Nine Desolate Records

The morning mist was as sharp as a knife.

Lu Li stood before the broken sword, the crimson-gold flames in his palm slowly receding. The successfully transformed, violent power flowed within his body, bringing a strange warmth—no longer the scorching ferocity of the soul, but a power as calm as the earth's veins.

Xuanji's hunched back cast a long, thin shadow in the morning light: "The twenty-day period is up. You should go."

"Senior—" Lu Li had just begun to speak.

"I can hold out for another three months against the seal on the Sword Tomb," Xuanji interrupted him, his voice devoid of emotion. "Within three months, you must obtain the Zhenlin Dagger and stabilize your internal balance. Then go to the Northern Border and find the Purifying Flame Pool. That is your only chance."

Lu Li remained silent for a moment, then bowed deeply: "This junior will certainly live up to your expectations, senior."

"Let's go." Xuanji turned around, his cloudy eyes looking towards the direction of Mist Ridge. "The people of the Turbid Abyss Sect have been guarding outside Mist Ridge for seven days. Today is the eighth day, and they should be losing patience."

Before he finished speaking, the mist at the edge of the valley suddenly surged.

It wasn't the natural flow of a morning breeze, but rather a rhythmic, surging movement, like a tide. Deep within the mist, dozens of dark figures could be vaguely seen darting about, forming a standard hunting formation.

"They've arrived." Xuanji placed the green lamp beside the broken sword and unfastened the ordinary iron sword from his waist. "Remember, the Sword Intent of Ceasefire wasn't created for killing. But if someone insists on blocking your way..."

The iron sword was drawn from its sheath, emitting a clear, resonant hum.

"Then let them understand," Xuanji's gaze suddenly sharpened, "what 'stopping war' means."

The edge of the valley, towards the misty ridge.

Three dark figures stepped out of the mist first. They wore uniform dark brown leather armor and black masks, revealing only their eyes—but those eyes were not human eyes, but two constantly rotating dark red crystals.

"Three teams of puppet soldiers, twelve men, form the 'Soul Devouring Array'." The leader's voice was hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing against metal. "Target: Lu Li. Dead or alive, but his inner essence must be intact."

The twelve dark figures simultaneously raised their hands, dark red runes appearing in their palms. The runes intertwined in the air, transforming into a giant blood-red spider web that descended towards the center of the valley.

Wherever the spiderweb passed, vegetation withered rapidly, and even the surface of rocks cracked. This was the "Soul-Devouring Array" specifically designed by the Turbid Abyss Sect for cultivators, capable of eroding true energy and corrupting the soul.

Lu Li pressed down on the Dragon Suppressing Dagger.

But Xuanji moved even faster.

The old man simply took one step forward.

It was an ordinary step, like a casual stroll. But as soon as that step was taken, the sound of swords echoing throughout the valley vanished abruptly.

Absolute silence.

It's not that sound is blocked, but that the concept of "sound" itself has been soothed by some higher will.

Then Xuanji raised his hand, and the iron sword drew a semicircle in the air.

There was no sword energy, no radiance.

But the crimson spiderweb that descended upon the sword's trajectory melted and evaporated like snow under the sun the moment it touched the sword's edge, leaving not a trace.

"How is this possible?!" the leading figure exclaimed in disbelief.

Xuanji did not answer. He took another step, this time heading towards the misty ridge.

With each step, the ground trembled slightly. It wasn't the violent shaking of an earthquake, but a more subtle, more fundamental vibration—like the entire valley breathing, resonating.

The twelve puppet soldiers wanted to retreat and regroup.

But they discovered that they couldn't move their bodies.

It wasn't that it was frozen in place, but rather that it was "soothed out".

The sword intent of Ceasefire surrounding Xuanji had already created an invisible "field" the moment they stepped into the valley. Within this field, all desires to attack, thoughts of resistance, and wills of hostility were gently smoothed out by an invisible hand.

Like a raging beast being calmed, like boiling water returning to calm.

The dark red crystals in the puppet soldiers' eyes began to dim and go out. They stood frozen in place, and for the first time, their faces beneath their masks revealed a bewildered expression that belonged to humans.

"You..." the leading figure in black rasped, "What have you done to us?"

"I didn't do anything." Xuanji walked up to him. "I just let you see... your true selves."

The iron sword gently touched his brow.

