21: A bronze mirror reflects the heart; a natural transformation of character is achieved.
On a narrow ledge at the edge of the abyss.
Three "new ghosts" that had just transformed—still possessing human form but having lost their humanity—were frantically slaughtering their former companions.
The terrain here was too narrow, with a bottomless abyss behind and Monsters blocking the way ahead. The crowd was huddled together, unable to maneuver at all.
"Ah!! Save me!!"
A Wang Family Guard was grabbed by the shoulders by that "Monster." While he was still wailing for help, his chest was ripped open by sharp claws as dry as tree bark in the next second, spilling steaming internal organs all over the ground.
"Useless! All of you are useless!"
The Commander from the City Lord's Mansion watched his subordinates suffer heavy casualties and finally lost his patience.
He looked at the other four family heads with a sinister gaze: "Everyone, stop holding back. If we let these three ghostly things keep killing, our people will all be dead before we even reach the main hall!"
Su Tianhe gave a slight nod with a cold expression.
Indeed, cannon fodder was also a resource and couldn't be wasted here.
"Do it."
With the command from the five big figures.
The personal Guards who had been following closely behind them finally moved.
This was the true Foundation of each family!
The black-armored personal Guards of the City Lord's Mansion formed a three-man formation, their long halberds gleaming with cold light. Coordinating as one, they instantly locked the joints of one Monster. The two gray-robed Enshrined Experts of the Su Family, who had been squinting their eyes, drifted out like ghosts, their withered palms striking the Monster, each strike accompanied by the muffled sound of shattering bone.
Bang!
Boom!
Squelch!
In the narrow space, vigorous Qi radiated everywhere.
As the true elites took action, the battle situation reversed instantly.
In just the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, those three Monsters, which had been so arrogant just a moment ago, were completely dismembered. Some had their limbs severed by halberds, while others were beaten into mush by the Su Family Enshrined Experts' "Bone-Dissolving Soft Palm."
However, a scalp-numbing scene occurred.
Even after being torn into pieces, those severed limbs were still writhing frantically on the ground! That head rolling to the side was still opening and closing its mouth, trying to bite a passing ankle.
It wasn't until fifteen minutes had passed and the eerie Death Qi supporting them dissipated that these corpse pieces finally stopped moving and turned into puddles of foul-smelling black water.
"Move!"
Su Tianhe didn't even glance at the black water on the ground. Covering his nose and mouth with his sleeve, he was the first to step onto the now "safe" bone bridge.
Everyone held their breath and followed with lingering fear.
This time, no one dared to greedily take deep breaths, fearing that one extra breath would turn them into the rotten meat on the ground... After crossing the bone bridge, the scene before them changed abruptly.
It was no longer a gloomy cavern, nor was it a pitch-black abyss.
Everyone felt as if they had stumbled into a bizarre dream.
This was a huge circular domed space.
On the surrounding rock walls, thousands of copper mirrors of various sizes were densely embedded.
These copper mirrors were of ancient design; some were square, some were round, and some were broken. Under the illumination of the giant night-luminescent pearl in the center of the dome, countless copper mirrors reflected brilliant light, making the entire space as bright as day, even somewhat dazzling.
In the center of the space, the path leading to the upper passage was actually a "Mirror Bridge" paved with countless copper mirrors.
The bridge was wide enough for five horses to walk abreast.
Every copper mirror paving the ground was polished to a shine, clear enough to see one's reflection.
When walking on it, one's clear reflection was right beneath their feet, and their shadows were also overhead and all around. Thousands of "selves" were staring intently at you.
"This... so beautiful..."
A young Li Family Guard murmured to himself and stepped onto the Mirror Bridge with a dazed expression.
"Beautiful?"
Lin Que stood at the back of the group, his brow furrowed.
He felt an extremely restless aura.
The air here seemed to be filled with some invisible magnetic field that was frantically stirring the blood and Qi within his body.
"Ah!!!"
Suddenly, the Guard walking at the very front let out a shrill scream.
He clutched his head and knelt on the mirror surface, desperately smashing his head against the copper mirrors beneath his feet: "Don't look at me! Don't look at me!! I didn't kill you! You deserved to die!!"
Immediately following that, chaos spread like a plague.
Someone suddenly drew their saber and slashed at the companion beside them, shouting an enemy's name; someone else frantically clawed at their own face until it was bloody; yet another person was crying and laughing at the same time, their True Qi flowing backward as they spat out blood.
Qi Deviation!
"There's something wrong with these copper mirrors!"
The Zhao Family Head's expression changed drastically. He also felt the True Qi in his body starting to run wild out of control, as if countless Heart Demons were whispering in his ears.
