Chapter 316: 20,000-word big chapter

They... want to live.

From their expressions and tone, one could feel loneliness, self-mockery, and helplessness.

In the room earlier, the inscriptions under those paintings all had the theme of "Even if ten thousand sins are added to the body, I must help my Zhao clan go further."

From full of longing and dedication, not hesitating to stain one's own character, living hidden in coffins, to living and living, they became afraid of dying, afraid of death, and finally forgot their original intention, thinking about how they could continue to live.

This series of changes easily makes one think of a sentiment:

They... have deteriorated.

They themselves also thought so.

Zhao Yi only felt like laughing.

To talk about deterioration, there must be a premise, which is that you were good before.

If there is no such premise, then how can it be called deterioration?

Are they worthy?

The secret here, theoretically, is only passed down between the Great Elders of each generation.

If this secret were fixed and not dynamic, then it could really be understood, and it would indeed have feasibility, equivalent to the family always mastering the secret of a treasure, the fewer people who know, the safer it is.

But the problem is, this secret is not static.

The current Great Elder is already sitting on the grand master chair in the room; the Second Elder is afraid of delaying his timely entry into the coffin, so he doesn't even dare to move him out to receive kowtows from the younger generation on the day of paying respects to the ancestors.

The Third, Fourth, and Fifth Elders only have a little more vitality remaining in their bodies than the Great Elder, and it hasn't completely flowed away, so they can be moved out to bask in the sun.

But isn't their behavior already preparing?

They actually know the process.

Moreover, they have even prepared their own future coffins in advance, just waiting for themselves to be "dried" before lying into the coffin to join.

Therefore, the secret that only the Great Elder of each generation can know is fundamentally untenable.

Rules are dead, people are alive.

After the Great Elder lies into the coffin, wouldn't the Second Elder become the new Great Elder?

As long as the order goes smoothly, then everyone has the opportunity to become the Great Elder, which means everyone has the qualifications to know this secret.

If it were really fixed that only one person knows in a generation, then looking up, how could there be so many ancestors floating above?

His Jiujiang Zhao clan is not the Fengdu Yin family; the inheritance really isn't that long-standing, and it can't count that many generations of people!

Taking a step back, he just went to the treasury and saw the old immortal lying under the ancestor's lamp.

Zhao Yi doesn't believe that the elders who have lived in this ancestral residence for generations would not be interested in the treasury, would not have gone in to appreciate it, would have deliberately bypassed the most valuable treasure after entering, and would not have seen that "personally demonstrating" old immortal?

They knew the theory and saw the example, yet they still deliberately closed their eyes and lay into the coffin.

Oh, right, they even had to inscribe a poem before going into the water, giving themselves a final decoration.

Zhao Yi only felt that these ancestors above were truly hypocritical and disgusting to the extreme.

Look at that old lady of the Liu family; as an outsider, she entered the east room, saw the spirit tablet, and came back to kowtow to her, and she would deliberately point him out, helping him open up his pattern and atmosphere.

Look at his own family's, tsk tsk...

The upper beam is not straight, the lower beam is crooked; the final destination of every generation of elite figures in the Zhao family is to dry themselves as fish and seal them.

Zhao Yi truly feels that if it's like this, for the Zhao family to produce another Long Wang would be the greatest injustice.

However, they are still disguising themselves to him now, planning to show sincerity to him by taking half a step back.

This means they have designs on him.

Zhao Yi is not surprised by this point.

He is here today to lay his cards on the table—lay his own cards, and see their cards.

The Great Elder is closest to the altar and also closest to Zhao Yi; he said:

"Yi'er, you are still young; even though you have experienced many life-and-death sharpenings while walking the river, you haven't experienced old age, physical decline, and qi and blood decay. You don't understand the state of mind of us old guys at that time.

Youth, what a beautiful word, and what a stage that is yearned for but cannot be regained.

Remember when you were young, you got hurt or sick, and you would naturally think that the wound would recover and the illness would be cured.

But when you step into old age, the traces left by a small injury will not fade, and the illness you have will entangle you until death.

Yi'er, pursuing survival, pursuing a relatively clean existence with self-awareness—is this wrong?

Even if you feel that our existence lacks some dignity now, when you reach my age, you will also crave this.

Ordinary people are limited by ability, so they view birth, aging, sickness, and death as the cycle of heaven; it's not that they don't want to, but they can't, so they comfort themselves.

