47: The only way to survive

Consciousness withdrew from the ocean of data.

Lu Yuan opened his eyes.

Every breath in his throat brought a tearing, burning pain.

He coughed violently, propping himself up with one hand against the cold stone wall, his knuckles protruding, just barely preventing himself from collapsing due to the weakness of his soul being drained.

Cold sweat had already soaked through his Daoist robe.

A clammy chill clung to his back.

One hundred thousand Karma points, burned to ash.

In Exchange, he endured the torture of one thousand three hundred and forty-two deaths imprinted on his Divine Soul.

And...

A path to survival.

Lu Yuan's face was devoid of color, but deep within his pupils, two clusters of golden flames burned silently, horrifyingly bright.

The results of the [Sandbox Simulation] were meticulously detailed, now a part of his instincts.

God Burying Abyss.

Nine Revolutions Soul-Returning Plant.

A peak Cultivation Realm demonic beast guarding it.

Its weakness was not a Divine Ability flaw, nor a defensive gap.

It was time.

It was the moment before the Divine Plant matured, when it divided half of its Origin Divine Soul to nourish and nurture it.

Ten thousand years of Dao cultivation would plummet at that instant.

An absolute weak period lasting only ten breaths.

However, this sole path to survival was pinned down by three terrifying auras, no weaker than Cultivation Realm cultivators.

In the simulation, any attempt to forcefully seize it within ten breaths would only lead to a combined attack from all three parties, ultimately resulting in a bloody death, benefiting others.

The only way to break the deadlock was not through victory.

It lay in deception.

The target of deception was neither the demonic beast nor the three forces.

It was the Divine Plant itself.

He had to, at a precise moment, using a special spiritual body as a medium, prematurely simulate the aura of the matured Divine Plant.

This would induce the guardian demonic beast to enter that fatal weak state prematurely.

Only then could he create a brief, fatal time window, unforeseen by anyone, belonging only to him.

The database of the [Dao Option Exchange] coldly displayed information.

[Supreme Yin Spiritual Body: A once-in-ten-thousand-year occurrence, naturally attuned to the essence of the moon, capable of communicating with the spirits of plants and soothing the Divine Soul.]

[Matching target: Su Qing, an outer Disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect.]

Lu Yuan's body trembled slightly.

His idle move, laid out for a “two-way bet,” had unexpectedly become the sole fulcrum to leverage the entire game.

The wonder of Karma was precisely this.

The rise and fall of his chest finally subsided, and the breath he exhaled carried a faint burnt smell.

There were still two months until the Divine Plant matured.

The insane plan was about to begin...

Azure Cloud Sect, outer Disciple living quarters.

Moonlight was like frost, the courtyard desolate.

Su Qing was practicing the basic sword art repeatedly, sweat dampening her thin clothes, clinging to the slender and stubborn curves of the young girl's body.

Her gaze was as resolute as ever.

A shadow, without any warning, appeared behind her.

"Your Qi floats on the surface, your strength doesn't condense at the root; your sword is scattered."

Su Qing's hair stood on end. She spun around abruptly, and after seeing that it was Lu Yuan, her cheeks instantly flushed red, and she lowered her head awkwardly.

"Senior Brother Lu... Lu."

Lu Yuan's face was hidden in shadow. He tossed over a jade bottle, his voice devoid of warmth.

"Meridian Condensing Pills, one pill daily, combined with the cultivation method I gave you."

"I will check the results in a month."

Su Qing subconsciously caught it, pulled out the stopper, and the pure medicinal power permeated her nostrils, causing her chaotic meridians to jolt.

This was... a pill even inner Disciples regarded as a treasure.

She looked up, her eyes full of gratitude, and an even deeper confusion.

"Senior Brother, this... this is too valuable, I can't..."

"I am investing in you to have you create value far exceeding this bottle of pills."

Lu Yuan's voice calmly interrupted her.

"Your potential is my asset."

"Don't let my investment lose money."

As his words fell, he had already turned around, his figure once again merging into the deeper night, as if he had never appeared.

Su Qing gripped the warm jade bottle tightly, her knuckles losing color from the excessive force.

She looked in the direction Lu Yuan had disappeared, the confusion in her eyes fading, leaving only immense determination...

Inside the Immortal Cave.

Lu Yuan's fingertip gently traced the wing of a green paper crane.

[Anonymously send intelligence to the Heavenly Secret Pavilion: 'Demon Flame Valley' carries the heavy treasure 'Heavenly Burning Banner', its intention is the God Burying Abyss.]

[Anonymously send intelligence to the Heavenly Secret Pavilion: The wife of the Palace Master of 'Profound Ice Palace' is having an affair with the Young Lord of 'Demon Flame Valley', evidence attached.]

On the Exchange interface, Karma points flowed out like water.

Two new simulation feedbacks subsequently appeared.

[Simulation: The probability of a death battle erupting when Demon Flame Valley and Profound Ice Palace encounter each other in the God Burying Abyss has increased to 43%.]

[Simulation: The possibility of the third-party force 'Myriad Sword Villa' profiting from the situation has increased to 26%.]

Very good.

The waters were murky enough.

Lu Yuan's gaze finally fell on the damaged jade slip.

[Ancient Sword Dao Inheritance 'Karma Severing' First Layer (Incomplete)].

He pressed the jade slip to his glabella.

A sharp, solitary sword intent, as if to sever all tangible and intangible connections in the world, fiercely pierced into his Divine Soul.

For the next month or so, Lu Yuan's presence completely vanished from the sect.

He sealed himself in the deepest part of his Immortal Cave, repeatedly practicing the seemingly ordinary but profoundly Dao-aligned moves.

With each sword swing, he felt a sliver of his Karma connection with the surrounding world being peeled away.

His aura became increasingly elusive and unpredictable.

Until...

The last day before the Divine Plant in the God Burying Abyss matured.

All was ready.

He pushed open the dust-covered stone door of his Immortal Cave, about to set off for his rendezvous with Han Yuexi.

However, a green streak of light, ignoring the layers of Restrictions of the sect's protective array, tore through the air and landed directly in front of him.

It was Han Yuexi.

Her face, normally composed, now showed an unprecedented solemnity.

"Something happened."

Lu Yuan's heartbeat didn't skip a beat; instead, it became even steadier.

Only, a cold chill spread inch by inch upwards from the very end of his spine.

"Ye Chen."

Han Yuexi's voice was very soft, yet it was like countless ice needles, poisoned with cold venom, piercing into Lu Yuan's ears.

"He's gone missing."

That dark red future, marked as "Highest Risk" in the [Sandbox Simulation].

That terrifying figure who, as an Incarnation of a demonic entity, single-handedly slaughtered everyone present.

This greatest variable, at the very last moment when all his plans were complete, broke free from the chessboard.

In Lu Yuan's pupils, Han Yuexi's cold and anxious face was clearly reflected.

For the first time, he felt that the net he had painstakingly woven, named "future," was being torn open from within by an unseen hand, creating a hideous gap.

Deep in his mind, that fleeting image reappeared.

The Azure Cloud Sect's mountain-protecting array.

That immense energy was not protecting.

It was... suppressing.