20: Chapter 20 No chance? Then I'll swallow you up too.
A chill shot straight from Shen Xiao's spine to the top of his head, causing his body to stiffen slightly.
He did not linger in the Martial Arts Arena for even a second. Maintaining that sickly, "physically weak and kidney-deficient" appearance, he slowly walked back to his Immortal Cave located in the corner of the Inner Sect Disciple area amidst countless gazes of inquiry, wariness, and confusion.
"Clang—"
The heavy stone door closed in response, completely isolating all the noise and prying from the outside world.
"Hum!"
Immediately after, several low-level defensive Formation patterns accumulated over time on the doorway, walls, and even the floor of the Immortal Cave lit up simultaneously. A faint spiritual light flashed like ripples before vanishing, instantly concealing itself within the stone walls.
After doing all this, Shen Xiao let out a long breath of stale air.
His complexion, which had been as pale as paper a second ago, instantly regained its color.
His frail posture, which looked as if it could collapse at any moment, immediately straightened up like a javelin ready to be launched.
He ignored the uproar outside caused by the farce at the Martial Arts Arena, and he had no mood to reminisce about Wang Mang's face, which had turned from liver-colored to deathly gray.
All his attention was pinned tightly to the pale blue System panel in his mind, pinned to those lines of flashing, blood-red warning text.
Xia Lengbai.
This name was like an ice thorn, piercing into Shen Xiao's thoughts.
Heavenly Dao compensation mechanism... carrying the "Ice Soul Glazed Heart"... approaching at high speed... twelve hours!
Every word was like a heavy hammer, smashing fiercely against his heart.
This fucking thing wasn't some random encounter; it was a precise "targeted airdrop" initiated by the rules of the world!
The Heavenly Dao discovered that the Gu King Lin Yun, whom it had personally supported, had been ruined by his "borrowing a knife to kill" tactic, so it immediately initiated Plan B, calling for reinforcements, and the one it called was an ultimate enhanced version of a heroine!
The Ice Soul Glazed Heart—in the original story, this item was something Lin Yun obtained from an ancient Secret Realm after experiencing a near-death encounter once his cultivation reached the Golden Core Stage Middle Stage.
This heart could greatly optimize his spiritual power circulation, laying the most solid foundation for him to break through to the Golden Core Stage Late Stage, or even the Nascent Soul Realm.
Now, the Heavenly Dao had directly packaged this top-tier cheat, which could only be obtained in the Late Stage, and had Xia Lengbai deliver it to his door as a "courier."
Twelve hours later, what he would have to face was not simply a Golden Core Stage Cultivator named Xia Lengbai.
It was a Heavenly Dao envoy possessed by the will of the Heavenly Dao, carrying a rule-level Karma weapon, who came specifically to "extend the life" of Lin Yun!
What use would his newly mastered "Counter-flow Step" be against this kind of dimensional reduction strike?
He would probably be crushed into powder by that massive Spiritual Pressure of the Golden Core Stage before he could even touch a single hair of the opponent.
No, he had to improve his hard power immediately!
Shen Xiao's gaze swept across the empty Immortal Cave and finally landed on the animal skin rubbing he had casually tossed onto the stone bed—the introductory chapter of "Counter-flow Step."
His brain operated at high speed, beginning to frantically search for every detail in the original story regarding this movement technique.
How did Lin Yun obtain the complete Legacy?
Fragments of memory rapidly pieced together in his mind.
In the original story, Lin Yun was being hunted by enemies, was severely injured, and was on the verge of death. In his panic, he hid in the most remote and neglected Scripture Pavilion of the Qingming Sect.
It was precisely because of his special state of being "on the verge of death" and the Aura of "finding life in death" emanating from him that he accidentally triggered some ancient Restriction, awakening the remnant Soul guarding the depths of the Scripture Pavilion—Xuan Chenzi, who was fused with the Origin of the "Counter-flow Step" Cultivation Technique.
That old man's remnant Soul was the prototype of Lin Yun's first portable cheat.
Sensing the "Heavenly Luck" and the "near-death state" on Lin Yun, Xuan Chenzi believed him to be the chosen one, which was why he taught him the complete "Counter-flow Step" Mind-Cultivation Technique and everything he had learned in his life.
"Near-death state"... the Aura of "finding life in death"...
Shen Xiao's...
Wait until he was beaten to the point of near-death, then try his Luck?
He never believed in Luck; he only believed in himself!
Since he couldn't trigger it in a normal state, he would actively create the conditions for "near-death"!
Since it required the Aura of "finding life in death," he would let himself die once first!
He was determined to get this Opportunity!
At the Hour of the Rat, the moon was dark and the wind was high.
The entire Inner Sect area of the Qingming Sect was shrouded in silence, with only a few teams of Disciples responsible for night patrols occasionally passing by on the mountain paths, carrying glowing spiritual lanterns and treading with rhythmic steps.
A gray shadow, like a phantom, clung to the shadows of the mountain walls, perfectly avoiding all patrol routes and silently sneaking into the area of the Scripture Pavilion.
Shen Xiao had changed into the most inconspicuous gray robe of a servant, using a breath-concealing technique to suppress his own Aura to the lowest level.
Familiar with the path, he bypassed the main entrance and climbed in through a damaged window.
