Chapter 147: Harvest and Hidden Dangers

I do not agree. To force Xiao Nan to yield his opportunity merely on the grounds of groundless suspicion is completely unacceptable. After fighting tooth and nail, he has finally reached the harvest season, and you, Surname Sun, are actually pulling this trick?

Su Yuqing slammed her hand on the table and beat against her chair, shouting with righteous indignation.

She was not pretending this time, because Sun Zhongli’s proposal was simply too outrageous.

And Zhang Yi—that detestable bearded man, what on earth was wrong with his mind? How could he possibly agree to such an absurd matter? Wasn't he afraid that when he returned home, his daughter would glare at him with cold, averted eyes and refuse to acknowledge him?

"Yuqing, don't be so unreasonable. Aren't we still discussing it?" Sun Zhongli bit back a bitter smile and explained after being yelled at like that. "Today's events have made it abundantly clear that the Li family is definitely not clean. Li Shaohua even resorted to the Primal Spirit Visualization Technique and managed to condense battle qi...

"Rome wasn't built in a day. If anyone tells me the Li family is hiding nothing unsavory, I refuse to believe it, no matter what. Opening the Hollow Crystal Chamber right now—if they spot an opportunity, the situation will become impossible to salvage. After all, nobody knows what kind of hidden cards the Li family still holds."

The sudden appearance of the evil god's primal spirit today had inevitably filled Sun Zhongli with worry.

Was this merely Li Shaohua's individual action, or was it the intention of the entire Li family?

Could it be that they had already been completely barbarized and had all practiced the Primal Spirit Visualization Technique?

If so, that would be ominous indeed.

The methods of deities are always the same old trinity: either lurking and causing chaos, secretly confounding human hearts, or casting down honeyed temptations to make people drool.

Everyone present knew that the Primal Spirit Visualization Technique was, in truth, a good thing.

If one could eliminate the hidden influence of divine power within it and wasn't afraid of altering one's core nature... this technique possessed formidable power alongside various wondrous uses. It was indeed a treasured path leading to the higher realms—at least within the otherworldly dimension.

As long as those elite barbarians were diligent in their duties and performed meritorious deeds, they would be granted the Primal Spirit Visualization Technique through divine enlightenment. Once practiced, their souls and physiques would be vastly enhanced... their lifespans greatly extended, and their strength would advance in leaps and bounds.

However, for humans of this world, it was not quite so useful. Unawares, one would grow partial to the barbarians and begin considering things entirely from the perspective of the barbarian gods, just as if one had been brainwashed.

Thus originated the Beast God Cult.

This cult pervaded the four seas and countries across the globe. In truth, its devout followers included very few actual barbarians; the vast majority were human beings who held prominent positions in society.

Before their identities were exposed, these individuals all appeared to be legendary heroes and great gallants—statesmen, high-ranking officials, wealthy magnates, and affluent tycoons.

One could hardly blame certain people for failing to resist the temptation.

As the poem goes:
*The flowing waters of youth vanish and return no more,
Vainly grieving the fading grace beneath the trees.
Beauties, since ancient times, are like renowned generals,
Allowing no one in the world to witness their hair turn white.*

Mortals, after all, are afraid of death.

They fear death not merely out of cowardice, but because sometimes they feel they have not yet enjoyed enough, and cannot bear to leave behind such picturesque landscapes and poetic romantic entanglements.

Watching the days slip by one by one while their own cultivation realm remained awkward and stagnant, failing to reach the higher realms that could extend their lifespan...

What else could you expect them to do?

They could only seek a shortcut through unconventional paths.

In secret, they would act as guides and guides of surrender, devotedly attaching themselves to the Beast God, in the hope that under the divine throne, a seat might be reserved for them...

Of course, clear-minded individuals were not entirely lacking.

Some merely regarded the Primal Spirit Visualization Technique as a tool, believing they could obtain what they needed without having to surrender their entirety. They thought that bargaining with a tiger was not terrifying, for they could eventually slay the tiger and feast on its meat.

Such individuals were not few in number.

Yet regardless of initial intentions, all would eventually slide toward an unknown abyss.

Not a single soul was ever spared.

This could only be described as a grand tragedy.

Even with such warnings fresh in the past, successors followed in endless succession... Wave after wave of people, once driven to despair by their own thoughts, stepped onto that path of no return, transforming into delicious sustenance for the evil gods.

They simply could not resist.

