Chapter 452: The Golden Immortal Dao Conspiracy Emerges

Tao Zhugong mastered the Seal Script "Change," which he interpreted as exchange, a method of bartering used in ancient times.

From this, two secondary Seal Scripts were derived: Displacement and Forced Transaction.

The earlier transformation of the stream into a stone wall was him using the Displacement method to shift it, forcibly blocking Zhou You's path.

Next, he used the jade hook to swap away the heavy talisman, utilizing the function of Forced Transaction.

The former is applicable to ownerless objects, while the latter targets things with owners; the essence is simply an "exchange."

He masters two different powers and is also an outstanding figure within the Golden Immortal Dao.

When Zhou You first saw him, Tao Zhugong was very low-key, no different from other Golden Immortal Dao members.

It was not until this roadside ambush that he truly bared his fangs.

He is not only proficient in Seal Scripts but also a hidden high-level martial artist.

"Boom!"

Tao Zhugong's punch landed squarely on "Zhou You," but as a result, a tiger thrall ten steps away exploded on the spot, leaving no bones behind.

Zhou You, however, stood where he was, completely unharmed; he had already used a single talisman to hide himself within the heavenly secrets, leaving no trace to be found.

Tao Zhugong smashed down with another punch, but this time it hit nothing, and even the tiger thralls remained intact.

This cannot go on like this.

Tao Zhugong vaguely sensed something was wrong; if this continued, he would be exhausted to death without even catching a corner of the opponent's clothing.

He simply spoke to provoke him, "Moyunzi, I see you are just a coward."

"Chen Lie destroyed Cloud-Touching Stronghold and killed your sworn brother; now that you have succeeded, you don't even go to seek revenge on him or rebuild Cloud-Touching Stronghold."

Zhou You felt no ripples upon hearing this; unless the real Yan Ping were resurrected from the dirt, the opponent's provocation would not work.

He gently shook his staff, and the silver bell sound waves, which no one noticed, suddenly added something subtle.

The Seal Script "Delusion" and the Seal Script "Sound" were combined and exerted, attempting to twist the opponent's mind through the bell chimes.

Tao Zhugong opened his mouth to provoke him, only feeling that the bell chimes were somewhat annoying, and continued to goad Zhou You.

"If you have the guts, come out and fight me fair and square; perhaps I have a way to help you kill Chen Lie and take revenge."

"Many thanks, but when will the cycle of vengeance end? I have long since forgiven him and do not intend to pursue it."

Zhou You was so magnanimous that it made Tao Zhugong furious.

"Coward! You forgave Chen Lie, but what about Kunpengzi? He is the main culprit, using Moyun Stronghold as a shield to attract attention from all sides while secretly strengthening his own power; he is the real mastermind."

Amidst the silver bell chimes, Zhou You's voice came through, "Oh, tell me more."

Tao Zhugong did not notice that as the battle reached a stalemate, he became restless and lost his usual composure, actually being led by a single sentence from Zhou You and subconsciously answering the opponent's questions.

"Do you think Kunpengzi is acting alone? He followed the Dao Master's decree to stir up the chaos in Beixuan Zhou, colluding with the Beijing witch tribes and gathering rebel armies to attack cities, all to bring disaster to this land."

"There are several others under the Dao Master similar to Kunpengzi, distributed in other prefectures to start uprisings; when the time comes, they will blood-sacrifice the Nine Cauldrons."

"By then, it will be a great opportunity for my Golden Immortal Dao; you are also obsessed with Cauldron Script, don't you want to see the Nine Cauldrons with your own eyes?"

The silver bell chimes were continuous, as if playing a melody; amidst the pleasant ringing, Tao Zhugong gradually lost himself.

He spoke eloquently, and the news he blurted out was more shocking than the last.

This great conspiracy covered six northern prefectures, including Beixuan Zhou, and the target was the Nine Cauldrons of Heaven and Man.

It turns out the Nine Cauldrons are hidden in various places in the world, either presiding over mountains and rivers or hidden beyond the clouds.

When monarchs alternate and ascend the throne to sacrifice to heaven and earth, the Nine Cauldrons will gather at the Dijing altar, representing the recognition of the monarch's legitimate status.

"One word worth nine cauldrons" refers to the monarch chanting during the sacrifice, using their golden words to summon the Nine Cauldrons to descend.

