Binding Threads

At that very instant, Du Chen felt himself teetering on the brink of despair. Yet, he had never been one to passively await death in dire straits. A torrent of intricate thoughts surged through his mind in an instant.

Master Grape had said that the first four trigrams were essentially for cleansing himself of eons of sin, followed by overcoming his Heart-Demon Tribulation to comprehend the Grand Dao. After reclaiming the Arcane Artifacts of the Fourth Trigram, he had truly embarked on the path of cultivation, and the cultivation of the subsequent four lotus blossoms was… the Lotus Benevolent Dharma Art!

One could say that after activating the sixteen lotus blossoms of the first four trigrams, the Fifth Trigram, composed of five lotus blossoms, truly marked a new beginning!

If Master Grape’s past obstacles were meant for Du Chen to repay his sins from previous lives, then from this moment forward, he was truly Master Grape’s inner disciple. If something was amiss, Master Grape should have given a hint; he wouldn’t just betray his disciple without warning!

Du Chen racked his brain in confusion. Then, a flash of insight. His Divine Sense quickly reached out to Dus, but for some reason, Dus remained unresponsive. Had something happened in Emerald City?

There was no time to ponder Emerald City’s affairs. Du Chen channeled his entire Divine Sense, searching every corner of his being. “Damn it, brothers of the Fifth Trigram, show yourselves!”

Around him, there were only Dragonfinch’s flames and layers of soft clouds. Where were the Lotus Sacred Artifacts?

Wait! Clouds?

Du Chen’s heart pounded wildly as a realization struck him.

Snoopy also noticed something strange. “Grandson, these clouds around here are quite formidable! This grandpa, for the first time in his life, sees clouds that can maintain their form amidst Level Twelve flames…”

Could it be…

Du Chen’s Divine Sense surged, his Primordial Spirit Power, inner strength, battle qi… everything diffused and penetrated the swirling clouds… Bingo! That sensation of perfect fusion, of being intimately one, told him: ‘Hey, stop searching like an idiot! Your brother here is the Arcane Artifact of the Fifth Trigram!’

Damn it! Considering the speed of our Senior Brother’s cloud, this one couldn’t be slow either! Amidst the scorching flames, Du Chen suddenly burst into wild laughter. “Dragonfinch, you dumb bird, I’m done playing with you!”

Dragonfinch was stunned. *Francis, even at death’s door, still has the spirit to insult me? Something’s amiss!* She abruptly intensified the flames.

But a wisp of something like green smoke flashed past, so swift that Dragonfinch’s eyes couldn’t even track it. She hastily activated her Innate Racial Power of perception, only to see Du Chen, standing atop a green cloud, vanishing without a trace!

“Damn it! I refuse to believe you’re faster than me!”

Dragonfinch roared in fury, flapping her wings and giving chase once more. But… she watched helplessly as Du Chen soared farther and farther away. Unwilling to give up, Dragonfinch spat out a ball of fire – her last-ditch effort! But after eating a few mouthfuls of the green cloud’s ‘exhaust fumes,’ this fiery projectile also lost its target!

Dragonfinch continued for a short distance before sagging to a halt. “I… I can’t even see his silhouette anymore…”

Sword Slave arrived a moment later, staring blankly at the empty sky and the rapidly receding green cloud speck on the horizon. “What… what is that? Can my goddess Margaret catch him?”

Dragonfinch shook her head, stunned. “I… I don’t know… Sword Slave, with that thing protecting Francis, how are we supposed to catch him now!”

Sword Slave pondered. “Hmph! Francis might be fast, but doesn’t he still have children and family? I refuse to believe he can carry all of Durkes City with him… Dragonfinch, look!” She suddenly pointed at the sky.

Beneath the scorching sun, in the direction Du Chen had fled, several thin strands of water had appeared without warning!

“The Water's Embrace Sword!?”

“Hahaha! *Cough cough*!”

Having narrowly escaped death, Du Chen’s wild laughter suddenly turned into a violent coughing fit. His internal organs were still severely injured! Glancing back to confirm no one was pursuing him, Du Chen flopped onto the green cloud with a *thud*.

Snoopy, now that the danger had passed, relaxed and couldn’t get up either, but his mouth still blurted out excitedly, “This grandpa has never flown so fast in his life! Damn it, Francis, you’re almost as quick as the Fiendkind’s top scout — the Winged Elf Battle Squad!”

Du Chen tried to wave his hand, but his arm, barely lifted, fell limply back down. “Don’t talk yet, I need to check something!”

He wasn’t checking his own body, but thoroughly examining the Lotus Sacred Artifacts – after all, with the Water Veil Shield by his side, Du Chen was confident he could recover swiftly as long as he wasn't killed outright!

Indeed, the Merit from “Miki’s Restoration” had arrived. However, of the five lotus blossoms comprising the Fifth Trigram, only three and a half had bloomed. Thus, only three Arcane Artifacts were available for use, but Du Chen could accept this outcome – thinking it over, while this Great Benevolence was his grand plan, Arthur, the Reno Fleet, the Great Triangle Navy, and even the Lionheart King had all contributed significantly. Naturally, the final Merit awarded was somewhat less than what Du Chen had originally anticipated for a fully bloomed Fifth Trigram.

In other words, the three brothers – Seventeen, Eighteenth, and Nineteen – were now all usable!

