26: Chapter 26: The Formatted Ink Fragrance, and the Madman Who Became a "Book"
A muffled thunderclap exploded inside the Scripture Pavilion, not a sound, but the terrifying Dao charm generated by the savage collision of two completely different 'rules' in that place.
Li Mo's tiger's mouth had long since split open, and blood flowed down the handle of the 'spring and autumn brush', but the brush in his hand was like a red-hot iron stake, firmly nailed deep into Yan Kuang's throat.
What surged from the tip of the brush was no longer ink, but a golden data stream carrying the Imperial Dragon Qi.
On the other side, the 'Starry Sky Iron Book' he thrust against Yan Kuang's face had its pages transformed into a pitch-black abyss, madly spewing out chaotic logic capable of collapsing any Dao Heart.
The gold of order and the black of Chaos engaged in a silent yet utterly tragic slaughter within Yan Kuang's body.
"Ugh... Fallacy! All of it is fallacy...! Ah!!"
Yan Kuang's eyes, which held clarity amidst madness, now showed only violent tremors, the light in his pupils flickering as countless garbled codes washed over them.
His Sea of Consciousness, that twisted high tower constructed from the principles of sages, was undergoing its apocalypse.
【Woman, you are playing with fire.】
—This simple phrase created a fundamental conflict with the Confucian Dao precepts he had painstakingly cultivated—'Preserve Heavenly Principles, Extinguish Human Desires'—causing his Dao foundation to shake violently!
【Stop, stop nesting dolls.】
—A simple logical paradox, yet it acted like a key, opening a gap in his tightly sealed logical loop, allowing infinite Chaos to surge in.
【The domineering Village Head and his charming widow.】
—What in the world is this?! Vulgar! Unseemly!
These things, which were merely boring nonsense to ordinary people, were potent poison to a Confucian Dao madman like him, who had carved 'Reason' into his Soul—they were filth capable of polluting the Soul.
He instinctively wanted to 'correct' it, wanted to refute it.
But he couldn't.
Li Mo had activated the [Forced Format Dead Loop].
[Progress: 30%... 50%...]
[Warning: Target's mental will is extremely distorted and tenacious, currently reverse-analyzing Host's underlying logic!]
[Host's mental barrier is being eroded...]
Li Mo's brain felt as if it had been stuffed into a high-speed juicer, with fishy sweet blood seeping from all seven orifices.
He was using the Soul of an ordinary Transmigrator to forcibly contend with the crazed will of a Grand Confucian who once looked down upon all living beings.
This tug-of-war of the mind was extremely perilous.
If he lost, he would become an extension of Yan Kuang, a monster who only chanted 'Heaven and Earth are unkind, treating all things as straw dogs' and actively practiced 'man-eating'.
"Trying to rewrite me?!"
Li Mo ground his back molars, a surge of ferocity rushing from his heart to the crown of his head.
"You think you're worthy?!"
"System, burn it for me! Burn Lifespan! Max out the cost!"
"Doesn't he hate filth?! Pour all those one hundred thousand unread miscellaneous books in the Scripture Pavilion into him! Stuff this old bastard to death!"
Boom!
The vitality within Li Mo's body seemed like gunpowder instantly ignited, exploding in a tragic manner.
The 'Withered Wood Meets Spring' entry operated wildly, burning his Lifespan while instantly converting it into an inconceivably vast spiritual might.
In an instant, the entire Scripture Pavilion came alive.
On the bookshelves, in the boxes, under the floor... all books, whether classics or popular storybooks, moved without wind at this moment, pages rustling wildly.
Billions of characters detached from the paper, transforming into a multicolored torrent of information, rushing through Li Mo's arm and flooding into Yan Kuang's seven orifices like a bursting dam!
"No—!!!"
"Dirty! Too dirty! These texts... are too vulgar!!"
Yan Kuang let out his final, piercing shriek.
He did not fear death, but he could not bear for his pure and twisted 'Dao' to be defiled by the copper stench in account books, the rancidity in romance novels, and the vulgarity in common street stories.
However, facing the absolute torrent of information, his arrogance and persistence were as insignificant as dust.
[Progress: 99%... 100!]
[Formatting complete.]
[Reshaping target form based on residual information...]
"Crack."
A crisp sound, like shattering porcelain.
Cracks like spiderwebs appeared on Yan Kuang's withered body, which exuded a decaying aura.
There was no blood in the cracks, only thick, ink-like fluid slowly seeping out.
His skin took on the dry yellow color and texture of paper, his bones twisted into the shape of a book spine, and his flesh completely decomposed, transforming into lines of distorted characters.
