Chapter 75: Secret Realm Finale: The Revelation of Data Interaction

When Shen Yan pulled his phone from his pocket, the screen still glowed with an eerie blue light, like the lingering coolness on the tip of the tongue after finishing a candied hawthorn. He stared at the small line of text for two seconds—【Detected high-level data fluctuations, source: Jade Slip in the Library Pavilion】—then turned and walked away, his steps crisp as if rushing to snatch the last coupon before a system popup window vanished.

Pei Yue followed, not speaking, just gently tugging at his sleeve. She clutched the Star-Shattering Token Imitation in her hand, the cold metal pressed against her palm, growing slightly warm.

“Are you really going?” she asked.

“Why not?” Shen Yan glanced down at his phone. “It’s practically sending me its resume. It’d be rude not to go for an interview.”

Deep within the Library Pavilion, it was so quiet you could hear the rustling of runes turning pages. The further they went, the heavier the air became, as if each step was drilling deeper into the database’s underlying layers. Shen Yan lightly tapped his finger in the empty air, summoning the Terminal Interface. A waterfall of black-background, green-text Code Flow cascaded down. Suddenly, the entire space trembled, and countless ancient runes materialized out of thin air, intertwining into a net that blocked their path.

【Warning: Detected recursive trap program, generating firewall… The target possesses self-evolving logic, suspected to be a living database.】

“Living?” Shen Yan raised an eyebrow. “Since when can jade slips write their own code?”

Before his words faded, the runes began automatically reorganizing, transforming into lines of reverse invasion commands that lunged straight for his Source Code Spiritual Root. A tingling sensation shot up his spine, and countless scrambled illusions flashed before his eyes—the iron gate of the orphanage from his childhood, the shattered windshield from the car accident, and a blurry figure humming a children’s rhyme…

He bit the tip of his tongue sharply, snapping back to clarity.

“Good thing that ‘Facial Immunity Attack Buff’ hasn’t expired yet,” he muttered, raising his hand to draw a circle in the air. “Initiate defense protocol, lock permissions, deny external access.”

The Code Flow shifted, automatically generating nine layers of encryption barriers that intercepted all the invading programs. Pei Yue stood half a step behind him, sensing his slightly strained breathing, and immediately pressed a hand against his back, channeling a cool stream of Spiritual Power into him.

“You’re pushing yourself again,” she said.

“That’s why I have you,” Shen Yan grinned, continuing to tap on the virtual keyboard. “Besides, I’m a programmer, aren’t I? My specialty is fixing things while on the verge of collapse.”

He called up the newly upgraded “Medical Art Programming 2.0,” applying the meridian topology model to data structure analysis. Sure enough, the jade slip’s encryption protocol wasn’t a traditional Cultivation formation but a highly compressed subroutine, its operating frequency perfectly synchronized with his Source Code Spiritual Root.

“Found it,” he whispered. “This isn’t recording information—it’s sealing a fragment of a Heavenly Dao subroutine. And… it recognizes me.”

With a tap of his fingertip, the decryption program initiated. Instantly, the entire Library Pavilion hummed and trembled. The jade slip rose on its own, floating mid-air, its surface covered in densely packed, flowing runes. Shen Yan’s Terminal suddenly exploded with a Star Map, a three-dimensional projection spreading out, clearly marking the coordinates of three Secret Realms.

One of them, labeled “Western Wastes·Demon Mark Gate,” glowed with a faint blue light.

【System Notice: Medical Art Programming Basics Mastered, unlocked new region permission—Demon Clan Secret Realm.】

At that very moment, the Star-Shattering Token Imitation suddenly grew scalding hot. Pei Yue let out a muffled groan, staggering backward. Shen Yan turned to see the command token and jade slip in her hand resonating, blue light surging out like a tide, instantly enveloping both of them.

“What’s happening?” He steadied her.

“It… is recognizing its master,” Pei Yue’s voice trembled slightly. “The bloodline link has been activated. I can feel it… that program is calling for you.”

Before Shen Yan could ask anything else, a low whisper suddenly echoed in his ear, as clear as if someone were murmuring right beside him:

“We shall merge into one.”

His entire body stiffened.

That was Ye Shi’er’s voice.

Not an illusion, not a memory playback, but a real-time transmitted data stream, directly interfacing with his terminal.

“Bro—ther.”

The last syllable was drawn out unnaturally long, carrying an eerie echo.

Shen Yan’s pupils contracted sharply. His fingers flew through the air, tapping rapidly as he tried to sever the signal source, but the code flow began to run wild, surging backward to wash over his consciousness sea. A splitting headache struck him, and countless fragmented images flashed before his eyes—blood-written texts, laboratory tables, twin infants, the Celestial Clan’s forbidden land…

“Don’t force it!” Pei Yue wrapped her arms around him, pressing her forehead against his temple. She unleashed the full power of her cold spiritual vein, channeling pure spiritual power like a gentle stream into his meridians, stabilizing his out-of-control source code spiritual root.

The blue light grew even more intense, nearly illuminating the entire core of the library pavilion. Gasping for breath, Shen Yan barely managed to hold onto his consciousness, his fingers still unconsciously tapping at invisible code, as if compiling one final protective program.

“Are you alright?” Pei Yue whispered.

“Not dead yet,” he rasped, his voice hoarse. “Just feeling a bit… nauseous. Calling your own brother without even saying hello, just jumping straight to merging—that’s way too socially awkward.”

Pei Yue didn’t laugh. Instead, she held him even tighter. “Aren’t you afraid? He could invade you right now, yet he only said that one sentence.”

“I am afraid,” Shen Yan replied with a bitter smile. “But what scares me more is… he might be right.”

The two fell silent for a moment. The star map still floated in the air, the blue light of the demon mark gate flickering steadily, like some kind of countdown.

“What do we do next?” Pei Yue asked.

“What else can we do?” Shen Yan took a deep breath, sat cross-legged, and closed his eyes. “Since the gate is open, we go in. I’ve already shown off—can’t back out now, can I?”

Pei Yue sat down beside him, placing her palm against his back, continuously channeling spiritual power. Her presence was gentle but unwavering.

Deep within the library pavilion, only the code flow rolled silently, casting light on their overlapping figures. The terminal interface quieted down, leaving only a single line of text flickering softly:

【Ready. Enter the Demon Clan’s secret realm?】

Shen Yan’s finger hovered over the confirmation key, hesitating.

Suddenly, the terminal vibrated again.

A new notice popped up:

【External observer detected. Tracing IP address… Target identity encrypted. Associated tag: Bai Guizhen.】

Shen Yan opened his eyes and let out a cold laugh. “Oh, can’t sit still anymore?”

Without hesitation, he pressed down firmly with his fingertip.

【Confirm entry.】

The blue light surged violently, the star map spun faster, and the coordinates of the demon mark gate began to twist and stretch, forming a gap of light leading into the unknown. Shen Yan’s body leaned forward slightly, as if already pulled by the gravitational force.

Pei Yue remained pressed tightly against him, her voice almost drowned out by the roar of energy. “Wait—”

“What?”

“If there’s… danger inside.”

“Then remember to pull me back.” He glanced back at her, his gaze earnest. “After all, you’re the only one who can keep my code from crashing.”

The rift of light fully formed, swallowing all sound and light. At the final moment, Shen Yan’s terminal popped up with a last notice:

【Medical Art Programming Basics Mastered. Next Destination: Demon Clan Secret Realm.】

His fingers still hovered in the empty air, as if still writing an unfinished program.

Pei Yue’s palm remained pressed against his back, unmoving.

The blue light had yet to fade.

(End of Chapter)