Chapter 117: The Dual Priests’ Encirclement
The purple light in the corridor pulsed in waves, and the entire main trunk of the fungal carpet trembled slightly.
The two sinister consciousnesses belonging to the dual priests pressed close to the rock walls, rapidly approaching from the left and right. They no longer attempted to resonate in a chorus, abandoning the large-scale suppression of the illusion web. Instead, they opted for the most direct and efficient coordinated hunt.
Without the resonance support, they could no longer deploy illusions vast enough to swallow the entire squad. However, when releasing psychic attacks targeting a single individual, their precision and explosive power were actually stronger.
Lin Yan stood with his back against the icy rock wall, his short blade held horizontally in front of him. His internal energy flowed slowly along his meridians, stabilizing his foundation. He did not expand his Sea of Consciousness into a thick barrier; instead, he still only released a few slender wisps of consciousness, pinning down the movement trajectories of the two priests' signals. Simultaneously, he allocated a sliver of his mind to continuously monitor the will of the matrix beneath the rock strata.
The matrix still had not made a move.
It was merely watching.
It was as if it were conducting a selection, seeing whether this intruder could survive under the joint assault of the two priests. If Lin Yan fell, it would let the priests clean up the corpse and then re-gather the branches of the illusion web; if Lin Yan could endure, only then would it consider wielding a deeper level of power.
The left priest arrived first at the edge of the intersection node's shadow.
Its dark cyan-gray, slender body slid out from the folds of the fungal carpet. A ring of tentacles shook continuously, with fine purple light points gathering at their tips. Without any unnecessary shrieks, a condensed psychic shock, as thin as a needle, pierced silently toward the center of Lin Yan's forehead.
This strike was extremely fast. It created no illusions and stoked no fear; it was purely a single-point killing move aimed directly at the Sea of Consciousness.
Lin Yan had anticipated this. The surface of his Sea of Consciousness slightly retracted inward, avoiding the sharp edge. The psychic splinter grazed the boundary of his consciousness and struck the fungal carpet on the rock wall behind him, instantly extinguishing a large patch of purple patterns.
At the exact same moment, the right priest launched a synchronized attack.
It did not release a psychic splinter. Instead, it mobilized the surrounding fungal tentacles. Several flesh whips, as thick as arms, suddenly erupted from the ground, sealing off the space for Lin Yan to dodge left or right. The tips of the whips carried corrosive mucus as they lashed through the air.
In the narrow corridor, there was nowhere to evade.
Lin Yan's footsteps shattered the fungal mucus. He lowered his body and darted forward, his short blade slashing diagonally upward. The blade precisely struck a weak point on the whip's body. Thick plasma exploded, and the severed fungal whip writhed frantically, with hyphae at the broken end rapidly wriggling to repair the damage.
After the first strike missed, the two priests swiftly swapped positions.
Their coordination was highly skilled. One primarily attacked the mind, while the other manipulated the physical fungal carpet to bind him. One illusory, one real, leaving Lin Yan no breathing room. Psychic splinters came one after another, piercing at his Sea of Consciousness from various tricky angles; the fungal whips layered upon each other, continuously compressing his area of movement.
Lin Yan kept dodging and maneuvering, his blade rising and falling, every strike aiming for absolute precision. His ancient martial arts footwork was pushed to its absolute limit in the confined space. The slippery ground nearly caused him to lose his balance several times, but he stabilized himself with light taps of his toes.
Yet, his consumption continued to rise.
Every time he resisted a psychic splinter, his Sea of Consciousness had to endure the shock; every time he swung his blade to chop the fungal carpet, his physical strength depleted. He had been stuck at the second tier of the Sea of Consciousness for a long time. Although his foundation was solid, he had not yet reached the point where he could withstand the joint assault of two priests.
A psychic splinter found the gap as he swung his blade, slamming fiercely into his Sea of Consciousness barrier.
Lin Yan's head buzzed violently, and his vision briefly blackened. A metallic taste of blood surged to his throat. He staggered half a step, and before he could stabilize himself, two fungal whips had already seized the opportunity to wrap around his forearm and waist.
The icy, slippery tentacles tightened their grip. The mucus seeped into the fabric of his combat suit, and a mild numbness drilled through his skin into his blood vessels.
"Caught."
Two identical wills sounded simultaneously in his Sea of Consciousness, low and dry, devoid of any emotion.
The left priest slowly stepped forward, aiming its ring of tentacles at Lin Yan's head, preparing to deliver the finishing blow. Once this psychic shock landed, his Sea of Consciousness would shatter directly.
Lin Yan gritted his teeth, remaining completely calm.
He allowed the fungal whips to lock him in place. To the outside observer, he appeared to have lost all ability to resist. But the wisps of consciousness scattered throughout the fungal carpet's veins all converged at this very moment, tracing backward along the pathways connecting the two priests to the main trunk.
