Xie Lian lay on the cold ground, his face covered with a mixture of sadness and joy, half crying and half laughing. Bai Wuxiang stood beside him, seemingly admiring his appearance, which was exactly the same as his own.
The mask of sorrow and joy clung to Xie Lian's face with a strange force, and he couldn't pull it off. Bai Wuxiang said, "Wear it. Don't struggle in vain. Do you want to get out? If you do as I say, you'll be able to break through the copper furnace in no time."
Xie Lian just pretended he didn't exist.
Bai Wuxiang always annoyed him, but he never gave up. He sighed, "We could have been the strongest master and disciple and the best of friends. Why do you have to be so rebellious?"
Xie Lian finally stopped moving and said with disgust, "Stop teaching me with that tone of someone who's experienced and sees through people's hearts. I really don't want to have a teacher or friend like you."
His disdain was already evident. Bai Wuxiang sneered, "I know. In your mind, the only two people who can teach you are the Imperial Master and Jun Wu, right?"
His tone was strange, as if hinting at disdain and amusement. Xie Lian didn't intend to dwell on this, and instead asked something else: "Lang Ying, is he the first crown prince of Yong'an?"
Lang Ying was from Yong'an and had contracted the human-faced plague. That young prince was the only person Xie Lian could think of. Bai Wuxiang said, "Yes, that's the prince you hacked Lang Ying's body into pieces, knocked him unconscious, and dumped him in the Yong'an Palace, setting it on fire."
Prince Yong'an was Lang Ying's nephew. It was probably around that time that the remnants of the Human Face Plague from Lang Ying's corpse infected him. Xie Lian asked again, "Why didn't his Human Face Plague spread to others?"
Bai Wuxiang said, "Because the people in Yong'an Palace discovered that he was sick. To prevent him from infecting others, they sent someone to secretly suffocate him with a quilt, but he fought back and escaped."
Yong'an announced to the public that the King and Crown Prince had died of a serious illness, but internally, a strife broke out and Lang Ying's other nephew was appointed Crown Prince. This was Lang Qianqiu's ancestor.
Xie Lian asked, “How did you trick him?”
Bai Wuxiang said, "I didn't lie to him. I just told him the truth, who was the culprit who turned him into this monster. As long as he lends me something, I will avenge him."
Xie Lian said, "You call this lending you something? You devoured it whole as if it were nourishment."
Bai Wuxiang said calmly, "He looks like neither a human nor a ghost. No one will treat him sincerely. It would be a torture for him to stay in this world."
Suddenly, Xie Lian asked, "Your Highness the Crown Prince?"
“…”
For a moment, Xie Lian felt that the creature wanted to respond, but he held back.
So, Xie Lian asked again tentatively, "You, are you Prince Wuyong?"
As soon as he said this, he felt the hot and humid air in the copper furnace solidify instantly.
From the moment Xie Lian fell in, he had been thinking about this question.
The reason he could understand the human language spoken by the corpse-eating rats must be because one of Jun Wu, the Imperial Preceptor, or Bai Wuxiang had implanted certain memories and emotions in him. This meant that at least one of these three individuals was from Wuyong. Jun Wu was born after the fall of Wuyong, making the Imperial Preceptor and Bai Wuxiang the most likely suspects.
Why was Huacheng rejected by the Bronze Furnace? It wasn't because he was a Supreme Being. Xie Lian had confirmed that even a Ghost King who had attained Supreme Being could reenter the Bronze Furnace, just as an ascended priest could endure a heavenly tribulation. Yet, he still vanished midway. The most obvious reason Xie Lian could think of was that the Bronze Furnace obeyed Bai Wuxiang's orders!
So, what is Bai Wuxiang’s most likely identity?
For a long moment, there was a dead silence in the darkness. Xie Lian repeated with certainty, "You are Prince Wuyong."
Finally, Bai Wuxiang was no longer silent.
He lunged at Xie Lian with a fierce palm strike, and this time, it was Xie Lian's turn to dodge. He leaped to his feet, dodging as he spoke, "Your Highness, let me ask you a question: Why do you never reveal your true face?"
Bai Wuxiang said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, I warn you not to call me that."
Xie Lian said, “You can call me Your Highness, so why can’t I call you that? Since you didn’t answer, I made my own guess. There are only two reasons why you don’t want others to see your true face. Either you’re someone I know, or I don’t know you, but if I see your true face, I can easily find out who you are; or, your true appearance is extremely ugly, so ugly that even you can’t stand it! For example…”
There were two "crackling" sounds, and a sharp pain shot through his arm. Bai Wuxiang twisted his arm fiercely and said, "Prince, oh Prince, if I'm a little more friendly to you, will you feel that you don't need to be afraid of me?"
The voice was filled with chills. Despite the intense pain, Xie Lian remained conscious. Bai Wuxiang seemed genuinely angry. Holding the black sword in one hand, he approached Xie Lian and asked, "You named this sword Fang Xin?"
Watching the sharp blade getting closer and closer to his throat, Xie Lian remained expressionless and said, "Is it not possible?"
Bai Wuxiang snorted, "You don't even know how to name something. Listen carefully, the original name of this sword is 'Heart-Slaying'."
Suddenly, Xie Lian’s eyes widened and he asked, “Who is it?!”
Bai Wuxiang, without even turning his head, said, "Are you still going to use the same tricks you used on children on me?"
“…” Xie Lian was surprised and asked, “You…didn’t you notice?”
Bai Wuxiang said coldly: "There is nothing, what am I going to find?"
He didn't notice it, but Xie Lian did.
Just now, Fang Xin's sword blade reflected the firelight on the ground, and the firelight flashed across the stone wall above them. At that moment, Xie Lian saw a face.
