A miracle

Before the secret passage, Yin Kuang's expression grew solemn as he advanced cautiously, one step at a time.

Behind him, however, Li Ziye stayed where he was instead of following.

He had a feeling this trip would not be so easy.

Before that thought had faded, Yin Kuang had barely taken a few steps when a stone slab sank beneath his feet. Countless sharp arrows suddenly shot from the walls on either side.

"Impossible!"

Yin Kuang started in shock. Pushing off the ground, he twisted and darted, dodging one concealed arrow after another.

Behind him, Li Ziye narrowed his eyes slightly at the sight and called, "Fall back!"

Hearing the warning, Yin Kuang dared not hesitate any longer and immediately leaped back to the passage entrance.

"How could this happen?"

After retreating to the entrance, Yin Kuang stared at the arrows littering the ground ahead, his expression full of bewilderment. He had not taken a wrong step, so why had he still triggered the mechanism?

"It's no surprise."

Li Ziye replied, "You stole the Yin Clan's Blazing Fire Iron Essence before. It would be truly strange if they hadn't taken precautions. The mechanisms in this passage must all have been changed."

"Then what do we do? Are we just giving up?"

Yin Kuang's expression was grave. They had spent so long setting this up that abandoning it now would be a real pity.

"Of course we're not giving up. Go keep watch outside. I'll handle this!"

Li Ziye watched the passage ahead as he spoke calmly.

The original plan had been ideal if Yin Kuang could get past these mechanisms and smoothly retrieve what he wanted, sparing him the need to risk himself as well. Now, however, it seemed things would not be so easy.

At his words, Yin Kuang's expression shifted slightly. He wanted to say something, but ultimately nodded in agreement. "Be careful, young master."

With that, Yin Kuang turned and left the passage to keep watch outside the ancestral hall.

At the entrance, Li Ziye studied the gloomy, dim passage ahead. A moment later, he shot forward, swift as a thunderbolt.

At the same time, the entire passage seemed to spring to life. Countless sharp arrows flew from the walls on either side, shooting at the intruder like a torrential downpour.

Clink! Clink! Clink! Clink!

Arrows struck the stone slabs, sending sparks flying. Li Ziye's figure swept past, twisting and darting with incredible speed.

The Flying Immortal Art was hailed as the finest art under heaven. Beyond its exquisite sword moves, its greatest feature was its extraordinary footwork, unmatched in the world.

Thus, faced with the mechanisms in the Yin Clan's secret passage, Li Ziye used the Flying Immortal Art to overcome them with sheer speed.

Within a few breaths, Li Ziye reached the end of the passage and stopped.

Behind him, arrows carpeted the ground, and the entire floor and walls were pitted with holes. Clearly, had these arrows struck a person, they would likely have turned them straight into a honeycomb.

At the end of the passage, Li Ziye looked at the stone door ahead, a strange glint flashing through his eyes.

Surely the mechanism on this stone door hadn't been changed too?

As the thought crossed his mind, Li Ziye raised his hands and turned both stone rings on the door simultaneously.

In an instant, a rumble broke the silence of the passage, and the stone door slowly opened.

Li Ziye stepped inside. Yet at that very moment, a black shadow lunged at him from within the stone chamber.

Sensing the sudden danger, Li Ziye pushed off the ground and dodged the lunging shadow.

What met his eyes was what looked like a child roughly four feet tall, with disheveled hair and a savage, terrifying face.

Yet only after getting a proper look at the figure's face did Li Ziye realize that this was not a child, but an adult.

A dwarf!

Li Ziye's heart sank. And an extremely agile dwarf at that.

"A martial artist?"

Li Ziye's expression grew serious. Daring not be careless, he unfastened his belt and drew out a flexible sword. As he poured True Essence into it, the blade instantly straightened, its cold gleam dazzling.

"Roar!"

Inside the stone chamber, the dwarf let out a roar and lunged again.

At the same time, silver light flickered in the dwarf's chest, and his Divine Repository rumbled.

At the sight, Li Ziye narrowed his eyes.

Just as I thought!

Bang!

The dwarf lunged, both hands like sharp claws. The instant Li Ziye dodged, the stone pillar behind him was smashed clean through, sending broken stone flying in a horrifying display.

Seeing the dwarf's formidable agility, Li Ziye had no wish to remain entangled with him. He swept his gaze around the secret chamber, intending to search for the Essential Arts of Heavenly Craft first.

Yin Kuang said the Essential Arts of Heavenly Craft was in a blue-green box, but there was far too much stuff here. How long would it take him to find it?

"Roar!"

Before he could take more than a few looks, the dwarf ahead let out another furious roar and pounced like a tiger springing on its prey.

Li Ziye frowned slightly, his figure flashing aside as he dodged once again.

The secret chamber was not particularly large. Small and nimble, the dwarf lunged again whenever he missed, like a starving wild beast that would never stop until it caught its prey.

Li Ziye dodged again and again, making every moment count as he searched for the Essential Arts of Heavenly Craft while evading the dwarf.

Clang!

After several successive evasions, the dwarf's attacks grew increasingly fierce. Finally, with nowhere left to dodge, Li Ziye swung his sword and met the attack head-on.

A piercing scrape rang out. The dwarf's hands were as hard as metal and stone, actually able to withstand a sharp sword's edge with flesh and blood.

"Hm?"

At the sight, Li Ziye kicked the dwarf in both knees and used the momentum to retreat three zhang.

"Troublesome!"

Li Ziye glanced at the dwarf's hands ahead, frowning slightly.

Such hard claws. Who knew where the Yin Clan had found a monster like this?

