Chapter 173: Was Azhaosu wronged at the trial site?

Because the moon obscures the sun, this narrow sea route leading to the secret realm is also divided by light and shadow, half bathed in sunlight and half hidden in shadow, as if a line were dividing the sea surface.

Chen Ying said, "This scene is recorded on the bamboo slips of the Fangxian Sect, and it is called 'Walking Between Yin and Yang'."

The Undead dwell deep within the secret realms of the sea, separated from the human world. It can be said that they live on another distant shore, a realm that humans could never reach.

Therefore, one must find this Yin-Yang line during a lunar eclipse and follow it to reach the secret realm where the Undead dwell.

"It is said that this yin-yang line was discovered by Fuxi." Over the years, Chen Ying has meticulously studied the bamboo slips and stone inscriptions left by Fang Xiandao, just as Fang Xiandao meticulously studied Fuxi. They even painstakingly searched for Fuxi's footprints and collected and excavated countless relics left by Fuxi. Chen Ying said, "In the world, many places have left behind relics of Fuxi drawing the trigrams. For example, there are platforms for Fuxi drawing the trigrams in Tianshui County of Longyou, Huaiyang County of Chenzhou, and Caizhou of Henan Province, and legends about Fuxi drawing the trigrams have been left behind. So, where exactly did Fuxi first draw the eight trigrams?"

Lu Bing's face was a mixture of light and shadow. Chen Ying had mentioned to him before that the Boundless Secret Realm had some unclear connection with Fuxi's drawing of the hexagrams. But at that time, Lu Bing kept himself out of it and did not take this sage who died as an ancient legend to heart. He did not think that Fuxi had anything to do with him. However, who could have predicted that he would be the victim of this ancient legend?

Chen Ying, in a fit of madness, molded him into the body of Fuxi...

Now that this topic is brought up, Lu Bing feels like he could vomit blood: "I don't care where he draws the divination, it can't be here, can it?"

Chen Ying laughed upon hearing this: "If you weren't here, why would I have brought you here?"

He knew it.

“Fuxi’s creation of the Eight Trigrams was never a one-off event,” Chen Ying said. “It involved traversing mountains and seas, observing the celestial phenomena, the laws of the earth, and the suitability of all things. Through years of observation and work, he created the Eight Trigrams. Then, on a certain day of solar eclipse, Fuxi discovered this Yin-Yang line while observing the vast ocean.”

A line of light divides the sea into two, one bright and one dark, representing Yin and Yang, thus giving rise to the Tai Chi diagram of the sea.

Chen Ying tucked a strand of wet hair behind her ear: "And so, Fuxi discovered another world existing in the heavens and the seas—the Boundless Secret Realm."

Hearing this, Lu Bing vaguely noticed a difference between what Chen Ying had said before. Although he was dizzy from the waves, his mind was still relatively clear. Lu Bing slowly sat up straight, leaning on the ship's railing: "Didn't you say that only the Undead could find the secret realm and open it, which is why A Cong and the others believed that it was Ya Ren... A Zhao Su and Fang Xian Dao who colluded to open the secret realm and kill them?!"

Yes, those who are not of our kind cannot possibly reach the secluded secret realm. Fang Xiandao's sudden intrusion must mean that there is a traitor in the secret realm who has betrayed us, thus bringing disaster upon us. The gatekeeper, A Zhaosu, will be the first to suffer.

Lu Bing turned to look at the silent Acong, his eyes flickering in the light and shadow of the eclipse. He couldn't communicate with this masked "mute," so he could only turn to Chen Ying and question her: "Didn't you say that even Acong and the others, because they turned into Wangxiang, could no longer find their way back to the secret realm? So how did they find their way here? Aren't there plenty of ways?!"

Chen Ying glanced at A Cong subconsciously. When she accompanied A Cong to Donghai to search for his hometown, they accidentally discovered the secret chamber in the fishing village used to prepare the body of Fuxi. When they saw the method for finding the secret realm recorded inside, A Cong was shocked and could hardly believe it.

