bookbashuk Page 186
Page 186
Chapter 221 The true intentions are revealed; Jin Yangzi seizes the furnace.
The air inside the workshop felt like solidified lead, so heavy it was suffocating.
The deep hum of the cultivation furnace was like the panting of a dying beast; each pulse struck Ma Xianhong's already collapsing nerves.
His eyes were bloodshot as he stared intently at the screen on the control panel, which was flashing with countless data streams, frantically channeling his divine sense into it.
Before Jin Yangzi could completely seize control, he attempted to implant the final and only "shackles" into the "demon furnace" that he had created himself.
It was a self-destruct program that he had painstakingly deduced. Once activated, it would trigger a chain reaction of energy collapse at the core of the furnace, reducing this creation, which was capable of wreaking havoc on the world, along with everything around it, to nothingness.
This was his final act of atonement.
"What are you doing?"
A cold voice rang out behind him without warning.
Ma Xianhong froze, his movements abruptly halting.
He didn't even need to turn around to feel that familiar energy fluctuation, carrying a hint of otherworldly aura, and that nauseating sense of being spied on, like a maggot clinging to a bone.
He slowly turned around and looked at the man who was still wearing white overalls, frameless glasses, and a gentle smile on his face.
All the struggle and pain in his eyes transformed into cold, undisguised hatred at this moment.
"Mr. Jin."
Ma Xianhong's voice was hoarse, like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing together, "Don't you know best what I'm doing?"
Jin Yangzi pushed up his glasses, his gaze sweeping across the few lines of abnormal code on the screen, which had been forcibly implanted by Ma Xianhong and was filled with a destructive aura.
The smile on his face remained unchanged, but it was now devoid of any warmth.
"Village Chief Ma, I must remind you that this cultivation furnace is a 'work' that our Immortal Refining Party spent a huge amount of resources to build for you."
You are merely a craftsman; you have neither the right nor the ability to decide its fate.
His tone remained gentle, yet carried a condescending arrogance, as if he were reprimanding an ignorant child.
"Works of art? Craftsmen?"
Ma Xianhong seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world, letting out a hoarse, owl-like laugh:
"Jin Yangzi, do you really think I, Ma Xianhong, am a fool?"
You exploited my ideals, you used my divine craftsmanship to create this monster that devours lives, and now you want to possess it and turn it into an assembly line for manufacturing tools of war?
He slammed his fist on the control panel, making a loud "bang".
"I tell you, it's impossible!"
A resolute flame burned in Ma Xianhong's eyes, and every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth:
"The sins I have committed must be ended by my own hands!"
This jinx of a furnace is better off gone!
Before he finished speaking, his internal energy suddenly erupted, and he actually wanted to disregard everything and forcefully activate the self-destruct program!
Jin Yangzi's composure vanished, replaced by a ferocious expression for the first time: "Ma Xianhong! Stop! Do you want all our efforts to go to waste?"
Ma Xianhong, seemingly possessed, exclaimed: "All for naught? I'm destroying this mistake!"
Jin Yangzi pointed deep into the village and said sternly:
"A mistake? Then tell me, without Chen Duo's 'primal poison' to neutralize the backlash, your furnace would have exploded the first time it was lit!"
It's not just fuel, it's the only 'stabilizer'! If you destroy the furnace, you destroy the balance, and she'll be the first to die!
Ma Xianhong paused for a moment, but then became even angrier:
"...You don't need to remind me! I will protect her!"
Jin Yangzi sneered: "Protect her? You're even deceiving yourself! You know better than anyone that the primordial poison and the furnace core energy are inextricably linked; if the furnace is destroyed, the poison will turn against you! You're not saving her, you're killing her with your own hands!"
Even if it means we both perish, I will not let you succeed!
Ma Xianhong roared.
"Stubborn."
Jin Yangzi raised his right hand, spread his five fingers, and made a grasping motion towards the huge cultivation furnace.
A perfectly round, pale golden bead, with what appeared to be swirling nebulae inside, appeared out of thin air in his palm.
A surge of energy, far purer and more domineering than Ma Xianhong's Qi, erupted suddenly, like an invisible hand that instantly enveloped the entire cultivation furnace, forcibly severing the spiritual link between Ma Xianhong and the furnace.
And they attempted to tamper with the core energy circulation diagram of the furnace in a more brutal and direct way!
Ma Xianhong's eyes were bloodshot, and he roared as he charged forward.
However, just as the two were about to fight each other for control of the cultivation furnace, they suddenly attacked.
The cultivation furnace, which was already close to its critical point due to the previous repeated adjustments, emitted a piercing, unbearable wail under Jin Yangzi's brutal and reckless energy infusion!
“Buzz buzz—!”
The furnace body shook violently, and the countless runes engraved on its surface flashed wildly. Visible arcs of electric light, filled with unstable energy, leaped wildly across the furnace body's surface.
A devastating energy storm erupted from the center of the cultivation furnace!
