Chapter 88 — The Talisman Painter Who Guards the Village

The Network Shattered

The spiral staircase opened into a giant cave, so wide that the oil lamp light was not enough to reach the farthest cliff. In the middle of the cave, a towering structure of stone and black metal rose, dotted with glowing purple-red pipes, all converging toward a central point — a giant well, the well's mouth as wide as a training field, where a chaotic column of light constantly swirled, growling like a living creature in captivity.

"This," Lỗ Khắc Viên said, standing at the edge of the well, his voice echoing throughout the cave, "is where all the energy collected from more than thirty mining sites spread across Cửu Vân, over the past fifteen years, has been stored. Enough power to level an entire mountain range, or to feed hundreds of defensive positions for decades to come."

*

Diệp Sương stood still, feeling the weight of that giant stream of energy pressing on every inch of her skin, a feeling that was both overwhelming and nauseating, as if she were standing in front of a giant wound of heaven and earth itself, being forced to hold back instead of being healed.

"You call this strength," he said, his voice shaking with rage, "but I see this as just a wound that's been forced shut, waiting to burst."

"Maybe you're right," Lỗ Khắc Viên replied, his voice suddenly low, almost tired. "But a sealed wound, although painful, is better than an open wound that bleeds endlessly everywhere."

*

Cố Bạt Nguyên drew his sword, his eyes never leaving Lỗ Khắc Viên. "Enough. I officially declare you under arrest, in the name of the royal court, for illegal mining and endangering the kingdom's security." Lỗ Khắc Viên laughed softly, a cold laugh echoing throughout the cave. "Do you think you can capture me that easily, General?" He raised his hand and placed it on a stone slab engraved with a spiral shape identical to the lock in the archive. "If I cannot keep my achievements, I would rather let it all collapse, than let it fall into the hands of those who do not have the courage to shoulder the responsibility."

*

The purple light in the well flared up violently, the pipes throughout the cave vibrated, emitting a shrill hissing sound. All over the stone walls, blurred projections appeared, each image being of a different location across the Cửu Vân—Hạn Thủy ravine, Thâm Vụ Forest, and many other places Diệp Sương had never heard of—all shaking, the ground cracking, chaotic light beginning to rise from the ground.

"What did you just do?" Diệp Sương screamed, horrified to realize what was happening.

"I just activated the mechanism to release the entire network at once," Lỗ Khắc Viên replied, his voice chillingly calm. "If this Khuyết Nguyên Abyss is destroyed or usurped, all thirty mining sites will simultaneously erupt into demon tides, at the same time, throughout the Cửu Vân. No sect, no army, is enough to cope with thirty disasters at the same time."

*

The whole cave was engulfed in chaos. Miên Trà and Du Khinh immediately formed a protective formation, while Thanh Việt pulled Diệp Sương back a step, his eyes scanning the space looking for any way out.

"You're crazy," Cố Bạt Nguyên roared, moving forward to attack, but a stream of purple energy suddenly shot out from the well, turning into a vague shape like giant tentacles, sweeping across to block his path.

Lỗ Khắc Viên stepped back behind the control panel, his voice echoing amid the growing roar. "You have only one choice left, if you want to save all of Cửu Vân - stand back, let me take control of the entire system in my own way. Any other intervention will only cause everything to collapse faster."

*

Amid the chaos, a figure rushed out from a side corridor, holding a long iron bar, aiming straight at the control panel Lỗ Khắc Viên was standing next to. That was Ngộ Khắc Bình, his face was full of unprecedented fierceness.

"Sir," he shouted, his voice both painful and decisive, "I have served you for ten years, trusting you absolutely. But I cannot let you turn Cửu Vân into a hostage to your own ambitions anymore!"

*

Lỗ Khắc Viên turned around, extremely surprised at the sudden betrayal from his most trusted right-hand man. "You..." Before he could finish his sentence, Ngộ Khắc Bình swung the iron bar and hit the control panel, causing sparks to fly.

