Chapter 585
Chapter 585
Chapter 585
In the dead of night, the wind that had escaped from the mountains carried a panicked air, swirling up the withered leaves in the yard and anxiously pounding on the doors and windows, begging for shelter.
Zhao Yi opened the door, letting in a gust of wind. The furnishings inside were scattered and tilted. The Liang sisters and Xu Ming followed them out.
"Wait here, I'll go get you a room."
Jiang Mo's mood plummeted after that inquiry about rent. Back in his room, he tried to drown his sorrows in alcohol, using the rows of empty bottles as a shield to build up his mental defenses for the night. But half a glass made his face flush, half a bottle made him dizzy, and before he could finish the bottle, he fell asleep clutching his beloved guitar.
Zhao Yi pushed open the door and walked to the bedside. He rubbed Jiang Mo's brow with his index finger, and the gate between life and death on his chest slowly turned. Jiang Mo felt relieved and relaxed.
In this world, only a very small number of people have the ability to change the cold reality. For most people, being positive and optimistic is simply about having a good night's sleep and facing the next day with full energy.
"Brother Jiang, let's book two more rooms. I'll take the keys myself."
He took two keys from the desk, picked up a thermos, and came out. He tossed one key to the Liang sisters and the other to Xu Ming. Then, as Zhao Yi walked towards his room, he called out:
"Little wolf cub, don't even think about slacking off. You have to wash your bottom and feet before going to bed!"
At the same time this scene was unfolding, Li Zhuiyuan and Zhao Yi stood in the shadows outside the guesthouse courtyard wall.
Li Zhuiyuan: "Your puppets can also use the Gate of Life and Death now."
Zhao Yi: "What are you saying? I don't have your ability to help others revise their curriculum guidelines. At least I should do my own homework well."
Inside the snow-capped mountain palace, the two worked together to learn puppetry within the level. What Zhao Yi received was a truncated version copied by Li Zhuiyuan.
The complete Nuo opera puppetry technique requires the combination of the Black Book secrets. With Qing Anyin's example as a precedent, Zhao Yi dared not touch it.
However, the ability to transfer one's innate abilities to a puppet signifies that Zhao Yi has made a breakthrough in the art of puppetry.
Zhao Yi: "I can copy it down and we can exchange it for another book, how about that?"
Li Zhuiyuan: "I don't have your good fortune; I was born with a crack between life and death."
"Tch, that's hardly good fortune..." Zhao Yi paused, then nodded again, "Heh, compared to you, it really is."
Zhao Yi squatted down with his back to Li Zhuiyuan.
Li Zhuiyuan stepped forward and put his arms around Zhao Yi's neck.
As Zhao Yi stood up, strips of leather on his body unfurled, like seatbelts, securing the boy to his body.
"Hey Li, if you ever decide to practice martial arts, remember to let me know in advance so I can come find you and have a real, real fight between men."
The boy ignored him.
Ghostly mist appeared in front of Zhao Yi, and he carried Li Zhuiyuan into it.
Walking the same path during the day at night feels like returning to the stage after a performance has ended.
Zhao Yi was already used to being monitored, and could even switch between these surveillance modes with ease.
The old man in the guard post was still taking his afternoon nap.
The area where the conflict had occurred in the afternoon was cleaned more thoroughly, and even the weeds that had been wiped away by the body-dissolving liquid were replaced.
The true essence of the orthodox Dragon King family lies here: when they are willing to lower their proud heads, even their own internal opponents can be used as expendable objects to evade consequences.
There are three entrances, one real and two fake, each with its own formation and guards.
Instead of heading towards any of the entrances, Zhao Yi deliberately took a long detour and found the most secluded corner.
This is true infiltration.
When you carry a grandmaster who is proficient in formations, feng shui, and secrets, it's like carrying a universal key.
Li Zhuiyuan landed, faced the still-flowing stream in front of him, took out his compass, and summoned the evil dragon.
Zhao Yi helped plant the array flags, and when he saw the evil dragon, his eyes showed doubt.
The dragon spirit no longer possessed its former ferocity. At first glance, Zhao Yi even suspected that this creature had rebelled and had its intelligence erased by the man surnamed Li.
Upon closer inspection, it became clear that the dragon spirit had attained enlightenment.
As the evil dragon controlled the operation of the compass, its gaze met Zhao Yi's.
