Nine Desolate Records

As dawn broke through the eastern clouds, the five had already traveled thirty miles from Lin Yuan City.

They didn't take the official roads, didn't cross the river, and didn't even pass through any villages. Lin Qingyuan barely suppressed the fluctuations of energy along the way using the geomantic talisman, but the price was that the wound on his left arm completely festered, his entire forearm turned deathly gray, and countless tiny worms seemed to be wriggling under his skin—that was fear corroding his very bones.

The old blind man was carried on Shi Yong's back. The old man's breathing was so weak that it was almost imperceptible, each inhale accompanied by a hissing sound like a broken bellows. The claw marks on his chest had spread to his neck, and black veins crawled up his cheeks like a spider web. But his withered hand still gripped the handle of the hammer tightly, his knuckles white from the force.

Lu Li carried Yun Jin on his back. The girl's body temperature was frighteningly low. Although the wound on her right shoulder had stopped bleeding, fine cracks were beginning to appear on the surrounding skin, like a dried-up riverbed. The backlash from the Eye of Delusion sank her consciousness into the depths, occasionally uttering vague murmurs:

"Father...don't go..."

"Blood...sacrifice..."

Each murmur made Lu Li's steps grow heavier.

He knew that Yun Jin's father, Yun Potian, had left a secret report in Lin Yuan City stating, "Blood sacrifice, the anchor point is about to collapse," when he investigated the "Demon Feeding Plan." But what he didn't know was what price Yun Potian ultimately paid for that investigation thirty years ago.

"Stop." Lin Qingyuan suddenly raised his hand.

The group stopped at the edge of a dried-up riverbed. This used to be the main waterway connecting Lin Yuan City with the direction of Shu Mountain, but three years ago, an earthquake caused the river to change course, leaving behind this pebble-strewn mudflat.

Lin Qingyuan crouched down and placed his palm on a blackened pebble. Three breaths later, his expression changed drastically:

"They've caught up."

"How far?" Lu Li asked.

"Forty li, at most an hour." Lin Qingyuan stood up, fine beads of blood seeping from the tip of his right finger—the price of overusing geomancy to explore the earth's veins. "Zhou Duanyue didn't take the official road; he led the Heavenly Punishment Team directly across the wilderness... twice as fast as us."

Shi Yong's face turned pale: "What do we do then? In our current state, we can't possibly outrun them..."

"We're not running anymore." Lu Li gently placed Yun Jin on a flat rock and covered her with a sunshade. "We'll wait for them here."

"Are you crazy?" Lin Qingyuan stared wide-eyed.

"You can't escape." Lu Li's voice was calm. "Zhou Duanyue's Thousand-Mile Soul-Chasing Technique can lock onto the fluctuations of prisoners within a hundred miles. I have the Prisoner's Essence within me, like a torch in the dark. No matter how far I run, he can find me."

He looked eastward, where the sun had fully risen, dyeing the horizon blood-red.

"So, let him come."

"And then?" Shi Yong asked in a trembling voice, "Can we defeat the Heavenly Punishment Team? That's the most elite fighting force of the Demon-Slaying Guard. Every member has a cultivation level above the Dharma Aspect Realm, and Zhou Duanyue himself is at the peak of the Divine Treasure Realm..."

"We can't beat them," Lu Li admitted. "So it's not about winning."

He took out the iron plaque of the Demon Suppression Division from his pocket—Zhao Xuange's keepsake. The edges of the plaque were sharp, gleaming with a cold, hard luster in the morning light.

"The Sword Tomb of Shu Mountain has erupted, and the Sword Locking Heaven and Earth Formation has been activated," Lu Li said slowly. "Xuanji won't let us in, but if we're followed by the Heavenly Punishment Team... a peak Divine Treasure Realm cultivator and twelve Dharma Aspect Realm cultivators—what will Xuanji do if such a force forcibly attacks the Sword Tomb Formation?"

Lin Qingyuan's pupils contracted: "He will... retaliate."