The shadowy figure shuddered violently, its mask shattering to reveal a young face covered in black lines. The lines seemed to writhe as if alive, but abruptly stopped the moment the sword tip touched it.

Then, it started to fade.

They were not driven out, but "transformed".

The black lines gradually turned silvery-white, eventually transforming into fine runes that were imprinted beneath the skin. The dark red crystal in the young puppet soldier's eye shattered completely, revealing his original, clear but bewildered eyes.

"Who...who am I?" he murmured.

Xuanji sheathed his sword: "Go back and ask your sect leader."

After saying that, he turned and walked towards Lu Li.

Behind them, the twelve puppet soldiers looked at each other, their hostility long gone, replaced by confusion and bewilderment. The marks of the Turbid Abyss Cult on their bodies were slowly fading, as if they had been "cleansed" from their very roots by some force.

"Senior," Lu Li watched this scene, "this is... transformation?"

"A superficial application of the third technique." Xuanji nodded. "True transformation requires time, understanding, and the other party's willingness to change. What I did was merely temporarily 'guide' the impure power within them, allowing them to regain a sliver of clarity."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "But this is only a temporary solution. The corruption of the Turbid Abyss Sect is deeply rooted in the soul. Unless the source is completely purified, they will eventually be regained control."

"And what about them...?"

"Let them go," Xuanji said. "They are pawns, but also evidence. Let the people of the Turbid Abyss Sect see just how far the Zhige Sword Intent can go."

At the edge of the misty ridge, the remaining puppet soldiers hesitated for a moment before finally supporting their twelve companions who had regained their senses and quickly retreating into the thick fog.

As dawn broke, the valley returned to silence.

"You should go too." Xuanji took out a jade token from his robes and handed it to Lu Li. "This is the Sword Tomb's 'Pass', containing a teleportation array. Crush it, and it will teleport you to Qixia Town, three hundred miles away. From there, it's half the distance to Linyuan City compared to starting from the Sword Tomb."

Lu Li took the token; it felt warm and smooth to the touch, and he could feel the power contained within it, which shared the same origin as the Zhige Sword.

"Remember," Xuanji instructed finally, "the Zhenlin Dagger is beneath the Dragon-Locking Well, but that place is now a den of dragons and tigers. The Zhuoyuan Sect will undoubtedly have deployed a large force, and the Demon-Slaying Guards may also intervene. What you need to do is not to force your way in, but to 'infiltrate' it."

"sneak into?"

"Beneath the Dragon Locking Well, there is an abandoned underground waterway that leads directly to the altar at the bottom of the well." Xuanji quickly sketched a simple map on the ground with his iron sword. "This is the entrance to the secret passage that Yun Potian discovered thirty years ago when he explored it. It's located at 'Old Locust Slope,' three miles outside the well. There are concealment array patterns he set up inside the passage, so it should still be usable."

Lu Li memorized the map.

"Once you obtain the Zhenlin Dagger, leave Lin Yuan City immediately without lingering." Xuan Ji looked at him. "Your time is running out. I can sense that the 34% of humanity within you is beginning to show signs of 'solidification'."

Lu Li's heart skipped a beat: "Solidified?"

"When the proportion of humanity remains below 40% for an extended period, the soul will gradually adapt to this state." Xuanji's voice was deep. "Just like a person who has lived in darkness for many years, their eyesight will deteriorate. You can still feel pain, hesitation, and sadness now, but if this drags on... these emotions will fade away, and eventually only cold 'rationality' will remain."

Lu Li clenched his fist: "This junior understands."

"Let's go." Xuanji waved his hand. "Three months from now, whether you find the Cleansing Flame Pool or not, you must return to the Sword Tomb. The seal... won't last much longer."

Lu Li took one last look at the broken sword, then at the old man who had taught him for twenty days, before crushing the jade token.

A bluish light shone forth, enveloping the entire body.

The dizziness from the teleportation hit, and my vision began to distort.

At the last moment, he heard Xuanji's voice, very soft, as if he were talking to himself:

"Lu Mingxuan... your son, is more like you than you were back then."

Qixia Town.

The teleportation point, three hundred miles away, was an abandoned city god temple.

Lu Li emerged from the lingering glow of the blue light and found himself standing before a statue covered in cobwebs. The temple was dilapidated, but its structure was still relatively intact, indicating that it had not been abandoned for long.