But since we people of the Xuan sect have this ability, why can't we strive for it?"

Zhao Yi: "Great Elder, you can strive for it; all you seniors, you can also strive for it. As long as you control yourselves not to go into demonic obsession and eventually turn into monsters to harm the world, I think it's all worth trying."

The Great Elder revealed relief: "Yi'er, you are intelligent; I know you can definitely understand."

Zhao Yi: "But why do you use the ancestor's skull as a vessel and light the ancestor as a sky lamp?"

After learning that his parents were harmed and skinned, Zhao Yi really didn't have much feeling in his heart.

But upon seeing this skull, Zhao Yi's emotions had actually already lost control.

Old Tian accompanied him through the most bumpy childhood, giving a kind of "motherly love";

The ancestor's notes and ambitions guided his path forward, letting him maintain his state of mind and keep high spirits even when facing pressure from Li's surname—this was like a "father."

It can be said that after seeing this skull, Zhao Yi and the Zhao family... were completely severed.

Saving, pruning, resurgence... what he wants now is for the Zhao family to be destroyed.

The white in his left eye became increasingly indifferent, and the black in his right eye became even deeper.

The Life-Death Gate crack that had just broken through the new shackles was gradually being completely filled at this moment, influenced by Zhao Yi's state of mind.

The Great Elder: "If there were no ancestor's blessing and lamp protection, this domain would be unsustainable, and we wouldn't be able to maintain this state.

As you said, Yi'er, we might lose ourselves, turn into monsters, decay, degenerate, and harm the world, inviting greater disasters.

This is not the survival we want; this kind of survival is indeed not as good as death.

Fortunately, we have the ancestor, protecting the descendants, opening up this pure land for my Zhao family, and also protecting this peace for the world."

Zhao Yi: "The ancestor suppressed the Jianghu while alive, and still has to suppress his descendants after death?"

"Suppression..." The Great Elder let out a sigh, "Let's just call it suppression. We originally intended to forge ahead, but we couldn't reach that height, feeling ashamed before the ancestor, and grateful that the ancestor didn't abandon us."

Zhao Yi is good at observing people's hearts; he knows that people will actively rationalize their behavior to make themselves feel comfortable. These people have been lying here for so long and existing for so long, and they have long enriched and consolidated a set of theories that can comfort themselves.

The Great Elder: "Originally, such an existence could continue to be maintained."

Zhao Yi knows this is paving the way.

The Great Elder continued: "Every generation of people, walking the river with lamps, in the end, the only ones who can keep that lamp from going out are the Dragon Kings of that generation.

Only when the Long Wang falls does the lamp go out.

Actually, my Zhao clan's ancestral home is not Jiujiang.

Back then, there was a flood dragon in Jiujiang, overturning rivers and seas, poisoning the surrounding people.

In his twilight years, the ancestor felt his lifespan was not long, so he specifically came here, using his body as a foundation, establishing the Lock River Tower, and suppressing the evil flood dragon.

Since then, my Zhao clan has taken root in Jiujiang, taking suppressing the flood dragon and pressing the river as our own responsibility.

Ancestor Zhao Luhai..."

The name mentioned by the Great Elder was the character in the first painting, located only below the ancestor Zhao Wuyang in the ancestral hall.

"... Ancestor Zhao Luhai invited the ancestor's skull out from under the Lock River Tower, enshrined it here, and relit the ancestor's lamp.

After all, the flood dragon is dead; rather than letting the ancestor's blessing continue to shine outside, it is better to move the ancestor's blessing into the clan to protect the descendants. This is reasonable, isn't it?

I think the ancestor would also approve of this approach.

The ancestor has done too much for this Jianghu and for the world, and it is time to plan for the welfare of his descendants."

Zhao Yi: "Since the ancestor's lamp was relit, why did the lamp in the treasury go out?"

The Great Elder: "At the beginning, the lamp that was lit was that one, but later the lamp fire was moved into the ancestor's skull; only in this way can the ancestor's blessing and merit be volatilized by the fragrance of the lamp oil."

Zhao Yi: "So, that lamp is still burning?"

The Great Elder: "Yes, so that lamp needs to be protected."

Zhao Yi looked up, from bottom to top, looking at the ancestral residence layout again.

"I understand; the lamp cannot be too far away, or the fire here will go out; the lamp cannot be too close, and cannot be in the same layout, otherwise this fire will return to the lamp.