This time, the evil dragon's eyes no longer showed any covetousness for Zhao Yi's dragon skin, but rather a sense of relief, as if it were looking at its old shackles.
Some things are precious because of their materials and craftsmanship, while others are precious because of who they were associated with.
The man surnamed Li first dissuaded others from lighting lamps a second time, and now he has even sent his men to help people travel the river. A person who can raise dragons on the river can naturally raise dragons and transform them into dragons in the martial arts world.
Zhao Yi chuckled. Ha, they're all the same. The big dragon doesn't laugh at the little dragon.
The stream is divided into sections one meter wide.
Li Zhuiyuan looked at Zhao Yi.
Zhao Yi took the lead and scouted ahead.
Not long after he went in, Zhao Yi came out, breathing heavily like a drowning man.
"Hey Li, how about I go and kill the guardian at the true entrance?"
There must be a "road" leading directly inside from the true entrance. Although the two of them opened a new door, the layout inside was completely different.
Li Zhuiyuan: "Is it that unclaimed soul?"
Zhao Yi: "Now I actually hope it finds an owner."
Li Zhuiyuan: "How long can you hold out?"
Zhao Yi: "If I can't find the 'path' in time after I go in, I might not be able to hold on for long. Also, I suspect that even if the Ming family has a 'path' to take, it will be difficult for them to enter the core area of that unclaimed soul."
No wonder the entire martial arts world knows that this place is special to the Ming family, yet the Ming family has never been very attentive to its guarding; it doesn't need any theft prevention at all.
"Hey Li, setting up this huge flower display will be difficult even for you, it'll be risky. How about we try a different approach?"
"This is your wave, I have to help you complete it."
"I am very touched, but now is not the time for sentimentality."
"Give it a try."
"I was just being polite... please don't soften your tone."
Li Zhuiyuan walked in.
Upon entering, a strong sense of suffocation overwhelms the soul. The surroundings appear empty to the naked eye, but if one activates the Yin-Yang Path, one can witness a vast blue lake.
I am now standing beneath the lake, enduring its terrifying pressure.
The immense and terrifying power of the soul, so precious, has been placed here.
It is not afraid of being stolen. If you dare to absorb it, it will quickly squeeze into your soul and burst you instantly.
Even with Li Zhuiyuan's current soul strength, he felt insignificant in the face of such a scale.
This is a gap that is difficult to bridge with technological means. The azure blue is rippling, indicating that it is still growing and expanding, a process that may have been going on for thousands of years.
In order to protect themselves from bandits, ancient caravans had a method of melting down silver into a large lump, making it inconvenient for bandits to steal it.
The same principle applies here. If petty thieves come in, they won't be able to steal; but if a being like the Fengdu Emperor or the Great Turtle were to come, it would inevitably cause a stir, giving the Ming family enough time to deal with it calmly.
Zhao Yi entered again and came up behind Li Zhuiyuan.
The deeper you go, the stronger the pressure from the soul becomes. It's not intentionally targeting you; on the contrary, it's very friendly and wants to enter your body so you can absorb it.
This is a gold mine, but a gold mine that can bury people alive if you're not careful.
After traveling for a while, Zhao Yi was drenched in sweat, his veins bulging.
Li Zhuiyuan showed no abnormalities, but the tearing sensation in his brain was becoming increasingly severe.
Zhao Yi raised his hand, indicating that he could not go any further. He could not push himself to the limit and had to make room for the return trip.
Li Zhuiyuan pointed ahead.
Zhao Yi nodded.
Li Zhuiyuan continued walking forward alone, his figure gradually disappearing.
After a while, the boy returned and gestured for Zhao Yi to follow.
After struggling forward a little further, the pressure around me suddenly eased. This was a "road" with stone sculptures and flags on both sides. Going back from here should lead directly to the true entrance, while going forward, there was an ancient altar.
The altar was newly decorated, and chairs were placed around it. The Ming family set up a mourning hall here to prepare for the celebration of Ming Qinyun's birthday.
On the altar in the center of the mourning hall, there was a memorial tablet for Ming Qinyun, and behind it was an ancient stone coffin.
Zhao Yi said quietly, "Hey Li, guess what? Is the wise and dignified old lady of the Ming family lying in that stone coffin?"
Li Zhuiyuan shook his head: "No." Zhao Yi: "Are you so sure that the heroic and capable old lady isn't there?"