"The Sword Locking Heaven and Earth Formation is said to be a protective barrier left behind by an ancient sword immortal. When fully activated, its sword energy can annihilate any intruder below the Creation Realm." Lu Li gripped the iron plaque tightly. "No matter how strong Zhou Duanyue is, he's only at the Divine Treasure Realm. If he charges into the formation, Xuan Ji will counterattack. And at that time, the Sword Tomb Formation will have a brief opening—"

"—We'll sneak in during the chaos," Lin Qingyuan continued, but his brow furrowed. "But that's too risky. What if Xuan Ji wipes us out too? What if the breach appears too quickly, and we don't have enough time? What if…"

"There's no 'what if'," Lu Li interrupted him. "This is the only way."

He looked at the unconscious Yun Jin, at the dying blind old man, at the seriously injured Lin Qingyuan, and at the terrified Shi Yong:

"In our current state, we can't even reach the gates of Mount Shu. Even if we did, we wouldn't be able to get in. Only if a more powerful external force impacts the formation will we have a chance."

Lin Qingyuan remained silent.

He knew Lu Li was right. They were like a pack of wounded prey, relentlessly pursued by wolves. Their only chance of survival was to lure the wolves towards a more powerful predator, and then slip through the gaps as the predator and wolves clashed.

But this also means that they will face the dual dangers of the Heavenly Punishment Team and the Sword Tomb Formation at the same time.

"There's another problem," Lin Qingyuan said. "Zhou Duanyue isn't stupid. Seeing the Shu Mountain formation, he might not charge head-on. If he chooses to surround us without attacking, waiting for us to get out..."

"He will rush in," a weak voice said.

Everyone turned around and saw that the old blind man had opened his eyes at some point. His empty eye sockets were "looking" eastward, and a sarcastic smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Xun Wenruo's disciples... are all madmen. They only care about the mission, not life and death. Zhou Duanyue's order was to 'bring Lu Li back,' which means... if he can't bring you back, he'll die anyway."

The old man coughed up a mouthful of black blood and continued:

"So he'll charge. Even knowing that ahead lies the Sword Tomb Formation, he'll still charge. Because charging might mean death, but not charging... he'll definitely die."

Lu Li nodded and then began to make arrangements.

He instructed Shi Yong to place the old blind man behind a large rock, using pebbles and withered grass for simple camouflage. He also had Lin Qingyuan set up a few more interference talismans around the riverbed—they wouldn't be enough to stop the Heavenly Punishment Team, but they could at least buy them a little time.

He himself walked to the middle of the riverbed.

Sit cross-legged.

"What are you going to do?" Lin Qingyuan asked.

"Make the torch burn brighter." Lu Li closed his eyes.

He no longer suppressed the prisoner's nature within him.

That dark blue, whispering power began to spread wildly after he deliberately relaxed his control. The lock-like patterns spread upwards from his chest, climbed his jaw, and reached his cheeks, finally converging below his left eye into a twisted mark that resembled both a chain and an eye.

Dark blue mist seeped from every pore of the body, churning and swirling like a living thing in the morning light.

Human nature is beginning to decline.

47%.

46%.

45%.

With each point the price dropped, Lu Li felt something being peeled away from his mind. First, there was the smell of charcoal in the blacksmith's shop yesterday morning, then even earlier, the musty smell of paper when he found an old book in the academy's library...

Memory serves as fuel, sustaining the spread of this force.

Thirty miles away.

A team of twelve people is trekking across the wilderness.

They were all clad in light, dark gold armor, the surface of which shimmered with faint runic light. Each wore a standard longsword at their waist, the scabbard inscribed with the words "Heavenly Punishment." Their footsteps were perfectly synchronized, barely making a sound as they trod across the ground, like a group of silent ghosts.

At the very front of the group stood a burly man, eight feet tall.

Zhou Duanyue.

He looked to be in his early thirties, with a face as sharp as if carved by a knife, and a scar about an inch long below his right eye, as if it had been slashed by a sharp weapon. His eyes were pure gold—not the light of a magical eye technique, but a natural phenomenon, said to be able to see through all disguises and concealments.

At this moment, those golden eyes were staring westward.

"The fluctuations have intensified," he said, his voice low and rumbling like thunder. "The target is actively releasing its aura... thirty miles away, on the dried-up Luo Riverbed."

