Dragon Locking Well

The conversation inside the ancient building continued, but Li Pingsheng no longer wished to listen.

The more one hears of such secrets, the faster one dies.

Returning to the small courtyard of the martial arts hall.

Li Pingsheng plopped down onto the edge of his bed.

The sect hidden in the shadows intended to make their move on the day of the Grand Examination.

Li Pingsheng did not care who won or lost.

What he cared about was that if the Inner City fell into chaos and the seal of the Dragon Locking Well suffered a mishap, his family in the Outer City would be in danger.

He had to do something.

Early the next morning, Li Pingsheng headed straight for the Servant Courtyard.

Lu Qingshan held a large bamboo broom, using it to clear the stagnant water and rotting leaves from the yard.

Li Pingsheng walked over, picked up a broom, and shoveled the mud into the drainage ditch.

Lu Qingshan leaned against a pillar, clutching his waist.

"What is a True Disciple doing here? If the instructors see you, they'll say you're debasing yourself again."

Li Pingsheng set down the broom.

"Brother Lu, I want to ask you something."

"Heh... ask away. As long as you aren't asking where I keep my private stash of money, you can ask anything."

Li Pingsheng leaned in closer.

"Sometimes when I practice my punches in the Back Mountain, I feel like there's something off about the Back Mountain Stele Forest. Is there any story behind that place?"

Lu Qingshan's movements ceased.

After a long silence, he finally spoke: "Let's go inside to talk."

Lu Qingshan closed the doors and windows, then used old clothes to plug the gaps in the door frame.

"You can sense it?"

He asked.

Li Pingsheng nodded.

"A very chaotic energy; it feels like there is something underneath."

Lu Qingshan suddenly pulled open his collar.

There was a deep purple bruise on his chest that had remained for five years without fading.

"Five years ago, I still thought I was a genius, and that Azure Cloud City couldn't contain me. One night, I snuck into the deepest part of the Back Mountain Stele Forest."

He paused.

"There is a well in that place, covered by a bluestone slab carved with symbols. I was still ten paces away from the well when a chill surged up from the cracks in the ground."

"I didn't believe in evil back then and wanted to see what was inside. As a result, I heard the sound of iron chains rattling within the well."

"In that instant, my blood surged, and I felt as if my tendons were about to snap. If the old man guarding the night hadn't pulled me back, I would have been dead long ago."

"The Dragon Locking Well?"

Li Pingsheng asked.

Lu Qingshan nodded.

"It is a forbidden area of the martial arts hall. Aside from the Hall Master and the old man guarding the well, anyone who enters dies."

Whose descendant is the old man who guards the well?

Li Pingsheng asked.

"I don't know. I only know his name is Qi. He has swept the floors of this hall his entire life. Even the Hall Master addresses him as Old Qi."

After leaving the Servant Courtyard, Li Pingsheng's mind was in turmoil.

What Lu Qingshan said matched the information he had overheard the previous night.

The only gaps in the formation were the Dragon Locking Well and the sect whose intentions remained unknown.

These people were going after the "thing" at the bottom of the well.

He did not return to his small courtyard, but instead headed toward the Back Mountain Stele Forest.

It was already noon and the sun was scorching, but as soon as he crossed into the territory of the Stele Forest, the temperature plummeted.

Li Pingsheng pushed his Breath Concealment Art to the maximum.

His heartbeat slowed to a crawl, and his breathing became faint.

Coupled with the Wind Treading movement technique, he wove through the broken stone steles.

With the enhancement of Synesthesia, the desolate Stele Forest was filled with lines of spiritual energy everywhere.

Winding these lines together forms a large, glowing golden circle—a magic array.

At the center of the array lies the Dragon Locking Well.

Li Pingsheng noticed unstable points outside the array, where black gas would seep from the fissures in the ground at regular intervals, only to be incinerated by the golden light.

The deeper he went, the greater the pressure became.

Li Pingsheng stopped behind an old locust tree.

Moving forward would bring him to the heart of the array.

He held his breath, watching the nodes of the array, when he suddenly felt a chill behind him. Someone was there.