Du Chen’s Primordial Spirit easily discerned that Seventeen was the green cloud beneath his feet, and Eighteenth was an invisible source of wind. The reason he could fly so swiftly was this combined power of wind and cloud! However, after searching thoroughly, Du Chen found no trace of Nineteen.

“Master, couldn’t you at least give me an instruction manual?” Du Chen grumbled playfully in his heart; this had happened so many times that he was becoming numb to it. At least this trigram wasn’t completely missing, so it couldn't be another Heart-Demon Tribulation. He’d just have to research it slowly with Dus later!

Thinking of Dus, Du Chen’s heart stirred. He had contacted Fifth Brother during the recent emergency; why hadn't the rascal responded?

“Dus? Old Five? Fifth Brother!?” Du Chen’s Divine Sense called out a few more times, but Dus, who should have been impersonating Francis in Emerald City, remained silent.

A faint sense of unease began to stir in Du Chen’s heart!

“Huh? Francis, look! Does your cloud have the ability to spin threads?” Snoopy patted Du Chen, pointing behind the two-to-three-meter-square green cloud.

Du Chen looked back to see several thin strands of water wrapped around the green cloud. Sensing them with his Divine Sense, he realized these threads were not part of the Arcane Artifact itself, but rather felt like Sacred Artifacts imbued with immense power…

“Oh no! Someone’s tangled my green cloud from behind!” Du Chen was startled. The chainsaw function of The Sixth immediately activated, furiously sawing at the water threads. But the threads seemed impervious to force; no matter how sharp the chainsaw, they remained firmly entangled around the green cloud! “Quick, help me find the source of this Sacred Artifact, I’ll pry it open!”

Before Snoopy could reply, a voice incredibly familiar to Du Chen drifted up from beneath the green cloud. “Francis, you can’t cut through the Level Thirteen Water's Embrace Sacred Sword!”

With that, Xue Ji flipped gracefully, floating up from beneath the green cloud!

Xue Ji had been lagging behind, making her the least likely to catch Du Chen. However, her eyes were famously detested by the Rebellious Dragon Constantine! One of Water's Embrace Lake’s three great Secret Techniques – the Heavenly Eye! Seeing a green cloud manifest around Du Chen, Xue Ji had predicted his next move. The Level Thirteen Water's Embrace Sword immediately struck, ensnaring the green cloud just before Du Chen could fully escape. Though Du Chen flew swiftly, Xue Ji clung fiercely to the Water's Embrace Sword, being carried along by Du Chen until she caught up.

Swish! Xue Ji transformed the water threads into a longsword, standing atop the cloud and pointing it at Du Chen. She said softly, “Don’t resist. You are gravely wounded; you are no match for me!”

This moment, still, had arrived… The face he had longed for was right before him, yet the sword’s edge in her hand separated them as if by a thousand mountains and ten thousand rivers. Du Chen smiled bitterly in his heart; indeed, his current body could lose its life with a single strike from Xue Ji’s sword!

“I miscalculated!” Du Chen looked up at the sky, his gaze wandering, deliberately avoiding Xue Ji’s beautiful eyes – *this foolish girl recognizes my eyes!* “Aren’t you going to strike me down?”

Xue Ji paused, momentarily bewildered. She truly didn’t know what to do next.

*Why did I chase him so relentlessly? Was it truly to kill this Francis?*

Her eyes were clouded with confusion, and a hint of bitterness touched her cheeks. Gritting her teeth, she demanded, “Tell me, what is your relationship with Alex? Why are your Sacred Artifacts identical?”

Du Chen, with a roguish air, said, “Beautiful lady, I don’t know any Alex! If you want to kill me, do it quickly! Or are you perhaps wishing to marry me, and thus can’t bring yourself to strike?” As he spoke, he shamelessly eyed Xue Ji up and down!

Xue Ji’s expression chilled. *No, absolutely not!* Just now, she had observed Francis’s Arcane Artifact, his build, hair color, eyes… all strikingly similar to *that person*. A terrifying thought had surfaced in her mind… *Heh, thankfully, Francis absolutely couldn’t be him! He couldn’t possibly be this frivolous!*

Du Chen pouted like a street ruffian. *Foolish girl, if you saw me in my past life, roaming the streets, would you still associate me with Alex? I am not Alex. Margaret only hunts me. If I were Alex… Margaret would kill you too!*

Du Chen eyed the tip of the Water's Embrace Sword, falling silent.

Xue Ji pushed the longsword forward a third of an inch, urgently saying, “Speak! Alex…”

“I already said it, I don’t know any Alex!” Du Chen impatiently curled his lips!

“I don’t believe you!” Xue Ji said earnestly. “Your Sacred Artifact, your build, your eyes – they’re too similar to Alex! The rest might be coincidental, but Sacred Artifacts don’t lie! Tell me, where is Alex!?”

Du Chen shrugged. “I don’t want to repeat myself a third time! Miss, why are you looking for this Alex? Alex… is a man’s name, you know. Have the rules of your Water's Embrace Lake changed?”

Xue Ji’s face flushed. “That’s none of your business! Will you speak or not? If not…” She gritted her teeth, summoning her courage to threaten him, “If you don’t, I’ll kill you! If, if you tell me where Alex is, I… I’ll let you go!” She said, shyly, almost pleadingly.