Chapter 256

The door opened, and Li Zhuiyuan saw his 'body' standing inside.

Their clothes were different: Li Zhuiyuan wore the outdoor sports gear he used for 'walking the river', while the 'body' wore the casual clothes Li Zhuiyuan would wear at home. Grandma Liu would custom-make clothes for him; though not as frequent as A-Li's almost daily outfits, it fully met Li Zhuiyuan's daily needs. The clothes were in contemporary styles, perfectly fitting the current trends, and the fabric was excellent, making them very comfortable to wear.

However, Li Zhuiyuan remembered that on previous visits to find his 'body', the 'body''s clothes had always been identical to his own current appearance. Now, there was a divergence. Moreover, on previous visits, the door had never been locked; he could simply push it open while carrying "trash". Today, however, it was locked, and he had to knock. Most importantly, there was the response from inside the door just now: "What do you want?" This tone shouldn't have come from his 'body'. Therefore, Li Zhuiyuan reasonably suspected that his 'body' was either preparing for something or practicing something. However, the 'body''s expression had now reverted to complete indifference, with no hint of emotion in its eyes.

Li Zhuiyuan entered the room. The books that should have been piled high on and under the desk were all gone. Instead, on the drawing table against the wall opposite the desk, many scrolls were laid open.

The 'body': "You shouldn't have come in here."

Li Zhuiyuan walked to the drawing table, appreciating the excellent artworks. They were traditional landscapes and figures, exquisite in every detail upon closer inspection. However, just like when Li Zhuiyuan learned to paint with A-Li, they displayed only masterful technique, devoid of emotion. The dizziness in his head continued to intensify, and Li Zhuiyuan swayed slightly. He knew this was a sign that his memories were being further altered.

Li Zhuiyuan asked, knowing the answer, "What are you doing?"

The 'body': "Learning."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded. The 'body' wasn't lying; it had always been learning. It was he who had too narrowly interpreted the 'body''s "learning behavior." Most likely, the 'body' had learned a lesson from its last brief control of the physical body. Although the future crisis had clearly escalated, this had no bearing on the immediate situation.

Li Zhuiyuan: "The rain outside is so heavy."

The 'body': "I told you, you shouldn't have come in. You're outside, I'm inside. No matter how many times it alters your memories, I can help you reset them, as long as you can endure it. But if you come in here, you might drag me into its sight. Then, both our memories will be altered, and we... will be destroyed together. You should understand this."

"Yes, I understand."

"But you still came." The 'body' walked to a cabinet, bent down, and pulled a can of Jianlibao from a nearby box. It opened with a hiss, and he took a sip. "Sometimes I truly cannot comprehend your rational decay, just as I can't understand why you like drinking this."

"To replenish sugar."

"There are better ways to replenish, even more portable ones than this."

"It's a habit, I guess."

"It's inertia."

"Heh heh."

"You are becoming increasingly foolish." The 'body' raised the drink can it held towards Li Zhuiyuan. "You'd better find a way to rein it in a bit, otherwise, a Heart Demon of your quality will be very embarrassing for me."

At this moment, black rainwater began to beat against the windows, and the ceiling and all four walls started to darken, indicating water seepage.

The 'body': "See? You're about to get me killed too."

"Hmm," Li Zhuiyuan replied. He also walked to the cabinet, bent down, picked up a can of Jianlibao, opened it, and took a sip. "The taste you restored is almost identical."

The 'body': "It has nothing to do with me; it's because you've drunk it before."

Li Zhuiyuan carried his drink and sat on the edge of the bed. The doors and windows rattled in the wind; outside, it had grown completely dark.

The 'body' put down the drink, walked up to Li Zhuiyuan, and asked, "Purpose."

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head.

The 'body': "Whether it's blackmail, extortion, or testing, you can say it, we can discuss it."

Li Zhuiyuan lowered his head and took a sip of soda.

The 'body': "You don't need to play ridiculous games with me. There's no need for that between us, because it is you who has deteriorated and become foolish, while I have never changed."

