Marquis Ping'er

"Hiss... I never expected that you, Lady Duke, would be interested in such a cutting-edge Daoist technique as the Tai Su Method?"

Madam Zhang sighed and slammed the golden cane in her hand to the ground.

"How could a woman understand such things? It's truly beyond her control. You wretched child, come out now! Kneel before the God!"

Then Li Fan saw a crack appear in the floor near Madam Zhang's feet.

No, not inside the floor, but on the floor itself, a flat layer of void burst open, and there was someone on the other side of the void, peering out through the gap with one eye.

Li Fan was taken aback. He glanced at the Nanyang County Princess and her husband, as well as the maids and servants beside him. They all seemed completely oblivious to the strange scene at their feet, standing still like wax figures or clay dolls, still in the posture of bowing to the Duchess of Nanyang. It was as if time in the room had stood still.

Then, the eyeball in the gap met Li Fan's gaze, and then bouncy and protruded out, its fleshy tendrils, like snail tentacles, sticking to the eyeball. Then, as if bowing in greeting, the eyeball bowed three times to Li Fan.

Li Fan stared at the thing expressionlessly, not even bothering to do the math. He glanced at Madam Zhang and asked, "Moon Worship all the way to the Tai Su Realm?"

Madam Zhang breathed a sigh of relief. "You truly are a capable person; you can tell at a glance. Please, save Ping'er's life."

According to Madam Zhang, this strange-eyed Ping'er is none other than the fifth son of the Grand Tutor Anyang Ting Hou.

This guy probably got into trouble last year or the year before. He was out having fun and didn't come home at night. I don't know if he ate something unclean or if he was having too much fun and encountered a ghost while walking at night. Anyway, he Moon Worship disappeared and was trapped in the Void Abyss Tai Su Realm, unable to come back.

Even more tragically, this guy was just a good-for-nothing rich kid, completely overshadowed by his father and brothers. He was a playboy who indulged in eating, drinking, and merrymaking, a veritable invisible man who never appeared in court. As a result, after disappearing from public view for several months, nobody cared where he had gone, and thus the best time to rescue him was missed. Now he's all grotesquely deformed and can't turn back into a human.

Only Madam Zhang still loved her youngest son. After all, he was her own flesh and blood, and it didn't matter whether she gave birth to a hero or a fool, a great man or a demon. So she tried every means to find 'Ping'er' and try to rescue him from the Void Abyss and restore him to human form. Indeed, there is no one better than a mother in this world.

Li Fan squatted in front of the crevice, looking at 'Ping'er' on the other side. He could see that besides the eyeballs that had jumped to this side, there seemed to be a faint human figure on the other side of the crevice. It looked as if 'Ping'er' was also lying on the edge of the crevice, looking towards the Taiji Realm with one eye.

Li Fan looked up at the roof beam and saw that there were more than a dozen Bagua mirrors hanging on the beam. They repeatedly focused and refracted the moonlight from the False Moon outside, and finally gathered it into the room, thus projecting the gap and revealing this thing.

Li Fan stroked his chin and counted repeatedly with his fingers. It seemed like there was a gap, just a tiny bit more, and if he pulled the tentacle holding the eyeball, he could pull the person over there. But in reality, things weren't that simple.

The cracks in these gaps are not 'doors', but rather projections of multiple universes overlapping each other.

If we use the classic model, we can think of a plane as a blank sheet of paper and spatial locations as 'points'.

"Breaking the membrane" is like folding a piece of white paper and piercing two points with a pencil. "Transition on the membrane" is the shortest straight line between the two points.

However, the Moon Worship and entering the abyss" method involves crumpling the paper into a ball, where each randomly generated crease may come into contact with a 'point'. These points may appear to overlap, but they are actually just gazing at each other from a distance; there is no 'pencil' capable of breaking through the membrane.

However, if the ink mark of the 'dot' is dark enough, it can be used to imprint a doppelganger of the ink mark on the other side of the paper. In reality, it is still a mirage that seems close at hand but is actually thousands of miles away, nothing more than an illusion.

