Chapter 392

Nantong Hotel.

Room 909.

"Crash!"

The sound of the floor-to-ceiling window shattering came from inside the room.

A formation master sitting in another room on the same floor stood up; on the carpet outside Room 909, a thin man slowly rose to his feet.

Both of them heard the commotion inside, but neither dared to enter without authorization.

Once you enter the public service, you must follow the rules.

In the hotel lobby on the first floor, Yu Shu was chatting with Secretary Xu.

Nantong was Secretary Xu's hometown.

But she had long since obtained a Beijing household registration and brought her parents to the capital; in her conversation, she revealed a faint detachment from her former home.

This was a form of cutting ties; she took pride in her new status as a Beijing resident and did not want to reveal too much of her past to outsiders, vaguely viewing it as a stain.

Yu Shu did not understand why Li Lan would choose such a person to be her secretary.

He and Li Lan were in different departments with different divisions of labor, but they had often crossed paths and collaborated in their past work. Although Li Lan was not a member of the Profound Sect, her style of doing things often made him, a seasoned veteran of the world, click his tongue in wonder.

A hotel staff member passed by and subconsciously asked a few questions in the Nantong dialect; Secretary Xu replied in the most standard Nantong dialect imaginable.

Yu Shu had once disguised himself as a storyteller and traveled far and wide; he had been to the Nantong countryside as well.

This Secretary Xu was truly interesting; she took pride in being a new Beijing resident, yet she still mastered her hometown dialect so authentically, no less than an elderly person in the countryside who had little contact with the outside world.

With the typhoon approaching, the hotel had made some preparations, and anything easily blown away by the wind had been moved inside.

Yu Shu ended his chat with Secretary Xu and walked to the hotel entrance.

Under the buffeting of the strong wind outside, the glass doors were constantly deforming slightly, as if holding back a breath.

Yu Shu pulled out a cigarette and bit it between his lips. Before he could light it, his ears twitched slightly, and he turned his head to look upward.

But after waiting for a long time, he saw no shattered glass falling, not even a speck of glass shards.

He subconsciously assumed that something might have happened in that room on the ninth floor.

He wanted to take the elevator up to check, but in the end, he suppressed the impulse.

They were not in the same department, so it was inconvenient to interfere in the other party's affairs unless they issued a request for collaboration.

Rubbing his nose, Yu Shu recalled the scene he had seen that day of Li Lan sitting in the same car with the youth.

He keenly sensed that something was about to happen in Nantong, and it was highly probable that it involved this pair.

Yet, both the woman and the youth were subjects he could not investigate.

"Sigh, this line of work is truly hard to do."

He lit the cigarette, took a deep drag, and slowly exhaled.

"Fortunately, my special trade, like a worker in a sand-casting workshop, retires early."

The figure of the masked woman appeared on the ninth floor.

She opened the door to Room 909.

At first glance, everything inside was as usual; Li Lan was sitting in an armchair, drinking coffee.

But when the masked woman walked in and closed the room door, the scene before her eyes changed abruptly.

The floor-to-ceiling windows had completely vanished, and the wind and rain outside were swirling in wildly, buffeting everything in the room.

Li Lan stood before the window, her hair streaming in the wind.

Masked woman: "Director Li..."

Li Lan turned her head to look at the masked woman.

In the masked woman's perspective, the director's eyes were a deep, blood-red.

The moment she met those eyes, the masked woman lost consciousness and stood there blankly.

Li Lan withdrew her gaze and continued to look at the raging storm outside.

She should have died long ago.

The reason she was still alive was because her son had not killed her that day.

This allowed her now to possess both the perception of a participant and the perspective of a bystander.

"Son, you should have killed Mom. If you had killed Mom, perhaps the one crawling out of the sea at this moment would be Mom, not her."

Or is it that in your eyes, Xiaoyuan, the one you recognize more is not Mom, but her?

But son, I am your mother.

Don't be afraid.

Mom is here; Mom is here to help you, to protect you."

Li Lan lifted her leg to step forward.

But this movement of hers only went halfway before she froze in place.

From this moment on, not only did she stop, but the wind and rain around her also stopped.

Because, it had arrived.

She had lost her use as an eye.

Little turtles crawled out from the bathtub drain, from the air conditioner vents, and from every corner.

Their numbers grew, becoming increasingly dense, converging continuously toward the spot where Li Lan stood.

