Celestial Eye Sun Wuyang had cultivated for hundreds of years. After weathering countless storms, his will had become as solid as a rock. Otherwise, he never would have been able to break free from the Spiritual Shackles in the first place.
Xia Wuyang’s voice was as placid as ever. "I admire your skills, which is why I’ve come seeking you. I am here to offer you a great opportunity, or perhaps a great calamity. Which it will be is up to you."
With that said, Xia Wuyang wasted no more words.
The newly available slot for his Spiritual Shackles activated instantly. The most profound Heart Control Secret Technique within the Enchanting Heart Scripture began to operate at full power, pushed to its absolute limit.
Opalescent Spiritual Power transformed into countless dense, bizarre runes and surged like a tide into Sun Wuyang’s Sea of Consciousness. It began to forcibly construct a new, more robust Spiritual Shackles, intent on capturing Sun Wuyang.
"In your dreams!" Sun Wuyang’s eyes flew open in fury, his hair and beard standing on end. He was still unwilling to yield.
He resisted with all his might. A brilliant light erupted in his Sea of Consciousness—the Spiritual Power he had painstakingly cultivated for hundreds of years, now mounting an all-out defense and counterattack.
He pushed his Celestial Eye Talent to its limit, attempting to see through the flaws in the Secret Technique and find a chance to break free, hoping to escape this ordeal.
For a time, the Celestial Eye Pavilion was utterly silent. Yet on the spiritual plane, the two were locked in a ferociously perilous battle. The slightest misstep for Celestial Eye Sun Wuyang would mean the tragic end of his soul being scattered to the winds.
As for Xia Wuyang, his Spiritual Power was already Extraordinary. Its might was tens, if not hundreds, of times greater than Sun Wuyang’s. How could he possibly resist?
If not for his concern for Sun Wuyang’s well-being—not wanting to turn him into a mindless fool and render him useless—Xia Wuyang would have crushed him long ago.
Xia Wuyang raised an eyebrow. ’This Sun Wuyang’s Spiritual Power is so resilient, his will so formidable. He far surpasses Tantai Zhan and Zheng Zhicang. And his Celestial Eye Skill is truly profound; it can actually interfere with the formation of the Spiritual Shackles. If I can successfully subdue him, he’ll be a great asset.’
But that was the extent of it.
The absolute disparity in power was not something talent or willpower could overcome. It was an insurmountable gap for Celestial Eye Sun Wuyang.
Xia Wuyang was now a Two Gods Refining God True Monarch, his Spiritual Power exceeding four hundred points. Furthermore, he cultivated the High Level Spiritual Techniques of the Enchanting Heart Scripture and had even deployed his Companion Talent, the Spiritual Shackles.
Meanwhile, although Sun Wuyang possessed Extraordinary Talent, his Spiritual Power was merely comparable to a Level 7 Ghost Spirit or Anomaly. His Cultivation Technique, while top-tier in the mortal world, had not yet reached the Spirit Level. The disparity was simply too great.
After a stalemate of several minutes, the light within Sun Wuyang’s Sea of Consciousness grew increasingly dim. His resistance became feebler and feebler, and a look of despair crept onto his face.
The opalescent runes of the shackles grew ever clearer, denser, and more powerful. Like the toughest of silk threads, they wrapped around the core of his Sea of Consciousness, layer by layer, entangling and sealing it... leaving him utterly unable to resist.
"No... No... No..." A trickle of blood seeped from the corner of Sun Wuyang’s mouth, his eyes filled with indignation and despair.
He could feel his own consciousness being forcibly corrupted and twisted. An external will was attempting to dominate his thoughts and control his very being.
At the last moment, just as the shackles were about to be fully formed, a cold sneer touched Xia Wuyang’s lips.
’If I’m going to subjugate him, I need to completely shatter his will to resist. I’ll make him understand who the absolute master is, so he never dares to harbor thoughts of defiance again.’
He had done this many times before; one could say he was a seasoned expert.
