Chapter 259: Chapter 138: Releasing the Confinement, Deceit Transformation Pearl (3)

The old Daoist let out a wretched scream and thrashed about on the ground.

Only then did Shen Bai see that chains were also coiled around the old Daoist’s legs.

"Why! Why!"

The old Daoist couldn’t help but roar, "It’s been so many years, and you still haven’t let me go! What did I do wrong? Everything I did was for the Celestial Purity Daoist Temple!"

"Look at what’s become of the Celestial Purity Daoist Temple! It’s been in decline ever since you died. You’re the one who failed the Celestial Purity Daoist Temple! You’re the sinner..."

The whip formed from Talisman Paper vanished, and the chilling aura around the old Daoist gradually subsided.

He struggled to his feet. His back was a bloody mess, but it was already beginning to heal.

Shen Bai watched with cold detachment.

The old Daoist glanced back at Shen Bai. "What’s with that look? Are you mocking me? Do you think my senior brother was right and I was wrong?"

"Can those prestigious titles make the Celestial Purity Daoist Temple prosper? No, they can’t! Only my methods can!"

Shen Bai said calmly, "Perhaps they could, but it’s meaningless. Arguing about who was right and who was wrong is pointless."

As far as Shen Bai was concerned, who was right and who was wrong was all in the past.

The old Daoist stared blankly for a moment, then asked, "Then what is meaningful now?"

Shen Bai said, "You are my enemy. Killing you would be meaningful."

From the moment he had entered, the old Daoist had been plotting against him, and he was still doing it now.

Shen Bai didn’t believe for a second that the old Daoist would let him live if he got out.

He knew too many secrets; the old Daoist would never let him leave alive.

The old Daoist sneered. "So what?"

"You’re no match for me, and you don’t dare leave."

"If you stay here too long, the people outside will come into the water to find you. That Talisman Paper of yours won’t hold."

"And once they come in, I’ll be able to break free. I’ll kill everyone who knows I’m here, and then, as the hero’s junior brother, I will restore the Celestial Purity Daoist Temple to its former glory."

Shen Bai mused, "Actually, there might be a way."

The old Daoist’s crazed expression softened slightly. "What? What do you mean!"

Shen Bai sighed. "I think the Temple Master gave you a chance."

"If you had dissolved the aberration, you might have genuinely had a chance to get out. But you seem to be the type who won’t give up until you’ve smashed your head against a wall."

The old Daoist sneered. "So what? A moment ago you said you had a way. Were you just bluffing?"

In the old Daoist’s mind, there was no way Shen Bai could break this stalemate.

’In terms of power, I’m on the same level as the Temple Master himself.’

’Schemes?’

’This is a complete deadlock.’

’Either Shen Bai leaves, letting me out with him...’

’...or he waits until I’ve worn down the aberration, and then I kill him myself.’

’There is no third option.’

Shen Bai shook his head. "The key to solving this problem... isn’t it right in front of you?"

"In front of me?"

"That’s right. Don’t you read this book every day?"

"You mean... this Daoist Scripture?"

The old Daoist looked down at the Daoist Scripture resting before him.

This time, Shen Bai said nothing. Instead, he began to chant the Mystic Heart Spell.

Shen Bai had chanted it once before and noticed something strange.

While chanting the Mystic Heart Spell, the Daoist Scripture had seemed to react.

It wasn’t a visible reaction, but one that could only be felt. Shen Bai had sensed an attractive force, as if the scripture was urging him to continue chanting the Mystic Heart Spell.

’Just as the old Daoist said, the situation seems to be a complete deadlock.’

’In that case, I might as well give the Mystic Heart Spell a try.’

’If this doesn’t work, I’ll just use Divine Hundred Miles and the Water Control Technique to get out of this lake as fast as I can.’

’Of course, that’s a last resort.’

As Shen Bai chanted the Mystic Heart Spell, shimmering characters materialized and swirled around him.

At first, the Daoist Scripture showed no reaction, but then something strange happened.

Streaks of light, like white jade, emerged from the Daoist Scripture, illuminating the entire grotto.

The moment the light appeared, the hundred-foot-tall aberration was the first to react.

The aberration let out a piercing shriek. Starting from its head, it actually began to melt.

Seeing this, the old Daoist’s eyes widened in sudden realization. "I understand! Senior Brother, you were so devious! You used Dao Text to conceal the Deceitful Object’s aura and absorb my Daoist Skill! Part of it was used to wear down the aberration, and the other part was stored away!"

After saying this, the old Daoist whipped his head around and bellowed.

"Stop chanting! I told you to stop! Can’t you hear me?!"

A smile played on Shen Bai’s lips. He remained completely unfazed by the old Daoist’s roars.

"Weren’t you so arrogant a moment ago? Why are you telling me to stop? That just makes me want to keep going."

The words had barely left his mouth before Shen Bai immediately resumed chanting the Mystic Heart Spell without pause.

As Shen Bai chanted the Mystic Heart Spell faster and faster, the hundred-foot-tall aberration began to melt at a rate visible to the naked eye.

This time, it wasn’t just the hundred-foot-tall aberration that was melting; the old Daoist, too, began to change.

Wisps of green smoke began to rise from the top of the old Daoist’s head. As the smoke swirled, his body started to show signs of decay.

The decay rapidly worsened, consuming his outer skin first, then his flesh and blood, and finally, his very bones.

At first, the old Daoist was still letting out a continuous stream of wretched screams. But once his flesh and blood had vanished, he could no longer make a sound, only writhe on the ground ceaselessly.

From Shen Bai’s perspective, the sight was morbidly fascinating—like a skeleton rolling around on the ground.

’The greater the power, the stronger the Life Energy,’ Shen Bai thought. ’But it seems the suffering they endure is also greater.’

The hundred-foot-tall aberration felt no pain, merely continuing to radiate its chilling aura.