Seeking Opportunity Amid Chaos

"Ah—!!"

Feng Guan's shrill, miserable screams echoed back and forth through the dark, damp underground prison, making one's hair stand on end.

Upon that bizarre black-and-red web, countless bloodthirsty filaments wormed their way into every opening of his body. Under the searing pain, Feng Guan wept and sobbed, his shriveled body convulsing wildly like a fish flung onto dry land as he howled out everything he knew, root and branch, without holding anything back.

In truth, Li Shun did not need to trouble himself with any reminders. Under such skin-flaying, sinew-pulling torture, with Feng Guan's depleted blood and qi and feeble will, let alone fabricate lies, he could not conceal even the slightest thing—whatever he had, he spat out, and even the tiniest stray thoughts in his mind were wrung out alive by that blood web.

Li Shun at the side looked equally miserable. Blood covered his entire body, and his flesh spasmed uncontrollably beneath the filaments' corrosion, while ragged, heavy breaths slipped intermittently from his throat.

But in truth...

From the very moment the punishment descended upon him, Li Shun's primary consciousness had decisively shed its shell like a cicada, fleeing into the [Square Inch Space] within his body.

The fleshly body left outside endured the agony only by instinct. The pain his mind perceived had already been greatly weakened, reduced to less than a tenth of the actual sensation.

In reality, Li Shun mechanically delivered, word by word, the "confession" he had polished in his belly a thousand times over.

Meanwhile, his main consciousness stood silently within the Square Inch Space, staring at that half-destroyed, broken stone statue.

"I still miscalculated."

"I never expected the Great Qian authorities to be so cautious. Even though the informants were merely two lowliest laborers, they still resorted to such brutal torture and meticulous interrogation, ensuring there was not the slightest oversight."

"I hope Old Feng can hold on." Li Shun sighed inwardly.

The two had known each other for decades, after all. There was still some feeling between them.

Li Shun was not particularly worried about the torture his physical body suffered outside.

What truly concerned him was the danger of the Cold Mountain County yamen's destruction drawing ever closer with the passage of time.

"At three in the afternoon, Xiong Jin will lead his men in a surprise attack."

"Originally, the yamen's defensive forces would be wiped out completely, and the entire yamen would be reduced to ashes in towering flames. And now, I am inside that yamen!"

"Though the yamen must have prepared in advance because of my report, whether they can truly stop Xiong Jin..."

Li Shun truly had no confidence.

He fixed his gaze upon the damaged stone statue before him, driving it with his will and attempting to activate [Three Reflections Upon Myself] again at any cost.

Unfortunately, it was like a clay ox vanishing into the sea. The mottled, ghastly white remnant statue gave no response at all.

Li Shun's heart plunged straight to the bottom of the valley.

"As expected, based on past experience, [Threefold Self-Reflection] may be called 'Three Reflections,' but only the first two offer chances to probe and make mistakes."

"Everything that happens in the third is the true reality, where Cosmos Realm has been carved in stone and there is no road of retreat!"

"If I remain trapped in this dark prison, then when Xiong Jin attacks, I fear I will turn to flying ash along with the Cold Mountain County yamen!"

As for possibilities such as the Cold Mountain County yamen successfully resisting and even capturing Xiong Jin, or the stone statue continuing to passively perform the divine ability of [Threefold Self-Reflection] after his death...

Li Shun did not dare gamble on them, nor did he wish to.

A ruthless glint flashed through his eyes. With a slight movement of his will, he crossed the white mist in an instant and arrived beside the complete stone statue in the third region.

"If it truly comes to a point of utter damnation, I can only choose to release it."

Unless it was the final moment between life and death, Li Shun absolutely did not wish to take this step.

One had to know that merely hurling a mortal laborer puppet, [Li Shun], who possessed no cultivation whatsoever into the human world had produced a sensation of his soul being torn apart so intense that he had nearly collapsed on the spot. He truly could not imagine what horrific backlash and consequences would arise if he forcibly summoned this complete stone statue—whose origins were unknown and whose depths unfathomable—into reality!

"Perhaps the two stone statues within the Square Inch Space themselves conceal enormous secrets. Once they enter the world, they will certainly bring immeasurable consequences."

"But... to save my life, I cannot worry about so much."

As Li Shun pondered, the stone statue before him, silent for untold ages, seemed to develop some mysterious awareness and sense his intention to release it into the world.

In that instant, it seemed to come alive.

Though no features could be seen upon that indistinct face, a gaze seemed to pierce through the ages, staring straight at Li Shun with deadly intensity.

