Chapter 214: 207 Xuan Su

"The feeling is getting more and more wrong."

Tang Zhao stared at Zhu Yang on the stage.

Within this Lingjing, surrounded by a blurred thin film, Zhu Yang was still giving his lecture.

His voice was like flowing water, neither salty nor bland, lacking in rise, fall, and rhythm. The subject matter he taught was very profound; large chunks of knowledge poured out like water from a teapot, gurgling forth. If a student were a good teapot, they would naturally become fuller as it poured, but if they leaked even a little, not a drop would remain, leaving them only able to emit soul-searching questions like, "Who am I? Where am I?"

Those seated were all students thirsty for knowledge; those who were merely there to watch the spectacle had already been filtered out in the previous wave. Most of those remaining were either engrossed or struggling to follow his train of thought, but they were at least focused.

Tang Zhao should have been one of these good students; he lacked neither comprehension nor focus. At first, he was truly attracted by this profound knowledge and listened for a while, but he immediately withdrew his spirit afterward.

Compared to the other students, he knew more things and worried about too many things as well.

For instance, the situation outside—others might not know, but he was certain it was going to descend into chaos.

Yesterday, Wei Se reported news to him, mentioning the "Kun Yu" token left behind by Li Qiongsheng. Tang Zhao easily thought that Li Qiongsheng was likely referring to the two characters "Kun Yu." This Kun Yu certainly did not refer to the Kun Yu Lower Court, but likely the Kun Yu Sword Sect.

Then, who was in the Kun Yu Sword Sect?

Tang Zhao immediately thought of Zhang Shousong, who sat high on the presiding platform.

The Kun Yu Sword Sect had long been an established local power in Kungang, with a heritage spanning several hundred years. They were long-term partners of the Talisman Association, and many of their Disciples followed Talisman Sword Masters on their travels, never having made a mistake. How could an Elder of the sect collude with rebels? If there were truly any suspicion, Long Yuan would not have brazenly invited him to sit side-by-side with the Beichen Hall Master.

Could it be an impostor?

Combining this with Li Qiongsheng being innocently killed, Tang Zhao guessed that he might have recognized the Kun Yu Elder as an impostor and was silenced for it.

As for why they would frame him after the murder, Tang Zhao truly could not figure it out. It couldn't be that he had been too prominent at the Talisman Association and aroused jealousy, could it?

Regardless of whether Zhang Shousong had a problem, it was always good to be prepared. Tang Zhao took Wei Se and found Wang Fei.

Wang Fei had long since mobilized troops to lie in ambush around Jianzhou; if there were no leads, he would strictly defend. Upon receiving Tang Zhao's information, he was naturally overjoyed and attached great importance to it. On one hand, he sent people to investigate to confirm the truth; on the other, he deployed based on the assumption that Zhang Shousong was problematic, such as using a high-level expert under his command to replace Wang Fei to lure the snake out of its hole. As for Wang Fei, a son of a thousand gold pieces does not sit under a crumbling hall, so he simply did not enter the venue today.

At this time, Wei Se volunteered to use his superb makeup skills to disguise General Mei as the heir, and had him sit on the stage to cover his figure, speaking less to avoid revealing any flaws, which indeed drew Zhang Shousong to make a move.

At this moment, Tang Zhao had no tasks either. In the end, apart from being assassinated by Zhu Yang and being inexplicably framed, he was not the central figure in the struggle between the two sides. His strength was also insufficient to stand alone. While Zhu Yang certainly harbored ulterior motives, he was likely not part of the mastermind's group; even assassinating Tang Zhao might not have been his primary goal, and there were hidden circumstances.

Tang Zhao could actually have chosen not to come. But since he came, he still wanted to hear the Libationer's knowledge regarding the Soul. As a Talisman Sword Master, Zhu Yang had indeed opened a new door for him. Since Zhu Yang was still willing to propagate his theories in such a setting, if he didn't listen, he might not have another chance.

Secondly, he still had some doubts in his heart.

This intelligence was brought by Wei Se, and it was a series of coincidences that happened by chance. That he was able to obtain it could be called lucky, and it should be credible. But was this person Wei Se credible?

Wei Se had no friendship with him, yet from the start, he acted with complete sincerity and total allegiance, which could be called extremely humble. However, he was not young and was highly experienced; he was most likely an assassin from the Yama Shop. How could he entrust his heart to someone just based on a meeting of minds?

Tang Zhao said he was like Wang Fei, not because he looked like him, but because they both constantly used words that had nothing to do with themselves.

Wang Fei called himself "ordinary," and Wei Se called himself a "crude man."

Heh.

Wang Fei, as a golden branch and jade leaf, was young and inexperienced; such a cover could be called naive. For an old veteran of unknown origin like Wei Se to say this, it was deliberate.

Tang Zhao observed in secret and never let down his guard.

He couldn't set his mind at ease regarding the situation, so he came to the venue, but he advised others not to. It was just that Jiang Shenyi had a fearless nature and was very persistent about the Libationer's theories, so naturally, he wouldn't not come. Wusun Tong and Che Sha, however, had self-awareness and simply slipped away. Because they couldn't leave the island, they hid in the crevices outside the guest house, seeking only self-preservation. And Yun Xiyan—Yun Xiyan led the team into the mountains in the center of Jianzhou to find swords and could not be contacted at all. Perhaps that was the safest place.

As for the others, Tang Zhao did not disturb any of them. Although he had some friendship with people like Wu Yunfei, he didn't know them inside and out; how could he know if the other party wasn't a mole? In any case, if something happened, these disciples of major forces had their own methods; perhaps Tang Zhao was not even as good as them.

