Chapter 774: The Fateful Confrontation

“Is it done?”

Seeing Lu Xin catch the Old Man and lock eyes with him, even the fearsome power controlled by Father—a torrent of terror capable of tearing everything apart—and Mom’s fully unleashed insightful power all seemed to pause for a moment.

A heavy, resounding heartbeat began to throb.

They all felt the tension.

They sensed that this very moment held the key to determining the victor.

Additionally, as Lu Xin’s aura erupted, they instinctively restrained their movements.

Crack…

Just as Lu Xin gripped the Old Man’s neck, a low roar erupted from him.

In the Old Man’s presence, the sheepskin tome and the golden steel pen in his hand fell uselessly to the ground.

Meanwhile, the scene around the Old Man shattered like glass, with fragments bursting forth in kaleidoscopic fireworks.

Inside the church, only Lu Xin clutched the Old Man’s neck.

Yet the surrounding scene trembled like unstable electrical currents.

In the blink of an eye, they were still inside the crumbling church, with dilapidated walls and dim candlelight all around.

In the next blink, Lu Xin and the Old Man reappeared in an abyss, surrounded by a dark red backdrop and a chilling wind.

……

……

The world kept shifting, oscillating between reality and the abyss.

Lu Xin, with his grip firm on the Old Man’s neck, remained unnervingly steady, his gaze fixed on his captive.

Ancient power from the past could crush the Old Man at any moment.

Yet Lu Xin fought every ounce of strength to control himself from unleashing that power immediately.

He was affording the Old Man a chance to submit.

But at that moment, the Old Man simply kept his eyes shut, as if time had stretched endlessly.

Then he slowly answered, “I refuse.”

……

……

“Refuse?”

The Old Man’s answer left everyone dumbfounded.

Whether it was Mom, who had unleashed her insightful eye, or Father, whose barely contained frustration was evident, all were stunned.

Even Lu Xin, still gripping the Old Man’s neck, was taken aback.

Their faces showed sheer disbelief; they couldn’t fathom hearing such a response.

Lu Xin’s hand instinctively tightened its grip.

Though he harbored no murderous intent, his low roar had sealed the Old Man’s fate—instinct screamed that after those words, he couldn’t let him live.

Yet, as soon as those words left his lips, a determined glimmer appeared on the Old Man’s face.

Swish!

Before Lu Xin’s grip could intensify further, the Old Man suddenly opened his eyes.

Buzz…

When his eyes opened and met Lu Xin’s, an overwhelming surge of mental pressure exploded.

Everything around them shattered instantly under this boundless force.

The entire world warped like paper, twisted and abstract, with all mental power suspended in mid-air.

Then, as if stirred by an invisible hand, it transformed into a chaotic, utterly disordered tangle.

Father was flung away, his force reduced to a lump.

Mom’s insightful power, which had been afloat, vanished in an instant, and she spun around to embrace Sister, who was scrambling to escape.

Pfft…

The Old Man’s eyes, as if pierced by red-hot steel needles, burst instantly, and dark, bloody streams flowed from them.

“Truth does not fear the prying of any existence…”

At the moment his eyes shattered, the Old Man—held tightly by Lu Xin—suddenly unleashed an unprecedented surge of power.

A resounding, age-worn reply emanated from his body—a voice that such a frail frame should never have been able to produce.

Simultaneously, his body melted away rapidly, dispersing like vapor.

His form withered, yet an uncanny force swept swiftly through the void.

As his mental power spread, the entire small town began to contract.

Everything in the small town—the buildings, the stone-paved paths, the ever-present chilling mist, the forgotten fishing boats, and even the white flowers quietly blooming under eaves—folded inward like a sheet of paper, curling toward the center.

A crumpled paper then formed a tight ball.

A small town folded into itself became a massive prison.

Lu Xin felt his body being crushed as heaps of debris and shattered stone pressed in on him.

……

……

“You deserve to die…”

Incensed by the violent compression, Lu Xin roared in terror from deep within his throat.

His fingers clenched instantly, and a wild surge of power threatened to devour the Old Man.

But just as he was about to strike, he suddenly caught sight of the Old Man’s eyes.

Though they were already blind,

his eyes—dark voids with only black blood gushing out—seemed visible to Lu Xin, revealing a calm gaze on a face drained of strength.

