old acquaintance
A sharp pain shot through her head, and the scene before her blurred like ripples on the water. Wen Zheng tried desperately to see what she was saying, but could only close her eyes helplessly.
When she awoke from the pain, she returned to the lakeside where she had seen the blue peacock. The blue peacock was still preening its feathers and did not look away from Wen Zheng's arrival.
Wen Zheng, clutching her throbbing head, sat down next to the blue peacock and began to recall everything she had seen in the magic circle.
When she entered the dream at Aoxue Peak, she could vaguely confirm that she was the original body. In the magic array, she saw that she seemed to be controlled by someone and made a deal with Qingling Daoist in a dangerous situation.
What kind of deal will it be?
Wen Zheng racked her brains, but couldn't come up with any clues.
After sitting quietly by the lake and enjoying the breeze for a while, Wen Zheng asked the blue peacock, "Does this mean I've passed through the magic array?"
The blue peacock did not answer, but preened its feathers with its long, thin beak.
Wen Zheng sighed as she looked at the blue peacock that she couldn't communicate with at all. Anyway, she had already gotten out, so she could be considered to have made it through.
So now the only goal is to deal with the other person trapped inside the feather fan.
The thought that the person could injure the Vermilion Bird City Lord's cultivation level gave Wen Zheng a headache. How could she, a Golden Core cultivator, always encounter such things? Was challenging those above her level her destiny?
For the sake of her own life, Wen Zheng wanted to try to break through to the Nascent Soul stage again.
The last time was just an accident; this time she will definitely succeed.
She sat cross-legged and began to control the spiritual energy in her dantian, intending to break through in one go.
Meanwhile, Li Ruyue, who had been trapped inside the feather fan for an unknown period of time, finally woke up from her endless nightmare memories and remembered her identity.
Li Ruyue, the law enforcement elder of the Changsheng Sect.
She struck the person who walked in front of her to death with a single blow, her eyes filled with rage. "Ha, what a disgusting formation. Why does it have to remind me of these things?"
As she spoke, she suddenly reached out and grabbed the little girl in front of her by the neck, her mouth stained with blood and laced with cruelty. "Little sister, thanks to this formation, I almost forgot about you."
Her hand tightened, and the little girl died right before her eyes, calling out "sister" as she died.
Li Ruyue tossed the little girl aside like trash, her chilling eyes sweeping over the people who were about to pounce on her, and she dealt with them one by one.
She didn't have time to waste with this group of people; getting out of there was her only goal right now.
Li Ruyue looked around and found a weakness in the formation. She tore a small opening in it and jumped in.
The Suzaku City Lord, who was meditating outside, suddenly opened his eyes and exclaimed, "Not good!"
Xiao Ze: "What's wrong? What's wrong?"
Mu Qing walked to the feather fan with a cold face and said, "I want to go in."
Wen Zheng has been inside for so long, her fate unknown. The Vermilion Bird City Lord's expression has turned so grim; something must have happened.
"Don't panic," the Lord of Vermilion Bird City advised Mu Qing, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Wen Zheng is alright, but the other one is getting close to the center of the feather fan."
Mu Qing asked, "The center of the feather fan?"
Xiao Ze thought for a moment and asked, "Isn't that close to the remnant soul of the Peacock King?"
That remnant soul had been used many times by the previous demon race, and was long since broken and devoid of consciousness, possessing only animal instincts.
If that person attacks the remnant soul, this feather fan will be useless.
"Yes," the Lord of Suzaku City responded, "We must find a way to stop it."
After saying this, he summoned a formation on his feather fan and began to make changes. As his sleeves fluttered, the formation subtly changed.
Xiao Ze and Mu Qing were not proficient in formations and could not see what he had done. Mu Qing was worried about Wen Zheng's comfort, so she asked first, "What did you do?"
After modifying the magic array, the Lord of Vermilion Bird City breathed a sigh of relief and poured himself a cup of tea to rest. "Don't be nervous. I just added a Heart-Questioning Array to the array to block that person."
The explanation from the Lord of Vermilion Bird City did not reassure Mu Qing. He stared at the feather fan, his mind filled with complex emotions.
Lakeside.
Wen Zheng woke up from her meditation breakthrough and was so angry that she wanted to curse. She was clearly capable of breaking through, but for some reason, it was being suppressed and preventing her from doing so.
In a fit of anger, she tossed a handful of grass into the lake, wondering if the failure to break through was related to the seal in her dantian.
"Who exactly placed this seal on me?" Wen Zheng rested her chin on her hand, throwing the grass in her hand into the lake repeatedly.
Could it be the person whose face I couldn't see inside the magic circle?
Wen Zheng had a guess in her mind. She was about to throw the grass back and forth in her hand. Lost in thought, she vaguely smelled a bloody smell. She turned around and saw a woman covered in blood standing in front of her.
"Who are you?" the woman asked, her bewildered gaze turning murderous upon seeing Wen Zheng's face.
Almost without hesitation, Wen Zheng used her Flying Goose Stepping on Snow technique to leap ten steps away in the blink of an eye. Still feeling lingering fear, she took out the talisman and said, "You don't care who I am, I know you're the one who injured the city lord."
Without hesitation, Wen Zheng guessed the other person's identity at first glance, but she didn't understand why the other person's attitude towards her had changed so quickly.
Seeing that the other party still wanted to attack her, Wen Zheng spoke up to stop him, "Even if you kill me, it won't do any good. There are many people guarding outside the feather fan. They will kill you as soon as you come out."
She thought that threats would stop the other party, but to her surprise, the other party smiled and said, "Wen Zheng, I really didn't expect you to still be alive."
