Chapter 202

The situation suddenly became incomparably complex.

Yet, a decision had to be made immediately.

Li Zhuiyuan's brain operated at high speed, analyzing every factor of advantage and disadvantage.

There were only two paths before him: one was to take action, and the other was not to.

If he took action, the target would no longer be merely the Yu family members; that teacher would have to be included.

Li Zhuiyuan had personally experienced how powerful the teacher was; the teacher in the next class over likely had a similar level of ability.

But this did not mean there was no opportunity.

First, the teacher had left its original classroom, which could be considered as having left its home field.

Second, starting from this wave, in the process of competing for the jade fragments, the sense of rules had been very clear; after entering here, the rules had become almost materialized.

No matter how powerful the teacher was, here, it would also be restricted by the rules; the teacher's abilities likely could not be fully unleashed, and even its unauthorized departure from its post was carried out with cautious concealment and hiding.

Yu Miaomiao did not know that it had followed her out, and even A Yuan, who had been possessed and invaded by it, did not know of the changes that had occurred within himself.

Because the previous A Yuan was still acting according to A Yuan's own behavioral logic; if it weren't for Zhao Yi and Li Zhuiyuan intending to kill here, the teacher originally intended to remain hidden forever.

The look in its eyes at this moment revealed that it had been forced by reality to a point where it had no other choice but to issue a warning.

If it were truly powerful and unrestrained, there would be no need to put on this act at all; after leaving the classroom and arriving here, wouldn't it have been enough to just go on a killing spree?

Therefore, if a fight were to break out, Li Zhuiyuan would have a chance, because the opponent was clearly wearing shackles.

Of course, there was another possibility, which was that it had its own extremely strong purpose; it wanted to use the identity of Li Zhuiyuan and the others as "guests" to hitch a ride.

Either it wanted to go to a deeper place, or it wanted to see someone inside, or even more thoroughly... it wanted to follow in the footsteps of Li Zhuiyuan and the others to leave after the matters here were completed, to go outside and regain its freedom.

And this possibility, in turn, led to the second path, which was not to take action.

The premise of not taking action was that the conflict between the two sides had not yet intensified to the point of being irreconcilable.

The reason Li Zhuiyuan tacitly allowed Zhao Yi to go down and provoke them was that he knew very well that these two Yu family members did not possess the basic qualities to be qualified teammates.

But after being possessed by the teacher, these two people might instead possess these qualities, which could be called quite bizarre.

Li Zhuiyuan would rather cooperate with the dangerous teacher than get involved with the normal Yu family members.

However, he still needed to verify for himself whether this teacher was truly on board.

Li Zhuiyuan spoke up: "This place is completely barren, there's nothing interesting here; besides eating, one can only sleep. It makes me regret leaving the previous classroom so early; I should have stayed a while longer to learn more from the teacher, or perhaps explore the environment more."

"Since you two stayed there for such a long time, you should have figured out the rules here, right?"

Yu Miaomiao thought Li Zhuiyuan was engaging in a conversation of surrender with her, and immediately responded:

"That goes without saying. I've learned everything that needed to be learned. I'm not like you, cowardly and afraid of death, missing out on this opportunity."

Zhao Yi couldn't help but sneer in his heart. This silly girl was truly as self-satisfied as ever. The one surnamed Li clearly faced a higher difficulty, and used the least amount of time and suffered the fewest losses. Most importantly, he not only learned everything he was supposed to, but also made modifications and integrations along the way.

However, Zhao Yi knew that the one surnamed Li was not talking to this silly girl; Zhao Yi was actually also paying attention to the reaction of the teacher inside A Yuan.

He had guessed Li Zhuiyuan's thoughts, and these were also his own thoughts.

The difference was that he would choose to directly accept this situation and maintain a good "teacher-student relationship."

But the one surnamed Li wanted to perform a verification; if the verification failed, he truly intended to have a big showdown here.

This was the biggest difference between himself and the one surnamed Li. He did not lack the ruthlessness toward himself and the enemy in critical moments, but as long as there was still a turning point and things hadn't collapsed, he lacked that decisiveness.

The warning look in A Yuan's eyes faded, replaced by a meaningful glint.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Then on the road ahead, I'll have to trouble you to take care of things. We can cooperate for mutual benefit."

