Chapter 154: Why are We Back Inside?

Chapter 154: Why are We Back Inside? Ruru’s heart raced as she met Lordi’s revelation gaze. This man’s eyes were a pair of deep, arresting pools while concentrating on cultivation that seemed to hold both shadow and fire. They were the rich, dusky hue of aged spirit wine, glinting gold when the light caught them just so. A sharp chime sliced through Lordi’s thoughts. ~ Ding! *System Notification Chime* [AllFullOS: Version 1.0.0] > Scanning cultivation requirements... > Detected lack of Cultivation Material: [Spirit Cleansing Pill] (Error: 1731) - Host inventory: EMPTY - Error: Insufficient materials for cultivation. > Pending... ... Heard the prompt, Lordi’s mind sharpened, a coil of uncertainty tightening in his chest. The AllFullOS System was infamous for its glitches—unpredictable, infuriating, and occasionally catastrophic. He braced himself, his thoughts a whirlwind of mistrust. Come on, don’t screw this up. ~ Ding! *System Notification Chime* The system chimed again, its synthetic voice gratingly chipper. [AllFullOS: Version 1.0.0] > Pending... > Searching for Cultivation Material: [Spirit Cleansing Pill] ... ... > Pending... ... Ruru’s gaze, brimming with unshakable faith, pinned Lordi in place. He wanted to nod, to offer her a flicker of reassurance, but his body refused to obey. The AllFullOS System had already seized control, locking his muscles into an erriely natural calm. His breath steadied, not by choice, but by the system’s perfect precision. ~ Ding! *System Notification Chime* [AllFullOS: Version 1.0.0] ... > Pending... ... > Detected 0 Spirit Cleansing Pill in service area for the moment. - Continuing cultivation of the Spirit Swallowing Technique will cause irreversible damage. - (Error: 171). > Executing optimal solution... > Pending... ... Lordi’s breath caught, trapped in his throat. The haunted Hanz Clan Estate loomed in his mind—its haunted shrine, its cursed mountain paths, its whispering shadows. Escape hinged on this AllFullOS System’s auto navigation on the Spirit Cleansing Pill. Sweat beaded on his brow as the silence stretched, suffocating. The chime finally returned, smug and triumphant. ~ Ding! *System Notification Chime* [AllFullOS: Version 1.0.0] ... > Detected: Substitute Cultivation Material > All-Smart Full-Host Cultivation SystemTM has decided to be *GENEROUS* today! > Thousand-Year Souleater Kodama x1 will be gifted to the host for FREE. > Processing... Before Lordi could process the words, his body betrayed him. Muscles surged, propelling him forward. He vaulted from the flower lantern, his movements sharp and alien. The Blood Spectre Footwork Art kicked in unbidden, his form blurring into a streak of crimson shadow. His vision tunneled, the world a smear of color as he hurtled toward the Hanz Clan Estate, its jagged silhouette clawing at the horizon. Ruru gasped behind him, her voice a soft, startled yelp. "Huh?! Lordi-kun!" Her tone trembled with awe and fear, but her loyalty held firm. She activated her Cloud Walking Rain Step, her petite figure gliding like a wisp of mist, feet barely kissing the ground. Her breaths came quick, her heart a drumbeat of surprise and hope. "You said you’d get us out," she whispered, more to herself than to him, her voice fragile but resolute. "I believe you." Lordi’s mind screamed against the system’s control. "Not so fast, you glitchy piece of—!" But his body didn’t care. It wove through the underbrush, each step precise, relentless, driven by the AllFullOS’s cold calculation. The mountain estate’s gatehouse loomed closer, two Ancient Cloud calligraphy words glinting under the moon. Hanz Estate Lordi pulse thundered, not from exertion, but from the sinking realization: whatever the AwfulOS had planned, it wasn’t going to ask his permission. The marsh stretched before the Hanz Clan Estate’s gatehouse, its murky waters glinting under the moon’s ghostly light. Lordi’s figure materialized at its edge, a shadow against the silvered ripples. The crack in the estate’s grand defensive array—the fleeting gap that had promised escape—had sealed shut. But the AllFullOS System, thrumming in Lordi’s veins, cared little for such obstacles. His body, still a prisoner to the system’s will, stood poised, unyielding, as if the marsh itself were a trivial puddle. "This damn system better know what it’s doing." Lordi’s eyes flicked to Ruru, her face alight with unshaken trust, and a pang of responsibility tightened his chest. Without warning, his legs moved, guided by the system’s eerie precision. He stepped into the marsh, water sloshing around his boots, each stride deliberate—one to the left, one to the right, a rhythmic dance through the Gloomwater Phantom Lily Array’s illusions. The world warped around him. Up became down, the horizon tilted, and the scenery flickered—cherry trees stretching impossibly close, then snapping distant in a heartbeat. The array’s defense ward twisted reality into a disorienting haze, where shadows masqueraded as stone and water whispered like specters. Lordi’s body wove through it with unnatural speed, a blur of crimson energy trailing behind him. His heart pounded, not from exertion but from the surreal sensation of