One person: Senior Brother Zhang Zhiwei, who has mastered the Golden Light Mantra to its fullest lev

It's like he's cracking a code, trying to completely seize control of the furnace!

He also muttered to himself, saying things like, "The wisdom of mortals is ultimately limited," and "Such a divine artifact should be wielded by the Immortal Realm..."

"Village chief, I'm afraid... I'm afraid he might do something bad to you!"

These words struck Ma Xianhong's already fragile nerves like a bolt of black lightning.

He suddenly stood up from his chair, and the movement was so sudden that he knocked over the drawings on the table, scattering countless precious manuscripts all over the floor.

His eyes instantly turned bloodshot, and a raging fury of being utterly betrayed and manipulated erupted!

It turns out that Jin Yangzi, that bastard, had no good intentions from the very beginning!

He was not only using himself, but he also wanted to steal his life's work and the entire Biyou Village at the last moment!

"Too deceiving!"

A roar, suppressed to the extreme, erupted from Ma Xianhong's throat. The sound was like that of a wounded beast, filled with endless rage and determination.

Looking at the scattered blueprints, he recalled Jin Yangzi's hypocritical face, which always wore a gentle smile, and the last glimmer of hope in his heart vanished completely.

He knew that there was no room for maneuver between him and Jin Yangzi.

Either you die or I die!

Zhang Yunyuan watched him quietly as he appeared to be insane, and then silently left the workshop.

A cold, triumphant smile curled at the corners of his mouth.

The fire has been lit.

Next, all that's needed is one more handful of firewood, enough to burn the entire Biyou Village to ashes.

Meanwhile, that bundle of firewood is currently under house arrest in a corner of the village, waiting for an opportunity to make her own "choice".

Chapter 220 Chen Duo's Choice, The Eve of the Storm

The night in Biyou Village is as tranquil as a painting rendered in ink wash.

Apart from the occasional creaking of the patrolling puppets, the only other sound was the soft rustling of the wind through the bamboo forest.

The small courtyard where Chen Duo was placed under house arrest was an isolated island in this tranquil place.

She sat alone on a stone bench in the courtyard, looking up at the dim, yellowish moon, which was obscured by sparse clouds.

Her face remained expressionless, but her usually vacant eyes were now churning with complex and unfathomable emotions.

Upon arriving in Biyou Village, Ma Xianhong granted her what she called "freedom".

She no longer had to stay in that cramped, dark bunker; she could walk around the village like a normal person and breathe fresh air.

But she knew very well that this freedom was an illusion.

She remains that walking "Gu body," that monster feared and rejected by everyone.

The villagers always looked at her with a hint of fear and alienation.

Ma Xianhong's "care" for her was more like that of a precious "material" that needed to be carefully protected.

The way that man named Jin Yangzi looked at her made her feel a chill and disgust that came from the depths of her soul.

That's not looking at a person, but at an object, a perfect "material" that can be studied, dissected, and utilized.

This feeling of being objectified was more suffocating to her than the loneliness in the bunker.

Just as she was immersed in this boundless emotion called "despair".

A very faint rustling sound, almost blending into the chirping of insects, rose from the grass at her feet.

Chen Duo's gaze sharpened instantly. Her innate, keen sense of Gu made her immediately notice the abnormality.

She didn't move, but glanced in that direction out of the corner of her eye.

A tiny, inconspicuous black beetle, smaller than a grain of rice, was struggling to crawl out from a gap in the grass.

It climbed very slowly and with great difficulty, as if it were carrying a heavy burden.

On its back, a rolled-up leaf, smaller than a fingernail, was bound with a golden thread she had never seen before, finer than spider silk.

Chen Duo's heart skipped a beat the moment she saw the little beetle.

This is no ordinary insect.

It carried an extremely faint yet incredibly pure aura belonging to its "kind".

Without making a sound, she lowered her hand to the stone bench.

As if receiving some kind of guidance, the little beetle immediately changed direction and climbed up her trouser leg, eventually reaching her fingertips.

Chen Duo gently touched the curled-up leaf with her fingertips.

