Chapter 29: Seal of Evil Suppression
Chu Yun, Li Ge, and Mo Li gathered around two objects on the ground—the incomplete blueprint and the token belonging to Shadow Pavilion. "Shadow Pavilion..." Li Ge muttered to herself, looking at the token. "They haven't been completely wiped out." A hint of deep fear flashed in her eyes. "What exactly is the origin of this organization?" Chu Yun asked. He could sense that Li Ge seemed to have an unusual understanding of the name. "I don't know either," Li Ge shook her head, a hint of bitterness on her face. "I only know that the decline of the Ghost Doctor lineage is inextricably linked to them. My master disappeared because of his investigation into Shadow Pavilion." Chu Yun and Mo Li exchanged a glance, each seeing shock in the other's eyes. They hadn't expected this mysterious organization to have such a connection with the Ghost Doctor lineage. "It seems we have a common enemy," Chu Yun said in a deep voice. Li Ge said nothing, only silently nodded. Chu Yun's gaze shifted from the token to the half-burned blueprint. He reached out and carefully picked it up. The material of the blueprint was very special, neither gold nor paper, and it felt soft to the touch, like a piece of jade. On it, with extremely precise brushstrokes, was drawn a diagram of the structure of a complex energy core. Chu Yun was extremely familiar with this structural diagram. It was almost identical to the runes on the back of his black jade pendant. No, that's not right. Chu Yun's pupils suddenly shrank. He found that the structure on this blueprint was much more complete than that on his jade pendant! He immediately took out the complete black jade pendant made up of two halves from his pocket again, placed the jade pendant and the blueprint together, and compared them carefully. "What's wrong?" Mo Li couldn't help but ask when he saw that his expression was different. "This... this blueprint..." Chu Yun's voice was a little dry, "It's not the complete form of the jade pendant. It... it seems to be just a part of this thing." As he spoke, he stretched out his finger and pointed to the most core position on the blueprint, "Look here." Li Ge and Mo Li both came over. They saw that at the core of the blueprint, three simple, Taoist-inspired seal characters were clearly marked: Zhen, Xie, and Yin. "Zhen Xie Yin?" Li Ge pronounced the words, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes. "What is this?" "It's the legendary... supreme magical weapon of my Zhen Xie Division." Chu Yun's voice trembled, even slightly, unnoticed. "Legend has it that the first generation of the Zhen Xie Division, in order to suppress the ancient demon that ravaged the six realms, expended the entire sect's might, supplemented by the first...
Chu Yun, Li Ge and Mo Li gathered around the two things on the ground - the incomplete blueprint and the token belonging to Shadow Pavilion.
"Shadow Pavilion..." Li Ge looked at the token and muttered to herself, "They have not been completely wiped out." A trace of deep fear flashed in her eyes.
"What is the origin of this organization?" Chu Yun asked. He could sense that Li Ge seemed to have an extraordinary understanding of this name.
"I don't know either." Li Ge shook his head, a trace of bitterness on his face. "I only know that the decline of the Ghost Doctor lineage is inextricably linked to them. My master disappeared because he was investigating the Shadow Pavilion."
Chu Yun and Mo Li exchanged a glance, each seeing shock in the other's eyes. They hadn't expected this mysterious organization to have such a connection with the Ghost Doctor lineage.
"It seems that we have a common enemy." Chu Yun said in a deep voice.
Li Ge didn't say anything, just nodded silently.
Chu Yun's gaze shifted from the token to the half-burned blueprint. He reached out and carefully picked it up. The blueprint was made of a unique material, neither gold nor paper, yet smooth to the touch, like a piece of jade. Using an extremely precise brushstroke, it depicted the complex structure of an energy core.
Chu Yun was extremely familiar with this structural diagram. It was almost identical to the rune on the back of his black jade pendant.
No, that's not right.
Chu Yun's pupils suddenly shrank. He discovered that the structure on the blueprint was much more complete than that on his jade pendant! He immediately pulled out the complete black jade pendant made up of two halves from his pocket again, placed the jade pendant and the blueprint together, and compared them carefully.
"What's wrong?" Mo Li saw that he looked strange and couldn't help asking.
"This...this blueprint..." Chu Yun's voice was a little dry. "It's not the complete form of the jade pendant. It...it seems to be just a part of this thing."
He said, pointing his finger at the core of the drawing, "Look here."
Li Ge and Mo Li both came over. They saw that at the core of the blueprint, three simple, Taoist-inspired seal characters were clearly marked: Zhen, Xie, and Yin.
"Evil-Suppressing Seal?" Li Ge read out these three words, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes, "What is this?"