Therefore, theoretically, the things in a mirage cannot simply appear out of thin air, because An Yang Hou certainly doesn't have the ability to Moon Worship...

Looking at those pitiful eyes staring at him, Li Fan sighed.

To put it bluntly, 'Ping'er' has actually returned, but only a small portion of what Moon Worship projected from the other world remains.

Moreover, it wasn't just 'Ping'er' who came; or rather, 'Ping'er' might no longer be considered 'Ping'er'.

Li Fan's gaze went past the eyeballs, fixed on the shadow in the gap.

If he wasn't mistaken, this Non-Thing was probably a kind of 'echo' Non-Thing recorded in the Book of Ink Mountain.

In the darkness of the Void Abyss, these Non-Thing are quite common. They only came into being because they heard Madam Zhang's call for her young son. They responded with the 'echo' that the other party expected, giving false hope and luring her to Door Opening, trying to enter this disgusting thing from this world.

Therefore, the Anyang Ting Hou probably no longer exists. On the other side of the gap, there should be something pretending to be 'Ping'er,' or simply using 'Ping'er's' remnants to fish.

Li Fan didn't reveal anything. He just looked back at the idle people standing around him like wax figures, walked out the door, looked at the stars in the sky, and confirmed that this was not a real time stop. Judging from the effect, it was a magic array that sealed people's six senses. Only then did he look at Madam Zhang, who was looking at him with a worried face but also full of expectation.

"I wonder which master made such an arrangement to help the Duchess find 'Ping'er' from the Void Abyss?"

Madam Zhang opened her mouth, then hesitated, seemingly unsure whether to reveal the other person's name, since secretly learning the Tai Su Dao could easily raise suspicions of ties to the demonic path.

Li Fan didn't press for answers. He counted on his fingers, then walked sideways around the hall to look at the Central Guard of the Marquis of Wansui Pavilion was also sealed off.

Even the Xun Family patriarch, who received education from Mount Song and reached the Nascent Soul Realm, could be sealed?

"This formation was also arranged by that expert to prevent outsiders from knowing Ping'er's current appearance and to prevent it from going out of control, right?"

Li Fan spoke casually, took a few steps, and suddenly raised his hand, pulling out a talisman from between the pillars of the main hall. He examined it in his hand. This talisman was cut differently from others; it was cross-shaped, with a slightly shorter head and a longer foot—a specially made sword talisman.

"The Sword Talismans cloud script of Xiandu Temple..."

With the five arts skills of a Xuanmen person, it's easy to impersonate another sect when committing murder and robbery. But when using their true skills, especially something like the Cloud Script, their true origins are absolutely impossible to hide.

This guy is at least at the Divine Lord realm, and a master proficient in both talismans and formations.

So it was a sword formation... Oh, I see.

Li Fan glanced at the sword talisman and understood it after a moment's thought.

You've all seen lambs feigning death when targeted by hunters, right? The same principle applies to arranging this talisman array.

When the moonlight of the False Moon shines through the magic mirror and opens a gap, the formation will also be activated by the evil energy, projecting the killing intent of the sword talisman into the hall.

Apart from the Lady of the County, who was seated in the main seat and thus avoided, all the other people who entered the formation, as well as Ping'er, would be locked onto by the overwhelming killing intent and sword intent, with an inescapable sharp sword hanging over their heads and necks.

In extreme fear, people subconsciously shut down their six senses, like lambs, frozen in place and pretending to be dead.

There was only a sword and talisman set up here, and all the officials and nobles in the room were lambs waiting to be slaughtered. That was all.

However, this level of sword intent had no effect on Li Fan yet.

Seeing that Li Fan had already seen through the surrounding arrangements, Madam Zhang simply nodded in agreement.

"It was precisely the sorcerer from Magu Mountain who calculated and arranged this, but I am just a woman who doesn't understand these mystical arts. That deity is currently guarding the Grand Tutor Manor and cannot spare the time. Should we ask him to come and assist us?"

