Chapter 206

“Are you serious?”

“Do you think this is a time for jokes?”

“This is my ancestor’s facial skin.”

“You’re not exactly a filial son.”

“Because I possess my ancestor’s bloodline, I can barely retain my self when I use his facial skin. As an outsider, if you put it on, you’ll become lost.”

“Don’t worry about that; just hand it over.”

“Because this place was constructed by my ancestor, his facial skin has a special meaning and effect here. It will cause a disturbance in the rules, leading to a lot of commotion entering with it…”

“Are you going to give it to me?”

“Fine!”

Li Chuiyuan knew that if he just asked, the other party would surely give in. What’s known as manipulating people’s hearts, simply put, is first figuring out what the other person truly desires, and then, following that line of thought, weaving a dream for them that they can fulfill. In such a situation, even if you become lazy, tired, and no longer wish to deceive them, they will actively help you deceive themselves.

The Faceless Man began to tear off the upper half of his face. Soon, the half-face floated before Li Chuiyuan. The young man reached out and grabbed it. It felt cold to the touch, not greasy at all, and emitted a refreshing scent of sandalwood. Those who knew understood it was human skin; those who didn't might have thought it was a piece of art.

Since the Faceless Man’s ancestor was capable of building this place, it was likely that the tomb he constructed for himself was also extraordinary. This sandalwood scent permeated it over a long period, meaning the environment within the tomb remained stable throughout that time.

Li Chuiyuan: “Where is your family’s ancestral tomb?”

The Faceless Man: “Isn’t that a bit presumptuous to ask?”

Li Chuiyuan: “Well, your own family members have already plundered it, and you’ve killed and reburied your relatives here anyway. After you ascend to immortality and live in the Heavenly Palace, it won’t be easy to descend to the mortal realm. So, why don’t I sweep the tomb for you?”

The Faceless Man: “Qingtan, Sanyue Forest.”

Li Chuiyuan hadn't heard of this place name, but he could look it up.

Li Chuiyuan spread out the half-face in his hand and then raised it. Without hesitation or mental preparation, he simply closed his eyes and pressed the half-face onto his own. When Li Chuiyuan tried to open his eyes, the half-face seemed to come alive, and a torrent of chaotic thoughts began to surge into him.

The Faceless Man carefully observed the young man before him, hoping to see expressions of struggle and pain on his face. Unfortunately, he was disappointed; the young man’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. Not only that, but when the young man opened his eyes, there was no sign of impurity in their depths. This meant that the young man not only didn't lose himself but also suppressed all other chaotic thoughts.

The Faceless Man: “Are you human or ghost?”

Li Chuiyuan: “Don’t you find it comical? You, who float when you walk, ask me, someone with flesh and blood, if I’m human or ghost.”

The Faceless Man: “This is impossible!”

The Faceless Man had his own experiences and understanding. He believed there were people with incredibly strong wills in this world, but he couldn't believe there was anyone who could remain completely unaffected.

Li Chuiyuan reached out and gently poked the skin near his eye socket: “Impossible?”

Each time the Black Leather Book secret art was used, it was equivalent to rapidly experiencing another person’s entire life. Memories, emotions, insights, and so on, would all leave their mark on the user. The one under the peach forest lost himself due to excessive use of this secret art. However, the young man and Wei Zhengdao were unaffected by such influences. Absolute, cold rationality inherently requires the removal of all impurities and burdens. Therefore, as fellow "patients," each time they had a "bout," it was actually an attempt to erase "self-awareness." The lack of emotion was a consequence of this cause, though it was the most easily expressed and perceived. Those chaotic thoughts, those factors that could potentially shake one's self-identity, simply couldn't affect them when they entered their bodies, because they were ruthless enough to… eliminate even parts of themselves.

Li Chuiyuan turned and looked at the scholar lying on the couch. Now, he could see the “threads” emanating from the scholar. They were connected to the surrounding furniture, the floor, and the walls, interacting with each other. However, there were many loose ends on the scholar, indicating that the original threads were much denser, almost completely enveloping him, but many had now broken. This was just like the rules that had been continuously damaged and were now almost riddled with holes.

