58 Neither divine nor holy
◎ (Replaced, 450+ added)◎
"No, Senior Brother Xie hasn't come out yet!"
"If you don't save people and directly activate this killing array, then what's the difference between you and me and this devil?"
Shan Yue swept her gaze over the crowd, a cold expression on her childlike face. "I don't mind you dying with him, but this formation took our Jin family five years to carve in Ghost Abyss. If we delay any longer, Murong Jun will surely break through it and escape. Do you think she'll just let Dong Yu go?"
After a moment of stalemate, the magical beasts that were not bound by the formation could be seen climbing up from the cracks. Their movements were extremely fast and they were about to climb onto the ground in a moment!
It is absolutely impossible to save anyone under the current circumstances.
After hearing Shan Yue say this, everyone's eyes moved away from their masks and no one dared to respond.
Shan Yue snorted, pouted, and took the lead in injecting spiritual energy into the formation. The others hesitated for a moment, and then began to circulate their spiritual energy. The formation pattern suddenly glowed red!
"Wait a minute, nephew!"
The crowd made way for a passage, and a white-haired old man walked hurriedly.
"Elder." Seeing the newcomer, Cangluan's disciples all bowed.
Shan Yue turned around. He was already impatient after repeated setbacks. "Old man, you can save them, but once the formation is activated, it can't be stopped. If you want to die with them, you can just go in."
If the formation doesn't stop, how can we save people? Everyone looked at each other in confusion.
Upon hearing this, the old man nodded under the incredulous gazes of the Cangluan disciples and said, "Things must be prioritized. Right now, killing Murong Jun is the most important. If sacrificing that child's life can bring peace to the immortals and demons, why would I refuse?"
"Elder, that's a thank you to the master..." Under the old man's gaze, the disciple stammered and fell silent.
Shan Yue rolled her eyes, as if she didn't expect the old man to be so sensible.
The old man nodded to Shan Yue and walked towards the Cangluan disciples. After a few whispers, several Cangluan disciples ran out...
Within the barrier, more and more magical beasts crawled out from the ground and blocked the way for the two. Hua Lang and Xie Hanjing were forced to fight, but the magical beasts seemed endless. Even when their spiritual energy was almost exhausted, they still couldn't break through the encirclement.
Hua Lang dodged the attack from the demonic beast by moving sideways. As she was channeling her demonic energy, she felt a sudden sinking sensation beneath her feet, and her movements faltered. Xie Hanjing, quick-witted, pulled her back several steps, dodging the attack.
"What's going on? The formation... is about to be activated?!"
Hua Lang looked at the ground. The blood light that was spreading in all directions and heading deeper into the formation was replacing the white light of the formation. Along with the blood light came an extremely domineering force that pulled at all the living beings in the formation, as if to tear them apart!
Xie Hanjing obviously knew the details of this ancient killing formation, but his tone was not panicked at all. He just said soothingly, "There is still time. The formation transformation requires a huge amount of spiritual energy... Disciple will definitely lead Master out."
Hua Lang was silent for a moment. Although she did not recognize this formation, it required tens of millions of people to operate it, and it was used to deal with powerful demons. Its power must not be underestimated. It was easy to tear the two of them apart in the formation.
She whispered, "Why did you lie to me? If we could have escaped, we would have gotten away long ago."
Xie Hanjing said no more. He forcibly tore open a bloody path and created a living space for the two of them from the endless tide of beasts. However, the power of the formation increased, and coupled with the violent tide of beasts, the two of them soon became exhausted.
The formation seemed to want to strip the flesh and blood from the two men, but Xie Hanjing's voice remained calm, "...When has this disciple ever lied to Master? Didn't Master say that he wanted to see this disciple stand at the highest point in Zhongzhou?"
Hua Lang was stunned, and suddenly remembered that she had indeed said such words, but every time it was to deceive him.
