332: Suicide plan: Dance in front of the general!

Three days.

For the entire Spirit Realm, this was the final, and most humiliating, deadline.

To go, or not to go?

This question, like two red-hot branding irons, seared itself into the heart of every Cultivator at the Body Integration Stage or above.

To go meant kneeling at the feet of an otherworldly invader, trampling the ten-thousand-year dignity and glory of one's Sect into the mud, all to gamble on a vague, illusory "opportunity" to become a plaything.

Not to go meant the destruction of one's Sect and race, along with everything one protected, turning into cosmic dust in this natural disaster known as "The Purge."

Gloom and misery hung heavy, and cries of grief filled the air.

Within countless Sects, arguments and despair intertwined. Some Old Ancestors chose to perish together like shattered jade, while some Sect Masters wanted to endure humiliation to survive, preserving a spark of hope for their Legacy.

The entire Spirit Realm fell into an unprecedented, dark, and oppressive silence... However, inside Lin Fan's starship, the atmosphere was quite the opposite.

One could even say it was exceptionally lively.

"No, this one won't do."

Lin Fan held a charcoal pencil he had produced from somewhere and forcefully crossed out a line on a Jade Slip, his brows locked in a tight frown.

In front of him, over a dozen "plans" were already written out in full.

[General Demon Leader Exclusive High-Quality Death Plan V1.0 (Draft)]

This was the title at the very top of the Jade Slip.

"Plan A: Pretend to be the successor of some ancient power and offer a fake treasure map containing a trap, detonating it the moment the Demon Leader takes it, dying together."

Lin Fan shook his head as he read aloud.

"Too cliché, no originality at all. The explosion is too instantaneous; there's no guarantee the Demon Leader will do it personally and in a state of rage. The impact isn't strong enough, and the shock value is lacking. I'd give it an S rating at most. Rejected."

He pointed to the next one.

"Plan B: Cosplay as the Demon Leader's 'God Lord,' descend upon the worship site, and publicly criticize him for incompetence and arrogance to provoke him into attacking."

Lin Fan's frown deepened.

"The risk is too high, and the returns aren't proportional. We don't have enough information about this 'God Lord,' so it's easy to mess up the details. If I fail to bluff the Demon Leader and get hacked to death by his grunts as a fraud, that would be a pathetic way to die. The rating probably wouldn't even reach an A. A total loss! Rejected!"

Li Hanyue stood to the side, listening expressionlessly.

Or rather, she no longer knew what expression to use to face this utterly absurd scene.

The whole world was in despair over their survival, yet this man was here like a project manager, seriously evaluating which death plan had the highest KPI.

Her Dao Heart, which had been unprecedentedly stable after her recent Breakthrough, now showed a faint crack.

"Lin Fan."

She finally couldn't help but speak, her voice dry.

"Have you considered that the Demon Leader could shatter the 'Everlasting Unbreakable Immortal Array' of the Xuanwu Holy Land with a single finger?"

"Any schemes or tricks are meaningless before an existence of that level."

She tried to use the coldest reality to pull Lin Fan back from his unrealistic fantasies.

However, Lin Fan just looked up and gave her a mysterious smile.

"Who said I was going to use schemes or tricks?"

He put down the charcoal pencil, stood up, and walked over to Li Hanyue.

"Come, use your strongest Divine Thought to lock onto me."

Li Hanyue was startled. Though puzzled, she did as he asked. Having just stepped into a new Realm, her Divine Thought was strong enough to cover nearly half a Star Domain; locking onto someone right in front of her should have been effortless.

However, when her Divine Thought swept over Lin Fan's body, a bizarre scene occurred.

In her perception, Lin Fan's position was an incomprehensible, un-lockable... thick mist.

He was clearly standing right there, his features clear and within reach.

But in the world of Divine Thought, he didn't exist.

There was nothing there.

No, it wasn't exactly nothing. It was a patch of Chaos, a blur, an unknown area that caused her Divine Thought to sink into a quagmire.

