Extra's Strategy: Cultivate Protagonists, Become Invincible-Chapter 247: Collpase of Dao Heart

"Can all of your backers combined threaten Xuan Zi?"

Facing Han Xuhan's final question, Chen Yan could no longer maintain his tranquil composure.

An oppressive spiritual pressure erupted from his body, enveloping and suffocating everyone around him, making them instinctively retreat several steps.

Only Han Xuhan remained rooted on his spot, because Chen Yan's grip on his shoulders had not budged.

Unbeknownst to the others, Mu Ran was affected the most by this. An audible growl left his throat as his heels dug into the earth. A pair of golden stripes appeared inside his eyes, encircling the pupils to form an inhuman, reptilian gaze.

He stared at Chen Yan with clear hatred and disgust. If Chen Yan's entire focus hadn't been locked on Han Xuhan, he'd have surely noticed the animosity.

"Junior Brother Xuhan, you can't just go around accusing people of insurrection," Chen Yan said in a deep tone while his fingers sank into Han Xuhan's shoulders like claws.

"Aren't you doing the same thing? You came here to accuse me of attempting to sabotage the entire outer court," Han Xuhan replied, wincing in pain.

"The accusations against you are founded on proven facts. But you're accusing me based on guesswork," Chen Yan countered, adding,

"Besides, your entire deduction seems to be an evasive measure to protect yourself from your own fears. Don't you realize that I can sense it, junior brother?"

Leaning in, Chen Yan spoke with heavy emphasis on every single word.

"You haven't answered my question yet. Is it because you fear even contemplating the answer? Is that why you've busied your mind with chaotic deductions that have nothing to do with it?"

Han Xuhan suddenly felt like his entire thinking space was being forcibly occupied.

Chen Yan's inquisitive gaze, his logic, and the question he had raised—they magnified a thousandfold inside his consciousness uncontrollably.

These alien elements formed a self-contained, destructive loop of thoughts that tolerated no competition. His own voice inside his own mind was silenced completely!

"Think, junior brother! I came here to give you information.

I told you that the entire outer court now knows of your scheme to dupe them into buying that legalist path's Mystic Art. They know that you're working for foreign forces, serving foreign interests.

Our sect master may have supported you in the past, but can he still continue to support you when the entire sect raises its voices against you? Why aren't you worried about this?"

As if to facilitate his thinking, the spiritual pressure that occupied his headspace loosened a little. So Han Xuhan obeyed Chen Yan's instruction and thought hard.

Indeed, Xuan Zi couldn't possibly back him if the situation reached that stage.

"Do you have an answer, junior brother? Don't you think you should stop struggling on this road of no return? Don't you think it's better to give up?"

Han Xuhan nodded slowly. "You're right. If the entire sect unites against me, I wouldn't be able to turn the situation around. So... I just have to make sure that they can never unite against me.

Even if they do, it shouldn't be difficult to suppress their voices. Using my connections and spending a few spirit stones should be enough."

"....?"

Chen Yan didn't seem to have expected that answer. In that split second of his confusion, his spiritual pressure dissipated like smoke blown away by an abrupt wind.

Clarity returned to Han Xuhan's mind. And alongside clarity came a wave of horror.

He had never experienced the naked animosity of a Soul Reformation realm cultivator before. The occasional demonstration of the Elders while teaching couldn't compare to this!

It felt like his body had been turned into a vessel, a machine only capable of following the commands it was given. His own will had no power to resist!

Was this the difference between a Physique Transformation realm cultivator and a Soul Reformation realm cultivator?

Was this how one hammered cracks into their opponent's Dao heart? By magnifying their fears and insecurities to overtake their rationality? By planting destructive foreign thoughts?

Had he not specifically planned against the situation where his scheme would get exposed to the public, he wouldn't have managed to come up with an answer that would catch Chen Yan off guard.

In that situation, Chen Yan would have succeeded in corrupting his mind. He could have manipulated him into doing something suicidal just before the duel could begin, ruining everything in one move.

Han Xuhan shivered, recalling the memories of being surrounded by mind-controlled cultivators inside the Holy Land of Laws. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Qian Yun and his fellow victims of Zhao Weiqing's scheme were no different from a group of robots at that time. Was this what they had been experiencing while being forced to do Zhao Weiqing's bidding?

'Am I just lucky? Or should I thank myself for my habit of overthinking?'

Chen Yan scanned his face and seemed to conceive an unpleasant idea. His tone became sour.

"This chat has gone on long enough to produce some truly ridiculous fairy tales. I'm afraid that if we keep arguing back and forth, my Dao Heart will collapse, hahaha!"

With a forced laugh, he finally released Han Xuhan's shoulders and strode off, heading towards the dueling arena. His gait looked full of momentum, but his increasing speed carried a hint of tension.

Xiao Mei shot a final furtive glance at Han Xuhan before she turned to leave as well. For the first time, he noticed a silver of fear in her eyes.

So many beatings in his hands hadn't been able to bring out that fear in her, and yet, today, a short exchange with Chen Yan accomplished it!

Han Xuhan's lips slowly curled up in derision.

The apprehension in his heart began to die down as Chen Yan's figure became smaller in the distance.

So what if his opponent was at the Soul Reformation realm? So what if his opponent had powerful cards up his sleeve?

What was there to fear as long as adequate preparations were taken beforehand?

The weight of cultivation can never outweigh the weight of reality. This truth embedded itself in Han Xuhan's mind at that very moment.