MTLNOVEL Chapter 255: Forced Decryption
[This is your second Heaven's Calculation attempt today... Calculating celestial secrets!]
[Heaven's Calculation failed! Target's destiny has been obscured! Forced decryption requires reducing Luck Deficiency stacks to at least 500!]
Chen Huaian: "??? Wait, they obscured this too!"
But he quickly regained his composure.
It made sense—Dan Yun must have used some method to protect her daughter.
This was why the Jade Pool Holy Land had failed to locate Dan Bai all these years.
"Heaven's Calculation, how can I obtain the Primordial Heaven-Mending Pill formula?" Chen Huaian changed his question.
[Calculating celestial secrets... This is your third attempt today! Payment deducted.]
But by now, no cultivators paid attention to the frequently disturbed celestial phenomena.
Even if a golden vertical pupil appeared, they'd barely lift an eyelid before ignoring it.
[Calculation complete. Find Dan Bai or Dan Yun to obtain the Primordial Heaven-Mending Pill formula.]
"Motherf—!"
Wasn't this stating the obvious?
Give me back my ten grand!
Chen Huaian gnashed his teeth, feeling like he'd bought a battle pass, claimed all rewards, then foolishly upgraded to premium—only to get ten extra levels and nothing else.
"Fine, guess I'll have to clear my Luck Deficiency stacks then."
Chen Huaian nearly fainted seeing his staggering 987 stacks of Luck Deficiency.
Daily life was manageable—he wouldn't die from high-voltage shocks, falling manholes, or spontaneous vehicle/chopper fuel tank combustions. They just added some... excitement to his mundane existence. But chronic constipation and finding steel wool bits or fly corpses in his food? Unacceptable.
Ascetic fasting wasn't an option.
Humans developed mouths and culinary culture for a reason.
When broke, he'd had to grit his teeth and endure.
Now that he was loaded? Time to end this "exciting" lifestyle.
Chen Huaian opened his player status panel, selected the <Luck Deficiency 987> debuff, and clicked 'Clear All'.
[Clearing 987 Luck Deficiency stacks requires: 100x1000 + 300x10k + 300x100k + 287x1mil = 320 million total. Confirm?]
"320 million? Pocket change! Clear it!"
[Payment processed. Luck Deficiency stacks cleared!]
The moment the notification appeared,
Chen Huaian felt a refreshing breeze carrying birdsong and floral scents.
Carrying 987 stacks hadn't felt particularly burdensome, but now—liberated—his entire body felt lighter, as if shedding several pounds! The euphoria resembled finally reaching an overcrowded station restroom after agonizing intestinal pressure, bursting through the door the instant some uncle exited, then unleashing primordial forces upon the porcelain throne!
"BLISS!!!"
Chen Huaian planted one foot on the Sword Pavilion stele, hands on hips.
"Now forcibly decrypt Dan Bai's location for this venerable one!"
[Calculating celestial secrets. Detected obscured target. Initiating forced decryption!]
[Player gains 500 Luck Deficiency stacks.]
Chen Huaian smirked devilishly, casually spending 13.1 million to clear the 500 stacks.
Starting today, he'd carry zero Luck Deficiency stacks. No more "Constipation Boy" for him.
[Forced decryption complete. Dan Bai's location marked on map!]
...
Meanwhile, deep in the Hundred Thousand Mountains,
Where mist veiled secluded valleys and moonlight bathed lonely eaves,
A white-robed girl by a wooden cottage rolled up her sleeves, organizing sun-dried spiritual herbs in bamboo trays.
Surrounding her—squirrels, mountain birds, rabbits, even minor demons—all watched eagerly.
"Just a little longer," she smiled, stroking an oversized mountain bird's head.
The bird—barrel-sized and quivering with fat—boasted three centuries of demonic cultivation, undisputed king of its kind.
Dan Bai gathered the herbs to brew tea indoors,
When sudden dread pierced the air. The animals trembled violently, pressing themselves to the ground.
She looked up at the slit of sky above the canyon.
Her mother's illusion array had concealed this valley for years—even Jade Pool Holy Land's Great Ascension Stage master Yuyao had failed to find her. Previous spiritual probes had gone unnoticed, but this one... terrified her.
BOOM—!
Dan Bai's pupils contracted violently.
A colossal golden vertical pupil emerged from the clouds.
Though its gaze encompassed vast territory, she knew—it was staring directly at her!
CRACK!!!
Golden lightning split the heavens, striking the canyon.
Dan Bai raised her arms defensively, face pale.
When she lowered them, the canyon's grand array was webbed with cracks.
Inside, the hidden array disk had melted.
She watched helplessly as the runes disintegrated—her mother's life's work, a heaven-defying array crafted with priceless resources—
Now pierced like tissue paper by celestial judgment.
Fortunately, only one bolt fell.
The golden pupil seemed content with breaching the array.
Confirming the array's irreversible damage, it faded into dark clouds.
Soon, the sky cleared, moon and stars reappearing.
For the first time, she saw the canyon's true skyline—but had no heart to admire it.
"The array's broken. I must flee."
Dan Bai bit her lip urgently, abandoning her animal companions.
Jade Pool Holy Land could arrive any moment.
She needed new hiding grounds.
Still powerless to rescue her mother, being captured would doom them both.
...
Chen Huaian remained unaware his forced decryption had endangered his target.
He'd assumed "forced decryption" enhanced celestial reading—not physically dismantling protective arrays.
Had he known, he'd have surrounded the array before breaking it.
Checking his map, the marker pointed deep into Hundred Thousand Mountains—
Dangerously close to the Demon Race's stronghold.
Surviving there required either Dan Yun's formidable protections or Dan Bai's own strength.
Without delay, Chen Huaian prepared to depart.
But as he extended his spiritual sense, the terrain on his minimap transformed abruptly—
A massive red ring occupied half the display,
Surrounded by eighteen smaller circles nested within, resembling crop circle patterns.
But this was Cangyun Realm—Chen Huaian recognized a formation.
Someone had set up an array while he was in a pocket dimension?
Chen Huaian narrowed his eyes.
On the minimap, a red dot overlapped his white triangle marker.
If the enemy wasn't before him...
Then they must be above!!!
...