“I shouldn’t do this…”

Lu Xin snapped back, realizing the Old Man was mere inches from his mouth.

His mouth had already opened wide…

Startled by his own madness, he quickly pushed the Old Man away, even recoiling somewhat.

Immediately, Mom’s anxious voice penetrated through layers of chaotic mental turbulence and reached his ears: “Do not kill him. He intends to trap us in here. This is the prison of cognition—he has confined himself within it, and with that, locked away the Night King’s power. If you kill him, we will all be trapped here.”

“Even if we later escape using the Tyrant’s power, who knows how long it might take…”

“It could be ten years, twenty years, or even a hundred…”

“……”

Lu Xin’s thoughts cleared, tinged with lingering terror.

He had come perilously close to falling for the Old Man’s trap…

“For what?”

Overcome by boundless rage, he grabbed the Old Man once again—this time without the intent to devour him.

“Do you really want to defy me?”

His voice, stripped of any softness, only carried furious conviction: “I could consume you, but I don’t eat people.”

“I can also summon my Mind Palace to obliterate this small town completely.”

“But there are so many lives in this town—what will become of them?”

“……”

It was a far cry from the earlier moment when his eyes had brimmed with dark particles and his tone was imperious as he questioned the Old Man.

Now, Lu Xin’s voice held nothing but a harsh, common man’s inquiry.

It lacked both power and mystery.

To some, his challenge may have even seemed feeble.

Yet the Old Man, still gripped by Lu Xin, tensed; his cheek muscles trembled ever so slightly.

The mental power emanating from him softened abruptly.

Outside, the mysterious force that had twisted, drawn in, and folded the small town slowed its pace a little.

Both Mom and Father keenly noticed this change.

Father’s impulse flared as he glimpsed what might be a fleeting chance to escape.

An escape.

Though no one knew why, the Fire-Thief slowed the folding of the town.

That slowdown, that brief pause, undoubtedly gave the Mental Entity a chance to break free.

If he took this opportunity to leave, he wouldn’t be trapped within the Old Man’s mystery.

Though he might lose his authority, he would at least gain freedom and…

…a temporary lifeline.

The Mental Entity’s instincts compelled it to seize the chance without hesitation.

Regardless of Lu Xin, Mom, or Sister—the last vestige of hope—how could he not grab it?

But just as that thought surfaced, he suddenly felt Mom’s cold, heavy gaze.

Only then did Father realize that this journey was also about reclaiming his authority.

Then…

He was overwhelmed by inner conflict, clutching his head in agony as he cried out in pain.

……

……

“If…”

Before Lu Xin, the blind Old Man—whose mental power had begun to ease—spoke wearily:

“If my previous question were rephrased as follows:”

“If this world is about to perish and only one thing can be saved, what would you choose to keep?”

“……”

Lu Xin was momentarily stunned, not expecting such a question.

After a brief silence, he gritted his teeth and declared fiercely, “I love this world. I won’t let it perish.”

The Old Man, equally taken aback, seemed unprepared for that answer.

Then he slowly continued, “And if?”

At that moment, burdened by the stares of the past and overwhelmed by chaotic mental power—and, above all, consumed by anger—Lu Xin could barely form coherent thoughts. In that instant, he instinctively roared, “I don’t care about any ifs…”

“If this world were to perish, I would sacrifice my life to protect it…”

“I won’t be the first to give my life for this world, but I certainly won’t be the last to cling to life…”

“So before the world perishes, I would already be dead, leaving no choice to be made…”

“……”

That answer seemed to soften the Old Man’s grim expression ever so slightly.

His body appeared to slacken abruptly.

“So that’s your answer…”

After a long pause, he murmured regretfully, “Even I cannot deny that such primitive thinking is flawed…”

……

……

As his sigh echoed, Lu Xin suddenly saw everything around him fade away like an oil painting.

The oppressive pressure vanished in an instant, replaced by bright candlelight.

He found himself back in the church; everything was as it had been when he first arrived.

Only the Old Man now stood before a faceless god statue, silently watching him.

Then Lu Xin realized with a shock that he and the statue were identical—he essentially had no face of his own.

The only difference was that his eyes were indeed blind, with fresh blood streaming from his sockets.

……

……

“You’ve won…”

In a low voice, the Old Man declared, “Take it away… the Night King’s power.”