It couldn't believe that humans could possibly know about the existence of the secret realm in the sea. The small wooden boat they were sailing couldn't even withstand a big wave. How could these people possibly discover the secret realm, find the secret realm, or even open the secret realm?

That's impossible, absolutely impossible.

Chen Ying said, "Anyway, that's what it's recorded on the bamboo slips of Fang Xian Dao. At first, A Cong didn't believe it."

Not only Ah Cong didn't believe it, but all the undead in the secret realm were convinced that it was impossible for outsiders to find them, to find their homeland, or even to open it up.

However, judging from the records left in the secret chamber, Fuxi, who observed the heavens and the earth, had already discovered it.

The records are detailed and specific. In order to find this secret place, Fang Xiandao studied the hexagrams left by Fuxi in detail and even reconstructed Fuxi's body based on them.

Chen Ying initially thought it was a pipe dream, but as she read on, she actually felt that she could give it a try.

What if it's true?

Clinging to this unrealistic hope, she tried her best and actually succeeded in mastering the art. Many seemingly heinous and unorthodox methods were indeed feasible, such as fetal manipulation, conception, and the creation of elixirs. The more Chen Ying practiced, the more she realized that following the methods recorded above truly...

This will allow Acong and the others to return to the secret realm.

Until she obtained a living body of Fuxi through repeated failures, Chen Ying looked at Lu Bing, who was the irrefutable evidence and fact right in front of her.

Having reached this point, there is no room for doubt.

Lu Bingdao: "Now you should believe me, right?"

There's a saying that goes something like this...

If we trace back to ancient times, the sages, existing between heaven and earth, were the forerunners of all living beings. They observed the opening and closing of yin and yang to define things, and understood the gateways of existence and extinction. They planned the beginning and end of all things, comprehended the principles of the human heart, saw the signs of change, and guarded these gateways. Therefore, the way of the sages in the world, from ancient times to the present, has been one.

Xi Sheng was born between heaven and earth, and was the forerunner of all living beings. He first drew the Eight Trigrams, and the Dao opened up the primordial chaos. Therefore, he was revered by later generations as the ancestor of humankind.

Even though the Boundless Secret Realm is isolated from the world, it exists within heaven and earth, and there are sages who can comprehend and understand its mysteries. I don't know where the Undying People get the confidence that the outside world can never find them. When they encounter trouble, they want to find an internal traitor to convict them.

Is A Zhaosu wronged?

In any case, Lu Bing firmly believed that Ya Ren would collude with outsiders to harm his own people.

Ah Cong, as if in a fit of rage, pounced on a plank of wood and charged aggressively at Lu Bingbi, gesturing wildly.

Lu Bing couldn't understand his sign language, but the creature was clearly furious, its gestures seeming as if it wanted to yell at him.

Lu Bing turned to Chen Ying and asked, "What did it say?"

Chen Ying translated: "So what if it found it? Does it have nothing to do with Azhaosu? It was he who opened the secret realm and brought those sorcerers in, which is why we were killed."

Lu Bing asked, "Did you personally witness A Zhaosu opening the secret realm and bringing those sorcerers in?"

Ah Cong angrily confronted Lu Bing's questions.

It did not see it with its own eyes, but it witnessed firsthand the familiar faces of Xu Fu, the leader, and A Zhaosu.

At that moment, Xu Fu clasped his hands in thanks to A Zhaosu for his help, and A Zhaosu's face turned deathly pale.

Chen Ying stared at A Cong's angry and forceful sign language, and calmly repeated each sentence: "...A Zhaosu knew those sorcerers. They had colluded long ago. He killed us."

Fang Xiandao burned them alive, turning them into monstrous creatures that hated A Zhaosu and wished they could tear him to pieces.

"Just because they know each other, you assume they're in cahoots," Lu Bingdao said. "You also believe the secret realm can't be found outside, so you think Azhaosu led them in? Based on those two points alone? And what happened? In fact, you, along with Chen Ying, used the same method Fang Xiandao used to find the secret realm to locate the Undead's dwelling place. Now, you've found your own doorstep, walking the same path Fang Xiandao once walked, and you're still stubbornly insisting that Azhaosu brought those sorcerers into the secret realm?"

