Chapter 370

Seeing Pei Ye left the courtyard lights and headed straight into the deep mountains and secluded peaks.

Passing through the silent, ethereal mist and walking along a long, straight path, when he looked back, the Law Enforcement Hall had long been submerged in the fog.

After walking for who knows how long, an ancient, towering building built against the mountain stood before him, washed by time into the color of iron.

This was the second time Seeing Pei Ye had come to this ancient building. Pushing the door open, he felt as if he were submerged in a sea of paper. In the dead of night, the entire giant building was empty and silent. Seeing Pei Ye came to the shelf to find the records of the collection from seven years ago, searching for the period after the case and before Zhang Meiqing left the mountain, but there was no record of the man entering or leaving this building.

Secret matters were not announced, which was within expectations. The deep, dark hall had only a few scattered candles. Seeing Pei Ye lit one for himself and held the candle as he walked into the depths.

Seeing Pei Ye had already read the files regarding Ji Feng's case, and there was no later writing from the man around them. If Zhang Meiqing had really organized his notes and put them in later, where else could he have put them?

To find such a thin volume in the vast sea of books was truly harder than ascending to heaven.

So Seeing Pei Ye suddenly remembered this Blue Bird used for communication between husband and wife. According to Xu Shang, it had a matching jade brush that Zhang Meiqing carried with him. The words written with it could be perceived by the Blue Bird; this was the origin of "it chirps when there is a message."

Seeing Pei Ye did not know if the man had specifically changed to ordinary brush and ink at that time, but he should at least try.

He carried the lamp and walked up the stairs, his footsteps echoing slowly in the empty, deep building.

If this record had really been put into the building by Zhang Meiqing, there were two critical points: first, this was evidence to be preserved, so it had to be seen by someone, meaning it couldn't be hidden where no one could find it; second, this involved the secret of Kongdong being invaded, so it couldn't be placed casually, at least it had to be in a place like "Lotus Heart, One Leaf" where no one could enter without permission.

"Ten years ago, the Sect Master was carried in a coffin from here, and then the stone path was cast shut; he has never appeared since." Shi Shaosheng walked up and pointed high with his hand. "Under this stone wall, an iron-cast connection array was embedded, which can produce a unique sword sense, inserted into the 【Sword-Awakening Chapter】 to make it respond."

Seeing Pei Ye then first went to the Law Enforcement Hall and the subordinate pavilions of Colorful Mist Peak to search carefully, but there were no results. Afterward, he wandered slowly, holding the Blue Bird and traversing all the levels.

The group entered this huge mountain belly again, and the atmosphere was completely different.

The array had been lit halfway in a few breaths, and the huge pattern almost illuminated the entire stone platform.

It was clear that the previous main array operator was Xiao Tingshu; now Shi Shaosheng had filled the first position, and Guan Shutang had filled the position.

A group of bean-sized figures passed through this mountain belly and came to the stone platform in the belly again. The slowly pulsing sword senses still permeated the entire space, but in the solemnity, no one spoke.

Seeing Pei Ye gently stroked it.

Wu Dong came to the center of the platform and raised his hand to gently touch the mountain wall that looked like a sky screen in front of him.

It was actually the sound of metal clashing with a "clang."

Wu Dong slowly pressed his sword, staring down at this stone wall. It was still completely silent so far, not looking like anything would suddenly break through the wall. The old man turned his eyes to look at the woman; Ming Qitian shook her head slightly—whether just now or now, she had not felt the aura of another "heart."

Sword Belly Mountain.

——————

Ming Qitian looked toward this mountain wall. Logically speaking, they were at the "center" of this mountain-water sword array at this moment. Just now, when she resonated with the sword sense, she also felt the ten thousand swords from all directions pointing toward it.

Since Bai Tianqu was using this Sword Belly Mountain for closed-door meditation, how could he go any deeper? Buried for ten years in such ten thousand directions of sword sense, what kind of death-meditation was it?

Without lingering, Shi Shaosheng had already drawn his sword and stood. His Mystic Qi billowed in his sleeves, the old man's beard and hair flew, and a sword filled with true mystery suddenly pierced into the stone wall.

Cast iron was indeed buried inside the stone wall. With the landing point of this sword as the center, the sound of stone and iron grinding sounded from within the stone wall. At the same time, Mystic Qi fluorescence traveled outward on the surface of the stone wall, like a lotus flower slowly blooming.

"Shutang, you fill in." Shi Shaosheng said.

The woman nodded and stepped up side-by-side with Ying Gao. Two long swords accurately pierced into two array points in the middle section. Bright, snake-like light intersected and converged at these two places, and then traveled outward with an even brighter and swifter movement.

The youth slowly locked his brows tight.

Before leaving the mountain, the man must have definitely left what he had investigated to Kongdong. Perhaps it really wasn't in the Scripture Repository, so in what way would it be?

Zhang Meiqing did not immediately attack the Lotus Heart Pavilion because he wanted to get clear evidence first to identify the low, slow voice in the cabin that night. But since he dared to risk his life, did it mean he had already entrusted those discoveries to someone he trusted?

