365: Chapter 365 I'm Not Reconciled

In the heart of the Golden Mountain in the Central Plains, there was a secret volcanic crater.

The scorching magma churned frantically, and the dark red firelight made the rock walls flicker uncertainly.

Cao Yun sat cross-legged on a protruding black stone, and blinding black blood suddenly gushed from his seven orifices.

Inside his Dantian, the golden Law mark planted by the old monster from the Central Plains was colliding frantically with the Soul-Suppressing Bone Relic given by Monk Huian from the Western Desert.

These two Golden Core-level forces, which had originally kept each other in check, were now subtly spiraling out of control, erupting with destructive, chaotic currents of Law.

The golden mark transformed into countless threads, crudely piercing into the Soul-Suppressing Bone. The Sanskrit characters on the surface of the relic shone brightly, and Splendor Qi transformed into the shadow of a golden Arhat, desperately resisting the erosion of the threads.

The aftermath of the collision between these two high-dimensional forces rampaged wantonly through Cao Yun's Meridians.

Cao Yun clenched his back molars tightly; the hidden traps left by these old monsters were using his Physical Body as a battlefield, frantically fighting for control over his Li Fire Origin.

If he continued to resist like this, within less than half an hour, his Physical Body would be completely blown into a pile of minced meat.

"Want to use me as a Gu vessel? Keep dreaming!"

Cao Yun let out a beast-like roar from his throat and decisively dissipated his protective True Qi.

Deep within his Dantian, the [Scarlet Illumination Burn] reversed violently.

The Pure Yang Heart Fire no longer just defended blindly; instead, it transformed into thousands of crimson fire snakes, pouncing directly toward the two colliding vortices of Law.

Pulling chestnuts from the fire, seeking life within death.

The Pure Yang Heart Fire precisely drilled into the gap where the golden mark and Splendor Qi collided.

A wisp of extremely pure, ownerless, and drifting Golden Core Origin was savagely swallowed by the Heart Fire and forcibly dragged back to his own spiritual terrace.

Boom!

Violent energy exploded within his body.

Cao Yun's chest heaved violently, and his Pure Yang True Qi solidified at a speed visible to the naked eye.

That wisp of Golden Core Origin was cleanly crushed and refined, directly converting into the purest cultivation, forcibly boosting the foundation of his Purple Mansion Stage.

The two external forces sensed the loss of their Origin and abruptly turned their targets, attempting to suppress this ant that dared to snatch food from the tiger's mouth.

Cao Yun reacted extremely quickly; his Heart Fire instantly retreated, shrinking back into the core of his Li Fire Origin, and he used the relic to block in front of him once more.

The balance was barely re-established.

Cao Yun panted heavily, the breath he exhaled melting a deep pit directly into the rock in front of him.

He wiped the blood from his chin and inspected his Dantian, examining the spoils he had just snatched.

His cultivation foundation had indeed surged by a chunk, but the volume of those two forces was also constantly expanding imperceptibly.

Walking a tightrope like this, he could last at most another ten years.

Ten years later, he would either be drained dry by the old monster from the Central Plains or converted into a Puppet by those people from the Western Desert.

He had to jump out of this dead end.

Cao Yun's mind raced, deducing rapidly.

The True Lord's fate-locking was extremely tyrannical; unless his Physical Body died completely and his true spirit dissipated, that golden mark could never be stripped away.

Unless he could find someone to die in his place.

As long as he found someone with a similar fate and a Physique that perfectly matched his Li Fire.

He could shove this contaminated Origin, along with the mark, completely into the other person's body, pulling off a "stealing the heavens and changing the day" maneuver.

Cao Yun formed a hand seal with one hand.

Inside his Dantian, his second Divine Ability, "Mingxin Mirror," began to operate with a boom.

A mass of Pure Yang Heart Fire burned rapidly above his spiritual terrace, transforming into an illusory crimson bronze mirror.

The edges of the mirror were carved with intricate Li Fire Dao patterns.

The surface of the bronze mirror churned, and the Qi mechanisms drifting between heaven and earth were forcibly dragged into it.

Cao Yun poured all his insights into the Law of Li Fire into it, deducing a perfect scapegoat within a radius of a thousand miles who could bear this fate.

Ordinary fire-attribute Spiritual Roots simply could not withstand the impact of the Golden Core Law; it had to be an extremely rare Heavenly Fire Spiritual Root.

And they could not have high-level cultivation, otherwise, it would be difficult to control.

More importantly, they must have deep obsession and hatred to be easily seduced by the power and willing to become a vessel.

This was no easier than finding a needle in a haystack, but Cao Yun had no other choice.

He burned the wisp of Golden Core Origin he had just intercepted to exhaustion, forcibly expanding the detection range of the "Mingxin Mirror."

Countless complex fate lines flashed through his Sea of Consciousness.

