64 It's so easy to cheat
Hua Lang's heart skipped a beat at the strange, hypnotic voice. She watched the man slowly crawling towards her, hesitating between fighting back and escaping for only two breaths. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of several figures running towards her.
Oh no, are they the pursuers coming to find them?
Before he could suppress this thought, he saw the strange man stretch out his hand and whisper, "Die... die..." Countless people were torn into pieces like pieces of paper, and blood beads and clots splattered several feet away, like a fleeting blood flower.
He actually killed all these people!
What shocked Hua Lang even more was that although this man's behavior was so evil and strange, the spiritual energy around him was extremely pure. In her eyes, she could even see a faint golden light in the spiritual energy.
She instantly had an unbelievable guess - could this person be Rong Chengchuan who had entered the state of incarnation in the book?
The next second, he began to whisper again, "Don't run... Don't run...", and reached out towards Hua Lang with his hand still covered in black charred blood...
On Xie Hanjing's side, he saw that the weapon was also disturbed by Rong Chengchuan's spiritual energy just now. It paused for a moment, and Xie Hanjing took the opportunity to shake it away, then retreated back to the city to find Hua Lang.
This was exactly the scene he saw. Without thinking too much, he immediately stepped forward and tried to stop Rong Chengchuan.
Hua Lang had seen this man kill people before, and now facing the God of Transformation, she felt as if her movements were slowed down several times. When she was about to grab Xie Hanjing who was going to die, it was too late to avoid it, and that hand immediately slapped her chest.
The powerful energy directly shook the two of them out of the city.
"Master!" Xie Hanjing quickly turned over and helped Hua Lang up, but found that she was unharmed. The two looked at each other with confusion on their faces.
Hua Lang lowered her head and pulled out the seed, which was so hot that she could hardly hold it, from her chest. She looked for Rong Chengchuan vigilantly and asked in a low voice, "What's going on? Has it changed like this before?"
Xie Hanjing also frowned. He shook his head and said, "This has never happened before."
“Don’t run…don’t run…”
A figure suddenly appeared in front of them, and before the two of them could react, another palm came towards Hua Lang.
The two men who were knocked far away and had mouthfuls of sand in their mouths got up again. Hua Lang suddenly felt that this scene was quite absurd. What on earth did he want to do?
Before the two could lock onto his figure, Rong Chengchuan's third palm followed. This time, the Sand City finally gave way. A flash of white light suddenly illuminated, and then a cloud of yellow sand emerged from nowhere, dancing wildly in the wind. When the sand settled, Rong Chengchuan was the only one left outside the city.
*
Hua Lang squinted her eyes to avoid the raging sand. When she opened them again, she and Xie Hanjing were standing hand in hand in front of the city wall. The scene before her made her subconsciously ask, "Where is this?"
The city walls looked brand new, even hung with lanterns and talismans, and were filled with dazzling sculptures of people in gorgeous clothes. The bustling voices of people could be heard from afar, just like the Zhongzhou that Hua Lang had imagined.
Xie Hanjing concentrated for a moment and replied, "This is... Sand City."
"Sand City?"
Hua Lang was quite surprised. Everything here seemed more lifelike than last time. It didn't seem like an illusion at all. She could even smell the fragrance of flowers wafting from afar.
Xie Han nodded in surprise. He asked, "Master, where are we going now?"
Hua Lang thought for a moment. Neither she nor Xie Hanjing could unlock the power of such a large sand city. Could it be that Rong Chengchuan's power was absorbed by the sand city?
She looked around and confirmed there were no signs of anyone else. Then she said, "Let's head out of the city first. The opening of the Sand City passage is no longer under our control. Why not explore the route before it sends us out?"
Xie Hanjing naturally agreed. He said, "Who was that person just now? His actions don't seem to be decent."
Hua Lang was also worried about this. She was afraid that the man would not let them go even after they got out. But she still comforted him, "He followed us all the way from the forbidden area and killed so many people. Maybe by the time we get out, he'll have been captured by Rong Cheng's family."
In addition, she was also worried about one thing - Yan Rong who was guarding outside the city.
