120: An invitation to kill with one finger

Inside the top-floor private room of Tianji Pavilion, the air seemed to freeze.

That cold, resentful Divine Thought transmission, like a poisoned ice shard, still lingered in everyone's Sea of Consciousness, emitting a bone-chilling coldness.

Outside the city, that will be your burial ground.

This was not a threat.

This was a death sentence from a Nascent Soul Late Stage Great Perfection Cultivator.

Su Meier's face instantly drained of color, turning pale.

She clutched Lin Gou's arm tightly, her knuckles losing color from the excessive force, her body trembling slightly uncontrollably.

Yan Ziyue's playful and excited expression finally slowly receded.

She picked up the cup of spirit mist tea, which had long since grown cold, and gently rubbed her fingertips against the cup's surface.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, it seems you truly need the protection of my Tianji Pavilion now."

Her voice returned to its business-like gentleness, yet it carried an all-knowing scrutiny.

"As long as you are willing to share your secret of resurrection with my Tianji Pavilion."

"I guarantee that Old Ancestor Chiyang will not be able to harm a single hair on your head."

"Furthermore, after the Heavenly Vault Fortress closes, my Tianji Pavilion can send a Soul Transformation Elder to personally escort you away."

These conditions were astronomical.

Using the promise of a living Soul Transformation Cultivator to exchange for a secret.

A glimmer of hope, born of desperation, instantly ignited in Su Meier's eyes.

She abruptly looked at Lin Gou, her lips moving, almost about to blurt out something.

Lin Gou, however, merely smiled.

He turned his hand, gently covering Su Meier's cold hand with his warm palm, silently conveying a sense of calm strength.

Then, he looked at Yan Ziyue, his gaze as tranquil as a deep pool that had not rippled for ten thousand years.

"Thank you for your kindness, Pavilion Master Yan."

"However, there's no need."

He refused simply and decisively, without the slightest hesitation.

Yan Ziyue's hand, holding the teacup, paused in mid-air for a moment.

She looked deeply at Lin Gou, trying to find even a trace of bravado or pretense in those eyes.

But she saw nothing.

This man was like a bottomless black hole, swallowing all her probes and schemes.

Finally, she could only put down the teacup, making a crisp, light sound.

"In that case, I wish you good luck."

...Leaving the private room of Tianji Pavilion, the atmosphere was extremely oppressive.

Elder Ji Xuan's expression was more solemn than ever before.

"Go, return to this Old Man's temporary Immortal Cave!"

"This Old Man will immediately set up the 'Universe Shifting Grand Formation'; perhaps there's still a glimmer of hope!"

His tone was urgent; he had clearly felt the terrifying pressure bearing down like a mountain.

Returning to the Immortal Cave temporarily opened by Elder Ji Xuan, the Formation Grandmaster immediately set to work.

One by one, precious space-attribute Formation Flags, valuable enough to bankrupt a Golden Core cultivator, were unsparingly struck into the Void Realm by him.

Complex Formation patterns spread rapidly across the ground at a visible speed.

Su Meier stood by, her heart burning with anxiety.

Her gaze was fixed on the gradually forming teleportation Formation, as if it were the only piece of driftwood in a vast ocean.

"Elder Ji, how confident are you?"

She couldn't help but ask, her voice containing a tremor she herself hadn't noticed.

Elder Ji Xuan wiped the sweat from his forehead, his movements suddenly halting.

He turned his head, looking at Su Meier's face, which was filled with anxiety and anticipation, and ultimately couldn't bear to deceive her.

He let out a heavy sigh.

"Old Ancestor Chiyang's Divine Thought has already locked down this space like an iron chain."

"His will has even begun to distort the Law here."

"Forcibly teleporting under such circumstances..."

He slowly extended a finger.

"The chance of success is less than ten percent."

"Moreover, if it fails, the three of us will be instantly torn into primordial particles by the violent spatial turbulence."

Boom.

Elder Ji Xuan's words were like a merciless hammer of judgment, striking heavily into Su Meier's heart.

Her last hope was completely shattered.

Her body swayed violently, almost unable to stand steady.

Less than ten percent.

What was the difference between this and a direct death sentence?

