Chapter 590
Chapter 590
Chapter 590
"boom!"
The altar rotates, and the stone coffin closes.
Outside, the vast and burgeoning soul consciousness that had been growing for thousands of years transformed into terrifying flames, surging and sweeping across the area, instantly turning this place into a horrifying furnace for burning souls.
It was too late to leave, because the "path" they had come from was swallowed up in an instant, and even their sense of direction was erased under the dome.
Many people realized that the stone coffin was the only place to take refuge at the moment, but no matter what methods such as magic, martial arts, and formations were used, they could not shake the stone coffin in the slightest.
The burning heat of the soul seemed to be a perfect match for the layout of the stone coffin. When the two intersected, they formed the most stable point at present. The soul fire did not go out, and the stone coffin did not break.
In fact, this altar and stone coffin were originally built by the Ming family ancestors for the purpose of relocating the grave of "Grandma," so they could naturally withstand the impact of the spirit.
In despair, some tried to escape, even aimlessly, but all of them hadn't gone far before their souls evaporated into nothingness, their withered bodies collapsing to the ground; others stood there with twisted expressions, uttering the most vicious curses against the Ming family until they fell silent.
Inside the stone coffin, he could not hear any sounds from outside, but Zhao Yi could imagine the horrific scene outside.
If he hadn't been allowed to come in, he would have no chance of survival right now.
The danger and peril of this place far surpasses that of the evil lairs he had encountered in the past. If those evil spirits had such conditions for mutual destruction, they would probably be laughing in their dreams.
The reason it wasn't revealed beforehand was because the Dragon King's family was so prominent, and it was also the ancestral home of the Ming family's first generation. No one could have predicted that the Ming family would deliberately burn it down.
Of course, Zhao Yi had no time to empathize with outsiders, just as outsiders could hardly imagine his experience at that moment.
A pair of soft, delicate hands were clinging to his body, exploring his chest and caressing his back.
The burning heat on the chest and the icy coldness on the back are an unbearable dual sensation for most people.
Through his sincere prayers and invocations, a miracle occurred, and the dead beneath him gradually came back to life.
In other scenarios, this would be a classic example of "when all hope is lost, a new path opens up," a hard-won opportunity to turn the tide.
Inside the coffin, both the person beneath and the person on top of it knew perfectly well that this was nothing more than a tacitly planned and unspoken performance.
These hands explored her body more and more deeply, not only penetrating her clothes but also piercing her flesh with their fingertips.
The person beneath him raised their head, bringing their mouth close to his ear, their breath seeping into his ear canal, bringing a wet, sticky sensation. The words that followed made Zhao Yi's gaze in the darkness instantly sharpen:
“Child, you are injured, but your injury is... much less serious than I expected.”
Zhao Yi remained silent.
The wetness and stickiness around my ears continued:
“I’m not surprised that you could kill Lao Liu; but the fact that you could do it so easily makes me very curious. Did someone… help you?”
Zhao Yi remained silent.
"Child, tell Grandma, has something else changed?"
Perhaps feeling it would be impolite to remain silent in this situation, Zhao Yi spoke up:
"Grandma is blessed with great fortune."
"Hehehehe..."
Zhao Yi wasn't afraid of Ming Qinyun taking action now. She needed to open the coffin so that he could justify her actions, and he also needed Ming Qinyun to bring out the outcome of his actions.
If it weren't for people like Li, the old woman beneath him and he would be a perfect couple, having thoroughly understood and utilized the rules of the river.
"boom."
When the time came, and the fire of souls outside subsided, the stone coffin was no longer stable. Zhao Yi pushed his back upwards, flipped open the coffin lid, and flew out.
Outside the coffin, on the ground, lay mummified corpses, their bodies preserved and their clothes intact, but their souls completely burned away. They were so dead that even the underworld could not accept them.
Just moments ago, these powerful figures were putting pressure on him, as if everything was under their control. Little did they know that he was merely a slightly larger and more prominent pawn.
"Beep beep beep..."
A thick, foul-smelling liquid kept dripping from Zhao Yi's body.
Inside the coffin, Ming Qinyun sat up.
The two of them turned their gaze to the deepest part, where a small courtyard, which had been obscured by the thick spiritual energy, was revealed after being exposed. It was like a water-soaked ink painting, but they could still make out that a woman in a red wedding dress was standing in the doorway.
Most of the soul's essence was burned away, and the remaining portion gathered above the courtyard, turning from a vast expanse into a puddle.
