Chapter 7458
Backlash
Jiang Meng trembled violently, abruptly looking up. Her usually cool eyes flashed with disbelief, her voice trembling with extreme excitement, even her fingertips curling slightly: "Xiao Chen... he's looking for me? He's still alive?"
She had always believed that the pursuers from the Spirit Realm had already tried to kill Xiao Chen. In order not to implicate Xiao Chen, she deliberately concealed her whereabouts and did not even dare to acknowledge him. She could only secretly lure away the pursuers, but she was never sure if her methods were effective.
Upon hearing Xu Wang's words, all the worry and fear instantly vanished. Xiao Chen was not dead!
As long as he's alive, there's hope! A layer of tears quietly welled up in his eyes, a testament to the relief of surviving a disaster and the anticipation of a reunion.
Seeing this, Xu Wang's lips curled into a sinister, smug smile, his eyes filled with an unwavering confidence in victory.
"Of course he'll live. As long as you cooperate obediently and provide us with the resources to study the secrets of the Spirit Realm bloodline, I can not only guarantee his safety, but even... arrange for you and your husband to reunite. How about that? Isn't that a sincere offer?"
At this moment, Jiang Meng's heart suddenly raced out of control, and a slight wavering arose in her heart. Xiao Chen was her weakness, the person she would do everything in her power to protect, more important than her own life, more important than anything else in the world.
But this wavering lasted only a moment before vanishing.
Jiang Meng suddenly straightened her spine, her previously reddened eyes instantly becoming clear and firm, her gaze piercing as she stared directly at Xu Wang behind the observation mirror:
"Don't even think about it! My husband is a thousand times, ten thousand times stronger than you can imagine! I believe that before long, he will grow into someone you simply cannot contend with. At that time, I won't have to hide anymore; he will come to save me himself!"
Tears welled up in her eyes, but she held them back with all her might. Instead, a proud smile spread across her lips, a smile that reflected her absolute trust in Xiao Chen and the confidence etched into her very bones.
"Stubborn fool!" Xu Wang's smile froze instantly. He lost all patience, his anger surging. His withered fingers moved sharply towards the control panel, aiming at the scarlet button engraved with skull patterns.
"Since you're so ungrateful, don't blame me for being ruthless! I'll give the order right now to kill that arrogant brat!"
A cruel pleasure spread across his face as his fingertips touched the cold button, just a fraction of the force needed to press down.
However, at this critical moment,
A sudden change has occurred!
The defensive runes that had been flowing on Xu Wang's dark purple robe with gold patterns suddenly began to flicker violently without warning, their light flashing on and off like a candle flickering in the wind.
Immediately afterwards, the "Soul-Guiding Pendant" he wore on his chest, which served as the core of all the "Soul-Eating Heart-Locking Curses" in the branch, suddenly became extremely hot, as if it were a red-hot iron, fiercely burning his flesh!
"what?!"
Xu Wang's expression changed drastically, his pupils contracted sharply, and a horrified scream pierced his throat!
He clearly felt that the spiritual bond between himself and the Soul-Guiding Pendant, as well as all the sub-restrictions connected through the pendant, was being frantically washed away, torn apart, and interfered with by an indescribable, terrifying force.
That power, carrying endless illusory scenes, was like a boat being swallowed by a sea of illusions, instantly devouring his divine sense!
"No...impossible! Who? Who broke my spell?!"
He roared hysterically, desperately trying to circulate his spiritual energy to stabilize the Soul-Guiding Pendant. However, more and more illusions flooded into his sea of consciousness, his divine sense felt like it was sinking into a quagmire, his head was throbbing, and his internal organs felt like they were being crushed!
"puff,!"
With his mind and spirit utterly devastated, Xu Wang could no longer suppress the surging blood and qi within him and the backlash from the curse. He coughed up a mouthful of jet-black blood, mixed with tiny fragments of his soul, staining the control panel in front of him with filth. He staggered back several steps as if struck by a heavy blow, crashing heavily into the cold metal wall. His face was ashen, his breath instantly weakening, and he could barely stand.
The Soul-Guiding Pendant on his chest let out a low, mournful groan as if it could no longer bear the weight. Its once lustrous sheen completely dimmed, and its surface became covered with fine cracks, as if it would shatter at any moment.
He has guarded this Imperial Biomedical Company research institute for decades, relying on the Soul-Eating Heart-Locking Curse to control countless people in the know, and has never failed.
But to everyone's surprise, they were severely injured by such a bizarre and unpredictable method of remote counterattack, leaving them no room to fight back!
Behind the observation mirror, Jiang Meng stared in disbelief at Xu Wang, who had been so arrogant and domineering just moments before. Suddenly, as if suffering from hysteria, Xu Wang self-harmed and vomited blood, collapsing to the ground in a disheveled state. For a moment, she was unable to react.
The other imprisoned women also looked bewildered. One of them hesitantly approached Jiang Meng and whispered, "Senior Sister Jiang Meng... is he... suffering retribution? Or did he suffer a qi deviation during his cultivation?"
Jiang Meng stared at Xu Wang's miserable appearance, her shoulders, which had been tense for a long time, slowly relaxed, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up. She slowly exhaled a breath of pent-up air, her tone carrying a hint of lightness:
"Who knows... Perhaps even God couldn't bear to see him like this and took him away."
A faint but genuine smile crept up the corner of her eye, dispelling the fatigue and gloom of the past few days. A thought vaguely crossed her mind: perhaps this was related to Xiao Chen.
……
Meanwhile, in the emergency medical room of the core control area of the Imperial Biomedical Corporation branch, the atmosphere was extremely tense.
Although the chaotic feeling of being eroded by the illusion energy in Xu Wang's body had subsided slightly, he was still slumped in the specially made medical chair, feeling completely powerless.
Surrounding him were four elderly men in silver uniforms, their auras deep and profound. The four men formed hand seals and continuously poured pure spiritual energy into his body, barely stabilizing his damaged meridians and his soul on the verge of collapse.
Xu Wang slowly opened his heavy eyelids, looked at the four people in front of him, and laboriously raised his hands to clasp his hands in a gesture of respect. His voice was so weak that it was almost inaudible: "Thank you... thank you for your timely assistance, four inspectors. Otherwise... I would have been annihilated long ago..."
Of the four, the elderly man with a stern face and a hooked nose was the first to withdraw his hand, his tone icy and piercing, full of questioning:
"Xu Wang, what exactly happened? The core area of the research institute is equipped with multiple top-level defensive formations. How could you have suffered such a bizarre backlash against your soul, with even the core of your spell being destroyed?"
Xu Wang's face still showed lingering fear. Recalling the terrifying illusionary power he had just experienced, he was still shaken and choked out:
"Reporting to my lord... the Soul-Eating Heart-Locking Curse under my command, specifically the core Soul-Guiding Pendant... has been infiltrated and destroyed from a distance using incomprehensible means!"
"The connection between the souls of all the sub-spell seals was instantly severed, and they were also contaminated by some kind of illusory energy... My subordinates' cultivation level plummeted, and their souls were also severely damaged..."
Before he could finish speaking, he coughed up another mouthful of blood, his face growing even paler. (End of Chapter)