"Drip... drip... drip..." Rainwater began to drip into the room.

Li Sanjiang's house and the surrounding fields were a manifestation from the deepest part of Li Zhuiyuan's consciousness. And Li Zhuiyuan's second-floor bedroom was the area with the most sense of security and special significance. At the same time, it was also where the 'body' was sealed and suppressed. However, the 'body' had not changed the environment here. According to normal logic, opening the door to this room should reveal a scene akin to a prison, with chains binding the 'body'. The 'body' didn't bother creating such an atmosphere, probably too lazy to drag chains around and scream hysterically or curse every time it saw Li Zhuiyuan. Such meaningless acts, purely for emotional release, would be the most unbearable torture for the 'body'.

Not just this room, but the entire building, the courtyard, and the surrounding fields were all maintained in their original state by the 'body'. Sometimes, when Grandpa's house acquired new items or underwent renovations in reality, including the new parking spot for the delivery tricycle, the 'body' would synchronize with Li Zhuiyuan's "sight."

"Drip, drip, drip, drip..." The water seepage became more severe, and several puddles gradually formed on the floor.

"Clang!" The window glass shattered, and the wind swept black rainwater inside, blowing the hair and clothes of the two people in the room.

The 'body': "It's about to see me."

Li Zhuiyuan pointed to the drink can the 'body' had previously placed on the table, motioning for it to pick it up. The 'body' picked it up again. Li Zhuiyuan raised the Jianlibao in his hand and clinked it against the other's. "Clink!" With a light touch, liquid sloshed out of both cans.

The 'body' took a sip. Li Zhuiyuan also took a sip, then frowned and spat it out.

The 'body': "The taste of Jianlibao in your memory has also been altered."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Yeah, it tastes awful now, like corpse water."

The 'body' looked around and said, "It's going to be too late. Are you planning for us to die together?"

Li Zhuiyuan put down the can, got off the bed, walked straight to the door, and stopped. "You keep asking about my purpose, and I've been thinking about it. If I had to name one, perhaps having no purpose is a purpose in itself?"

The 'body': "Crude."

"I just felt like it, so I came in to sit for a bit, to pay a visit."

The 'body': "Childish."

Li Zhuiyuan didn't retort. He pushed the door open and walked out.

As Li Zhuiyuan left, the room rapidly began to restore itself. The broken window mended, and the seeping water vanished. The 'body' walked to the window and looked outside through the yellowish, pale white curtains. Outside this room, there were traces of decay everywhere. The patio floor was uneven and covered with black plants. Even the two rattan chairs were now badly damaged, covered in grime, insect carcasses, and bird droppings. Li Zhuiyuan didn't mind; he lay down directly. The vast farmlands ahead, soaked in black water, had become desolate, just like his current memories, and indeed, his past life.

"Whoosh..." Black rainwater poured down, beating upon Li Zhuiyuan. Li Zhuiyuan's eyes were open. Through the curtain of rain, he could see segments of his past memories being rapidly altered. The young man's eyes gradually lost their luster, and eventually, they slowly closed. Above, dark clouds coalesced, forming a distorted, grotesque face.

The face: "I thought you had more capability. I didn't expect you to give up so quickly when faced with an uncontrollable situation, not even bothering with a perfunctory struggle. Yu Tiannan, before his death, could still shatter my 'body' and suppress me, using me as the final flourish of his life. Yet before I perish, I can only drag you down with me. This leaves me very unwilling and full of regret."

Li Zhuiyuan, in fact, not only didn't resist, but deliberately dropped all his mental defenses. This wasn't surrendering to the face above, but to facilitate his 'body' in resetting his memories. Inside the room, the 'body' still stood there. Outside, Li Zhuiyuan's memories had been completely altered. Theoretically, he possessed all the characteristics of death except actual demise. But the 'body' would not let Li Zhuiyuan die now. Regardless of whether Li Zhuiyuan had entered the room earlier, the 'body' would help him. Because as Li Zhuiyuan closed his eyes, the black rainwater that had previously left began to invade the room again. Without the external protection of the Heart Demon, the 'body''s location would eventually be exposed.

