Chapter 289: Steal the Beam, Replace the Pillar

At this moment, I suddenly clearly realized that I and Liu Junyan had achieved the deepest level of soul resonance.

When he chose to borrow the identity of an "evil monk" to break through the great lama's defenses, how is my present choice any different?

I also believe that there are still many cultivators in this world who can resonate with us.

After Fang Luo fell silent for a moment, she suddenly reached out her hand and said to me, "My name is Fang Luo, second senior sister of the Square Transmission Sect. Nice to meet you, Xiao Jiu."

I reached out and shook her hand: "Nice to meet you, Luo Elder Sister. You look much younger than Old Fang."

"That's right, he's over ten years older; who let him join the master's gate late?" Fang Luo laughed: "Xiao Jiu, I admire your courage and wisdom, I'm willing to be friends with you. Go forward boldly, entrust your back to me, and I will surely guard it."

I immediately curled the corners of my mouth.

At this moment, Fang Luo's attitude is the greatest affirmation and support for my choice.

Furthermore, after I go into the water, there will be more follow-up tasks that need someone to handle, such as how to, in the first moment, fish out the one hundred children who have been swapped out from the water, rescue them, and even summon their souls—these are massive undertakings.

Fang Luo can be of great help.

As we spoke, hurried footsteps approached.

It was Hui Yumo returning.

"Elder sister, the people you need are ready; come with me."

I exclaimed in surprise: "So fast?"

"They are all junior members of our Gray Immortal Hall." Hui Yumo said, "The Gray Immortal lineage never lacks manpower."

I asked: "Are they all volunteers?"

Hui Yumo nodded: "One call, a hundred responses!"

I instinctively looked toward Fang Luo; her eyes were bright and spirited, and she said to me: "Xiao Jiu, go ahead, do your utmost to pursue what you believe is right, and shine to your heart's content."

"Okay, I will."

I waved at Fang Luo, picked up the Soul-guiding Lamp, and left with Hui Yumo.

As Hui Yumo said, the Gray Immortal lineage has little else besides being prolific, with numerous descendants.

In the spacious hall, picking out one hundred juniors who are good swimmers and have a cultivation foundation is not difficult.

They gathered in the riverside town, forming a long line.

Moreover, the Little Guys who were not selected kept loitering around, unwilling to leave.

Hui Moqiong and Hui Xiaotiao were working hard to maintain order.

I walked over and shouted: "Tonight's undertaking is extremely perilous; there may be no return. Regret is still possible now, but once we enter the water there will be no chance to turn back—has everyone thought this through?"

"We've thought it through!"

In unison.

Hui Moqiong said to me: "Little Nine, don't worry; I and Xiaotiao have screened back and forth three times already—no timid or hesitant ones, no those without siblings, no impulsive or disorderly ones… In short, those who remain, standing in the ranks, are absolutely obedient to orders."

I also asked: "Have their identities and names been registered? Have the standards for rewards or compensation been set?"

Hui Moqiong said: "Don't worry, I will arrange all of these properly."

I then stopped asking further and said to him: "Fifth Lord, whatever happens next will be unknown; mobilizing troops rests entirely on you."

Hui Moqiong firmly said: "Leave it to me; you can rest assured."

I then turned to face the river and shouted loudly: "Do you see the one hundred children in the water? What you must do next is to dive into the water as fast as possible, pair up from below to mark each child, and the moment I successfully transfer their souls with the Soul-guiding Lamp, you must immediately take over—remember, the white porcelain lantern must not break."

These consecutive steps cannot afford a single mistake.

If any mistake occurs, those one hundred children and all of us will have no return.

As soon as my words fell, Hui Moqiong repeated them several times, then after a few drills, he waved his hand, and those juniors dove into the river like dumplings being dropped, one after another in a single file, continuously approaching the children in the water from below.

Thereafter, I held the Soul-guiding Lamp and stepped into the water step by step.

Although it is late spring, the river water at night remains bitterly cold.

The instant I entered the water, the one hundred children, as if sensing something, all turned their heads in unison.

Their faces still bore a strange, stiff smile, but their eyes were fixed on the Soul-guiding Lamp in my hand.

In the sky, thunder rumbled, and lightning flashed overhead, as if it would strike down at any moment.

I knew our time was running short.

I waded upstream at top speed toward the head of the White Dragon.

As I ran, I bit my finger, quickly drew a blood sigil on my palm, chanted the incantation, and thrust the palm blood sigil toward the sky.

This is a thunder-summoning talisman.

It is the first rune Liu Junyan taught me.

The instant the thunder-summoning talisman pointed toward the sky, the low rumbling of the heavy clouds above instantly condensed into form.

Crackle!

A tremendous boom.

In the sky, a bolt of lightning struck straight down toward the water surface.

At the instant that bolt of lightning struck, I had already formed a sword finger, pressed it against the lamp chamber, and was murmuring an incantation.

The fresh blood from my fingertip diffused in the lamp chamber; for a moment, ghostly faces bared their fangs and claws, wailing nonstop.

This bolt of lightning was not within the plan of this sacrifice.

The reason I drew this lightning into the river was to briefly disturb this situation.

At the moment the thunderbolt descended, the one hundred children's bodies twitched slightly, and their minds cleared for an instant.

At that moment, I turned my sword finger toward the White Dragon troop, and four ghostly faces shot out simultaneously from the front to the rear of the formation.

So swift was their motion that, by the time they returned to the lamp chamber, the thunder's aftershocks still lingered.

At that instant, the one hundred children's bodies simultaneously toppled; as they fell into the water, the white porcelain lanterns in their hands were already caught by one hundred rat-immortal juniors lifted up from the water.

One after another, they placed their left hand on the left shoulder of the one ahead, raised their right hand holding the white porcelain lantern high, and, in the gap of the thunderbolt, successfully accomplished "Steal the Beam, Replace the Pillar"!

They had no hesitation in the face of life and death; they went into the water with the resolve to sacrifice themselves generously.

I also didn't have high hopes, after all, the 'Suicide Squad' hastily assembled—no one could predict what would happen the next moment.

But everything went surprisingly smoothly.

They seemed as if they had been trained a thousand times, coordinating with me flawlessly.

I sighed inwardly, the fact that Changshi Grey Immortal Hall can stand firm is not without reason.

Judging by the performance of these juniors today, Changshi Grey Immortal Hall will surely be abundant in talent, its position unshakable.

Just before the thunder completely vanished, many hands suddenly reached out from beneath the river, swiftly scooping up the bodies of the children bobbing in the water and swimming toward the shore.

That was Fang Luo and her fellow disciples, along with the representatives of the various sects.

Everyone was striving.

Everyone coordinated just right.

The thunder disappeared, and I had already taken the front of the line.

A small hand tightly gripped the clothing at my waist, and I officially became the head of this 'White Dragon' team.

I am their guide!

I raised the Soul-guiding Lamp high and shouted: "Children, follow me closely; from now on, we will break through!"