dkrc Chapter 14 Soul Searching Technique
Chapter 14 Soul Searching Technique
"Yangzi..." Wang Jianguo was the first to walk over, his rough hand pressing heavily on Yangzi's shoulder, with a soothing tone. His lips moved a few times, as if he wanted to say something comforting, but in the end he just patted him twice more heavily, sighed heavily, and said, "...that bastard."
These words were so simple they were almost crude, yet strangely they made Chen Yang's tense back relax a little.
"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, you're the protagonist! This guy is just a minor villain! You'll definitely get your revenge in the future." Jiang He rarely found herself on the same wavelength as Chen Yang.
Chen Yang raised his head, his eyes red and his voice hoarse, "Do you know what I should do? I can't even muster a thought in front of him! It's like... like my bones, my blood, have suddenly stopped obeying me!"
"We need power," Su Fan's voice broke in. He had somehow moved closer, his gaze falling on Chen Yang's clenched fist before slowly shifting to the clouds where Luo Jiuchuan had disappeared. "Without power, everything is just empty talk. Perhaps here, weakness itself is the original sin."
"Brother Su..." Chen Yang tugged at the corners of his mouth, trying to smile, but it looked worse than crying.
He looked at the emotional crystallization that Luo Jiuchuan had given him, his eyes filled with complex emotions. A symbol of humiliation, but also a key to power. Then, he propped himself up and turned to Li Bowen, who had been standing quietly not far away, his figure now as faint as mist.
"Grandpa Li!" Chen Yang strode over and handed the crystal directly to the old man. "This is for you! All of ours are for you! Didn't that bastard Luo Jiuchuan say this thing could stabilize the soul? Here, take it, you can stay a little longer!"
Chen Yang wanted to transform his pent-up resentment and anger into protecting his companions.
Jiang He remained silent for a long time before taking out her own emotional crystal.
Su Fan and Wang Jianguo exchanged a glance and did the same thing.
Wang Jianguo smiled憨厚ly, spreading out his rough palm, which also held a crystallization of emotion: "Mine is for you too, Teacher Li. Stay here a little longer, maybe things will turn around."
Four emotional crystals, each radiating different colors but equally comforting and warm energy fluctuations, lay quietly in front of Li Bowen.
Looking at the young or middle-aged faces before him, at the lingering fear in their eyes and the pure concern they held, Li Bowen's expression became extremely complex.
His transparent face showed emotion, relief, but more so a worldly-wise understanding and a calm refusal.
He slowly and very slightly shook his head, a small movement, but one that carried an undeniable air of authority.
"I appreciate your kind intentions," he said, his voice still calm, even with a hint of a smile. "But I cannot accept this treasure."
"Why?!" Chen Yang cried out anxiously. "Grandpa Li, don't be so polite! We don't need this right now, we need to save our lives!"
Li Bowen raised his almost transparent hand, vaguely pointing to the crystal in Chen Yang's hand, and then to Jiang He and Wang Jianguo's: "There are only four in total. That senior said that one crystal can extend one day."
He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping gently over the crowd: "There are at least ten days before you can come here again, right? I know my own body well. Four days is just enough time for me to wander aimlessly in this fairyland for another four days, waiting for you."
"But..." Chen Yang wanted to argue.
"Xiao Chen," Li Bowen interrupted him, his tone becoming increasingly gentle and clear, "I've lived for seventy-three years. I've seen all the scenery I should see, tasted all the flavors I should taste, and endured all the suffering I should endure... In these final days, to be able to travel through this paradise, free from illness and pain, with a clear mind, is already an immense blessing. People should be born when they should be born, and die when they should die. Forcing things, even if it's just for one more breath, only adds to attachment and obsession. I've come to terms with it, truly."
His words carried a serene tranquility, like the clear waters of an autumn lake, calmly reflecting life and death.
Chen Yang opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word. Jiang He frowned slightly, rationally calculating various possibilities, but faced with the old man's gaze at that moment, any analysis based on self-interest seemed pale and powerless. Wang Jianguo rubbed his hands, only muttering, "This... how can this be called forcing it..."
"Besides," Li Bowen's voice grew even softer, like a wisp of smoke in the wind, "your future is uncertain, and this 'crystallization of affection' might be of great use to you. This old man is already like a candle flickering in the wind; prolonging my life for a few more days will be of no benefit to myself, and to you... it might even be a burden."
These words, though tactful, left the others utterly speechless. A burden? He had never thought of it that way. But Li Bowen was already resigned to death.
Su Fan stood there quietly, like an outsider, observing everyone's reactions. Chen Yang's unwillingness and sincerity, Jiang He's rationality and exploration, Wang Jianguo's simplicity and reluctance, and Li Bowen's insightful observation, beneath which lay a deeply hidden calculation.