He split off a wisp of Extraordinary Spiritual Power, transforming it into a series of hyper-realistic illusions. He projected them directly into Sun Wuyang’s crumbling Sea of Consciousness, forcing him into immersion.
In the illusion, Sun Wuyang saw himself with bloodshot eyes, clutching a sharp blade as he burst into the room of his most beloved grandson, a boy of only eight.
The boy was sleeping soundly, his little face chubby and peaceful. He clutched the cloth tiger Sun Wuyang had given him the previous year, clearly so fond of it that he wouldn’t let it go even in his sleep. And yet, this version of himself wore a vicious grin as he raised the blade above the boy...
"Don’t..." Sun Wuyang let out a silent roar. His Sea of Consciousness trembled violently, almost all his strength to resist now gone.
The illusion shifted. Now, he saw himself leading a group of men to surround the residence of his younger brother. His brother, now white-haired, was living in seclusion in their old hometown in Jiangnan.
His brother emerged, trembling, and asked with tears streaming down his wrinkled face, "Brother, why are you doing this to me?"
But with a cold wave of his hand, the experts from the Divine Capture Sect swarmed forward. Amid a flash of blades and swords, blood spattered the white walls. His brother’s entire household was exterminated...
Scene after scene appeared, each one indistinguishable from reality. After an unknown amount of time, Sun Wuyang could finally bear it no longer.
"Stop! Just stop! Don’t do this anymore!" Under the assault of these illusions, each one striking at the depths of his soul, his spiritual defenses finally collapsed completely, leaving him with no strength left to resist.
He could accept his own death. He could accept utter ruin and disgrace. But he could never accept becoming a monster who slaughtered his own kin. Moreover, Sun Wuyang could sense with terrifying clarity that if the Emperor before him willed it, all of these horrors would become reality, and he would be powerless to stop it.
"I... I submit... I truly submit!" As the blade in the illusion was about to plunge into his loved ones’ chests once more, Sun Wuyang abandoned all resistance. His spirit went completely slack. A hoarse voice echoed weakly in his Sea of Consciousness: "Don’t hurt them. I... I’ll obey you. I’ll do anything you say!"
As his will surrendered, the opalescent Spiritual Shackles surged forward, breaking through all his defenses without any resistance.
Finally, its construction was complete. It was branded deep within the most hidden recesses of his Sea of Consciousness, merging with his very Soul and granting complete control over his life and death.
In the Celestial Eye Pavilion, a candle flame suddenly leaped.
Sun Wuyang slumped in his chair, his face paper-white and his body drenched in cold sweat, as if he had just been fished out of water. He looked on the verge of a total collapse.
His gaze was unfocused, filled with exhaustion, pain, and a deep, hidden layer of fear and anxiety.
Xia Wuyang’s figure materialized from the shadows, standing silently before him as if he had been there the entire time.
Xia Wuyang’s voice was as calm as ever. "From now on, you will serve me, just like Tantai Zhan and Zheng Zhicang. As for the cases within the palace, I will instruct you on how to investigate, how to report, and how to handle them."
Sun Wuyang slowly lifted his head, a stunned expression on his face. He had never imagined that even Grand General of the Imperial Guard Tantai Zhan and Shadow Guard Chief Zheng Zhicang belonged to this man.
’If that’s the case,’ he thought, ’was there any point to my investigations all this time?’
Filled with shock and worry, Sun Wuyang nodded. Things had already reached this point; what room was there for resistance? He could only obey, hoping to secure a peaceful future for his family.
Resistance was futile. He had just experienced the terror of the Spiritual Shackles firsthand.
He wasn’t afraid to die, but this was a form of control more terrifying than death itself. His opponent held all his vulnerabilities, leaving him utterly without room to resist.
"I understand," Sun Wuyang said, his voice dry, hoarse, and filled with resignation. "I will obey your command."
Xia Wuyang said nothing more. His figure flickered and then dissipated into thin air like a bursting bubble, as if he had never been there at all.
Only Sun Wuyang remained, sitting alone in the vast, silent Celestial Eye Pavilion. He stared at the leaping candle flame, unmoving for a long time, lost in thought.

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