Yu Miaomiao: "I already said, as long as you two listen to me, I will share the secrets of this place with you. I know much more about this place than you do."

A Yuan nodded.

Yu Miaomiao was swayed.

She was being carried in his mouth, and A Yuan's nodding felt to her like a hypnotic swaying motion.

Previously in the classroom, she had not only been covered in bruises but was also exhausted. She had been holding on by the excitement of finally "passing the exam," and then she felt a psychological imbalance and anger, then felt a life-and-death crisis, and finally successfully forced the other side to concede and bow their heads.

Yu Miaomiao felt that she had not had it easy; having done so many things, she could finally close her eyes and sleep well for a while now. She was really so tired.

What she didn't notice was that a faint dark yellow halo flowed from A Yuan's lips and teeth, covering the back of her head; this was the reason she fell asleep so quickly.

The teacher was responding to Li Zhuiyuan's probing in this way.

It meant that it could control this silly girl.

Regarding this, Li Zhuiyuan was very satisfied and nodded at it.

The special look in A Yuan's eyes disappeared, and he returned to being the normal A Yuan. He first nervously checked on the young lady's condition, and seeing that she was only asleep, his heart relaxed.

Li Zhuiyuan pointed to the stone door behind him and said: "You come up, use her palm to press the door; we'll walk while she sleeps."

A Yuan raised his hand, pointing to the tent and sleeping bag.

It meant he wanted his young lady to rest well first, just like they had done before, and then open the door to move forward.

Zhao Yi took the initiative to step down two levels of the stone steps, and said with a tone of mockery and warning:

"Can't you see the situation clearly yet? If it weren't for the fact that she holds the secrets about this place, and that she is a member of the Yu family, her identity is indeed special."

"Do you think you still have the qualifications to stand before us?"

"We have already made the greatest tolerance and concession; don't push your luck!"

A Yuan's fists clenched tightly; his right hand was a bloody mess, and a large piece of flesh and skin on his left hand had fallen off, revealing white bone.

He could not tolerate anyone daring to speak to his young lady like this, but his primary duty was to protect her safety.

This debt could be settled later, after he and the young lady had recovered some of their strength.

With the young lady's temper, these guys would not end up with a good outcome.

A Yuan carried Yu Miaomiao in his mouth and walked up the steps.

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Tan Wenbin, held up a finger to him, and shook it.

A Yuan was not human, and his hearing would be very sensitive; there was a risk that whispered conversations would be captured by him. To be safe, it was better to use hand gestures.

Tan Wenbin understood Brother Xiaoyuan's meaning and went to contact Runsheng and the others one by one, first pointing to his mouth, then shaking his hand, signaling everyone to keep what they had just seen a secret.

The team had high tacit understanding; everyone nodded and quickly packed up the tents and sleeping bags.

Yu Miaomiao's palm was pressed onto the stone door, and the third mark was branded onto it.

"Boom—!"

The stone door opened.

"Glug... glug... glug..."

The door was open, but nothing could be seen behind it; it was pitch black.

Moreover, this blackness seemed to be able to squirm, constantly expanding toward here, gradually protruding, and rhythmic vibrations came from within.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Be careful."

Zhao Yi: "It's about to break!"

"Pop!"

It was as if a water bubble had been punctured, and the thick black water inside poured out toward here in a way comparable to a dam opening its gates to release a flood.

Standing at the very front was A Yuan, who had gone to open the door. He instinctively wanted to force himself to stand firm, using his own physique to resist this impact, but firstly, he was severely injured and not in a good state, and secondly, the young lady was in front of him. Fearing that she could not withstand this terrifying water pressure, he immediately turned his back, shielding her in his arms, and then his whole body was washed away by the black water.

Runsheng's first reaction was to go and pull Xiaoyuan.

Zhao Yi shouted at the top of his lungs: "Save me, save me!"

In his current soft and boneless state, his walking style had quite the flair of a delicate beauty from Yangzhou, but he couldn't withstand the impact of this great water. If no one gave him a hand, even if he wasn't slapped to death by the waves, he would drown.

Everything happened too suddenly; it was impossible to dodge, and everyone was like tiny ants, washed away by the fierce black water.

While tumbling and spinning, Li Zhuiyuan took the initiative to kick Runsheng beside him with his foot.

His body was temporarily unable to be fixed, and this water was black, so there was no visibility to speak of; he could only pass on the message in this simple and crude way.