A teammate stepped forward from behind: "Commander, this might be a trap."

"I know." Zhou Duanyue said expressionlessly, "but the order is 'bring Lu Li back.' If it's a trap, flatten the trap as well."

He raised his hand and made a gesture.

The twelve team members accelerated simultaneously, their figures transforming into twelve streaks of dark golden light, leaving long afterimages across the wilderness. Wherever they passed, the grass was torn apart by their aura, leaving shallow pits in the ground.

The speed is 30% faster than before.

On the riverbed.

Lu Li opened his eyes.

The pupil of his left eye had turned completely bluish-black, while his right eye retained its human brown color, though dark veins were beginning to spread deep within it. His humanity was at 43%; any further and he would begin to forget important people and important promises.

But he didn't stop.

Because he could already sense that powerful, murderous aura was rapidly approaching.

Twenty li.

Ten miles.

Five li.

Dark golden specks of light appeared on the horizon, like a group of meteors falling.

Lu Li stood up and drew the Dragon-Suppressing Dagger. The dagger reflected a cold, hard blue light in the morning light, creating an eerie echo with the dark blue of his left eye.

Lin Qingyuan gripped his longsword, standing three steps to his left. Shi Yong, holding an iron rod with both hands, stood to his right. Both men were trembling slightly—not from fear, but from the instinctive reaction of their bodies reaching their limits.

The old blind man leaned against the rock, gripping the hammer with his last strength. He whispered something, but the sound was too soft and carried away by the wind.

Only Lu Li heard those words.

"Yun Potian... that's what he chose back then too."

The next moment, a stream of dark golden light descended upon the riverbed.

The twelve members of the Heavenly Punishment team spread out in a fan shape, blocking all escape routes. Zhou Duanyue stood at the forefront, his golden pupils sweeping over the crowd before finally locking onto Lu Li.

"Lu Li," he said, "I am here by order of the Demon Suppression Guard headquarters to take you back. If you resist, kill me."

Lu Li smiled.

That smile held no warmth, only a near-mad determination:

"Then come and kill."

The moment the words left his mouth, Zhou Duanyue moved.

Without warning or preparation, he transformed into a dark golden lightning bolt, hurtling straight at Lu Li. His right hand formed a claw, and tangible golden light condensed at his fingertips, causing the air to rip with a piercing sound wherever he passed.

This claw can crush mountain rocks.

Lu Li did not dodge.

He met the claw attack head-on, holding the Dragon-Suppressing Dagger horizontally in front of his chest. The dagger's surface shone with a brilliant blue light, transforming into an illusory shield—

"clang--!!!"

The deafening clang of metal colliding echoed across the riverbed.

Lu Li was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into a rock ten feet away. Spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the rock's surface, and he coughed up blood. The lock-mark pattern on his chest spread another inch.

But Zhou Duanyue also backed down.

A tiny wound appeared on the tip of his right finger, from which golden blood seeped out and dripped onto the ground, instantly corroding a small pit into the pebble.

"Prisoner's Power..." Zhou Duanyue looked down at his wound, his golden pupils slightly contracting. "It's stronger than I expected."

He no longer held back.

"Form ranks."

All twelve members of the Heavenly Punishment team drew their swords simultaneously.

The blades flashed like snow, forming a dark golden net in the morning light. The crisscrossing blade energy sealed off every inch of the riverbed. This was the combined attack formation of the Heavenly Punishment Team, which had once annihilated three demons at the early stages of the Divine Treasure Realm.

Lu Li wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and stood up.

He looked at the overwhelming net of blades, at Zhou Duanyue closing in step by step, and at his seriously injured companions behind him.

Then, he did something no one expected.

He turned and ran.

Instead of heading towards Mount Shu, we headed downstream along the riverbed—a dead end, surrounded by mountains on three sides, with only a narrow canyon through which we could pass.

"Chase!" Zhou Duanyue said without hesitation.

The dark gold net of blades followed closely behind, like a school of predatory fish.

Lu Li rushed into the canyon.