No wonder the restrictions and formations in the Zhao family treasury are so complex; it turns out the real purpose of that treasury is to seal that lamp.

That ancestor under the ice layer in the treasury is also not relying on this lamp to continue his life; he is the one chosen to go out and protect that lamp.

That ancestor... is Zhao Luhai."

There are paintings in the ancestral hall, and there were also paintings in the room earlier, but the character images in the paintings often differ from the real people; moreover, that person was frozen into that state under the ice, so it was even more impossible to recognize him.

Since this method was created by Zhao Luhai, and this place was also built by Zhao Luhai first, the person who went to protect that lamp was naturally Zhao Luhai.

If it were someone else, he wouldn't be at ease.

Even if it were one more person watching together, he wouldn't be willing; except for himself, no one was allowed to touch that lamp.

He was even distrustful of the Zhao family members who were also surviving here.

Probably, it was fear of a "freak" who would take the inscription on the painting seriously.

However, his caution was a bit redundant, because the fact was that for so many generations, all the elders who lay in here had perfectly integrated.

It's just that I don't know if Zhao Luhai himself, who first started arranging this place, deteriorated later... or if he had the idea of not wanting to die from the beginning.

The Great Elder: "Yi'er, do you know that for a long period of time in the past, the flame on the ancestor's skull was much more stable and hotter than what you see now."

Zhao Yi: "The fire has become smaller?"

"It has become smaller; the originally stable flame first showed fluctuations when you were born."

"When I was born?"

"That night, I asked the Second to send a message to the outer residence, asking if something had happened at home, and learned that you were born.

The Second asked your grandfather to hold you and bring you to this ancestral residence, and I personally opened my eyes to see you and even held you in my arms.

You might not remember these things.

At that time, I stared at the Life-Death Gate crack on your brow for a long time.

A strange fetus is born, the Zhao family will flourish.

Hehe,

I was truly happy for a long time."

When saying these words, the Great Elder made himself look as kind as possible, and even the ancestors above didn't show the gloom they had just presented.

But Zhao Yi solved a doubt he had had for many years here.

"No wonder, for the first few years of my life, the family just let me lie there, letting me fend for myself; it turns out it was because in your eyes, my birth affected the fire on the ancestor's skull.

You felt,

The ancestor shared the blessing with me?"

A congenital Life-Death Gate crack person is often a stillborn fetus, and it can only be discovered after flowing out of the mother's body; Zhao Yi being able to be born alive was already a miracle.

Originally, Zhao Yi thought it was because the family thought he might suddenly die and not live long, not worth investing in, which was why they ignored him for the first few years.

But the Zhao family is not a small family after all; for a freak, it is worth pouring resources to gamble on his future.

The reason they didn't do so was that the elders in the ancestral residence were very cautious about this.

They were worried that a newborn descendant would compete with their group of old guys for food.

The Great Elder: "Heh, if we were really like this, how could you have the opportunity to grow up, how could you become the 'Young Master' of my Zhao family, and how could we prepare for you when you walked the river?"

Zhao Yi: "I guess it's because you observed for a few years and found that even if the ancestor's fire changed due to my birth, it was still enough to maintain your existence.

And as I gradually grew up, I revealed extraordinary talent, which made you change your mind and plan to give me resources."

The Great Elder: "Yi'er, we are surnamed Zhao, and you are also a Zhao family member after all; one family doesn't speak two families' words; maintaining and supporting one's own family's talented people is something any normal family would do."

Zhao Yi shook his head: "No, the way you looked at me from the beginning was wrong; otherwise, I wouldn't have had those lonely years. Do you know that my parents didn't even know that the cold attitude toward me was authorized by you?

Those two idiots even wanted to strangle me at the beginning."

The Great Elder: "Daring to harm my Zhao family's genius, even if it's your parents, they should be punished. Yi'er, you should have said it earlier; we would have presided over justice for you."

Zhao Yi: "But you aren't protecting the younger generation; you discussed it and changed your mind. You felt I had talent and could compete for the Long Wang position.

You aren't looking forward to the rise of a younger generation, nor are you hoping for the family's resurgence; you are planning that in the future, there will be another Long Wang who can continue to be gnawed on by you?

You,

gnawed on the old, and still plan to gnaw on the young?

Hahahaha!"

The ancestors were all silent.

