Even though the hanging man's entire body was bound by shackles, as if he was in an iron coffin, he spoke without any emotion. He spoke in a flat and straightforward manner, without the slightest intention of embellishing the story.
However, his casual narration was still like a surging tide that penetrated through the light beam and space and swept across the bridge of "Black Swirl", soaking the commander of the Black Wind Fleet in soundless tides.
"Jin Xinyue," Heiye Ming said for the second time. "What a terrifying woman. What a terrifying plan!"
"Indeed," the hanged man said. "If the complete version of the 'Dim Moon Plan' really works out, as the daughter of the commander of the Coalition Army of Demons and the leader of the demon race, Jin Xinyue will lead the demon race to a real renaissance. As a disciple of 'Vulture Li Yao', she will be able to make Li Yao's group 'completely in power' and control the power of the Xing Yao Federation. Everybody in Li Yao's group — Ding Ling Dong, Wu Mayan, Bai Kaixin, Fiend Blade Peng Hai, Guo Chunfeng, Xiong Wuji, Lei Dalu — will appreciate her, trust her, and support her after they learn of her sacrifice and 'grievance'. As a leadership of the Xing Yao Federation, she will crush the expedition army of the Imperium and make unparalleled contributions!
"The leader of the demon race, Li Yao's disciple, and a leadership of the Federation. She will not fail her triple identities. She will kill three birds with one stone. The victory will lead to the triple rise of the demon race, Li Yao's group, and the Xing Yao Federation!
"After that, as long as the whole plan is slightly packaged and part of the truth is revealed to the public, she will immediately become the greatest hero in the history of the Xing Yao Federation. Later, she will control everything behind the curtain by asking Ding Ling Dong to be the Speaker, or she will become the Speaker herself. She can even change the 'Election Law' to extend the term of the Speaker and grant herself more power. Won't it be more than easy for her to do so?"
Heiye Ming smiled thoughtfully. "What a great plan! What an insatiable appetite! Her scheme involves both her own people and her enemy, as well as the Federation and the Imperium! Amazing! However, did she not consider the possibility that I would not be fooled? After all, 'fake surrender' is not an ingenious tactic but an ancient one that everybody could have thought of. "
"The Dim Moon Plan is a decomposed plan that is very independent. Although it is interconnected, even if there is a problem in the last part, it will not affect the effect of the previous parts."
The Hanging Man explained, "So what if Marshal Ming doesn't fall for it? In the Tian Yuan Realm, Jin Xinyue had instigated all of those with ulterior motives in the rich and powerful clans. They would definitely take action in 24 hours. At that time, even if you didn't fall for it, the 'treason' of these rich and powerful clans would be undeniable.
"In such a way, we will find out who is really loyal to the Xing Yao Federation and who will not waver. Those who cannot withstand the pressure will defect when the situation is not good. Wouldn't it be better to eliminate the hidden problems in advance?
"After the 'purging operation' is over, Guo Chunfeng, director of the Secret Sword Bureau, and I suspect Bai Kaixin, the Chief of Staff in the Burning Prairie Fleet, will probably be the 'iron triangle' of the Burning Prairie Fleet. Well, Jin Xinyue, Guo Chunfeng, and Bai Kaixin will be the 'iron triangle' of the scheme. The other two people will naturally stand out to testify for Jin Xinyue and prove that it is a special 'stress test'.
"The rich and powerful sects, who have been living a good life for hundreds of years, are all 'pig teammates' who can't accomplish anything but are more likely to spoil everything. If we eliminate them before the war, we will be able to collect tremendous resources from them by the way. It will only be beneficial for the unity of the Federation!"
"I can take the opportunity to attack the Sectors other than the Tian Yuan Realm," Heiye Ming said.
"Even if Jin Xinyue does not carry out the 'Dim Moon Plan', you can still choose any of the seven Sectors to launch an attack, can't you?
"But will you do that, General Ming?
"Hehe. We are all well aware that, while the Xing Yao Federation does not want a protracted war of attrition or its homeland into ruins, the Black Wind Fleet wants to finish the war as soon as possible, in case new variables come from the homeland, such as an expedition army that is even more powerful than the Black Wind Fleet showing up and swallowing us.
"Not only will you have to occupy the most central Sector of the Federation quickly, you will also have to crush the main force of the Burning Prairie Fleet, the trump card of the Federation, in order to completely destroy the determination of the Federation to resist!
"Then, the Tian Yuan Realm will be our only option.
"Therefore, as long as the ancient strategy of 'fake surrender' is released at the most appropriate time into the hearts of the enemy generals, the odds of success are still more than fifty percent.
"The Federation's war against the Imperium is a war of attrition. Isn't the odds of success more than fifty percent not enough for Jin Xinyue to take a gamble?"
Heiye Ming nodded slowly. "You do have a point. But there is one thing I need to ask. How do you know everything? Will Jin Xinyue tell you everything?"
"Of course, Jin Xinyue won't tell me anything," the hanging man said. "Although I've cooperated with her for so many years, she has never really trusted me, much less such a top-secret plan.
"However, decades ago, when my master was still alive, I already had my eyes on Jin Xinyue. I liked to study the woman because I smelled something from her that was exactly the same as my own. She and I are the same kind of people. I know that she is not willing to be a puppet of the major sects, nor is she stupid enough to completely break away from the great backers such as Ding Ling Dong and Guo Chunfeng. What she is after is not as simple as the Speaker of the Federation, either.
