Chapter 518: 472 Grace

He suddenly shouted loudly like this, his voice ignoring the obstruction of the water waves and traveling far away; Zheng Yun was also startled.

This is not what we agreed upon!

But he immediately shut his mouth and watched the situation unfold. After all, the other party was the client, and he was the one hired; he just needed to follow Tang Zhao. He was used to being a tool with no human rights and was very sensible.

Tang Zhao was actually a bit apprehensive; his temporary change in strategy was not well-considered, and he was prepared for the Jinwu Sword not to respond. If he shouted three times and the Jinwu Sword did not respond, he would still have to follow the original plan and dive into the magma.

Fortunately, after this sentence of his, there was actually a reaction from below.

The magma ground rolled for a moment, and a magma arm, much thicker than the previous one, rushed out and grabbed toward the Six Dragon Carriage!

Retreat!

Tang Zhao adjusted the carriage handle, and the Six Dragon Carriage was very agile; it reversed rapidly on the spot, carving out a white wave.

That arm was relentless, stretching out to pursue them, swearing to grab them.

Tang Zhao was not alarmed but delighted: he didn't fear it being irritable, only that it wouldn't react; if there was a reaction, there was a possibility of communication. Moreover, Tang Zhao hadn't used the Induction Array to communicate directly in that last sentence, but had shouted it out in clear and standard official language of the Human World, and the other party could actually understand it; it seemed that communicating with each other was even more convenient.

Furthermore...

Whether this entity was dismantling things or grabbing people, the magma manifestations all appeared in the form of human arms, which was also very important. It showed that it did not reject the cognition of being "human," and even had quite a high identification with "humans."

It can be seen that coming down for a trip was still very important; many pieces of information could only be obtained face-to-face.

While maneuvering the Six Dragon Carriage to dodge as nimbly as if avoiding a sandbag, Tang Zhao continued to say loudly: "I know you have your own home here, have lived in peace for many years, and your life is quiet and happy, and you are unwilling to let us people disturb you. I am also very sorry for the presumptuous disturbance..."

Seeing him driving and dashing around like this made Zheng Yun terrified, and he only wanted Tang Zhao to retreat far away to a safe zone. Anyway, his Qi was sufficient; couldn't he shout from a distance and have it travel down just the same?

However, Tang Zhao insisted on not retreating, but instead patrolled back and forth along the magma ground in the boiling water layer, dodging attacks in the nick of time, as if playing a game of hawk and chicken, while saying incessantly: "But it is not us disturbing you now, but bad people who want to disturb you! Those bastards who stirred up trouble in Suiyu have set up an Array in Yunzhou to draw upon your power, destroy the earth and rivers, and control you in their hands to do evil! Once they succeed, your home, my home, our homes will all be destroyed in one fell swoop!"

"Therefore, we are not only suffering the same plight, but also share a common enemy!"

"Although we are anxious as fire, our strength is meager and we are truly powerless, which is why we want to ask for your help. Please save us, and also save all the aquatic tribes in your home! As long as you are willing to come out, we are willing to hold the whip and stirrup to be your vanguard!"

His speech was clear, and although his speed was urgent, he always maintained a rhythm; finally, that fist froze in mid-air.

Tang Zhao breathed a sigh of relief and immediately stopped the Six Dragon Carriage.

After a short silence between the two sides, a red bubble the size of a kickball grew out of the underground magma, and a golden shadow appeared faintly within the bubble, spreading its wings.

That was a golden crow.

Seeing the golden crow, Tang Zhao felt a joy in his heart and thought to himself: This is it. I've found the right one!

Jinwu can refer to the Sun God. But its original meaning is still the three-legged golden crow. The Jinwu Sword is also not called the Sun Sword. The Sword Image back then was definitely a Jinwu, so seeing a Jinwu at this time was a matter of course.

He hadn't felt it before, but when he saw the Jinwu, a familiar sense of intimacy welled up, as if this Jinwu were an old friend he had lost for many years. This must be the faint connection between the Sword Intent of that time. It was just that he had ultimately absorbed the Sword Intent completely, so this sense of intimacy was left with only a faint shadow, unable to affect his emotions, let alone his mind.

Moreover, Tang Zhao could clearly feel that this Jinwu was only a phantom image; the power it contained was not strong, and its strength was at least not greater than his own; it should just be an avatar or a projection of power of the Sword Deity. If he were to face the main body of the Sword Deity, he might have different feelings.

That Jinwu looked at Tang Zhao; although it was only a condensation of light, one could feel a sense of being high and above, as if it were truly a god looking down on all living beings, and it spoke: "Little child, you speak nonsense! What in the world can harm me? If you want me to save you, then come and pray piously; how dare you use alarmist talk?"

Its voice was like that of a young man, very clear and impassioned, a relatively pleasant voice even among young men.

Tang Zhao thought: If there is nothing in the world that can harm you, how did you become like this?

However, the fact that the Sword Deity sent the Jinwu to come forward and could even speak was already a big step forward, and Tang Zhao felt he shouldn't ruin the atmosphere. Clearly, this Jinwu was very proud; for the sake of the big plan, he should just flatter it, so he said: "Although your name of majesty and benevolence is widely spread, and you are respected by all people and not harmed by villains, human hearts are unpredictable, and there are always evil outsiders who intend to harm you. Perhaps they cannot harm you, but if these lovely creatures within your territory suffer from being caught in the crossfire, wouldn't that be a pity?"