Because they indeed thought so.

Zhao Yi felt they were truly too ridiculous; they thought that by desecrating the remains of a dead Long Wang, they could continue to manipulate the new Long Wang?

And not to mention whether such a family could produce a Long Wang, even if a Long Wang were born in the Zhao family, the first thing he would do is slaughter the Zhao family's high-level members clean!

This bunch of guys, like frogs at the bottom of a well, dreaming of whimsical dreams, playing with fire.

The Great Elder: "Yi'er, your misunderstanding of us is too deep."

This explanation was soft and weak; the Great Elder himself didn't expect to continue to fool this young Zhao family man standing on the altar.

Zhao Yi: "Continue talking; I also want to hear what you guys actually want me to do."

The Great Elder: "When the flame on the ancestor's skull showed fluctuations for the second time, I had a dream.

In the dream, I saw two dragons flying over Jiujiang.

At that time, you hadn't lit the lamp to walk the river, and the problem of your Life-Death Gate crack hadn't been solved well; we didn't expect that you would walk the river so quickly afterward.

So, this dream was interpreted by me as... the opportunity lies in the double Long Wang gate."

It was because of the Great Elder's dream that he had been harmed so miserably back then.

But at this moment, hearing this dream again, Zhao Yi finally understood that the invitation with the nature of marriage alliance also hid another layer of meaning deep down.

Zhao Yi: "You, want the blessing and luck of the Qin and Liu families; you want... to gnaw on that young lady of the Qin family?"

This marriage alliance, how was it for him? It was clearly for themselves!

Zhao Yi couldn't laugh anymore; these old immortal things, how dare they?

A strong sense of lingering fear struck; if the old lady of the Liu family had known about this layer back then, would he, Zhao Yi, still have a chance to survive?

What Qin Uncle, Liu Aunt; I'm afraid the old lady would have personally held a sword, and even if she had to resist the Heavenly Dao and bear the backlash, she would have chopped him into meat paste!

The Great Elder pointed to the Zhao family members above and said:

"Just a fallen Long Wang gate; my Zhao family's true foundation is not necessarily worse than theirs, so there is no need to be so afraid."

Zhao Yi: "A bunch of rats hiding underground, also worthy of comparing with a real Long Wang family?"

The atmosphere that had finally eased up became oppressive again after Zhao Yi's words.

The ancestors above felt that Zhao Yi was scared stupid by the name of the Long Wang gate, while Zhao Yi felt that this bunch of old things... had already mutated because they lived too long.

Their bodies remained intact, and their consciousnesses were maintained quite completely; they were very different from the dead-fallen and evil spirits, and this kind of existence was referred to by them as "clean."

But their brains were broken; can that also be considered a kind of mutation?

Normally, piling up numbers can indeed pile up a winning momentum, but you also have to see what kind of things you are piling up!

Zhao Yi had witnessed the tragic scene in the Taoist temple on Mount Qingcheng with his own eyes; the old lady of the Liu family pushed back from thousands of miles away using the method of Feng Shui, descending a killing calamity and cutting off the other side's inheritance.

If a real war started, the old lady alone would be enough to wash the Zhao family's inner and outer residences several times over.

Who in the top Jianghu forces doesn't know the current situation of the Qin and Liu families? But why hasn't anyone dared to eat those two pieces of dragon meat yet? Do they really think they are kind-hearted?

Zhao Yi didn't even dare to imagine what reaction Li's surname would have if he knew about this secret.

However, the current Zhao Yi was no longer afraid of Li's surname knowing.

The Great Elder endured Zhao Yi's impudence and disrespect, continuing to say his words:

"The real problem appeared after you walked the river; it was fine at first, and the ancestor's skull flame stabilized for a period of time after those two changes.

But as you walked the river deeper and deeper, the frequency of the changes in the ancestor's skull flame began to accelerate.

It is becoming smaller and smaller, having become the appearance it is now.

Yi'er, do you know why I held onto this breath, desperately trying to live until now?

Do you know why Third, Fourth, and Fifth also have to continue to squeeze themselves?

Because..."

Zhao Yi: "Because the fire is too small, so small that you can't lie into it."

This domain is built relying on the ancestor's skull fire, and its space, or carrying capacity, is limited.

Generations of Zhao family elders lying in here had already occupied a large area, and when the fire became smaller, the carrying capacity here also decreased accordingly.