Runsheng understood that Xiaoyuan was telling him to go help the others first.

Although very reluctant and uneasy, Runsheng still obediently let go of the hand gripping the young man, opened his Qi gate, and swam to the other side.

This black water would likely fill this space completely very soon, and from the perception of the water flow, Li Zhuiyuan discovered that it might also form a vortex in the middle.

If he didn't find his partners in the early stages, it would only be more dangerous and harder to leave once the vortex formed later.

Admittedly, everyone in the team was a good swimmer, but this was not ordinary water, and there were wounded people in the team now.

After getting through the initial tossing and turning, Li Zhuiyuan finally stabilized his body. He didn't wait in place; it was pitch black, and waiting was meaningless.

The young man knew even better that being able to take care of himself at such a moment was the greatest contribution to the team.

Li Zhuiyuan began to swim. The basic training he had insisted on, along with the recent health-preserving boxing techniques, made his physical fitness much better than that of a normal person.

In addition, although he had been tossed about by the great water earlier, he had always had a spatial map in his mind, and he knew where he was now.

At this moment, of course, he was swimming into the door.

Water flow has wave patterns, even at the bottom of the water, and Li Zhuiyuan used his advance perception of this momentum to borrow force every time. Most of the time, he wasn't relying on his own swimming, but rather more like selectively going with the flow, and his speed was very fast.

He didn't even need to take off his mountaineering backpack to reduce his burden.

When passing through the stone door, Li Zhuiyuan clearly perceived that there were two undercurrents intertwining here, which meant that not only would there be a vortex, but before long, a water door barrier would form at this high and towering stone door.

However, this barrier was difficult for others, but for Runsheng, who had learned the "Qin Family Dragon-Observing Method," he should be able to penetrate and break through it.

After all, Runsheng was one of the two people closest to him who were more at ease and relaxed in the water than on land; the other was Xue Liangliang.

After exiting the stone door, Li Zhuiyuan didn't continue forward, but instead swam around along the edge.

Because a fierce vortex had already formed ahead, swimming blindly forward would only result in being "swallowed" in.

He didn't know exactly how long he had been swimming, but Li Zhuiyuan perceived hard feedback from the water patterns ahead; he just didn't know if it was a rock wall or if he had reached the shore.

Taking off the water momentum to borrow force in advance, Li Zhuiyuan gently bumped into the rock wall and then immediately floated up.

He hoped that what was above could be the shore, rather than still being filled with black water after reaching the top.

Along with floating up, the water pattern feedback above showed a clear clearing; he was lucky.

"Splash..."

Li Zhuiyuan floated to the surface, and the emerald luster reappeared. Having stayed under the black water for a period of time, he now missed this light pollution a little.

However, although he had reached the shore, the emerald-textured rock wall was smooth and round, and the shore platform had a large drop from the water surface. Without a point to borrow force, even an adult wouldn't be able to get ashore from here.

Li Zhuiyuan's right palm waved lightly, and ceramic, crystalline ribbons floated out in segments. The young man's eyes narrowed, and he used this to quickly and continuously form an array.

Every array could only last for a very short time before dissipating, but this was enough for the young man to climb and step up. Every time he moved upward, it was a case of the old force-borrowing point dissipating and a new one appearing; the frequency was mastered just right.

Finally, Li Zhuiyuan climbed ashore, took off his backpack, and began to breathe and adjust.

Earlier, he could actually have just condensed the array into steps one by one, and then he could have climbed ashore safely and leisurely as if stepping on stairs.

But compared to this kind of ease and leisure, Li Zhuiyuan was more willing to save some blood for himself.

If there were a need to show off for a special occasion, that would be one thing, but there was no one around, so who was he putting on a show of unnecessary decency for?

Besides this, a little sense of accomplishment rose in Li Zhuiyuan's heart.

Even though he wasn't an adult and hadn't practiced martial arts, he could still rely on his own strength to travel through these surging undercurrents and successfully get ashore.

If he had truly practiced martial arts, this wouldn't have been very difficult, and naturally, there would be no sense of accomplishment to speak of.

While breathing, he cherished and protected this emotion.

Unfortunately, it didn't last long before this emotion disappeared.

But these sparks of emotion that would occasionally burst out were truly interesting. Once he cured his illness in the future, he probably wouldn't have this feeling anymore.

