Chapter 114: Resolve

Although the Draw the Ground as a Prison Curse was a Lower Vehicle Talisman, the Talisman Paper Lu Jin used to draw it was extraordinary, imbued with a golden light and flowing Daoist charm—clearly crafted from natural treasures.

'He's actually willing to waste such precious materials on a mere Lower Vehicle Talisman. Just how deep are his pockets?'

Bai Qi was trapped and unable to move. Though I had lost my greatest asset, I didn't panic. I knew the incantation to break the curse by heart. I had even used it on Jiang Fei during my broadcast at the Henshan Psychiatric Hospital. Breaking out of this situation would be incredibly easy.

It was just that Lu Jin's incantation and even his footwork were identical to those recorded in the Profound Truth Detailed Explanation. I was almost certain he came from Miaozhen Temple.

The moment I chanted the incantation to break the spell, he would definitely notice something fishy, and the fact that I had secretly learned the secret arts of the Profound Truth Dao would be exposed.

Modern cultivators were different from those of past eras. They hid themselves in bustling cities and viewed their secret arts as the very foundation of their lineage. If he discovered I possessed the Profound Truth inheritance, he would use every means possible to get to the bottom of it. Crippling my cultivation would be the least of my worries; my real fear was dragging the Underworld Live Show into this. If that happened, it would be incredibly difficult to resolve.

While I hesitated, the burly Man in the Suit closed in. His fists generated fierce gusts, faintly accompanied by the sound of tearing air.

I raised my hands to block. The moment we collided, I was shocked. His strength was immense. Taking just one of his strikes forced me back three or four steps before I could dissipate the residual force.

The man called Zhong Jiu looked surprised that I had taken his punch head-on. His eyes gleamed as he raised his eyebrows. "You've got some skill."

His punch had looked perfectly ordinary, but it actually carried hidden force. If it had hit my abdomen, the impact would have ruptured my internal organs.

The wound on my palm tore open again, blood soaking through the bandages. The webbing between my thumb and index finger went numb, and I looked completely battered.

"Still going to be stubborn?" Lu Jin fanned himself, stepping up to Sakurako like an elegant young master. "Listen well, little one. Tell me where the Talisman Paper is right now, and that uncle over there can suffer a little less physical pain."

Sakurako kept her head down, her expression unchanging. It was a calmness impossible for a child her age.

"That uncle went through so much trouble to come save you, and you aren't going to consider him at all?" Sakurako was slowly wearing away Lu Jin's patience. "I will ask you one last time. Where is the Paulownia Mulberry Talisman? Is it on you, or is it on him?!"

Sakurako didn't answer. She neither cried nor threw a tantrum, acting like a porcelain doll completely detached from the situation.

"Do you think I can't find it just because you won't speak?" The breezy indifference vanished from Lu Jin's face, and he pulled a murky-colored talisman from his chest. "No one dares to hoard what I, Lu Ziqiu, have set my sights on."

He pinched the talisman between two fingers and muttered an incantation. An acrid stench immediately wafted from the paper. "This Life-Decaying Talisman was torn from a massive Suspended Coffin in a grand tomb. Despite its age, its efficacy hasn't diminished in the slightest. It is specifically meant for dealing with those possessing sinister yin constitutions. It can stimulate the yin energy within their bodies. The sensation is like thousands of tiny earthworms burrowing through your flesh. It makes you wish for death, makes you want to tear your own skin apart just to see if something extra is growing inside."

Lu Jin stood beside Sakurako with absolute elegance, but the words leaving his mouth completely contradicted his graceful aura.

"Your delicate little body definitely won't be able to endure it. Just speak. An Upper Vehicle Talisman is not something a child like you should possess."

Even standing several meters away, I could clearly smell the stench coming from the talisman. "That's the smell of a corpse! Lu Jin, stop!"

"You still have the energy to worry about others? Zhong Jiu, don't hold back! If you can cripple him, I'll have my master teach you the Pre-Heaven Skill when we get back!"

Hearing Lu Jin's words, a flash of excitement crossed Zhong Jiu's eyes. Though he had joined the Profound Truth sect years ago, he was still just a lay disciple. Forget entering the inner sanctum—aside from his daily martial arts training, all he did was recite Daoist scriptures. He still had to pass countless grueling trials before he could study the internal mental cultivation methods of Profound Truth.

For a lay disciple, the thirst for true Daoist scriptures had reached an almost pathological level.

His eyes lit up. Zhong Jiu drew a breath into his dantian. "Pardon my offense!"

His movements were even faster than before. Every strike and stance was plain and unadorned, perfectly matching the saying: the great Dao is simplest, great skill is unadorned. Every punch was fierce, powerful, and incredibly difficult to parry.

