Chen Kuang stared at the woman in front of him, whose expression seemed somewhat surprised, feeling as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.
He was absolutely sure that any cultivator, upon hearing the words "Elixir of Longevity," should not have this kind of reaction!
Li Hongling brought fifty thousand Zhou Army troops for this, bringing calamity upon the Liang Kingdom, and the cultivator named Wei Su had indeed been provoked by this.
The Elixir of Longevity might not tempt the Merciful Fairy who says, "If the world does not listen, neither will I advise them."
But it absolutely should not have no reaction, as if she had never even heard of the term.
If something unusual happens, there must be a reason.
Chen Kuang immediately understood that someone must have tampered with things!
Perhaps they did not want the nominally neutral Mystic God Daoist Sect to know, or perhaps they wanted no one to know.
In short, it's possible that any mention of the Elixir of Longevity had already become a sensitive topic.
Saying it might make it transform into a *** of meaningless existence in others' ears.
Yet conversely, in the ears of those in the know, it would automatically turn back into its original term.
Deafening, speechless.
As if using a stylus knife to carve deep into the wood, erasing ink traces on the document without leaving any trace.
Thus, it made the woman opposite him seem completely unaware of the Elixir of Longevity.
In this High Martial World, such methods don't seem hard to achieve...
However, distorted communication meant that it was already impossible for Chen Kuang to introduce external forces.
Including the female immortal master of the Mystic God Daoist Sect before him.
Moreover, his intent to provoke had already been detected, and his sole leverage had been broken; outsiders intruding from the sidelines couldn't use the Elixir of Longevity as bait but instead became an insurmountable chasm in front.
This stalemate seemed to have circled back to its starting point, only resolvable with internal strength.
Supposing...
Chen Kuang only knew the whereabouts of the Elixir of Longevity.
Shen Xingzhu, seeing Chen Kuang silent for a long time, seemingly unwilling to speak, said:
"You are not blind and had intentions to provoke; I will inform Li Hongling of this matter."
Chen Kuang's heart tightened.
Shen Xingzhu seemed to have mistaken him for a cultivator disguised as a musician, hence she did not question why he could see again.
But he was caught in Jinghe Hall, his identity exposed. Li Hongling would only need to interrogate another musician to quickly deduce he might have consumed the Elixir of Longevity to experience such an anomaly.
Chen Kuang took a deep breath and said:
"Why? Since the Immortal Master neither kills nor saves, shouldn't you remain indifferent?"
Shen Xingzhu looked up and said lightly:
"Two days ago, I got the news from Wei Su's mouth, intending to lure Li Hongling to the battlefield, seeking a gap to come to this Celestial Prison."
"I initially thought it was just a mere mortal, not cared much by Li Hongling, should be quite easy, but until this moment, I finally stood here."
In other words, it took her two days to temporarily make Li Hongling leave the East Corner Pavilion.
Shen Xingzhu said, "Do you know that Liang Kingdom's Lingtai Mountain cultivators are attacking the city, and the battle involves tens of thousands of mortals?"
"Lingtai Mountain's strength is not weak, but if Li Hongling enters the battle, they would not be a match for even one round; how could the battle be so prolonged?"
"Yet Li Hongling hesitates to take action."
The woman looked at Chen Kuang, her gaze slightly surprised.
"She will wait another seven days because of you."
"Right now, I merely temporarily let her leave to deal with Taishu Zi of Lingtai, which is only a stopgap measure; after some time, she will return to continue waiting."
"For these seven days, who knows how many more will die; this is a loss of Tao, my heart cannot bear."
"Yet in the chaos of war, my abilities fall short, unable to fully discern right from wrong, fearing wrongful execution."
Those exceedingly beautiful eyes seemed to hold sweet dew, spreading mercy across the world.
"After contemplating, the best solution is to resolve your grievances quickly to prevent wanton slaughter."