The first to be affected were not the two people facing off, but the villagers of Biyou Village who were curiously looking in this direction after hearing the commotion outside the workshop!
"what--!"
A bloodcurdling scream shattered the tranquility of Biyou Village.
The moment those villagers came into contact with the energy storm, their bodies reacted as if they were wax figures being scalded with strong acid, emitting a horrifying "sizzling" sound as their flesh dissolved.
Their bodies twisted and swelled in an extremely bizarre way, and beneath their skin, it seemed as if countless living creatures were writhing wildly, with dark, gore-like patterns spreading rapidly across their bodies.
Within a few short breaths, their eyes lost all reason, leaving only pure, beast-like pain and madness.
Ma Xianhong froze.
He stared blankly at the hellish scene before him.
Looking at the villagers who, just moments before, had been filled with boundless hope for the bright future he described and who called him "Village Chief," now turned into twisted, tormented, inhuman monsters because of the furnace he had created himself.
At this moment, Wang Ye's prophecy transformed into the sharpest and cruelest knife, repeatedly and viciously stabbing into his heart.
At this moment, ideals crumbled.
"see it?"
Ma Xianhong slowly turned his head. In his bloodshot eyes, all the anger and resentment had faded away, leaving only a bottomless, chilling stillness and madness.
He looked at Jin Yangzi, his voice very hoarse.
"This is what you wanted!"
"This is the mess I've made!!"
A suppressed roar, like that of a wounded beast, escaped from his throat.
He completely lost it!
No longer caring about the difference in strength, Ma Xianhong charged madly towards Jin Yangzi and the out-of-control cultivation furnace like a cannonball, determined to destroy everything!
He roared, and with a clang of his magical artifact, dozens of puppets indistinguishable from real people instantly appeared around him. A red light flashed in their eyes, and they fearlessly surrounded and attacked Jin Yangzi.
However, Jin Yangzi merely snorted coldly, and the golden bead in his palm flashed, releasing an invisible force field.
Those "Ruhua" puppets, which were enough to make even top-tier supernatural beings feel troubled, lost all power and scattered on the ground the moment they rushed into the force field, just like puppets with broken strings.
Upon seeing this, Wang Ye, who had been keeping a close eye on the situation at the cultivation furnace, immediately rushed in.
He activated the Feng Hou Qi Men technique, attempting to disrupt the four plates and disturb the space-time around Jin Yangzi.
However, as soon as he unleashed his esoteric arts, they were forcibly dispersed by the even more domineering power of the rules emanating from the golden bead, and he couldn't even manage to interfere with it in the slightest!
Jin Yangzi uttered two words with contempt, ignoring the two guys who were no different from ants in his eyes, and turned around to completely take control of the cultivation furnace.
At that very moment, Biyou Village descended into complete chaos.
In an inconspicuous farmhouse courtyard on the east side of the village, "Li Fei"—Zhang Yunyuan—was chopping firewood when he suddenly stopped.
A tiny, barely perceptible vibration came from the miniature communicator on his waist.
Wang Ye's signal.
A cold, triumphant glint flashed in Zhang Yunyuan's eyes.
Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately issued the order for a general offensive through an encrypted channel to all the temporary workers who had already been lurking inside and outside the village.
"Ma Xianhong and his backers are fighting over the furnace, and the furnace is about to go out of control!"
"Take action! First, subdue all the villagers, then subdue Ma Xianhong and the cultivation furnace!"
At a command, the hunting dogs lurking in the shadows finally revealed their sharp fangs.
Chapter 222 The Chaos in Biyou Village, All-Out War Begins
Jin Yangzi's sudden attack was like a spark thrown into a powder keg, instantly igniting the entire Biyou Village!
The temporary workers, who had already taken their positions throughout the village and were disguised as various people, were ready to launch their attack the moment they received Zhang Yunyuan's signal!
On the west side of the village, there is a group of quiet rooms specifically used for meditation.
Zhong Xiaolong, one of the twelve superior talents, skilled in manipulating objects and delivering precise strikes, sat cross-legged, carefully nurturing several crystal-clear jade beads floating in front of him.
These beads were his ritual implements for cultivating his life force, containing sharp metal-elemental energy.
Suddenly, alarm bells rang in his mind, and he abruptly opened his eyes.
The door to the quiet room had been quietly opened at some point.
A man dressed in a monk's robe and wearing gold-rimmed glasses was standing with his back to him, slowly admiring a traditional Chinese ink painting on the wall, like a tourist who had wandered into this place by mistake.
"Amitabha."
Xiao Zizai slowly turned around, a compassionate smile on his face, but his eyes, hidden behind his glasses, gleamed with an indescribable, almost perverse excitement.
He gently pushed up his glasses, his gaze precisely locking onto the beads in front of Zhong Xiaolong.
“Benefactor, these few ‘prayer beads’ of yours have been nurtured to a level of inner malevolence, sharp yet not overt. This is a testament to your skill, and also… excellent ingredients.”