In terms of status alone, as the "great-aunt" of the Ming family, she is terrifying beyond measure;
In terms of real strength, he can only bully those surnamed Li who can't use their tricks.
But, it's all just for show. She's the foundation of this stage. Without her, the stage can't be built, and the play can't be performed.
Zhao Yi shouted, "Please, Madam Ming, for the sake of the common people, set aside worldly etiquette and disregard your status, and help this junior suppress evil spirits and uphold righteousness!"
The hoarse sound of the Mingqin resonated all around:
"Enough, enough. I originally wanted to die with dignity, to preserve the reputation of the Dragon King's clan, but how can the honor or disgrace of one person be compared to the greater good of the people? I... shall sacrifice myself to protect the Dao!"
The collaboration ended the moment the words were spoken.
Zhao Yi's murderous intent surged, and he was about to draw his sword, but a terrible crisis struck, forcing him to retreat quickly. However, he still felt a burning pain in his chest. Looking down, he saw five deep claw marks on his chest, and even five gaps in his ribs.
Where she had stood, Ming Qinyun appeared. The old lady's five fingers were dripping blood, and white bone powder was deeply embedded in her fingernails.
"Don't be afraid, child. I'm just checking to see if you've been affected by evil spirits."
Zhao Yi held the tomb owner's sword horizontally in front of him and asked:
"Did Grandma find out the results?"
Ming Qinyun placed her fingertips under her nose, took a gentle sniff, and said:
“Child, you’ve fallen into evil ways quite badly. Grandma really can’t understand what kind of tricks that evil spirit used on you to make you abandon your peaceful life and insist on standing against Grandma?”
Zhao Yi: "Grandma hasn't looked in the mirror in a long time, has she?"
Ming Qinyun: "Hehe..."
Zhao Yi: "Grandma, if you've ever looked in the mirror, you'll understand. Look at your current appearance, and then look at what you've done. Who really looks like the evil spirit?"
Just tell me, should I stand against you or not?
Ming Qinyun: "Child, with your behavior, how dare you even complain about a pig's color?"
Zhao Yi: "I'm not exactly a good person, and my style of doing things can't be described as upright, but there's one thing I can be sure of: I've never betrayed my ambition to become the Dragon King."
"The ambition of the Dragon King? Which Dragon King recognizes it? Is it you, or..."
Ming Qinyun paused, then her tone sharpened, and she laughed sternly:
"Well done! My children and grandchildren have really played a brilliant game, fooling half of the martial arts world!"
Liu Yumei, oh Liu Yumei,
When young, one relies on the pampering of elders; when young, one relies on the pampering of men; and when old, one is still pampered by children.
What kind of good fortune have you accumulated in this life to allow you to experience such a turnaround from adversity to prosperity?
Zhao Yi glanced around out of the corner of his eye and, seeing that the Li family hadn't come in yet, mustered up his courage and spoke his mind to Ming Qinyun:
"Grandma, there's nothing we can do about it. Your granddaughter is a bit older and not as pretty as other people's granddaughters."
"You brat, I said in Wangjiang Tower that Liu Yumei got her husband by sending her granddaughter to marry into the family, just to spite her. Now that things have come to this, do you really think I'm a three-year-old child?"
"Grandma, these are all words from the bottom of my heart!"
As Liu Jinxia's god-grandson and Cuicui's god-brother, Zhao Yi knew that after the man surnamed Li came to Nantong, the first person he met was Cuicui.
It was clearly my own Cui Cui who arrived first!
Ming Qinyun raised her hand and pointed at Zhao Yi. During their conversation, she had already used various methods. Streams of red and blue ghost fire illuminated Ming Qinyun's figure, surrounding Zhao Yi and creating a small-scale, sealed-off area.
"Child, show me the tricks you didn't use on the sixth brother, don't let him down."
"Grandma, I've never shown this method to anyone before. I'm really curious, how did you know?"
"Have you forgotten? I am a member of the Ming family."
"Sixth Elder, I've met many members of the Ming family, but only you, Grandma, could see it."
"After being the mistress of this house for a long time, I've gotten into the habit of absorbing the anxiety from those around me without them even realizing it. A long time ago, I absorbed two portions of that anxiety from you."
I originally thought you had secretly practiced the Ming family's secret technique of one body and two souls, so I wasn't angry. This kind of technique can only protect against villains, not geniuses.
But later, every time you came to the Ming family to discuss matters, I would secretly sense you in the private room and discovered that the cultivation method you practiced was very similar to that of my Ming family. They came from the same source, but they followed a different path.
