Chapter 198

Chapter 193

"Rumble!"

The crowd entered, and the stone door began to close.

Inside, it could no longer be called a tunnel. Although the four walls were still distinct, it was very wide and very high. Standing here, people even felt a sense of smallness.

Moreover, as the stone door completely closed, the rock walls on both sides and above gradually emitted a faint green light.

Lin Shuyou gazed at the light on the rock wall in front of him and subconsciously asked, "Jadeite?"

Yin Meng: "If it were really jadeite, why wouldn't all those who gamble on stones be unemployed?"

Tan Wenbin corrected, "Those who sell jadeite would also be unemployed."

Zhao Yi walked over, placed his palm on the stone, carefully touched it, and immediately frowned, "It's not like jadeite. It's more like a type of verdigris."

Li Zhuoyuan lightly tapped the wall with his knuckles, listening carefully to the echo. He confirmed, "There should be liquid inside."

"Liquid?"

Precisely because everyone believed Li Zhuoyuan's judgment, they felt even more incredible.

Tan Wenbin looked around. Except for the ground, the other three sides were all green. "If it's liquid, then why aren't we standing in an aquarium?"

Yin Meng: "What does an aquarium look like?"

Tan Wenbin: "You should go out less in the future."

Yin Meng: "Then I'll go see an aquarium after I return to Nantong."

Tan Wenbin shrugged, "You can't see one in Nantong right now. Next time you go to Jinling, look for one."

Nantong had its own aquarium, but it only opened during the summer vacation for primary and secondary school students to visit. The creatures inside were all kept in glass tanks, and not only were the types not abundant, but quite a few were temporarily recruited from the vegetable market.

Just as the brightness reached its peak, a black shadow was suddenly reflected within the wall.

It appeared very abruptly and got closer and closer, seemingly about to rush out of the wall.

The crowd all retreated several steps and set up a defensive formation.

The black shadow stopped after getting close to the wall. From its shape, it somewhat resembled a person, as it had a head and neck outline, but no limbs were present.

Moreover, after the first one appeared, the second, third, fourth... black shadows began to appear successively on the walls on both sides and above. They became more and more numerous, as if stimulated or attracted by something, and began to gather from the depths towards the edge within the wall.

Their number was so large it was hard to imagine, densely packed, bringing an unsettling oppressive feeling.

Tan Wenbin: "Now... it looks a bit like the aquarium in Nantong."

A single aquarium tank surrounded by students.

This group of people, on the other hand, seemed like the objects being visited inside the aquarium tank.

Zhao Yi looked at Li Zhuoyuan and asked, "Is it a living thing?"

Li Zhuoyuan shook his head and replied, "I hope so."

Zhao Yi was slightly stunned and immediately nodded, "Okay."

If it was a living thing, perhaps some special plant or animal, there wasn't much to worry about. But if it was a dead thing... the changes in dead things could be too numerous.

Li Zhuoyuan: "Let's continue walking inside. Don't delay too much time here."

The crowd began to march forward. This feeling of being "peeped at" by densely packed black shadows was really very unfriendly, but for now, they couldn't rush out of the rock wall and showed no danger.

If they were just looking, then let them look.

They didn't walk far before a descending staircase appeared ahead. Below was a kind of arc-shaped hall.

Above, green stones hung down one by one, and at the tip of each, there was a white ring attached. Upon closer inspection, they resembled cocoons.

This place was different from before. Not only were the sides and top green, but even the ground was. The entire environment was completely surrounded by a green texture.

And, as if sensing living people, more and more black shadows either appeared or simply followed from their previous positions, swarming here.

"Drip... drip... drip..."

The sound of dripping water, initially very light, barely audible, gradually became louder. After reaching an ear-piercing level, it suddenly fell silent again.

At the same time, a black shadow squeezed into one of the thick, sturdy, inverted green stone cones above. The black shadow slid all the way down inside and finally entered the white cocoon at the very bottom.

The white cocoon gradually swelled and began to slowly hang down. It shouldn't take long before it fell to the ground from above.

Tan Wenbin: "If the last thing to fall is a person, doesn't that mean these black shadows inside the wall..."

Zhao Yi: "Are all people."

Lin Shuyou: "Then how many people are here?"

The number of black shadows that had appeared so far was already difficult to count.

Zhao Yi: "This is also normal. This place should originally have some kind of strangeness, but no matter how strange a place is, it's impossible for a building to appear inexplicably. In the end, it was still built by people."

