Chapter 2558

When will it be closed? The guard looked at Xiao Ping, but she waved her hand: "Wait a little longer."

There was no movement inside the barrier, only A Lian's soft breathing could be heard.

Xiao Ping had been observing her closely, but saw nothing unusual.

"Alright, stop."

The guard then deactivated the mechanism, stopping the smoke from being pumped into the garden.

Too much smoke, afraid it might backfire.

Xiao Ping then crouched down and softly called to the little girl on the ground: "A Lian."

Her voice seemed to have magic, constantly drilling into people's minds; the guard beside her and He Lingchuan both felt uncomfortable.

This is also a kind of demonic sound divine ability.

Everyone also understood, this is one of the tricks of the heavenly demon deceiving the skin bag to open its mouth and invite oneself to reside; as long as the skin bag agrees, whether one is willing or not, conscious or unconscious, one will imprint the heavenly demon's exclusive mark into one's sea of consciousness.

Once this pass is controlled, the heavenly demon can descend at any time thereafter.

Even in her drowsy sleep, A Lian frowned tightly, as if unwilling to answer, yet unable to avoid responding.

Xiao Ping called three or four times before A Lian reluctantly replied: "I'm here."

"Are you willing or not willing to go outside the garden? There's good food and fun, and no need to be pricked by needles or struck by lightning?"

Xiao Ping spoke this sentence not only slowly, but also especially gently.

But after she asked, A Lian showed no reaction, just as before.

Xiao Ping called her two more times, and she then murmured: "I want my father to take me."

"Alright." Xiao Ping said, "You first say you agree."

A Lian did not respond, but her breathing grew heavier.

She slept even more deeply.

A cold light flashed in Xiao Ping's eyes as she pointed to the second mechanism on the wall: "Open it."

The guard hesitated for a moment.

Xiao Ping shoved him away a zhang's distance, then personally pressed the second mechanism.

Crack— a bolt of Lei Ting flashed inside the barrier, as thick as a water bucket, precisely striking A Lian.

The little girl was instantly awakened by the lightning, letting out a "wah" as she burst into loud sobs.

Just this one strike shows she is not ordinary; an ordinary child struck by such thick Lei Ting would only turn to charcoal, where would she get the strength to cry loudly?

A Lian's crying was full of vigor, extremely penetrating.

At this moment, a shadow flickered from behind, someone hurried over, raised a hand to shut off the mechanism, and shouted sternly: "What are you doing!"

This person had handsome eyes and long beard, looking like an immortal with Daoist bones. Upon his arrival, the guard's waist bent even lower:

"Master Duan!"

This Master Duan paid no heed to Xiao Ping's reaction, flicked his wide sleeve, and took two strides into the barrier.

Obviously he had a pass, this barrier could not stop him at all.

Just as he was about to pick up A Lian, the little girl lunged first into his embrace, crying until her eyes swelled:

"Father, Aunt Xiao hit me!"

He Lingchuan already knew who the comer was—

Duan He Yun, the leader of the Lian Valley Yao Puppet Experiment.

This person can be said to be the top expert in human yao puppet research, with technical reputation far surpassing Dong Rui's, specifically referring to the reputation of technical ability.

Interestingly, she calls Duan He Yun "father," but calls Duan He Yun's wife "aunt."

Upon seeing, Duan He Yun noticed A Lian's hands and neck were blackened from the lightning, with flesh turned outward, and could not help but angrily say:

"How did she offend you, why must you use such cruel methods?"

Before Xiao Ping could speak, A Lian already hurriedly complained: "Aunt Xiao dislikes me, taking advantage of Father's absence to bully me!"

Duan He Yun coldly glanced at Xiao Ping, seemingly at least agreeing with the first half of the statement.

Xiao Ping moved her sleeve, veins bulging on her neck, but she still suppressed her anger and said: "He Lu Shen has designated her to serve as the skin bag, so today I must mark her! But she feigns ignorance and stubbornness, simply refusing to agree."

"He Lu Shen?" Duan He Yun's expression changed, "Here we already have several skin bags prepared for Him, why use A Lian?"

"We tried two in a row today, both unusable, the skin bags collapsed too quickly." Xiao Ping's tone was matter-of-fact, "You also know, He Lu Shen's substitute skin bag is about to fail, won't last long, so He designated A Lian."

"If you don't believe me." She pointed her chin backward, "You can go ask He Lu Shen yourself."

He Lu Shen?

He Lingchuan followed Duan He Yun's gaze and saw a person walking along a small path in the forest.

From afar it was still acceptable, but as he walked a few steps closer, others could notice his skin was yellowish, covered with fine scales, his nose slightly collapsed, his mouth somewhat large.

He Lingchuan caught the key word in Xiao Ping's speech: "substitute."

This is He Lu Shen's substitute.

And she said He Lu Shen's substitute skin bag is about to fail, not alarmist talk—this yellow-skinned person possessed by He Lu Shen has black spots on the neck and back of the hands, which, in Dong Rui's words, is "black rot."

The divine descent body researched by the Heavenly Palace has undergone many iterations, selecting "chosen ones" from ordinary humans, but they are too fragile to bear divine power; when a god descends, it easily collapses shortly.

Now the divine body has been greatly improved, most importantly the toughness of the material base has increased linearly; as long as the god controls the energy scale of descent well, it can remain in the human world for a considerable time.

But new problems have also arisen: such a body will not collapse overnight, but some will gradually deteriorate over a period; yao puppet masters have not yet researched the true cause, only able to attribute it to the body and soul still not being well matched.

After all, the secrets of body and soul are truly too profound; even gods and immortals cannot exhaust them.

In short, the time for this He Lu Shen skin bag is short; He urgently needs to replace it.

His appearance also let He Lingchuan and others confirm that He Lu Shen's substitute is indeed in the Ling Yun Palace, and is playing a pivotal role.

This might be their point of effort in disrupting the Yun Xiawan smoke and mist.

"Your Excellency the Divine Lord!" Duan He Yun said solemnly, "A Lian is not the most suitable skin bag for you; I will find the strongest one in the Ling Yun Palace..."

The God of Helu interrupted his words: "Why? Do you want to leave Ailian to someone else? Or do you simply wish to keep her for yourself?"

It resides in the Spirit Essence Palace; it cannot possibly be unaware of what happens below.

The entire Lotus Valley knows that Duan He Yun treats Ailian specially.

Duan He Yun drew a light breath: "Your Majesty, your discerning eyes are like torches—I shall say it once more! I truly do not wish for her to become a mere vessel so early. We cultivated so many embryos using fragments of the Hidden God, and Ailian is the only experimental subject possessing superhuman spiritual intellect!"

Not only He Lingchuan, but others in the Peony Garden were also startled; only Dong Rui wore a Gloomy expression:

"Indeed!"

He had suspected as much before, but hearing Duan He Yun say it himself still came as a shock.

Ailian's appearance is no different from that of a human child—indeed, even more exquisite and adorable—yet she is purely artificially cultivated, and based on the Hidden God as raw material. This shows that the Heavenly Palace's divine body cultivation standards have far surpassed the intelligence held by Cangyan and Ling Mountain!

The Heavenly Palace's secrecy is truly formidable, which at this moment further highlights the importance of Mei Niang's information sent back at all costs.

(End of Chapter)