This was also why the 'body' couldn't understand why Li Zhuiyuan insisted on entering the room to sit. In its view, this was an unspoken understanding: helping him was also helping itself. The 'body' closed its eyes. At this moment, it felt it understood the reason for Li Zhuiyuan's previous series of actions.

"You are afraid, afraid of becoming numb amidst the constant modification and resetting of memories... You might even perish in this process, without me having to lay a hand on you, you will no longer be you, and will ultimately merge with me voluntarily."

This should have been good news, but good news also depends on timing. The 'body' could see dark clouds rolling above outside. If Li Zhuiyuan truly became numb and broke down, merging with it before those clouds were exhausted, then it would still be exposed. The 'body' was an absolutely rational entity. It could delay the moment of its rebellion for a better outcome, so how could it allow itself to become a swan song the moment it fully awakened? "This time, you must hold on."

The experiential memories carried by this body were originally shared, but theoretically, the 'body' could use the opportunity of helping Li Zhuiyuan reset his memories to make some modifications, preparing in advance for its future rebellion. However, the 'body' did not do so. In the current situation, any oversight on its part could lead to Li Zhuiyuan's collapse. As the 'body''s eyes slowly opened, Li Zhuiyuan's eyes on the rattan chair outside also opened. It was his memories, beginning to re-unfold.

Li Zhuiyuan began to review his life. He had memories from a very early age, and the recovery point of his memories was also very early, from infancy, childhood, and then arriving in Nantong. It sounded somewhat absurd, but he had "walked" through his life again. As memories revived, the dirty and dilapidated rattan chair beneath him began to return to its original state, the bumpy patio reverted to its familiar flatness, and green waves rippled in the farmlands before his eyes.

However, the sky above was still covered in dark clouds. The human face voiced its confusion: "What's going on?" It had clearly destroyed his memories, so why had they been recreated again? Before it could ponder the specific reason, the black rain poured down torrentially once more. Li Zhuiyuan's already open eyes slowly closed again. The memories in his mind suffered another round of destruction, and the surrounding environment once again entered a state of decay. Inside the room, the 'body' closed its eyes again, then reopened them.

This was an unfair struggle, because the young man was fighting two against one. But if one were to be serious, it was also beyond reproach, because the young man's "two" was something he had actively split from himself. This allowed the two of them to exploit this loophole and engage in a war of attrition with the face in the sky. The human face hadn't discovered the 'body''s existence, because it inherently defied logic. Just like Tan Wenbin nurturing those two children, which could be considered one body with three souls, including Yu Miaomiao's beast soul and human soul coexisting in one body at the time. But essentially, they were merely multiple souls contained within one physical body. What Li Zhuiyuan had was a genuine case of one soul with two equal minds, and shared memories.

From the perspective of the human face, a unique evil entity with innate control over memories, such a thing was absolutely impossible. Unless Li Zhuiyuan intentionally stayed in that room, exposing the 'body' as well. But in this world, there are always exceptions. Liu Yumei, as a member of the Dragon King's family, had never heard of anyone spontaneously igniting lamps to directly initiate 'walking the river'.

Time and again, eyes opened, and time and again, they closed. Li Zhuiyuan experienced, from his own perspective, the repeated destruction and reconstruction of his life. Memory is not the soul; it is an important component but not the sole one. Therefore, its changes can leave traces. Just like a movie: you watch it once, then have your memory of it erased, and watching it repeatedly will still feel boring. Because even if you forget the plot, the emotional and thought-provoking points within it leave you with a certain inertia, or rather, raise a certain threshold. Life is the same. As a child, finding a beautiful stone could make you happy all day; as an adult, you'd find it childish. Major events that felt like the sky was falling as a child, when looked back upon as an adult, seem ordinary. And this is just the most normal microcosm for ordinary people. What Li Zhuiyuan was experiencing now was thousands upon tens of thousands of times this degree, rapidly cycling over and over.

