The comments said I was deeply affectionate, I just added points by using an alternate account.

Guan Jinyue walked to the other end of the platform and stood at the very edge, his toes dangling hundreds of meters in the air.

The two people, one standing and one sitting, were only a dozen meters apart, and neither of them spoke again.

Time ticked by, second by second.

There are 28 minutes left until the one-hour deadline.

Yin Chen raised his head and looked towards the western suburbs of the city, his gaze piercing through the flames and thick smoke.

He was waiting for someone.

He knew that person would definitely come.

Even if you say you won't come, even if you block his number.

That person will definitely come.

Because that was his grandfather.

Guan Jinyue was also looking in the same direction, her hands hanging at her sides, her fingertips slightly curled, which was the only part of her that revealed her nervousness.

Three years.

She waited for three years.

The answer is coming soon.

……

Yin Tianzheng did not reply.

The tattered lantern paper scraps in the courtyard were swept up by the night wind, swirled a few times along the ground, and then fell back to their original place.

An Changqing looked at the coffin, then at Yin Tianzheng, his grip on the sword tightening unconsciously.

Long Ao was the first to speak.

"Wait a minute, you said you have a fragment of that thing's divine essence on you?"

"right."

"Isn't that thing something of God?"

Chen Guan did not answer. Long Ao had obviously missed too many version update messages. He turned to look at Yin Tianzheng.

"Sir, you just said that the mutilated body had no consciousness, only instinct."

Yin Tianzheng nodded, his gaze fixed on the coffin behind Chen Guan, as if he were getting to know this young man again.

"Instinct drives it to awaken, and awakening requires complete power, and the missing part of power is divinity."

Chen Guan took another step forward: "When you open the seal, I will stand next to the array's core and fully activate the aura of the divine spark."

"When the remnant senses the presence of the divine fragment, its instinct will drive it toward me first, because for it, devouring the divine fragment is far more valuable than devouring a human soul."

"That moment when the soul is released is the window that pulls a person out."

Upon hearing this, Hongyuan seemed to understand something.

"You mean you'd take a knife for that girl?"

Chen Guan shook his head and corrected her: "What I need to do is to steal its attention away from that girl."

"And then what happens after you snatch it?" An Changqing's voice deepened. "A mindless remnant of a demon god, all its instincts directed at you, how do you escape?"

"I don't need to get away."

Chen Guan spoke with unusual confidence.

"The remnant body and the divine essence share the same origin. When it gets close to me, I can try to absorb its power in reverse using the fragments of the divine essence."

"If successful, I will gradually refine the remains of the body, and the problem of the seal will be completely solved."

"That's what I mean by taking a broken body as payment."

Long Ao raised his voice even higher.

"What if it doesn't work?"

Chen Guan glanced at him.

"Then you'd better run faster."

Long Ao's face turned bright red, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Because he couldn't find a better way.

Su Yuehe stepped out from behind An Changqing, still clutching a tablet in her hand: "Chen Guan, this plan has too little room for error. How long is the window of opportunity?"

"Five seconds at most."

"Can five seconds really pull a soul that's been trapped for three years out of the formation's core?"

Chen Guan did not answer her, but turned his gaze to Yin Tianzheng.

"This question needs to be answered by the old gentleman."

All eyes turned to the old man again.

Yin Tianzheng's hands were behind his back, his fingers no longer trembling, and the confidence of a young man returned to his face: "Five seconds, that's enough."

Yin Tianzheng's voice became steady again.

"The connection point of the array is at the root of the soul. As long as the suppressive force of the remnant body disappears for even a moment, I can peel the soul out of that child."

"I set up this formation myself three years ago, so I can dismantle it just as quickly as anyone else."

An Changqing raised his head and looked directly at Yin Tianzheng.

"So you agree?"

Yin Tianzheng walked towards the coffin, step by step, stepping on the cracked bluestone slabs, the gravel making a faint sound under his feet.

The old man stopped in front of the coffin.

The two people were less than an arm's length apart.

Yin Tianzheng's eyes were cloudy, but at this moment, something was burning inside them—the last desperate gamble of an old man who valued his grandson more than his own life but had to choose between two extremes.

"Your name is Chen Guan."

"Yes."

"Li Ce mentioned you to me, saying that you are bold, clear-headed, and extraordinary."

Yin Tianzheng's gaze moved from Chen Guan's face to the coffin behind him, and then back again.

"In retrospect, he was being modest."

Chen Guan didn't respond to this; he didn't intend to discuss Li Ce's evaluation of him with the old man at this time.

At the time, I didn't realize that Li Ce also liked to gossip about crickets behind people's backs.

"Mr. Yin, now is not the time for reminiscing."

"I know."

Yin Tianzheng reached into his robes and took out a jade pendant.

The jade pendant is small, about two fingers wide, and is dark blue all over. Its surface is covered with fine patterns, which are naturally formed and faintly glow with a warm luminescence under the light.

"The Tranquil Jade is something that has been passed down through seven generations of the Yin family."

Yin Tianzheng handed the jade pendant to Chen Guan.

"It can take the brunt of your emotional distress once, but only once."

"Although that mutilated body has no consciousness, its power itself is an erosion of the spirit. When you get close to it, the first wave of impact is the most deadly."

"This piece of jade will help you get through that ordeal."

Chen Guan glanced down at the jade pendant, and without any hesitation, reached out and took it.

It feels cool to the touch but not piercing; a calming power seeps into the skin from the palm.

An Changqing spoke up.

"Mr. Yin, regarding the divine essence within Chen Guan..."

"No need to say anything."

Yin Tianzheng interrupted him, his tone carrying an uncompromising weight.

"After this incident, I will not disclose anything about divinity to the association, nor will I mention a word about it to the council."

His gaze shifted from An Changqing to everyone present.

"I, Yin Tianzheng, have lived most of my life, and I know what I should and shouldn't say."

"This child risked his life to save my grandson. If I were to turn around and sell him, I would be worse than an animal."

Long Ao muttered something from the side.

"That's more like it."