Under the gaze of Li Mo and Chu Linger, who was trembling in the crack of the floor, the monster that once troubled the entire Great Zhou Dynasty rapidly collapsed, folded, and condensed amidst the pervasive scent of ink.
Finally, a heavy, ancient book with a strangely grayish-white cover lay quietly on the ground.
There were no characters on the cover, only a painful, twisted pattern resembling a human face.
"Hoo... hoo..."
Li Mo could no longer hold on and fell onto the ground with a thud, the spring and autumn brush clattering beside him.
His chest heaved violently, the stabbing pain in his brain making him nearly faint.
"It's over?"
The floor was pushed open by a gap, and Squeak poked its head out, holding a book. Seeing the ink stains on the ground and that strange book, it immediately sprang out excitedly, opening its mouth as if to gnaw on it.
"Don't touch it!"
Li Mo's voice was weak but brooks no argument, "That thing... is poisonous."
He struggled to crawl over, not using his hands, but carefully using the handle of the spring and autumn brush to flip open the book's cover.
[Ding!]
[Reading Special Book: 'Yan Kuang - Man-Eating Notes (Purified Version)']
[Grade: Forbidden (Red)]
[Description: Records the lifelong experiences, twisted Dao scriptures, Great Zhou secrets of a fallen Grand Confucian, and... a detailed to the point of being appalling 'ingredient' handling guide (This part is strongly advised to be ignored).]
[Extracting Special Entry: Truth Tampering (Red / Incomplete)]
[Entry Effect: Through writing, one can distort or redefine reality's rules within a small area. Example: Writing 'There is no wind here,' and the wind within ten zhang will cease. The intensity and duration of the effect depend on your Mental Energy and the medium consumed.]
[Medium: High-quality ink, or... your fresh blood.]
A Red Entry!
In the depths of Li Mo's eyes, a scorching light instantly ignited.
Forbidden power! This was no longer a simple 'Art,' but a 'Law' that touched the Origin of the world!
Although it was an incomplete version, this ability to 'modify rules' was simply a divine technique!
"Worth it."
Li Mo wiped the blood foam from the corner of his mouth, a pale but extremely satisfied smile on his face.
Just then, the main door of the Scripture Pavilion was violently blasted open by a massive force.
"Li Mo! Are you still alive?!"
Dugu Yun rushed in holding his sword, his expression showing unprecedented urgency.
The black rain had just stopped and the Formation had recovered. The injury from the rules backlash hadn't subsided, but he rushed over immediately.
Ye Gucheng and the Elders followed closely behind. When they saw the scene inside the pavilion, everyone involuntarily stopped in their tracks and gasped.
The ground was a mess, pages flying everywhere.
The Servant Li Mo, who usually struggled to even sweep the floor, was now covered in blood and sweat, slumped on the ground, still clutching a brush.
In front of him lay a grayish-white ancient book quietly emanating an ominous aura.
As for the notoriously vicious madman from the Celestial Prison, Yan Kuang, not even a single hair remained.
What lingered in the air was only a faint, fishy smell of ink, and a mad intent that made one's spirit tremble.
"Where is Yan Kuang?" Dugu Yun pointed his sword forward, spiritual power gathered but not released, scanning every corner vigilantly.
Li Mo raised his head, his eyes unfocused, his breath weak (seven parts acting, three parts truth). He extended a trembling hand, pointing at the book before him, and spat out a few words with all his might:
"Elder... He... He was too engrossed in reading, suffered Qi Deviation... and turned into a book."
"..."
Silence reigned over the entire area.
Turned into a book?
What kind of outrageous words were these?
Ye Gucheng frowned deeply, slowly stepping forward, his Divine Sense extending like a tentacle toward the grayish-white book with caution.
Boom!
A residual, pure, mad Confucian Dao will violently struck back. Ye Gucheng grunted, stumbling back three steps, his face instantly turning pale.
The look in his eyes as he gazed at the book was filled with horror.
"This aura... it really is Yan Kuang!"
Ye Gucheng looked at Li Mo, his eyes full of disbelief: "But where is his body? His Nascent Soul? His Divine Soul? How could he... turn into a book?"
Dugu Yun was also completely bewildered. He had lived for several hundred years and had only heard of people dying and their Dao vanishing; he had never heard of someone turning into a book after death.
His gaze moved back and forth between Li Mo and the ordinary-looking brush, finally lowering his voice and asking tentatively: "Boy, tell me honestly, did... that 'Senior' intervene again?"