He finally saw it clearly.
The power of both priests relied entirely on the energy supplied by the main trunk node beneath their feet. Their consciousness was bound to the fungal carpet; they were not independent entities.
"You rely on the network. Then I will cut off your supply."
Lin Yan let out a deep shout. He no longer defended against the incoming psychic splinter. Concentrating all his Sea of Consciousness power into a single point, he slammed it fiercely into the core pattern of the fungal carpet beneath his feet.
He was not fighting outward against the priests; he was destroying the energy transmission link inward.
The purple main vein flickered violently several times, and large patches of patterns suddenly dimmed.
The psychic splinter that was still condensing instantly lost its energy supply and collapsed in mid-air. The two priests trembled simultaneously. Their tentacles drooped weakly, and the grip of the fungal whips binding Lin Yan weakened drastically.
This was the chance!
Lin Yan exerted force from his waist and abdomen, violently breaking free from the restraints. His short blade transformed into a streak of cold light, pouncing straight toward the nearest left priest.
Caught off guard, the priest frantically mobilized the remaining fungal carpet to block in front of it. The short blade tore through the thin layer of fungal carpet, and the blade tip pierced into the base of the tentacles on the side of its body—the vital point where its consciousness connected to the fungal carpet.
A piercing, agonizing shriek exploded in the corridor.
Cyan-gray fluid gushed out. The priest's ring of tentacles convulsed wildly, and its psychic signal weakened drastically, becoming erratic and unstable.
Seeing this, the right priest flew into a rage. A massive number of fungal whips lashed frantically toward Lin Yan, attempting to cover its companion's retreat.
Lin Yan did not linger to chase the injured priest. He knew very well that killing a priest was too difficult; as long as it remained connected to the illusion web, it had the chance to heal its wounds using the fungal carpet. His goal from the very beginning had never been to kill, but to sever the foundation of their resonance.
Using the priest's shoulder as leverage, he leaped backward, returning to the main trunk node. His short blade repeatedly hacked at the bulging, hemispherical core of the fungal carpet beneath his feet.
Patches of purple patterns extinguished, and a massive gap appeared in the energy flow of the main trunk.
The two priests did not dare to stay any longer. They understood that once the node was completely destroyed, they would lose the enhancement of the illusion web and become frail, physical bodies. The injured one turned and fled first, retreating deeper into the corridor toward the matrix. The other priest released sporadic psychic interference to hinder Lin Yan while slowly retreating to cover its companion.
They had abandoned the encirclement and kill.
Lin Yan did not pursue.
Leaning on his short blade, he gasped for breath. The area on his forearm where the fungal whip had wrapped around him was already covered in numb, red marks, and his temples throbbed with continuous pain. His Sea of Consciousness was filled with exhaustion from the shock. That recent head-on clash had already pushed him to the limit of his current realm.
Urgent footsteps and panting came through the communication channel.
"Lin Yan! We're here!" Lu Heng's voice drew closer. "We rushed all the way down the passage, clearing the intercepting scaled beasts along the way!"
Lu Heng, Old Guo, Su Wan, and Chen Ye rushed into the intersection node of the corridor one after another. The flashlight beams swept over, illuminating the ground covered with broken fungal whips, flowing cyan-gray fluid, and Lin Yan's battered, panting figure.
Su Wan immediately looked at her detector and breathed a long sigh of relief. "Both priests' signals have retreated to deeper levels, getting further and further away from us. And... the signal link between them has been completely severed. The main trunk node is damaged; they can never again complete the dual resonance chorus."
"The core objective of the mission has been achieved." Lu Heng stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over the dimmed main vein of the fungal carpet. His expression remained grave. "But they have fled back into the range of the illusion web matrix. We cannot go any deeper. The foundations of that thing are beyond what our squad can touch."
Lin Yan raised his eyes, gazing into the boundless darkness further down the corridor.
The consciousness of the matrix was still there.
It was not angry, nor did it pursue. Only a faint intent drifted into Lin Yan's Sea of Consciousness once again: You are very special. We will meet again.
Lin Yan's heart sank.
It had remembered him.
"Prepare to evacuate." Lu Heng raised his hand and issued the order. "The node has been destroyed, and the dual priests have lost their resonance ability. The strategic purpose of this mission is complete. Everyone, check your injuries and retreat in sequence. Maintain vigilance and watch out for ambushes by remaining scaled beasts along the way."
The group quickly organized their equipment. Su Wan collected samples of the damaged fungal carpet, Old Guo brought up the rear, and Chen Ye maintained vigilance in the middle.
The squad walked step by step along the sloping corridor, heading outward, retreating back up to the karst cave above.
Deep in the darkness, the consciousness of the two priests curled up in the shadow of the matrix, silently watching their retreating figures.