Unfortunately, the times and circumstances are not right; otherwise, I would truly be willing to recruit you into my Dragon King Ming family as a guest elder, to exchange knowledge and skills.
"Look, you're not as magnanimous as that old lady. She only gave her the position of guest elder. At least give her a few granddaughters and the position of head of the family, wouldn't you?"
"Indeed, if you are willing, we can talk; but it is a pity that my Ming family is on the verge of collapse, and I suppose you would not be interested in us."
Ming Qinyun slowly clenched her fist, gradually compressing the seal on Zhao Yi, and terrifying pressure continued to assail him.
Zhao Yi used a method to break the spell:
"Grandma, if you kill me now, the people outside will be scared and won't come in. That guy surnamed Li is very cautious."
My team, apart from myself, is full of lousy bastards. That guy surnamed Li wouldn't bring them in to avenge me; he'd just tell them to take things slowly and plan carefully.
"I've waited until now, what is he delaying for? It seems that your relationship is just so-so. Is it really worth you taking risks for him?"
"Who knows? Perhaps the formation your family set up outside was too advanced and tripped him up."
"You know what, it might actually be true."
Ming Qinyun released her grip, lifting the seal on Zhao Yi.
She knew perfectly well that Zhao Yi was waiting for outsiders to come in and join forces to kill her, but she still had to wait for them to come in.
Zhao Yi picked up a bottle of wine from the altar: "Grandma, are you thirsty? Would you like some? I just wanted to make sure you've had some water on your face."
Ming Qinyun shook her head.
Zhao Yi pulled out the cork, took a sip, and realized it was purified water he had poured in. He tossed it aside and grabbed a new bottle. As they sipped their drinks, the atmosphere inside felt strangely relaxed, but Zhao Yi's heart grew increasingly uneasy.
He would have felt more at ease if the old lady had displayed the typical hysteria of the Ming family, but she was so approachable...
Zhao Yi didn't think she had really changed her nature. Only the Dragon King could suppress the inherent nature of the Ming family members; no one else could change it.
The calmer she is now, the more insane she is about to go.
Zhao Yi let out a burp, shook the remaining half-bottle of wine, and urged:
"Grandma, why don't you just commit suicide? I'll tidy you up, mend and patch it up, and give you a dignified burial on the spot, so as not to disappoint so many distinguished guests who will be buried with you."
"Scared?"
Zhao Yi nodded: "A little."
Ming Qinyun pointed to the small courtyard in the distance: "Do you know why I didn't call her out?"
Zhao Yi: "You haven't called yet, why don't you give it a try?"
Ming Qinyun: "You're already dressed in your wedding gown, so you're not here to wait for me to pick you up."
Zhao Yi: "Who knows, maybe that's the only set of decent new clothes someone owns?"
Ming Qinyun: "Although I don't know how you did it, after being buried with you, I knew that my path to the afterlife had already been blocked by you."
In her original plan, Ming Qinyun intended to trick the person in the courtyard into coming out so that she could abandon this long-decayed physical body and suppress its soul, a kind of possession, before returning to the small courtyard and isolating herself. In this way, under the premise of conforming to cause and effect, she could obtain a powerful taboo protection for the Ming family.
In the future, anyone who dares to covet the Ming family will have to consider whether Ming Qinyun will fight to the death. This move is still modeled after Liu Yumei. The reason why the wolves of the martial world dare not openly devour them is because they are afraid that the former Miss Liu will go crazy and send all the evil spirits of the ancestral home to seek out the two most prominent families and perish together.
However, this kind of possession can only be carried out if the person inside is willing to come out voluntarily. Even though the pressure of entering the courtyard is greatly reduced due to the dissipation of a large amount of soul energy, the three Ming family dragon kings in history had made arrangements in the courtyard. If Ming Qinyun forcibly enters the courtyard to possess someone's body, that person can dismember themselves.
This would truly result in them losing out and being firmly suppressed, without having any deterrent effect whatsoever.
Clearly, the spirit was persuaded by that little beast, so Ming Qinyun's efforts were not in vain.
Zhao Yi's life-or-death gate on his chest stopped operating. He drank the wine in the bottle in one gulp, threw it aside, and then gripped the tomb master's knife with both hands, assuming a posture of full readiness and preparation for action.
Mingqin Yun:
"It seems you've figured out what I'm planning to do."