Inside the room, the 'body' worried if Li Zhuiyuan could still hold on. According to normal logic, Li Zhuiyuan should have been on the verge of collapse. It was very likely that upon his next awakening, he would reject and resent his own life, even detest his very existence, wishing to perish then and there. However, Li Zhuiyuan made no additional movements. Regardless of whether the rattan chair was new or old, clean or dirty, he remained lying there. Each opening and closing of his eyes was like a brief nap.

The dark clouds in the sky grew thinner and thinner in this struggle. The farmlands on the ground, once vast, had shrunk into a small vegetable garden. The east and west houses were reduced to mere silhouettes, and the areas behind the patio, out of sight, became blurry. Both sides were locked in a struggle within their consciousness, clinging on for dear life. Naturally, unnecessary costs had to be cut. This was only possible because Li Zhuiyuan's spiritual level was already extraordinary, and he had received the Lotus Creation from True Monarch Pudu. Otherwise, even if he and his 'body' had the ability to cheat, they wouldn't have had the capital to initiate this game.

However, while other areas were blurred and weakened, only the room behind Li Zhuiyuan remained unchanged. In Grandpa's bedroom next door, not only had the doors and windows vanished, but even the patterns on the exterior wall tiles were gone, as if coated with a layer of white cement dust.

The human face finally discovered the problem: "Who is in there?" Immediately after, the human face looked at Li Zhuiyuan on the rattan chair: "You, what exactly are you?" The rain no longer beat against the rattan chair area, but instead heavily pounded the room. The doors, windows, and walls were quickly corroded, becoming riddled with holes. The ceiling, in particular, was extensively hollowed out.

The 'body' looked up. Most of the sky was already clear, with only a small circle of dark clouds remaining directly above. After battling to the very end, both sides were forced to confront a close-quarters situation. Seeing two identical Li Zhuiyuans and sensing the identical memory aura emanating from them, the human face's eyes were filled with shock and disbelief. Perhaps, more than this peculiar existence, what it found most incomprehensible was the cooperation that could be achieved between the two. How could such a thing exist in this world? This violated not only human nature and natural laws, but also the very Dao of Heaven! If it were an ordinary person, it would be one thing, but this was the shared successor of the Qin and Liu families, still 'walking the river'. More importantly, the human face had already experienced Li Zhuiyuan's terrifying talent. Such a person, already so formidable on the surface, could secretly nurture another self. Dao of Heaven, why do you not intervene? How can you permit the existence of such a freak?

Black rainwater struck the 'body', and it felt its memories being altered. The 'body' turned its head. The doors and windows in front of it had already collapsed, allowing it to see Li Zhuiyuan lying on the rattan chair. The rattan chair was new, meaning that at this moment, Li Zhuiyuan was in a state of full, awakened memory. But the 'body' worried that Li Zhuiyuan might have become an emotionless puppet, like extreme grayscale, with only a hint of elusive color clinging on. Therefore, the 'body' probably couldn't count on Li Zhuiyuan to help it. Even taking ten thousand steps back, this was also a good opportunity for Li Zhuiyuan to eliminate his "body," provided he dared to gamble that the remaining power of the face above was only enough to annihilate one of them. Li Zhuiyuan, would you be that foolish?

"Creak..." It was the sound of the rattan chair being moved.

Li Zhuiyuan stood up, looked at the 'body', and perhaps guessing what it was thinking, Li Zhuiyuan spoke: "Don't worry, I'm not that foolish."

The human face had deliberately concentrated the rainwater on the 'body', hoping that Li Zhuiyuan would stand by and watch, allowing it to deal with one before tackling the other. The more critical the moment of final confrontation, the easier it was for selfish thoughts to erupt. Li Zhuiyuan actively walked into the severely damaged room, sharing the burden of the rainwater with his 'body'.