She abruptly turned her head, looking at the man who had been unbelievably calm from beginning to end.

Lin Gou was leaning against the stone wall of the Immortal Cave, watching Elder Ji Xuan set up the Formation, his face even showing a pure appreciation.

"You!"

Su Meier suddenly rushed to his front, her captivating peach blossom eyes, for the first time, filled with tears and towering rage.

"Are you not afraid at all!"

"That's a Nascent Soul Old Monsters trying to kill you! Not some random cat or dog you can act with!"

"Why didn't you agree to Yan Ziyue! Why!"

She questioned him almost hysterically, her voice sharp and piercing, full of despair.

Lin Gou said nothing.

He just looked at her quietly.

Watching her shoulders tremble violently from fear, watching her eyes redden from despair.

He slowly reached out and took her wrist, which was cold as iron.

"Meier."

For the first time, he called her name so solemnly.

"Come here."

He pulled her aside, away from Elder Ji Xuan, who was still setting up the Formation.

In the corner of the Immortal Cave, the light was dim.

Lin Gou looked at Su Meier, his eyes holding a seriousness and honesty she had never seen before.

"Because my original goal was to make him kill me."

These words were very soft.

But they exploded in Su Meier's mind like a thunderclap from the Nine Heavens.

She froze, looking at Lin Gou in disbelief, as if listening to a madman's most insane ramblings.

"You... what did you say?"

A helpless, bitter smile appeared on Lin Gou's face.

"Every death, for me, is not an end."

"But a baptism, leading to a more powerful Dao."

"Golden Core cultivator, even Early Stage Nascent Soul Devil Head, the 'death experience' they can give me has reached its limit."

"I need a higher quality, a death far exceeding my life Rank, a death... enough to allow me to glimpse the true Dao."

He confessed to her.

In an almost cruel way, he laid bare his biggest secret before her.

Su Meier listened blankly.

She looked at Lin Gou's calm face, and suddenly, everything became clear.

Testing the Formation with his own body in the Ten Thousand Formation Ancient Cave.

Leaping into the Void Thunder Abyss.

It turned out that everything was not an accident.

It was all this madman's meticulous planning, one after another, a feast of rushing towards death.

Her heart felt as if it was being tightly squeezed by an invisible hand.

It hurt.

It hurt so much she could barely breathe.

Lin Gou looked at her, tears streaming down her face, and sighed softly in his heart.

From his storage ring, he took out the white jade treasure box and, without a word, placed the real "nine aperture soul-nurturing jade" into Su Meier's cold hand.

The warm touch of the jade caused Su Meier's body to tremble violently.

"Your old injuries have never been completely healed."

Lin Gou's voice became low and gentle.

"This thing can heal you."

He looked at her deeply, his gaze as if he wanted to engrave her image completely into the deepest part of his Soul.

"If..."

"If this time, I really messed up and can't come back."

"You use it to heal your injuries."

"Then, find a beautiful place with mountains and rivers, and live well."

The heaviness and resolve in these words were like a poisoned knife, slicing away at Su Meier's heart, cut by cut.

She could no longer bear it.

Tears, like a bursting dam, surged forth.

"No..."

"I don't want it!"

She cried out, trying to push the jade box back.

Lin Gou, however, held her hand tightly, not allowing her to break free in the slightest.

"Be obedient."

His voice carried an undeniable command.

Time, at this moment, seemed to stand still.

Inside the Immortal Cave, only the faint hum of spiritual power surging as Elder Ji Xuan set up the Formation remained, along with Su Meier's uncontrollable, heartbroken sobs.

Lin Gou released her hand.

He felt that everything he needed to say had been said.

He looked at her one last time, then turned decisively.

He was leaving.

To attend that invitation to death, which he had meticulously prepared for himself.

The moment he turned and took his first step.

A fragrant breeze suddenly assailed him from behind.

Su Meier, like a desperate female leopard, suddenly rushed up from behind him.

She said nothing.

She just used all her strength to grab his collar, and fiercely pulled him back!

Lin Gou stumbled, forced to turn around.

The next instant.

He only felt a soft and cold pair of lips, with a desperate resolve as if jade and stone were burning together, fiercely pressing against his own lips.

