Li Yao shook his head. There was no way that he could fool her. "No."
"If what you said is true, I am truly the reincarnation of someone from hundreds of thousands of years ago. Then, there must be great secrets on me that are invaluable," Long Yangjun said coldly.
"How do I know that I won't be captured by your force and dissected for studies after I cooperate with you? After all, I'm all by myself, and you have an immeasurable force behind you that is enough to chew me up without leaving anything behind."
"Then how do I know that everything you've said is true? That you're truly acting alone and ignorant? That you're not harboring ill intentions towards my faction and setting up a heaven-shaking trap."
Li Yao said sincerely, "Of course, the two of us can suspect and block each other, but it is useless. Let's be honest. After the mysterious signal was sent out a hundred years ago, the coordinates of the Ancient Sages Sector were probably exposed. However thick and mysterious the dark nebula is, it cannot protect and restrain you forever.
"Even if you don't trust me and cooperate with me, the Ancient Sages Sector will be discovered sooner or later.
"Burying your head in the sand while pretending to be an ostrich is the most useless behavior. Whether you like it or not, walking out of the closed world and embracing the boundless universe is your only choice.
"If you don't embrace this sea of stars, it will crush you and your world sooner or later."
Li Yao's words were like a blow to Long Yangjun's head. She lowered her head and pondered for a long time, as if she were weighing the pros and cons of cooperating with Li Yao and searching for loopholes in Li Yao's words. She suddenly raised her head, with cunning brilliance beaming out of her eyes, and her lips curled into a casual smile. "I noticed that your face was somewhat weird when you mentioned Emperor Phoenix Zhu Zongyou just now. You seemed to be vaguely hostile and highly wary of him.
"It's only natural that I hate Zhu Zongyou. After all, he almost ruined the plan that I've been working on for decades. But you shouldn't have any grudges against him in the past. Where is your hostility and wariness coming from?"
"Well …"
Li Yao was dazed for a moment. He did not expect that Long Yangjun's eyes were so sharp that she had been observing his microexpressions in secret.
He, on the other hand, was too absorbed in the mystery of Long Yangjun's uncanny birth to be fully prepared.
"And …"
"There's one thing that I find very strange. If you did not end up in this place by accident but came prepared, you must've grasped a certain secret technique that allows you to communicate with your hometown and return to your hometown easily. You can even summon a large batch of reinforcements from your hometown. But you did not do that. Why?"
Cold sweat trickled down the back of Li Yao's neck.
"I can think of one possibility."
Staring at Li Yao, Long Yangjun said, "The force that you belong to is not the only force that has discovered the Ancient Sages Sector. Some other forces that are hostile to you may have discovered the Ancient Sages Sector, too. They may send spies, scouts, or envoys to the Ancient Sages Sector just like you.
"You are scared that those people will discover you. That's why you are so secretive. That's why you can't wait to cooperate with me and draw me to your side.
"Zhu Zongyou, on the other hand, is exactly the person that you are most suspicious of. It is very possible that a hostile force is hiding behind him, isn't it?"
Rendered speechless, Li Yao slapped himself hard in his heart. Long Yangjun was truly an extraordinary person who had toyed with the entire court and the Cultivators. With only the clues that he revealed, she had already pieced together the truth to the best of her ability.
One could never be too careful when dealing with such a person.
"I'll take your silence as a yes."
Long Yangjun smiled and gradually recovered from the chaos caused by the revelation of the mysteries of her birth. She slowly regained her computational ability and control in the past. She mumbled, "Your suspicions are indeed very reasonable. Without the help of outsiders, how could Zhu Zongyou, a guy that nobody thought highly of and who was thrown into a broken temple to wait for his death, have risen miraculously in only a few years and controlled such a mysterious and powerful force?
"On the other hand, if I were an extraterrestrial Cultivator who had ill intentions toward the Ancient Sages Sector and wanted to raise a puppet, Zhu Zongyou, a member of the royal family who is simple-minded, inexperienced, and uninvolved with any forces, would certainly be the best target.
"It appears that Zhu Zongyou is our common enemy."
"Exactly."
Li Yao took the opportunity to say, "Whether or not we cooperate later, we should work together to dig out the force behind Emperor Phoenix first. As you said, Emperor Phoenix vaguely knows something about the Divine Palace and has been planning the trip to the Divine Palace since a long time ago. Then, his purpose can't be as simple as excavating a few Cloud Qin Gold Statues. Chances are that he has known something about your identity a long time ago and has specifically targeted you."
