Chapter 286

Zhang Fan remembered that in elementary school, there was a classmate two grades older than him whose family situation was very miserable. His mother had been in a car accident years ago and became a vegetable, lying in bed; his father worked on a construction site and contracted uremia; even he himself was diagnosed with leukemia during a physical examination.

At the time, he felt, how could there be such miserable things and such unlucky people in this world?

For this reason, the school organized a charity donation, and Li Yishan donated all the money he had saved for a month to buy cards.

At this moment, Zhang Fan recalled this past event for no reason, only feeling that his own family's situation was extremely similar.

Their family of three was all in the trial.

What kind of situation is this!?

"These are not things you should be thinking about now."

Just at this moment, Bai Yujing's voice pulled Zhang Fan's thoughts back.

"Don't forget the purpose of this trip."

"Tai Sui Village!?" Zhang Fan's heart moved.

He had traveled all the way to Qinxi Province to enter Tai Sui Village and find the Rabbit Lin Jianyue. As for the trip to Toad Treasure Mountain, it was just a coincidence.

"Aunt Bai, have you found the entrance to Tai Sui Village? How do we go?" Zhang Fan could not help but ask.

"Look!"

Bai Yujing pointed to the sky; the great moon was setting in the west, the great sun was rising in the east, the black night was about to retreat, and dawn was rising.

It was just the time when black night and white day alternated, the sun and moon shining together, with only one great star appearing and disappearing, radiating a different kind of brilliance.

"That is the Year Star..."

"Where the Tai Sui is, the sun and moon shine together, white and night alternate, time is in an instant, the zodiac uses shadows to form a sundial, and the direction it points to is the entrance to the ancient village..."

Bai Yujing murmured softly, stating the method to go to 【Tai Sui Village】.

If one wants to find that ancient village, one needs to do so when the black night has not yet retreated, the white day has not yet dawned, and the sun and moon shine together, using the shadow cast by the Tai Sui star as a sundial; the direction it points to is where Tai Sui Village is located.

Hum...

Sure enough, in the dim body, all was silent. The dim starlight fell on Bai Yujing, her body seeming to become transparent, a layer of halo rising, the soft shadow like a long needle pointing forward.

"This method can only be mastered by the thirteen zodiacs, and only near the Tai Sui can one use the star to point the way." Bai Yujing said in a deep voice.

The Tai Sui Nian Shangxie was nearby; at this time, only the thirteen zodiacs could use this secret method to sense the brilliance of the Year Star, turn shadows into a sundial, and find the way back.

"No wonder for so many years, the Daoist sects have never found the location of Tai Sui Village." Zhang Fan realized.

Finding Tai Sui Village requires meeting three conditions.

First, before dawn, the sun and moon shine together.

Second, near the Tai Sui, the secret method can be effective.

Finally, only the thirteen zodiacs master the secret method of turning shadows into a sundial.

Three conditions, none can be missing; only then can one master the correct method to enter Tai Sui Village.

"Now that the Human Zodiac has not risen, the Tai Sui is king... if the Human Zodiac sits on the great throne and completely masters the thirteen zodiacs, it is another set of methods." Bai Yujing explained.

In general, there are two sets of methods: one with the Tai Sui as the master, one with the Human Zodiac as the master. Leaving them, one cannot find the entrance to Tai Sui Village.

Precisely because of this, for many years, no matter how hard the Daoist sects tried, spending effort, arranging spies, even sitting on the great throne of the thirteen zodiacs, they could not find the location of Tai Sui Village.

Because even the thirteen zodiacs themselves need guidance.

"So complicated, even if the people in the Daoist sects rack their brains, I'm afraid they won't find it." Zhang Fan sighed.

"Even if they find it, it's useless." Bai Yujing said indifferently.

"Why?" Zhang Fan asked curiously.

"You'll know when you get there."

Bai Yujing's gaze was clear, looking at her own shadow wandering in the brilliance of the sun and moon. At this moment, that shadow seemed to have life, pointing the direction.

"Soul-Aspect!?"

Zhang Fan's expression changed slightly. At this moment, he suddenly discovered that he actually had no shadow, and everything around him appeared somewhat illusory, like flowers in a mirror, like the moon in the water.

"No one knows the true location of Tai Sui Village..." Bai Yujing said in a deep voice.

