Douluo: A Century-old Legend I Am the Second Uncle Chenxin

Chapter 1417 Seeing a mountain as not a mountain
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As dusk settled, it gently slanted through the carved windows, casting a hazy glow.

On that bluestone table, a glass spirit lamp floats gently, its light flickering, as if telling untold secrets.

Lian Shouzhong slowly opened his eyes in the air filled with the bitter smell of medicine. In an instant, a dull pain shot through his head, as if thousands of silver needles were piercing him, causing him to frown slightly.

Looking up, he saw his grandfather's withered hand, as thin as a dried bamboo, hovering three inches above his head. The golden threads formed from his soul power, as thin as snakes, were slowly being drawn away from his crown.

"Awake?" Lian Changzhi's voice was as gentle as ever, but the embroidered azure cloud pattern on his cuffs trembled slightly with his breath.

Lian Shouzhong struggled to sit up, his fingers digging shallow dents into the sandalwood bed frame, a testament to the depth of his pain.

"It has taken a toll on my grandfather's health..." he said weakly, with a hint of guilt.

Suddenly, a withered palm covered his wrist pulse point. Lian Changzhi carefully examined it and felt that the flow of soul in his meridians was sluggish, like a stagnant pond.

Is everything still peaceful within the five realms?

Before he could finish speaking, the boy coughed up a mouthful of blood, which splattered onto his plain white undergarment, resembling red plum blossoms falling on snow—a shocking sight.

After a short while, Lian Shouzhong said in a hoarse voice, "My old physical injuries are fine, but..."

His fingertips trembled as he pointed to the soul sea between his brows, "The upper soul nest wall is cracked."

"What about the nest wall?!" Lian Changzhi's expression changed drastically upon hearing this.

Although he had previously investigated with the cultivation level of a Soul Douluo, it was like looking at flowers through fog, since for those who have not opened their Soul Nest, their Sea of ​​Consciousness is a forbidden zone.

“The soul waves surge, the cracks are like porcelain.” Lian Shouzhong closed his eyes, his expression solemn. “I’m afraid… it will take a year and a half to heal.”

As a Soul King, he was capable of introspecting into the Soul Nest and gaining some insight.

Even Changzhi's tightly clenched joints finally relaxed a little.

Although the wall fracture was a serious problem, it did not damage the foundation. Compared to the situation of spiritual annihilation and becoming a cripple, it was much better.

With proper care and recuperation, it will eventually recover and won't hinder the cultivation of soul power.

He picked up the medicine cup, gently blew on the steam, and the rising medicinal smoke blurred the cold glint in his eyes.

"The condition of a cracked wall is seven parts natural nourishment and three parts medicine. Our Canghui Three-Flavor Soul-Soothing Soup is the best at healing this crack."

He deliberately spoke of "Three Flavors Soul-Soothing Soup" in a casual tone, but he put immense pressure on the four words "soothing the cracks."

Lian Changzhi knew that the most dangerous thing for the Soul Nest Wall to crack was the inner demons, and at this moment, he needed gentle words of comfort.

After taking the medicine, Lian Shouzhong coughed twice, his voice tinged with guilt: "Grandfather, I have failed the academy and you in your trust this time. I am ashamed."

As he finished drinking the medicine, two intermittent coughs rose in his throat.

He wiped the bruises from his lips, looked up at the imposing figure in the blue robe, and said, "This time, I... cough... have truly failed the academy's reputation and my grandfather's high expectations."

Lian Changzhi shook his head, his expression grave: "What exactly happened to you in the Seven Asura Illusionary Realms?"

Lian Shouzhong then recounted the battle in detail.

The cold flame of the soul lamp reflected in Lian Changzhi's eyes seemed to be burning with a karmic fire that forges bones and melts the heart.

Lian Changzhi stood with his hands behind his back, his posture upright yet unable to conceal a hint of desolation. His gaze drifted distantly out the window as he murmured, "Nine-Grid Grand Array? Mental Sealing Technique?"

"That Chen Xinyi was truly a prodigy. Alas, it was fate and destiny that made him so..." After saying this, he seemed to have endless feelings lingering in his heart.

Lian Shouzhong's eyes were dull and lifeless as he stared blankly out the window at the bustling arena that seemed to have nothing to do with him. A long and heavy sigh involuntarily escaped his throat.

He spoke slowly, his voice hoarse and weak: "After that, my soul was trapped in the unfathomable void of Mo Yuan."

"All around was silent and without a trace of light. All five senses were lost, and the world was in chaos. I couldn't even sense the existence of space."

Lian Shouzhong paused, as if gathering his courage, and then said, "Grandfather, her nine-square array is undoubtedly a huge threat to us Canghui spiritual soul masters. We must take precautions against her."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly coughed violently, a sickly redness rising in the corners of his eyes. "Otherwise, if left unchecked, it will surely become a great calamity for our sect's Glazed Temple in the future."

Lian Changzhi gave a wry smile and shook his head, saying, "Silly child, even if she doesn't use that damn nine-grid formation... she still has an overwhelming advantage over us."

Lian Shouzhong's mouth opened slightly: "Huh?"

Lian Changzhi sighed and slowly said, "She is the future young mistress of the Chen family. Are you aware of the Chen family's strength?"

Lian Shouzhong frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and then said, "I only know that the Chen family is a top-tier power, the number one family in the world."

Lian Changzhi nodded, his expression solemn: "Yes, the number one family that produces geniuses, the top of the top, it will only take them a little effort to destroy our Glazed Temple."

"So what if this Dust Heart Robe can counter our Seven Asura Illusionary Realms?"

"Faced with a power gap as immense as Mount Tai crushing an egg, why should ants bother to care whether an axe has a chip or a halberd?"

Lian Shouzhong was speechless for a moment, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down as if he had swallowed hot coals.

He suddenly loosened his clenched fist, as if he wanted to release the helplessness and resentment in his heart with this clenching and loosening action.

Suddenly, as if he had thought of something terrible, his lips trembled slightly, and he hesitated, "Grandfather..."

Lian Changzhi waved his hand, indicating, "Speak freely."

The young man leaned against the cloud-patterned couch, his knuckles so pale they were almost transparent, his voice hoarse: "Grandfather, please allow me to inform you that there is more mystery within that nine-grid array!"

"I was the last to fall, and just as I was about to faint, I glimpsed that there was a second layer of patterns hidden in the center of the array."

Lian Changzhi asked in surprise, "What strange pattern?"

Lian Shouzhong took a deep breath: "—It's not trapping the enemy, it's more like... self-locking?"

"That should also be a sealing technique. Her nine-square array did not unleash its full power against her sealing technique."

Lian Changzhi's pupils suddenly contracted: "Sealed? Self-sealed, or bound by someone else? So what we saw before was not the full extent of her power."

Lian Shouzhong nodded slightly: "I'm afraid so. What we forced out... was her strength even when she was in shackles."

Lian Changzhi slowly sat down and sighed, "Why did she seal it? What secret does she have that she's afraid others will find out?!"

For a long time, the room was silent, the deathly stillness spreading through the air like ink stains.

The soul lamp burned with a ghastly green flame, reflecting off Lian Changzhi's face and making the furrows on his face resemble a deep abyss.

A terrifying possibility suddenly flashed through his mind, and he trembled all over. He gurgled a few times in his throat and muttered, "Well said... 'Seeing a mountain as not a mountain'."

(End of this chapter)