Getting up, Li Zhuiyuan took a long candle from his bag, first applying red ink paste to the patterns, and then using a talisman paper to ignite it.

Finally standing on the shore, he held the long candle in his left hand, and with his right hand, he snapped off a piece of the candle just below the flame, threw it onto the water surface, then snapped another, threw it...

The water surface area in front of him looked as if a string of simple lotus lamps had been lit. Although they floated up and down, they echoed each other, were not washed away, and remained fixed in this area.

Li Zhuiyuan placed the last segment on the shore, his fingertips lightly touching the flame, letting it change from yellow to ghostly white.

This was a soul-summoning ritual, simplified by the young man and used here as a road sign for his companions.

Only after doing all this did Li Zhuiyuan have the energy to observe the surrounding environment.

The most eye-catching thing, of course, was the huge depression in the central area, which was a huge, surging vortex.

The size of the vortex kept changing, and the water level changed accordingly. After the water level dropped to a certain point, a long white glow appeared in the distance, which was so abrupt amidst the surrounding emerald green light.

Li Zhuiyuan tried his best to observe that patch of white glow through three opportunities of water level reduction; it looked like a huge archway, and behind the archway was a long path like white jade.

Although it was far away and not clearly visible, he could already feel a sense of grandeur and majesty.

It would be no exaggeration to say it was like a celestial palace.

It was just unclear whether only that archway section was well-built, or if it truly led to some celestial palace hall behind it.

At this moment, movement came from under the water ahead.

Amidst the array of candle lamps, A Yuan's figure emerged, and he was still holding Yu Miaomiao in his arms.

Yu Miaomiao, who had already fallen into a coma, had an even paler complexion after being unconsciously submerged in the water.

The young man flipped his left hand, and the copper coin sword was in his hand; blood mist condensed at his fingertips with his right hand, ready to form a technique at any time.

Seeing that only Li Zhuiyuan was on the shore, a look of surprise appeared in A Yuan's eyes, and within this surprise, there was also a hint of ferocity.

At this moment, he wanted to take action; even though his own condition was very bad, he felt that going up to kill that young man wouldn't be a big problem.

The next moment, he began to run in the water. As his body gradually left the water surface, he finally ended up walking on the water surface, and finally, with a tap of his toes on the water, he borrowed force and jumped ashore.

Even Li Zhuiyuan had to admit that this guy's physique was truly unimaginable; Runsheng, in his current state, could not compare to him in this regard.

His pair of shoes must have been lost under the water, revealing his feet. Wet, yellow hair covered the tops of his feet, and his feet were very long, subconsciously arching and gripping the ground when he landed.

A low growl came from A Yuan's throat, like a wild beast pawing the ground before a charge.

Then, the look in his eyes changed.

The vicissitudes of time emerged.

Li Zhuiyuan knew that A Yuan was once again controlled by the teacher.

After releasing all stress reactions, A Yuan sat down. Yu Miaomiao was placed by his side, and one of his hands spread out, gently covering the girl's face.

This action was to prevent the girl in a coma from suddenly waking up and hearing the conversation that followed.

Li Zhuiyuan put away the copper coin sword, and the blood mist in his palm was retracted.

Another major reason he was so frugal with his blood energy was that after going back, as long as Runsheng saw that his face lacked color, he would make him brown sugar poached eggs, and then stand by his side, watching him eat them one by one with the look of an older brother watching a younger brother.

Li Zhuiyuan also sat down and said to A Yuan: "Shall we chat?"

A Yuan extended a finger, pressing it against his own throat, and then, along with the trembling of his fingertips, a voice was also emitted.

"Fine, let's chat."

"What place is this?"

"A death row, a cage from which one cannot break free even in death."

"Who are you?"

"My surname is Yu, Yu Cangshēng."

Surname Yu?

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Yu Miaomiao lying to the side.

The other party added: "That's right, I am a member of the Yu family."

Li Zhuiyuan was relieved. No wonder Yu Miaomiao could grasp the clues here, because historically, members of the Yu family had been here and had even served as teachers.

In other words, what Yu Miaomiao participated in was a teaching session set by her own ancestors, and it was also an exam paper written by her own ancestors, and even so, she still failed the exam.

Li Zhuiyuan: "You don't seem to like her."

