This is the same sword that Yu Shihuang used to commit suicide! It's a divine weapon, yes, but it's also a murder weapon. Rong Guang said, "Yu Shihuang is incredibly generous, or perhaps he's deliberately trying to scare him or remind him by actually giving Yu Long to him. Does he dare? Hahahaha..."
Xie Lian couldn't help himself and said, "Why think so darkly?" He raised his hand and cast another talisman, sealing his mouth. Just then, Pei Ming called from afar, "Your Highness, Blood Rain Scholar, have you two rested well? It's time to fold up the bed and hurry on."
We didn't rest for long anyway, and it just disappeared while we were chatting.
The others stayed behind while Xie Lian, Hua Cheng, and Pei Ming set off. Rain Master, bringing his mount, offered to give them a ride, dropping them off at the foot of the bronze furnace. Xie Lian gratefully thanked him. Then, the black bull transformed, becoming two or three times its original size, enough to accommodate six people. It landed on its front hooves first and crouched down. Rain Master climbed on and sat at the front. Pei Ming sat behind it at a distance. Finally, Xie Lian and Hua Cheng arrived.
Xie Lian straddled it, and the black bull rose high off the ground. He stroked its sleek black fur, wondering, "Master Yushi's mount is truly miraculous. Sanlang seemed to have mentioned how it was created."
The black bull spread its hooves and broke into a gallop, sending the scenery on both sides swiftly retreating backwards, incredibly fast and steady. Hua Cheng sat behind him, gently hugging his waist, as if afraid he would fall. He said, "This is the door knocker from a side door of the Yulong Temple, the royal monastery of the Rain Master Kingdom."
It turns out that Yulong Temple has a small custom: if you see the golden beast on the door knocker, touching it will attract popularity and accumulate good karma. Devotees flocked to the temple, mostly touching the heads of dragons, tigers, cranes, and other immortal beasts. The ox head was rarely touched, feeling rather lonely. So, when Master Huang of Rain was practicing at Yulong Temple, she would touch the golden ox head whenever she passed that door carrying water. The ox head on the door knocker had been imbued with her popularity, and when Master Huang ascended to heaven, the ox flew with her. As for the others, none of them were appointed.
Black Bull sped forward, forcing Xie Lian to lean back slightly, as if leaning against his chest. He listened with a smile, "San Lang truly knows everything. It seems no allusion could faze you."
Hua Cheng also smiled and said, "Brother, is there anything else you want to know? I will tell you."
Pei Ming sat in the front. Rain Master remained silent, and neither did he. He listened intently to the sounds behind him and said casually, "Your Excellency the Ghost King is quite right. Your Highness, why don't you ask Blood Rain Scholar about his background and see if he can answer you?"
Xie Lian's smile immediately faded. Asking a Ghost King about his past wasn't exactly polite; in Xie Lian's mind, it was as intimate as asking about another man's measurements. Afraid Hua Cheng might be offended, he immediately changed the subject, saying casually, "General Pei."
Pei Ming: "What?"
Xie Lian: "It's bumpy ahead, be careful."
Pei Ming: "What?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the black bull beneath the four men let out a long, resonant moo, and Pei Ming was thrown off. He was stunned and said, "How can this be possible?"
I've never seen or heard of anything like this! It's fine if he was thrown off, people make mistakes, horses stumble, but why did they throw off the person in the middle instead of the one in the front or the back? How could this normally happen?
The oxen kept on galloping. Xie Lian turned his head from the front and called out from afar, "I told you it's going to be bumpy ahead. General Pei, be careful..."
After throwing Pei Ming down seven or eight times, the four of them finally arrived at the foot of the bronze furnace on the Rain Master's guardian mount.
Tonglu was originally a lush green mountain located in the center of the royal capital. Its scenery was as beautiful as Taicang Mountain. At its foot was the towering royal capital, the most prosperous imperial city.
This imperial city had originally been buried deep underground, but it had likely experienced several earthquakes, shaking it out and revealing itself to the light of day. Xie Lian sat on the black bull, observing for a moment. Just as he was about to dismount, he noticed Hua Cheng standing below, extending a hand. With a sudden thought, he gave it to him, then slid down and said, "There's a temple in the royal city, right?"
Hua Cheng said: "That's for sure."
