Chapter 42 Soul Lamp
The Changsheng Pavilion of each sect has an extremely special status. It is used to commemorate the ancestors and protect the future generations, so it is not open to the public.
During the day, Wen Rensu pretended to visit but actually explored the way and finally found the Changsheng Pavilion. However, it was heavily guarded. Wen Rensu returned to the guesthouse and discussed with Ling Zheng and decided to sneak in at night.
It was midnight, the moon dark and the wind high. Qionglin Pavilion was under curfew, so it was quiet and deserted. They emerged from the guesthouse, all dressed in black, and sped towards their destination, unnoticed.
The evening breeze was blowing gently, and Wen Rensu, who was standing high up, glanced down casually. The lanterns on the road were not noticeable during the day, but they were quite eye-catching at night. They emitted a bright light, and the brightness seemed to be slightly different.
What is even more strange is that there are no lanterns on every road, nor are they divided according to the main roads, but are distributed randomly.
Besides, with the Qionglin Sect under curfew, wouldn't the streetlights be useless? Wen Rensu took this to heart and remained silent for the time being.
Arriving at the Changsheng Pavilion, they found guards patrolling everywhere, so the two had no choice but to stay on the roof of the attic. They lifted a tile and looked inside. They saw bright lights on and the three of them were meditating with their eyes closed.
Ling Zheng released the paralyzing Gu from the Gu jar, and it flew down slowly. Within a few breaths, the three people fainted on the ground without making any sound.
After replacing the tiles, Wen Rensu opened the window and jumped into the pavilion with Ling Zheng. In front of them were golden tablets with elegiac couplets engraved on both sides of the dark blue stone: "The master's brilliance established the foundation, and the Qionglin will be forever famous for thousands of years."
Obviously, this floor is used to commemorate all the previous leaders. A rough estimate shows that there are about thirty or forty tablets.
Wen Rensu's gaze flickered as he passed through them. The previous leaders had all been surnamed "Jiang." But as far as he knew, the current leader's surname was "Pan," which was worthy of consideration.
Ling Zheng also noticed this and couldn't help but murmured: "Jiang..."
Wen Rensu glanced sideways: "What?" In reality, he shouldn't know Ling Zheng's mother's name.
Ling Zheng stared at the tablet in a daze: "My mother's surname is Jiang."
"What a coincidence? Then you suspect..."
The last person on the tablet was named "Jiang Hao." Perhaps he had some connection to Ling Zheng's mother. Wen Rensu pondered this.
"I don't know... Let's find the soul lamp first, and we can talk about this issue later." Ling Zheng's eyes flashed with sadness. He was silent for a while and then spoke slowly.
The information about the Sect Leader was an extra gain. The most important thing on this trip was to find the Soul Lamp and make a quick decision to avoid alerting the enemy.
Exploring the path downwards, they used the same trick again. The paralysis Gu, as expected of a latent weapon among high-level Gu insects, silently knocked down the guards on several floors of the attic. They finally arrived at the place where the soul lamp was placed.
Looking around, there is a nameplate under each soul lamp with the name of the owner written on it.
Wen Rensu immediately found the soul lamp belonging to Jiang Hui without looking at the nameplate, because this lamp was very different from the other soul lamps, not in style, but in the form of soul fire.
A normal soul fire should be rich and stable, but Jiang Hui's soul fire is translucent and trembling, as if it will go out at any time.
This reveals two pieces of information: one is that Ling Zheng's mother is still alive, and the other is that she is in critical condition.
The moment the soul lamp struck Ling Zheng's sight, his body trembled, and hope rekindled in his dead heart. Just as Wen Rensu had guessed, his mother was still alive!
I immediately realized something was wrong. Why was the soul lamp so weak? What happened to my mother during these two years?
Ling Zheng's lips trembled slightly, and he didn't know what expression to make for a moment. Complex emotions hit his heart, a mixture of sadness and joy.
Countless ideas emerged in my mind, and just as I was about to speak, I suddenly heard the sound of falling tiles.
Something bad has happened. Ling Zheng and Wen Rensu exchanged a glance and quickly ran out the window.
The sudden noise suddenly alarmed the guards outside the Changsheng Pavilion. Everyone went inside to check the situation and found that everyone inside had fainted and shouted in panic:
"Someone sneaked into the Changsheng Pavilion!!"
Wen Rensu sighed, and the next moment, he unexpectedly saw a black dress fluttering outside the window. He called out softly, "Shi Dong?"
The man in black turned around and came straight in through the window.
Pulling off the mask, it was Shi Dong. She panted slightly and said, "I'm sorry for causing trouble for you."
Wen Rensu groaned, "I'll go stop the guards. You and Jiang Ling can leave together later."
Shi Dong knew his strength, and since the situation was urgent, she stopped talking nonsense and said, "Okay, then be careful."
