52: Chapter 52 Your Eyes Are Wrong

The footsteps on the stone stairs drew closer, intermingled with the hoarse, low growls characteristic of the Yao Race, sounding like a broken gong scraping against a stone wall.

Shen Xiao did not look back, but his pace clearly quickened.

His left hand still gripped Xia Lengbai's wrist, the force great enough to make her bones ache, but she did not struggle. She had also heard the commotion behind them and knew that in her current state, being caught by a Yao Race patrol would result in a far more miserable fate than falling into Shen Xiao's hands.

The stone door was right before them.

Unlike the previous one, this door had no Talismanic Incantation, no Restriction, and not even a door knocker. It was simply a complete, rough slab of bluestone embedded in the rock wall, its edges covered in dark green moss, appearing as if it were a part of the mountain itself.

Shen Xiao showed no signs of slowing down and slammed his right shoulder directly into it.

The stone door emitted a dull, booming sound and loosened by half an inch.

He was also knocked back a step by the recoil force.

"Help."

The tone was brief, leaving no room for negotiation.

Xia Lengbai's eyelid twitched, but in the end, she said nothing. Gritting her teeth, she joined him in slamming her shoulder against the stone door.

The second time.

Debris began to fall from the edges of the stone door.

The third time.

The left hinge of the entire stone door finally snapped, and the whole door slab tilted inward and collapsed, slamming onto the ground and kicking up a massive cloud of dust.

Shen Xiao coughed twice, stepped over the door slab, and walked into the space inside.

This was an abandoned Alchemy Immortal Cave.

It was not large, measuring only three or four zhang in diameter. The four walls were scorched pitch-black by smoke, and the floor was scattered with various fragments of a Pill Furnace and the desiccated remains of medicinal herbs.

In the corner leaned a half-person-tall Pill Furnace; a large crack split its wall, through which one could clearly see the empty interior chamber.

The ventilation opening at the top had long been blocked by rubble, and the air in the entire Immortal Cave was stagnant, carrying a sour, rotten smell from aged, fermented medicinal dregs.

Xia Lengbai followed him in, glanced at the dilapidated environment, and frowned.

"Here? How long can we hide?"

"We aren't hiding."

As Shen Xiao spoke, he had already strode toward the center of the Immortal Cave floor.

A bluestone slab was paved there, looking no different from the surrounding stones, its surface covered in dust and the crevices at its edges filled with dried mud.

Yet, he recognized it at a single glance.

The shape and size of this bluestone slab were identical to the location of the backup teleportation array he had seen in the memory of the Silver-Bearded Old Daoist.

That old thing had lived for over four hundred years and, before coming to Cangjue Mountain, had been a Protector Elder of a mid-sized Sect, knowing the layout of various secret passages and teleportation arrays within the Sect like the back of his hand.

When Shen Xiao plundered his memory, he did not obtain all of his Cultivation Technique Legacy; after all, the old Daoist's cultivation was far higher than his, and the portion he could plunder was limited. However, those fragmented map details and Sect secrets were, conversely, the most completely preserved.

Among them was this backup teleportation array beneath the abandoned Immortal Cave.

Three hundred years ago, Cangjue Mountain had experienced a beast tide attack. To quickly evacuate Core Disciples during critical moments of crisis, the Sect Master at the time had secretly established multiple backup teleportation arrays throughout the Sect.

Later, the beast tide was repelled, and most of these teleportation arrays were abandoned or dismantled. However, a few in remote locations, known to very few people, were forgotten.

This one was among them.

Shen Xiao squatted down and pressed his right hand onto the bluestone slab.

He did not directly activate the teleportation array—that required a specific Formation key, which he did not have on hand.

But he had another way.

He pulled from his bosom the "Alchemy Talent" fragment he had plundered from Nangong Li.

It was a thumb-sized, irregular crystal that was entirely crimson-gold in color. It felt faintly warm in his palm, like holding a miniature version of the sun.

A layer of extremely fine patterns flowed across the surface of the fragment, and those patterns left faint, crimson-gold trails in the air, as if they were alive.

In the original work, this item was one of Nangong Li's most core Opportunities.

It was not the kind used to beat people in battle, but the condensed essence of her lifelong Alchemy cultivation.

She had spent three hundred years relying on this fragment to condense the "Burning Heaven Pill Fire," becoming the youngest Eighth-Rank Alchemist on the Nine Heavens Continent.

Now, it was Shen Xiao's.

Holding the fragment, he silently recited in his mind: "Load."

In his Sea of Consciousness, the [Destiny Plunderer] System interface lit up, and a silver-white dialog box popped up:

[Detected loadable talent fragment: Burning Heaven Pill Fire (Incomplete)]

[Loading requires consuming destiny value: 1 point]

[Confirm?]

Confirm.

