Chapter 108: Reversal! Bai Guizhen’s Substitute Technique

The contract pattern in Shen Yan’s palm was still burning hot, the small characters reading “Battlefield Memory Replay” like a freshly carved brand that hadn’t yet cooled. He stared at his phone screen, his fingertip hovering over the function entry, about to test whether this newly unlocked feature could scan out any hidden information, when the dome of the Talisman Dao conference hall above his head suddenly lit up.

A golden light descended from the center, illuminating Bai Guizhen on the high platform.

The man wore a cyan jade robe, held a jade tablet in hand, his expression solemn. As soon as he opened his mouth, he spoke of “Devil Clan infiltration, the hearts of men are no longer pure,” his words impassioned and stirring. The cultivators below nodded in agreement one after another, their gazes like nails piercing toward the corner—piercing precisely the three of them.

“This old man’s at it again?” Yu Xiaotang shrank her neck, stuffing the candied hawthorn skewer into her mouth and biting down with a crunch. “Last time we met, I even blew up his robe—how can he have no memory of it?”

Shen Yan didn’t make a sound. He swiped his finger across the screen, pulling up the “Battlefield Memory Replay” interface. A flash of green light, and his vision was instantly filled with countless fine Data Streams, like spiderwebs after rain, tangling above the entire venue.

He narrowed his eyes and scanned, his brow suddenly twitching.

Every movement of that “Bai Guizhen” on the stage was delayed by 0.3 seconds. The Spiritual Energy Fluctuation was also off, as if it were a pre-recorded Holographic Projection being played back.

“Fake,” he said in a low voice. “Substitute puppet, High-Level technique simulation. Even the breathing rhythm is programmed.”

Luo Li’s ears twitched, her Fox Tail silently tensing. “Then what are you waiting for? Expose him.”

“Exposing him would still get us killed,” Shen Yan sneered. “The real Bai Guizhen is definitely hiding below, just waiting for us to reveal our position so he can seal our throats with a single needle.”

As soon as the words fell, the “Bai Guizhen” on stage raised his hand, his voice suddenly rising: “Today, the Evil Cultivator Shen Yan, colluding with the devil woman Yu Xiaotang, has stolen Sect secrets. Apprehend them immediately—kill on sight!”

The entire hall erupted in uproar.

In that instant, Shen Yan caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye: in the third row of the audience seats, near a pillar, a person in a gray robe slightly raised their hand.

He reacted extremely fast, grabbing Ye Zhao’s wrist and pulling her toward him. “Duck!”

Ye Zhao didn’t struggle, lowering her body with the momentum. Her silver hair brushed past his shoulder as a cold Sword Qi condensed into a thin frost around her.

The next moment—

A golden light shot from the gray-robed person’s hand, so fast it tore a crack in the air, heading straight for Shen Yan’s brow!

“Clang!”

The Frost Soul Sword unsheathed through the air, its Sword Qi transforming into an ice flower that collided with the poison needle at the last possible moment, exploding into a cloud of cold mist.

Ye Zhao landed, the tip of her sword touching the ground, her voice icy. “A thing seeking death dares to impersonate an enforcement elder?”

But Shen Yan wasn’t looking at her. His eyes were fixed on that “Bai Guizhen” on stage.

He saw the puppet’s body begin to swell, dense Shadow Erosion Runes surfacing beneath its skin, as if something were expanding from within.

“Not good!” He slapped his phone. “Initiate the warning Protocol! That thing’s about to explode!”

But the Terminal only replied: “Auto-combat AI cooling down. Estimated recovery time: twelve breaths.”

Twelve breaths? By the time you recover, it’ll be too late!

Boom—!

The puppet self-destructed. A violent suction force exploded from the center, the ground cracked, and cultivators within ten meters were swept into the air as if swallowed by an invisible giant mouth.

A spatial Rift had appeared.

The pitch-black opening gaped like a yawning mouth, its edges distorted by chaotic flows of law. The slightest contact would reduce flesh and blood into fragmented data.

Shen Yan broke into a cold sweat, swiftly pulling out the talismans he carried with him, preparing to forcibly compile the 【Spatial Folding Protocol】. But the moment he activated them, dark red incantation script appeared on each piece of talisman paper, wriggling like living worms.

