Chapter 405: Chapter 405

"Then what can we do, Seven-Great-grandfather?" Shi Min interjected, his voice taut with worry. His eyes darted between Four Eyes and the elder, his own immortal aura thrumming like a distant storm.

"What a filial step-son you are," Li Shenwu replied with amusement.

Li Shenwu turned his unwavering gaze back to Four Eyes, piercing as a shaft of sunlight breaking through storm clouds. "Who tampered with your body?"

Four Eyes met his gaze, unwavering. “Shinsei and Otako.”

His voice was low yet firm — solid like granite beneath the softest veneer.

Li Shenwu nodded slowly, stroking his beard as swirling thoughts danced in his mind. "I see. They are likely aware of it, too."

He paused, measuring something unseen in the air.

"Are you also entering the ’Eye’ the day after tomorrow?"

Four Eyes offered a single, resolute nod.

A Protective Son and a Stoic Father

"Seven-Great-Grandfather, please don’t take offense at my stepfather; he simply doesn’t speak much. It’s his nature." Shi Min’s voice came out earnest, almost a plea wrapped in reverence.

Li Shenwu snorted, the corners of his eyes twinkling with dry amusement. "What a protective stepson you are! I’m not petty. And don’t think for a moment I’m oblivious to his personality!" He rolled his eyes in exaggerated exasperation, bringing a ripple of laughter from Ling Li.

Shi Min blinked, momentarily speechless. "Oh."

Four Eyes, though remaining stoic as a statue, felt the flicker of warmth blooming within him — a gentle sensation like sunlight warming the earth after a long winter.

The Gift of Suppression

Leaning forward, Li Shenwu lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper that thrummed with authority. "Once you enter the ’Eye,’ it is vital that you find a suitable cultivation technique, one not entangled with dark aura. Whether you succeed depends on your fate."

He raised a finger to his forehead, pointing with intent. "For now, let me bestow upon you a pure essence that will help suppress your excess dark aura."

From the tip of his finger, a radiant white feather emerged — soft and delicate as the wisps of a dream, glowing with the ethereal light of ancestral qi. It drifted gently toward Four Eyes, shimmering like a gossamer thread woven from starlight.

As the feather touched Four Eyes’ forehead, the room collectively held its breath, anticipation hanging thick in the air like the promise of a storm.

The Feather of Suppression: A Gift and a Warning

The moment Li Shenwu lifted his hand, an electric shift coursed through the air of the Verdant Bamboo Pavilion. Silence enveloped the gathering like a heavy fog, thick and palpable, as though the very wind had paused to witness the unfolding drama.

From the tip of the ancient ancestor’s index finger, a wisp of luminous white essence began to coalesce — fragile as a feather, yet throbbing with the pulse of ages past. It shimmered like ethereal moonlight ensnared in a veil of mist, its edges curling and unfurling in a hypnotic dance, alive with intention.

Gasps echoed through the room, a collective breath held captive by the spectacle.

"Is that...?" someone whispered, their voice barely a flutter above a breath.

"A soul-forged essence," murmured Li Tianyuan, narrowing his gaze as his scholarly instincts kicked in. "He’s about to grant him a fragment of his own cultivation."

The feather floated towards Four Eyes, who remained as immovable as a mountain, his expression unreadable, a mask carved from stone. Yet, the slightest tremor flickered in his fingers—whether from awe or instinctive wariness remained a question that hung in the air.

The feather hovered gracefully before his forehead, a moment suspended in time.

Then, with a sound akin to a bell tolling in a dreamscape, it melded into his skin, disappearing as if it had never been.

The Clash Within: Light Meets Shadow

The instant the essence infiltrated his being, a jolt coursed through Four Eyes’ body like an electric surge. A pulse of inky black aura erupted from his core, rising like a tempest, violently rebelling against the purity that dared to tame it. The dark qi slithered and coiled, hissing like a serpent disturbed from its slumber.

His eyes flickered chaotically — one moment obsidian black, the next an unsettling silver. His breath caught, suspended in a moment of turmoil, his veins becoming battlegrounds for light and shadow to wage war.

Yet he remained silent.

Clenching his fists, he anchored himself, his jaw set tight in determination. Across the room, Ling Li surged halfway from her seat, alarm etched on her face. Shi Min, instinctively stepping forward, reached for his sword, tension coiling in the air.

But Li Shenwu raised a hand — calm, unwavering, infusing the room with an aura of authority.

"Let it settle," he intoned, voice steady like the ground beneath their feet. "This is not pain; this is balance."

After several heart-stopping moments, the black aura began to ebb, drawn inward like an obedient tide, spiraling tightly within Four Eyes’ dantian. The silver light of the essence enveloped it, a shimmering cage of moonlit brilliance.

Four Eyes exhaled slowly, like a storm dissipating over a peaceful sea.

His shoulders unfurled, tension dispersing like mist before the dawn. His gaze cleared, the chaos retreating from his expression. The tempest had passed, leaving a fragile calm in its wake.

Li Shenwu’s Final Word

Li Shenwu observed Four Eyes with a penetrating gaze, then offered a single approving nod.

"Good," he said, voice imbued with warmth. "You accepted it. That signifies there is still a path forward."

Leaning back, he folded his hands across his knee, a gesture of both relaxation and gravity. "But remember — this is but a bandage, not a cure. If you fail to carve a cultivation path that harmonizes with your true nature, the darkness within will one day consume you."

Four Eyes bowed deeply, respect etched into his features. "I understand."

"See that you do," Li Shenwu cautioned, though his tone softened slightly. "You are not merely Ling Ling’s husband now; you are entwined with the destiny of this family."

Four Eyes (Chu Yan) says:

"I didn’t say much this Chapter. That doesn’t mean I didn’t notice everything. Especially you, reader. Yes, you. I’m watching. Vote. Comment. Recommend. Power Stones and Golden Tickets are useful. Gifts? I don’t ask—but I don’t refuse."