His words carried not only murderous intent but also a hint of something else entirely.
Wen Zheng paused, her hand holding the talisman, and frowned as she asked, "Do you know me?"
Or should I say I know the original body?
"You don't remember?" Li Ruyue looked at Wen Zheng's puzzled eyes, then chuckled and said, "Never mind, it's better if you don't remember. When you die, you won't suffer so much."
As soon as she finished speaking, she rushed in front of Wen Zheng, the iron bar in her hand almost hitting Wen Zheng's face. She subconsciously reached out to block it, and a sharp pain shot through her arm. She dodged the iron bar and created distance between them.
The excruciating pain in her hand left Wen Zheng without the strength to lift it. She took out a blazing talisman with one hand and threw it out. The scalding flames rolled in the air, obscuring the two people's vision.
Li Ruyue interrupted the flames, and when she looked up, Wen Zheng had already disappeared. Just as she was about to chase after her, a large hole appeared under her feet. She lost her balance and fell into the hole.
Outside the feather fan, Wen Zheng rolled out, her lips pale as she clutched her injured hand.
If she hadn't had the Golden Body Talisman before, her arm would have been broken long ago.
"Are you injured?" Mu Qing was the first to step forward and help her sit down, carefully examining the injury on her arm.
"It's just a minor injury," Wen Zheng said, her hand hanging limply at her side. She took the pill Xiao Ze handed her and swallowed it. "I saw that person. It was a woman. I was almost beaten to death."
His tone was so calm, as if he were just talking about today's weather.
She concealed the fact that the woman might know her, for some reason, she always felt that revealing it might lead to bad consequences.
"That shouldn't be the case," the Suzaku City Lord murmured. "I set up the Heart-Questioning Formation; there's no way she could have encountered you."
No one paid attention to his puzzled words. Mu Qing was busy treating Wen Zheng's injuries, while Xiao Ze looked at the current condition of the feather fan and noticed that the Lord of Vermilion Bird City was in a daze. He called him over and asked, "Has the feather fan's feathers turned red?"
A faint crimson hue was now visible where the light had previously been shimmering.
"Let me see." The Lord of Suzaku City leaned closer. "She can still affect the remnant soul within the Heart-Questioning Formation. This is troublesome. We must get her out."
The reddening of the feather fan indicates that the power of the remnant soul is weakening; it's unclear how that person managed to do it.
However, the feather fan could no longer hold that person. Now the most important thing is to get her out so she doesn't break the feather fan.
Thinking this, the Lord of Vermilion Bird City looked at Wen Zheng, who had rested for a while, and asked, "Can you still move?"
Wen Zheng shook her limp hand hanging at her side. "Do you think I can move like this?"
They've even managed to catch her doing manual labor; she's really unlucky.
The Lord of Suzaku City waved his hand, indicating that everything was fine. "As long as she can run, that's good. She's currently trapped in the Heart-Questioning Formation. I'll give you a spell; just cast it on her."
After saying that, he placed a vermilion incantation in Wen Zheng's palm, and the incantation disappeared into her hand.
Wen Zheng glanced down at her palm, and after a long silence, asked, "Then what should I do?"
Are we just going to get beaten up?
Even if you can outrun them, you'll eventually run out of talismans.
"Don't worry about that." The city lord took out a piece of soft armor. "This soft armor can block three attacks from a powerful being. That should be enough for you."
If you miss three times, you might as well die inside the feather fan.
Wen Zheng took the soft armor, squeezed her palm, and thought that it seemed worth taking a chance for a piece of soft armor.
She decisively took out her storage bag containing talismans, and took out the Speed Talisman and Wind Travel Talisman. With her Wind Spirit Root, it wasn't impossible to take a gamble.
Seeing her thoughts, Mu Qing reached out and pressed down on her talisman, "Are you going to your death before your injuries have healed?"
He had seen some body cultivators constantly die in order to hone their bodies, but he had never seen a talisman cultivator have to do the same.
He turned to the city lord and said, "Can't I go? I'm her junior brother."
In everyone's eyes, he was still a boy about the same height as Wen Zheng, and his cultivation level was about the same.
The Lord of Vermilion Bird City shook his head, exposing Mu Qing's lie, "You disguised yourself very well, but there is one thing you forgot to cover up: your control over spiritual power is far superior to hers."
It's not the spiritual power used when taking action, but the spiritual power used when dealing with insignificant little things in daily life.
On their way here, the group walked through the garden, all covered in dew, except for Mu Qing, who had long since let the dew evaporate around him as he passed through the garden.
Under such control, it's absolutely impossible for him to be at the Nascent Soul stage.
Mu Qing's expression darkened, and she stared directly at the Lord of Vermilion Bird City. "You are very perceptive."
He noticed such insignificant details; it was his oversight.
"It's not your oversight, it's my over-the-top attention," said the Lord of Vermilion Bird City. "I had my reasons for sending Wen Zheng. Her cultivation has stagnated, but if she can break through to the Nascent Soul stage by experiencing the Heart-Questioning Stone, she might be able to reach the Nascent Soul stage."
The Heart-Questioning Stone has both advantages and disadvantages. Some people can see through it and their cultivation progresses rapidly, while others experience a sharp drop in cultivation and lose their Dao heart after passing through it. It all depends on individual fate.
Looking at the stunned Wen Zheng, the Lord of Vermilion Bird City asked, "Wen Zheng, would you like to give it a try?"
Upon hearing that she could break through, Wen Zheng's eyes darted around, her mind racing, before she finally made up her mind and said, "Let's give it a try. Maybe I'll suddenly break through."
Most importantly, she wanted to see the woman behind the feather fan and ask her who she really was.
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