Huanzhu Louzhu beckoned, then pointed, and Liang Zhenjing, whom Cheng Xinzhan was supporting, floated out of the mirror and awoke in midair.
He looked around in bewilderment, then quickly remembered what had happened. His face reddened again, swelling to the color of pig liver.
In the Sea Market restaurant, Xiao Shiniang patted her chest and let out a long breath, thinking to herself, Of course. He was so good at drawing talismans. How could he lose?
By contrast, in the Purple Zhi Fragrant Chamber, Gongchang Gongzi's expression turned ugly, and his hand tightened somewhat.
Feng Woman's chest hurt in his embrace, but she dared not show it. Her smile remained.
After Liang Zhenjing had been sent away, the mirror scene of the Thunder-Accumulating Mountain Grotto-Heaven where Cheng Xinzhan stood fell quiet again. Until the champions in all thirty-five other mirror scenes had been decided, he encountered no second challenger.
"The thirty-six of you who remain specialize in different elements, which generate and overcome one another. Draw lots for your matchups, then. Winners advance; losers withdraw."
Huanzhu Louzhu scattered thirty-six Jade Divination Slips, and everyone inside the mirrors guided their qi to take one.
Cheng Xinzhan looked at his Jade Divination Slip. The character "Kun" was written on it.
He read it aloud.
Everyone read aloud the character on their Jade Divination Slip. They comprised two sets of the ten Heavenly Stems and the Eight Trigrams.
He looked toward the other person who had read out "Kun." That person stood amid scarlet mountains, with fire burning on their slopes and Red Cloudglow overhead. He saw five characters carved into a cliff:
Flame Mountain grotto-heaven.
That person was also young, his long hair hanging loose and his sword planted against the ground. He wore blood-red robes, with a fanged demon's head embroidered