Although Pei Ming had been thrown seven or eight times along the way, he remained remarkably resilient, a true Martial God. He walked without a limp, even reaching out to pat the bull's neck, oblivious to the bull baring its teeth dangerously at him. Pei Ming said, "The tallest building in the city is either the Imperial Palace or the Temple."
Hua Cheng said, "No. The Wuyong Temple in the Imperial City is on the mountain."
He pointed. Sure enough, a corner of the eaves peeked out from the crimson mountainside, the greater part hidden in the crimson shadows. Xie Lian asked, "Why is the mountain so crimson..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the black bull, which had transformed back into its original form, suddenly roared. The men, already moving forward, turned back in surprise as the bull flung its head back and rolled on the ground. The Rain Master, holding onto its rope tightly, asked, "What's wrong?"
The black bull actually let out a human-like scream: "Ah ...
When the Rain Master heard the scream, he drew out the Rain Dragon and slashed at the Black Bull with his sword!
The sword flashed, and a black object was picked up and flew out, slamming against the wall on the street, splashing a large scarlet blood flower.
Corpse rat!
The one who had just shouted was not the black bull, but the cadaver rat, which had jumped onto the bull and bit it hard while no one was paying attention. Although it was dying, it was still screaming: "Your Highness—Your Highness, Your Highness, Your Highness, Your Highness! Save me, save me, save me!"
"Bang!"
Xie Lian's scalp tingled and his head ached from its screams, but Hua Cheng quickly stopped it behind him and, with a flick of his hand, the cadaver rat exploded into a cloud of blood. But a pair of tiny eyeballs remained glued to the wall, gleaming a scarlet, menacing light. Hua Cheng said, "Master Yu, I suggest you check your mount."
The Rain Master was already ruffling the black cow's fur and said, "It's just a minor injury."
However, more and more voices began to gather from all directions, one after another:
"Cough, cough cough...Take me away, someone take me away!"
"It would have been better if I had escaped earlier..."
"I'm so unwilling to accept this... Just don't believe his lies. I died unjustly!"
"Brother, brother? Your Highness!"
This sentence was particularly clear, it was Hua Cheng's voice. Xie Lian finally came to his senses and said, "Sorry!"
Hua Cheng looked solemn and said, "Do you understand what they are saying?"
Xie Lian nodded. Hua Cheng covered his ears with his hands and said, "Don't listen. They're not talking to you."
Xie Lian’s scalp was still numb, and he managed to say, “I know.”
Thousands of ghoul-eating rats surged like a black tide, swarming toward the center, the one cow and the four men. This was the capital, more densely populated than the previous underground city, with more dead bodies and more food reserves for the rats. Consequently, their numbers and size grew even greater. They were about to be surrounded by layers of encirclement. Pei Ming's expression grew serious, a faint protective aura enveloping him. He said, "You go ahead, I'll lead the way..."
Unexpectedly, before he could finish his words, a large number of ghouls rushed towards him, screaming, avoiding him and running away. Looking back, he saw that they were actually chasing the Rain Master!
At some point, the Rain Master had remounted the black ox and was galloping in the opposite direction. The ox had already run several feet, not too fast for the ghoul rats to keep up, nor too slow for them to surround and gnaw down to a skeleton. Instead, it kept pace just enough to lead them and allow them to chase it. The Rain Master said from a distance, "Please go ahead, everyone. I'll lead them off."
As the Rain Master rode his ox, he scattered handfuls of snow-white rice along the road. Rats, after all, naturally loved rice, and having not seen such a white, rich grain in ages, they swarmed over it. Pei Ming was supposed to do this, but the Rain Master got there first, leaving him with nothing to do. His expression was incredibly subtle. Hua Cheng released his hand and said, "Brother, let's go."
Xie Lian's head ached whenever he heard the sounds of the ghoul rats, but he breathed a sigh of relief when he couldn't hear them anymore and nodded. Pei Ming, however, turned and said, "Wait a minute. Are you just leaving like that?"
Hua Cheng raised an eyebrow and said, "What else?"
Pei Ming frowned. "What about Master Yu? She can't handle it, right? If she just runs away like that, isn't that reckless?"
Xie Lian asked curiously, “Why does General Pei feel that Master Rain can’t handle it? Judging from the situation, Master Rain is clearly handling it with ease.”
Pei Ming, however, seemed unhappy. Finally, he said, "That's impossible, right? It's not like there aren't any Martial Gods here, so there's no reason to let a female priestess take over. Your Highness, you go ahead. If you can catch up, we'll meet up at the temple." With that, he chased after them. Xie Lian called out a few times from behind, while Hua Cheng said, "Let's go, brother. Don't worry, I just can't stand being protected by a woman, and I'm going to get my revenge."
