Investigation V

"That's excellent." Zhang Rongfang seemed to believe him. "The external ceremonies and everything else are ready. How is it here, sir?"

"It's the same, only the last item is missing. Please follow me, young friend."

With a smile, Xue Tong turned and led the way.

Zhang Rongfang followed closely behind.

The two moved with lightning speed, covering hundreds of meters in the mist in the blink of an eye. They arrived at the entrance of a dark cave.

Torches with pale blue flames were stuck on either side of the cave entrance; it was unclear what material they were made of.

From the ground at the entrance of the cave, one can see many bone fragments that have turned into stripes, forming different patterns that extend into the depths of the cave.

"Young friend, please." Xue Tong extended his hand and smiled.

At this point, he had already set up quite a few things inside the cave, and as soon as Zhang Rongfang stepped in, the setup would take effect.

No matter how many Remnant God protect him, he will be completely isolated.

Xue Tong knew very well that Zhang Rongfang's greatest asset was the several Remnant God Gods and Buddhas that had marked him.

A single Gods and Buddhas may not be a big deal, but if there are many, even he would have a hard time dealing with them.

After all, the abilities of Gods and Buddhas are varied and unpredictable, and the Void changes depending on the number of believers. Who knows which Gods and Buddhas might suddenly decide to cause some trouble?

Zhang Rongfang was unaware of his many thoughts.

Just standing at the entrance and looking inside, the patterns on the ground seemed rather novel.

"Sir, are these patterns array patterns?" he asked curiously.

"Of course, these are all Locked Script," Xue Tong said with a smile. "Let's go inside and talk about it. There's much more inside, and you can take your time to look at it."

"Locked Script? Isn't that a praise phrase used specifically for worshipping Gods and Buddhas?" Zhang Rongfang asked in surprise.

"The Locked Script does serve this purpose, and this is also its origin."

However, in later developments, people discovered that the Locked Script could influence and guide certain aspects of the power of Gods and Buddhas. Therefore, they used them as a tool to communicate with the power of gods and Gods and Buddhas.

Xue Tong explained.

"The purpose of setting up this ritual with the Locked Script is to guide the power of the Wish Woman, making her blind to everything that is happening here. You've studied some of the Locked Script, so you should be able to see that many of the characters mean isolation and separation, right?"

He spoke frankly.

The highest level of deception is to make the real appear fake.

The array and ritual he set up at this moment did indeed have the effect he described, but the purpose of isolating the Gods and Buddhas was not to allow him to escape on his own.

They had ulterior motives.

"I see." Zhang Rongfang nodded in realization.

"So, may we begin? To be honest, I'm rather impatient. Please forgive my slight lapse in composure, young friend," Xue Tong confessed.

"Not at all. Sir, you have also been imprisoned here for decades. Now that there is hope of seeing the light of day again, it is only natural for you to be happy and expectant." Zhang Rongfang nodded.

"Shall we go in?" Xue Tong asked.

"Please." Zhang Rongfang nodded.

"Please."

The two filed into the cave entrance.

"That's right." Suddenly, Zhang Rongfang stopped at the cave entrance, only centimeters away from entering the ritual formation.

"Are the materials for these ritual formations bones?" he asked, a look of doubt on his face.

Xue Tong paused, turned around, and looked at him with a slightly deep gaze.

"They are indeed bones. And they are all human bones."

"Are there Wish Woman Canyon?" Zhang Rongfang frowned. "They shouldn't be innocent people, right? If they are the remains of innocent people, to be honest, I feel sorry for them. After all, I have always been kind to others and have a compassionate heart."

"Master, you jest. These are the remains of people who were Poison Mist and died unjustly in the canyon due to being bewitched by the poisonous mist and miasma. I have been imprisoned here for many years. Do you think I could have run away, killed people, and brought them back to set up this kind of departure ritual for myself?" Xue Tong said seriously.

"What are you saying, sir? I'm not questioning you, I'm just... suddenly feeling a bit sentimental," Zhang Rongfang sighed.

"The world is full of hardships, and it has certainly not been easy for you, young friend." Xue Tong smiled again.

"Please."

"Please."

The two entered the cave together.

The cave was dark inside, but the ground was covered with various ritual patterns made of white bones.

They walked for over a hundred meters until they arrived at the center of a huge, wide circular array of white bones.

Blue and white candles were scattered around, illuminating the cave in a cold, gloomy atmosphere.

"This is good enough." Xue Tong breathed a sigh of relief, turned around, and looked at Zhang Rongfang.

"Young friend, is there anything else you would like to say before the ceremony begins?"

"Why do you say that, sir? We can talk about it after you leave," Zhang Rongfang said, puzzled.

"That's true," Xue Tong said with a smile. "Then let's begin."

He moved to another location and stood in another core within the formation.

In an instant, a series of hand seals appeared in his hands.

"Heavenly Pool, Thunder Light, Earth Fire, Heavy Valley, Land of Light Binding, Shadow of Heart Demon, Myriad Images Soothing Scars my broken body!"

Xue Tong suddenly stopped all his hand seals, transforming them into a single, Blooming hand seal resembling a lotus flower.

Everything returned to quiet.

Nothing happened.

He was slightly taken aback and looked up at Zhang Rongfang.

"Why aren't the formations and rituals you set up outside working?!"

"Could there be some mistake somewhere?" Zhang Rongfang wondered as well.

