Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

From a geopolitical standpoint, once Orochi appears in the world, Chongying will undoubtedly be the first to suffer.

With Chongying's downfall, the next targets would be nearby Goryeo, Lu Country, and the Northern Border. A mere strait won't be enough to stop a monster of such terrifying power.

Therefore, Ueyama Ichirou's decision not to go to Miti but to specifically seek assistance from Lu Country isn't without reason. In his view, Orochi is undoubtedly a common threat to the entire East Asia in the short term, though it might be a long-term threat to all humanity. However, the Western World has always been fickle and may not see that far.

From the Privy Council's perspective in Lu Country, standing alone against Orochi would be a significant loss.

Previously, the Southern Border faced a flying Ba demon, which turned a thousand-mile radius into a swamp where it fell, creating a death zone between the Central South Peninsula and Lu Country's border.

Until now, no method has been found to neutralize the toxins and miasma within that area. Sunlight and wind can't penetrate it; birds and beasts have vanished, vegetation has withered, and even microorganisms cannot survive there. It can be said to be entirely dead.

Based on this, whether Orochi dies on Lu Country's mainland or in the West Pacific, it's a significant loss for Lu Country either way. The former goes without saying, and if the latter's corpse pollutes the East Sea, leading directly to severe damage to Lu Country's fishing and shipping industries, it is also an unacceptable outcome for the Privy Council.

So the best solution is undoubtedly to lure this ticking time bomb away from Chongying, out of the West Pacific currents, and preferably to an island to kill it, to avoid the pollution spreading along the currents and eventually back into Lu Country's territorial waters.

As for this island, it should be sparsely populated to avoid heavy casualties and humanitarian pressure; ideally, it should have vast deserts, as deserts inherently have low utilization value, so pollution wouldn't matter.

A sparsely populated island with deserts that is relatively close to the East Asia region, to facilitate luring Orochi... is there one?

After a phone conversation with Lu Country's Privy Council, Miti quickly provided an answer.

Yes, such an island certainly exists.

It is obvious that if they refuse Lu Country's request for cooperation, Lu Country would certainly try to lure Orochi towards the East Pacific desperately, while the Western World would undoubtedly try to stop it, leading to a high chance of Orochi dying in the central Pacific. While Lu Country's coastal provinces would suffer, Miti's west coast wouldn't fare any better, and Hawaii might be entirely ruined.

As the world's seas are interconnected, with further pollution spreading along the currents, the toxic waters would reach the Indian Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and eventually, nearly no country could escape this disaster... Mongolia might not care, but the Western World absolutely wouldn't allow it, as this would be far more terrifying and long-lasting than nuclear waste, with the example of the Central South Peninsula already evident.

Miti didn't immediately agree but gave some ambiguous replies first. The Privy Council of Lu Country wasn't urgent either, as they were certain the Western World would eventually compromise, so they couldn't show any anxiety to avoid being taken advantage of during negotiations.

While higher-ups were calm, Liu Longtao was quite anxious. Today's target is the Kansai Region, where would the blood sacrifices be tomorrow, the Kantou Region? If a Supreme Demon King is truly bred, all humanity would be doomed!

Lord Master couldn't sit still and made several scenes, so the Privy Council had no choice but to approve his solo flight to Chongying for investigation and discretion.

With Liu Longtao gone, all domestic affairs had to fall on Yan Yu. After all, Zhao Yuanzhen needed to oversee the Wudang Mountain base (the Privy Council wasn't comfortable letting her handle things alone due to her personality), and Zhou Hongyu's tribulation injuries hadn't healed. Only Yan Yu was available.

Yan Yu was also stunned, not expecting that after all the twists and turns, the burden would end up on his shoulders.

He had no choice but to work, as the country couldn't be without a Golden Core True Man.

"So why are you my assistant?" he asked, squinting.

"Why can't it be me?" Chen Lingyun laughed and countered, "Ruoxi succeeded in Crossing Tribulation, next is Yun Jin, then Yang Linhui, and I'm in the third batch."

She deliberately leaned in closer, her brows curved like crescent moons and a sweet smile on her exquisite face:

"Or do you not want to see me, hoping someone else to be your assistant? Fine, you can tell me who you want, and I'll summon them for you."

"Go away." Yan Yu pushed her face away, "I don't even have time to finish my work. What's the schedule for tonight?"

"Arrive in Nanchuan at 7 PM, as a Golden Core Cultivator, to console the advanced Military Manor Cultivators in the Pingxi Army's main base," Chen Lingyun responded fluently without looking at the schedule, "It's expected to last 30-40 minutes, then head north to Hanzhong at 8 PM to conquer the Mysterious Realm of the Immortal Mansion on Zibai Mountain."

"Conquering the Mysterious Realm is expected to take 2 hours, then head north to Chang'an at 10 PM to assist the research base in activating specific Magic Treasures. If conquering the Mysterious Realm takes longer, this part of the schedule will be postponed or even canceled."

"At 11 PM, continue to Helan Mountain to conquer two local Mysterious Realms, expected to finish by 2-3 AM..."

"Stop!" Yan Yu raised his hand, "Why does it feel like we are pulling an all-nighter? Although cultivators don't need to sleep, you can't make me work non-stop for 24 hours, right?"