"Did you discover any flaws in the battle against the strange force you encountered outside the city?"
Xie Han shook his head in shock. "It's extremely strange, yet impossible to kill. I've seen it twice in Qinglai and Guiyuan. It seems to be related to... Junior Brother."
After hearing Xie Hanjing's words, Hua Lang's face also showed anxiety. What secrets did Yan Rong have? After seeing the scene ahead clearly, she became even more worried.
"It seems... there's no way out."
Ahead, there are countless ghosts lurking, guarding the edge of the sand city. If you see them, it means the road ahead is over.
When he saw the two of them, Yigui just turned over lazily and ignored them.
Xie Han was shocked and hesitated, "It seems that we can only go into the city to find a breakthrough."
Hua Lang sighed lightly. Instead of waiting here, it would be better to go into the city and take a look.
The originally deserted path ahead was now lined with houses, and the sculpture of Rong Cheng Yunwen was placed in front of every household. It was extremely prosperous here alone. Hua Lang looked at them one by one and found that these people should all be mortals.
"This seems to be the road leading to the forbidden area."
It took a long time to identify the original route, and the two immediately shuttled through the streets and alleys, heading in the familiar direction.
"I don't know how many years ago this Zhongzhou was so prosperous, but how come only Yujing is left in the end?"
Xie Hanjing pointed to a road nearby, "Master, something seems... not right over there."
Hua Lang also looked over and saw a more prosperous street. She didn't see anything wrong and asked, "What's wrong?"
Xie Han's face darkened slightly in shock. "When I was scouting the terrain, I saw that there was clearly a cliff over there."
Hua Lang thought of something and pulled Xie Hanjing along the path until they reached the front of the city. She passed several statues and looked up at the two big words on the top before she dared to confirm - this was indeed a filled-in city.
It seems that the current filled city has not fallen yet. No wonder there are traces of mortals everywhere at a glance.
She and Xie Hanjing exchanged a glance. Hua Lang was genuinely curious about this place, so she suggested, "Let's go in and take a look?"
Xie Han was shocked and pondered, "This place seems very strange. I always feel a little uneasy."
Hearing him say this, Hua Lang also felt an inexplicable force pulling her. She grabbed Xie Hanjing tightly and said, "If anything happens, we will run out of the city."
After the agreement was reached, Xie Hanjing agreed. The two of them were nervous and held each other tightly as they walked into the city. In an instant, Hua Lang's hands were empty, and the vague uneasiness became a reality. Xie Hanjing beside her disappeared without a trace, and she was left standing alone on the avenue.
There is something strange indeed!
Hua Lang calmed his mind. There was no fluctuation in the channel just now. Xie Hanjing must still be in the Sand City. According to Hua Lang's guess, he was most likely in this strange filled city.
Thinking of this, Hua Lang no longer hesitated and walked straight into the city.
The houses on both sides were luxurious and exquisite, statues could be seen everywhere, and the people passing by were dressed very luxuriously. However, Hua Lang soon discovered that something was wrong. There were half-transformed monsters constantly passing by her, and some even transformed directly into their original forms and passed through the ground. The mortals here acted as if they were accustomed to it, and some even took the initiative to talk to the monsters.
"I can see again..."
"Yes, yes. I haven't seen her for seven days this time."
"She just went to the North. I heard she came back this time on purpose to visit us..."
…
The sound suddenly weakened, and a shaking sound was heard, as if the Sand City was about to collapse. Hua Lang raised his head and saw a white light coming from the city, but after a moment, the shaking stopped and the Sand City regained stability.
The noise started again, and everything that happened just now seemed like an illusion to Hua Lang.
“Here it comes!”
who?
Before Hua Lang could look in the direction of the crowded crowd, the strange power that she had been ignoring suddenly grew stronger!
In an instant, Hua Lang felt dizzy. When she came to her senses, the noise in her ears suddenly faded away, and in front of her were layers of white wefts.
"What's going on?"
Hua Lang frowned and stood up, only to find that his vision had become shorter and his clothes had changed.
