Long Rixi stood before Lin Qing and introduced himself with an arrogant air. “I am Long Rixi, the Young Master of the Dragon Clan. Follow me, and you shall be the future Queen of the Dragons.”
Lin Qing’s long sword slid from its sheath and he held it horizontally in front of him. “Not interested. Stay away from me.”
Long Rixi seemed incapable of believing that anyone could refuse him. Although clearly struck by the rejection, he forced himself to remain composed. “You are ungrateful. You will regret this.”
“Sword Venerable Green Lotus, look who we have here.” The Demon King flicked his sleeve, and two bound figures appeared out of thin air.
The two disciples looked at him with tearful eyes. “Master, help! Save us!”
The Demon King laughed maliciously. “Sword Venerable, if you want to save your two disciples, trade yourself for them.”
Lin Qing looked at his two cheap disciples and their exaggerated acting. He suspected these two half-demons were in league with the Demon King. The Demon King moved his claws to A-Man’s neck. “Quickly, Sword Venerable. I will count to three. Drop the sword in your hand, or I will strangle him right now.”
Lin Qing sighed softly. “They were your subordinates to begin with. Do you really think I would fall for such a performance?”
The Demon King was startled and wondered how Lin Qing knew. However, he quickly adjusted his expression. “It seems the Sword Venerable cares so much for his own safety that he would ignore the lives of his disciples.”
The Demon Lord scanned Lin Qing with a sticky and predatory gaze. “Do not worry. We will not kill you until we have had enough fun.”
His Master, the Great Demon King, spoke coldly in his mind. “Disciple, leave this to me. I can take them all down alone.”
Lin Qing quickly soothed him. “Master, do not fight. Let us run.” He could beat Long Rixi, but if he damaged the other male leads, the System would blare its alarms again.
Estimating that the timing was right, Lin Qing exchanged a pink smoke bomb from the System Mall and threw it onto the ground. The pink gas released by the bomb could make people feel disoriented as if they were drunk. It was originally intended to set the mood, but since the cultivation world had never seen such modern inventions, it worked perfectly as a diversion to block their vision for an escape.
The System roared in his mind with helpless fury. [Host, when will you ever understand the true purpose of these items?]
Lin Qing turned and fled the moment the smoke bomb exploded. According to his calculations, the elders from the Ethereal Sect and other factions should have arrived in the secret realm by now. He could not hit these male leads, but the other cultivators certainly could. With such a commotion and with the Demon King and Demon Lord openly violating the peace treaty to cause trouble, the cultivation world would demand an explanation.
Lin Qing’s figure darted through the dense jungle and moved as gracefully as if he were on level ground. Suddenly, his body stiffened mid-air as if he had been stung and he fell to one knee. He realized it was not good. Even a small amount of that smoke bomb was remarkably effective. Although Lin Qing had been careful to hold his breath, the substance worked upon contact with skin. His head felt dizzy and his vision began to blur.
The System spoke with schadenfreude. [Dear User, the Demon King and Demon Lord have been driven out of the realm and the realm is closing early. The Ghost King is also alarmed and planning to leave. Your main plot is about to fail.]
It was likely the first system to ever hope its host would fail a mission. This host never followed the rules and the System had yet to harvest a single drop of energy. Its patience was exhausted. It only hoped the host would be punished soon. The punishment for failing a main mission would be far more severe than any before because the host’s body would be surrendered to the System’s control to ensure the task was completed perfectly.
Lin Qing steadied his dizzy head. “Master, you said before that the Ghost King could help us finish the task. Since he is leaving, we must move our plan forward. What was the method you mentioned?”
The Great Demon King replied, “The plot requires you to attract the Ghost King’s desire. Disciple, I can manifest the forms of the Demon King, the Demon Lord, and your disciple, but I will need your cooperation.”
“But if you do that, you might be exposed,” Lin Qing noted. “The System will notice something is wrong.” The real Demon King and Demon Lord were currently clashing with the Ethereal Sect. If a duplicate pair suddenly appeared here, the System would definitely know someone was helping him.
The Great Demon King’s voice was disdainful. “So what if I am exposed? A mere System cannot do anything to me. What we need to do now is obtain more energy.”
Lin Qing knew his Master was saying this intentionally. Even if the Great Demon King remained a bystander, he could still absorb energy. He was doing this only because Lin Qing was unwilling to compromise his body. This sudden selflessness made Lin Qing feel a mix of emotions. He called him Master out of respect, but he had always remained guarded. Yet the other helped him wholeheartedly. His conscience began to prick him.
He suggested, “Master, there are puppets in the System Mall. I can exchange for puppets and you can possess them.” He had been earning Little Yellow Flowers every day and had just enough to exchange for three puppets.
The Great Demon King chuckled. “Fine, I will listen to you. Also, that female outfit you used for your disguise, take it out and put it on.”
Lin Qing could not help but question why he had to wear the dress.
“You will adjust your appearance and wear the dress so the Ghost King cannot recognize your true identity,” his Master explained.
Lin Qing realized the brilliance of the plan. The System only required the Ghost King to fall for him and even in disguise he was still himself. Once he escaped, the Ghost King would only be looking for a person who never truly existed.
After their discussion, Lin Qing immediately exchanged for the puppets. The puppets from the System could be molded into any appearance. His flowers only covered low-level puppets which were clumsy things capable of simple movement but devoid of speech or expression. However, high-level puppets could obey any command and mimic any voice.
Lin Qing cast a spell, changed his clothes, and let down his hair. The white-clad Sword Venerable was instantly transformed into a cold and stunning beauty. “Master, I am ready.”
“I know where the Ghost King is. I will take you there.”
A wisp of purple mist drifted from the jade pendant at Lin Qing’s waist and entered the puppets. The puppet in the form of the Demon King picked Lin Qing up and walked toward the depths of the secret realm. Currently, the cultivators and the real demon leaders were at the outskirts. The Ghost King, not wanting to be discovered, could only hide in the depths.
Being carried made Lin Qing feel awkward. “Master, I can walk myself.”
The Great Demon King looked down at him. Lin Qing felt uneasy being stared at by the puppet’s dark and hollow eyes. “Master, is there something on my face?”
“No,” the Great Demon King replied. “It is just that this puppet is too inferior and clumsy as a block of wood. I will make you some better ones another day.” The puppet had no sense of touch. Even though he possessed it, he could not feel the temperature of the body in his arms.
Lin Qing was silent for a moment before asking to be put down.
“We are almost there. There is no need for such trouble.” As he spoke, the Great Demon King pulled him a little closer into his embrace. Although he could not feel the warmth, holding him like this was not bad.
The Great Demon King brought Lin Qing to the exact cave from the original plot. Although the timeline was slightly off, the location remained unchanged. The Demon King puppet placed the beauty on a stone and moved the beauty’s legs over his own. The puppet’s body was cold and hard. Lin Qing shivered at the sudden proximity. “Master, you”
“Do not be afraid,” the Great Demon King soothed. “I will not hurt you. We are only putting on a play.” If they did not make the performance realistic, they could not hope to deceive the Ghost King.