Who could it be?

Within the Kongdong Sect, was there really still a place like the Scripture Repository where a thin volume could be hidden for seven years and retrieved at any time when needed?

The seven people needed no candles and made almost no footsteps. Guan Shutang led Wu Dong in front, Shi Shaosheng followed closely, Ying Gao and Xie Guangying sandwiched Xiao Tingshu, who was blindfolded and bound, in the middle, and at the end of the team, the clear, slender figure in white lagged a few steps behind.

However, the Blue Bird remained quiet, as if it were just an ordinary piece of jade.

But at the very next instant, her sword heart moved, and she looked faster than anyone else at the array that was forming the sword in front of her. A feeling of rupture was clearly transmitted.

But at the same instant, the Mystic Qi behind her suddenly shrieked.

At this moment, the three Peak Masters were all holding swords in the array, Wu Dong was watching the stone wall vigilantly, the array was about to be completed, and Xie Guangying, who was guarding Xiao Tingshu, also subconsciously glanced over here.

In that very glance, a sharp, fierce, and majestic murderous intent suddenly came from his side. Almost entirely out of reflex, Xie Guangying's pupils shrank as he turned his head, and the long sword at his waist had already been drawn with a clang.

The sword blade met Xiao Tingshu, who was pouncing like a cold tiger.

He had not had his Mystic Qi lock removed, so his speed was still very slow. At this instant, Xie Guangying should have controlled his sword to thrust, pinning him to the stone pillar behind him with one sword.

But he was the least experienced and the only "Tuan-Body" in the Lotus Heart Pavilion. This powerful and majestic face had never been so heart-stoppingly close before, but he was not fighting alone. As long as he retreated slightly, the others would immediately be able to react...

In short, he had countless reasons not to face this momentary lone fight. Without knowing what trump cards the man had, Xie Guangying abandoned his sword and leaned back to retreat.

An inevitable mistake happened right then.

Xiao Tingshu had no trump cards.

Just at this instant, the rebounding sword blade carried enough force to pierce into his body, the sword colliding with the Mystic Qi lock.

Through the difficult mobilization along the way, the man had long since tensed all his strength behind this lock. Now, with this collision, it was like a sea collapsing. The exploding blood soaked his black clothes first, and then the vast Mystic Qi exploded in an instant, like a tiger's roar rising in the mountain belly.

Amidst the thick blood, Xiao Tingshu grasped the cold blade that Xie Guangying had abandoned.

Within three feet, how long does it take for a peak-level 【Yequel】 to kill a 【Tuan-Body】?

It must be before the others' gazes could turn back.

There was no time left for Xie Guangying to regret. That was a principle understood at the beginning of actual combat: facing a strong enemy, the more one flees, the faster one dies. But sudden cowardice is always a weakness that the human heart can never eliminate.

The cold light of the blood blade approached the throat, as fast as a startled swan, as strong as an angry dragon.

Shi Shaosheng turned around in shock and anger the fastest, but he could only watch helplessly as the sword tip pierced out a flower of blood.

—A sword light of stunning brilliance was drawn across the dark stone platform.

Under the snow-white cloud vapor, it dissipated along the trajectory the next moment. Ming Qitian did not move her figure, her cloud sleeves fluttering, and her fingers pinched a sword formula under her chin.

The white crane held the evil snake, and the bright light collided with the blood-stained, dark sword tip. Xiao Tingshu's sword tip slanted, he twisted his wrist to control it back, the blade tilted in reverse, he let go and strangled again... In a flash, they exchanged four rounds. The man's long sword finally lost control completely, and the bright light also just happened to exhaust its sword momentum, "thudding" into the stone pillar beside them.

But at the same instant, the sword sense behind them suddenly snapped, and the three people in the array simultaneously drew their swords and retreated.

Ming Qitian turned her head back. On the stone wall, like a fast horse hitting a giant rock blocking the road, those array patterns collapsed and fell into chaos, dimming from there.

"."

In the silence, Xiao Tingshu coughed out two low laughs with blood. Shi Shaosheng turned his head back fiercely, staring at him with angry eyes: "Xiao Tingshu, what the hell are you thinking?!"

This was the only passage to awaken Bai Tianqu, and the person who had operated the array for the past ten years... was Xiao Tingshu.

Ming Qitian could have chosen to save the person, but then this array would have collapsed. The fastest channel to understand what happened ten years ago and the purpose of the Joy-Huan Si Lou would also be cut off.

Blood flowed endlessly from the corners of Xiao Tingshu's mouth. To break the lock and kill in an instant, he had almost completely disregarded his own life, winning time for the collapse of the array.

Several people had already paced coldly to surround him. Xie Guangying was still shaken, clutching his throat and looking at him in disbelief.

The emotions of the other four people in the Lotus Heart Pavilion were equally shocked and angry. It was only at this moment that they truly understood that this man, who had held Kongdong for ten years, had actually not been standing with them at all.

After the bodies of Xi and Jiang were placed in front of them, they certainly knew that Xiao Tingshu probably really had some secret connections with the Joy-Huan Si Lou, but they still believed in the tacit understanding between the five of them.

