Chapter 280

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan pushed aside layer after layer of gray fog; it was relatively thin at first, but grew denser the deeper he went, until finally, a mere touch would cause pus to ooze out.

After passing through completely, what lay ahead was a circular patch of pitch-black darkness.

"Boom!"

A clap of thunder rang out, and a flash of lightning illuminated the area, briefly revealing a courtyard with a pond, and beneath the eaves, the tomb owner sitting propped up against the wall.

He was younger now than he had been in the coffin after his death, but in terms of state, though he was alive, there was no difference from being dead.

His skin was deathly pale, and he sat there motionless, his eyes open but devoid of any luster; in short, he was a more refined, unrotted walking corpse.

Since his birth, he had been treated by wandering spirits as an inn where they could "stay" at any time; this frequent possession not only battered his body but also crushed his spirit.

To put it bluntly, the prostitutes and pimps in a brothel lived with more dignity than he did.

If he had been of an ordinary temperament, that would have been one thing; he could have given up early on, completely extinguishing his sense of self, and perhaps found a form of release in death. But as it happened, he was a person of considerable resilience at his core.

People with his physiognomy generally did not live past ten, yet he had managed to live into his early twenties—more than double the expected lifespan. However, this resilience brought him not a reward after hardship, but rather longer-lasting torment and suffering.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan walked around the pond and stopped in front of him.

The spirits within ordinary corpses usually exhibited varying degrees of damage, sometimes even being incredibly weak; at such times, Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan often had to replenish their spirits himself.

Yet, the one before him, even after being buried for so long, still possessed a completely intact spirit.

Logically, this was a good thing, but extremes meet; it meant that although he was dead, he still retained complete memories. To "deceive" him, even if it meant modifying his memories, one had to account for the long sequence of events, making the difficulty even greater.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan waved his hand in front of him and called out twice; as expected, he showed no reaction.

It was as if, in his "view," Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan was just another wandering spirit attempting to occupy his body.

And in fact, that was exactly the case.

The youth chose to walk outward; his own time was tight and could not be wasted.

In reality, the three entities who had descended into the tomb owner's body had broken the rules, yet they also continued them. Once a new balance was established, their attention was instead locked onto the "four people" before them.

This effectively gave Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan a chance to hide in the shadows.

However, the youth was under immense pressure and a heavy burden; he had to maintain the situation in reality while secretly performing the Black Skin Book secret arts. Therefore, the youth had to see results in the shortest possible time.

There was no time to modify the tomb owner's memories entirely, so Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan intended to achieve resonance with him.

He himself was certainly not suitable, but there was one person who had a similar experience.

Returning to the gray fog, Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan's image changed rapidly, transforming into... the appearance of Zhao Yi.

Stepping out of the fog once more, he entered the thunderous courtyard and sat down before the tomb owner.

"Zhao Yi" began to shrink, changing from an adult into an infant, while images of "parents," "clan elders," and others appeared around him.

As an infant, "Zhao Yi" endured the excruciating pain caused by the opening of the Life and Death Gate, while desperately reaching out his small hands in an attempt to gain warmth and comfort. What he received, however, was the dissatisfaction and hatred of his "parents," and the cold, calculating gaze of the clan elders who viewed him as a tiny probability of success.

Zhao Yi occasionally mentioned his past in a joking tone, and Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan had never deeply discussed their respective childhoods with him.

After all, neither of them particularly liked their own childhoods.

But with the "thematic keyword" as a premise, Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan could easily fill in the gaps of "Zhao Yi's past."

While displaying the scenes, Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan also observed the tomb owner's reaction.

The tomb owner... showed no reaction.

This made Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan begin to self-correct; pure "tragic empathy" might seem effective, but for an existence like the tomb owner, it still appeared too bland.

The youth immediately adjusted his plan. Previously, to emphasize the tragedy of Zhao Yi's past, he had deliberately removed the character "Old Uncle Tian Tou."