The fragment suddenly burned in his palm, as if a mass of magma had exploded.

A crimson-gold pattern spread out from his palm, traveling upward along the veins of his arm, leaving glowing lines on the surface of his forearm, elbow, and shoulder.

Those lines seemed to have a life of their own, finally converging at the fingertips of his right hand, coalescing into a small, rotating flame mark.

A sharp pain came from deep within his right arm, as if someone had driven a red-hot iron rod from his fingertip all the way into his bone marrow.

Shen Xiao gritted his teeth, not making a sound.

Beside him, Xia Lengbai watched the crimson-gold patterns spreading wildly on his right arm, her pupils constricting sharply.

She recognized it.

This was the mark of the Burning Heaven Pill Fire.

Nangong Li's trademark.

The shock in her heart was no less than seeing the Cave of Ten Thousand Demons collapse. What on earth had Shen Xiao done in the Thousand Stone Caves?

Not only had he come out alive, but he had also taken away Nangong Li's most core possession?

Shouldn't he have been pinned to the ground and thrashed by that woman?

She was so strong and so proud; how could she possibly let her talent be plundered by someone?

If Nangong Li had still been at her Peak, Shen Xiao indeed would not have succeeded.

When the Alchemy Talent fragment was plundered, she happened to be at her most vulnerable period, severely injured by the black tide of the Cave of Ten Thousand Demons and caught off guard by the backlash of the System precisely cutting into her destiny node. Only then did Shen Xiao have the Opportunity to gouge this fragment out from her Divine Soul.

But he had no intention of explaining this to Xia Lengbai.

Shen Xiao stood up and raised his right hand. The small mass of crimson-gold flame at his fingertip traced an arc in the air, like an invisible brush, gently sweeping across the surface of the bluestone slab.

The dust on the stone slab was instantly burned into nothingness, revealing the patterns beneath.

Those patterns had originally been gray and dull, almost blending in with the color of the stone slab, but after being grazed by the Pill Fire, they immediately lit up, as if paint that had been solidified for over a hundred years had suddenly been activated by water, revealing vibrant colors once again.

Line after line emerged on the surface of the stone slab, interweaving into a net-like pattern so complex it was dizzying. At the intersections of the lines were tiny red dots, resembling a star chart marked with coordinates.

Teleportation Formation markings.

Xia Lengbai's pupils constricted even further.

She finally understood why Shen Xiao had returned here. It wasn't a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse, nor was it to pick up scraps; it was because he knew what was here.

But how could he possibly know the secrets of Cangjue Mountain from three hundred years ago?

She looked at Shen Xiao's back, and for the first time, a genuine curiosity—not born of vigilance—arose in her heart for this person.

Shen Xiao paid no heed to her gaze.

His attention was entirely focused on the Pill Fire at his fingertips.

The teleportation Formation markings had lit up, but they were still missing the final step: activation.

He needed to inject the Pill Fire into the core nodes of the Formation markings to make the entire Formation run again.

But the problem was that for a teleportation array abandoned for several hundred years, the power had long since been exhausted. Even if he injected Qi, it could only barely open a light gate once, with a duration not exceeding ten breaths.

Ten breaths were enough for two people to pass through.

But was it enough for him to complete the next step of his plan?

He took a deep breath, and the crimson-gold flame at his fingertips suddenly became intense, drilling into the red dot at the center of the Formation markings like a slender snake.

The surface of the stone slab emitted a low hum, and then those lines began to light up layer by layer, from inside out, as if someone in the darkness were sequentially lighting a string of lanterns hanging on a branch.

The light grew increasingly bright.

Finally, in the air directly above the Formation markings, a person-sized rift appeared out of thin air, the edges of the rift emitting a pale blue light, like a curtain of air that had been torn open.

The teleportation light gate was successful.

The moment Xia Lengbai saw the light gate,

Shen Xiao did not move.

He pulled three yellow Talismanic Incantations from his bosom, each only the size of a palm, with twisted red runes drawn on the surface that looked rough and sloppy, as if scribbled casually.

These were a simplified version of the "Feign Death Substitute Technique" he had pilfered from Bai Lian.

Bai Lian had guarded the tomb in the Kunlun Ruins for ten thousand years; the number of obscure Talismanic Incantations she had accumulated was enough to use as wallpaper.

Shen Xiao had been in a rush to run away at the time and hadn't had time to pick carefully, so he had just grabbed a handful and stuffed them into his bosom, only discovering later that three of them were substitute talismans.

The authentic Feign Death Substitute Technique could create a Clone identical to the original body, possessing seventy percent of the original's combat power, with a duration of one joss stick's time; it was a signature skill used by the Gravekeepers of the Kunlun Ruins to deal with tomb raiders.

