Chu Wanning had never been the kind of master who was kind and seductive. Mo Ran was also not a five or six-year-old child. When he asked such a ridiculous question, Chu Wanning could not be bothered with him at all. He lowered his eyes and remained silent.
He cast a gale spell on the begonia flower that he threw out, and quickly investigated the entire Peach Blossom Spring.
Not long after, a golden talisman fell from the sky and landed in his hand.
"Ancestral Abyss?"
Ancestral Abyss was the place where angry owls would rush out every day, and cultivators would rush to pluck their feathers.
The feathermen had said before that the bottom of the abyss was endless Scarlet True Fire. Other than those angry owls that had lived in the abyss since ancient times, no matter who fell in, they would be melted into nothingness.
Chu Wanning cast a barrier on himself and Mo Ran to hide their tracks and prevent the feathermen from discovering them.
The two of them arrived at the Ancestral Abyss. It was so deep that they could not see the bottom. It was emitting a strange red light. Thousands of strange birds were densely packed on the cliffs. At this time, these birds were all in deep sleep with their heads buried in their wings. From afar, they looked like countless densely packed dots.
According to Chu Wanning, if the Exquisite Chess Game was set in the abyss, then what the feathermen said about the raging fire and how they would be burned into nothingness after falling in, should all be made up.
"But how can we be sure that the fire below won't burn people to death?" Mo Ran stared at the hibernating light below and muttered, "No matter how I look at it, it seems to be real."
"Throw something down first."
"Then I'll go hunt a rabbit."
"No need."
Chu Wanning stood up and flew. As his white clothes fluttered, he was already far away in the peach forest. Not long after, he floated back to his original spot like a celestial being from the nine heavens. There was an additional peach blossom in his hand.
Mo Ran understood. The peach blossom was naturally more delicate than the rabbit. If this peach blossom could withstand the so-called "raging fire", there would be no danger for living people to enter.
Chu Wanning stroked the peach branch with his fingertips and silently chanted an incantation. The Luminous Peach was instantly enveloped by a layer of gentle blue light. He pointed at the abyss and whispered, "Go."
The peach blossoms slowly fell. One foot, two feet, ten feet, a hundred feet.
Hua Zhi's shadow had long disappeared, but Chu Wanning's spell allowed him to sense the situation of Hua Zhi. He closed his eyes, and after a while, his eyelashes fluttered as he opened his eyes again.
"The peach blossoms are unharmed.
Since Chu Wanning was so certain, there was nothing more to say. Mo Ran immediately flew with him to the Ancestral Abyss. Both of them had decent movement techniques, and they smoothly made their way to the bottom.
When he saw the scene at the bottom of the abyss, even though he was mentally prepared, Mo Ran still felt a chill.
He now knew what the red light in the abyss was.
He saw that inside the abyss, there were several thousand wooden frames, and on each frame hung a featherman. Those feathermen were completely naked, and their beautiful bodies were dripping with blood.
Each of them had a Ling Chi fruit in their mouth that was emitting a dazzling red light.
Several thousand red lights gathered together. Looking from above, it was easy to believe that this was the Scarlet True Fire at the bottom of the abyss.
Chu Wanning's expression was very ugly. He was knowledgeable, so he naturally knew that this red fruit was a forbidden fruit in the cultivation world. Putting it in the mouth of a person who was about to die could prolong their last breath for three hundred and sixty-five days.
In other words, a person who could be released in an instant would have to experience an extremely long death. What was originally a sudden heart stop in the blink of an eye would become an endless torture. It was called the Death of a Thousand Cuts.
Mo Ran stared at the layers of living dead feathermen and muttered, "… Soul Locking Array."
Using living things as human pillars to trap resentment, even if there were thousands of dead souls trapped in the exquisite chess game, not a single bit of their aura would leak out!
It was no wonder that he couldn't detect a single trace of resentment from the exquisite chess game's forbidden technique.
Mo Ran couldn't help but shiver. He was thinking, was the fake Gouchen at Jin Chengchi the same person as the mastermind behind the peach blossom spring?
From Jin Chengchi's experience, the fake Gouchen was only able to use the exquisite chess game to control the spirits under the water, so he should have only learned a little. However, this time, the fake feathermen outside the peach blossom spring were no different from the real body, other than being stupid and not having high emotional intelligence. They could even use featherman spells, and the level of this forbidden technique could be considered to be above average. Could it be that the fake Gouchen had improved so quickly?
Chu Wanning came to the center of the soul locking array, where there was a stone pillar made of crystal.
There was also a featherman tied to the stone pillar, but this featherman was already dead. The Death Slicing Fruit in her mouth had already withered, and her body had also started to rot.
However, her previous identity could be seen from the bright yellow phoenix robe on her body and the star-shaped curse mark in between her eyebrows.
"This is …"
Mo Ran said in shock, "This is a real featherman immortal!"
"That's right."
Chu Wanning looked at the inexhaustible human pillar formation and opened her thin lips. "There are at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, feathermen captured here to be used in the soul-locking formation. If the featherman exalted immortals were still alive, how could they tolerate such a deep grudge?
