Chapter 90

"He's guarding them up front—how do we win this?" Di Ting asked.

Lin Yu said coolly, "If we can't win, take me hostage and run. Then we'll negotiate according to the original plan."

Lin Yu's original plan was to have Di Ting kidnap the Divine Maiden and destroy the Spring Sacrifice in the process. With the ritual ruined, the Heaven's Mandate Tower's standing among the people would naturally crumble, and its disciples would be left looking over their shoulders.

The Xianzun would never sit idly by. Negotiate with him, and Di Ting would gain a mortal-world backer to secure his position as Ghost King. As long as Di Ting wasn't a fool, the entire Netherworld would eventually fall into Lin Yu's grasp.

As for the current moves—freeing the sacrifices, helping Yun Chi ascend to High Priestess and successfully winning her over, having Di Ting ruin the ritual twice to stir public discontent, using ghost emissaries to incite the crowd, and goading the Moon God into revealing his identity and trapping him in a bind—all of these were snap decisions Lin Yu had made on the spot based on the situation. Clearly, they had worked quite well.

Next step: have Di Ting kill the major believers, then, in front of everyone, tie her up and drag away this Divine Maiden. If that succeeded, the prestige of the Heaven's Mandate Tower and the Moon God's reputation would suffer a massive blow.

The believers who had donated tens of thousands in gold came to the Spring Sacrifice only to be attacked by a divine beast. The Moon God appeared but couldn't protect their lives. And of course, there was an even worse outcome—if the Moon God was arrogant enough, he might not bother saving anyone at all.

How could gods interfere in mortal karma? That logic was perfectly consistent for the Moon God, and Lin Yu believed he was fully capable of it.

But if word got out among the masses that the Heaven's Mandate Tower had been ambushed by the Ghost Realm and its gods couldn't even shield their own followers—letting believers be injured or killed—that alone would be chaos enough. Never mind throwing an abducted Divine Maiden on top of it.

At that point, it wouldn't just be a slap to the Moon God's face; onlookers would whisper about the Heaven's Mandate Tower's failures too.

"Don't forget, there's someone else standing right there." Lin Yu's gaze shifted to the Xianzun, her tone light, as if she were talking about something trivial. "I hold his remaining lifespan in my hands. He'd never abandon his Divine Maiden over something like this."

The Moon God's figure reflected in Di Ting's eyes. The spear gleamed brilliantly in the night, and the look in his eyes was full of vicious malice. Di Ting knew the next fight would be a hard one.

This was nothing like facing Immortal Lord He. It knew He was just a minor god of matchmaking, but now it was up against a revered upper deity. It gritted its teeth. "Fine! I'm with you!"

"Go."

Di Ting's front claws bent, coiling its strength for a single instant. Without a hint of hesitation, it charged straight at the Moon God!

Just as the Moon God brought out his spear, however, Di Ting swept past him and lunged for the few major believers still fleeing behind him, startling them into shrieks as they scrambled and scattered.

The Moon God froze for a moment before snapping back to his senses—but at the same time, a blaze of fire from some unknown source burst into flame at the tip of his spear!

The water-blue spear, like ice, emitted a cracking sound as it was engulfed in flames. The Moon God's eyes flew wide. He stared hard at the fire spreading and melting the moonlight—such flames were all too familiar to him. This was Crimson Flame!

In all the world, only one person could wield Crimson Flame—the Crimson God.

Could the Crimson God be here too? And actively striking at him?

A surge of rage burned in the Moon God's heart. He suppressed his fury, bracing himself to face the Crimson God. But when he retracted his spear and scanned his surroundings, he saw nothing.

The Xianzun was being supported by two disciples, coughing violently, unable to speak. Around the altar, disciples were dead or wounded. His gaze then fell on Lin Yu—when the Moon God looked at her, she gave him a warm smile.

He swept his gaze around once more. No sign of the Crimson God at all...

He looked back at Lin Yu, but only for a fleeting moment before looking away. Her ropes were bound tightly, her hands tied firmly behind her back, unable to move. Besides, a cowardly schemer like her could never summon Crimson Flame.

It couldn't possibly be her.

