Authentic!
More than authentic—downright exquisite!
Slaps delivered with the hand of Non-Offensive coupled with the spiritus shockwave of Dissociation Art: Jingzhen—not even the Emperor of the Eternal Empire back in the day had ever tasted such top-shelf stuff. She'd really gotten a bargain.
After delivering that blistering flurry of slaps, Ji Jue's heart was still pounding. To have a Heaven's Choice of the Heart Pivot sneak up behind him without making a sound had frightened him out of his wits.
Had he not been uncertain whether she might flee or what other tricks she had up her sleeve, his panic might have driven him to reveal his true form on the spot!
Still, a Heart Pivot practitioner this durable was something he had never encountered before.
The tenacity of her consciousness and the stability of her spirit body completely defied Ji Jue's expectations. Even after taking so many impalements from Chunjun and blasts from Jingzhen head-on, she was somehow still in one piece. Even when brought to the brink of collapse each time, she rapidly reconstituted and knit herself back together—as though her soul could be shredded into countless fragments and seamlessly reassembled.
It defied all reason. Any normal person would have gone insane long ago from doing such a thing, but who was to say she possessed any sanity to begin with?
From beginning to end, her eyes remained frigid, drowning in profound malice.
"I really... underestimated you..."
A raspy voice drifted from the fractured spirit body as it trembled, fractured, and reconstituted. Immediately following that, the astral body constructed from her divided soul abruptly expanded and erupted.
The darkness sealed within surged out like a geyser, turning into shadows that raged and rippled.
Just like unzipping a compressed file.
In the most decisive and brutal fashion, she released the restraints on this split spirit, turning her own soul fragments into weapons to break through the workshop's confinement, wreaking havoc in all directions.
Regrettably, no matter what she did, she could not breach the walls of quicksilver rising swiftly across Haian Industries.
Ever since receiving Ye Xian's inspiration, Ji Jue had continuously innovated along the path of Solid Alchemy. Integrating his gradual progress in Fluid Alchemy, he had developed it into one of his most vital applications of Fluid Alchemy.
Now, the paper-thin curtains of quicksilver had become sheer precipices blocking any diffusion of spiritus, executing a total lockdown between the workshop's interior and exterior.
All the venomous lust and delirium she radiated were completely contained.
Yet right after, Ji Jue heard a buzzing sound.
Approaching from afar...
Beyond Xinquan, countless moths rose and fell, converging from every direction.
"So it really is you."
Ji Jue's smile gradually darkened. Pan Ying trembled ceaselessly in his grip as the emblems of Mycelium and Scars lit up, wisps of crimson circulating along the blade.
Before his eyes, endless illusions materialized. The fire of fury in his heart seemed to be stoked, flaring uncontrollably.
Like genuine flames, it burned his soul, ceaselessly eating away at his reason. In a flash, that rage morphed rapidly into fear. Countless anxieties surfaced in his mind—Xinquan, the innocents, the workshop, Isis, himself—and then that fear turned into desire. Gazing upon that shattered face, he suddenly found her so breathtakingly gorgeous, his heart pounding like a cornered deer, his breathing turning ragged.
Rage, fear, anxiety, affection, longing.
Countless emotions and desires churned in the span of a breath. Yet Ji Jue's movements did not falter in the slightest; his consciousness only grew sharper.
Black flames surged silently within his eyes.
Every emotion was swallowed whole by the shadow of Chunjun, incinerated, and cast into the Hole, leaving behind not even ashes. All that remained was a machinelike calm and detachment.
Fury and malice vanished without a trace.
There remained only a pure, straightforward consciousness arriving at a conclusion: kill her, at any cost, by any means necessary!
In his other hand, the spiritus blade of Chunjun rematerialized.
Without hesitation, Ji Jue charged forward into the gloom. Pan Ying howled shrilly, and Chunjun hummed in resonance as two crisscrossing gleams of illusory crimson and pristine light slashed outward.
Driven by the workshop, countless spiritus swords rained down like a torrential storm, annihilating all illusions. Within the shadows, the Heart Pivot's spirit body continuously reconstituted and transformed.
