Chapter 197: "Oh~""Patriarch Liu, what are you waiting for?"

Gu Qingwan's few words, delivered in that clear, cold, utterly calm and emotionless tone, struck like a series of silent thunderbolts.

They slammed viciously into Liu Xuanyin's heart as he stood frozen at the passage entrance, and instantly jolted Lu Yuan out of his stupor!

Lu Yuan's mind went "buzz," plunging into a brief blank.

But then, a thought colder than the surrounding chill, one that made his very soul tremble, sunk its fangs into him like a venomous serpent.

The old man!

Liu Xuanyin was about to be cornered into a desperate last stand!!!

Gu Qingwan had no intention of letting Liu Xuanyin go!

So what would Liu Xuanyin do?!

He would definitely activate the restriction immediately and drag the old man down with him!!!

Lu Yuan's first reaction upon snapping out of it was to shout loudly at Gu Qingwan, who was suspended in midair.

His voice cracked slightly from extreme anxiety and lingering fear, sounding especially harsh in the silent cavern.

Lu Yuan didn't know what was wrong with Gu Qingwan today, why she was acting so uncharacteristically, pressing forward step by step, leaving no room for retreat.

Was it this eerie "Spirit-Locking Forbidden Land" and the evil formation affecting her mind?

Or was it that, with the restoration of her power, her temperament had undergone unpredictable changes?

But none of these guesses mattered now; what mattered was stopping her immediately!

Liu Xuanyin was like a deadly noose tied around the old man's neck; one slight pull, and the old man would be gone!

Lu Yuan was burning with anxiety, wishing he could rush up there himself.

But Lu Yuan's zhenran was locked, he was severely injured, barely able to stand, and could only shout in vain,

trying to remind Gu Qingwan in the most direct way possible that the old man was still down there!

They couldn't drive Liu Xuanyin into a corner!

And Liu Xuanyin, completely frozen by that incomprehensible force of "stillness," like an insect trapped in amber,

upon hearing Lu Yuan's urgent shout, the terror and despair congealed in the depths of his gray-white pupils suddenly erupted with a final shred of almost insane hope and ferocity!

Although his body, mana, soul, and even his last connection to the formation were forcibly "frozen," his consciousness remained, his thoughts undimmed!

He could hear, and he could "see"!

Lu Yuan still cared about Li Xiuye's life!

This was his last chance!

His only chance at survival!

"Lu... Yuan!!"

A roar, extremely difficult, as if squeezed from the depths of a frozen throat mixed with a trembling soul sound,

carrying endless venom and final threat, like the screech of a dying snake, viciously stabbed towards Lu Yuan.

"Control her!! Make her stop!! Let me go!!"

"Otherwise... Li Xiuye... will die without a doubt!!"

"If my soul is destroyed... the restriction will backlash immediately... he will turn to ashes in an instant!!"

Liu Xuanyin stared "fixedly" at Lu Yuan, the frozen gray-white eyeballs filled with a gambler's madness and all-or-nothing desperation.

He was betting that Lu Yuan didn't dare risk Li Xiuye's life.

Betting that Lu Yuan could "control" or rather "persuade" this unpredictably strange Gu Qingwan!

His only way out right now was through Lu Yuan!

Lu Yuan's heart clenched violently. Liu Xuanyin's threatening words, like ice picks, stabbed into his already taut nerves again.

Lu Yuan certainly knew Liu Xuanyin wasn't bluffing.

The connection between the "Nine Nether Soul-Refining Chains" and the formation was bound to be extremely vicious. If Liu Xuanyin died, the old man would have no chance of survival.

He turned his head abruptly, his gaze urgently seeking Gu Qingwan in midair.

He opened his mouth, ready to speak, ready to have a serious "talk" with Gu Qingwan in the most earnest and anxious tone,

analyzing the pros and cons, telling her that the most important thing now wasn't killing Liu Xuanyin to vent anger, but ensuring the old man's safety first.

Even if it meant temporarily letting the tiger go back to the mountain, they could plan for later...

For a moment, Lu Yuan thought about how Gu Qingwan's Ghost Marriage was related to the Commanding Ghosts Liu Family.

So...

Maybe that was why Qingwan simply couldn't hold back, couldn't help wanting to kill Liu Xuanyin.

But...

No matter what, Lu Yuan couldn't gamble with the old man's life.

However, just as Lu Yuan turned his head, his gaze meeting Gu Qingwan's, his lips parting, before the first syllable could even leave his mouth,

Gu Qingwan, who had been floating silently, as if quietly savoring Liu Xuanyin's final struggle, also slightly shifted her gaze.

Her eyes, calmly yet with a strange piercing quality, landed on Lu Yuan's face.

Their eyes met.

In those blood-red heavy pupils, shrouded in a faint mist as if leading to an abyss of endless destruction, Lu Yuan did not see the expected coldness or indifference.

What he saw was a trace... extremely subtle, yet incredibly clear... of reassurance.

Yes, reassurance.

Her gaze was still calm, but it no longer held that extreme divine nature of looking down on ants, indifferent to life and death.

