Chapter 61: Prelude to the Poison-Testing Trap

Shen Yan was still holding Pei Yue when the screen of his phone flashed with an unread signal notification from the “Mother of Tribulation – Sub-Channel 03.” A cold wind carrying the scent of scorched earth swept past the edge of the square. Just as he was about to find a quiet place to deal with the residual processes in the background, a golden rune talisman descended from the sky, landing on his chest with a crisp sound that carried a transmitted message.

“Order from the Medicine Valley Elder Council: Proceed immediately to the poison-testing chamber to undergo compliance testing for the Source Code Spiritual Root.”

Pei Yue leaned against his shoulder and gently pinched his wrist. “Don’t go,” she whispered.

“Not going would be an admission of guilt,” he murmured, tucking his phone into his pocket, its casing still smoking. “They’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time.”

The two walked in silence through the Medicine Hut corridor. The poison-testing chamber was located three floors underground, its door forged from a single piece of dark iron that emitted a dull hum when pushed open. The walls inside were painted with cinnabar runes, with three hundred and sixty-five nodes forming a closed loop like a massive net suspended overhead. A faint, metallic scent hung in the air, reminiscent of aged blood mixed with rust.

Shen Yan could tell at a glance that something was off about this formation. On the surface, it followed the framework of the “Purification of Evil Ritual,” but an anomalous jump was embedded within its cyclic path—once the Source Code Spiritual Root was activated, the flow of spiritual energy would produce vibrations at a specific frequency, directly triggering a judgment of “Demonic Energy contamination.”

A classic case of entrapment.

Without showing any sign of alarm, he quietly retrieved his phone. As the lock screen lit up, the System immediately issued a warning:

【Specific Trigger Array Detected】

【Recommend Immediate Withdrawal】

Just as he was about to put the phone away, Xie Wujiu pushed the door open, holding a green jade bottle in his hands. The bottle was wrapped with three layers of Seal talismans, but his eyes held a mocking, theatrical glint.

“Young Master Shen, this is the ‘Heavenly Mechanism Lure,’ specially crafted to verify non-orthodox bloodlines,” he said leisurely. “It is non-toxic, but only those carrying foreign energy will trigger a visible reaction upon contact. If you are innocent, nothing will happen; if you harbor deceit… then do not blame Medicine Valley for showing no mercy.”

Shen Yan stared at the bottle, his mind rapidly running Code. This thing wasn’t poison at all—it was a bait Program designed specifically to trigger the underlying Response of the Source Code Spiritual Root. The moment he touched it, the formation would capture the signal, solidifying the charge of “collaboration with the Devil Clan.”

As he was calculating how to bypass physical contact, Pei Yue suddenly raised her hand and snatched the jade bottle.

“As the Saintess of Medicine Valley, I am well-versed in the properties of all herbs,” she said, her voice soft but each word clear. “It is within regulations for me to conduct the test on your behalf.”

Xie Wujiu was taken aback. “Are you insane? This is no ordinary test!”

“Then it is all the more reason for me to do it,” she replied, tilting her head back and pouring the liquid from the bottle directly into her mouth.

Shen Yan’s pupils contracted sharply. “Pei Yue!”

The moment the liquid touched her throat, a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of her lips, and her face visibly turned ashen. Yet she remained standing, offering Shen Yan a faint smile. “Now… proceed with the test.”

As her words fell, the cinnabar runes on the four walls simultaneously glowed with a dim crimson light, and the formation activated. Shen Yan’s phone vibrated frantically as the Terminal displayed a new Notice:

【High-Concentration Life-Threatening Signal Detected】

【Emergency Medical Protocol Activated】

Ignoring the need to conceal the System, he grabbed Pei Yue’s wrist, pressing his fingertips to her pulse. To his horror, he discovered that her Dark Jade Cold Pulse was spiraling out of control—her body temperature plummeting, and dark lines beginning to spread through her meridians.

“Are you out of your mind!” he shouted. “This isn’t something you can withstand!”

“I know what code you’re writing,” she gasped, blood still at the corner of her mouth. “You said… as long as someone believes, the program can run.”

Shen Yan’s throat tightened. He knew what she was referring to—the last time they broke the collective illusion, it was her who activated decompilation with a Blood Pact. This time, she was using her own life to buy him an “execution permission.”

Xie Wujiu stood on the high platform, watching the scene, a slow smile spreading across his lips. He raised his hand and recited an ancient Incantation Script. The red light of the cinnabar array grew brighter and brighter, like blood flowing across the wall.

“Source Code Spiritual Root, confirmed as contaminated by an aberrant strain,” he declared. “According to the rules, the Spiritual Root must be destroyed, and the individual expelled from the mountain sect.”