Inside the Scripture Pavilion, there was a smell of old books mixed with dust.
Rows of massive bookshelves, reaching from floor to ceiling, cast huge, monster-like shadows under the faint moonlight filtering in from outside the window.
He did not go to browse any of the Cultivation Techniques or Secret Manuals on the shelves; those things were meaningless to him.
His goal had been crystal clear from the beginning.
He walked straight to the deepest part of the Scripture Pavilion, to that corner piled with debris and covered in half an inch of dust.
This was it.
He brushed away the dust on the floor and, without the slightest hesitation, sat down cross-legged.
Then, he took a deep breath and began to circulate a technique he had seen in countless databases in his previous life, a technique listed as a forbidden art among forbidden arts—the "Seven Injuries Meridian Reversal Art."
This was not meant for fighting enemies, but for "suicide."
Its only purpose was to forcibly reverse the flow of spiritual power within a Cultivator at the fastest speed, causing Spiritual Qi to flow in reverse, frantically impacting and tearing one's own Meridians, causing the most severe internal injuries in the shortest time, and pushing a living person to the edge of near-death.
This was an extremely crazy gamble.
Without precise control and an iron-like will, simulating near-death would turn into actual death.
"Ugh..."
The moment the forbidden art was activated, an indescribable, intense pain, like molten iron being poured into his blood vessels, instantly spread through every part of Shen Xiao's body!
The muscles in his cheeks twitched uncontrollably, blue veins bulged on his forehead, and bean-sized cold sweat instantly soaked his robe.
The Spiritual Qi within his body was like a wild horse that had broken free from its reins, rampaging through his Meridians. Every inch of his flesh and every organ was letting out painful moans.
His Aura was decaying at a speed visible to the naked eye.
His vitality was being rapidly devoured by that violent, reverse-flowing spiritual power.
It hurt so much that even his Soul was trembling!
His consciousness began to blur, the scene before his eyes appeared with double images, and a sharp ringing sound echoed in his ears.
The shadow of death was enveloping him from all directions, cold and viscous.
He had gambled correctly!
Just at the very last moment before Shen Xiao's consciousness was about to be completely swallowed by the boundless, intense pain, a barely audible sigh, as if it had crossed thousands of years of time, suddenly came from the huge, spiderweb-covered bookshelf in front of him.
"Sigh..."
A wisp of faint green smoke rose curling from the gaps in the bookshelf, and in front of Shen Xiao, it slowly condensed into a nearly transparent phantom of an old man made of pure Soul Power.
The old man had white hair and a white beard, wore a simple, ancient Daoist robe, and his figure was flickering, as if he could be blown away by the night wind at any moment.
He was Xuan Chenzi.
Xuan Chenzi looked down at Shen Xiao on the ground, who was on his last breath and whose vital signs were so weak they were almost imperceptible. In those cloudy eyes, however, revealed deep confusion and disappointment.
"Wrong... it is not him..."
His voice was hollow and ethereal, as if it were ringing directly in the depths of Shen Xiao's Soul.
"Although you have the 'heart to face death' and an unyielding will... there is no mark of Heavenly Dao's favor upon you. You... are not the person destined by the Heavenly Dao."
As soon as his voice fell, Xuan Chenzi's Soul body began to become even more illusory. That trace of disappointment flashed by and then returned to dead silence.
He had already made his judgment, preparing to turn back into green smoke, return to the bookshelf, continue his endless slumber, and wait for that "true" person to arrive.
"Want to leave?"
Just at the moment when Xuan Chenzi was about to dissipate, a cold voice without the slightest emotion suddenly exploded!
Shen Xiao, who should have been dazed and on his last breath on the ground, suddenly opened his eyes!
What kind of eyes were those!
There was no longer any trace of near-death weakness or pain in them; instead, they were replaced by a cold, relentless intensity like ten-thousand-year black ice, and a kind of... naked desire for plunder, viewing all things as food!
He instantly stopped the operation of the "Seven Injuries Meridian Reversal Art," and that rampaging, intense pain came to an abrupt halt.
The [Destiny Plunderer] System within his body was driven to its limit at this moment!
A strange power, incompatible with the Heavenly Dao rules of this world and filled with an Aura of rebellion and devouring, instantly enveloped Xuan Chenzi's remnant Soul like an invisible giant net!
Xuan Chenzi, who was just about to return to slumber, felt as if struck by lightning. His entire Soul body trembled violently, pinned firmly in place by this unprecedented power, unable to move!
On his illusory face, for the first time, an expression of extreme horror appeared!
Shen Xiao slowly stood up from the ground and brushed the dust off his robe.
Every step he took forward, his Aura grew stronger, and that rebellious, destiny-defying Aura became even more intense, pressing down on Xuan Chenzi's Soul body, causing it to flicker and emit a "sizzling" sound as if it were about to be torn apart.
He walked up to Xuan Chenzi, looking down at this legendary "old man" from above. His voice carried no warmth, as if he were stating a set fact:
"Your Child of Destiny has already been played into a useless wretch with shattered Meridians by me."
"Now, you have two choices."
"One, hand over the complete 'Counter-flow Step' to me."
A cruel arc hooked at the corner of Shen Xiao's mouth as he said word by word:
"Or, I will devour your Soul body as well, as nourishment for me... to fight against the Heavenly Dao."