Chapter 968 Strange Drip Sound

The sound of dripping water?

Are those ticking sounds that you hear as soon as you enter the rotunda?

Miao Si frowned and looked at it carefully.

"Tick-tock...tick-tock..."

It was indeed coming from this black wall.

On the other side, Ouyang Rong had already put away the torch and stuck it in the gap between the floor tiles to provide light.

He did not touch the black wall at all during the entire process.

Moreover, after the torch emerged from the black wall, the flame remained undamaged, and when it was extended into the black wall, no light was projected out.

The black wall's surface is like a pitch-black curtain, blocking all outside views and making it impossible to see what's inside.

It is not yet certain whether there is a hidden world behind this black wall, or if the black wall is just a smokescreen.

Or is it still a pitch-black space inside, a perfectly dark room?

The latter possibility is a bold guess that just popped into his head, which cannot be verified for the time being.

In addition, the sound of water dripping behind the black wall was also puzzling.

At this moment, in the light of the nearby torches, the black wall that replaced the tomb painting was outlined as a vertical rectangle.

It vaguely resembles a door.

Ouyang Rong moved closer, his eyes curiously examining the edge of the "door" in the wall.

The lines along the edge are perfectly straight, without any discrepancy, vaguely resembling... the scratches on a sword.

As he solidified his focus, Miaosi, who was resting on his shoulder, leaned forward, twitched her little nose, and suddenly her expression changed:

"dead!"

"What dead person?"

"Little Rongzi, there's the smell of a dead person inside."

Miao Si pointed to the black wall and said urgently to Ouyang Rong, who was frowning and turning around:

"This, this is it. It's the smell of death that I just told you about. Someone definitely died in here. The body is inside."

Ouyang Rong's expression turned serious at first, then he hesitated, but instead of asking her in detail about the reason why she could smell scents, he simply nodded and continued to ask:

Can you determine how long someone has been dead?

Miao Si shook her head: "That won't work."

Before the black wall, Ouyang Rong stood quietly for a while, then turned to look at the hidden blood bronze gate.

The circular hall contained only tomb paintings, and even those depicting severed heads, abruptly ending in an eerie manner.

Inside the dark room that they had finally found, there was the inexplicable sound of dripping water and the stench of someone who had died.

Furthermore, this door is quite strange, making it difficult to see what's inside.

What secrets are hidden behind this place behind the blood bronze gate? Was it built by Lu Changgeng alone?

However, Lu Jinghong and others, who were descendants of the Lu family's imperial tutors, obviously did not know about this secret place left by their ancestors. It is conceivable that the builder of this place was either Lu Jinghong or someone who kept it a private secret, so no clues were left for the Lu family members to enter the tomb.

Ouyang Rong's journey to this place was entirely accidental.

It started with the Kui Xing talisman that Cui Hao suggested, but later it was all a complete accident.

Ouyang Rong remained silent for a moment, then the bronze scroll that had been floating beside him suddenly flew to the top of his head, its blood-bronze shaft emitting a faint, clear blue light.

He turned his head and glanced at Miaosi.

Upon seeing the movement of the Peach Blossom Spring painting beside him, the latter understood almost instantly. She immediately left his shoulder and returned to the white sturgeon. At the same time, she turned back, her small face filled with worry, and advised him:

"Why don't we stop trying so rashly and do some more research? What if there are dangers inside that are beyond our understanding? Xiao Rongzi, even if you have the Ding Sword, you could still be ambushed."

While sensing the emotions of the [Craftsmanship], Ouyang Rong calmly spoke:

"This place has been sealed off for a long time, so it doesn't seem like a conspiracy against us. Besides, we entered using Lu Jinghong's blood and the Kui Xing Talisman, which corresponds to the Confucian school. These are the entry conditions. And this place is, after all, the Lu family's ancestral tomb. It's unlikely that the Lu family's ancestors would design such a trap, like a serendipitous encounter, to harm their descendants."

Miao Si subconsciously said, "But..."

Ouyang Rong nodded: "I know, let's try it first, I didn't say we'd go in immediately."

After saying that, he turned and glanced at the white sturgeon.

Miao Si also turned his head in tacit agreement and looked at the white sturgeon.

The latter was leisurely circling above its head when it was watched by both Ouyang Rong and Miao Si. The white sturgeon stopped with some confusion, swam over, and rubbed against Ouyang Rong's arm, back and forth, as if using his fingers to scratch the itch on its face.