Behind them, the purple light of the illusion web slowly, bit by bit, began to glow again.
End of Chapter.
The two sinister consciousnesses belonging to the dual priests pressed close to the rock walls, rapidly approaching from the left and right. They no longer attempted to resonate in a chorus, abandoning the large-scale suppression of the illusion web. Instead, they opted for the most direct and efficient coordinated hunt.
Without the resonance support, they could no longer deploy illusions vast enough to swallow the entire squad. However, when releasing psychic attacks targeting a single individual, their precision and explosive power were actually stronger.
Lin Yan stood with his back against the icy rock wall, his short blade held horizontally in front of him. His internal energy flowed slowly along his meridians, stabilizing his foundation. He did not expand his Sea of Consciousness into a thick barrier; instead, he still only released a few slender wisps of consciousness, pinning down the movement trajectories of the two priests' signals. Simultaneously, he allocated a sliver of his mind to continuously monitor the will of the matrix beneath the rock strata.
The matrix still had not made a move.
It was merely watching.
It was as if it were conducting a selection, seeing whether this intruder could survive under the joint assault of the two priests. If Lin Yan fell, it would let the priests clean up the corpse and then re-gather the branches of the illusion web; if Lin Yan could endure, only then would it consider wielding a deeper level of power.
The left priest arrived first at the edge of the intersection node's shadow.
Its dark cyan-gray, slender body slid out from the folds of the fungal carpet. A ring of tentacles shook continuously, with fine purple light points gathering at their tips. Without any unnecessary shrieks, a condensed psychic shock, as thin as a needle, pierced silently toward the center of Lin Yan's forehead.
This strike was extremely fast. It created no illusions and stoked no fear; it was purely a single-point killing move aimed directly at the Sea of Consciousness.
Lin Yan had anticipated this. The surface of his Sea of Consciousness slightly retracted inward, avoiding the sharp edge. The psychic splinter grazed the boundary of his consciousness and struck the fungal carpet on the rock wall behind him, instantly extinguishing a large patch of purple patterns.
At the exact same moment, the right priest launched a synchronized attack.
It did not release a psychic splinter. Instead, it mobilized the surrounding fungal tentacles. Several flesh whips, as thick as arms, suddenly erupted from the ground, sealing off the space for Lin Yan to dodge left or right. The tips of the whips carried corrosive mucus as they lashed through the air.
In the narrow corridor, there was nowhere to evade.
Lin Yan's footsteps shattered the fungal mucus. He lowered his body and darted forward, his short blade slashing diagonally upward. The blade precisely struck a weak point on the whip's body. Thick plasma exploded, and the severed fungal whip writhed frantically, with hyphae at the broken end rapidly wriggling to repair the damage.
After the first strike missed, the two priests swiftly swapped positions.
Their coordination was highly skilled. One primarily attacked the mind, while the other manipulated the physical fungal carpet to bind him. One illusory, one real, leaving Lin Yan no breathing room. Psychic splinters came one after another, piercing at his Sea of Consciousness from various tricky angles; the fungal whips layered upon each other, continuously compressing his area of movement.
Lin Yan kept dodging and maneuvering, his blade rising and falling, every strike aiming for absolute precision. His ancient martial arts footwork was pushed to its absolute limit in the confined space. The slippery ground nearly caused him to lose his balance several times, but he stabilized himself with light taps of his toes.
Yet, his consumption continued to rise.
Every time he resisted a psychic splinter, his Sea of Consciousness had to endure the shock; every time he swung his blade to chop the fungal carpet, his physical strength depleted. He had been stuck at the second tier of the Sea of Consciousness for a long time. Although his foundation was solid, he had not yet reached the point where he could withstand the joint assault of two priests.
A psychic splinter found the gap as he swung his blade, slamming fiercely into his Sea of Consciousness barrier.
Lin Yan's head buzzed violently, and his vision briefly blackened. A metallic taste of blood surged to his throat. He staggered half a step, and before he could stabilize himself, two fungal whips had already seized the opportunity to wrap around his forearm and waist.
The icy, slippery tentacles tightened their grip. The mucus seeped into the fabric of his combat suit, and a mild numbness drilled through his skin into his blood vessels.
"Caught."
Two identical wills sounded simultaneously in his Sea of Consciousness, low and dry, devoid of any emotion.
The left priest slowly stepped forward, aiming its ring of tentacles at Lin Yan's head, preparing to deliver the finishing blow. Once this psychic shock landed, his Sea of Consciousness would shatter directly.
Lin Yan gritted his teeth, remaining completely calm.
He allowed the fungal whips to lock him in place. To the outside observer, he appeared to have lost all ability to resist. But the wisps of consciousness scattered throughout the fungal carpet's veins all converged at this very moment, tracing backward along the pathways connecting the two priests to the main trunk.
He finally saw it clearly.