Stroking the plain moon, a thousand years have passed in the human world.

That mysterious village is as ancient as the ancestral Daoist temple of the Wu Wei Sect, existing since the founding of the Wu Wei Sect.

In the history of the Daoist sects, nine times of breaking mountains and attacking temples never completely exterminated the Wu Wei Sect or cut off its incense, precisely because these two most important places were never truly found.

"No wonder... only the Soul-Aspect can enter; you don't even know where that village is in reality..." Zhang Fan said with a solemn expression.

"Legend has it that the Three Corpses Daoist attained the Dao in that village..."

The Three Corpses Daoist mentioned by Bai Yujing was the first sect master of the Wu Wei Sect.

The Three Corpses attained the Dao here, with two great protectors under his seat: one was the Human Zodiac, the second was the Tai Sui.

One controls the rotation of the zodiac, the second holds the good and bad fortune of the human world, time passes, and the sun and moon rotate.

Since then, every generation of Wu Wei sect masters who inherited the great throne could use this as their title.

For five hundred years, the most famous Three Corpses Daoist of the Wu Wei Sect was the previous sect master, the madman Zhang San, Zhang Kongming, from the Long Hu Zhang family.

How could ordinary people set foot in such an important place?

Even the masters of the three palaces of the Wu Wei Sect had never truly entered Tai Sui Village.

"Aunt Bai, if that's the case, will Lin Jianyue's Soul-Aspect be in Tai Sui Village?" Zhang Fan asked suspiciously.

"If she is seriously injured, she will definitely go back." Bai Yujing said with absolute certainty.

"Why?"

"The layout of Tai Sui Village is arranged in a circle according to the twelve zodiacs, built around the village, and every zodiac has a zodiac palace."

"In the center are the Tai Sui Temple and the Human Zodiac Hall, just like yin and yang twin fish, mutually restraining each other." Bai Yujing explained.

The life and death of any zodiac are closely related to their natal palace. Even if one wants to inherit the great throne of the zodiac, after obtaining the recognition of the Human Zodiac, one still needs to enter the zodiac's natal palace and complete the ceremony to take over the great throne of the previous generation and become a new zodiac.

If Lin Jianyue is seriously injured, the Rabbit's natal palace is her best place for healing.

What Zhang Fan needs to do is find the 【Rabbit Palace】 and bring Lin Jianyue's Soul-Aspect out.

Hum...

The mountain road is long, clouds and mist come and go, Bai Yujing's shadow moves like a swimming snake in front, pointing the direction.

Not knowing how far they had walked, Zhang Fan suddenly saw the moonlight in front seem to be crushed, scattering and falling onto the earth.

"Huh!?"

Just at this moment, Bai Yujing could not help but stop her steps. Within her gaze, she saw a human figure, the aura strange and unpredictable. The splashed moonlight fell on him, as if falling into an endless abyss, actually being swallowed. The domineering waves surged like a raging tide, sweeping in all directions; faintly, it seemed as if a roar was endless to the ear.

"Swallowing and spitting the sun and moon to turn yin and yang... good Daoist technique!?" Bai Yujing's eyes lit up, and she could not help but praise.

"Ergou!?"

Zhang Fan recognized him at a glance; that figure was exactly Qin Ergou. When the corpse-mound of the Jingguan was destroyed, he had already swallowed the treasure Qi in the mountains. Now that the Heaven-Born Spirit Fetus had been born, the remaining fortune ultimately fell upon him.

The Great King Flag of the Northern Emperor fluttered, protecting the Soul-Aspect from breaking; the Toad-Fishing Qi swallowed the essence of the sun, moon, mountains, and rivers, tempering the Soul-Aspect, finally achieving dominance.

"You know him?" Bai Yujing said in a deep voice.

"Yes!"

Zhang Fan nodded: "A little brother I just met."

Once these words were spoken, Bai Yujing could not help but look at Zhang Fan more.

"People of your Zhang family truly have prosperous luck, hard for heaven and earth to cut off." Bai Yujing pondered slightly before saying.

If heaven gives birth to great luck, it will surely send strange people.

Back then, when Zhang Lingzong was young, he drifted in the Jiang Hu, wandering in other lands; it was also due to luck that he gathered so many capable and strange people around him, like the Six-Fingered Talisman Demon Liu Fusheng, the Yin Mountain Ghost King Xiong Sanqi, the Scorched Earth Flame Lord Feng Ping'an, and so on.