being a passenger in his own flesh, watching the system navigate the labyrinth with terrifying ease. Ruru followed, her Cloud Walking Rain Step a delicate counterpoint to Lordi’s relentless charge. Her breath hitched, eyes wide with awe as she watched him carve through the illusion. "Lordi-kun," she murmured, her voice soft but brimming with wonder, "you’re... incredible." Her words carried the unusual earnest admiration, tinged with the fear of someone teetering on the edge of the unknown. She marveled inwardly, her heart racing as she realized he hadn’t waited for the crack to reappear—he’d breached the array’s core without hesitation, as if its riddles were child’s play. Her petite frame glided over the marsh, her steps light as mist, but sweat beaded on her brow from the effort of matching his pace. The haze shattered abruptly, the world snapping into focus. The outer ring gatehouse loomed behind them. They stood within the Twin Hill Peak mountain range once again. Ruru’s breath caught, her voice trembling as she stammered, "Lo... Lordi-kun, why are we back inside?" Confusion clouded her eyes, her tone a mix of doubt and deference, as if questioning a revered elder. She wanted to ask him, to demand answers, but Lordi’s face stopped her. His expression was a mask of calm, his sharp features set with a solemnity that radiated unshakable purpose. He didn’t pause, didn’t glance back. His body surged forward, the Blood Spectre Footwork Art unfurling in a crimson blur, carrying him toward the rear mountain with the inevitability of a storm. Ruru’s heart skipped, joy flooding in. "Lordi must know something," she thought, her doubt dissolving into resolve. "Does that mean the real exit of this grand defensive array..." She channeled her footwork art to its peak, her slender legs a whirlwind as she chased him. The mountain path twisted upward, its jagged stones a gauntlet that would have tripped lesser cultivators. Lordi ascended with predatory grace, each step a silent proclamation of dominance. His Footwork Art was no mere technique—it was a force of nature, a crimson tide that warped the air around him, bending moonlight into a scarlet haze. The wind wailed in his wake, as if the mountain itself recoiled from his audacity. Ruru’s breath grew ragged, her lungs burning as she pushed to keep up. Sweat streamed down her face, matting her violet hair to her forehead, but her eyes never left Lordi. "He’s like a true demon," she whispered to herself, her voice a mix of awe and some unfamiliar fondness. "He knows this array like it’s his own domain." They tore through three city ring walls, passed through three gatehouses. The heart of the Hanz Clan Estate opened before them, its core a labyrinth of shadowed halls and whispering secrets. Lordi’s pace never faltered, his crimson blur slicing through the night like a blade. The mountain seemed to bow beneath him, its crags trembling as if acknowledging a new master. Ruru’s mind raced, piecing together the truth as she tailed Lordi’s pace "I know... The Gloomwater Phantom Lily Array’s exit wasn’t at the perimeter—it was buried in the estate’s cursed core, hidden within the rear mountain range. Lordi-kun had known." Lordi’s every step guided by a certainty Ruru could only hope to match. Her trust solidified, a fierce ember in her chest. She thought, "As long as I follow him, we’ll escape." —— A few minutes of dash, they reached the rear mountain, the Twin Peaks jagged against the moon’s pale glow. Ruru’s chest heaved as she running like crazy after Lordi, her eyes wide with recognition. The northwest corner of the rear mountain sprawled before them, a place etched in her memory from the faded map she’d studied countless times on Blood Puppet Floats. There, at the heart of this shadowed mountain wilderness, stood the Ancient Stone Well, its location marked by a gnarled titan of a tree. The night draped the mountain in a heavy shroud of indigo, the air thick with the scent of damp earth and ancient wood. Moonlight slipped through the dense canopy, casting silver threads across the forest floor, where shadows danced like restless spirits. The faint rustle of leaves stirred by a cool breeze carried a whisper of secrets, as if the mountain itself were alive, watching their every move. The ancient tree loomed ahead, a colossal sentinel rising from a small hill, its gnarled branches clawing at the star-streaked sky. Its trunk, broad and scarred, bore the weight of centuries, its bark etched with grooves deep enough to tell tales of forgotten eras. Lush leaves, dark as midnight, swayed in a slow, hypnotic rhythm, their rustling a low murmur that seemed to hum with latent power. Around it, the forest knelt in reverence—tall pines and twisted oaks blurred into the dimness, their forms humbled by the giant’s presence. Fireflies, or perhaps something more spectral, flickered in the underbrush, their faint glow weaving an eerie tapestry of light and shadow. The air pulsed with a quiet energy, as if the tree guarded something sacred—or cursed. Ruru’s breath caught, her senses overwhelmed by the scene’s haunting beauty and the growing certainty that Lordi had led them to the heart of the Gloomwater Phantom Lily Array’s mystery.