Chapter 253

Chapter 247

How is it that these three-eyed people are like persistent ghosts and always show up?

The next moment, Lin Shuyou couldn't help but start hoping that something unfortunate would happen to the three-eyed person inside this Taoist temple.

But soon, Lin Shuyou felt a wave of guilt for this thought.

He was inherently kind to the core and felt that although the three-eyed person was hateful, they didn't deserve to die, and he shouldn't curse them like this.

Immediately after, all stray thoughts were banished from Lin Shuyou's mind.

Because he suddenly realized one thing: with the three-eyed person's abilities, it was impossible for them to stumble in a place like this.

Up ahead, Zhao Yi withdrew his gaze and ran into the Taoist temple.

Lin Shuyou then lowered his head and began recording in his notebook.

Bin-ge once joked that the three-eyed person was the unofficial logistics captain of their family.

But that was only because their family had Xiao Yuange, who could always keep him in check. No matter what, he was still a formidable character.

The five people just now, two men and three women, were the old configuration of the three-eyed person, Xu Ming, and Sun Yan.

Xu Ming's broken arm had recovered, and he didn't know what method was used. Sun Yan was on the beast-taming path and showed no visible changes.

The other two women must be new recruits. Although he had only seen their backs before, the backs were remarkably similar, and he suspected they were twins.

The three-eyed person seemed very skilled at handling women.

Lin Shuyou couldn't understand why so many girls liked that effeminate type of person like the three-eyed one.

It seemed he could only record this much.

If it were other teams, Lin Shuyou might actually approach to observe, or even follow and sneak into that Taoist temple, but facing the three-eyed person, Lin Shuyou felt that if he did so, he would most likely be discovered.

Oh, and one more thing, the three-eyed person's forehead fissure was gone.

Lin Shuyou felt he should emphasize this point in the record. The last time they parted in Lijiang, the three-eyed person said he wanted to make a bold attempt to transfer the life-and-death door fissure to his heart.

He must have succeeded.

Now, not only could he open the life-and-death door fissure, but he could also maintain his physical state.

This guy had profound kung fu on him, but was forced to choose just one before, which made him appear wretched.

Now, he was a capable and intellectually formidable opponent.

Lin Shuyou couldn't help but sigh inwardly: We really should have found an opportunity to kill him in the beginning.

What surprised Ayou was that this time, he didn't feel any guilt in his heart.

Tongzi: "Because your thought is an affirmation and praise for him."

Lin Shuyou: "I don't like this guy."

Tongzi: "You must distinguish between public and private matters."

Lin Shuyou: "You're thinking, is it still possible for us to cooperate this time?"

Tongzi: "That depends on whether the harvest goal this time is large enough."

Lin Shuyou: "That can only be decided by Xiao Yuange."

Tongzi: "Exactly, so you must hide your identity well and don't let him know we've come yet."

Continue to hide, continue to wait.

Suddenly, Lin Shuyou saw Zhao Yi run out covered in blood, then with a "thud," he fell to the ground.

Two Taoist priests chased out, swords in hand, approaching him.

Lin Shuyou was stunned for a moment, thinking to himself: Something actually happened?

Tongzi: "He's faking it, he wants to lure you into taking the bait."

Lin Shuyou lowered his head, his vertical pupil scanning downwards. Layers of invisible waves appeared on the ground ahead, originating precisely from the position where the three-eyed person was lying.

"Indeed, he's probing my position."

Lin Shuyou no longer hesitated and chose to leave directly.

Zhao Yi, who was lying face down, lifted his head, first looking in the direction where Lin Shuyou had been hiding before, then stood up while clapping his hands.

The two Taoist priests who "chased" him out were standing there with pale faces, completely lifeless.

Zhao Yi waved his hand, and the two Taoist priests fell backward, motionless.

Sun Yan walked to Zhao Yi's side, a colorful python wrapped around her neck, its belly bulging, lazily flicking its tongue.

The bird in the sky received the summons, circled down, and landed on Sun Yan's wrist.

Before, this bird had looked very normal in the sky, but upon closer inspection, one could see that its eyes were emitting a dead and gloomy white light, and its neck even had gold thread repairs, as if it had been broken and then fixed.

Sun Yan: "Really useless."

As the team's lookout, it had no awareness even when someone got so close.

Zhao Yi: "It's already dead, what's the use of scolding it?"

Sun Yan: "I always treat it as still alive."

