Chu Wanning was injured, and the other three were also exhausted. After running into the passageway outside the Shen Wu Warehouse, Chu Wanning ordered them to rest for a while.
For a moment, no one spoke first. Everyone was either standing or sitting, checking the wounds on themselves or others, and recovering their strength.
Only Xue Meng was in a daze. His head drooped, and no one knew what he was thinking.
Mo Ran murmured, "Xue Meng …"
Xue Meng didn't pay attention to anyone. He walked stiffly to Chu Wanning, raised his head, and opened his mouth. His voice was broken.
"Master."
Chu Wanning looked at him. He wanted to raise his hand and touch his messy hair, but in the end, he restrained himself.
"Was the Shen Wu that I picked a fake?"
Chu Wanning didn't speak.
The rims of Xue Meng's eyes turned even redder. His distinctly defined eyes were bloodshot like a spider web. If it wasn't for his stubbornness and conceit, he would have cried on the spot.
"Will I never be able to get the weapons in the pool again?"
Chu Wan Ning finally closed her eyes and let out a sigh.
The passageway was very quiet. Only Chu Wanning's clear and cold voice could be heard.
"… Silly child."
A silly child full of sigh and helplessness made Xue Meng's last bit of reason collapse. He couldn't bear it anymore. He threw himself into Chu Wanning's arms, hugged Chu Wanning's waist, and cried bitterly.
"Master … Master …"
Missing the Jin Chengchi Divine Martial was almost equivalent to missing the qualification to enter the peak of the cultivation world.
This was something that everyone knew. The magic power of mortals was limited. Without the help of a Divine Weapon, no matter how strong they were, they were just flesh and blood.
The young masters of the sects in the upper cultivation world more or less left behind the Divine Martial passed down by their ancestors. Even if it wasn't completely compatible with their own spiritual power, it was still a powerful force that couldn't be underestimated.
Only Xue Meng, because Xue Zhengyong and Xue Zhengyong started from scratch, did not receive any of Jin Chengchi's weapons.
Therefore, when he chose to use the Ancestral Sword to perish together with Heart-Picking Willow, it was equivalent to him choosing to let go of his past pride and arrogance.
Chu Wanning didn't ask anything and didn't say anything. He just hugged Xue Meng who was crying loudly in his arms and stroked his hair.
Xue Meng had been spoiled since he was young, and had never suffered any grievances. Therefore, he had never cried since he could remember. He was always showing off his prowess and was insufferably arrogant.
However, at this very moment, tears intertwined on his young face. Every word and sentence was shattered. It was as if he was destined to no longer possess a divine weapon. It was as if the dream of becoming a hero that he once thought was within reach was completely shattered.
"Xue Meng." Chu Wanning hugged his disciple and comforted him.
The ripples at the bottom of the lake rustled Chu Wanning's white cloak and long black hair. In that instant, Mo Ran only had time to clearly see his soft eyelashes drooping down, and below them were fragments of soft light.
Afterwards, the ripples grew larger, messing up his clothes and hair. In the dusky darkness, it was no longer possible to clearly see the side of Chu Wanning's face.
He only heard him say, "Don't cry. You're already very good."
His voice couldn't be considered gentle, but coming from Chu Wanning's mouth, it couldn't be any gentler.
In the secret passage, the four people each had their own thoughts. No one said anything.
Mo Ran leaned against the cold wall. He watched as Chu Wanning hugged Xue Meng and patted his shoulder. He suddenly felt uncomfortable in his heart.
The trip to Jin Chengchi.
When he came, he was dressed in fine clothes and rode a fine horse.
When he left, he was injured.
Xue Meng had been a God's favored child for fifteen years.
He was full of glory and high spirits.
Then one day, the Vermillion Tower collapsed.
From then on, he had to use his long life to forget the sharpness of these fifteen years.
When they ran out of the Divine Armory, everyone saw the Heart-Picking Willow slowly collapsing in the water. It was like the death of Kuafu, the death of the Golden Crow.
The Flood Dragon Humans who stayed on the ground were shocked and fled in all directions.
