Chapter 1776: The Addictive Trap
The moment Ming Qi spoke, the flicker of hope in the hearts of Ming Yu and Li Yan was instantly extinguished. They would have infinitely preferred it to be a mere illusion, for that was something they felt they had the best chance—and currently the only certain grasp—of overcoming.
“In this onslaught, the stalks of straw that are fired can actually return to their original bodies. This leaves us no room for trickery,” Ming Qi mused, her brow furrowed as she spoke in a low murmur. “In other words, regardless of whether those scarecrows are puppets or not, their attacks are likely inexhaustible. Only by continuously destroying that straw could we potentially stop them, but even if that were possible, how could we ever achieve it?”
She considered the situation deeply. She had initially suspected the scarecrows were akin to puppets. The source controlling them would either be a remnant of the owner’s consciousness residing within or a mechanism fueled by spirit stones.
With such a devastating barrage, a few exchanges should have exhausted their spirit stones and left the scarecrows as nothing more than bare wooden stakes. But it seemed the creator of this trap had anticipated this. Since the straw could be retrieved, it was unlikely the driving spirit stones could be easily depleted. It was highly probable that the scarecrows contained spirit-gathering formations. If that were the case, trying to outlast them would only lead to despair.
“Three breaths after the scarecrow appears, the attack begins!” Li Yan looked toward the rear, his gaze seemingly piercing through the row of houses to see the phantom figure. Before the sisters could react, he continued, “Could we interpret its question not as an interrogation, but as a genuine inquiry? If we answer correctly within those three breaths, will the attack still trigger?”
Li Yan had been obsessively pondering the conditions for triggering the restriction. He noticed a three-breath interval after the question, during which no attack occurred.
“Senior means to say the reason it doesn’t attack immediately is that it is waiting for an answer?” Ming Yu’s beautiful eyes brightened. When Li Yan put it that way, the question truly felt less like a confrontation. If so, their hope of breaking the trap increased significantly.
“But how should we answer? Will any answer do, or must it be something that satisfies the owner?” Ming Qi’s thoughts spun rapidly.
“The solution is simple: we test it again!” Li Yan, in his guise as the grey-robed elder, spoke with a deep, somber gaze. “Moreover, we only tried once; we cannot yet confirm if the attacks are truly consistent or if they vary between reality and illusion. We need multiple trials!”
A few breaths later, Ming Yu once again flew toward the rear courtyard. This time, Li Yan did not interfere. Ming Yu did not walk; she flew directly toward the wall. However, just as she reached it, the voice rang out.
“Why have you come here?”
The air blurred before her, and a scarecrow blocked her path, perched atop the wall.
“We merely entered this place by accident!” Ming Yu answered earnestly.
But the moment her words fell, there was no delay. That heart-palpitating sense of impending doom instantly descended upon her Sea of Consciousness. Fortunately, Ming Yu had already circulated her magical power to its peak, ready to retreat at a moment’s notice.
Whish! Whish! Whish!
Ming Yu flickered back to the corner of the house. She hadn’t even seen the other scarecrows appear before she sensed the crisis.
Rumble…
A series of earth-shattering booms followed, and the entire courtyard shook violently again. Standing at the western side of the house, the trio remained much calmer this time. They did not retreat further, allowing the world-destroying power to wash over the area without reaching them. As Ming Yu’s figure vanished from the trigger zone, the explosions quickly weakened and disappeared.
“The attack launched within a single breath of the answer,” Ming Yu said, her red lips parting slightly as she licked her dry lips. This time, the reaction was too fast. Her movement was inadvertently seductive, but Li Yan’s mind was entirely elsewhere.
“And it isn’t just about the moon gate,” Ming Qi noted. “Even trying to climb the wall is forbidden. Should we try the walls in the other three directions?”
Half an hour later, the three gathered once more on the western stone path, their eyes returning to the rear courtyard. They had tested the other three directions; they couldn’t even stand on those walls before being repelled by a powerful force. While approaching the walls caused no issues, the terrifying sense of danger emanating from beyond those three directions meant they didn’t dare attempt to break through.
“The design intent is clear,” Li Yan shook his head. “Only the rear courtyard offers an exit. If we try to leave from the other three directions, there might not be a single chance of survival!”
“Then Ming Yu’s previous answer must have been incorrect, causing the immediate attack. I will go this time!” Ming Qi declared.
“Why have you come here?” “We were teleported here!” Whish! Whish! Whish! Boom! Rumble!
“Why have you come here?” “We were invited by the master of this place!” Whish! Whish! Whish! Boom! Rumble!
“Why have you come here?” “To see the scenery of this realm!” Whish! Whish! Whish! Boom! Rumble!
“Why have you come here?” “To find a way out of this courtyard, of course!” Whish! Whish! Whish! Boom! Rumble!
“Why have you come here?” “Seeking treasures!” Whish! Whish! Whish! Boom! Rumble!
“Why have you come here?” “I am a disciple of the sect!” Whish! Whish! Whish! Boom! Rumble!
“Why have you come here?” “To kill you!” Whish! Whish! Whish! Boom! Rumble!
“Why have you come here?” “Then why are you here?” Whish! Whish! Whish! Boom! Rumble!
“Why have you come here?” “I am of the Undead Nether Phoenix clan!” Whish! Whish! Whish! Boom! Rumble!
“Why have you come here?” “What is this place?” Whish! Whish! Whish! Boom! Rumble!
…
As time flew by, night fell. There were no stars or moon in the sky above this place, leaving the courtyard in total darkness. However, the frequent bursts of yellow light in the rear and the violent tremors made the courtyard feel like a small boat in a storm. Tossed about on a vast ocean by relentless winds and rain, only that last flicker of light on the boat indicated it was still struggling to survive.