Zhang Fan's current momentum is gradually forming, and he seems to have this luck, and even more so.

Qin Ergou's fortune is even greater and more incredible than those people back then.

Swallowing and spitting the sun and moon to turn yin and yang, who says one cannot control the impermanent!

"Toad-Fishing Qi, swallowing treasure light, coming to this body and this world to be king... your little brother's Daoist technique is marvelous, most suitable for entering my Wu Wei Sect, to harvest and supplement the marvels of the Soul-Aspect, and comprehend the Dao of immortals." Bai Yujing gave high praise.

She could see that although Qin Ergou's current realm is still low, his potential is too great. Such a seedling, once grown, will surely become a figure who can suppress one side.

"Wu Wei Sect?"

Zhang Fan was stunned for a moment, his gaze flashing, revealing deep thought, but he did not speak. "Kid, you are in cahoots with the successor of Mount Laojun and that Zhang Fan."

Suddenly, a cold voice resounded in the night, hiding a bone-piercing chill.

Rumble...

A wave suddenly rose, the moonlight around Qin Ergou shattered, and a sharp figure descended from the sky, a large hand grabbing, sword light crisscrossing, actually grabbing directly toward Qin Ergou.

"Meng Qiwu!?"

Zhang Fan's eyes lit up, and he recognized her immediately.

He did not expect to meet this proud daughter of heaven here again.

Qin Ergou woke up suddenly from his cultivation; his divine powers were not yet formed, so how could he be the opponent of a strong person like Meng Qiwu? For a time, panic appeared in his eyes, not knowing how to react. Seeing that large hand covering down and the sword light traversing, he was about to break this layer of his Soul-Aspect.

"Meng Qiwu, you escaped with your life last time at the corpse-mound of the Jingguan, do you still not know death?"

Zhang Fan took a step forward, blocking in front of Meng Qiwu like a ghost, five layers of primordial light soaring to the heavens, like a brilliant flame, destroying the vast black night.

"Zhang Fan!?"

!

Seeing the person who came, Meng Qiwu's face trembled, actually turning and running like a rabbit, not staying for a moment.

Last time, in front of the corpse-mound of the Jingguan, she fought Zhang Fan and was slightly inferior.

Now Zhang Fan has refined the white bone relic, carries the dragon-toad treasure Qi, and has swallowed the Soul-Aspect of the Long Hu Daoist; his realm has risen all the way, five layers of the Great Being, already far above Meng Qiwu.

With the rise and fall, how could she be his opponent?

Meng Qiwu could be considered a figure, actually turning and running at the very first moment, without even half a hesitation.

"You still want to leave?" Zhang Fan sneered.

Letting her go once is carelessness; letting her go a second time is pure stupidity.

Rumble...

Immediately, five layers of primordial light soared to the heavens, turning into barriers, blocking Meng Qiwu's path. At the same time, Zhang Fan took a step forward, like a true fire surging, like a wicked dragon soaring to the heavens, reaching her in the blink of an eye.

Meng Qiwu's beautiful face lost color, feeling as if everything went black before her eyes. Just as she was about to react, Zhang Fan's large hand reached out, grabbing her neck.

"You..." Meng Qiwu's beautiful face instantly turned pale, crystalline light actually appearing in her eyes.

"Unfortunately, you only have one Soul-Aspect here; you can't use the Thunder Element Pearl, and no one can protect you." Zhang Fan said coldly.

Vacuum Refining Form makes everyone's Soul-Aspect leave the body, unable to return, drifting in Toad Treasure Mountain, unable to return.

"Kill if you want, but if I frown even a little, I am not a disciple of Mount Zhongnan." Meng Qiwu said coldly.

"Good, I appreciate a woman with your courage." Zhang Fan nodded.

"Then go die."

As he spoke, a terrifying force spread from Zhang Fan's palm, entangling Meng Qiwu.

"Wait."

Meng Qiwu's expression changed suddenly, hurriedly changing her words.

"Aren't you unyielding? What are you waiting for? Waiting for me to set a banquet for you?" Zhang Fan sneered.

"Are you a zodiac?"