He quickly checked his condition. The transformed, violent power flowed quietly through his meridians, forming a delicate balance with the bloodline of the Flame Emperor. The sword imprint on his palm was slightly warm, and the three key techniques of the Ceasefire Sword Intent clearly appeared in his mind.

The three daggers in his arms—the Dragon Suppressor, the Phoenix Suppressor, and the Tortoise Suppressor—resonated subtly, as if reminding him that the fourth one was not far away.

The Zhenlin Dagger is primarily used for "soothing the soul".

If we can obtain it, together with the three we already have, we can build a more stable Four Symbols Seal, which will greatly slow down the rate at which humanity is lost.

Lu Li pushed open the temple door.

Outside is Qixia Town in the afternoon. The town is small, built against the mountain, and there are few pedestrians on the streets. In the distance, a tributary of the Chensha River can be seen winding by, its water murky.

According to Xuanji's map, it's 150 li from Qixia Town to Linyuan City. It would take two days to travel by official road, but if they took a shortcut and crossed the "Ghost's Sorrow" mountain range, it could be shortened to one and a half days.

He decided to take the mountain path.

It wasn't that they were afraid of inspections on the official road—the sunshade could last for six hours, enough to conceal their presence—but rather that they wanted to avoid potential spies. The Turbid Abyss Sect had lost twelve puppet soldiers in Misty Ridge, and would undoubtedly have strengthened its surveillance of the surrounding area.

Lu Li bought some dry food and water in town, replenished his wound medicine, and then quietly left the town, heading towards the mountains in the northeast.

The name "Ghost-Scared Mountain" is truly fitting.

The mountain path was rugged and steep, with some sections requiring the use of both hands and feet to climb. To make matters worse, the mountain was filled with a pale gray miasma, which, although not highly toxic, could impair perception and make it easy to lose one's way.

Fortunately, Lu Li possessed the dark gold vision in his left eye. Through the Prisoner Fragment's perception, the direction of the earth's veins and the fluctuations of life were clearly visible. He avoided the areas with the densest miasma and chose a relatively safe route to proceed.

As evening approached, he crossed the first ridge.

Ahead lay a relatively flat valley with a stream flowing through it. Lu Li decided to rest here for a while and replenish his strength.

He walked to the stream and was about to bend down to drink when he suddenly stopped.

In the reflection of the stream, besides his own face, there was another one.

A figure wearing a straw hat and a raincoat stood three zhang behind him.

Lu Li did not turn around; his left hand was already pressing down on the Dragon Suppressing Dagger.

"Don't be nervous," a hoarse, aged voice said. "The old blind man sent me."

Old blind man?

Lu Li slowly turned around.

The man lifted his straw hat, revealing a scarred face. He was about fifty years old. His right eye was a cloudy gray, clearly blind; his left eye, however, was unusually clear, with a pale silver light shimmering deep within its pupil—a characteristic of the Eye of Truth-Seeking, but much fainter than Yun Jin's.

"Who are you……"

"Yun Potian's former second-in-command, codenamed 'One-Eyed.'" The old man walked to the stream, squatted down, and carefully examined Lu Li with his one eye. "Before the old blind man died, he used his last strength to send me a message, telling me to wait for you in Qixia Town. He said you would walk the path of Ghost's Sorrow."

Lu Li remained vigilant: "Senior Blind Old Man... what else did he say?"

"He said the situation at the Dragon Locking Well is worse than expected." The one-eyed old man pulled a roll of animal hide map from his robes and spread it out on the ground. "Although the main body of the Fear Projection has been suppressed by your seal, its 'sub-bodies' have spread. There are now at least thirty 'Fear Puppets' roaming within three miles of the well."

He pointed to several marks on the map: "These are the patrol routes of the Terror Puppets. In addition, the Turbid Abyss Cult has set up a 'Blood Sacrifice Array' at the wellhead, using twelve living people as sacrifices to maintain the array's operation day and night. If you want to infiltrate, you must first destroy the array."

Lu Li stared at the map, his brow furrowed. "How can I, alone, break the formation?"

"So the old blind man sent me to help you." The one-eyed old man grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "Although I only have one piercing eye left, it's enough to see through the key nodes of the formation. As for destroying the formation..."

He took out a peculiar short knife from under his raincoat.

