110: Wanzhen Ancient Cave, using oneself as bait

Crack.

A barely perceptible crisp sound drifted through the silent island.

Lin Gou released his five fingers.

The token, which recorded the crimes and conspiracies of the Scavengers organization, had already turned into the finest dust, slipping through his fingers like black sand.

The sea breeze picked up the powder, as if wanting to blow this conspiracy to the ends of the world.

However, that killing intent, so cold it almost solidified, enveloped Lin Gou like an invisible iceberg, making the surrounding air thick and oppressive.

Li Hanyue.

Progenitor.

Capture.

These emotionless words pierced his Divine Soul repeatedly like red-hot poisoned needles.

He finally understood completely.

The arrogant individuals who called themselves “Scavengers” were plotting a vast and cruel plan.

They were not only hunting “anomalies” like himself and Su Meier.

They were also extending their greedy claws towards the Luck of this world itself.

Su Meier stood silently not far away, her peach blossom eyes, capable of captivating all beings, were now, more than ever, fixed on Lin Gou’s profile.

She had never seen Lin Gou like this.

Not the usual look of three parts amusement and seven parts laziness.

Nor the madness mixed with greed and calculation during battle.

But a pure, undisguised, towering rage ignited for another woman.

The rage was so real, so intense, that even across several feet, it seemed to scorch her skin.

An inexplicable sourness and irritation, which she herself had never noticed, emerged without warning from the deepest part of her heart, growing wildly like a poisonous vine, tightly entwining her heart.

It made her inexplicably choked up.

But Su Meier was Su Meier after all, her cunning and depth of thought far surpassing ordinary people.

She almost immediately suppressed this sudden, unfamiliar emotion deep into her sea of consciousness.

She took long strides, moving gracefully, and walked to Lin Gou’s side.

The lingering scent of blood in the air, mixed with her unique, orchid-like body fragrance, created a strange and dangerous atmosphere.

“Life Qi cannot solve any problems.”

Her voice returned to its usual calm and clarity, carrying a hint of the insight unique to a demoness.

“The information in that token is clear: ‘Scavengers’ is an organization, an organization far larger and older than we imagined.”

“Even if you immediately rush to find Li Hanyue now, you will only drag her and yourself into a deeper, more desperate vortex.”

“The most urgent task is to become stronger.”

“Become stronger than them, strong enough to trample all the rules they set underfoot and crush them to dust.”

Lin Gou slowly turned his head, the sharp killing intent in his eyes had not dissipated, but had settled deeper and more dangerously, like an undercurrent beneath the deep sea.

He looked at Su Meier and had to admit that this demoness always hit the nail on the head at critical moments.

“Do you have a way?”

Su Meier’s red lips curved into a confident arc, like a rose blooming in the dark night.

“Of course.”

“Before I was hunted by those three useless fellows, I was exploring an ancient Legacy site.”

She paused, seemingly recalling something, a rare glimmer of fear intertwined with extreme excitement flashed in her alluring eyes.

“That is the Immortal Cave of the Ancestor of Myriad Arrays.”

“A legendary absolute madman who poured his life’s work into Formation Restrictions.”

“His Immortal Cave was not meant for living; it was itself a perfect work of death art, composed of countless killing Formations, illusion Formations, trapping Formations… A true ancient death trap.”

Myriad Arrays.

When he heard these two words, an extreme, ineffable light suddenly flashed in Lin Gou’s unfathomable eyes.

That was not apprehension, nor fear.

That was the fervor of the most devout pilgrim finally hearing a divine oracle.

It was the greed of the most accomplished artist finally seeing the perfect canvas he had sought his entire life!

He looked at Su Meier, then suddenly grinned, revealing a mouthful of stark white teeth, his smile brilliant yet chilling.

“Good place.”

“Take me there.”

Su Meier’s heart skipped a beat at his sudden smile, and the ominous premonition grew stronger.

“You… what do you want to do?”

“My plan is that once our cultivation advances another level and we are more fully prepared, we will slowly chip away from the Immortal Cave’s periphery, carefully deciphering his Formations, taking our time, and eventually acquiring the Legacy.”

Lin Gou shook his head, his smile becoming increasingly deranged.

“Decipher?”

“No, no, no.”

He sounded as if he had heard something blasphemous, with a hint of regret in his tone.

“That is an insult to art.”

“Too slow, and too wasteful.”

He took a step closer to Su Meier, and in a voice only the two of them could hear, like a devil’s whisper, he spoke words that made her shiver from head to toe.

“I don’t want to break the Formation.”

“I want to ‘savor’ the Formation.”

“I want to personally trigger every Restriction he left behind, to use my Divine Soul, my flesh and blood, to experience the ‘art’ the Ancestor of Myriad Arrays pursued his entire life.”

Su Meier’s pupils instantly constricted to pinprick size.

Her brain even went blank for several seconds due to extreme shock.

This madman!

What on earth was he saying?!

Personally trigger every Restriction? How was that different from seeking death? No! That was ten thousand times more foolish than seeking death!

Almost instinctively, the innate alluring power deep within her Divine Soul began to subtly circulate, attempting to sway Lin Gou’s mind and shake his utterly absurd idea.