The mirror surface blurred violently for a moment, then locked onto a mundane city on the edge of the Central Plains.

An indistinct figure of a youth flashed through the mirror, his body surrounded by extremely pure, dark red fire Qi.

Cao Yun noted the coordinates, kicked the rock in front of him into pieces, and transformed into a crimson beam of light, shooting straight into the sky.

Several months later.

On the edge of the Central Plains, Luoyun City.

In the backyard of the Lin family estate, in the servant quarters.

The air was filled with the stench of swill and rotting vegetation.

Several Lin family collateral descendants wearing brocade clothes were frantically kicking and beating a thin, weak youth.

Fists and feet rained down like raindrops.

"A bastard, yet you dare to peek at Young Miss practicing swordplay?" The lead youth in brocade clothes stepped on the back of the youth's hand, grinding down with force.

The youth, Lin Yan, bit his lip tightly, not making a sound.

His forehead was pressed against the filthy mud, and his fingernails dug into the cracks between the floor tiles. Fresh blood dripped down his chin, staining the bluestone slab beneath him red.

A hundred zhang away, on top of an abandoned clock tower.

Cao Yun was dressed in black, hidden in the shadows.

Pure Yang Heart Fire danced on his fingertips, isolating all surrounding Qi fluctuations and reducing his presence to the minimum.

He had already been watching the miserable state of the youth below for several months.

Lin Yan, an illegitimate son born of the Lin family head's drunken misconduct.

His mother had been beaten to death by the mistress, and he himself had been demoted to the lowest servant, worse than a dog.

Cao Yun activated the "Mingxin Mirror."

The crimson bronze mirror reflected Lin Yan's phantom in his spiritual terrace.

Beneath that frail, lash-scarred shell, there was hidden a dark red Spiritual Root, sealed tightly by heavy Impurities.

Heavenly Fire Spiritual Root.

Because there was no suitable Cultivation Technique to guide it, the Spiritual Qi was clogged in his Meridians, showing only the illusion of a waste Spiritual Root during mundane spiritual testing.

This was simply the perfect vessel tailor-made for carrying the Li Fire mark.

Not only that.

Under the prying eyes of the "Mingxin Mirror," the desires deep within Lin Yan's spiritual terrace were completely exposed.

No cowardice, no submission.

Only a monstrous hatred, suppressed to the extreme, wanting to burn the entire Lin family to ashes.

This kid wanted to kill.

He wanted to burn those who stepped on his head, along with this decaying estate, cleanly into ashes.

That killing intent was so pure that even Cao Yun felt a trace of admiration.

The muscles in Cao Yun's cheeks twitched slightly.

The deeper the hatred, the easier it was to be controlled by power.

As long as he gave this kid a little sweetness, he would pounce like a vicious dog, biting down hard on that piece of meat wrapped in the virulent poison of the Golden Core.

The youth in brocade clothes grew tired of hitting and spat on Lin Yan.

"Break his legs and throw him into the woodshed to fend for himself. Don't dirty the yard; there are honorable guests coming from the main family in a few days."

Two vicious servants stepped forward, swinging thick iron rods.

Bang! Bang!

Two extremely dull thuds.

Lin Yan's knees were cleanly smashed to pieces.

The excruciating pain caused Lin Yan's whole body to convulse violently, but he held back and didn't let out a single cry.

He only used his arms to support himself on the ground, lifted his head, and carved those ugly faces deep into his mind, attempting to devour their Souls alive.

The vicious servants dragged Lin Yan by his collar, leaving a long trail of blood on the bluestone slab.

They rudely threw him into the dark and damp woodshed, and the heavy iron lock snapped shut with a crisp, harsh sound.

Cao Yun stood on top of the clock tower, the Pure Yang Heart Fire on his fingertips leaping higher.

The time was ripe.

When a person is at their most desperate and helpless, it is also the moment when their psychological defenses are weakest.

He didn't just want to give Lin Yan power; he also wanted to guide him step by step onto the path of Cultivation.

He would use massive resources to force-ripen him to the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Until this Physical Body was strong enough to perfectly accommodate those two deadly Golden Core marks.

Cao Yun's figure swayed slightly, transforming into a wisp of crimson light smoke, disappearing directly from the top of the clock tower.

He avoided the ridiculously crude protective Restrictions of the Lin family and landed silently outside the woodshed.

Inside the woodshed.

Lin Yan curled up on a pile of moldy straw.

His legs were broken in an extremely twisted posture, and blood stained the straw mat.

He panted heavily, every breath tugging at the excruciating pain of broken bones.

No medicine, no water.

In this cold midwinter, all that awaited him was wound infection, and then rotting to death in this neglected corner in endless agony.

"I am not reconciled!"

Lin Yan squeezed out broken syllables from his throat. His five fingers clawed tightly at the straw beneath him.

Why should those pieces of trash be high and mighty, and why should he have to die here like a maggot?