Yet when the Moon God finally turned his gaze to the rear, his heart—which hadn't beaten in a hundred years—briefly raced. Behind him, his believers lay dead and wounded across the ground!

The Moon God had some recollection of the dead. Perhaps because they had offered so much, or because they had held so many rituals, or because they were the ones who wrote the prayer slips every year. Time and again, they had offered up their meager faith to the Moon God, so he vaguely remembered them.

But that no longer mattered now, because they were all dead. After death, everything was empty talk—all smoke scattered, dust returned to dust.

The first thought that surfaced in the Moon God's mind was: with these people dead and the largest believers gone, could the meager offerings of the remaining followers still support the construction of his temple in the north?

It was a temple unlike any other. Unlike the tacky pure-gold temples of other gods, it was built of milan blue, reflecting the moonlight and shimmering brilliantly in the mortal world. He had gone to check on its progress twice. The craftsmen were still laying the foundation, because the temple was simply enormous.

If it were finished, it would become the most grand and most unique temple under heaven.

Could it be done? Surely it could, right? After all, he was the mighty Moon God, with a myriad of believers. Every person in the world had been touched by moonlight; his believers would only queue up endlessly to pray to him and offer their tributes.

"Run! Lord Moon God doesn't want to save us! Even the most important believers mean nothing to him!"

"I'm not leaving—that's a god! How could a god abandon his followers?!"

"Are you blind? Didn't you see Lord Zhang, Lord Li, and that rich merchant up on the stage? They hid right behind the Moon God, and they still all died! If he won't save them, why would he save us?!"

"Go! Go! Don't wait here until you die with your bones scattered everywhere!"

The believers who had still held out hope were persuaded by these shouts. They no longer lingered, fleeing down the mountain with the rest.

The Moon God's fingers curled. Watching their figures gradually fade away, a tremendous sense of loss rose in his heart. Just moments ago, these followers had revered him deeply; now they were all scattering in panic, not one of them even glancing back at their god.

Were they leaving because they feared for their lives and understood that gods wouldn't protect them?

What had made them stop trusting the god they believed in?

The Moon God's gaze landed coldly on the major believers lying dead before him. Was it because of their deaths? He had just been distracted for a moment, failed to block Di Ting, and these people had died by accident. What was that—fleeing just because of this?

Had the god permitted them to leave? This was the height of disrespect!

The Moon God's eyes turned pitch-black, the shattered cold light gathering once again. Icy moonlight condensed into a blade, pointing straight at the culprit of it all—

A sharp arc of light sliced past Di Ting's jaw, nearly grazing its neck—a single inch more and it would have cut the beast's throat. Blood sprayed out. Di Ting let out a roar and charged forward.

The massive divine beast clashed with a moon-white figure. Blades and weapons tore through layers of air, sending spine-chilling whistles through the night. Lin Yu watched their movements intently, and just then, she suddenly sensed someone beside her!

The newcomer made almost no sound, appearing beside Lin Yu like a ghost out of thin air, a dagger pressed against her neck.

But oddly enough, Lin Yu felt no killing intent at all.

A pair of calloused hands wandered around her neck, warm breaths ghosting across her nape. Before the visitor could speak, Lin Yu spoke first, her tone utterly certain. "Ting He."

The hands behind her trembled slightly. Ting He's low voice came through: "You knew I would come for you?"

Lin Yu didn't move, letting Ting He hold the dagger to her most vulnerable throat. "You're too late. Your family has already been sacrificed. There's not even a bone left."

"Too many people died. I don't know which of them were yours."

When Lin Yu had first disguised herself as a priestess and arrived, there had already been over twenty sacrifices laid out on the altar—all of them killed during the pursuit. Lin Yu knew Ting He's kin were among them, but she couldn't tell who they were, and there was no way she could carry their bodies away in front of everyone.

Lin Yu still remembered the first time she met Ting He. It had been a day like this one, the sky filled with sky lanterns bearing people's wishes, embedded in the firmament like a myriad of shining stars.

That night, Ting He's two younger sisters had been chosen as sacrifices. Her home was destroyed, her family gone. She had barged into the Heaven's Mandate Tower like a dead woman, lurking in the shadows for a long time, waiting until the sky lanterns rose to their highest point. Then Ting He shot down a lantern, starting a great fire that trapped the disciples who had released them in a sea of flames.