Shen Yan ignored him, his full attention fixed on the phone screen. The medical protocol listed a series of parameters, all negative indicators: irregular heart rate, blocked neural conduction, abnormal toxin diffusion speed… The conventional Poison Removal program couldn’t load in time.

But he noticed one thing—the molecular structure of the toxin was seventy percent similar to the soil from the Forbidden Land seal that the Medicine Boy had stepped on last night. In other words, this “Heavenly Mechanism Lure” wasn’t concocted on the spot; it was a trap laid long ago.

He abruptly looked up at Xie Wujiu. “Twenty years ago, your Cultivation Base was destroyed because you secretly practiced a Forbidden Technique, right? Now you’re using me as a scapegoat, trying to turn the entire Medicine Valley into your experimental ground?”

Xie Wujiu sneered. “Evidence? A dying woman’s last ramblings can convict me?”

“I don’t need to convict you,” Shen Yan gritted his teeth, fingers flying across the phone screen. “What I need is time.”

He opened the “Thermal Circulation” subprogram, an emergency plan he had written when rescuing Pei Yue from the cold pool last time. It could convert his own Spiritual Energy into constant-temperature Energy and transfer it to her. But now the problem was that the toxin had already invaded the Central Hub; simply raising the temperature wouldn’t work.

He had to reverse-engineer the toxin’s Code and Recompile the purification Logic.

But this required a massive amount of Mental Power, and he had just gone through a decompilation battle—his mind was still burning. Forcing it recklessly could lead to Qi Deviation at best, or an immediate cerebral hemorrhage at worst.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“Let’s do this.”

His fingertip slid across the screen as he manually activated the “Cross-Cultivation Technique API Interface,” preparing to call upon the residual Sword Qi left by Ye Zhao as external computational support. But just as the program was about to load, his phone suddenly froze.

【Warning: Master Control Permission remains as Observer】

【Unable to call High-Level functions】

Shen Yan’s heart sank.

So Xie Wujiu had already locked the System’s Permissions, waiting for this moment.

He looked down at Pei Yue. She had slid to the ground, leaning against the stone platform, her right hand hanging limp while her left hand was still slightly raised, as if trying to reach him. Her gaze was clear, carrying a stubborn tenderness.

“I’ve been listening… to all the code you write,” she whispered.

Shen Yan’s nose stung.

He suddenly remembered when he first awakened his Source Code Spiritual Root, always feeling like he was a bug, an anomaly that shouldn’t exist. But now, someone was willing to be poisoned just so he could keep running.

He pressed the phone against his forehead and softly recited a Command:

“Initiate Recursive Self-Check, strip restriction Module, consequences self-assumed.”

The System fell silent for a second before finally responding:

【Warning: This operation may cause mental collapse】

【Proceed?】

He glanced at Pei Yue, then at Xie Wujiu’s smug face.

“Proceed.”

The next instant, his mind felt as if pierced by steel needles, countless garbled characters rampaging through his nerves. He collapsed to his knees, fingers still gripping the phone tightly, the Code on the screen scrolling frantically, peeling away layers of Permission blocks one by one.

Xie Wujiu sensed something amiss and immediately intensified his incantation output. The cinnabar Formation’s red light surged violently, pressing straight toward Shen Yan’s head.

“Don’t waste your effort. You can’t even stand—what else can you do?”

Shen Yan didn’t speak.

He was waiting.

Waiting for that most primitive Protocol to emerge from the depths of his Memory.

Finally, a line of green Code flashed:

【Bidirectional Binding Request Detected】

【Source: Pei Yue】

【Accept?】

He grinned, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, and tremblingly tapped “Yes.”

In that instant, the remnants of the cold vein power within Pei Yue flowed backward along the link, resonating with his Source Code Spiritual Root. The phone screen erupted with a blinding green light—the Purification Program was finally unlocked.

“Did you think…” He pushed himself up from the ground, rising bit by bit, his voice hoarse as if grinding a blade, “…that you were the only one laying plans?”

“I’ve long hidden a Backdoor in every instance she helped me modify the Formation.”

Xie Wujiu’s expression changed.

Shen Yan raised the phone. On the screen, a brand-new Poison Removal Script was generating.

Meanwhile, Pei Yue leaned against the stone platform, her fingers finally brushing the hem of his robe, hooking it gently.

Shen Yan looked down at her. She smiled, her eyes shining like stars.

He was about to speak when he suddenly noticed the blood trickling from the corner of her mouth was slowly creeping toward a specific Node of the cinnabar Formation.

That spot originally read “Pollution Judgment.”

Now, stained by the blood, it had been altered to—“Trust Authentication.”

(End of Chapter)