If it was going to be tragic, it had to be thorough; he shouldn't introduce hope or warmth, as that would be extreme.

But without the embellishment of warmth, how could one highlight the difficulty of those years?

It was a bit like using movement to set off stillness.

In the new display, the image of Old Uncle Tian Tou appeared. While the whole family watched with cold eyes to see when Zhao Yi would die, only this servant of a different surname played with the young master, diligently guarded his bedside, and carried him on his back to watch the other children play outside.

After the image of Old Uncle Tian Tou gradually unfolded, the tomb owner showed emotional fluctuations.

Here, things were no longer static; beside the tomb owner appeared a gentle woman, who held him in her arms, her tears falling like broken pearls.

This was his mother.

She had given birth to her child and then witnessed his "torment of illness" every step of the way; she had never given up and had always stayed by his side.

Perhaps this was also the reason the tomb owner had been able to hold on and continue this desperate life.

As the scenes changed, white mourning banners appeared all around, and paper money was tossed into the air; the tomb owner's mother had passed away.

Her departure caused the tomb owner to lose the meaning of continuing to live, and he closed his eyes.

Although what was presented here was the past of "Zhao Yi" and the tomb owner, Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan, as a bystander, was still moved.

It was only after arriving in Nantong that Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan had come into contact with the Profound Sect and opened the door to another world.

But there was one point that could not be ignored: until he returned to Nantong and met Old Tianmen and the others, the past Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan had never felt that anything was missing from his life, nor did he feel there was anything wrong with his existence.

Because he had never possessed or even felt it, he did not feel he was lacking.

People sometimes do not live purely for themselves; your existence itself is an indispensable value in the lives of others.

Even if it is not there at the moment, it is precisely this process of searching, discovering, and establishing that gives meaning to the length of life.

The youth looked up; others' stories had left a mark in his heart, and he was clumsily trying to capture and record them.

When he came back to his senses, he discovered that the tomb owner was no longer sitting propped up, but was standing before him.

Even Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan was not sure whether it was Zhao Yi's story or his own empathy that had successfully triggered him.

This was a genius, a buried genius; even after so many years of death, his corpse could still withstand the simultaneous descent of three such existences, which was enough to show his talent.

If he were still alive, he would actually be qualified to sit and chat with him and Zhao Yi.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "Do you regret it?"

The tomb owner was silent.

The youth knew that the one who had buried this genius was actually the genius himself; external factors had an influence, but they were not the main cause.

Zhao Yi's childhood experience was more painful than his, yet Zhao Yi had gritted his teeth and endured. Admittedly, the tomb owner's family could not be compared to a behemoth like the Jiujiang Zhao, but the wandering spirits that possessed him time and again were enough to allow him to intercept many things; he simply hadn't chosen to Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face the difficulties head-on and use his bloody hands to dig through the hard frozen soil above his head.

The tomb owner spoke: "I regret it."

As he answered, his gaze was fixed on the "Zhao Yi" who was still performing.

The childhood torment phase had already ended, and Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan did not call a halt. The current "Zhao Yi" had entered a high-spirited phase, viewed by the family as the hope for recreating the Dragon King.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "It's a pity you're already dead and have no chance to start over."

The tomb owner: "Hmm."

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "However, since you're already dead, you might as well lose your temper."

The tomb owner smiled.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "Those past wandering spirits and such were just small fry; this time, the ones in your corpse are three big ones, which are excellent targets for revenge."

The tomb owner: "Correct."

The next moment, Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan sensed that the tomb owner was completely "controlled" by him.

This was the most unique experience since the youth had learned to use the Black Skin Book secret arts.

Rather than calling it "control," it was more like another way of unfolding the red thread; the tomb owner's consciousness was not being dominated by him, but was cooperating with his instructions in a collaborative effort.

Wei Wei Wei Wei Wei Wei Wei Zhengdao's Black Skin Book secret arts emphasized a kind of dominance—all things have spirits, and all things can be controlled by me.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan vaguely felt that he had found a new direction for the development of these secret arts.

