inspire-indiana Chapter 190 Crack! "What broke?" "Your life."
Chapter 190 Crack! "What broke?" "Your life."
Chapter 190 Crack! "What broke?" "Your life." (4200)
The darkness deep within the cave seemed to come alive, quietly coalescing the moment Hu Huhu finished speaking.
The darkness made the air between the two almost solidify.
Lu Yuan listened quietly, his face expressionless, as if he were listening to a story that had nothing to do with him and whose ending he had already guessed.
After Hu Huhu finished his mocking remarks about the blood oath of the ten families and his own "naivety," the cave fell into a brief silence once again.
All that remained was the chilling sound of dripping water.
"This scheme."
Lu Yuan spoke again, his voice flat and devoid of any emotional fluctuation.
"When did it start?"
Hu Huhu raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised that Lu Yuan still had the mind to ask about this detail.
But his expression quickly transformed into one of superiority, as if he were in complete control.
He thought for a moment, and since the prey was already in his trap, his true qi was locked up, and he was seriously injured, he couldn't escape.
Saying more, letting this self-righteous Taoist master die knowing the truth, doesn't seem like a bad idea.
"When?"
Hu Huhu tilted his head, pretending to reminisce.
That deliberately feigned honesty looked particularly eerie against his cold and sinister face.
"Hmm—let me think about it."
"If we really want to trace it back to the beginning, this game started when—the rabbit first appeared—at the foot of Zhenlong Temple Mountain."
Lu Yuan's eyes flickered almost imperceptibly.
Tiger Rabbit appeared at the foot of Zhenlong Temple Mountain seeking help. That was his first contact with the Xu Deng Tiger family, and it was also the fuse that led to the old man's departure to investigate the Liu family and his eventual downfall.
Before anyone could react, Hu Huhu suddenly shook his head and said seriously, "That's not right."
"To be precise, it started when those rural folk gods came to the foot of your Zhenlong Temple Mountain."
Hearing this, even Lu Yuan, who had remained calm, couldn't hold back a little.
It started with those rural folk gods?!
Lu Yuan knew that he might have unknowingly walked into a trap long ago, but what he didn't expect was—
It actually started with those rural folk gods at Zhenlong Temple—?!
At this moment, Hu Huhu suddenly grinned again, his smile cold yet smug, and said, "Of course, don't misunderstand."
"These things are unknown to Rabbit, unknown to Sheep, and even more unknown to those 'wild gods' who are being manipulated."
"Even the Liu family didn't know about this. I planned and pushed it all on my own."
"After all, if too many people know the inside story, it's inevitable that we'll slip up."
"Only by letting everyone involved act out their most authentic selves, say their most authentic words, and react their most authentically."
"Only this act can fool you, Lu Yuan, fool Li Xiuye, and fool you self-proclaimed Taoist masters who claim to have all-knowing insight."
Hu Hu looked at Lu Yuan, his eyes filled with an almost cruel "frankness": "Aren't you wondering why your eyesight, your intuition, and your Taoist investigative techniques didn't find any major flaws along the way?"
Because apart from me being fake, everyone else and everything else is real.
"Real suffering, real danger, real despair, real—humanity."
"The rabbit is real, the sheep is real, and my obsession and pain for Xiu'e are real too."
"Even the dangers and battles I faced while leading you all the way here were real."
"However, behind all of this truth, there is an unseen thread that has led you, or more precisely, you, Lu Yuan, to this final stage."
He opened his arms, making a slightly exaggerated gesture as if embracing the dim cave: "Now, the stage has arrived, and it's time to make my appearance."
"However, you are the protagonist, but the ending has already been written."
After saying that, he lowered his arm, reverting to his cold and sinister demeanor, and looked at Lu Yuan.
It seemed they were waiting for him to process this massive amount of information, or for him to finally break down, question, or futilely resist.
Lu Yuan remained seated quietly, his face half-lit and half-shadowed by the dim light.
Lu Yuan was processing Hu Hu Hu's words, from the appearance of Hu Tu Tu to the various "coincidences" and "crises" along the way.
Now, trapped in a desperate situation, truly locked up—
A clear and chilling chain of conspiracy gradually took shape in his mind.
After a long silence, Lu Yuan finally spoke, his voice still eerily calm: "So, where exactly is my master now?"
"To live or to die?"
Hu Huhu grinned, revealing an even more sinister smile: "Him?"
"Don't worry, he's still alive."
"The Liu family went to so much trouble, how could they let him die so easily?"