He understood the third, perhaps most important, reason that Li Bowen had left unsaid.
The old man keenly sensed the tension within their small group—a relationship suddenly bound together by a chance encounter, essentially that of strangers on a mobile phone.
And the potential competition for future resources. Accepting these four crystals means bringing the problems of "resource allocation" and "debts of gratitude" to the forefront in advance, which may sow the seeds of distrust in a fragile alliance.
He chose to sever this potentially burdensome connection in the most tender moment and in the most dignified way, which was both wise, kind, and dignified.
Unless Su Fan is willing to give Li Bowen an emotional crystal, his demise is inevitable.
So, could this inevitable dissipation... be more valuable?
This thought, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, stealthily emerged.
At this moment, that familiar sense of detachment, originating from the rules of the dream itself, began to surge in, and Su Fan was about to clear the area.
"I have to go..." Jiang He was the first to notice; ripples began to spread across her body, and her voice carried a barely perceptible urgency. "Teacher Li, you..."
"Go on, children." Li Bowen smiled and waved to them. His figure was so faint as to be almost transparent in the flowing light of the magical tree, as if he would melt into the light at any moment. "Take care."
"Grandpa Li!" Chen Yang called out, his voice choked with emotion.
Wang Jianguo opened his mouth, but in the end he only nodded, and his figure quickly faded and disappeared.
As everyone departed, the Azure Jade Floating Island fell into complete silence in an instant.
The radiance of the Myo-shu flows eternally, illuminating the empty island and the two remaining people.
One figure was solid, yet seemed even more silent than the emptiness of this fairyland. Another figure was faint, destined to merge into the radiance, leaving no trace.
"Xiao Su, why didn't you leave?" Li Bowen asked in confusion.
"Grandpa, as you know, I received Bai Ze's inheritance and had some fortuitous encounters that allow me to stay in the Mountain and Sea Realm longer than ordinary people. Perhaps my inheritance can help you in your current state." Su Fan ultimately didn't reveal the truth but instead made up an excuse.
"Xiao Su," Li Bowen's voice was even softer, carrying a solemnity like a dying entrustment, yet strangely calm, "No matter if you have a way or not, no matter what the way is... this old man thanks you for your kindness."
He paused, his figure seeming to fade even further, but his voice remained clear: "However, my path has truly come to an end. I can feel it; it's not something external force can reverse. Like a lamp that's run out of oil, adding more oil won't ignite it. How do you expect me to cooperate?"
"Just relax!" Su Fan said.
Upon hearing the words "Just relax," Li Bowen didn't speak further. He simply nodded gently and then slowly and completely released all mental constraints.
In that instant, his already thin, mist-like soul seemed to have lost its last bit of internal support, and began to dissipate in a more natural and rapid way. There was no struggle, no pain, only a kind of tranquility as if returning to its origin.
Su Fan held his breath and focused intently, pushing his [Dream Control] authority to its limit. He no longer tried to "stabilize" or "shape" Li Bowen, but instead gently probed into Li Bowen's dissipating soul like the finest tentacles, to sense, guide, and accelerate the "flow" of the collapse process.
This is not direct, violent destruction, but a subtle, almost cruel "catalysis." It's like gently blowing on a pile of ashes about to burn out, causing the last spark to scatter more quickly.
Just before Li Bowen's soul completely disintegrated and turned into countless tiny specks of light, Su Fan's perception captured something—not a solid, not energy, but an aggregation of "information," a "mark" of mental activity that was about to completely dissipate.
His mind raced, and the direction of his [Dream Control] authority abruptly changed! It was no longer about accelerating dissipation, but about weaving, guiding, and materializing!
Su Fan gained a new ability through Li Bowen's death: Soul Searching Technique! It allows him to acquire and search other people's memories, but of course, this must be done within the dream world.
Of course, it's not particularly overpowered; at the very least, it requires that the opponent's willpower and resistance not be too strong, and that the opponent's mental strength not be too great.
At the same time, Su Fan keenly sensed that as Li Bowen, this "external consciousness," completely dissipated, his soul essence did not seem to have completely vanished into thin air. A tiny, essential part of it seemed to have been absorbed by this dream world itself... or rather, assimilated? The dream world became even more solid and real!
Li Bowen is dead!
He stared at the direction where the last glimmer of light from Li Bowen had dissipated, and remained silent for a moment.
Then, his figure began to fade away on Jade Island.
Back in reality, Su Fan felt mentally exhausted. Fortunately, he took out the emotional crystal and ate it like a snack, which quickly relieved the feeling.
"It really works, and it works very quickly." Su Fan breathed a sigh of relief, feeling the emotional crystals nourishing and replenishing his mental energy.
The cost of the "Shared Dream Pillow" has now been resolved.