boyutpedia Chapter 36 Difficult
Chapter 36 Difficult
Editor-in-Chief Qin was placed on the bed in the only bedroom in the apartment, her breathing so faint it was almost imperceptible. Jiang Han tried every method he knew—ancient acupuncture, energy guidance, herbal fumigation—but could only barely slow the spread of the curse, not stop it. The black veins moved like living things under Editor-in-Chief Qin's skin, expanding outwards by one ring every hour.
"The Seven Star Soul-Chasing Curse is a forbidden technique for removing the core of the array." After checking, Jiang Han sat wearily in a chair. "It requires the energy imprints of seven different cores as 'locks.' Once formed, it is unsolvable unless all seven casters simultaneously release it or it is forcibly broken open with stronger Seven Star power."
"Even stronger Seven Star Power..." Li Shancheng looked out the window at the night sky; the moon was nearly full. "Does the relic fragment count?"
"Theoretically, yes," Jiang Han nodded, "but it requires seven fragments of different relics to form a complete Seven Star Cycle. We only have three fragments of Tianquan right now, which isn't enough."
Su Yan, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up: "There is a piece of 'Vermilion Bird Feather' at the center of the formation, which is part of the Vermilion Bird's relics. If we add it, there will be four pieces."
"The Dui position might also have some," Jiang Han recalled. "The guardians of the Dui position mentioned before that the 'White Tiger Blade' they were guarding shattered a hundred years ago, and the fragments were scattered, but there should still be some remnants inside the array's core."
"That's five pieces," Xu Qingqing calculated. "The 'Azure Dragon Scale' from the Zhen position, the 'Qilin Horn' from the Gen position, the 'Black Tortoise Armor' from the Kun position... If we can collect seven pieces..."
"It's almost impossible," Cheng Xu interrupted. "Not to mention that the Zhen and Gen positions have lost contact, even if we could find them, there wouldn't be enough time. There are less than forty hours left until the night of the full moon. We need to find the seven array eyes and collect the artifact fragments within that time..."
He shook his head and didn't continue.
Liu Wei brought several cups of hot tea from the kitchen, her eyes red and swollen—she had been taking care of Editor-in-Chief Qin, and seeing the strong old man now on his deathbed, she couldn't help but cry.
"Su Qing said she'd exchange the fragments for Editor-in-Chief Qin's undoing of the curse," she whispered. "Perhaps..."
"That's a trap," Su Yan said decisively. "Even if she really breaks the curse, she'll use the fragments to accelerate their plans. Then it won't just be Editor-in-Chief Qin who dies."
"So we're just going to watch him die?" Liu Wei's tears welled up again.
No one answered. The only sound in the room was Editor-in-Chief Qin's faint breathing, like a candle flickering in the wind.
Li Shancheng walked to the window, looking at the sparse traffic on the street below. At three in the morning, most people in Kyoto were still asleep, completely unaware of the impending crisis. They didn't know what might happen in two days, didn't know their lives might become sacrifices to some insane plan, and didn't know that a group of people were facing an impossible choice to protect them.
"Perhaps there is a third option," he suddenly said.
Everyone looked at him.
"Su Qing wants the fragments of the relic, not just to speed up the plan." Li Shancheng turned around. "She said that the curse within Editor-in-Chief Qin requires the power of the Seven Stars to be lifted. This means that to break the curse, they also need to gather the power of the Seven Stars—or at least, the energy of seven different array eyes."
"What do you want to say?" Jiang Han asked.
"They're using Editor-in-Chief Qin for testing," Li Shancheng analyzed. "Testing whether the power of the Seven Stars can counteract the Seven Star Curse, testing the power of the relic fragments. If successful, they can use the same method to control other guardians, and even control the array's core itself."
He walked to the coffee table and spread out a map of Kyoto: "What if we do the opposite? Instead of handing over the fragments, we use this 'exchange' to test their weaknesses."
"That's too risky." Su Yan frowned. "How can you be sure they're not using Editor-in-Chief Qin as bait to lure us into handing over the fragments so they can wipe us all out in one fell swoop?"
"I'm sure," Li Shancheng said, "because I also have what they want—the complete Wen Shu bloodline. To them, I, alive, am more valuable than the three fragments. Their offer to exchange fragments means they don't want to kill me right now, or... they can't kill me."
Jiang Han's eyes lit up: "That makes sense. Su Qing didn't kill him in the library basement not because she was merciful, but because of some kind of constraint. Perhaps Lin Han's order was to 'capture the Wen Shu bloodline alive,' or perhaps your power restrained her... In any case, you have leverage in negotiations."
"But having leverage doesn't guarantee victory," Cheng Xu cautioned. "Even if they don't dare kill you, they can imprison you, control you, and force you to cooperate with their plans."
"So we need a plan they can't come up with." Li Shancheng pointed to Shuanglong Bridge on the map. "The exchange point will definitely be here. They have their strongest defenses there, but it might also be our only chance."
"What opportunity?"
"An opportunity to disrupt the altar." Li Shancheng's eyes sharpened. "On the night of the full moon, they need to concentrate on maintaining the ritual. If we act a day earlier, at the moment they least expect it..."
"Take the initiative," Su Yan replied. "Use the exchange as a cover to actually attack the core of the altar."
"But how can we do that?" Xu Qingqing asked. "We can't even get close to each other."
Li Shancheng took out the three fragments of the Tianquan relic from his backpack. The fragments emitted a ghostly blue light in the darkness, like fragments of the starry sky.
"Use this," he said, "but not to give it to them, but... implant it in the altar."
Everyone was stunned.
"Are you crazy?" Su Yan objected first. "The relic fragments will provide the altar with extra energy, potentially making the ritual even more powerful!"
"It could also overload it," Li Shancheng explained. "The memories of the Book of Light tell me that the Seven Star Relics need to be balanced. The Tianquan Relic corresponds to change and transformation, and its power is the most unstable. If it is forcibly mixed with the energy of other array eyes, it may produce a repulsive reaction or even trigger an energy explosion."
Jiang Han pondered: "Theoretically, it's feasible. The Tianquan relic is 'dynamic,' the Kan relic is 'static,' the Li relic is 'hot,' and the Dui relic is 'cold'... If the powers of relics with different attributes are forcibly merged, it could indeed get out of control. But it requires precise calculations and timing."
"Cheng Xu can do the calculations." Li Shancheng looked at the technical expert. "We need to find the critical point for energy fusion, and implant the fragments while the altar is operating at full capacity to trigger a chain reaction."
Cheng Xu immediately turned on his computer: "Give me the structural diagram of the altar, energy flow data, and attribute analysis of the relic fragments..."
"I have it." Liu Wei took out Chen Ya's notebook. "Engineer Chen has studied the characteristics of the Tianquan relics in detail, as well as data on other relics she has collected."
For the next few hours, the apartment became a makeshift war room. Cheng Xu and Liu Wei were engrossed in calculations, Jiang Han provided theoretical support in the energy science of the array's core, and Su Yan and Xu Qingqing prepared equipment and evacuation plans. Li Shancheng sat by Editor-in-Chief Qin's bedside, looking after him while communicating with the Book of Light in his consciousness, searching for more information about the Seven Star Relics and the "Opening of the Heavenly Gate."