Nine Desolate Records

Dusk comes early to Xinglin Valley.

One by one, the glowing grasses in the herb garden lit up, like countless suspended emerald stars, enveloping Courtyard No. 3 in a soft halo. The milky white light of the Soul Nourishing Pool had lasted for three hours, and Yun Jin and Lin Qingyuan's breathing had become more even under the nourishment of the pool light—the remaining crack between the former's eyebrows had faded to almost invisible, and the black lines on the latter's neck had receded to three inches below his collarbone, no longer wriggling.

Shi Yong leaned against the doorframe, breathing heavily. The boy was exhausted, but he still gripped the iron rod in his hand, as if ready to jump up at any moment.

Lu Li sat on a stone bench in the courtyard, his palms outstretched, holding three items: the Dragon-Suppressing Dagger, the Phoenix-Suppressing Dagger, and the Tortoise-Suppressing Dagger. The three daggers gleamed with different lights in the twilight—dark blue, crimson, and bronze—and were faintly connected by energy, forming a fragile triangular array that barely suppressed the restless energy within his chest.

Human nature scale: 34%.

With each heartbeat, I could feel that thin layer of ice-like balance trembling.

The security measures at the courtyard gate caused ripples.

Elder Gusong entered carrying a green lamp, the light illuminating his ancient face: "Follow me. The Valley Master and the other Pavilion Masters are waiting in the Medicine King Hall."

Lu Li sheathed his dagger and swayed almost imperceptibly as he stood up.

"you……"

"It's alright." Lu Li interrupted Gu Song's concern, his voice calm. "Lead the way."

The blue light of the lanterns swayed on the stone path. Passing through the field of "heartbreak grass" and around several pavilions with hanging copper bells, the outline of the three-story wooden building built against the mountain appeared in the twilight.

Medicine King Hall.

Inside the hall, eight ebony chairs were arranged on both sides, and seven elderly men were already seated. The main seat was empty—it was said that the Master of Xinglin Valley had been in seclusion for ten years.

As Lu Li followed Gu Song into the hall, fourteen pairs of eyes fell upon him. Those eyes were like the finest silver needles, trying to pierce through his flesh and reach the depths of his soul.

"Sit," said Elder Mu Su, the white-haired, youthful-looking elder who sat at the head of the table on the left.

Lu Li sat down in the last seat. The chair surface was as cool as jade.

"The scene in the Mirror of the Heart has been described in detail by Gu Song," Mu Su said in a gentle voice. "Humanity and ferocity coexist, sealing and erosion vie for power. Lu Li, do you know what that thing within you truly is?"

"Fragments of the Prisoner's 'Tyranny' Source."

The expressions of several elderly men in the hall changed slightly.

"Where did you learn about the prisoners?" Tie Tang (Master of the Weapon Pavilion), whose face was gaunt, asked in a deep voice on the right.

"The notes of Jiang Yin, the gatekeeper of Cangwu Mountain; Xuan Ji, the tomb keeper of Shu Mountain; and Senior Yun Potian of Guilin Manor." Lu Li paused, "And... the old blind man of Linyuan City."

"When Yun Potian came to the valley to seek the recipe for 'Cleansing Dew' back then," Mu Su said slowly, "he mentioned that he was investigating a kind of 'evil power that erodes the soul.' He said that the evil power originated from ancient times and was related to the nine protective artifacts. Unfortunately, when he came back, he was already on his deathbed, leaving only the words 'Blood relatives as sacrifice, the anchor point is about to collapse' before he breathed his last."

She looked at Lu Li: "Since you've read his notes, do you know about the 'Demon-Taming Project'?"

"Xun Wenruo and others used human sacrifices to raise prisoners in order to maintain the balance of the seal."