Moreover, when I fought with the immortal outside just now, I felt that she was weaker than the ghost master of Colorful Butterfly Town.
If I didn't guess wrongly … I'm afraid that the feathermen of the peach blossom spring have already been exterminated, and the ones outside are all walking corpses controlled by the exquisite chess game. "
"!" As expected!
Chu Wanning had the same thoughts as him!
Mo Ran was shocked and wanted to turn around and go back.
Chu Wanning waved his sleeves and stopped him.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to tell uncle and the rest about this. If that's the case, then it's too dangerous."
"Don't act rashly." Chu Wanning shook his head. "Now, they're in the dark, and I'm in the light.
There are many cultivators in the peach blossom spring, and we don't know who's behind this. Acting rashly will only make the situation worse. "
"Hehe.
Long time no see, Grandmaster Chu is still so cautious. "
A light laugh with a hint of playfulness came from mid-air, but it exploded in the ancestral abyss like thunder.
The two of them looked up, and saw a featherman child swinging his legs and sitting on a tree branch that extended out from the cliff.
Seeing them turn around, the dead child tilted his head and rolled his eyes a few times. A bright smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
Mo Ran said in shock, "The exquisite chess game!"
Chu Wanning cursed and said gloomily, "Another white chess piece."
"Hehehe, that's right, it's just a white chess piece." The featherman child rubbed his hands and said, "Otherwise, do you think I'll guard this place with my real body?
I'm not stupid. "
Mo Ran said, "You're that fake North Star Jin Chenghu!
You lunatic, what are you trying to do? "
"Hehe, who do you think you are? You're just a small Foundation Building cultivator, and you think you're qualified to question me?
Get your master to ask him. "
"You —!"
Chu Wanning waved his sleeves and stretched out his slender fingers to press down on Mo Ran, who was so angry that smoke was coming out of his head.
He raised his eyes and asked coldly, "What exactly is your plan?"
The featherman swung his legs. He was clearly a dead person, but because he was controlled by a forbidden technique, he kept doing all kinds of tricks like a marionette.
"I'm the one who planned it. It's not a big deal."
Chu Wanning's voice was even colder. "Then why do you want to take my disciple's life time and time again?"
"Although it's not a big deal, it just so happens that I need your disciple's spirit core to complete it." The child said with a smile, "It's all because his spirit core is so good.
It's even better than yours, Grandmaster.
When I saw Jin Chenghu, I knew that he had the essence of the wood spirit. If that wasn't the case, I'm afraid I'd be more interested in you, Grandmaster. "
His words were greasy, and with such a tender voice and an adult tone, Mo Ran couldn't help but feel disgusted. He said angrily, "If I'm so unlucky to be caught by you, I'll f * cking detonate my spirit core immediately. Don't even think about touching me!"
"I don't want to touch you." The child still had that infuriating sweet tone. "I had no choice but to chase after you.
All men in the world love beauties. Your master is better looking than you, so I'm more willing to touch him. "
"You!!!"
Mo Ran was about to explode. "You're so ugly that you don't even dare to show your face. You use white chess pieces as puppets all day long. You think you're worthy of touching my master?"
But the child rolled his eyes at him, as if he couldn't be bothered to pay attention to him. He turned his head and stared at Chu Wanning.
"Grandmaster Chu, when we were in Jin Chenghu, I advised you not to pursue this matter further.
But you didn't listen, and it made my heart ache. "
"Since I already know about this matter, even if you don't do anything to Mo Ran, I'll still investigate to the end. I won't let it go."
"Pfft, I knew you'd say that." The child was silent for a while, then laughed. "Why are you Great Grandmasters so stubborn?
… Fine, since Grandmaster Chu doesn't listen to my advice, then we'll wait and see. I actually want to see if your Heaven's Inquisition is more powerful, or if my forbidden technique is more powerful. "
Chu Wanning's sword-like eyebrows rose in anger. He said gloomily, "Do you really want to kill so many innocent people?"
"Everyone in the world is like Huainan."
"What do you mean?"
"Sour."
The child giggled. "It's so sour. These dead people are all so sour. I hate them. I want to crush them and trample them all."
Mo Ran was speechless.
Chu Wanning's voice was full of murderous intent. "You're really incurable."
"Grandmaster thinks that I'm incurable, but I also think that Grandmaster can't be cured.
Our morals are different, so why are we entangled in this? "
The child shook his head and said, "Grandmaster, just think of it as playing a game of chess with me. You won the game in Jin Chenghu. In the game in Peach Blossom Spring, since Grandmaster has found the Ancestral Abyss and seen me, the white chess piece, I'm also at my wit's end. I can't get the little disciple beside you, so naturally, you win."
He paused, and his eyes suddenly narrowed. He was smiling, but more blood was squeezed out.
"However, you have to protect him well. I want to see if Grandmaster can protect him for a while, but can you protect him for a lifetime?"
"…"
"As for the secret under the Ancestral Abyss, it's best that the two of you don't leak it." As the child spoke, a golden-red wing appeared at his fingertips.
Mo Ran was stunned. "This is the golden feather used as currency in Peach Blossom Spring?"