Both had the surname Yu, yet he chose to hide the possession without informing her; this clearly did not conform to common sense.

Yu Cangshēng lowered his head and glanced at Yu Miaomiao lying beside him: "Does a beast like her deserve the surname Yu?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "A beast?"

Yu Cangshēng: "The sky at home must have already changed."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Do you mean that something happened to the Yu family?"

Yu Cangshēng: "She is even able to come out to walk the river, which proves that now at home, there are more beasts than people."

Speaking of this, Yu Cangshēng's fingertips began to shake: "Hehe... hehehehe..."

In the laughter, there was a hint of desolation.

Li Zhuiyuan: "What era are you from?"

Yu Cangshēng: "The era here is very long ago, but my existence is not too long ago; when I came, it was already like this."

"Then what is the meaning of this place's existence, after all?"

"I originally wanted to pursue the answer to this question, which is why I finally fell into this place."

Li Zhuiyuan felt that Yu Cangshēng had not told the complete truth.

"Kid, why is Zhao Wuyang's Treasure Cauldron Evil-Repelling Sword in your hands?"

"When walking the river, I received the legacy of the Zhao family Long Wang, which helps me suppress evil spirits."

This copper coin sword was personally sealed under a stone tablet by Zhao Wuyang and had never appeared in the world again, so Yu Cangshēng should be a figure from the same period as Zhao Wuyang.

"He didn't give it to his own descendants, but left it to you? You kid, you're not simple.

He, Zhao Wuyang, achieved the position of Long Wang, and this object is deeply entangled with his karma, carrying the Long Wang's blessings. Even if it is said that it wouldn't be given to his descendants, in the end, it would likely be taken over by his descendants.

Unless his descendants are truly incompetent, otherwise, it is very difficult for others to get their hands on it."

Li Zhuiyuan: "This is probably the reason why the Long Wang can be the Long Wang."

After hearing this, Yu Cangshēng's eyes immediately widened:

"Is your surname really Li?"

He should be able to obtain A Yuan's memories.

"My surname is Li."

Yu Cangshēng extended his hand, pointed at Li Zhuiyuan, then flicked his own forehead, and immediately patted Yu Miaomiao's face:

"A beast is a beast; a bit cunning, but more self-righteous. Two stupid things, they can't even see the true identity of their opponent, and they are still smug and self-satisfied with their identity as Yu family members."

Li Zhuiyuan was silent.

It seemed that because of his previous sentence, Yu Cangshēng directly confirmed some kind of background identity of his.

"Hum! Hum! Hum!"

At this moment, a bell sound came from the white glow in the distance.

Li Zhuiyuan asked: "There are still people there."

Yu Cangshēng: "When you go in yourself, won't you know?"

After speaking, Yu Cangshēng's gaze swept toward the black water surface.

After he picked up Yu Miaomiao again, he stood up.

Li Zhuiyuan also stood up, the copper coin sword once again in his hand, blood mist circling his right hand.

Yu Cangshēng closed his eyes, and A Yuan opened his eyes.

Seamless connection, and A Yuan was completely unaware.

Li Zhuiyuan knew that what Yu Cangshēng used was the true beast-taming technique of the Yu family, which could not only control the perception of demon beasts but even change the cognition of demon beasts.

Seeing the whole from a small part, one could see the terror of this unique skill of the Yu family.

However, just as A Yuan was preparing to try to take action, Runsheng's figure appeared on the lake surface.

Zhao Yi and Lin Shu You were like two octopuses, one in front and one behind, hugging Runsheng.

Seeing that only Brother Xiaoyuan and that A Yuan were on the shore, Lin Shu You immediately spat the mouthful of water in his mouth forcefully at Zhao Yi.

"Pfft!"

Zhao Yi was sprayed awake in a daze, immediately realized something, and together with Lin Shu You, let go of their hands and feet, detaching from Runsheng.

Runsheng opened his Qi gate, got ashore at an extremely fast speed, and stood in front of Xiaoyuan.

A Yuan was no longer restless and became quiet instantly; he knew his current state, and could only try his luck in front of that young man; it was impossible to withstand a group beating.

Li Zhuiyuan patted Runsheng's arm: "Brother Runsheng, fish those two up."

Runsheng swallowed his saliva, but finally nodded, and brought the two wounded, Zhao Yi and Lin Shu You, ashore.