"Young friend, you jest. Actually, even if the characters are wrong, as long as the items and the array diagram are correct, it will still work. I checked it before, and everything is complete and there are no problems." Xue Tong's expression slowly turned cold.

"So the array diagram might be wrong?" Zhang Rongfang's face still showed doubt. Of course, he wouldn't say that he had specifically asked someone to guard it and had just made changes to the array.

Xue Tong stared at him quietly for a while, then suddenly burst into laughter.

"It's alright. Actually, even without the array outside, I can handle the situation on my own, it just takes more effort. Let's try again."

"Sir, is that true? You truly are a great talent!" Zhang Rongfang said earnestly, bowing with his hands clasped.

Xue Tong stopped talking nonsense and stomped his foot.

Bang!

The ground trembled slightly, and all the array patterns suddenly shone brightly, illuminating with white light.

The array patterns resembled a pool of water, with bright white Locked Script swimming like a school of fish within the array. In the two central circles stood Zhang Rongfang and Xue Tong, respectively.

"A clear mind, a mind that transcends all illusions, open!!"

Suddenly, Xue Tong quickly formed a series of intricate hand seals, while white light spread upwards from beneath his feet, instantly turning his entire body white.

But when he turned to look at Zhang Rongfang, the other party had already left the formation.

"What do you mean by this, young friend?" Xue Tong asked calmly.

"Since you've already done it, why say more?" Zhang Rongfang retorted. "The array ritual here probably isn't meant to isolate the Wish Woman, is it?"

Xue Tong raised an eyebrow slightly.

"As I expected, you are indeed very intelligent. Most people may never have even heard of this type of Locked Script, but you can recognize most of it. You are truly knowledgeable and have a remarkable memory."

"What exactly is your purpose, sir?" Zhang Rongfang stopped pretending and asked seriously.

"Purpose?" Xue Tong shook his head. "Young friend, your talent is rare in the world. And now the world is in turmoil and the Great Way is about to fall. When I see you, a grandmaster, living in a small town and not making any progress, I always feel that I wish I could take your place."

He paused.

"Young friend, you possess such unparalleled talent. At only twenty years old, you have already reached the Grandmaster realm and created your own Human Immortal Path, comparable to the Imperial Tutor of yesteryear. Now that you are content with an ordinary life, why not give yourself to me? You too can go out and accomplish great things!"

"Sir, are you truly the Grand Master the Great Dao Sect?" Zhang Rongfang sighed.

"Are you still counting on those few Remnant God behind you?" Xue Tong laughed. "Don't worry, this place is completely isolated from all Gods and Buddhas influences. Even if you have special markings on you, they'll be useless."

"Sir, do you perhaps think that without the help of Gods and Buddhas behind me, I am nothing but a useless person?" Zhang Rongfang asked in surprise.

"Give it a try?" Xue Tong said with a smile.

"Okay." Zhang Rongfang smiled as well.

Just then, a Shadow silently leaped out from behind Zhang Rongfang.

He was like a monster made entirely of shadows, his black short sword plunging into Zhang Rongfang's heart from behind without warning.

Thud! The short sword pierced deep into the ground, stirring violently.

Zhang Rongfang's terrifying physical defenses were like paper in front of him, easily pierced.

"The Demon Weapon Crystal City, I once wielded it with one hand and successively severed the Spirit Core of three heretical cult Spirit General," Xue Tong sighed. "This weapon only cuts the mind, not the body. To die by this weapon is an honor for you."

"My heart." Zhang Rongfang's face turned pale, and he clutched his chest tightly, blood dripping down from the wound on his heart.

"Sir... so you've been lying to me all along!?" He looked at Xue Tong in disbelief.

"It's not deception, I just admire you too much, young friend, and I'd like to try a different way of life," Xue Tong said with a shake of his head and a smile.

"So, you're saying that you're not the real Grand Master of the Great Dao Sect, but someone else?" Zhang Rongfang said through gritted teeth.

"This injury is not enough to kill you. Are you trying to trick me into revealing information, young friend?" Xue Tong chuckled.

"I was seen through by my senior." Zhang Rongfang's expression returned to normal, and he loosened his hand that was covering his chest, revealing a bloody hole.

But the heart was nowhere to be found in that bloody hole. It was just a large, simple wound.

"But this sword really hurts," he said softly.

"Then how about we give up?" Xue Tong said.

"Give up?" Zhang Rongfang suddenly laughed. "How could you be so naive, senior? If your only reliance today is that inhuman, ghostly fellow behind me, then..."

He raised his hand.

"You can go die now."

In an instant, countless drops of thick red blood gushed out like a waterfall from his eyes, ears, nose, and skin, falling to the ground.

The ground was stained red, the color expanded, writhed, and spread.

Xue Tong's expression changed slightly, and his body exploded rapidly, turning into dozens of Shadow that scattered.

Each Shadow that landed automatically transformed into a monstrous Shadow just like the one before.

Each of the shadows Central Capital a black short sword, the hilt of which was inlaid with a dark gold gemstone resembling a vertical pupil, gleaming faintly in the dark cave.

"The Tao gives birth to One, One gives birth to Three, Three gives birth to all things!" With a long chant, all the Shadow monsters simultaneously pounced down towards Zhang Rongfang.

However, all the Shadow burst like soap bubbles the moment they touched the blood beside Zhang Rongfang.

In the blink of an eye, half of the Shadow vanished and disappeared.