Xie Lian was certain he wasn't mistaken; what he saw was definitely a human face, a gigantic human face!
Bai Wuxiang's cultivation level is only higher than Xie Lian's, not lower. How could he not have noticed it?
Unless... it is something more terrifying than Bai Wuxiang!
He had only seen that face briefly, but the image lingered in his memory. It had all the necessary features, and… it looked familiar. Xie Lian felt a slight chill run down his spine and said, “There’s something else in the copper furnace!”
Bai Wuxiang said, "Inside the copper furnace, besides you and me, there are only stones and magma."
Xie Lian was about to say something else when he suddenly thought, "Wait... stone? Face? Looks familiar?"
In a flash of inspiration, he suddenly realized what he was seeing.
I see!
Once Xie Lian understood, he quickly formed seals with his hands behind his back. Bai Wuxiang noticed his unusual movements and said, "It's useless. Even if you..."
Before they could finish their words, a loud crunching noise came from behind them. At the same time, falling rocks and mud came crashing down like a torrential rain!
Bai Wuxiang sensed something coming towards him and dodged quickly. He was indeed fast enough, no one could have moved faster than him, and he should have dodged it perfectly, but unfortunately, the thing that attacked him was too huge.
It was a giant hand, with five fingers clenched into a fist, smashing down heavily - hitting Bai Wuxiang right on the spot!
This hand is a giant rock hand.
It was so big that a fist alone was as big as a large house. The fire on the ground could only illuminate this part, and the part above the wrist was completely immersed in darkness.
Amid the sound of grinding stones, it turned its hand towards Xie Lian, palms facing up. Although gigantic, its fingers were long and slender, with delicate knuckles, capable of picking up flowers or holding a sword. Xie Lian snatched the sword, rolled off the ground, and leaped onto its palm. Just as the hand was about to lift him up, Xie Lian suddenly remembered he had forgotten something and hurriedly said, "Wait!" He jumped down again, grabbed his bamboo hat, and jumped back up. Then, the giant hand rose, getting farther and farther away from the flames. Xie Lian could feel it rising higher and higher, and he formed seals with his hands again, saying, "Charge out!"
At the command, he felt a slight downward descent, as if the giant holding him had bent its knees slightly in preparation. The next moment, he felt his entire body suddenly sink as the giant soared into the sky, crashing into the sealed crater of the copper furnace!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Along with the violent vibration, Xie Lian heard a very obvious "cracking" sound.
That was the sound of the rock unable to withstand the fierce impact and about to break!
Then, a ray of white light poured down from above.
Rushed out!
The roof of the copper furnace was broken, and a large amount of dazzling white light poured down like a waterfall, and a strong wind swept in, howling.
Xie Lian stood on the giant's palm, one hand holding down his hat while the other shielded him from the oncoming blizzard. The sweltering heat vanished, and taking a deep breath of the cool, fresh air, he shouted, "San Lang—!!!"
The echo of the first sound was still resonating when he was suddenly pulled into an embrace from behind. Xie Lian froze for a moment, then lowered his head. A crimson sleeve and silver wristband were wrapped around his waist, and then he relaxed. A deep voice whispered in his ear, "...I'm going crazy!"
Hearing this, Xie Lian quickly turned around, cupped his cheeks with both hands, and soothed him, “Don’t be crazy, don’t be crazy, I’m already out!”
It was Huacheng. His black hair was disheveled, his eyes still a bit vacant. He tore off the mask of joy and sorrow that Xie Lian couldn't remove, and threw it away. Xie Lian didn't know why he cupped his cheeks with both hands; it was a subconscious act, perhaps to comfort him, or perhaps to protect his face from the snow and wind. After all, for as long as Xie Lian had been inside the furnace, Huacheng must have been guarding the crater.
They all went in together, but one of them was suddenly thrown out. They had no idea what was going on inside. Wouldn't that drive them crazy?
Hua Cheng hugged Xie Lian tightly and said in a deep voice, "...I can't get into the bronze furnace no matter what, and I actually let you get out by yourself! I really am..."
Xie Lian hurriedly said, “Sanlang is fine, he’s really fine! Besides, I didn’t get out of here on my own!”
Hua Cheng finally calmed down a little and asked, "What? Brother, how did you get out?"
Xie Lian said, "You helped me get out. Look."
As he spoke, he pointed upwards, and Huacheng looked in the direction he pointed.
Amidst the snowstorm, a giant statue carved from rock, its face covered in frost, loomed like a towering figure. At that moment, the two of them stood on the palm of this giant stone statue.
The stone statue had a soft, graceful face, long eyebrows, beautiful eyes, and a well-defined lip line. The corners of its mouth were slightly raised, a hint of a smile. It was affectionate but not frivolous, ruthless but not cold; it was a compassionate and handsome face.
——It’s Xie Lian’s face!
Xie Lian looked up at its face and whispered, "This is the best statue you ever carved, isn't it?"
“…”
Hua Cheng also looked up at it for a long time, then his gaze fell back on Xie Lian beside him and said, "Hmm."
This gigantic rock statue must have been carved by Hua Cheng while he was trapped in the copper furnace, undergoing countless trials and tribulations, in immense pain.
For hundreds of years, it has been hidden in the darkness deep within the Tonglu, partly covered by green vines. The Tonglu is its natural and sinister grotto, and it is the only god in this most spectacular grotto.
It was integral with the bronze furnace, made of the same material. Otherwise, if the statue had been carved from ordinary rock, it wouldn't have been able to break through the furnace and would have been shattered to pieces. And if it hadn't been Xie Lian himself, or if Hua Cheng hadn't given Xie Lian a powerful surge of mana before they jumped, the statue wouldn't have been able to summon it.
Xie Lian turned to Hua Cheng and said, "So, Sanlang, I'm out. You and I broke out together."
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