"Why is this happening? Why is this happening?!" In the sky, the human face, shrunken countless times from its original size to almost that of a kite, began to roar. When it tried to destroy one, the other helped; and when it tried to destroy the other, this one also went to help!

Li Zhuiyuan: "Its final choice to target you alone proves it doesn't have much strength left. If I let it destroy you first, I'm not absolutely certain I can face it alone. But if we join forces, we can surely win. I choose the latter."

The 'body' didn't care about the choice, but looked at Li Zhuiyuan: "You haven't changed?" Li Zhuiyuan's demeanor when he entered the room earlier was the same as his demeanor now.

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head: "After having my life repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt so many times, how could I not have changed?"

The 'body': "Then what kind of change is this?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Through the repeated cycles, I've numbed the bad and disliked memories, and made the memories I cherish clearer. So, it was only difficult at first; later, it was actually quite beautiful and heartwarming."

The self he once disguised, the self he deliberately performed in front of Li Lan, he chose to numb through repeated experiences. Instead, he focused on deeply feeling the times spent with Grandpa, A-Li, and all his companions. In the past, time rushed by, making it impossible to linger or reminisce. Now, he had enjoyed a thorough recollection, and many regrets were made up for in his memories. When Grandpa took him to Shanghai for his eyes, he once broke down emotionally, holding him and crying bitterly in the alley. At that time, he wanted to smile and comfort Grandpa, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't. Now, he could smile. When he accidentally burned himself by grabbing Runsheng's incense, facing an angry and disappointed A-Li, he hadn't been able to promptly show regret and injustice. This time, he did. Past events could not be changed, but they could be slowly smoothed over in memory. This time, he smoothed them over completely. And he finally understood the true meaning of the word "release" or "let go."

The 'body': "How did you think of doing this?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Is it hard? Grandpa could do it, or rather, most people who grow old normally can."

The 'body': "It's that simple?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Those who seek eternal life cannot."

The rain continued to fall. Li Zhuiyuan and the 'body''s memories were still being damaged, but the intensity of this assault was much, much weaker than before.

The 'body': "Counterattack."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Alright, let's divide the memories into two halves: I'll defend the latter half, and you'll probably prefer the former half."

The 'body': "Okay."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Afterwards, we'll reset each other's missing memories. We'll both hold half, so neither needs to fear the other's malice."

The 'body': "You might not like the first half of the memories."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Without the first half as a backdrop, how could one truly appreciate the beauty of the latter half?"

The two raised their heads and, facing the small cluster of dark clouds and the floating human face above, began to take the initiative to attack. Half of the rainwater falling on them was repelled. After a period of standoff, the dark clouds in the sky grew smaller and smaller, and the human face also reverted to its normal size. It lost. There was no thrilling battle scene, but it lost in its most skilled domain. It couldn't even make excuses about not being in peak condition, because the young man before it was also not yet an adult.

The human face descended, coming before Li Zhuiyuan, and said anxiously: "Quick, I'm about to disappear! Let me into your book, let me into your book!"

Li Zhuiyuan reached out and grabbed it. But the human face shimmered with a flash of light, escaping Li Zhuiyuan's grasp. But the next moment, the phantom of a large hand reached out from above. Though very transparent and weak, it carried an aura of majesty and completely seized the human face.

The 'body': "Smashed it."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Mm."

"Bang!" The human face was crushed.

Just now, the 'body' had used one of the Twelve Edicts of Fengdu. Its power was even higher than if Li Zhuiyuan had used it himself.

Li Zhuiyuan: "You're learning well."

The 'body': "By using the Liu Family Qi-Gazing Art to forge an Emperor's aura, and then employing the Twelve Edicts of Fengdu, there's a karmic bonus."

Li Zhuiyuan: "You're telling me this so generously?"

The 'body': "I'm not ready to take over this body yet. Besides, I don't want you to be so weak and keep bothering me later."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Then how much longer do you need to be ready?"