The blade was jet black, and the handle was wrapped with faded strips of cloth. The most striking feature was the blade itself—not the luster of metal, but a deep, dark red that seemed to absorb light.

"This is the 'Formation-Breaking Blade,' which Yun Potian dug out of some ancient ruins back then." The one-eyed old man stroked the blade. "It's specifically designed to counter formation nodes, but it can only be used three times. The old blind man used it once, I used it once, and there's one last time left."

He looked up at Lu Li: "This is the last time, you can use it."

Lu Li took the short sword; it felt heavy in his hand, and a chilling aura emanated from its blade. He could sense that the sword contained some extremely ancient power, perhaps even originating from the same source as the prisoner.

"What is the price?" he asked.

The one-eyed old man laughed: "Clever. The price is... the person who uses it will be marked by the 'curse' within the blade. Each use deepens the mark. After three layers, the curse erupts, and the soul and spirit are annihilated."

Lu Li's hand froze.

"But don't worry," the old man continued, "this knife has already been used twice, and the marks are on the old blind man. He's dead, and the curse has naturally dissipated. This time, what you're using is a fresh start. As long as you don't use it a second time, everything will be fine."

Lu Li remained silent for a moment, then sheathed the knife: "Thank you, senior."

"Don't thank me yet." The one-eyed old man stood up and looked towards Lin Yuan City. "We still have a long way to go. And... I sense that besides the Zhuoyuan Sect, there is another force also eyeing the Dragon Locking Well."

"Another force?"

"I don't know." The old man shook his head. "But the aura is very strange. It's not the filth of the Turbid Abyss Sect, nor the righteousness of the Demon Slayer Guard. It's something... older and colder."

He paused for a moment, then said, "They seem to have come from the north."

North.

Lu Li recalled Yun Jin's mention of "golden thread," the cold mist of Tingxuelou, and the Jingshi Yanchi.

All of this seems to be pointing in the same direction.

Night was falling.

After a short rest by the stream, the two continued on their way.

Although the one-eyed old man only had one eye left, he was incredibly agile for a fifty-year-old. He traversed the mountain path as if it were flat ground, and could even sense dangerous areas of miasma and lurking wild beasts in advance.

During the journey, he told Lu Li about some of Yun Potian's investigations back then.

"Lord Yun first discovered the clues of the 'Demon-Taming Plan' twenty-five years ago," the old man said as he walked. "At that time, he was the Heavenly Rank Commander of the Demon-Slaying Guard and was ordered to investigate a 'mass madness' incident in a border village. All three hundred people in the village went mad overnight, tearing each other apart, and finally all died by the ancient well at the entrance of the village."

"An ancient well?"

"Yes, below that well is an abandoned anchorage." The one-eyed old man's voice was deep. "Lord Yun went down to investigate and found a broken sealing stone tablet at the bottom of the well. The inscription on the tablet recorded that fragments of the concept of 'fear' were once suppressed here. But the stone tablet has cracked, and the fragments have long since escaped."

He paused, then continued, "What's even more terrifying is that Lord Yun discovered traces of a ritual at the bottom of the well. Not an ancient one, but a recent one. The offering was... the heart of a living person."

Lu Li felt a chill in his heart.

"Following the clues, Lord Yun eventually stumbled upon the shadow of the Turbid Abyss Cult," the old man continued. "But he discovered that there was an even deeper force behind the Turbid Abyss Cult. That force not only possessed the secret of the Prisoner's Seal, but was also systematically collecting the bloodlines of the Guardians' descendants."

"For the grand sacrifice?"

"More than that." The one-eyed old man shook his head. "Lord Yun suspects that what that force wants to do is not to maintain the seal, but... to completely release the prisoners."

Lu Li abruptly stopped in his tracks: "Release? Why?"

"I don't know." The old man stopped, a look of confusion flashing in his single eye. "Lord Yun only investigated this far before... he disappeared. The last clue he left behind was the eight words: 'Blood relatives as sacrifice, the anchor point is about to collapse.'"

The two remained silent and continued their journey into the night.

In the latter half of the night, they crossed the last mountain ridge.

Ahead, on the horizon, the outline of a city could be faintly seen. A layer of dark red mist shrouded the city, clearly visible even in the darkness—the aura of escaping fear.

We've arrived at Lin Yuan City.

