Chapter 1007 Teasing Zhi Shuang
Ouyang Rong recalled a sentence Chen Jiaxin had said to him before he left that morning.
She had a feeling that Yun Xiangyi would be back soon.
At his desk, Ouyang Rong stroked his chin, pondered for a long time, then closed his eyes and placed his hand on the snow-white longsword.
In the next instant, strange things began to happen inside the Merit Pagoda. The Blessing Bell began to emit a small amount of purple mist. The mist was pure in color and did not appear as usual when blessings were given out. Instead, it had another purpose.
Ouyang Rong, in particular, did not show any surprise, as if he had expected it all along.
Along with the abnormality of the Merit Tower within his mind, in reality, wisps of purple mist slowly emerged from nowhere, flowing along Ouyang Rong's arm like a snake, and gradually extending to his sword, Zhi Shuang.
The snow-white longsword, which already appeared to be on its last legs, vibrated with a "clang" and then slowly rose up, hovering in the air for a moment. This scene vaguely resembled a female prisoner being tortured after falling into enemy hands, arching her back like a shrimp, even though the feeling was very strong.
Immediately, with a "shaking" sound, the snow-white longsword fell back onto the table, as if it had completely collapsed and given up all resistance.
The purple mist surged instantly and then smoothly covered Zhi Shuang's entire body... In fact, it didn't resist for very long; it was more like a symbolic resistance... In the next instant, the merit purple mist successfully entered the sword.
Ouyang Rong closed his eyes, as if his mind was connected to the purple mist, and together with them, he entered a special place.
Because merit is not easy to obtain, he decided to be frugal. This time, he did not mobilize too much merit purple mist, spending only a little over a hundred. Whether he will continue to invest in it remains to be seen.
However, the daily routine of scaring Lady Zhishuang is still indispensable.
Moreover, Ouyang Rong always chose different times, intending to catch her off guard.
After all, even if you are prepared, there's no way to guard against thieves for a thousand days.
A slight smile appeared on the lips of the taciturn young man at the table.
At the same time, the purple mist had penetrated deep into the sword, reaching a strange area where there seemed to be a ball of white light, a familiar white light, snow-white with a hint of purple.
Ouyang Rong skillfully used the telepathic communication talisman, subtly manipulating the purple mist to approach the white ball of light in front of him, which contained the familiar spiritual energy of Lady Zhi Shuang.
This is an important restriction she left on her sword, which can be seen as a bond between the sword and its wielder.
It was by taking advantage of the restriction hidden deep within the sword, combined with the unpredictable and eerie nature of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, that Lady Zhi Shuang pulled his projection into the illusion of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and Ouyang Rong almost did not make it back alive.
Fortunately, the projection of [Humble Scholar] followed along, and Ouyang Rong also managed to comprehend the second stage of [Emperor Wen's] divine power, thus breaking free from the predicament. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Ouyang Rong glanced silently at the ball of light.
Now, he is using this sword and its owner's restrictions to repay them in kind, which can be considered karmic retribution.
However, without the aid of a rare artifact like the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Ouyang Rong could only go alone. He took the initiative to go there and used the purple mist of merit to construct a projection to disturb Lady Zhi Shuang's state of mind from time to time, turning it into some kind of nightmare for her.
However, Ouyang Rong had a plan: to use the Merit Tower in his mind to replace the function of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and to "pull" Lady Zhishuang from afar, forcing her to project herself into his territory.
It's similar to the situation Ouyang Rong was in when he was ambushed by Xue Zhongzhu late at night.
Being dragged to enemy territory where they knew no one, and fighting on foreign soil, put them at a significant disadvantage.
This is undoubtedly the safest method.
However, Ouyang Rong never tried, nor was he willing to try, even if it meant expending more merit.
Ouyang Rong wasn't sure if the Merit Pagoda had a similar function to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, but he knew in his heart that the Merit Pagoda was one of his biggest secrets and could not be easily exposed, not even to his "defeated opponent," Lady Zhi Shuang.
So I simply never tried this method, because the Pagoda of Merit cannot be exposed to even the slightest risk.
Since there was no way to bring anyone over, Ouyang Rong would have to go there himself.
At this moment, Ouyang Rong, who had regained his senses, sat in his seat with his eyes closed and drew a talisman with one hand. A standard Kui Xing talisman was drawn out of thin air by him. In an instant, the merit purple mist that had entered the sword suddenly rushed forward and covered the light ball restriction.
