Chapter 141: The Final Choice Before the Bloody Dawn

Shen Yan’s knees still felt heavy, and the phone in his palm was as hot as a piece of red-hot iron. From the cracks in its casing, faint golden light strands seeped out, like code struggling in its death throes. He raised a hand to wipe his face, his fingertips stained with blood and dust, but his eyes remained fixed ahead—Xie Wujiu was dragging the unconscious emperor, step by step, toward the Temporal Rift that was tearing wider and wider.

The edges of the Rift churned with dark red mist, like a wound torn open in the sky, from which echoed a mix of low roars and the sound of a Children’s Rhyme. Half of Xie Wujiu’s face had already turned into a phantom, black energy coiling around his arm, yet he still sneered, “You can break the Barrier, but can you seal fate? The royal Bloodline makes the perfect Key to open the door!”

Before his words faded, he abruptly shoved the emperor toward the Rift!

“Pei Yue!” Shen Yan roared.

A flash of green shadow—Pei Yue moved even faster than the sound, rushing out as her hands traced seven silver threads in the air. Her Medicine Pouch exploded, countless herbal powders soaring upward, instantly coalescing into a shield shimmering with an eerie green glow. She bit the tip of her tongue, spitting a mouthful of vital blood onto the shield, which abruptly swelled, forcibly halting the emperor’s momentum by three inches!

“The fire of medicine and poison… ignite!”

In that instant, her entire body seemed to catch fire. Spiderweb-like crimson patterns surfaced on her skin, green flames climbing along her Meridians, dyeing the shield a ghastly jade color. She stood before the Rift, her silhouette frail, yet like a mountain.

“Pei Yue!” Yu Xiaotang screamed, trying to rush forward, but Luo Li’s tail wrapped around her waist, holding her back.

“Don’t go! Her cold Meridians have already severed their connection. Getting any closer will cause backlash and assimilation!”

Ye Zhao’s sword tip tapped the ground, the remnants of Frost Soul trembling with a hum. She stared at Pei Yue’s back, her throat moving slightly, but in the end, she said nothing. Instead, she stepped forward, one step at a time, Sword Qi spreading an icy path beneath her feet.

Shen Yan’s fingers trembled on the phone’s screen, the Interface displaying only one line: “Loading System Underlayer Protocol… 9%.”

Gritting his teeth, he pressed the phone against his chest and whispered, “Activate emergency Response Module, lock onto the four women’s Energy Signals—Ye Zhao, Sword Qi wavelength; Pei Yue, cold Meridian wavelength; Luo Li, Demon Power resonance; Yu Xiaotang, Talisman Pattern base frequency… synchronize and inject into the Buffer zone!”

The screen suddenly brightened, four faint points of light appearing and connecting into a circular array. A transparent Barrier unfolded before the Rift, slowing its expansion instantly.

“Cough…” Pei Yue spat a mouthful of black blood, her knees buckling as she nearly collapsed. Her hands still held firm, nails digging deep into the ground.

“Are you insane!” Shen Yan shouted at her. “Who told you to block it with your life!”

She glanced back at him, a faint smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “You said… the third ingredient in my prescription couldn’t be trusted.”

“But this time, I want to write a new ingredient myself.”

Shen Yan’s eyes burned, but he said nothing, lowering his head to continue typing code. Yet, as his fingers moved, Xie Wujiu suddenly burst into maniacal laughter, slamming a palm against his own chest. Black energy exploded—he had detonated the demon core within his body!

Boom—!

The entire palace’s foundation shook violently, the Rift expanding abruptly, the Buffer Barrier shattering with a crack. Yu Xiaotang flung her last thunder talisman, but it was deflected by the distorted Spacetime, exploding into the void. Luo Li spread all nine tails, her Demon Power Barrier barely holding before spiderweb cracks appeared. Ye Zhao’s Sword Qi chains shattered inch by inch, the force throwing her back several steps, a crisp snap echoing from her left arm.

