The failure to summon the Zhenjiang Shrine did not mean the array had completely stopped working.
Though the dim patterns spread across the square had faded, they continued to drain energy relentlessly.
Instead of attempting to communicate with the evil spirit at the bottom of the river, the array became more direct, more ravenous, stripping away the flesh and souls of every citizen within its reach.
Thousands of fine silk threads snaked out from the array, resembling miniature versions of the meat strips hanging from the main body of White Jade, as they coiled around the terrified and helpless townspeople.
Their faces turned ashen at a visible rate, their eyes glazed over, and though they wailed in agony, they were powerless to break free.
Chen Zhou frowned slightly and waved his hand to sever a section of the threads. Where his death energy passed, the threads disintegrated, but more immediately surged from the array’s patterns as if they were infinite.
He could feel that the power of this array shared the same source as the Zhenjiang Shrine, carrying a hint of evil spirit characteristics. It repelled his death energy, much like how he had been unable to directly envelop the paper shrine with his Ghost Domain on the riverbed earlier.
If he tried to break the array by sheer force, the violent conflict between two vastly different powers would likely shatter the fragile souls of these townspeople first.
"This is a bit troublesome," Chen Zhou sighed softly.
"Tch, this broken array is like a damn hedgehog," the Plague Rat remarked, also sensing the situation as he curled his lip.
"Can you gnaw a hole through it?"
"Are you sick? Do you really think of Lord Rat as just a common rodent?!"
Plague Rat’s fur bristled. "If I put in some effort, I could bite off a small chunk to open a hole and save people, but the cost wouldn't be small. Besides, this array is useless against us. At most, these people below will just be sucked dry."
His meaning was clear: it wasn't worth paying a heavy price for these irrelevant mortals.
Chen Zhou felt it was a pity. "It truly isn't worth it. You are more important."
He clearly remembered how tired the Plague Rat looked after consuming the Blood-Essence Jade last time, despite his tough talk. For him to admit the cost would be significant meant the depletion would be extreme.
Although he usually treated the Plague Rat like a beast of burden, Chen Zhou was unwilling to let him suffer damage just to save these people.
Jian Huaishuang listened in silence. He saw the array beneath his feet mercilessly devouring the lives of the townspeople, and he felt the White Jade within him—even amidst its backlash—restlessly trying to re-establish dominance.
In that instant, he understood his identity, the key to the array, and the only way to break the deadlock—a method that required him to give everything.
He kowtowed to Chen Zhou once more, his eyes like cold stars washed by rain, possessing a resolve that had been forged anew after being shattered.
"My Lord, this array... was originally the City-Protecting Array, but now it has become the source of an evil art used to persecute the citizens. As long as a sliver of the White Jade within me and my own self remains, this array can never be truly broken, and the Sword Sect will continue to drift further down the wrong path."
Jian Huaishuang’s gaze swept across the chaotic square, over the terrified citizens, past the dazed Su Zhiyuan, and finally fixed on the space before Chen Zhou.
"Huaishuang shall keep Your Lordship's kindness engraved in his heart, to be repaid in the next life. But the Sword Sect, after all, raised me and taught me my craft. Since the sect has committed such a grave error, I cannot evade my responsibility."
He grabbed his greatsword from the ground and held the blade against his throat.
"I am willing to give my life to help My Lord break this array."
He intended to fulfill his chosen path in the most absolute manner—severing his own pain and shackles while offering a final, bloody redemption for the sect that had lost its way.
But a flash of sword light passed, and no blood sprayed.
A gentle yet irresistible force struck his wrist. The greatsword flew from his hand, snapped into two pieces in mid-air, and clattered to the ground.
Jian Huaishuang only heard the blurred deity before him let out a soft sigh, speaking in the calmest tone:
"I said last time that I hoped you wouldn't regret your decisions in the future. It seems you didn't listen."
Jian Huaishuang’s heart tightened, followed by a surge of immense confusion.
Paying back a debt with blood, repaying kindness with a life.
Was there something wrong with that...?
He didn't think he would regret it. He did not fear death; after all, this was the only way to resolve the situation before them.
Chen Zhou looked at his bewildered eyes and said indifferently, "I never said I didn't have a way."
"You are strong for being able to suppress an evil ghost with a mortal will. But next time, don't be so impulsive. If you want to atone, then live well. Dying ends everything; it changes nothing."
Chen Zhou raised his hand with a wave, and in an instant, thousands of pills emitting various glows whistled out of his sleeve like a reverse meteor shower!
These pills landed precisely on various nodes of the square’s array and detonated instantly, transforming into a torrent of pure energy!
He was using the abundant energy contained within first-stage pills to forcibly substitute for the flesh and souls of the townspeople being sacrificed.
The energy refined from nearly ten thousand portions of common materials was far more abundant than what the array currently demanded.
The dim array patterns were suddenly flooded with this unexpected energy, and the silk threads draining the townspeople snapped and dissipated one after another.
With high-quality flesh and blood energy right in front of it, what reason did the array have to pick the lesser option?
The ashen color on the townspeople's faces quickly faded, and their glazed eyes regained focus. Though they were still weak and terrified, their lives were no longer in danger.
This entire reversal was like a miracle, occurring in the blink of an eye!
Chen Zhou walked up to the still-kneeling and stunned Jian Huaishuang, flicking his finger to shoot three oddly patterned pills directly into his mouth.
This was Chen Zhou’s first time using the Soul-Shaping Pill.
The pills entered his stomach and turned into a cool, warm current that surged straight into Jian Huaishuang's sea of consciousness.
His soul, which had felt as if it were being torn apart by countless hands, now felt as if it were immersed in a warm spring. The agonizing pain quickly subsided, and his turbulent soul was enveloped and stabilized by a gentle, resilient power.
Jian Huaishuang took a deep breath, feeling a long-lost clarity and peace in his mind. He found it hard to believe.
"How much longer can you persist in suppressing that thing inside you?" Chen Zhou asked.
Jian Huaishuang carefully sensed the tug-of-war between his soul and the White Jade’s will. He said with some shame, "Huaishuang... cannot say for sure. It has been weakened by the backlash, but its foundation remains, and it continues to assault me."
"One month. Can you do it?" Chen Zhou gave a specific timeframe.
Jian Huaishuang felt his soul still being pulled, but the stability provided by the Soul-Shaping Pill gave him confidence. He nodded heavily. "I can!"
"Then it's simple." Chen Zhou smiled slightly. "Remember this: next time, if there is something a mortal cannot do, you can try asking a god for help."
Chen Zhou said no more, turning his hand to take out the Zhenjiang Shrine paper cutting suppressed by his death energy.
The array sensed the aura of its own source and began to operate violently once more!
The dim light flared, attempting to summon the complete evil spirit into the world.
Fuelled by the massive amount of energy from the pills and the resonance with the paper cutting itself, a blurry phantom of a paper-made Zhenjiang Shrine actually began to condense slowly above the square, showing signs of revival.
Chen Zhou released his suppression, and under the guidance of the array, the paper cutting flew rapidly and merged into Jian Huaishuang’s marrow.
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