Conspiracy

The essence of the sun has vanished, and all causes and effects point to the Central Plains.

"How could this be!?" Shen Shuibi stood up abruptly, incredulous.

The Shaman said with a stern face, "That's the truth. Yang Ning was going to come and pick you up in person, so he set off from the cave and headed towards Baiyue, but he disappeared without a trace halfway there."

He took a deep breath. "So we're not going to Wushen Mountain anymore. The Great Shaman has ordered us to head to the Tang Kingdom immediately. Inside Wushen Mountain... we must be on guard."

"The original delegation has been cancelled and I will take charge of it instead. You may call me Ji Ding, my name is Young Master Li Qi Ding. I am a fifth-rank Daoist, which should be enough to protect you along the way."

"We'll discuss the specifics on the way. Let's set off immediately; people in the Tang Kingdom are already prepared to meet us."

Li Qi didn't delay and immediately nodded. "Okay, let's go."

Since things have come to this point, it's best not to waste any more time.

Shen Shuibi, on the other hand, seemed uneasy, as if she had something to say.

"Please wait a moment, senior. I still have a horse grazing at the bottom of the valley. I'll go and call it back, and then we'll set off." Li Qi ignored Shen Shuibi and said with his hands clasped in front of him.

"Go and return quickly." The Shaman nodded.

Li Qi immediately turned around, thought for a moment, and then pulled Shen Shuibi, saying, "Miss Shen, you should come with me. Old Ma listens to you more. If I go, I'm afraid we'll just waste time arguing."

Without waiting for Shen Shuibi's reply, he forcefully grabbed her hand and ran towards the valley.

He had already reached the eighth rank and now possessed the ability to fly, allowing him to traverse dozens of feet in a single step. At this moment, he was running at full speed, so he quickly reached Old Ma's side.

Then, suddenly! Two golden threads shot out from Li Qi's fingers, grazed Shen Shuibi's face, and pierced straight towards Ji Ding on the mountain!

The speed is four or five times faster than before!

These two breaths of golden energy can now travel fifteen miles in a single breath, which is the limit. After Li Qi reached the eighth rank, he could already use the golden energy perfectly.

This place is only four or five miles away from where we were before. In just a third of a breath, we can rush directly to the enemy.

The golden energy drew two dazzling golden lines in the air, carrying the killing intent of the metal element. In mid-air, it transformed into two guillotines, one on the left and one on the right, and with a snap, it cut them down!

But then one sees that the surrounding cliffs have been broken in half and slid down, their cut surfaces as smooth as mirrors.

The mere aftershocks of these two golden energies sliced the surrounding cliffs, hundreds of meters long, in two, as easily as cutting tofu.

One can only imagine the kind of attack that Ji Ding, located in the center of the golden guillotine, suffered.

No sooner had he fallen to the bottom than Li Qi immediately unleashed the strongest killing move he could muster in the shortest amount of time!

Ji Ding's expression changed, his pupils suddenly turned dark gold, and his gaze transformed into a sharp beam of light. With a clang, he actually managed to block Li Qi's golden guillotine.

"Young Master Li Qi, what do you mean by this?!" Ji Ding frowned and roared at Li Qi.

Li Qi ignored the question and immediately changed his move. The two golden energies suddenly merged into one, transforming into a long sword, which he controlled to slash down!

The Yin and Yang energies merged, unleashing an extremely terrifying killing power!

The blade, gleaming with white light and carrying a murderous intent, moved with lightning speed. The blade's light burst forth, its intense, mercury-like brilliance revealing every detail of the surrounding forest and rocks!

Li Qi had no skills, nor did he possess any; he knew absolutely nothing about swordsmanship.

But this strike was powerful and heavy.

Li Qi exerted all his strength, and with the power unleashed by the fusion of Yin and Yang, the speed and power of the golden energy increased several times, slashing towards Ji Ding's head at a speed far exceeding the speed of sound.

Are you kidding me? You say you're from Wushen Mountain, and you say you've reached the fifth rank of Dao?

If I didn't have True Knowledge Dao Charm, I would have really been fooled by you!

Ji Ding a man covered in a layer of disguise, and Li Qi could not see through him at all.

Fortunately, he has become accustomed to maintaining the sixth sense provided by the True Knowledge Dao Charm at all times, and to examining the world from two different perspectives at all times.

With the new sensory experience provided by True Knowledge Dao Charm, he could perceive the deathly aura emanating from the other party...

That's right, Ji Ding is indeed a fifth-rank official.

This corpse was also of the fifth rank, and even the Shaman aura emanating from it was genuine. No matter who looked at it, they would only think that this was the truth.

No matter how you investigate, you won't find any flaws in the other person's aura and characteristics.

According to the methods practitioners use to verify identities, namely by examining the other person's inner world and sensing their unique aura, these methods will not reveal any flaws.