……
The external banquet was disrupted by internal factors, causing turmoil. Purple pollen spilled from beneath the giant stone statue, and all the attendants and related personnel were paralyzed on the ground, except for that one table.
There's no way around it; few can resist the temptation of such precious wine, and once it's opened and poured out, every moment later it's consumed will diminish its effectiveness.
The array beneath the boulder activated, and Ming Qinyun's figure emerged, sitting atop the boulder with a disdainful gaze and a mocking smile. Her lifelike quality was beyond description; she possessed the presence of a real person.
The Ming family members who set up the formation were of such low skill that Li Zhuiyuan had to follow along and make silhouettes.
Even with the portrait in front of him, it was still too time-consuming and laborious to copy. In order to meet the deadline, Li Zhuiyuan had to cut out Ming Qinyun in a sitting position, so that he only needed to cut out the upper body.
"Go back and tell them, you bunch of idiots, that you'll admit defeat? I, Dragon King Ming... will never!"
After she finished speaking, flames burst forth around Ming Qinyun, and when the flames dissipated, her figure disappeared.
To those around him, this was seen as an escape using magic, but in reality, Li Zhuiyuan had set the paper-cut on fire, burning it to ashes.
It's hard to say how many people this scene can successfully fool, but sometimes all it takes for a group to launch an attack is a suitable excuse.
The Azure Dragon and the Ming family have long been on the highest-class dining table in the martial arts world. The reason why the gluttons haven't made a move yet is that Li Zhuiyuan is still standing on the table, and everyone is afraid that he will smash the plate and overturn the table in the future.
"Alright, let's go in."
To the group of paralyzed and collapsed people, Zhao Yi from Jiujiang walked away from the table unaffected.
The previous internal soul tremor spread outwards, forming a dark, oppressive cloud above, blocking all prying eyes.
The guards at the entrance were all affected and turned into mummies. Normally, they would have had a chance to escape, but the Ming family deliberately sent out these small fry to save costs.
The door was sealed, the lock melted. Li Zhuiyuan was helpless. This was the second time today that he had faced such a simple but tricky formation. No matter how skilled the locksmith was, it was difficult to find an easy way to open a door that had been welded shut.
Following Li Zhuiyuan's instructions, Liang Yan went to summon A Jing back to the team. She had a whistle that was silent when blown, but could be heard by wolf ears.
Li Zhuiyuan set up an array on the spot, preparing to break down the door with the power of the array. Xu Ming took out two notebooks from the corpse of a Ming family member with a neatly groomed beard.
One notebook is a diary, and the other records the original gatekeeper formation.
"Brother Xiao Yuan, this looks like the leader here, take a look."
Li Zhuiyuan quickly flipped through the array records and said, "It's useful; it can save me time."
Xu Ming: "That's good, that's good."
When A-Jing returned, the formation on the boy's side was also set up. As the formation was activated, a gap was blasted open at the entrance with a series of booming sounds.
The opening is wriggling around its perimeter and will close again soon. To get out, you'll have to rearrange the opening from the inside.
Li Zhuiyuan removed his mask and gestured for them to enter.
A-Jing jumped three times, imitating Run-Sheng, and ran to Yuan-Ge's side.
Just as the group reached the point where they could see the altar, a hoarse voice rang out:
"Patriarch Li, you've finally arrived. I've been waiting for you for quite some time."
At the entrance of the courtyard, Ming Ningshuang smiled as she looked in the direction of Li Zhuiyuan.
The person who was actually there to pick her up arrived.
"Buzz!"
A swift blade of energy suddenly appeared from the altar, accompanied by Zhao Yi's shout:
"That old woman, surnamed Li, is going crazy!"
"Child, what excellent swordsmanship! Help your grandmother to exorcise evil spirits!"
The blade's energy was unimpeded, easily cleaving the old woman's body on the altar in two. Ming Qinyun's powerful soul flew out of her body and rushed towards the small courtyard.
The scene and the development were exactly as planned. Ming Qinyun would be unable to summon Ming Ningshuang in the courtyard and would have no choice but to give up and fight them here.
But Zhao Yi's shout meant that the situation had completely deviated from its course.
When Ming Qinyun's soul flew in, Ming Ningshuang remained unmoved and showed no intention of coming out.
However, Ming Qinyun didn't call out to her at all. Her soul rose from the doorway, arrived above the courtyard, gathered the remaining fragments of her soul that hadn't been burned away, and called out:
"As the former head of the Ming family, how can I allow your evil spirit to spread and wreak havoc on the world? Even if I have to give up everything, I will seal you away!"
