Chapter 787 Mythical Creatures
Ouyang Rong realized he had misunderstood something.
Combining the mysterious array covering Tiannan within the Yunmeng Sword Marsh revealed by Lu Ya and the Shangqing Ancestral Hall, and the characteristics of Blood Bronze that Rong Zhen had hinted at not long ago.
Regarding the Yunmeng Token made of blood bronze, his previous speculation was that the Yunmeng Token could mobilize part of the killing power of this mysterious array covering the south of the sky, or, to put it more radically, the sword energy of an unknown cauldron sword.
Its effect is the same as that of the Four Directions Buddha Statue plus the Heavenly Pivot Formation. Each Yunmeng Token is like a string of Buddhist beads issued by the Sage and the Wei Clan.
Clearly, Rong Zhen, who knew more about the Blood Bronze Sect's inner workings beforehand, shared the same idea he later had. From the very beginning, when he first discovered that Yunmeng Sword Marsh was widely issuing Yunmeng Tokens, Rong Zhen had been preparing his defenses based on this "worst-case scenario."
This includes pushing for the promulgation of the "Decree Restricting Women from Crossing the Rivers," using the severe punishment of exterminating nine generations of a family to intimidate the heroes of the Jianghu in Tiannan who carried the decree; petitioning to summon reinforcements from the Xuanwu Guard; and setting up a white mist formation to "restrain the Blood Bronze" at the Xunyang Grottoes, etc.
All of these defenses against the Donglin Buddha were based on this most obvious idea.
However, judging from the words of the Fang sisters, the Cloud Dream Tokens that were being distributed were not intended to transmit the killing power of the sword energy and other great formations, but rather to... absorb spiritual energy?
The Yue women, including Xuezhongzhu and Yu Nianyuan, did not intend for a large number of heroes to gather and attack the Donglin Buddha.
We don't need them to come.
It seems that the heroes who hold the tokens only need to stay in their homes all over the south, just like the Zen Master Yizhi just now, find a safe and quiet pavilion, and silently inject spiritual energy into the Yunmeng Tokens at the agreed time, injecting as much as they can.
In this way, there would be many people willing to respond to Jianze, and even the limited Yue Nu Order could not restrain them.
It's terrifying to think about.
In front of the Fang Family Manor gate, Ouyang Rong had already released the bronze short sword in his hand and stopped injecting spiritual energy into it.
His palms were sticky with sweat, and one could vaguely sense that the Cloud Dream Token was currently craving a massive amount of spiritual energy.
Ouyang Rong gazed intently into the direction of the twin peaks.
If this inference is correct, then there will be a problem.
What exactly is the purpose of this mysterious array that covers the southern part of the country?
Unlike the transmission of sword energy and killing power through the Songde Tianshu and the Four Directions Buddha Statue, it instead uses the Yunmeng Token as a medium to remotely draw massive amounts of spiritual energy from all over the Tiannan Jianghu region, absorbing it completely...
First of all, it is obvious that it was intended to deal with the Donglin Buddha, and it may be Yunmeng Jianze's trump card.
The fact that this batch of Yunmeng Tokens was issued on the eve of the completion of the Donglin Buddha clearly indicates what it was intended to target.
The Yunmeng Sword Essence was even openly distributed, spreading right under the noses of the Imperial Observatory.
But how is it supposed to do that?
Ouyang Rong frowned and pondered for a moment, then shook his head.
No matter what you do, this mysterious array in Yunmeng is absolutely different from other arrays such as the Four Directions Buddha Statue and the Praise Heaven Pivot.
I don't know if there's a tripod or sword similar to the one used by Emperor Wen inside, but there must be something else inside.
"Besides instructing those with spiritual energy to inject it on time, is there any other instruction for the Queen's Palace?"
Ouyang Rong snapped out of his daze and asked a question.
Fang Juxiu and Fang Shengnan exchanged a glance and shook their heads.
Ouyang Rong realized that the two sisters probably didn't have any spiritual energy cultivation yet, so they couldn't inject spiritual energy on time... No wonder they were running around everywhere.
Ouyang Rong glanced at the two women a few more times.
