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Chapter 199: Vermilion Bird Shadow
Ling Xuan waited in the inner chamber as the Beautiful Maids prepared the healing elixir, carefully placing it into the wooden tub. The damaged body of Ling Xuan would suffer backlash if not handled properly. Ling Xuan reminded them, "Make sure the water is hot, and remember the order: Golden Crow, Yellow Dragon, Enter Void, Roa, Diyuan, Primordial Spirit Root."
Ling Xuan's tone was stern as he warned, "If you mess up the order, I will have your heads."
One of the Beautiful Maids trembled as she replied, "I remember, I won't make a mistake." Her voice was humble yet filled with anxiety.
As the Beautiful Maids placed the elixirs in order, Ling Xuan caught a whiff of a fragrance reminiscent of dried herbs or flower petals. This scent assured him that they had followed the correct sequence. He stripped off his clothes and submerged himself in the warm medicinal bath, inhaling the fragrant aroma as it began to heal his wounds.
Not long after Ling Xuan entered the tub, footsteps approached from outside.
"Hopefully it's good news," Ling Xuan thought to himself. He disliked being disturbed during his healing process; he had already instructed that unless it was urgent, no one should enter at this time.
"What is it?" Ling Xuan asked coldly.
The soldier reported from behind a screen, "Chief Justice, the Master of Magical Artifacts from Purgatory in the west has arrived."
Ling Xuan appeared somewhat surprised. "That was quick; I thought they wouldn't arrive until later. I understand now. Have Elder meet with them first."
The soldier replied, "It was Elder who sent me here."
Ling Xuan inquired, "How many came?"
The soldier answered, "Three."
"Go ahead," Ling Xuan said.
"Yes," the soldier replied and stepped back.
After a while, Ling Xuan finally arrived at the Elder's tent.
Inside were three members of the Western Inferno, known as Masters of Magical Artifacts. One was named Zhu Qi, another Mo Cang, and the last Jiang Chun.
Zhu Qi wore a plain robe with a white tiger-striped sash tied around his waist. He had long flaxen hair and deep, wise eyes, standing tall and upright.
Mo Cang was dressed in a dark outfit, with a deep blue thunder-patterned belt at his waist. His hair was jet black, and he had bright, piercing star-like eyes, his physique tall and elegant.
Jiang Chun donned a blue long robe, with a striking blue cloud-patterned belt around his waist. His hair was dark as ink, and he had drowsy peach blossom eyes.
Zhu Qi furrowed his brow as he looked at the newly arrived Ling Xuan. "You look a bit different; are you injured?"
Ling Xuan squinted and smiled. "I'm fine; you've worked hard this time."
Mo Cang interjected, "In this Zhuque Chenjing, who could possibly injure you? Was it someone from the divine clan?"
Ling Xuan smiled lightly. "No, that's not something you need to worry about. When do you plan to open the rift?"
Jiang Chun spoke slowly, as if nothing could rush him. "We need to examine the Six Yao Lantern Formation before we can tell you. Ling Xuan, even though you haven't officially joined the Western Inferno, your master is one of us. Once upon a time, your master was our pride; you mustn't bring shame upon us."
"Ling Xuan said, 'I have a plan for this.'
At that moment, the Elder shared the current situation with them. 'The Six Yao Lantern Formation has been fully collected. We have achieved the first step of our goal, but there are still many tricky issues to deal with here in the Zhuque Chenjing. Before Ling Xuan arrived, I had already discussed with you that somewhere in this area, there are members of the divine race.'
'We do not know where their camp is located; it could be in the forest or among the mountains. Before you arrived, we had a confrontation, and both sides suffered casualties. They cannot be underestimated. Although we do not know why they retreated entirely, they will come back. They are more familiar with this place than we are, and we must be cautious about that.'
'Additionally, we already know their objective; they want the Six Yao Lantern Formation. They will not sit idly by while we open the rift, so choosing the right location to open it is crucial.' The Elder's gaze fell upon the three of them.
The three of them had been chosen by the Western King to come here, which naturally indicated their capabilities. The Elder's series of statements proved that this was not an easy task. While it was not impossible to accomplish, there would inevitably be obstacles. Compared to the feelings of the Elder and Ling Xuan, the three of them felt much more relaxed since their sole purpose was to open the rift; being wary of others was primarily the responsibility of Ling Xuan and the Elder.
The division of labor from the Western King was clear, but if this mission failed, they would also face punishment—though it would be much lighter than what the Elder and Ling Xuan would endure. Even so, no one wanted to fail, and their previously relaxed mood shifted to one of concern. The most important thing now was to come up with a feasible plan. Zhu Qi understood why the Elder wanted them to consider the situation here; he hoped they would also engage their minds.
Zhu Qi grasped the Elder's intention and asked, 'Do you have any good ideas?'
The Elder shook his head and replied, 'This is up to you; only you know which rift is easier to open.'
Zhu Qi responded, 'We came here to test methods for opening a rift, not to open one completely here. There is a significant difference between these two tasks.'