In an instant, it shifted into a sinister old man with bizarre radiance swirling in his eyes. A single glance was enough to throw Ji Jue's five aggregates into disarray, stoking the inner fire to scorch him from within.
Consuming Lust!
Yet immediately after, beneath Chunjun, he was hacked to pieces!
The shattered figure gathered anew, turning into a grotesque man with a face full of scars. A spiritus sword appeared and swung out in head-on opposition, only for the weapon to be severed by Chunjun with Crushing Ruin. Yet the man's reflexes were astonishingly fast; leaning sharply backward, he dodged the strike by a hair's breadth. Using offense as defense, his broken sword parried and deflected, avoiding any direct clash with Chunjun. Relying purely on blade vibrations and redirection, he moved like a dancing master swordsman whose origins were unknown.
Meanwhile, amidst the writhing shadows, the silhouette of the sinister old man reappeared, continuously harassing Ji Jue with his gaze. Further off, a hideous woman clad in red coalesced from the darkness, opening her mouth to let loose a full-throated roar that stirred another spiritus surge.
One figure after another materialized in succession.
All of them were personality fragments and spiritual echoes crafted by the Heart Pivot!
Amidst this violent counterattack, Ji Jue found himself surrounded.
Unfortunately, it wasn't worth jack shit!
In fact, it was almost laughable...
Would you care to check where you are, my friend? Pulling this stunt inside my workshop?!
Utterly blind to the heavens and earth!
From across the distance, Ji Jue glanced at the projection of the sinister old man and, without a second thought, hurled Pan Ying!
The blade tore through the air with a shrill whistle, hurtling forward. But the sinister old man simply smiled coldly and split right down the middle, cleaving in two to dodge the spinning blade. Turning his gaze back toward Ji Jue, the Heart Pivot interference that disordered the five aggregates began anew—doubled!
Unfortunately for him, what followed was...
A deafening roar from behind.
BOOM!
The wall shattered abruptly as a rampaging behemoth of steel burst through. Little Niuma's eyes were glowing crimson, the transformation of the Dragon Mountain armor complete, dragon blood running wild, plumes of flame venting from every seam.
Raising a hand, it caught Pan Ying thrown by Ji Jue. Dragon blood surged, and spiritus poured into it—blessed metal far outstripping flesh, coupled with the chained activation of Immovable as a Mountain, endlessly stoked the ferocious might sealed within.
Flames dozens of times more furious than when wielded by Ji Jue erupted from Pan Ying's blood-hued blade.
Then, all engines engaged—
With no need to worry about G-forces, so long as the frame could hold, speed could climb and erupt without ceiling.
A fiery meteor shot forward.
Swept along by a magnificent shockwave, that incandescent blaze swept back and forth, obliterating all abnormal spiritus and phantoms in crushing ruin.
The Heart Pivot was infuriated. A trace of the young girl surfaced for a fraction of a second, casting a glare in a bid for total control. Yet Little Niuma's consciousness and soul were already under the dominion of Deus Ex Machina; amidst the boiling dragon blood, ravenous hunger awoke, devouring everything without distinction.
Instead, at that critical juncture, she exposed an opening.
Crack!
The blade in Ji Jue's hand shot forth, crossing dozens of meters in an instant, piercing through her spirit body, and embedding deep into the wall. Immediately following, crisscrossing spiritus blades emerged from the void, skewering her into a hedgehog once more.
The wildly churning tide of shadows abruptly collapsed and vanished.
Splintering pops rang out endlessly!
The snakes and insects hiding in the crevices, the swarming moths fluttering in—every single one exploded. Somewhere in Xinquan, a resident who was completely oblivious and had no idea what was happening was enveloped by quicksilver surging abruptly from a pipe, turning into a statue.
After wasting all this time, he had finally used the spiritus fluctuations of her counterattack to pinpoint every single anchor and escape route her split spirit relied on to manifest.
Every one of them severed!
Then, under the layered lockdown of the workshop, spiritus circuits crawled forward like a cage, completing her total imprisonment!