It was as if they were asking, "Aren't you afraid that Yunmeng Jianze will reprimand you for telling me all this?"
Fang raised her sleeves and spoke softly, looking at him with a complicated expression:
"You are indeed very different."
Fang Shengnan couldn't hold back any longer, and looked up, her eyes red-rimmed, saying:
"Go find the young mistress, hurry up! It turns out we've been worrying unnecessarily all along. Young Master Ouyang, you're right, you are indeed different from us. You are not only the governor of Jiangzhou, but also the brilliant and talented master of the Butterfly Love Flower, possessing the Mythical Sword... No wonder the young mistress likes you, she didn't entrust herself to the wrong person. This morning, she was so insistent, my sister and I couldn't bear to watch anymore... We misunderstood you."
She suddenly clenched her fist and touched Ouyang Rong's shoulder, as if to encourage him.
Ouyang Rong pursed his lips, turned around and left, boarding the carriage.
Just as the carriage was about to start moving, Fang Juxiu suddenly asked:
"Could we go with them and take a look?"
Ouyang Rong glanced at the Yunmeng Tokens in their hands and said, "Shuangfengjian may be in danger. Besides finding Xiu Niang, I also have some grudges to settle."
"It's alright, you do your thing and don't worry about us. My sister and I will not bother you, we'll just follow from a distance and take a look."
Fang Shengnan hurriedly waved her hand, noticing a slightly strange look from Ouyang Rong. She explained shyly:
"We just... we just wanted to see the scenery of the martial world firsthand. Young Master Ouyang, we don't have your abilities; we still need to mature. But if we could see you overcome all obstacles and successfully find your mistress, it would be some consolation. It's like something we ourselves longed for but couldn't achieve; if someone else could do it for us, it would be good to just watch..."
Fang Shengnan looked at the young man in the scholar's robe in front of her, her expression somewhat excited, and she subconsciously began to gesticulate wildly:
“Young Master Ouyang, my mother’s experiences and lessons may be correct, but what you have done today has also made me realize that my aspirations back then were not wrong. There really are people who can wear green robes and carry swords, heading north all the way, speaking out against injustice. It’s not just a story in books, but right before our eyes. The elders are not necessarily all right.”
Ouyang Rong looked at the two sisters and pursed her lips.
Fang Shengnan looked away somewhat embarrassedly, not daring to look too long into Ouyang Rong's clear eyes as he listened intently.
"Young Master Ouyang may not understand this feeling. That's true. Young Master Ouyang has never been one to look up from below; he has always been one to go up on stage himself."
"Prepare the horses."
"What?" Fang Shengnan was stunned.
"Prepare the horses and follow, be careful."
Leaving behind a warning, Ouyang Rong lowered the carriage curtain, and the carriage immediately started, taking the shortest official road towards Xunyang Grottoes.
Fang Shengnan and Fang Juxiu exchanged a glance, feeling somewhat excited, and went to fetch their horses to follow.
Ouyang Rong ignored the Fang sisters and returned to the carriage. He placed the cup of bitter tea, which had gone cold, on the small table. This cup of tea had been brought from the pavilion, and everyone had been puzzled but dared not ask any questions.
Yan Liulang had put the zither case back beforehand, and Ouyang Rong immediately opened it and began searching for an authentic scroll.
They also found a string of eighteen-bead Buddhist prayer beads, which Rongzhen had given to her aunt Zhen Shuyuan.
"Little Rongzi, are we going to get into a fight?"
A tiny ink sprite peeked out from Ouyang Rong's sleeve, its little face full of curiosity.
Ouyang Rong glanced at her sideways.
Miao Si jumped onto Ouyang Rong's shoulder, put her hands behind her back, and circled around his neck once:
"I just cut off that stupid bald monk's finger, and he looks quite handsome. No wonder he's my follower."
Just as Ouyang Rong was about to tuck her into his sleeve, Miao Si's small face suddenly turned solemn:
"Xiao Rongzi, that cave, is it where the imperial court and the Yue women are going to fight? If you go there, be careful. It seems like both sides have a grudge against you. Don't get chased and beaten up by them."
