Chapter 181: The Secret of the Puppet Pool

Shen Yan’s finger remained pressed against his phone screen, the cracked display emitting a faint green glow. He stared at the blue light seeping through the crack in the stone wall, his throat dry. That wave of puppets just now was merely a probe—the real threat lay underground.

“Let’s go,” he gritted his teeth and straightened up. “The main control node is down there.”

Ye Zhao took the lead, her sword tip lightly tapping the ground with each step as steady as a rock. Pei Yue followed closely behind, her medicine pouch swaying slightly, three silver needles pinched between her fingertips. Luo Li’s tail hung low, her purple-red hair covering half her face, her ears twitching faintly. Yu Xiaotang stuffed the last candied hawthorn stick into her cosmic bag, both hands already reaching for talisman paper.

The five of them squeezed through the crack into a narrow passage. The air was damp and cold, and beneath their feet were metal stairs, each step engraved with twisted runes. Shen Yan’s phone vibrated incessantly, the warning message 【Warning: Detected high-density soul encoding】 popping up repeatedly.

At the end of the stairs was an iron door, rusted yet emitting a strange energy fluctuation. Just as Yu Xiaotang was about to attach a talisman, the door swung open on its own.

A wave of heat rushed toward them.

The cavern was unnaturally vast, as if not formed naturally. At its center was a bottomless pool, its liquid pitch-black like ink, bubbling and churning. With each bubble that burst, a pained human face would emerge, only to be dragged back into the depths.

“Is that… a soul?” Pei Yue’s voice trembled.

Shen Yan activated the scanning program, the terminal interface scrolling frantically with code. A few seconds later, a conclusion appeared: 【Confirmed: This is a compressed soul encoding liquid storage pool. Data source—extracted from living beings】.

“Holy shit,” Yu Xiaotang gasped. “Isn’t this a human-flesh server?”

“Don’t get close,” Shen Yan whispered. “This pool has consciousness.”

Before he finished speaking, the pool’s surface churned violently. A dark shadow shot into the air—chains pieced together from countless tiny runes—wrapping around Shen Yan’s wrists and ankles like lightning, instantly lifting him and suspending him above the pool!

“Brother!” Yu Xiaotang lunged forward.

Ye Zhao drew her sword and slashed. The blade struck the chains, sparks flying, yet the chains remained unscathed, without even a scratch.

“Again!” she roared, Sword Qi condensing into a frost blade sweeping horizontally.

Clang!

A small chip appeared on the sword. Ye Zhao’s pupils contracted.

“Something’s wrong,” she panted. “This isn’t physical.”

Suspended in mid-air, Shen Yan’s limbs were stiff, his spiritual energy completely suppressed. He felt as if his meridians were filled with cement, making it difficult to move even a finger. His Source Code Spiritual Root violently shook in his chest, as if about to explode.

“System… load protection script…” he silently chanted in his mind.

His phone screen suddenly began to smoke, but it was still running. The terminal popped up a notice: 【Warning: Detected high-dimensional compilation protocol. Conventional defenses are ineffective】.

“High-dimensional compilation?” Shen Yan’s mind buzzed.

He suddenly understood. This wasn’t a formation or a magical artifact. This was sealing code directly written into the Heavenly Dao Rules. Ordinary attacks couldn’t break it because its very existence was “defined” as indestructible.

“Since you’re code…” he bit the tip of his tongue, forcing himself to stay alert, “then let me decompile you!”

He abruptly pressed his phone against the surface of the chains.

In that instant, the terminal interface in his mind automatically popped up, black background with green text scrolling frantically. A new instruction slowly appeared:

【Reverse Decompilation Divine Skill · Primary Level】 Unlock countdown: 00:00:03…

“Shen Yan!” Ye Zhao shouted, looking up. “Hold on!”

She swung her sword again, not to strike the chains, but to carve a Data Flow Trajectory in the air with her Sword Qi. This was the coordinated pattern they had practiced before—using Sword Intent to simulate Signal Interference.

As the Sword Qi touched the chains, the runes on their surface flickered slightly, seeming to experience a momentary Latency.

“It’s working!” Yu Xiaotang reacted fastest, immediately pulling out Talisman Paper and writing swiftly. “I’ll add a Buffer Layer!”

She flung out a talisman, attaching it to the path of Ye Zhao’s Sword Qi. The Talisman Paper burned, spreading a yellow glow that formed a brief Data Barrier.

Pei Yue seized the opportunity to throw silver needles, three of them precisely piercing the joints of the chains. The needle tails emitted a faint green glow—that was her specially crafted “Meridian-Breaking Agent,” designed specifically to disrupt Spiritual Power Circulation.