The 'body': "You actually had a chance to completely pour that evil entity into the boy named Chen Jing, using him as a sacrifice to seal it off completely."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Hmm, I know."

The 'body': "You were merciful. You couldn't bear to kill him?"

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head: "When he was in the hospital, I deliberately avoided contact with him precisely because I didn't want to form unnecessary attachments."

The 'body': "Since you had it planned all along, then why..."

Li Zhuiyuan placed his hand before his chin, fingers splayed, and a smile appeared on his face as he spoke: "I changed my mind. Don't you think the current effect is better? When I want to smile, it's much simpler than before."

The 'body': "You did it on purpose for treatment."

Li Zhuiyuan waved his hand: "Alright, enough talk. I still have to deal with the matters outside..."

"Have you forgotten how much energy we've expended?" The 'body' gestured to the still unrestored and riddled environment of Grandpa's house. "Your deepest consciousness is like this; when you wake up, will you even be able to remain lucid?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Exactly. Instead of falling directly into a coma upon waking, I'd rather stay here. At least here, I have you to talk to."

The 'body' said nothing, turned, and walked back into the room. Li Zhuiyuan followed him. As the 'body' passed the wardrobe, he reached out and grabbed its shoulder.

The 'body' stopped: "What do you want to do?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Shouldn't you ask... 'What do you want?'"

The 'body' fell silent.

Li Zhuiyuan repositioned the 'body', facing the wardrobe with it. Most of the wardrobe was decayed, the clothes inside largely rotted, and the mirror on the wardrobe door was dirty and cracked, but it could still barely reflect a human figure. At this moment, the mirror reflected two fragmented and mottled young men.

Li Zhuiyuan: "You learned a lesson from last time's brief takeover of this body, because you knew that in your previous state, you couldn't fully integrate into my social network. So, you changed your strategy. You want it so that when you next revolt and gain control of this body, no one will be able to tell that you've replaced me. Let me guess what you were doing in the room when I came knocking just as the rain started." Li Zhuiyuan extended his left hand, separating his thumb and forefinger, placing them at the corners of the 'body''s mouth, then slowly helping to pull the corners upward: "Were you, at that time, inside, practicing how to smile?"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The clash outside was very lively.

After all, it was a demonic beast that once followed the Dragon King. Even with its body decayed and memories gone, its sheer enraged instinct alone was still incredibly terrifying. But its limitations were also clear. Just like ancient people facing wolves, jackals, and tigers, with proper organization, even the most powerful beast could only fall to the ground in desperate wails.

Zhao Yi was now in the role of the organizer. Unlike Li Zhuiyuan, who could use red threads to command his team like an extension of his arm, Zhao Yi took the opposite approach, fixing everyone's roles and positions, even rigidly so. Runsheng was always responsible for defending the first strike. After defending, he would rest and recuperate, never participating in attacks. Lin Shuyou was always responsible for the first round of counterattack after the opponent's assault. Regardless of the counterattack's effectiveness, he would go in, complete a set of moves, and immediately return to the formation. During the remaining time, Tan Wenbin would conduct continuous harassment, not needing to inflict substantial damage, but merely psychological provocation.

Tan Wenbin once again witnessed Young Master Zhao's lack of limits. He even ordered himself to send out the two children, having them float in front of that entity and "waggle their tails" in its face. It proved that even instinctively, a male found castration of that part of himself difficult to accept. Therefore, while the damage wasn't high, the insult was extreme. Each time this happened, the 'dog' would furiously initiate another attack.

The Liang sisters had no fixed positions, which meant their position was everywhere. Under Zhao Yi's command, they had to help Runsheng defend, help Lin Shuyou counterattack, and even assist Tan Wenbin in provocation. After a fierce battle, everyone else was fine, with only minor, negligible injuries, and their condition was still well-maintained. However, the Liang sisters were in a sorry state, and their energy was no longer stable. As for Zhao Yi himself, he did not participate in the actual fighting; he simply commanded throughout. He had originally intended to insert himself into a position, but after actual combat, he discovered that Li's subordinates had improved so much since the last time in Lijiang! With such an excellent team configuration, Zhao Yi felt that if he were Li, he wouldn't bother with the hardships of martial arts training either.