The simplified version he had on hand was far inferior; the Clone created had no combat power, could only maintain its existence for one joss stick's time, and could not be more than one hundred zhang away from the original body.

But for Shen Xiao, that was enough.

What he needed now was not a helper, but a smoke bomb.

He stuck the first Talismanic Incantation to the left edge of the light gate frame.

After the yellow talisman paper touched the pale blue light of the light gate, it seemed to ignite, rapidly turning black, curling, and burning from the edges. But before it was completely consumed, a blurry figure rushed out from the talisman paper and sprinted toward the outside of the Immortal Cave.

The silhouette of that figure was exactly the same as Shen Xiao's, and even the frequency of the Qi fluctuations was replicated with uncanny likeness.

Then came the second one, which he stuck to the top of the light gate frame.

After the burning, another figure rushed out. This time, it had the exact same silhouette as Xia Lengbai and fled toward another direction of the Immortal Cave.

The third one, to the right.

A blurred, tall figure rushed out; it was in the shape of Lin Yun.

Three decoys, three directions, three distinct fluctuations of spiritual energy.

In this way, even if the Yao Race patrol and other pursuers arriving on the scene captured the residual spiritual energy of the teleportation, their attention would be scattered by these three different tracking targets.

They would have a moment of hesitation: which direction should they pursue?

And for Shen Xiao, this moment was enough.

Xia Lengbai watched him ignite the last talisman paper before finally speaking.

"Just how many backup plans do you have?"

Her voice carried a hint of hoarseness, mixed with an indescribable emotion. It wasn't simple vigilance, nor was it fear; it was more like a weary admission, an acknowledgment that in this game of chess, she was truly no match for him.

Shen Xiao did not answer directly.

He simply retracted the remaining half of the crimson-gold flame and turned his head to look at Xia Lengbai.

His gaze was strange.

It was not the coldness of examining prey as before, nor was it the pure, emotionless judgment of efficiency during their cooperation.

It was a look she could not decipher.

"Xia Lengbai."

He called her name.

Xia Lengbai was taken aback.

This was the first time Shen Xiao had called her name.

"Just now in the Thousand Stone Caves,"

He said indifferently, his pace neither fast nor slow, as if he were talking about something unrelated to himself,

"When you used that Jade Slip for help, you secretly left a wisp of spiritual energy inside, right?"

His words were like a basin of ice water poured over her head.

Xia Lengbai's face turned pale instantly.

She did not speak, but silence itself was an answer.

Shen Xiao continued, his tone devoid of any fluctuation:

"You wanted to use the spiritual energy fluctuation when the teleportation array activated to let Lin Yun lock onto your real location. You wanted him to catch up and fish us out of this situation."

"You guessed wrong."

Xia Lengbai's lips twitched,

"I wanted him to come and capture you."

"There is no difference."

Shen Xiao said,

"Whether it's to save me and take you away, or to capture me and kill you, you wanted him to know where you were."

Xia Lengbai was silent for a few seconds.

Then she lowered her head and let out a low, self-deprecating laugh.

"When did you notice?"

"From the very beginning."

Shen Xiao smiled,

"That Jade Slip of yours, under normal circumstances, leaves a spiritual marker at the spot for three breaths after activation. But when you activated it, the light of the Jade Slip flickered five times—a rhythmic flickering, like two people communicating with a code."

Xia Lengbai was stunned.

She didn't expect Shen Xiao to have observed even the flicker of the Jade Slip so carefully.

The activation method of that kind of Jade Slip indeed leaves a faint spiritual connection between the two Jade Slips; when one end is activated, the holder of the other end will perceive it.

She was utilizing this mechanism.

While activating the Jade Slip, she injected a wisp of her life-bound spiritual energy into it. The moment the Jade Slip fell back to the ground, this wisp of spiritual energy would form a faint spiritual coordinate pointing to her current location.

As long as Lin Yun detected that wisp of spiritual energy, he could find her location without alerting anyone.

But Shen Xiao hadn't taken the bait at all.

She bit her lip and looked up at Shen Xiao.

"Since you knew everything, why didn't you expose me sooner?"

Shen Xiao did not answer.

He simply raised his hand and flicked her forehead lightly.

The force was not great.

Yet, Xia Lengbai felt countless fine needles piercing from the point of contact on her forehead into her Sea of Consciousness, rapidly spreading along her Meridians throughout her entire body. It hurt so much that she jerked backward, covering her forehead with both hands and letting out a suppressed groan.

That pain only lasted for a moment, but the aftereffects were obvious; she could clearly feel every wisp of her spiritual energy locked within her Dantian, as if tightly gripped by an invisible giant hand, unable to leak out in the slightest.

A Restriction spell seal.

"From now on."

Shen Xiao's voice came from in front of her,

"Whenever your spiritual energy attempts to leave me by twenty paces, it will be backlashed by this spell seal."