"Thud!"

A muffled sound came from below, and a circle of ripples continuously spread outwards. The black shadows inside the surrounding walls began to shake, like mud stirred in a pond.

Where the sound came from, there was a coffin. Its lid was stuck to the rock wall below.

Lin Shuyou: "This thing wants to come out and float up."

On the ground, the coffin slowly floated up, as if undergoing some kind of penetration.

It was clearly returning from the dim green to reality, yet it had a visual sense of returning from hell to the human world.

And, the surrounding black shadows seemed to suddenly lose interest in Li Zhuoyuan and the others, all spontaneously starting to gather towards the coffin, as if waiting for it to come out so they could follow this opening and rush out together.

However, the coffin stopped after floating up halfway.

Like a cork in a wine bottle, it was stuck there.

Below it were a large gathering of black shadows, like a huge beehive.

The coffin was very large and made of bronze, carved with pairs of huge convex eyes that seemed to be scanning in all directions.

Zhao Yi: "If you want to ensure absolute safety, you should take action now. While the coffin lid isn't open, go ahead and impose a seal on it."

Li Zhuoyuan: "Next time, don't make suggestions from my position. You don't have to mention it."

Zhao Yi shrugged.

He was a lone wolf, only wanting to get through this wave safely and continue his life with merit. Naturally, he would take the safest approach.

As for Li Zhuoyuan, during the first round of snatching the broken jade, he did everything he could to delay time and allow his companions' injuries to recover. Even at the end, he avoided fighting as much as possible, including facing those two from the Yu family outside. Even though he knew they were heavily injured, he didn't choose to find an excuse to start a war.

This was so that after entering here, he could be as composed as possible.

Having endured the big stick, he couldn't be powerless when it was time to eat sweet dates.

Choosing this door representing puppets for himself was about taking this opportunity. If you blocked the crisis, you naturally also blocked the opportunity.

Li Zhuoyuan raised his hand, "Everyone, adjust your state."

Runsheng took out compressed biscuits and divided them among everyone.

Everyone else took small bites, but he stuffed piece after piece into his mouth, eating with relish. At the same time, he didn't forget to suck the crumbs from his palm into his mouth.

"Buzz buzz buzz..."

The thick coffin lid slowly moved forward.

Usually, when encountering such a situation, no matter what was inside, you would try your best to keep it stuffed inside.

Now, however, they needed to stand far away and wait quietly.

The coffin lid didn't completely flip over, it only slid out by a third.

According to normal human standards, if there was a person inside, it should only be open to their chest.

A pair of clean, white, slender hands slowly reached out from inside the coffin.

The ten long nails, the five on the left hand were red, and the five on the right hand were black.

Suddenly, the ten fingers interlaced!

"Pa!"

The white cocoon that had already accumulated power on the green stone pillar fell at this moment, heavily hitting the ground.

The ten fingers slowly loosened.

The white cocoon slowly tore open.

"Eeeeeeeeee..."

A long sound came from inside the white cocoon, echoing continuously in the empty surroundings.

The two hands clapped together.

"Pa!"

The white cocoon broke, and a figure wearing white clothes appeared from inside.

Actually, its body wasn't white clothes, but more like a type of raw silk.

Moreover, although it stood up, like a person, it couldn't see its hands and feet.

The two hands flipped forward.

The mask person's head tilted downwards, instantly turning red, as if wearing a red lacquer mask.

Above the coffin, the ten fingers no longer stopped and began to interlace continuously, the speed changing from slow to fast.

The mask person also went from having stiff joints at the beginning, stopping and pausing, to becoming more and more smooth. The white silk on its body had already woven two hands and two feet for it, anthropomorphizing step by step.

This whole set of changing actions was like the opening of a dance, rich in rhythm and tempo, stepping towards a climax.

Zhao Yi: "You say, doesn't this look like..."

Li Zhuoyuan: "Nuo opera."

Nuo opera has a long history, originating in the Shang and Zhou dynasties. It has evolved into different branches in various places, and in many areas, it is also called "ghost opera."

The mask person's actions became more and more coherent. After continuously rotating its body to the side, it suddenly stopped, its arms sticking to its body, and its body tilted forward, as if about to fall but not falling.

Not long after, it stepped towards the direction directly in front of it, which was Li Zhuoyuan and the others' location. It took one step, two steps, three steps, the step frequency becoming higher and higher, and the speed faster and faster.

