62. The Inner Demon Mirror - Part 3: Black and White Lotus
Outside the water mirror, the black and white lotus suddenly erupted with a strong baleful aura.
The deafening roar of the gods and Buddhas breaking through the forbidden passage had not yet completely subsided, and the billowing dust spread like a black sandstorm, making it impossible to see the situation of Junxing Mountain with the naked eye.
Two teams of soldiers hovered in mid-air, staring intently at the quietly blooming lotus flowers. Someone noticed something was amiss.
"Has it turned darker?"
The black and white spiritual energy were merging with each other, and the silvery light was being devoured by the black spiritual energy, making the already difficult situation even more unpredictable.
The young man pressed two fingers together against his temple. "Boss, the lotus is acting strangely; the black aura is even more turbid."
Where are the hostages?
The young general glanced at Tang Xihe, who was enveloped in a pale golden barrier, and said, "She's still sleeping."
The other party hurriedly said, "Keep an eye on it, and report any unusual activity immediately."
It seems the dungeon is quite busy, so the two squads of soldiers had to continue guarding the area in mid-air.
Beneath the blooming giant lotus, the Sun and Moon Temple had collapsed into a bottomless abyss.
The divine generals, including Tian Shu and Lei Bu, were pursuing the remnant soul of Yan Youzu. Their figures had long since disappeared into the abyss. The sounds of fighting inside could be faintly heard outside the cave entrance. Bright golden reflections mixed in with the smoke and dust revealed a corner of the underground city buried beneath Junxing Mountain.
No wonder they couldn't find any trace of Yan Youzu. It was hiding under Junxing Mountain and had set up more than 300 formations to conceal its tracks. It took the generals a long time just to break through the formations. They were violently breaking through the formations while pursuing it.
Under the violent pursuit of breaking through the formation, and with the help of the luminous pearls from all directions, the gods finally saw the true face of the underground city.
Centuries of cultivation and absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth were far from enough. Countless monster corpses were carelessly discarded in the underground city, some even directly embedded in the walls. The entire underground city was the most direct evidence of their crimes. The deeper they investigated, the more furious the gods became.
Piles of gold and jade, rare treasures, magical artifacts and antiques, as numerous as mountains and seas, were stacked in the walls alongside the corpses of monsters, like trophies to be proudly displayed.
The three wisps of remnant souls were finally rendered powerless by the burning calamity and were driven together by the besieging soldiers, still emitting wisps of faint black burning calamity fire.
With victory in sight, Lei put away his giant hammer that crackled with lightning, and his Qiankun bag flew out. The surging soldiers surrounded the three wisps of remnant souls.
A sudden change occurred.
Without any sound or warning, the lotus flower suddenly erupted with intense malevolent energy, and the silver nectar was instantly swallowed by the thick blackness.
Both teams of soldiers became alert. One of the young soldiers raised two fingers to his temple and said, "Boss, the lotus is emitting malevolent energy!"
The next moment, the lotus flower unleashed a terrifying aura!
The two teams were startled and quickly retreated. The two auras, black and red, were filled with intense resentment and unwillingness, as if they had gathered all the negative emotions in the world, instantly burning into a lotus-shaped "volcano":
The pure, silvery-white aura that had originally surrounded the lotus was completely swallowed up by the smoky blackness and vanished. In its place came the crimson color that kept seeping from the black flames, and the red light soared into the sky, dyeing the sky above Junxing Mountain an ominous dark red.
"Get away! It's a trap!"
The soldiers' expressions changed drastically, and they urgently warned, with the junior officer pressing two fingers together to his temple, "Boss! Lotus..."
"You decide what to do!" The voice from within his mind was tense and angry, seemingly stuck at a crucial moment: "It escaped!"
The last three words were clearly not addressed to the two squads of soldiers guarding the black and white lotus; all the soldiers could hear that tense roar in their minds. It turned out that the events beneath the abyss weren't over yet; under everyone's watchful eyes, Yan Youzu had a backup plan!
The three wisps of remnant souls, about to be collected into the Qiankun Bag, were suddenly summoned by some unknown force, or perhaps it was a final burst of energy before death, and burst forth with a last burst of poisonous mist.
This attack unleashed an exceptionally dense cloud of poisonous mist, which, upon striking the light shield, caused the golden shield to melt, and the poisonous mist instantly spread and dissipated!
The black poisonous fog is already elusive in the dark, and as invisible as air, it drifts everywhere. Once touched, it will melt everything, leaving no escape.
The nearest light shield was instantly corroded by the poisonous mist, which quickly corroded the armor of the soldiers, making a "sizzling" sound.
The soldiers surrounding Yan Youzu instinctively distanced themselves.