She abruptly changed the subject, saying with feigned seriousness:
"No, as this fairy's follower, you can't be bullied by outsiders. Wait a moment, I'll give you something."
Little Mo Jing darted back into his sleeve in a flash, and a moment later, he carried out three bamboo tubes and tossed them into Ouyang Rong's hands.
Ouyang Rong looked puzzled at first, then realized what was happening, grabbed three tubes of spirit ink, examined them carefully, and looked surprised.
He was given three tubes of precious spiritual ink at once.
Ouyang Rong frowned as he looked at Miao Si.
Little Mo looked around, but couldn't make eye contact with him.
"Alright, you should focus on defending yourself. I'll stand by and watch for now. I'll make my move when you're beaten so badly you can't find your way back and are running away with your tail between your legs. Until then, don't bother me."
Miaosi, with her hands behind her back, was about to slip away.
In the next instant, Ouyang Rong grabbed her and held her in front of his face.
The scholar-robed youth, who had finally figured out something, looked sternly at the flustered little ink spirit:
"So you were just slacking off all this time, huh? Only doing it in emergencies, just to keep me fed?"
"No way! This fairy comes by feeling. If I don't feel it, I can't squeeze it out."
Ouyang Rong nodded: "Producing spirit ink is your task. You can't produce it only when you have feelings, just like a courtesan can't receive guests only when she has feelings."
"Hmm, that makes sense. Wait, are you saying this fairy is a prostitute?"
Miao Si touched her chin, suddenly realized what was happening, and immediately became furious.
Just then, the carriage suddenly began to "bump," but unlike the previous side-to-side swaying, this "bump" was up and down, like jumping.
"My lord! The ground is shaking, it feels like an earth dragon!"
Yan Liulang's urgent voice came from outside.
Ouyang Rong tossed the little ink spirit that was about to bite his finger back into his sleeve, then suddenly lifted the curtain. He saw that his and Liu Lang's caravan was not far from Shuangfengjian.
At that moment, the entire ground and forest trembled, and birds in the forest were startled and took to the air. This scene was like an earth dragon turning over.
Ouyang Rong suddenly looked up at the sky, as if remembering something.
It was just past the second quarter of the hour of Wei.
Ouyang Rong suddenly turned his head and looked in a certain direction. Yan Liulang, the Fang sisters, and others outside also noticed the abnormality and looked in the direction of Ouyang Rong's gaze.
Not far away, on the surface of the Shuangfengjian River, shrouded in white mist, a column of water shot into the sky.
The water column rose from nowhere, like a giant rock falling from the sky and crashing into the river between the north and south banks of Shuangfengjian.
In an instant, the earth shook.
...
The insect girl took off from an unknown, pitch-black place.
Carrying something.
It looks like something it took there.
That place was deep within the Yunmeng Marsh, but the exact location was forgotten by the insect girl.
It's as if something has erased my memory.
However, the object carried by the three claws made it feel somewhat uneasy.
The insect girl tightened her grip on a certain wet thing on her claws.
It didn't know how long it had been flying; it was simply following some strange guidance.
The insect girl traversed thousands of mountains and rivers, flew over Yunmeng Marsh, flew over Longcheng County, and flew over Xunyang City.
Finally, we flew to Twin Peaks.
...
Xunyang Grottoes, inside the main grotto.
The remaining nanny, Song, Yi Qianqiu, and others discovered that since Ouyang Rong "defected" and fled, Princess Zhenxian Rongzhen seemed to have become a completely different person.
However, no one dared to provoke her.
After returning the white jade prayer beads, the old musician carried his zither back to the bamboo grove, seemingly preparing to leave.
In the words of the old musician, Rongzhen has already broken free from appearances and is no longer attached to appearances. He can now control the core of the Donglin Buddha formation on his own.
Yi Qianqiu, Granny Song, and the others fell silent and proceeded with the deployment of defenses according to plan.
Not long ago, the old musician's music had no effect, causing everyone to frown.
At least at that time, there was no trace of the rebels from the Jianghu in southern China around Xunyang Grottoes.
At this moment, Wei Wu dared not provoke trouble, so he turned around to arrange manpower and receive news from within the city.