On both sides are cliffs hundreds of feet high, their rock faces covered with signs of weathering. The canyon is narrow, no more than three feet wide at its widest point, preventing the Heavenly Punishment Team from deploying their combined attack formation. They can only become a long dragon in pursuit.

This is exactly what Lu Li wanted.

He ran wildly through the canyon, the dark blue in his left eye growing ever more intense. With each step, he left a shallow footprint, burning with a bluish-black flame. The flames didn't extinguish; instead, they spread like a living thing, trying to entangle his pursuer's ankles.

Three members of the Heavenly Punishment team accidentally stepped on it, and bluish-black flames instantly spread upwards from their legs. They acted decisively, slashing off their own calves with their swords—no blood flowed from the wounds, only golden light writhed, and new limbs quickly regenerated.

But the speed was already half a beat too slow.

Lu Li seized the brief moment and turned around abruptly.

Instead of running away, he charged back towards the pursuing Heavenly Punishment Team.

The Dragon-Suppressing Dagger and the Phoenix-Suppressing Dagger were drawn simultaneously.

The left hand is blue, the right hand is red.

Two daggers drew intersecting arcs in the air, and where the arcs passed, space was subtly distorted—it was an interweaving of the concepts of "tyranny" and "burning desire." Although it was only a fragment, it was enough to shake reality.

The two members of the Heavenly Punishment team at the front swung their swords to block.

The moment the knife and dagger clashed, both men froze.

They saw an illusion.

Seeing one's most cherished disciple killed by one's own hands is a deep-seated guilt. Seeing the martial arts realm one has pursued throughout one's life crumble before one's eyes is the greatest fear.

"Delusion..." the two murmured, and a tiny flaw appeared in their swordplay.

Even a fraction of a breath is enough.

Lu Li's figure passed between the two.

The blue and red daggers sliced ​​across their necks—not decapitation, but a deeper, conceptual severing. Their heads remained attached to their necks, but the light in their eyes had died. Their bodies, still gripping the daggers, slowly fell.

One strike, two dead.

The price was that the dark circles under Lu Li's left eye spread to the edge of his pupil. He felt something being ripped from his mind again—this time it was his mother's voice, a voice he had never seen before, a voice he had only vaguely heard calling in his dreams.

Human nature, 42%.

Zhou Duanyue's roar came from behind:

"You're asking for it!"

The dark golden figure suddenly accelerated, almost transforming into a beam of light. He no longer cared about the formation or the energy expenditure; he clasped his hands together, conjuring a massive, three-zhang-long dark golden blade—

"Heavenly Punishment Slash!"

The giant blade cleaved down.

The rock walls on both sides of the canyon began to collapse under this force, and rubble fell like rain. The power of this attack had exceeded the scope of the Divine Realm and touched the edge of creation.

Lu Li looked up at the giant blade that had been slashed down.

He didn't hide.

Because behind him was the exit of the canyon, and beyond the exit lay the outline of the Shu Mountains.

The majestic mountain peak gleamed with a faint silvery-white luster in the morning light—the color of sword energy. Around the peak, countless fine, chain-like, or thread-like silver rays could be faintly seen flowing.

The Sword Locking Heaven and Earth Formation has already sensed the invasion of external enemies.

Lu Li smiled.

He released his hands, causing the Dragon-Suppressing Dagger and Phoenix-Suppressing Dagger to levitate in front of him. Then, he made a move that no one could understand—

He opened his arms to meet the descending giant blade.

It's like embracing death.

It's like welcoming a new life.

The giant blade fell.

The two daggers, one blue and one red, burst forth with unprecedented light as they collided with the dark gold giant blade.

No sound.

Or rather, the sound was too loud, exceeding the range of human hearing. The entire canyon fell into absolute silence for a moment, and then—

A blinding light, a mixture of blue, red, and gold, exploded from the point of impact, like a sun rising in the canyon. The hundred-foot cliffs on both sides turned to dust in this light, and the ground was lifted three feet to reveal the dark red, flesh-like rock layers beneath.

Lu Li's figure was swallowed by the light.

Zhou Duanyue's figure was also swallowed up by the light.

The entire canyon, along with everything within it, was completely erased at that moment.

