Chapter Thirteen: Life and Death in One Thought

  At this moment, Liang Touer, who was in a fantasy realm, was also anxious. His two arms shook, and two rays of light flashed by. They were two short daggers cast from fine steel. Ordinary iron needs to be refined a hundred times to become steel, and steel must also be refined a hundred times to be refined. These two daggers, not to mention anything else, are not ordinary objects just from the material selection point of view. They were left by his master and were also his most skilled weapons.

  Liang Ze's dagger was put aside, and he took out a small compass from his pocket. As soon as the compass appeared, its needle began to rotate rapidly around the axis. Liang Ze furrowed his brow; in his line of work, everything is connected, and he had also studied Feng Shui and geomancy. Because many landscapes and buildings have Feng Shui considerations, even some intricate mechanisms involve geomantic principles. Therefore, no matter where Liang Ze went, he always carried a small compass with him.

  He only had a superficial understanding of the I Ching and was far from being able to mentally calculate the layout, let alone use it to deduce the method. The compass is similar to the needle, but the needle points to yin and yang. "The needle flies around, this place is indeed an inverted virtual realm." Liang Tou'er muttered to himself, carefully holding the base of the compass with his hand, emitting true energy, isolating the external air, and stabilizing the compass needle.

  Liang Ze's movements didn't stop within the grand hall, while also occasionally using his inner breath to stabilize the compass. He had to divide his attention to calculate the yin and yang positions, multitasking to an extreme degree, extremely exhausting. Except for initially being stuck and unable to discern the position, later on, his movements gradually became smoother. From time to time, he would use a dagger to carve some marks on the ground, making it easier to calculate.

  "Who would have thought that this place was actually a breeding ground for evil spirits, with the surrounding mountains sloping downwards, except for the lone peak of Luoyun Mountain. The mountain's energy is yin, and yet this yin energy has not dissipated, but instead has gathered here due to the mountain's shape. Previously, I had only seen the nine meridians converging, but I hadn't expected it to be the legendary convergence point of the Nine Yins. Fortunately, the mountain's peak is exposed to sunlight, and with its guidance, the extreme yin gives rise to yang, thus giving birth to a thread of life." Liang Ze had calculated all sorts of conditions in this place, and they were all reflected in his heart.

  "But why is there a fantasy realm here? I heard from my master that the creator of this fantasy realm has combined confinement, illusion and killing in one body, making it extremely difficult to resolve. But... " Liang suddenly paused, took out a piece of dark-colored wooden plaque from his pocket. The wood was extremely fine, and it felt heavy when held in hand, with a carved "cloud" character in the middle, which looked extraordinary at first glance.

  This object is unique to the Taoist school and is called a protective talisman. It is usually made by a Taoist master who has achieved enlightenment, inscribing high-level formations and spells onto an object. The strength of the formation and the properties of the object itself are directly proportional. Generally, such talismans use high-quality peach wood as the material, as peach wood itself has the effect of driving away evil spirits and is called "divine wood" by Taoist practitioners. However, Liang Ze's talisman is made from nearly extinct agarwood, which is considered a divine material. Agarwood is dense and heavy, sinking in water, and legend has it that the rarest agarwood is born with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, accompanied by powerful vitality, almost having a magical effect. Although Liang Ze's talisman may not be as extraordinary, it is still an invaluable treasure.

  "Why didn't the talisman given by Master have any effect? Or is this illusion array so powerful that even the talisman can't work? No... Master said that even if some arrays are too strong for the talisman to block, it will still hinder the array's momentum. So, does this mean that this illusion array has exceeded the talisman's limit? The weakened array still has such power, how terrifying would it have been before? The one who set up the array must be a top-notch expert in the world. I've been trapped in the array for some time, but I haven't felt any killing intent or even a hint of confusion. So, was this array set up just to trap people? A master with a cultivation level comparable to Master's would set up such an array in the wilderness just to trap some passersby?"

  Liang Touer's thinking was very smooth, and his analysis was meticulous. However, no matter how talented he was, he couldn't figure out why someone would set up an ambush here. Anyway, he wasn't the kind of person who dwelled on things, so if he couldn't think it through, he just didn't think about it anymore.

  "Nine yin and one yang, a living mechanism in death. Indeed, this place is mysterious and unpredictable..." Suddenly, he remembered the terrain of Luoyun Mountain and his whole body trembled with excitement. "Could it be that the original intention of this illusion array was to save people?!" As soon as these words left his mouth, even Liang Ze himself was startled, but after careful consideration, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that this must be the case, and the more worried he became.

  Liang Ze's hands kept pressing his temples, forcing himself to calm down. He endured the anxiety and thought through the whole thing: Luoyun Mountain was located at the convergence of nine yin energies, where yin and yang were born. This place usually had abundant yang energy, with calm winds and waves, seemingly harmless to humans and animals. However, precisely because of the birth of yang energy, it was extremely easy for some evil yin entities to emerge. Once these evil entities were formed, due to being in a place where nine yin energies converged, they would inevitably grow and thrive, bringing disaster to one side.

  It's likely that some extremely evil thing was born here, and later a superior being sealed it in this place. To prevent its escape, the Falling Cloud Temple was built on the mountain top, where the Taoist scriptures were recited daily. The hope was to use the majestic power of the Taoist scriptures to purify it. Unfortunately, the temple declined later, perhaps due to insufficient incense offerings or other reasons, and the incense ceased. As for how that illusion came into being, it's unknown, but it was probably created to prevent innocent people from mistakenly entering this place.

  However, there is one thing that can almost be certain. Since the illusion array has been laid out, it can almost be explained that the evil spirit has not been eliminated yet. Thinking of this, Liang Ze's heart tightened and he became more worried about Su Feng coming.