This was her talent, her trump card, her unfailing weapon in the world.

However.

The next second, something that made her terrified happened.

That pure alluring power, enough to make even a Nascent Soul Cultivator lose their composure for a moment, upon touching Lin Gou’s spiritual world, was like a clay ox entering the sea—no, like a drop of water falling into a scorching desert, instantly evaporating without a ripple!

Lin Gou’s eyes remained clear, still insane, and even carried a hint of all-seeing amusement.

How could this be?!

Su Meier was struck by lightning, freezing in place, her delicate body trembling slightly.

Her proud, world-overturning innate Divine Ability, in front of this man, actually… completely failed?

Her greatest reliance, her core means of survival as a “demoness,” no longer posed any threat to him.

An unprecedented sense of immense loss and panic instantly seized her heart, making her feel suffocated.

“Don’t waste your energy.”

Lin Gou looked at her beautiful face, drained of color, and merely smiled faintly, as if speaking of a trivial matter.

He reached out, this time not to flick her nose, but to gently brush away a strand of hair by her temple that had been disheveled by the sea breeze.

His movement was gentle, yet carried an undeniable dominance.

“Stay close to me.”

He gazed into her eyes, enunciating each word.

“I will ensure your safety.”

This promise carried no hint of desire, nor any trace of allure’s influence.

It was pure, sincere, direct.

Like a warm yet overbearing bolt of lightning, it fiercely struck Su Meier’s dazed heart.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Then, it pounded like a drum.

A captivating blush, uncontrollably, spread from her fair neck all the way to her earlobes… Half a day later.

The two arrived before a massive waterfall deep in the mountains.

The roaring sound of the water was deafening, the immense mist assaulted their faces, mixed with an impenetrable Spiritual Qi, and a faint, yet heart-stopping and chilling killing intent.

“The Immortal Cave entrance is behind the waterfall.”

Su Meier forcibly suppressed the surging unusual emotions in her heart, took out a beast hide map from her Storage Pouch, and handed it over.

“This is the preliminary safe route map I charted using a secret technique; while not entirely accurate, it can at least help us avoid over seventy percent of the fatal traps.”

Lin Gou took the map.

Then, without even looking at it, he casually tucked it into his embrace.

Under Su Meier’s astonished gaze, he walked directly past the first safe point marked on the map, stepping into an adjacent corridor that appeared utterly empty but was marked “Deadly” with cinnabar by her.

“You’re mad! Come back!”

Su Meier cried out in alarm, her voice sharp with fear.

However, before her words finished.

A sudden change occurred!

The seemingly solid bluestone floor beneath Lin Gou’s feet instantly lost all its “physical” properties.

Countless spatial cracks, thin as cicada wings yet shimmering with chilling light, appeared out of thin air.

They intertwined wildly in an irregular, unpredictable manner, instantly transforming that area into a spatial cage that crushed everything, a most precise meat grinder!

Rip!

A sound so faint it was almost inaudible.

Lin Gou’s body, along with all his clothes, was instantly sliced into thousands of tiny pieces of flesh and blood by those invisible blades.

No screams.

No struggles.

The person who was alive one second, the next second, became a pile of indistinguishable, blurry fragments on the ground.

The thick scent of blood, mixed with the destructive aura of spatial energy, furiously rushed into Su Meier’s nostrils, stimulating every nerve in her body.

Her heart felt as if it had been fiercely clutched by an invisible hand, even her breathing stopped.

Her entire being felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave, utterly terrified.

It was also at this moment.

A cold System prompt sounded in Lin Gou’s mind.

【Ding! You have been killed by the ‘Spatial Cutting Formation’, gaining ‘Elementary Spatial Formation Comprehension’, and ‘Ancestor of Myriad Arrays’s Insights’ fragment x1!】

The next instant.

Right on the ground that had just been thoroughly stained with fresh blood.

An incredible scene unfolded.

Countless tiny specks of light converged out of thin air, profound Law lines intertwined, and a complete human silhouette rapidly condensed from nothingness.

Lin Gou revived on the spot.

He slowly opened his eyes, and in those dark pupils, a light of profound understanding, piercing through everything, shimmered.

He moved.

He took a step, continuing forward as if strolling through a garden.

And those deadly spatial blades that had been capable of crushing everything before, now behaved like the most obedient pets seeing their master, or like subjects welcoming their monarch.

They all actively retreated, humbly clearing an absolutely safe path for him.

He easily walked through that corridor of death, then turned around and gently winked at the stunning demoness standing before the waterfall, who was completely petrified, her beautiful eyes wide, her red lips slightly parted.

“See.”

“It’s very simple.”

Just as Su Meier’s brain was still in a state of shutdown, and her worldview was being mercilessly trampled, Lin Gou’s brow suddenly furrowed slightly.

He keenly detected several ill-intentioned auras rapidly approaching from afar.

Clearly, the immense fluctuations caused by the triggered Restriction had attracted treasure seekers drawn by the scent.

Lin Gou’s lips slowly curled into a cruel yet excited smile.

“The audience has arrived.”

“The show is about to begin.”