Chapter 48: Startling Dream (IV)

Lin Chen walked downstairs, but Sect Master Qi Meng, who had been Cultivating downstairs the whole time, was nowhere to be seen.

She muttered to herself, "Sister, where did you go today?"

Before she could finish, a sudden call interrupted her thoughts.

"Senior Sister Lin Chen, we are ready. Can we begin today's guidance?"

"Oh, coming right away." Lin Chen replied, gathering her thoughts slightly before walking toward the cultivation room.

Arriving at the cultivation room, she began in her usual manner, "Come in one by one."

Just as she was about to step into the cultivation room, a blazing light suddenly froze her in place. The light scorched her skin like flames, causing her to feel a sharp, intense pain.

Shortly after, Lin Fan's spiritual consciousness was forcibly pulled out from within her body, and Lin Chen's consciousness was dragged out along with it.

Her vision blurred, and she seemed to lose all perception of space, feeling only the pain of being pulled apart.

"Lin Chen! Hmph!" Sect Master Qi Meng's voice came, carrying a hint of coldness.

"One body, two souls—the Life Soul and the Main Soul. What a bizarre Cultivation Technique."

A cold glint flashed in her eyes as she commanded the surrounding Disciples.

"Take Lin Chen away and lock her in the dungeon!"

Panic surged within Lin Chen, and she cried out in a flurry:

"Sister! I'm not… I'm not what you think!"

However, her voice was drowned out by the intense light and could not be heard.

Following Sect Master Qi Meng's order, several Disciples quickly stepped forward and forcibly dragged her away.

Lin Chen struggled desperately, but her body seemed to have lost all strength. Tears welled up in her eyes, and her heart was filled with confusion and despair.

Watching Sect Master Qi Meng's retreating figure, trust and fear for her sister intertwined in her heart, leaving her mind blank.

Lin Chen struggled desperately, but her body seemed to have lost all its strength. Tears welled up in her eyes uncontrollably, and her heart was filled with confusion and despair.

She watched Sect Master Qi Meng's back gradually recede—the sister who had once been gentle, considerate, and cared for her so meticulously was now pushing her into the abyss with cold commands.

Just as she fell into chaos, a low voice rang in her ear:

"Lin Chen, they want to kill us; we cannot just sit here and wait for death. Give your body to me, and I will take control of the situation!"

Lin Chen shook her head, her eyes still holding a trace of trust for her sister:

"No, I don't believe it. Sister promised me that if the whole world wanted to kill me, she would kill the whole world for me! She wouldn't do this!"

Lin Fan's voice became urgent, carrying a trace of sternness:

"Lin Chen, don't you understand yet? It was her—the one who used that bizarre white light to expose your secret was her! Don't be a fool, she never intended to protect you!"

Lin Chen's heart wavered violently, but she still stubbornly cried out in a low voice, "No, I don't believe it! I don't believe she would treat me like this… She is the person I trust the most…"

Lin Fan was silent for a moment, his tone cold and resolute, "You are too naive, Lin Chen. Since you refuse to face reality, then I'm sorry, only by me taking control can we preserve our lives."

"Thousand Appearances Formless Divine Skill, Main Soul return to position, Life Soul retreat!" Lin Fan didn't hesitate to form hand seals and cast the spell, his tone filled with determination.

Lin Chen only felt her body gradually becoming illusory and transparent, as if she had lost her sense of existence, and the sensation in her limbs slowly faded away.

Her consciousness was pushed into the depths of darkness by an invisible force. As the light gradually dimmed, Lin Fan took over her body, and the demeanor between her brows instantly became cold and ruthless.

"I'm sorry, Lin Chen." Lin Fan whispered to himself, carrying a trace of apology, yet he took complete control of Lin Chen's body without the slightest hesitation.

Lin Chen watched as her body was completely taken over by Lin Fan, countless thoughts and fears rising in her heart.

She floated powerlessly in the depths of her consciousness, as if she had become a puppet at the mercy of others, unable to control her own fate.

She knew that Lin Fan had taken control of her body, and there was no turning back.