The Divine Armory from millions of years ago was destroyed overnight.
The Divine Tree fell with a loud crash, setting off a frenzy in Jin Chengchi. In front of the huge whirlpool, the Flood Dragon Humans all transformed back to their original forms in order to resist the terrifying waves.
For a moment, the scales in Jin Chengchi churned, and the fish and dragons jumped around. Mortals couldn't stand still anymore.
Mo Ran shouted, "No, we can't get out!"
As he spoke, a thick Flood Dragon's tail slapped over. Mo Ran quickly dodged and narrowly avoided it.
Right at this moment, a black dragon suddenly swept over. Its body was bigger than the rest of the Flood Dragons. Its pitch-black scales overflowed with cold golden light.
Mo Ran was shocked, "Wangyue?!!"
Wangyue let out a long roar. He was originally a mute dragon, but now he could speak. His voice was loud like a bell as he shouted, "Hold onto my back. The Heart-Picking Willow is destroyed, Jin Chengchi is about to be destroyed. Quickly!
I'll bring you out of here! "
At this moment, they had no other choice. They couldn't care whether Wangyue was a friend or foe, so they did as they were told.
Wangyue carried the four of them and swam through the stormy waves. They split the water and ran.
"Hold on tight!"
Just as he finished speaking, the old dragon suddenly broke through the waves and soared into the sky.
Mo Ran and the rest only felt a strong current rushing towards them. The current was like thousands of horses and armies galloping, trampling on their bones and lungs.
They couldn't even open their eyes or breathe. Their hands tightly held onto the dragon's back and used all their strength to prevent themselves from being thrown back into the lake.
When they could finally open their eyes, they had already ridden the dragon into the clouds. They were above Jin Chengchi, at the peak of Xuying Peak.
The gushing water vapor turned into thousands of fluorescent lights, scattering from the mirror-like giant dragon scales. In an instant, the clouds were like mist, and the thin fog was like a rainbow.
Wangyue made the Bureau Chief gasp, and the color of the surroundings changed.
Mo Ran heard Xue Meng's voice coming from behind. It sounded excited and distant in the whistling wind. After all, he was really young and easily forgot his worries because of some things.
"Oh my god!
I'm flying!
Flying on the dragon! "
Wangyue circled a few times above Xuying Peak, gradually shrinking his body and slowly lowering his body to land. When he stopped by Jin Chengchi, he had shrunk to less than half of his original size, so he didn't crush too many rocks and trees around him.
He curled up in the same place, quietly letting Mo Ran and the rest get off the dragon's back.
They turned back to look at Jin Chengchi, only to see the ice melting and the waves breaking the ice.
At this time, the sun was bright, and the east was white. The sun shone brightly and flowed into Jin Chengchi, making the lake ripple.
Shi Mei suddenly exclaimed, "Look at those dragons in the lake!"
Those writhing dragons rose and fell with the turbulent waves and gradually stopped moving. Then, one by one, they crumbled and turned into ashes. One by one, black chess pieces rose from the lake and gathered in mid-air.
Mo Ran muttered, "The Exquisite Chess Game …"
The flood dragons, living creatures, and even the Heart-Picking Willows in the pool were all under the effects of the exquisite chess game. The entire pool of conspiracies was actually a game set up by someone hiding in the dark!
Mo Ran suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
He realized that the world after his rebirth was not right. Some things happened in advance for no reason.
In his previous life, when he was sixteen years old, there was no one who could play the Exquisite Chess Game to such an extent. What was the background of this fake Gouchen?
Xue Meng said, "Wangyue!"
Mo Ran turned back and saw Wangyue lying on the ground without moving. There were no black chess pieces on his body, but he looked very weak with his eyes half-closed.
"You guys … did well … I'd rather destroy Gouchen God's Jin Chengchi than let … let it fall into the hands of evil …"
After he said this, his body suddenly emitted a golden light. When the light dispersed, he turned into a human with a smaller body.
"It's you?!"
Mo Ran and Xue Meng spoke at the same time.
Wangyue in front of them was the white-haired old dragon person who led them to the spiritual body of the Divine Martial Library.
