206: Chapter 206 The City Is Full of Mysteries

After completing the fourth round of running, Li Xin lay in his bedroom for four hours.

He didn't fall asleep. With his eyes closed, the images in his mind never ceased. Those snake shadows, the silhouettes of giants, and the hissing sounds coming from beneath the ground seemed etched behind his retinas; closing his eyes only made them clearer.

Downstairs, Ravi paced back and forth, the sound of his slippers slapping against the stone floor— "patter, patter…"

The faucet was turned on and off intermittently. Listening to these sounds, Li Xin gradually felt himself returning to normal.

This simple, mundane atmosphere of daily life always managed to dissolve the inexplicable chaos in his mind. Just by leaning over to wash vegetables or quietly boiling water, his mood slowly settled.

He sat up and went to wash his face.

Looking at himself in the mirror, his eye sockets were slightly sunken, his complexion was ashen, and his lips were dry and chapped.

He splashed cold water on his face and then on the back of his neck. As the water ran down his collar, he couldn't help but shiver, and his whole body was instantly activated.

When he came downstairs, Ravi was in the courtyard collecting the bedsheets that had been drying all night. Seeing Li Xin, he stopped what he was doing and asked, "Mr. Li, you don't look so good. Didn't you sleep again last night?"

"Yeah, a bit of insomnia."

"The weather here is humid; many outsiders can't sleep well when they first arrive."

Ravi folded the sheets and draped them over his arm. "Please wait a moment, I'll arrange for some ginger tea to be brewed for you to drive out the dampness."

"Alright, thanks."

Li Xin sat down in a rattan chair in the courtyard. The sun had just come out, feeling warm on his legs. He leaned against the back of the chair, closing his eyes to listen to the sounds of the courtyard.

Ravi was in the kitchen cutting ginger; the knife hitting the chopping board made a rhythmic "thud, thud, thud," pausing occasionally before continuing. The wind blew through the coconut leaves, making a rustling sound. In the distance, there seemed to be a few bird calls, but they were far away and indistinct.

His phone vibrated.

A message from Liu Mo: "Boss, the square in front of the temple is completely packed. Aqiang just passed by and took a picture; there are at least 30% more people than yesterday, and traffic police are directing detours at the intersection."

After a dozen seconds, another video popped up.

Li Xin tapped to watch it. The footage was taken from a high vantage point at the street corner, showing the open space in front of the temple gate.

It was a sea of people—some kneeling, some standing, and others holding up phones to record.

He closed the video and put the phone down.

Ravi brought out the ginger tea, and Li Xin took it, setting it on the stone table to cool.

"Mr. Li, there is a grand dharma assembly at the temple today, lasting from morning until night. The main road outside has been blocked off, so cars can't get through. If you need to go out, you'll have to take the back street."

"Thanks, I'm not going out today. I'll just stay in the courtyard."

"Understood."

Ravi nodded and turned to leave.

Once the ginger tea cooled, Li Xin picked it up and took a sip. The ginger flavor was strong and a bit spicy, warming his throat all the way down.

He held the cup, watching the light and shadows in the courtyard slowly shift. The sun climbed higher, and the shadows on the ground shortened.

At noon, Liu Mo came to the courtyard gate. He stood at the entrance and said, "Boss, I have something to report."

Li Xin opened the gate.

Liu Mo, standing outside, handed over a bag of mangoes: "I bought these mangoes on the side of the road; they are very sweet. Also, there is a situation: the commotion from last night is now spreading wildly online."

"What are they saying online?"

"The theories are all over the place. Someone took a video claiming the copper bells in the temple rang on their own without cause, ringing for the entire night; others recorded a continuous humming sound, like the incessant striking of the large copper chimes in the temple. Folk rumors are saying that the Snake God is enraged."

"What does the official side say?"

"The officials haven't made a statement yet, but police presence has doubled. Checkpoints have been set up on all three main roads, and IDs are being verified for anyone entering or leaving the city. I've already instructed Aqiang and the others not to go out casually for the time being, so they don't get stopped and questioned for no reason."

Li Xin took the fruit, nodded, and instructed, "Tell everyone to rest early tonight. They are checking strictly outside these few days, so don't stay out too late."

"Understood."

Liu Mo acknowledged this and turned to leave.

Li Xin carried the fruit back into the courtyard and placed the bag on the stone table. There was still some dew on the mango skins, feeling cool to the touch. He picked one up, turned it over in his hand, and then put it back.