For ordinary corpses or even those of the dead, controlling them or not meant nothing to him now; they couldn't withstand a single strike of Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng's shovel anyway.

As for those corpses that were powerful in life, rather than forcibly destroying and reconstructing them into puppets in his hands, losing many of their abilities from life, it was better to take another path: "awakening" them while also granting them a certain degree of freedom.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan did not think he was being whimsical; it was truly not strange that the Black Skin Book secret arts could be improved by him.

Because when Wei Wei Wei Wei Wei Wei Wei Zhengdao created this secret method, he was still in a "sick" phase and had not yet begun to treat himself.

In this regard, he was definitely ahead of Wei Wei Wei Wei Wei Wei Wei Zhengdao during the same period.

Outside in reality, Yin Yin Yin Yin Yin Yin Mengmeng's poison jars were almost exhausted, and he had to withdraw his consciousness to deal with the upcoming situation.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan prepared to leave, but just as he reached the gray fog, he stopped, turned around, looked at the tomb owner, and asked:

"Are you fast at learning arts?"

"I don't know."

He had never been initiated and had no foundation.

"Who chose this tomb for you?"

"I chose it myself before I died."

"Why choose this place?"

"Besides me, my mother had other younger brothers and sisters. Besides, my family raised me, this waste, for over twenty years; I hope they can all live better lives in the future."

"You misunderstood my meaning; I asked, what was the reason you chose to be buried here?"

"A feeling."

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan nodded.

Being possessed by wandering spirits for a long time didn't mean nothing was left behind; he had seen much and experienced much from a first-person perspective.

This was equivalent to him constantly attending lectures in a classroom, just without a degree certificate and without participating in exams to get grades.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "Then I will teach you an art; let's see if you can learn it quickly."

The tomb owner: "Whatever you do, I will do."

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "It's different; I cannot do this art with you, because by then, I may have already broken my connection with you."

The tomb owner: "What about for those three?"

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "A huge surprise."

The tomb owner: "Good, I will learn."

Outside in reality, before Yin Yin Yin Yin Yin Yin Yin Mengmeng's last batch of poison jars was used up, Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan told her in his heart that after the next round of attacks ended, she should retreat and let Zhao Yi take over, and then she should prepare for the sacrifice.

The time spent learning techniques from now on will have to rely on squeezing Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Binbin.

The short period of learning ended.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "You have learned it."

The tomb owner nodded, lowered his hands, and wore a smile:

"I am looking forward to it."

In reality.

The black patterns under the tomb owner's feet shattered, cutting off the path for those three to leave.

The timing was deliberately grasped by Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan, chosen for the moment when their three-stick incense rule time was exhausted and they were just about to leave.

A moment earlier would not do; he could not force them into a corner prematurely, otherwise they would be injured and pay a price, but he and the others present would all die.

The rules were set by them; as the weaker party, before having the ability to break these rules, one must strive to be more familiar with the rules than the stronger party.

Of course, while being familiar, one must also keep a clear head, because due to inertia, it is easy to naively assume that the rules will never change.

Their reactions appeared.

Three lights of different colors circulated from the tomb owner's body, divided into red, black, and white.

The red light went to sever the connection between Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan and the tomb owner's corpse at the first opportunity; in an instant, a massive amount of extreme negative emotions began to assault Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan's spirit.

The youth's figure swayed, and he knelt on one knee again, his Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face showing pain, yet he still bit his teeth tightly, continuing that futile tug-of-war with it.

The previous physical condition was real, and the earlier burden was indeed too heavy, not an act, but now, it was indeed an act.

The characteristic torture method of the Underworld is the cruel torment of the soul and consciousness; the one represented by the red light is considered a kind of path dependency at this moment.

Little did they know, these extreme emotions were completely ineffective on the youth; he was a freak.