However, the grotto is currently under Rongzhen's order to be sealed off, so some news cannot be transmitted for the time being.
Wei Wu also led his men to participate in the defense of the Buddha, since the Donglin Buddha was a political achievement of the Prince of Wei's mansion.
At one point, Yi Qianqiu turned around and glanced in the direction of the high platform.
A striking purple figure, with long, flowing black hair, sat alone on a high platform, cold and desolate.
A golden halo surrounded her.
The palace-dressed girl with her long, flowing black hair seemed lost in thought, looking down at a jade hairpin in her hand.
No one dared to approach and ask questions.
At this moment, at the second quarter of the hour of Wei (1-3 PM), the warning sounded outside the main grotto from armored soldiers.
There's something in the sky!
Rong Zhen stood up, surrounded by a dense golden light, her cold eyes narrowed, and she looked up at the sky.
Yi Qianqiu, Granny Song, Wei Wu, and the others all looked up warily.
The female officials and soldiers inside and outside the main grotto mustered their spirits to fight the enemy.
Sure enough, a dark shadow flew past in the clouds above.
It looks like a three-legged monster bird.
There was no one on the bird's back, no tall, blonde orchid-like figure, but it seemed to be holding something in its hand, much smaller than its body, which looked like a...
The crowd looked puzzled, unable to see clearly.
At this moment, high in the sky, facing the pairs of puzzled gazes, the Insect Girl's vertically sized eyes were incredibly cold.
It lowered its head slightly, its cold brown pupils reflecting the strange "white sturgeon" that it was gripping with its three legs.
The white sturgeon, which Li Shu named "Da Bai," is slightly different today.
Right now, "Big White" is shining with a bronze luster, somewhat stiff, bleeding from its seven orifices, and looks like it has eaten too much, with its belly bulging.
The bronze sturgeon was being held by the insect girl's three legs, its tail swaying slightly in the fierce wind, barely alive, as if it would die at any moment.
High above the clouds, the Insect Girl flew indifferently over the Buddha statue, released her claws, and gently tossed "Big White" aside, like a naughty little girl casually tossing a discarded toy to the side of the road... The Insect Girl leaped over the twin peaks and never looked back.
Inside the main grotto, Rongzhen, Granny Song, and other sharp-eyed people noticed that the strange bird that had come alone seemed to have left behind something tiny.
It was very small, like a slightly larger pebble, falling into the river in front of the Donglin Buddha in a parabolic arc.
With a "plop".
The sound of it falling into the water was faint, barely causing any waves. The thick river fog completely obscured it, so even the nearest female officials and soldiers couldn't see what it was.
It looks like... a fish? Or a piece of iron?
At the foot of the Buddha, the atmosphere was quiet, and all eyes were fixed on the quiet spot where the Buddha had fallen into the water.
Is this... Yunmeng Jianze's surprise attack today?
Throwing a fish at someone?
The girl in palace attire frowned coldly, clutching her white jade prayer beads tightly.
Wei Wu and the others exchanged glances, their expressions filled with confusion.
After watching for a while, Granny Song scoffed, "Ha, playing tricks."
Yi Qianqiu remained calm and gave his subordinates a wink. A female official who was nearby led several armored soldiers to the riverbank.
They boarded the boat and sailed into the quiet river mist to check the situation at that spot on the river... The boat was moored, the water was inspected, and time passed by, with everything proceeding as usual.
Wei Wu, Yi Qianqiu, and the others exchanged glances, just about to breathe a sigh of relief.
The next instant.
The water surged thousands of feet, capsizing ships, sending female officials flying backwards, and armored soldiers spitting blood, screaming and wailing.
To everyone's astonishment, a creature a hundred feet long emerged from the white misty river. At first glance, it resembled a fish, and its entire body was pure white.
The "fish" was enormous, only slightly shorter than the Donglin Buddha, and it was agile and ferocious—it was actually a living creature!
Upon clearly seeing its shape and appearance, the people on the shore were shocked, as if they had witnessed some terrifying creature descending:
It was a white dragon from mythology!
"Bah!"
A roar, like the cry of a dragon.
It crashed into the Buddha with its body.
(End of this chapter)
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