Only by using the strength of the entire world can the Nine Cauldrons be made to reappear in the human world.

The fifty states of the world correspond to the Nine Cauldrons; by mastering the corresponding prefectures and using major cities for blood sacrifices, it is possible to summon the projection of a single cauldron to observe the Cauldron Script up close.

This plan is too crazy.

Zhou You felt wary of that "Dao Master"; such great ambition and great means meant they were at least a peak martial expert, or perhaps even at the Grandmaster level. The waters of the Golden Immortal Dao were too deep, even more unfathomable than he had originally imagined.

"Shut up, I can't say any more."

Tao Zhugong suddenly woke up, raised his hand and slapped himself seven or eight times; as the bell sound weakened, he realized he had been tricked.

He looked at Zhou You angrily, "Kunpengzi's trick? Are you and he from the same sect?"

"I guarded against everything, I could guard against Kunpengzi, but I couldn't guard against you, Moyunzi. It seems the relationship between you two is not simple; I will report this to the Dao Master and ask him to deal with you."

Tao Zhugong took out a jade ring and once again launched the power of the Seal Script "Change" at Zhou You.

This time he was ruthless, wanting to take away Zhou You's arms and legs to make him a useless person unable to stir up trouble.

The Seal Script power was activated, the jade ring disappeared, and the next moment it appeared at Zhou You's waist.

Not to mention, Tao Zhugong had quite good taste; the jade hooks and jade rings used for exchange, even if they were forced transactions, were of decent quality.

"Ugh!"

Tao Zhugong had given the items, but the limbs to be exchanged did not arrive; something had gone wrong.

Opposite him, Zhou You laughed, "Thank you for your generous gift."

He had five or six hidden-mechanism talismans on him, hiding himself within the heavenly secrets; if you cannot find the target of the transaction, how can you force a purchase or sale?

"Courtesy demands reciprocity; here you go."

A cluster of tiger thrall heads suddenly appeared beside Tao Zhugong, biting down as soon as they opened their mouths, and blood immediately splattered everywhere.

Tao Zhugong had intended to take Zhou You's limbs, but he did not expect that what came instead were the fierce and evil tiger thralls, and a large chunk of his shoulder was missing on the spot.

Bones were exposed, flesh and blood were blurred, and the sharp pain was piercing and bone-deep.

His technique was broken! His body was bitten, and the strength of a high-level martial artist was greatly reduced; he could no longer resist the eerie army of heads.

Tao Zhugong turned and fled, not daring to stay any longer; he had turned from a hunter into the prey.

"Where are you going? You haven't finished confessing yet!"

Zhou You's silver bell chimes were like maggots on a rotting bone, consistently following behind Tao Zhugong, the distance closing shorter and shorter.

Tao Zhugong clutched the wound on his shoulder; under the pressure and movement, the bleeding stopped, but sharp pain still flared in waves.

He abruptly pulled out a palm-wide talisman paper, the very Heavy Talisman he had just forced a purchase of from Zhou You.

"Stupid, aren't you? I have this in my hand!"

Tao Zhugong was full of himself as he slapped the cowhide talisman onto his lower back, "Go."

His speed increased instantly; the power of the Heavy Talisman took effect, and he galloped toward his intended direction.

The sound of the bell behind him gradually faded away, until it finally disappeared.

Tao Zhugong breathed a sigh of relief; he had capsized in the gutter this time, not expecting Moyunzi's methods to be so bizarre, nearly capsizing in the gutter; once he hired help to capture the other party alive, the first thing he would do was break their limbs and soak them in a wine jar.

He did not notice that in Zhou You's eyes behind him, there was nothing but mockery and pity.

Several days later...

Tao Zhugong was dumbfounded, staring at the underground space before him; this was not his lair.

The area of Zhenxiong Yu near the entrance, where it had originally collapsed, had been dug through and rebuilt, but the lost prisoners were difficult to replace in a short time, and many old cells were empty.

The destination Tao Zhugong had reached was exactly one of those cells.

"No, how did I end up here?"

Before he could react, a passing Jailer saw the door was unlocked and clicked it shut.

He was in jail just like that? Tao Zhugong wanted to cry but had no tears; he must have had a hole in his brain to recklessly use an enemy's item.

That Heavy Talisman had been tampered with.

He could not get out.

(End of this chapter)