Chapter 39: Desperate Situation

Just a moment more! Zhang Jun pressed both hands onto the Spirit Master's head, pouring all his yin-yang power into his mother's consciousness space.

In the consciousness space of the Spirit Master and Zhang Yuyao, gold-blue light rapidly devoured the purple energy. The Spirit Master let out a final unwilling roar, its body disintegrating into tiny purple specks that flickered in the air before vanishing.

The huge purple vortex in the sky collapsed accordingly, and the light of the Dimensional Gate went out.

Zhang Jun took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes. He felt every pore on his body breathing; the world before him seemed to turn transparent—every person's energy flow state, every possible path of fate, all became clearly discernible.

Turning his head, he saw Lin Xue also looking at him. She had changed; her whole person was enveloped in a faint blue light, her demeanor becoming more transcendent, calm yet exuding a powerful presence.

"Did we win?" Lin Xue asked softly.

Zhang Jun nodded, the corners of his mouth twitching up slightly: "We won."

He walked to his mother's side, gently helping her up: "Mom, are you alright?"

Zhang Yuyao slowly opened her eyes: "Jun'er... Mom's back."

Mother and son held each other tightly. A few steps away, Lin Yuehua also embraced her daughter, tears streaking her face.

Only Zhang Tiangang's face darkened as he walked to his son's side and said in a low voice: "We've only won a small skirmish; the great war has just begun."

"What do you mean?"

Zhang Tiangang pointed at the screen on the control console. Red numbers kept jumping, counting down.

"Although the Dimensional Gate is closed, the extraterrestrial spiritual consciousness main body has already locked onto Earth's coordinates; it will surely return sooner or later."

"What should we do?" Lin Xue asked.

Zhang Tiangang looked at the two of them: "Your bloodline is the only hope; only you can end this war and protect this world."

Zhang Jun scratched his head: "Then let's get at it—who told us our fate is so bitter?"

Lin Xue gave him a white-eye look: "Bitter fate? Shouldn't you be saying 'good fate' instead?"

"Pretty much the same—after all, it's all fate; who cares?"

No sooner had the words fallen than an abrupt change occurred!

The pyramid device suddenly flashed with purple light.

"What's going on?" Lin Xue exclaimed.

"The spiritual sense bridge isn't fully severed!" Lin Yuehua suddenly clutched her chest, painfully curling up as her body convulsed violently.

"Mom!" Lin Xue rushed over.

Lin Yuehua tore open her collar, revealing the spot over her heart. A purple crystal was deeply embedded there, an eerie light flashing in rhythm with her heartbeat. Purple patterns swiftly spread outward, covering her chest and neck.

"They had prepared for this..." Lin Yuehua's teeth chattered from the pain.

Countdown: 9 minutes 45 seconds… 9 minutes 44 seconds…

"You must split up." Lin Yuehua pushed her daughter away, "I'll handle the control system!"

Zhang Jun grabbed Lin Xue: "Come on, listen to your mom!"

The two split and fled. Zhang Jun dove into the ventilation duct, while Lin Xue ran toward the energy tower.

On the horizon, the purple aurora grew denser, and the vortex-shaped energy field above the city kept expanding.

Inside the ventilation duct, it was dark, dirty, and narrow; Zhang Jun wriggled forward with difficulty, like a trapped snake. His yin-yang eye flickered light and dark in the darkness, helping him precisely avoid the various infrared alarms.

"What a fucked-up day." He muttered under his breath.

Isolation Chamber 37 lay just ahead.

Zhang Jun darted sideways to leap over the final infrared laser, moving as lightly as a cat. He carefully removed the vent's grille, making no sound, then slipped into the dimly lit laboratory.

In the center of the lab stood a huge isolation chamber, surrounded by various instruments and pipelines flickering with a faint blue light.

The chamber was filled with translucent liquid, inside which a humanoid figure floated—damn, it looked like himself? No, it was his clone.

Zhang Jun held his breath and approached; suddenly, the person inside opened their eyes.

Their eyes met, and Zhang Jun almost cried out. That gaze was icy and hollow, sending a chill down one's spine.

"Son, I've finally waited for you."

The sound transmitted through the liquid and glass was eerily clear; Zhang Jun's whole body jolted as if shocked by electricity, and he blurted out:

"Dad?"

The figure inside the chamber nodded slightly; its face was indeed seventy percent like his memory of his father Zhang Tiangang, yet mixed with some of his own features, an indescribable oddity.

"Don't dawdle, time is short." Zhang Tiangang's voice was urgent, "Open the chamber; the password is your birthday."

Zhang Jun's fingers flew as he entered the password; the isolation chamber hummed, initiating the drainage procedure.

"Back when the extraterrestrial spiritual consciousness forced me into a corner, I could only upload my consciousness into this body." Zhang Tiangang deftly pulled out tube after tube, "On the surface I'm Long Tianba's lackey, but behind the scenes I've been meddling in their affairs."

"After all this, you've been hiding under my nose these years?" Zhang Jun wished he could strangle this cheap father.

"Those bastards thought they had me under control, little knowing my mind is tough as nails." Zhang Tiangang grabbed a nearby lab coat and slipped it on, "The spiritual sense bridge will soon be fully open; we need to shut it down quickly."

"Lin Xue went to save my mom; her mom is handling the control system." Zhang Jun gave a brief report.

Zhang Tiangang's face shifted abruptly: "Lin Yuehua going to the control system? Damn! Stop her at once!"

"What's the situation?" Zhang Jun felt his heart skip a beat.

"Lin Yuehua's spiritual sense seed was implanted long ago; she's completely under control! This is a damn setup!" Zhang Tiangang said while rushing out.

——————

On her side, Lin Xue carefully made her way through the main lab; Ice Soul power flowed at her fingertips, every monitor camera she touched instantly froze and failed.

At the pyramid's center, Zhang Yuyao was bound by purple energy chains, appearing half-conscious.

"Auntie! I'm here to save you!" Lin Xue reached out to touch the energy barrier; Ice Soul power and purple energy corroded each other, tearing a gap.

"How touching, but you'll never guess who the real enemy is."

A sarcastic voice came from behind; Lin Xue whipped around—Zhao Wushuang leaned against the doorway, his face full of mockery.

He raised a hand and waved; Lin Yuehua stepped out of the darkness, her eyes glowing with purple light, her whole body emanating an eerie fluctuation.

"Mom? What are you—"

Lin Xue hadn't finished speaking when Lin Yuehua suddenly struck with a palm, purple energy shooting straight at her face!

Lin Xue barely dodged, staring in shock at her mother, who had become a stranger.

"The Spiritual Sense Seed has long consumed her consciousness," Zhao Wushuang said lazily. "All these years she never betrayed the Heavenly Beyond Spiritual Sense; she's always been our loyal sentinel."

Lin Xue, unable to contain her rage, Ice Soul Power surged, and sharp ice spikes instantly sprang from the ground.

Lin Yuehua's body twisted bizarrely, easily dodging all attacks like a puddle of liquid.

"Don't waste your strength; she's no longer human."

Just as Lin Xue was at her wit's end, an even more horrifying scene unfolded—

The imprisoned Zhang Yuyao suddenly opened her eyes; the purple chains released on their own, she stepped down from the levitation device, a strange smile curling her lips.

"Lin family girl, thank you for helping me break the final seal," Zhang Yuyao said in an icy voice.