"Deceiving yourself is meaningless." Zhao Yi reached out to touch the python's belly, "Looks like it ate very full."

Sun Yan: "Mm, it will take at least three days to digest."

"It doesn't matter, there's time." Zhao Yi flicked the invitation in his hand: "The Seal Demon Conference is still five days away."

Sun Yan: "I worry that if it keeps swallowing and eating, I won't be able to control it."

"No harm, what it fears was never you, it only fears me."

Zhao Yi's fingers scratched at the python's chin, and the snake's eyes revealed strong resentment. Zhao Yi didn't care, instead smiling.

A pair of twin sisters walked out, and behind them, the fire gradually rose.

Zhao Yi: "Handled well?"

Liang Yan: "Handled well."

Liang Li: "There are really many remains below. Just looking at the surface, it's hard to imagine this Taoist temple once committed so many sins."

Zhao Yi: "So, the river will push us forward."

Liang Yan: "Shouldn't we chase immediately and help Xu Ming?"

Zhao Yi: "No need, that guy has malice towards me, but no killing intent."

True Monarch Bai He's concealment was impeccable, but Lin Shuyou's emotional changes after discovering Zhao Yi allowed Zhao Yi to sense him.

The life-and-death door fissure was just that mystical, possessing extremely sensitive perception.

Zhao Yi: "When I got this invitation, I was thinking that this time other teams would probably also come for this wave. Now I can almost confirm it."

That guy must have been sent out by some team to observe other teams.

Let Xu Ming and him simply clash once, it's just right for each other to test each other's strength."

Liang Li: "Other teams, are they competitors?"

Liang Yan: "Shouldn't we take this opportunity to eliminate the competitors?"

The two sisters spoke with great confidence, but Zhao Yi didn't dislike it because he knew this pair of sisters had the confidence to say this.

If he hadn't been lucky and tricked them into betting and winning, they wouldn't have followed him to walk the river.

Zhao Yi patiently explained:

"We are definitely among the fastest teams, but since that team can now send out someone to probe the situation, it proves they completed the initial goal faster than us and got the invitation."

Such opponents are not worth treating cautiously?"

Hearing this, the two sisters nodded.

Zhao Yi licked his lips and whistled.

Liang Yan put a cigarette to his mouth, and then Liang Li rubbed her fingertips together to help light it.

Sister asked: "Enjoying it?"

Zhao Yi nodded: "Of course, I am also a normal man."

Sister reminded: "You still have six times left."

Ten times lighting a cigarette was another condition of that bet.

Zhao Yi: "I will cherish it, but I won't be stingy."

Sister: "We won't marry the same man, you Jiujiang Zhao can only choose one of us to give betrothal gifts."

Sister: "Thought about it? Which one will you choose?"

Ten times lighting a cigarette was an additional condition proposed by Zhao Yi, and marriage was an additional condition proposed by the sisters.

Zhao Yi: "Whoever survives last, I'll choose that one."

Sister: "Good."

Sister: "What if both survive?"

Zhao Yi: "Then rock-paper-scissors or flip a coin."

Sister: "Actually, there's another way, and that is for both of us to marry you."

Sister: "Correct."

Zhao Yi: "My Jiujiang Zhao family at least has some reputation, we can even call ourselves the Dragon King family behind closed doors, how could I possibly be a live-in son-in-law?"

If we really succeed in walking the river this time, what will I become, the Dragon King's live-in son-in-law?"

The sisters stopped talking.

"Hiss..." Zhao Yi then seemed to think of someone, "Ha, it's just your bad luck, not only did you get on the wrong bus, but you also got on a slow bus, otherwise there's someone who can provide such an opportunity."

Sister: "Who?"

Sister: "Which one?"

"Forget it, don't talk about him, you have no chance, you're too old."

The sisters looked at each other. They were in their prime, and yet they were disliked for their age?

"Moreover, you are not comparable to her."

Sister: "She refers to a female? Are you also interested in her?"

Sister: "Got a story."

Zhao Yi shrugged: "This story might be too wonderful, it almost got me killed in the first wave."

The big elder of that family, because of a dream, had the whimsical idea of targeting the absolute heir of the Dragon King family, almost making the Jiujiang Zhao family the first absolute heir.

Sister: "Tell it."

Sister: "Love to hear."

"It's an embarrassing matter, nothing good to say. Wait until this wave ends and we go back, let old Tian head tell you."