Just as he finished here, a "corpse" floated up in the distance; it was Tan Wenbin.

"Splash..."

Beside Tan Wenbin's corpse, a head popped up, and after flipping her hair back, it was Yin Meng.

Although Yin Meng had been detoxified, her body was still relatively weak in the short term, so she used Tan Wenbin as a boat board, drifting over while grabbing Tan Wenbin's "corpse" the whole way.

Tan Wenbin was not dead, but he was indeed playing the role of a corpse.

Because at this time, not moving was the best choice; everything could be left to his two god-sons to command.

Anyway, under the pitch-black water, he couldn't even find a direction, so it was better to be a corpse with peace of mind and take the "Yin Corpse" route.

Some dead people with deep resentment would indeed have an instinct to head toward those they were closest to while alive; Tan Wenbin was utilizing this principle.

Yin Meng got ashore first, while Tan Wenbin still had his eyes closed.

Runsheng used a shovel to fish Binbin up.

Lin Shu You asked with concern: "Brother Xiaoyuan, Brother Bin won't have any problems, right?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Pinch his nose, cover his mouth."

"Okay." Lin Shu You squatted down and pinched Tan Wenbin's nose.

Just as he was about to ask Brother Xiaoyuan what to do next, he saw the face of Tan Wenbin on the ground swell up, and his eyes suddenly opened. Lin Shu You immediately let go, and Tan Wenbin began to gasp for air.

Lin Shu You asked excitedly: "Brother Xiaoyuan, what is the principle behind this?"

Li Zhuiyuan said calmly: "He was asleep."

Lin Shu You: "Ah..."

After Tan Wenbin gasped for air, he stood up and began to rub his body. Every time he had some intimate contact with his god-sons, his body would turn cold; he had almost been frozen into hibernation in the water just now.

After a simple rest, everyone began to walk toward the white glow.

When they got closer, they discovered that this white was not white jade, but a type of stone. Influenced by the special environment here, it had been polished year-round, as if covered with a thick layer of fluorescent powder.

The archway was very large, with a plaque hanging on it, inscribed: 【Ascension Building】.

On both sides, there were couplets:

Immortal aura lingers around the jade building; divine light shines upon the Qiong Terrace.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't see any immortal aura or divine light, but the full desire for immortality was thick and pungent.

But regardless, after all the tossing and turning, from arriving in Lijiang, staying in a homestay, competing for jade fragments, to the present, the true purpose of this trip and this wave was right before their eyes.

The one in A Li's dream said they wanted to invite him to watch their clan's ascension.

Li Zhuiyuan was very curious about what kind of ascension method it was.

The young man didn't believe there were gods and immortals in this world; those existences that were powerful and lived for a long time didn't look like the traditional image of immortals either.

When people live for a long time, they get old, and if they don't die after getting very old and continue to live, they get ugly.

There was an array setup under the archway, protecting the celestial palace behind it.

This was an array with a very high specification and a very large scale. When Li Zhuiyuan observed it, he was also shocked by it.

The black water served as its array eye, providing the array with endless survival, and the buildings behind served as the array bones, helping it support the structure.

And vaguely, this array also echoed and combined with some kind of rhythm of this secret realm, achieving a state where you are in me and I am in you.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't have the ability to break this array; all he could do was increase his survival rate a little bit when risking his life to charge the array.

However, when everyone truly walked under the archway, the marks on the palms of Li Zhuiyuan, Zhao Yi, and Yu Miaomiao disappeared.

The archway had no door, but everyone seemed to hear the sound of a door opening in their ears at this moment.

The array was activated; the final destination of the invitation was right here.

Li Zhuiyuan glanced at A Yuan; it seemed that Yu Cangshēng had hidden himself in his body for the purpose of being able to pass through this array.

Behind the archway was a wide white long road; except for this road, both sides were pitch black.

Tan Wenbin asked Yin Meng for an empty can and threw it down, but didn't hear the sound of it hitting water, nor did he even hear an echo.

This road truly seemed to be suspended in an abyss.

Tan Wenbin couldn't help but sigh: "To build such a place, how much manpower and material resources must it have cost."

Lin Shu You: "There are carvings on the stone slabs in front."

This was the first time since entering here that they had encountered something with historical records.