Although the statue was covered in fine, web-like cracks and riddled with holes, as though the next faint breeze could blow it into pieces, at this moment Li Shun clearly felt a berserk fighting intent blazing fiercely enough to burn the heavens and boil the seas, along with...

The ultimate killing intent that shot straight into the clouds!

"Kill!"

That killing intent became like countless invisible swords within the Square Inch Space, howling toward Li Shun in a storm of wind and rain, tearing and shredding him. Bone-scraping, flesh-carving agony instantly swept through his entire body, forcing his consciousness to retreat again and again.

Only after he staggered beyond the edge of the region where the stone statue stood did that terrifying storm capable of destroying heaven and earth abruptly cease.

Not far away, the more than one hundred stalks of Cold Mountain Grass planted within the Square Inch Space had escaped disaster due to the division between regions. Yet they too seemed to have developed intelligence. Their formerly upright dark-blue blades all drooped at once, trembling as they bowed their heads in worship.

The storm raged in midair for a long while before slowly dissipating.

Li Shun looked at the stone statue, which had returned to lifeless silence, with lingering fear.

"Even under the suppression of the Square Inch Space, it still possesses such might..."

"It seems that as long as I throw out this stone statue, my life will be safe at the very least."

"In that case..."

Li Shun's gaze became cold and clear once more.

"Cold Mountain Venerable."

He had not forgotten what the true objective of all his arrangements was!

At this moment, Cold Mountain County appeared calm and peaceful on the surface, but beneath it, undercurrents already surged and killing intent lurked on all sides.

Three in the afternoon.

A streak of scarlet light tore across the sky. Xiong Jin's burly figure appeared as expected, hovering directly above the Cold Mountain County yamen.

"Hm?"

He looked down from above. The gates were shut tight, and not a soul stood before them. Even the yamen runners who usually stood guard had vanished without a trace, leaving behind an extraordinarily abnormal dead silence.

Almost instantly, battle-hardened Xiong Jin smelled the murderous aura in the air.

"Have we been exposed..."

Yet he showed no fear. Instead, a frenzied savagery burst from his eyes. Throwing back his head, he let out a long roar, his voice like furious thunder from the nine heavens as it instantly spread throughout the city. "Destroy Qian and restore Xiang—today is the day!"

With that wild roar, the enormous phantom of an eight-armed demon god, shrouded in chilling yin energy, abruptly manifested behind Xiong Jin. Wrapped in towering scarlet flames, it swung up a gigantic fist and smashed it viciously toward the county yamen!

Boom!

Amid an earth-shaking crash that deafened the ears, the ground trembled. Yet when the smoke and dust dispersed, the yamen had not crumbled apart like it had "yesterday." Instead, it still stood firm where it was. A heavy earthen-yellow formation barrier, as solid as a mountain range, tightly protected the entire yamen complex. Only its color had dimmed slightly beneath that mighty blow.

"You were prepared? Hahaha! I never thought that the lofty Great Qian authorities would also turn into turtles hiding their heads in their shells!"

Xiong Jin's madness was on full display as he laughed mockingly without restraint, while his attacks continued without pause like a violent storm, bombarding the formation with frenzied force.

At the same time, cries of "Destroy Qian and restore Xiang!" erupted one after another from every corner of Cold Mountain County. The surviving people of Great Xiang hidden throughout the city emerged in droves, setting fires and slaughtering everywhere. In an instant, the entire county became an Asura battlefield.

And amid this heaven-overturning chaos...

A figure darted through the streets and alleys before silently stopping outside the gates of a residence within the city.

It was precisely Li Shun's substitute puppet that had descended into the human world!

"Knock, knock, knock!"

He raised his hand and rhythmically struck the heavy bronze door knocker.

No one answered. Only the sounds of distant fighting and faint firelight remained.

Puppet Li Shun continued knocking on the gate tirelessly, his expression blank.

After a long time, a soft, alluring female voice finally came from behind the tightly closed gate. Though it struggled to remain calm, it could not conceal its extreme vigilance. "Who is it?"

Li Shun pressed his face close to the crack in the door, his voice urgent and lowered. "Madam, the bandits are too powerful, and the city is far too dangerous. The county magistrate fears something may happen, so he specially ordered this humble servant to take you somewhere safe!"

Before his words had even faded, the wooden gate gave a soft click.

Then it was quietly pulled open a crack, revealing a beautiful yet slightly pale face. A trace of relief and delight showed between the woman's brows as she muttered in a low voice, "That dead fool still has a bit of conscience after all. At least he didn't forget me at a time like this!"

Li Shun lowered his eyes, concealing the dark gleam within them, and slipped inside without betraying the slightest emotion.