Lin Mu had several thoughts about the man in his mind, and he was betting on them that they were accurate. Because if they were, Lin Mu would be able to get out of this would ease.
Childe Wildfire looked at Lin Mu after having heard his words. The man didn't speak for a few seconds, prompting Lin Mu to continue.
"I guess I've hit it right on the nail." Lin Mu spoke. "You are not in the right condition to go all out, are you?" he asked openly.
"Why should I respond to that?" This time Childe Wildfire replied.
"Because if you do, we might be able to cooperate." Lin Mu stated.
"Cooperate?" Childe Wildfire furrowed his brows. "Like the others that are cooperating with you?"
"Something like that." Lin Mu nodded. "It'll be for your benefit too."
"So you intend to ditch them and let you and me win?" Childe Wildfire guessed. "Seems like your goal is similar to mine." He replied.
"Not exactly." Lin Mu shook his head, much to the man's surprise. "What I intend to do is to allow all of us to win."
"That's not possible." Childe Wildfire scoffed.
"Oh, but it is… did you forget how many winners they intend to get?" Lin Mu retorted, making the man rethink.
Childe Wildfire's expression changed, as he thought of something improbable.
"You can't… the final 6 winners? You're aiming for that?" Childe Wildfire replied a hint of surprise in his voice.
"Indeed." Lin Mu accepted. "There are four allies with me. Adding you, there will be six of us." He stated.
"But there is no guarantee it would work. The lucky six winners would only be chosen from the final spatial plane that is left." Childe Wildfire said his tone calm, though hints of doubt could be seen on his face.
"Oh, but it can." Lin Mu was firm in his words.
"How would you guarantee that?" Childe Wildfire questioned.
"What if I had a way of knowing when a Spatial Plane was going to close?" Lin Mu answered. "Let me tell you… we are very close to it too." He added.
Childe Wildfire tried to keep a calm face, but internally he was already surprised.
'There shouldn't be any way to communicate outside of the Spatial plane. But the way he's speaking about it, he's certainly confident.' Childe Wildfire thought about it.
He would not have believed Lin Mu, but he had already confirmed that Lin Mu had four companions with him. These were the people who had fought the cultivators that he had threatened before and had all survived.
'Can it really work? For one to know the situation of the other Spatial planes, the only way would be… Formations!' Childe Wildfire suddenly thought of something.
He had seen the formations that Lin Mu had set up, including the Sky Cull Grounding Formation thus he knew that there was a strong formation master among them. But now that Childe Wildfire had heard Lin Mu, he couldn't help but put two and two together.
'If he really is the formation master with enough skill to set something up like this, then he really might be able to tell if the other Spatial Planes are affected.' Childe wildfire analyzed.
The man had come to the result that Lin Mu had wanted, but he had taken a different route than expected. Instead of thinking that Lin Mu could literately see the Spatial Planes collapse, he simply associated Lin Mu's skill with the formations.
Childe Wildfire had lived a long time and knew that formations masters could do the unbelievable when given enough time and if they had the right skill. To them, sensing a change in a formation was normal and since the Spatial Planes were set up using formations too, it made sense to him that Lin Mu could sense them too.
One might not be able to make changes or interfere with a strong formation array set up by the temple, but simply 'observing' and sensing them was not an issue, according to Childe Wildfire.
Lin Mu didn't know the thoughts going through the mind of Childe Wildfire, but he could sense the minor fluctuations in his Immortal Qi and aura. The intense aura from before was wavering and the Immortal Qi fluctuations had also reduced.
'Guess he's hesitating now.' Lin Mu thought. 'Time to throw in the final hook.' He decided.
"I…" Childe Wildfire was just about to say something when Lin Mu interrupted him.
"Working with me would be beneficial to you too. I don't think you want the Immortal Tribulation to trigger mid way through the fight." Lin Mu suddenly said, stunning the man.
"How did you—" Childe Wildfire was now stunned.
"I have my ways…" Lin Mu smiled. "I don't think you want to waste the opportunity to comprehend Fire Dao Insights either. If we fight, you won't be able to focus on sensing them. Not to mention the added burden of surviving the Immortal Tribulation too. For the progress of your Dao Skill, I think it is best you follow my request." He explained.
Childe Wildfire's expression turned still, while his lips turned to a frown. He had debated internally whether Lin Mu was just trying to play a trick on him, but after hearing the rest, he was damn sure it was not.
'For him to sense my income Immortal Tribulation… this is already a big disadvantage. I don't know how long I can hold back the Immortal Tribulation either…' Childe Wildfire thought, his heart racing slightly.
He tried to contain it, but the man was simply caught in Lin Mu's words. In fact, the moment Lin Mu had revealed his situation with the Immortal Tribulation, he was already out of options.
Even if Childe Wildfire had the confidence to face Lin Mu, the threat of the Immortal Tribulation was a big concern. On his own, he was fully confident in surviving it, but to be able to do it midway through a battle? He had his doubts.
Plus, he had also heard about the strength and skills about Lin Mu and his companions.
There was no guarantee that the others would jump in on the opportunity to fight him along with Lin Mu.
That was the reason why he had sent the other immortals into the formation circle. He had wished to weaken Lin Mu and his companions along with seeking out more information about them. But now all of that was for naught, and there were only two options left for Childe Wildfire.
"So then… what do you say?" Lin Mu questioned the man, staring right into his eyes.
To Childe Wildfire it was rather shocking, as he felt a rather oppressive feeling from Lin Mu.
'For such a feeling to come from a Second Tribulation Stage Immortal… there is certainly a lot more to him.' Childe Wildfire thought. 'Or perhaps this isn't even his true cultivation base. Maybe he is hiding it.' He reckoned.
To Childe Wildfire, his breakthrough was rather important too, as it would allow him to reach the Sixth Tribulation Stage of the Immortal realm!
That was a great achievement and it would put him above all the other contestants. It wouldn't be a negative thing either, as he would have broken in the middle of the tournament.
Childe Wildfire tried to think about it and reckoned there was no other option left now.
"Alright… I'll hold back… for now." Childe Wildfire said, trying to save some of his face.
"Good! I assure you, this won't be a regret." Lin Mu replied with a smile.
Childe Wildfire looked at the confidence in Lin Mu's eyes, wondering just what made him this sure.
"Even if we go ahead with your plan, what if there are still others left?" Childe Wildfire questioned.
"That's the thing. We simply have to make them stop existing here." Lin Mu replied. "It's now time for us to get rid of all the remaining immortals other than us!" he stated.
Lin Mu quickly sent a message to his companions, asking them to approach.
The Ming sisters were hesitant, but Lu Xu and Qian Wen took the lead. After all, the two sisters couldn't fight on their own, thus if Childe Wildfire attacked, they would not be able to respond in time.
It was better for Lu Xu and Qian Wen to take the lead.
A minute later, they were standing behind Lin Mu, a mix of confusion and hesitation on their faces.
"Everyone, meet Childe Wildfire." Lin Mu introduced. "He'll be our temporary ally."
"Y-you… you really managed to convince him?!" Ming Aolian was surprised.
"Our goals align thus it is normal that we should do something that benefits all of us." Lin Mu replied. "As such, we should now move on to the final part of the plan." He spoke.
"Time to hunt down the stragglers?" Lu Xu said with a smirk.
"Indeed… time to take out all those that are still hiding!" Lin Mu declared.