Meng Qiwu gritted her silver teeth, actually looking at Bai Yujing, or more accurately, looking at Bai Yujing's shadow.

"Huh!?"

Bai Yujing did not answer, but revealed a strange expression.

"I am a person of the Rat; he told me the method to enter Tai Sui Village." Meng Qiwu explained.

"You are a person of the Rat?" Bai Yujing was moved upon hearing this.

Among the thirteen zodiacs, the most mysterious existence is the Rat.

Legend has it that no one has ever seen the true Rat, including the Human Zodiac and the Tai Sui.

"Don't believe me, look."

Meng Qiwu raised her hand, pointing to the back of her neck, but was grabbed by Zhang Fan.

"Can... you move it?" Meng Qiwu asked weakly.

"..."

Zhang Fan loosened his palm slightly, only to see a faint tooth mark three inches below the back of Meng Qiwu's white neck, as if it were the bite mark of a rodent.

"It really is the mark of the Rat!" Bai Yujing revealed a solemn expression.

Having a mark planted on the Soul-Aspect by the Rat must mean she is a confidante of the Rat.

"Please, for the sake of the Rat..." Meng Qiwu stopped mid-sentence.

If it weren't to save her life, she would never have exposed her true identity.

"I said, how can you be so casual when you talk tough? Not frowning even a little means you aren't a person of Mount Zhongnan; it turns out you are a person of the Wu Wei Sect." Zhang Fan sneered.

His thoughts turned, but he let go of Meng Qiwu.

"Thank you!" Meng Qiwu touched her neck, looking at Zhang Fan with wariness, and said thank you unwillingly.

"Don't thank me yet; I didn't let you go because of the Rat's face. In fact, I don't know him at all, and I am not a person of the Wu Wei Sect." Zhang Fan waved his hand.

"Then why did you do it?" Meng Qiwu wondered.

"Go back and help me ask if they are willing to join forces with me to deal with the Dragon."

Once these words were spoken, let alone Meng Qiwu, even Bai Yujing beside him revealed a strange expression.

"I know, you thirteen zodiacs all know my background..."

Zhang Fan sneered: "Go back and help me ask the Rat, ten years ago, they spent so much effort helping the Dragon kill my whole family; in the end, what did they get themselves?"

After the previous Human Zodiac died, the thirteen zodiacs were leaderless. The older generation died or were crippled, and the new generation had too little seniority and couldn't suppress the situation.

On the contrary, the Dragon practiced the Five Elements Wrong King and dominated alone.

The most outrageous thing is that after paying such a high price, not a single one of that family died!

"Go back and tell the Rat, times are different now. I'll just deal with the Dragon; I can let bygones be bygones with the others." Zhang Fan sneered.

Although their family is all in the trial, they are all like clay bodhisattvas crossing the river, unable to save themselves.

But as long as they are alive, there is hope, and that is enough to make people wary.

"Of course, he can also refuse; then, I will overturn the whole table."

Just as Li Yishan said, some employees in their family have too much seniority and are not of one mind with him. Since they are not of one mind, such employees should be replaced.

"Zhang Fan... I was the one with poor discernment. I didn't expect that in such a vast world, there would be a figure like you among the younger generation, with such seniority, actually wanting to move the foundation of the Wu Wei Sect." Meng Qiwu looked at Zhang Fan deeply and could not help but take a deep breath.

Such spirit is not something that her peers could compare to.

"What if I don't agree?" Meng Qiwu pondered.

Slap...

As soon as the words fell, Zhang Fan raised his hand and gave her a big slap, directly making the proud daughter of heaven from Mount Zhongnan see stars.

"Why are you acting so arrogant? If you don't agree, I will expose you." Zhang Fan grinned and chuckled.

"I will eat off this secret of yours for a lifetime!"

"You..." Meng Qiwu was anxious and angry. Finally, looking at Zhang Fan's wanton and arrogant gaze, her body slumped, and her momentum withered instantly.

"I agree."

"There is one more thing."

"What else is there?" Meng Qiwu frowned, gritting her teeth and asking.

"Ergou, come here."

Zhang Fan beckoned, pulling Qin Ergou, who had just recovered, to his side.

"Brother Fan..."

"I want him to enter Mount Zhongnan!!" Zhang Fan said decisively.

(End of this chapter)