Chapter 1500

Shouts echoed back and forth among the mountains, layer upon layer; birds in the forest fluttered up into the sky with a clatter, covering heaven and earth.

Variegated spiritual mists of heaven and earth dissipated in all directions like clouds; gradually a current began to form, a wind began to rise, the mist shifting from clumps to strands, from gathering to rolling. Beacon fires on the peaks relayed one after another, the grand array's nodes linking up one by one, like interlocking chains.

The current grew fiercer and fiercer, the wind stronger and stronger.

No one could see it, yet everyone could feel the difference!

The "False Dragon" raised its head, coiling around the great mountain, its twin eyes a muddy yellow.

A wind rose on the Lu Cang River.

The old toad's heart stirred; it leapt down from the carriage and stood proudly on the mountain peak's cliff, webbed feet behind its back, frog head tilted forty-five degrees toward the sky, looking pensive. Suddenly, the old toad twisted its head, frog eyes fixed dead on a certain spot, face revealing shock and wonder.

The Third Prince followed its gaze, yet saw only air, empty and void.

It couldn't make heads or tails of it, and admiration welled up in its heart.

Suddenly.

The old toad turned its head again, once more fixing dead on a certain spot, full of shock; it retreated half a step, chest heaving, then advanced half a step again, face showing strain, teeth gritted, as if struggling against something.

The admiration vanished; the Third Prince felt fear, looking left and right, glancing all around, always sensing something indescribable coiling about. In a fluster he hugged Long Eying, wound his arms around her, tucked his tail under his armpit and peered out, eyes full of vigilance.

The corners of the old toad's mouth curled upward.

It saw nothing at all, yet it had to pretend it penetrated everything, that it saw what ordinary people could not.

The National Preceptor's wisdom!

The Grandmaster hurried to and fro, banners snapping in the wind.

The vast Lu Cang River boiled with commotion!

The martial masters stationed on both banks were filled with excitement; one and all they tilted their heads back, gazing at the Tusi and the Great Xian on the mossy cliff with blazing eyes.

"Wait. The Tusi and the Great Xian — why have they started the grand array ahead of time?"

Alarm bells rang in Liang Qu's heart; he almost felt as if he were being roasted over a fire. He wondered whether the old Tusi, using their alliance as leverage, intended to morally blackmail him later with the Southern Frontier's losses. Golden Eyes Undying, he watched the flow of heaven and earth's qi: "Although time is precious, preparation and array-laying proceed simultaneously — but we still haven't confirmed whether the Myriad Phenomena Position Fruit can actually work. If my intuition is wrong, everything comes to nothing; the resources activated won't just be completely wasted, they'll suffer at least thirty percent loss."

The old Tusi laughed heartily: "Prince Huai, take no offense. The Great Xian and I are fully prepared; the Spirit-Raising Grand Array has been laid down at the same time. If we go to such great trouble only to find it isn't so, wouldn't that be too terrible?"

"I once heard an anecdote: in the past when Prince Huai rode his horse into the beacon smoke, Reverend Zhaowu asked, 'Dual True Gang — how many tenths of certainty?' Prince Huai replied 'ten tenths'; he said the method accounted for three tenths, martial bones for two tenths, technique for two tenths.

Reverend Zhaowu was all the more astonished: 'Such addition makes only seven tenths; how do you get ten?' Prince Huai answered further: 'With these seven tenths, add one more tenth of fate and fortune, that makes eight tenths; as the saying goes, eight or nine doesn't leave ten — so it is ten tenths!'"

Liang Qu: "?"

Who leaked the story?

How did this even become an anecdote?

I'm still alive!

Liang Qu sank into memory.

He wondered whether at that time it was just him and his master present — was it a servant on the side?

The old Tusi said: "The anecdote goes thus; our Southern Frontier has a similar proverb, roughly meaning: not afraid of having no opportunity, only afraid of having no ambition. If you rouse your ambition, what cannot be done? If you think of failure right now, it truly becomes ever more impossible.

Our Lu Cang River's situation differs from the Yellow Sand River; it has congenital deficiencies and inherent shortcomings. Activating the Spirit-Raising Grand Array takes several days. I know Prince Huai holds the River God Festival every sixth day of the sixth month, so I simply continued advancing in step — if it succeeds, it adds ambition; if not, it still saves days and gives more leeway."

