"I... I don't know anything!" Pu Shi replied through gritted teeth.
"Do you believe that yourself?" Yan Shouyi's gaze turned cold.
Pu Shi suddenly felt as if he were plunged into an ice cellar. He found Yan Shouyi's gaze terrifyingly fierce, like that of a cold-blooded snake, a ferocious tiger, or a merciless, overbearing lion. It was completely different from his previous demeanor.
After his initial shock, Pu Shi suddenly realized what had happened to Yan Shouyi.
"You've been invaded by inner demons?" Pu Shi asked, enduring the pain.
"Answer my question!" Yan Shouyi twisted the hilt of the blade again!
Seeing Yan Shouyi's extreme reaction, Pu Shi already had a good idea. He couldn't help but curve his lips upward and let out a laugh.
The others didn't understand why Pu Shi was laughing, but Grandmaster Guan Yun and Wen Yuxian frowned. They knew very well what inner demons were; they were what had transformed Nun Miaohui into an Asura. Wen Yuxian understood her grandson well enough. From the conversation between Yan Shouyi and Pu Shi, she could confidently conclude that Yan Shouyi had been invaded by inner demons. Unfortunately, at that moment, Wen Yuxian could only suppress her urge to care for Yan Shouyi and remain silent, waiting for him to finish what he needed to do.
The pain caused Pu Shi to cough violently, spitting out several mouthfuls of shattered internal organs.
"It seems... I shouldn't laugh either... you being invaded by inner demons isn't a good thing for us..." Pu Shi suddenly changed his mind.
Yan Shouyi didn't want to listen to Pu Shi's rambling. He said coldly, "Answer my question. My patience is very limited." Indeed, his patience was limited. Seeing Pu Shi laugh, Yan Shouyi felt inexplicably annoyed.
"Alright, I'll say something you want to hear!" Pu Shi frowned, but his face was smiling, his expression appearing very contradictory. He said, "Haven't you always wanted to know what Li Genmiao is doing? He is doing something great, something no one has dared to think of in thousands of years!"
"Stop being so vague, speak specifically!" Long Feicheng couldn't help but interject.
"Heaven is unkind, treating all creatures as straw dogs. We, the inheritors of folk sects, are even more so!" Pu Shi's face suddenly contorted into a ferocious expression as he said viciously, "Why should those who stay in temples and monasteries all day, only knowing how to eat vegetarian meals and chant scriptures, be able to become immortals and buddhas? While we who roam among the people, truly for the suffering common folk, must endure 'three deficiencies and five impairments'?"
"Those monks, each one fat and gluttonous, doing nothing, can have the mud bodhisattvas in their temples gilded and the surrounding people willingly kowtow and offer incense money!"
"Those Daoists, each one with a sanctimonious appearance, ignorant of the suffering of the common people, consider descending the mountain as 'traveling'... Ridiculous! How can the suffering and pain of the people be understood just by them taking a walk? When have they ever gone hungry, been critically ill and without support, or worried about money?"
"These prestigious sects have been too detached from the common people for too long. The 'people of the world' are merely words they utter; what they do are all petty matters of seeking fame and profit!"
"Why?! Why are they called prestigious sects, adored by the people, living without worry, able to become immortals and buddhas, and not suffer the five impairments and three deficiencies? Why!?"
Pu Shi sneered, "What the Actor wants to do is get rid of these hypocrites, and let us folk sects truly take our rightful place!"
"This is the most noble ideal, something no one has dared to do for thousands of years. And now that the Actor is doing it, we are his right and left hands. When the great undertaking is accomplished, we will be forever remembered!"
Yan Shouyi and the others listened, holding their breath. When Pu Shi stopped, they even felt a bit short of breath and quickly started breathing again. What Pu Shi said was similar to Yan Shouyi's previous conjectures. The Actor indeed wanted to reshape the spiritual world's structure and become the Celestial Master himself. Pu Shi's answer was both unexpected and within reason, so the reactions of Yan Shouyi and the others did not satisfy Pu Shi.
Long Feicheng mocked with disdain, "Just this?"
The indifferent reactions of everyone made Pu Shi feel awkward, but he handled it well and retorted, "How can a sparrow understand the ambition of a swan? You are all worldly and mediocre people. I knew I shouldn't have told you these things!"
This fellow, facing death, was still acting high and mighty. This also allowed Yan Shouyi to understand Li Genmiao's method of controlling the Four Offices and Five Ghosts. Li Genmiao's methods of treating and deceiving the Four Offices and Five Ghosts, the Twelve Yuan Chen, and the Twenty-Eight Mansions varied, and they corresponded to different classes. For the Twenty-Eight Mansions, the lowest stratum, Li Genmiao used benefits and greed – coaxing them to kill other competitors so he could survive, or at the very least, increase his own value. For the Twelve Yuan Chen, Li Genmiao used hatred – using hatred, he manipulated Nun Miaohui, Qi Dongqiang, and others, causing them to indulge in revenge and disregard everything else. As for the Four Offices and Five Ghosts, Li Genmiao's method was faith. True powerhouses no longer cared about benefits or hatred; they preferred to pursue ideals. This ideal had to be noble, bold, and unprecedented to attract truly skilled individuals. It seemed Pu Shi had been greatly deceived. The one who learned ghost was also unlucky; he was forcibly killed by Yan Shouyi in just one exchange, without even a single line. Based on Yan Shouyi's understanding of Li Genmiao, he didn't seem to care about the lives of these people. Whether it was the Twenty-Eight Mansions or the Four Offices and Five Ghosts, they were all just "codenames," not referring to specific individuals. This meant that if Yan Shouyi killed Pu Shi today, Li Genmiao might find another expert to replace the ghost position tonight. Li Genmiao would never be short of people.
After digesting the information Pu Shi had provided for a while, Yan Shouyi took a deep breath and asked the question that concerned him the most.
"In Li Genmiao's plan, what role do I play? He had several opportunities to kill me, so why didn't he act in the end?"
Pu Shi smiled and beckoned to Yan Shouyi, "Come closer, I'll only tell you alone."
"Spit it out quickly!" Yan Shouyi wouldn't fall for Pu Shi's trick. He twisted the Zanhun blade again, inflicting maximum pain on Pu Shi. Pu Shi's facial muscles twitched from the pain, and his body convulsed uncontrollably. Unexpectedly, he gritted his teeth and persevered, "I can only tell you alone... If you don't want to listen... just kill me directly! Ah!!!" By the end, Pu Shi couldn't help but scream. This inexplicable persistence made Yan Shouyi realize that, in Pu Shi's perception, his question was even more significant than the earlier "Li Genmiao's objective." How could this be? Yan Shouyi stopped his actions and finally leaned closer to Pu Shi. The others wisely took two steps back to give them space.
"You can speak now," Yan Shouyi said in a low voice. Pu Shi opened his mouth and weakly uttered a sentence, "You... you are the Actor's... chosen..."
...
...
...
"...successor."