When an item with side effects loses its sufficient positive function, it naturally reaches the moment for destruction.

Although Li Lan's body could not move, the intense emotional fluctuations in her blood-red eyes had vanished, replaced by a cold indifference.

"In your eyes, my son, is he already doomed to die?"

Xu Ming: "Boss, Chen Jing is gone."

Zhao Yi immediately looked at Old Man Tian.

Old Man Tian hurriedly waved his hands, signaling that he hadn't told him.

But his hands swayed with increasing weakness, because his eyes, which had been red the whole way, were indeed quite obvious; Chen Jing, that child, had likely discovered the clues because of this.

Zhao Yi: "Old Tian."

Old Man Tian: "Sigh, Young Master, it's my fault. I've lived a comfortable life for too long and am no longer suited for this rhythm on the river."

Zhao Yi: "Old Tian, oh Old Tian, what do you want me to say? Do you know how important Chen Jing is to me? Do you know how much merit I spent cultivating him, and how many times I've called that Li fellow 'ancestor'?"

Old Man Tian shrank his neck, not daring to make a sound.

Liang Yan: "Boss, what do we do now?"

Liang Li: "Should I turn around and chase after Chen Jing to see if I can bring him back?"

Zhao Yi sighed and said: "You know how fast Chen Jing is. You also know clearly how he would recklessly rush to the rescue if he learned his Brother Yuan was in danger. Even if you could catch up, could you fight Chen Jing?"

Liang Yan: "Then let's head back to Nantong, Boss."

Liang Li: "That's right, let's go back together!"

Xu Ming pursed his lips and said nothing, only nodding with difficulty.

Zhao Yi: "Forget it, forget it. You two are my betrothed wives, Old Tian is an elder in my heart, and Ah Ming is my brother who shares my life and death."

Chen Jing is certainly important, but how could I bear to let you deliberately jump into that certain-death fire pit?

It's safe enough here; we'll set up camp right here.

Let's wait.

Wait until the matter there ends, and we'll go collect Chen Jing's corpse and... mourn for that Li fellow.

I'm in a bad mood; leave me alone for a while."

After speaking, Zhao Yi walked into the tent that had already been set up, zipped it shut, sat cross-legged, and rested his head on his hands, looking desolate and motionless.

On the road in Sianzhen, not far from Shigang Town, amidst the howling gale, a boy with the build of a primary school student was carrying an adult on his back, sprinting at a terrifying speed.

Chen Jing: "Brother Yi, if we just leave like this, won't Sister Yan and the others follow us immediately?"

Zhao Yi: "No, I left a puppet there; it's enough to keep them steady."

Chen Jing: "Brother Yi, is Brother Yuan really in grave danger this time?"

Zhao Yi: "It's almost certain he's doomed."

Chen Jing: "Then Brother Yi, why did you tell me this?"

Zhao Yi: "Because you are willing to die for that Li fellow."

Chen Jing: "But I am me, Brother Yi, why did you..."

Zhao Yi: "The bigger the waves, the more expensive the fish!"

Chen Jing: "But the boat has capsized..."

Zhao Yi: "Damn it, then hurry up and fish the people out! People are infinitely more valuable than fish!"

Siyuan Village, village entrance.

Its figure was wrapped in a mass of dense blackness, only visible in the instant of lightning and thunder.

The next moment,

It opened its eyes.

This eye was in the center of its forehead.

A beam of red light ignited, and an invisible halo spilled down like mercury, covering the entire Siyuan Village.

Li Li Zhuiyuan, sitting in the coffin, finished the last can of special-made Jianlibao.

The crude medicinal broth, the kind that stimulated mental potential, tasted fishy, spicy, and bitter—indescribably disgusting.

All day, Li Li Zhuiyuan had been relying on it to maintain his state.

Now, all his previous preparations were finally facing their final examination.

The examiner's starting style was consistent with what he had deduced.

This at least ensured that the worst-case scenario wouldn't happen—for example, all his preparations and arrangements becoming a joke.

"Snap!"

Li Li Zhuiyuan snapped his fingers.

In the northern farmland not far from the village road, the formation began to operate, drawing upon the Feng Shui energy the youth had tied and bound there in advance.

In an instant, it created a momentum like pouring oil on a raging fire.

The aura of the Emperor of Fengdou descended.

