Jiang Lin made the adjustments as instructed, his hands moving without the slightest pause.
Yet with every rune circle he finished carving, he left a minuscule branch node at the end of the guiding circuit, one virtually imperceptible unless examined with extreme scrutiny.
Those nodes were tucked inside the bends of the runic tracings, veiled beneath the primary lines; only from a specific angle could one glimpse that exceedingly delicate turn.
The altar was not large, utilizing a three-tiered nested structure consistent with the standard specifications for mid-level sacrifices.
It took Jiang Lin nearly one shichen to complete all the carvings. He then embedded three dark magic crystals into the array core and carefully verified the integrity of every single line.
Gray Robe also stepped forward, circling the altar once before crouching to touch the edges of several key nodes with his hand. After confirming that everything was in order, he stood back up, nodding slightly.
“Not bad. To achieve this level of precision the first time setting up a mid-level altar alone is indeed better than others of your rank.”
He turned, walked to the barn door, and glanced in the direction of the town.
“I will go bring the sacrifice over. Wait here, do not wander off, and do not let anyone approach this altar.”
Jiang Lin acknowledged the order, standing where he was and watching as Gray Robe walked off along the trail, until his figure vanished behind the cover of bushes and weeds.
Maintaining Space Perception at its maximum range, Jiang Lin confirmed that Gray Robe was sufficiently far away before immediately crouching down. Reaching into the base of the altar, he drew out his chisel and connected the branch nodes one by one to a spatial anchoring core he had placed beforehand.
The core was embedded within the interior of the altar's foundation, completely concealed by the stone base, leaving no trace of abnormality from the outside.
Next, he added an exceedingly faint trace line around the altar's perimeter, connecting it to a positioning crystal pre-positioned in the corner of the barn.
He had slipped it in when Gray Robe's back was turned upon their arrival at the barn.
Activating this crystal would trigger three short-range spatial anchors he had planted along the approach, sealing off the entire area within roughly ten zhang of the barn.
Having completed this, he put away the chisel, recovered the newly added lines with loose dirt, and brushed the dust from his hands.
Silence settled over the barn once more.
An occasional gust of wind seeped through the damaged roof, rustling the dried straw with a soft, whispery hiss.
Sunlight beamed through gaps in the ruined ceiling, illuminating dust motes drifting lazily through the slanted rays.
About two quarters of an hour later, footsteps finally sounded outside the barn.
Gray Robe walked in front, followed by a hunched, gaunt figure.
The man kept his head lowered, his steps dragging, his body bundled in faded, ragged garments whose original color had long since vanished.
Gray Robe pushed open the half-ajar wooden door, stepped aside to let the vagrant inside, and pulled the door shut behind them.
Standing by the altar, Jiang Lin watched as the vagrant was led to the center of the altar and seated.
The man kept his head down throughout, seemingly half-dazed, occasionally muttering faint, incoherent breaths from between his lips.
Standing at the rim of the altar, Gray Robe tilted his chin toward Jiang Lin.
“Begin. First activate the outer binding, then initiate the matching process. I will watch from the side and take over if any problems arise.”
Jiang Lin walked to the altar foundation and crouched down, placing his right hand upon the central dark magic crystal.
He did not immediately inject magic essence, instead rapidly rehearsing all subsequent steps in his mind.
The outer binding would activate normally.
The inner matching process would initiate normally.
Yet the instant the energy flow entered the third circle, he would simultaneously trigger those branch nodes alongside the positioning crystal in the barn's corner.
The spatial anchors would instantly seal the entire perimeter, while the reverse circuit would direct the energy from the matching process straight toward Gray Robe's position.
Then, seizing the split second of his opponent's distraction, he would unleash Instant Light Flash.
The operational window was exceedingly narrow.
Perhaps less than two breaths.
Drawing a deep breath, Jiang Lin channeled magic essence from his palm into the magic crystal.
A dark red radiance rippled progressively along the runic paths. The outer binding array flared first, locking the vagrant's body within an extremely confined space.
The man shivered slightly, but still did not raise his head, as though entirely oblivious to the outside world.
Immediately following that, the inner matching process began.
A dark red aura flowed slowly across the altar's surface, seeping into the vagrant's body.
Now.
Jiang Lin pressed his left hand lightly against the side of the altar base.
Several branch nodes activated simultaneously.