"He's the perfect 'material' to become an evil god."
"However, you'll find out exactly where it is, whether you're alive or dead, once you go down there."
Upon hearing Hu Huhu's words, "He's still alive," Lu Yuan's taut nerves suddenly relaxed.
The old man is still alive! No matter how dangerous the situation, as long as he's alive, there's still hope!
This confirmation is more important than anything else.
The initial shock, fear, and anger at being betrayed were all replaced by a deeper, colder calmness at this moment.
The old man is alive; that's the bottom line.
Although he was in dire straits and truly locked up, he was not entirely without a chance.
He has one last trump card, one that Hu Huhu absolutely does not know and is absolutely unable to defend against.
However, he needs to know more before playing that trump card.
Hu Hu Hu seems to enjoy this feeling of "revealing secrets" and being in control, so why not ask a few more questions?
By stirring the waters up, you can gain a clearer understanding of the overall situation.
Lu Yuan slowly raised his head, his gaze returning to Hu Huhu's cold and smug face.
He showed no excitement or relief at the news that the old man was "alive," remaining calm to the point of indifference.
"Still alive—that's good."
Lu Yuan nodded, as if he were just confirming a trivial matter.
Then, he changed the subject and raised a new question that had been bothering him for a long time.
"However, I'm a little curious."
Lu Yuan's voice was devoid of any emotion, as if he were discussing an academic issue.
"Since you've set up such a grand scheme, and there's a super evil god like the 'Blood Corpse Spirit Lord' guarding the outside..."
"Why not just let it grab me directly, or capture me the moment I enter the village, and then bring me in?"
"Why go through all this trouble, having you lead me through this whole charade, forcing me in, driving me in?"
"It even caused me to expend a lot of energy outside and suffer serious injuries."
As Lu Yuan spoke, he moved his right hand, which was bandaged and still throbbing with excruciating pain.
His brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, as if he were feeling the inconvenience caused by his injury.
"Isn't doing this riskier?"
Lu Yuan looked at Hu Huhu, his eyes carrying just the right amount of bewilderment from the "prey" towards the "hunter's" behavioral logic.
"What if I get killed by those evil creatures while trying to break through outside, or directly corroded by the Blood Skeleton Spirit Lord's blood-skeletal ghost energy?"
"So, the 'materials' you wanted are gone now?"
Hearing Lu Yuan's question, Hu Huhu's sinister smile deepened.
He seemed quite pleased that Lu Yuan had thought of this, which proved that Lu Yuan was indeed seriously considering it.
This also proves that his "prey" is not a complete fool, which makes him even more interested in "revealing" and "teaching" them.
"Good question."
Hu Huhu nodded, took half a step forward, getting closer to Lu Yuan, lowered his voice, and said in an almost "heart-to-heart" tone, "Master Lu, aren't you underestimating yourself?"
"You're underestimating the Liu family, or rather, the ten families' pickiness and—cherishing—of the 'materials'."
He looked Lu Yuan up and down, his gaze no longer simply cold and sinister.
There was also an undisguised greed, like someone appraising a rare treasure.
"Your master, Li Xiuye, is a veteran Celestial Master with profound foundations and pure Taoist essence."
"It is an excellent main ingredient for refining certain evil gods or strengthening existing evil gods."
"And you—"
Hu Huhu paused, his eyes gleaming with even greater greed: "You, Lu Yuan, a nineteen-year-old Celestial Master, a twenty-year-old Two-Star Celestial Master!"
"He holds the record for the fastest ascension to Celestial Master in the history of the area outside the Great Wall!"
"He's widely recognized throughout the entire Daoist sects outside the Great Wall as a once-in-a-century super genius!"
"Your potential, your talent, your body and soul."
"For certain evil gods who pursue perfection, the ultimate, or need fresh blood and powerful potential."
"Its value might even surpass that of your master!"
"These two 'rare materials' —"
Hu Huhu's voice carried an almost fanatical whisper.
"How could you bear to see even the slightest damage?"
"How can we tolerate being touched and corrupted by those lowly evil creatures that only know how to kill and devour, or by a powerful but excessively violent and filthy being like the Blood Skeleton Spirit Lord?"
He pointed towards the cave entrance: "Should we have the 'Blood Corpse Spirit Lord' or the evil beings outside take action directly?"
"What if you realize you're no match for them, and in desperation, you resort to self-destruction or some forbidden Taoist technique we don't know about, destroying your physical body and severely damaging your soul?"
