Seeking Truth with a Sword-Chapter 688 - 618 Xingzhou
The illusion burst into smoke, and the blood-soaked battlefield rapidly vaporized.
The surrounding environment revealed the room’s original appearance. Li Ang let out a long sigh of relief, released his Telekinesis, scattering the tangled Fine Gold Thought Line and collecting them back into his arms.
All the smoke coalesced into a wisp of blue smoke and flew back into the Lion Furnace.
Ati put the lid on the Lion Furnace and suddenly asked, "Did you set a trap just now?"
Li Ang candidly admitted, explaining that he had first weakened Yan Yundang’s Illusion’s defenses with talismans and Mind Needles, then used the Radiant Crossbow to shoot Wind Talismans for maneuvering. Meanwhile, he had stealthily buried Mind Threads in the ground, weaving a pentagram-shaped network to complete the annihilation in one fell swoop.
Ati nodded, unsurprised, then asked, "So, what about Dragon Fall’s ability to grow and shrink?"
Um...
Indeed, this was unexplainable. Li Ang’s expression faltered briefly before he said, "Regarding this matter, I will naturally report to the Mountain Master when I see him."
Ati stared at him for a while before finally saying, "The Mountain Master is currently in Xingzhou City East Peach Shore Village."
"Understood. Thank you."
Li Ang breathed a sigh of relief, nodded to Ati, and quickly ran out of the room, leaving Dongjun Tower.
He first went to the backyard cottage to leave a note for Chai Chai, then controlled the Ink Silk Clone to carry the stone tablet inscribed with Siyou text left by the Shixing Monk. Subsequently, he used his Telekinesis to float into the air.
The sun hung high above. A lone figure crossed through the misty clouds, flying over majestic mountains toward Xingzhou.
Dark-skinned farmers bustled about in the fields. Boats laden with goods sailed along winding rivers. Workshops by the riverside operated at full capacity, all preparing for future sea beast disasters and wars.
Looking down upon the bustling scenes of the Mortal World, Li Ang felt his tense spirits ease. The obstructions to reaching Mid-level Cloud Patrol melted away like snow in the bright sun.
His realm breakthrough made his vision extremely clear. His senses—hearing, smell, and touch—became many times sharper, and the circulation speed of his Qi Sea improved beyond its previous state.
The Mo Si nestled deep within his bones sensed the change, stretching and extending on its own, becoming finer. At the same density, it could accommodate more and denser Mo Si muscle fibers while also slightly increasing in strength.
With a thought, Li Ang ascended above the clouds. Casually waving his hand, the dense clouds ahead parted, creating a narrow passageway.
The Telekinesis Master Path was easy to learn but hard to master. Few possessed the aptitude, talent, and luck to advance to the Cloud Patrol Realm.
In his memory, the only publicly known Candle Cloud Telekinesis Masters in the Yu Country seemed to be Xi Yangyu and Kou Wukui, the senile former head of the Kou Family, whom he had met underground in the Chang’an Ghost Market a few years ago.
Hmm... I wonder how the Kou Family is doing now. After their failure to claim the Shixing Monk’s body, Kou Huai’an, Kou Wukui, and the rest of the Kou Family vanished from the Chang’an Ghost Market. Even the garrison couldn’t find any trace of them.
I wonder if they’ve fled to another country.
"COUGH, COUGH!"
At this very moment, Kou Huai’an—once head of the Kou Family and a lord of the Chang’an Ghost Market—knelt in a dark mine tunnel beneath Jing Country, coughing violently.
His once-vigorous face was now marred with exhaustion and numbness. He was dressed in a simple black coverall, and around his neck hung an intricate metal collar resembling the craftsmanship of the Academic Palace. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦
The collar could seal the Qi Sea, preventing the external release of Spiritual Energy. Within it was inserted a Blast Talisman, powerful enough to blast half the body of an Innate Martial Artist to smithereens.