Zhao Yi exhaled a smoke ring, flicked the cigarette in his hand, looked towards the deep forest ahead, and continued:

"We'll go over after finishing this cigarette, giving them a cigarette's time to fight."

...

Lin Shuyou was running, and he noticed that there was a person chasing him diagonally behind him.

"Tongzi, how many people?"

"Just one, the rest didn't follow. I suspect he was deliberately sent to probe you."

"Probe?"

Lin Shuyou stopped his steps, lowered his chin slightly, and immediately pattern textures appeared on his body.

Then these textures began to change, all turning black, covering his appearance and figure.

Tongzi: "Are you sure you want to make a move?"

Lin Shuyou: "According to the three-eyed person's character, this should indeed be a probe, so I have to accept it."

Tongzi: "That person instructed you before leaving not to participate in making a move."

"That's because Xiao Yuange didn't know the three-eyed person also came."

"You decide for yourself, I'm only responsible for helping you fight."

"Believe me, facing this three-eyed person, you just need to suppress him at every step, and he'll become obedient."

"Okay, then I'll beat him up."

Blood color appeared in the vertical pupil, cracking and scattering further. True Monarch Bai He's aura was no longer hidden and was completely exposed.

Although they had been in close contact before, Lin Shuyou wasn't worried that his aura would be recognized by Xu Ming because he had already changed from an official general to a true monarch.

To Xu Ming, the current him was completely unfamiliar, someone he had absolutely never seen.

The fact was indeed so, Xu Ming stood in front of his target, sensing the opponent's aura while showing doubt in his eyes.

He only felt that he was shallow in knowledge and couldn't judge the opponent's origin, not knowing that other true monarchs were still suppressed at the bottom of the sea, and the one in front of him was the only true monarch who could walk in the world.

There was no exchange, no greeting, and no opening words.

Both were specially sent out by their respective teams and had no diplomatic rights.

Xu Ming spread his arms, the place where his arm was originally broken was connected with a wooden prosthesis, and with the injection of his energy, the prosthesis actually grew a piece of green bud, overflowing with vitality.

The current Xu Ming was even stronger than before his arm was broken.

Lin Shuyou took out his double maces, both arms hanging down at his sides.

"Buzz!"

"Buzz!"

Both sides moved at the same time and collided.

One was to test, and the other was to display strength, so both used almost full force from the start.

"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"

After the double maces swung continuously three times, Xu Ming fell into a disadvantage.

He was surprised to find that he was actually suppressed by the opponent in the aspect of strength that he was most confident in.

Upon first clash, he knew clearly that he was no match for the opponent in front of him.

Therefore, Xu Ming very realistically turned to pure defense. One was to preserve himself as much as possible, and the other was to give the opponent better space to display and expose.

Lin Shuyou also didn't disappoint Xu Ming. His double maces continued to swing, and his figure also kept flashing, changing positions.

Under the moonlight, streaks of afterimages appeared, and to the naked eye, it looked like Lin Shuyou was launching attacks on Xu Ming from all sides.

Every time Xu Ming blocked with his wooden arm, the wooden arm shattered again and again, yet it also recovered again and again. The vitality seemed endless, continuously overflowing to where it should go.

Lin Shuyou could only sigh inwardly. This guy was really durable, giving him a feeling of facing Runsheng.

The difference was that Runsheng was not only durable, but Runsheng also hit people much more ferociously.

This guy was only half of Runsheng.

Tongzi: "His legs are sinking into the ground, let's see what the situation is below."

Lin Shuyou temporarily slowed his attack. His single mace no longer swung towards Xu Ming but smashed towards the ground in front of Xu Ming.

"Boom!"

The soil exploded open, and streaks of roots appeared inside. The source was at Xu Ming's feet. Originally, he had been secretly using the roots spreading from his feet to absorb the vitality of nearby plants for supplement.

Even if Lin Shuyou's attack could make Xu Ming consume more than supplement, it also greatly prolonged the time.

Lin Shuyou chanted an incantation in his mouth, and clumps of gray decaying black gas overflowed from his body. Part of it entered the ground, and another part condensed on his double maces.

As the attack continued, Xu Ming discovered that his wooden arm actually started to turn black. At the same time, the roots under his feet also began to wither, greatly reducing the speed of drawing vitality from nearby.

Tongzi's methods were naturally not few. This kind of vitality cutting technique was even more what he excelled at when he was a ghost king.