Although this freak had used some means to make himself slightly more normal and could be affected by these emotions, for Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan, it was just an extra process; he only needed to transfer this trash into the fish pond built by his true self deep in his consciousness to serve as feed.

The youth also knew that this method was destined not to deceive the other party for too long, but it didn't need to be too long; enough was enough.

The black light formed a low, dark cloud above, and for a time, the surroundings were as dark as ink.

He was using this method to avoid the investigation of the gaze from above, providing cover for the existence of the three.

The white light first circled around the tomb owner, forming a barrier, and then began to burst outward.

They had broken the rules once again, but this time, they paid a price.

These lights were considered their origin, and all their actions at this moment were a form of consumption.

Although it was not much and the intensity was not high, often the longer an existence lived, the more stingy and miserly they would be in this regard.

Moreover, after the rule was broken, the influence of the old rules was still partially retained; for example, now, they had no way to continue controlling the tomb owner's corpse to fight.

Originally, they were the temporary owners of this body; now, they had become thieves stealing from it.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan's breathing became rapid; he was using this method to send a signal to Zhao Yi.

Zhao Yi spread his arms, and the Life-Death Gate seam in front of his chest rotated rapidly; the white light that had been drawn out was pulled over by him.

A scream came from Zhao Yi's mouth; his body twitched violently, and his eyes rolled upward, turning completely white.

Resisting the soul power released by that person with the strength of one person, even if that person was not using full strength, was still terrifying.

But at this moment, if he didn't carry it, no one else could.

Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng and Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Shu You had reached the edge of exhaustion, and the two launched their final attack at this time.

The shovel Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face and the double maces struck the white light barrier; after the barrier trembled, it bounced the two away.

The two held on, stepped forward again, and used this method to help Zhao Yi reduce the pressure. The saying "three monks have no water to drink" refers to more than just monks.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan saw it; even at this point, the stinginess of those three remained, saving their own origin as much as possible, and they would even compare with each other.

The black light was responsible for shielding the sensing from above, the red light was responsible for suppressing the body and severing the connection between the body and Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan, and the offensive and defensive white light had always followed the consumption range of those two, resolutely unwilling to let themselves suffer a loss by paying more.

In their eyes, Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan's group were the barefoot ones, while they were the existences wearing official robes and standing high above.

"Zhao Yi!"

Yin Meng shouted urgently, rushing toward Zhao Yi, her eyes full of concern.

Those who didn't know would think the relationship between Yin Meng and Zhao Yi was very good.

She arrived in front of Zhao Yi, wanting to help Zhao Yi block the invasion from the white light.

Unfortunately, her identity could make those below the Judge hesitate, but in front of these three, it was not that sensitive or important; at least, when the white light grazed her and she also let out a shrill scream, it looked that way.

Zhao Yi bumped forward, reached out, and pushed Yin Meng away, roaring:

"Get lost, you idiot."

After Yin Meng landed, her body rolled continuously.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan also gave up the struggle at this time, as if he could no longer bear the wave-like impact of negative emotions, and gave up the connection with the tomb owner's corpse.

The youth pressed his forehead to the ground, his right fingertips grabbing the soil in front of him, showing an extremely strong sense of unwillingness.

The red light mission was completed and directly retracted.

Seeing this, the white light immediately withdrew, leaving only the white barrier in front, which was still resisting the extremely weak attacks of Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng and Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Shu You.

The two of them couldn't fight anymore either; after another round of attacks ended, Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng collapsed to the ground.

Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Shu You stuck his double maces into the ground, probably taught by the Master Master Master Master Master Master Master Master Tongzi, wanting to maintain a tragic posture of a person falling but not collapsing.

But after all his strength was squeezed dry, it was too difficult to pose; when Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Shu You fainted and leaned forward, the double maces on the ground failed to prop him up, instead causing his body to flip over after falling forward, like a quilt hung up to dry.

