owlsbooks Chapter 440 The Lonely Lord's Diary
Chapter 440 The Lonely Lord's Diary
With a soft "click," a hair-thin crack appeared on the surface of the rock wall.
The crack spread along the edge of a regular rectangle, and then the entire stone slab silently popped outward by half a centimeter.
It is a hidden compartment.
Lin Feng gripped the edge of the stone slab with his fingertips and gently pulled it outwards. The stone slab detached from the rock wall, revealing a space about the size of a shoebox behind it.
Inside lay a red-covered notebook.
Lin Feng was about to reach for it when Xia Ning grabbed his arm: "Let me do it."
Lin Feng nodded and stepped aside.
Xia Ning stepped forward, her right hand hovering in front of the hidden compartment. She closed her eyes, held her breath, and quietly sensed for several seconds.
She then opened her eyes and nodded slightly: "There's no sensory mark, you can take it."
She reached out her right hand, took out the notebook, and held it in her palm.
"Open it and take a look." Lin Feng was a little impatient.
Xia Ning nodded and opened the cover.
The title page has no title, no signature, only a line of small print written in dark brown ink:
Life and death are predetermined; I am not subject to fate.
Lin Feng raised an eyebrow: "Wow, this old Deng is pretty arrogant!"
Xia Ning remained silent, turned the cover page, and began reading the main text.
The date of the first entry in the journal is [Frost Month, Full Moon, 372nd year of the Temple Calendar].
The handwriting is neat and clear, clearly written in an extremely calm state.
My physical body has deteriorated to an irreversible state.
Although the source has not dissipated, the body that carries it is like rotten wood, cracked everywhere, and its sinister aura is leaking out daily.
[All attempts to prolong life using the temple's secret methods have been futile.]
The alchemist predicted that within five years at most, my physical body would completely disintegrate.
But I am not reconciled.
How can centuries of cultivation be wasted on a mere decaying physical body?
[By flipping through the forbidden scriptures to the seventh volume, I discovered the technique of "Reincarnation of the Fetal Soul."]
This method requires extracting half of one's own primordial power, condensing it into a pure embryonic soul using forbidden techniques, and placing it on a yin spring in the earth's veins. Once it matures, one can discard the old body and move to a new one, achieving immortality.
This method is extremely dangerous; the pain of stripping away one's essence is like being dismembered and having one's soul torn apart. A slight misstep will result in the soul being utterly destroyed.
However, there was no other way to go.
My mind is made up.
Xia Ning flipped to the second entry in her blog.
[Year 372 of the Temple Calendar, Ice Moon, New Moon]
The condensation of the sacred embryo was completed three days ago.
[Half of its original power was stripped away and forged using forbidden techniques. After seven days and seven nights, the embryonic soul finally took shape.]
[Placeed deep within the underground palace, where the yin veins converge, nourished by the millennia-old earth energy of the sacred temple, its embryonic form has begun to take shape.]
The pain of the process is indescribable.
[However, the result was gratifying; the aura of the fetal soul was completely identical to my original self, as if another version of myself were quietly sleeping.]
When it matures, it will be my rebirth.
Xia Ning didn't say anything and continued turning the page.
[Year 372 of the Temple Calendar, Ice Moon, Full Sun]
[For the first time, she nourished the sacred embryo with her own essence and blood.]
[Take three drops of blood from the heart, dissolve them with primordial soul power, and slowly transfer them into the amniotic sac.]
[Initially, the amniotic sac may initially resist, but after a short while, it eagerly absorbs all the essence and blood, causing the fetus to become noticeably brighter.]
[The effect was excellent, but a cold and violent aura flowed back into my body along with my essence and blood, lasting only a moment, yet it made my heart tremble.]
This is the "Fetal Evil" recorded in forbidden scriptures.
[Because the Holy Embryo was formed from the separation of my dark side and violent origins, it inherently possesses an extremely strong tendency to backfire.]
If it cannot be suppressed, when it matures, it may not be my rebirth, but my burial ground.
Xia Ning's eyes grew even more serious as she turned to the fourth entry in her diary.
[New Year's Day, Year 373 of the Temple Calendar]
[At the start of the new year, the baby's development is progressing well.]
[Over the past month, nourished daily with primordial soul power, the embryo has grown from the size of a fist to the size of a head, and its human form is beginning to take shape.]
Even more gratifying is that the connection between the fetus and my original soul is becoming increasingly close. Sometimes, when I meditate and regulate my breathing, I can even faintly sense a weak heartbeat coming from the fetus, perfectly synchronized with my own heartbeat.
However, the fetal malice also increases accordingly.
[Each time one transfuses essence and blood, a violent backlash will inevitably follow. Mild cases may result in palpitations and trembling hands, while severe cases may cause splitting headaches and hallucinations.]
Last night's backlash was particularly fierce. In a daze, I even saw a vision of myself slaughtering thousands of believers in the temple. Although I knew it was an illusion, I still broke out in a cold sweat.
We must find a way to suppress the fetal rebellion as soon as possible.
Xia Ning immediately flipped to the fifth entry in her diary.
[Holy Temple Calendar 373, Flower Moon, Full Sun]
Found it.
[There is a passage in the appendix of the forbidden book that I previously overlooked, which describes an auxiliary magic array called the "Soul Reincarnation Array".]
This array is not used to directly suppress the evil spirits within the fetus. Instead, it constructs a sophisticated underground soul network to intercept and collect the pure soul power and emotional energy generated by believers during their cultivation, prayer, and sacrifices. After filtering impurities through the array, it is transported to the sacred fetus as supplementary nourishment.
This approach has two advantages:
Firstly, the fetus receives additional soul power nourishment, accelerating its development. Furthermore, the injection of external soul power dilutes the original violent nature within the fetus, indirectly suppressing its inherent ferocity.
Secondly, during their spiritual practice, believers' soul power undergoes rigorous tempering through layers of discipline, trials, and purification via vegetarianism, resulting in extreme purity.
[Once this pure soul energy enters the fetus, it forms a natural protective layer on the surface of the fetal membranes, continuously inhibiting the growth of fetal evil.]
[A win-win situation.]
[The inscription of the soul network will take about six months, requiring the placement of dozens of nodes beneath the temple's foundation. This task cannot be delegated to others; I must do it myself.]
The sixth entry in the diary.
[New Moon, Lotus Month, 373rd Year of the Temple Calendar]
The Soul Network is now more than halfway deployed.
[Tonight, while inscribing nodes beneath the Hall of Silent Souls, a novice cultivator was instantly wiped out for violating the rules. The instant his soul dissipated, the soul network node intercepted it, transforming it into a warm current of energy that flowed along the underground veins towards the embryonic body.]
I immediately returned to the underground palace and witnessed firsthand that after the fetus absorbed this soul power, a faint warm light emanated from the surface of the amniotic membrane, and the backlash from the fetus's malevolence was significantly reduced by three-tenths.
At that moment, I felt no more guilt.
These believers exist because of me; their ability to come here to cultivate is ultimately an opportunity bestowed upon them by me.
Taking his soul now is perfectly justified.
If they knew that their soul power was nourishing the immortal body of the Temple Master, they would probably be proud of it.
Upon seeing this, Lin Feng clenched his fist tightly:
"What does this old man take his believers for? 韭菜 (leeks, a metaphor for easily exploited people)?!"
Xia Ning gently shook her head and sighed:
"This is probably what they mean by—those in high positions treat all living beings like straw dogs!"
"He's been in that position for so long that he's forgotten he's also one of all things."