Xie Hanjing continued seriously, "If you can reach the Cangluan Moon Ranking 500 times in a row, you can obtain the Jingling Order to enter and exit Zhongzhou. After leaving Ghost Abyss, I will take Master to Zhongzhou..."
Hua Lang's eyebrows twitched slightly, she realized something and asked, "Monthly Ranking...you haven't told me yet, why didn't you take the top three?"
Xie Han was silent for a moment. "According to the rules, the top three on the monthly list must remain in the sect as elders. I don't want to make Master wait so long."
“You, you!”
Hua Lang was choked by his reason and was speechless. You know, the cultivation resources of the top three are the unique skills of Cangluan School, and Xie Hanjing actually gave up in vain!
"Forget it," she looked at the boundless beast tide and suddenly felt that compared to her life, these things were nothing. "If I can really get out... I'll go to Zhongzhou and have a look."
"Master, we can definitely get out."
The formation was pulling at Hua Lang, so Xie Hanjing pulled her forward with even greater strength. His body was already covered in blood, and he looked unusually disheveled. Even the gaps between his fingers, which were holding Hua Lang's, were filled with dried blood. The rough blood clots rubbed against each other's skin, as inseparable as bone, blood, and flesh.
Although he knew that the chances of breaking out were slim, Hua Lang seemed to truly believe what Xie Hanjing said. His mood suddenly calmed down and he allowed the flesh and blood on his limbs to be peeled off by the formation.
[Ding—Phase 2 mission completed!]
The system prompt sound brought Hua Lang back to his senses.
She looked at the system page as if waking from a dream. The twists and turns along the way made her forget the existence of the main task!
Hua Lang immediately grabbed at straws, "001, forget about the main quest, the hero is almost dead!"
001 took a closer look and immediately screamed: [Ah ...
"Think of a solution quickly. You are a different world system, don't you have any special abilities?!"
[Wuwu host, Tong is just a string of data. If Tong had superpowers, why would he bother looking for you, host? Wouldn't it be better to just bind to the male protagonist directly...]
As if afraid that Hua Lang would keep chasing him, 001 immediately changed the subject, "But I have good news and bad news. Host, which one do you want to hear first?"
At this time, 001 was still keeping it a secret. Hua Lang could only grit his teeth and say, "Good news!"
The system chuckled, "Phase 2 mission completed. The Book Department has directly rewarded the host with 1,000 points!"
When Hua Lang heard this, she was stunned at first, and then she immediately said, "001, go and help me exchange an identity. I have an idea!"
She is a demon now. If she self-destructs first to send Xie Hanjing out, and then escapes from the Ghost Abyss through the system, wouldn't this deadlock be broken!
During the conversation, the sky and earth illuminated by the formation suddenly turned dark, and a huge demonic energy enveloped most of the barrier!
This big demon... actually broke free from the formation so quickly!
The evil energy behind him was crashing towards him like waves, accompanied by the deafening roar of beasts. Hua Lang knew that he could not wait any longer!
001 was still hesitating, [Host, you haven't asked about the bad news yet...]
Could any bad news be more critical than the current situation? Hua Lang frowned, "Whatever the news is, let's talk about it after we get out of Ghost Abyss. 001, go help me prepare!"
The system hesitated, […The system understands.]
The flesh and blood of their bodies became a restriction, and the movements of the monsters slowed down. The weaker ones simply lay on the ground and turned into a pool of flesh and blood. Although the threat from the monsters was greatly reduced, the two of them still could not move forward even half a step.
The coal block that had been quietly lying on Xie Hanjing's shoulder suddenly jumped out. Its coiled body instantly expanded to cover the sky and the earth, and it swallowed the monster that was blocking the two of them in one gulp!
The path ahead was cleared, and Hua Lang looked toward the other side of the barrier. It seemed almost unreachable. Everyone stood behind the barrier, their expressions hard to discern beneath their masks. A gray-haired figure caught Hua Lang's attention. He suddenly took a step forward. A student in a Cangluan school uniform passed through the crowd and handed him something.