A small explosion rang out, part of the energy discharge mechanism stalled, but soon the entire cave shook more violently, as if that act of sabotage had only caused the system to lose control faster instead of slowing it down.

*

"You just ruined the balance mechanism!" Lỗ Khắc Viên shouted, showing true panic for the first time. "Not an exhaust mechanism, but a stabilization mechanism! Now no one can control it, not even me!"

The column of light in the well shot higher, emitting a terrible heat that caused the whole group to step back, covering their faces with their hands. Purple tentacles of energy began to stretch out throughout the cave, sweeping horizontally, threatening to devour anyone standing nearby.

*

Miên Trà and Du Khinh rushed forward, using spirit talismans from the Vụ Ẩn tribe and skillful stick techniques to block the energy tentacles that were continuously sweeping across, each time they collided, they shot out dazzling rays of light. "Can't hold out any longer!" Du Khinh shouted loudly, clutching the stick that had begun to crack under the terrible power of each attack.

Cố Bạt Nguyên swung his sword to cut off a tentacle that had just approached Chúc Nghi Lam, pushed her back, and shouted loudly to order the accompanying soldiers to form a protective circle. "Hold your formation! Don't let anyone get through the lines!"

*

Lỗ Khắc Viên stood frozen in the middle of the chaos, his eyes fixed on Ngộ Khắc Bình's motionless body on the cliff, a complex expression flashed across his always cold face - not necessarily regretful, but also not completely indifferent like before.

"You're so stupid," he whispered, his voice hoarse, not sure if he was talking to Ngộ Khắc Bình or himself. "I taught you that in the big game of chess, small pieces sometimes have to be sacrificed. I didn't expect that one day you would choose to become that piece, instead of continuing to stand on my side."

*

Ngộ Khắc Bình, still standing near the broken control panel, was hit by an energy tentacle, thrown far away, hit hard against the cliff, and lay motionless.

"Ngộ Khắc Bình!" Diệp Sương shouted and tried to rush forward, but Thanh Việt held her tightly.

"There's no time," he said, his voice choked, his eyes not taking away from the increasingly intense column of energy. "The mist, if there's no way to stop it now, not only this place, but thirty other spots across the Cửu Vân will explode at the same time."

*

Diệp Sương looked toward the chaotic column of light roaring in the middle of the cave, then down at the old inkstone in her hand, feeling a strange stillness creeping into the midst of the utter chaos around her—the same feeling she had experienced the night she knelt on the edge of Khuyết Nguyên's cliff, her hands trembling as she ground out the last drops of ink.

“There is a way,” he said, his voice suddenly strangely calm amid the howling storm around him. "It's not about suppressing it, it's not about destroying it. It's about doing what I've learned my whole life — healing it, from the roots."

"What are you going to do?" Thanh Việt asked, kneeling beside her, one hand raised to block any energy tentacle that rushed forward.

"Traditional suppression will only make it protest more fiercely," Diệp Sương replied, her hand still grinding ink, her voice steady as if reassuring herself in the midst of imminent danger. "But if I can reach its roots, like at Khuyết Nguyên Abyss, perhaps it will calm down, instead of being forced into submission."

Lỗ Khắc Viên, standing not far away, looked at that scene with eyes both skeptical and surprised. "You intend to use that cheap homemade ink to control an entire source of energy that even I, with all the knowledge accumulated over thirty years, am not sure I can control?" he asked, his voice a mixture of sarcasm and a vague, undisguised fear.

"It's not control," Diệp Sương replied, without looking up, her hands continued the familiar movements that had been imprinted in her instincts since her childhood days with Mr. Tám Mực. "It's listening. That's something you've never tried, in thirty years."

She knelt down right in the middle of the shaking cave floor, opened the inkstone, and began grinding away the last remaining drops of ink, while around her, the whole world seemed to be waiting, holding its breath between the thin line of collapse and a last chance to save everything.