"Considering her identity and environment, if she really wants to be the Speaker of the Federation, she shouldn't have talked about her ambitions in public all the time. Now that she has talked about it, it means that the 'Speaker of the Federation' is just a disguise, and what she is after is something much bigger, much farther, and much more profound.
"Because I found Jin Xinyue to be such an interesting woman, I approached her voluntarily after my master's death and let her know the ambitions and ambitions that I pretended to be. As I expected, she thought highly of me and thought that I was of great value.
"You know everything that happened later, General Ming. Although Jin Xinyue did not tell me her real plan, with the things that she asked me to do, plus my decades of personality analysis and psychological studies on her, it is not strange at all that I can infer the cause and effect of everything that happened."
"Therefore," Heiye Ming said, "you are both a pure Immortal Cultivator and a determined patriot who loves the Xing Yao Federation unwaveringly, just as she thought?"
"Yes," the Hanging Man said.
"Jin Xinyue has her own testing methods, too. If you do not love the Xing Yao Federation, it is impossible for you to be selected by her."
"But you have betrayed Jin Xinyue and joined the Imperium's side," Heiye Ming said.
"I only betrayed Jin Xinyue, not the Xing Yao Federation," the Hanging Man said.
"Or rather, I only betrayed the name of the Xing Yao Federation and its government, not the seven Sectors that carry the name and all my compatriots.
"As a pure Immortal Cultivator, and as someone who has a deep understanding of the capabilities of the Imperium of True Human Beings, I believe that ending the war as soon as possible and implementing the system of Immortal Cultivators in all the seven Sectors will be the real salvation and the real future.
"I cannot watch my compatriots walk further and further down the wrong path, mired deeper and deeper, and bring greater pain to themselves and the people of the Imperium!
"This is the only reason why I am cooperating with you, General Ming. Please trust me, General Ming. You must save the human compatriots at the edge of the cosmos who have been led astray. Please!"
Heiye Ming glanced at the spies of the Imperium next to the Hanging Man again.
None of the spies reacted. The Hanging Man was still telling the truth.
Even Heiye Ming, a tough warrior who had fought his way out of the hellish slaughterhouse at the center of the cosmos, could not help but say gloomily, "For some reason, I am a bit … scared of you. Both you and Jin Xinyue, the human beings at the edge of the cosmos are as terrifying as vipers.
"We do not have the strength of lions, tigers, bears, or falcons like the high-level Immortal Cultivators of the Imperium of True Human Beings at the center of the cosmos," the Hanging Man said.
"For survival, the poor people at the edge of the cosmos like us who are waiting to be saved can only develop some minor schemes and tricks, like the fangs of vipers. But such insignificant tricks are not worth mentioning at all in front of the magnificence of the Imperium."
Heiye Ming sniffed and said, "Tell me. How can I trust you? Jin Xinyue is faking her surrender. How can I know that you are not faking your surrender, too? Maybe you have other plans. Maybe you are one of Jin Xinyue's men in the first place, and you are playing the trick of 'double faking'? "
"I can't tell you," the Hanging Man said.
The Hanging Man said, "You have elicited all the information from me. You have also received enough information from Jin Xinyue. As the commander of the Black Wind Fleet, it is your responsibility to analyze the messy information to find the correct answer.
"After all, you still have twenty-four hours. If you still do nothing after twenty-four hours, Jin Xinyue will know that you are not fooled. Then, both of us will lose the opportunity to finish the battle quickly. So, let's just fight a war of attrition until neither of us wins!"
Heiye Ming was silent. A shallow vein popped out of his temple and shivered beyond his control.
He stared at the Hanging Man, trying to see the truth in the deepest part of the man's brain.
However, the Hanging Man's eyes and even the upper half of his face were still covered by the iron mask. Nothing could be seen at all.
Heiye Ming was silent for three minutes. The Hanging Man was very patient, too. Except for the blood bubbles popping out of his nose, he did not move at all, as if he were dead.
"Alright!"
Heiye Ming finally made up his mind. Muscles that looked like rebars popped up on his face. He gritted his teeth and said, one word after another, "Now that Jin Xinyue has carefully set up traps in the Tian Yuan Realm and is waiting for me, wouldn't it be a waste of her 'kindness' if I don't go? She wants me to go to the Tian Yuan Realm. So, I will go to the Tian Yuan Realm! I will show her the formidability of the Black Wind Fleet. I will also let her know what it feels like to be outsmarted by one's own cleverness! "
The Hanging Man was still silent.
It seemed that he did not hear Heiye Ming's choice, or that he was dwelling in a certain profound world deep inside his brain.
"Stop stimulating his nerve endings, but don't loosen the shackles and barriers. Continue blocking his senses. Don't let him go."
Heiye Ming gestured and said, "Lu Qingchen, you are too dangerous. I am not going to let you go until the battle is over. Do you have any objections?"
Lu Qingchen, the leader of the local Immortal Cultivators of the Federation, shook his head softly within the range of the shackles. "No."
"Right. There's one other thing," Heiye Ming suddenly said.
"What's the so-called 'Immortal Cultivator 2.0' theory that you have been promoting? I've read a few books that you have written. They are quite convincing. I'm very curious!"
Lu Qingchen smiled, baring his white teeth. Judging from his upside down face, it seemed to be intense mockery.
"There is no such thing as' Immortal Cultivator 2.0 'at all. It is just a lie that we came up with to attract the Immortal Cultivators in the Federation, gather them, and fish them up.
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