For Li Zhuiyuan, this was a scene all too familiar: the Ming family was using their desperate secret technique, only this time it was being used outside the boy's body instead of inside.
In that instant, Li Zhuiyuan understood what Ming Qinyun was planning to do, and also grasped the meaning of Zhao Yi's shout.
Even though this old lady from the Ming family had the upper hand on the surface, she chose to give up the decisive battle with them.
Not only that, she also gave up on possessing Ming Ningshuang's body early on, and instead chose to take a gamble... to release a truly powerful evil spirit!
Zhao Yi was right; she was going crazy.
With such courage, decisiveness, and methods, she managed to forcibly open up another path even after blocking her own way.
As the person involved, Li Zhuiyuan disliked this feeling of being out of control, but as the opponent, the old lady was very competent and very enjoyable.
Ming Qinyun's voice came from above the courtyard again:
"Alas, I have the will to kill the traitors, but I am powerless to reverse the situation. I am old and senile and useless. If I could be thirty years younger, I would definitely be able to complete this seal and prevent the evil spirits in the courtyard from taking a single step outside."
Patriarch Li, Little Zhao, I have done my best. The rest—the safety of the people, the cause of righteousness—can only be entrusted to you, the younger generation!
Ming Qinyun's seal was half completed, and her soul began to dissipate rapidly.
She did it on purpose, of course.
In order to figure out how to fight her, Li Zhuiyuan and Zhao Yi did a lot of simulations. To increase their chances of winning, Li Zhuiyuan even took into account Zhao Yi's hidden and unused methods.
The boy only began to see through the trick last night, which immediately prompted Zhao Yi to remind him to keep quiet and not to tell anyone.
Therefore, if Ming Qinyun were truly old and useless, the two of them wouldn't need to pay so much attention to her.
Even now, she is still protecting the Ming family from the karmic consequences of her actions, always remembering her responsibilities as the matriarch. Even if you know she is deliberately sending them, she is indeed on the front line of suppressing evil spirits, and she is dead!
Standing at the gate of the courtyard, Ming Ningshuang looked at the "crystal clear river" hanging down in front of the gate.
The remaining unclaimed soul was gathered and refined by Ming Qinyun, who also incorporated her own soul. The soul power that was originally intended to seize her body was transformed into a gift that was readily available to her after this process.
Previously, she could only control Ming Ningshuang's physical body and could not exert any ability. If Li Zhuiyuan had had a partner present at the time, he would not have needed to act with her.
Now, as long as she absorbs the "river" in front of her, she can quickly replenish and strengthen her spirit. In other words, she will break free from the walking corpse and have the opportunity to revive some of Ming Ning Shuang's strength from her previous life!
Zhao Yi stopped halfway through his charge with the knife. At that distance, he couldn't stop her in time, and might even further provoke her to make a choice. He could only hope that the woman surnamed Li could still intimidate her, but Zhao Yi himself knew that this was almost impossible.
At the entrance of the courtyard, she timidly looked at Li Zhuiyuan, who was standing in the distance.
Li Zhuiyuan did not raise the price to grant her more freedom. Firstly, raising the price at this time would only have the opposite effect. Secondly, no amount of freedom could compare to what he could control.
The fear and timidity in her eyes quickly vanished, replaced by a resolute gaze. She stepped out of the courtyard and into the "river," which rapidly entered her body, nourishing her spirit.
The layers upon layers of bloodstains and claw marks accumulated over the years on the courtyard gate wall all transformed into terrifying obsessions that flew into its body. Its eyes turned bloodshot, and a sinister and violent aura rapidly erupted. It needed to kill a large number of people to vent the bitterness of being imprisoned and craved more souls to completely fill the emptiness in its body.
The river had been absorbed into a small stream, in which Ming Qinyun's faint figure was reflected. Her expressionless face revealed a smile amidst the ripples of the stream.
This isn't a battle in the martial world, this is a journey across the river, this is Zhao Yi's wave. You little beast, would you abandon him and run away to save your own life?
This wave, with its twists and turns and various parties vying for power, ultimately resulted in the most traditional and retro form.
Zhao Yi shouted, "Hey Li, you can leave now."
Chen Jing suddenly interrupted, shouting, "Don't talk nonsense."
After shouting, Chen Jing covered his mouth in surprise.
"Hahaha!"
Zhao Yi smiled and pointed the blade at Ming Ningshuang, saying in a deep voice:
"Suppress evil spirits!"
(End of this chapter)