Since the afternoon, they had answered countless times. Li Yan took his turns as well, and they offered every possible answer they could imagine. Politeness, coldness, directness, hostility, counter-questions, and formalities…
No matter the approach, the result was always the same: a storm of relentless attacks.
The second day was the same. The third day was the same.
Standing at the western corner, they watched the sun rise in the east once more. Even though they were powerful cultivators, their heads throbbed with a piercing ache. For over an hour, they hadn’t approached the gate again. Since the previous night, their answers had become increasingly nonsensical, and they were utterly exhausted.
“Why have you come here?” “Have you eaten yet?” Whish! Boom!
“Why have you come here?” “Aren’t you tired?” Whish! Boom!
“Why have you come here?” “It’s already dark!” Whish! Boom!
Back and forth it went, yet regardless of their response, they were met with wave after wave of attacks.
“Is this the sight the trap’s creator most wanted to see? This is what it means to be tortured alive…” Ming Qi’s beautiful eyes had lost their luster. she felt physically and mentally drained, her hope crushed time and time again.
Not only did they have to constantly rack their brains, but they also had to consume their Divine Sense and magical power. For anyone, this would cause the heart to slowly fall into shadow.
Li Yan stood by the western stone path, his brow still furrowed. Ming Qi was right—it had only been three days! The master of this trap was truly insidious; they didn’t completely seal off hope, allowing you to harbor infinite expectations at every moment. This made anyone feel that the very next moment, they would get it right and find their way out.
This led to an addiction to answering the question. Hope rose amidst disappointment, followed by a period of numbness. Li Yan knew the three of them were obsessed; once they passed this numb phase, they would endlessly go back to answering the question. How could anyone focus on cultivation? After all, if they answered correctly, they could leave this gods-forsaken place in the next breath. It was always better than trying to cultivate to a higher realm just to break out.
Li Yan’s Sea of Consciousness throbbed with a series of sharp pains. This was the result of the constant drain on his mental energy—a drain that was invisible and strangely addictive.
“I think this might just be a game of mockery,” Ming Yu said, shaking her dizzy head. She felt the original master of this place was truly too evil. Even if she suspected this place was related to that ancient Undead Nether Phoenix, her heart was beginning to lose its respect for the ancestor.
“Force yourselves to rest. We truly might need to look elsewhere for an exit. Perhaps the rear courtyard exit is just an illusion!” After saying this, Li Yan turned and walked away, refusing to look back at the moon gate, as if it possessed an infinite magnetic pull. If he looked even once more, he would fall back into the trap.
Li Yan quickly chose a room and set up a formation. He forced himself to banish that question from his mind, struggling to stop thinking about how to get out. Otherwise, it truly was too addictive. Whenever his mind went empty, his consciousness would instinctively drift back to that question, wondering how he should answer that damned scarecrow.
Sensing the elder’s words filling her mind, Ming Qi slowly regained her clarity. He was powerful and had managed to wake up early. Yet, even with his warning, Ming Qi stood in place for several dozen breaths before she fully grasped his meaning.
He was right. If they continued like this, their minds wouldn’t last much longer. They might collapse within days.
Only a day later, Li Yan was forced to emerge. Even though his room was shielded by a formation, the thunderous booms echoing through the courtyard woke him from his meditation. He swept his Divine Sense out and realized, helplessly, that one of the sisters was carefully investigating the other rooms, while the other was still going to the rear courtyard from time to time to answer the scarecrow’s question.
‘Sigh! Another damned day!’ Li Yan complained in his heart, though he could only sigh. The sisters’ willpower was still significantly weaker than his, especially Ming Yu’s.
It had taken him a long time yesterday to finally enter a state of cultivation. The question had been answered so many times that his mind was saturated with it; even after he forcibly banished the thought, the scarecrow’s voice seemed to echo in his consciousness.
Li Yan left his room. He didn’t go to the other rooms; instead, amidst the constant tremors, he flew directly toward the southern wall. He decided to stay away from the rear courtyard for now and check other areas. Perhaps there would be a new discovery, or at the very least, his Sea of Consciousness could rest.
At the southern wall, the bamboo branches that had previously obscured the stone path had mostly disappeared, revealing the path and a portion of the wall behind it.
‘They’ve already checked here,’ Li Yan thought. His suggestion had given the sisters hope, but they had found no clues. Still, he had to check it himself. Aside from this spot, he would check all the rooms, the other parts of the rear courtyard, the eastern and western walls, and even the air. He planned to investigate every detail. Perhaps his reasoning was correct.
‘What exactly have we overlooked?’ Li Yan stared at the fine cracks in the wall and the mottled traces of time. His Divine Sense swept over them slowly, bit by bit.
Meanwhile, the explosions from the rear had stopped again. The courtyard ceased its trembling and fell back into silence. Ming Yu returned to the western wall, her Divine Sense sweeping toward Li Yan. She sensed him leaving his room but quickly lowered her head again, falling back into deep thought.
Li Yan didn’t ask her anything. He stayed where he was, investigating the wall inch by inch, while using his magical power to completely clear the row of green bamboo. This allowed him to walk slowly along the wall and observe it carefully with his own eyes. Occasionally, he would stop, pressing his palm against the wall to slowly channel magical power, or even pressing his ear to the stone to listen intently.
The sensation from beyond the southern wall made him feel as if an endless darkness lay on the other side, even in the bright sunlight. That darkness seemed capable of swallowing everything, reminding him of the boundless black shadows that rose behind each trial in the Wheel of Life and Death years ago—a force that left one powerless to resist.
It was nothing like the view through the moon gate to the north, where one could see the scenery outside. It felt as if stepping through that gate truly meant entering another world.