Yan Liling calmly watched Gao Buqin's reaction to his freedom. She did not interrupt him, allowing him to process his emotions. The cultivation world was cruel beyond what words can explain. Despite the many contradictions, the Myriad Emperor World is safer than most worlds in the Endless Void.
The factions competed against each other while respecting the written rules like the Immortal-Avenue Pact and other unwritten rules like allowing the young generations to compete by all means and accepting the outcome.
However, the competition is more brutal in other worlds because of the Heaven Will. After all, there is only one chance for immortality and eternity. For that one chance, many Emperor Lineages will not hesitate to send their Immortal Tier powerhouses–including Insurgent–to assassinate other factions' Heaven Chosens.
And in these worlds, enslaving other people's souls is too much of a common tactic.
So, as Yan Liling watched Gao Buqin's reaction, she empathized with him and waited.
'I'm glad this tactic worked. The power of an Emperor… it's terrifying,' she thought. She had to use Wang Wei's granted power to seal the enslavement. As such, she peaked at the essence of Di Tian's power and saw how scary it was.
Although Wang Wei has demonstrated his strength to them, Yan Liling discovered today he was still holding back to not hurting them physically and spiritually.
"Have you calmed down?" asked Yan Liling after seeing Gao Buqin's agitated mood return to normal.
Gao Buqin took a deep breath to calm down. He gazed at her before uttering, "I'm guessing you did not free me out of compassion of your heart?"
"You guessed correctly."
Gao Buqin quieted down, not saying a word for half a minute.
"I know what you're thinking," suddenly said Yan Liling. "But we will not enslave you; we only want to work together."
"Work together? You think I believe you."
"It's true. The invasion of our cleanup was the work of the Spirit Genesis Sect from your world."
As soon as Yan Liling said these words, the world began to pay attention. Many people wanted to know why the anomaly occurred during the Cleanup, but no answer was found.
But now, the truth was revealed, catching many people's attention. And that was Wang Wei and Yan Liling's purpose in the first place. Wang Wei needs the entire world to end their era of Xenophobia and close themselves from the Endless Void.
So, he will show them other worlds will interfere in their affairs even if they use such an approach. Furthermore, there is no better way to rally the world together than a common enemy.
"The Spirit Genesis Sect? Well, given their overbearingness, it's understandable they would do this," replied Gao Buqin with a frown. When the secret realm that led to the Cleanup appeared, he saw the Young Master of the Spirit Genesis Sect among the participants, so he never questioned the latter.
But now, he guessed they were using everyone as pawns for their plans.
"So, you should guess what we want from you," replied Yan Liling, who already accomplished her objective.
"Information."
"Correct, and not just about the Spirit Genesis Sect, but also the entire Battle Spirit World."
"Do you want me to be a traitor to my home?" asked Gao Buqin with a sneer.
"And what is the alternative?" countered Yan Liling. "Without our seal, you will return to your previous state."
Gao Buqin's body shivered out of his control.
"Even if we don't do anything, don't you know your fate? As soon as you leave, the Di Clan will hunt you down before you can go far.
"Finally, the Spirit Genesis Sect already bore their fangs at us and must pay the price. As such, we will do anything to get the information from you."
Yan Liling's gentle demeanor was gone, replaced by a deep coldness in her eyes. "So, although I sympathize with your situation, I will not hesitate to get the information from your dead corpse."
Gao Buqin's heart skipped a beat, and cold sweat almost fell from his back. His mind worked on overload, suppressing his emotions to analyze the situation.
"I agree to help you, but I have a few conditions."
"Please," replied Yan Liling, not surprised by his choice. Few people can control their fear of death and remain stubborn to protect their ideals, beliefs, and philosophies.
"First, I want your help to return home."
"No problem."
"Second, no one must search my soul." Gao Buqin's deep voice contained an unwavering determination he had never shown, making Yan Liling frown.
"Very well," she replied. "However, you must sign the most restrictive contract and oath to tell us all the information we want and not hide anything."
"I can't agree with that."
"And why is that?"