Now, it had dropped to the point where even the Great Elder couldn't be sure if he could squeeze in.

Anyway, it was impossible to let the people lying inside come out to give him a spot.

Moreover, the people inside also had to worry that if the fire continued to shrink, they would have to start eliminating each other internally.

The Great Elder: "Yes, the fire has become too small. If you hadn't appeared, I might have felt that the ancestor's blessing would eventually be exhausted, but because you have had a linkage with this fire since birth..."

"Plus, just yesterday, I had another dream.

The same dream as last time.

Still two dragons flying over Jiujiang.

Since then, I finally understood the real reason for the weakening of the ancestor's skull fire.

Two dragons meet,

It is your change and growth that have taken away my Zhao family's Long Wang luck.

Yi'er,

We really didn't misjudge you back then, and the ancestor didn't misjudge you back then either.

You really have the bearing of a Long Wang!"

This was praise, but also revealing the dagger.

Zhao Yi: "So, you want me..."

The Great Elder: "We people all rely on the domain created by the ancestor's skull flame to survive; we were too naive before, thinking we could add, adjust, or even replace.

The fact is, this is impossible.

So, for us, for your seniors, for this Zhao family...

Zhao Yi,

You light the lamp for the second time and admit defeat, ending your river-walking."

When the Great Elder said the final purpose, Zhao Yi looked around, and a huge sense of absurdity made him start to doubt the life he had lived for more than twenty years.

Yi'er, you really have the bearing of a Long Wang.

Zhao Yi, you light the lamp for the second time and end your river-walking.

It is hard to imagine that these two sentences could appear in succession, and were said so sincerely and seriously.

Zhao Yi spread his hands, his black and white eyes sweeping past the Great Elder and scanning the Zhao family ancestors above:

"Do you still remember the purpose of building this place?"

Building this place, entering the game with one's own body, using oneself as bait, leading the waves in, to facilitate the cutting of future outstanding descendants and proving great merit.

This was the original intention of building this place; at least, that's what the Great Elder said at the beginning, and the vows under the portraits in that room were also of this kind.

Now,

In order to preserve this place, they demanded that he, this outstanding Zhao family descendant, admit defeat and end his river-walking.

This is truly... a great irony.

The Great Elder: "Times change; Yi'er, achieving the Long Wang is glorious, but the survival of the family is a more long-term consideration.

Is the Long Wang really that important?

Look at that Long Wang Qin and Long Wang Liu; back then in this Jianghu, they were so majestic, even if those two families didn't produce a Long Wang in that generation, the heads of those two families could still issue Long Wang orders, and this Jianghu recognized it!

Not to mention later, those two Long Wang gates even formed a marriage alliance.

But now?

Didn't they just end up as a lonely woman and a widow, miserable and pitiful?"

Zhao Yi's mind floated with the spirit tablets without spirits he saw in the east room.

"I said it before, don't compare yourselves with real Long Wang gates; your Zhao family is not worthy."

"Fine, don't compare, don't mention those two families."

"Also, I am very curious, how much do you know about things outside?"

"Too many people came, mixed with too much causality; some things I can see clearly, while others are a fog; coupled with you lighting that forest, this made my ears filled with the wailing of a large group of descendants' resentment before you came here; it was truly noisy."

"Then do you know that the catastrophe is already at the door? Even if I light the lamp for the second time now, do you think it's still in time?"

"As long as the fire on the ancestor's skull can be restored to its original state, then the catastrophe will pass on its own."

"It seems that in your whole brain, you are only thinking about lying in."

Suddenly, Zhao Yi realized one thing.

That was that the Great Elder was holding on and not dying now because he had no way to enter that place.

If the fire on the altar was really restored and the carrying capacity here was improved, then the Great Elder... could he die?

Although this kind of "death" was not an end, he was really dead.

Thinking of the goals of other teams in this river-walking, which was to kill the Great Elder.

This meant that as long as the Great Elder could enter that place, for those few river-walking teams, this wave could be considered complete.

What the Great Elder just said, that as long as the ancestor's skull fire was restored, they could get protection again and the catastrophe would pass on its own... it could actually make sense!

The Great Elder continued: "The outer residence is empty now, doesn't this just happen to free up a spot for you? Even if it weren't empty, with your strength, Yi'er, lighting the lamp and admitting defeat, coming down from the river, who among these three generations of Zhao family members, direct or collateral, could be your opponent?