“A Tracking Curse?” His pupils contracted. “It was passively implanted when we entered? Who did this?”

Luo Li immediately shielded Yu Xiaotang behind her, sweeping her fox tail to form a barrier of demon power that barely withstood the suction force. “Now’s not the time to find the mole! Survive first!”

Just then, Yu Xiaotang suddenly rushed forward a step.

“Don’t stop me!” She tore open her collar, revealing an ancient, pale purple pattern beneath her collarbone, like vines entwining stars.

She bit her fingertip, letting blood drip onto the interface of Shen Yan’s phone.

Hum—!

The Source Code Spiritual Root instantly resonated. A purple light shield rose out of thin air, like an inverted bell, firmly protecting the four of them.

Even more bizarrely, that violent spatial suction force paused for an instant outside the light shield.

“My blood can interfere with the Tracking Curse!” Yu Xiaotang gasped for breath. “When I was little, my mother said… the royal bloodline of the Devil Clan… naturally counters Shadow Erosion techniques!”

Shen Yan froze for two seconds, then grinned. “Well, well, you’re not just an ordinary talisman second-gen, but a hidden boss?”

Ye Zhao’s eyes flickered slightly as she glanced at Yu Xiaotang. She didn’t speak, but her grip on her sword loosened a fraction.

The light shield could only last thirty breaths.

Outside, the Mystic Gate enforcement team had already sealed all exits. Blades were drawn, formations were taking shape—they were just waiting for them to show themselves.

“The ventilation duct to the east is the closest,” Luo Li whispered. “I can break through the iron grate.”

“No,” Ye Zhao shook her head. “That’s a dead end. Once trapped, there won’t even be a retreat.”

“Then go underground,” Yu Xiaotang suddenly said. “I know a drainage channel. I got lost there once as a child and remember the route.”

Shen Yan was taken aback. “Something from when you were three years old? Can we trust that?”

Yu Xiaotang glared at him. “My memory is better than your phone! Don’t believe me if you don’t want to!”

Shen Yan didn’t rush to respond. Instead, he pulled up the “Battlefield Memory Replay,” quickly searching for data segments from the amusement park battle in Chapter 102.

The image jumped, and he saw—

Back then, Yu Xiaotang accidentally touched a talisman, releasing a pink mist. Its trajectory… perfectly overlapped with the layout of the Underground Pipeline Network!

“Not a coincidence,” his eyes lit up. “Your memory hasn’t been tampered with.”

He decisively ordered, “We’ll trust her this once.”

Under the cover of the purple light shield, the four of them hurried along the stage background, pushing open a rusted maintenance door and rushing down a disused ladder.

The pipe was dark and damp, with years of accumulated sludge underfoot. The air was thick with the smell of decay.

As he ran, Shen Yan looked back and saw the light shield beginning to crack, purple patterns fracturing like glass.

“Five breaths left,” Yu Xiaotang gritted her teeth. “After that, I’m out of tricks.”

“Enough,” Shen Yan pulled out his phone, quickly writing a tracking-blocking program. “As long as we hold out until the turn, I can use the metal structure of the drainage pipe to create a signal interference formation.”

Ye Zhao walked at the rear, her sword still unsheathed, cold eyes scanning the darkness behind them.

Suddenly, her footsteps halted.

“Someone’s following.”

Shen Yan looked back and saw a blurry figure in the darkness clinging to the wall, moving swiftly without making a sound.

“Bai Guizhen’s true form?” Luo Li exclaimed in a low voice.

“Doesn’t seem like it,” Ye Zhao narrowed her eyes. “His presence is too faint, as if… he came specifically to deliver something.”

The figure stopped ten meters away, raised a hand, and tossed something.

A bronze gear landed at Shen Yan’s feet, its surface engraved with a line of small characters: “The code you wrote, she has been watching all along.”

Shen Yan picked up the gear. The moment his fingertip touched the engraved words, his phone suddenly vibrated.

The screen lit up automatically, displaying a notice:

“Anomaly detected in memory segment. Playback combat data from Chapter 102?”

(End of Chapter)