“Hahaha! Every bond you’ve formed is a trap I laid for you!” Xie Wujiu’s Remnant Soul howled amidst the storm. “You think they can save you? This world should have long returned to chaos!”

Shen Yan knelt on one knee, his phone Screen flickering unsteadily before finally displaying the last line of Notice:

【Final Protocol Ready】

【Executing the Seal will permanently deactivate the Source Code Spiritual Root】

【The Host will return to a mortal body】

【Confirm?】

He stared at the words, his finger hovering above the confirm button, hesitating to press down.

Yu Xiaotang rushed over crying, clinging desperately to his arm. “Brother Shen, don’t! You promised to teach me how to write Talisman Array programs! You still haven’t treated me to Candied Hawthorn!”

Luo Li wrapped her tail around his waist, her voice trembling. “If you leave, who will fix my Firewall? Who will help me roast marshmallows?”

Ye Zhao stood silently in front of him, her broken sword held across her chest, her back turned to him, leaving only one sentence: “If you fall, I’ll fight to the end in your place.”

Shen Yan looked at them and suddenly smiled.

He remembered that rainy night when Ye Zhao scolded him for writing Code that looked like ghostly scribbles, yet personally helped him refactor the Loop Logic. He remembered Pei Yue feeding him medicine, her fingertips trembling slightly while she tried to appear calm. He remembered Luo Li secretly stuffing hand warmers into his backpack, saying it was to “prevent the Code from freezing.” He remembered Yu Xiaotang shoving the last stick of Candied Hawthorn into his pocket, smiling as she said, “A Programmer shouldn’t debug on an empty stomach.”

These messy Memories didn’t conform to any programming Logic at all, yet they somehow completed the verification Module in the System that had been constantly Error Reporting.

He took a deep breath and didn’t press confirm.

Instead, he typed a New Instruction on the Screen:

“Establish five-person shared Permission, bind Soul Contract, distribute storage of Source Code Spiritual Root.”

The System instantly popped up a Warning: 【This operation has no precedent. Success rate 0.7%. Risk of Data Collapse exists.】

He chuckled softly and whispered, “Then it’s still worth trying.”

His finger pressed down.

The phone exploded into a shower of light, and five beams of light rose from their bodies—Ye Zhao’s Sword Qi transformed into Silver Threads, Pei Yue’s medicinal fragrance condensed into green light, Luo Li’s Demonic Flame ignited into purple radiance, Yu Xiaotang’s Talisman Patterns drifted out as golden threads, and the golden stream of Source Code from Shen Yan’s heart slowly overflowed, intertwining with the four beams of light, weaving into a massive luminous net before the Rift.

Xie Wujiu’s Remnant Soul screamed in the storm, “You’re insane! This isn’t a Seal! This is handing fate over to others!”

“Exactly,” Shen Yan gazed at the light net, his voice soft. “That’s why I dared to press this button.”

The light net slowly advanced, the Rift began to contract, and the Demonic Energy was gradually forced back. The emperor floated in the air, steadily supported by Ye Zhao’s Sword Qi; Pei Yue lay unconscious in Luo Li’s arms, breathing weakly; Yu Xiaotang slumped to the ground, still clutching half a stick of Candied Hawthorn, tears streaming down her cheeks as she smiled.

Shen Yan stood at the forefront, his body beginning to fade, the light of his Source Code Spiritual Root slowly draining away. He knew what this meant.

But he had no regrets.

Just then, a faint whisper seemed to drift from a great distance at the center of the light net:

“My child… remember, true protection is not about controlling everything…”

It was his father’s voice.

Shen Yan closed his eyes, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

The five beams of light completely merged, and the light net pressed against the final inch of darkness within the Rift.

Xie Wujiu’s Remnant Soul dissipated in the wind, leaving only one final roar: “You… cannot change fate—”

The light net closed.

The Rift narrowed to a sliver.

Shen Yan opened his eyes, gazing at that final gap, and whispered:

“But I can—”

His fingers remained raised, the gesture frozen mid-air.

The light net trembled faintly.

From deep within the gap, a pitch-black hand slowly extended.

(End of Chapter)