"Roar!"

Ten paces away, the dwarf growled, his beastlike eyes full of greed and murderous intent.

"I didn't want to hurt you, but it seems you won't let me search in peace unless I knock you flat!"

As he spoke, Li Ziye's expression turned cold. No longer willing to evade, he shot forward like a meteor.

At the same time, the dwarf charged excitedly, his sharp claws poised to tear apart the prey before him.

Clang!

The sound of metal striking stone rang out again. The flexible sword in Li Ziye's hand instantly changed direction as he pivoted and swept behind the dwarf.

Rip!

The sword sliced through clothing, and blood sprayed. A shrill scream escaped the dwarf's mouth, and he immediately spun around and lunged again.

Li Ziye twisted aside, avoiding the sharp claws. Then he gripped his sword with both hands, stepped forward, planted himself, and brought it crashing down in a stroke that could shatter stone and startle the heavens.

"Roar!"

As danger struck, the dwarf roared in terror. Driven by a wild beast's instincts, he desperately rolled aside.

Boom!

With a deafening crash, three feet of Sword Qi tore through the air. Ahead, a shelf packed with treasures snapped apart, and all the treasures tumbled down, clattering and crashing across the floor.

"Hm?"

Among the treasures falling to the floor, a blue-green wooden box also dropped down. It stood out so clearly that delight appeared on Li Ziye's face when he saw it.

Finally found it!

Just as Li Ziye located the Essential Arts of Heavenly Craft, the scene in the Yin Clan's rear courtyard grew increasingly chaotic amid the raging fire.

The blaze in the rear courtyard had turned half the sky red. Everyone in the Yin Clan, old and young, had come to fight the fire. Even the authorities had been alerted and sent soldiers to help.

Outside the Yin Clan's residence, Yan Xiaoyu walked over in moon-white robes. As he watched the raging blaze ahead, a strange glint flashed through his eyes.

The fire was certainly fierce.

Still, he kept feeling there was something strange about this fire.

The timing was too convenient.

Of all times, this fire had broken out precisely on the day of the Yin Clan patriarch's birthday celebration. However he looked at it, it seemed someone had set it deliberately.

"Move aside! If you're not going to help fight the fire, don't block the way!"

Just then, a soldier behind him reached out and shoved Yan Xiaoyu aside before hurrying into the Yin residence with his men.

Yan Xiaoyu frowned, glancing with disgust at the spot the soldier had touched.

It seemed he would have to throw these robes away when he got back.

An autumn breeze blew past, bringing a hint of chill. The sunlight gradually vanished from the street.

Sensing something, Yan Xiaoyu looked toward the sky.

At some point, the blazing sun had disappeared from the sky. Thick clouds obscured its light, and there was even a hint of approaching rain.

Yet inside and outside the Yin residence, everyone was busy fighting the fire, and no one noticed the change in the weather.

Before the Yin residence, Yan Xiaoyu watched the dark clouds in the sky, the corners of his mouth curling slightly.

God of Light above, thank you for your blessing.

"God said, all living beings suffer."

Yan Xiaoyu spoke. His voice was not loud, yet it resounded like thunder in the ears of everyone inside and outside the Yin residence.

In an instant, pure white radiance shone around Yan Xiaoyu, and his two Divine Apertures rumbled. The next moment, a pillar of white light shot into the sky, dazzling to behold.

"What is that?"

Inside and outside the Yin residence, everyone's attention was drawn to the astonishing sight. They stared at the white pillar of light before the residence, their faces filled with shock.

"God said, let there be blessed rain."

Outside the Yin residence, Yan Xiaoyu spoke again, and the white light around him instantly grew even more dazzling.

Boom!

Just then, thunder roared across the sky. Then droplets of rain fell from above, scattering over the mortal world.

At that moment, every civilian and soldier inside and outside the Yin residence was stunned.

A miracle!

"A miracle!"

"This is a miracle!"

"A miracle!"

No one knew who had shouted first, but everyone soon began crying out excitedly along with them.

The rain grew heavier and heavier, and the crowd grew more and more excited.

Beneath the downpour, the fire in the Yin residence gradually weakened and seemed about to die out.

"Patriarch, it's the Divine Oracle Hall's Divine Son!"

Just then, a servant ran over, panting, and said excitedly, "The Divine Oracle Hall's Divine Son brought down rain for us!"

Hearing this, everyone in the Yin Clan, including the patriarch himself, immediately hurried outside the residence.

Before the Yin residence, beneath the torrential rain, Yan Xiaoyu held up both hands, bathed in white divine light. His bearing was transcendent, like a god descended to the mortal world to deliver all living beings.

Without further words, the Yin Clan members, led by Patriarch Yin, arrived before the residence. Looking at the young man beneath the white pillar of light, they all offered their thanks with grateful expressions:

"Thank you, Divine Son!"

"Thank you for bringing rain to extinguish the fire, Divine Son!"

"Thank you so much!"

Outside the residence, the Yin Clan members repeatedly expressed their profound gratitude. Along both sides of the street, many civilians had also witnessed this miracle with their own eyes, and their hearts were likewise filled with excitement.

Could gods truly exist in this world?

And was this Divine Son of the Divine Oracle Hall a god's incarnation in the mortal world?

"You're too kind, Patriarch Yin."

Before the Yin residence, Yan Xiaoyu wore a kindly smile as he said calmly, "This is all the blessing of the God of Light."

In a carriage not far away, Hongzhu, who had witnessed everything from beginning to end, wore a look of disdain.

God of Light, my ass.

The people of the Divine Oracle Hall really were nothing but a bunch of lying charlatans!