NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 412: Playing It Smart
At first, the news left everyone on the Prosperous Stone Immortal Star in shock. Then it exploded—like someone had dumped cold water into a pot of boiling oil. Chaos erupted instantly.
"A Nirvana Cleansing realm powerhouse from the Purple Crest Immortal Sect… actually a demon spy?!"
"No way! She's one of the strongest cultivators on the whole star—part of the sect's inner circle!"
"This is insane. Just a while ago, there were rumors that a demon spy killed top members of the Sun Clan, kicking off that massive hunt. And now we find out the real infiltrator was hiding in the Purple Crest Immortal Sect all along?"
"If you ask me, that Lu Tingyun must've been the one who killed the Sun Clan elites. Then she framed some poor guy named Jiang Chen for it. He's too weak to fight back—like someone forced to swallow bitter medicine, suffering in silence with no way to speak up."
"Exactly! That's what I've been thinking too. Jiang Chen's probably just a scapegoat. Lu Tingyun must've been setting him up all along. She's been hiding in the Purple Crest Immortal Sect for years—and now she finally made her move."
"Unbelievable. If even the Purple Crest Immortal Sect has had demons hiding inside it all this time… is there any hope left for Prosperous Stone Immortal Star?"
"Sure, Lu Tingyun might be dead—but who's to say there isn't another one just like her still hiding in that sect?"
"Listen up, everyone. Lu Tingyun's gone, but her demon-spawn son, Lu Yi, is still alive. A half-demon walking around like he belongs? That's a stain on our race. We need to wipe him out completely!"
"Right! Kill Lu Yi first, then go demand answers from the Purple Crest Immortal Sect!"
Across the Prosperous Stone Immortal Star, tensions ran high. Cultivators everywhere were riled up, faces flushed with anger. Every city buzzed like a hornet's nest just kicked over.
Golden Cirrus City wasn't any calmer.
All over the city, cultivators were fuming—cursing, shouting, completely outraged.
If they could, they'd storm into Burning Sun City right then and there, rip that half-demon Lu Yi to pieces, grind his bones, and toss the remains into the nearest cesspit.
Some weren't just talking—they were already on the move, heading straight for Burning Sun City.
Naturally, all of this fell within Jiang Chen's divine sense.
Heh… I wasn't expecting this, he thought, eyes flashing with surprise. I was just trying to avoid my pursuers, and instead, I end up catching wind of something this juicy.
Lu Tingyun… a Nirvana Cleansing realm powerhouse who used some special trick to find me… turns out she was working with demons the whole time. And now I find out she even had a half-demon son—Lu Yi.
Wait a minute… a human-demon hybrid? Everyone sees him as the enemy? That's got "protagonist" written all over it! Could this Lu Yi be the next one?
The more Jiang Chen thought about it, the more convinced he became. Yeah, this guy's definitely suspicious.
I can't just sit around. I've gotta get to Burning Sun City and check it out for myself. Mo Hao was already a nightmare—if this sixth protagonist is even worse, I might be in real trouble.
He took a deep breath. If Lu Yi really is the next protagonist and I don't deal with him early, he'll snowball out of control.
His eyes narrowed. Without wasting another second, he took off toward Burning Sun City.
It wasn't too far—just about eighty million kilometers. Both cities were within Purple Crest Immortal Sect territory, and at Jiang Chen's current speed, he'd get there soon enough.
...
While Jiang Chen raced toward Burning Sun City, things inside the Purple Crest Immortal Sect were boiling over. It wasn't just the regular disciples—even the elders and top members were stunned, angry, and completely thrown off.
"What? Lu Tingyun was a demon spy?!"
"She had a half-demon son?!"
"No way. This has to be fake—probably something the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace cooked up to smear us."
"Lu Tingyun, a demon spy? And she gave birth to a half-demon? That's just ridiculous."
"There's no way this is real. I've never even heard of this Xin Tong woman. If she was really Lu Tingyun's maid, how come none of us ever saw her?"
Across the sect's halls, everyone was saying the same thing. No one had heard of Lu Yi, and none of them could believe that Lu Tingyun—one of their own—had been working with demons or had a demon's child.
"This is pure slander! The Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace couldn't wait to kick us while we're down—they're really stooping this low now?" Lu Tingguang looked ready to explode.
"Damn it, I won't let anyone smear Lu Tingyun's name!" Lu Tingze slammed his fist down.
Lu Tingyun had just died, and now people were calling her a demon spy who gave birth to a half-demon? It was the ultimate insult.
Completely unacceptable.
Even Sun Xiangyuan found it hard to believe. But unlike Lu Tingguang and Lu Tingze, he stayed a bit calmer—it wasn't his clan's name on the line.
"Everyone," Sect Master You Shaojun said, face grim, "we're struggling to believe this too."
"If the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace is pushing this story, they must have some real evidence," Sun Xiangyuan said.
"Yeah, they even revealed Lu Yi's location," added Sun Anming.
"They've definitely planned this out. They must be sure of what they're doing," Sun Ancheng finished.
"What?! You're all starting to suspect Lu Tingyun too? Bastards—all of you!" Lu Tingguang lost it completely, yelling like a mad dog, not caring who he offended.
Lu Tingze, fighting to keep his grief and anger in check, stepped in and tried to calm him down. "Enough! This isn't just about us anymore. It's the whole Purple Crest Immortal Sect at stake. Now's not the time to tear each other apart."
"They're not wrong," he went on. "The Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace wouldn't pull something like this without thinking it through. What we need to do now is prove it's all a lie."
"They said Lu Yi's in Burning Sun City, right? If we can confirm that no such person exists, the whole story falls apart."
Lu Tingguang took a sharp breath, eyes burning. "Fine. Send word to the people in Burning Sun City. Get any nearby powerhouses involved—we're heading there ourselves."
Right now, his hatred for the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace was boundless. In his mind, nothing would satisfy him more than cutting them down until the ground was soaked in blood and corpses filled the sky.
Just then, Sun Xiangyuan spoke up, serious and cautious. "Everyone... what if Lu Yi really does exist? What then?"
"Then we wipe him out—completely. Leave nothing behind," said You Shaojun, face cold, words sharp.
"We don't have a choice," Lu Tingze added, eyes hard. "Even if he's Lu Tingyun's only child, a human-demon hybrid is a stain on everything we stand for. He has to go."
"But listen—if it turns out he's real, we can't be the ones to kill him," You Shaojun warned. "Even if it's justified, it'll still leave room for people to question our motives. We need someone from outside the sect to do it. Let them 'lose control,' tear him apart, and erase him from existence."
"That's the safest way," Sun Xiangyuan agreed. "We've got those hidden forces we've been training all these years. It's time they finally earned their keep."