Miao Si nodded seriously: "Big Silly Fish, go ahead. Once you're inside, write down what you see. Hmm, Little Rongzi should be able to sense and see. You'll be responsible for going in and taking a look for us. Don't worry, if you encounter any danger, this fairy will reluctantly allow you to announce my fairy name to deter the villains behind the wall..."

Before she could finish speaking, Ouyang Rong had already raised his hand and pointed to the black wall.

The ignorant and clueless white sturgeon followed its owner's instructions, swimming forward until it approached the black wall in front of it. Without pausing, it plunged into it.

Just as Ouyang Rong and Miao Si were about to hold their breath, in the next instant, the white sturgeon touched the black wall, and the usually carefree white fish was bounced back as if electrocuted and fell down.

This scene was like an eagle flying into a stormy cloud filled with lightning, only to be struck by lightning.

The white sturgeon trembled all over, instantly sending a tingling sensation back to Ouyang Rong. It fell towards the ground, but fortunately, just before it hit the ground, it regained some of its intelligence, flicked its tail, and barely managed to steady itself, avoiding a crash.

However, the white sturgeon's body underwent a strange change.

The shimmering white glow that the white exterior originally emitted has disappeared.

With its white exterior completely removed, Ouyang Rong and Miao Si were astonished to see that most of its body had reverted to the dark red material of blood bronze, which was the true "flesh and bones" of the white sturgeon.

At this moment, by the light of the torches, Ouyang Rong and Miao Si could even faintly see the fine lightning patterns covering the Blood Bronze Fish... These were the special patterns left behind after it had been bathed in the transformative heavenly lightning at Xunyang Grottoes.

Logically speaking, like Ouyang Rong, the white sturgeon, having survived the heavenly lightning, should be immune to most of the extremely yang substances in the world, including lightning.

The black wall looked as if its white skin had been peeled off in an instant.

The white sturgeon returned to Ouyang Rong's side in a disheveled and painful manner, seemingly whimpering, and circled around him haphazardly, its circling rhythm completely changed.

Ouyang Rong frowned and immediately closed his eyes to sense it.

After checking on the white sturgeon, he comforted it for a while before opening its eyes.

Miao Si asked in a low voice:

"What happened? What's wrong with the big silly fish?"

She waited for a while and noticed that Xiao Rongzi remained silent, so she turned her head away, somewhat puzzled.

But then she saw that Ouyang Rong was looking at her intently, his head tilted to the side.

His eyes held a hint of encouragement.

The listless white sturgeon, its eyes no longer so "clearly foolish," began to circle around its good friend.

Miao Si's expression changed slightly.

"What, me, me?"

The little ink spirit quietly took two steps back, shrank back, and muttered softly:

"This...this isn't my area of ​​expertise, so let's forget about it. Haha, Little Rongzi, you said last time you were short a few tubes of spirit ink?"

She tilted her slightly fawning face up and asked in a soft, gentle voice.

The injured white sturgeon alone: ​​...

Ouyang Rong did not answer Miao Si's question and turned back to her.

He remained silent, staring at the unremarkable black wall in front of him for a while, his face gradually becoming serious.

The walls were as black as ink.

What just happened is as if nothing happened at all, having no impact on it whatsoever.

The young man's brows gradually furrowed.

Ordinary torches can penetrate the black walls, so why can't the blood bronze white sturgeon?

It was even stripped of its "Chinese sturgeon" disguise?

Ouyang Rong's eyes showed a thoughtful expression.

"Tick-tock...tick-tock..."

The rhythmic dripping sound emanated from the black wall incessantly.

The sound falling beside my ear felt like someone was counting my heartbeats.

This made the peaceful atmosphere even more eerie.

Not long ago, when she first entered the rotunda, she didn't feel anything, but now, listening to the sound of dripping water, Miao Si felt uncomfortable all over.

When she noticed that Xiao Rongzi was not speaking and seemed to be thinking, she kept quiet, but while waiting, she kept turning her head.

Time passed second by second.

The light from the torches stuck in the ground gradually dimmed. Just as Xiao Mo Jing was about to speak, unable to wait any longer, Ouyang Rong suddenly moved.

He actually walked straight up and reached out to touch the black wall in front of him.

This erratic action startled Miaosi so much that she immediately jumped off his shoulder.

In contrast to the little ink spirit who jumped out of the car and ran away, the Peach Blossom Spring painting hanging overhead followed closely behind the dull young man below, rushing towards the black wall together.

At the same time, the Peach Blossom Spring painting, possessed by the [Craftsmanship] spirit, scattered a golden light, enveloping Ouyang Rong's body and connecting the counterfeit Ding Sword with its master.

