28: Chapter 28 Backlash of the Restriction

Cold, darkness, and the pervasive pain that clung to his very marrow.

Lin Yuan's consciousness drifted on the edge of the void. Every attempt to gather a clear thought was torn apart by even more violent dizziness and agonizing pain. The shards of ning-shen jade under his tongue emitted a faint coolness, like a slender spider silk, barely maintaining his connection to reality and preventing his soul from falling completely into darkness or being exploited by the newly branded "Curse Soul Seal."

He did not know how long he had been lying in this side chamber of the shrine ruins. Time had lost its meaning; only the pain in his body and that cluster of Void God Spark deep within his soul served as the two sole coordinates in the darkness.

The Spark... the pale golden embers were still burning steadily, appearing slightly more solid than before. The newly acquired "Leyline Affinity" and "Vestige Resonance" traits were working passively and slowly. He could vaguely sense the extremely weak, yet thick and majestic leyline energy flowing within the cold, rough stone slab beneath him and the ancient blue brick walls around him. Most of this energy was in a deep dormant state, and only a tiny fraction, due to the trace of the same source of "Void" aura within his Spark and the "Leyline Affinity" trait, was slowly seeping into his body at an imperceptible speed.

It was not repairing wounds, nor was it replenishing Power of Faith. This leyline energy was more like a form of nourishment and stabilization. They permeated his riddled body, not directly healing fractures or stopping bleeding, but acting like the gentlest glue, temporarily bonding and reinforcing the foundation of his life force that was on the verge of collapse, delaying the arrival of death. At the same time, wisps of desolate and heavy intent flowed in with the energy, soothing his traumatized soul and countering the coldness and malice emitted by the "Curse Soul Seal."

This was not enough to save him, but it was enough to buy time.

Delaying was an opportunity.

Lin Yuan used all his willpower to resist the urge to fall unconscious and began to arduously introspect his own state.

Body: Multiple rib fractures, suspected dislocation of the left arm combined with severe muscle tearing, internal bleeding (rate slowed due to the ning-shen jade and the infiltration of leyline energy), severe blood loss; many wounds eroded by evil energy, though treated by the Spark's ability, still retained stubborn contamination, continuously consuming his life force.

Soul: Covered in fine cracks due to overexertion and the impact of the soul seal, like porcelain about to shatter. The "Curse Soul Seal" was like a vicious black abscess, attached to the outer periphery of his divinity, constantly emitting faint tracking fluctuations and cursed auras, attempting to erode his will and attract malice from the void.

Power: Power of Faith was nearly non-existent. Void God Spark was stable (weak), and the new traits were in effect. The containment field within his divinity was basically stable, but maintaining its existence continued to consume his already fragile mental energy.

External threats: The "Lingxiao" unit was searching on the surface and could find the underground entrance at any time. Mr. Mo already knew of the Black-robed Man's (Hei Sha) death and had locked onto him through the soul seal; a larger, more lethal threat was on its way.

Analysis complete, the conclusion was cruel: staying put was equivalent to waiting for death. But in his current state, moving was also seeking death.

He had to utilize the only newly acquired variable at hand—the remaining God of Ruins ruins here and the leyline energy.

He recalled the situation where the Black-robed Man triggered the restriction backlash. That broken formation had an extremely strong repulsive and counter-attack ability against evil energy. If he could trigger... no, even if he could just slightly borrow a bit of the leyline's repulsive power here, perhaps he could interfere with the "Lingxiao" unit's technical detection, or even create chaos.

But he was not an evil spirit; he was a "God of Ruins," and his Spark carried an aura of the same source. Forcibly triggering the restriction to attack? It might be ineffective, or even backfire on himself.

He needed more precise operations, something more like... a "call" based on authority.

He struggled, using his still-movable right hand, extremely slowly, dipping into the blood at the corner of his mouth that hadn't completely coagulated—blood mixed with his own spirituality and the faint aura of the Spark—and drew an extremely rudimentary rune on the cold stone slab beside him.

This was not an attack talisman, nor was it a defensive formation. This was a request and guidance rune he had improvised, combining "Authority of Order," the intent of "Optimization," the newly acquired "Leyline Affinity," and his vague sense of the ruin's formation structure.

The core intent of the rune was: "Of the same 'Void' path, a junior student is trapped in a desperate situation, surrounded by external enemies. I beseech the legacy of the predecessor here to lend a thread of the leyline's 'repulsive' power, to confuse the perception of the external enemies and protect this broken body for a moment of peace."

He did not know if this would work. It was more like a "prayer" or "application" based on the same source aura.

