31: Go for it!

Dead silence.

Aside from Zhao Rui's uncontrollable sobbing, the only sound left in the entire woods was the mournful sigh of the wind passing through the treetops.

The sound was like the whispers of countless wronged souls, drilling into their ears and pouring chill air into the marrow of their bones.

Su Ming's heart was tightly gripped by the invisible hand of fear, each beat heavy and difficult. He stared intently at the dilapidated temple; the small, orange flame brought no warmth, but instead looked like a guiding light from Hell, radiating a fatal temptation.

It's over.

This thought surfaced uncontrollably.

Just as he was about to be swallowed by despair, a voice rang out in his mind, as calm as a stone dropped into an icy lake, instantly shattering the thin sheet of panic.

“Disciple, there is no time to hesitate.”

It was Master!

There was not a hint of panic in Lin Yu's voice, yet it carried an unprecedented seriousness.

“This Illusion Formation is draining your Essence, Qi, and Spirit. Look at Zhao Rui; he's about to collapse. If we delay further, even without a Ghost Creature, you’ll both be exhausted to death here.”

Su Ming turned sharply to look at Zhao Rui, who was slumped on the ground, hugging his knees and trembling. His face was pale as paper, his lips were blue, and his eyes were unfocused; clearly, his mental state was on the verge of collapse.

“Master...” Su Ming's voice was dry and hoarse.

“I, your Master... have a method that might be worth trying.” Lin Yu's voice paused, as if weighing his words. “But, it is extremely dangerous!”

Lin Yu's heart was no longer like an ancient, still well; it was a pot of boiling magma, crazily bubbling with complaints.

“Damn it, I'm going all out! Five hundred years of being a Salted Fish, peace and quiet, and the moment I take on a disciple, I run into a final BOSS scenario in the Newbie Village? This is unscientific! This doesn't conform to the spirit of The Way of Cautious Survival!”

“But this feeling... this pure, cold Yin Qi... it's deadly poison to others, but for this wisp of my Remnant Soul, it's practically a Great Tonic Soup! Even if there might be arsenic in it, it smells wonderful!”

“I'll take the gamble! Fortune favors the bold! Bah, survival favors the bold! If we keep passively draining energy like this, the Spiritual Qi gathered by the Spirit Gathering Array won't even be enough to plug the teeth of this Ghost Wall! My Soul Body is about to regress from 'semi-transparent' back to 'almost invisible'! I can't let my retirement fund run out!”

He quickly suppressed these chaotic thoughts and reorganized his voice into a profound and mysterious tone.

“Disciple, listen closely.” Lin Yu's voice was steady as a mountain. “I, your Master, am a Remnant Soul Body, formless and insubstantial. I am the most sensitive to the Yin Souls and Ghost Creatures of this world.”

These half-truths immediately captured Su Ming's complete attention.

“The thing inside that temple, the aura it emits, is the root of this Illusion Formation. It set up the Formation specifically to trap passing living people, like livestock in a pen, waiting until the prey is exhausted and mentally broken before coming out to slowly enjoy them.”

Lin Yu's description made a picture flash in Su Ming's mind: a spider spinning a web, waiting patiently for a moth.

And they were those two moths already caught in the web.

“Then... what does Master mean?” Su Ming held his breath.

“Pulling the firewood from under the cauldron!” Lin Yu's voice was decisive. “Since retreat is impossible, we will Strike Directly at the Dragon's Heart! I, your Master, will personally go and meet the root of this Formation!”

Su Ming's eyes instantly lit up, as if he had grasped the last straw of hope: “Master, can you deal with it?”

“Hmph.” Lin Yu let out a cold snort of unclear meaning, appearing utterly confident.

Inner Thoughts: “Deal with it? What nonsense! I don't even have a physical body, how am I supposed to fight? My plan is for you to tank in the front, and I'll sneak behind to steal mana, then run after one sip! This is called 'Strategic Resource Theft'!”

“However,” Lin Yu changed the subject, “I, your Master, am currently weak in my Soul Body, and trapped by the ring's Seal, I cannot stray too far from you. More importantly, if I approach such a Place of Evil and Malevolence alone, the clash of Yin Qi would likely cause my Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering on the spot.”

The hope Su Ming had just ignited was extinguished by a bucket of cold water.

“Therefore, this method requires your cooperation.” Lin Yu finally revealed the core point.

“Me?” Su Ming pointed to himself, his face full of shock.

“Correct.” Lin Yu's tone was unquestionable. “You are a living person, possessing Yang Qi. This Yang Qi is like scorching flames to that Evil Thing, but to me, it is the best protection. What you need to do is walk to the front door of that temple and use your own Yang Qi to provide cover for me. I, your Master, have Secret Techniques to infiltrate the temple and strike directly at its vital point!”

Su Ming was completely stunned.

Go... go to the temple door?

Wouldn't that be voluntarily sticking his neck under the guillotine?

He subconsciously retorted: “Master! Didn't you say safety first, think twice before acting, and that anomalies must indicate a Prodigy? If we actively deliver ourselves to it, this...”