It rushed over.

But Li Zhuoyuan's main attention wasn't on its body.

The young man kept his attention on the two hands above the coffin.

It was those two hands that controlled the mask person.

"Lin Shuyou, go!"

"Understood!"

Lin Shuyou leaped down, just blocking in front of the mask person.

The mask person paused, its feet stuck to the ground, its upper body turned a circle in place, then suddenly pounced towards Lin Shuyou.

This action was considered fast in the eyes of ordinary people, but in Lin Shuyou's perception, it was just a bit slow. He didn't even need to use the Jia, he could cope with his normal state skills.

The two sides exchanged fists and feet, continuously over several moves. Lin Shuyou discovered that the opponent's strength was just so-so.

After exchanging another fist, Lin Shuyou immediately closed in forcefully, took out his trident, and directly inserted it into the mask person's chest, then followed the momentum to cut horizontally.

"Hua la..."

A sound like tearing silk cloth.

The mask person's body split into two sections, fell to the ground, burst into flames, and self-immolated.

In an instant, only two sections of thin ashes, separated above and below, were left in the original spot. In the next moment, they scattered without wind.

The opponent was very weak, almost no threat. After solving it, Lin Shuyou didn't even feel a sense of merit.

However, he still turned his head to look at Li Zhuoyuan behind him.

But he found that Li Zhuoyuan had already sat cross-legged, and that hateful Zhao Yi also maintained the same posture as Li Zhuoyuan.

Zhao Yi: "Nuo opera puppet technique, very exquisite."

Li Zhuoyuan: "Okay."

Zhao Yi: "This is the first round."

Li Zhuoyuan: "This is the starting style."

Zhao Yi: "It will go from simple to difficult. If you are too greedy, you will capsize. It's very possible it will make us die here. Don't forget, this stone door has our two votes."

Li Zhuoyuan: "Reason should be greedy."

Zhao Yi nodded, "I'm standing from your perspective."

Li Zhuoyuan: "Okay, but you're still talking nonsense."

At this time, two black shadows slid down the green stone cone, falling into the white ring at the bottom.

Above the coffin, the ten fingers crossed again.

"Pa!"

Another white cocoon fell to the ground.

The ten fingers separated, and the white cocoon tore open.

A new mask person appeared.

This time, the time it took for its limbs to go from stiff to smooth was very short. Almost after just a few quick twitches, they became extremely flexible.

At the same time, its mask turned black and was more delicate, like a human face, with specific carvings.

Lin Shuyou noticed the change in the opponent this time, which was very different from the one he had easily dealt with before.

The ten fingers on the coffin began to change.

Li Zhuoyuan's hands imitated the movements.

Zhao Yi did the same. The hands of the two people, one green and one young, moved in unison.

The danger was still unclear, but the opportunity had already appeared.

Those two hands were actually performing puppet techniques. The previous round was just the foundation, which Li Zhuoyuan called the "starting style". Of course, it could also be called the "first style".

Although the Jiujiang Zhao family was not a true Dragon King Sect, their family foundation was quite solid. Zhao Yi, in particular, had been nurtured on the best.

As for Li Zhuoyuan, relying on the books in Taiye's basement, it could be said that from the moment he entered, he was lying on a pile of excellent resources.

When those two hands began to perform, the two people immediately detected the exquisiteness of this Nuo opera puppet technique, which was a treasure they both coveted.

However, this might not be a teaching institution. It could even be said that the so-called teaching here was just a trap to lure people's inner desires.

Since those two hands started with the "starting style", it was definitely different from independent techniques like the "Fengdu Twelve Laws". It had clear progressive changes, which was what Zhao Yi meant by going from simple to difficult.

People's greed would definitely want to learn more completely and comprehend deeper. And because of this, the mask person would become stronger and stronger.

Once greed got out of control, the mask person would become harder and harder to deal with. Even if you couldn't suppress the situation here in the end, this seemingly relaxed and comfortable teaching institution would turn into a killing field.

Having the initiative in your hands was actually more dangerous, because the vast majority of people found it very difficult to overcome their own greed.

Runsheng gently pushed Tan Wenbin's shoulder and asked, "Why don't you sit down and learn together?"

Tan Wenbin looked at Li Zhuoyuan and Zhao Yi sitting in front of him. "I don't seem to be too suitable for this occasion."