Li Zhuiyuan: "If she's not dead, she'll definitely attack me if she sees me here; if she's dead, she'll come back to life if she sees me."
Zhao Yi: "You're right, that old hag is definitely not here."
Li Zhuiyuan walked up to the altar and came to the stone coffin. The coffin lid was half-open, and there were new quilts inside, but he could not see the corpse.
When Zhao Yi came over, he reached in and pressed it to confirm, "Nothing."
Then, Zhao Yi looked around at the seats below and said:
"According to the Ming family tradition, they would hold some ceremonies and rituals here, but only within the Ming family's own household. Matters involving outsiders would be arranged at the ancestral home."
Judging from this setup, it's clear they're preparing to break with tradition and use the deceased old woman's birthday as a pretext to invite many outsiders to a meeting.
"Who told you to destroy Wangjiang Tower?"
The Zhou family already had few descendants. The eldest and youngest of the direct line were killed by Li Zhuiyuan in the last wave, and the middle-aged were killed by Zhao Yi. Zhao Yi also slaughtered the Zhou family's collateral relatives.
The Zhou family is now powerless to protect the Wangjiang Tower, and the martial arts world will no longer grant them a high position. Several forces have already secretly taken action, searching for the Zhou family's remaining bloodline as a key, attempting to open a struggle for control of the Wangjiang Tower.
"Don't slander us. It was clearly ruined by that devil Li Zhuiyuan."
"So what is the purpose of this arrangement?"
Zhao Yi: "Prepare for...the Zhao Division Meeting."
Inciting trouble and murder to incite hatred were merely the triggers; the real reason was that the old guard saw that Li Zhuiyuan's power was already established and prepared to cut ties with Zhao Yi in advance to appease the future Dragon King's wrath.
Zhao Yi was able to do well in the past because Li Zhuiyuan was very assertive from the moment he became famous. He is not doing so well now because Li Zhuiyuan has become too assertive.
"Hey Li, if I really sided with them and they set a trap to kill me, would you be appeased?"
"There's no such thing as a free lunch. Of course, they don't think things are that simple. They just feel that they have no hope of targeting me on the river, so they might as well sacrifice you. It's a win-win situation."
"So, this really is fate. No wonder the river arranged this wave for me. It's because I've been living too comfortably these past few days and have also touched too many taboos."
Are their opinions unified?
“There is no unity. Some old guys can still see through your true nature, surnamed Li, and know that compromising with you will not end well. But no force can be monolithic; there will always be some who surrender.”
"So this is the place where the surrender faction is about to take your head and swear an oath of blood?"
"Are you puzzled as to why the Ming family was the one to take the lead?"
"Ah."
"Because the Ming family is in the worst situation right now, and they will be the first to suffer on your path of revenge after you rise to power."
Li Zhuiyuan walked through the mourning hall and came to the end of the "road." If he went any further, he would have to bear even greater pressure from the spirits.
Are you still going to walk forward?
"You still have to experience it."
Li Zhuiyuan stepped inside first, followed by Zhao Yi.
"what……"
This time, Zhao Yi stopped shortly after entering the body. Blood began to flow from his seven orifices, and his body began to spasm.
Li Zhuiyuan touched his nose; he too was bleeding from his nose, but he was still quite a distance from the true core.
Zhao Yi waved his hand, indicating that he could not go any further and stepped back. At the same time, his fingertips pointed towards Li Zhuiyuan, and skin flew off like a ball of thread, wrapping around the boy's waist.
If Li Zhuiyuan is in critical condition inside, send him a signal and he can pull the boy out.
Li Zhuiyuan tilted his head back, trying his best to suppress the bleeding from his nose, and continued forward.
The reason I didn't treat the nosebleed was that it wasn't necessary.
As he walked, blood began to seep from the boy's seven orifices, and his consciousness began to blur.
Just then, the boy saw a battle flag appear in front of him...
The array flags were recently inserted, and the base was engraved during the setup. In this position, no spiritual object or artifact can function properly. Even if Li Zhuiyuan stands outside, he cannot release the evil dragon here to set up the array.
Therefore, someone has been here recently.
Moreover, unsurprisingly, this flag is at the very end, while the one there is deeper inside.
Admittedly, Li Zhuiyuan could still push forward, but the young man felt that he had done enough, so he closed his eyes.
On the dam deep within the spirit and consciousness, the true self stands there.
