inspire-indiana Chapter 706: The Initiative
Chapter 706: The Initiative
The night had reached its thickest and deepest hour, which was also the liveliest time in Willow Town.On the brightly lit streets, mingling among the bustling townsfolk of Willow Town, were Mystic Cloud Master, Yunzhen, and several players.
The seven of them were now acting separately—scurrying around Willow Town, setting up talisman formations.
Though they didn’t know exactly how the Taiqing Sect Founder had done it back then, Yunzhen and Mystic Cloud Master quickly discussed and devised a new set of talisman formations. Once set up, they could spring the trap.
They had already chosen to believe Lin Yu’s words: that Zhu Qiansi would pretend to resist while actually cooperating, voluntarily entering the sealing talisman formation.
If that was the case, then as long as the formation was strong enough to seal a thousand-year-old demon and didn’t look too half-hearted, it would suffice.
With this understanding, the talisman formation was soon completed.
After setting up the formation, the seven gathered once again in front of Xinglin Medical Hall. Mystic Cloud Master nodded.
“With a formation like this, once activated, even if that demon tries to resist, it might not be able to hold out…”
Yunzhen said quietly, “But we must also guard against the possibility that the demon deliberately deceived that layman… Perhaps the layman is trustworthy, but the demon might have said that on purpose, just to let our guard down.”
Among the crowd, Lin Yu heard Yunzhen’s words but did not voice any objection.
After a brief explanation, Yunzhen and Mystic Cloud Master didn’t hesitate any longer.
“Grandmaster, please oversee the formation. I will lure the demon out.”
As Mystic Cloud Master spoke, Yunzhen nodded and planted the long banner he had been carrying on his back in front of himself.
“Go ahead. I’ll manage the formation—no mistakes will happen.”
“And you fellow laymen… I beg you to assist my grand-disciple!”
At Yunzhen’s words, Snowy Owl nodded.
“No problem.”
She drew her long blade and followed behind Mystic Cloud Master, with Seagull and High Mountain following suit.
“Let’s go.”
Lin Yu said, and Li Nian walked alongside him at the rear.
The six stood before Xinglin Medical Hall, the commotion drawing the gazes of many townsfolk.
Mystic Cloud Master stepped forward directly and slapped a talisman onto the door of Xinglin Medical Hall.
This was a freshly made talisman. Used alone, it could force a demon to reveal its true form and lock onto its qi sense.
But placed within the talisman formation specifically designed by Mystic Cloud Master and Yunzhen for Zhu Qiansi…
The talisman’s function was to activate the entire formation, linking all its parts and locking onto Zhu Qiansi as the “formation eye”!
“Activate!”
Mystic Cloud Master said in a low voice, and in every corner of Willow Town, the talismans that had been affixed began to glow one by one.
If one looked down from the sky, they could see the light of these talismans gradually connecting, ultimately converging upon the long banner in Yunzhen’s hands in front of Xinglin Medical Hall.
Thousands of talismans flickered with cyan light, like a pack of predators lying in wait, ready to strike at the demon lurking within Xinglin Medical Hall.
This level of qi sense locking was so intense that even if it weren’t Zhu Qiansi but just an ordinary demon, it would surely feel an immense crisis.
Thus, just a few breaths later, the door of Xinglin Medical Hall opened.
Zhu Qiansi, whom Lin Yu had met once before, stood at the entrance in a plain long dress.
A smile hung on her face.
“Why are you gentlemen causing a commotion in front of my medical hall?”
Mystic Cloud Master spoke coldly, “Demon, you’ve been lurking for days, committing many evils. Today, I’ve come to take you in!”
Zhu Qiansi looked at Mystic Cloud Master and smiled again. “Daoist, you say I’m a monster—do you have proof?”
“Of course I do!”
Three talismans flew out from Mystic Cloud Master’s chest, self-igniting in the air, transforming into a stream of green smoke that surged toward Zhu Qiansi.
The green smoke acted like developing powder, tracing a terrifying spider silhouette behind Zhu Qiansi.
“Demon, I already know your true form and origins! Don’t put up futile resistance—surrender immediately!”
Zhu Qiansi looked at the silhouette behind her, and her face instantly turned cold. “Since that’s the case, there’s nothing more to say!”
As she spoke, countless strands of spider silk shot out from her sleeves, most of them hurtling toward Mystic Cloud Master.
A small portion bypassed Mystic Cloud Master, heading straight for Yunzhen, who was holding the long banner and chanting incantations.
“Don’t even think about it!”
Mystic Cloud Master said, as pure qi surged from his hand, intercepting all the spider silk. But even so, the old Taoist’s face flushed red, as if he was under great strain.
“Daoist, don’t panic!”
High Mountain and Snowy Owl attacked Zhu Qiansi from both sides, while Seagull provided support from the sidelines, constantly disrupting her with spells.
With the three of them joining in, Zhu Qiansi’s pressure multiplied.
But Zhu Qiansi still had backup plans.
Her spider silk stirred, and in that moment, the Willow Town residents passing by suddenly turned their heads, all staring in unison toward Xinglin Medical Hall.
The next instant, these townsfolk—the entire population of Willow Town—surged toward the medical hall like an uncontrollable tide.
The oppressive pressure of the sea of people instantly reversed the situation once again. Mystic Cloud Master kept throwing out talismans to block their charge.
At the entrance of Xinglin Medical Hall, Lin Yu, who was pretending to fight while tangling with a few strands of spider silk, looked at Li Nian, who was also dodging spider silk attacks while essentially doing nothing. He spoke in surprise.
“Aren’t you even going to pretend a little?”
Li Nian looked at Lin Yu and curled her lips. “Aren’t you the same…”
She deliberately sold a weakness, using the gap when she was supposedly knocked down by spider silk to tumble toward Lin Yu’s direction.
“Ouch!”
Lin Yu caught Li Nian as if by reflex. Knowing she wanted an opportunity to talk to him, he lowered his voice.
“You noticed?”
Li Nian glanced at Zhu Qiansi. “Of course… That one knows very well that these people already know she’s ‘cooperating,’ right?”
“Sister Zhu Ming, sometimes you’re really terrifying… Even though you don’t seem to enjoy scheming and calculating, whenever the situation gets too complicated and you have no choice but to think things through, you always come up with these schemes that make people shudder just thinking about them. It was like that on the train…” Li Nian murmured, then added, “And now it’s the same… Both sides think they’re the ones who know the most, desperately acting to hide the fact that they’re ‘in the know’…”
Lin Yu raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying this approach is too dangerous, or are you upset that I didn’t tell you in advance?”
“No, I just want to say… you’re really cool,” Li Nian said, gently squeezing Lin Yu’s forearm. “Of course, I am a little bothered that you didn’t tell me—so, how did you convince that Zhu Qiansi to trust you? Didn’t she suspect that you might pretend to work with her and actually kill her?”
“Of course, it’s because she has absolute confidence in herself…”
Lin Yu said softly. “As I said, the Causality Silk divine ability is too heaven-defying. Within this ‘Causality Silk Phantom Realm,’ she’s confident that even if I try to outsmart her, she won’t be afraid.”
“And besides… there’s a certain initiative that’s always in her hands.”
At Lin Yu’s words, Li Nian asked curiously, “What initiative?”
“The initiative to let us clear the game and leave the Prison Mountain Realm.”