She was left without even the slightest possibility of self-destruction.
Outside Xinquan, the countless converging moths scattered in chaos like headless flies, their coordination lost...
In the brief silence, only Ji Jue's footsteps remained.
Step by step, he strode forward. Looking down, he scrutinized the prey trapped inside the cage of swords with an expressionless gaze—before suddenly breaking into a smile.
"It seems I don't need to waste any words."
Ji Jue leaned down and asked amiably, "Which do you prefer, Embers or Stagnant Rot? If you like both, that's fine too. I have plenty of ways to entertain my guests."
"Is that so? Do whatever pleases you, then."
Under Chunjun's seal, contempt surfaced on that face as she mocked, "It doesn't matter what you do, artisan. I admit I lost this round.
"Still, all I've lost is this split spirit. But what about you?"
She paused, her smile turning sinister. "Is there no one in this world who's important to you?"
The danger of the Heart Pivot lay in its treacherous deceit and stealth.
It influenced subtly over time, weaving intricate webs to ensnare its prey. By the time one realized it, the corruption was deeply entrenched, and they had unwittingly become playthings and puppets.
Its foulest trait was that once it latched onto you, it was like stepping in shit—even shaking it off would splatter everyone around you.
Ji Jue had anticipated this long ago and wasn't surprised in the least.
"Important people? Yes, of course I have them."
He nodded openly. "Not just some, but many."
In the dead silence, that face showed a flicker of shock, her sneer freezing for a second. Only then did she notice the darkness and savagery overflowing from that smiling face.
"So, rest assured, I will definitely dig you up, pull you out by the roots, eliminate every potential danger, and ensure that not a single wisp of your spiritus remains in this world."
Ji Jue reached out and stroked her cheek, gentle and meticulous, admiring the material before him. "Don't worry, I have plenty of ways to track you down, to make you understand the consequences of angering an artisan, and to show you what a grave mistake you've made.
"However, before that..."
He paused, flashing one final smile. "As a host's hospitality, I have a gift to offer you."
Boom!
In that instant, deep grooves emerged out of nowhere on the floor beneath their feet, snaking, twisting, and connecting into a vast, complex outline. Under Chunjun's sweeping strokes, a magnificent sacrificial ground was forged in an instant.
Immediately following, bloodstained iron trunks were carried into place by hands of quicksilver. Then, a viscous, scarlet hue spread through the grooves, and within mere seconds, a blood-soaked tableau unfolded before the young girl's eyes.
Leaving her utterly stunned.
A sacrifice?!
—This was a sacrificial offering directed at a Great Sin!
At this moment, she could sense the resentment, pain, and despair clinging to those sixteen colossal iron trunks. Within the faint fluctuations of spiritus, wails and shrieks echoed incessantly.
Deep resentment, bone-deep despair, impossible to release!
Every single one was a meticulously prepared sacrifice!
"Do you recognize it?"
Amidst the howling and bitter hatred, Ji Jue stood immaculate. His aura of Supreme Goodness was pure and gentle, yet his smile was all the more chilling. "To be frank, scrounging up this many sacrifices on short notice was a bit tricky. Fortunately, my reserves were adequate, and I still had some materials preserved in the storehouse.
"They don't usually serve much purpose, but for treating a guest, they couldn't be more fitting."
The face in captivity rapidly darkened, turning savage—especially when she realized that her position was not that of a sacrifice, but the celebrant who would receive the boon!
"Ha, a rising star of the grand Association secretly in close contact with a Great Sin. Truly, you can never judge a book by its cover..."
"Go ahead and tell everyone, then," Ji Jue grinned, completely unconcerned. "Let's see if anyone believes you."
Who would believe her?
The Association? The Security Bureau? Or Ji Jue's friends and clients?
In the end, you just don't know artisans well enough, and you don't know me...
Otherwise, forget whether you could successfully report me—you wouldn't even have the confidence that you'd live long enough to file the report!
Snap!
A crisp snap of his fingers echoed.
Immediately following, marks, runes, and totems of the Great Sin lit up with the rush of spiritus. Amidst an immense crash, darkness erupted like a surging tide!