Luo Li formed a seal with her hands, a ball of purple flame spraying from her palms. The flame didn’t directly burn the chains but circled around Shen Yan, forming a protective ring to prevent him from being dragged into the pool.

“Almost there…” Shen Yan’s forehead veins bulged, his phone so hot he could barely hold it.

The Countdown reached zero.

【Reverse Decompilation Divine Skill · Primary Level】 activated.

A strange perception flooded his mind. Shen Yan seemed able to see the Code Structure inside the chains—densely packed black characters forming Closed-Loop Functions, constantly Self-Repairing.

“Found it,” he growled. “The Core Logic is in the seventh layer of Nesting!”

He closed his eyes, concentrating his Mental Power, and began manually rewriting the Code.

Delete the Redundant Verification Module.

Replace the Identity Authentication Parameters.

Inject an Infinite Loop Vulnerability.

The chains suddenly trembled violently, their surface runes beginning to flash chaotically.

“They’re about to break!” Yu Xiaotang exclaimed excitedly.

Crack!

A crisp sound rang out, and one chain snapped. Shen Yan’s body sank, nearly falling.

But the remaining chains immediately tightened, hoisting him back up.

“No… not yet,” Shen Yan gasped for breath. “This is only Primary Level Decompilation, it can only disrupt local Logic.”

Ye Zhao flew forward, grabbing his arm. “Don’t let go!”

Her palm was cold but exceptionally strong. Their fingers tightly locked together, Sword Qi flowing through Shen Yan’s Meridians, helping stabilize his mind.

“Do you remember what happened in Chapter 161?” Ye Zhao suddenly asked.

Shen Yan froze.

“You said we are your entire running environment,” her voice was soft but exceptionally clear amidst the noisy cave. “Now, it’s our turn to protect you.”

Shen Yan felt a pang in his nose.

He didn’t speak, just pressed his phone against the chains again.

“Once more.”

This time, he no longer attacked alone. He called up the underlying Interface of Cooperative Protocol v2.0, connecting the Spiritual Power Frequency of the four women into the Decompilation Program.

Ye Zhao’s Sword Qi transformed into a Clearance Command.

Pei Yue’s medicinal power became a Data Cleaning Agent.

Luo Li’s Demonic Fire turned into Debugging Flame.

Yu Xiaotang’s Talisman Spell served as a Temporary Patch.

Five forces converged into the Source Code Spiritual Root.

The Terminal Interface suddenly expanded, covering his entire vision.

【Warning: Multithreading Overload, Mental Power nearing depletion】

Shen Yan ignored it, continuing to input Commands.

“I’m going to modify Heavenly Dao.exe today!”

Code surged like a torrent. The runes on the chains extinguished one after another.

Suddenly, Luo Li exclaimed, “Wait! That segment of Code… contains fragments of Ancient Demon Clan Language!”

Everyone paused.

Within the fragments of the broken chains, ancient text emerged, crooked and twisted, as if forcibly carved into them.

“This isn’t a modern rune,” Luo Li stared intently. “This is the forbidden technique my mother used to end her own life… How could it be here?”

The atmosphere instantly froze.

Shen Yan’s heart jolted. He recalled what Ye Shi’er had said before dying—”Brother, this time I’ve fixed the bug for you.”

Could it be that these Puppet Pools weren’t created by the enemy at all?

But rather… left behind by their own people?

“No time to think,” Pei Yue suddenly pressed a hand to her chest. “My medicine is about to wear off.”

Yu Xiaotang’s runes were also beginning to blacken and curl at the edges. Ye Zhao’s Sword Qi was noticeably weakening. Luo Li’s Demonic Fire flickered unsteadily, on the verge of extinguishing.

Shen Yan knew he had to make a decision.

He took a deep breath and entered the final command into the terminal:

【Execute: Forced Override Protocol】

【Target: Puppet Pool Master Control Logic】

【Cost: Mental Power Reset】

The Enter key was pressed.

In that instant, all the chains simultaneously shattered. Shen Yan crashed heavily to the ground, his phone flying from his hand, its screen completely shattered.

He lay sprawled on the floor, convulsing, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

“Shen Yan!” the four women cried out in unison.

Ye Zhao was the first to rush over and help him up. Pei Yue immediately checked his pulse. Yu Xiaotang cradled his head, repeatedly calling his name. Luo Li kept her eyes fixed on the Puppet Pool, fearing something else might burst out.

The cave fell into brief silence.

Only the liquid in the pool continued to churn, but much slower now. The human faces no longer struggled, as if they had fallen into a deep sleep.

Shen Yan struggled to lift his head and looked toward the bottom of the pool.

There, it seemed, was a door.

(End of Chapter)