The afternoon passed very slowly. He went back to the study for a while and flipped through the book of historical sites he had brought out. He stared at it for a long time, though he wasn't really reading it.

He watched the system panel, the cooldown countdown ticking down one tick at a time. Every now and then, he would look out the window. The sun moved from east to west, and the tree shadows shifted from west to east. The change was very slow, so slow it made one feel sleepy.

As evening approached, Ravi lit some mugwort in the courtyard to repel mosquitoes. Gray-white smoke rose from the iron basin and drifted around the flower beds. The air held the bitter scent of mugwort, which actually smelled quite pleasant.

Li Xin sat in the rattan chair, watching the clouds on the horizon change from orange-red to grayish-purple, then to dark blue. The temple in the distance lit up; orange-red points of light emerged one by one, as if someone had lit a row of candles on the ground.

After six o'clock, Ravi brought dinner.

"Mr. Li, the temple is holding rituals all night tonight. I stood by the gate for a while; the sound of bells was continuous, never stopping for a moment. Listening to that sound is inexplicably unsettling."

"You can hear it that clearly?"

"You can hear it three streets away. The sound is deep, as if it's surging up from deep underground. The ground trembles slightly with it. If you stand for too long, your heels start to go numb."

Li Xin took a bite of rice and chewed it slowly.

"Lock the doors and windows tonight. Don't stay up late, get some sleep early."

Ravi glanced at him, didn't ask any more questions, and retreated to his own room.

After it was completely dark, the sounds outside actually grew louder. The chanting and bell ringing mixed together, deep and heavy, as if many people were speaking at the same time from a great distance.

Li Xin sat in the study. The windows were closed and the curtains drawn, but those sounds could still penetrate; they became a bit muffled through the glass, but they didn't disappear.

At around one in the morning, the system panel popped up a line of notification.

[Cooldown countdown: 00:12:37. The fourth round of Extraction window is about to open. Current Divine Domain suppression intensity assessment: increased by approximately 22% compared to the first round. Predicted speed: 23 tons/hour. Expected mental pressure: Severe. It is recommended that the host maintains a silent state for three to five minutes before the Extraction begins to reduce the probability of mental anchor fluctuations.]

After reading the introduction, Li Xin fell silent. Leaning against the back of the chair, he rested his hands on his knees and adjusted his breathing. Inhale, exhale, then inhaled again.

The wind picked up outside. The leaves of the coconut trees were blown over, rustling for a while, then stopped.

A burst of bell ringing sounded in the distance again, more intense than before, "dong, dong, dong, dong," as if someone were racing to strike them. That ringing lasted for nearly a minute before slowly weakening.

His phone screen lit up. Liu Mo sent two words: "Boss, everything is ready."

Li Xin replied with one sentence: "Got it. You don't need to worry about it, just keep the normal shift."

"Understood."

He tossed the phone onto the table and sat properly again.

[Cooldown ended. The fifth round of Extraction window has opened. Start?]

"Start."

Almost at the same instant, a familiar feeling returned. Something in the depths of his consciousness was pried open, and an invisible flow of Qi surged up from the underground, passing through the soil, rock layers, and the Foundation, gathering in his direction.

There was no sound, no light, but he could feel that flow. Slow, continuous, and unstoppable.

The progress bar began to move. Zero point something, one point something, two point something.

The wind outside picked up again, stronger than before. Something in the courtyard was blown over with a loud crash—probably a flower pot. Then the neighbor's dog started barking frantically, before going silent after a moment.

Li Xin sat quietly, his gaze fixed on a knot in the wooden table. The long wood grain was highlighted by the light, with clear textures and alternating light and dark. He stared at it quietly, casting aside all chaotic thoughts, focusing on feeling the rhythm of the Extraction slowly pulling from within his body.

[Progress: 8%. Current state stable. Divine Domain stress index is slowly rising.]

Suddenly, the sound of hurried running came from outside. Footsteps rushed past the alley entrance and faded away in an instant. Before long, a car engine roared to life, and the chanting that followed sounded again, this time much closer, as if someone were crouching just outside the wall, whispering the incantation.

All the sounds were separated by only a wall, clear and distinguishable.

He continued to look at that wood grain knot. He didn't look up, didn't turn his head, and didn't let any action reveal what he was doing at that moment.