This kiss carried not a hint of seduction.

No skill.

It was even a bit rough.

She seemed to want to smash all her emotions, all her fears, all her reluctance, all her love, through this kiss, fiercely into his Soul.

Her teeth even broke his lip.

A faint scent of blood quietly permeated between their lips.

After a long while.

Their lips parted.

Su Meier's forehead was pressed tightly against Lin Gou's forehead.

Her face was covered in tear streaks, and those captivating peach blossom eyes, now red as if about to bleed.

She looked at him, and in a hoarse, tearful, yet incredibly clear voice, she roared into his ear, word by word.

"Bastard!"

"You must come back to me!"

After saying that, she abruptly pushed him away, turned, and ran into the shadows of the Immortal Cave, leaving him only a violently trembling, slender back.

Lin Gou stood rooted to the spot, reaching out to gently touch his lips, which still held a warm sensation.

There was still a trace of her scent there.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

When he opened them again, all the tenderness and softness had completely faded.

Only a cold, death-defying calm remained.

He turned and strode out of the Immortal Cave.

Without looking back... Outside the city gate of Heavenly Vault Fortress.

Lay a vast and boundless platform, paved with star fragments.

When Lin Gou's figure, alone, slowly walked out from the massive city gate.

The entire world fell silent.

The distant sea of clouds stopped churning.

The fierce winds in the sky ceased their howling.

Immediately after.

An indescribable heat began to permeate between heaven and earth.

The air was distorting.

Space was wailing.

The platform's ground, those hard star fragments, began to turn crimson, melt, and finally transform into pools of golden lava at a visible speed.

A blood-red sun suddenly appeared in front of the platform.

That was not a real sun.

But a figure.

An old figure, seated cross-legged, surrounded by fiercely burning blood-red flames.

Old Ancestor Chiyang.

He didn't even open his eyes.

His mere presence there exuded a terrifying pressure that could burn the heavens, boil the seas, and Dominator all things.

Lin Gou stopped walking.

He stood at the edge of the lava lake, feeling the high temperature that could instantly vaporize a Golden Core cultivator, yet a faint smile appeared on his face.

He raised the white jade treasure box in his hand, which contained the "nine aperture soul-nurturing jade."

Then, in front of Old Ancestor Chiyang, he slowly opened it.

It was empty.

Lin Gou's face showed an expression of extreme regret, mixed with a hint of aftertaste.

"Senior."

He spoke loudly, his voice not grand, but clearly reaching Old Ancestor Chiyang's ears.

"I'm sorry."

"That jade, this Junior was a bit hungry on the way, so I ate it as a snack."

"As for the taste... honestly, it wasn't great, a bit gritty."

These words completely ignited the wrath of the blood-red sun.

Old Ancestor Chiyang finally slowly opened his eyes.

What kind of eyes were those?

No pupils, no whites.

Only two destructive vortexes, as if condensed from the primordial fire of the Universe.

He no longer spoke superfluous words.

He just slowly raised one of his fingers.

A withered finger, like decaying wood.

In an instant.

The wind stopped.

The clouds stagnated.

Light disappeared.

Sound disappeared.

All the Laws, all the energy, all the concepts in this heaven and earth seemed to be completely emptied by an invisible hand in this instant.

Then, they madly converged towards his withered fingertip.

That was no longer a simple magical power attack.

That was a sure-kill strike, imbued with a trace of the power of a "Domain," unique to the Soul Transformation Rank.

Old Ancestor Chiyang's face was devoid of any expression.

He looked at Lin Gou, like a god looking down at an ant unaware of its impending doom.

Then.

He gently pointed a finger.

There was no earth-shattering roar.

No world-destroying brilliance.

Lin Gou, along with the space he occupied, was silently and completely erased.

Without leaving a single trace.

As if he had never existed in this world.

And in the last moment before his consciousness completely sank into boundless darkness.

On Lin Gou's System interface.

A line of unprecedented, dazzling golden characters, as if composed of countless Dao runes, frantically refreshed.

[Mythical Rank death method detected!]

[You have been completely annihilated by an attack containing a 'Domain prototype'!]

[Reward settlement in progress...]

[Reward Rank... unprecedented!]