance was not that low a probability, especially for someone like Jin Huang, who possessed extremely high intuition. It wouldn't cause any suspicion.
Li Gang said, "You have quite high perception, but your deductions contain many loopholes."
Jin Huang did not expect him to say that so openly. She smiled and made a sarcastic remark. "Do you have trust issues?"
Li Gang heard this and slowly closed his eyes, facing the sky, recalling memories of his past life.
Soon, a drop of water fell on his forehead, instantly bringing him back from his thoughts. He sighed. "Yes, I do. I don't trust anyone—not even myself."
Li Gang had always been cautious. He would not trust anyone. After meeting Jin Huang, he felt that he had lost the initiative. At the same time, he realized that he had been exposed. If he did not act, she could become a formidable obstacle on his path.
He paused, then continued, "Often, I plan one thing, think another, and do something else."
Jin Huang chuckled. "I know. I realized it during our conversation."
As she spoke, the rain grew heavier.
Li Gang glanced at the sky and said, "It's been raining a lot these days."