The stone slabs on the ground were of different sizes, but the arrangement was very harmonious, not appearing chaotic, but rather setting off a sense of wholeness.

Some stone slabs were carved with scenes of a person leading a group of carriages and horses to pay tribute; they should be feudal lords or dignitaries, and one could tell from their clothing that they were from many different eras and regions.

The secrets here didn't just exist in history books, but for some people in various eras, it was not a secret.

It was just that the records of these feudal lords and dignitaries could only use small stone slabs, while the medium stone slabs recorded small groups of people or individuals; some people could be clearly seen to be members of the Xuan Sect, and the magic tools in their hands were also carved.

The large stone slabs were all carvings of single figures; although their ages, genders, and attire were different, without exception, they all gave people a sense of being elegant and detached from the world, and they should all be big figures from various periods.

On one large stone slab, Li Zhuiyuan saw a person with a white tiger following behind.

A Yuan "ah-ah-ah" excitedly; he should have seen his ancestor.

Yu Miaomiao was "woken up"; she should have woken up long ago, but had been pretending to be asleep, and during this period, her breathing frequency hadn't changed, so she had pretended very realistically.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't notice any flaws, but he just knew she was pretending.

Because when he had a brief exchange with Yu Cangshēng earlier, Yu Cangshēng deliberately covered the girl's face with his hand just to prevent this bit of cunning of hers.

After seeing that large stone slab, Yu Miaomiao immediately got down from A Yuan's arms and bowed to the figure in the stone slab.

Li Zhuiyuan felt that he should be Yu Cangshēng.

What Yu Miaomiao didn't know was that the person she was bowing to was currently hiding in A Yuan's body behind her.

The ancestor she respected had just called her a beast.

Well, more than that, he had scolded the entire current Yu family.

But through this stone slab, one thing could also be determined, which was that Yu Cangshēng had indeed not told the truth.

Why did he come here specifically back then, and why did he fall into this place and become a "teacher"?

The records on the stone slabs were incomparably rich; they had walked on them for a long time, but still hadn't reached the other side of the carvings.

Instead, on both sides of this suspended white road, graceful figures appeared.

They stood facing each other, standing at the edge of the white road, with consistent spacing, meticulous, at least for now, as far as the eye could see.

Some were playing musical instruments, all kinds of instruments, while others were dancing, also all kinds of dance styles.

When everyone walked from the middle, it was like being welcomed by a lined path, and there was indeed a sense of solemnity of a celestial palace, which could be called a fairyland on earth.

Lin Shu You's vertical pupils kept sweeping over them, and then a look of unbearable pity appeared on his face.

In fact, for every graceful figure, if one broke through the illusion, one could see that a small jar was placed at an equal distance along the white road, and a bronze mirror stood on the jar.

The ashes of their respective remains were in the jar, and the bronze mirror reflected their lives.

This ethereal atmosphere was actually created in this way.

The only consolation was that there was no resentment on them, meaning they were not harmed to death.

It was fortunate that it was so, otherwise, on this imperial road of the celestial palace, there would be gusts of ghostly wind and ghostly wailing.

Li Zhuiyuan had a good memory; he remembered all the stone slab carvings he had passed earlier in his mind, and then he discovered that the attire characteristics of these dancing girls and singing girls could all find corresponding ones in the previous stone slabs.

They only appeared on the small stone slabs; the smaller the stone slab, the more figures were carved, basically all scenes of feudal lords and dignitaries leading a large group of people over.

They were brought here; although on this white road, they seemed to be numerous, in reality, among the sloppy group portraits represented in the small stone slabs, they were only a small handful.

It was not burial, at least not forced burial.

Earlier in the classroom, Li Zhuiyuan had also used black shadows to knead puppets. At that time, he noticed that the black shadows were easy to use, had no resentment or evil spirits on them, and the puppets kneaded were purer and without impurities, and the success rate was higher.

It was just that at that time, he thought it was the long-term soaking effect of the liquid inside the emerald that wiped away those resentments. After all, large-scale corpse tides were often accompanied by slaughter and harm, and it was impossible for no resentment to be born.

But there was none here either, and they hadn't been soaked.

Zhao Yi: "Brother Zhuiyuan, when you kneaded puppets before, was there resentment on those black shadows?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "No, very clean."

Zhao Yi: "Then they... were all willing to die here voluntarily?"

Li Zhuiyuan was silent for a moment and nodded.