Ji Jue held Chunjun in a reverse grip.
And slammed it straight down!
What followed was a world-shaking crack of thunder.
BOOM!
The essence of a Great Sin, which Sin Cultists struggled through unimaginable hardships to touch, actually manifested atop the altar. In the spreading darkness, the blood-red color of the occult ritual instantly vanished, replaced by an eerie, colossal eye hovering between illusion and reality!
As the crimson pupil slowly opened, it dominated the floor of the entire workshop.
It stared coldly down upon all prey, awaiting the presentation of the offering.
The shadow of a Great Sin manifested in the mortal realm.
—The Abyssal Depths!
Immediately after, piercing shrieks rose from the iron trunks. The sixteen tortured materials and souls steeped in vicious sin were reduced to ashes in an instant. Streaks of grayish-black spiritus gathered out of thin air, weaving together until, beneath the giant eye's gaze, they began radiating a bizarre, shifting iridescence.
The essence of the Great Sin, compounded from countless wicked desires, corrupt thoughts, and heretical beliefs, surged forth from within, until it ultimately condensed into a multicolored black!
Wen Su's expression warped, her spirit body convulsing as she tried to trigger self-destruction, but it was already too late.
A hand roughly seized her by the hair, yanking her head up, forcing her to stare into the eye that was locking onto her.
Forcing her to receive this gift and blessing from the Abyssal Depths!
And while he was at it, giving her an extra kick...
"Remember this—"
Ji Jue leaned down, whispering softly into her ear: "Our good time together has only just begun!"
Darkness surged like a tide, rising, slithering, converging into a single beam that sank completely into her spirit body!
The spirit body shuddered violently, shrieking and howling on pure instinct—such music to the ears.
Never had there been such a lavish gift, such a bountiful blessing. With a mere sixteen offerings, the Great Sin had been provoked into bestowing its favor.
Countless despairs and frenzies coalesced and overflowed, turning into the essence of the Abyssal Depths. Like a black hole, it barged into her soul, running rampant, spreading, ruthlessly corroding her soul and consciousness, forcibly reshaping her into a form most suitable for itself!
Screams, howls, and wails ultimately dissolved into dull, hollow moans.
The fragile spirit body, already battered repeatedly, could not withstand such immense power... it was on the verge of exploding.
But it didn't matter!
The Abyssal Depths didn't care.
The Great Sin remained silent, relentlessly cramming its power in, jamming it in until it burst. The overflowing ocean of divine grace surged along the resonance and connection between this spirit body and her true self, flowing upstream toward her true body hidden in parts unknown!
Before she could even sever the connection, poisonous comprehension, twisted delirium, suicidal craving, and hollow despair erupted!
At this moment, right in front of Wen Wen, the young girl's vacant face suddenly twisted.
*Gag—*
Blood snaked ceaselessly from her nose and mouth as she coughed violently. Then, what poured out from her eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and pores was a thick, ink-like darkness.
Instinctively, she stumbled back a step.
She wanted to sever the link.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
Because Ji Jue wasn't the only one...
The instant the opening appeared, Wen Wen lunged forward without the slightest hesitation or mercy.
The Spear of Minerva, waiting for this moment, thrust out decisively!
Harming spirit with matter, piercing through the soul!
"It ends here, Ah-Su."
Wen Wen looked down at her with lowered eyes, full of pity and disgust.
She wanted to feel pity and warmth, but there was no room left for it.
Everything had changed beyond recognition. The person before her eyes was no longer the child who needed her protection.
"I used to think you would be an exception. The next exception, just like me," she said softly. "In the end, you're no different from the rest of them."
"Sister..."
Wen Su stared blankly, as if in disbelief, her eyes swimming with tears.
Yet in the brief silence, that expression gradually warped. From the sorrow surfaced an uncontrollable mockery and delight.
Even with so much agony tangling and corroding her, she could no longer hold back. Coughing violently, she burst into loud laughter.
Overcome with glee.
As though she had just heard the funniest joke in the world.
Chapter 484