Liang Qu felt admiration rise.

He only felt that the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment; therefore from start to finish he oscillated between anticipation and suppressing anticipation, to avoid disappointment. At the same time he grasped at shadows searching through various legends, adding "weights" to his anticipated mood to lessen the anxiety of possibly wasting time on failure — and so lost his carefree ease.

Succeed or fail, things have reached this step.

A thought reaching here, Liang Qu suddenly cast off his shackles and leisurely exhaled a mouthful of turbid qi: "What the Tusi says is absolutely right; then let us begin now."

"I'll go first." The old Tusi looked toward Ge Zu.

"Good!" Liang Qu nodded.

Shen Da Xian arrived fastest, got the Myriad Phenomena Position Fruit, stuffed it into the Ze Ding, and the truth was immediately revealed. But Liang Qu naturally could not expose the fact that the fruit's nature is known the moment it is obtained; he had to drag it out at least a day or two before speaking of his feelings.

"I have never experienced a Position Fruit inheritance; I only have a small world that can assist in analysis — the rest I half-understand, and still need the Great Xian and the Tusi to help a great deal." Liang Qu said.

"As it should be."

The group entered the cave; the Hundred-Foot Great Xian personally guarded the entrance.

Xie Hongyu stared at the old Tusi's figure, drew a deep breath, nodded to the Hundred-Foot Great Xian, and closely followed, sitting down to one side.

The Lu Cang River rushed southeast.

Snakes walked the trees, fish walked the land, birds walked the water.

"Wulala, mahamaha, guaguagua! All matters smooth, no taboos, many sons many blessings, ten thousand things as desired!"

The old toad held a water basin, dipped willow branches and sprinkled water on the Tusi; atop its head a yellow-orange Size Ruyi pearl, it sang and danced.

The old Tusi gazed at the pearl, feeling it very strange, experiencing a refreshing clarity of body and mind, as if whatever he wished would come true — yet he could not utter the words "bright pearl covered in dust," and tightly shut his eyes.

"Body dies first!" Ge Zu flicked his horsetail whisk; the old Tusi's complexion turned instantly ashen.

Then Fu Bo lifted, and the old Tusi's head flew high into the air!

Fresh blood spurted out, smearing the walls, a sight to make one's heart pound and courage fail.

At the same time, the Hundred-Foot Great Xian at the cave entrance felt his heart tighten.

"Stone in the River" — vanished!

"Third Prince!"

A white dragon abruptly appeared in the cave, its body stretching long, swallowing in a single gulp!

The fat fish took temporary leave; today only the Third Prince could come.

Then, the Yellow Springs Kingdom!

The old Tusi's consciousness rapidly collapsed into a point, chaos without trace, only vaguely feeling a violent dizziness and nausea.

Shen Da Xian raised his head, gazing at this blood-red small world, wondering why in just a few months it could decline into such a state; he sensed a breath of Position Fruit qi.

No time given for surprise.

Inside the Yellow Springs Kingdom, body and soul separated; the Third Prince tumbled once more.

"Great Manifestation!"

"Good!"

Shen Daxian began processing the corpse of the old Tusi, taking out specific ritual implements and corresponding containers.

Whether it was Myriad Phenomena or the Tusi, both were fruits capable of stable inheritance; the refinement ritual was clear and not difficult, containers naturally existed, and the ritual implement was a drum with a frost-white drumhead bearing kui patterns, its entire body pitch black—a black-and-white great drum.

Then he took out the remainder of Entering Zhen Xiang.

Clumps of defeated and withered qi clusters twisted and surged into the great kui drum ritual implement!

Crackle.

Electric arcs jumped on the drumhead.

Shen Daxian gripped the great pestle tightly and struck it with force.

"Boom!"

The deep, muffled drum sound spread out, Liang Qu's mind went blank, and he faintly felt his soul leaving his body.

The mane on the third prince's neck suddenly puffed up and exploded, like a frilled lizard opening its umbrella to threaten; seeing no one noticed, he quickly spat a bit of saliva and scraped it down with his claws.

"Boom boom boom————"

Electrical light exploded in ring after ring, the muffled thunder echoed back and forth across the mountains and wilderness!

Liang Qu's short hair was no hindrance; everyone else had disheveled hair, black hair flying wildly.