It was just that before the mastermind could make a move, he was pulled into the Lingjing by Zhu Yang first.

When he first entered, he didn't pay much attention—he didn't understand much about the ways of the Spirit, but he had never been afraid. Because he had a trump card.

He had Glasses.

Putting on the Glasses naturally isolated all interference regarding the Spirit; he had the confidence to exit whenever he wanted. Don't look at how he was in the Lingjing now; he could still put on the Glasses. The Glasses could break through various dimensions; he had been able to wear the Glasses even in the dreams of the Youmeng Pillow, let alone in this crude, temporarily erected Lingjing.

However, hearing Zhuge Yudan say that this Reflection Realm was also related to the Spirit Official system, the unease in his heart boiled over.

This Zhu Yang had too many connections to the Spirit Officials!

And the Spirit Officials were the main system of the previous dynasty; now they had all declined and were only largely preserved among the Turtle Bandits. Judging by his age, Zhu Yang was definitely born in the current dynasty; how could he be so familiar with it?

Was his previous judgment that the Libationer and the mastermind were two different groups wrong?

If his judgment was wrong, and the Libationer brought these young people into this Reflection Realm to kill, control, or kidnap them, he could exit, but what about the others?

What about Senior Brother?

Tang Zhao's gaze shifted to Jiang Shenyi's profile, where he could see the appearance of an old woman. Even as an old woman, one could vaguely see that the expression on his face was very puzzled.

Must warn him...

Just as Tang Zhao was pondering, he heard someone say, "Does Brother Tang also have doubts?"

Tang Zhao was startled and was about to turn his head, but then he realized; he saw a piece of white jade hanging on the outside of his Spirit Image.

The Spirit Image had no definite clothing—it was a ball of light anyway, so it didn't matter. But to actually have a piece of jade on his body, Tang Zhao pondered for a moment and remembered; this was the Xuan Su Jade distributed by Zhuge Yudan when they agreed to form an alliance. It was just that from the outside, it looked like two halves of black and white, but now in the Reflection Realm, only the white half remained.

Zhuge Yudan's voice came from within it, directly transmitted into his Spirit.

"I feel this place is dangerous and not suitable for staying long." He didn't need to speak; as long as he sent his Mental Power into the white jade, he could communicate.

Zhuge Yudan said, "I also feel that this state of being unable to control oneself is improper. Regardless of whether it is dangerous, one's own body and Spirit should be controlled by oneself."

Tang Zhao nodded, and Zhuge Yudan continued, "He is still lecturing now; if there is danger, I fear it will be the moment the lecture ends. We cannot wait until then. I have left a warning device outside; if danger approaches, it will naturally stir my Spirit. At that time, I will shout a warning, and everyone will go out together."

Hearing that there was no immediate danger outside, Tang Zhao relaxed slightly and said, "Do you have a way to exit the realm quickly?"

"My Xuan Su Jade exists in the full-quality layer; it has reflections in every layer, and its root is in reality. That black half of the Xuan Su Jade remains on my physical body, like a string tied to a kite. No matter how high it flies, as long as I activate the black jade and pull it down, I can fall back to the real world."

Tang Zhao realized; this Xuan Su Jade could actually act as an anchor point. It was worthy of the Xuansu Studio; even if they hadn't been involved in the incident, they had sufficient backup plans.

Zhuge Yudan said, "However, not everyone has Xuan Su Jade. Let us look after ourselves first, advance and retreat together, and then pull the others out when the time comes."

Tang Zhao agreed and discussed the details with Zhuge Yudan, when suddenly his heart went cold:

When the Xuan Su Jade was distributed, did Senior Brother get one?

At the same time, a high mountain descended from the sky, pressing down toward the heaven's pride of the entire region!

And simultaneously, a Sword Light pierced through the cloud platform, aiming straight for the presiding Beichen!

This was a double kill!

There was only one Beichen; if he could fend off the sneak attack in front of him, he could not block the falling mountain. If he chose to stop the mountain, he could not fend off the sword coming at his face. If he wanted to block both, in his struggle to manage both sides, he would likely be unable to block either.

Just at this moment, Beichen reached out a finger, pointing upward toward the firmament in the true north!

That was the direction of Beichen Ziwei!

It was currently daytime, a bright and clear day, and the stars were dim. Apart from the scorching sun, no stars were visible, but from his fingertip, a star in the true north suddenly shone with strange brilliance, flashing once before extinguishing!

In that single flash, the world underwent a strange reaction. It was as if a giant hand had gripped the space, causing some distortion and inversion.

The mountain peak descending from the sky suddenly tilted, flying upward from bottom to top toward the northern sky, as if that were the direction of gravitational suppression. The Sword Light was similarly attracted, suddenly turning and heading north!

General Mei and Zhang Shousong, who were in a standoff, also sensed the abnormality; the swords in their hands flew out as if summoned, and the pine tree that the avalanche could not crush was also nearly uprooted, only suppressed because they hurriedly urged their power.

On the other side, behind a rock, amidst a ripple of distortion, an old man in black stumbled out.

This old man also had white hair and beard with a ruddy complexion, bearing quite a resemblance to Zhang Shousong, only his build was taller and sturdier, like a mountain.

Beichen finally rose to his full height and said indifferently, "Qiaonan Mountain, I have waited a long time. 'Longevity like the Southern Mountain, the ageless pine'—Zhang Shousong has arrived, so can the Southern Mountain be far behind?"

"Or are you so arrogant as to think that because you used the 'descending from the sky' move in Jiu Yuan and nearly succeeded in assassinating the Snow Mountain Prince, we would not be on guard against you now?"