Chapter 159 : Discovering Hidden Dangers in Advance
Chapter 159: Discovering Hidden Dangers in Advance
Deep within the sect’s main hall, inside a chamber covered in profound Restrictions, True Lord Luohong slowly withdrew his palm from the top of Nan Yuchen’s head. A trace of understanding flickered through his deep eyes.
“Mm… found it. As expected, it was Spirit Speech.”
“Spirit Speech?!”
True Person Mingzhu and Nan Yuchen’s hearts trembled almost simultaneously.
Spirit Speech!
These three words might have sounded ordinary, but its other, more widely known title was enough to send chills down the spine of any cultivator who understood its weight—Words Become Law, Speech Carries Heavenly Decree!
This was a great divine ability capable of directly interfering with, manipulating, even distorting or creating reality through language alone!
Of course, divine abilities varied in strength. For truly top-tier great beings, this art was nearly omnipotent; but for those who had only just grasped its threshold, it could merely influence others’ thoughts subtly, akin to hypnosis.
Even so, such a level of power was absolutely not something someone of Zhou Qingshu’s level should have been able to touch!
“No wonder you failed to detect it, Mingzhu,” True Lord Luohong explained. “Even the most rudimentary Spirit Speech buries its interference deep within the origin of the divine soul. It is extremely difficult to probe. Fortunately, Zhou Qingshu’s cultivation was limited. What he planted was only a one-time ‘trigger.’”
“One-time? Like… a Detonation Talisman? It activates and then destroys itself?” Nan Yuchen suppressed his lingering fear and seized the key point.
“Just as you thought.” True Lord Luohong nodded approvingly. “He likely cast the Spirit Speech on you secretly during conversation while dining together. Didn’t you say that when Zhou Qingshu spoke, although he was outwardly polite, he always carried a slightly sarcastic or unsettling tone? That might not merely have been a personality issue—it was probably a condition for activating his ability.”
Nan Yuchen only half understood, but he finally realized he had been schemed against by an exceptionally sophisticated mental technique.
“Then… True Lord, can this technique be removed?”
“I can remove it for you right now. But remember—once Spirit Speech embedded deep within the divine soul is forcibly triggered, it will greatly intensify and distort your suppressed emotions. Some things may happen shortly that you cannot control. Afterward, do not burden yourself over it.”
“This disciple understands! Please, True Lord, cast the spell!” Nan Yuchen said resolutely.
True Lord Luohong glanced at True Person Mingzhu. Seeing her nod in agreement, he no longer hesitated. He gently tapped Nan Yuchen between the brows, then snapped his fingers crisply.
The snap seemed to carry a strange magic.
At first, Nan Yuchen felt nothing unusual, but in the next instant, his whole body shuddered violently, as though struck by an invisible hammer!
Immediately afterward, a torrent of violent, twisted emotions crashed through the dam of his rationality.
“Ah…!! I said it long ago! I don’t want to stay on the peak feeding spirit birds anymore! Why! Why won’t you ever let me go down the mountain to have fun, Master?!” Nan Yuchen suddenly raised his head, eyes bloodshot, and roared recklessly at True Person Mingzhu, his face filled with long-suppressed anger and grievance.
He looked exactly like a boy who had been locked up by his parents for too long and finally exploded in rebellion.
True Lord Luohong and True Person Mingzhu both relaxed slightly at the sight, even smiling faintly. So this was the child’s greatest resentment at heart.
However, Nan Yuchen’s next words froze the faint smile on True Person Mingzhu’s face instantly.
“And also! Senior Brother Long has clearly been helping me all along and treating me so well! Why! Why do you and the senior sisters always guard against him and distrust him?! He’s a good person!! Ahhh!!”
“And that young lady! The master! The madam! That whole family!! They bullied me like that back then! I want them dead! All of them should die!!”
The frenzied roars and blood-soaked accusations echoed within the soundproof barrier for a full half-incense stick of time.
Nan Yuchen seemed like a completely different person, pouring out every suppressed dissatisfaction, anger, and resentment buried deep in his heart, until he was hoarse and exhausted.
Only then did clarity gradually return to his eyes. At last, he collapsed to the ground, clutching his head and sobbing uncontrollably.
True Person Mingzhu silently stepped forward, helping her nearly drained young disciple up, and cast True Lord Luohong a look that said, “The child has embarrassed himself before you.”
Nan Yuchen’s awareness slowly returned.
Feeling the cold tear tracks on his face, he looked at his Master and the True Lord in confusion and shame. “Master, True Lord… what just happened to me? I… I seemed to have said many… rebellious words…”
“It is nothing.” True Lord Luohong’s tone was calm. “The Spirit Speech trigger hidden in your divine soul has been activated ahead of time by me. It greatly amplified your latent negative emotions. Your heart is pure, and you harbor few distracting thoughts—little jealousy or greed—so it mainly manifested as the venting of life’s dissatisfactions through anger.”