This completely violated the “True Scripture of The Way of Cautious Survival” taught by Master!

“Muddled!” Lin Yu roared softly, causing Su Ming to jump.

“The core of The Way of Cautious Survival is seeking survival, not waiting for death! When all paths of retreat are blocked, and the only path to life lies within the tiger's mouth, we must learn to pull the tiger's teeth!”

“Right now, we are trapped here, which is a ‘Desperate Situation.’ Waiting for death is a ‘Dead End.’ My Master's plan, though seemingly perilous, is to seize that sliver of life with the smallest cost; this is ‘Breaking the Deadlock’! This is the highest Realm of The Way of Cautious Survival—‘Seeking Life Through Death’! Do you understand?”

Inner Thoughts: “Holy crap, I really am a Genius! I managed to spin such ridiculous sophistry into something so stirring and moving! It's a waste of my talent not to become a pyramid scheme boss!”

These words made Su Ming's blood surge, yet his heart pounded nervously.

He looked at the dilapidated temple, which lay coiled in the darkness like a giant beast, and then glanced at the already disoriented Zhao Rui beside him.

Master was right.

Waiting means death.

Going all out, perhaps there is still a way to live.

Moreover, Master is a Remnant Soul connected to his own life; he would never joke about his own survival.

This risk must be taken!

“Master, I understand!” Su Ming clenched his jaw, the fear in his eyes receding, replaced by the resolve of a young man. “What should this disciple do?”

“Good! Worthy of being my disciple, Xuan Chenzi!” Lin Yu praised. “Your Heart-Nature is good. Listen, first find a way to quiet Zhao Rui; his crying will alarm whatever is in the temple. Then, regulate your breathing, clear your mind of distractions, and walk steadily toward the temple door, one step at a time.”

“Remember, your steps must be steady, your gaze firm, and silently recite silly phrases like 'Heaven and Earth Possess Righteous Qi'... er, instead, visualize the scorching sun overhead, imagine yourself as a walking flame. The stronger your Yang Qi, the stronger the protection for me, and the greater our chance of success!”

Inner Thoughts: “Don't chicken out, my good disciple! Your Yang Qi is my bulletproof vest! If you flinch, my old bones will be directly exposed to enemy fire!”

Su Ming took a deep breath and nodded.

He turned around, walked up to Zhao Rui, squatted down, and forcefully shook his shoulder.

“Zhao Rui! Stop crying! If you want to live, listen to me!”

Startled by the shout, Zhao Rui's sobbing stopped abruptly, and he stared at Su Ming blankly.

“Listen,” Su Ming's tone was unquestionable, carrying an unprecedented authority. “We must go to that temple now. You follow behind me. No matter what you see or hear, you are not allowed to make a sound or run off! Hold onto my clothes tightly. I take one step, you take one step! Understand?”

Perhaps Su Ming's calm demeanor infected him, or perhaps the instinct for survival overcame his fear, but Zhao Rui, as if under a spell, nodded.

Su Ming pulled him up, making him follow half a step behind him.

He closed his eyes and, following Master's instructions, visualized the scorching sun of a summer afternoon in his own courtyard.

The scorching heat of the sun on his skin, the sticky feeling of sweat running down his back, the heat waves rising in the air... a warmth seemed to truly rise from his Dantian, flowing through his limbs and bones.

He opened his eyes and took the first step.

“Thump.”

The sound of his footsteps was frighteningly clear in the dead silence of the woods.

He no longer took detours, but walked straight toward the dilapidated temple that emitted an ominous aura.

The fog in the woods seemed to thin slightly, and the path ahead became clearer.

The dilapidated temple continuously grew larger in his vision.

He could clearly see the peeling paint on the walls, the collapsed eaves, and the two stone lions at the entrance whose faces had been blurred by wind and rain.

The closer he got, the more bone-chilling the cold in the air became, mixed with a faint, cloying stench like old rouge mixed with rotting flesh.

Zhao Rui was shaking behind him like a sieve in the wind, his teeth chattering, but he bit his lip hard, and the knuckles of the hand gripping Su Ming's coat corner were white from the force.

Ten zhang.

Five zhang.

Three zhang.

Su Ming finally stopped just a few steps away from the temple door.

The dilapidated temple door, whose vermillion lacquer had long since peeled away, was slightly ajar, leaving a gap.

The orange flame shone precisely through that gap, casting dappled light and shadow on the small area in front of the door.

The wind stopped.

The sound of insects also vanished.

The entire world seemed to be left with only him and this eerie, dilapidated temple.

“Master?” Su Ming called out in his mind.

“Very good, Disciple, stand firm, don't move!” Lin Yu's voice held a hint of suppressed excitement. “Now is the time! Watch your Master!”

Before the words finished, Su Ming felt a slight chill on the fingertip wearing the ring.

An invisible, ethereal shadow, like a wisp of smoke, silently drifted out of the ring. Using the cover of Su Ming's body's Yang Qi, it shot like lightning through the door gap and disappeared into the darkness deep within the temple.