The trouble was brought by Shidong, but Wenren Su not only did not blame her, but also helped her out. Lingzheng looked at Wenren Su deeply, then turned and looked out the window, remaining silent from beginning to end.
Fortunately, Wen Ren Su was also dressed in black. When he came down from Changsheng Pavilion, the guards did not become suspicious and rushed up to fight him.
Wen Rensu fought with ease. After estimating that Ling Zheng and Shi Dong had escaped successfully, he used his lightness skills to circle around several times, making sure he had gotten rid of them before returning to the guesthouse.
As soon as he entered the room, Wen Rensu saw Ling Zheng lying on the couch facing the wall, covered with a quilt, while Shi Dong was standing opposite him, leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest, his eyes closed.
Hearing the noise, Shi Dong opened his eyes, clasped his fists and said, "Thank you, Young Master Wenren, for rescuing me."
Wenren Su nodded and accepted her thanks.
Seeing Shi Dong looking at him hesitantly, Wen Ren Su asked, "Anything else?"
Shi Dong revealed her purpose of coming here: to look for her friend. Her friend was a disciple of the Qionglin School, and they had been communicating by carrier pigeons for a long time, but they had lost contact without any warning some time ago. Shi Dong felt something was wrong, so she came to investigate.
Wen Rensu asked, "Did you find it?"
Shi Dong shook her head. "The building is deserted." Her expression turned serious. "I've noticed something's not right with this Qionglin Sect."
"I'm very sensitive to fluctuations in the field. As soon as I stepped into the area of the disciples' quarters, I felt a vague sense of discomfort."
Field? Formation? A bird's-eye view of lanterns arranged along the road flashed through Wen Rensu's mind.
Shi Dong continued, "So I followed the flow of the field and went to an unfamiliar place. Then, guess who I met?"
She simply wanted to keep the question a secret, but unexpectedly, Wen Rensu immediately gave the answer: "Master."
Shi Dong was dumbfounded. Sensing the field was her special talent, so how did Wen Rensu know it?
Ling Zheng, who had remained silent, suddenly had his eyelids twitching and sat up from the couch.
Wen Rensu summoned his memory. He had shaken off the guards and gained a deep understanding of the streetlight arrangement. He could still clearly remember the position of each lantern. There were seven brighter ones.
Tianxuan, Tianji, Tianquan, Yuheng, Kaiyang, Yaoguang...are arranged exactly to form the position of the Big Dipper.
The answer had already emerged in his mind—the Seven Star Life-Sustaining Formation. The main light in the formation was constantly transmitting vitality, and the flames were naturally more dazzling than other confusing elements.
No, those secondary lights weren't just for confusion. Wen Rensu separated and reassembled the positions of the secondary lights and made a surprising discovery.
The auxiliary lights form a secret Jingxu trap formation. Why is it secret? Because it changes the angle and sets up nine layers in the same place.
If it weren't for Wenrensu's bug-like image analysis capabilities, it would be difficult to detect with the naked eye.
As the name suggests, the Jingxiu Confinement Array is a cluster of stars shaped like a net that can trap people's vitality. The center of this nine-layer confinement array is concentrated in the area of the disciples' rooms.
Such a grand arrangement could only be undertaken by the Sect Leader. No wonder the Qionglin Sect imposed a curfew, designed to prevent discovery by those with ulterior motives. It was truly diabolical. Wen Rensu's eyes narrowed, a look of indignation evident.
He quickly thought of Jiang Hui's special soul lamp. Could it be related to her?
Shi Dong shrugged: "I was evacuating from the headmaster and accidentally exposed myself. A group of people chased me all the way. It was a close call."
At this time, there was a knock on the door. Wen Rensu and Shi Dong looked at each other, and Shi Dong immediately hid behind the screen.
When he opened the door, he saw Elder Zheng's smiling face. "I'm sorry to bother you so late at night. Young Master Wenren, how are you and Young Master Jiang staying?"
Elder Zheng suspected them. But that was normal. After the guards exchanged intelligence, they must have known that two men in black had launched the attack tonight.
Because the sect leader and the guard of Changsheng Pavilion fainted almost at the same time, one person was unable to handle both.
In addition to his figure, Wen Rensu did not hide his strength, and his strength was so strong that one man could hold off ten thousand. Although Shi Dong was slightly smaller than Ling Zheng, he did not stand out under the cover of night.
And their origins were unknown, which confirmed the fact that they were the men in black.
Seeing that Elder Zheng didn't directly question him, Wen Rensu remained calm and said, "Thank you for your concern, Elder Zheng. The environment here is very good. My junior brother and I are ready to go to bed."
Saying this meant leaving. Elder Zheng seemed not to understand the hint and scurried in.
Hearing the approaching footsteps, Shidong's heart began to pound.
"Elder Zheng, if you have anything to say, let's talk about it tomorrow." Wen Rensu said calmly.
