Chapter 925: Facing One Heart with Shattered Bones
“Aside from the [One Heart] aspect, which confirms the path to Longevity, the [The Multitude] attribute has also become increasingly prominent.”
Li Qing walked on, observing everything around him.
“Did you have a good time in the illusion, boy?”
At that moment, a voice suddenly caught his attention.
Li Qing glanced over to see a slovenly old man lying on the ground, utterly oblivious to the world around him.
Uncertain of the man’s purpose, Li Qing answered with cautious silence.
“Haha, no need to be so tense,” the old man chuckled. “Being so formal won’t do you any good!”
“Just act the way you did in the illusion. We need more people like you among us!”
The old man praised Li Qing generously, holding nothing back.
“Oh, right. Let me tell you another little secret.”
“To make things more exciting, it wasn't just you who had their memories sealed away in the illusion. I did as well.”
“Only at the moment the illusion is about to shatter does one's true consciousness awaken.”
“In that single moment, the memories of everyone in the illusion erupt all at once!”
A rapturous expression spread across the old man's face, like someone who had just savored a flask of the finest aged wine.
“Two hundred thirty-six thousand, eight hundred times...”
“Two hundred thirty-six thousand, eight hundred times!”
The old man repeated the number.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk...”
“The thrill you experienced is nothing—not even a fraction of what I felt!”
The old man shook his head, lost in the memory.
Li Qing paused when he heard the number “two hundred thirty-six thousand, eight hundred.” For a moment, its significance escaped him.
Then, just as quickly, he understood, and his expression turned peculiar.
When he looked again, the disheveled old man had vanished.
“This body, it seemed, had once belonged to a Dao Integration elder of the Great Dao Sect.”
Li Qing mused, recalling his memories from the illusion.
He continued toward the main sect hall at the summit.
Along the way, Li Qing overheard many arguments.
“Why did you have to castrate him? What was wrong with a normal beginning?”
“Now you object? You were all for it at the time!”
“I saw no problem with a little punishment. The real question is, why give him the [Scripture of Reversing Order]?”
“You have to test a newly developed technique, don't you? Who could have guessed the kid would get up to so much mischief with it? Tsk, tsk...”
“Hah, I think you did it deliberately.”
“If that's the case, we can't use the [Scripture of Reversing Order] again.”
“Absolutely not! How can we just ban something this good?”
“I object!”
“I object as well!”
...
There were no figures to be seen.
And yet, the voices of the conversation drifted around Li Qing like phantoms, whispering incessantly in his ears.
It felt as if countless unseen figures were staring at him, whispering to one another.
Li Qing remained outwardly calm, but a creeping chill had already begun to snake its way into his heart.
The voices intertwined, like a thousand clamoring thoughts inside his own head.
It felt as if his consciousness was splintering into a million pieces.
The closer Li Qing drew to the main sect hall, the more numerous the voices became, rising and falling in a ceaseless tide.
Their words grew increasingly frenzied.
They became like the ravings of demon gods, piercing his mind like a thousand needles.
Suddenly, Li Qing faltered.
He felt a slight wetness on his face. Reaching up, he discovered that blood was trickling from his nostrils and the corners of his eyes.
His vision had blurred, he knew not when.
Li Qing wiped away the blood and forced himself to quicken his pace while he still had the strength.
But the demonic whispers in his ears did not cease; instead, they grew ever more intense.
“Cough, cough...”
A violent cough wracked Li Qing's body, and he spat out fragments of his own internal organs.
After another few dozen steps, the body could finally take no more.
Under the vibration of the countless, clamoring voices, it dissolved into a puddle of sludge.
But in the next moment, flesh and blood began to squirm in the void, a new body on the verge of forming.
However, the ubiquitous demonic sounds seemed to have no intention of letting Li Qing off so easily.
Before the body could even fully manifest, it was crushed once more.
And so, a truly bizarre scene unfolded on the long flight of stairs.
A shapeless mass of flesh struggled to crawl upward, squirming and climbing.
Each time it was crushed, it reappeared.
The total mass of flesh seemed to lessen each time.
Though Li Qing never gave up, in the end, all that remained was a small, malformed ball of flesh, struggling and tumbling crudely upward.
Despite his wretched state, the surrounding voices showed no sign of abating.
Instead, they grew more excited. The sounds became shrill, no longer resembling human voices, but rather a chaotic din of meaningless noise that filled the world.
Just as the last of Li Qing's flesh was about to vanish completely...
The phantom of a black sword suddenly materialized.
It let out a soft hum.
In an instant, it briefly suppressed the demonic cacophony!
Seizing this fleeting moment, the sword phantom erupted with speed, transforming into a blurred line as it shot straight into the main sect hall.
Though the doors to the great hall stood open, the interior was pitch-black when viewed from the outside.
It was like staring into an abyss where nothing could be seen.
After that moment of silence, the myriad voices erupted with renewed vigor.
They returned with the force of a tsunami, a terrifying chorus of wails and howls.
“I knew he could do it!”
“Hahaha, how interesting, how very interesting!”
“Why did you let him go on purpose? Why? Why didn't you let me grind him to a pulp, inch by inch!”
“Stop pretending. What's the point in lying to yourself?”
...
In stark contrast to the chaotic and terrifying environment outside...
...the main hall of the Great Dao Sect was unnaturally quiet.
The vast hall was empty, save for the sect master's throne at its highest point.
Senior Sister Zhao sat quietly on the throne.
She sat like a small child, perfectly still and upright, her back ramrod straight.
Her hands rested on her lap.
Her expression was frozen, completely motionless.
Li Qing stole a glance at Senior Sister Zhao.
Her features seemed frozen in time, forever in her teens.
She looked exactly as she had in the illusion.
“Greetings, One Heart Heavenly Venerate.”
Despite the strange atmosphere, Li Qing bowed respectfully.
“Why have you come?”
Senior Sister Zhao's melodious voice rang out.
But it did not issue from the figure on the throne; rather, it came from all corners of the great hall.
Li Qing did not conceal his purpose. “I have come for the techniques of the former Xuantian Sect,” he stated directly.
“The [Heaven and Earth Converging Manual], the [Eternal Sole Dominance Art], the [Soul Severing Divine Radiance Art], the [Scripture of Heaven's Sorrow and Earth's Grief]...”
“These scriptures originally belonged to the Xuantian Sect. It is time they were returned to their rightful owner.”
Li Qing declared, his expression serious.
The great hall fell silent for a moment.
Then, as if she had heard the most amusing joke, Senior Sister Zhao began to laugh, a light, unending sound.
“Aren't the people of the Xuantian Sect all dead yet?”
“And how did you people know I once obtained these techniques?”
“I have quite a few others besides these. Don't you want them too?”
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