You maintain this place today, and after you enjoy this great life, you can come here and lie down in your twilight years.

The Long Wang is only a life of a white horse, but what we have obtained is life after life.

Yi'er, light the lamp."

Zhao Yi:

"A bunch of delusional old beasts."

Zhao Yi gave his answer.

He couldn't understand at all why these Zhao family ancestors still wanted to persuade him, and what he couldn't understand most was that they really felt he could be persuaded.

After the merciless final answer was given, the ancestors in Zhao Yi's vision gradually disappeared, and the appearance of the coffins re-emerged.

The thick amber around him began to tremble, and Zhao Yi's perspective and consciousness began to return.

The next moment, he returned to the room from the very beginning.

On the grand master chair before him, the Great Elder slowly stood up; his senile body, like withered wood that could collapse at any time, still carried extremely terrifying power before it completely fell.

After all, if you don't count those old immortals, the Great Elder should be the most powerful "living" person in the entire Jiujiang Zhao.

The Great Elder: "Yi'er, saying so much to you is in the hope that you will be sensible; it is that the elders are willing to accept and point you out."

Zhao Yi: "Because of you, the outer residence has actually been hollowed out, filled with wine-bag-and-rice-sack trash that can't be brought to the table.

You don't want to point me out; you hope that I can collude with you, not only helping you restore the fire but also supporting and organizing the Zhao family.

You don't want to see that in the future, there won't even be elders who can watch the gate and guard the courtyard in the Zhao family ancestral residence.

And you yourselves don't want to come out, nor do you have the ability to personally maintain this place.

Let me think,

Is it that after entering here, and then coming out, you can't go back again?"

The Great Elder didn't answer, his figure already fully upright.

Zhao Yi continued: "It should be like this; after all, when Zhao Luhai built this place, the banners he raised were one for paving the way for future outstanding descendants to receive the waves, and the other was to turn himself into the so-called Zhao family foundation, waiting to be awakened when the Zhao family catastrophe came.

Then this kind of awakening should be a one-time thing.

You, none of you are willing to be this one-time consumable.

It's truly ridiculous...

The foundations of the Jiujiang Zhao family, knowing that the contemporary Zhao family members in the outer residence are being slaughtered and skinned, the ones buried below aren't willing to crawl out, and the sleeping ones aren't willing to wake up, hahahahaha!"

The Great Elder: "Yi'er, you are truly smart; unfortunately, you have gone astray, not walking the righteous path but taking the evil path of being an enemy of the family."

Zhao Yi: "Just you, also worthy of talking to me about the righteous path?"

The Great Elder raised his hand, and terrifying pressure attacked Zhao Yi in an instant.

"Yi'er, actually, regardless of whether you agree or not, whether you listen or not, the things that should be done still have to be done. Adults can ask for a child's choice, but it doesn't mean that the child really has the right to make a choice."

Invisible pressure detained Zhao Yi, hanging him in mid-air.

Although Zhao Yi struggled hard, he was unable to break free.

While struggling, Zhao Yi even deliberately asked back:

"Then you might as well kill me; why are you still dawdling here?

If I die, this lamp won't go out by itself, and this river won't be walked by itself...

Unless, you can't kill me; at least, you can't let me die before I light the lamp myself.

Let me guess,

Is it because if I die like this, then in your eyes, the Long Wang luck I took away will disappear along with me and won't return to the ancestor's skull flame?"

"Correct, that is indeed the case."

Between the Great Elder's right five fingers, five blue streams flowed; when they flowed onto Zhao Yi's body, they were like five terrifying shackles.

"Suppress Body."

"Ah!!!"

Zhao Yi let out a scream; his already permeable image added a touch of vivid ferocity at this moment.

"Suppress Soul."

His soul had a feeling of being frozen, gradually crystallizing.

Zhao Yi understood the other side's intention: first imprison his body, then bind his soul, and finally collapse his consciousness.

As long as the operation is appropriate, he will become a blank-headed idiot.

By then, he could be kneaded by the other side at will, and the so-called second lighting of the lamp would naturally follow.

Lighting the lamp cannot be forced, and what the Great Elder is doing now is removing the premise concept of "forced."

Zhao Yi's fingertips began to shake, and the Nuo Opera puppetry operated.

On the chairs in the courtyard, the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Elders sitting there all began to tremble collectively.