I had joined many martial arts and sanda clubs while studying at the police academy, but compared to Zhong Jiu's boxing techniques, those skills felt entirely impractical—nothing but flashy movements.

The only reason I was still holding out was because I had memorized the palm techniques Blind Liu had used when he easily subdued me during our first meeting. Forcing myself to execute them now was just barely enough to stabilize the situation.

"You can't even subdue a dying man? Wei Ling, go help him! Within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, I want to see him begging on his knees!" The other Man in the Suit nodded silently, releasing Sakurako and walking toward me.

Zhong Jiu alone was already leaving me breathless. With another one joining the fray, there was no way I could handle it.

"Bai Qi!" I turned my head. Bai Qi's fangs were bared, gleaming with a chilling whiteness. Its hind legs dug into the floor, and its body was as taut as a drawn bow as it fought against the invisible power of the curse.

Zhong Jiu and Wei Ling caught me in a pincer attack from the left and right. The hallway was narrow, leaving me no room to dodge, and one of them landed a heavy blow square on my chest.

It felt like being hit head-on by a speeding motorcycle. Tremendous force pierced through my body. A coppery taste welled up in my throat, my eyes bulged, and I doubled over involuntarily.

Thud! Heavy fists rained down on me like a torrential storm. The stitches on my knife wound tore open. Crimson blood spilled down my back, staining the attackers' fists red.

"Do you see? Tell me where the talisman is and I'll let this uncle go. Otherwise, I'll break both his legs and make sure he never walks again."

This time, Sakurako's expression finally changed. Her gaze locked onto the blood soaking through my back—that fierce, vivid crimson that looked like a phoenix thrashing in flames.

Reaching a small finger toward Lu Jin, Sakurako lowered her head deeply.

"Have you made up your mind?" Lu Jin stared at her delicate face. A few seconds later, he suddenly shoved Sakurako away, quickly putting distance between them!

When Sakurako lifted her face again, her skin was as pale as snow, and where her eyes should have been, there were only two abyssal black holes!

"A yin fiend possession! You dare show your face in broad daylight? You're courting death!" Lu Jin took a step back and pulled another brilliantly gleaming golden talisman from his sleeve. "Five Directions Divine Generals, lend me your dharma might to suppress all things! Execute the law with haste!"

A Profound Truth Lower Vehicle Talisman—the Suppression Talisman!

The moment the talisman was cast, Sakurako's face blurred. Her delicate, tender features and the pale ghost face flickered back and forth.

"So she was exposed to too much malevolent yin energy, causing her physical constitution to change. This half-human, half-ghost post-heaven pure yin girl is a top-tier vessel!" Lu Jin used two Suppression Talismans in a row, forcefully suppressing the yin fiend within Sakurako's body until it didn't dare to move. "It seems you truly have a fateful connection with me. Since you refuse to reveal the talisman's location, you'll just come back to the sect with me so I can report my mission."

The petite Sakurako stood frozen in place, trembling—not out of terror, but because the yin fiend had been sealed, causing the resentment inside her to violently lash outward.

"Still trying to resist? Still planning to save that trash?" Lu Jin raised his hand and slapped the Life-Decaying Talisman onto Sakurako's forehead. In an instant, the resentment within her lost control. It writhed like little snakes beneath her tender skin. Wherever they passed, they left vicious red welts pushing outward through her flawless, snow-white skin.

Even an adult couldn't endure such agony, let alone a child.

"Sakurako!" The little girl could see ghosts in her dreams; she had already experienced far too much suffering. Now, her physical body was being tortured by Lu Jin. This was simply too cruel for her.

I lay collapsed on the stairs. My body had been battered by heavy blows, and blood trickled from the corner of my mouth, but I didn't cry out in pain even once.

My eyes were locked onto Lu Jin in his luxurious silk robes. He had completely shattered my original view of cultivators. Regardless of orthodox or demonic paths, regardless of good or evil, some people were simply destined to stand against me.

This was a fate set in stone the moment I became an Underworld Live Show Streamer. To survive, I had no choice but to redeem more useful items and make myself stronger. Yet, those very items were often the unshared secrets of strictly regulated orthodox lineages. My existence effectively stole the foundational roots of their sects. It was an irreconcilable conflict, and a problem I would never be able to avoid.

The pain and the blood only made me calmer. My eyes slowly narrowed as they fell upon Sakurako.

Her delicately sculpted face, much like a porcelain doll's, was now twisted in agony. Red streaks swelled from beneath her skin, running rampant like a series of terrifying whip lashes.

"Since it can't be avoided in the end, there's no need for me to hide it anymore. As a fellow Profound Truth cultivator, I also know a thing or two about the Dao of Talismans!"