Xu Ming's face kept breaking out in beads of sweat the size of beans. The sudden change in situation made his heart no longer calm.

Fortunately, just at this moment, he sensed four auras approaching from behind, as if afraid the fighting sides here had no time to care, the bird in the sky still emitted strange cries.

Tongzi: "Their people are here."

Lin Shuyou: "Leave?"

Tongzi: "Seems something is missing, not pretty enough."

Lin Shuyou: "Then stab him once?"

Tongzi didn't respond, which was considered tacit approval.

Lin Shuyou deliberately dispersed most of the force with this mace, not hitting Xu Ming's body much. The vast majority fell on the surroundings, kicking up a piece of fallen leaves and dust, blocking the line of sight.

Subsequently, Lin Shuyou took out two talisman needles and stabbed them into his own body.

The pain instantly boiled, and along with it, the divine power in his body.

"Bang!"

He forcefully smashed out with one mace.

Xu Ming's defense had originally become full of holes under Tongzi's technique. This strike, which was several times stronger, completely crushed all his defenses.

Lin Shuyou didn't plan to kill him, but before leaving, he still specially used a mace to poke a pit next to Xu Ming's head, which was lying on the ground.

He could not kill him, but he had to leave evidence that he could kill him.

When Zhao Yi and the others arrived, the dust had just dissipated. Xu Ming was lying on the ground in an extremely wretched state, his limbs paralyzed and twitching, his mouth continuously overflowing with fresh blood.

Zhao Yi didn't expect that Xu Ming couldn't even hold on for a cigarette's time.

The pit intentionally poked next to Xu Ming's head seemed like mockery and sarcasm directed at him, Zhao Yi, and the entire team.

Liang Yan: "This is humiliation."

Liang Li: "We must return it."

Zhao Yi: "He didn't kill."

Liang Yan: "We also can't kill him."

Liang Li: "Also poke a hole like this."

Purple marks floated on the faces of the twin sisters, as if some power sealed within their bodies was about to become uncontrollable due to anger.

They were Zhao Yi's strongest trump card currently.

It was precisely because of their joining that Zhao Yi's original two subordinates, Xu Ming and Sun Yan, were completely relegated to team auxiliary roles.

Zhao Yi believed that if he truly let them make a move, it would necessarily cause extremely large waves.

But he was still Zhao Yi, and rationality always held the absolute upper hand.

He just saw him stretch out his hand and lightly slap his own face.

"Slap!" "Slap!" "Slap!"

The two sisters looked at him in confusion.

"Skill is not as good as others, getting beaten is just getting beaten, it should be."

Saying so, Zhao Yi used his foot to step on the pit that had been intentionally poked,

"The other side should be planning to form an alliance and cooperate with us."

Liang Yan: "Are you comforting yourself?"

Liang Li: "We won't laugh at you."

Zhao Yi held his forehead, carefully analyzing the remaining battle aura and movement traces on the scene, but still couldn't determine the opponent's identity, not even seeing which school's style it was.

It was normal for Xu Ming not to recognize it, but he, Zhao Yi, had at least read widely from the family's collections. If he couldn't even see it, the problem was significant.

"Damn, could it be someone from some hidden sect who suddenly appeared?"

Liang Yan: "Hidden sects aren't completely mysterious in your Jiujiang Zhao family's eyes. We are a hidden family, but didn't you also find the door and take us two away?"

Liang Li: "Unless they haven't come out for a thousand years, they can erase traces of existence. A hidden sect that hasn't come out for a thousand years... exists, but not in human form, and naturally has also lost the qualification to walk the river."

Zhao Yi: "Who knows? Maybe his family was isolated from the world by a flood and just crawled ashore recently."

Liang Yan: "Not funny."

Liang Li: "Very childish."

Zhao Yi hammered his forehead: "We sent people to probe, the opponent directly demonstrated, this is to lay the foundation for subsequent cooperation, the purpose is to suppress us to gain initiative, even leadership."

The opponent must recognize me, be clear about my details, and, they still have a little dread towards me."

Liang Yan: "Here it comes again."

Liang Li: "Still trying to salvage your dignity."

Zhao Yi didn't pay attention to the sisters' cold words, but muttered to himself: "Exactly who is it?"

In the Jianghu, there were many people who knew his name, and Jiujiang Zhao Yi's prestige had long spread.