Li Fan paused for a moment, then put the sword talisman back in its original place.

"How can we disturb the Grand Tutor's guards... and why aren't they guards from Mount Song?"

Madam Zhang hesitated for a moment, but looking at the pitiful eyeballs on the ground, her heart softened and she said...

"The experts from Mount Song are currently stationed in the three prefectures of Kun, Danxia Mountain, and Magu Mountain to assist in the battle, while others are also helping Jing'er in Ziwei Yuan. However, the security within the Jingji is being maintained with the assistance of mages from Hotong Mountain, Mount Danxia, and Mount Magu, so there shouldn't be any major problems."

Li Fan, "..."

This is not just a minor injury, it's a disaster! How could they dare to keep these traitors who secretly colluded with Hengshan around?! Didn't the Grand Tutor foresee how Pei Shiqing of Songshan died back then?? Oh right, I think I killed him, damn it!

Li Fan was speechless for a moment.

Could it be that his interference caused the Grand Tutor to miscalculate...? No, no, the Grand Tutor is cunning and shrewd; he wouldn't be so foolish as to get pecked in the eye by a goose he's been hunting all day...

Madam Zhang replied, "Don't worry about that old man! He doesn't care about Ping'er even in this Ping'er! He's afraid of getting involved in karma and ruining his own destiny! I beg you, Guan Nei Hou, to lend a helping hand. I'm just a woman, but I have some savings. I will definitely not treat you unfairly."

Li Fan hesitated for a moment, but after thinking about it, he nodded in agreement.

After all, the elderly person is getting on in years and just wants to be surrounded by their children and grandchildren. What's wrong with that? Why be so tactless as to say things that upset her and make her angry?

Besides, even if he reveals that this eyeball monster isn't your precious son at all, and that An Yang Hou is dead, would Madam Zhang give up? I'm afraid she still won't give up and will instead ask other treacherous individuals in the Xuanmen sect for help.

Moreover, the golden light emanating from that dragon-headed staff was simply too dazzling...

So Li Fan smiled kindly and said to Madam Zhang...

"Don't worry, I already know where the An Yang Hou is. Please wait a moment, Madam, I'll go make the trip and bring him back at dawn. By the way, could you perhaps give me some of the Marquis's personal belongings and his birth date and time, so that we can recognize each other when we get there?"

Madam Zhang was overjoyed, "Good! Good! Ping'er! Did you hear that! The Guan Nei Hou is coming to rescue you!"

The eyeball paused for a moment, glanced at Li Fan, bowed, and then disappeared back into the gap.

In that short moment, the formation was dispelled, and the Nanyang County Princess and her husband, along with their maids and servants, came back to life, seemingly unaware of the missing fragments.

Li Fan also deftly slipped away, telling Shadow to get up and eat at the banquet, thus covering for him.

Madam Zhang snapped out of her daze, glanced at the avatar of the 'Guan Nei Hou' who was bowing and greeting her alongside the Marquis of Wansui, and then at the real person standing to the side, holding the cloud seal and smiling. She had witnessed the other party's abilities and felt even more at ease. After exchanging a few polite words, she excused herself, saying she was tired, and asked her daughter and the Marquis of Wansui to entertain the distinguished guests on her behalf.

He turned back to the inner courtyard, took out the personal belongings of the An Yang Hou that he had collected, including the birth date and time used for divination, put them in a jade box and handed them to Li Fan, asking him to go and save his precious son.

Of course, Li Fan wouldn't save her son. He was already dead, with only his eyeballs left; where could he possibly save him?

However, we can clone one for her.

So Li Fan first jumped back to the fishing grounds, picked out a Nascent Soul Stage Dao fish, threw it into the biochemical pool to transform it into human form, and then performed plastic surgery to make it look exactly like An Yang Hou. At the same time, he used the system to calculate and model, replicating An Yang Hou memories, and simulated the creation of a personality and memories to record into the fish. It could be considered a 'clone'.