Her vengeance was unfulfilled, her heart consumed by hatred—how could she let the Spring Sacrifice pass her by? After all, her sisters had died because of it; they had been sacrifices on today's altar.

Lin Yu was certain she would come today. She just hadn't expected Ting He to show up only now. The ritual was already over, the sacrifices burned to ash without a trace. She had arrived a little too late.

But perhaps missing it was for the best—she wouldn't have to watch her loved ones turn to ash, sparing herself that torment.

"I know..." At the news of her family, Ting He's voice was so soft that even Lin Yu, standing right beside her, barely heard it. In that moment of distraction, a wisp of black aura seeped out of her, and Lin Yu's expression changed.

"Where have you been all this time?" Even with a blade pressed against her eyes, Lin Yu felt no sense of danger. Instead, she began questioning the one holding her hostage. "The aura on you is not ordinary."

Lin Yu stopped there, not pressing further. Even without turning around to see Ting He, she could feel the change in her—an icy, bone-chilling cold running rampant through Ting He's body, spilling over to affect Lin Yu, who was pressed against her.

This was the feeling of demonic aura. Lin Yu knew it all too well. Ting He had fallen to the demonic path after leaving.

Ting He didn't have luck like Fu Ming's backing her. She was just a wounded fugitive living on borrowed time. What had she traded to gain the ability to blend into the darkness?

Lin Yu turned her head to get a look at Ting He but was stopped by a hand pressing her nape. Ting He's tone carried a hint of weariness. "Don't look. The way I look now... even I'm afraid. I'm scared I'll frighten you."

Lin Yu fell silent for a moment, then changed the subject. "Your family's corpses, their keepsakes—all gone. So what's your purpose here?"

"Murder for murder." Ting He's fingers tightened around the dagger. "The ones who killed my sisters—they must pay with their lives."

"When all who deserve to die are dead, I'll pay for the lives I've taken too. Only I don't know... whether I can hold on that long. Maybe before that, I'll just disappear."

Though on the surface Lin Yu was talking with Ting He, most of her attention was still split between the Moon God and Di Ting. At hearing this, her thoughts pulled back for a moment.

"Disappear?"

"Otherwise, how do you think I—a mere mortal with nothing but brawn—could sneak up behind you in a place full of cultivators without a trace and put a knife to your neck?"

Lin Yu frowned. "And what did you pay for that?"

Lifespan? Fortune? Her life? Or her soul after death?

Ting He still didn't answer. She went on, "None of that matters now. You saved me before. I've always repaid my debts—eye for eye, tooth for tooth. I'll repay you."

Lin Yu gave a light laugh, shifting her stiff neck. "That generous? Didn't you want to kill me along with everyone else at first?"

Showing up in the middle of the night on this Divine Mountain to help her—Lin Yu wasn't naive enough to take Ting He's words at face value. She must have her own agenda; helping her was just a side benefit.

"That's right, that generous." The heavy mood was shattered by Lin Yu's one line, and Ting He snapped irritably, "Do you really need me to spell it out that I searched all over for the killer, didn't find him, happened to spot you here, and figured you could use a hand, so I showed up behind you?"

By now, Di Ting and the Moon God were fighting to a draw. Di Ting relied on the advantage of its massive divine beast frame, stalling and draining the Moon God's divine power. The Moon God's power was fading, and the clouds at the edge of the sky were faintly gathering, threatening to shroud the moonlight.

Di Ting's ten thousand years of cultivation were no joke. In the brief moment Lin Yu and Ting He had exchanged words, Di Ting had already destroyed several of the Moon God's weapons. The two were locked in a stalemate, but overall, Di Ting was losing ground—as long as the moon didn't vanish, the Moon God wouldn't fall.

Clearly, Di Ting realized this too. Twice, it had tried to break away and grab Lin Yu, to carry her off and continue with the next step of their plan, but it failed both times. The Moon God kept it tightly bound; it simply couldn't get away.

Lin Yu scanned the situation around them and curled her lips into a smile. "Right now, I really do need you. Your timing couldn't be better..."