Li Chuiyuan looked around, observing these thread ends everywhere. Many were on the ground, and quite a few appeared in the surrounding air; they had beginnings and ends, indicating they had broken off. The young man raised his hand and tried to touch them, but as soon as his fingertips made contact, the threads dispersed like reflections in water.

Earlier, when Li Chuiyuan was still outside the pagoda, he perceived the sound of bells emanating from within. At that time, he had thought about thoroughly studying the methods of clustered arrays after this "wave" ended and he returned. He hadn't expected that upon re-entering the pagoda, he would be able to directly observe these “threads.” This was practically a live classroom, immensely helpful for his upcoming research. Unfortunately, time wouldn't allow it; otherwise, he truly wished he could sit here for ten days to half a month, meticulously studying and understanding everything.

The young man once again focused his attention on the scholar, simultaneously reaching out and grasping the bell in front of him. The moment the bell was taken, the threads on the scholar began to twitch frantically. He got out of bed, stood up, and remained standing with his eyes closed before the young man. Li Chuiyuan carefully sensed it; although it was very similar, the other party wasn't in a puppet state controlled by him. At this moment, the scholar possessed a certain degree of autonomous behavior, yet this autonomy didn't originate from himself. Instead, it was a form of propulsion driven by the wrapping of these threads and the operation of the rules' deductions.

Li Chuiyuan thought of the three stone gates at the entrance to this secret realm: Puppetry, Beast Taming, and Array Formations. These three formed the fundamental rules of this place. The Faceless Man’s ancestor was indeed an extraordinary being; to have set up this place meant that he had at least mastered all three and integrated them into one. This also served as a reminder to Li Chuiyuan that if he wanted to continue researching this path, it seemed he really couldn't skip the “Beast Taming” aspect. However, could Wei Zhengdao’s Black Leather Book secret art possibly replace the “Beast Taming” category? Yu Zangzheng, relying on his family’s teachings, could become a teacher here. Li Chuiyuan didn't believe that Wei Zhengdao’s most powerful signature secret art would be inferior to the Yu family’s Beast Taming Art. Was it possible that the Beast Taming category was originally a fallback option, chosen due to the difficulty and emptiness of techniques for controlling humans or spirits?

Li Chuiyuan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Seeing this, the Faceless Man straightened up. “Sure enough, you still feel uncomfortable and confused.” He misunderstood; the young man hadn't become lost but was forcing himself to interrupt his learning and thought process. This high tower truly was a treasure trove at every turn. Every detail contained the ancestors’ astonishing ideas and innovations.

The scholar turned, preparing to descend. Through the bell, Li Chuiyuan could provide some degree of completion to him. Just like before, when the old Daoist priest and Yu Zangzheng dueled, and the Faceless Man played a supporting role from the top of the tower. A dead person is still dead, after all; even if they stand up to fight again, their inherent limitations remain significant. Yu Zangzheng had long realized this; he was far from being a match for the old Daoist priest, but if not for the Faceless Man’s enhancement at the time, Yu Zangzheng actually would have had a chance to defeat the old Daoist priest on his own.

The high tower's deductive logic was simply too rigid, as rigid as the black-robed woman who first appeared and "killed" Yu Miaomiao, using only that one move from beginning to end. It was as if, by the tower's logic, if something worked well, it should just be used continuously. This was akin to a past teaching scenario where the high tower played the part of his former self, rigid and predictable, while he himself was now in Zhao Yi's role, ready to exploit such rigidity. Holding the bell was equivalent to temporarily lending his mind to the high tower for its deductions. This was not the mode Li Chuiyuan wanted.

Below the tower, Xu Zhenrong and Zhen Shaoan, now with the classroom environment, had their strength soaring, creating an extremely unfair situation.

Li Chuiyuan: “Was that old Daoist priest the strongest being in this tower during his lifetime?”

The Faceless Man: “That’s right, he was supposed to occupy an entire floor by himself.” Pausing, the Faceless Man continued, “It’s not that he wasn’t strong enough; it’s that he’s already dead, and I can only…”

Li Chuiyuan raised his hand, interrupting the Faceless Man. The old Daoist priest was already the strongest, yet he still couldn’t salvage the situation. Therefore, even if this scholar went down now, while it would increase their combat strength, it wouldn’t be enough to bring the situation back into balance. Since they had chosen to act, they had to aim for victory, not just for a prolonged period of struggle.