"It's the legendary... supreme magical weapon of my Suppression of Evil Division." Chu Yun's voice trembled even slightly, even though he himself wasn't aware of it. "Legend has it that the first generation of the Suppression of Evil Division, in order to suppress the ancient demon that ravaged the six realms, mobilized the entire sect's power, supplemented by the mechanical skills of the first generation of Mohist masters, to create a magical weapon of supreme power. This magical weapon is... the Suppression of Evil Seal. It is also the core of that huge seal."
Chu Yun looked at the drawings and jade pendant in his hands. A huge mystery that had troubled him for thirteen years finally had a clue at this moment.
"I always thought the jade pendant my father left me was the complete Evil-Suppressing Seal. But now I realize... I was wrong, completely wrong." He pointed at the blueprint, his voice filled with immense shock. "This jade pendant isn't the true form of the Evil-Suppressing Seal at all. It's merely... one of its three core components! It's the 'key' used to restrain and guide the Seal's immense power!"
"And what's drawn on this blueprint is the second core component of the Evil Suppression Seal. It's the 'source' that provides energy for the entire Evil Suppression Seal!"
"What about the third one?" Mo Li asked subconsciously.
"The third one..." Chu Yun's eyes fell on the "Heavenly Heart" he had just obtained, which was still emitting a warm glow in his hand. A bold, yet extremely reasonable guess emerged in his mind.
"The third component of the Dao-suppressing Artifact is this, the 'Heart of Heavenly Craftsmanship' forged by the first generation of the Evil-Suppressing Seal and the first generation of the Mohist master! It is the 'hub' that carries and transforms all the power of the Evil-Suppressing Seal!"
"Key, Source, Hub. Only when they are united as one can they form a complete, true... Seal to Suppress Evil!"
After Chu Yun finished speaking, he leaned against the wall behind him as if all his strength had been drained away. The shock this truth brought to him was too great.
Li Ge and Mo Li were equally stunned by this shocking secret, speechless. They finally understood the true purpose of Shadow Pavilion's massive effort and elaborate scheme—they weren't trying to absorb the Demon King's power, but to seize the Evil-Suppressing Seal and control the massive seal that held the ancient demon in check!
"Why would they do this?" Mo Li's voice trembled. "What good would controlling the seal bring to them?"
"I don't know." Chu Yun shook his head. "Maybe they want to release the demon king and cause chaos in the world. Maybe they have a bigger plan that we can't imagine. But no matter what, we must stop them."
"But...how do we stop them?" Li Ge's face showed a confused look for the first time, "We don't even know what their next target will be."
"Yes, we do." A gleam of light flashed in Chu Yun's eyes. He pointed at the incomplete blueprint and said, "Although half of this blueprint was burned, some information is still left on it. Come and take a look."
Mo Li took the blueprint and carefully observed the energy circuits on it that were finer than a hair.
"This... this isn't my Mohist technique. While it mimics the structure of an energy circuit, its essence is a type of sorcerous sacrificial rune I've never seen before. It absorbs... souls."
"What?" Chu Yun and Li Ge were shocked at the same time.
"That's right." Mo Li's expression was extremely solemn. "The 'source' represented by this diagram doesn't derive its energy from the primordial energy of heaven and earth, nor from the spiritual energy of the earth veins, but from countless pure, innocent souls."
"And in the corner of this drawing," Mo Li pointed to a burnt area that was a little blurry, "I also saw a very strange mark."
It was a mark made up of twisted lines, resembling the profile of a sleeping person.
"I seem to have seen this mark... somewhere before." Li Ge stared at it, her brow furrowed, as if she were trying to recall something. Suddenly, her expression changed drastically: "I remember! This is... the mark of 'Nightmare'!"
"nightmare?"
"It's an ancient evil creature recorded in the ancient texts of the Ghost Doctor sect." Li Ge's voice was tinged with deep fear. "It has no physical form, existing in people's dreams, feeding on negative emotions like fear, regret, and despair. It creates a mental prison, forever trapping the soul in its most painful memories, until... it drains all of its life force."
"And its favorite targets are those... villages with pure hearts. Because it feels that kind of 'food' tastes the sweetest."
Everyone's heart sank. They all understood Shadow Pavilion's next plan—they would use "Nightmare" to collect a large number of pure souls to power the "Source," the second core component of the Evil Suppression Seal. And the vague mark on the incomplete blueprint was the clue to their next destination.
"We must find that village before them." Chu Yun's voice was firm.
"But... we don't even know where that village is." Mo Li said.
"No, I know." Chu Yun looked at the "Heart of Heaven" in his hand. He could feel that this "hub" connected to his bloodline was providing him with a faint, yet incredibly clear guidance. It was guiding him to find the other two components that belonged to it.
He closed his eyes and took in the situation carefully. After a long while, he slowly opened his eyes and looked towards the distant south.
"I know where to go. In a village...known for 'nightmares'."
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