Chapter 516: The Cliff Symbol Array

In the mountain hollow behind the Sect's Lower Courtyard, there was a cluster of dwellings resembling civilian housing, standing row upon row, where many people lived.

It was already the dead of night, and this noisy area had fallen into a deep silence, with dark and lightless scenes everywhere.

In a remote corner, there was a low-ceilinged room; not far from the doorway, under a parasol tree, there was a pungent odor, as the people in the courtyard often poured the stale urine from their chamber pots beneath that tree.

This room was the residence of Jing Chou, and the door was tightly shut.

Jing Chou had always had a habit of snoring, but at this moment, there was not a single sound in the pitch-black room.

In the shadow of that foul-smelling parasol tree, a person was standing, their bright black eyes shining with an eerie light like a wild cat.

Xiao Qiwu's shadow flickered suddenly, and like a ghost, he passed directly through the wall beside the tree's shadow.

Having passed through the wall, he was already standing inside Jing Chou's room.

Standing in a corner of the pitch-black room, Xiao Qiwu looked up toward a certain spot in the room.

There, in the darkness, a human figure was vaguely hanging. Both feet were suspended in the air, the toes stiff.

A rope that was not very long extended down from the roof beam, wrapped around the neck; the person was already cold all over, motionless, with the eye sockets and neck both bruised black and blue—they were dead beyond any doubt.

Xiao Qiwu swept his Divine Soul sense over Jing Chou's body and every inch of the room.

This dilapidated and filthy room was full of oily bedding, moldy dirty clothes, and bowls that had been left unwashed for who knows how long, with a few cockroaches crawling inside them...

Jing Chou was indeed dead.

Tomorrow was the day of Duan Rong's execution, and he had specifically chosen tonight to end his own life.

Xiao Qiwu's figure flickered, and he vanished from the pitch-black room.

But Jing Chou's words rang in his ears once again: "Jing Chou will prove his resolve through death! To manifest this heart!"

Xiao Qiwu returned to his Cave Abode on Wuliang Cliff, his expression very weary.

More than ten years of a lazy and leisurely life had made him somewhat impatient.

Jing Chou was dead, but regarding the matter of Duan Rong, he still had not made up his mind.

Tomorrow was the day of the execution; how exactly should he strike those three lashes of the God-Striking Whip?

Should he follow the agreement with Zhu He and make the strikes weaker? Or two weak and one real—given the power of the God-Striking Whip, even with three lashes of two weak and one real, that brat would likely have his Divine Soul shattered?!

And then, after he was locked into Wanxiang Cave, he would wait for an opportunity to strike, finding a way to make him get lost in the chaotic currents of Artistic Conception within Wanxiang Cave. His Divine Soul would dissipate!

Xiao Qiwu felt this plan was the most secure; after all, Wanxiang Cave was protected by a Symbol Array, and as the Enforcement Elder of Wuliang Cliff, only he possessed the Array Tablet for entry and exit.

As long as that brat entered Wanxiang Cave, he would always have a way to kill him, but Duan Rong was involved in too many things; killing him was easy, but the most critical issue was the aftermath. Behind him was Zhu He, and behind Zhu He was the Sect Ancestor, Lv Yinlin.

To kill him while ensuring the Ancestor could not see any clues, the timing and method of the strike had to be carefully considered.

Of course, there was another riskier plan: that tomorrow during the execution, he would strike all three lashes of the God-Striking Whip with full force. In this way, Duan Rong's Divine Soul would be severely damaged, which would greatly increase the probability of him dying inside Wanxiang Cave; even without him taking action, the brat might die in Wanxiang Cave.

But once he struck all three lashes with full force tomorrow, it would immediately arouse Zhu He's suspicion. Once Zhu He intervened, the implementation of his subsequent plans would be disrupted.

These two plans could be said to each have their own advantages and disadvantages.

Even with the execution day arriving tomorrow, Xiao Qiwu still could not decide.

Xiao Qiwu suddenly rose and walked out of the Cave Abode; he stood at the entrance of the Cave Abode on the cliff face, looking at the churning black mist in the valley, and his figure suddenly soared like a great eagle.

In the pitch-black night, Xiao Qiwu flew horizontally along the cliff face through the black mist like a falcon.

Suddenly, he hovered at a certain spot; the cliff face there was bare, no different from other parts of the cliff, and nothing out of the ordinary.

He reached toward his lower back and had already pinched an Array Tablet in his hand.

The Array Tablet was a wedge-shaped copper plate, covered with dense, ancient, and profound symbols.

Xiao Qiwu pointed the Array Tablet in his hand into the air, and he saw the void before him churn and shift; then, on the previously bare cliff face, a pitch-black cave entrance appeared abruptly.

Xiao Qiwu's gaze tightened, and he flew into the cave entrance.

This cave was the entrance to Wanxiang Cave.

Xiao Qiwu stood on the platform at the cave entrance, and inside the cave was profound darkness...

He did not walk into the depths of Wanxiang Cave; the vortex of chaotic currents of Artistic Conception inside was such that even though he was a powerhouse of the Dongming Realm, if he were to fall into it, it would take quite a bit of effort to get out.

He stared at the stone wall on the side of the Wanxiang Cave entrance. Standing before the stone wall there was a Shrine, and inside the Shrine was placed an object; this object was the God-Striking Whip.

Xiao Qiwu reached out and took the God-Striking Whip from the Shrine.

This object was originally crafted by the founder of the Taiyi Sect, Lan Ruoshui, and had a history of tens of thousands of years.

