CHAPTER 76: DAO ART, SPIRIT LIGHT CHAINS

The green-robed Daoist murmured under his breath, "I'm not trying to set you up. You need to get stronger, this is all for our future..."

Lu Chen leaned closer, trying to hear more clearly. “Senior, what are you talking about? I didn’t quite catch that.”

The green-robed Daoist adjusted Wind Dragon's position, then turned back to Lu Chen with a glint in his eyes. "Nothing. It’s settled. Let’s go with my approach.”

Lu Chen stared at him, his hands instinctively covering his chest, and his expression collapsing into despair. "Senior, what else do you want from me? There’s barely anything left..."

"Your excessive use of the Time Key last time has drained all its stored temporal power. To unlock this layer, you’ll have to wait for it to recover."

"Senior... leave me some—"

The green-robed Daoist ignored Lu Chen's protests. "The Time Key's power is far too great. You still can't control time and space."

He circulated spirit qi through his hands and pressed them directly on the planetary jade token. "Before you break the chains, you may only use the first three space buttons and the five elemental attacks. Touch any other button or line, and even the slightest error will cause your body to explode."

"Senior, come on... now I've got nothing left..."

"The Heavenly Pool is too vast, but the rate at which it stores spirit qi is too slow. We need to enhance it..."

"Senior, now there's truly nothing left..."

"The connection between the Innate and the Acquired Divine Tree isn't strong enough. It needs to be reinforced..."

"Senior, I swear, this time it's really gone..."

"Hm? The Yuanyang Twin-Fish Disk still recovers too slowly. We need to improve that as well..."

***

"Senior, please, spare me... If you keep going, I'll be a dead man walking the moment I step outside."

Lu Chen watched the green-robed Daoist's hands radiate spirit qi as he tapped all over his body, extracting chains one by one and sealing all of his powerful support abilities.

Since these measures were ultimately for his own benefit, he couldn’t even put up a fight. Lu Chen's expression had already turned sour, and he looked as if he was about to cry.

***

Lu Chen turned to Wind Dragon with tears streaming down his face. "Wind Dragon, you damn jinx... why did you have to speak nonsense? Now it's come true."

Seeing Lu Chen’s bitter expression, Wind Dragon quickly covered his eyes with his tail. He had only casually guessed that Lu Chen might one day lose his support abilities, but he had never expected it to actually happen this soon.

The green-robed Daoist still held a handful of spirit qi chains. He swept his eyes over Lu Chen with a lingering eagerness. "Alright, that should be all of it.

"For the time being, all these 'cheats' will be useless. Still, I've left you a lifeline so you can call for me when needed.

"You can still use these abilities temporarily in times of great danger, but control over them will be placed in this young lady's hands."

The green-robed Daoist clapped his hands, causing the chains wrapped around Lu Chen to vanish.

At the same time, he tied the ends of several spirit qi chains to a pillar, storing them with Nantian Wan'er.

Nantian Wan'er felt the image of an iron pillar wrapped in dozens of chains appear in her mind, disbelief flickering in her eyes. "Is this for me?"

"Yes. The control mechanism is yours. Each chain represents one of Lu Chen's abilities. If you need to use one, just gently undo it."

The green-robed Daoist moved Wind Dragon to Lu Chen's head, yawned, and slowly walked toward the tree projection. "Alright, it's done, I'm going to rest now. Call me if you need me again. The Dad-Making Project is always on call."

Seeing the switches to his chains placed in Nantian Wan'er's hands, Lu Chen brightened instantly. "Got it, Senior, safe travels. Come by often."

The green-robed Daoist had already placed one foot in the tree projection, but just then, he sensed a shift in Lu Chen's emotions and paused. "Oh, right, I forgot to mention something."

He turned around with a faint smile and fixed his eyes on Lu Chen. "If you encounter a life-threatening situation, call me immediately. I'll ensure your safety. But..."

Lu Chen looked up at him. "Hm?"

"If you aren't strong enough and you try to unlock all the chains forcibly, the backlash will take her life instantly."

"You..."

Lu Chen choked, unable to say a word.

He had been planning to wait until the green-robed Daoist left, then get Nantian Wan’er to undo the bindings so he could go out and show off. Now, that plan was completely blown.

The green-robed Daoist smiled. "I told you before. I am you, and you are me. I know you well."

Lu Chen forced a weak smile and said, "Senior... I was wrong."

"Heh, you're a little late for that. Remember to check the Pillar of Sealed Powers. I've left something there for you. Consider it compensation."

With that, the green-robed Daoist stepped into the tree's projection, and the surroundings gradually dimmed.

Lu Chen called out cautiously, "Senior... have you left?"

The surroundings remained silent.

Once he was sure the green-robed Daoist had vanished, Lu Chen began cursing aloud. "What rotten luck. I knew nothing good would come from finding him."

"I am you, and you are me. It sounds nice, doesn't it? Yet every time, the seals on me only get harsher! And you still claim it's for my own good?"

He strode up to the tree's projection and struck it with his palm, shattering it into pieces. "For my own good, yet you leave me with barely any power? For my own good, and you won't even help restore my temporal power?"