"That's right."
He smiled and said, "This golden feather has been scattered everywhere in Peach Blossom Spring. If the two of you keep the secret and leave on your own, you will be safe in Peach Blossom Spring.
Everyone in the paradise will be safe and sound. However, if the two of you are not obedient and want to announce my whereabouts to the public, these feathers have the resentment of the feathermen attached to them. Although they cannot take the lives of those cultivators, they can still disperse a large part of their cultivation base. "
Mo Ran said angrily, "You planned this from the beginning?!"
"Otherwise?" The child said in surprise, "Do you think that everyone is as stupid and violent as you?"
Mo Ran was speechless.
He was really, really pissed off!!
He admitted that he didn't know how to beat around the bush, and he didn't know how to calculate when to advance and when to retreat. However, when this little bastard said it so openly, he really wanted to summon a ghost and shout at this bastard's face. He wanted to show him what it meant to be stupid and violent.
"Grandmaster Chu, you should know very well whether to say it or not.
Even if they know the truth, their cultivation will be greatly damaged. I'm afraid that they won't be grateful to Grandmaster Chu for eliminating the evil. "
Chu Wanning said coldly, "You also eavesdropped just now. I didn't plan to disturb them now."
"Now?
Haha, it seems that Grandmaster planned to say it later. However, it's useless to say it later. "
The child laughed and said, "Once these cultivators leave, Peach Blossom Spring will be completely destroyed by me, just like Jin Chenghu.
At that time, there will be no evidence. Let's see who will believe you. "
Chu Wanning's gaze was cold. "With your actions, how can you say that Mo Ran is stupid and violent?"
The child didn't care about Chu Wanning's cold mockery. He stood up and spun around a few times. Flames suddenly appeared under his feet, slowly burning away his skin, flesh, bones, and blood.
"Wait until you catch me, then you can say that to me.
Grandmaster Chu, I respect you as a gentleman. Today, I'll give you one last warning. Don't interfere. If you don't listen, we … will meet again in the end … "
With a boom, the flames suddenly soared into the sky and exploded.
The featherman child who had been used as a puppet was completely burned away. A sparkling white chess piece fell from the sky and rolled on the ground twice before stopping.
There was dead silence for a long time.
"…" Mo Ran knew that the mysterious person behind the scenes wasn't lying. However, he was still unwilling to give up. He asked, "Master, are we really going to leave just like that?
Do you have any other ideas? "
"It's better to be safe than sorry. Let's leave the Peach Blossom Spring first."
Chu Wanning's expression wasn't good either. He said gloomily, "Since that person spent so much effort to set up the Soul Locking Formation to prevent others from finding out that he was controlling the Exquisite Chess Game, it means that he doesn't want to make this matter known to everyone for the time being.
As for the High Lord, I'll send him a message and ask him to bring Xue Meng and Shi Mei away as soon as possible. Don't alert the enemy.
As for you … "
Chu Wanning paused for a moment before continuing, "The two incidents involving Jin Chenghu and the Peach Blossom Spring were all directed at you.
This time, he planned to frame you in hopes of making you isolated and helpless.
You don't have to worry about this matter. The High Lord is the leader of a sect. It's best for him to step in and mediate. "
"Then what can I do?" Mo Ran said, "I can't push everything to others and do nothing."
"What are you trying to do now?
That mysterious person's goal is very clear. After Jin Chengchi's Divine Wood fell, he has been looking for an Essence Spiritual Body to replace it.
You're the Wood Essence Spiritual Body, so you're the most suitable. However, if he can't get you, he'll settle for the next best thing and look for other replacements. "
Chu Wanning paused for a moment before saying, "If he finds you, I'm afraid there'll be another bloody storm. We have to stop him."
"That's true. However, Master, it's not that easy to find an Essence Spiritual Body. Even if he wants to find a replacement, he must …"
Mo Ran suddenly paused. He raised his head and stared at Chu Wanning with his soft, black eyes. After a while, he said, "If that little bastard wants to find out who has an Essence Spiritual Body, he has to go to every sect to investigate. However, cultivators won't release their Spiritual Roots for no reason. They'll only use their Spiritual Roots to sense when they're choosing weapons or refining stones.
Therefore, the simplest way to test an Essence Spiritual Body is to sell weapons and spirit stones.
We only need to observe the weapon markets in front of the various mountains and we'll be able to find traces of that bastard. "
After saying this, he saw Chu Wanning staring at him thoughtfully. He couldn't help but feel guilty.
"Uh … I guessed."
"You guessed correctly."
Chu Wanning said slowly. After a while, he suddenly felt that he knew more things. He narrowed his eyes and asked, "Mo Ran.
Are you hiding something from me? "
"What, what could I hide from Master?"
Although he said this, Mo Ran felt the hair on his back stand up. He felt that Chu Wanning's glass-like eyes seemed to be locking the real soul inside his reborn body.
Fortunately, Chu Wanning was silent for a moment and didn't say anything else.
He faintly lowered his eyes and said in a low voice, "From today onwards, you and I will secretly investigate each sect.
We won't return to the Peak of Life and Death for the time being. "