Fairy, don't be afraid, I'm about to begin my strategy.

He naturally didn't know Lin Jingshu, and Lin Zhixia hadn't told him either. But the private information on the character card was clearly written, so it couldn't be faked. He had no choice but to use a big name as a cover to fool Wang Rui.

In an instant, Wang Rui, being a clever man, thought of many things. He had been an undercover agent in the Lingyun Sect for many years, and while his journey hadn't been entirely smooth, it had been relatively uneventful. He himself had suspected that the Old Man of No Form might have planted more than just him as a pawn.

Even whether He Daoren was an undercover agent or not, he had no way of verifying.

He Daoren kept preventing me from killing Chen Qingqing. Could she be a key figure as well? Otherwise, her resurrection would be too unbelievable.

Will I become a pawn to be discarded?

Wang Rui felt a chill run down his spine; the more doubts he had, the more he thought about it.

It's not entirely Wang Rui's fault. After all, he has lived cautiously and anxiously in the Lingyun Sect for so many years, and the slightest mistake could lead to utter ruin.

He had no loyalty to the Elder Wuxiang; he knew the Demonic Sect's ways better than anyone. Only a fool would infiltrate the righteous sect's leader, Lingyun Sect, if not for the pursuit of immortality.

Connecting the dots, Wang Rui felt a chill of fear; thankfully, he had been on guard.

After a moment's thought, he smiled broadly and said, "Junior Sister Chen, I agree to your terms."

After saying that, he threw a jade talisman to Shen Mo.

Wang Rui's sudden move caught Shen Mo off guard. He had expected a struggle, but it turned out to be so easy.

Is it really that simple?

The facts are undeniable, leaving no room for silence or disbelief.

He paused for a moment and then said, "Senior Brother is indeed straightforward. Cough cough, actually, thinking about it, Senior Brother and I don't have any deep-seated hatred. How about we turn hostility into friendship?"

"Great, junior brother is absolutely right. You can always come to your senior brother for help if you encounter any difficulties in the future."

Shen Mo was full of questions. Could it be that Wang Rui had been possessed? How could the contrast be so great?

"Alright, let's cooperate for mutual benefit and win-win results from now on."

"That's a good term, 'win-win cooperation.' Then I won't see you off any further, Junior Sister Chen."

Looking at Wang Rui's smiling face, Shen Mo suddenly felt uncomfortable. He would be relieved if the other party were to fly into a rage, but this behavior made him uneasy.

Walking out of Wang Rui's cave with a strange expression, Shen Mo felt no satisfaction at his successful scheme; instead, he was quite troubled.

Wang Rui, you've changed so much, I don't even recognize you anymore!

……

Watching the Green-Faced Fox being carried away like a dead dog, Bai Xiaofeng felt a pang of regret and a touch of reluctance.

Shen Mo was somewhat speechless; the NPCs in this game were a bit eerie.

With the matter resolved, Shen Mo was too lazy to dwell on it anymore. He prepared to return to Jia Garden to visit Senior Sister Lin, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.

He had specially picked a bunch of pretty wildflowers in the mountains. When Shen Mo arrived outside Senior Sister Lin's house, he heard an unfamiliar voice, "Take good care of yourself. I'm leaving."

His voice was elegant but his tone was slightly stiff. Before he could listen carefully, the door was pushed open, and a female cultivator dressed in plain clothes came face to face with him.

The female cultivator had a beautiful appearance and resembled Senior Sister Lin somewhat, but her aura was more powerful. Shen Mo couldn't help but take two steps back after being glanced at by her.

The other party did not stop. With a surge of true energy, he instantly moved into mid-air and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Soaring through the air, possessing the power of a spiritual realm!

Only then did Shen Mo realize that this powerful female cultivator was the one who led the inner sect immortals when the medicine garden was sealed off. No wonder she looked somewhat familiar.

After a brief contact, Shen Mo guessed the other party's identity. It was none other than Lin Jingshu, the elder of the council he had just borrowed power from, who was also Lin Zhixia's real biological mother.

Fortunately, she was unaware that her identity had been secretly used; otherwise, even if Shen Mo had nine lives, it wouldn't be enough for someone to kill her.

Putting aside his distracting thoughts, Shen Mo carried the wildflowers into the house, only to find Senior Sister Lin sitting there blankly, seemingly lost in thought.

"Senior sister, senior sister?"

"Ah, junior sister. Oh my, what beautiful flowers!"

Lin Zhixia was startled awake. Upon seeing the bunch of wildflowers, she couldn't help but cheer with joy, her pale face beaming with smiles.

She carefully placed the wildflowers one by one into the vase, her expression very focused.

Seeing Lin Zhixia's gentleness, Shen Mo felt a sense of enjoyment. In this sect, Senior Sister Lin was the cutest.

"Senior sister, who was that person just now?"

"Oh, it's just an elder in my family who came to visit me."

Lin Zhixia was clearly unwilling to discuss the matter further. Grabbing Shen Mo's hand, she happily said, "I've been so bored these past few days recovering from my injuries by myself. You should keep me company and chat with me. I still want to hear the story of 'The Overbearing Demon Lord Falls in Love with Me' that you told me last time!"

"Good, good, good!"

……

After finally coaxing Lin Zhixia to sleep, Shen Mo took a moment to take out the two jade talismans and compare them.

One of the two jade talismans was found on the Green-Faced Fox, and the other was naturally given to them by Wang Rui. Both contained records of the True Essence Gathering and Marrow Transformation Technique. The difference was that the Green-Faced Fox's talisman only contained the first volume of the True Essence Gathering and Marrow Transformation Technique, while Wang Rui's talisman contained both volumes.

Comparing the two boxes, the contents of the first volume are exactly the same, so Wang Rui probably didn't tamper with it.

Actually, asking for the Marrow Gathering Technique wasn't Shen Mo's ultimate goal. The key was to test Wang Rui; it seemed the Treasure Bag really did contain the Marrow Gathering Technique. Shen Mo's second goal was to verify his methods for defeating enemies.

When Wang Rui's strategy points increased last time, Shen Mo still had some doubts, as he was not very clear about the system's judgment criteria. This time was a good opportunity to verify it.

Open Wang Rui's character card:

[Dislike rating: 80 points]

Strategy Points: 20

[Character Relationship: Enemies]

The strategy value has increased again. Therefore, we can infer that to win over an enemy, as long as you make them obey you or do something according to your requirements, the strategy value will naturally increase.

The character card of the Blue-Faced Fox indirectly proves this speculation; by surrendering by force, his character's charm value also increased by 10 points.

This is completely different from winning over friends. By winning over Lin Zhixia, Bai Xiaofeng, and Young Master Zhao, it can be seen that to increase a friend's "charm value," you need to move them.

So, to sum it up, the so-called strategy is to move your friends and command your enemies.

Comparing the two, it's hard to say which is easier, but the system clearly offers two choices.

First, you can increase a character's success rate by deceiving, bluffing, or ambushing, just like Shen Mo did. Second, you can choose to improve the strength and cultivation of the character you control, and then use force to defeat the opponent until they submit.

Of course, combining both methods will yield even better results.

After summarizing the character strategies and tips, Shen Mo turned his attention to the "True Essence Gathering Technique".

Although Shen Mo hadn't intentionally improved Chen Qingqing's cultivation, the main reason was that he found focused cultivation too slow. If the True Essence Gathering and Marrow Transformation Technique was truly so miraculous that it could corrupt so many righteous cultivators, Shen Mo wouldn't mind, since evil cultivation was indeed faster.