273: I am willing to give my life.

Jiang Donghua's gaze was fixed intently on the strange black mark on Mu Chen's chest, his eyes flickering with an unspeakable desire.

He was not acting rashly; rather, it stemmed from an extremely keen intuition and a deep resonance within his soul.

He always felt that deep within this chilling, all-consuming cursed aura, there was a special scent or energy hidden—something that made his Soul Power tremble, something both immensely familiar and desperately needed!

This feeling was profound and mysterious, yet intensely strong. Something in the depths of that darkness was issuing a silent summons to him.

Once this wild and daring idea took shape in his mind, it grew like wildfire, impossible to suppress!

Mu Chen, standing nearby, still retained his senses despite his fallen cultivation base.

He clearly perceived the undisguised intention in Jiang Donghua's eyes to investigate deeply, along with that nearly fanatical concentration!

“No! You mustn't!”

Mu Chen’s face instantly turned paper-white. He practically shrieked in alarm, shaking his head frantically.

“Senior Jiang! You absolutely cannot! This is far too dangerous!”

“This thing is utterly sinister! It devours all energy and Soul Power!”

“If my cursed power backfires through your Soul Power and drags you down, I would be eternally guilty! Even death would not absolve me!”

He would rather endure this endless pain and despair himself than see the person who might be his last hope suffer any harm because of him!

However, Jiang Donghua appeared exceptionally calm and composed.

He slowly raised his hand, signaling Mu Chen to calm down. His tone was placid but carried a convincing confidence.

“Brother Mu, there is no need to worry unduly. Since I dared to conceive this idea, I naturally came prepared.”

His gaze sharpened slightly as he spoke in a low voice.

“My Master once bestowed upon me several protective treasures. Among them is one called the soul-severing ruler.”

“This item can protect my soul origin, and it possesses a peculiar secondary effect: if the wisp of Soul Power I send into your body encounters irresistible backlash or contamination...”

“I can instantly activate the ruler to completely sever its connection with my main soul. Like a gecko shedding its tail, although there will be a minor loss, my origin will remain safe.”

These words were like a powerful reassurance for Mu Chen, causing the fear and resistance in his eyes to recede slightly, replaced by incredible shock and a faint, rekindled spark of hope.

Jiang Donghua looked at him and posed the question that struck straight at his soul.

“Don't you, Brother Mu, want to know yourself?”

“Don't you want to know what the core of this thing that has tormented you for five years, making your life worse than death, truly is?”

“What exactly does it want? Does it have even the slightest flaw or weakness?”

This question acted like a key, instantly opening the door in Mu Chen's heart that had been sealed by despair and fear for far too long.

Of course! How could he not want to know?!

For the past five years, during every day and night spent having his cultivation devoured and feeling his life force drain away, he had thought about this question constantly!

This fear of the unknown was sometimes more tormenting than the pain itself!

Silence.

A deathly silence lasted for a full dozen seconds in the secret chamber.

Mu Chen’s body trembled slightly as he waged an internal war.

Ultimately, the craving for the truth and the faint hope for release completely overwhelmed his fear and concerns.

He abruptly raised his head, his eyes shining with resolute determination!

The next moment, under Jiang Donghua's slightly surprised gaze, Mu Chen took a step back, bent his knees without hesitation, and heavily knelt down before Jiang Donghua!

“Thud!”

The sound of his knees hitting the ground was exceptionally clear in the silent chamber.

He bowed low, knocking his head on the ground. His voice trembled violently from excitement and choked emotion, yet it carried an unprecedented solemnity and determination.

“Senior Jiang!”

“Regardless of the result of today's investigation! Regardless of whether my broken body can ultimately be cured!”

“The fact that you are willing to take this great risk for me today—this kindness and virtue, I, Mu Chen, will never forget for eternity!”

“From today onward, this life of Mu Chen belongs to you! Should you ever have a command in the future, be it a mountain of blades or a sea of fire, I will not hesitate even if I die ten thousand times!”

“I am willing to brave life and death for you!”

The two of them prepared themselves once more.

Jiang Donghua took a deep breath, his eyes becoming incredibly focused and sharp.

He slowly closed his eyes. His powerful Soul Power condensed and separated within his Sea of Consciousness, and he carefully drew out an extremely subtle wisp of Soul Power.

This wisp of Soul Power was like an invisible tentacle, emitting a faint yet pure spiritual fluctuation.

In his left hand, he tightly gripped a soul-severing ruler—ancient in appearance, entirely black, and emitting a faint, cold glow. Its surface was covered in profound runes, ready to respond to any sudden situation.

With his right hand held like a sword, he precisely controlled that wisp of Soul Power, manipulating it like an invisible probe, slowly and tentatively guiding it towards the strange black mark on Mu Chen's chest.

However, just as that wisp of Soul Power was still about an inch away from the black mark, an anomaly suddenly occurred!

The black mark, which had originally seemed inert, suddenly came alive!

A powerful, irresistible suction burst forth from it, like an invisible vortex, instantly snatching Jiang Donghua's probing Soul Power and violently sucking it inside!

This sudden development caused Jiang Donghua’s body to tremble violently!

His expression instantly became incredibly grave!

“This is bad!”

Alarm bells rang in his heart. The runes on the soul-severing ruler in his left hand instantly lit up; he was moments away from activating it to sever the connection!

He focused entirely on sensing the state of that wisp of Soul Power, preparing to deal with any possible backlash, contamination, or attack. If there was even the slightest abnormality, he would immediately sever the connection without hesitation!

However, the anticipated violent attack, soul tearing, or corrosive contamination did not immediately occur.

After being sucked into the black mark, that wisp of Soul Power fell into a boundless, deep, and viscous sea of darkness.

All around was absolute silence and coldness. His perception became extremely blurred and sluggish, wrapped and suppressed by some heavy force.

Jiang Donghua held his breath and cautiously tried to control that wisp of Soul Power.

He found that although he could not break free from the constraints of this darkness, nor clearly perceive everything around him, he could still barely control it to slowly shake and explore in this viscous darkness, moving like a deep-sea diver.

Time passed slowly. About half a minute later...

Just as Jiang Donghua’s mind was highly tense, almost concluding that this exploration would yield nothing and preparing to withdraw...

Through that wisp of Soul Power struggling to move in the darkness, he finally captured some extremely vague, fragmented pieces of information!

That feeling didn't seem like pure cursed energy, nor did it seem like violent soul fragments.

Instead, it was more like the image of some incomplete ruins, severely eroded by time?!

The Soul Power tendril had inadvertently stumbled into a broken, ancient, forgotten corner of memory!

This completely unexpected situation made Jiang Donghua's heart leap!