Fifty-two: Opening Bones and Examining the Heart
Lu Yinche couldn't tell what level Gong Jue's cultivation level was, but it was definitely higher than his current level. This strange black giant before him, with a sinister aura, was definitely not a good person. Even Yan Yanshu was on high alert, his sword held in awe.
Lu Yinche knew that he was a bit of a burden at the moment, so he was quite self-conscious. He walked around Yan Yanshu's hand and hid to the side, shouting at the same time: "Can you please not just shout and kill in other people's houses?" There are only three or two houses left in the old Lu family. If they bomb them here and there, will they have to lie down and count the stars when they go to bed at night?
The giant raised a hand and pressed it in his direction, but Yan Yanshu blocked it with a single strike of sword intent. The next strike followed, piercing the giant's heart. The black flames, meeting the murderous sword, retreated in all directions, creating a hollow. Their fear alone didn't mean Yan Yanshu's sword intent could do anything to them.
Lu Yinche watched the faces in the flames shift, from unrecognizable faces to gradually twisting and wailing, transforming into—Yan Yanshu? Those faces wailed, emitting a muddy sound, but a few syllables could be vaguely discerned: "You don't deserve it, you don't deserve it!"
The original master remained unmoved, a golden light swirling around him, as if he were about to transcend his body and unleash a power that could flatten mountains and seas. He stared at the giant, "Do you think you deserve it? A monster taking Gong Jue's place."
"I am Gong Jue! I am!"
The giant erupted, flames soaring into the sky, but there was no heat wave, instead a sinister, ghostly aura. This felt somewhat similar to the formation Gong Jin had used at the auction, but still different. Gong Jin had bound the evil spirits, enslaving them for his own purposes, while Gong Jue's was more like bringing some entangled ghosts directly to the table, burning the power of their souls.
The power was overwhelming, like an omnipresent cold breath, and a thick layer of black frost formed on the ground. The frost climbed up the man-made buildings and grew rapidly. Wrist-sized cracks appeared on the bluestone bricks. Wind and snow instantly enveloped the land of Nanjun, which had been warm and humid all year round. What fell was not ice and snow transformed from water droplets, but black filth of unknown origin.
Lu Yinche frowned and winked at Yan Yanshu, telling him to lead the creature to the side. The area around Qichuan was lush with vegetation, and there were also few human traces. Centuries had passed, and he didn't have a clear understanding of the situation, so he could only take things one step at a time. Yan Yanshu understood and suddenly rose into the air, gathering momentum with countless sword intentions. He forced the giant to turn while maintaining a protective shield. Nothing could get close, and all were shattered by the invisible spiritual energy. Only the corners of his white robe fluttered, revealing the extraordinary demeanor of an immortal.
If Lu Denghe saw it, he would be able to recite at least 3,000 words of romantic description in a row, and he would be stunned.
Lu Yinche did not whistle at this time. His face was solemn. He held up a golden lotus in his palm and circled around the black frost on the ground. With his other hand, he slapped Dongfang Yu on the back of the neck, who was obviously unaware of the situation. The action of throwing her away was much gentler. After all, she was a girl, and her savior, whom his good-for-nothing descendants could not figure out whether they loved her or not.
He sighed, looked up at the two balls of light fighting each other, mobilized the remaining spiritual power in the surrounding area that was fluctuating due to the movement, gathered it in his eyes, and carefully captured a bit of clear light in the air.
It is the Guansheng flute.
The secret treasure of heaven and earth created by his flesh and blood is the last fantasy left by the ancient Taoist ancestor.
Countless questions raced through his mind, none of which could be answered clearly. For example, why had Gong Jue brought it to Qichuan? He had a terrible temper, ready to fight if things went wrong. He couldn't possibly be coming just to steal Dongfang Yu's bride. That would be too much of a fuss.
He could probably guess that his gathering of the four secret treasures was directly linked to the destruction of the Heavenly Gate. He could even say that it was his direct purpose, even at the cost of separating his soul, deceiving the laws of nature, and reversing time and space. This required sacrifice. Not only was there his own body, teetering on the brink of death, but, according to Gong Jue in the illusion, there were also a vast number of souls—only by gathering enough soul-level power, a power distinct from spiritual energy, could he forge the Guansheng Flute. However, searching for enough souls like his master's wife, who had been delayed for some reason, was vastly different from slaughtering a large number of innocent people at once to obtain their souls. The two methods were vastly different in terms of difficulty, time, and effort.
Which one did Lu Yinche choose in the past?