The Elder nodded in understanding.
Ling Xuan then asked, 'Do you want to take a look at the Six Yao Lantern Formation?'
Zhu Qi exchanged glances with the other two before nodding in agreement."
The Six Yao Lantern Formation was located in another tent, but there were no guards outside. The absence of guards did not mean there was no one watching; Ling Xuan and the Elder simply did not want to raise any suspicions. If they stationed heavy troops to guard it, others would easily deduce that the Six Yao Lantern Formation was inside this tent. Although there were no soldiers on watch outside, dozens of eyes were secretly fixed on the tent.
As everyone entered the tent, Mo Cang appeared extremely excited. If anyone had noticed him, they would have seen the muscles in his face twitching—not from fear, but from exhilaration. The prospect of opening a fissure was enough to excite anyone.
At that time, although many magical tools were used to collect Wraiths, it was not very convenient to use so many tools together. Therefore, they placed the collected Wraiths into three Dan Dings, which were not large—about the size of a big meat bun.
Jiang Chun looked at the Elder with disappointment and said, "Only three? You've been here for so long and can only collect this much? A lot of divine beings died in that great battle a thousand years ago."
While the quantity was indeed a bit lacking, this was already their maximum effort in collecting. Jiang Chun's reproach made the Elder somewhat displeased. Suppressing his emotions, the Elder replied, "We have set up many collection points; this is all we could gather. If you think you can collect more, feel free to allocate my personnel as you wish."
Jiang Chun snorted coldly and fell silent.
Mo Cang calmed down from his excitement. The quantity was indeed a bit low. He said, "Jiang Chun, you know collecting is not easy; spare us your remarks. We came all this way not to criticize the Elder's efforts."
Mo Cang picked up one of the Dan Dings and closed his eyes to sense something. After a moment, he said, "There’s a fissure nearby, not far from the camp. Ling Xuan, have your soldiers check if it's safe." He added, "Ling Xuan, place your hand on the Dan Ding."
Ling Xuan complied and already saw the location of the fissure in his mind. He said, "I know where that is; I will instruct the soldiers to investigate right away."
---
The oil lamp flickered as cold wind blew in through the window, causing the candlelight to sway unsteadily. Ji Zichen sat at a desk piled high with scrolls and books. Jiang Dahuzi Xia Zhou and several other staff members had leaned back in their chairs and fallen asleep; they were exhausted after searching through all the scrolls and books in the room without finding any clues about Defensive Works.
Ji Zichen sighed, "How can there be not even a single clue?"
Lin Chuyu couldn't see what was written on the scrolls and books, but she had been with them for a long time. Now it was well past midnight. Sitting next to Ji Zichen, she noticed his face was filled with frustration. She comforted him, saying, "Brother Ji, don't worry. Since your Divine Dawn is right here, I believe it must be here."
Ji Zichen forced a smile and replied, "What do you mean by 'it's me'? That was a clue you brought us. Yuxuan told me that you brought her from the Moon Viewing Pavilion all the way to the Rainbow Gate. You told her that Divine Dawn was here, and then something happened to you, and you fainted."
Lin Chuyu couldn't recall any of this. She strained to remember but couldn't bring anything to mind. "Is... is it mine? I don't remember at all. Did I really... go through this? If something happened to Divine Dawn, does that mean it's related to Zhuque's dream?"
Ji Zichen nodded. "Based on what has happened, Divine Dawn should indeed be here, but now there are no clues at all. This is too strange."
Not far from where Ji Zichen and Lin Chuyu were, Zhang Tang, who had bumped into Lin Chuyu earlier, stood outside. He looked like he was around fourteen or fifteen years old, but in reality, he was already thirty. Regardless of his age, standing in the courtyard at this late hour was unusual.
Zhang Tang crossed his arms and stood upright in the center of the courtyard. The mountain hung under a full moon; after the rain, the chill in the air was much colder than usual. However, Zhang Tang seemed unfazed by the cold. The moonlight stretched his shadow long as he faced the exit, which led into a dark forest. Despite the brightness of the moonlight, the woods outside appeared ominously dim.
The night forest looked desolate; the trees and weeds outside the path grew wildly as if no one had stepped there for a long time. The woods beyond the exit felt like a ghostly realm in the night, shrouded in lifelessness.
But why was Zhang Tang awake at this hour, staring into the dark and lifeless forest?
His eyes widened as if he were anticipating something. Suddenly, from deep within the woods came a soft sound from some creature. Under the full moonlight, a shadow with wings soared into the air. Zhang Tang immediately shouted excitedly, "It's here! It's here! It's Zhuque! Everyone come out and catch Zhuque!"
The night was already quiet when Zhang Tang's loud voice pierced through it, waking many practitioners resting inside. Candles flickered to life in several rooms as people rushed out. Hearing the commotion, Ji Zichen and Lin Chuyu also stepped outside.
Lin Chuyu thought she might have misheard and quickly turned to Ji Zichen to ask, "Brother Ji, did you hear that clearly? Did he really see Zhuque?"
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