#20 - Chapter 20 Please use this sword to cut off my head

After a day's travel, you arrive at Jianqiu City. Just like in the previous simulation, the City Lord, Changming Zhenren, warmly welcomes your support unit. That evening, a banquet is held in the City Lord's mansion.

In the previous life, you were only at the ninth level of Qi Training and were at the outer banquet of the City Lord's mansion. In this life, you have forged the third bone, equivalent to the third level of Foundation Establishment, and entered the inner banquet of the City Lord's mansion.

Reaching Foundation Establishment signifies a certain status. At the banquet, Changming Zhenren raises his cup to thank you Foundation Establishment cultivators who have come to provide support one by one.

"Thank you all for your support. It is righteousness that you have come. I, Changming, will drink this cup to the fullest!"

Inside the City Lord's mansion, in the spacious hall, Changming Zhenren, dressed in a white robe, raises his wine cup and drinks it all in one gulp.

Changming Zhenren's statement that your support is a matter of righteousness isn't just empty words. Each Foundation Establishment cultivator has their own legend. They are a pivotal force between the righteous and demonic paths. Therefore, righteous cultivators receive excellent treatment if they defect to the demonic path.

Thus, those Foundation Establishment cultivators who still insist on fighting the demonic path at this stage truly do so for the sake of righteousness in their hearts. In fact, if righteous cultivators were to defect to the demonic path, their families would receive very favorable conditions.

Halfway through the banquet, the same situation as in the previous simulation occurs. Heihuo Zhenren stands up and declares that he will save the wine in his cup and drink it after he has slain the demonic individuals.

Changming Zhenren begins to praise Heihuo Daoren as a Golden Core seed and a star of the righteous path. Many guests present also offer praises. You remain silent, quietly drinking your wine.

You have already contemplated a plan to deal with Heihuo Daoren in your mind.

In this life, it won't be so easy for Heihuo to open the gates of Jianqiu City!

After the banquet ends, you return to rest. The following days are similar to the simulated situation in the previous life.

Your support unit from Heishui Workshop is assigned to various city gates to resist the demonic attacks. From the first day to the fifth day, just like in the previous simulation, you successfully fend off the demonic attacks.

On the sixth day, you receive the news that Changming Zhenren announces that reinforcements will arrive after four more days of resistance.

"Elder, if we resist for four more days, reinforcements will arrive, and we can go home then."

On the evening of the sixth day, after repelling another wave of demonic attacks, Er Hei, covered in wounds, speaks with endless longing about returning home in four days.

In the previous life, you told Er Hei he could go home, but...

You glance at Er Hei, then look towards the distant sky...

The setting sun casts its rays upon the bronze city walls, stained with blood. A middle-aged man with black hair silently gazes at the returning geese heading south.

The turning point of fate has arrived. You know that in four days, everyone will not receive reinforcements because Heihuo Daoren will open the city gates at dawn on the tenth day, letting the demonic forces in.

At this moment, you have the following options...

A: Announce to the entire city that Heihuo Daoren is an undercover agent and gather people to kill him.

B: Intercept him alone. At dawn four days later, you lie in ambush at the city gate and kill Heihuo Daoren the moment he prepares to open the gate, saving Jianqiu City.

C: Find Wubai Zhenren and explain to him some relevant information about Heihuo Daoren, so that he and you can lie in ambush at the city gate at dawn four days later.

D: Find Heihuo Daoren, appeal to his emotions, reason with him, and persuade him not to open the city gate in four days.

"Which one to choose?" Lin Changqing examines the four options on the panel one by one.

He first eliminates options A and D.

Option A is out of the question. Announcing that Heihuo Daoren is a spy at this time will only alert the enemy.

Option D is too naive. From the previous simulation, it is known that someone like Heihuo Daoren may have been preparing to defect to the demonic path for over twenty years.

If you talk to him about righteousness, Heihuo Daoren will only laugh at you for being a fool.

Option B: Intercept him alone.

Lin Changqing's finger brushes over this option.

Option B is also not feasible. If his strength were higher, he could choose option B.

But he is currently only at the third bone forging stage, equivalent to the third level of Foundation Establishment.

Heihuo Daoren is at the seventh level of Foundation Establishment, a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, and also a Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, possessing the inferior-grade Dao artifact, the Ancient Jianmu Diagram.

He is no match for Heihuo Daoren in his current state. He cannot intercept him alone.

"Just a single inferior-grade Dao artifact can amplify a cultivator's combat power by two to three times, not to mention that Heihuo's cultivation is higher than mine, and he is a Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment."

"Intercepting him alone, I am definitely not his opponent."

Lin Changqing shakes his head. Dao artifacts are extremely precious items. Every time a Dao artifact appears, Golden Core cultivators will fight tooth and nail for it.

With this Dao artifact in hand, Heihuo Daoren's combat power may be comparable to ordinary ninth-level Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Therefore, intercepting him alone is not a safe option.

In the end, Lin Changqing looks at option C.

Option C is the most reasonable of the four options: find Wubai Zhenren.

Wubai Zhenren is at the Golden Core realm. If he lies in ambush four days later and makes a move, Heihuo Daoren will definitely not escape.

Therefore, all that is needed is to convince Wubai to believe that Heihuo Daoren may have betrayed them.

But how difficult is it to convince Wubai?

Lin Changqing narrows his eyes, then directly chooses option C.

You choose option C: find Wubai Zhenren.

That night, you directly find Wubai Zhenren and state the fact that Heihuo Daoren is an undercover agent for the demonic path.

Hearing your words, Wubai Zhenren's first reaction is disbelief. After all, Heihuo Daoren is a Golden Core seed and has consistently performed well in battles against the demonic path. Without direct evidence to prove that he is an undercover agent, it is indeed difficult to believe.

But fortunately, the effect of your third bone forging has manifested. You are comparable to a third-level Foundation Establishment cultivator and have made great contributions to the City Lord's mansion over the past twenty years.

After you reveal that Heihuo is an undercover agent, Wubai becomes somewhat doubtful.

In Wubai's heart, you are also an old-timer who has been with the City Lord's mansion for nearly thirty years and has made significant contributions to Heishui Workshop. An old-timer with such high strength and great contributions would definitely not make groundless accusations. Perhaps Heihuo Daoren really has a problem. Wubai has doubts in his heart.

Seeing that Wubai is about to believe your words, you decide to add fuel to the fire. You pick up a sword...

"Zhenren, whether Heihuo Daoren is a demonic spy or not will be known in four days. Today I come for the sake of the millions of lives in this city, for the sake of Heishui Workshop."

"Zhenren only needs to lie in ambush with me at the city gate in four days. If Heihuo is not a spy after four days, please take this sword and cut off my head!"

In the dim candlelight, a middle-aged man with black hair picks up a sword and hands it to a white-robed cultivator with a face full of surprise and doubt.

The middle-aged man with black hair is Lin Changqing, and the white-robed cultivator is Wubai Zhenren.

You pick up the sword and hand it to Wubai Zhenren, indirectly making a military pledge, meaning that if Heihuo is not a spy, you are willing to offer your head as collateral.

Seeing you use your head as a guarantee, Wubai finally sighs and accepts your sword.

An old-timer who has been with the City Lord's mansion for thirty years and has made significant contributions to Heishui Workshop is today using his head as a guarantee that Heihuo Daoren is an undercover agent. Wubai has no choice but to believe your words...