Erasing.

—

After putting on all the clothes that Ying Yue and Yelena had washed yesterday using Emerald Spring Leaf—a plant with soap-like properties used for cleaning their attire—Tian Xing proceeded to erase all traces of himself and his beloved in the cave. He punched with enough force to destroy large boulders, creating a sonic boom that echoed throughout the cave. The air pressure from his swift movements ensured any fingerprints or similar traces in places where he had spent time with his beloved were erased.

Although his eyes and many perks given by Elder Blood have become useless due to the difference in world levels, Tian Xing was still able to erase his tracks, which even a normal eye could not see, by directly simulating a future where his tracks had been detected and then removing them before they could be found.

Ying Yue and Yelena also used their respective Dao and expertise to make the cave appear as untouched as possible. After finishing with the cave, Tian Xing proceeded to remove the traces of their footsteps and the paths they had walked.

When he noticed that he had left some tracks at the spot where he had tortured two members of the Soul Refining Sect, Tian Xing sighed, realizing that the saying about overconfidence in his Predetermination Dao leading to his downfall was now a fact rather than mere conjecture.

Fortunately, his beloved's preparations to strengthen him came to the rescue, allowing his plan to proceed smoothly. Since, after achieving the second stage of Muscle Tempering, he gained the ability to intuitively sense if something was amiss, a skill that was amplified by his strong intuition, even when nothing was visible to the naked eye.

Spotting one drop of blood that had seeped into small cracks in the stones, Tian Xing looked at his concubines with love and affection, knowing that without them, he would have been too confident in his Soul cultivation, neglecting Body cultivation entirely.

"What is it, Master?" Yelena asked, confused.

Shaking his head, Tian Xing simply replied, "Nothing," and continued to clean the torture site more thoroughly. This time, he simulated a future where he was a seventh-stage Body practitioner inspecting the site in detail. Not only that, Tian Xing also simulated different people with various cultivation types that were not standard from the Three Treasures and Three Jewels, to understand different perspectives when trying to detect his tracks.

After finding no traces, he confirmed again by asking Yelena and Ying Yue to use their respective Dao before concluding that, despite his minor blunder, his method could still be considered effective. With that, they continued to another location, walking slowly to various places they had once visited and the surrounding areas, searching for any traces that might have spread for various reasons. Finally, they arrived at the site of his and Yue's ascension.

Removing any tracks left from the place that he arrived in this world from Undvik, Tian Xing retrieved Yue's hair from the river and finally said to his two beloveds, "It is done. This hair is the last one. There is not a trace left from the moment we arrived here to finish cultivating inside the cave."

Nodding, Ying Yue asked, "So what now, Master? Should we also clean the battlefield where Sister Yelena fought? There's a lot of debris, like destroyed parts of flying boats."

Shaking his head, Tian Xing answered, "No. We'll leave it as it is. It would be more suspicious if Yelena just vanished into thin air along with the Soul Refining Sect members chasing her, without any evidence of the fight. Moreover, leaving it as it is will serve as an alibi for Yelena, suggesting she managed to kill all of them with a sudden power-up using the treasure in her forehead. This will shift the attention to the possibility of another third party helping her from the shadows."

Considering the shift of attention, Tian Xing decided to double down after calculating the future with his Dao. Seeing the results and methods, he then said to both of them, "As for what we will do, let's create false evidence of that sudden power-up and ensure their attention is focused on the treasure instead of us, Yue. Also, make sure they think that my Yelena managed to escape, albeit with a heavy price."

Having doubts, Ying Yue reasoned, "But, Master, wouldn't it be better to create false evidence showing that Sister Yelena died from the power-up? That would solve the problem if there is suspicion of a third party helping her, rather than making it look like she escaped, which could cause them to keep searching for her."

Shaking his head, Tian Xing replied, "Yue, I want them to feel agitated by the treasure rather than think logically and calmly assess the situation, which would make their minds function more effectively. Creating evidence that she's dead won't agitate them; instead, it would breed suspicion and allow them to assess the situation more calmly."

Raising an eyebrow, Ying Yue asked, "What advantage does agitating them provide, Master? Isn't making them more agitated bad because they will become more eager to hunt Sister Yelena since she is still alive?"

Remembering he hadn't shared his study on the alignment of good and evil with her, Tian Xing then explained his reasoning while imparting the information directly into her Spirit, "That is what I want, dear. Leaving Yelena alive will provoke these devil cultivators' greed, seeing a treasure that provides auxiliary benefits in combat and cultivation. The greedier they are, the more their attention shifts elsewhere, dismissing the possibility of a third party helping her since they clearly see she is severely injured. So in this scenario, it's better to use this approach, as they are not men of virtue and are driven by their seven emotions and six desires, which can be easily calculated since the parameters are limited to just seven and six. For those devil cultivators who do not follow this path and instead focus on logic, it's easier to manipulate them because they can only see hard facts without intuition or gut feeling when presented with evidence."

Reading the information provided regarding his comprehension of how evil people, who at first seem calculating, are actually driven by shallow subconscious behavior that can't see the infinite future—only the current moment of benefit—and how good people, who seem simple-minded, actually consider many possibilities for the future, Ying Yue nodded in understanding after briefly skimming through the comprehension.

Placing the information in the back of her mind, she then asked for confirmation, "So that means, to deal with Sister Yelena's fellow disciples who have extreme thoughts like these, it's better to use tactics targeting their specific emotions, right, Master? This way, their conscious and subconscious minds are dulled, making it difficult for them to think clearly. As for those who think logically because they have severed their seven emotions and six desires, it is much simpler since they lack intuition or gut feeling, and their actions can be easily read. In the end, they are just puppets who only consider what parameters benefit them the most."

Nodding, Tian Xing replied, "Yes, you are right, my sweet."

—