***

After cursing for a while, Lu Chen realized the man couldn't hear him anyway, and suddenly felt it was pointless. His eyes gleamed with a murderous light as he looked at the stone monument and sighed.

"As the saying goes, 'Lose the bride and the army. Lu Lang's clever plan to bring peace ended in a double loss.' The same goes for me. This trip was nothing short of a disaster."[1]

He shook his head and accidentally brushed against Wind Dragon's tail. This instantly ignited his temper.

He reached out, grabbed Wind Dragon, and shook it violently. "Wind Dragon, you really are something! How could your mouth be so foul? You jinx! Pay me back..."

"Little Lu, stop shaking me! That was my true body talking! Go find him!"

Wind Dragon struggled in his grasp and finally slipped free, soaring into the sky.

Lu Chen glared at it and snarled, "You think I don't know? You elemental beasts are born with the gift of creating clones. No matter how many you split off, each one is still your true body."

Wind Dragon drifted higher and higher. "Heh... well, no one expected anything like this to happen. You can’t blame me for it.”

"You... just you wait."

Lu Chen snorted and linked his mind to the medallion’s world, issuing a sharp command. "Wind Dragon, return."

Hearing that, Wind Dragon hastened his flight. "Not good! He holds the command over the medallion's world."

Following Lu Chen's command, the rules of the miniature world took effect instantly. Wind Dragon was forced back toward Lu Chen, entirely at the mercy of the world’s power.

Lu Chen grabbed him in his grasp. "Hmph, trying to run?"

Wind Dragon struggled. "That's not fair! Try catching me without using those rules."

"Hmph, no. I feel like using them today."

He grabbed Wind Dragon's whiskers and spun him like a top. "Weren't you so cocky just a moment ago?"

Nantian Wan'er watched him, covering her mouth as she laughed uncontrollably. She walked over and said, "Lu-gege, stop. I've found a real treasure."

"Oh? What treasure?"

The moment he heard the word "treasure", Lu Chen dropped Wind Dragon and flung him aside. His excitement surged. "Show me. Let's see if I can at least recoup some of my losses."

***

Within Lu Chen's sea of consciousness, he started reading the names carved on the Pillar of Sealed Power, murmuring, "Dao Art? Not bad."

His gaze traveled down the pillar until it reached the Innate Bagua Diagram inscribed with Daoist symbols, and his interest waned."I thought he'd leave me something worthwhile. Isn't this just the operating method for the Innate Bagua Diagram?"

"No, Lu-gege, the treasure I mentioned is here."

Nantian Wan'er slid her finger toward the right, stopping at the Kan position. "Here's the operating method for the Pillar of Sealed Power. It might even break your seal."

"Kan represents the sign of danger. Let's try it."[2]

Wind Dragon flicked his tail onto the Kan symbol, and a beam of blue light shot out. Dozens of incantations appeared before them.

"Pillar of Sealed Power, Earth-Splitting Curse, Spirit Light Chains..."

Lu Chen's eyes lit up. "That senior's not so bad after all. Just what I needed, right when I needed it."

The Wind Dragon circled above his head and chuckled. "Heh, don't get your hopes up. Each of these skills requires enormous spirit qi. The only one you can use for now is the Spirit Light Chains."

Lu Chen shot the Wind Dragon a glance. "So what if it's just one? I can still keep the others."

He memorized the Spirit Light Chains incantation before moving his finger to other positions. "Let's see if there's anything else I can use."

***

Half an hour later.

Lu Chen looked at the chains on his body. "The Spirit Light Chains are exactly what's binding me. But their power is too strong. I can't break it on my own."

Wind Dragon smirked. "Did you really think you could undo such a powerful seal so easily?"

Lu Chen fired back without hesitation. "So what? It doesn't matter whether I can break it or not. At least I can use one skill for each position. That's better than relying on outside help."

Wind Dragon rolled his eyes. "Hmph. He even left you a simplified version. Otherwise, do you think someone like you could handle such strong spells?"

Lu Chen glanced at Wind Dragon, his aura flaring. "Want to try? I promise I won't use the world's rules."

A one-meter-wide Innate Bagua Diagram appeared beneath his feet.

The Wind Dragon sensed trouble. "What are you doing?"

He roared toward the sky and transformed into a massive dragon, bursting out of the Tower of Time.

Lu Chen's eyes narrowed. He pressed his index and middle fingers together, then aimed them at the dragon. "Trying to run? Dao Art, Spirit Light Chains."

A blue chain shot from his fingers and instantly bound Wind Dragon's massive body.

He gripped the blue chain with one hand and wrapped the other around Nantian Wan'er. "Wan'er, let's go."

Dragged along by Wind Dragon, they shot out of the Tower of Time together.

1. This is a line from Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Lu Lang, Sun Quan’s strategist, once proposed that Sun Quan secure control over Liu Bei through a marriage alliance with his younger sister, aiming to keep both her and Liu Bei’s forces under his influence. But Liu Bei not only took the bride, he also marched away with a portion of Sun Quan's troops, leaving Sun Quan with nothing but loss on both sides. Lu Lang's clever plan had ended in a double defeat. ☜

2. In Daoist Bagua (Eight Trigrams), 坎 represents water, danger, or a pit, and is often associated with being trapped or falling into peril. ☜