The demonic lord's consciousness, full of mockery and absolute control, was like icy poison, seeping into every person in the Thorn Wall command center's hearts. Breeding the parasite, petri dish and food... these words were like the most vicious curses, belittling Xu Zhan's heroic sacrifice and Xiao Qi's arduous growth to worthlessness, crushing the allied forces' just-kindled hope.
Despair, like thick ink, spread silently through the air. Several commanders with slightly weaker willpower even swayed, faces gray as if their spines had been extracted. Liu Yun bit her lower lip tightly, almost bleeding. Mu Qingfeng's fingers gripping the sand table's edge had lost color from overexertion. Even the serene dao fortune usually surrounding True Lord Xuanxuan fluctuated violently.
The demonic lord's calculation was too high, too suffocating. It was like a chess player seated above the Nine Heavens, gazing indifferently at the pieces' struggles on the board. No matter how hard the pieces struggled, the ending seemed predestined—devoured, fused, becoming a stepping stone for it to reach higher levels.
In this almost soul-crushing silence and despair, Tang Xiaoqi slowly closed his eyes.
His body no longer trembled. The anger and humiliation on his face receded like a tide, replaced by extreme calmness. However, beneath this calm surface was a heart's world frantically churning, colliding, reshaping itself.
The demonic lord's words, father's memories, Aunt Su's cries before dispersing, Qingxu Temple master's teachings, Senior Brothers' and Sisters' support, life-and-death trials along the journey, the original intention when obtaining purification power... all of it flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern.
He saw that "destiny" road planned by the demonic lord: as the carrier of lotus seed vitality, growing continuously until mature, then being devoured together with his father—the lotus seed main body's container—to complete its perfect demonic body.
That road was terrifyingly clear.
But...
Was he truly merely a chess piece?
Was Father Xu Zhan truly merely a "petri dish" being used?
No!
Xiao Qi sharply opened his eyes!
Within those depths, not a trace of confusion or wavering remained—only a clarity and resolve that pierced through illusion,!
"It erred." Xiao Qi's voice calmly rang out, breaking the command room's silence, clearly reaching everyone's ears.
Everyone looked up in shock, toward him.
"The demonic lord calculated everything. It calculated the lotus seed's properties, calculated the bloodline's function, calculated the laws of power growth..." Xiao Qi's gaze swept across everyone, finally landing on that demonic energy churning distance. His tone carried force: "But it miscalculated one thing—it underestimated Father, underestimated me, and underestimated... the human heart!"
He stepped forward. His aura didn't surge, yet it seemed to subtly connect with the entire Thorn Wall, with the hearts of countless allied cultivators behind him.
"Father's sacrifice is absolutely not a 'petri dish' as it claims!" Xiao Qi's voice carried undeniable respect. "That is resolution in knowing one cannot succeed yet still attempting! That is cleaving a sliver of opportunity for those who come after, at the cost of his own eternal descent into darkness! What he left wasn't merely a seal. It was a father's deepest love and hope for his son. It was a guardian's final cry to this heaven and earth!"
"He used his own method to tell the demonic lord, and me—destiny is absolutely not unresistable!"
Xiao Qi's words were like great bells tolling, striking everyone's hearts, dispelling that despair's gloom.
"As for me..." Xiao Qi pointed to his chest, where the lotus seed resonated with his heartbeat. "My growth is absolutely not 'food' it raised!"
"Every near-death survival, every insight into dao heart, every power advancement—these weren't its 'grace,' but my struggle, my perseverance, my... heart of protection!"
"Qingxu Temple's inheritance, Senior Brothers' and Sisters' bonds, Aunt Su's sacrifice, Zhao Tiezhu's loyalty, Mu Xue's understanding... these are variables its cold calculations cannot encompass! These shaped today's me—not that lotus seed alone!"
His voice gradually rose, carrying resolve to break free from shackles and declare independence:
"It viewed me as a tool to cultivate the lotus seed, yet forgot—even tools have days when they turn to bite their master!"
"It viewed Father as a prison cage for the lotus seed, yet forgot—this prison may also become a tomb to bury it!"
"Destiny?" A cold arc curved Xiao Qi's lips. That arc contained boundless power and rebellious will. "I shall break this destiny!"
He sharply turned, facing all senior officials in the command center. His gaze blazed like burning stars:
"The demonic lord wants to devour me and Father to complete its perfect fusion? Then we'll let it devour!"
"But what it swallows won't be the perfect food it expects—it will be... the most violent poison!"
"Father used his body as prison, sealing the lotus seed main body and demonic source. I shall use my body as guide, carrying lotus seed vitality to actively enter the game! What we must do isn't fruitlessly attacking from outside, but deeply entering the tiger's den. In its most core fusion process, ignite that sealed power! Use purification to counter demonic source! Use internal explosion to destroy its body!"
"Didn't it want perfect fusion? We'll give it the most thorough 'internal strife'! Let's see whether its demonic source is more domineering, or the lotus seed nurtured by the Xu family bloodline for countless years and cultivated by my heart of protection... is more resolute!"
This plan was more insane, more extreme than the previous "Break the Shackles" plan! It was practically actively jumping into the demon's mouth, executing an act of certain death leading to survival!
But at this moment, spoken from Xiao Qi's mouth, it carried a convincing, power!
He was no longer a chess piece passively waiting for destiny's arrangement. He would actively step into the game, using his own will, to rewrite that seemingly destined ending!
True Lord Xuanxuan's murky eyes blazed with astonishing brilliance. He stared fixedly at Xiao Qi, as if re-knowing this child he watched grow up. Mu Qingfeng and Liu Yun exchanged glances, both seeing shock and ignited resolve in each other's eyes.
"Well said!" A hot-tempered demon beast elder suddenly slapped his thigh, voice like thunder. "Bullshit destiny! I've cultivated for a thousand years, never believed in this! Damn it! Even if we die, we'll chip its teeth!"
"Death leading to life... perhaps this is our only road to survival." Another aquatic tribe wise one slowly nodded, eyes flashing with insightful brilliance.
The despair atmosphere was swept clean. Replacing it was heroic, passionate battle intent!
Xiao Qi's enlightenment, like lightning flashing through darkness, illuminated the path ahead, igniting the unyielding rebellious fire in everyone's hearts!
Destiny? Then let's fight through this destiny!
The demonic lord? Then let it taste what those it views as ants and food can unleash... the most brilliant, most resolute counterattack!