Runsheng: "That mule is rented, but this mule of yours is your own."

Tan Wenbin nodded, "The words are rough, but the meaning is not."

Runsheng scratched his head, "Li Daye often teaches me these truths. They are quite useful."

Tan Wenbin smiled and also sat cross-legged. First, he patted his shoulders with both hands, softly saying:

"Children, let me borrow your two clever brains."

Two faint infant shadows appeared on Tan Wenbin's shoulders. They happily swung their little feet.

Tan Wenbin looked at the two hands on the coffin. His left hand and right hand followed its slow movements.

Looking and learning at the same time, there was definitely a lag. He was purely imitating and already fumbling around. Moreover, Tan Wenbin also knew that imitating actions was just the lowest and most unimportant level. What he truly wanted to understand and comprehend was the spirit of the technique contained in the actions of those two hands.

He glanced at Zhao Yi. That kid's hand movements were almost in sync with those on the coffin, and his face occasionally showed expressions of smiles and enlightenment.

Like those good students in high school who, after the teacher explained a topic, would say "oh~" to themselves when most of the classmates were still confused.

He looked at Li Zhuoyuan, who was also doing the same actions, but his expression remained calm throughout. Looking at him, this was definitely the calmness of a college entrance examination top scorer!

Tan Wenbin knew his brain wasn't good enough, at least his learning progress couldn't keep up with theirs, but it didn't matter. He could take small bites.

The two children were already stacking hand seals together. Although they fumbled a bit, they were much smoother than him, their father.

With the three smelly shoemakers working together, Tan Wenbin's hands gradually began to follow the rhythm, and some intermittent comprehensions appeared in his mind. His mouth also constantly made sounds:

"Hiss~"

"Ah~"

"Oh~"

He was experiencing the happiness of those who pretended to understand in class.

Runsheng lowered his head and looked at Tan Wenbin sitting there, wondering, "Are you putting on a show?"

Immediately, Runsheng turned his head again to look at Yin Meng standing next to him.

Yin Meng pointed at herself, "Do I also need to sit down and learn?"

Your brain won't learn it.

Saying that would be too direct and would hurt people.

So, Runsheng said:

"Forget it, sitting down will make your legs numb."

Below, the second mask person brought pressure to Lin Shuyou. Its speed and strength had obviously improved compared to before.

Without using the Jia, the two sides were actually evenly matched for a while.

Li Zhuoyuan stopped his hand movements, and Zhao Yi quickly followed suit.

Tan Wenbin was still continuing to imitate and pinch the seals, his hands flying around busily.

Li Zhuoyuan was silent.

Zhao Yi leaned back slightly, looking at Tan Wenbin.

Tan Wenbin: "Li Zhuoyuan, you don't have to wait for me."

It was fine if Li Zhuoyuan learned it. He could have a small stove later if he wanted to learn. Right now, the main thing was to experience the learning atmosphere and participate.

Li Zhuoyuan: "Ah You, use the Jia."

Lin Shuyou received the command. Immediately after their feet clashed, they each pulled away, completed the Jia, and opened their vertical pupils!

His speed of activating the Jia was getting faster and faster, like calling a pager and never worrying about queuing or being busy. You could immediately hear the pager's sweet voice as soon as you dialed.

Baihe Tong's figure dashed forward. In just three steps and a flash, he was next to the opponent. He then grabbed the mask person's neck with one hand, threw it to the ground, and immediately lifted his foot to stomp down!

"Bang!"

The mask person collapsed and scattered, turning into a pile of scattered flames. After burning into ashes, it scattered on its own.

The Child was somewhat surprised. This time, the opponent was too simple.

It began to use its vertical pupils to survey the surrounding environment, seeing the countless black shadows behind the "jadeite", seeing the coffin, seeing the two hands on the coffin...

The Child's face showed solemnity: What exactly was this place?

Five black shadows slid into the bottom of the green stone cone.

Above the coffin, the two hands interlaced again.

Li Zhuoyuan's downcast eyes opened again. Zhao Yi touched his fingertips, preparing for a new lesson.

As the ten fingers loosened, with a "Pa!", another white cocoon fell to the ground.

From inside, a new mask person stood up. This time, the color on the mask was richer, and you could even see it looked about seven or eight points like Lin Shuyou.

The next scene made Baihe Tong's vertical pupils contract.

The mask person actually took three steps!