"If Lin Fan really uses the strategic weapon, it will be an unstoppable catastrophe…" Lin Chen's heart was filled with despair.

Countless scenes flashed through her mind—the Sect's Disciples were completely unprepared, and Fairy Qimeng had not anticipated this moment arriving.

Lin Fan held a secret military force, and the energy produced by the spiritual essence was endless and would not be exhausted.

And if this power were used by Lin Fan to oppose the Sect, it would be an unprecedented disaster.

"It won't happen…" A faint voice sounded in Lin Chen's heart, trying to comfort herself, trying to believe that all this would not happen.

However, Lin Fan's determination and ruthlessness had already been fully revealed.

Her body was feeling, bit by bit, that massive and terrifying energy starting to activate.

Sure enough, Lin Fan did not hesitate to activate the strategic weapon.

A behemoth shimmering with electric arcs broke through the clouds.

Boom—a massive pillar of light shot up into the sky, piercing through the entire Sect's sky, then rapidly expanded.

A moment later, the entire Sect was enveloped in a piercing light; mountains, palaces, rivers—everything was utterly destroyed, turning to ash in an instant.

Lin Chen watched all this happen, her despair reaching its peak.

Her consciousness seemed to fall into a bottomless abyss, watching helplessly as the strategic weapon in Lin Fan's hands destroyed the Sect she had once loved deeply, yet she was powerless to stop it.

She felt herself constantly falling, plunging into the deepest part of her consciousness, where it was as dark as Hell, and nothing could be seen.

In this boundless darkness, Lin Chen's consciousness seemed to be swallowed by a ruthless abyss; there was not a glimmer of light, not a single sound, only endless loneliness and fear remaining.

She did not know if she would ever wake up, or if she would forever sink into this endless nightmare.

"Young lady, you are also a Life Soul created by the Thousand Appearances Formless Divine Skill, aren't you?"

A hoarse and slow old woman's voice suddenly rang in Lin Chen's ear.

Lin Chen shuddered all over; she, who had already been in despair in the endless darkness, suddenly felt a glimmer of light appear before her eyes.

She looked toward the direction of the voice and saw a thin figure gently striking a match.

The flame danced in the air, then lit an oil lamp on the table; the dim, yellow light gradually spread, illuminating the surroundings.

The old woman standing by the oil lamp was so thin she seemed to be nothing but skin and bones, draped in a tattered gray robe.

Her face was full of deep wrinkles, as if time had carved countless knife marks upon it.

But what was hair-raising was that her face had no features, only a patch of smooth skin, as if someone had erased her face, leaving behind a bizarre and blank sheet of skin.

Lin Chen was shocked, her breathing almost coming to a halt.

She subconsciously wanted to speak, but was so frightened by this sudden sight that her legs went weak. She screamed instinctively:

"Ah!!" Her body began to retreat continuously, as if wanting to escape this terrifying scene, but no matter how she retreated, the darkness seemed boundless, impossible to escape forever.

The old woman slightly raised her hands, her tone gentle, "Don't be afraid, child."

She slowly took an old, small mirror from her bosom; the mirror's surface was mottled, as if it had experienced countless years.

She handed the mirror to Lin Chen, "Look, you are the same as me."

Lin Chen's hands trembled as she took the mirror, her heart beating like a drum, and slowly raised it before her.

Instinctively, she did not want to look, but she could not resist. The reflection in the mirror—her outline was still there, but the features on her face were gone, leaving only a pale, lifeless sheet of skin.

At this moment, fear flooded Lin Chen's consciousness like a deluge; she felt unprecedented helplessness and despair.

She could no longer control herself; tears gushed out wildly, and she began to sob in a breakdown.

Her body began to tremble slightly, and she curled into a ball, as if wanting to wash away the fear in her heart with tears, yet she was powerless to do so.

"This… what is going on… why…" Lin Chen sobbed, her voice broken and unbearable due to fear, tears blurring her vision, her heart in utter chaos.

The old woman stood by the oil lamp, quietly watching Lin Chen, saying nothing.

The lamplight flickered on her featureless face, sighing silently.