"Stand up," the old man shouted, "Come here, I can set up a teleportation array for you!"
Having said that, the formation is almost complete, and it's like a thousand pounds pressing down on the two of them. Even if a path is cleared, they can hardly move at all!
A trickle of water coiled around Hua Lang's calf, and along with the cool touch, the power of the formation applied to Hua Lang disappeared.
“…Master, hurry up!”
A dimly lit teleportation array also lit up not far away. The old man said at the same time, "The array can only go so far. Come quickly!"
Others also shouted, "Hurry up, Brother Xie, the artifact can only hold out for a little while!"
The teleportation array is just ahead. It only takes a few steps to walk out of the array... Hua Lang was unmoved. She turned her head to look at Xie Hanjing. He used spiritual energy to drive the sand city, so what should she do!
Sure enough, the next second, Xie Hanjing knelt on one knee on the ground. He loosened his hand that was clasped with Hua Lang's, and on his exposed palm, one could still see the wounds caused by pulling out the broken sword.
Along with the shouting from the other side, blood dripped and gathered under his body, flowing endlessly, as if his flesh and bones were completely turned into blood.
"I know! You wanted to trick me, didn't you? I should have guessed it earlier..."
Hua Lang suddenly pounced on Xie Hanjing and hugged him. Their close posture forced the water to wrap around them. The sand city was instantly weakened, and the power of the formation was about to return!
"...Ahem, Master, tell the elder, he... will give you the Jingling..."
"I don't want any Jing Ling. If you can guess that I hate monsters, I lied to you. Why can't I guess that this matter is also a lie to you!"
Hua Lang sensed the rapid dissolution of their flesh and blood. She looked at Xie Hanjing's still-focused features amidst the blood, wishing she could sink her fingers into his flesh. "I may have lied to you, but you also lied to me once... Now even that's canceled out."
Hua Lang mobilized the demon pill, and as the pressure before the self-destruction overwhelmed the formation, she took Xie Hanjing and finally lay down in front of the formation almost in a rolling posture.
"No... Stop it, let me go!!"
Xie Hanjing sensed what she wanted to do, but in the formation, he was like a disabled person without flesh and blood, and could not even lift a finger to stop her.
"Master, please don't go. Even if you have to continue lying to me, please don't go..." Hua Lang let go of her hand, and Xie Hanjing rolled off her directly. He moved his fingertips, trying to hook Hua Lang again.
“???”
As soon as he finished speaking, Hua Lang suddenly pushed Xie Hanjing into the gradually disappearing teleportation array.
*
Thousands of feet of golden light pierced through the sea of clouds, and Yujing was suspended on the top of Zhongzhou. The white jade-like buildings extended in all directions like a chessboard, and monks in star-patterned robes shuttled among them. At this moment, everyone stopped and whispered to each other while looking at the spirit carriage in the sky.
"Is this... the Wu family's spirit carriage? The Jin family suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Guiyuan. The Wu family has always been cautious in their actions. Why would they leave the city at this time?"
"The Jinwu family and the Wu family are both in the same family. With the Wu family in power, I'm afraid the eldest son couldn't sit still and ran to Guiyuan to get information."
Contrary to what everyone was saying, there were several people sitting inside the funeral carriage. Each of them wore a red mask, but none of them was Wu Tingque.
The leader said calmly, "Go take a look."
The man who received the order immediately stood up and opened the door. After a while, he rushed out, "Someone, someone ran away!"
*
Yujing was bustling with people of the Nth generation of immortals dressed in expensive clothes. Hua Lang walked stealthily towards the city gate.
He hadn't taken two steps when he heard a roar from behind him: "Catch that man!"
A group of people suddenly rushed towards Hua Lang with great momentum.
Discovered so quickly!?
Hua Lang frowned, and subconsciously wanted to hide while the crowd was chaotic. The streets were winding, and Hua Lang randomly chose an alley and rushed in.