When the inner demon appeared, the original body was not surprised at all; instead, it blamed the demon:
“You should have let me take the blame from the beginning. Holding on for so long has only worn you down.”
Li Zhuiyuan: "I felt bad that you had to suffer all the hardships, so I thought I would help you share some of the burden as much as I could, otherwise I would feel bad."
The original body: "Li Zhuiyuan, you are making me feel more and more disgusted."
Li Zhuiyuan smiled; those words no longer had any effect on him.
The handover begins.
The next moment, the main body sat cross-legged under the immense pressure, blood flowing from its seven orifices.
Li Zhuiyuan disappeared from his original spot and regained control of his body.
The blood was still flowing, his head was still aching, and the burden remained, yet his consciousness remained clear.
Li Zhuiyuan took another step forward and saw the flags on the second, third, and fourth poles...
Then, he saw a sticky residue on the ground. He bent down to touch it, and it looked like blood and pus. As he rubbed it with his fingertips, it felt hot and cold.
Anyone who could endure this long and still have the strength to set up an array must be an extraordinary person. Considering the relationship between this place and the Ming family, as well as the liquid dripping from under the pressure, Li Zhuiyuan guessed who she was.
"Ming Qinyun, you are still alive after all."
The old lady of the Ming family was, at least, her own grandmother Liu's lifelong enemy.
Grandma Liu's life has been full of hardships, but upon closer examination, Ming Qinyun has never really gained the upper hand over Grandma Liu.
In their early years, when it came to family background, Dragon King Liu surpassed Dragon King Ming; but when it came to men, she lost miserably, barely clothed.
Compared to her descendants, her granddaughter Ming Yuwan was sacrificed to heaven by the old dog in the Yu family at a very young age.
However, this old lady refused to give up and always maintained a vigorous vitality and a surging fighting spirit.
They've already held a public funeral, so instead of resting in their coffins, they're still working hard here behind the scenes.
The immense spiritual energy would continuously erode the array's effectiveness, but it was enough to sustain it until the day of his death. Upon arriving at the core of the array, Li Zhuiyuan recognized its purpose:
This is the giant confetti that Zhao Yi has been longing for!
Once the formation is activated, the spiritual energy here will be violently stirred up, shredding the souls of all living things.
Not only Zhao Yi, but he himself also misjudged the deeper nature of this wave.
The crazy old lady from the Ming family didn't want to kill Zhao Yi to apologize and appease her anger. She wasn't dissatisfied with Zhao Yi's instigation at all; on the contrary, she felt that the hatred Zhao Yi had stirred up was too small.
She will personally take action, using her own death anniversary as an opportunity to gather the representatives of the surrender faction among the major forces of the martial arts world here... and wipe them all out!
She definitely has a backup plan, trying to shift the blame onto herself.
Ginger, indeed, the older the better.
Rather than bowing down and kneeling, waiting for the day they are punished, it is better to block all escape routes, raise half of the martial arts world, and fight against the next Dragon King.
Zhao Yi, look at him! That's the kind of charisma you'd expect from a veteran villain.
Li Zhuiyuan wiped the blood off his face with his sleeve, bent down, and began to modify the formation.
The task is simple: retain the main body, and simply transfer the authority to activate the formation to yourself.
It's not fair to blame the Ming family matriarch for being careless, nor is it fair to blame the Ming family for not protecting the area properly. The truth is, even Zhao Yi, as the protagonist of this wave, was not capable of getting in here.
No one in history has ever recorded or predicted that Zhou Yu and Liang Yu were actually in cahoots, and that Liang Yu, having nothing better to do, would come and help Zhou Yu cross the river.
After doing all this, the boy straightened up and continued forward. The thick liquid was no longer there. Obviously, after setting up the array at the core, Ming Qinyun did not go deep into the final core point.
She might be unable to enter, or she might have to risk her life. She still had to lead the Ming family; she couldn't die here.
Li Zhuiyuan didn't have this problem. Although he could sense that his main body was in a state of "near collapse", he could wait until his main body truly collapsed before turning back.
And so, the blood-covered youth walked to the very center of this place, a... Jin-style courtyard.
With its bracketed eaves, perfectly fitted bricks and tiles, and open central door, it seems as if someone lives there.
On either side of the door frame were pasted a couplet, which also resembled a funeral couplet:
"The true path has vanished, and can no longer be found in the world."
My love remains unchanged; may our bond continue in the next life, as we rest together.
(End of this chapter)