"My third condition is I won't reveal any information about my sect."
"What is your sect?"
"Battle Artifact Villa," replied Gao Buqin after a short moment of contemplation.
"It's not on the list of the Spirit Genesis Sect's allies we know of. So, we can agree to your terms as long as your sect has no connection to them."
Gao Buqin squinted as he realized the Dao Opening Sect was genuinely considering the Spirit Genesis Sect as their opponent and might be planning a Trans-Planar Emperor Dao War.
'This might be an opportunity.' He immediately decided not to be consecutive.
"My fourth condition is to help me deal with the Di Clan."
Gao Buqin waited for the fallout of his words, but nothing changed.
'As expected of that monster, he doesn't care about his family,' he sneered as hatred flashed deep in his eyes.
"No," replied Yan Liling. "And that's not for negotiation."
She knew her big brother wanted to rally the entire world underneath his banner. So, how could they team up with foreign forces to deal with members of their world?
Such an act would hinder Wang Wei's plan.
Furthermore, the Di Clan plays a significant role in preventing the growth of the Devil Cultivators; they are the main reason they have not stepped out of the Western Continent for countless eras.
Such a family is blessed with merit and luck and cannot easily be dealt with.
'Regardless, big brother might use the contradiction between the Battle Artifact Villa and the Di Clan to his advantage. However, that's only if Gao Buqin's status in the villa is high enough.'
Gao Buqin did not expect such a fierce and irrefutable objection. He opened his mouth to negotiate but closed them as he saw Yan Liling's eyes.
"Fine. Then, I will change my fourth condition. I want an alliance between our two factions."
"Oh, you want to join us?"
"Yes."
"Why? You should understand the meaning behind your actions."
Gao Buqin shook his head, "You would think this would make me a traitor? But it's not true."
"Oh?"
"Over the years, the Spirit Genesis Sect has done too much. They were overbearing and eliminated anyone or faction, which threatened their power and status.
"Things got to the point where all the other factions banded together, including foreigners, to weaken their power. According to historical records, this massive battle ended with the killing of one of their Immortal Sovereigns and injuring the other.
"But even then, they were still so powerful."
"So, the other factions have to ally with foreign powers to suppress the Spirit Genesis Sect?" asked Yan Liling.
"Correct."
"If that's true, then their hidden power is much deeper than we anticipated."
"Despite knowing this, you still want to deal with them?"
"Why not?" replied Yan Liling with a smile. "And you should know where our confidence originates from."
Gao Buqin gazed at the Eastern Quadrant.
'Yes, if that monster proves the Dao, they don't need to fear the Spirit Genesis Sect.'
According to many analyses and predictions, He Shiyi, the Young Master of the Spirit Genesis Sect, with his unparalleled talent, has the highest chance of proving the Dao.
Furthermore, he will most likely become an Eternal Supreme.
Because of his strength and potential, many factions wished to assassinate him. So, they did not hesitate to break the previous premises and acted like the Spirit Genesis used to by sending Insurgents to kill him.
However, none succeeded.
'He Shiyi's talent is nothing compared to Wang Wei. However, that guy is still weird.'
One event made He Shiyi famous–he survived the assassination of an Insurgent with peak First Class strength. He was nothing but a Spirit Enlightenment Realm (Tier 6) cultivator, and the factions planned that assassin perfectly, even taking into account the Immortal Sovereigns might have left protection on him.
Yet, he survived. What's worse is the assassin refused to talk about what had happened. Then, a few years later, he took his own life, creating a layer of mystery for He Shiyi.
"I can accept your fourth condition. However, can you represent the Battle Artifact Villa?"
"You don't have to worry about that. I was the next Villa Lord, and my master should still be in power. As long as I return home, I can convince him to form an alliance–especially with such a powerful faction."
"In that case, it's fine. Any more conditions?"
"No, that's it," he replied after a brief pause.
"In that case, you can live and head to the Dao Opening Sect."
Gao Buqin clasped his hand to bow, "Thank you, fellow Daoist, for freeing me."
Then, a white light enveloped him, and he disappeared.