More precisely, it is located in the western suburbs of Linyuan City, where the Dragon-Locking Well is situated.

The one-eyed old man pointed to the area in the distance where the fog was thickest: "The well is over there. Old Locust Slope is three miles west of the city; we'll go around it from this side."

The two avoided the main road and secretly proceeded along the foot of the mountain.

The closer one gets to the Dragon Locking Well, the stronger the oppressive feeling in the air becomes. It's not physical pressure, but rather a spiritual erosion. Lu Li can feel the lock on his chest slightly burning, and the violent power within him beginning to stir.

Fear and tyranny are concepts that are of the same origin but different in nature.

They instinctively attract and repel each other.

"Be careful," the one-eyed old man suddenly lowered his voice, "there's a patrol ahead."

Lu Li followed his gaze.

On the forest path a hundred feet ahead, two twisted figures were moving slowly.

That's a terrifying puppet.

But unlike the ones Lu Li had seen at Guilin Manor, these two dinosaur puppets were more "complete". They maintained a basic human shape, but all the joints of their limbs were bent backward, their heads were tilted, and their skin was covered with dark red blood vessels that spread all over their bodies like a spider web.

The most bizarre thing is their eyes—completely replaced by two writhing masses of darkness, within which fine, insect-like compound eye structures are faintly visible.

"Deeply corrupted ghouls," the one-eyed old man said softly, "have completely lost their humanity, leaving only obedience to the very source of fear. They are acutely aware, especially of the presence of living beings."

Lu Li concealed his aura, and the sun-shading canopy activated at full power.

The two lay in ambush in the bushes, waiting for the dinosaur to pass by.

But one of the dinosaurs suddenly stopped, its tilted head turning towards the direction where they were hiding.

Within the dark eye sockets, those fine compound eyes began to rotate rapidly.

It smelled it.

It wasn't a smell, it was the aura of "fear".

The living's fear of death, fear of the unknown, fear of its very existence—these negative emotions, in the perception of the Phantom, are like torches in the darkness.

The dinosaur opened its mouth, making a "clucking" sound from its throat, as if it were laughing or crying.

Then it moved.

It wasn't walking, it was crawling. On all fours, its joints bent at bizarre angles, yet its speed was astonishing, like a giant spider, hurtling towards where the two were hiding!

The one-eyed old man gave a low shout, and the Breaking Formation Blade was drawn.

But Lu Li was faster.

He raised his hand, and the first move of the Ceasefire Sword Intent, "Soothing," unfolded silently.

A silver halo spread out from him, covering an area of ​​three zhang in radius. The monstrous puppet that rushed in entered the halo's range, its movements suddenly froze—not because it was immobilized, but because the restless power of fear within it was forcibly "soothed" for a moment by the sword intent.

In that split second, Lu Li moved.

The Dragon-Suppressing Dagger was drawn, its bluish-black blade flashing in the night.

Instead of striking the puppet's vital points, the sword was aimed at the very center of its chest, at the most violently pulsating dark red core.

The dagger pierced through.

The dinosaur's body trembled violently, and one by one, the compound eyes in its dark eye sockets went out. The gurgling sound in its throat turned into a shrill shriek, but the shriek lasted only half a breath before it stopped abruptly.

His body went limp, turning into a pool of dark red pus that quickly seeped into the ground.

Seeing this, the other dinosaur stopped its attack and turned to run. As it ran, it emitted a sharp whistle from its throat—an alarm.

"Oh no!" The one-eyed old man's expression changed drastically. "It's summoning its companions!"

Without hesitation, Lu Li flipped his left hand, and crimson-gold flames rose from his palm.

The transformed, tyrannical power, imbued with the heat of order, shot out as a line of fire, precisely striking the fleeing dinosaur in the back.

Before the dinosaur could even scream, its entire body was engulfed in flames and burned to ashes in the blink of an eye.

But the alarm had already been sounded.

In the distance, from the direction of Lock Dragon Well, came a series of inhuman roars.

Dozens of twisted figures emerged from the depths of the mist and surged toward them.

"Let's go!" the one-eyed old man hissed. "To Old Locust Slope! There's a concealment array at the entrance to the secret passage; we can temporarily hide from them!"

The two turned and ran wildly toward the western hillside.

Behind them, the roars of the dinosaurs grew closer and closer.

The night was as dark as ink; the slaughter had only just begun.