"Young Master Jiang is asleep?" Elder Zheng stopped in his tracks when he saw Ling Zheng lying down, and shook off some powder with his fingertips imperceptibly.
Ling Zheng's nose twitched slightly, and a faint fragrance drifted into his nostrils. He suddenly opened his eyes, "Hold your breath! It's the Drunken Immortal Powder!"
Zuixian Powder is a powerful drug specifically designed to treat martial artists. If Ling Zheng were truly a true disciple of the Wanjun Sect, he would have fainted by now.
Elder Zheng had no idea that Ling Zheng's body had been soaked in all kinds of strange toxins.
After Ling Zheng's reminder, Wen Rensu immediately held his breath and quickly took out the detoxification pill he had with him and swallowed it.
At this moment, there were several collision sounds from the inside of the screen, and Wen Rensu saw a strand of hair scattered on the ground outside the screen.
Shi Dong fainted.
Elder Zheng's eyes flashed, and he was about to fly over to check, but Wen Rensu kicked the wooden table in front of him. Elder Zheng had no choice but to stop and raise his palm to take the hit. With a loud "bang", the wooden table broke into two pieces.
One of the pieces flew in front of the couch, and Ling Zheng quickly got off the couch to avoid it. The broken wood hit the wall, sending up a cloud of dust.
Wen Rensu picked up his sword and engaged in a fight with Elder Zheng. Elder Zheng's martial arts were not like those of an upright martial artist, and he used all kinds of hidden weapons to pierce the guesthouse with holes.
Although Elder Zheng used all his skills, Wen Rensu was unbreakable because of his speed. He wielded his sword with great vigor and blocked all the hidden weapons a foot away.
Elder Zheng was very good at assessing the situation. After one round of fighting, he realized he couldn't break through Wen Rensu's defenses, so he made another verbal overture, his smile less natural than before:
"Young Master Wenren, please don't blame me. I'm just concerned. Since you don't want to, I'll leave."
Wen Rensu did not pursue the matter and made a farewell gesture, watching Elder Zheng walk away quickly while looking back and smiling flatteringly from time to time.
"Just let him go like that?" Ling Zheng walked over and said coldly.
Wen Rensu smiled slightly and said, "I want to turn the Qionglin Sect upside down. Are you coming?"
Ling Zheng is also a fearless person. He does not care about the life and death of his disciples, but the fact that the leader of the Qionglin School rashly changed his surname from "Jiang" to "Pan" is itself very suspicious.
He wanted to find out whether this had any connection with his mother, and even thought of a possibility: could it be that the arrest of his parents was not an accident, but the result of the intervention of the Qionglin faction?
"Okay." Ling Zheng said.
Wen Rensu woke Shi Dong and told her to destroy all the lanterns on the road within an hour. He simply explained the purpose of the formation, and Shi Dong agreed without hesitation.
The bedroom of the leader of the Qionglin Sect.
In the center of the study stood a white jade coffee table, with a pair of bronze animal-head incense burners on either side. Smoke curled up from the incense burners, emitting a faint scent of sandalwood.
On the tea table, a purple clay teapot had just been filled with hot tea. Pan Junhong, who was sitting in the main seat, took a sip from the teacup and said, "Elder Zheng, what do you think their purpose is?"
Elder Zheng sat on the opposite side, lowering his brows and speaking in a pleasant manner, "I've heard that in recent years, disciples of the Wanjun Sect have been repeatedly interfering in the 'operations' of various sects. I personally believe they're trying to meddle in other people's affairs."
"Oh?" Pan Junhong narrowed his eyes, his smile not reaching his eyes: "You are still young, so energetic."
Elder Zheng lowered his head even more. "Just now, I fought with the man named Wen Rensu. His strength is unfathomable."
Pan Junhong put down his teacup with a muffled sound. "No problem. I'll go meet them tomorrow."
Suddenly, a chaotic sound of footsteps was heard, and the headmaster's personal guard came running in from outside, looking panicked.
Elder Zheng scolded: "Why are you in such a hurry?"
Hearing this, a hint of displeasure flashed in Pan Junhong's eyes.
After the personal guard whispered a few words to Pan Junhong, his expression changed drastically, his eyes turned red and sinister, and there was no trace of the elegant scholar he had been before.
"How dare you, you little brat—"
Without paying attention to Elder Zheng, Pan Junhong leaped up and flew away. In a blink of an eye, his figure gradually faded away and disappeared.
When Pan Junhong arrived at the secret hinterland, the scene was already extremely chaotic.
In the darkness, a massive hole blasted through the earth, emitting a faint orange-red glow. A wave of intensely foul-smelling heat from underground twisted and swirled through the air, rushing towards them.
The two-story alchemy furnace that was painstakingly built was now smashed into pieces. The molten magma in the furnace flowed underground to form a hot pool, emitting bloody bubbles.
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