In the next instant, Ouyang Rong felt himself in a place filled with thunderclouds, but he didn't know where he was.
He could see thick fog beneath his feet and lightning flashing overhead, as if a violent storm was about to strike.
Ouyang Rong, however, was somewhat used to this environment, as he had been here several times before... Just two days ago, he had also poured merit into the snow-white longsword in the same way, and it was the same situation.
Ouyang Rong looked around with practiced ease and found that there were indeed no major changes. Reassured, he looked down at his own body and saw the familiar purple mist still swirling around him.
Its entire body was constructed from the purple mist of merit, which was quite magical.
Ouyang Rong raised his hand and touched his face. Although it wasn't his first time here, he still found it quite novel.
After taking stock, Ouyang Rong turned his gaze and his eyes fell on a trembling figure not far away.
She was a tall, blonde woman with long, flowing hair, holding a trembling, snow-white longsword, and staring straight at him.
She was also an old acquaintance of Ouyang Rong, Lady Zhi Shuang.
At this moment, her entire body was also surrounded by purple mist, which "bound" her body like shackles.
The origin of the Purple Mist of Merit lies with Ouyang Rong.
The two were thus connected by a strange purple mist.
At this moment, streaks of lightning flashed across the sky and earth covered by thunderclouds, as if an unimaginable thunderstorm was about to arrive.
It seems he succeeded again this time.
The projection was successfully brought in, and the candle in the snow was also pulled into this nightmare.
Besides the thunder, there are some other details here. The fake body on Ouyang Rong's body has disappeared, and in its place is a loose Confucian robe.
Although the surrounding fog was very thick, the outlines of some Buddha statues could be vaguely seen deep in the fog, and many human figures stood in the fog, especially behind Lady Zhishuang, where the shadow of a dragon could be faintly seen.
However, these figures were all blurry, like newly carved white marble statues, with details not yet fully developed, and far less clear than the figures of Ouyang Rong and Xue Zhongzhu.
These Buddha statues, dragons, and human figures looked somewhat familiar to Ouyang Rong.
If he remembered correctly, this place was built based on the Xunyang Grottoes.
This dragon was none other than the white sturgeon that crashed into the Buddha statue at Xunyang Grottoes. The figures around it were also those of the two sides in the conflict, including female officials, armored soldiers, and Wu Daozi, Wei Shaoqi, Du Shuqing, and others.
This illusion was not created by Ouyang Rong.
It is a nightmare, or dream, that naturally arises from the consciousness of the candle in the snow.
Back in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Ouyang Rong, following the second stage of Emperor Wen's supernatural power, "One Hundred and Eight Bells Ringing," "accidentally" entered the nightmare of the Heart Tribulation of the Candle in the Snow.
This is exactly the scene.
This is not a coincidence, it is inevitable.
Ouyang Rong nodded slightly, turned around, and looked at the lone figure of the woman holding a sword in front of him.
Although he was unarmed, Xue Zhongzhu's imposing presence with his sword was completely overwhelming.
However, entering the illusion of the Heart Tribulation of Snow Candle, and even pulling her in, was not without its price.
Every minute and every second, merit is being deducted; this is the merit purple mist being consumed rapidly.
Realizing this, Ouyang Rong didn't waste any more time.
He raised his head and walked directly toward the candle in the snow ahead.
The tall, blonde oriental woman, whose mind was suddenly drawn to this place, trembled violently and almost fell backward.
Although she was holding a sharp blade, she staggered back a few steps as Ouyang Rong approached unarmed.
In the past, if this reaction were in reality, especially with other people watching, Xue Zhongzhu would have considered it an insult, felt ashamed and embarrassed, and would have found it completely unbearable.
But at this moment, trapped in this incredibly realistic nightmare of inner turmoil, she could not deceive herself or conceal her true feelings. At this moment, Xue Zhongzhu retreated almost reflexively, completely unable to control her steps.
Ouyang Rong continued walking straight toward Xuezhongzhu without stopping.
The latter retreated relentlessly, like a lamb on the grassland encountering a pack of wolves—a reaction from the depths of its bones, without the slightest hint of stubbornness or pretense.
At that moment, as they drew closer, Ouyang Rong's gaze met hers, revealing a complex mix of emotions.
It was still that same look in his eyes, filled with fear, anger, and helplessness.
Ouyang Rong had met her a few days ago. At that time, in order to lure Yun Xiangyi out, and with Chen Jiaxin's plan failing, Ouyang Rong had no choice but to take matters into his own hands. On the way to the water prison, he took out his snow-white longsword and activated this pre-prepared plan. The effect was obvious and highly effective...