After finishing the last stroke, he was almost collapsed, his vision going black in waves. He poured all his remaining intent, along with the faint fluctuations of the Spark, into this rudimentary blood-colored rune.

One second, two seconds, three seconds... No reaction.

Just as Lin Yuan was about to despair and his consciousness was sliding into darkness again—the stone slab beneath him, where he had just drawn the rune, suddenly became extremely slightly warm! Immediately following, a faint, almost imperceptible, thick, earthy yellow aura seeped out from the depths of the stone slab, like a trickling stream, flowing slowly into his body along the trajectory of the blood-colored rune!

It was not nourishment, nor was it an attack. After entering his body, this aura quickly spread to the surface of his skin, forming a faint energy field that was extremely thin, almost transparent, but carried the distinct information of "belonging to the local leyline" and "do not disturb without invitation"!

It succeeded! The "consciousness" of the ruins, or rather the residual rules, had accepted his "borrowing application" based on his same-source identity! Although the borrowed power was minimal, insufficient to harm the enemy or even to hide all of his aura, it was like a layer of "local license plate" or "temporary residence permit" that could, to a certain extent, confuse and interfere with external detection methods' energy scanning and biological identification of this specific location! Especially for "Lingxiao"'s technical detection, which relied on standardized energy models and data comparison!

Almost at the moment this layer of weak leyline energy field formed, Lin Yuan's spiritual sense captured clearer and closer footsteps and the humming of instruments running from the direction of the air-raid shelter entrance!

" 'Spirit Pulse' scan blocked; there is an unknown energy shielding layer in the underground structure, suspected to be naturally formed or a residue of a low-level ancient barrier." The synthesized electronic voice echoed in the passage.

"Biological signal detection is experiencing interference; the target's vital signs are blurred, and precise positioning is impossible. Energy trace analysis shows multiple weak energy sources underground, making it difficult to distinguish." Another voice reported.

"Continue advancing, activate the 'Spirit Rune Scanner,' and focus on identifying non-natural energy structures and abnormal life fluctuations. All teams remain vigilant; the target may possess certain environmental camouflage or interference capabilities." The on-site commander ordered.

The footsteps were closer, accompanied by the high-frequency humming peculiar to the activation of some more refined scanning equipment.

Lin Yuan held his breath, curling his body tightly into the darkest corner of the side chamber, motionless, as if even his heartbeat had slowed down. The layer of weak leyline energy field on his skin slowly circulated, making his aura converge more closely with the stone slab beneath him and the surrounding walls.

Several pale blue beams of light, accompanied by fine scanning ripples, extended from the direction of the main hall, swept over the entrance of the side chamber, and paused slightly at the corner where he was hiding.

The beams swept back and forth over him several times. Lin Yuan could feel the analytical power contained in the scanning, attempting to penetrate that layer of leyline energy field to read his vital data and energy characteristics.

The leyline energy field fluctuated slightly, refracting, dispersing, and absorbing most of the scanning power, while skillfully "mixing" Lin Yuan's own weak and chaotic aura into the background noise composed of the surrounding ancient bricks and stones and the precipitated earth energy.

"Spirit Rune scan complete. This area detected strong historical energy residue (inert), weak leyline disturbances, and... a fragmented life reaction suspected to be an individual with severe injuries or illness; the signal is extremely blurred, with an 87% overlap with background noise. Cannot confirm if it is the target." The synthesized electronic voice gave the analysis result.

Obviously, "Lingxiao"'s advanced equipment was confused by the aura of the ancient ruins themselves and the bit of "leyline amulet" Lin Yuan had borrowed. They detected an "anomaly," but could not determine if this anomaly came from a hidden person or was a "historical legacy issue" of the ruins themselves.

"Mark this area as a 'high background interference zone.' Expand the search range and focus on investigating other possible hiding spots and exits." The commander seemed not to have easily drawn a conclusion, but did not immediately venture deep into this "signal-blurred" side chamber.

The footsteps and scanning beams gradually turned toward other forks and deeper parts of the air-raid shelter.

Lin Yuan breathed a slight sigh of relief, but dared not relax in the slightest. This was only temporary. The other party had not left, but had only shifted their focus. Once the search in other areas yielded no results, or they brought in more advanced equipment, he would still be in danger.

He had to utilize this precious time to recover as much mobility as possible.

He no longer attempted to treat his complex injuries; that required time and energy, neither of which he had. He lowered his goal to the minimum: recover the most basic mobility and find a relatively safe path for evacuation or hiding.