"It has begun!"

Xie Hongyu heard the drumming, clenched his palms, and sweat unconsciously seeped from his forehead.

The Centipede Great Cover constantly observed the dynamics of the "River Stones" from all directions.

Golden eyes wide open, Liang Qu could clearly see the old Tusi's "corpse" continuously expanding its spiritual qi; the dense spiritual qi did not actively dissipate, but instead followed the drumbeat in trembling undulation, then slowly flowed into the corresponding square-mouthed container.

There's drama!

The drumming was deep and muffled, continuous and unbroken, Shen Daguang sweated profusely.

Inside the square-mouthed container, invisible colors continuously gathered, flocculent substances continuously appeared, and finally transformed into a visible, tangled skein of thread, as if countless threadworms were interwoven, ultimately reaching a certain critical point————

A jet-black, threaded black jade emerged in the container!

Liang Qu's heart pounded violently, he suppressed his excitement.

"Dragon Elephant King!"

Activating the owl embrace, the Tusi's corpse seemed as if time reversed, the skull reconnected.

Traversing the Yellow Springs Kingdom.

"Summon back the soul!" Ge Zu pinched the seal.

The old Tusi opened his eyes, instinctively touched his neck, broke out in a cold sweat, then looked at the container before him, dazedly gazing at Shen Daxian.

"Has it come out?"

"It has come out!" Shen Daxian nodded, the weight in his heart relaxing.

"Tusi, how are you?" Liang Qu asked, "Have you recovered?"

After lingering in a daze for a long time, the old Tusi took a deep breath, took over Shen Daxian's great pestle: "Now it is possible.

, "Good, National Preceptor!"

The old toad again held the wooden basin, willow branches dipped in water, hopping left and right: "Maha maha, wula la, ma ya, ai yi ya ha————

"

"Boom boom boom————"

The drum sounded for the second time.

The birds that had just fallen down again burst forth.

Xie Hongyu pinched his cuff, constantly wiping sweat, only feeling the weather recently unusually hot, his inner underwear all sticky

sticky, completely soaked into one piece.

Shen Daxian's headless body leaned against the stone wall, fresh blood flowing down, gathering into a pool of blood.

The third prince placed the skull properly and upright.

The drumbeats struck, Liang Qu gazed at the black jade vessel inside the container, suddenly asked: "What is the name of the Tusi's fruit?"

"Ba Snake."

"Ba Snake?" Liang Qu felt curious, a living fruit appeared before him, he also had the Ze Ding, "Could you let me see it?"

The old Tusi paused, somewhat hesitant and wary, could it be that not only did he have intuition toward Myriad Phenomena, but his Ba Snake also did? But in the end he still chose to let Liang Qu make contact.

"The Huai King does as he pleases."

"Thank you."

Liang Qu took over the container.

The jade vessel inside the container was square, but its form resembled a coiled long snake.

Everyone focused entirely on extracting the fruit, only Long Eying cared for Liang Qu, stepping two steps forward to stand before him, using her body to help block the view.

Liang Qu's eyes turned, he reached in, using the visual obstruction to touch the fruit.

A strong sense of stagnation struck his palm, but Liang Qu's palm sent out ripples, some obstruction, he easily gripped the "jade vessel."

Three breaths.

The Ba Snake fruit vanished without trace.

The old Tusi's heart jumped, he looked up, Liang Qu replaced the container, stepped forward, and placed it on the ground.

The jade vessel remained in the container, releasing the might of authority through the not fully sealed container, everything was an illusory misperception.

In the container before Shen Daguang, invisible spiritual qi became flocculent and blurred, the fruit extraction reached the critical moment.

The old Tusi guessed Liang Qu might have done something, but was unclear what exactly; seeing the fruit still present with no other changes, he had no time to think further, immediately gathered his spirit.

Liang Qu communicated with the Ze Ding.

Although only for a moment, the radiant information of the Ba She position fruit flashed in the sea of consciousness!

