Chapter Thirty-Four: The Fire of Logic

As Han Lin commanded the eight guards to recite the Purification Mantra, their voices rose in unison:

“There is righteous energy in heaven and earth, gathering into the sun within my heart.”

“My soul is as clear as crystal, shining bright inside and out.”

“Countless evils and desires transform into mere flesh.”

“Let the fire in my chest blaze, burning away all delusion!”

“To see the demon is not to see; to see myself is not to see myself. The majestic might of the heavens cleanses all directions!”

As their chanting filled the air, it was as if an invisible wall of sound had been erected in the private chamber, firmly blocking the sinister aura of greed and resentment emanating from Qian Dahai. Stranger still, as they recited, the eight guards’ breathing fell into an uncanny synchronization. Each inhale and pause, each exhale and slow release, rose and fell with an ancient, powerful rhythm. No longer eight individuals, they became a single furnace, burning away the foul energy they drew in, exhaling only pure righteousness.

The gloom brought on by the copper coins was pushed back by this unified masculine force; the breach in the formation that had nearly collapsed grew steady once more.

Standing behind Han Lin, Shangguan Chuci marveled inwardly: “This Purification Mantra is truly the treasure of Demon Suppression Division’s three millennia of experience. When Father stepped forward to save Han Lin, it was indeed a wise decision.”

Through thousands of years, countless masters of the Demon Suppression Division had refined this mantra in bloody battles with the corrupt and wicked. Its essence lay not in the words themselves, but in the breathing method that perfectly unified mind, blood, and spiritual power.

For reasons unknown, listening to that peculiar rhythm of breath, Shangguan Chuci’s mind suddenly flashed with the face of Lu Chenyuan, still a youth. She recalled, when resisting the call of the deep sea, Lu Chenyuan had kept his gaze fixed on her feet, yet he continuously adjusted his breathing. Upon reflection, his breathing then seemed to carry the same ancient flavor—though simpler and stranger.

A sudden thought occurred to her. Could it be… Lu Chenyuan believed that his enigmatic master had never taught him cultivation, but in truth, the most vital part of cultivation had already been passed down to him, though he had yet to realize it?

As Shangguan Chuci’s thoughts wandered, Qian Dahai saw Han Lin and his men rallying with the mantra, but he was not disheartened. Instead, he gave a sly smile. He spread his arms wide, and his corpulent body spun rapidly in place, like a roly-poly toy! More copper coins were flung out by centrifugal force—not as projectiles, but forming a vortex of coins around him, a whirlwind reeking of copper!

The whirlwind expanded, filling the entire chamber in an instant.

Countless coins, sharp as blades, sliced through everything in the room. Tables, chairs, screens, beams and pillars—all were reduced to dust in a blink! The demon-suppressing formation formed by the eight guards wavered under this frenzied assault, barely holding on. They could only struggle desperately; wherever their swords reached, there was only an endless torrent of coins, making it impossible to approach.

“What a crafty old fox!” Han Lin cursed inwardly.

The Lamp Keeper, after opening the door, consumed his essence every moment, actively drawing in corruption. One wrong step could spell disaster. Qian Dahai’s move seemed reckless, yet it was the most shrewd tactic: trading injury for injury, exhaustion for exhaustion. Unable to afford delay, he forced his opponents into a quick resolution.

“We can’t drag this out any longer!”

Han Lin’s gaze sharpened as he spoke in a low voice to Shangguan Chuci, whom he had shielded behind him: “Princess, find his weakness! That coin whirlwind seems flawless, but it must have a core. I’ll clear the way for you!”

With that, Han Lin took a deep breath, his blood surging. The blade of his Demon-Slaying Sword blazed with a crimson glow! Though he knew Shen Guizhou—lurking in the shadows, waiting to intervene—would ultimately safeguard them, he refused to rely on others and slacken his resolve. That was not his way, nor would it befit his reputation.

“Fire!”

As Han Lin paved the way, Shangguan Chuci finally showed a serious expression.

Cultivators at the Fire-Wielding stage could command three grades of inner fire: mundane, true, and spiritual. Yet there was another kind of fire, outside the three grades—a fire beyond the path, which she called the Strange Fire.

Her inner fire was unlike any other, burning beyond the three thousand worlds.

The fire flared within her dantian and sea of consciousness, illuminating a landscape like a modern city’s neon lights. What burned there was not ordinary flame, but a string of logic fires formed by ones and zeros.

When her heart-fire ignited, the world she saw changed. She heard the turbulent corruption flowing from all directions, eroding the neon landscape shaped by her heart-fire.

Yet her senses grew sharper, and the world before her shifted, as if she had stepped from the surface into the hidden reality.

The inn was no longer built of brick and wood, but became a living hive of flesh. Wooden beams turned into writhing fascia, walls pulsed with dense blood vessels, each beat pressing foul resentment into the air.

The flickering candlelight no longer produced ordinary smoke, but blood-colored curses arising from the drained souls of the dead.

This world, through Qian Dahai’s years of “management,” had already become part of his domain of corruption!

She could see clearly in the storm: every coin’s trajectory, every thread of corruption, and the weakest node at the core of the whirlwind.

Shangguan Chuci drew her sword, striking at the heart of the storm under Han Lin’s cover.

…

Just as he reached the entrance of the Tidewatch Inn, Lu Chenyuan was about to enter when he suddenly paused.

He saw the doors tightly shut, the lights inside flickering. With senses far keener than most, he heard fierce fighting from within and instinctively narrowed his eyes.

Was something amiss inside? Had the guests coveting the Sea-Moon Jade finally made their move against the four wandering cultivators?

As he pondered, he felt the monstrous eyes beneath his palm stir restlessly.

A hint of corruption!

Could it be the fight inside involved Manager Qian?

Instinctively, his mind first conjured Qian Dahai’s smiling, plump face. Then it faded, replaced by Shangguan Chuci’s handsome visage.

Shangguan Chuci had always been wary of Qian Dahai, harboring hostility towards him. Could the battle within have started because of her?

Lu Chenyuan’s eyes flickered. He concealed his presence and quietly pushed open the tightly closed doors of the inn.