Eighteen prisoners, all similarly attired, toiled in the mine tunnel.
Had a sergeant from the garrison been present, they would have been astonished to recognize that these "miners" were cultivators from various countries, all declared dead or missing over the past ten-plus years.
Among them were: a military officer who had fled after committing twenty-eight massacres in the Northern Desert of Jing Country; a Swordsman from Sword Ridge who had poisoned his master, attempting to take his master’s wife and junior disciple for himself; and elders of sects whom the world believed had failed their life-or-death cultivation breakthroughs.
Regardless of age, realm, or morality, they all wore black coveralls and used oddly shaped drill bits to dig underground. Approximately every hundred meters, they would affix several talismans to the mine’s ceiling.
This was to stabilize the mine shaft and insulate sound, preventing detection from the surface.
"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH!"
Kou Huai’an clutched his mouth, coughing desperately for a while. When he finally lowered his palm, it was stained with blood.
"Get up. Keep digging."
A numb voice drew nearer, and a man dressed as a beggar stopped in front of Kou Huai’an, saying indifferently,
The steel needle embedded in the beggar’s neck revealed his identity: a Ya Jiu Puppet.
Kou Huai’an’s expression shifted repeatedly. After their failed attempt to snatch the Shixing Monk’s body led to disaster, the Kou Family, fearing retaliation from the garrison, had contemplated fleeing the Yu Country.
But just as they were about to succeed, they encountered the ever-persistent Jun Qianzi.
The entire Kou Family was captured. Those members who could cultivate were collared and sent underground to dig.
This dark, sunless existence had persisted for over four years. Even more tragically, Kou Huai’an and his fellow prisoners didn’t even know what they were digging the tunnels for.
"Get up. Keep digging."
The Ya Jiu Puppet repeated.
Kou Huai’an looked up at it with a resentful gaze, desperately wanting to lash out and take it down with him.
But he couldn’t.
Not only was the entire Kou Family held hostage by Jun Qianzi, but the collars on the prisoners’ necks were also incredibly sensitive. Straying even slightly from their designated path would trigger an immediate explosion.
"How much longer do we have to dig?"
Kou Huai’an propped himself up on his knees and stood, asking hoarsely, "We’ve been to Jing Country, the Zhou Kingdom, the Yu Country, the Northern Territory... Counting the other digging teams, the total length of these tunnels must stretch for many thousands of miles!
Jun Qianzi said that once the tunnels are completed, he would let us go. How much longer must we wait?!"
The clinking and clanking in the tunnel lessened for a moment as the prisoners instinctively slowed their movements, listening to the conversation.
"..."
The Ya Jiu Puppet stared at Kou Huai’an coldly, its fingers tracing a talisman plate, as if considering whether to detonate the collar around Kou Huai’an’s neck.
TAP. TAP. TAP.
Leisurely footsteps echoed in the dimness of the tunnel.
Jun Qianzi emerged from the shadows, his smile flickering in the dim glow of the mining lamps.
The tunnel fell silent. Kou Huai’an’s expression churned with a tumult of emotions, but he still turned to face Jun Qianzi.
Jun Qianzi spoke slowly, his voice soft. "I will stand by my word. You needn’t worry about that, sir."
"Then you..."
Kou Huai’an wanted to ask more, but he saw Jun Qianzi stroll past the prisoners to the end of the tunnel. There, he placed his hand against the thick, dark rock face.
HUM!
Spiritual Energy flowed from his palm, tracing talismanic patterns on the rock face. Without a sound or tremor, the rock melted away where he touched it, revealing a deep tunnel that stretched further than the eye could see.
"That should be about enough."
Jun Qianzi mused to himself with a nod. Then, he turned to face the crowd of prisoners and said with a smile, "Gentlemen, if you please."
Kou Huai’an instinctively asked, "Go where?"
"To do something that will astound the world."
Jun Qianzi smiled. "God Slaying."