“Then… if this hidden danger had not been discovered, tomorrow at the Martial Arena…” Nan Yuchen’s voice trembled. He dared not imagine further.
True Lord Luohong nodded gravely. “Indeed. At that time, under the gaze of the multitude, you would certainly have lost control of your emotions, your words and actions completely disordered. Not only would your personal reputation be ruined, but the prestige of the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect would also suffer greatly because of the disgraceful display of one of its ‘prodigies.’”
“That was also the other party’s objective? Or perhaps a necessary condition for stealing Destiny Luck?”
True Person Mingzhu could no longer conceal her anger. This was no longer mere provocation—it was blatant escalation.
“Mm. I happened to speak earlier with Saintess Yaxi of the Hehuan Sect about this matter. Coincidentally, she too had her Destiny Luck stolen by that Ye Jingchen. Heh… We exchanged some information and learned a few of the conditions required for stealing Destiny Luck from her.”
…
On Long Tao’s side, after returning home and having dinner with his family, he had just gone back to his room, preparing to continue cultivating the Weaving Soul Returning-to-Origin Art, when he suddenly sensed a faint fluctuation of spiritual power within his spatial pouch.
He reached inside and felt the “Mirror of Joyful Reunion” small mirror, which was faintly warm. He infused a thread of spiritual power into the pink gemstone on its surface, and the mirror rippled like water.
Immediately, Saintess Yaxi’s carefully arranged, smiling face appeared upon it.
“Judging by that spring-breeze expression on your face, things worked out?” Long Tao asked with a smile.
“I’m sorry, fellow townsman!” Yaxi clasped her hands together in a gesture of repentance, though excitement sparkled in her eyes. “I actually dared to doubt you before! That was my fault! From now on, you, Long Tao, are a brother I, Yaxi, acknowledge!”
“Oh?” Long Tao deliberately drew out his tone with a hint of teasing. “Compared to those ‘let the brothers have their fun first’ buddies from your previous life, where do I rank?”
“Of course you rank ahead of them—”
Halfway through, Yaxi abruptly stopped, her pretty face flushing slightly as she shot an annoyed glare at the mirror. “Bah! Almost let you lead me into a ditch! Let’s talk business, let’s talk business!”
She cleared her throat, her expression turning serious. “I’ve already confirmed with True Lord Luohong. That Ye Jingchen is without a doubt the little thief who stole my Destiny Luck! This time, it’s truly thanks to you. Otherwise, this trip would have been completely wasted. But…”
Her tone shifted, curiosity and scrutiny filling her eyes. “Long Tao, I really can’t figure it out. You’re just a Qi Refining disciple—how did you get involved in something like this, and even manage to speak with someone like True Lord Luohong?”
The question struck straight at the core. But on this matter, Long Tao did not need to fabricate everything. He smiled and explained naturally,
“It was coincidental. My younger sister also participated in the entry examination this time. That Ye Jingchen… before entering the sect, once tried to use a Charm Technique to bewitch her. Fortunately, a passing senior secretly intervened and helped her regain clarity. Afterward, she told me about it.”
He paused slightly, omitting the existence of the System, and continued organizing his words.
“You know I work at the Heavenly Pivot Pavilion and occasionally come into contact with the Sect Master. At first, I only thought it was some lecher skilled in bewitching arts, so I casually mentioned it to the Sect Master. Unexpectedly, he took it rather seriously and, somehow, even invited True Lord Luohong. With his heaven-reaching methods, the True Lord locked onto that person during the Disciple Recruitment Ceremony.”
“So that’s how it was!” Though many details in Long Tao’s explanation remained unclear and some points would not withstand scrutiny, Yaxi tactfully refrained from pressing further and merely laughed.
“What a case of coincidences stacking upon coincidences! That Ye Jingchen is truly unlucky—exposed because of such a small matter.”
Long Tao inwardly agreed immediately.
Of all people Ye Jingchen could have targeted, he had chosen Nan Yuchen. That was how he ended up on the System’s radar. Otherwise, he would likely still be living carefree until now.
“In any case, I owe you a great favor this time.” Yaxi’s smile faded as she spoke solemnly. “No need for polite words. If you need anything in the future, I’ll do my best. Also, if there’s any information you want to know—so long as it doesn’t involve core sect secrets—I’ll tell you what I can.”
“Oh?” Long Tao seized the opportunity and asked, “Now that you mention it, there is something I’m rather curious about. That Ye Jingchen—how exactly does he steal Destiny Luck?”