This person is indeed a fifth-rank Shaman; Wushen Mountain really did send him to meet Li Qi.

It is estimated that even if Li Qi specifically went to Wushen Mountain to confirm, he would still get the corresponding result.

But it was a dead man.

Ji Ding is dead.

His body was being controlled, and his soul had long been extracted.

Could it be that the person from Wushen Mountain who was supposed to meet me died on the way?!

Li Qi was utterly shocked, but immediately made a choice.

Without hesitation, he moved away from his opponent and then went all out to kill him!

Presumably to avoid suspicion, the other side didn't dare send any real experts. The core of this corpse is only at the eighth rank. They probably thought Li Qi wouldn't be able to see through it, and that if it were too strong, it would be difficult to hide itself, so they chose such a rank, which is just right.

But this decision by the other party gave Li Qi the opportunity to resist.

In the distance.

The blade slashed down.

Suddenly, a bright light flashed! In Ji Ding's eyes, all he could see was a cold glint that seemed to devour the heavens and the earth! It went straight for his neck!

Eighth-grade metal energy, and there are two of them.

Furthermore, these two energies are complementary Yin and Yang metal energies, one male and one female, which, when combined, can produce an effect far greater than the sum of their parts.

So, the dead man couldn't stop it.

It was so fast that he had no time to react.

The blade struck the Adam's apple squarely.

However, it wasn't the sound of a blade piercing flesh; it sounded more like a dull "thud" as it struck thick leather armor.

It only left a white mark on her neck.

However, Ji Ding's body suddenly began to wither.

Before, he was still angry and seemed like a normal, vibrant living person.

Now, his skin began to shrink, his pupils dilated, his steps became unsteady, and his bones gradually twisted.

Black energy emanated from his Five Officials —eyes, nose, and mouth!

Li Qi and Shen Shuibi both heard a piercing sound...!

Black energy coalesced into a ball! This malevolent shadow churned in the air, its ethereal maw materializing from the darkness along with its claws. Staying nearby, one could almost hear its eerie, incessant murmurings.

His withered, bony fingers stretched out maliciously, howling at Li Qi and Shen Shuibi.

Now that we've been discovered, let's turn against each other.

The corpse began to move, its pale skin and flesh taut against the decaying body, and jagged ribs protruding from the body's chest cavity.

Inside his chest cavity, one could clearly see the souls that did not originally belong to these bodies. These souls, which were churning in pain within his chest cavity, appeared and disappeared intermittently, sending chills down one's spine.

These foul-smelling, horrifying, and repulsive corpses limped towards Li Qi and Shen Shuibi!

Along his path, rotting corpses dripping with bodily fluids stared at the two of them with empty, dark eye sockets, sending a chill down Li Qi's spine.

Sure enough, I wasn't mistaken; it was fake.

However, that body was real.

This is Ji Ding's fifth-rank corpse, whose body was possessed by a demon, who then used it to deceive him!

Ji Ding's corpse rushed towards Li Qi.

During the charge, he also spread his arms wide, and countless plumes of black smoke billowed out, obscuring the sky and making it impossible to see his own hand.

Another dark ring enveloped the surroundings, like an impenetrable fortress. From within the black smoke appeared many strangely shaped monsters of varying lengths and sizes, numbering in the hundreds or thousands. They all let out terrifying howls and charged towards Li Qi and his companions.

These hordes of demons resembled a swarm of maggots and a crawling mass of insects, sending chills down the spine of anyone who saw them.

Li Qi had just unleashed a powerful strike and hadn't yet caught his breath. By the time he recovered, the corpse would probably be right in front of him.

As Yun Fang said, Li Qi's combat talent... is hard to describe in a few words.

However, Shen Shuibi took two steps forward and said to Li Qi, "Lend me the auspicious energy of May."

Li Qi immediately abandoned his attempt to regulate his Qi regulation and instead, without hesitation, activated his inner world, drawing the Qi of May into his hand and handing it to Shen Shuibi.

Shen Shuibi took it with one hand, and then Three-Five Furnace appeared in her hand.

In the height of summer in May, when the essence is forged, fire can be obtained.

Mercury and lead are perfectly compatible; the Five Qi Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown, and when the natural fire is ignited, they are instantly refined in Three-Five Furnace to resemble a red pomegranate.

As the true fire surged and melted, towering flames burst forth from the furnace, shooting red and soaring into the sky, forming a sea of fire!

The sea of fire was a single entity, with waves of fire rising every second. The waves pushed and covered each other, forming sharp edges before bursting open. The deafening roar could be heard from afar, the sound of waves exploding and collapsing. One wave crashed against another, relentlessly battering the surging demons!