Which one did Gong Jue, his fellow traveler, choose?
Given Yan Yanshu's personality, he must have some basis for his claims that Gong Jue was killing innocent people, taking souls to prolong life, refining medicine, and allowing the Ghost Cave to kidnap cultivators at will. Didn't the Immortal Alliance intervene? Why was he constantly hounding Lu Yinche? And what about that supposed connection between the Hidden Moon Sect and the Sound Sect...
The will-o'-the-wisp giant slammed into the ground, causing half of the mountain to collapse and trees to turn to dust in an instant. If it were human bones, they wouldn't be much better. Lu Yinche dodged and looked at Yan Yanshu, the center of the storm. The latter showed no signs of exertion, but his sword intent seemed to be on a different level than the will-o'-the-wisp formation. No matter how many strikes he fired, it was useless.
On the contrary, the giant seemed to become more and more courageous as the battle went on. While absorbing the spiritual power from the surrounding罡气, his body grew rapidly, even the sky and the earth changed color, appearing dark. At the same time, he attacked Yan Yanshu fiercely. The distorted human face separated from the giant's body and condensed into the shape of a palm. It was strange and difficult to defend against, but it had endless strength. Yan Yanshu needed to concentrate all his strength to deal with each palm.
"Yanshu, be careful!" The overlapping black palms fell down, and just as they were chopped into black smoke by Yan Yanshu's sword intent, they reunited and formed again, not giving anyone a chance to breathe. Lu Yinche's heart tightened at the sight, and he couldn't help but gasp.
After being struck by that palm strike, the scholar Yan Yan's sword defense was shattered. He retreated dozens of steps before steadying himself, gasping for breath.
But he didn't care, his eyes glued to Lu Yinche. The latter had no time to care about him. He saw the right moment and flew forward with the Fiery Golden Lotus. A golden light flashed, and the Will-O-Wisp Giant retreated as if sensing something. A clear light, inspired by this, flew out from the giant's chest.
Lu Yinche spun around beautifully and held it in his hand.
The flute felt icy cold, as if shaved from ice. Lu Yinche had to gather his spiritual energy to block the scattering chill, preventing it from dropping. The flute was jet black, though not very heavy. Even without making any sound, he could feel the fragments of his soul in his sea of consciousness oscillating slightly in sync. Turning the flute over, he saw a thin, dim golden pattern on the back of the sound holes.
As expected, Lu Yinche saw a small golden lotus flower and a line of words, which were undoubtedly his carvings.
[Splitting Bones to Examine the Heart]
"No mistake, I'm not wrong." This voice suddenly sounded in his mind.
It was his own voice.
When was it? Was he trying to convince himself?
"No mistake, I chose this path, so I am not wrong."
While Lu Yinche was lost in thought, Gong Jue turned to snatch the Guansheng Flute, but Lu Yinche held it steady. He spun around, using the flute as a sword, slashing a streak of light with remarkable skill, his body clearly familiar with it. This was a secret treasure that affected the soul, and even with this unconventional use, the sword intent unleashed was incredibly powerful. Wherever it touched, evil spirits retreated, even the will-o'-the-wisp fire that formed the giant.
On its outstretched arms, countless Yan Yanshu's faces became distorted, and soon their facial features became blurred and unclear. The energy shrank into a ball, leaving only black smoke.
The Guansheng flute can repel it.
Lu Yinche raised an eyebrow and swept his sword again, severing the Will-O-Wisp Giant's other arm. The giant didn't feel pain, but he could observe the situation. If the situation turned unfavorable to him, he would not attack rashly. Instead, he stirred up the spiritual energy around him, and the aura rolled like a boiling pot.
Yan Yanshu came over immediately and stood in front of Lu Yinche to protect him.
He smells like wind and snow. Lu Yinche thought inappropriately. The next moment, he picked up the flute, thought for a moment, wiped it with the corner of his robe, and put it to his lips.
“Woo——”
The person who made the flute probably doesn't understand music. Lu Yinche is such a talentless person who doesn't understand these things. A good flute that looks very beautiful can only produce such a sound, which is shrill and has no charm.
But the ghosts also began to wail.
The sound of the flute acted indiscriminately on the soul, having the effect of cleansing and purifying. Lu Yinche himself could feel the fragments of his soul in his body vibrating. Fortunately, the spiritual power left by Yan Yanshu had not been withdrawn yet, and he was standing by, holding his wrist firmly.
