Under One Person: The Seeker of the Dao in the Lü Family

Chapter 249 Settling Karma, Cultivation Furnace

"Neither alive nor dead, calling you a monster would be quite fitting."

Lu Qian, holding a peach wood sword, his eyes flashing with crimson-gold light, looked at the body in front of him and said sarcastically.

"The Eight Extraordinary Skills have clouded your mind and made you lose your true nature. What a pity that you have lost your original self."

"What you said is not much different from what Senior Zhou Sheng said."

Inside the Three Calamities Cage, Qu Tong's puppet body raised its head and calmly looked at Lü Qian through the shackles of wind and fire.

"As for how you address me, that's just how you see me."

"You, a descendant of the Lü family, may call me a monster without any problem."

At this moment, she felt neither joy nor sorrow, neither desire nor want, truly resembling an enlightened sage who had transcended worldly affairs and escaped the mundane world.

But those pupils were serene and empty, devoid of any human emotions or desires, as still as stagnant water.

"Grandmaster Zhou Sheng came to see you? It seems you still have feelings for each other."

Lu Qian shook his head, his pupils flashing with crimson-gold light, no longer scrutinizing the other's condition.

"It's a pity that you not only forgot your true self, Dr. Duanmu, but also President Qu Tong, becoming a monster with no past and no future."

"Using the Dual-Handed Technique to sever the Three Corpses and eradicate the Six Thieves, what remains are the true Three Corpses and Six Thieves. Is this the demonic path of applying the Dual-Handed Technique to itself?"

In Lü Qian's view, although Qu Tong had achieved tranquility and emptiness at this moment, this tranquility and emptiness was merely an illusion.

The other party did not try to pick up or put down. Beneath this quiet and empty exterior, there was still a turbulent undercurrent of greed, anger, and delusion, which was merely disguised on the outside.

"No wonder the tribulations of wind and fire have lingered for so long; it turns out you were just faking it."

Looking at the gleaming shackles of wind and fire, Lü Qian nodded, which dispelled his doubts.

Since the Dual-Hand Technique can achieve a false saintly state of mind, even if it is false, it is still a disguised form of enlightenment. So why are the Wind and Fire Tribulations still locked onto Qu Tong?

"Having a strong conviction in one's heart, one will have no regrets even in death. By doing this, you're making me seem more like the villain."

Lu Qian circled the puppet's body inside the Three Calamities Cage twice before stopping in front of it again.

"Forget it, whatever you're fixated on, my purpose in settling your karmic debts isn't to relieve your worries, but to put an end to everything."

"Although you have two full hands, these three calamities may not be able to destroy you, but they can cripple all of Qu Tong's."

"For a monster caught between life and death, it's better to just die completely!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Three Calamities Cage that had been surrounding the puppet's body suddenly tightened, and the shackles of wind and fire fell on the puppet before disappearing.

Scorching flames erupted from inside the puppet's body, burning away flesh and tendons in the flames, instantly burning away half of its face and revealing stark white bones.

The flames gradually spread, and the blood vessels and muscles were clearly visible. After a moment, half of the face was reduced to bare bones, and the other half of the face was undergoing the same process.

Time slowed down and became clear at this moment. The flames died down, and a gale arose, gradually turning the tough bones into dust, which then vanished with the wind.

"I'll be waiting for you in the future."

Amidst the calamities of wind and fire, the remaining skeleton still held a sliver of life. Its lifeless eyes gazed at Lü Qian, radiating a hazy red and blue light.

The red and blue colors gradually intertwine, like two snakes and fish biting each other, from which new life is about to be born.

"My sword is also waiting for you."

"Whoosh—"

The dazzling sword light flashed and disappeared in an instant, like a thunderbolt, destroying the nascent life and shattering the balance between the red and blue colors.

"The line between life and death has indeed become blurred in Shuangquan's hands."

"This sword has destroyed your divided soul; consider it interest."

Lu Qian sheathed his sword and stood there. With a flick of his sleeve, he directly dismantled the remaining puppet, causing it to vanish completely in the swift gale.

Faced with the three calamities, Qu Tong first used the "Double Perfection Hand" to cut off her own life force, severing her seven emotions and six desires, thus losing the emotions that life should have.

In this situation, compared to an inanimate object, it is only slightly more alive, so there is nothing wrong with calling it a monster that is somewhere between life and death.

Just now, that monster wanted to escape this state of being neither alive nor dead by dying, using its double-handed technique to break through and then rise again.

Lu Qian was in Tongtian Valley, thousands of miles away from Qu Tong's true form. Under normal circumstances, he would be unable to do anything to her, but he also had the [Heavenly Escape Sword Technique] taught by Lu Zu.

This sword strike cuts down the evil and crooked paths that obstruct the way!

"ah--"

The same screams echoed from the headquarters of the Shining Star Society, thousands of miles away, in that dimly lit room.

The red and blue light seemed like snakes and fish darting around in fright, the chaotic light flickering in the room, and the life that was about to be born vanished into nothingness.

A gentle breeze wafts by, and the soft rustling of the brush on the book never ceases, as if it were merely an observer.

After a long time, the disordered light stabilized again, the red and blue light intertwined again, and new life was born from the tiny things.

But this glimmer of hope was even fainter than before, like a candle flickering in the wind, ready to be extinguished at any moment.

"Neither alive nor dead, encountering three calamities, a single sword strike from the heavens slays the demons."

Zhou Sheng's voice rang out, and after reciting a summary, the book filled with the past was closed again, scattered in the wind along with the brush.

"Take care of yourself."

After he finished speaking, the breeze began to flow again, heading towards the window. The curtains that had been hanging quietly to the side were gently lifted, and a few rays of sunlight squeezed in through the gaps, illuminating the darkness in the room.

The light from the double-handed sword gradually faded, and in the dim environment, a figure appeared on the bed.

The figure sat up, backlit, and slowly reached out to touch its cheek.

"That brat from the Lü family actually injured me so badly."

A deep voice echoed in the room. The figure covered her right cheek and slowly turned her head to look at the window, where her illusory image appeared on the glass.

In the sunlight, the hand that had been covering his right cheek was slowly removed, revealing a face different from his normal left cheek; the color of stark white bone peeked out from between his fingers.

"The transformation is not complete, and with the three calamities plaguing it, this incarnation is essentially useless."

Although the hand slid down slowly, it still revealed half of the right face that had turned into a skeleton, with the calamities of wind and fire appearing and disappearing, constantly grinding against the stark white bones.

The curtains, which had been drawn back, fell completely back into darkness, and the deep voice sounded again.

"It seems the only way to recover is through the [Cultivation Furnace]."

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Chapter Two!

Chapter 3 will be posted tomorrow; the author is too tired and not in good condition.