Li Hanyue didn't believe it and forced her Divine Thought to try and pierce through that mist to see the truth.

*Vroom!*

An invisible force of backlash snapped back along her Divine Thought. Her Divine Soul felt a sharp pain, as if being stabbed by countless steel needles!

Her face turned pale, and she abruptly withdrew her Divine Thought, her eyes filled with unbelievable horror.

How is this possible?!

This talent... is simply the nemesis of all high-level Cultivators! Any technique or attack that relies on Divine Thought locking would completely fail against him!

She finally understood.

Lin Fan's near-insane confidence didn't stem from ignorance, but from the fact that he possessed an incredible trump card that could overturn common sense!

"Now, do you think my plan still has a chance of success?" Lin Fan looked at her with a smile.

Li Hanyue took a deep breath, forcing down the massive waves in her heart.

"What is your... final plan?"

The smile on Lin Fan's face became incredibly bright, even carrying a hint of mischievous excitement.

He cleared his throat and announced in a tone as if he were about to reveal a world-class masterpiece:

"Plan 3.0, the final plan!"

"I will disguise myself as a Prodigy Cultivator who has been scared out of his wits by the might of the World-Ending Divine Army, lost his mind, and come forward to surrender."

"Then, at the worship site under the gaze of everyone, in front of all the powerhouses of the Spirit Realm..."

Lin Fan paused, his eyes flashing with a light that Li Hanyue completely couldn't understand.

"...I will perform the most beautiful dance of praise for the great General Demon Leader, one that best expresses my 'reverence and joy'!"

Li Hanyue: "..."

She fell into a complete silence.

In her mind, the string called "reason" snapped without a trace in an instant.

She felt her Sword Heart receive an impact billions of times more terrifying than the World-Ending Divine Army or the Demon Leader's finger.

Per... perform a dance?

"Are you crazy?" She spat out those three words almost like she was talking in her sleep.

"No, this is the essence!" Lin Fan's eyes were frighteningly bright. "Think about it, a high and mighty invader who views all things as ants is enjoying the kneeling and fear of countless powerhouses. Suddenly, a 'mentally deranged' guy pops up and starts twisting in front of him... well, for example, doing a Yangko dance or an Errenzhuan."

"First, my Mist of Destiny will make it impossible for him to see through me. He'll just find me very bizarre and mysterious, which will pique his curiosity. He won't let his grunts kill me immediately."

"Secondly, this kind of extreme humiliation and mockery will instantly max out his rage! A commander who values dignity above all else could never tolerate such a public provocation from an 'ant'!"

"Finally, to regain face and re-establish his authority in front of all the conquered, he will inevitably choose to use his strongest, most overbearing Move that best showcases his power to personally and completely erase me, this 'death-seeking madman,' from this Universe!"

Lin Fan finished in one breath and clapped his hands excitedly.

"Public execution! All eyes on me! A strike from the BOSS personally delivered in a state of rage! All conditions are met!"

"With this set of procedures, if the rating isn't EX, I'll eat the System on the spot!"

Li Hanyue stared at him blankly, unable to say a single word.

After a long time, she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, the horror and absurdity in her eyes had faded, leaving only a deathly resolve.

She knew she couldn't stop him.

She also knew that this might truly be the only chance to glimpse the enemy's strongest power.

"Fine."

That single word seemed to drain all her strength.

"However, your plan still lacks an insurance policy," Lin Fan suddenly said.

"What?"

"To prevent the Demon Leader from not falling for it, or if he has other means to bypass my mist, I need a 'fuse' that can 100% enrage him."

Lin Fan's gaze fell on a jade pendant hanging from Li Hanyue's waist.

That jade pendant was simple and unadorned, yet it was her life-bound object, containing a strand of her purest life-bound Sword Intent.

"Give me your Sword Intent jade pendant."

Lin Fan reached out, his face more serious than ever before.

"At the end of the dance, I will crush it."

"Use your Sword Intent to slash right at his face."