This gave Yan Youzu a chance to escape. Like a shark that had smelled blood, it leaped upwards. Instead of being flustered by the soldiers chasing after it, it excitedly rushed towards the terrifying evil aura in the sky.
The Qiankun Bag shone brightly, but it caught nothing and fell to the ground, where it was melted by the poisonous mist.
"careful!"
Many voices appeared in his mind's sea: "Yan Youzu is running upwards!"
"Lotus! The lotus is unleashing malevolent energy!"
The soldiers' minds were in complete chaos, as if hundreds of people were talking at the same time. "This lotus flower will cause negative emotions! Concentrate! Concentrate! Mind-Cleansing Mantra!"
"Is that kid behind this? Forget about the hostages, kill him!"
"No! This lotus core is unbreakable! What kind of barrier is this? Is it also forbidden by gods and Buddhas?"
"The hostages might actually be a trap!"
The soldiers chasing the remnant soul all heard the voice in their minds, and their faces darkened. It was over. Not only had they failed to capture Yan Youzu, but things on the ground seemed to be getting even worse.
The lotus's unusual appearance attracted Yan Youzu, not to mention the countless remaining demon souls that had not yet vanished. Like rivers flowing into the sea, they willingly threw themselves into the malevolent fire and were instantly annihilated.
A young general roared, his divine spear transforming into a rainbow piercing the sun, thrusting towards the lotus flower.
However, the spear's attack was like a needle piercing a leaf; it only made a small hole in the lotus. Soon, the spear was burned away by the black and red flames.
This lotus flower can actually dissolve a Heavenly Grade weapon!
It was outrageous. For a time, all the soldiers and generals were helpless against this lotus flower and could only watch as the lotus fire expanded, completely annihilating the remnant souls of the monsters that rushed into it.
One of his companions exclaimed anxiously, "This method won't work, we need to purify it first! But we don't have any purification artifacts left..."
When it came to purification-type magical artifacts, everyone present thought of Zhu Danqing.
"Damn it! Where did Zhu Danqing go?! Help!"
"She went to help Qinglong find Qilin."
"Call for more people! Keep calling for more people! Tell them to come down and help!"
"..."
Lei was furious, his eyes bulging with rage. He watched helplessly as the three wisps of remnant souls darted away like cunning rice noodles in a hot pot, chasing after them upwards. At the same time, he also saw the lotus flower.
As black as ink, it hung above the cave entrance, like a pitch-black sun on a rainy day... This description may seem strange, but in his eyes, there was nothing but black.
The cunning Yan Youzu must have used some secret method to escape even in his remnant soul state; it must be because of this lotus flower.
"Destroy the lotus! There must be a core to the formation! Destroy the lotus at all costs!"
He raised a heavy golden shield of light and watched as the three wisps of remnant souls flew faster and faster up to the entrance of the abyss, heading straight for the lotus flower that was constantly weeping blood.
rain?
The black rain, thick and cold, fell drop by drop. At first, it was just a few drops of ink, like raindrops carelessly scattered after washing hands. Then, more and more fell, and in the blink of an eye, it turned into a torrential downpour.
The remnant souls became even more excited. Their speed, already far surpassing that of the soldiers, was further amplified by the few drops of black rain, making them even more unable to catch up. A few drops of black rain fell on the soldiers in the abyss, instantly eroding their protective aura and golden armor with a "sizzling" sound.
Hundreds of purification talismans flew like thousands of arrows piercing the clouds towards the lotus and the remnant soul, attempting to dispel the malevolent energy. The Celestial Priest sternly warned, "This black rain will disturb your mind! Concentrate! Concentrate!"
Before the talisman, the three remnant souls flew away from the abyss, rushing straight into the fire lotus.
Everyone sensed something was wrong, and the two teams guarding the lotus were especially on edge, preparing for the worst.
The next moment, the three remnant souls were swallowed up by the even denser baleful aura surrounding the lotus.
This is really the end—
All the soldiers had the same thought.
"Damn it! We reacted so slowly!" someone exclaimed angrily. "Lotus, rebirth, this is the rebirth platform that Yan Youzu set up for himself!"
The three differently colored flames hissed and dissipated into three wisps of smoke before being completely extinguished.
The Celestial Official was startled and exchanged bewildered glances with the Thunder General. Yan Youzu's demonic aura seemed to evaporate instantly, vanishing without a trace. The Celestial Official quickly pulled out his tracking artifact.
The compass needle was silent.
"This... Yan Youzu is gone?" He raised his voice in disbelief.
This is even worse, what's going on?
The lotus fire seemed to burn out endless malevolent energy. After the three wisps of poisonous gas completely dissipated, a mountain-shaking roar came from the lotus, as if it were unwilling or angry.
The compass needle trembled slightly, detecting the last trace of Yan Youzu's aura, but it was only a faint wisp. After the roar, the compass needle stopped moving completely.
