The No.1 Undercover in the Immortal World-Chapter 82: The White Lotus withers

News of the events in Cold Moon City spread quickly, with some even gathering the tales and, with artistic embellishments, turned them into storytelling scripts to be recounted in teahouses and taverns.

But those are stories for another time, let’s not dwell on them here.

Lin Yun followed Fang Yu to Purple Cloud Mountain and immediately came clean with her.

"Senior, there is something I need to tell you. Actually, I am a disciple of the Sword Sect, assigned to go undercover in the Green Lotus Sect."

This was something he had to confess; the more secrets she carried, the greater his danger became.

If he didn’t reveal it now and Fang Yu found out later, that could lead to even bigger trouble.

Besides, the Sword Sect always gave off the impression of being unreliable; it was better to sell them out sooner rather than later!

Fang Yu was shocked on the spot, asking, "How is that possible? I have also practiced the Sword Dao and although not an expert, I can sense that you have the makings of an excellent swordsman. How could the people of the Sword Sect not see that?"

And why would such a disciple be sent on such a dangerous mission?

Moreover, Lin Yun’s cultivation level wasn’t high.

However, Fang Yu quickly thought that the Sword Sect was indeed different.

The Sect Leader of this sect had been from the Baili Family for three generations already.

This is something long-established sects inevitably go through; with Sect Leaders of high cultivation living long, hundreds of years are enough to concentrate the power of a sect in their own hands.

Then, when old age sets in, it’s hard to avoid personal bias, wanting their descendants to inherit the position.

Typically, a Cultivator in the Celestial Knowing Realm could live for four hundred years, whereas one in the Enlightened Realm could live for eight hundred years.

Of course, these are theoretical numbers; in reality, very few Cultivators die a natural death. Many succumb to demonic possession while cultivating, or die in the ceaseless battles between the Righteous and Demonic paths—most Cultivators die unnatural deaths.

Despite that, a Sect Leader could rule over a sect for at least a hundred years.

With so much time in power, it’s indeed easy to develop self-serving thoughts.

In the case of the Sword Sect, though nominally non-hereditary, in reality, it has become so.

But they have been degenerating with each generation; the current Sword Sect Leader is only at the Celestial Knowing Realm.

Leaders of other sects are at the Enlightened Realm.

Fang Yu had also heard that many decades ago, the Sword Sect had a genius disciple, but he was later secretly attacked and lost all his cultivation.

The dirtiness of it all is self-evident upon reflection.

"The Elder said I have the Innate Sword Body and those from the Demon Sect would never know I’m undercover."

Fang Yu: "..."

Although it made sense, Fang Yu didn’t believe it at all.

"How long were you undercover on this mission?"

"Three years. I was under an Elder of the Green Lotus Sect. He didn’t seem to notice my talents, only that I was good-looking, so he took a fancy to me and had me do tasks for him; it took three years before he finally sent me to the Red Lotus Demon Lord."

Hearing this, Fang Yu felt more sympathy for Lin Yun.

"That Dongfang Hongyue is depraved and licentious; you’ve suffered."

Fang Yu said, seemingly with anger.

In reality, she had her own sources of information.

Dongfang Hongyue had not, like the previous Red Lotus Demon Lord, been consumed by Yin Fire; it was all an act.

Some returnees from Yellow Wind Valley also included secret agents from the various Orthodox Sects, and they brought back information about Dongfang Hongyue.

It turns out, Dongfang Hongyue had never favored male consorts; instead, she had them construct a base in the Land of Death.

The Orthodox Sects who received this information didn’t think any better of Dongfang Hongyue; they unanimously believed she must be harboring major schemes!

However, the information wasn’t widely spread, and Fang Yu thought that Lin Yun probably didn’t know everyone was aware; thus, this was actually a test.

If there was something amiss with Lin Yun, his answer would give him away.

Yet for a test of this level, Lin Yun was unlikely to be fooled.

