Even if Han Xuhan's direct accusation had any impact on Li Mingyu, not a ripple of it showed on his pudgy face. But the absolute impassiveness itself was an answer.
Han Xuhan didn’t need to press further to determine that he had hit the nail on the head, but he did so with gusto, because dominance preceded passivity, and submission followed it.
He had to make sure that this old monster couldn’t slip out of his hold.
“An Oracle on the third major realm of cultivation, overseeing a sect for so many decades... What are the chances that you never foresaw the fate of your sect's brightest disciples and strongest elders? What Oracle would avoid looking into the tribulations of his people? The prophecy of extinction had no answers for you, and you've already described how desperate you were for the smallest opportunity. So how foolish would it be of me to believe that you wouldn't let your people act upon their base characters to drive your sect to a future where you have the utmost advantage and authority over them, which you've always lacked?”
The flash of coldness shadowed Li Mingyu's plain face once more, and this time, it carried with it a silver of regret.
“Fate is such a cruel trickster,” the man said with a resolute sigh. “If this meeting had taken place any other time, I would not have given away so many clues through my soulshrine. Yet, if you hadn't appeared here, I would have stayed imprisoned within my own tower, struggling to control my chaotic nascent dao.”
Han Xuhan knew what he was trying to do. Those buzzwords clearly belonged to secrets of higher realms of cultivation. No rookie would be able to restrain their curiosity to inquire about them. This was Li Mingyu's bait, in hope of luring his thoughts away from the dangerous path Han Xuhan was driving himself towards.
Not bad, not bad at all! But he, Han Xuhan, was a grandmaster at seeing through the art of word-padding!
You want to distract me with these irrelevant matters? No chance! Hmph!
“The first thing I'd be cautious of if I were an oracle is the action of those whose dire fate has been read and revealed. You did that to your sect. You told those powerful Elders that their lives are on the verge of an abyss. How could you be unaware of the effect it would have on them? No, no, no!”
Han Xuhan pointed a finger at the man and shook it side to side, his face stretched in a grin one might see on a master's face while watching over an impish disciple.
“So let's revise this story you've been trying to spoon-feed me, master Mingyu. You orchestrated the chaos of your sect.
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You were the one who led the Elders by the nose, allowing them to scheme against you.
Feng Jun could steal your precious treasures because you wanted him to.
The long-flourishing Phoenix faction lost its foundation because you needed it to.
The power vacuum in Stardust Sect was born from this. And the failure of Feng Jun's team inside the Holy Land thwarted their backer Elders from taking advantage of this vacuum.
You've also clearly stated that you know all about the demonic cultivation techniques those Elders are resorting to, yet you sat here and did nothing. If they aren’t discovered, your sect's chances of surviving the apocalypse rise. But if they are discovered, it has nothing to do with you, an injured, imprisoned guardian who can only cut off those Elders from his sect and create an even bigger power vacuum that none except him can fulfill... after a good breakthrough. So here we are!"
Han Xuhan had inched close enough to the man to touch his forehead with an outstretched index finger. Li Mingyu's face was a little twisted, jaw moving as he chewed on his tongue and tried to respond. But after a long bout of silence, all that came out of his mouth was, “What a ridiculous conspiracy you've made up in your head, benefactor! If I want my sect to survive the apocalypse, why would I allow the disciples with the highest potential to go die in an inescapable prison? This part really makes no sense, right?”
Han Xuhan hid his smile. So many logical leaps in the story, and you choose to go off on a tangent I didn’t even touch?
This was no direct denial, but the passive road of evasion! And Han Xuhan was glad that he had chosen to be passive. There was a limit to how deep he could weave an outline after collecting so many fragmented observations throughout his encounters with the people of this sect.
Now was the time to strike for a submission!
“Splendid, sect master! Keep up that positive attitude when the alliance of old monsters from all over the world comes knocking on your door soon, asking for a better explanation than mine. Remind me, if you will, what is the consensus among all orthodox sects when it comes to dealing with evil cultivation scriptures? How do we deal with the people who have turned to that demonic path?”
Li Mingyu scoffed. “I can't deny those accusations on behalf of the miscreant Elders. They shall be punished as the alliance sees fit. It'd be no big loss for my Stardust sect even if they are sentenced to death!”
“But whose words would carry more weight, Master Mingyu? The person who risked his life to investigate your sect's dirty secret? Or yours? And I have not even touched upon your other crime! Why did you not notify all the nearby sects that the seal on the Holy Land's world fragment has loosened up and your rogue disciples were planning to rob the resources inside and make a fool of all the remaining stakeholders?"
The forced look of stubbornness Li Mingyu had been holding up finally disappeared, replaced by a paleness born of panicked apprehension. Like a shark sensing blood, Han Xuhan went for the killing blow.
“Even my Crimson Snow Sect, which controls that region, had no idea that such trouble was brewing there! I, a rookie with the cultivation of second layer Physique Transformation realm, was tricked into investigating the numerous deaths and disappearances of the mortals in that region. By the time I escaped, the whole town adjacent to the portal was turned into dust! How many lives were lost? How much loss did my sect suffer? I believe my sect master will want to have a good chat with you if I reveal all this to him...”
Gramacing, Li Mingyu spoke the very words Han Xuhan had been waiting to hear this whole time.
“So if I protect the Phoenix faction, you wouldn't make this matter public?”
Han Xuhan's smile couldn’t get more pronounced. “Sect Master Mingyu, you're smarter than that. Do you really want me to not make this matter public?”
Li Mingyu's eyes recovered a gleam of hope. “...Good, good, good! I like the way you think, benefactor! So why don't we make a deal, you and I?”
The finger of accusation Han Xuhan had been pointing at his forehead turned into an offer of a handshake immediately. Li Mingyu grabbed his palm vigorously. Their voices rang out in unison.
“To a better future!”
“To better benefits!”