The next moment, an old, gentle voice, yet carrying a reassuring power, resounded directly in her mind.

The sound was not words, but a pure thought composed of spiritual power.

"Don't be afraid, kid."

"I'm not here to arrest you, nor am I here to judge you."

"I'm just here to tell you that you have a choice."

He did not appear in person, but instead used his unpredictable "biologist" abilities to conduct this absolutely safe "spiritual communion" with Chen Duo through this carefully modified little beetle.

"The company's main force is coming, and this place will soon become very dangerous."

But unlike before, now someone wants to give you a new path, a path you can choose for yourself.

“The guy outside named ‘Li Fei’ is here to help you.”

“We speculate that Ma Xianhong may want to use the primal toxin in your body to complete some dangerous ritual or stabilize his furnace.”

"We're not forcing you to do anything; we just want to tell you that you are not an object, you are a person."

You have the right to make choices about your own destiny.

Old Meng's voice was neither preachy nor seductive.

He simply and calmly presented Chen Duo with a "possibility".

Just like Zhang Yunyuan once told him: You should give her the right to choose, instead of ordering her what to do.

Chen Duo was silent.

For the first time, a real, intense wave surged in her empty eyes.

This word was so unfamiliar to her, yet so...luxurious.

From the time she could remember, her fate had always been controlled by others.

The Medicine Immortal Society, Liao Zhong, the company...

They all gave her "arrangements," but never gave her "choices."

She recalled Uncle Liao's love, which was full of contradictions and pain; Jin Yangzi's cold gaze that treated her like an object; and Ma Xianhong's seemingly gentle but actually hypocritical "freedom."

Then, in contrast, the unfamiliar voice in my mind at this moment gives me that heavy "right to choose".

An unprecedented, intense urge to break free from all constraints and to seize control of her own destiny erupted like a volcano dormant for millions of years in the depths of her long-frozen heart!

She didn't hesitate any longer.

She knew this was her only chance.

It was also the first and most risky gamble she made for her own destiny.

She slowly raised her hand, and at her fingertips, a wisp of dark blue Qi, thinner than a strand of hair and carrying the aura of her natal Gu poison, quietly condensed.

She didn't try to control the little beetle; that would be too easy to detect.

She simply imprinted this extremely faint trace of Gu poison onto that small leaf.

The mark instantly blended into the veins of the leaf, leaving no trace.

But the information it contains is crystal clear.

"There's something wrong with the stove."

"That person (Jin Yangzi) is dangerous."

“I sense that the core of the furnace needs me… or rather, it needs my Gu.”

Having done all this, she flicked her finger, and the little beetle, having completed its mission, silently disappeared back into the shadows of the grass.

Chen Duo slowly stood up, raised her head again, and looked at the waning moon shrouded in dark clouds.

The night was still the same night.

But the world she sees is completely different.

For the first time, a faint yet incredibly resolute flame called "hope" ignited in those usually empty eyes.

She knew that from this moment on, she was no longer a puppet to be manipulated.

She became a warrior who formed a fragile and silent alliance with Lao Meng and that mysterious man named "Li Fei".

On the south side of the village, in that inconspicuous farmhouse courtyard.

Old Meng slowly opened his eyes, a look of understanding and relief flashing in them.

He didn't use any communication equipment; he simply walked to the window and, facing an ordinary sparrow preening its feathers outside, emitted a deep, complex "birdsong" that contained a great deal of information.

The sparrow tilted its head, then flapped its wings and disappeared into the vast night.

Moments later, dozens of miles away, inside the van disguised as a forestry exploration vehicle.

On the screen in front of Gao Erzhuang, the special channel representing "biosignals" lit up with a rapid green light once again.

After she decoded the bio-wave signal transformed from "birdsong," a solemn expression appeared on her face.

She dared not delay in the slightest and immediately sent this latest intelligence, personally delivered by Chen Duo, to all the temporary workers who were on standby, as well as to "Li Fei" who was at the center of the vortex, through the communication channels.

At this moment, a comprehensive and inescapable trap targeting Biyou Village has finally been completed, with its last and most crucial piece of the puzzle in place.

The storm is coming.