When the progress reached over ten percent, those auditory hallucinations began to appear.

The sound of a snake's tongue flicking, hissing, intermittent, as if something were blowing air right against his earlobe. He gritted his back teeth and ignored it.

Then came a man's voice. It was very low, as if it were coming from a great distance, speaking a language he couldn't understand. But from the tone, he could tell: it was neither a command nor a warning.

It was more like a continuous, repetitive, and relentless muttering.

The sound wasn't harsh, but it was impossible to ignore, like a tumor growing in your brain—it stays there whether you pay attention to it or not.

He felt his temples throbbing, the rhythm out of sync with his heartbeat—half a beat slower—making him feel somewhat agitated.

[Progress: 23%. Mental pressure level is continuing to rise. Host is advised to change body posture appropriately to alleviate nervous tension.]

Li Xin changed his sitting posture, shifting forward and resting his elbows on the desk.

This position slightly altered his field of view, allowing him to see the light from the streetlamp filtering through the gap in the curtains—a small, dim yellow patch landing on the edge of the desk.

The auditory hallucinations persisted, but the sound had softened.

The sound of the snake's tongue had weakened, turning into a continuous low-frequency hum, like the lingering echo of a great bell in a temple after it has been struck.

He focused his attention on that patch of streetlamp light, watching the shape it made on the desktop, its edges blurred and fringed with a warm hue.

As the progress reached the thirty-something percent mark, a dull thud suddenly came from outside.

It had nothing to do with the ringing of bells or chanting; it was the sound of a heavy object crashing down from a height, deep, dull, and powerful, shaking the entire ground slightly.

Immediately after, voices came from the distance—many people shouting something simultaneously.

He couldn't make out the content, but he could feel the chaos.

Then the wind suddenly picked up, blowing the curtains out, and the papers on the desk flipped over with a rustle before settling back down.

[Progress: 41%. External environmental disturbances and Divine Domain stress responses are strengthening in sync. Natural wind force and energy field resonance have combined to form complex meteorological anomalies. This wave is estimated to last approximately fifteen minutes.]

Li Xin stood up, walked to the window, and pulled the curtain open a crack to look outside.

The streetlamp in the alley swayed in the wind, its halo flickering, and the shadows on the ground swayed along with it.

The lights of the temple in the distance were much brighter than usual.

It wasn't the usual soft orange glow, but rather a ghastly white, flickering on and off, looking like the strange light caused by unstable voltage.

A few figures ran past the entrance of the alley, moving very fast; he couldn't see who they were.

The wind surged again, then began to die down, gradually weakening into intermittent gusts, and finally, only a slight swaying remained.

He retreated and sat back down, readjusting his breathing.

When the progress reached over fifty percent, those hallucinations began to appear.

At first, it was just black outlines in his peripheral vision, flashing by at the edge of his sight, but when he turned to look, there was nothing there.

The next instant, the image became clear.

The semi-transparent, hazy gray shadow of a massive seated statue was frozen to the left of his field of vision.

It sat quietly, motionless, yet its overwhelming presence pressed directly onto him, its existence intensely palpable.

He didn't turn his head to look, nor did he try to discern exactly what it looked like.

He knew how those things came to be, knew they weren't real; the longer you stared, the clearer they became, and if you ignored them, they would slowly fade.

[Progress: 58%. The current peak of mental pressure has approached the level of the same period in the third round and is still within a controllable range.]

He felt his breath turn dry, inhaling not quite smoothly, his chest seemingly pressed lightly by something.

He took a sip of the cold tea on the table, holding it in his mouth to moisten his lips.

The chanting outside grew louder again, as if hundreds of people were speaking at once, the sounds layering on top of each other until the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.

But he didn't turn his head, didn't stand up, and remained sitting there, his hand resting on the edge of the table, staring at that patch of streetlamp light on the desktop.

The light had moved a distance, shifting from the edge of the desk to a position slightly to the right of the center, warm yellow, with slightly rough, scattered edges.

When the progress reached over seventy percent, that feeling changed again.

It was no longer auditory or visual hallucinations, but a more direct pressure, as if seeping in from the surface of his skin.

It seemed as if invisible water was pressing in on him from all directions—not heavy, but he was very clear that he was at the center of that pressure.

Every breath took a little more effort than the last, and when he exhaled, he could feel the rebound force in his chest.