Wangyue raised his head, and there was a tinge of guilt in his eyes.
"That's me."
Xue Meng was shocked, "You, why did you lead us to the Divine Martial Library?
Did you want to save us or harm us?
If you wanted to harm us, why did you send us ashore? If you wanted to save us, what if we couldn't solve the Heart-Picking Willow's calamity? Wouldn't that be … "
Wangyue looked down and said with a hoarse voice, "I'm sorry.
However, I had no choice but to do so under the circumstances.
The fake Gouchen's cultivation base was insufficient, so he relied on the Heart-Picking Willow's spiritual energy to perform the forbidden technique.
Only by solving the Heart-Picking Willow would his technique lose its effect.
I had no other choice but to lead you guys to try. "
Chu Wanning shook his head, walked over, and waved his hand to heal him.
Wangyue sighed, "There's no need for you to be so kind.
I'm the same as the creatures in the lake. My lifespan is up, and I've been relying on the Heart-Picking Willow's spiritual energy to survive.
Since it's fallen, I don't have long to live either. "
Chu Wanning, "…"
Wangyue said, "Life and death are orderly, and can't be forced.
To be able to see the Jin Chengchi's nightmare end before I die, my wish has been fulfilled.
It's just that I'm really sorry for implicating you guys in the lake. "
Chu Wanning said, "It's fine.
… Do you know who the fake Gouchen is, and what his intentions are? "
Wangyue said, "I don't know who he is.
However, his goal should be to obtain the power of the Heart-Picking Willow to study the three great forbidden techniques. "
Chu Wanning said, "The spiritual energy required to perform the forbidden techniques is very shocking. If you have the help of the ancient tree spirit, you'll be able to achieve twice the result with half the effort."
"Yes, that's what that person said too.
He said that the ancient spirit body is very powerful, but it's very difficult to find.
The only thing that can be found in the ancient records is the Heart-Picking Willow. "
"Actually, he only appeared not long ago.
Ever since he took control of the Jin Chengchi, he has been using the Heart-Picking Willow's power to practice the two forbidden techniques, 'Rebirth' and 'Exquisite Chess Game'. "
As Wangyue said this, he sighed, and his eyes were a little empty.
Mo Ran's heart skipped a beat.
As expected … the trip to the Jin Chengchi was very different from his previous life. All these changes happened not long ago.
What had gone wrong that caused everything to change its course?
"He didn't have enough power to control living things, so he killed a large number of living things in the lake and tried to control dead things.
This time, he succeeded. Hence, in just a few weeks, he killed almost all the spirit beasts in the lake and turned them into chess pieces.
He only left a few to experiment with.
I was one of them. "
Mo Ran asked, "So when I asked for the sword, you floated to the surface. At that time, you were controlled by the fake Gouchen?"
"No."
Wangyue slowly closed his eyes. "He can control others, the fox demon, and the Heart-Picking Willow, but he can't control me.
I'm a spirit beast tamed by the Gouchen God when he created the world. A million years ago, when I was willing to follow his orders, his curse was branded on my reverse scale. From then on, I'll be loyal to my master. "
"Then you …"
"I had no choice. It was a disguise."
Wangyue sighed and said, "Although that intruder couldn't control me completely, the Gouchen God's curse was millions of years old. It's not as effective as it was back then.
A part of my body was still affected by the fake Gouchen. When you saw me, I was mute because my voice was completely controlled by that person. I couldn't listen to my own orders anymore.
Only when his magic lost its effect, I could speak again. "
Mo Ran asked, "Does that fake Gouchen know that you're in disguise?"
"I don't think he knows."
Wangyue looked at Mo Ran and said, "According to his plan, he would take your spirit core today and continue the life of the Heart-Picking Willow.
However, he didn't expect that I would bring you back to the Divine Martial Library and destroy the willow.
He didn't take precautions against me. "
Chu Wanning suddenly said, "It's not that he didn't take precautions against you. Maybe he didn't have the strength to do it."
"What do you mean by that?"
Chu Wanning said, "I vaguely feel that there's something wrong with that fake Gouchen Shanggong."