Li Chuiyuan conveyed his command through the bell. The scholar’s footsteps paused for a moment, then continued towards the stairs. When his command clashed with the rules within the high tower, the scholar would follow the behavioral logic dictated by the latter. This wouldn’t work.

Li Chuiyuan pursued, following closely behind the scholar.

The Faceless Man advised, “Go to the top of the tower; it’s easier to get a full view of the situation from there.”

Li Chuiyuan: “There’s no need to survey a losing situation.”

The Faceless Man thought this made a lot of sense, but what was the point? Seeing the young man follow the scholar downstairs, he immediately floated after them.

Li Chuiyuan knew he didn't have much time; if he couldn't intervene with the scholar before he left the high tower, he wouldn't have another chance to do anything to him later. The young man began forming hand seals, activating the newly learned Nuo opera puppetry art. Wisps of black mist rose from the scholar’s body, and a faint phantom mask appeared on his face. But the next moment, along with the already vibrating high tower, there was an additional slight tremor. The black mist on the scholar dissipated, and the mask on his face crumbled.

This path wouldn’t work. If he wanted to control the scholar through the Nuo opera puppetry art, he would first have to suppress or completely break the high tower’s rules, which was clearly impossible. As for approaching it from an array formation perspective… apart from making a “rat hole” as he did when stealing the book earlier, he had no way to truly shake the array formations here. Two of the three methods were gone. He didn’t know Beast Taming techniques. In this situation, Li Chuiyuan had no choice but to take out and use the substitute he had originally intended for experimentation.

The young man’s eyes narrowed, and he began "walking the yin." The Black Leather Book secret art was also activated simultaneously. In an instant, the high tower environment vanished, replaced by a cliff. The scholar and a woman sat there, seemingly admiring the scenery. Under the setting sun, everything was tinged with an orange glow, and the scenery was picturesque. And as they enjoyed the view, they seemed to become part of the painting, like a talented scholar and a beautiful lady. After nightfall, it was the starry sky. The two sat there, motionless. It wasn't until late into the night that the scholar moved. He picked up the woman. The woman wore several jade pendants of special quality, emitting a cold aura. She was already dead; these jade pendants were used to preserve her body from decay.

The scholar carried the woman into a mountain cave. The cave wasn't very deep, but array formations were set up outside. Inside the cave was a stone platform, with a small stream flowing beneath it—the favorite array trigger for array masters. The scholar placed the woman’s body on it and said: “They all say that birth, aging, sickness, and death are beyond human control. I believe them, so I don’t intend to remain human anymore. Just rest here peacefully. Once I ascend to immortality, I will return to revive you and take you with me to the heavens. You haven’t seen the scenery there, but I’m sure you’ll love it.”

Was this the path of pursuing immortality, all to revive his beloved? Li Chuiyuan felt this aligned quite well with the scholar’s character. The young man also noticed that the blank book was always tied to the scholar’s waist; he had been looking at that book even back then.

Next, the memory fast-forwarded. Fast-forwarding a movie on a VCR doesn't jump instantly to that time segment; it rapidly reads through it, and it was the same for Li Chuiyuan. This was also why this secret art caused severe side effects: if you immersed yourself in another person’s life, your self-perception would undoubtedly be shaken.

In the subsequent scenes, the scholar used various methods to enter this place the moment the stone gates reopened. Many others entered with him. The scene skipped again; the scholar arrived at the eleventh floor and chose a burly man with a full beard. The following scene felt familiar because Li Chuiyuan himself had just experienced it. This group of people who entered with the scholar, along with the individuals they had chosen, came to the underground level and began to compete and fight. The scholar killed the bearded man. The bearded man’s corpse began to rapidly decay, turning into mist that rose and seeped into the scholar through his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. The scholar offered no resistance, calmly accepting it all. His life force gradually dwindled during this process, and he accepted his own death in a very peaceful manner. From the moment of his death, he became a part of this high tower. He returned to the high tower with his eyes closed, like a walking corpse, arriving at the eleventh floor. He sat in the position previously occupied by the bearded man, pulled out a book, lay on his side, and remained motionless. The occupants of the eleventh floor rarely changed, because very few people were able to challenge that level. In the following years, the scholar only accepted two challenges. After both challenges, he absorbed the opponents’ destinies and good fortune through his mouth, then returned to his position, assuming the same posture.