【Refining the Body, Swallowing Mountains, at Three Years Old Spit Out Bones, Accumulated Years Without Clearing Obstructions】

【Ba She】

【Authority: Stagnant Slaughter】

【Attribute: Disaster】

【Disaster is accumulation, stagnation, not flowing, swallowing a hundred rivers yet closing its orifices. At three years old, spit out bones; after a hundred years, no turning back; wherever it passes, plants and trees do not flourish, rivers do not flow, seasons do not proceed.】

【Refining Ritual: Eat elephants as food, accumulate years to become slaughter】

【Advancement Ritual: Lie in mire and accept all the world's stagnation, transform slaughter into body, Yu's footsteps open, can advance to govern the position fruit of female aspiration】

【Boundary Ritual: Ba She, Can Fruit, Abyss Fruit, Du Fruit, gather the four disasters, the Water Lord as king, can illuminate the Liang Zhao realm.】

All information was quickly browsed through once.

Especially the Boundary Ritual.

A new position fruit appeared, among which only the Abyss Fruit was familiar to Liang Qu.

"Dong!"

The spirit again became empty; within the container corresponding to the myriad phenomena position fruit, countless threads tangled and entwined.

Liang Qu focused his attention on the Ba She information, his mind entirely within the container.

Having reached this point, he instead felt somewhat composed.

The dense heavenly and earthly spiritual energy within the golden eyes spread across heaven and earth, almost obscuring everything, then suddenly converged, gathering and pooling into the container.

"Ivory?"

Liang Qu gazed at the curved white ivory object within the container and instantly recognized what it was.

Ivory, and not just a single ivory, but twelve in total, divided into left and right rows, six each, all growing together on the alveolar bone.

Yet at this moment, he had no time to examine the position fruit, as Zhang Longxiang suddenly struck out.

The skull was reconnected.

"Summon the soul again!"

The "Stone in the River" once more broke through the water surface, reappearing in the mortal world!

Shen Da Xian opened his eyes, likewise stroking his own neck, always feeling a strange numbness and itch, straining his neck awaiting slaughter, needing to overcome immense resistance instinct, as well as the sudden whim of "heaven and man united," plus the strangeness of going to the Yellow Springs Kingdom, which would bring intense nausea and retching.

After swallowing several mouthfuls of saliva, dispelling the dizziness in his mind, Shen Daguan looked toward the twelve ivories within the container; the former great Guan who had died several hundred years ago suddenly appeared in his mind, and for a moment, intense regret surged.

Yet the deed was done; Shen Da Xian would not let himself become a sinner and a petty man, overcame his inner reluctance, turned his gaze away, seized the container on the ground, and came before Liang Qu.

"Huai King — the position fruit has emerged; what is your intuition?"

"My intuition remains strong, but whether it can actually be effective still requires careful observation; I do not know if Shen Daguan can leave some space with me?"

Shen Da Xian gazed at the ivories within the container, sighed, handed them to Liang Qu, and turned away.

Liang Qu expressed his thanks, immediately ran to the depths of the cave, avoided sight, sat cross-legged, and reached out to grasp.

The heart should have been pounding violently.

But now it was unusually calm.

"National Preceptor, what do you think?" Liang Qu suddenly spoke.

One hit?

Liang Qu thought.

The sound echoed in the cave, colliding and winding, reaching the middle section, with reverberations layered upon layered, dense and numerous.

The old toad's face showed contemplation, not knowing what to say now to appear mysterious and unfathomable; it pondered deeply, a flash of electric light, and suddenly recalled the words of the old tribal leader, carrying double flippers: "Eight or nine, not leaving ten."

"Hahaha."

Liang Qu laughed loudly, firmly grasping the twelve ivories.

Three breaths, a flicker.

Radiance flashed!

【Toweringly tall, massive hooves trampling the wilderness, a thousand mountains yield, hills become ruins】

【Kui Fruit (Myriad Phenomena)】

【Authority: Mountain Battle Slaughter】

【Attribute: Disaster】

【Hills leveled, marshes surging, earth veins severed, all subjected to trampling.】

【Refining Ritual: Level a thousand mountains, erect a thousand mountains, invert a thousand mountains.】

【Advancement Ritual: Ba She swallows elephant, elephant splits Ba She, Ba She, Can Fruit, Abyss Fruit, Du Fruit, choose one to swallow, can advance to govern the position fruit—Giant Spirit】

【Boundary Ritual: Kui Fruit, Yao Fruit, Jingwei, Luo Fruit, the four disasters gather, the Water Lord as king, can illuminate the Liang Li Xing realm.】

Liang Qu closed his eyes.

One piece of good news.

One piece of bad news.