The power of both priests relied entirely on the energy supplied by the main trunk node beneath their feet. Their consciousness was bound to the fungal carpet; they were not independent entities.
"You rely on the network. Then I will cut off your supply."
Lin Yan let out a deep shout. He no longer defended against the incoming psychic splinter. Concentrating all his Sea of Consciousness power into a single point, he slammed it fiercely into the core pattern of the fungal carpet beneath his feet.
He was not fighting outward against the priests; he was destroying the energy transmission link inward.
The purple main vein flickered violently several times, and large patches of patterns suddenly dimmed.
The psychic splinter that was still condensing instantly lost its energy supply and collapsed in mid-air. The two priests trembled simultaneously. Their tentacles drooped weakly, and the grip of the fungal whips binding Lin Yan weakened drastically.
This was the chance!
Lin Yan exerted force from his waist and abdomen, violently breaking free from the restraints. His short blade transformed into a streak of cold light, pouncing straight toward the nearest left priest.
Caught off guard, the priest frantically mobilized the remaining fungal carpet to block in front of it. The short blade tore through the thin layer of fungal carpet, and the blade tip pierced into the base of the tentacles on the side of its body—the vital point where its consciousness connected to the fungal carpet.
A piercing, agonizing shriek exploded in the corridor.
Cyan-gray fluid gushed out. The priest's ring of tentacles convulsed wildly, and its psychic signal weakened drastically, becoming erratic and unstable.
Seeing this, the right priest flew into a rage. A massive number of fungal whips lashed frantically toward Lin Yan, attempting to cover its companion's retreat.
Lin Yan did not linger to chase the injured priest. He knew very well that killing a priest was too difficult; as long as it remained connected to the illusion web, it had the chance to heal its wounds using the fungal carpet. His goal from the very beginning had never been to kill, but to sever the foundation of their resonance.
Using the priest's shoulder as leverage, he leaped backward, returning to the main trunk node. His short blade repeatedly hacked at the bulging, hemispherical core of the fungal carpet beneath his feet.
Patches of purple patterns extinguished, and a massive gap appeared in the energy flow of the main trunk.
The two priests did not dare to stay any longer. They understood that once the node was completely destroyed, they would lose the enhancement of the illusion web and become frail, physical bodies. The injured one turned and fled first, retreating deeper into the corridor toward the matrix. The other priest released sporadic psychic interference to hinder Lin Yan while slowly retreating to cover its companion.
They had abandoned the encirclement and kill.
Lin Yan did not pursue.
Leaning on his short blade, he gasped for breath. The area on his forearm where the fungal whip had wrapped around him was already covered in numb, red marks, and his temples throbbed with continuous pain. His Sea of Consciousness was filled with exhaustion from the shock. That recent head-on clash had already pushed him to the limit of his current realm.
Urgent footsteps and panting came through the communication channel.
"Lin Yan! We're here!" Lu Heng's voice drew closer. "We rushed all the way down the passage, clearing the intercepting scaled beasts along the way!"
Lu Heng, Old Guo, Su Wan, and Chen Ye rushed into the intersection node of the corridor one after another. The flashlight beams swept over, illuminating the ground covered with broken fungal whips, flowing cyan-gray fluid, and Lin Yan's battered, panting figure.
Su Wan immediately looked at her detector and breathed a long sigh of relief. "Both priests' signals have retreated to deeper levels, getting further and further away from us. And... the signal link between them has been completely severed. The main trunk node is damaged; they can never again complete the dual resonance chorus."
"The core objective of the mission has been achieved." Lu Heng stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over the dimmed main vein of the fungal carpet. His expression remained grave. "But they have fled back into the range of the illusion web matrix. We cannot go any deeper. The foundations of that thing are beyond what our squad can touch."
Lin Yan raised his eyes, gazing into the boundless darkness further down the corridor.
The consciousness of the matrix was still there.
It was not angry, nor did it pursue. Only a faint intent drifted into Lin Yan's Sea of Consciousness once again: You are very special. We will meet again.
Lin Yan's heart sank.
It had remembered him.
"Prepare to evacuate." Lu Heng raised his hand and issued the order. "The node has been destroyed, and the dual priests have lost their resonance ability. The strategic purpose of this mission is complete. Everyone, check your injuries and retreat in sequence. Maintain vigilance and watch out for ambushes by remaining scaled beasts along the way."
The group quickly organized their equipment. Su Wan collected samples of the damaged fungal carpet, Old Guo brought up the rear, and Chen Ye maintained vigilance in the middle.
The squad walked step by step along the sloping corridor, heading outward, retreating back up to the karst cave above.
Deep in the darkness, the consciousness of the two priests curled up in the shadow of the matrix, silently watching their retreating figures.
Behind them, the purple light of the illusion web slowly, bit by bit, began to glow again.
End of Chapter.