In short, Zhao Yi's spiritual initiative and practical passivity yielded excellent results. The tattooed area on the 'dog''s body was gradually expanding, meaning the decaying areas were increasing. It was already barely holding on by its last breath, and now Zhao Yi had let out more than half of that. Just drag it out a bit longer, hold on a bit longer, and that guy would collapse on its own. There was no choice; he was using someone else's team, and he didn't want to cripple or kill anyone, which would be difficult to explain to Li. If he used his own team... Zhao Yi would be even more reluctant.

At this moment, something unusual happened with the formation. The originally pitch-black, large egg-shaped shell suddenly began to fade, and then, before everyone's eyes, all the black mist surged frantically into Li Zhuiyuan's body. Finally, Li Zhuiyuan fell to the ground, his life unknown.

"You all, continue to maintain the formation and press it!" After giving the order, Zhao Yi left the formation, went to Li Zhuiyuan's side, checked the young man's condition, and then shouted: "He's fine, just over-expended himself and passed out!"

Zhao Yi looked at the Liang sisters: "Give me the remaining bottle too!" The Liang sisters gritted their teeth. They truly felt a sense of grievance. They had only ever heard of married women prioritizing their own families, but this man was the most biased of all. Liang Li handed over the jade bottle.

Zhao Yi: "Quick, go help Runsheng defend!" Liang Li quickly returned and, with her sister, helped Runsheng withstand the 'dog''s new round of attacks.

Zhao Yi first made Li Zhuiyuan drink the liquid from the jade bottle, then felt in his pocket, pulled out several exquisite pills, and put them into the young man's mouth. These pills weren't cheap; Old Man Tian had pounded them out day and night with extremely low yield rates. Sometimes, even Zhao Yi himself wouldn't bear to take them when injured. However, even though he didn't know how Li managed it, he truly did eliminate that most troublesome evil entity. Although a mad dog remained on their side, it wouldn't last much longer.

Zhao Yi reached into Li Zhuiyuan's sleeve and rummaged around. When he pulled his hand back, there was a handful of copper coins in his palm. "Li, you rest well. I'll just borrow this for now, heh heh... sigh." The joy only lasted a fleeting moment on his face, followed by sadness. The copper coin sword used by his own ancestors, and he had to sneakily take it when he needed to use it, then feel secretly pleased about it.

"You all, take a break." Giving the Liang sisters a "small break," Zhao Yi went up with the copper coin sword, taking their place. From this moment, their side shifted from a standoff to a full-on assault. But that 'dog' ultimately had no memories, and naturally, no concept of dignity. After realizing it could no longer suppress these annoying people in front of it, it began to consider conserving energy and escaping.

Tan Wenbin: "The provocation effect has decreased."

Zhao Yi: "Hmm, it's trying to escape."

Tan Wenbin: "We must stop it, whatever the cost." Neither he, nor Runsheng, nor A-You had played their trump cards yet. Having fought to this extent, even at the cost of over-expending themselves to paralysis, they had to permanently incapacitate the opponent. Zhao Yi was about to nod. With Tan Wenbin taking the initiative to suggest this, his subsequent commands became much more confident.

But at this moment, Zhao Yi frowned, reached out, and tore open his clothes. At his heart, there was a fresh and intricate scar, proving he often fiddled with his own heart. His thumb went in and hooked something. When it came out again, a small colorful snake, about the size of an earthworm, was wrapped around it. Tan Wenbin noticed this scene and subconsciously pursed his lips. Sometimes he thought he was ruthless enough with himself, but as soon as he compared himself to this Young Master Zhao, that feeling completely vanished.

