# 729
Chapter 729: Cao Yuan's Essence
"Is that Cao Yuan?" Jiang Er frowned, looking at the illusory figure walking out from the black flames. She spoke with some uncertainty, "How did he become like this..."
"After that divine punishment descended, two-thirds of his body had been melted away. All his vital organs like the brain and heart had turned to ash. Theoretically, he shouldn't have survived at all, let alone destroy an entire city." An Qingyu pushed up her glasses and analyzed calmly:
"That soaring black pillar of fire is the same as the malevolent aura flames released when his Black King's Annihilation Slash went out of control. He was able to survive in those circumstances and quickly repair his body, probably due to this Forbidden Ruins..."
"Was Cao Yuan always this strong?" Jiang Er couldn't help but ask. "He destroyed an entire city and killed so many oracle envoys. That's almost Human Apex level, isn't it?"
"That wasn't Cao Yuan." An Qingyu said with certainty. "Cao Yuan doesn't remember anything after the divine punishment descended, and I've examined his body multiple times. There simply isn't that level of power within him...
That power comes from Black King's Annihilation Slash itself."
"Forbidden Ruins? But isn't that just an ability? How could it have its own consciousness?"
"Forbidden Ruins is indeed just an ability, that's correct, but facts have proven that Black King's Annihilation Slash is far more than just an ability." An Qingyu looked at Jiang Er. "Don't you find it strange? If Black King's Annihilation Slash were just an ability, why is the triggering condition drawing a blade? Why can't Cao Yuan activate the Forbidden Ruins through his own will?
Why does Cao Yuan lose control of his body when using the Forbidden Ruins? When the malevolent aura flames wrap around his body, what is controlling his body? Why does it cackle?
You know, even Royal Ruins wouldn't exhibit a situation where the Forbidden Ruins turn around and control the host."
Jiang Er froze in place.
"Forbidden Ruins Sequence 031, Black King's Annihilation Slash, which lies beneath God's Ruins but above all beings, is far more complicated than what we see on the surface." A gray light flickered in An Qingyu's eyes. "In my view, Cao Yuan is not the master of this Forbidden Ruins...
He is merely the prison that imprisons the Black King."
"He's a prison?" Jiang Er didn't quite understand what An Qingyu meant.
"Otherwise there's no way to explain all this. Cao Yuan was clearly killed by divine punishment, yet his body automatically repaired itself, even killing several oracle envoys and destroying an entire city... And perhaps the reason for all this was simply because the 'prison' that imprisoned the Black King—Cao Yuan—was damaged...
Then, the Black King escaped."
"Where is the Black King now? Has it left Cao Yuan's body?"
"Impossible. If the Black King had escaped, nothing in the entire Human Enclosure could have survived. Moreover, without it, Cao Yuan wouldn't have been able to persist for two years under the erosion of the Bone-Piercing Chains, nor would he possess such powerful self-regeneration abilities."
An Qingyu沉思了片刻独自分析道："我觉得，Cao Yuan这座'牢狱'，应该不止是物理意义上的那么简单，他是一座命运的'牢狱'。"
"命运的'牢狱'？"Jiang Er越发听不懂了。
"只要'Cao Yuan'这个概念依然存在，【黑王】就无法逃离这座'牢狱'，就算他的肉身死去了，【黑王】也只能获得短暂的自由，无法彻底逃离'Cao Yuan'这个概念。"
An Qingyu越说，他的眼睛就越发明亮，眼眸中久违的燃起了兴奋的光芒。
"这些只是我的猜测，在没有解剖他的大脑之前，或许都无法得出准确的答案……既然他被开颅了也不会死，说不定我好好跟他说说，他会愿意让我解剖呢……"
Jiang Er的嘴角微微抽搐，"我觉得不一定……"
An Qingyu叹了口气，"总之，这件事情最好不要让Cao Yuan本人知道……由于小时候的经历，他的性格本来就有些自闭，一旦他知道自己只是一座'牢狱'，估计更会怀疑人生，甚至有可能退出【夜幕小队】。"
"退出小队？这么严重吗？"
"一旦他死了，【黑王】就会跑出来进行恐怖的无差别攻击，你忘了八幡平市是怎么消失的吗？"An Qingyu复杂的看了她一眼，"如果是在执行团队任务的过程中发生这种事情，不管是敌人还是我们，一个都活不了。
你觉得，他知道自己的存在意味着怎样的危险之后，还会留在小队里吗？"
Jiang Er陷入了沉默。
确实，如果以Cao Yuan的性格，他宁可主动离开【夜幕】小队，也不可能将其他队员置于如此危险的境地……
"不说这些了，这件事，到时候跟七夜说一下就好，看他有什么打算。"An Qingyu像是想到了什么，"对了，Cao Yuan说了Lin Qiye的手机号了吗？"
"说了，我已经通过信号追踪到他的位置，随时可以建立联系。"
"好，直接连到他身边的视频设备上吧，我们搜集了这么多的情报，是时候发挥一点作用了……"
……
Hokkaido.
Shen Qingzhu's Black Assassination Group convoy drove into a magnificent high-end club. Before arriving in Hokkaido, Shen Qingzhu's left and right hand men had already taken care of everything. The entire club was Black Assassination Group property. Now that Shen Qingzhu, the Big Boss himself, had arrived personally, the club had completely cleared the area. All members stood respectfully outside, bowing deeply to the arriving vehicles.
After getting out of the cars, the group followed Shen Qingzhu's men directly to the most exclusive VIP room in the club to continue exchanging intelligence.
"So, the divine authority source within this Human Enclosure is the Pure Land?" The knight listened to Wei Dong's introduction and pondered. "Seven oracle envoys equivalent to Klein-level... Not very strong either. They're far inferior to the Human Enclosure managers of the Norse and Greek pantheons."
Wei Dong nodded. "Once the Oath Society's reinforcements arrive, eliminating the seven oracle envoys won't be difficult. However, the Pure Land's technological power is fused with divine forces. Breaking through there won't be easy...
Once the oracle envoys fortify themselves within the Pure Land, things will become troublesome. Unless the President personally intervenes, we might end up in a stalemate."
The knight fell into silence.
Lin Qiye, Shen Qingzhu, and Jialan sat on the adjacent sofa, silently eating fruit from the plates. Baili Pangpang had already been settled in a separate room, continuing his deep sleep for recovery.
Just then, the large television screen in the VIP room suddenly turned on by itself!