It was just that this aura wasn't very thick; it could even be called a bit shallow.

In the past, when Li Li Zhuiyuan "borrowed the tiger's might," the spectacle was much better than this.

This was because the Emperor of Fengdou had long been on guard.

Being used as a gun on a daily basis would certainly bring some trouble and burdens, but in the end, the benefits still outweighed the drawbacks, providing stable and decent returns.

But this time, the Emperor clearly didn't want to have a direct confrontation with this one—not because he didn't dare, but because it wasn't worth it.

At least, in the Emperor's eyes, this "disciple" of his wasn't worth that price.

Li Li Zhuiyuan knew this too, so he let his "Master" be the first to "appear."

No matter how small a mosquito's leg is, it's still meat; let's use it to offset things first.

Next was the step of verifying his problem-solving approach.

Known conditions:

The Emperor of Fengdou doesn't want to face the Great Turtle directly; does the Great Turtle want to face the Emperor of Fengdou?

To control costs, the Great Turtle doesn't want to "kill the innocent indiscriminately" and will take the initiative to clear the field.

The Great Turtle doesn't know the specific situation in the village; although it opened its eyes, it hasn't seen the whole village yet.

What Li Li Zhuiyuan was gambling on was the "perspective" characteristic of the Great Turtle, the habits and mechanisms it presented, and the fact that he could successfully deceive it!

The youth wanted to use a fake check to make the Great Turtle cash it.

Moreover, the fake check the youth prepared wasn't just one.

Now, he had to see if the first fake check could successfully slip through.

The appearance of the "Emperor of Fengdou's" aura caused the gaze of that figure to stall.

It was like a person preparing to see clearly the situation in the distance, when suddenly, a lamp lit up nearby, forcibly attracting your attention.

However, just as Li Li Zhuiyuan was waiting seriously for the result... an accident occurred.

No matter how meticulous the plan, it couldn't account for every possibility, especially in this kind of high-stakes game.

However, this accident wasn't a bad one.

The aura of the "Emperor of Fengdou," originally plain, suddenly surged in momentum, sharply increasing!

The youth's "Liu Family Qi-Gazing Art" was top-tier in aura disguise, but he had already done everything he could.

This strange increase in aura had nothing to do with Li Li Zhuiyuan himself.

Moreover, this wasn't the Emperor of Fengdou having a change of heart, his compassion overflowing, changing his original thoughts and intending to protect his closed-door disciple.

It had... nothing to do with the Emperor of Fengdou either.

At this moment, the portrait of the clean-shaven, beardless figure standing on the offering table in the farmland was becoming increasingly feminine—so feminine that it resembled the godfather Tan Tan Wenbin used to recognize.

And this wasn't the end; the degree of femininity continued to intensify.

If one were to stand before the offering table and look closely at this moment, one would find that the Emperor of Fengdou in the portrait was gradually taking on a feminine appearance.

A woman's face.

Neither fat nor thin, not exactly stunning, but very pleasing to the eye, carrying a touch of youthful beauty while also possessing a sense of simplicity.

In the portrait, the woman wore a crown, dressed in black and gold imperial robes, her gaze shifting from peaceful to firm, and then from firm to sharp!

It was she who was taking the initiative to elevate the Emperor of Fengdou's aura here.

Li Li Zhuiyuan, sitting in the coffin, revealed a trace of complexity in his eyes.

He sensed that the one helping him at this moment was—Seeing Yin Meng.

Although the youth now possessed a thin layer of emotion, he was still in a stage of being somewhat at a loss when faced with such sincere perception.

After that wave in Fengdou, Seeing Yin Meng had been left in the Fengdou Underworld.

She was nominally the princess of the Underworld, but look at the lives the so-called Ten Kings of Hell lived in the Underworld, and then add the Emperor's consistently indifferent attitude toward his own descendants.

In truth, Seeing Yin Meng's life in the Underworld could definitely not be called pleasant.

But she still viewed herself as a member of this team.

She had been working hard, secretly learning and improving; with her mediocre talent, she had to pay a huge price to gain even a little improvement.

However, upon sensing that Brother Xiaoyuan needed help and that she had the ability to provide it, she ignored the risks and costs and chose to act without hesitation!

To the Emperor, this was the case of guarding against everything, but failing to guard against a thief within the family.

The Emperor had guarded against the disciples outside, but had been caught off guard by his own blood descendant.

