Chapter 28: United to Defeat the Enemy
"Samsara Mirror, open!" Li Ge's voice echoed through the crumbling control room, carrying an undeniable resolve. After absorbing her blood essence, the tiny crack on the ancient bronze mirror in her hand didn't widen. Instead, it was covered in a strange, bloody glow. The entire mirror trembled violently, emitting a low, humming sound. "What does she want to do?" the surviving bearded man asked in shock at Li Ge's sacrificial act. Chu Yun, forcing his last shred of consciousness, watched Li Ge. He could sense that Li Ge was undertaking something extremely dangerous and insane. "Use my soul as a guide, your body as a bridge, to reverse... life and death!" Li Ge suddenly aimed the mirror at Mo Li, whose breath had become extremely weak in her arms. A deep purple beam of light, imbued with a dark aura, emanated from the mirror, instantly enveloping Mo Li. Simultaneously, Li Ge's own body began to become transparent at a visible speed. "You're crazy! You're going to die!" Chu Yun roared hoarsely. He understood. Li Ge was using his own vitality to forcibly prolong Mo Li's life. This was a life-for-life, the most extreme, forbidden technique of a ghost doctor! "Shut up," Li Ge said, without even turning back, but his voice pierced Chu Yun's mind. "Guard your mind. If you die, all three of us will have lived in vain." Chu Yun's heart was pierced. He looked at the lonely, resolute figure burning with his life, and thought of Mo Li, who had blocked a fatal blow for him. He thought of his father, who had screamed at him, "Live!" thirteen years ago, in the sea of fire. Protecting... So this was what true protection meant. It wasn't about using immense strength to destroy the enemy, but about using one's all to protect those who deserved it. An unprecedented, clear understanding arose within him. He no longer pondered hatred or fate, only that he couldn't let these two die here. He slowly sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and slowly gathered his fully awakened, yet raging, uncontrollable power. No longer suppressing or indulging, he began to try to understand and soothe it, transforming the violent force of "destruction" into the gentle force of "protection." This was an extremely difficult process, and each transformation felt like a fierce battle deep within his soul. But his will became more resolute than ever before, for he knew he was not fighting alone. As time passed, the vibrations of Tianshu Tower grew more intense, and the central platform...
"Mirror of Reincarnation, open!"
Li Ge's voice echoed in the control room, on the verge of collapse, with an undeniable resolve. After absorbing her blood essence, the tiny crack on the ancient bronze mirror in her hand not only did not widen, but was instead covered by a strange blood-red glow. The entire mirror trembled violently, emitting a low humming sound.
"What does she want to do?" The surviving bearded man asked in shock as he looked at Li Ge's sacrificial behavior.
Chu Yun also forced himself to look at Li Ge with the last bit of consciousness. He could feel that Li Ge was doing something extremely dangerous and crazy.
"Using my soul as a guide and your body as a bridge, I will reverse... life and death!"
Li Ge suddenly aimed the mirror at Mo Li, whose aura had become extremely weak in his arms. A deep purple beam of light, imbued with a dark aura, shot out from the mirror, instantly enveloping Mo Li's entire body. At the same time, Li Ge's own body began to become transparent at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"You're crazy! You're going to die!" Chu Yun roared hoarsely. He understood that Li Ge was using his own vitality to forcibly prolong Mo Li's life. This was a life-for-life, the most extreme forbidden technique of the Ghost Doctor!
"Shut up." Li Ge didn't even turn his head, but his voice was clearly transmitted to Chu Yun's mind, "Guard your mind. If you die, the three of us will have lived in vain."
Chu Yun's heart was deeply pierced. He looked at the lonely and determined figure burning his life, and thought of Mo Li who had blocked the fatal blow for him, and thought of his father who had screamed at him in the sea of fire thirteen years ago, "Live!"
Guarding... So this is what true guarding is. It's not about using your immense strength to destroy your enemies, but about using your all to protect those who are worth guarding.
An unprecedented, clear understanding arose within him. He no longer considered hatred or fate, only that he could not let these two people die here. He slowly sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and slowly gathered his fully awakened yet raging, uncontrollable power. No longer suppressing or indulging, he began to try to understand and soothe it, transforming the violent force of destruction into the gentle force of protection.
This was an extremely difficult process, and every transformation was like a fierce battle deep in his soul. But his will became more resolute than ever at this moment, because he knew that he was not fighting alone.
As time passed, the Tianshu Tower vibrated more and more violently. Most of the energy crystals on the central platform had already exploded due to the reverse flow of energy, and the entire control room was on the verge of collapse. Li Ge's body had become translucent, as if it would dissipate into thin air at any moment. But in her arms, Mo Li's heart, which had stopped beating, miraculously began to beat faintly again.
At this moment, Chu Yun, who had kept his eyes closed, suddenly opened them. The burning golden flames in his eyes had vanished, replaced by a pure and gentle golden light like that of a newborn baby. He had succeeded. On the brink of life and death, protected by his companions, he had truly mastered the power of the Dao Pivot.
He slowly stood up, walked behind Li Ge, and stretched out his right hand to gently press on her back. A gentle, vital golden energy slowly flowed from his palm into Li Ge's body.