"Not only that," Pavilion Master Wen Hong continued, "Three thousand years ago, King Yu of the Great enfeoffed the nine concepts of prisoners across the nine provinces, which was truly a last resort. The prisoners had become symbiotic with the earth's veins, and killing them would cause the laws of heaven and earth to collapse. Therefore, nine anchor points were set up to suppress them, and a 'grand sacrifice' was required every three hundred years to stabilize them. In the last hundred years, the anomalies of the earth's veins have intensified, and regular sacrifices are no longer sufficient. Xun Wenruo and others then practiced 'feeding demons'—selecting those with specific bloodlines as vessels, attempting to incorporate the power of the prisoners into human use."

His gaze was like a sword: "You are the vessel of 'tyranny'."

Lu Li clenched his fist: "This junior did not know."

"Of course you don't know," Mu Su sighed. "The bloodline of Emperor Yan has a natural affinity for the origin of prisoners. Xun Wenruo has been planning this for many years, and perhaps he had already included you in his game from the moment you were born."

She suddenly asked, "Where are your parents?"

My mother died early, and my father... left home when I was young and his whereabouts are unknown.

"Lu Mingxuan." Mu Su read the name aloud. "Twenty years ago, he brought your mother to the valley for medical treatment. Your mother suffered from 'bloodline depletion'—the bloodline of the Yan Emperor was too domineering, and an ordinary body could not withstand it. Although the valley used secret medicine to prolong her life for three years, in the end... it was too late."

Lu Li was startled.

This was the first time he had heard concrete news about his parents.

"When your father left the valley, he took with him a fragment of the 'Bloodline Sealing Technique,'" Mu Su continued. "He seemed to want to seal the bloodline that might awaken within you to prevent a repeat of the same mistake. But looking at you now... that seal has clearly not taken effect, or it has been broken."

Lu Li recalled the golden markings that appeared on his chest after a high fever when he was a child. It turned out that those were the marks of a seal left by his father. And Xun Wenruo's "awakening" of his bloodline was actually a way of breaking that seal.

"Why did Xun Wenruo choose me?" he asked hoarsely.

"Because you are the 'key'," Gu Song said solemnly. "Not just a container, but a 'living key' that can unlock the seals of the nine anchor points. Ordinary rituals can only maintain the seals from collapsing, but if you want to control the prisoner's power with human effort, you need to use the bloodline of Emperor Yan as a guide and the Nine Daggers as proof, and retrace the path of Yu the Great's sealing—each step consumes the container's humanity and life."

He looked directly at Lu Li: "The stab you took at Cangwu Mountain, seemingly a desperate act of survival, was actually an inevitable part of Xun Wenruo's calculations. With the Soul-Locking Dagger inside your body, your violent origin was sealed, and you became a walking 'sealing node.' From then on, at each anchor point, the seal within you will resonate with the fragments of the local prisoners, which may temporarily suppress the anomalies, but more likely... it will accelerate your fusion with the origin."

Lu Li felt a burning pain in the lock mark on his chest.

The 34% human nature ratio is like a guillotine hanging over our heads.

"It's already an exception that the valley was able to save your companions," Mu Su said, her tone turning solemn. "But the valley is powerless to help you with your problem. The prisoner's essence and bloodline are intertwined; if an external force forcibly separates them, you will die; if left unchecked, you will eventually lose all your humanity and become a monster."

She paused for a moment: "There is only one method that might be worth trying—to gather all nine daggers of Yu the Great and use their power to construct the 'Nine Extremes Demon-Sealing Array' to completely suppress and refine the source within you. However, this method is extremely dangerous, and no one has ever tried it before. Moreover, the nine daggers are scattered throughout the world, and finding them all is no easy task."

Lu Li looked down at his hands. The pale golden vein patterns on his palms were faintly visible in the palace light.

"This junior... has no other choice."

"Of course you have a choice." Yin Jiuzhu (Master of the Curse Pavilion), who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke from the last seat on the right. His voice was hoarse like sandpaper, and under his hood was a face covered with dark red runes, with two slowly rotating gray vortexes in his eyes.

"You can choose to die." Yin Jiuzhu raised his face. "Before you completely degenerate into a monster, end your own life. It's the cleanest, and also the most irresponsible, way to find release."

The air inside the hall suddenly turned cold.

Gu Song frowned: "Nine Candles!"

