Han Yu pressed a hand to his forehead, breathing hard.
He wanted to scream. To shatter the cave. To rush out and slaughter the entire Slave District.
But he could not.
Not now.
Not like this.
He had saved her body, but her mind remained chained in a nightmare he could not touch. If her mind was truly gone or asleep beneath that cursed seal, she would emit at least so faint spark of emotion.
Pain. Fear. Confusion. Anything.
But he sensed nothing.
No Eight Emotions energy. Not a single wisp.
She was silent in her mind. Silent in her soul.
He clenched his jaw so hard it hurt.
He placed his hands on her shoulders and forced himself to speak calmly.
"Xuan Qing. Stay here."
She nodded imdiately. "Acknowledged."
Han Yu closed his eyes and repeated more specific instructions, knowing the Doll Seal required very precise phrasing.
"You will stay inside this cave at all tis. You will not open the door. You will not leave unless I give a direct order. You will take care of your health. You will eat when you feel hunger. You will drink water when needed. The food is in the cabinet to your left. If sothing is unclear, remain still and wait for my return."
She nodded with the sa chanical calm. "Acknowledged."
He wanted to say more. To tell her he would fix this. To tell her she was not alone. To tell her that he would not abandon her.
But none of that mattered if she could not understand him.
If she could not even hear him in her mind.
Han Yu turned away, breathing through the pain in his chest.
He walked to the stone door, placed his hand on the locking array, and activated it. The door slid into place with a heavy thud.
He stood there for a few seconds, palm pressed against the cool stone, fighting the urge to punch through it.
He pulled his hand away, turned, and left down the path.
There was no more hesitation.
He needed answers.
He needed knowledge.
He needed a way to break the Doll Seal.
And the first place he would search was the common libraries scattered across the sect. Even if the information was forbidden, there had to be references sowhere. Sothing left behind by a careless writer or a scholar who did not know the value of what they had recorded.
Han Yu strode down the winding stone steps of the Fifth Rib Peak, his expression colder than ever. The air around him seed heavier, making passing disciples avoid him even more than usual.
He did not care.
His only thoughts were of the dark crimson web crushing Xuan Qing’s mind.
He would tear that seal apart soday.
He only needed to find out how.
Han Yu spent the next week digging through every bit of information he could find. Day after day he climbed library steps, walked through dust choked aisles, and flipped through hundreds of scrolls and books until his eyes stung and his mind ached.
The first three days he searched only the common libraries scattered across the Rib Peaks. These were open to all disciples, filled mostly with basic manuals, general histories, cultivation anecdotes, and collections of trivial techniques that anyone could look up.
He went through them all.
He found nothing.
There were vague ntions of seals used to control slaves. There were even references to certain high tier techniques that could manipulate the mind, but all of them were either incomplete or described only in na. None of them talked about the Doll Seal directly.
Every ti Han Yu thought he found a clue, it ended up being nothing more than a sentence such as:
"A forbidden seal exists for the controlling of high value slaves. Only the qualified may learn it."
Or
"The Doll Seal is not permitted to be discussed outside qualified divisions."
Each ti he read one, his frustration mounted.
After searching nearly ten libraries he realized sothing important. The sect had deliberately erased most knowledge about this seal from public access. It was completely absent from general information and records open to the Outer Court.
If Han Yu wanted real answers, he needed to go higher.
Thankfully he had enough rit points for that.
After spending almost all of his points on Xuan Qing, he still had a little more than a thousand left. It was not much, but it was enough to pay for access to the restricted libraries. The ones only Outer Court mbers with sufficient rit could step into.
Inside one such library near the Lecture Halls, Han Yu finally found what he was seeking.
The library slled of old parchnt and cold incense. Rows upon rows of black lacquered shelves stretched out in every direction. Unlike the common libraries, this one was immaculate and organized with precision. Each shelf had formation plates embedded into its fra that scanned the books and kept them aligned.
Han Yu searched for hours before he stumbled upon a thick crimson bound book that seed out of place among the neatly categorized shelves. It sat alone, slightly protruding, as if it did not want to be forgotten.
The title on the cover made him pause.
"Record of the Masterpieces of the Slaughtered Moon Divine Blood Sect."
Han Yu pulled it free and carried it to a reading alcove. The book was heavy, bound with beast skin and reinforced with a thin layer of blood resistant lacquer. When he opened it, the pages were yellowed and ancient.
Inside were descriptions of the most powerful creations, techniques, weapons, and legacies that the sect had produced throughout its long history. There were paintings of mighty artifacts, diagrams of legendary formations, and even stories of terrifying curses used in ancient wars.
He read page after page.
And then he saw it.
A section titled: "Mind Modifying Doll Seal."
His breath caught.
He leaned closer and began to read more about the Seal that was one of the most terrifying secrets of the sect.
User Comments
0 comments from readers