"Holy shit!"

Tan Wenbin felt a stuffiness in his chest, as if he had been punched. The two children on his shoulders also swayed from side to side, hugging their heads and saying "ow ow ow".

This wasn't learning, it was completely unbearable.

The previous two times were just changes in moves and strength. Who would have expected that this time, the official's head and body steps would actually appear?

The ten fingers above the coffin changed into afterimages. The amount of calculation they represented had directly increased by one level!

Zhao Yi's face showed effort. He couldn't keep up.

He glanced at the young man next to him from the corner of his eye, only to see that the young man's face was still calm, and his hands were steadily following the actions.

Zhao Yi wasn't annoyed either. He simply tore off the bandage on his forehead.

When his life-and-death door seam opened, his body would be soft as boneless. Only when it closed or he dug it out could his skills reappear.

But with his heavily injured body now, he couldn't talk about any skills at all. If he still needed this "crippled" body to fight at the front at this time, it would almost be equivalent to a quick team wipe.

Pinching his brow with his fingertips, Zhao Yi forcefully tore open the sutured brow wound.

The bloody life-and-death door seam reappeared.

Fresh blood dripped onto his face, but his hands had already followed the frequency again.

Tan Wenbin looked at this scene and had to sigh in his heart: This Zhao guy was really ruthless to himself.

Baihe Tong felt insulted. It held its trident and rushed up. Both sides used the three steps, their figures flashing past each other.

Fighting and fighting, the Child found that it simply couldn't cause substantial harm to the opponent. The opponent always seemed to be able to predict its next move and avoid it in advance.

And, after one clash midway, the opponent's palm stirred, first producing a wisp of white smoke, which immediately condensed, forming a virtual image of a trident.

Baihe Tong's breathing became heavier, its lips parted, and its teeth bared.

If it wasn't for the fact that it was just Baihe Tong, it would probably suspect that the mask person opposite had also activated the Jia and summoned itself.

At this moment, even the Yin God felt that this place was abnormally evil.

Zhao Yi: "Can it deduce even without using techniques? The environment isn't limited to here. Was it recorded when we killed people during the broken jade snatch?"

Li Zhuoyuan: "Okay."

The drawings on the stone door were all of the people who died during the broken jade snatch.

Zhao Yi: "This place is truly unfathomable."

As one of the nine great secret realms, it definitely had its mysterious aspects.

What Li Zhuoyuan was thinking about now wasn't this. When the mask person successively used the three steps and the virtual shadow trident, his judgment was the same as Zhao Yi's.

The people they had killed were recorded before their death, meaning their moves. These would be presented again by those two hands in the form of Nuo opera puppets.

The good news was that in the previous round of snatching the broken jade, they had only killed one person - Xu Yijin.

The bad news was that when they killed her... they went all out.

The special environment of the secret realm created this place, and the vast number of black shadows here were also inexhaustible raw materials that could supply those two hands to continuously create Nuo opera puppets. This already proved that it could enhance the strength of the Nuo opera puppets themselves by stacking the number of black shadows.

This also meant that if he didn't interrupt the teaching, then next, he would very possibly face the team's full bottom-of-the-box moves...

A reverse collective outbreak.

Li Zhuoyuan's hand movements didn't stop. He split his attention and focused on the Baihe Tong fighting the "Baihe Tong" below.

Baihe Tong was somewhat unable to handle "Itself", but the Child also obviously restrained its moves and no longer thought of a quick decision. It could feel that the opponent, like itself, was gradually weakening.

Clearly, although the opponent's Jia was fake, this fake also had a time limit.

This was easy to deal with. It didn't know that the young man sitting behind it was imitating and learning because it had just come down. But it could see that since the young man only sent its Jia-Child to fight and everyone else stayed back to watch, he was naturally not in a hurry to solve the opponent.

Then... wait slowly.

A strong sense of crisis suddenly rose in Li Zhuoyuan's heart. The danger of this teaching was possibly earlier and fiercer than he had previously thought.

At this time, after another stalemate, the Child felt that it was almost time. Its breath had already fallen low, and the opponent was also the same.

The Child drew out three sticks of incense, preparing to insert them for itself and comfortably continue for another round.

However, just as it inserted the three sticks of incense on top of its head, it was stunned to see the fake opposite, take out eight symbolic needles!

Baihe Tong: "......"

———

There's more tonight. Please vote for the monthly pass!

()