Chapter 499

At this moment, Feng Xianqiu's frenzied pursuit of power was laid bare before me in full.

He vainly tried to win me over with this phoenix robe.

「Very beautiful, and also very shocking. 」

A smile crept onto the corner of my mouth, my gaze fell on the phoenix robe again, as if I had just been stunned and only now reacted, my heart surging: 'I really like it.'

Feng Xianqiu was instantly encouraged: 'Exactly! No one would dislike it, but Xiao Jiu, only you are worthy of it!'

I stepped forward, raised my hand to touch the phoenix robe, then my finger slid inch by inch over the golden phoenix woven with gold thread, the movement so gentle it was as if I were paying homage.

Then I hesitantly asked: 'Since it was prepared for me, may I try it on now?'

'No!' Feng Xianqiu said, 'Xiao Jiu, you will soon enter the Nirvana stage; go to Nirvana first, and when you return from Nirvana, it will truly belong to you.'

I persisted, asking: 'Really, can't we make an exception?'

Feng Xianqiu said firmly: 'No!'

Then he waved his hand, and someone came over, lifting the entire rack together with the phoenix robe away.

My disappointed gaze followed the phoenix robe's retreating back until it disappeared, and I still couldn't come to my senses.

Feng Xianqiu was clearly pleased with my performance, and he said: 'Xiao Jiu, stop looking; you must understand this principle: all good things must be won and protected by one's own ability; only after succeeding in Nirvana can you hold the position of Phoenix Lord and guard this phoenix robe.'

'I will undergo Nirvana!' I said, 'I have returned precisely for Nirvana; I want to cast off this mortal flesh and reclaim the Phoenix Lord position that rightfully belongs to me.'

Feng Xianqiu patted my shoulder and said: 'I will have someone send you back to rest first; after two days, once I have everything arranged, I will personally take you to Nirvana.'

What else does Nirvana require him to arrange in advance?

At this moment, I genuinely felt that Feng Xianqiu's mental state seemed somewhat off.

Just now, our conversation about the phoenix robe and power was like two madmen talking in their sleep.

I curled my ten toes tightly in my shoes, lest I laugh embarrassingly while saying those words.

But Feng Xianqiu seemed completely unaware of my embarrassment.

Is he pretending, or is he truly mad?

Coincidentally, Feng Xianqiu actually summoned Wu Ling to send me back to my own room.

On the way back, I quietly told Wu Ling my feeling: 'Feng Xianqiu's mental state seems problematic.'

'Yes.' Wu Ling was not surprised, saying, 'He initially came to me because he felt something was off about himself; he was constantly suspicious, feeling as if someone had tampered with his memory, gradually losing control, wanting to self-harm; I used gu worms to help suppress his pain, thereby gaining his trust.'

I was shocked in my heart—had Feng Xianqiu's memory also been tampered with?

As expected, the Black Python would never let loose any uncontrollable person nearby.

With the fifth chapter of Dream Weaving in hand, he is truly unstoppable.

I asked curiously: 'What kind of gu worm is this powerful?'

'It's not a matter of prescribing the right medicine.' Wu Ling said, 'It is a gu made from the egg sac of a hallucinogenic moth larva, ground into powder and mixed with his blood to drink; the gu powder merges into his bloodstream, temporarily numbing his nerves, with the side effect that his mental state deteriorates over time—sometimes dazed, sometimes agitated, sometimes insane—as time passes, the gu powder penetrates more thoroughly, and once it erupts, he will surely die.'

I was shocked to the point of being unable to close my mouth, and I asked anxiously: 'You're involved in this—aren't you afraid that if things aren't finished yet, he'll have an accident and be exposed? The people behind him are not to be trifled with.'

'I know my limits.' Wu Ling said, 'The E Gu is mine; I can control the speed at which it erodes the nerves by other means, and unless one is a top expert in gu, they couldn't detect my flaw.'

I relaxed a little.

The Black Python is versed in witchcraft, but he may not be equally skilled in gu.

On the other hand, I felt a bit regretful, thinking that if it truly could control the intrusion of memory tampering on people, I would still want to ask Wu Ling for one to use on the Seven Halls Yama.

The time spent alone locked in the room was truly hard to endure.

I could only pass the time by meditating and talking to myself with the Little Guy in my belly.

Enduring and enduring, I finally made it to nightfall.

After dinner, washing up, going to bed, and taking a brief rest, there was movement in the room.

Xue Feng arrived as promised.

I took the Soul-guiding Lamp and climbed out the window; the lamp was covered with a heavy black cloth, blocking the Merit Light inside the lamp chamber.

Last night, together with Wu Ling, I gained a bit of experience.

Xue Feng had scouted the route in advance and led me straight to the destination.

The Feng Clan is vast; Xue Feng led me winding and twisting, and the surroundings grew increasingly desolate.

I tried hard to memorize the route, since I would have to return the same way later.

Whether Xue Feng would still be there to guide me on the way back is uncertain.

After winding around, Xue Feng finally stopped before a mass grave and said: 'Master, just ahead, the stone before the fourth grave in the fourth row on the right—first lift it up a bit, then turn it clockwise four times, counterclockwise four times, then press down firmly, and you'll see the entrance.'

I wondered: 'You're not coming with me?'

'I can't go.' Xue Feng said, 'The lonely souls and wild ghosts in this mass grave would tear me apart; the strange person only gave me directions, I've never been able to go in and see. Master, you go, hurry up.'

As we spoke, I felt Xue Feng's already translucent phantom fading further, yet she was still smiling at me.

She raised her hand and waved at me; just as she opened her mouth to say goodbye, I suddenly flung open the black cloth on the Soul-guiding Lamp, made a hand seal, chanted a spell, took a drop of lamp oil from the lamp chamber, condensed it on my fingertip, and pressed it onto Xue Feng's brow.

Xue Feng gasped in shock: 'Master…… I……'

I lowered the black cloth, made a silencing gesture toward her, and sincerely said: 'Xue Feng, I wish you health and safety in your next life, a life free of misfortune.'

Xue Feng's figure vanished between heaven and earth.

The last expression she left me with was full of surprise and gratitude.

I let out a long breath, having finished the matter that had weighed on my mind for a day and night, and my whole body felt inexplicably light.

Then I turned and stepped into the mass grave with one foot.

I don't know if it was because I sensed the malevolent aura of the few ghost faces on the lamp chamber of the Soul-guiding Lamp, but I walked all the way there without encountering a single lonely soul or wild ghost.

I smoothly found the stone before that grave, followed Xue Feng's steps, heard only a dull thud as the stone shifted entirely, revealing an entrance indeed.

The entrance was very narrow, just enough for one person to pass, and below it was pitch black.

I first shone the Soul-guiding Lamp on it and discovered that there were steps below the entrance.

I went down the steps, there were over a hundred steps of stairs, I don't know if I touched some mechanism, the oil lamps on the surrounding walls lit themselves one after another, lit up……