Zhao Yi put the snake into his mouth, chewed it with a "crunch, crunch" sound, and then swallowed it. Runsheng, who had just finished a round of defense and was recuperating, didn't turn his head, but merely asked, "Does it taste good?"

Zhao Yi: "I'll let you try one after this. I've been cultivating a lot of snake eggs in my heart. At critical moments, they can remove all kinds of obstacles and send messages to me."

Immediately after, Zhao Yi said to Tan Wenbin: "Sun Yan warned us. Someone with a special identity from above must have appeared; the warning level is very high."

Tan Wenbin: "The newcomer is very powerful?"

Zhao Yi: "Perhaps it's someone Sun Yan simply cannot deal with."

Someone whom a beastmaster like Sun Yan couldn't handle, Tan Wenbin immediately said: "Someone from the Yu family!"

Zhao Yi: "Mmm." Only the Yu family's abilities could completely restrain Sun Yan. Last time, Yu Miaomiao and her attendant could easily make all of Sun Yan's demonic beasts defect. Furthermore, the Yu family had sufficient motivation to appear here at this time.

Zhao Yi: "Damn it, new trouble. We need to speed this up." After speaking, Zhao Yi looked at the unconscious Li Zhuiyuan over there, cursing inwardly: "Damn it, why are you sleeping now?!" Completely forgetting that he had just told the other person to rest well.

Tan Wenbin turned his head to look at Yin Meng. With external enemies present, it wasn't appropriate to risk exhaustion and paralysis, losing combat effectiveness. To quickly end the battle, they could only hope for an unexpected move. Zhao Yi also looked at Yin Meng. Earlier, since they had rendezvoused outside Shuilian Cave, the Liang sisters had secretly relayed to him the situation when they dealt with Shen Huaiyang. The sisters were amazed by Yin Meng's ability to observe and control battlefield timing. This puzzled Zhao Yi himself. He wasn't meeting Yin Meng for the first time; he admitted her cooking skills were good, but this battlefield awareness? It was easy to improve strength, but could one also improve their brain? During the previous battle, Zhao Yi had also tried to have Yin Meng use the two demon-expelling whips for battlefield coordination, but the effect was very poor. Yin Meng couldn't perform well herself, and Zhao Yi's direct commands also had a lag. Then, Zhao Yi sent the Liang sisters to pull back the two fleshy orbs during their attacks and give them to Yin Meng, allowing her to focus on summoning insects. But despite the summoning attempts until now, there was no sign of the insects.

Zhao Yi: "How is it going? How much longer?"

Yin Meng held the yellow paper, shaking it constantly, but the paper just wouldn't light. She even used a lighter, but it still wouldn't ignite. Every time a spark appeared, she felt a terrible tremor in her heart, and then the spark extinguished. She knew it was her ancestor, unable to accept such a sacrilegious sacrifice within sacrilege. At this moment, facing Zhao Yi's question, Yin Meng was about to explain when Tan Wenbin spoke first: "The grade of this sacrificial meat is too high; she is too insignificant to control it. Heh, the one being sacrificed to has a terrible temper and likes to put on airs. Normally, he looks down on people like us; he only acknowledges little brother Yuan."

Seeing this, Zhao Yi reached out, snatched the yellow paper from Yin Meng's hand, and forcefully flicked it. A spark appeared but immediately extinguished. Tan Wenbin didn't add fuel to the fire; instead, he proactively said: "Forget it, let me try. I have an inscription in Seal Script written by Little Brother Yuan here. Let's see if I can make a rubbing of it onto this. After all, Little Brother Yuan is from the true Dragon King family; his grade should be sufficient, even just for a rubbing."

Zhao Yi's gaze darkened. He immediately used a fingernail to cut his finger, wrote a blood inscription on the yellow paper, and then sternly shouted: "No matter what kind of local deity or deviant shrine you are, I, Zhao Yi of Jiujiang, invite this sacrifice for you today! If I tell you to eat, then eat it! Don't you dare be so ungrateful!"

"Buzz." In an instant, the yellow paper burst into flames!