Zhao Yi's appearance didn't change much, but his whole body felt like it had been scorched by fire; after kneeling to the ground with a "thud," he immediately stood up forcibly.

If he didn't stand up, there would be no one left standing on their side.

Opening his mouth, he spat out a folded purple talisman paper, Zhao Yi's eyes revealing madness.

"Fengdou, die."

"Underworld carries out punishment."

"Crimes are unforgivable."

Those three were leaving; they defaulted to the fact that they could not intercept and kill halfway, and were unwilling to invest any more, waiting until they could settle accounts together in Fengdou.

The black patterns appeared again; the most anxious was the black light, because in order to shield the gaze of the Heavenly Dao, his origin consumption had never stopped, plus if he killed someone outside the three-stick incense time, and killed someone with such a sensitive identity, the pressure he bore would be even more terrifying.

After all, one was from the family of the unorthodox Long Wang, and the other was the successor to the two Long Wang gates.

Yin Meng, lying on the ground, burned the yellow paper in her hand, chanting spells in her mouth.

The black patterns under her feet did not disappear this time, but instead expanded many times over, and a special aura descended.

"This is..."

"How could it be..."

"Impossible..."

Three panicked emotions appeared because this was the aura of the Great Emperor!

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan raised his head and watched this scene.

Zhao Yi retracted his tongue, hid the purple talisman paper, and a wanton smile appeared on his Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face.

Earlier, when Yin Meng rushed in front of him, attempting to help him share the pressure, the moment he pushed her away, he took the Gu insect from Yin Meng's hand.

With that white barrier there, the Gu insect couldn't fly in directly, so Zhao Yi held the Gu insect in his hand, and when the white light left his body, he let the Gu insect mix into this white light and leave with it.

The one who made this plan must be the one surnamed Li; Yin Yin Yin Yin Yin Yin Mengmeng's ability to adapt to circumstances could never be this fast. This method of "loudly plotting" in private even in front of the enemy really made Zhao Yi envious.

Unfortunately, he couldn't learn it.

The red light bloomed again, sweeping over the tomb owner's body; the clothes worn during burial were lifted, and a small hole appeared in the center of the abdomen.

The Gu insect was already inside.

It was equivalent to Yin Meng using the tomb owner's corpse as a sacrificial offering to the ancestors.

The tomb owner's body began to swell, gradually showing a tendency to rot.

The red light flourished, no longer stingy this time, and took the initiative to suppress this process.

The area of the black light above continued to expand; this time, besides isolating the Heavenly Dao, it also had to isolate another existence that made them shudder.

The white light in the middle split into two, half to help the red light and half to help the black light.

They had been keeping small accounts, but as they kept counting, they eventually lost, and would lose more and more.

It was not that the three of them were short-sighted; with their actions today, anyone else would have been played to death by them long ago, but it just so happened that this time they were facing Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan; mainly, ants and ants also have big differences.

Zhao Yi took a deep breath; he really admired this one surnamed Li. Facing such an existence, being able to bend and stretch was already not easy, but the one surnamed Li could make up his mind to mess with them to death; even if he couldn't kill them, he would forcibly peel off a layer of their skin.

Just at this moment, yellow, blue, and green colors appeared in the blackness above, as if actively helping to shield the perception.

The black and part of the white that had shed the pressure were able to fully assist the red to suppress the corpse sacrifice, and it was indeed about to be suppressed.

After all, they were existences in myths and legends; when they got serious and were really willing to spend their capital, their strength would be indescribable.

There was no look of discouragement on Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan's Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face; instead, his eyes showed contemplation, and he even looked toward the southwest direction.

Zhao Yi was greatly stimulated here; he was unwilling to let those three escape safely just like that.

You want to interrupt the sacrifice and stop the Great Emperor's gaze from looking over, right?

Fine, I'll let you shield!

Zhao Yi ran to Yin Meng's side, picked up a piece of yellow paper that had scattered earlier from Yin Meng's side, scratched his fingertip with his nail, and wrote a blood letter directly on the yellow paper.