Dense slivers of silver-white light burst from those concealed patterns, racing along the pre-laid guide lines to connect instantly with the positioning crystal in the barn corner.
At the same time, three spatial anchors flared around the barn's exterior.
A translucent silver barrier materialized in a flash, enveloping the entire barn within.
Gray Robe reacted with blinding speed.
Almost the very instant the spatial anchors activated, he sensed the anomaly.
Stepping back half a pace, a grayish-white mental force field condensed around his body like swirling mist, shrouding him completely.
Yet when his eyes landed on Jiang Lin, he did not strike immediately.
Those grayish-blue pupils narrowed slightly, as if having processed a calculation in a fraction of a second.
“You belong to the Temple.”
Gray Robe's voice was not loud, even carrying a tinge of revelation, as if confirming a long-held suspicion.
“From joining the church, to sacrificing your comrades, to your journey from the mine to the border—every step was planted right within the cracks of the church's trust.
“The Bishop assumed you were merely a promising recruit with sufficient ruthlessness, never imagining that your roots never belonged to the secret cult from the start.”
Jiang Lin did not reply.
In his right hand, the condensed Eight Extremities Holy Sword had already formed.
Coiled around the white-gold blade was the deep blue glow of ice soul power, gleaming with chilly, sharp radiance in the dim light of the barn.
Gray Robe's gaze lingered on the sword for an instant, as though completely confirming the deductions in his mind.
“Restrained sword intent, ice soul power, and this method of deploying spatial anchors...
“You are no ordinary Temple apostle.
“You are Jiang Lin, the one who stirred up quite a storm in the Saintas Kingdom not long ago.
“Among the low-ranking apostles, rumors have continually circulated regarding a ‘Holy Son’ named Jiang Lin.
“However, as a high-ranking member of the secret cult with my own intelligence channels, I am well aware that the Temple never officially conferred such a Holy Son title.”
He looked at Jiang Lin.
“It seems you received the quest to hunt me down in your capacity as an apostle of god.”
“You guessed correctly,” Jiang Lin said flatly. “Though being right won't change anything.”
Gray Robe did not attack right away.
Standing within the silver barrier formed by the spatial anchors, the grayish-white mental force field continued to swirl steadily around him as he swiftly weighed the advantages and disadvantages of the situation before him.
“You were already meddling when you set up the altar,” he said.
“Those branch nodes were tucked at the ends of the guiding circuits, which indeed makes them hard to spot from the front. But for someone who knew where to look, finding them wouldn't have been difficult.
“You wagered that I wouldn't examine those details closely.
“And you won that bet.”
Gray Robe paused briefly.
“Yet have you ever considered another possibility?”
His tone remained steady.
“I intentionally let you finish laying all of it out.”
Jiang Lin's sword tip did not lower, yet his posture hitched for half a breath.
Gray Robe's words caused his initial assessment to shift.
He needed to reevaluate this man's true intentions.
Looking at him, Gray Robe's lips seemed to twitch faintly.
“I actually knew about what happened to Blood Raven and Withered Bone long ago.
“After Blood Raven died, I sent people to investigate that ruin. Although the altar's remains had been thoroughly scrubbed, the faint traces of sacrifice lingering within the crevices of the rocks could not escape my senses.
“As for Withered Bone...
“When you dealt with him, I was actually above that river valley.”
Jiang Lin's pupils narrowed slightly.
“So you've been waiting for me to make a move all along.”
His tone did not waver, but his sword wrist shifted angle soundlessly.
“From the moment you requested to take on this assignment, you already knew who I was?”
“I knew part of it,” Gray Robe answered. “But I wasn't certain of your exact identity.
“Not until just now, when your mastery of spatial magic was exposed during the altar's construction.
“An ordinary Holy Son candidate could not possibly command this level of spatial anchor deployment at your age and cultivation stage.
“Combined with your age, rank, and the timing of your initiation, only one person fits the profile.”
He paused.
“Within the Temple, there are very few who could reach such attainment at your age.
“And the only one who recently vanished, whose timeline matches yours exactly, is Jiang Lin.”
The air inside the barn seemed to freeze solid.
The vagrant remained seated motionless in the center of the altar.
The radiance of the outer binding array pulsed slowly, yet he remained oblivious to everything happening around him.
Jiang Lin kept his eyes fixed on Gray Robe.
The other man's posture was by no means relaxed.
That grayish-white mental force field remained stable and active, enveloping his entire form.