"Even if you don't self-destruct, under the fierce resistance and the erosion of evil energy, your body and your foundation will inevitably suffer irreversible damage, greatly reducing your value."
"Therefore, the best way is—"
Hu Huhu smiled knowingly.
"It's about getting you to come in 'on your own initiative'."
Driven by the powerful desire to "save you and your master," he fought with all his might to get here.
"Along this journey, you've expended your true self and suffered external wounds that can be controlled and healed."
"Your fighting spirit and will to survive will be pushed to the limit, and your body and soul will be in an extremely 'active' and 'cohesive' state under high pressure."
"This is actually beneficial for the subsequent 'processing'."
"And here—"
Hu Huhu pointed to the ground beneath his feet.
"The 'Spirit-Locking Forbidden Zone'—once you enter, you are truly locked in, and all your magical powers are rendered useless."
"No matter how powerful you are, you can't use it."
"Self-destruction?"
"Without the driving force of true qi, you can't even self-destruct!"
"Destroy yourself?"
"In your current state of severe injury and weakness, with no vital energy left, you might not even be able to commit suicide instantly."
After Hu Huhu finished speaking, he took a step back, smiled sinisterly, and resumed his cold and controlling demeanor.
Hu Hu looked at Lu Yuan as if admiring a precious raw material that had been packaged and was just waiting to be sent into the furnace.
"Now, do you understand, Master Lu?"
Hu Huhu's tone carried a hint of mockery.
"It's not that we don't want to use simpler, more direct methods, but—you're just too 'precious.'"
"You're so precious that we must use the safest and gentlest method to 'invite' you in."
"Now, you are in good condition, wounded but not dead, exhausted but not broken."
"The soul, caught between hope and despair, is in a wondrously active state"—it's practically the perfect time for "medicine."
After listening to Hu Huhu's words, Lu Yuan nodded seriously, as if he had finally solved a certain mystery.
"No wonder they went to such great lengths and were so careful."
"I see."
"Therefore, I must enter intact, maintaining the vitality of my body and soul, without the slightest damage."
"Because any damage will affect the quality of the final product."
Hu Hu clapped his hands, his eyes filled with satisfaction.
"good!"
"Talking to smart people is so easy."
"Now, do you understand everything?"
"Shouldn't you give up now?"
He stepped aside, making way for the path leading deeper into the cave, and gestured for us to proceed.
This time, his posture carried an undeniable air of pressure.
Deep within the cave, the dense yin energy seemed to be drawn by something and began to slowly surge.
The faint, dull sound of chains being dragged could be heard, along with—a low, painful groan, as if suppressed to the extreme.
It's the old man's voice!
Lu Yuan's heart clenched.
The sound was extremely faint and intermittent, yet it pierced his eardrums like the sharpest needle.
Such a long period of torment, the suffering of Yin Sha Soul Refining —
The old man is down there, enduring unimaginable torment.
At this moment, Hu Huhu looked at Lu Yuan with a sinister expression and said, "You've asked all the questions you needed to ask, and I've told you everything."
"So, will you walk this path yourself, witnessing your master's 'transformation,' and also welcoming your own 'rebirth'?"
"Or should we wait for a friend from the Liu family to come and pick you up in person?"
"They're not as easy to talk to as I am, so they might be a bit—rude."
Lu Yuan slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
The cold, damp air, heavy with a chilling aura, rushed into my lungs, bringing a sharp pain.
When Lu Yuan opened his eyes again and looked at Hu Huhu, he suddenly asked a seemingly unrelated question: "This 'Spirit-Locking Forbidden Land' locks away the true essence of the Daoist sect."
"Does this affect your Tiger family's methods of communicating with 'deities' and commanding spirits?"
Hu Huhu was slightly taken aback, seemingly not expecting Lu Yuan to suddenly ask this question.
But he immediately chuckled, with a hint of smugness: "Of course, it's no problem."
"This formation is an ancient relic, improved by the Liu family, specifically designed to counter the Taoist method of circulating qi throughout the body and drawing qi into the body."
"Our Tiger Clan's methods rely on bloodline intuition, talisman contracts, and offerings, which are not the same as this formation."
"What, Master Lu, even now you still want to probe my true abilities?"
click!
A crisp cracking sound suddenly rang out abruptly in the cave.
The sound came from inside Lu Yuan's body.
The sound startled Hu Huhu, who then looked warily at Lu Yuan, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground, and asked, "What broke?"
At this moment, Lu Yuan looked at Hu Huhu expressionlessly and said indifferently, "Your life."
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