At that time, Lady Zhi Shuang was also dragged to this place of heart-wrenching tribulation by his purple mist, and she saw him in the same terror.
Ouyang Rong still remembers that look in his eyes.
From that day forward, Ouyang Rong routinely channeled purple mist into his snow-white longsword and pulled her inside, doing the same thing over and over.
It's normal for Xuezhongzhu to reflexively retreat, because the reason why mental tribulations are mental tribulations is that if you face your true self, you will be bound by it, and it will be the biggest obstacle in your heart.
What is a hurdle? It is something that cannot be overcome, therefore it is a hurdle.
Therefore, in a sense, within this space of inner turmoil and nightmare, no matter how powerful Xue Zhongzhu is in reality, she cannot defeat Ouyang Rong. This is because the latter, due to the incident where she was crushed in the Xunyang Grottoes, has become her inner demon, much like a deep-seated imprint on her mind...
Furthermore, the constant presence of lightning within this inner demonic illusion reveals that Xue Zhongzhu has not yet escaped the battle at Xunyang Grottoes, especially the awe-inspiring scene of Ouyang Rong withstanding the heavenly lightning.
As for the claim that "she is invincible in the nightmare illusion," Ouyang Rong had already tried it many times in the past few days. No matter how they fought, Xue Zhongzhu would "naturally" lose to him, leaving the stubborn and violent Xue Zhongzhu no choice but to bow her head, although Xue Zhongzhu would most likely still be unconvinced.
Each time, Ouyang Rong would "teach" her while wasting some time, waiting until the merit purple mist was consumed to the planned amount before immediately leaving the place and withdrawing.
So, being pulled back into this place again and seeing Ouyang Rong walking towards him once more, Xue Zhongzhu had no choice but to retreat. This was truly a rather frustrating and tragic situation.
Right now, Xue Zhongzhu was backing away while glaring at Ouyang Rong with the same familiar look in his eyes. Although his emotions weren't as intense as they had been a few days ago, they were still pretty much the same. Ouyang Rong remembered this very well.
But after taking only a few steps, just as Ouyang Rong and Xue Zhongzhu were getting closer and closer, the former suddenly stopped.
This sudden action caused Xue Zhongzhu's sword to tremble. She subconsciously thought that Ouyang Rong was about to rush over, but then she froze for a moment.
The hateful face in front of them vanished without a trace, and the figure disappeared from the spot as if it had never existed.
The purple mist chains binding her gradually loosened, faded, and turned into specks of light.
Has that thief... left?
This surprised Xue Zhongzhu greatly. He looked around and indeed there was no one in sight.
At the same time, the entire pure white space filled with lightning and thunder gradually dissipated, like a marble statue turning into a sandcastle on a beach, slowly fading away in the wind.
However, what the departed person didn't know was that the tall, blonde woman, who should have looked relieved and happy, now had a face full of regret and displeasure, as if she had missed something important that she had been preparing for a long time:
"He got away... Strange, how did he know there was danger... Wait, could it be because of something else, or by accident, that he left... Damn it, it was such a good opportunity..."
Within the nightmare that was about to dissipate, the woman's murmurs echoed.
On the other side, at the desk, Ouyang Rong opened his eyes again.
He glanced at the snow-white longsword on the table, and the hand that had been resting on it was now removed.
It is unclear when, but the infusion of merit-based purple mist ceased.
Ouyang Rong remained calm and went into the Merit Pagoda to check the writing on the small wooden fish.
[Merit: 1,351]
Today, approximately 150 points of merit purple mist were injected, far less than the previous two days.
Ouyang Rong's eyes showed a hint of satisfaction.
Two days ago, he injected the merit purple mist as planned, and once the quota was used up, he left. However, today, for the purpose of saving, he planned to use much less merit purple mist.
Although the trip wasn't very enjoyable, the main goal was to scare Xue Zhongzhu and delay Yun Xiangyi's return. The duration of the Merit Purple Mist injection wasn't very important, and doing so could also subtly reduce some risks.
So after using up his 150 merit points, Ouyang Rong decisively left without wasting any more merit points.
Ouyang Rong nodded slowly, his expression quite satisfied with his action of putting knowledge into practice this time.
However, at this moment, he was unaware that in a secluded place deep within the Sword Swamp, the atmosphere was deathly silent.
(End of this chapter)
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