“You have two choices right now,” Gray Robe spoke again after a brief silence.
“First, proceed according to your original plan and attempt to breach my mental shield within five breaths.
“Second...”
His voice lowered slightly.
“Use that reverse circuit you prepared to turn the altar upon me, then gamble on whether that sword in your hand can outpace my mental suppression.”
Jiang Lin stood in place, rapidly running through the pros and cons of both choices in his mind within a single breath.
Having spoken, Gray Robe made no further move, nor did he press for an answer.
He simply stood inside the silver barrier formed by the spatial anchors, quietly awaiting Jiang Lin's decision.
Jiang Lin still held the Eight Extremities Holy Sword in his right hand.
Yet after a moment, the blade that had been leveled directly at Gray Robe's chest slowly lowered, angling toward the ground.
He did not say a word.
Yet the gesture itself made his choice clear.
Gray Robe glanced at the lowered blade and gave a slight nod.
He offered no superfluous commentary.
He merely raised a hand, drawing the grayish-white mental force field surrounding him inward by several inches, pulling it back from an explosive state to one of mere vigilance.
“When you were setting up the altar just now, the core node of your reverse circuit was embedded between the third and fourth rings at the base.
“The placement of that positioning crystal was well chosen, but if you had extended the guide line by another half a chi, the spatial anchor's coverage area could have expanded by another ring.”
Gray Robe's tone returned to its earlier measured cadence, even carrying a faint hint of instruction.
“You can keep that detail in mind next time.”
Jiang Lin did not dismiss his sword, though his tense shoulders eased slightly.
“You kept the clues about Blood Raven and Withered Bone to yourself until now just to confirm whether I was the person you were looking for?”
“It was to confirm it,” Gray Robe said.
“Yet once confirmed, the original arrangement can no longer proceed.
“Initially, I assumed you were a mole planted by another diocese, or perhaps bait intentionally cast out by the Bishop.
“However, the Temple's holy light...”
He glanced at the Eight Extremities Holy Sword in Jiang Lin's hand.
“That kind of power cannot be faked.”
Gray Robe paused, as though considering what to say next.
Only then did he continue:
“What do you intend to do now?
“Return to Shadow City and continue playing the Holy Son candidate?
“Or use this opportunity to slip away directly?”
Jiang Lin did not answer immediately.
In his mind, he rapidly weighed the viability of both options.
If he slipped away right now, Shadow City would quickly discover Drake's disappearance.
Coupled with Gray Robe's knowledge of the clues regarding Blood Raven and Withered Bone, the secret cult's upper echelons would soon realize that the string of prior events had likely been perpetrated by the same person.
When that happened, all the groundwork he had laid for the identity of Drake would essentially be ruined.
It would even become uncertain whether he could use the teleportation array to return to Shadow City and resume his infiltration.
Yet if he chose to return to Shadow City, Gray Robe's subsequent attitude would introduce a massive variable.
The man had learned his true identity, yet he still stood here, even taking the time to point out flaws in his spatial anchor layout.
Such an attitude was more than enough to show—
Gray Robe's true allegiance was likely far more complicated than it appeared on the surface.
“You mentioned earlier that the reverse circuit I prepared could be turned against you.”
Rather than answering Gray Robe's question, Jiang Lin abruptly shifted the topic:
“Standing here talking to me for so long, are you not worried that I might activate the circuit while you speak?”
“You won't,” Gray Robe answered crisply.
“The moment you lowered your sword, I knew you wouldn't activate it.”
“Why?”
“Because before taking action, you always verify whether a person actually deserves to die.
“With Blood Raven and Withered Bone, you struck only after confirming their guilt.
“And with those colleagues in Anvil Town, you made your move only after ensuring they were truly nothing more than pawns in the secret cult's hands.”
Having said this, Gray Robe offered no further explanation. Instead, he turned and took two steps toward the barn door.
He came to a stop just before the silver barrier formed by the spatial anchors.
“How much longer do you plan to maintain this anchor?”
“I can dismiss it at any time.”
“Then dismiss it.
“We cannot linger here too long, or the townsfolk will notice something amiss sooner or later.”
Gray Robe turned sideways, casting his gaze upon the vagrant who remained motionless in the center of the altar.
“Release him.
“He has completely lost consciousness and will remember nothing upon waking.
“Leave a few copper coins by his side, and he will simply assume he fell asleep after getting drunk.”
...
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