Li Pingsheng did not turn around; he reached for his waist with his right hand, clenching his fist, and tightened the Tiger Bone strength within his body until lightning sparked at his fingertips.

He had no idea when this person had arrived.

Three steps.

That person was only three steps away from him.

At this distance, if they were to launch a sneak attack, he would have no chance to resist.

"Little brat, is this the place for you to play hide-and-seek?"

He heard a voice speaking to him.

Li Pingsheng turned around.

An old man in a gray cloth shirt stood there, holding a tattered broom.

The old man was very thin, with deep wrinkles on his face and cloudy, lifeless eyes.

He lowered his head and swept the leaves off the ground.

Li Pingsheng dared not relax his tension, holding his breath even more tightly.

"Junior Li Pingsheng greets Old Qi."

The old man stopped and looked him up and down.

"Your Breath Concealment Art is practiced well, but unfortunately, your heartbeat is still too loud."

He pointed at Li Pingsheng's chest. "It's making my ears ache."

Li Pingsheng's heart tightened.

Even with his breath held like this, he had still been seen through.

This old man's strength was fierce and boundless.

"A few days ago, I saw someone peeking at the Heavenly Thunder Guidance beside that broken stele. Are you that person?"

Old Qi took two steps forward, drew a circle on the ground with the head of his broom, and said, "Little fellow, you've got quite a lot of nerve."

Li Pingsheng remained silent.

In front of someone like this, lying was useless.

He withdrew his stance and bowed to Old Qi with cupped hands.

"That was a fragment I discovered by accident, Junior found it very suitable and tried to activate it. If there was any offense, I hope Senior will not mind."

Old Qi snorted, a flash of light crossing his cloudy eyes.

A force pressed down on Li Pingsheng, pinning him to his spot and making it impossible to move.

Li Pingsheng's bones creaked under the pressure, his legs sank deeper and deeper, and the bluestone slab beneath his feet cracked into many fissures.

Yet he did not kneel; instead, he gritted his teeth, circulating his Tiger Bone strength frantically as his blood and qi collided within his meridians—a dangerous state.

He took a step forward.

"Oh?!"

Old Qi withdrew the pressure.

Li Pingsheng gasped for air, his back soaked through with cold sweat.

"Your blood and qi are vigorous, and your bones are quite tough."

Old Qi lowered his head to sweep the floor again. "Instructor Wu has picked up a bargain. But since you know this is a dangerous matter and still dare to attempt it, it means you want to survive."

Li Pingsheng caught his breath and looked up into the old man's eyes.

"Senior, Junior did not come today to steal techniques; I came to deliver a message."

"A message?"

"During the Grand Examination, someone will forcibly break into the Dragon Locking Well."

Li Pingsheng said quickly.

"The array is prone to imbalance during the Grand Examination, and your presence is the reason they can feel at ease about the backyard."

Old Qi stopped sweeping.

He tilted his head back, his eyes as sharp as knives.

"Where did you hear that from?"

He asked.

A layer of white frost coated the surrounding vegetation.

"The ancient tower in the Inner City."

Li Pingsheng replied, "I overheard two people plotting this."

Old Qi stared at him for a long time.

Li Pingsheng felt that the secret he held could no longer be kept under wraps.

After a while, Old Qi finally chuckled.

"Little brat, do you think I'd believe you? Trying to escape with a lie like that—you underestimate me too much."

As he spoke, he flicked his broom casually.

An invisible current of air brushed past Li Pingsheng's cheek and flew backward.

It struck a large boulder behind him, shattering it into powder.

Stone shards sprayed onto Li Pingsheng's face, leaving a bloody gash.

But he did not move.

"Believe it or not, that's up to you."

Li Pingsheng said, "I have family at home, and I just want to take them away safely after the Grand Examination. If something crawls out of this well, I don't think anyone will be able to escape."

"I am quite curious, what exactly is locked inside this well?"

Old Qi put away his broom, smiling cheerfully.

"Want to know? Fine."

He extended a finger and pointed it at Li Pingsheng.

"Take a hit from me. As long as you are still standing and breathing, I will tell you the secret of this well, and while I'm at it, I'll gift you something good."

"If you can't take it, there will simply be one more grave in the Stele Forest."