Li Ge's body, which was becoming transparent, suddenly trembled. She could feel her rapidly fading vitality being forcibly stabilized by a warm force. Her body, which was about to wither away, was like a long-dry seedling that encountered a rain.
"You..." She turned around and looked at Chu Yun in disbelief.
"I told you, none of us three can die." Chu Yun looked at her, a faint, yet heartfelt smile on his face. This was the first time he had smiled in thirteen years.
Li Ge was also stunned by his smile. Suddenly, she felt that this man, whom she had always regarded as a "reckless man" and a "fool", was not so hateful after all.
With Chu Yun's help, Li Ge finally completed the final act of the spell. She retracted the Samsara Mirror, and the crack on its surface deepened. While Mo Li, still unconscious in her arms, miraculously stabilized his breathing and heartbeat.
"We... succeeded?" The bearded man asked stutteringly as he looked at the miraculous scene in front of him.
"Not yet." Chu Yun shook his head. He looked at the demon-masked figure, pinned to the energy crystal by the armor-piercing arrow. Although he had just used his awakened power to obliterate the other's "soul," his "body" was still there. Moreover, he could sense an even more sinister and strange power emanating from that body.
"His body is just a container." Li Ge's voice trembled slightly, even though she herself didn't notice it. "The real 'him' is still hiding inside."
The moment she finished her words, the demon-masked figure, pinned to the crystal, suddenly convulsed violently. From the wound on his left shoulder, pierced by the armor-piercing arrow, black blood no longer flowed. Instead, a number of fingernail-sized, pitch-black, beetle-like creatures crawled out.
The beetles made a series of rustling sounds that made their scalps tingle as they quickly devoured his body. In just a few breaths, the body was completely devoured, leaving only an empty black robe and a hideous demon mask.
After devouring the body, the black beetles quickly gathered together, devouring each other and fusing together, eventually forming a humanoid monster roughly the height of a man, composed of countless writhing beetles! The monster had no facial features, only a pair of compound eyes that shone crimson, filled with violence and hunger.
"What the hell...what the hell is this thing?!" The bearded man looked at the monster in front of him, which was more disgusting and terrifying than any previous enemy. His legs went weak and he almost fell to the ground.
"It's Shadow Pavilion's... 'Soul Devouring Gu'." Li Ge's voice trembled. "Every core member of Shadow Pavilion will have this thing planted in their body. Once the host dies or the mission fails, it will be activated, devouring everything of the host, and then turning into a monster that knows only killing and destruction, to eliminate all traces."
"In other words," Chu Yun's eyes became extremely cold, "this thing is his last trump card."
"roar!"
The monster, made of poisonous insects, seemed to have locked onto them as well. It let out a roar that was not human, and lunged straight at them. Its speed was astonishing, and wherever it passed, the hard metal on the ground was corroded by the constantly wriggling poisonous insects beneath its feet, leaving charred marks.
"I'll leave Mo Li in your care!" Chu Yun carefully handed the unconscious Mo Li to the bearded man. "Take her back! The farther the better!"
The bearded man knew that a fight of this magnitude was beyond his reach. He nodded, then quickly retreated, holding Mo Li in his arms. Only Chu Yun and Li Ge remained on the field.
The two looked at each other without any extra words, but with an unprecedented tacit understanding.
Li Ge took the first step and threw the cracked reincarnation mirror in his hand forward.
"Reincarnation, the world of confusion!"
The mirror instantly magnified in mid-air, transforming into a massive, swirling purple vortex that blocked the path of the Gu insect monster. The Gu insect monster plunged headfirst into the vortex and vanished instantly.
"I used the Samsara Mirror to temporarily trap it in a small spatial maze." Li Ge's face paled even further. "But I can only trap it for... five breaths at most!"
"Five breaths are enough," Chu Yun replied calmly and forcefully. He took a deep breath, concentrating the gentle yet vast power within him, now completely under his control, on his right index finger. No more light emanated from his fingertips, and they appeared ordinary. But Li Ge could clearly sense a terrifying force, enough to shake the entire space, gathering frantically on that seemingly ordinary finger.
This is the ultimate power that can directly wipe out all "evil" and "wickedness" at the level of laws - Taiyi Evil-Breaking Finger.
"Now!" Li Ge shouted softly and took back the Samsara Mirror.
The Gu insect monster reappeared before them. It seemed to have sustained considerable trauma in the spatial maze, its aura weakened considerably, but its ferocity was fully aroused. It roared angrily and was about to charge again.
But it no longer had a chance.
Chu Yun's figure appeared in front of it in an instant like a golden lightning. He gently tapped the monster's head full of countless scarlet compound eyes with the finger that condensed all his strength and faith.
Time seemed to stand still at this moment.
There was no explosion, no sound. The terrifying monster composed of countless "Soul Devouring Gu" began to transform into the most primitive golden light inch by inch from the place where Chu Yun's finger pointed.
Those points of light did not dissipate into the air, but slowly gathered together, eventually forming something - a torn blueprint and a token stained with black blood and engraved with the word "shadow".
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