Instead, it gained a hint... of understanding and promise belonging to a "person," tinged with warmth.

This look was so confident, so composed, carrying an absolute sense of control that transcended all calculations and threats,

like a spring breeze brushing over an icy surface, instantly smoothing the turbulent waves in Lu Yuan's heart.

It also made Lu Yuan swallow the words that had rushed to his lips.

Gu Qingwan didn't even speak, didn't nod, didn't make any clear gesture of commitment.

Just a look.

A calm, reassuring look, carrying undeniable power.

Then, Gu Qingwan shifted her gaze away again.

Once more, she fixed those blood-red heavy pupils, now restored to extreme indifference, on the "frozen" Liu Xuanyin.

As if that brief look of reassurance to Lu Yuan was just an insignificant moment.

Her attention remained firmly locked on the true "target."

Lu Yuan stood frozen, the words on the tip of his tongue stuck in his throat, momentarily at a loss.

What did Qingwan's look mean?

Was she saying she was confident she could save the old man before Liu Xuanyin activated the restriction?

Or did she have a way to break that vicious restriction?

Or... did she simply not care about Liu Xuanyin's threat, having absolute confidence she could completely "resolve" the problem before the restriction took effect?

Lu Yuan no longer tried to shout or persuade Gu Qingwan. Instead, he held his breath, his gaze fixed on her, waiting for her next move.

Since she told him to "rest assured"...

Then... he would try to trust her.

He had to trust her.

And at that moment, Liu Xuanyin also clearly "saw" the brief exchange of glances between Gu Qingwan and Lu Yuan.

He also "felt" the subtle change in Lu Yuan's aura.

From extreme anxiety and panic to a complex, hesitant calm.

A chill, colder and more despairing than when he was "frozen," instantly flooded Liu Xuanyin's remaining consciousness.

Lu Yuan... was actually calmed by that look?!

No!

Impossible!

Li Xiuye was his weak spot!

How could he...

"Your conditions are invalid."

"Because..."

"Your life and your leverage are no longer under your control."

Gu Qingwan's clear, cold voice, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, sounded like the final judgment,

completely announcing the end of all of Liu Xuanyin's calculations, threats, and desperate struggles.

The moment her words fell, the supreme force of "stillness" that had been "freezing" Liu Xuanyin suddenly changed!

It was no longer mere freezing but seemed to transform into an invisible giant hand,

with an undeniable, crushing will, beginning to forcibly strip away and dismantle the last remnants of life from Liu Xuanyin's body.

"Jiiiiiiyaaaaaaaa——!!!"

A silent scream, filled with extreme pain and the fear of a soul being torn apart, was forced from the depths of Liu Xuanyin's frozen throat!

He could clearly feel his life force...

being pulled away from his soul by an irresistible, incomprehensible, terrifying force, like drawing silk from a cocoon, forcibly and brutally...!

This pain far surpassed any physical torture; it was a tearing and stripping directly at the very foundation of existence!

Despair!

Utter, complete despair!

A despair colder than death itself!

This... this time, he might really die!

No!

Liu Xuanyin absolutely refused to accept this!

He, Liu Xuanyin, had schemed and calculated his entire life! How could he end up like this?!

Even if he was going to die, he would make Gu Qingwan and Lu Yuan pay!

At the very least... he would make them regret it! Make them watch Li Xiuye die with their own eyes!

A final thought of madness, of recklessness, like the last flare of poison fire, erupted in Liu Xuanyin's fading consciousness!

For a moment, Liu Xuanyin gathered all his remaining strength, all his venom, all his destructive desire,

and forged them into a most decisive, most malicious will, which, regardless of everything, viciously "smashed" towards the depths of the cavern, towards the "Yin Malevolence Soul-Refining Platform"!

This was his last resort!

Using his own remnant soul as a guide, he forcibly triggered the most basic "Mutual Annihilation" restriction preset on the "Yin Malevolence Soul-Refining Platform," linked to the controller's life state!

This restriction was the lowest level, requiring no complex control, only bound to the controller's, i.e., his own, life aura!

Once he died completely, or his life aura weakened below a certain threshold, the restriction would automatically activate!

It would then directly detonate part of the earthly Yin malevolence accumulated in the Soul-Refining Platform!!

Although its power wouldn't match an active detonation, it would be enough to blast the barely breathing Li Xiuye on the platform into nothingness, scattering his soul!

This was his final revenge!

His last act of madness!

He would make Gu Qingwan and Lu Yuan's efforts come to nothing! Make them live forever in the regret of having caused Li Xiuye's death!

"Join me... in death!!"

"Li Xiuye!!!"

Liu Xuanyin let out a silent, hysterical roar in his heart,

and smashed that will impact, condensed with all his remaining strength and venom, viciously against the last, most instinctive, life-bound, faint connection to the "Yin Malevolence Soul-Refining Platform"!

But——

That will impact, filled with destruction and venom, disappeared like a clay ox entering the sea, crashing into a... void.

No, not a void.

It was a severed connection.