"They can reflect Heart Demons and trigger blood and Qi disorder! Quick! Guard your mind and charge through!!"
The five family heads and those high-cultivation personal Guards, relying on their solid Foundations, forcibly suppressed the restlessness in their bodies and charged toward the opposite side of the bridge without looking back.
As for those Guards who had already fallen into madness? That was due to their own weak will; if they died, they deserved it.
Lin Que, mixed in the crowd, had just taken one step onto the copper Mirror Bridge.
Boom!
A surge of violent and disordered energy instantly shot from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his head!
The countless "Lin Ques" in the surrounding mirrors all seemed to be sneering at him. The internal Qi of his Seven Absolute Saber Technique, the Qi vortex of his Moon Devouring Art, and even that slight bit of Iron Skin Technique energy all went into total chaos at this moment!
Blood and Qi flowed backward! Meridians bulged!
A sharp pain, as if his internal organs were being displaced!
If it were an ordinary person, their Meridians would have already snapped, resulting in death.
But on Lin Que's face, there was a strange look of agony—that was just a show for others. Deep in his eyes, however, was an irrepressible ecstasy!
[Warning! Abnormal environment detected! High-intensity mental interference!]
[Detected host's all-attribute Cultivation Techniques in disorder! Blood and Qi reversal degree: 80%... 100%!]
[Judgment: Severe Qi Deviation state!]
[Backlash damage being converted... Transfer initiated!]
Lin Que clutched his chest and stumbled to his knees on the ground, looking as if he were about to give in.
Su Tianhe stopped his pace and gave Lin Que, who was kneeling on the ground, a cold glance.
At this time, Lin Que's face was flushed, his veins were bulging, and blood was faintly seeping from his seven orifices, clearly a sign of deep Qi Deviation.
"Useless."
A flash of disappointment and disdain crossed Su Tianhe's eyes.
"I originally thought he'd be a useful meat shield, but I didn't expect his will to be so fragile that he couldn't even pass this illusion stage."
"Since he's useless now, let him stay here and fend for himself."
After saying that, Su Tianhe didn't hesitate at all. With a wave of his sleeve, he led the two Enshrined Experts and quickly rushed toward the exit above. He would never spare a second glance for an abandoned pawn.
Watching the backs of Su Tianhe and the others disappear at the end of the passage.
Lin Que, who was kneeling on the ground, slowly lowered his "pleading" hand.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth; where was there even a hint of pain? Not only was he not in pain, he felt absolutely fantastic right now!
Although the blood and Qi in his body were in a state of frantic disorder, every bit of destructive power generated by the disorder was perfectly transferred away by the System.
And the massive energy triggered by this copper mirror array, after being filtered by the System, turned into the purest "Bone Transformation Power," which was frantically tempering his entire skeleton!
At the same time, a series of notification sounds on the System panel were like pleasant wind chimes:
[Transfer Target: Su Fu (Chief Steward). Sustained "Qi Deviation" critical hit! Heart vessels ruptured! Judgment: Deceased.]
[Transfer Target: Qian the Second. Sustained "Mental Derangement" critical hit! Brain domain destroyed! Judgment: Deceased.]
[Transfer Target: Sun the Third. Sustained "Blood and Qi Reversal" critical hit! All blood vessels burst! Judgment: Deceased.]
Crack, crack.
A series of dense, crisp sounds came from within Lin Que's body.
That was the sound of bones reorganizing and growing.
His spine rose and fell like a great Dragon, and the bones in his limbs became tighter and harder, even faintly taking on a jade-like texture.
[Congratulations to the host!]
[With the help of the "Ten Thousand Mirrors Heart-Reflecting Array," the Physical Body has broken its shackles!]
[Realm Promotion: Bone Transformation Realm (Early Stage)!]
Lin Que stood up.
The surrounding copper mirrors were still flickering, but in his eyes now, those so-called "Heart Demon Illusions" were nothing more than clumsy tricks. In the Bone Transformation Realm, bones were like refined steel, and strength exceeded a thousand pounds.
Only now could he be considered to truly have the qualification to flip the table in this man-eating dungeon.
Lin Que opened the System panel and looked at the now empty hate list.
That row of red names now only had two lonely avatars left, which were particularly striking.
[Current Locked Targets: Su Tianhe, Su Lang.]
Lin Que cracked his neck, producing a series of pops.
He looked at the deep exit above, a grim smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
"The small fry have all been cleared out."
"Family Head Su, Young Master Su..."
"Next, it's time to play this father-son game properly."
Lin Que picked up the Refined Iron Staff, ignored the surrounding cannon fodder who were still screaming in madness, and stepped across the Mirror Bridge with a steady pace, heading toward the final destination.