The body holding the “child” led everyone to a place, and while everyone was engaged in a contest of skills, Ning Buwei and Chu Jun mixed into the crowd.
Ning Buwei’s true self blended among a group of talisman cultivators, raising his hand to set up a formation, and said to Chu Jun, “Borrow your Taiji Seal for a moment.”
Chu Jun skillfully hid the Taiji Seal within his formation, asking, “Four Symbols and Six Harmonies Formation?”
“A variation of the Four Symbols and Six Harmonies Formation,” Ning Buwei said. A thick, blood-colored vein emerged on the back of his hand, and a sinister smile appeared on his face. “I don’t believe I won’t find him!”
He forcefully tore the vein from the back of his hand. While everyone’s attention was drawn to the body in front, he slammed the vein heavily onto the ground.
As soon as the vein touched the ground, it seemed to take root and come alive. Countless tiny blood threads spread like an exploding spider web, quickly wrapping around everyone’s ankles. Ning Buwei concentrated, closed his eyes, and quickly and carefully sensed the subtle differences in each blood thread.
Moments later, he finally sensed a hindrance. Ning Buwei abruptly opened his eyes and gathered the blood-colored vein with his five fingers like claws.
He let out a cold laugh as he looked over and discovered it was actually a group of “familiar faces.”
There were Jimo Hongcai and Bu Qing from the Qingdan Sect, and Pei Heguang, who had previously helped rescue Sang Yun in Leyuan City.
Just as Ning Buwei was about to investigate further, the blood-colored vein was unexpectedly severed. The variation of the Four Symbols and Six Harmonies Formation began to change, gradually generating a backlash, and suddenly murderous intent emerged.
Chu Jun decisively used the Taiji Seal to completely wrap Ning Buwei, hiding the two of them inside and cutting off the blood-colored vein that was seeking someone in reverse.
This was the first time Ning Buwei had encountered a cultivator who could compete with him in formations, indicating that the opponent’s attainments in formations were absolutely no less than his own.
He had never expected that the other party would dare to use living people to battle in a formation. The opponent seemed determined to drag everyone down. If he didn’t engage now, everyone in the formation would die—including the opponent and Ning Buwei himself.
This formation had to be contested.
The confrontation between the two sides gradually escalated. The people silently connected by blood threads in the formation also began to realize something was wrong.
“What is this thing!?” Someone looked at the blood threads spreading and wrapping around their wrist, rubbing vigorously but discovering that it seemed to be growing inside their body.
“What a sinister technique! This thing is absorbing people’s spiritual power!” Someone cried out in alarm.
Shen Xi discovered several thin blood threads on her ankles and wrists. She tried to expel them but to no avail; instead, this only accelerated the threads’ spread.
She formed a hand seal, sent out her divine consciousness, her face suddenly turning deathly pale. She tried to maintain composure and saidm “Someone is battling formations in the tomb passage. Everyone must not act rashly!”
Her voice was not loud, yet everyone present heard it clearly. The tomb chamber fell into dead silence. Even Ning Fan and Zen Master Mingsang stopped in time, each looking at the blood threads spreading to their palms with grave expressions.
“Elder Shen,” Xie Wenshi’s face looked extremely ugly, looking at the blood threads spreading to her fingertips and taking a deep breath, “Are you saying… someone is using us to battle formations? As far as I know, formation masters are rare nowadays, and those who can reach the level of battling formations are unheard of—”
“Not to mention using living people in a formation,” an older cultivator said with a difficult expression. “Battling formations with living people is like a game of chess. Regardless of who wins, half the people are destined to die.”
It could not be more insidious.
“Ning Buwei! It must be Ning Buwei!” A young cultivator shouted angrily, glaring at the body holding the child above, “Despicable scoundrel!”
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone felt it made sense. Who didn’t know that Ning Buwei was extremely skilled in formations, and his talisman techniques had reached the pinnacle? Moreover, such a poisonous method was entirely consistent with this demon’s usual style.
Unexpectedly, the body waved its long sleeve, revealing blood threads on its wrist, and said, “I am also in the formation. Moreover, a formation battle requires two parties. If I were truly battling in the formation, then who would be the other party?”
Everyone immediately shifted from indignation to uncertainty.
Shen Xi spoke up. “What he says makes sense. Ning Buwei also has blood threads, so he should not be the one battling in the formation. Furthermore, formation battles require participants to remain within the formation. The true battlers should be hiding among us.”
“A battle of living people can only allow everyone to survive if both sides stop simultaneously,” Zen Master Mingsang spoke. “The ones battling in the formation will definitely change positions. Everyone stand still and do not move.”
“If two people move simultaneously, they will be immediately killed to break the formation.”
Hundreds of cultivators present dared not move rashly, but their gazes towards those around them became vigilant and wary.
Ning Buwei looked somewhat surprised at Chu Jun controlling the body to speak those words, and glanced at Chu Jun beside him.
Chu Jun seemed to know his thoughts and transmitted via divine consciousness. “This formation battle was not initiated by you, but you were forced into it. Since they asked, I helped clarify for you.”
Though the method was crude and direct, effectively extracting him from the situation.
Ning Buwei curved his mouth slightly and began to concentrate on battling the person in the shadows.
The opponent was hidden in darkness, and he too was hidden in darkness. Neither knew the other’s exact position, just waiting to see who would lose their composure first.
After a long while, a sudden cracking sound broke the dead silence in the tomb chamber.