He defended Dongfang Hongyue saying, "That’s not the case. In fact, she hasn’t killed anyone..."

Lin Yun then spoke about how Dongfang Hongyue was assassinated and how, by a stroke of luck, his Immortal Physique was activated, leading to their dual cultivation.

These matters were known to some, and thorough investigation would reveal the truth; lying would only lead to the loss of Fang Yu’s trust.

Therefore, Lin Yun was particularly honest to the extent that Fang Yu felt she was being overly cautious.

This was a simple and good child; she should not have doubted him.

"...I am grateful for Senior’s kindness, but now that I have escaped from the Demon Sect, by reason, I should also return to the Sword Sect. That day, in order not to let the Demon Sect be arrogant and to avoid revealing my identity as a Sword Sect disciple, I offended Senior, please forgive me."

Fang Yu shook her head and said, "Don’t worry, I don’t blame you, but you also do not need to return to the Sword Sect."

If at first she was only interested in Lin Yun’s talent, now she truly wanted to take Lin Yun as her disciple. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

A disciple who remained loyal to his Sect even while in the Demon Sect was her favorite kind.

The Sword Sect did not deserve such a disciple.

"I appreciate Senior’s kind intentions, but the Sword Sect has saved my life, and I dare not fail to repay this debt," Lin Yun replied.

Such a loyal and righteous person!

Fang Yu thought again of how Lin Yun was willing to give up his Divine Skill for the sake of a friend and respected him even more.

Only...

The more she felt this way, the less she wanted Lin Yun to dive into a pit of fire.

The Sword Sect was already corrupted, and a naïve young man like Lin Yun would only be destroyed if he went to the Sword Sect.

"You can repay your life-saving debt in other ways in the future. Has the Sword Sect ever taught you any Daoist techniques or swordsmanship?"

"No," Lin Yun answered truthfully; they really had not taught him.

"As expected...

Fang Yu had a hunch that it must have been jealousy from the Baili Family. Knowing that Lin Yun had an Innate Sword Body, how could they not cultivate him properly? They must have envied his talent and wished for his death."

"That settles it then. Since there’s no bond of master and disciple, you might as well stay at Purple Cloud Mountain at ease. Or do you think I, as a master, cannot compare to your previous master?"

Lin Yun: "..."

My previous master was willing to warm my bed, will you?

"I wouldn’t dare. I also greatly admire Senior’s renown, but even with only the name of a master and disciple, without being expelled from the sect, I cannot be ungrateful and betray my loyalty by joining Senior, causing you trouble."

As the conversation reached this point, it seemed Lin Yun was determined to return to the Sword Sect.

Seeing that persuasion was futile, Fang Yu could only sigh helplessly and said, "Fine, if you insist on doing this, then I won’t force you, but you’ve had a hard time with the conflicts last night, so rest on the mountain for a day before you go down."

"Thank you, Senior."

Lin Yun watched Fang Yu leave with slight displeasure and knew that he had secured his position.

This tactic of his was called the cat-and-mouse strategy.

Simply put, suppose he was a girl with a boyfriend and suddenly another better suitor came along.

What should he do?

Hide the existence of the boyfriend?

There are no walls in the world that can contain all secrets; sooner or later, it will be known, and once exposed, his persona would collapse and the current relationship would break.

Just bluntly dump the boyfriend?

That wouldn’t do either; the suitor would think he was fickle, that a better option just swayed his loyalty. Would I also be dumped in the future then?

So, Lin Yun’s strategy was to objectively mention the various shortcomings of the boyfriend but give him a reasonable explanation.

This made the current suitor anxious, "Why are you so naïve, so foolish! Such a good girl shouldn’t be deceived by a scoundrel; I must save you from this misery!"

Thus, Lin Yun could smoothly end things with his ex and gain a better present without any blame on himself.

That, indeed, is the complex strategy of playing the innocent.