Chapter 535

I know Liu Junyan too well; he always knows what's urgent and important.

His intention to send me away early already indicates that what he intends to do next is absolutely dangerous.

It's a matter of risking one's life.

"Āyàn, we have also gathered a lot of information these days," I said. "Much of what I know and have inferred is likely what you have personally witnessed and experienced during this time; I feel we have taken a big step forward. At such a moment, how could I possibly retreat?"

"I have already succeeded in Nirvana, Āyàn. Dìshì, after all, is a calamity that came from our own clan; emotionally and rationally, it is my duty as the Phoenix Lord to clean up the clan, isn't it?"

"If you hadn't come back today, I would have gone straight to Wǎngsǐ Chéng and killed anyone who dared to harm my child!"

Liu Junyan looked at me deeply, listening seriously to my words.

He could sense my determination and understand my current feelings; he was torn.

After a while he said: "I saw Dìshì's true form in Wǎngsǐ Chéng."

My hand trembled violently.

Liu Junyan gripped my hand even tighter and said: "His true form is a mangy three-legged crow, nailed with nine black-iron coffin nails to the largest and oldest execution platform in Wǎngsǐ Chéng; yet strangely, that platform had long been abandoned, becoming a forbidden zone in the city, heavily guarded. When I dared to approach it, I was immediately surrounded and intercepted, and the wounds on my body date from that time."

I immediately realized: "That happened while you were making your way into the Phoenix Clan's underground cavern, right?"

"Yes," Liu Junyan said. "At the time, those hunting me weren't just the netherworld officials guarding the forbidden ground, but also various feral ghosts and birds from Wǎngsǐ Chéng… Xiao Jiu, do you understand what I mean? It felt as if the entire Wǎngsǐ Chéng was hunting me to conceal this secret."

Even just hearing it, I could feel the heart-pounding danger of that time.

I asked: "What exactly are they trying to conceal? Could the whole Wǎngsǐ Chéng already be under Dìshì's control?"

"No, his abilities are not yet sufficient to cover the heavens with one hand." Liu Junyan said. "Later I did many analyses and reached a relatively reasonable conclusion: it is likely that Dìshì, having committed some offense, was to be executed in Wǎngsǐ Chéng, but the execution failed, instead causing a major accident; the netherworld officials of Wǎngsǐ Chéng could not bear the responsibility, so they have been covering it up all along."

Because this matter was kept tightly sealed and the news could not get out, an information gap formed, turning Wǎngsǐ Chéng into a breeding ground for Dìshì, while we outsiders persecuted by him remained completely clueless, constantly suffering passively.

Liu Junyan's words contained too much information; for a moment I couldn't sort them out clearly.

After thinking it over for a while, I concluded: "In other words, the reason Dìshì acts so lawlessly ultimately boils down to the information gap."

And the biggest information gap is likely that execution from back then: Dìshì's name was recorded in the Book of Life and Death as 'ashes scattered, smoke vanished,' yet in reality he is still alive, still nailed to the execution ground?

Liu Junyan nodded: "Xiao Jiu, you've always been sharp."

My temples throbbed: "But why? If they found out why the execution failed, reported it truthfully, accepted the responsibility, and carried out the execution when the chance arose, why would Wǎngsǐ Chéng still cover it up? Why would they rather seal off that area than let the news get out?"

"The only explanation is that the accident caused losses too great, and those losses continue unabated." Liu Junyan speculated. "In fact, some word of it did leak out, but no one could truly take charge of this mess, so they could only keep it hidden and wait and see."

Although it seems unbelievable, it still reminded me of the City God and the Seven Halls Yama.

It is obvious that the City God, including his two beloved generals, the Golden General and the Silver General, know some of the inside story; the Golden General even probed me with his words, and their behavior is exactly the situation Liu Junyan described.

And the Seven Halls Yama are the parties who have had direct confrontations with Dìshì.

He was likely an insider back then, but because he was too upright and unyielding, he was struck down; the other side tampered with his memory and tortured him with witchcraft for all these years.

Thus, the person most likely to risk life and status to blow the lid off this matter is now unable to intervene.

And I, as well as the entire Phoenix Clan, are destined to be drawn into this.

Because Dìshì came from the Phoenix Clan, the karma he has created will inevitably involve the Phoenix Clan.

As for others, including Liu Junyan, their involvement is related to that carving on the Screen Wall.

And that carving concerns a medicinal formula.

More precisely, it concerns an ancient witchcraft of the Primordial Phoenix Clan.

This witchcraft is capable of rewriting Dìshì's fate!

Round and round, everything has formed a vicious circle.

This vicious circle begins with Dìshì and ultimately returns to him.

The crux lies in Dìshì's true form, yet his true form cannot be destroyed.

Dìshì extends his hand, having done all this, his intention still rests on his true form.

He wants to shed his shell like a golden cicada.

Now he has completed the first step… he successfully rode my Nirvana Tribulation, seized a body, and merged into the true form of Feng Xianqiu.

What he will do next is—eternal life and indestructibility.

I steadied my mind and asked again: "Then how did you later go to the Zàng Qū? According to our analysis, you should have returned to Wǎngsǐ Chéng, passed through a formation array capable of inverting heaven and earth and reversing yin and yang, and entered a certain temple in Zàng Qū directly from Wǎngsǐ Chéng, right?"

Liu Junyan was somewhat surprised: "You really are impressive, having analyzed this far; when I stumbled upon this matter back then, it was merely an accident."

It was just an accident?

"After I entered the Phoenix Clan's underground cavern that hides many secrets, I sensed you were undergoing your Nirvana Tribulation; I thought a lot, I wanted to enter the Phoenix Clan to accompany you, but that wasn't realistic—my appearance then would only add more uncertainty to your Nirvana."

"Xiao Jiu, I have always remembered what you said: we are husband and wife, and the best partners. While you are in Nirvana, no one can help you, and most of Dìshì's energy at that time would certainly be focused on you, so I should seize this opportunity to strike back; in fact, I bet correctly!"

"From being hunted to sneaking back into Wǎngsǐ Chéng, it took only a few hours—talk about darkness under the lamp. This time I got even closer to that execution ground; just then a bolt of heavenly thunder struck. Xiao Jiu, do you know what I saw?"

My whole body tensed up: "What?"

Liu Junyan reminded me: "Do you still remember what we experienced in that battle at the Linghai Forbidden Ground?"

I suddenly realized: "It's the fēnshēn! All of Dìshì's fēnshēn are born in response to the heavenly tribulation…"