Clearly, Fang Xiandao found the secret realm on his own.

Ah Cong almost broke a piece of boat wood.

Having served as a constable for so many years, handling countless cases and interrogating all sorts of suspects in the yamen, Lu Bing would never so hastily convict someone. Even if a conviction were to be made, the suspect would need to confess personally. Therefore, he asked Acong, "Since you insist that A Zhaosu has confessed, does he admit that he did it?"

Just when Chen Ying thought that A Cong would jump up and strangle Lu Bing, A Cong made two heavy gestures at him.

Chen Ying translated, "How could he possibly admit it?"

Lu Bing sneered upon hearing this: "So you didn't confess."

What Acong and Lu Bing didn't know was that even though A Zhaosu suffered the punishment of divine retribution and was expelled from the Boundless Secret Realm, A Zhaosu did not confess his guilt.

Divine punishment could not force him to confess; even the most grueling trials and near-death experiences could not make him yield his guilt.

Bai Yuan gazed at the endless, towering waves, for this sea of ​​clouds seemed strangely familiar; she remembered seeing it in A Zhaosu's underworld litigation.

That day was just as turbulent as this one, only the clouds were filled with thunder and lightning.

The moment lightning ripped through the sky, the world suddenly became bright and clear, as white as day.

The lightning bolts were like giant whips, carrying the might of heaven, lashing down from the heavens to earth and striking a person.

This person was suspended by chains forged from cold iron beneath a boiling sea of ​​clouds, wearing a blood-stained garment of indistinguishable color, and was being subjected to the heavenly whip of lightning!

"You are a sinner!"

At the same moment, a thunderous judgment descended from the heavens, and the whips formed from lightning struck the man mercilessly.

"Your sins are unforgivable, and you deserve to die a thousand deaths!"

"Even death cannot atone for it!"

"Ah Zhaosu, your sins are unforgivable, you deserve to die ten thousand times!"

"Heaven has punished you for your sins. From this day forward, Azhaosu shall be banished from this land and never be allowed to return!"

Under the divine punishment whip, A Zhaosu was on the verge of death, her voice barely audible, only able to murmur as she tried to defend herself: "I didn't, I didn't."

Later, only Bai Yuan heard it.

Bai Yuan stared at the churning sea of ​​clouds: "Is this the area?"

Zhou Yaren turned her head: "What?"

"The Boundless Secret Realm was once the place where Azhaosu was judged and executed."

Zhou Yaren was suddenly startled, and suddenly remembered the scene of A Zhaosu being tortured that she had seen through the Death Umbrella. Instantly, she felt uneasy: "So, the secret realm may be nearby?"

Bai Yuan looked around and also spotted the long, calm stretch of sea in the distance.

Zhou Yaren frowned, not daring to relax for a moment. Under Bai Yuan's instruction, she braved the huge waves and rode the wind and waves. The sea surface suddenly split, and the waves pushed the ship quickly towards that tranquil sea area.

At the same time, the slowly rotating moon obscured more than half of the sun, and the yin and yang lines projected on the sea surface were also shifted by a few inches, leaving Wangxiang pushing the small boat completely in the shadows.

Before Lu Bing and A Cong could continue arguing, they saw two or three ships vaguely appearing in the sea fog ahead.

"Did you see that?" Chen Ying thought she was seeing things. "Isn't there a boat up ahead?"

Lu Bing saw it too, but he didn't say anything.

All the water sprites responded in the same way; they all saw the ship in the mist.

"Impossible!" Chen Ying exclaimed gravely, scrambling to the front of the small boat to get a better look. "How could there be other ships on this sea leading to the secret realm?!"

This is too strange, Chen Ying speculated: "This place is almost outside the entrance to the secret realm. Could it be that we've run into the Undead?"

The Undead dwell in a secret realm in the sea, completely isolated from the world, and under normal circumstances, it is impossible for them to leave the country.

Just to be on the safe side, Ah Cong gestured to Chen Ying: You guys stay put, I'll go check out the situation first.