Chapter Forty-One: Escape

Witnessing such a bizarre spectacle, Lu Chenyuan’s heart pounded wildly, yet not a trace of panic marred his composure. After all, he was no stranger to strange nightmares, nor was this his first encounter with such uncanny, wicked entities. The more perilous the moment, the clearer his mind became.

At once, he resorted to the method he had long practiced: hastening to steady his breath and silently reciting the nameless incantation imparted to him by Master Situ.

“Let the heart be a deep pool, undisturbed by waves; let the breath be as a darting fish, leaving no trace.”

“Be present in body, be present in mind.”

As the mantra flowed through his thoughts, it was like a spring of clear water, gently calming the agitation that had been stirred by Elder Li’s words.

Yet this eerie realm seemed unwilling to let him go so easily. Before his eyes, the floor suddenly transformed into a boundless mire of blood, from which blood-soaked arms reached forth—some skeletal and withered, others bloated and rotting—all clawing at his ankles, intent on dragging him into an abyss of no return.

The scene was so grotesque that even Lu Chenyuan, steadfast in spirit, could not help but feel his heart waver and his mind reel. He felt the black-and-white world around him shuddering violently, on the verge of collapse, while a formless pressure from all sides pressed in, madly seeking to imprison him here.

No, something is still missing...

He realized inwardly that, though the incantation could safeguard his heart, it could not dispel this illusion born of the soul itself.

At that critical moment, a voice called out—distant as the horizon, yet near as a whisper by his ear—piercing through the layers of demonic barriers and reaching the depths of his spirit.

“Brother Lu... Brother Lu...”

The voice was clear and gentle, like footsteps echoing through a secluded valley, instantly pulling him back from the brink of oblivion.

Lu Chenyuan’s spirit surged; all stray thoughts vanished as he concentrated wholly on the incantation. With his focus sharpened, that distant call grew clearer in his ears.

He also sensed that the monstrous, claw-like hand in his grasp was once more becoming warm and slender. Though the warmth was faint, it was enough to dispel the boundless chill surrounding him.

In a flash, daylight returned, and color flooded back into the world.

The blood marsh and ghostly hands vanished like morning dew.

He found himself once more in the Tidewatch Inn—though now the walls had fallen, and devastation lay everywhere.

“Brother Lu, how are you feeling now?” Shangguan Chuci’s voice held an unmistakable note of concern.

Lu Chenyuan felt cold sweat soaking his clothes, his head throbbing as if his very soul had been torn asunder. He steadied himself with difficulty, shook his head, and said only,

“I’m recovered. Lord Chu, let’s leave at once.”

Shangguan Chuci looked at his pale face and felt the tremor in the hand tightly gripping her own. She knew he was forcing himself to stand, but this was no time for words.

Elsewhere, the battle raged more fiercely than ever.

Shen Guizhou, seeing Elder Li resort to his old tricks, was already aware of the man’s sinister arts. His gaze hardened, and a surge of ethereal, righteous energy radiated from him.

With a flick of his wrist, a blade-light of condensed brilliance cleaved through the air, swift as lightning. In a single flash, it severed every serpent head that had erupted throughout the chamber!

Han Lin’s tiger eyes widened with resolve, turning grief into power. Raising his demon-slaying blade high, he shouted,

“Form the Demon-Subduing Array!”

The remaining seven guards responded at once, their swords weaving a deadly formation.

“Fire!”

Shangguan Chuci dared not show the slightest carelessness. With a crisp command, she focused her mind inward, igniting the logic-fire—composed of zeros and ones—in her dantian and sea of consciousness.

Though she had wandered the martial world for some time, never before had she faced a master of the Watcher’s Realm from the cult directly. The endless tricks of this demonic priest set every alarm in her mind ringing.

With her heart-fire kindled, the illusions of this flesh-and-blood labyrinth were laid bare before her eyes.

Swiftly, she discerned a path leading to the rear courtyard and called to Lu Chenyuan,

“Brother Lu, I can see the way ahead—let me lead!”

Lu Chenyuan replied, “Very well! I am naturally sensitive to these wicked things; if there’s a trap, I’ll warn you at once.”

He followed closely behind her, marveling as her figure flitted through walls and along surfaces, each step precisely landing on the nodes where the maze’s energies converged.

Even in this desperate hour, he could not help but acknowledge, with some astonishment, that she too harbored many secrets.

High above, Elder Li narrowed his eyes, surprise flickering across his face.

He was astonished, first, that this minor Fire-Wielding adept, Shangguan Chuci, could pierce through his spellbound illusion; second, and more wondrous still, that the mortal youth could break free so swiftly from the soul-shattering impact conjured from within.

He had thought the presence of the Watcher’s Realm guards would be an unpredictable variable, but never imagined that the true unexpected factors would be these two juniors he had barely noticed.

“This little Zhenhai River grows ever more intriguing…”

Rather than anger, a sly, unnerving smile curled at Elder Li’s lips.

With a change of hand seals, the countless serpent heads that Shen Guizhou had just severed began to writhe and squirm at the stumps, sprouting new heads at a terrifying speed—now even more numerous than before!

At that very moment, a sword-light of peerless sharpness formed before him.

Elder Li, as if foreseeing the attack, sneered coldly without moving. In the next instant, a colossal serpent head burst from the wall of flesh beneath him, intercepting the sword’s strike!

A wet, splattering sound—carnage erupted!

The serpent’s head was cleft in two by the sword-light, spraying a stinking, toxic blood that hissed with corrosive power. The protective aura around Shen Guizhou sizzled where it was touched, and even his treasured sword was soon pitted and scarred. His own body was seared with several bloody holes, deep to the bone.

Shen Guizhou’s expression remained unchanged, his eyes locked grimly on the toying gaze of Elder Li. For some reason, a mounting dread gnawed at his heart.

It seemed as if everything was unfolding according to the enemy’s calculations. He could not help but worry for Shangguan Chuci’s safety, but knew that just restraining Elder Li required their utmost effort. There was no time to spare for anything else.

Lu Chenyuan and Shangguan Chuci pressed on—one scouting ahead, the other warning of hidden serpents—their teamwork flawless as they sped through the fleshly corridors.

As the side door to the rear courtyard came into view, a sudden jolt of dread exploded within Lu Chenyuan.

No time to think—he shouted,

“Look out! Left side!”

Even as the words left his mouth, the air was rent by a sharp hissing. Three black-robed cultists slipped silently from behind a wall of flesh, attacking Shangguan Chuci from three directions—above, below, and straight on!