Chapter 23: Holy Shit, the Spirit Dispersion Array!

Chapter 23: Holy Crap, the Spirit Dispersion Array!

"Heavenly Master!" Yuan Changsheng ran out of the room and rushed straight to Xue Youtan, pulling him inside while explaining in a tearful voice, "Heavenly Master, please save my elder sister! That monster got her—she's covered in blood and barely holding on. I'm so scared!"

So the person lying inside really was Yuan Yingdi.

Xue Youtan was about to follow Yuan Changsheng in, but after taking just two steps forward, he suddenly remembered the temporary task the system had assigned earlier. He stopped and glanced toward Pei Zhi. "You go in."

"Me?" Pei Zhi's pupils narrowed slightly. He assumed Xue Youtan was just afraid of death and wanted to send him in first, so he said, "My cultivation is too weak. I'm afraid I'd only delay saving her."

Yuan Changsheng chimed in as well, "That's right, Heavenly Master. You'd better come with me—"

Before he could finish, Xue Youtan cut him off with a wave of his sleeve. Standing with his hands clasped behind his back, he looked just like a kindly teacher. "Don't sell yourself short. I trust you."

Pei Zhi: "..."

He had been at Cangya Mountain for less than a month and hadn't even scratched the surface. What did Xue Youtan trust him for? That he'd be the first to die?

Pei Zhi's expression darkened. He pressed his lips together but still stepped over the threshold as told.

The stench of blood inside was even stronger. Holding his breath, Pei Zhi walked up to Yuan Yingdi. He was about to lean down to check if she was still breathing when, by the candlelight on the table, he got a clear look at her face.

Her complexion was an unnatural pallor, with patches of gray spreading across her cheeks and forehead—she looked more dead than alive. But that wasn't what caught his eye. What truly made Pei Zhi's blood run cold were the two lines at the corners of her mouth and nose.

More than lines, they were cracks.

Between the corners of Yuan Yingdi's mouth and nose, extending all the way to her ears, were two thin, symmetrical gaps. They looked like they connected her head to her body—not like a person, but rather like...

A puppet?!

Despite trying his best to control his expression, Pei Zhi was so startled by the sight of Yuan Yingdi that he stumbled back a step. His foot landed squarely in a puddle of sticky blood, and he crashed to the ground.

Before he could scramble back up, his blood-stained hands and feet were tightly bound by threads that snaked in from all directions, leaving him unable to move.

Pei Zhi struggled, trying to form a hand seal with his free fingers to cast a spell and break free. But the moment his right fingers came together, someone stomped hard on them, grinding them underfoot.

"Hiss—" The pain was excruciating, and Pei Zhi couldn't help but let out a groan. His gaze traveled up the foot crushing his fingertips, only to find that the person was none other than Yuan Changsheng—the same guy who had just been sobbing and begging Xue Youtan to come save his sister!

!!!

"You—" Pei Zhi started to speak, but before he could get the words out, Xue Youtan's voice came from outside. "Why's it gone quiet in there? Is she still alive?"

The question could have been about Pei Zhi's life or Yuan Yingdi's.

The next second, several spirit butterflies flew in from outside, igniting in the air and fully illuminating the scene inside.

With the room now fully lit, Xue Youtan finally took it all in.

Yuan Yingdi's body was indeed covered in blood, just as Yuan Changsheng had said—from the neck down, blood covered her whole body. But it didn't look like it had flowed from her; rather, it seemed like someone had smeared it on deliberately.

Her eyes were closed, the parts of her face not stained with blood pale, her skin flickering in and out of the candlelight like a corpse.

And beneath the threads binding Pei Zhi was a massive six-pointed star array formed from congealed human blood!

Holy crap, the Spirit Dispersion Array!!!

Xue Youtan remembered that the original novel mentioned the Spirit Dispersion Array—as the name suggested, it was a formation that could trap a cultivator and seal their spiritual meridians in a short time, turning them into a powerless cripple. Prolonged exposure would cause spiritual energy to dissipate, wearing down the body and mind until they couldn't even take care of themselves.

A crappy dungeon worth only 50 points—did it really need to set up such a lethal array?

Had all that blood drained from the concubines been used for this? Xue Youtan's eyes went wide. Was this array meant to catch demons or him? If it hadn't been for the system's random side quest, he would have been the one walking into that room.

If he—the only one with real combat power in this group—had his spiritual energy dispersed, he'd have to rely on the other three useless guys. He might as well just restart the game.

With that thought, Xue Youtan gave Pei Zhi a meaningful look. Thank you, male lead, for your sacrifice. A real role model.

Pei Zhi, of course, had no idea what was going through Xue Youtan's mind. Seeing Xue Youtan look at him, he assumed he was being judged—judged for having trained for over half a month and still getting caught the moment he walked in.

Pei Zhi gritted his teeth, trying to break free from the threads with his own strength, but the more he struggled, the tighter they wound, cutting into his flesh.

Getting out on his own was clearly impossible.

But if he had to rely on someone else—Xue Youtan had deliberately sent him in here. Would he really risk his neck for him?

After a quick glance at Pei Zhi, Xue Youtan looked away and scanned the room, searching for Yuan Changsheng. Pei Zhi had fallen for the trap the moment he entered, but Yuan Changsheng had come and gone without issue—which was clearly suspicious. He'd planned to drag him over for questioning, but after being distracted by the Spirit Dispersion Array for a few seconds, he looked again—Yuan Changsheng was gone!

Wow, acting all honest and simple on the surface, but secretly pulling a double cross?

Who would've thought—the real boss was right beside me all along?

Xiao Yiheng and Li Luoshu, who had just arrived, saw the scene inside and immediately summoned their swords from their divine senses, ready to fight. But with a light flick of Xue Youtan's sleeve, their swords disappeared.

"Master~" Xiao Yiheng called out in confusion, about to ask something, when he heard Xue Youtan speak to the room, "What's going on, young Yuan? If you've got a problem, just tell me. We're all friends here—what's with all the killing and fighting?"

Xue Youtan's voice was calm, unbothered by Pei Zhi's capture, as if his life or death didn't matter at all.

No sound came from inside. The light from the burning spirit butterflies was almost gone, dimming the room.

No response, so Xue Youtan continued, "I know your sister never had a happy life. Your parents never gave her a second glance—all their attention was on you. And once she grew up, she ended up with someone like you. If I were her, I'd have killed myself too."

At those words, both Xiao Yiheng and Li Luoshu were stunned. Li Luoshu stood there stunned for a moment before finally asking, "Yuan Yingdi is dead? Then who was that in the room talking to us earlier?"

"A puppet."

"Then, Master, how do you know all these secrets about the Yuan family?"

"Guessed."

Xue Youtan said it as if it were obvious.