Shi Qingxuan asked, "What happens after you fall into the trap?"
Xie Lian and Hua Cheng were already standing in the center of the human formation. They said, "Leave it to us. We'll slowly take care of them from within the formation, leaving no one behind. All we need is time. The most urgent task is to prevent them from spreading. And why I say there's danger? Because we have less than five hundred people right now. It's hard to say whether we can contain them or whether the creatures inside will break out."
Someone swallowed and asked, "What will happen if we rush out?"
Xie Lian said, “That would be terrible. They’d be possessed by vengeful spirits and be the first to contract the plague.”
"What if, I mean, someone just ran away?"
Xie Lian said, “The circle will be broken, and perhaps the vengeful spirit will possess it.”
"Aren't they all going to be possessed by evil spirits?"
The more astute people understood and said, "They're different. The former means you'll definitely be possessed by a vengeful spirit and contract the plague. The latter means 'maybe,' meaning there's still a chance of survival if you run away."
Xie Lian said, "That's exactly right. Anyone else wants to leave now? After we officially begin, you absolutely cannot quit. And before we begin, anyone can leave first. I also hope everyone won't say anything to those who leave; after all, this is indeed a very dangerous thing."
This must be told to them, otherwise we won't be able to select those with true courage and determination. In a moment, dozens of people emerged one after another, their heads lowered as they hurried away, shrinking the circle even further. Xie Lian breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Great."
Shi Qingxuan said, "What's good? There are fewer people again."
Xie Lian smiled and said, "It's much better than I thought. There are already a lot of people." He had been seriously considering what to do if half of them left, but he was overjoyed to find that only a few dozen had left. At this moment, a voice suddenly said from afar, "Wait, do you know who they are? Don't trust them easily, or they will harm you!"
Xie Lian turned around and saw that it was Tianyankai and the others. Shi Qingxuan immediately shouted, "Who are you guys then? If you're not going to help, then get out of the way and don't cause any more trouble. I guarantee they won't harm anyone."
Of course, the mages didn't take a disheveled beggar seriously and asked, "Who are you? How much are your words worth?"
Shi Qingxuan was furious when he heard someone ask him this. He pointed at his own nose and said, "What? You're talking about money in front of me? I think you don't know your place. You might even kneel before me, ahem..." He coughed twice and retreated. The other mages assumed he'd retreated because he couldn't continue, so they ignored him and advised, "You have no idea what they're up to. Be careful not to lose your life over a few mouthfuls of food!"
Xie Lian was about to explain that the beggars were helping out of loyalty, not for a few mouthfuls of food, but Hua Cheng said leisurely, "No, they're not helping out for a few mouthfuls of food, but to save the world."
Xie Lian felt slightly puzzled. Why would Hua Cheng say that? Then he heard a sneer from the other side: "What do you mean by saving the people? What nonsense! You're lucky to have saved your own lives."
"Yeah, beggars, don't get involved in this fun. Go back quickly and don't cause more trouble."
Hua Cheng said slowly, "Oh? So you mean beggars can't save people? Or are they unworthy?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the beggars became agitated, their expressions quite dissatisfied. Tianyan said, "We didn't say that."
Shi Qingxuan immediately came out and pointed at him, saying, "Hey, hey, hey, I don't think so. Isn't that what you just said? You sounded quite disgusted, right?"
"Yeah! What does that mean? What's wrong with us?"
"Everyone gets food whether they come or not. Do you really think we're here just for the food? Stop looking down on us!"
Xie Lian turned aside, and Hua Cheng raised an eyebrow at him, as if to say, "That's easy." He thought to himself, "I see." While there were still quite a few people left, none of them were particularly resolute. It just so happened that Tian Yankai and the others inadvertently expressed their disdain for them, saying, "What are you, slovenly beggars, doing to join in the fun?" Hua Cheng seized on this and magnified it, only to stir up rebellion among the beggars: "You think we're incapable? Then we'll prove to you that we can do it too!"
With this, morale surged again. As both sides shouted at each other, Xie Lian said to Tianyankai and the others, "If you're truly worried, just watch from here. If we do anything harmful, you can stop us immediately."
Hua Cheng smiled and added, "But it's best not to get in the way."
“…”
The mages had been following Xie Lian and Hua Cheng all the way, and now, unable to hold back any longer, they finally mustered the courage to leap out. However, they were quickly frightened back by Hua Cheng's terrifying fake smile. Hua Cheng turned around and said, "Brother, look at the sky."
Xie Lian and he looked up at the same time. The dark shadows before the full moon had become clearer, and faintly, seemed to be getting closer.
While they were searching for people, a long time had passed in the darkness, and those things were about to come down!
Xie Lian's heart tightened: Oh no, there's no time to find more people! But he didn't show it and immediately said, "Everyone stand still! Hold hands tightly!"
Shi Qingxuan had already stood straight and said, "Prince...Old Xie, we are just a handful of people. Will we be defeated in an instant?"
After all, this was the human world, and yelling would cause misunderstandings and unnecessary trouble. Xie Lian said, "I'll stay here and keep an eye on things. When a breach seems imminent, I'll head over to secure the formation. That way, we can maintain it longer." This meant constantly patching new holes. Shi Qingxuan said, "Uh, uh, uh, well, well, then our lives are in your hands, including mine, Crown Prince... Old Xie, please work hard. Please do your best! I'm a human now!"
"Okay, Lao Feng, I will definitely work hard."
Everyone's palms were sweating, and everyone's face was tense. The next moment everyone clenched their hands tightly, a shrill cry suddenly sounded in the sky above the silent night, getting closer and faster!
Coming down!
Seeing the perfect moment, Xie Lian said, "Everyone, blow towards the front!"