This is not her body!
Sure enough, the next second, someone's voice came from outside the weft, "Zhao Ming, what's wrong?"
Zhaoming?
Unexpectedly, she actually ran to Rong Cheng Yunwen. How could such a strange thing happen?
Could it be the work of Rong Chengchuan? Has Sand City been controlled by him?
Thinking of this, the search for Xie Hanjing could not be delayed for a moment. Xie Hanjing disappeared, could it be that he had possessed someone else?
"I want to find someone." Hua Lang immediately tried to control this body. Although there was a slight resistance, he still succeeded.
The man was silent for a moment, then followed Hua Lang's order and said, "Stop the car."
"Zhao Ming, you can only stay here for a quarter of an hour at most. You did this this time, and the head of the family is still waiting for your response. Don't make her angry again."
Hua Lang ignored these words and quickly opened the car cover and walked out. She saw countless people gathered on both sides of the road. When they saw her get out of the car, the discussion suddenly became excited and loud.
Hua Lang Wuxia didn't care about these illusions, but as soon as she stepped off the car, the next second, the surrounding environment suddenly distorted, as if the sand city was about to collapse!
not good!
Hua Lang retracted his foot, and the collapse paused slightly. As expected, if the illusion in the records of the Sand City was changed, it would cause a collapse. So... the movement just now should have been caused by Xie Hanjing. He was indeed in the city.
After careful consideration, Hua Lang decided to remain in place.
She stepped back into the carriage. Amidst the servants' questioning, she remained calm and said, "I suddenly don't really want to get off anymore. Let's go."
Although they were extremely puzzled by her behavior, those people still followed her orders and drove the carriage forward again.
Hua Lang sat inside, trying to let that power control his body. Suddenly, the carriage stopped again.
Without waiting for Hua Lang to ask, she stood up and walked out as if she knew something.
Outside, several retainers were expelling a child who looked about eight or nine years old.
Hua Lang immediately asked, "What's wrong?"
Someone reported, "Zhao Ming Envoy, this man stopped in front of the carriage and said he wanted to see you."
Hearing this, Hua Lang walked towards the girl and asked, "What do you want from me?"
The little girl was caught, but she didn't show any fear. With a determined look, she grabbed Hua Lang and said, "Save it! It's dying."
"who?"
The little girl glanced at the retainer beside her. Hua Lang immediately understood what she meant and said to the retainer, "You go back first. As for my father, I will naturally give him an explanation."
The group of retainers frowned again and again, but finally had no choice but to accept the order, squeezed through the crowd and left.
Hua Lang followed the child into the alley, and in a short while, they arrived in front of a house.
The girl pulled Hua Lang inside and whispered, "After it helped us drive away those bugs, it was injured and hasn't woken up yet. I wonder if it's going to die..." As she spoke, her voice changed tone.
Hua Lang comforted her, "It's okay, don't be afraid."
When she saw the demon, Hua Lang followed the force of the body and stretched out her hand. Spiritual energy flowed out from her palm. After saving the person, Hua Lang was about to leave when the little girl suddenly grabbed her and said mysteriously, "I saw everything."
Hua Lang asked in surprise, "What did you see?"
The little girl looked straight into Hua Lang's eyes, "...your face."
Face?
Hua Lang was puzzled, but the next second he heard himself say to the little girl, "So... what did you see?"
There seemed to be a strange feeling between the two of them, and Hua Lang felt a little uncomfortable. Could it be that there really was some secret hidden on a person's face?
"I saw the past and the future..." The little girl looked innocent, and she started talking nonsense as if someone was trying to make her happy.
It was just childish talk. Hua Lang straightened up. Just as she was about to let go of her worries, she heard herself ask, "What else?"
The little girl's face instantly turned secretive, and she stammered, "I, I don't know."
Zhao Ming didn't force an answer. He smiled and rubbed her head. At this moment, a woman rushed in from outside. She hugged the girl and said, "Linwa, I heard you ran to stop a car. What a silly child."