Later, after several periods of decline, it was used for enforcement within the Sect; having been repaired many times, it was already a rather old item.

This thing had been abandoned for several hundred years before, and many of the symbol seals on it had worn away; it was Lv Yinlin who had re-engraved them using Seed Characters and entrusted it to his care, and since then, it had always been kept inside this Wanxiang Cave.

Xiao Qiwu picked up the God-Striking Whip, flew out of Wanxiang Cave, and returned to his own Cave Abode.

He sat on a large stone chair covered with animal skin, and by the dim light of a Candle Lamp, he stared at the God-Striking Whip in his hand.

This whip was three feet, six inches, and five fen long, with twenty-one segments; each segment had four symbol seals, totaling eighty-four symbol seals, specifically for striking the Divine Soul.

This object had been damaged several times and had long since lost the power it had in the hands of the founder, Lan Ruoshui. Although the symbol seals had been re-engraved, the Seed Characters that Lv Yinlin and Lan Ruoshui had verified and comprehended were not the same; not only were the two sets of symbol seals difficult to merge, but there were also places where they clashed, making it difficult for the eighty-four symbol seals on the whip body to condense into a single whole, merely maintaining its operation with difficulty.

Back then, in the hands of Lan Ruoshui, even a powerhouse at the early stage of the Dongming Realm would have their soul scattered within three lashes.

But after ten thousand years of decline, the power of this object was probably not even one-tenth of what it was in its prime!

When the sky was turning light, the light of the Candle Lamp in the Cave Abode was already very faint; Xiao Qiwu was leaning on the God-Striking Whip, and he had fallen asleep on the animal-skin stone chair without realizing it.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps arose.

Xiao Qiwu woke up abruptly and saw the young attendant approaching from outside the cave; he walked closer, cupped his hands, and said, "My Lord, someone outside is asking to see you?"

Xiao Qiwu stretched, took a sip of the overnight cold tea on the Stone Table, and then asked unhurriedly, "Who?"

The attendant said, "He says his name is Chu Wushang."

"Mr. Chu?!" The hand Xiao Qiwu was using to hold the teacup trembled, and he immediately darted out of the cave.

Xiao Qiwu flashed out of the Cave Abode and saw a figure not far away, standing with hands behind his back at the edge of the cliff, watching the shifting clouds in the mountains at dawn.

Looking at the back, it was indeed Chu Wushang, dressed like an old farmer.

Xiao Qiwu walked over quickly, cupped his hands toward the back, and said, "For Mr. Chu to be able to come to Wuliang Cliff, Xiao is truly honored!"

Chu Wushang sighed, "The scenery at Wuliang Cliff is not bad!" As he spoke, he had already turned his head to look at Xiao Qiwu.

Xiao Qiwu smiled, "If Mr. Chu does not mind, please enter the Cave Abode to drink a cup of clear tea."

"No need for trouble, I only drink plain water!" Chu Wushang said, "I have come because the Ancestor has instructions for you."

"The Ancestor!?"

Xiao Qiwu's expression changed, and he immediately knelt down.

Chu Wushang said, "Elder Xiao, there is no need for such formalities; you may rise and listen."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Qiwu stood up. Chu Wushang looked at him and said, "The Ancestor instructs that the three strikes of the God-Striking Whip to be carried out today must all land solidly; there must be no holding back."

"All land solidly!?" A look of astonishment appeared on Xiao Qiwu's face.

He had spent the entire night thinking of a plan that he had yet to finalize, yet he had not expected the Ancestor's order to arrive this morning.

Xiao Qiwu could not help but ask, "Mr. Chu, if the three whips land solidly, I fear that the brat Duan Rong's Divine Soul will be severely damaged. If he enters Wanxiang Cave again, wouldn't that be courting disaster? If he were to die inside..."

Upon hearing this, Chu Wushang kept a cold face and said nothing, simply flicking his sleeves and leaving. After walking a few steps, his voice drifted back faintly.

"Ask only what you ought to ask!"

Xiao Qiwu's expression turned ugly; Chu Wushang was rebuking him for asking what he should not have.

He was not originally a meddlesome person, but now Duan Rong's life and death were closely tied to his own great undertaking of cultivation. How could he not ask?

If he could not kill Duan Rong, he would not be able to obtain the Yin Fish, and the shackles of his cultivation would remain unbroken.

But if he acted rashly, Duan Rong still had Zhu He and Lv Yinlin behind him. Once the matter was exposed, he would likewise be doomed beyond redemption.

With a worried look, Xiao Qiwu returned to his Cave Abode. The matter he had been agonizing over last night now had an answer. Yet, the fog before his eyes had not diminished. Why did Lv Yinlin want to strike Duan Rong three times and then lock him in Wanxiang Cave? If he wanted to kill him, why go to such trouble?

If it was not to kill him, then why such a dangerous punishment?

If Xiao Qiwu could not discern Lv Yinlin's purpose and acted rashly, one wrong step could potentially invite Lv Yinlin's wrath. The wrath of a powerhouse in the Nascent Soul Realm was absolutely not something he could withstand.

But if he were to give up, he was unwilling to let go of this once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity to kill Duan Rong.

"I must kill Duan Rong, and I must not leave any traces of my actions!" As long as there were no traces, even if Lv Yinlin were furious, he could not truly do anything to him.

Just as the Candle Lamp at his side was completely extinguished, Xiao Qiwu finally sorted out a general plan. By this time, the sky was already bright, and there was less than an hour left until the execution.

(End of chapter)