Miao Si recognized it immediately; this was the first stage of Emperor Wen's sword-wielding divine power—the Bodhi Golden Body, which allowed Ouyang Rong to penetrate any physical object within three breaths.

Xiao Rongzi is adding a backup plan, just in case... Miao Si's thoughts had barely crossed her mind when Ouyang Rong had already arrived in front of the black wall, his fingertips touching the "darkness".

In the next instant, despite being protected by the Bodhi Golden Body, he suddenly trembled.

The hand entered the black wall as usual, but its forward momentum slowed down, as if a foot had stepped into a quagmire, and its progress became slower and slower.

During this time, Miao Si vaguely saw, by the dim firelight, that something fell onto Ouyang Rong's face as he moved forward, and it seemed that he caught it with his hand...

After that, Miao Si could no longer see anything. In the end, she only saw half of Ouyang Rong's body, including his face, enter the black wall and be isolated from the outside world.

The golden glow on his body was still there.

This scene is as if he has the ability to pass through walls... Indeed, in a sense, the [Bodhi Golden Light] that makes the body ethereal is a kind of wall-passing technique.

At this moment, the black wall separated Ouyang Rong's body, and the Peach Blossom Spring painting above his head was halfway into his body.

The young man remained frozen in place.

Time seemed to stand still.

Seeing this, the little one's mind started wandering.

The surrounding air was completely silent. Little Ink Spirit, her face filled with worry, couldn't help but ask:

"Xiao Rongzi, are you... are you alright?"

Ouyang Rong suddenly stepped back, holding the bronze mask, and emerged from the black wall, with the Peach Blossom Spring Map following him.

The young man stared intently at the black wall in front of him, remaining silent for a long time.

Miao Si suddenly realized that Xiao Rongzi's face, with its sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, had regained its handsome appearance and returned to its original state, no longer resembling a dull young man.

She immediately thought of the sudden stop Ouyang Rong made as he passed through the black wall, and the objects that fell from his face as his hand touched the wall.

It turned out to be the Mirage Beast Mask that he always wore.

Seeing him in a daze, Miaosi cautiously asked, "Are you alright?"

Ouyang Rong held the Mirage Beast Mask in his hand and slowly shook his head.

What's inside?

"black."

"black?"

Ouyang Rong nodded, recalling the scene from just now:

"It was pitch black inside, just like this wall, without a single ray of light. The space must be quite large, because I heard the sound of dripping water about ten feet to my right, and there was an echo inside... Was my guess right? It's a dark room, completely isolated from all light. Also..."

Miao Si was listening curiously, but seeing him hesitate as if he wanted to say something but didn't, she urged him on with an annoyed expression:

"What else? Tell me."

Ouyang Rong turned around, looked at her, and instead of explaining immediately, he lowered his head and put the bronze mask back on his face.

In the next instant, the handsome young man disappeared from the spot, and in his place was the familiar, taciturn young man.

He switched back to the fake body of "Ashan".

Before Miao Si could ask a question, Ouyang Rong had already walked back to the black wall. This time, he stopped in front of the black wall and only stretched out one finger to touch it.

The moment they touched, something else fell from Ouyang Rong's face and was caught skillfully in his hand.

At the same time, the figure of the dull young man in front of the wall disappeared once again, returning to his original appearance.

Ouyang Rong held the bronze mask that had automatically fallen off, his eyes slightly narrowed as he savored the tingling sensation that felt like an electric current. After a moment, he turned back to look at Miao Si, his gaze calm.

The latter was stunned for a moment, looking at his solemn and handsome face, and then at the bronze mask in his hand.

After a moment, he realized what was happening and quickly answered the question:

"Wait, what do you mean? You mean, the disguise mask stops working as soon as you touch the wall?"

Ouyang Rong nodded.

Miao Si was somewhat taken aback.

As if they had thought of something at the same time, the two who were looking at each other turned their heads in tacit agreement and looked at the floating fish in the air that was gradually regaining its white scales.

No wonder the white sturgeon reacted so strangely after touching the black wall.

This "black wall," or rather the "dark room" inside, not only rejects any light, maintaining a deathly darkness, but it can also suppress all illusions and disguises. Its effect is so powerful that it can even ignore the golden light of the "Emperor Wen" protecting Ouyang Rong.

No matter what kind of divine power you possess, including the sword light of a cauldron sword, no light or "illusory technique" can penetrate it; they will all be eliminated...

(End of this chapter)