Shen Xingzhu
"…" Chen Kuang: "Does the Immortal Master mean, I—"
He pointed at himself, expressionless:
"In your view, am I the one responsible for the massacre outside the city?"
Shen Xingzhu gave a slight nod: "Indeed."
What ridiculous and laughable absurdity!
Shouldn't he be the victim, considering he remains imprisoned?
Addressing their grievances?
It's evidently a matter of eliminating Chen Kuang!
Chen Kuang took a deep breath, gazing at her like he was looking at someone with a mental issue:
"If it weren't for Li Hongling leading an army to annihilate Liang, where would the battle come from? Without addressing the cause, if Li Hongling ceased the attack and released all captives, everything would be easily resolved!"
Shen Xingzhu's gaze remained calm: "I have advised her so."
"And then?"
"She did not listen."
If the world doesn't listen, she neither advises!
Chen Kuang first felt anger, followed by absurdity, and the more he thought, the more absurd it became, eventually laughing in anger.
He first chuckled softly, then increasingly found it humorous, slapping his knee and laughing louder while sitting on Dragon's Gums.
Shen Xingzhu, seeing him act as if mad, paused, and added:
"Li Hongling may not withdraw the army and release the captives, but she has promised not to harm ordinary people."
"In this Imperial City, palace attendants will not endure harsh punishments nor face indiscriminate killing, only those with clear fault and evidence will enter the hands of the Secret Punishment Department."
"Others unrelated will be incorporated into the army as military slaves."
"These past few days, I've been monitoring the Secret Punishment Department; Li Hongling indeed has not overstepped."
"Originally, there was also you..."
In Shen Xingzhu's eyes, a faint trace of disappointment seemed to flicker: "Now you are not either."
Oh...
So the news he had heard from the prison guard before was not fake.
But Shen Xingzhu's doing.
Chen Kuang's mind stirred, suddenly squinting his eyes:
"Does the Immortal Master know that the secret passages in this Celestial Prison are filled with gunpowder?"
"Li Hongling seems to feign compliance, not intending to spare ordinary people..."
Shen Xingzhu said lightly, "I know."
"Then..."
Chen Kuang wanted to say something more, but Shen Xingzhu shook her head to interrupt.
"She told me that these gunpowders are to level the Liang Kingdom Imperial Palace after the withdrawal for easier reconstruction."
Such an obviously fake reason can be believed?!
Chen Kuang was utterly speechless, leaning back, rolling his eyes, feeling he could only await death.
Shen Xingzhu waited for a while, seeing his silence, then said:
"General Li's temper is not so good, yet she would never make jokes about this matter; our Mystic God Daoist Sect, renowned for merciful hearts, also wields thunderous methods, which presumably is well-known."
"I believe she will keep her word because a person can be heartless but not without wisdom."
Her cold and soft voice echoed in the cell, words carrying an otherworldly tone.
Foolish indeed...
Chen Kuang scoffed inwardly, cursing unabashedly, but suddenly froze.
Wait...
A light flashed in his mind, an epiphany hitting him like a celestial spirit passing through, a sense of certainty rising within.
She was lying.
"I believe she will keep her promise."
This sentence was a lie!
Chen Kuang felt as if his heart was about to leap out, sharply raising his head, staring at Shen Xingzhu's departing figure.
She had reached the doorway.
A soft voice came from the young man behind:
"You... are lying?"
Shen Xingzhu's steps instantly halted.
Chen Kuang immediately affirmed: "You're lying! You don't believe Li Hongling's words at all..."
He exhaled, feeling he had stumbled upon the most absurd matter in the world.
"You feign ignorance, allowing Li Hongling to act recklessly because you are certain she will definitely act contrary to your warnings, harming mortals."
"Maybe targeting me, perhaps others, maybe today, maybe seven days later."
"You are waiting for Li Hongling to take an inch further into deceiving upward and downward, breaching your Dao, then you can, as a matter of course, kill her!"
"Am I correct?"
Shen Xingzhu slowly turned, brow arching, surprisingly smiling.