The next segment of memory was hazy, like peering through barely opened eyes. In the haziness, Li Chuiyuan saw a young figure busily arranging an array, and then forcefully pulling the book "from his own hands." Li Chuiyuan hadn't expected to enter the other party’s profound memories.

Next, following the traditional process, he should have constructed false memories for him to achieve control. But now, they had already reached the fourth floor. Even with the scholar being controlled by rules and suppressed by array formations, plus the special effect of the half-face on his own face here… despite all these favorable conditions, completing the Black Leather Art secret method to achieve traditional control would still require a lot of time. The reason was simply that he had been too powerful in life.

Li Chuiyuan had to find a shortcut. Since dogmatic methods wouldn’t work in time, he could only take a conciliatory approach. The fact that the other party could still remember the scene of him stealing his book meant that a slight degree of self-awareness still existed within him. Moreover, this scholar was different from other fanatics who ardently pursued immortality. He might not have been solely obsessed with pursuing immortality; instead, his beloved had died, and he couldn’t stop it or bring her back, so he specifically came to this place to escape.

Under Li Chuiyuan’s manipulation, the memory scene began to rewind, going all the way back to that mountain cave. Outside the mountain cave, scenes of spring, summer, autumn, and winter rapidly flashed by. Li Chuiyuan was simulating the changes that would occur both inside and outside the cave under the erosion of time. The young man was already highly skilled in array formations, so his aging techniques were naturally not inferior. Soon, as “time rapidly flowed,” the array formation outside the cave entrance became mottled and peeled, gradually losing its power. The stream inside the cave dried up, and the patterns on the table were slowly filled with dust, gradually losing their protective effect. Several jade pendants on the woman’s body, used for preserving the corpse, were slowly dimming in luster. Small animals began to sneak in, and the unprotected and unpreserved corpse faced not only the risk of being gnawed by animals but also the consequence of imminent decay.

The scholar’s body began to tremble; he clearly couldn't accept this scene. Li Chuiyuan’s voice also sounded in his ear: “When you left, you anticipated being away for a long time, but you probably didn't expect it to be this long. Even if your prior arrangements accounted for the erosion of time, no amount of preparation or precaution can ultimately prevent what is bound to happen. I promise you that if you ultimately fail to ascend to immortality, I will go to the place where she is buried and completely re-arrange all the inner and outer array formations for her, so that her visage and voice may remain forever.”

The scholar in the memory scene stopped trembling. The scholar in reality no longer resisted the young man’s consciousness and completely opened his mental defenses. It was a success.

At this moment, the two of them also happened to arrive at the first floor. The scholar continued towards the tower gate, while Li Chuiyuan remained in place, closing his eyes.

Outside, the battle was raging fiercely and boisterously. “Fake Runsheng” didn't attempt to fully open his "qi gates," most likely because Xu Zhenrong herself was unsure if this human figure, molded from a large number of shadows, could withstand the burden of fully opened qi gates. Furthermore… she already had a significant advantage.

Zhao Yi didn't naively engage in a “soldier-against-soldier, general-against-general” fight. Instead, he chose to gather everyone, with Runsheng responsible for direct confrontation, while the others provided various forms of assistance and enhancements behind Runsheng. He had long given up the possibility of “victory,” opting instead to frankly make his own array formations the core, gathering everyone around himself for cover, focusing solely on playing the part of a cowering turtle. Because “Fake Runsheng,” “Fake Lin Shuyou,” and “Fake Tan Wenbin” all had significantly stronger physical attributes than their real counterparts, one-on-one duels would only accelerate the process of defeat. Zhao Yi’s goal was to buy time, waiting for "that Li guy" to return from inside the high tower with reinforcements. This single decision alone was superior to countless specific combat commands.

For example, Yu Miaomiao, who was above, was covered in blood, increasingly suppressed by Zhen Shaoan, fighting a desperate, trapped-beast battle. What she should have done from the start was to abandon any thoughts of active offense, create a sufficient safe distance, and seek to create an outer deterrent. But her eyes were filled with hatred and unwillingness, still intent on breaking through the increasingly terrifying pressure of the accumulating array formations, and then killing him. It was precisely this stubbornness and extremism that led her step by step into a dead end. Zhen Shaoan only needed to continue setting up the array formations, and perhaps in the next moment, Yu Miaomiao’s body would “pop” and turn into a cloud of blood mist.