He paused and added:

"Don't try it."

Xia Lengbai covered her forehead; a faint golden, tiny rune mark appeared on the skin between her fingers, like a burn scar.

She did not resist.

Because she knew she could not resist.

Her spiritual energy was now restricted, her state close to a Mortal, while the crimson-gold Burning Heaven Pill Fire mark on Shen Xiao's right arm was still radiating residual heat, meaning his combat power was in an active phase.

To make a move would be to invite humiliation.

She lowered her hand and lifted her head; the expression on her face had recovered from the shock and pain just now, returning to that indifferent face with a hint of a cold sneer.

"Do you think you can completely control me like this?"

"No, I want you to think clearly about one thing: whether you want to die or live."

As soon as the words fell, a sharp Sword Qi came through the air from not far away.

That Sword Qi carried a pure, cold killing intent, like an arrow shot from the depths of darkness, wrapped in the piercing whistle of breaking wind, pointing straight at Shen Xiao's back.

Shen Xiao dodged to the side.

The Sword Qi grazed his left shoulder, slicing open the fabric of his shoulder and revealing a shallow bloodstain.

He turned his head to look in the direction from which the Sword Qi came.

At the entrance of the Immortal Cave, a figure was emerging from the darkness.

It was a woman.

Her face was as pale as paper, her lips chapped, and her right arm was wrapped in circles of charred black cloth strips. Beneath the cloth, one could vaguely see skin burned black—those were the burn scars left when the Legacy rune was snatched away.

Bai Lian.

Her eyes were like a dull knife; they lacked a sharp edge but carried an almost insane obsession, locked tightly onto Shen Xiao.

"Shen Xiao."

Her voice was hoarse and low, as if she had a mouthful of sand in her throat.

"Return my memories to me."

Shen Xiao looked at her without any extra expression.

He simply took half a step back, nearing the teleportation light gate behind him.

The blue light of the light gate had already begun to become unstable, with tiny cracks appearing on the edges, like glass about to shatter.

"You are late," he said.

Bai Lian ignored his words.

She stepped forward, her boots crunching on the gravel with a creaking sound. Every step was steady, as if she no longer cared about any consequences.

"You didn't just take my Legacy."

Her voice carried an irrepressible tremor,

"You also took the memories I have guarded for ten thousand years."

"Those memories are the Foundation of the Kunlun Ruins and the entire meaning of my existence. By what right, by what right did you dig them out of my brain and throw them into your Sea of Consciousness like trash?"

Shen Xiao did not refute this.

Because she was right.

When he plundered Bai Lian, he had not only taken the Legacy rune she guarded but also that part of her memories as a Gravekeeper. Those fragmented memories regarding the Kunlun Ruins underground Secret Realm and the legacies of past Gravekeepers had all been bundled by the System and stuffed into his Sea of Consciousness.

He needed those memories to find the next Opportunity node.

But the price was that Bai Lian had become an empty shell that had lost a part of the meaning of her existence.

He was silent for a second.

Then he spoke.

"Are you telling me this because you want an apology?"

Bai Lian's footsteps stopped.

She looked up at him, her eyes carrying a hint of thorough, cold determination.

"I don't want anything anymore."

"I only want you to die."

The moment her voice fell, her body suddenly expanded, and pitch-black cracks appeared on the surface of her skin. There was no blood in the cracks, only black mist gushing out frantically.

That was her final burst of power, gained by burning all her remaining spiritual energy along with her remaining life force.

Shen Xiao did not hesitate.

He turned around, raised his foot, and kicked Xia Lengbai, who was still standing by the light gate, into the teleportation light gate.

Xia Lengbai was kicked forward, falling into the blue light and disappearing.

Then, with a backhand sword strike, he slashed the sword edge onto the Formation patterns at the edge of the light gate.

The moment the Formation patterns were severed, the light gate emitted a crisp sound like shattering glass. The stable structure at the edges began to disintegrate rapidly, and the entire light gate turned into an energy vortex that violently contracted, expanded, and twisted.

The originally stable teleportation channel began to become extremely unstable.

Shen Xiao did not intend to escape.

What he wanted was this unstable state, because once the light gate was on the verge of collapse, the teleportation path would become random, and there would be no fixed coordinates to lock onto for anyone wanting to pursue.

Watching his action of severing the light gate's Formation patterns, Bai Lian let out a nearly hoarse roar and lunged at him.

At the very last moment before she was about to reach him, Shen Xiao turned and stepped into the light gate that had already begun to disintegrate.

The moment the light gate closed behind him, he looked back.

Toward the Immortal Cave, where she was left behind facing an energy vortex about to explode and a Bai Lian burning her life out of anger, he left behind only one sentence.

"Remember, you are no longer his hostage."

"From now on, you are my pawn."

The blue light engulfed everything.