He guided the meager leyline nourishing energy within his body and the cool aura of the ning-shen jade, prioritizing focusing them on the main meridians and muscles of his legs, performing the simplest warming and pain relief to ensure he could at least stand up and walk slowly. At the same time, he split a wisp of his mental energy to perceive the structure of this underground ruin more carefully through the Spark's "Leyline Affinity" and "Vestige Resonance."

Gradually, a vague "map" emerged in his consciousness. In addition to the main hall where he was, the side chamber, and the forks leading to the entrance and where the Black-robed Man died, he also "saw" that on the other side of the main hall, where it appeared to be a wall, there seemed to be an extremely hidden, narrow passage partially blocked by collapsed objects. Deep in the passage, the flow of leyline energy seemed somewhat different, vaguely pointing to deeper parts, or... some weak point that might connect to the outside world?

That might be a backup passage from when it was built, or a crack caused by crustal movement. Regardless, it was a potential path to survival.

But in his current state, clearing the collapsed objects and passing through the narrow passage was nothing short of a fantasy.

Unless... he looked at the empty pedestal and the incomplete formation in the main hall of the shrine. The residual "Void" power and leyline nodes were most concentrated there. If he could slightly "activate" the power there, perhaps he could cause a small-scale leyline disturbance to help him "loosen" those blockages? Or, at the very least, create a bigger commotion to attract the "Lingxiao" unit's attention, creating an opportunity for him to move toward the passage?

This was very risky; it might trigger even more terrifying restrictions, or it might expose himself.

But sitting and waiting for death was certain death; taking a risk, perhaps there was still a glimmer of survival.

He took a deep breath, enduring the intense pain, and began to use his still-movable right hand to carve a second, more complex guidance rune on the ground beside him. The goal this time was not to borrow the weak "repulsive" power, but to attempt to establish a deeper "resonance" with the residual "Void" mark on the main hall's pedestal and the leyline nodes below, guiding a wisp of leyline energy to perform an extremely slight, controllable "disturbance" according to his will.

This was a comprehensive application of "Authority of Order," the concept of "Optimization," "Leyline Affinity," and "Vestige Resonance," a limit-testing squeeze of all his current realizations.

Every stroke of carving consumed his remaining mental energy and physical strength. Sweat mixed with blood, soaking the stone slab beneath him.

Finally, the rune was completed. An extremely rudimentary, yet condensed with all his hope and determination, "Leyline Disturbance Application."

He injected the last bit of intent he could mobilize, mixed with the aura of the Spark, into it.

"Legacy of the God of Ruins, with the leyline as witness, please assist this junior, move the stubborn stones in the path ahead..."

The rune lit up slightly, then dimmed. It seemed there was no reaction.

But a few seconds later, Lin Yuan, through "Leyline Affinity," keenly felt that beneath the main hall pedestal, the silent leyline node "pulsed" ever so slightly!

Immediately following, a subtle, almost imperceptible tremor came from the ground. It was not an earthquake, but more like a... "sigh" of the leyline.

The few loose bricks and dirt blocking the entrance to the hidden passage, under this extremely weak tremor, slid and shifted silently, revealing a pitch-black gap only wide enough for one person to pass through sideways!

It succeeded! Although the commotion was pitifully small, far from enough to cause any damage, it had achieved his goal perfectly!

At the same time, a slightly surprised voice of the "Lingxiao" personnel came from the direction of the main hall:

"Detected weak leyline disturbance! The source points to the ancient structure in the central area!"

"Energy fluctuations are abnormal, but no aggression or high-energy reactions were detected... suspected to be instability of the structure itself or natural release of residual energy."

"Team B, proceed to the central area to verify!"

Opportunity!

Lin Yuan gritted his teeth, using every bit of strength he had just recovered, leaning against the wall, and struggled to stand up. His legs were aching and weak, but he forced himself to stand steady. He glanced outside the side chamber entrance; the pale blue beams and footsteps were moving toward the main hall pedestal.

Now is the time!

He lowered his body, enduring the pain of his entire body feeling like it was falling apart, and like a twisted shadow, stumbled and quickly moved toward the other side of the main hall, to that narrow gap that had just appeared.

The darkness, like a gaping maw, swallowed him once again.

Behind him, the pale blue beams swept over the side chamber where he had been hiding, then moved toward the empty main hall pedestal.

And ahead, was the unknown depth, and... perhaps, a faint breeze leading to the surface, carrying the smell of soil.

Though the spark is small, the lingering warmth remains.

As long as it has not been extinguished, there is always the possibility of a prairie fire.