He hadn't experienced the same thing before; he had experience.

After writing quickly, Zhao Yi said: "Great Emperor is above, the little one Zhao Yi from Jiujiang hereby offers a sacrifice, hoping the Great Emperor will accept and enjoy it!"

The yellow paper ignited, but it only burned a corner and went out.

The three-colored light on the tomb owner's body trembled slightly and continued to suppress steadily.

Obviously, the force was too small and far from enough.

Zhao Yi thought about whether to take this yellow paper to the one surnamed Li; with the special relationship between the one surnamed Li and the Great Emperor, it might work.

But just as he wanted to turn and run over, he saw the Li fellow, who had just been performing and then raised his head to watch the excitement, lower his head again.

Zhao Yi: "..."

The Li fellow was definitely faking it; Zhao Yi was ninety-nine percent certain.

But just like the several times before when the Li fellow had been heavily injured and unconscious in front of him and he hadn't dared to strike, if the Li fellow had really passed out, then this most critical moment would be delayed.

Li fellow, I beg you to keep faking it for a while longer; don't raise your head the moment I finish!

Zhao Yi held the yellow paper, steeled his heart, and chanted once more:

"I'm calling you up to enjoy the sacrificial offering, so get up here for me immediately; don't you dare be ungrateful, damn it!"

That was what he shouted, but in his heart, he was constantly explaining to himself.

He wasn't doing this to be intentionally disrespectful to the Great Emperor, but to pass information to the Great Emperor; he was acting as a loyal remonstrating official!

Anyway, he was already knee-deep in trouble with the Great Emperor; if he wanted to keep his family alive, relying solely on explanations and pleading guilty wasn't enough—he had to take another path.

The effect was obvious.

The extinguished flame on the yellow paper ignited once more, and the three-colored luster on the tomb owner's body vibrated violently.

However, when the yellow paper had burned to one-third, it went out again, and the luster on the tomb owner's body stabilized once more.

Zhao Yi's mouth twitched.

Taking a deep breath, the expression on Zhao Yi's Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face became somewhat ferocious; he held up the tattered yellow paper in front of him, but his tone became extremely gentle, as if greeting an old friend:

"Hey, that pair of rotten dog testicles I sent you last time, were they tasty?"

"Hum!"

Fire flared up, and the yellow paper was instantly burned to ashes.

The red, white, and black lights on the tomb owner's body were completely suppressed, and the luster that had been helping to shield it from above was also washed away, leaving the purple color, which symbolized supreme nobility, to completely envelop it.

The Great Emperor had accepted this sacrifice.

Zhao Yi sighed silently in his heart, turned his head, and discovered that the Li fellow had raised his head at this moment.

Inside the tomb owner's body, the three originally terrifying auras now became incomparably humble.

This meant that the Great Emperor's rule in Fengdou remained firm.

However, the event Zhao Yi had anticipated—the Great Emperor catching them in the act and directly flying into a rage to punish them—did not happen.

The majestic purple from above arrived fiercely and departed just as swiftly.

The three rays of light that had previously been suppressed were restored after paying a certain price.

Only this time, the three lusters did not make any more threats and became taciturn.

All they wanted to do now was to leave this muddy water quickly.

The black patterns shrank again; the previous expansion had not successfully ushered in the Great Emperor, and now, the three of them still had to leave in this manner.

Was there a reprimand? A warning? A scolding?

Zhao Yi didn't know if the Great Emperor had communicated with them just now, but in all likelihood, no... because the Great Emperor had only projected his aura over and hadn't truly descended.

Although even a glance from a superior here contained the power of thunder and rain, this was not what Zhao Yi wanted to see.

He wanted to see souls scattered and rivers of blood!

"Damn it, how can this be..."