The next moment, the three of them slowly stood up from the grand master chairs.

The Great Elder: "Yi'er, you overestimate your puppetry level and underestimate your three seniors."

"Hum!" "Hum!" "Hum!"

The three elders' eyelids began to twitch, as if they were about to wake up.

Before they woke up, all the silver needles pierced into their bodies that were exerting effects were instantly submerged into their bodies, and the effect of the puppetry applied to them was instantly broken.

The Great Elder: "Old Third, Old Fourth, Old Fifth, continue to sleep; there is no need for you here. No matter how talented a child is, he is still just a child now, hehe."

The three elders seemed to hear the Great Elder's words; their eyelid twitching stopped, they didn't open their eyes, and all sat back on the grand master chairs.

The Great Elder's index finger slowly pointed at Zhao Yi's brow.

"Yi'er, it's too late to regret now; you shouldn't have chosen to come down here to face me. In this narrow space, many of your means cannot be displayed.

Next, is Fragmented Thoughts..."

Just at this moment, the Great Elder's index finger stopped in mid-air.

Because the Zhao Yi before him began to expand rapidly.

His body was imprisoned, but he wasn't seeking to break the seal; he was committing suicide!

The Great Elder had to withdraw his index finger, turning it back into five fingers slightly spread.

"In front of me, you don't even have the freedom to commit suicide."

"Hiss..."

The expanded body leaked back; the suicide attempt just now was strangled.

Zhao Yi's eyes stared fixedly at the Great Elder.

"Life-Death Gate crack, truly a mysterious good thing; Yi'er, it is you who have let it down."

The Great Elder's index finger reached out again, pointing at Zhao Yi's brow.

Zhao Yi: "Do you really know how good the Life-Death Gate crack is?"

The Great Elder's mouth pulled out a smile; he had already said everything that should be said, and now, he didn't want to continue chatting about anything with a person who would become an idiot in ten breaths.

Zhao Yi: "I didn't know before either; it could actually be this good."

The Great Elder's index finger rested on Zhao Yi's brow.

However, before his "Fragmented Thoughts" could begin, the Great Elder's turbid gaze swayed instantly.

All the vitality in Zhao Yi's body was being extracted rapidly in an unimaginable way.

This was completely different from his previous suicide attempt; just now it was spontaneous, but now it was like an external force depriving him.

A mocking smile flowed in Zhao Yi's eyes.

Subsequently, his white eyes were also covered by black, and then his eyes dimmed, completely losing their luster; this body also completely lost its vitality.

"No, no, no!!!"

The Great Elder let out a roar; the emotional fluctuation made his body become even more withered and yellow.

He could now determine that the Zhao Yi before him was already dead, dead very thoroughly.

He let go of his hand.

With a "thud," this corpse of Zhao Yi, which was already very broken and now even more distorted and unrecognizable, fell to the ground.

The Great Elder covered his face with his hands, suffering a great blow.

He didn't understand how Zhao Yi managed to do it, actually being able to commit suicide successfully right in front of him.

He would rather die than make even a little contribution to the Zhao family.

Hm?

Not right.

The Great Elder cast his gaze onto Zhao Yi's corpse again; he pointed his finger downward, first pulling left and right, then flicking lightly up and down.

Zhao Yi's corpse was thus pulled open, layered.

This was a corpse, correct, but this corpse was not full.

The flesh and blood part

Inside the corpse, there were also bones, but they were not complete, as if some had been extracted from the body and then reinforced with steel wires and iron plates.

This was indeed Zhao Yi's body, but it was not the complete Zhao Yi.

It had been disguised and stripped of its parts.

This was not puppet art; puppet art could absolutely not achieve such realism that even he himself could not distinguish it, and moreover, it was impossible for the soul and consciousness to be within puppet art and still be able to perform soul-walking.

The Great Elder: "This life-and-death gate seam can actually be operated twice...

No wonder he wanted to ignite that patch of forest; he was deliberately interfering with me."

On the road here, Zhao Yi had once used a skin-bag to attract the Monk Huiwu and the Nun Huiyin to stop, causing the monk and the nun to fall into the thunder-fire together.

But the Zhao Yi who remained in the sedan chair, having had his skin-bag burned away, was not the real Zhao Yi either; he had spent time in the sedan chair patching himself up, all to make this already incomplete self look a bit more real.