Of course, the company strictly controls artificial intelligence, so this is just a service similar to the 'autonomous driving' of organic vehicles. The original intention is that when there is no 'human' driving, the organism can automatically avoid danger and avoid starvation due to abnormal metabolism. So it is just the basic intelligence of pet cats, pet dogs, and other family companions.

Fortunately, the An Yang Hou wasn't particularly intelligent, and since he had already fallen into demonic possession by Moon Worship, it was perfectly reasonable for him to become a little foolish due to the side effects of demonic possession. It was already good enough that the Divine Lord Qingyue stepped in to 'save him,' and he even helped to reshape his true form, which could be considered a one-stop service. Presumably, the Duchess and Madam of the County wouldn't be able to find fault with him.

This way, the Dao Body could be tempered and transformed there first, while Li Fan Moon Worship full preparations and went to the Tai Su Realm to deal with Ping'er's problem.

This 'Ping'er' probably doesn't have much talent to comprehend the Tai Su Dao Moon Worship.

They were probably kidnapped.

Moreover, the experts from Xiandu Temple Magu Mountain would not go to such lengths to save the Grand Tutor's foolish son by using a cloud-shaped seal script to set up a hidden array. It's highly unlikely that they would go to such lengths just to curry favor with powerful families. There's probably a conspiracy involved.

Although the killing was too swift back then, leading to the assassination of Pei Shiqing of Songshan, Li Fan didn't pay close attention to the details. But it at least shows that among the Xuanmen sects that seemed to have sided with Songshan, both Hotong Mountain and Magu Mountain had people secretly colluding with Hengshan.

Although the Grand Tutor is quite cunning and cold-blooded, not caring about his eldest son being kidnapped, he may have won too many victories recently. In order to deal with the situation in various places, the Grand Tutor Manor's most reliable ally, the Song Mountain Sect, has been largely mobilized, which has indeed led to a power vacuum in the Jingji at this critical moment.

Whether this is a flaw or a trap, it's too early to tell.

However, the Grand Tutor will certainly not get through this great calamity peacefully.

So, after some thought, Li Fan realized that as a nominal ally of the Grand Tutor's camp, it wouldn't be right to stand by and watch him die. However, he wasn't part of the inner circle, so there was no need for him to go to such lengths. He figured he might as well help the Grand Tutor's wife save her youngest son. That way, he could save face.

Since he had seen the array formation that projected through the gaps as soon as he arrived, and also had the personal token of the An Yang Hou in hand, Li Fan naturally wouldn't have made a mistake. He directly Moon Worship and arrived at the Tai Su plane where 'Ping'er' was.

To avoid alerting the enemy, Li Fan didn't bother to eat the Tai Sha Star Core. Instead, he created a Dao body on the spot. Due to the dense evil energy in the area, the dust Dao body he created this time was pure charcoal black, almost exactly the same as the Thousand-Faced Immortal.

Li Fan scanned the area with his Divine Sense and found 'Ping'er's'.

This is a black, jelly-like substance that looks like a large lump of herbal jelly with arms and legs.

It was indeed an 'echo'. It had no definite form and changed according to the other party's expectations. However, at this moment, the shadow cast by the turtle jelly under the False Moon was pinned down by three hundred and forty-three longswords. These swords were of the Han sword style, but the blades were longer and the spines were covered with inscriptions. They were clearly not for face-to-face combat, but rather magical swords used for setting up formations and performing rituals.

From a distance, the more than three hundred magical swords looked like a dense array of iron nails. No matter how the moon phase changed, the projection of the turtle jelly would fall into the sword formation and be firmly pinned to the spot.

In this way, the 'echo' naturally cannot escape to other planes and can only hope that its 'mother' or 'father' will come to its rescue.

Hehe, skillfully using sword talismans and sword formations, so it really was Magu Mountain pulling the strings behind the scenes.