  Liang Ze forced himself to calm down, lowered his head and looked at the compass again, muttering to himself as he carefully calculated. He took three steps forward, then two steps back, seemingly without any pattern, when suddenly he stopped in his tracks, and his whole body shook. He raised his head and let out a deep sigh: "I've been searching for so long and couldn't find the place where heaven and earth intersect, but instead I found the place where yang energy is born."

  Liang Touer was already on the verge of giving up, not because he didn't care about his life. It's just that he suspected that this place was a fantasy realm, probably isolated from the world, and looking for the so-called convergence of heaven and earth was just a fool's dream. The place where yang energy is born is where yin energy gathers, the land of extreme yin giving birth to yang, and the source of yang energy comes from nature, abundant and pure. It's perfect for setting up an array. After carefully observing the surrounding terrain, he knew that he couldn't delay any longer, so he quickly squatted down and used his dagger to draw a magic array.

  On the other side, a gust of dark wind swept through the temple, and the woman in white robes rose into the air with the help of the wind. Clearly visible in the wind, the woman's body was half-suspended in mid-air, and there seemed to be an invisible thread holding her up. A surge of energy also arose with the wind, shooting straight up.

  My heart is secretly frightened by the wind, fearing that some changes will occur again.

  Indeed, the woman's right arm swung out casually, and a gust of cold wind rushed straight at Su Feng. Su Feng was shocked and pale, completely unaware of how to resist. The cold wind seeped into every pore, and even the pure and mysterious Qingjian Sword was powerless to resist. "Bang!" Su Feng's chest seemed to have taken a heavy blow, and a wave of cold air surged past the Qingjian Sword and into his body. It was a chilling cold that penetrated deep into his heart, causing Su Feng to shiver uncontrollably.

  His lips had already turned a bit purple, his face deathly pale, and he could no longer withstand the biting wind that was slapping him in the face. He retreated three steps back, gritting his teeth, and slightly turning his head to say to Bi Huan who was crying behind him: "In a moment I'll hold her off, you quickly escape." After finishing speaking, he turned his head again, proudly looking at the white-clothed woman floating in mid-air, as if saying that he would never yield.

  "No, I won't run away. It was you who saved me last time. If we can't escape this calamity, then let's die together." Bi Huan leaned against Ran Feng's shoulder from behind, her red lips slightly opening, her tone equally stubborn. What is death? Bi Huan closed her eyes, and the scenes of evading pursuit three months ago reappeared in her mind. Every person seemed like a bad guy, every day could be the end of life, every day was filled with anxiety, she had almost given up hope of escaping alive.

  Until Su Feng saved her today, she thought that her life would change, but in the end it seemed to be all for nothing. With hot tears in her eyes, Bi Han buried her face tightly against Su Feng's back and refused to look ahead, her heart already a desolate wasteland.

  He refused to give up, with his sword stuck in the ground, coldly staring ahead. "I have a heavy responsibility on my shoulders, and it's not easy to leave Yangzhou, I've come to understand the truth about my parents' death, how can I just die here without making things clear? No, no matter what, I won't give up."

  "Hah...hah..." Another eerie, cold laugh echoed through the air. The woman in white clothes glanced at him with eyes that were completely white, her sleeves fluttering as a dark gust of wind swept towards him. Before he could even react to dodge, he barely managed to raise his pure sword to block it in front of himself.

  He had already been like a strong crossbow at the end, but he was barely holding on. The cold wind pierced his bones, accompanied by a huge force that came with it, and with a clang, the long sword in his hand could no longer be grasped. His palm relaxed, and the pure sword slipped out of his hand and fell to the ground far away from him.

  Sui Feng suddenly fell back, leaning against Bi Han's body. A thread of bright red blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. Sui Feng struggled to lift his head, looking at Bi Han's flower-like face, and said in a hoarse voice: "You... hurry up and escape, don't worry about me." After saying this sentence, his eyes turned back to the woman in white. Watching her float towards him bit by bit.

  It was strange, but Ran Feng no longer felt afraid. At most, it was just one death, and there was really nothing to be afraid of. Many times, people were not afraid of death itself, but the process of waiting for death. Now, Ran Feng had no hope of survival, and his heart was no longer as calm as it was at this moment. With great effort, he lifted his head, coldly staring at the woman standing in front of him, giving out perhaps the last look of disdain in his life.

  The woman in white was taken aback, as if rooted to the spot, and her footsteps also came to a halt.

  Wiping away the fresh blood from the corner of his mouth with a gust of wind, he took a deep breath and stood up. He blocked Bi Huan in front of him and retreated backwards.

  Regardless of whether it was the white-clothed woman or the white-clothed female ghost, she stopped and suddenly turned around, pushing Bi Han violently with a fierce turn, and immediately turned back. In that instant, Su Feng activated the nameless sword technique with all his might, stirring up the two veins of heaven and earth, and saw two dark and pale breaths coming from the void to converge into Su Feng's body. One vein went down from top to bottom, one vein went up from bottom to top, converging in the middle. A Taiji illusion appeared behind Su Feng. A faint and ethereal aura spread out.

  The originally somewhat dull woman's eyes suddenly lit up, and she was shocked awake by the momentum of the wind. At first, she was a little stunned, then burst out laughing, making the wind feel chilled to the bone. The tiny fear in her heart was magnified many times over, and her scalp felt slightly numb.

  Even in fear, he didn't care about anything, there was no way back, to keep Bi Huan intact, he could only fight with all his might. These two not-so-massive true energies were the limit of what he could mobilize, and yet they almost shattered all the meridians in his body. His teeth clenched tightly, he strained to merge the Qian Kun Two Energies with himself, thereby achieving the unity of heaven, earth, and man.