Because they were inclined to believe that no matter what crimes Xiao Tingshu committed, it was still for the sake of Kongdong.

So at the beginning, when they wanted to discuss it within the Lotus Heart Pavilion, it was to let Xiao Tingshu reveal the truth completely, and then discuss together how to make up for it and what price to pay to let it pass.

Although this matter was hidden from them, and the slaughter of their own disciples was indeed shocking and infuriating, Xiao Tingshu was after all not that kind of person. The inside story could still be discussed, and the friendship between brothers and sisters would not be abandoned because of this.

But Wu Dong suddenly arrived, and this plan was no longer feasible, so they had to follow the Immortal Platform's procedures.

However, this tacit understanding still existed—Xiao Tingshu did not resist, allowed himself to be bound, and they all came together to listen to Bai Tianqu's testimony.

They took it for granted that the Joy-Huan Si Lou should of course be abandoned—although they should never have had any connection with them in the first place.

The purpose of coming to the stone wall was very clear: Kongdong was still one body. Since the Immortal Platform was here, whoever did this would stand out and take responsibility, and then reveal all the movements and actions of the Joy-Huan Si Lou, and then the Lotus Heart Pavilion would join the Immortal Platform to sweep away the evil.

But Xiao Tingshu had actually tampered with the array to contact the Sect Master and had actually risen up at the most critical moment—if Ming Qitian hadn't made a move, that sword would have truly pierced Xie Guangying's throat.

Why?!

Had the uncrowned leader of a generation of Kongdong really become a running dog for the Joy-Huan Si Lou?!

The four of them felt a humiliating shock and anger almost simultaneously, while Xiao Tingshu looked at each of them with a pale and calm face. There was an unknown expression in those eyes. Suddenly, he lowered his gaze, and an abnormal flush appeared on his face.

"—Don't let him die!!"

The others were not familiar with this performance, only Wu Dong roared suddenly. It was still the woman who reacted the fastest; her long sword pulled and nailed precisely into the man's abdomen, freezing all his Mystic Qi instantly.

But... his true energy was empty.

Xiao Tingshu suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, and the Mystic Qi rushing to his heart and brain was suddenly curbed. He indeed failed to die, but for a 【Yequel】 to suddenly want to destroy his own meridian tree, it was truly too difficult to stop.

Xiao Tingshu, who had almost become a cripple, slumped to the ground, blood bubbling from his mouth. Having lost his true energy, even if left where he was, he would not live past tonight.

But at this instant, no one looked at him anymore. Everyone had profound cultivation, and everyone felt an unimaginable majesty pouring down from the top of the mountain.

Amidst ten thousand long sword cries, with the small altar at the top of the mountain as the origin, it was as if a scroll was spread out, curtains were drawn, and flowing Mystic Qi swept down from above. Almost in an instant, their connection with the outside world was like being separated by a layer of heavy water.

The next breath, a complete closure was formed. The entire Sword Belly Mountain was isolated from the inside and outside, completely imprisoned.

In the mountain belly, there was a cool, quiet silence.

". Your sect actually has such a powerful thing?" Wu Dong looked at the dome with cold, gray-white eyes, his mouth corners turning down sharply.

"." Shi Shaosheng couldn't say a word, because it was only after a completely stunned moment that he realized what this heavy tragedy was.

Because Kongdong's use of it had only been recorded in the sect history.

When the mountain gate was about to be broken and Kongdong was about to be destroyed, if the Sect Master was about to die in battle, the 【Mountain's Sixty Years】 would be activated.

It would isolate the evil world in an instant and establish a barrier. As long as this mountain could still connect with heaven and earth, the barrier could be sustained.

Of course, in the Mystic Gate and the Heavenly Tower, there were too many ways to make it impossible to die, so as long as the meridian tree collapsed, the conditions for activating this array were met—in the Mystic Gate Realm, it was ten times harder for an enemy to destroy the meridian tree than to kill him, but it was a hundred times simpler for oneself to destroy it than to commit suicide.

But who could have imagined that the Sect Master would betray his own sect and use this array as a means to buy time for the enemy?

And what the four of them had not expected at all was that this array was originally above the Lotus Heart Pavilion!

In just ten years, who had Xiao Tingshu cooperated with to actually move it to Sword Belly Mountain? What exactly were they trying to do?!

However, the man just sat slumped with his head down, blood already beginning to pool on the ground.

". Bandage him." Wu Dong's cold eyes swept over him, and he looked up at the dome. It was indeed an extremely decisive and heavy array technique. Even if Ming Qitian were here, even with the combined strength of the six of them, they probably couldn't break it at all.

"Is Peak Master Xiao afraid that we will get out?" Wu Dong suddenly came to Xiao Tingshu.

He squatted down, lifted his head, and stared indifferently into those tired, wounded eyes. One pair deep black, one pair gray-white, Wu Dong watched him without moving.

"Peak Master Xiao, I remember that after your two true disciples died, you were truly heartbroken." He said softly and slowly, ". I think I know what you are thinking."

(End of chapter)