The sheer force of the sound wave was enough to shake the souls of the two celestial soldiers surrounding the lotus, causing them to spit out golden blood and fly backward, their weapons shattering in the process.
"What's going on...? It's out of control?"
"Did the lotus flower not distinguish between friend and foe, and even burn Yan Youzu?"
"What are you spacing out for! Form formation! Form formation! Get away!"
"Concentrate! Use the Cleansing Mantra! Avoid the dirty rain!"
The crowd scrambled to defend themselves, and someone shouted to unleash a purification-type magical artifact. The bright lamps burst forth with intense light in the air, bringing many soldiers back to their senses, still shaken.
Strange. Since Yan Youzu was able to hide for so long, he must be very meticulous. It's impossible that he would fall into my hands. This means that this lotus flower was not designed by Yan Youzu.
So who exactly did this?
The soldiers, belatedly realizing what was happening, all looked at the young man whose heart was enveloped by layers of petals.
The other soldiers were exhausted, but this guy looked to be sleeping soundly, with a furrowed brow, as if he was very uneasy.
Who exactly is he?
Before the other soldiers and generals who came to provide support arrived, magical artifacts flew in first: the Barrier-Breaking Bell, the Returning to Nothingness Jade, the Heart-Cleansing Bottle, the Bright Sundial... Numerous purification artifacts surrounded the "Black Fire Lotus," gradually forcing its malevolent aura to subside and the flames to extinguish.
A faint, ethereal, silvery-white aura wafted from the lotus base, causing everyone's tense nerves to relax slightly.
"It's useful! Tell the other supporters to get as many purification artifacts as possible!"
...
In the shadows, Tangxi and her husband huddled together in the corner of the stairwell, hugging their knees.
How to break this deadlock?
Should we start with "Nezha Conquers the Dragon King" or with our own past life experiences?
Or perhaps the Inner Demon Mirror is illogical?
Tang Xi and her lap were crouching on the corner of the stairs, hugging themselves as the iron door to the emergency exit creaked open. In the quiet, empty stairwell, the sound was particularly jarring.
who?
Tangxi and Tuoshe stood up and turned around to find that it was a person without facial features.
Why are you hiding here?
The man, dressed in a hospital gown, suddenly had a mouth appear on his blank face. It opened and closed, revealing healthy teeth. "I knew it! Whenever you're in a bad mood, you hide here and wait for someone to come to you! Haha, here I come!"
Du Shi.
He recognized the voice; he had heard it twenty years ago. It felt familiar after so long. However, just looking at Du Shi's strong body and arms, Tang Xi suddenly thought of Bei Chen accompanying him, for some reason.
Tangxi suddenly felt a sense of disorientation, as if she couldn't distinguish between illusion and reality.
Where am I?
He pursed his lips and remained silent. Du Shi assumed Tang Xi was in a bad mood, so he took two steps closer and lowered his voice.
"What's wrong? It's nothing. Don't your parents always argue?"
"...If you don't know how to comfort someone, then don't try." Tangxi said speechlessly.
"Haha, I'm so sorry, I just wanted to cheer you up."
As soon as Du Shi spoke, Tang Xi gradually remembered Du Shi's face. Then, as if by magic, the features on Du Shi's face gradually became clear and appeared one by one.
"Didn't you want to go to the rooftop? I'll go with you?" Du Shi reached out his hand, looking earnestly at Tang Xihe.
With thick eyebrows and large eyes, and a commanding presence, Du Shi's demeanor does resemble that of Bei Chen's attendant from certain angles—full of energy, yet somewhat simple-minded.
"Shall we go?" Du Shi urged again.
"..."
Tang Xihe reached out her hand, but Du Shi snapped his grip on her wrist, lifted her up, and strode away, saying, "Don't hesitate, I'll go with you!"
"Don't worry, I've heard that the old man is very gentle. He'll definitely be willing to teach you Tai Chi!"
Tai Chi?
Tang Xihe's eyes widened slightly. Yes, he remembered again. He had only learned the Tai Chi moves while he was hospitalized.
Du Shi grabbed Tang Xi and dragged her up the stairs, roughly pulling open the emergency exit door.
The bright white light was so intense that Tangxi had to close her eyes tightly. Where did that white light come from? Who's playing with a flashlight in the hospital?
As she thought this, Tang Xi felt the tension in her wrist suddenly disappear, and the pungent smell of disinfectant at the tip of her nose smoothly and naturally turned into a faint sandalwood scent.
Tang Xi suddenly sensed something was wrong and rubbed her stinging eyes.
In the antique courtyard, I am now kneeling alone in the center, my field of vision suddenly lowered, not only because of the kneeling posture, but also because my height has drastically shrunk.
"……I'm back?"
Is the broken water mirror playing a trick on me?
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