[Progress: 76%. The precursor to the final backlash of the Divine Domain is taking shape. It is recommended that the host maintain low-intensity mental anchoring and avoid active confrontation.]

He didn't resist, just continued to watch that patch of light.

The light began to turn white, the warm color slowly fading away, as if the lightbulb were aging.

He knew that wasn't a real change in the light, but rather a superposition of disturbances on the mental level, but he didn't try to distinguish truth from falsehood, just watched.

[Progress: 84%.] The Extraction continued, without pause, without slowing down.

A strong wind blew up outside, knocking over a flowerpot in the courtyard, the sound of shattering tiles exceptionally crisp.

Chaotic and hurried footsteps sounded outside, a group of people flashing quickly past the alley entrance.

Intermittent shouting was interspersed within, the wind howling and cutting through the voices, leaving only blurred noise; he couldn't distinguish what they were yelling.

[Progress: 91%.]

His palms were already drenched in cold sweat, and his fingertips resting on the edge of the table had seeped out a circle of damp marks.

His knees trembled slightly and uncontrollably—not from cold, but a physiological reaction from being stiff and tense for so long.

He adjusted his sitting posture slightly, stretching out his legs, and the subtle trembling in his knees finally gradually subsided.

The hallucinations remained.

The outline of the huge seated statue on his left had become clearer; he could see some decorative lines hanging down from its shoulders, like the edges of some ancient robe.

On his right, there was now a long black shadow, winding and slowly moving, like some kind of huge snake slithering.

He understood the intention of those things: to deliberately create all kinds of disturbances to disrupt his thoughts and lure him into confronting them.

Confrontation would inevitably lead to exhaustion, and once exhaustion set in, his own lapses would become apparent.

He no longer paid attention to the disturbances around him, his gaze entirely fixed on that halo of light.

The light slowly faded from its eerie cold white, returning to a gentle, warm yellow, the fine, rough, distorted feeling at the edges gradually dissipating, and his turbulent, hazy vision was returning to stability and calmness bit by bit.

[Progress: 96%.]

His sense of time became blurred during this stage.

He didn't know if minutes or over ten minutes had passed; he didn't look at his watch, didn't calculate.

He just sat there, staring, listening to the sound of his own breathing, feeling the Extraction progress slowly and firmly in the depths of his consciousness.

[Progress: 99%.]

A particularly long bell toll came from outside the window, unlike all the previous ones.

This sound was drawn out extremely long, as if emerging from the bottom of a very deep well, expanding outward in layers with echoes.

The moment the bell toll completely sank away, he felt those hallucinations shrink back all at once.

The outline of the seated statue dispersed, the long black shadow contracted into a small ball and then disappeared, the sound of the snake's tongue cut off, and the chanting receded from his ears.

[Fifth round of Extraction complete. This round, 300 tons acquired. Room B cumulative loss 1500 tons. Remaining estimated 1350 tons. Cumulative Gold: 8902.7057 tons.]

[Cooldown initiated. Countdown: 11:59:59.]

Li Xin sat in the chair, not moving.

He could hear his own heartbeat, faster than usual, but it was slowly slowing down.

He stood up and walked to the window, stood still for a moment, then turned and walked to the bathroom, splashing cold water on his face.

He looked down at the sink; the water was clear and clean, with not a trace of blood, nor any strange objects.

He wiped his face with a towel, returned to the study, turned his chair around, and sat down facing the window.

It was already one-thirty in the afternoon.

Leaning against the back of the chair, he closed his eyes for a while.

From downstairs came the sounds of Ravi waking up—the sound of opening doors, footsteps, the sound of the faucet being turned on.

These daily sounds returned to the air little by little, making him feel that everything had passed.

But he knew the last two rounds would be the toughest.

The Foundation of the Divine Domain was more than half empty, and the remaining things would try their best to stop him.

He opened his eyes and glanced out the window; the sun was high in the sky, exceptionally sweltering, and he pondered for a moment.

He walked back to the chair and closed the open art book.

From the end of the hallway came the sound of Liu Mo moving; his footsteps were very clear on the wooden floor.

He stopped at the door for a moment, then knocked gently on the door panel twice.

"Boss, are you awake?"

"I'm awake."

"Lunch is downstairs, Ravi just made it."

"Coming."

He stood up, pulled open the door, and walked out.

Liu Mo was standing at the top of the stairs, looking at him, not speaking.

The two of them went downstairs, one after the other.