Ah Lin pouted in dissatisfaction. The woman then saw Hua Lang and quickly exclaimed "Aiyo" twice, saying, "Zhaoming baby, you're really back! I missed you so much. You weren't here these few days, but luckily those bugs didn't come..."
Once the woman started talking, she wouldn't stop. Ah Lin stuck out his tongue and interrupted her, "Sister Yu, stop nagging. I was just talking to my sister about something very important."
"What important things could your kid have?" Yu's wife knocked on A Lin's head and said, "Zhao Ming is so busy, Lin, you are so annoying that you dare to disturb her."
Ah Lin covered her head. Seeing that the woman was about to hit her, Zhao Ming spoke up at the right time, "Don't bother her. This child is very intelligent. I have a secret scroll here. Even a mortal can try to practice it. When I finish writing it, I will send someone to give it to her."
When Mrs. Yu heard this, she quickly said, "Oh, you've saved so many of us. We must never take this thing from you again."
"No," A Lin was unconvinced. "If Sister Zhaoming gave us the secret scroll for cultivation, I could become an immortal like Sister Zhaoming to protect Tiancheng. Besides, you can also use it to cultivate, and then you won't age!"
Zhaoming smiled gently, touched Alin's head, chatted with the two of them for a few minutes, and then walked out.
But just as he got out of the house, someone suddenly pulled the corner of his clothes.
She turned around and it was still Alin.
Ah Lin looked at her with sparkling eyes and asked, "Sister, so what is the other secret?"
Hua Lang squatted down and asked her, "What did you see?"
A Lin's brows darkened for a moment, but he finally said, "I saw myself sitting in the house. It was pitch black, but I was still carving a piece of stone. It seemed like something was about to break in from outside... It was so scary..."
Then, her eyes lit up again, "Then, my sister came to save me!"
Zhao Ming stood up after hearing this and comforted him, "Don't be afraid, the third thing is an illusion, none of these things will happen."
Hearing these words coming out of his own mouth, the illusion... Hua Lang's mind was shaken like a bell. Rong Cheng Yunxuan did not rely on training in the Wujiu Boat to grow into his current appearance in eight years. That was clearly... his future appearance!
The sand city is the past; the beads she left in the filled city are an illusion.
These three secrets are now in Zhongzhou.
And if this person is A Lin, who died while carving a statue in the insect swarm when she was filling the city, then does it mean that these illusions are not necessarily false?
She walked forward with a heavy heart. Only then did she remember 001. Hua Lang called out in her mind again, "001, are you back?"
Maybe it was because she was in the Sand City, but her mind was blank. Hua Lang could only sigh. Fortunately, this body chose to walk towards the city, which made it easier for her to find Xie Hanjing's trace.
Countless people gathered along the way, looking at Hua Lang with a reserved yet expectant expression, saying in unison, "There haven't been any demonic disasters in the city lately. Zhaoming, please don't leave now that he's back."
"Yes, yes, thanks to Zhaoming Doll. Come, doll, come to my house and play. I have a lot of new statues at home."
"Go, go, stop causing trouble. Ren Zhaoming wants to go back to Di Palace. That's what those old guys said just now on the street."
"Why go back to Di Palace? I heard that people over there don't like Zhaoming. Such a little girl, and they drag her out all day long to exorcise demons and monsters. She's really causing a lot of harm!"
From the conversations of these people, Hua Lang realized one thing: the current situation seemed to be completely different from that of Zhongzhou more than ten years later: Rong Cheng Yunwen, who was not yet dead, now had an excellent reputation in Tiancheng, but seemed to be quite coldly treated in Di Palace and Yujing.
Zhaoming declined everyone one by one. Suddenly, Hua Lang paused and looked up at Zhaoming.
!
It’s Xie Hanjing!
A young boy holding cloths of various colors, whether it was his exposed arms or his face that he tried to hide with the cloth, was much whiter than the people around him. Even if he was hiding behind the crowd, he was extremely conspicuous.
He looked to be about fourteen or fifteen years old, but even with this appearance, Hua Lang recognized him at a glance.
Sure enough, when the young boy saw Hua Lang, he immediately dropped the cloth in his hand and wanted to come forward.