Yin Jiuzhu continued, "Or, choose 'sacrifice'—use your remaining humanity as a sacrifice to unleash the power of the three daggers and forcefully break through the seal within your body. If successful, you can temporarily gain power surpassing the Divine Treasure Realm, enough to return to White Deer Academy, kill Xun Wenruo, and destroy the core of the Demon-Feeding Plan. The price is... after the power is exhausted, your soul and spirit will perish, and you won't even have the chance to reincarnate."

His swirling gray eyes "looked" at Lu Li: "Both paths are much more pleasant than your current path of lingering on and watching yourself slowly turn into a monster."

Lu Li met those inhuman eyes.

After a moment, he slowly shook his head: "I choose the third path."

"Oh?" Yin Jiuzhu's lips curled into a strange smile. "Tell me about it."

"Gather all nine daggers and set up the Nine Extremes Demon-Sealing Array." Lu Li said each word clearly, "Before I become a monster, before my soul and spirit are destroyed—I will use this power to go where I am meant to go and do what I am meant to do."

He paused, his voice soft yet exceptionally clear: "At least save those who deserve it, at least... make those who used me as a pawn pay the price."

A long silence fell over the hall.

Mu Su looked at the young man, who was already weathered by life, and a complex emotion flashed in her eyes. She remembered Yun Potian thirty years ago, who had the same look in his eyes, knowing that death was inevitable, yet still stepping into the darkness without hesitation.

"Of the nine daggers, you've already obtained three," Mu Su finally spoke, "the Dragon Suppressor, the Phoenix Suppressor, and the Tortoise Suppressor. Do you know the whereabouts of the remaining six?"

"Old blind man," Lu Li said in a low voice, "besides giving me the Phoenix-Suppressing Dagger and the Sun-Shielding Canopy, he also said that the Qilin-Suppressing Dagger is under the Dragon-Locking Well in Lin Yuan City."

He raised his head.

Upon hearing this, the expressions of several elders in the hall changed drastically!

"The Zhenlin Dagger... in the Locked Dragon Well?!" Tie Tang exclaimed. "How is this possible? The Locked Dragon Well is the anchor point of the concept of 'fear,' while the Zhenlin Dagger is the master of 'soul soothing.' The two attributes are mutually exclusive. If they were in the same place, they would inevitably clash violently. It should have been..."

"Unless," Wen Hong interrupted him, his eyes flashing with a sharp light, "unless someone uses immense supernatural power to 'embed' the Zhenlin Dagger into the Dragon-Locking Well's sealing system as a second 'safety net'—once the fear projection in the well goes out of control, the Zhenlin Dagger's soul-soothing power will automatically trigger, suppressing it again!"

He suddenly looked at Lu Li: "Did the old blind man say who did this?"

Lu Li shook his head: "He only said that it was a work left behind by his master's master many years ago, in order to preserve an opportunity that might never come."

"Timing..." Mu Su murmured, "What timing?"

"This junior does not know," Lu Li said.

The hall was deathly silent.

The Zhenlin Dagger is actually under the Locked Dragon Well! That dead zone where the fear projection just erupted, half the city fell, and the Turbid Abyss Cult may still be active!

"Even if it really is underground," Gu Song frowned, "how will you retrieve it? The depths of the Dragon-Locking Well likely harbor lingering projections of fear, and the surrounding area is permeated with foul odors, with remnants of the Turbid Abyss Cult lurking. In your current state..."

"I have to go." Lu Li's voice was firm. "The Three-Dagger Formation is unstable, and the seal within my body could collapse at any moment. The Zhenlin Dagger Master's 'Soul-Soothing' is currently the only thing that can strengthen the seal and slow down the erosion. I..." He paused, "...can't hold on for long."

He looked at Mu Su: "Do you know the whereabouts of the other five daggers in the valley?"