Lu Yinche continued to play, and the plain and straightforward sound of the flute spread out like an invisible sword intent.
The giant retreated, and a skinny man fell to the ground. It was Gong Jue.
Lu Yinche sighed: "Why are you doing this?"
But Gong Jue did not appreciate it. Although he was in a mess, he still held his neck stiff, looking refusing to admit defeat.
"Yan Yanshu lied to you, did you know that?" he roared.
Lu Yinche looked at him, his expression natural, even with a smile on his face: "I don't remember anything. Can you tell me? Maybe I'll believe it?"
"A Che--" Yan Yanshu called his name nervously, "I didn't, I, I didn't mean it." He was very flustered. It seemed that what Gong Jue said was not fabricated out of thin air.
Gong Jue stared at Yan Yanshu intently, blood dripping from his face. He looked miserable and horrified. "He's not even human."
Why the personal attacks? Lu Yinche was a little unhappy and patted Yan Yanshu's hand soothingly. Just like he often did to the smaller Yan Yanshu in the sea of flowers in his dreams. The latter swallowed his words and obeyed obediently.
"What evidence do you have?" He said this, but his attitude was a complete declaration that he had already stood on Yan Yanshu's side.
Gong Jue's eyes were bloodshot.
He hissed like a snake, "Do you remember when you took him to the Abyss to seek treatment from the mermaids and to find dragons?"
Lu Yinche found a few relevant memories in the dreamland guided by the flute sound and nodded nonchalantly. "He had just formed his golden elixir at that time, and his soul was unstable. I couldn't find Wei Qi to treat him, so I went to find the mermaid. I accidentally saw the traces of the Dragon God... What happened?"
"He did it on purpose. He's fine." Gong Jue shouted, "He just pretended to be unstable so you could lead him to a place beyond the reach of the heavens. The elixir he formed can't stand the light of day!"
Lu Yinche frowned and looked at Yan Yanshu beside him.
What nonsense is this? Yan Yanshu's golden elixir is the most perfect Nine-Transformation Golden Elixir in the world. Any sect would use him as a teaching example. How could he have such a pure heart of Taoism and produce such a good elixir that would withstand ninety-nine and eighty-one heavenly and earthly thunder tribulations just at the Golden Elixir stage?
In the past, Lu Yinche, as another favored child of heaven, was very envious. Later, he found out that this person seemed to have been raised by himself. Even if he had become a disciple of Cheng Xiao Sect when he reached the stage of Dan formation, half of the credit went to him, Lu Yinche.
If this golden elixir is fake, then what are the value of his medals of honor, no, all the praises in the world?
If this golden elixir is fake, how could Yan Yanshu cultivate all the way to the state of great perfection of Guixu today, how could he withstand the thunder tribulation, and how could he gather his sea of consciousness?
Nonsense.
But Gong Jue argued confidently and seriously: "Ask him if he is a puppet created by the Yang family?"
Lu Yinche immediately thought of the puppets that looked like real people in the valley outside Yaocheng.
Wasn't Yan Yanshu the biological son of the Yang family's swordsmith? He had always assumed Yan Yanshu's last name was Yan because his biological father, who had never appeared and was unknown to the world, was named Yan. And a Yang family girl getting pregnant before marriage was considered a great shame...
"The Yang family is skilled in casting. They are no longer satisfied with just forging tools. They use steel as a furnace, and even the human body can be used. I don't know how many people like him the Yang family has produced. It's just that he is the one who looks the most like a human, but he deceived you completely."
He scoffed, his tone filled with sarcasm. "You say I'm using other people's souls to prolong my life? Ha, I'm still a mortal, how can I compare to a man-made soul like his? He truly defies the laws of nature, existing against time. He's not even human, only able to survive thanks to your protection. He's a monster, an alien, who shouldn't even exist in this world!"
Lu Yinche was stunned, and the Guansheng flute slipped slightly in his hand.
"I wasn't born after ten months of pregnancy." Yan Yanshu looked back at Lu Yinche calmly, as if he didn't expect any forgiveness from Lu Yinche's eyes. "My mother wanted me to have the surname Yang, but they didn't allow it, so she chose Yan for me, which means peace and tranquility."
Lu Yinche shook his head slightly, and Yan Yanshu's heart sank to the bottom of the water.
Not of my kind. Not of my kind, the voice inside him cried.
Does Ache think so too?
"So what?" Lu Yinche said, "Can he decide his own origins? Yet Heaven still recognizes him. But you—wrapped in black cloth, what are you hiding from?"
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