"This was initially Lord Master's schedule," Chen Lingyun smiled, "It was he who arranged it so packed."

"He's a machine, he can endure it," Yan Yu quickly said, "I can't; cancel some of it for me."

"The Mysterious Realms need to be conquered promptly and cannot be delayed," Chen Lingyun pondered, "All these Mysterious Realms are at the Golden Core level, and right now, you're the only available Golden Core Cultivator in the country, so they can't be canceled. The consolation ceremony and the scientific experiments can be rescheduled for tomorrow. So tonight, from 7 PM to midnight, we'll conquer three Mysterious Realms in Zibai Mountain and Helan Mountain..."

"I surrender," Yan Yu raised both hands, "I surrender. Just come up with any solution, I can't be a soulless Mysterious Realm-conquering robot."

"Solution? I have none," Chen Lingyun smiled, "Without you, the Mysterious Realms can't be conquered. What should we do? How about you think of a way to help me form my Core earlier, then I can help share your burden."

Chen Lingyun forming her Core earlier was impossible since the materials for Crossing Tribulation required the state to work overtime, so they couldn't undergo tribulation together. It was determined that those with the highest success rate would form their Core first. Besides, crossing tribulation later provided a greater informational advantage, even if Chen Tianming wouldn't agree to it.

"Forget it," Yan Yu looked out of the plane window in boredom, "Let's head to the Pingxi Army's main base first."

Due to the packed schedule, they didn't choose Sword Flight but took a special plane to Nanchuan. Although the plane speed wasn't as fast as Sword Flight, using Sword required constant focus on controlling the Flying Sword, whereas on a plane, one didn't need to do anything. The cabin was attended by professional flight staff who took care of everything effortlessly and comfortably.

The cabin even had a fixed massage bathtub!

Yan Yu wasn't a person who indulged in luxury. As a former Mortal Warrior in his past life, he was used to hardship. But since he had never used a massage bathtub or bathed on a plane before, and thinking of the dense schedule ahead, he felt a headache, so he instructed Chen Lingyun:

"Go out; I want to take a bath."

"Okay, I'll get you a bathrobe," Chen Lingyun replied gracefully as she left.

Yan Yu drew the curtain around the bathtub, began running the water, undressed, and finally lay in the bathtub.

Cultivators were immune to heat and cold, especially those at the Golden Core Realm with incredible resistance to temperature extremes, but that didn't mean cultivators couldn't enjoy the pleasure of a bath.

As his entire body immersed in hot water, Yan Yu let out a satisfied sigh, feeling his pores fully relax.

"I've brought your bathrobe," Chen Lingyun said from outside the curtain.

"Put it on the chair outside," Yan Yu replied.

"Okay," Chen Lingyun didn't leave, just standing outside the curtain.

"Why aren't you leaving?" Yan Yu asked, seeing her silhouette, "What are you up to?"

"I want to," Chen Lingyun said smilingly, "I also want to take a bath."

Yan Yu: ........

You want to bathe? I can't even be bothered to expose your real intentions!

In his past life, Chen Lingyun wasn't like this. Initially fascinated by pleasure, she gradually lost interest after a few weeks, eventually engaging in intimacy sparingly each month.

Of course, as the captain of the Spirit Transport Team, Chen Lingyun was extremely busy in her past life, which might have affected her physical functions. For men obsessed with power, romantic pursuits are of low priority, and it's the same for women.

In this view, it's because I'm now holding the sky above her that she's more carefree and willful than in the past life.

It's my fault!

Yan Yu didn't stop her, casually turning on the bathtub's massage feature.

After much travel, I need to relax first. If she wants to bathe, it's none of my business. With her petite frame of a bit over four feet, she won't take up much space.

Chen Lingyun pulled back the curtain, stepping into the bathtub with her delicate foot. Seeing the space Yan Yu left for her opposite him, she didn't lie there but rather smiled and said:

"Let me massage your muscles."

"There's the bathtub massage," Yan Yu said lazily.

"This massage bathtub's nozzles only cover the back," Chen Lingyun elegantly knelt and leaned forward, her tone rising, "The front is left to me."

-------------------

After the plane landed in Nanchuan, Yan Yu, dressed up, stepped out of the cabin, feeling strangely weak-kneed under the cold wind.

Sigh, it was supposed to be a relaxing massage, but it left me more exhausted. What's with that?

Chen Lingyun, be it in the past or present, is indeed a born evil little devil!

Only I can suppress her!

In the cabin, Chen Lingyun lay limply in the hot water, her gaze blankly staring at the ceiling.

After a long time, she finally came back to her senses from the rising steam, shaking off her blurred and empty thoughts.

In her mind palace, once filled with diverse useful knowledge and interests, it was now mostly occupied by everything related to Yan Yu.

His appearance, physique, personality, thinking patterns, everything about him... and how to influence him, train him, and ultimately conquer him, all thoughts and plans revolving around him turned ceaselessly in her mind.

For this purpose, neither her body nor soul, dignity nor self, mattered, all pieces on the chessboard to achieve her goal.

Chen Lingyun extended her slender fingers, pinching an imaginary white queen, then gently lowered it onto the black king's piece.

Just like she and Yan Yu moments ago.

"Checkmate~" she said softly with a joyous tone.