Liu Xuanyin "discovered" in shock and terror that between him and the "Yin Malevolence Soul-Refining Platform"...

that most basic, most instinctive connection and sense, bound by life, which should not be easily cut by external forces... had disappeared!

Completely and utterly disappeared!

As if an invisible, uncrossable chasm had been placed between his remnant soul and the Soul-Refining Platform,

completely isolating and extinguishing his final, most malicious thought!

How is this possible?!

How could this be?!

That was the most basic formation life-binding!

It was a rule preset when the "Yin Malevolence Soul-Refining Platform" was forged, linked to the controller's soul origin!

Unless the formation was completely destroyed, or a power surpassing the formation creator's understanding forcibly altered the rule, how could it be severed?!

Gu Qingwan "freezing" him earlier could at least be understood as suppression by a higher-level power.

But now... even this most basic life-binding had been silently cut off?!

What terrifying level of understanding and control over the essence of rules was needed for that?!

Just as Liu Xuanyin, plunged into extreme terror and confusion by this sudden, incomprehensible change,

his fading consciousness on the verge of total collapse from the inability to understand——

A strange woman's voice, clear and cold, with a hint of faint mockery and derision,

unexpectedly, clearly echoed from the depths of the cavern, from the area of dark shadow originally occupied by the "Dream Demon" and the "Ten-Thousand-Filth Mother":

"Oh~"

"Patriarch Liu, what are you waiting for?"

The voice was not loud, but it clearly reached the ears of every "being" present.

And it exploded like a thunderclap in Liu Xuanyin's nearly stalled consciousness.

"Weren't you going to make Abbot Li join you in death?"

"Why haven't you done it yet?"

"Could it be... your heart has softened?"

This voice... wasn't Gu Qingwan!

It wasn't Lu Yuan either!

And it definitely couldn't be the long-dead Hu Huxu!

Who was it?!

Deep in this cavern, besides the two severely injured malevolent deities, was there someone else hidden?!

Liu Xuanyin was shocked and terrified, his remaining consciousness frantically "scanning" the direction the voice came from.

Lu Yuan was also stunned, turning his head abruptly to look into the darkness deep within the cavern.

At first, Lu Yuan's eyes showed only surprise and confusion, but then, his pupils contracted sharply.

This... this voice?!?!

But Gu Qingwan still floated in midair, her expression unchanged, as if the sudden voice didn't surprise her at all.

Only her blood-red heavy pupils seemed to shift an extremely slight degree towards the source of the sound.

Just as everyone, or rather every being present, was hesitating in confusion——

"Jingle... clatter..."

A crisp sound of metal collision and dragging came from the darkness deep within the cavern.

Then, reflected in Liu Xuanyin's abruptly constricted, frozen, gray-white pupils,

and under Lu Yuan's suddenly bright, incredulous, shocked gaze——

Several thick, cold lengths of chain, glinting with a dark metallic luster and densely covered in vicious runes...

were casually thrown out of the darkness deep within the cavern, like discarded trash...

"Clatter... clatter..."

The broken ends of the chains were jagged, as if forcibly twisted and torn by some indescribable, immense force.

At the broken ends still clung wisps of pure yet chaotic earthly Yin malevolence and the remnants of soul grudges. They traced faint, dim arcs in the air.

Then, scattered and heavy... they crashed onto the ground less than three feet in front of Liu Xuanyin's "frozen" body.

Kicking up a few particles of dust, they made a dull sound.

The cavern instantly fell into a near-frozen dead silence.

Liu Xuanyin's "gaze" was fixed, rigidly fixed on those few lengths of broken chain.

The last glimmer of life in his gray-white pupils, like a candle in the wind, flickered violently, wavered, and finally... went out completely.

Leaving only boundless, empty, incomprehensible... dead ashes.

That was...

"Nine Nether... Chains..."

His fading consciousness, as if using its last bit of strength, identified the familiar-to-the-bone instrument that had accompanied, controlled, and served as his final trump card for countless years.

Broken.

Someone had forcibly ripped them from the "Yin Malevolence Soul-Refining Platform" and thrown them before him like trash.

And he, the Patriarch of the Liu Family, the core operator of the grand formation, the nominal master of the Soul-Refining Chains, had... from start to finish... not sensed a thing!

Only now, seeing the broken remnants, did he "understand" why his connection to the Soul-Refining Platform had been completely severed.

His final leverage, his biggest bargaining chip, his most vicious threat... at some unknown time, had already had its foundation pulled out from under him.

And that "person"...

Liu Xuanyin's lifeless, hollow "gaze" moved with extreme difficulty from the broken chains on the ground to the still dark shadows deep within the cavern.

The strange, clear, cold woman's voice, carrying mockery and derision, rang out again, as if answering his unspoken question:

"The Liu Family's craftsmanship is still this... crude."

"This chain isn't very sturdy."

As for who the newcomer was...

Liu Xuanyin naturally didn't know.

But Lu Yuan did.

The Perfect Deity, a deity formed from an object!!

The Deity of Beauty!!