Hua Lang shook his head at him, fearing that his actions would cause the Sand City to collapse.
Following Rong Chengyunwen's movements, she stepped forward and grabbed the boy who was trying to escape. She pretended to be ignorant and asked the people around her, "Whose child is this?"
Everyone looked at each other, "Is this yours?"
"No, I've never seen such a distinctive doll before."
"My family runs a cloth shop. I think I just saw this doll. Isn't it the doll used to fill the city?"
After asking around, she still couldn't find the person. This was exactly what Zhaoming expected. She pretended to be suddenly enlightened and said, "Oh, I remember now. He's in Yujing. I'll send him back later."
Everyone believed it and praised him immediately, "Zhao Ming is really thoughtful."
"I was saying that since he looks so cute, he must be their immortal cultivation child."
"Is Zhaoming baby busy enough? Otherwise, let me take this boy back."
Zhaoming declined their help, and just like that, she kidnapped a young boy in broad daylight.
Xie Han's face was cold and grim. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break free from Zhao Ming's hand. A desperate expression of "the sky is falling" gradually appeared on his face.
Seeing this, Zhao Ming changed his calm demeanor and said with a smile, "Why, you don't dare to be discovered? Did you sneak out?"
"Let me go!"
As soon as he was stressed, white fluffy fox ears instantly popped out on his head, and Hua Lang followed his wishes and pulled them up without any hesitation.
The young boy's expression changed instantly, and she heard a "cough".
Hua Lang had no guilt at all, she quickly replied, "I didn't touch her, she did it."
Xie Han was shocked:?
After confidently touching her several times, Hua Lang withdrew her hand with a hint of reluctance. She said, "You must know me, right? Were you peeking at me just now? Tell me, what do you want to do?"
Xie Han gritted his teeth in shock, "No, no!"
He couldn't read Hua Lang's expression and waited anxiously for a moment. When he didn't receive any rebuttal, he whispered, "You don't know who I am anyway."
Zhao Ming nodded seriously, "Yes, I'm really curious about your identity, but unfortunately I have no idea. Why don't you take me to your home, then I can find out who you are."
Xie Hanjing actually hesitated for a moment before refusing, "No!"
Zhao Ming pondered, "Why?"
Xie Han was shocked: "Anyway, you will know it later!"
Zhao Ming said happily, "In that case, I'll take you out to play. You must rarely go out, right?"
"I won't go," Xie Hanjing said, alert. "Don't the people from Yujing and Digong all want to welcome us?"
Zhao Ming was surprised, "Who said I would take you to those places?"
Then, she pulled Xie Hanjing over and randomly chose a secluded path to walk along.
While the two of them were silent on the way, Hua Lang took the opportunity to ask Xie Hanjing, "Can you see my face?"
"No," Xie Hanjing also replied to her, "There is a spell, and I can't see clearly. Master, when can we break free from this illusion?"
Hua Lang sighed, "What happened this time was probably caused by that weirdo, but why are you so anxious? Aren't you curious about the past you've forgotten?"
Xie Han shook his head in shock. "This place gives me a very strange feeling. If I stay in this illusion for a long time, I'm afraid my mind will be affected by it."
Hua Lang's eyebrows twitched. This worry was not unreasonable, but what could they do when they got out and faced a person in the Spirit Transformation Stage?
While pondering a solution, Hua Lang suddenly recalled the illusion. She asked, "Back in Qinglai and Guiyuan, were there any problems with the illusions you encountered? For example... did they become reality?"
Xie Hanjing recalled for a moment and said, "It does seem like something from the future, but it hasn't come true yet. Why did Master bring this up?"
Hua Lang did not relax. It had been about ten years since A Lin's illusion came true. She was not sure about the exact number of years, but it had been ten years since Qing Lai's illusion.
She just recalled carefully that in Qinglai, when she encountered the demon, she had indeed had many strange dreams. Even though ten years had passed, the reality of the dreams still made her a little dazed.