Zhao Yi looked at the Li fellow again and found that there was no look of surprise on his Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face, nor any unwillingness or anger... although the Li fellow was used to being expressionless, surely there would be some fluctuation?

It had come to this; could you really endure it?

Immediately, Zhao Yi exhaled again; after the surge of emotion passed, he understood.

Those three, or perhaps those six, no matter what they were doing behind the Great Emperor's back, were all matters for the Underworld itself.

Even if they were discovered or reported, whether the Great Emperor chose to intervene, and whether he did so now or later, was the Great Emperor's choice; as for performing a punishment in front of them, it was not only meaningless but unnecessary.

His group might only be thinking about settling scores and immediate retribution, but the Great Emperor had many things to consider.

Besides, did the Great Emperor really not know what these six were doing?

Zhao Yi scratched his hair hard; it was one thing for the Li fellow to oversimplify things, as he had lived in a simple environment since childhood, but he, Zhao Yi, had been exposed to family political struggles all his life, yet he had actually followed along in thinking that way.

The tomb owner's corpse returned to normal, and that Gu insect was forced to fly out from within the body.

However, it did not encounter any strangulation; it seemed to be tacitly allowed to return.

The Gu insect fluttered out, and the white barrier even opened a small gap for it, allowing it to fly out and land beside Yin Meng.

This could be considered a sign that the matter had settled.

It also served as proof that the Great Emperor's gaze had indeed turned this way; the matter ended here, everyone should calm down, and no one should cause further trouble.

A familiar rhythm; in the past, when juniors in the family had conflicts, the elders would always smooth things over like this.

From now on, whoever dared to stir up trouble would be considered ignorant and would Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face the rod.

"Sigh..."

Zhao Yi sat down dejectedly and scanned his surroundings; everyone had passed out, all of them heavily injured.

He should be happy, because he was alive; wasn't his initial goal for him to stand out as a shield for everyone, so that everyone could go all out to help him survive?

He had succeeded, hadn't he? And he had even made those three look quite wretched.

Today's events, without any embellishment or modification, if spread exactly as they happened, would make his name, Zhao Yi of Jiujiang, resound throughout the Jianghu.

To take the initiative to light incense and accept the burden, to Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face those three existences and withstand the Tribulation of Three Incenses without dying—what kind of person was this!

Zhao Yi fished a cigarette from his pocket, bit down on it, lit it, and took a somewhat lonely puff; the smoke rings he exhaled were somewhat scattered.

If there had been no hope, just seeking survival would have been fine, but hope had come, only to turn into disappointment.

People, they are just like this, never satisfied.

Zhao Yi flicked the ash from his cigarette, adjusting his mood.

Just as the three colors were almost rising and about to break away, the tomb owner moved again.

Zhao Yi watched all this in disbelief; he could feel that the previous red luster had truly and definitely severed the connection between the tomb owner's corpse and Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan.

The puppet's strings were cut, yet it could still move on its own?

Precisely because Zhao Yi was also proficient in puppet arts, he was extremely shocked by this scene; it simply did not conform to common sense.

The tomb owner opened his eyes and looked at Zhao Yi.

His gaze had become much more vivid than it was at the beginning.

Zhao Yi felt that the tomb owner seemed very familiar with him, as if there were a one-sided friendship from childhood playmates.

Filled with doubt, Zhao Yi took another puff of his cigarette, but the moment he inhaled, Zhao Yi's eyes widened; he forgot to exhale the smoke and swallowed it directly.

He scrambled up, stood to his feet, the cigarette in his hand was crushed out, and Zhao Yi's mouth kept emitting intermittent, garbled noises.

"This, this, this..."

This time, Zhao Yi was completely stunned by the Li fellow's methods.

He saw the tomb owner put his hands together, a phantom lotus flower appearing beneath his feet, and golden patterns rippling out from behind him, looking entirely solemn and dignified.

His lips moved slightly, chanting Buddhist scriptures.

What he was chanting was—

"The Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Sutra."

(End of chapter)