What she found most unacceptable was that lightning was always the nemesis of the supernatural, so how could it appear on a supernatural person with a gold-tier title?
Just as she was in shock, Chu Jiang No. 2 in front of her suddenly produced a small, black wooden plaque. She felt that the plaque looked very familiar.
Yan Qing remembered that these were the eighteen small wooden plaques she had obtained from the Yaksha in the nameless temple on Mount Qingcheng, after kneeling and kowtowing three times.
How did this thing suddenly end up in Chujiang No. 2's hands?
Before long, Yan Qing learned the truth: the Yan Qing No. 2, who looked exactly like her, was taking out one by one and putting them all into Chu Jiang No. 2's hands.
She counted them, and there were exactly eighteen, no more and no less.
Eighteen? This number is exactly the same as the one she received from the Yaksha.
Now that things have come to this, Yan Qing has no choice but to suspect that these eighteen small black wooden plaques are probably the ones she obtained.
“This thing is a treasure that my mother clan has guarded for thousands of years. There were originally only ten, but I stole the remaining eight from the elders of the Eighteen Villages.”
Yan Qing No. 2's eyes sparkled. "The people in the Eighteen Villages only remember the Cave God now. What they don't know is that more than a thousand years ago, the original purpose of the Eighteen Villages was to guard that so-called Cave God, and those eight wooden tablets were placed in a certain formation at the entrance of the cave as the core of the formation's operation."
At this point, she couldn't help but sigh. "According to the information passed down in my family, that so-called cave god was originally an accidental escape from the Nine Nether Hell suppressed by the Yaksha. After being discovered and captured by the Yaksha, it was suppressed here using magical artifacts. However, this creature is indeed quite capable. It actually deceived the ignorant villagers and used a thousand years to gradually destroy the entire formation. Now, the remaining Buddhist power in the sacred cave can hardly suppress it anymore."
Chu Jiang No. 2 nodded. "I've heard about this before. There's an unnamed ancient temple on Mount Qingcheng that's said to be very eerie. As a temple, it's plagued by all sorts of ghosts and demons. The temple had no choice but to bring in a golden statue of a Yaksha to suppress them. I don't know how effective it is. I once saw the things in this sacred cave, and they felt very similar to those there."
His expression grew increasingly serious, and he made a decisive decision: "No matter what this cave spirit is, let's not stay here any longer. I can hear that there's no more noise outside. Why don't we go out first? — As for your arm, I still have a small deep-sea pearl left. I'll heal you as soon as we get back."
When Yan Qing No. 2 heard that he had a plan, although she was somewhat unwilling, she finally obeyed.
"Alas, the Azure Dragon Carrying the Coffin is a legend that claims to heal all injuries and grant immortality. I wonder if it's true or not—it seems I'm not so fortunate."
She sighed as she followed Chu Jiang No. 2's footsteps, slowly walking towards the cave entrance.
Yan Qing was speechless. These two had only revealed half of their secret, leaving her hanging. It was too uncomfortable for them.
As she followed the two to the vicinity of the cave entrance, she belatedly realized that Chu Jiang himself was still standing in the same spot.
So this person didn't even move from the spot?
This time, however, he didn't face the wall. Instead, he stood with his hands behind his back facing her, and even had a smile on his face.
"So, was it fun?"
Yan Qing pouted, "This is so boring. Apart from hearing some gossip, everything else is utterly boring—especially you. Who is that woman to you?"
"My fiancée." This time, Chu Jiang didn't hide it from her. His gaze fell on Yan Qing No. 2, who was walking towards the cave entrance, his expression filled with endless longing.
"Looks like you two really are having an affair!" Yan Qing continued to purse her lips. Even though this woman looked a lot like her, it was obvious that their personalities were not the same.
Anyway, she didn't think that person was herself.
At this moment, Chu Jiang No. 2, leading Yan Qing No. 2, had reached the edge of the cave entrance and was about to leave. But then, another unexpected event occurred.
"What's going on?!" Chu Jiang No. 2 lifted his leg to walk out, but even though there was nothing in front of him, his leg felt as if it were blocked by an invisible wall. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break through it even a little.
"Not good, there's a barrier here!" Chu Jiang No. 2 lived up to his Xuanmen disciple status, his body crackling with lightning, and a ray of golden light slashed directly at the void of the cave entrance in front of him.
The lightning ability user was indeed extraordinary; the entire area around the cave entrance was instantly cleaved into darkness, dust flew everywhere, and thick smoke billowed up.
When the smoke and dust cleared, the barrier at the cave entrance was completely undamaged.
Chu Jiang's expression finally changed.
"go--"
A stack of yellow talismans was flung at the invisible barrier, and it still crackled and popped, with the same result.
Now, even Yan Qing No. 2 couldn't sit still anymore.
"Brother Chu, this barrier seems to be deliberately targeting us! Oh no, we've been tricked!"
Yan Qing No. 2 immediately realized that they had been underestimating ordinary people all along.
The cave entrance was deserted; the original high shaman and several elders had long since disappeared.
Yan Qing No. 2 finally understood that the reason they left so confidently was because they were certain that once the two entered the Holy Cave, they would never be able to leave.
The two exchanged a glance, both of them simultaneously showing a hint of anxiety.
Having watched the whole scene unfold, Yan Qing easily guessed what was going on. She glanced at the unmoved Chu Jiang himself and said...
"Was this how you got trapped back then?"
She remembered clearly that Chu Jiang first appeared when the Azure Dragon carried the coffin, but his true form remained asleep somewhere in Mirror Lake.
It seems that something must have happened here more than a hundred years ago.
Chu Jiang shrugged, completely unconcerned. "You'll see as you watch."
Yan Qing ignored him and continued watching the two people break through their cultivation levels.
Next, Chu Jiang No. 2 tried almost every method he could think of, but still couldn't open the barrier.
In desperation, the two even resorted to using the small black wooden plaque. To their even greater surprise, the plaque had the opposite effect; instead of weakening, the barrier became even stronger.
The side effects weren't limited to that. When the small wooden tablet appeared, the Lingxi and Jiuyou Jinli that Yan Qing herself had released collapsed to the ground, their bodies showing signs of gradually dissipating.
"Master, I... I can't hold on much longer—"
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