Only one figure was sent flying backward from the light.

It's Lu Li.

He was covered in blood, his left eye had turned completely bluish-black, and only a tiny brown edge remained of his right eye. The lock mark on his chest had spread to his cheeks, making him look like a shattered, cracked statue.

But he was still holding two daggers in his hand.

His body was flying towards the canyon exit, towards the mountain shrouded in the silver array.

Shushan.

Arrived.

The light dissipated.

Zhou Duanyue stood in the center of the canyon ruins, his dark gold armor covered in cracks, a trickle of golden blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. He looked up at the figure flying towards Mount Shu, and for the first time, a hint of... solemnity appeared in his golden pupils.

"Commander!" The nine surviving members of the Heavenly Punishment team stepped forward.

Zhou Duanyue raised his hand to stop them from speaking.

He stared towards Mount Shu, at the silver array that had begun to ripple, and slowly spoke:

"Chase."

"But the great formation..."

"Chase him." Zhou Duanyue repeated, his voice as cold as iron. "Either take him back, or he dies here. There is no third option."

The nine team members remained silent for a moment, then bowed simultaneously.

"promise."

The dark golden light rose again, rushing towards Mount Shu.

At this moment, Lu Li was falling towards the foot of Mount Shu.

He watched the silver array draw ever closer, watched the tens of thousands of sword lights begin to condense on the surface of the array, and watched those sword lights turn toward him.

Then, he closed his eyes.

It's not about waiting to die.

It's about feeling.

Feel the dark blue-black primordial energy within your body, feel the resonance between the two daggers, feel... something deeper.

When he was still a hundred feet away from the great formation, he suddenly opened his eyes.

The bluish-black of the left eye and the last remaining brown of the right eye lit up simultaneously at this moment.

He raised the Dragon-Suppressing Dagger, aiming it at his own chest—

Stab it down.

It wasn't suicide.

It is to awaken.

The dagger pierced the densest part of the lock, penetrating the core of that dark blue-green source.

The excruciating pain swept over my entire body like a volcanic eruption.

But at the same time, an ancient, violent force also erupted, seemingly ready to tear everything apart.

Prisoner fragments, fully awakened.

Lu Li opened his mouth and let out a non-human roar.

The roar materialized into a sonic wave, crashing into the silver array—

The great formation trembled.

It wasn't the sound waves that moved me, but rather the "tyranny" aura, one of the nine concepts associated with "prisoners," contained within them.

Three thousand years ago, the prisoner was executed, and the Nine Concepts were sealed throughout the Nine Provinces. The Sword Tomb of Mount Shu contains one of these Nine Concepts—

"War Spirit".

Tyranny and the will to fight are of the same origin.

On the surface of the great formation, countless sword lights turned at this moment, no longer locking onto Lu Li, but instead locking onto the nine dark golden streams of light chasing after him.

And, at the very front, the strongest stream of light, belonging to Zhou Duanyue.

Xuanji, who had guarded the mountain for three thousand years, made his judgment at this moment.

Foreign invasion.

The grand formation is activated.

A silvery light engulfed the heavens and the earth.

at the same time.

Three miles outside the ruins of the riverbed canyon.

Lin Qingyuan carried the old blind man on his back, and Shi Yong carried Yun Jin on his back. The four of them hid in a naturally formed cave.

They watched as a silver pillar of light shot into the sky from the direction of Mount Shu in the distance, and saw countless sword shadows faintly visible within the pillar, as those sword shadows poured down like a torrential rain.

"He went in," Lin Qingyuan said in a low voice.

The old blind man leaned against his back and, with his last breath, said:

"Now... let's see what fate has in store for him..."

Before he could finish speaking, the old man closed his eyes.

Breathing stopped.

The hand that had been gripping the hammer finally loosened its grip.

The hammer handle fell to the ground with a dull thud.

The cave was deathly silent.

Only from the direction of Mount Shu in the distance, the sound of swords rang out like thunder, lasting for a long time.

Further away, in the direction of Lin Yuan City.

From the depths of the Dragon Locking Well came a second roar.

This time, it was louder and closer than the first.