Everyone’s expression tightened. Following the sound, they saw the originally quiet ice coffin placed in the center slowly cracking. Finally, with a “crack”, the exquisite ice coffin split into four or five pieces. The corpse sleeping quietly inside suddenly sat up.
The crowd, who had already been standing stiffly, became even more rigid.
The corpse sat silently for a moment, then slowly lay back down.
Before anyone could breathe a sigh of relief, a light, teasing female voice with a hint of laughter echoed from all directions. “What group of little bastards dares to disturb this old lady’s peace?”
As soon as the words fell, countless blood threads dropped from above the tomb passage. Before the crowd could react, these blood threads tightly wrapped around everyone.
Ning Buwei, who had been battling the person in the shadows, changed his expression, inwardly thinking something was wrong. But before he could change the formation, he was completely wrapped and entangled by the squirming blood threads. Chu Jun reached out to pull him out, but the blood threads paused for a moment and directly entangled Chu Jun as well.
Ning Buwei’s voice transmitted from the divine consciousness. “My master has a bad temper. Remember, absolutely do not forcefully intrude.”
These blood threads were many times thicker than the ones Ning Buwei used for battling formations. They were extraordinarily rich with blood-evil qi and carried countless yin energies, as if about to drag the wrapped people into an endless hell.
The two sides originally battling in the formation were simultaneously interrupted. Normally, this would end the formation battle. However, when Ning Buwei tried to collect his threads, an unexpected mutation occurred. His half-divine consciousness in the body and original body seemed to be on the verge of fracturing.
Ning Buwei immediately wanted to recall the half-divine consciousness in the body. Chu Jun decisively helped. But at the moment the two half-divine consciousnesses merged into one, the blood threads wrapping them suddenly tightened. The space in front of them suddenly twisted, then immediately returned to calm.
Ning Buwei looked at the small, round pearl the size of a fingernail before him, with a tiny “Yan” character carved on it.
He reached out and took the round pearl.
[A secret technique of the Yan family can seal one’s memories. Even if one’s soul is searched, nothing can be found. Even a thousand years after the true body’s death, the sealed memories can still be viewed.
But who can see them depends on the memory’s owner’s decision.
Naturally, it’s secrets one doesn’t want others to know.
I naturally have… ha, of course, not left for you, this wicked disciple.]
Yan Jinzhou’s words before death rang in Ning Buwei’s ears at that moment.
Didn’t she say he wouldn’t let him see?
Ning Buwei curved his mouth, reached out, and touched the small round pearl. A massive water mirror appeared before his eyes, and several segments of Yan Jinzhou’s unique memories slowly emerged.
****
Yan Jinzhou crouched by a river, reflecting the shadow of a girl who looked only fifteen or sixteen. She bit a hair tie, her brow slightly furrowed, trying to tie her hair higher, but several strands kept falling, undoing her efforts.
“Tsk.” She relaxed her hand, roughly tying her hair back with the hair tie. A crisp female voice came from behind.
“Jinzhou, Xiyuan is back!”
Yan Jinzhou turned her head to look – it was the young Sang Yun, who appeared to be around fifteen or sixteen years old, looking lively and adorable, completely different from her current steady and quiet demeanor.
Yan Jinzhou stood up and clapped her hands, saying teasingly, “Well well, I thought he had fallen for some girl in the mortal realm and didn’t want to come back.”
Sang Yun intimately linked arms with her and said with a grin, “That would never happen!”
The two of them walked forward together, surrounded by leafless branches and dilapidated farmhouses. After turning a corner, they saw three young men about their age.
One was a handsome monk wearing gray cassock, one was a good-looking disciple wearing the white clothes and black gauze of the Wushi Sect, and one was a graceful young master in black clothes – they were Mingsang, Chu Linyuan, and Ning Xingyuan.
However, they were all quite young, their features still showing traces of childhood.
“You two came at the right time. Now that Xingyuan has returned, let’s discuss when to head back to the seventeen states,” Chu Linyuan said as they approached.
Yan Jinzhou glanced at Ming Sang and said, “Any time is fine with me, I’m flexible.”
Sang Yun said, “Me too! But Xingyuan, you look so pale, are you really okay?”
Ning Xingyuan shook his head, his face expressionless, “I’m fine.”
Yan Jinzhou crossed her arms and said, “Speaking of which, you disappeared without a trace for three months, we nearly went crazy looking for you. Where were you?”
Upon hearing this, Ning Xingyuan’s expression grew even heavier, but he said, “That day I was studying the Rejuvenation Array, but there were some problems with the formation. I was severely injured and was transported by the teleportation array inside to some unknown small village. I was unconscious there for a long time before I woke up.”
Chu Linyuan said, “Fortunately it was just a scare. Xingyuan, this is the mortal realm, not the seventeen states – studying arrays here is really dangerous.”
Ning Xingyuan nodded, “It won’t happen again.”
Sang Yun patted his shoulder, “Good thing you’re okay, Chu Linyuan was nearly scared to death.”
Chu Linyuan said with a headache. “Since I brought you all out, I naturally need to bring you back in one piece. If something happened to his precious proud student, that old stick-in-the-mud Hao Zheng would drown me with his spit.”
Yan Jinzhou laughed unsympathetically, “Look how spineless you are.”
Chu Linyuan retorted indignantly. “One day when you enter the Wanxuan Academy, you’ll know how formidable Hao Zheng is.”