"Hehe."
Long Yangjun sniffed and glanced at Li Yao with a vague smile. "There's no need to mislead me with alarmism. I have my own judgment.
"It's impossible for Zhu Zongyou to know my birth, but you do have a point. Allowing him and the force behind him to continue their activities will do no good for either of us.
"If you want to cooperate, you have to promise me a few things."
Li Yao's heart jumped. "What is it?"
"First of all, I hope that the secret about my identity will end right here in this secret chamber. I don't want anybody, including the force behind you, to know it without my permission," Long Yangjun said coldly.
"If we were in each other's shoes, I'm afraid that you would've proposed the same conditions, wouldn't you?"
It did make sense. It was Long Yangjun's greatest secret. If everybody learned it, it would bring her infinite trouble. Li Yao thought for a moment and nodded. "Alright, I promise you. But if somebody else finds out, there's nothing I can do."
"We are both smart people. I'm too lazy to argue with you about the details," Long Yangjun said.
"Of course, you can try to deceive me. Then, you'd better nail me to death once and for all, or you will have to bear my infinite wrath.
"Since you've been sent here to carry out such a dangerous and critical task, you must be an outstanding elite fighter in your world. That is to say, the strongest fighter in your world would not be much stronger than Yuanying Realm. Therefore, the overall fighting strength of this world would be limited." "That's right.
"If I am completely infuriated, I will certainly find a way to die together with such a world."
Li Yao secretly cursed in his heart again. Long Yangjun was too abnormal. She had inferred the overall capability of the Xing Yao Federation based on his Cultivation alone.
However, she was still wrong about one thing.
A hundred years ago, Li Yao was indeed the representative of the top warriors of the Xing Yao Federation. But a hundred years later, it was not necessarily the case today.
Besides, in the modern industrial system of the Cultivation civilization, the Xing Yao Federation, which had already stepped into an interspace society, was actually less and less important for individual combat ability.
A Yuanying expert might be able to do whatever he wanted in the Ancient Sages Sector, but in the Federation, even if his Cultivation remained the same or even doubled, his influence on the society as a whole would be significantly reduced.
As the saying went, 'No matter how good your martial arts are, you will still be scared of a kitchen knife, and no matter how old a Yuanying expert is, he will still be knocked down by a cannon'.
However talented and resourceful Long Yangjun was, she had been born and raised in the Ancient Sages Sector after all. Her thinking was limited, and it was impossible for her to estimate the full potential of a modern Cultivation civilization.
However, Li Yao did not intend to deceive her.
The threats that the Federation was faced with were too many and too strong. The Imperium of True Human Beings and the Alliance of the Holy Covenant were each more brutal than the last. At such a critical moment, there was no need to piss off such a mysterious person as Long Yangjun, who was suspected to be an heir of Nuwa.
Cooperating with her was the most rational choice.
"Secondly, I know that you are very interested in the Nuwa warship. I'm afraid that you are also thinking of activating it to help your organization fight the hostile forces, aren't you?"
Long Yangjun said casually. "Helping your organization fight is not entirely unnegotiable. After all, it is impossible for me to fully control the Nuwa warship on my own. I will certainly need the support of tremendous manpower and resources.
"However, if I really help you, then when I remember my mission, will you also lend me a hand?"
After pondering for a moment, Li Yao said, "As long as the destiny does not harm the interests of my country, I will try my best to persuade our leader to help you. Even if it is unlikely that the highest leader will agree, I will still try my best to help you."
"Alright."
Long Yangjun stared at Li Yao thoughtfully. "Those are my only two conditions. I'll trust your answer for now. Let's work together to solve the problem of Emperor Phoenix Zhu Zongyou first."
Li Yao was refreshed. "How?"
"I'll try to activate part of the techniques of the Nuwa warship first."
Long Yangjun smiled bitterly. "That was supposed to be the first thing I did after I entered the bridge, but it was delayed by you for so long."
She slowly paced among the hundred pillars that were almost a hundred meters tall. While pacing, she touched the spiritual stripes on every crystal pillar, completely exposing her back to Li Yao.
Li Yao pondered for a moment but did not launch an assault.
Long Yangjun observed and groped every pillar carefully for a long time. Now and then, she seemed to be in a trance, as if the zigzagging ravines on the pillars triggered the memories of her previous life that had been hidden in the deepest part of her soul.
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