Xu Zhenrong held an absolute advantage, yet her three powerful puppets were slow to break through that single-mindedly deployed “turtle shell.” She was already considering whether to have “Fake Runsheng” enter the full qi-gate opening mode; this seemed to be the only way to accelerate the process right now.

Just then, the scholar walked out from the tower gate. Xu Zhenrong and Zhen Shaoan were startled simultaneously, then both looked up at the top of the tower again, which remained empty. They didn't understand why, after dealing with one old Daoist priest, someone else could still emerge from inside this high tower. Could it be that the one on the top floor had two lives?

Zhen Shaoan: “Don’t worry, even if that old Daoist priest reappears, we, who currently hold the advantageous ground, no longer need to fear him.”

Xu Zhenrong: “No matter how powerful he was in life, once dead, he is ultimately dead.”

Although the scholar’s sudden appearance surprised them both, this slight surprise was not enough to affect the situation they currently controlled.

Inside the high tower, Li Chuiyuan, with his eyes closed, opened his mouth. The scholar, who had just stepped out of the tower gate and was standing there, also opened his mouth. Li Chuiyuan was speaking, but the voice came from the scholar’s mouth: “Dividing the fortune from that bell will cause the rules binding this place to completely collapse. Under the proliferation of resentment, everything here will turn into evil spirits, and when they rush out to the outside world, it will be a natural disaster.”

The scholar spoke, which shocked Zhen Shaoan and Xu Zhenrong.

Zhen Shaoan: “It’s a bluff. Someone inside is using a secret method to transmit their voice. It’s fine, he’s already dead. Other changes are nothing to worry about, unless he can open his eyes.”

Xu Zhenrong said, “In the name of immortality, you deceive the masses and harm living beings. We have come here to slay this villain who spreads misleading words, and to seek justice for the poor souls who lost their lives due to deception!”

Inside the high tower, Li Chuiyuan smiled; outside the high tower, the scholar also smiled. It turned out that they, including Yu Zangzheng, had actually always known that taking the fortune from the high tower’s great bell would cause this place to lose control, sending countless evil spirits rushing out of Yulong Snow Mountain and creating a disaster. But they didn't care, because their eyes were only on their own families.

Upon hearing this conversation, Zhao Yi couldn’t help but recall the stone tablet his ancestor left in the mountains, as well as the copper coin sword “given” to the Li family by his ancestor. He also remembered the time he gave medicine to "that Li guy," and "that Li guy's" self-assessment during the post-action review: “Because I was foolish.” Even though there was a simpler and safer way to eliminate the old hag, "that Li guy" insisted on choosing the most difficult and dangerous one.

At that moment, Zhao Yi, while wiping away the blood flowing from the seams of the Gate of Life and Death due to overusing the array formations, spoke mockingly: “Tsk, no wonder none of you could ever contend with my ancestor back then. If this Dragon King position truly fell to you, that would be a desecration.” You should fight when you need to fight, seize when you need to seize, and kill when you need to kill. But there are always some things that must come first. To truly convince people, fists alone aren't enough.

Zhen Shaoan: “We admit we couldn’t contend with Zhao Wuyang, but what we’re here to take today, we must get our hands on!”

Xu Zhenrong: “It’s just another dead man who can’t open his eyes walking out. Zhao boy, do you really think you can turn the tide?”

“Hahahahaha!”

Zhao Yi suddenly burst into laughter, laughing so hard that blood quickly spurted from his forehead and chest. But he couldn't care less about that now, yelling: “You shouldn’t have said anything; now that you have, I truly believe it’s about to come true! Facts will tell you, your mouths have been blessed today!”

Zhao Yi raised his hand, held up three fingers, and counted down as he lowered them one by one: “Three, two, one!” In his mind, he was rapidly repeating: *Li, I know you can do it, give me some face! Li, don’t let me be embarrassed!*

“…One!”

As he uttered “one,” Zhao Yi also snapped his fingers.

“Snap!”

The scholar, opened his eyes!