Seeing this, the group of guards immediately followed into the alley.
These alleys are connected to each other. It was Hua Lang's first time in Yujing, and she could only run around like a headless fly. Soon, the footsteps behind her were getting closer and closer, and in front of Hua Lang, there was a high wall - there was no way to go.
"Just up ahead, I saw that old woman running in here!"
Hua Lang wanted to try to rush out, but then she remembered that she had no spiritual energy left and was just a mortal, how could she defeat these immortal cultivators!
Just as the guard was about to turn the alley, a withered old hand suddenly reached out from the side, pulled Hua Lang into the wall, and covered her mouth tightly.
"Don't make any noise!" came the voice of an old woman.
The guards followed the footsteps all the way to the wall. After confirming that this was a dead end, someone said in frustration, "Let's go! That old woman must have escaped from somewhere else!"
Old woman?
Hua Lang then realized that this group of people didn't seem to be trying to catch him.
The shackles behind her suddenly loosened, Hua Lang came to her senses and climbed out of the "wall". She turned around and saw an old woman climbing out as well.
The old woman was dressed in rags and didn't look like a fairy from the Nth generation here.
Before Hua Lang could ask, she pulled him up with great force, "Hurry up, those bastards will be back soon!"
Seeing that the towering city gate was getting farther and farther away, Hua Lang hurriedly said, "Wait, let me go, I want to leave the city!"
The old woman kept walking. "This is the way out of the city. You little kid don't have a Beijing pass, do you? How dare you want to go through the city gate?"
As they turned a corner, they suddenly heard the voices of the guards. Hua Lang suddenly became nervous and whispered, "Do I need a capital order to leave the city?"
"Of course I want it. You look so smart, how come you don't even know this!"
While scolding Hua Lang, the old woman quickly shook off the pursuers again.
Soon, it seemed as if they were out of the city, and the surrounding environment suddenly opened up. Hua Lang looked up and saw palaces floating in the sky, with pure white cloud waterfalls hanging down like curtains.
"Where is this?"
Without even looking up, the old woman said, "That's Di Palace. Don't ask. It has nothing to do with us old folks living in the filling city."
A huge black hole consisting of several cracks appeared in front of them. The old woman rushed directly towards the black hole with Hua Lang, "Let's go!"
Hua Lang closed her eyes and felt a gust of wind whistling past, followed by an indescribable sour and stinky smell rising and going straight into her nose.
"Ahem, what's that smell?"
She opened her eyes and didn't know where the old woman took her. She was surrounded by densely packed statues. Judging from the body shapes, most of them should be statues of a person. The remaining small part of the statues were stone statues of nine-tailed foxes, some still and some moving. The scene was extremely shocking!
Nine-tailed Fox...is a celestial fox!
Statues of celestial foxes and humans were haphazardly stacked together, forming a massive wall. The wall stretched as far as the eye could see, and it was impossible to count the number of statues… Hua Lang became increasingly alarmed as he looked. Who on earth could have so many statues?!
"Your kid doesn't seem very smart, but he knows which street you live on, right?"
Hua Lang's thoughts were interrupted by the old woman. She explained, "Grandma, I'm actually not from... Zhongzhou. Do you know if there's a teleportation array here to the Eastern Region?"
"How could a kid from the East Region end up here?" the old woman muttered. She glanced at the sky but didn't abandon Hua Lang. "Where is the teleportation array in this city for you young ladies and gentlemen to use? If you want to leave Zhongzhou, you can only wait for Zhao Wu to come back tomorrow. It's getting late, so follow me."
After Hua Lang thanked her earnestly, the two of them walked down the low streets. Hua Lang asked, "Grandma, why are there so many statues here?"
When the old woman heard her question, she sighed and complained, "Your son is from the Eastern Region, so he probably doesn't recognize this evildoer." She pointed to the dilapidated, foul-smelling alley, "The horrible state of Tiancheng is all caused by this evildoer. You definitely don't know that when I was young, Tiancheng was just like the Di Palace in the sky..."