Because only this could explain it.

Zhao Yi: "Then what exactly attracted them to be willing to die here?"

After asking this, Zhao Yi and Li Zhuiyuan turned their heads and looked back together. Having walked forward for so long, that clean and holy archway still had a vague shadow visible.

For the sake of becoming an immortal!

When a twelve-story tower figure appeared ahead, it indicated that this long white road was finally coming to an end.

Twelve stories was not too high, but because it hung alone here, if one counted the unfathomable depth below, this tower was truly towering to an outrageous degree.

At the top of the tower was a bell; the bell sound heard earlier was emitted from here. It could actually drift so far, not only drifting past the archway, but also penetrating the noisy waves of the vortex.

The remaining eleven stories all had their doors and windows tightly closed, solemn and strict.

In front of the tower, there was a square, shaped like a "convex."

On the flat part at the very top, there was a canopy treasure pavilion.

The four wings flew out in an extremely exaggerated way, like a giant umbrella covering it, and on it were dense and numerous colorful paintings, all kinds of immortal legends and story characters, which could be called all-encompassing.

A table was set under the pavilion, and a sumptuous feast was arranged on it.

Seeing this, Tan Wenbin immediately showed disgust; this was because he remembered when he first ran behind Brother Xiaoyuan and Runsheng, he was ignorant and ate a lot of dirty things.

Heaven knows what exactly the delicacies on this table were!

Runsheng's nose kept sniffing hard; although there was still a distance, he couldn't help but salivate and keep swallowing.

Walking onto that platform, looking toward the slanted depressions on both sides from its edges, he discovered that there were countless corpses kneeling and lying inside, all preserved perfectly, as if they were alive, and all were in kneeling or praying postures, with different details of their salutes.

Layer upon layer, one layer of people kneeling on the next layer of people, and at the same time being knelt on by the layer above; it couldn't be called seamless, but it also revealed a sense of order, very particular about first come, first served, and each in its place.

The clothing and accessories on these kneeling corpses were all exquisite and luxurious to the extreme.

Yu Miaomiao's eyes were bright; although she was severely injured, after arriving here, she became excited.

Zhao Yi pointed to the kneeling corpse pits on both sides respectively and said: "Hard seat on the train."

Then, he pointed to the high tower: "High-class soft sleeper."

Everyone finally walked into the pavilion. The dishes on the table in the pavilion were still emitting heat; this scene appeared incomparably bizarre.

Tan Wenbin didn't say a word and first applied a clear-heart talisman to himself. After excluding the possibility of being possessed and having hallucinations, he confirmed that the food was truly emitting heat.

"I originally thought that attending a banquet or eating a feast were just jokes; it turns out there really is a host here cooking for us to eat?"

Yu Miaomiao glanced at Tan Wenbin with disdain and said:

"What an ignorant guy, where is there a host.

The environment here is special, and corpses can be kept fresh, let alone dishes? Furthermore, there is geothermal fire hidden under the stone table, supplemented by array patterns connected to it, and the heat waves are endless, which is why white smoke rises.

If there really were a host waiting for us here, we clearly have eight people here, why are there nine stone chairs set at the dining table? Why didn't the host remove one in advance?"

Tan Wenbin: "Doesn't the host have to sit down too?"

Yu Miaomiao sneered: "Heh, there is no reserved main seat there at all; this is clearly a banquet without a host."

Tan Wenbin looked at Zhao Yi, and Zhao Yi nodded.

"Oh, so there is this saying."

Tan Wenbin counted the stone chairs again; there were indeed nine.

In fact, this could also be counted as Li Zhuiyuan's side having six people, and Yu Miaomiao's side having three, exactly nine chairs.

"Hum!!"

The bell rang suddenly again.

Everyone was startled in their hearts and all subconsciously looked up at the top floor of the high tower.

No one was seen ringing the bell; the bell seemed to be shaken by the internal array, shaking on its own at a fixed time.

Whoosh...

Except for Li Zhuiyuan, everyone breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts.

Including Yu Miaomiao, who had previously asserted that there was no host here.

But just as everyone's hearts had just relaxed, by the window on the top floor,

A human face poked out.

———

I worked hard to write 10,000 words today. I will make up for the word count I mentioned yesterday later. Sorry, hugging everyone tight!

(End of chapter)