This action, presented to the outside world, was merely that one had to dress decently when offering sacrifices to ancestors.

Through a review, Li Zhuiyuan determined that Zhao Yi's life-and-death gate seam had a major breakthrough that had not been displayed.

And this was Zhao Yi's breakthrough.

Unlike puppet art, he could dismantle himself through skin-peeling, bone-removing, splicing, and other methods, and then selectively entrust his "life-and-death" to specific dismantled parts.

There were two major flaws.

One was that the detachment was not unlimited; once peeled too much, if the death gate closed here and the remaining parts could not support the opening of the life gate, then he would completely perish.

The other was that the distance could not be too far, otherwise, the transformation of life and death could not be realized.

It could be said that, apart from being able to entrust his own soul and consciousness, in all other aspects, it was completely inferior to ordinary puppet art.

But at specific times, it had miraculous effects.

Unless you really peeled the skin and opened the belly to carefully examine it, you would simply be unable to distinguish from the aura whether this was the "truly complete" Zhao Yi.

The Great Elder: "He must still be nearby. Yi'er, as long as you are still in this ancestral home mountain land, then I will definitely be able to find you."

While speaking, the Great Elder's turbid eyes cleared completely, and he began to use the ancestral home as the center to expand his perception outward.

This high-consumption behavior made his skin become even rougher and tighter, almost turning into skin-wrapped bones at a speed visible to the naked eye.

He saw the third sedan chair appear at the entrance of the ancestral home, saw the group of people who had followed that sedan chair all the way here, and saw the second brother who had been unable to open the door to enter and had simply hidden nearby.

Finally,

On a hillside very close to the ancestral home, the Great Elder saw Zhao Yi.

One without skin, missing half the flesh and blood, half the bones... like pork cut in half and thrown on a chopping board when a butcher goes to the market.

Upon seeing this scene, the Great Elder felt a twitch in his heart; he was truly afraid that Zhao Yi would not be able to "live" through it.

"Yi'er, you cannot die; before the lamp is lit, you cannot die!"

"Sister, you say the boss is only left with this much, can he still wake up?"

"If the boss can't wake up, this piece belongs to me; after I die, bury it in the grave for a joint burial."

Liang Li, upon hearing this, said very unconvinced: "Why should it be given to you?"

Liang Yan retorted: "You still want to split a piece?"

Liang Li: "I..."

Liang Yan: "Split a leg for you?"

Liang Li: "You..."

Liang Yan: "Little sister, big sister is getting old, you are still young, don't be delayed by this kind of thing; you should learn to let go and pursue new happiness."

Liang Li: "Sister, we are twins."

Liang Yan: "Even if it's one second older, it's old; this is what you said yourself before."

Liang Li: "Heh, I suspect the midwife didn't even know who was first and who was last between us, and just randomly pointed to Dad and Mom, saying this is the big sister and this is the little sister; and when we were little and taking baths, I'm afraid Dad and Mom themselves got us mixed up too."

Liang Yan: "This is meaningless."

Liang Li: "I've discovered, sister, you really like performing virtuousness in front of the boss now."

Liang Yan: "Big sister is virtuous, little sister is lively; isn't this the combination men like most?"

Liang Li: "Why can't it be the other way around? Do you believe I'll tell the boss about how when you were little and practicing sword, you liked to carve the tree stumps on the mountain into the shape of a man's manhood, and then laugh while chopping them off to play?"

Liang Yan: "Then who personally chopped up the little toys of those hooligans we met before? Chopping while shouting that it was really chewy."

"Hu... hu... hu..."

The piece of meat that had been like a dead pig suddenly emitted the sound of breathing.

The sisters looked at each other, immediately turned around, and looked behind them in surprise.

Liang Li: "Boss, you've come back to life?"

Liang Yan: "Husband, you're awake?"

Liang Li: "..."

Zhao Yi opened his eyes; the him from just a moment ago had experienced a drowning that felt endless, and even he himself had almost thought he wouldn't be able to live through it.

It was thanks to his trip to Fengdou, where he had truly died a few times, that he had accumulated this precious death experience;

Furthermore, having spent so many years in the past lying on the bed like a cripple, saying he was soft and boneless was putting it nicely; in reality, eating even a little something difficult to digest could cause a life-threatening crisis for him.

After staying in a broken body and rotten shell for so long, he had truly mastered the experience of living like a louse.