Not to mention far away, just in Lijiang that time, he was holding the broken jade and escaping while ambushing killers, not knowing how many enemies he had made.

That guy named Li, even when surrounded in the guesthouse, didn't report his family, instead letting him shout out his name.

"Alas, I really have to envy that guy named Li in this regard, screening enemy targets, that is simple and straightforward."

...

Guesthouse.

Li Zhuoyuan had just finished reading the materials of those three patients and the first-person narrative of that event from Wu Xin's own mouth.

The materials of the three patients were nothing special, their family backgrounds were ordinary and clean.

Wu Xin's narrative of the event... was also quite ordinary.

To discuss the degree of strangeness, in the old engineer's eyes, it couldn't even rank in the front.

The cause was that during construction, the machine dug out black liquid. At first, everyone was still joyfully thinking they had hit the jackpot and dug out petroleum.

Although a geological survey was done before the engineering started, it was very unlikely to dig out petroleum at such a shallow depth and not discover it beforehand.

But everyone liked to dream.

Unfortunately, although the "petroleum" sprayed high, it only sprayed for a little while and then stopped, and the sprayed black liquid dissipated and disappeared at an extremely fast speed, as if it had completely evaporated.

Although everyone felt puzzled about this, they didn't take it seriously. It wasn't long before construction resumed, until they started calling people to hand over work, and the response was misaligned, specifically those three patients.

According to Wu Xin's guess, it should be that during the "petroleum" eruption, these three people were at the closest distance, almost splashed by that black liquid. Like some kind of toxin, they inhaled an overdose and produced a reaction.

Li Zhuoyuan didn't think so. This kind of special thing, for ordinary people, doesn't have a problem of quantity. Because even a few drops, ordinary people can't withstand.

Combining the symptoms of the three patients, Li Zhuoyuan had a bold guess in his heart.

That is, everyone on the site at that time who was splashed by "petroleum" actually changed.

It was just that unlike the three who were now hospitalized, their original memories were wiped and replaced with another person's memory, while why others were normal was because their memories were wiped and then implanted with their original memories again.

This was the most extreme and worst situation, meaning that even if they were not ill and appeared normal, they had all been marked.

Li Zhuoyuan's way of thinking was a habit formed after walking so many waves. He would stir up all clues and first string together the worst and least probable situation.

The young man decided that tomorrow when Wu Xin came to pick him up and go to the hospital, he must also give Wu Xin a detailed examination to see if his memory had any traces of being renovated.

If he guessed correctly, then these construction workers could all become carriers used for the deepest existence of this wave to be reborn from dead ashes. Finally, when he thought he had won, they would either backstab him or simply quietly slip away and escape.

Li Zhuoyuan got out of bed and went to the bathroom to splash water on his face. When wiping with a towel, he looked at himself in the mirror.

The ability to modify memory was not incomprehensible. He himself had mastered Wei Zhengdao's secret technique from the black book and could actually do it too.

But simultaneously modifying several people, dozens, hundreds, or even more... it really made one shudder.

Exactly what kind of existence could have such terrible consciousness manipulation ability?

...

Deep in Qingcheng Mountain, in a sunless deep valley, one big and one small Taoist priest were advancing.

"Master, the mountain has been very lively recently."

"Normal, when some things are born, they will cause this kind of heaven and earth anomaly."

"This is a heaven and earth anomaly? How is it different from the description I read in books?"

"Abiding by the will of heaven and appearing anomalies, what is it if not a heaven and earth anomaly? People are also a manifestation of a heaven and earth anomaly."

The master and disciple walked to a black pool sealed with ice and stopped. "Crack crack" sounds were constantly transmitted from the ice surface, cracks and bumps were continuously increasing, and the permeating aura gradually revealed itself.

"Disciple, this is what master fortunately discovered when he fell into the crevice when he was young. After waiting for so many years, it has finally awakened. Now, it is an opportunity for both master and you."

"But father..."

"Mm?"

"Master, since the way of heaven does not like it, are we going against heaven by doing this?"

"Are you afraid?"

"I... I am indeed afraid."

"Don't be afraid, because the one sleeping inside was once also a character most recognized by the way of heaven in an era."

"The character most recognized by the way of heaven... who?"

"Come, disciple and master, let's bow and worship together."

The little Taoist followed his master and bowed together. As he bowed, he heard his master's pious voice:

"Pay respects to the Dragon King!"

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