Mu Su exchanged glances with the other pavilion masters, and finally slowly said, "The fifth one is the Sparrow Suppressing Dagger, which is mainly for 'Insight'. It appeared in the 'Western Extreme Flowing Sands Sea' a hundred years ago and disappeared in a sandstorm. In recent years, it has been rumored to have appeared in the black market list of the 'Loulan Ancient City' in the Western Regions."

"The sixth weapon, the Tiger-Suppressing Dagger, is primarily for 'killing and conquest.' It was stolen twenty years ago during an internal strife within the Demon-Suppressing Division, and the clues point to the 'Snowfield Royal Court' in the northern frontier."

"The whereabouts of the remaining three daggers—the Wolf-Suppressing Dagger (primarily for tracking), the Snake-Suppressing Dagger (primarily for concealment), and the Deer-Suppressing Dagger (primarily for healing)—are completely a mystery, with only scattered records in ancient books."

Lu Li memorized these three names and locations.

"Even if we only find these three, it's a matter of life and death." Mu Su looked at him. "The Abyss of Death, the Quicksand of the Western Regions, the Snowfield of the Northern Border... every place is extremely dangerous, and there must be powerful forces entrenched there."

"I understand," Lu Li bowed. "But the Zhenlin Dagger is in Lin Yuan City, and I must retrieve it first."

Mu Su remained silent for a long time before finally nodding: "The Soul-Nourishing Pool needs to nurture Yun Jin for three days before she will awaken. During these three days, you can practice the 'Heart-Stabilizing Technique' with Gu Song to stabilize your mind and slow down the erosion. In addition..."

She paused, then continued, "After Yun Jin awakens, you must tell her the part in Yun Potian's notes about 'blood sacrifice.' That's the truth her father obtained with his life, and she has the right to know."

Lu Li nodded.

"One last thing," Yin Jiuzhu spoke again, his gray-vortex eyes fixed on Lu Li, "before leaving the valley, come to the Curse Pavilion. I have something to give you—perhaps it can give you one last chance to 'choose' when your humanity is about to end."

After saying that, his figure vanished like smoke.

The meeting concluded. As Lu Li left the Medicine King's Hall with Gu Song, night had already fallen.

The fireflies flickered in the herb garden of the valley. In the direction of the inn, the milky-white light of the Soul-Nourishing Pool remained bright.

"The item Yin Jiuzhu gave you is most likely a 'Soul-Locking Curse,'" Gu Song said in a low voice. "If you crush it before you completely lose control, it can forcibly seal your soul for three days. During this time, you will still be conscious, but you will not be able to control your body—it's like giving you three days of clarity to arrange your affairs after death."

Lu Li paused slightly: "Thank you for your guidance, Elder."

Looking at his young yet weathered profile, Gu Song could only sigh: "Come to Mingxin Hall at dawn tomorrow. The practice of the Heart-Strengthening Technique must be performed in front of the Heart-Asking Mirror."

The two parted ways at the fork in the road.

Lu Li walked alone towards the inn. The night wind blew through the herb field, bringing with it a mixed scent of grass and trees. He touched the three daggers in his pocket, and then remembered Yin Jiuzhu's mention of the "Soul-Locking Curse".

Is this your last chance to choose?

He raised his head and looked eastward.

That's the direction of Lin Yuan City, the direction of the Locked Dragon Well, and also... the direction where the Zhen Lin Dagger is located.

Before that, he needs to find the fourth dagger.

Live to the day when you can make a choice.

Inside Courtyard No. 3, Section B.

The Soul Nourishing Pool glowed like mist and gauze. Yun Jin's eyelashes trembled slightly, and the fading silver pattern between her brows vaguely revealed an extremely ancient and crude rune-like phantom—the shape of that rune was even three-tenths similar to the pattern on the altar beside the Dragon Locking Well.

On the next bed, Lin Qingyuan suddenly clenched his fist while fast asleep, a faint black aura seeping from between his fingers. The black aura twisted in the air for a moment, vaguely condensing into the shape of a closed eye, before dissipating.

Outside the window, a strange, jet-black bird silently landed on the courtyard wall. Its scarlet eyes stared at the two people in the pool for a moment before flapping its wings and flying into the night.