Everyone was confused, but they obeyed, puffing out their cheeks and blowing vigorously forward. On a winter night, a large group of people exhaled a circle of warm white air. Although it couldn't travel far, the heat mixed with the yang energy was already very deceptive. Coupled with Hua Cheng's covert sleight of hand, they couldn't see what was happening below. The vengeful spirits that were about to disperse sensed the intense heat and human presence in a certain area, which was constantly fluctuating and very active. Naturally, they assumed that this was the area they would attack, and excitedly rushed over, converging into a black pillar that soared into the sky!
In an instant, Xie Lian’s vision was almost completely covered in darkness. He said, “Everyone, be careful not to let go. We’re in the cage!”
At the same time, thousands of silver butterflies appeared behind Huacheng!
A faint silver light appeared, and the black fog in front of Xie Lian's eyes instantly dissipated. He saw Hua Cheng extending a hand to him and saying, "Brother, come to me."
Xie Lian was stunned and immediately grasped his hand. Hua Cheng pulled him over with a slight effort, put his arm around his waist, and silently scanned the surroundings. Even though the vengeful spirits had been locked up in the copper furnace for two thousand years and had become unconscious, they did not dare to approach. There was no trace of black energy within a ten-foot radius of them. The vengeful spirits who had excitedly fallen into the circle of people only then realized that something was wrong. They had been biting for a long time, but why didn’t they bite a single living person, but they bit their own kind? Moreover, there were two people who could not be touched. To them, those silver butterflies were like swords and arrows. They flapped their wings and flew away, making their screams reach the sky!
The vengeful spirits finally realized they were trapped. They were the beasts locked in the cage, burning with fire, and the two hundred or so people were not the visitors outside the iron cage, but the bars of that iron cage!
The vengeful spirits, sensing this, were furious. They screamed ferociously at the beggars who were holding hands and trying to stop them. Their mouths gaped as if they were about to swallow someone's head, their hair rising in anger, their faces and bodies distorted. A few were so frightened that they took a few steps back, only to be quickly restrained by those nearby: "Don't move!"
Xie Lian also said, “Don’t move! They can’t hurt you until the formation is broken!”
Hearing this, everyone felt a little relieved. A beggar even spat furiously at the shrieking spirits, saying, "Pfft, pfft, pfft! Dirty as hell, filthy as hell! Get out of here!" Perhaps having heard that ghosts are afraid of dirty things, Xie Lian didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "That's not necessary! They're not afraid of it."
At this moment, he suddenly realized that somewhere in the human formation was in danger and was about to break. He quickly looked up and saw a thin beggar with his eyes wide open and breathing rapidly, as if he was so nervous that he was about to convulse!
Many vengeful spirits also sensed the man's weakening momentum and swarmed towards him. Xie Lian charged forward with a lash, sending the spirits howling and scattering. He quickly made the man retreat, allowing the two men to join him. Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, a new hole appeared six feet to the southwest. Just as Xie Lian was about to pass, he saw a third hole appear far in the distance, on the body of someone next to Shi Qingxuan!
After all, the number of vengeful spirits is still too large. This is just the first wave, there will only be more to come, an endless stream!
There was no time to rush over, so Xie Lian said, "Sanlang!"
Hua Cheng didn't move, and said, "Brother, don't worry."
Xie Lian didn’t believe that he hadn’t noticed, nor did he believe that he would ignore it, but that loophole was about to be exploited by the vengeful spirits!
At this critical moment, a yellow talisman flew over and exploded next to Shi Qingxuan!
Although the talisman didn't kill the vengeful spirits, it frightened them enough to make them shrink back. It was the mages who had been watching from the sidelines for a while who rushed over and shouted, "I told you not to join in the fun, but now that you've joined, you better hold on till the end. If you give up halfway, it'll just be trouble!!!"
Hua Cheng said to Xie Lian, "Look, I told you, don't worry."
He was always calm and composed. Xie Lian said, "Hmm!"
Finally, Master Tianyankai couldn't hold back any longer and rushed forward. This group of people, truly skilled practitioners, each moved with remarkable agility. They grabbed the two people's hands, separated them, and then took over. Dozens of new arrivals quickly merged into the circle, expanding the formation. Tianyankai said, "Fellow Daoists! Hurry, hurry, if there are any disciples from the sect in the Imperial City, call them over immediately!!!"
“Go, go, go!”
"I'll call my apprentice over too!"
After a while, more than a hundred people came to the street.
These over a hundred people were a formidable crowd, all monks, Taoists, and sorcerers! Each one was fully armed, taking two steps at a time, their demeanor so heroic that Xie Lian cheered inwardly, while the beggars stood aghast. The newcomers, taken aback by the eerie spectacle on the street, quickly joined in. As they joined in, the circle expanded considerably, nearly filling the streets of the Imperial City. Furthermore, these newcomers were not only fearless, but each of them also carried a variety of magical weapons, undoubtedly significantly extending the duration of the formation!
By this point, Xie Lian felt 90% confident and said calmly, "Don't be afraid, everyone. The situation has reversed, and we have more and more people. As long as we hold our ground firmly, it's only a matter of time before we destroy them!"
Everyone saw that the situation was turning favorable. Hope was a good thing, and everyone immediately became more confident and shouted, "Kill them!"
Over there, the Sky Eye opened and said, "We have one hundred and sixty-eight people here! How many of you are there? How long can you hold out?"
The beggar leader, Shi Qingxuan, also counted the heads several times and shouted, "We still have one hundred and forty-eight people left in the formation!"
Xie Lian said, “That adds up to 316 people. We just need to find more…” But Hua Cheng said, “That’s not right.”
Xie Lian turned around and asked, "What's wrong?"
Hua Cheng withdrew his gaze, stared at him and said, "The number is wrong. Right now, there are 317 people here."
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