Then again, faced with the prospect of eternal youth and boundless longevity, how many people in this world could resist the temptation?

Consequently, this posed a baffling conundrum.

Would that father and son run into trouble? Would they make a move? When would they strike?

Try as one might, it remained entirely incomprehensible.

As for finding tangible evidence, none would ever exist.

Hearing Sun Zhongli speak thus, although Su Yuqing felt there was some sense to it, this was still insufficient reason to delay Xiao Nan's entry into the Hollow Crystal Chamber.

A brief delay might sound harmless, but it would mean waiting until next year.

That would be squandering a golden opportunity.

If that young man were to learn of this, he would undoubtedly be deeply disappointed.

Putting on the stubborn expression of a hardened rogue, she let out a cold snort and said, "Stop tossing my name around blindly. Sun Zhongli, I'll say it straight: this proposal is absolutely unfeasible. Even if the passage to the Hollow Crystal Chamber is exposed, it may not necessarily be a bad thing. Just think it over and you'll understand."

Her words were not wrong; they could hardly halt all action on account of this single concern. No matter the situation, Su Yuqing understood only one principle: face things actively, never passively evade them.

Given the endless tricks up the Li family's sleeves, who could say when they might manage to open the Hollow Crystal Chamber by themselves? Did they really think everyone in Yuanjiang No. 1 High School was forged from a single, unbroken sheet of iron?

Had the affair of Lin Anguo already been forgotten?

Tang Zhixuan had remained silent on the side until now, but at this moment, she finally spoke up: "Aunt Su's perspective is excellent. There is only the thousand-day thief, never the thousand-day defense against thieves. If we wish to resolve this problem once and for all, in my view, it is better to draw the snake out of its hole."

The others all snapped their heads around to look at her, thinking to themselves that she truly lived up to her reputation as a top student from a prestigious university. Such daring completely overshadowed them all.

Without even knowing the enemy's strength, purpose, or methods, she dared to propose a plan to lure the snake out of its hole? Wasn't she afraid that this snake would prove too fierce and ferocious, swallowing her whole in a single gulp?

While secretly marveling, Sun Zhongli felt a stir in his heart... He turned to look at Su Yuqing and Zhang Yi, and seeing thoughtful expressions on both their faces, he grew even more convinced that this plan was viable.

The situation was actually quite clear.

If the father and son of the Li family truly harbored pro-barbarian leanings and had all practiced the Primal Spirit Visualization Technique, then regardless of whether they could still exercise self-restraint, it remained an unacceptable security risk.

Within the borders of Yuanjiang Prefecture, if there was any faction capable of shielding fierce barbarians and sneaking them into the city while sealing off the news, the single most probable candidate—the sole candidate—was the Li family.

Only they possessed the necessary conditions.

With Li Shaoyun, a high-ranking official of the base, personally leading the fierce barbarians through the passage and smuggling them into Yuanjiang, coupled with the Li family's influence in Yuanjiang Prefecture to help these barbarians conceal their traces, everything fell into place logically.

The next day, when Xiao Nan received Tang Zhixuan's phone call, he was locked in a fierce struggle with himself.

Correction: he was struggling against the divinity residing within his soul and body.

The radiance of divinity harvested this time was unexpectedly immense—more than three times greater than the sum of all his previous acquisitions.

Naturally, every gain came with a loss. Although the harvest was bountiful, it was not without hidden perils.

This cluster of divinity proved far more recalcitrant than any he had encountered or obtained before. After the bronze mirror space drew in the divine radiance, it could still cunningly conceal its true intent. It waited merely for Xiao Nan to lower his guard before manifesting a strange illusion to imperceptibly influence his mind.

"I haven't even visualized the divine power imagery within my soul; how could it activate on its own? Could it be that I have no choice but to abandon this massive piece of fat and completely excise the newly acquired divine radiance?"

To do that was something Xiao Nan truly found hard to bear.

Having pondered for an entire night without stumbling upon a solution, he received the call informing him that he was to enter the Hollow Crystal Chamber for cultivation.

"How swift. This suits my desires perfectly."

History had proven that many problems remained unresolved simply because one's strength was insufficient and one's perspective was too narrow. Since idle fretting was useless, it was better to shelve the issue for now.

Once he had visited the Hollow Crystal Chamber, perhaps a flash of inspiration would strike, revealing a more fitting resolution.

Since he had reaped this cluster of divinity, he was bound to transform it into his own strength.