"... Tiger Boy recently told me that there's news from Zhongzhou. The grave of the wronged is actually empty. They really can't even leave peace after death!"
Empty tomb?
Hua Lang asked, "Grandma, what's this person's name?"
The old woman's expression turned grim. She cursed a few more times and said reluctantly, "Why are you asking this plague god's name? Hurry up and follow me. Let's go down this alley."
As they walked into the alley, the stench became stronger. Hua Lang couldn't help but frown, but the old woman seemed to be used to it and greeted acquaintances as she walked.
Hua Lang looked at those people. They were all pale and thin, almost naked. Their houses were dilapidated and simple, but outside every house there was a pile of exquisite and incongruous sculptures.
The old woman led Hua Lang into a dilapidated house and said, "Looking at your child's clothes, the children in the Eastern Region should live better than here. If I weren't so old, I would really like to go out and take a look."
Hua Lang whispered, "Don't you care about the cultivators in Zhongzhou?"
"Humph, of course we have to take care of those bastards. We, a bunch of old guys, live under the Di Palace and are kept under control every day and are not allowed to go up there. You know, when I was young..."
While the old woman was rambling, Hua Lang looked around the cottage. Soon, her eyes stopped at the human-fox sculpture at the door. "Grandma, what about this nine-tailed fox? It has many sculptures too."
Surprisingly, the old woman didn't curse. She looked at the sculpture at the door, its outline barely discernible after being battered by wind and rain, and said in a low voice, "It's innocent and shouldn't be here."
Hua Lang didn't hear clearly, "What?"
The old woman did not repeat herself. She glanced at the sky and immediately stood up. She first closed the door carefully, then moved the sculpture to prop up the door. Then, she pointed to the inner room and said to Hua Lang, "You kid, go in quickly!"
Hua Lang walked into the room and found a sculpture inside. Probably because it had been placed in the room for many years, its outline was very clear.
Without waiting for a closer look, the old woman walked quickly into the house. She repeated her previous behavior, closing the door and pushing the sculpture to block the door.
Sitting down on the bed, the old woman instructed Hua Lang to take out the yellowed sheets from the cupboard. Then she said, "Child, find a place far from the door to sleep on the floor. Remember, if you want to return to the Eastern Region in one piece, be less curious and get more sleep at night!"
Hua Lang wanted to ask more questions, but in a short while, the old woman started choking.
Helplessly, Hua Lang could only spread out the bed sheet and lie on the ground. The thin quilt could not block the coldness of the ground. She turned over and looked at the sculpture in front of the door in the distance.
The sculpture was leaning against the gate, like a real person sitting on the ground. Hua Lang listened to the snoring sound and had no desire to sleep. After thinking about it, she stood up and walked towards the sculpture.
The sculpture was sitting cross-legged with eyes downcast. Her face was blank, but her limbs were carved very vividly. Hua Lang noticed that she was holding a thin mirror-like object, which seemed to have some words engraved on it.
“…Neither a god nor a saint, only the heart?”
Before she knew it, Hua Lang had been sitting in front of the sculpture for a long time. As she was concentrating on thinking about the inscription, the sculpture in front of her suddenly let out a heavy breathing sound, as if it had come alive!
Hua Lang suddenly looked at the sculpture's face. Just when she thought it was an illusion, the breathing sound began to rise again...
She became much bolder and without hesitation, she leaned over to the sculpture and whispered:
"Huh...rustle...huh...rustle...huh..."
In addition to the heavy breathing, there is also a thin and tingling sound like nails scratching, as if something really wants to crawl out of the sculpture!
But how could there be a living thing in the sculpture? Hua Lang thought about what the old woman said, and she quickly realized that it was not the sculpture, but the door!
Sure enough, the next second, the sculpture was pushed and the old door began to tremble, as if it was about to be knocked open at any time!
【Author’s words】
I'm late (bow)
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