The man in white was most likely Xie Hanjing. What was unacceptable was that in the dream, she and Xie Hanjing seemed to have completely turned against each other. But, what could be the reason for all this to happen?
She had no conflicts with Xie Hanjing, and even if it was the system she concealed, it would never cause the two of them to turn against each other.
The more she speculated, the more unreasonable it became. Hua Lang could only suppress her worries in her heart for the time being. Maybe it was all a coincidence. Besides, at the moment, she and Xie Han only needed to escape from Zhongzhou. The rest of the things had nothing to do with them.
"This illusion may become reality, so be careful."
Xie Hanjing's eyes wandered for a moment. Relying on Hua Lang being taller than him, he lowered his head again. After coughing guiltily twice, he nodded and said, "Okay."
Zhaoming and Xie Hanjing spent the entire afternoon touring the outskirts of the city. The young man's attitude towards Zhaoming became noticeably friendlier.
It wasn't until dark that Xie Hanjing said, "I'm going back now. Thank you so much for today. You don't have to see me off."
Zhao Ming nodded, and she held her chin and said, "Then go."
After a moment, the boy raised his head, and he regained his vigilance. "Why are you still following me?"
Zhao Ming was surprised and said, "I just want to go to the Broken Building. Is this your way home?"
Xie Han was stunned for a moment. He hesitated and said, "It's not safe over there. What are you doing over there..."
Zhao Ming said, "I'll naturally have my own business when I go there. If it's unsafe, don't I still have you?"
Along the way, Zhao Ming stared at Xie Hanjing with great interest, giving the young boy goose bumps.
When he reached the Broken Tower, Hua Lang discovered that there was no Taoist altar built here, but instead there were endless mountains. In the past ten years, Zhongzhou had undergone such great changes.
Before parting, Xie Hanjing suddenly said with some dissatisfaction, "You saw my face, but I couldn't see yours. This is not fair."
Zhao Ming was so confident and self-righteous, he seemed like a completely different person from that morning. "No one can see my face, but everyone can see yours. Since our values are not equal, how can I let you see it for free?"
Xie Hanjing's pupils dilated slightly, as if he hadn't expected her to refute him like this. "But, but this is my first time out, and not many people have seen my face."
"It's okay, it won't be worth much if you see more people."
Zhao Ming pinched his face perfunctorily and said, "Do you want to come out and play next time? If so, wait for me here in seven days. I'll take you to see someone."
Xie Hanjing was still sulking. Upon hearing this, he subconsciously asked, "Who?"
Zhao Ming smiled mysteriously, "You'll know when the time comes."
Xie Han glared at her in shock. Hua Lang was shocked to see Xie Han's expression changing so much. It turned out that she was so easy to deceive when she was young.
Seeing that the two were about to separate, Xie Hanjing asked, "Master, do we still want to stay here?"
The illusion here solved many of Hua Lang's doubts, but it also brought more doubts. There seemed to be a subtle force that urged her to stay in the illusion for a while longer, so she said, "I will go back with her first. The flow of time in Sand City is much slower than in the outside world. We can stay in the city for a few more days. By the time we leave, the pursuers may have left."
Seeing that Xie Hanjing was still frowning, she continued, "If anything unexpected happens, it's okay to lead it directly to Collapsing Sand City. I'll come find you tomorrow."
Hearing this, Xie Hanjing's frown finally relaxed. He whispered, "The situation in Zhongzhou is volatile, and the information in Sand City may not be useful. Master, there's no need to worry about this. Once we escape, these things will be of no use to us."
Hua Lang nodded in agreement and watched Xie Hanjing's small figure disappear in front of him.
After the others had gone far away, she noticed Zhaoming taking out a book from his arms. Then she picked up her pen and wrote, "The Sky Fox is an outstanding creature. If I have the chance, I will definitely take him to see Master."
After writing the last word, she put the pen against her chin and suddenly said to herself, "What if he doesn't want to go when the time comes?"
"Well...then just trick him into going over. It will look stupid anyway."
Hua Lang, who heard everything: Ah?
【Author’s words】
Seven thousand five! (Hands on hips)
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