The Jinwu again said proudly: "Where is my territory? Why would I need a territory? Do you know who I am?"

Being asked so bluntly, Tang Zhao really found it hard to say, as it was difficult for him to define exactly what kind of existence the other party was, so he deliberated and said: "You are... Jinwu?"

The Jinwu said: "I am the Sun! Where I shine, there is light. Only when I exist does all of this exist. All things and all phenomena are bathed in sunlight and receive my grace, but it is only because they have the fortune to be near me. Why speak of territory or private ownership? How narrow-minded! Even if living beings rely on me to live, it is because they need me and depend on me; what does that have to do with me?"

Tang Zhao blinked, wanting to ask it why, if it was so high and above and disdainful of all things, it had bothered to intervene in the fight between the two vines just now? But he continued to follow its lead: "That is exactly the point. Heaven and Earth are unkind, treating all things as straw dogs. The sun shines on all things without needing to care about the common people, yet the common people live because of you. It is only because someone is an enemy of the common people and violates your dignity that you don't care, but I cannot stand it. I want to obtain your permission to fight them."

Saying this series of words without changing his expression, with feelings very full and sincere, and not appearing forced in the slightest, Tang Zhao felt that his cultivation had greatly improved.

The effect of these words was quite good; the Jinwu clearly softened and stared at him: "You want to fight for me? What qualifications do you have?"

Tang Zhao grinned and said: "As a mere junior, how can I talk of qualifications? I only have sincerity. It is not just me, but Yunzhou, the whole of Yunzhou. One reason is to defend our own home, and the second is because we have enjoyed your grace and want to fight for you."

The Jinwu tilted its head slightly, a movement that seemed somewhat smug, but because it was a bird, one couldn't see its expression, and it said: "Heh? Grace? Tell me, what grace have I bestowed upon you by being here for so many years?"

Tang Zhao had figured out its temper by now; this question was likely not a challenge, but a request for him to list its graces, another test of his improvisation, so he said: "I naturally know your grace deeply. You are beneath the earth, and your warmth spreads throughout the soil, nourishing the vast land of Yunzhou, allowing thousands of people to survive the winter. And because of the geothermal heat, the land is fertile, and the soil can grow crops, allowing the common people to make a living. What the common people seek is nothing more than warmth and food, and now they all rely on your bestowal; to say you are the parent of the people of Yunzhou is still an understatement. Not to mention that you keep the Tongyang River from freezing all year round, bringing the benefits of shipping and fishing, making Yunzhou prosperous and flourishing in all industries..."

He praised it incessantly, and the Jinwu went from listening with its head tilted to nodding slightly, very much enjoying it.

Tang Zhao praised it for a long time until there was nothing left to praise, and seeing that the Jinwu had completely softened, he said: "It is precisely because we are so grateful to you that the enemy's sabotage is all the more detestable. I wonder if I might meet you in person to satisfy my wish to worship you? I can tell you more about their situation, and you can give us some guidance on how to meet the enemy?"

The Jinwu said: "You want to see me? That depends on whether you have the ability."

After saying this, it flapped its wings, the rolling magma suddenly parted, and a beam of pure light bloomed from within.

That was the radiance of the sun!

The Jinwu submerged directly into the light, but the magma did not close, leaving a passage for Tang Zhao to enter.

Finally!

Tang Zhao had obtained permission to follow, breathed a sigh of relief, and thought: Having opened the path to meet the Jinwu, even if I leave now, I have achieved a phased result.

Of course, with the situation looking so good, he certainly couldn't give up halfway; he still had to follow and see.

He put away the Six Dragon Carriage, which showed signs of melting, and said to Zheng Yun: "Let's go down. If you can't hold on, just teleport back first. Your own life is what's important. Of course, if I can't hold on, I will also go back. If you can still hold on then, you can continue forward for me. For that, I would be extremely grateful."

Zheng Yun nodded and suddenly pressed his hand onto a disk Tang Zhao was carrying.

That disk was a Portable Array Disk, inside which was an Induction Array; if Zheng Yun activated the array, he could communicate directly with Tang Zhao's consciousness without language, transmitting thoughts to each other, without fear of being perceived by an entity like the Jinwu.

He then said solemnly: "I just sensed it; that Jinwu is about the same as you."

Tang Zhao didn't take it to heart and responded: "That's right. This Jinwu should just be one of that entity's avatars, and the power it contains is about the same as mine. But we are about to see the main body, which should be an existence at the level of an Immortal Sword. You can feel that kind of unfathomable power."

Zheng Yun said: "That's not what I meant. It has nothing to do with power; I'm talking about the aura of the Jinwu Sword. You know you have the aura of the Jinwu Sword on you; I followed that aura of the Jinwu Sword of yours down here in the first place. But you said you only inherited a portion of the Jinwu Sword's power, and the aura of that Jinwu Sword just now was not much thicker than yours."

Tang Zhao's heart skipped a beat, and he said: "I inherited one-third of the Jinwu Sword, and there is still two-thirds left..."

Zheng Yun said decisively: "The aura on it is definitely not twice yours. If the aura of the Jinwu Sword can be measured in quantity, I always feel there is a missing part."

Tang Zhao only felt a toothache; he really didn't want things to become more complicated, but just as the topic was raised, he spontaneously matched it with some details and a guess emerged: "Its personality is different from what we previously speculated; it doesn't seem to be violent. It seems to be neutral and leaning toward good? Could it be... it only shines?"