In short, the momentum on the Emperor of Fengdou's offering table was rising rapidly, meaning the face value of this fake check was also increasing quickly.

The figure standing at the village entrance closed its eyes.

The red light that had been pouring out vanished immediately.

Before long, that eye opened again, and the red halo flowed out once more.

Only, the blackness wrapped around this shadow had faded much more than before.

And the area where the Emperor of Fengdou's offering table had originally been in the northern farmland seemed to have been cleared.

It was still there, still there in reality, but in its "perspective," it had been removed.

Li Li Zhuiyuan's lips curled slightly.

The fake check had been successfully cashed.

Next was the second one.

When its gaze wanted to cover the entire village again, at the southern end of the village road, the offering table belonging to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva had its formation activated, and the Feng Shui energy began to circulate.

"Hum!"

First, a common golden light appeared.

Li Li Zhuiyuan was proficient in the "Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Sutra," so disguising the Bodhisattva's aura with Feng Shui energy wasn't difficult.

"Hum!"

The common golden light received a boost, its brightness increasing, its aura elevating.

Every time the youth utilized the Bodhisattva's fruit position, Sun Baishen would appear in time to help hold the stage.

Moreover, the Bodhisattva portrait on the offering table was painted based on Sun Baishen's appearance.

However, an accident occurred once again.

"Hum!"

The already strong golden light actually received another round of amplification, becoming brilliant and radiant.

On the portrait, Sun Baishen's face gradually changed; half was still Sun Baishen, while the other half was another image of compassion.

This was the Bodhisattva... acting personally!

At this moment, the Bodhisattva chose to take the initiative to provide help to the youth.

One must know that the Bodhisattva's true body was still under the eighteenth level of hell, being suppressed under the feet of the Emperor of Fengdou.

But even facing such a dire situation, the Bodhisattva still extracted a portion of his strength to manifest here.

Initially, it was the Bodhisattva who had schemed and utilized Li Li Zhuiyuan, and Li Li Zhuiyuan had chosen to stand opposite the Bodhisattva; the Emperor of Fengdou's success in dragging the Bodhisattva into hell for suppression had Li Li Zhuiyuan's contribution.

But times change; there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests.

Upon sensing the pure relationship between this "master and disciple," the Bodhisattva intervened in the game.

Li Li Zhuiyuan, in the coffin, also realized at this moment why the Emperor of Fengdou beside him had suddenly looked compassionate and chanted "Amitabha" before the second-floor window in the family quarters that night.

The Bodhisattva knew he was sowing discord, and he was doing it openly.

Even if this master and disciple didn't completely turn against each other in the future, Seeing Yin Meng, who remained in hell, would become the fuse for their future confrontation.

As the winner of the previous round of struggle, the Emperor of Fengdou could sit on the sidelines and calmly calculate gains and losses.

As the loser at this moment, the Bodhisattva wanted to turn the tables, so he had to keep taking risky moves and placing heavy bets.

Even if he felt that the youth was doomed today, he was still willing to place a bet on a possibility of turning things around for his own future!

If you can survive this tribulation and return to Fengdou in the future to break through the hells, don't forget that you still have a helper in the depths of the eighteenth level of the underworld!

The black shadow outside the village entrance closed the eye on its forehead once more.

In an instant, it was as if this world had fallen into darkness.

When this eye opened again, the area of the Bodhisattva offering table in the southern farmland had vanished.

"Boom!"

Amidst a flash of lightning and thunder, the originally pitch-black, dense figure had turned gray.

Every clearing of the field meant a significant price and a weakening of its own strength.

The Great Turtle's true body was still in the sea, synchronized with the eye of the typhoon, and hadn't truly landed in Qidong, Nantong.

Its appearance at the entrance of Siyuan Village was actually a condensation after its strength had been greatly weakened.

But even so, it remained powerful enough to make people despair.

Its reopened gaze once again attempted to shroud the entire village.

The peach forest, which had been restored by Li Li Zhuiyuan, had its branches swaying, peach blossoms falling.

This peach forest was originally formed by the resentment leaked by Qing'an during his long life here, so Li Li Zhuiyuan hadn't bothered to set up any Feng Shui illusions here, because it already authentically represented Qing'an's aura.

Inside the coffin, Li Li Zhuiyuan's knuckles turned white.