The heavenly fire blazed down, unstoppable even by iron and stone. The pillar of fire stretched for four or five miles and was two or three miles wide, with even the mountaintops showing slight signs of melting.

A fierce wind drives swift thunder, and lightning turns into fire.

White clouds transform into crimson skies, and crimson light connects with the Big Dipper.

Demons and monsters burned to ashes, leaving behind a clear and dust-free world.

The demons and monsters were hit squarely by the flames, their bodies charred and their heads smashed, turning into ashes.

Those who brushed past were terrified, their hands and feet trembling as they hurriedly fled.

With a single strike, these true flames obliterated the many ghosts and monsters, even halting the advance of 'Ji Ding'.

After all, this is the True Fire of Elixir Formation, a superior material used in alchemy. It can govern the five elements and generate all things, which is why it can refine the five elements in Three-Five Furnace to produce spiritual elixirs.

A Daoist master once said, "There is a natural fire, so there is no need for firewood or blowing." This refers to the true fire.

While burning the demonic black smoke, the rabbit also came to its senses.

Clearly, this is what I had been worried about.

Someone is watching them.

However, Li Qi was still relatively unknown, and the other party didn't seem to care much, believing that Li Qi could not possibly see through the disguise, so they didn't make many contingency plans.

However... that disguise was indeed impressive.

She only felt something was strange and didn't realize it was fake at all. She thought the Shaman had practiced some special method, and was just a little confused.

But now, upon closer inspection, Li Qi realized that the other party was an imposter.

No wonder the other party failed. Who would have thought that Li Qi's eyesight was better than his own? He himself had the knowledge of a fifth-rank official, but even he couldn't see it, while Li Qi did.

This is truly bad luck for the other party; it's destined that he will be exposed.

Good news, this means the other party has given themselves away.

While Shen Shuibi was controlling the real fire to prepare for the attack, Li Qi also caught his breath.

Without the slightest hesitation, eleven deities appeared simultaneously from his Inner Gods.

The mountain god was tall and strong, as solid as metal.

The water god is yin and gentle, and can penetrate everywhere.

The Sun Moon Heavenly God shone upon it, and the energies of the yin and yang dissipated from it.

The essence of all yang energies, when combined, becomes the sun.

The Essence of Taiyin the moon) combines with the moon above.

Inner Gods, and he saw Li Qi using the Earthly Deity to offer sacrifices to the moon at Kan.

Shen Shuibi immediately realized what was happening.

She was originally the Form Transformation of the Essence of Taiyin, and immediately understood what Li Qi was planning to do.

While maintaining the true fire with one hand, Li Qi's Sun God directly fell into the true fire.

But then they saw that the entire mountain was ablaze.

When the fire of the sun combines with true fire, fire upon fire is created, increasing its power several times over.

Thousands of large trees in the valley were burned to their tips, and the grass in the valley below was reduced to ashes for thirty miles. It was as if a fierce torch was igniting the fire. The fire was so huge and magnificent that even the sky was dyed red.

The corpse was forced back by the flames and hovered around, both isolating the area and waiting for its chance to strike.

He was originally a corpse of a fifth-rank cultivator. Although his cultivation level was only eighth-rank, his body was a genuine fifth-rank, so these attacks should be completely useless against him.

Just like Li Qi's metal energy, which is considered a powerful move among eighth-rank techniques, it couldn't even break through his skin.

However, Shen Shuibi knew the weaknesses of these corpses. The corpses were most afraid of fire and Yang Energy. They would not be harmed, but it was also difficult to get close to them.

Now that the true fire has merged with the sun, it perfectly counters the corpse, preventing him from forcibly breaking in despite the attacks.

However, such a fire could not possibly last long.

So, taking advantage of the fact that they were currently unable to free up their hands, the corpses used the death energy of the tomb to seal off the inside and outside, preventing messages from getting out or coming in.

Then, when they could no longer maintain the flame, they went in and, using their bodies, devoured them alive.

Since we can't trick them away, we'll just have to try and kill them here.

However, on the other side, Shen Shuibi was summoning the moon phase.

The essence of the moon generates water, which is why the tides are great when the moon is at its fullest.

Li Qi's Taiyin Heavenly God, combined with Shen Shuibi's genuine Essence of Taiyin, became one.

"It's up to you, Miss Shen!" Li Qi exerted all his strength, raising the Blazing Sun while stirring up the Moon's Yin.

Shen Shuibi nodded.

Water and Fire complement each other, yin and yang unite as one.

Yin and Yang and the Five Elements are the areas of expertise that Daoist Technique Method are most proficient in.

The sun rises upward, embodying the virtue of pure Yang, while the moon descends, harmonizing with the degree of Yin's condensation.

Then the spirits and deities would use this as a pretext to bring about a 'calamity'.

Shen Shuibi knew very well what could damage the physical body of a fifth-rank cultivator.