Upon hearing this, Li Mo's eyes immediately showed appropriate confusion and lingering fear, and he climbed up the ladder: "Disciple does not know! That madman tried to eat me as soon as he entered. I was so scared my Soul nearly left my body that I just grabbed a brush and poked randomly... Then, then I felt the sky suddenly go dark, as if an invisible hand, holding a brush larger than the ceiling beam, wrote the character 'Seal' above that madman's head... And then, he became like this."
"A brush larger than the ceiling beam?"
Dugu Yun and Ye Gucheng exchanged a look; both saw deep shock and reverence in the other's eyes.
That's it!
This must be the method of a legendary Confucian powerhouse! To form a Formation with a stroke, to make words manifest reality, to Seal all things!
"This hidden Senior of our Sword Immortal Sect is not only unparalleled in the Way of the Sword, but he also cultivates the Confucian Dao, and his attainment has reached the Transcendent Realm..." Ye Gucheng muttered to himself, his tone full of reverence for the unknown power, "To be able to Seal a maniac at the Peak of Nascent Soul like Yan Kuang into a book with a mere flick of a finger, such cultivation... I fear he has long transcended Soul Transformation and touched that legendary Realm."
Dugu Yun strongly agreed. He waved his hand to stop the Elders' discussions and said solemnly: "This matter is classified as the Sect's highest secret! No one is allowed to spread it outside! We will tell outsiders that Yan Kuang attempted to storm the mountain and was annihilated by our Sect's Mountain Protection Grand Array!"
He glanced at the evil book and said to Li Mo: "Li Mo, this object was born because of you, so you shall temporarily take custody of it. Remember, you must never open it, much less let anyone touch it."
"Yes, Elder."
Li Mo lowered his eyelids, displaying a respectful posture.
This was exactly the result he desired.
Ye Gucheng waved his hand, and everyone quickly left to handle subsequent matters.
After everyone was far away, Li Mo supported himself on the bookshelf and staggered to his feet, locking the main door.
"Come out, it's safe now."
Chu Linger, holding Squeak, crawled out from under the floor. The look she gave Li Mo was mixed with fear, curiosity, and a hard-to-describe sense of adoration.
"You... ate him?" she asked softly, pointing at the book.
"Nonsense," Li Mo rolled his eyes and stored the 'Yan Kuang - Man-Eating Notes' into the System Space, "What scholars do is not called eating. This is called the recycling and reuse of knowledge."
He walked to the window, and the night breeze blew, clearing his chaotic mind slightly.
One Yan Kuang had fallen, but Sima Changfeng behind him, and the 'Imperial Zenith World Book' that stirred up the situation, were bigger problems.
"I must become stronger as soon as possible."
Li Mo touched his chest, where the 'dragon vein heavenly book' dug up from the Ancestral Master's grave was hidden.
"Linger, pack your things."
"Where are we going?"
"The back mountain," a sharp light flashed in Li Mo's eyes, "Since I already have the map of the Cloud Break Mountain Range, not building a 'violating building' for myself would be letting down the Ancestral Master's gift."
"We are going to build an 'Absolute Safe House' that no one can find, and no one can break into."
However, just as he finished speaking.
Inside the System Space, the 'Yan Kuang - Man-Eating Notes' that had just been stored vibrated slightly.
A line of blood-red characters slowly appeared on its cover:
"Be careful... of your... shadow."
Li Mo stopped in his tracks, his muscles instantly tensing.
He abruptly looked down.
Under the candlelight, his shadow was stretched long and thin, lying quietly on the ground.
But in the deepest part of the shadow, a pair of eyes seemed to open silently, carrying a cold and familiar smile.
Shadow Sect?
No, that's not right.
Li Mo's eyes suddenly turned cold. Without the slightest hesitation, the ability he had just acquired was instantly activated.
He raised his hand, dipped his finger in the fresh blood from the corner of his mouth, and lightning-fast wrote a character in the void:
【Light】.
Hiss—!
The blood-red character 'Light' seemed to gain substance, transforming into a miniature sun that instantly erupted with pure, scorching, unstoppable purifying light!
The entire Scripture Pavilion lit up as if it were daytime, and all shadows were swept away.
In Li Mo's shadow, a wisp of extremely thin black smoke was forcibly expelled amidst a sharp scream, then instantly evaporated under the illumination of the light, turning to ashes.
Li Mo looked at the place where the black smoke dissipated, a cold curve on his lips.
"The remnant Soul of the Old Ancestor of the Blood River... so he hid in the shadow and followed me in."
"Very good."
"My bookshelf is exactly missing a demonic scripture on Soul Refining and Spirit Seizing."
The night was still long.
But for Li Mo, this hunt had only just begun.