Seizing no time, the two passed through the royal city and the countless petrified husks, rushing towards the mountain. Half an hour later, they finally stepped onto the bronze furnace.
The reason this mountain looked blood-stained from afar was because the vast expanses of trees atop it were red. They weren't maple trees, but they were crimson like maple, the color of blood. Xie Lian could even faintly smell the scent of blood; he feared the land nourishing them was filled with resentment and human blood.
The fourth Wuyong Temple, built on a slightly protruding rock midway up Tonglu Mountain, escaped the fate of being swallowed by the lava. It is the largest of the four temples and, relatively speaking, the best preserved. Numerous petrified figures in various poses can be found within the temple, likely serving as its attendants. The two of them headed straight for the main hall. Upon entering, they saw murals adorning the walls. However, Hua Cheng took one look and said, "It seems someone has gotten ahead of us."
There is only one mural in the hall. The other two walls are intact, but the surface has been smashed to pieces.
This was the first time he had ever encountered such a situation. Xie Lian was slightly stunned and asked, "Who did it?"
They hadn't even figured out who painted the mural, leaving them with the unsolved mystery of who destroyed it. But since it had already been destroyed, they might as well examine the mural first. With just a quick glance, before they could even get a closer look, Xie Lian felt the hairs on his back stand on end.
What is this!
This mural was completely different from the ones in the previous three temples. There was only one person in the painting, but the colors were dark, and the lines and face were distorted beyond belief. It was impossible to tell what this person looked like, only that they were a ragged civilian.
This wasn't the worst part. What horrified Xie Lian was the man's expression, one of extreme pain. In a frenzy, he tore his clothes, revealing his torso.
And there were actually three faces growing on his body, each one as distorted as his own!
Human face epidemic!
Under the immense impact, Xie Lian's eyes were completely consumed by the blackness of the mural. He muttered, "Exactly... exactly the same..."
The people of Wuyong Kingdom also encountered the human face plague!
Why is it that the experience of Prince Wuyong, who lived for more than two thousand years, is so terrifyingly similar to his?
Seeing that the situation was not good, Hua Cheng calmed him down and said, "Your Highness, don't look at it yet."
But the distorted image was too shocking, and the shadow left by the Human Face Plague on Xie Lian's heart was too heavy. He stared at it, almost like a demon. So, Hua Cheng simply pulled Xie Lian towards him, pressed him into his arms, and said in a strong yet gentle tone, "Alright! Your Highness, listen to me. Listen to me."
After a pause, he said in a deep voice, "Look, the first few murals all developed in chronological order, with cause and effect. The previous one was about Prince Wuyong building a bridge to heaven, and the next one must have followed immediately after that. But this mural doesn't connect to the previous one at all, right?"
Xie Lian reacted quickly and said, "...Yes, there must be something missing. Someone came before us and destroyed the other two murals."
Hua Chengdao: "Since this person destroyed the other two murals, why didn't he destroy this one as well? Why did he leave it behind?"
Xie Lian said, “There are two possibilities. First, he felt that keeping this one painting was insignificant, and he didn’t mind me seeing it.”
Hua Cheng said, "What about the second one?"
Xie Lian said slowly, “Secondly, this man destroyed all three murals. The one that remains is actually a fake; he painted it in later!”
Hua Cheng said, "That's right. Let's think a little bolder. Perhaps all the murals along the way are lies. Who knows? We're very close to the answer. Until then, don't overthink it, okay?"
After being buried in his arms for a long time, Xie Lian finally dug out the horrifying image from his mind. Only then did he notice their posture and hurriedly prepared to pull himself out of Hua Cheng's arms, saying, "...I'm sorry, Sanlang, that I..."
Hua Cheng didn't let him get away, but hugged him tighter and said with a smile: "There's nothing to be embarrassed about. But..."
He lowered his head and said, "Actually, there is a third possibility."
Xie Lian buried the lower half of his face in his shoulder. Hua Cheng's voice was right next to his ear, but it was so low that no one could hear it clearly except him.
He held his breath slightly and heard Hua Cheng say in a deep voice, "The third possibility is that this person didn't want to destroy all the murals, but he was too late. He had just destroyed the other two when we arrived. And now, he's hiding in this hall."
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