Chapter 40 Chunyang Sect

"A solution? What solution!" the cold and beautiful female instructor hurriedly asked.

Having witnessed his insightful guidance during the previous Lingjing Xingzhe instance, she no longer underestimated Yuanshi Tianzun. She now regarded him as a true teammate whose opinions should be valued in important decisions.

No longer just an assistant.

"You have a way to get me out of here?" The fire saint's eyes, previously filled with determination, instantly lit up with ecstasy. Like most fire masters, his emotions changed rapidly. He urged, "Tell me, tell me!"

"Tell me, tell me!" Jiang Jingwei also urged.

The sweet and lovely Hua Yu deacon opened her bright eyes, looking expectantly at Yuanshi Tianzun. Seeing everyone's gaze, Zhang Yuanqing corrected himself, "No, it's not about getting you out, it's about taking down the bronze figure."

Hearing this, the fire saint was stunned. "How can you say such a boast without changing your expression? I activated the Berserker skill and still couldn't beat it. That thing isn't something a level 4 saint can handle."

Hou De Zai Wu shook his head slightly, clearly sharing the same opinion. Hua Yu frowned, somewhat disappointed.

Xia Shu Zhi Lian also felt it was unreliable, but as a swordsman, she stared intently at Yuanshi Tianzun's face and said in a low voice, "I want to hear your plan."

Zhang Yuanqing nodded slightly. "When I rescued the fire saint just now, I sensed the aura of vengeful spirits inside the bronze figure. Although I don't know its exact method of creation, I believe it's not a simple puppet but was refined from a bewitching demon."

Initially, he thought the bronze sculpture fell into the category of props because it could use skills like bewitchment and dense fog. After a Lingjing Xingzhe died, all skills and spiritual power would be reclaimed by the Lingjing.

Based on this habitual way of thinking, he hadn't considered that the bronze sculpture might have been refined from a bewitching demon.

It wasn't until the brief contact just now when Zhang Yuanqing sensed the aura of vengeful spirits, that he realized that ancient immortal cultivation didn't rely on character cards.

In that case, there was no concept of the Lingjing reclaiming spiritual power. Puppets and yin corpses refined by ancient cultivators could release active skills.

"So?" the fire saint asked, enduring his injuries.

"Since it's not a pure prop, I have a way to 'kill' it, but I need a few of you to break through the bronze sculpture's armor," Zhang Yuanqing said.

The Demon Subduing Pestle's demon-breaking function was a natural counter to this type of yin object.

However, the Demon Subduing Pestle didn't have armor-breaking capabilities. He had noticed earlier that even the swordsman's short sword could only leave a thin scratch, showing how high the bronze sculpture's defense was.

Xia Shu Zhi Lian pondered for a few seconds, concurring with several other teammates. "Based on the brief battle just now, although the bronze body grants it invincible defense, it also limits its ability to mist. If we work together, we should be able to break through its defense."

"He's very confident. Alright, let's give it a try!"

Hou De Zai Wu and Hua Yu nodded. As for the fire saint, he was now a burden and had no right to speak.

In this way, the five saints surrounded the fire saint and Hua Yu, with the latter using the "Self-Healing" skill, dutifully fulfilling her role as a restorationist.

Guan Ya and Xia Shu Zhi Lian held their breath, focusing intently, their eyes fixed on the dense fog.

The dense fog could obscure everyone's senses, turning prey in the fog into the blind, but it couldn't fool a swordsman with insight skills. A dozen seconds later, Guan Ya and Xia Shu Zhi Lian simultaneously looked to the right and said, "Over there!"

As soon as the words fell, Jiang Jingwei turned her body to the right, a ball of fire forming in her palm, imitating the fire saint and throwing it out. "Boom!"

The shockwave wrapped in flowing flames raged in all directions, briefly dispersing the dense fog.

A dozen meters away, the bronze figure stood with its sword, having already approached and preparing to attack the group. Hua Yu withdrew her hands from the fire saint's chest and pushed against the ground.

The marble floor tiles under the bronze figure's feet cracked, and thick vines burst out of the ground, twisting and writhing, entangling the bronze figure's wrists, ankles, and legs.

"Snap, snap."

The vines tightened and then broke one by one. The bronze figure possessed terrifying strength. But more vines burst out of the ground, one after another.

The deacon "Hou De Zai Wu" strode heavily towards the bronze figure, his running trajectory cutting out a semicircle, around to the bronze figure's back, clasping its shoulders.

The bronze figure's struggling strength suddenly weakened. "Jingwei!"

This mountain god struggled with all her might, her face flushed red. "Coming~"

Jiang Jingwei let out a delicate shout, her small body like a torch, erupting in raging flames. Her fiery red hair spread out, bathed in the raging fire.

Her aura rose steadily, reaching the limit of level 4.

The next second, Jiang Jingwei shot out like a cannonball. Approaching the bronze figure, she swung her right arm back, her small fist clenched tightly. The fist, wrapped in flames, slammed out.

Red, twisted, and eerie runes lit up in the bronze figure's eyes. Bang!

The fist unswervingly struck the bronze figure's chest, a muffled and loud impact echoing in the museum. A ball of scarlet fire exploded on the bronze figure, and scorching heat instantly burned a deep red patch on its chest.

Jiang Jingwei's fist was a bloody mess, her finger bones broken.

She was immune to the bewitchment. Zhang Yuanqing had used the Demon Subduing Pestle on his companions beforehand. "Jingwei, step back!"

Guan Ya raised her hand and grabbed a bronze, rusted Han-style octagonal sword from the void.

Zhang Yuanqing recognized this sword. It was Fu Qingyang's personal sword. He didn't expect that after Qian Gongzi advanced to the Ruler stage, he would give his usual divine weapon to his cousin.

*Why didn't he give me, his cousin-in-law, a few top-quality items?* Zhang Yuanqing was envious for a moment.

Jiang Jingwei threw herself to the side, hearing Guan Ya's charge and feeling a sharp sword aura approaching rapidly, making goosebumps rise on her back.

The bronze figure was entangled by vines and Hou De Zai Wu, making it difficult to dodge. Its rough, dull face stared blankly at the approaching Guan Ya, its bronze eyes glowing red, with twisted runes appearing.

Possessing the "Iron Will" passive and purification buff, Guan Ya was directly immune to the effects of bewitchment. Following the momentum of her run, she thrust forward with her sword.

The Han-style octagonal sword, containing terrifying sword energy, struck the scorched, softened "branding iron" on the chest. "Crack!"

Fine cracks instantly appeared on the bronze figure's chest.

Bronze was hard but lacked toughness. Under the thrust of the sword, it didn't dent, but cracked like a lens.

Gaining a hit, Guan Ya immediately withdrew her sword and retreated.

A dreamlike starlight appeared where she had been, quickly condensing into Zhang Yuanqing, holding the Demon Subduing Pestle. He unhesitatingly slammed the pestle into the crack in the bronze figure's chest.

"Puff!"

The pestle, half an arm's length, went in to the root. A round of dazzling golden light erupted, and the bronze figure's body emitted "hissing" green smoke. A shrill scream that only Night Tourers could hear echoed.

As the golden light dissipated, the bronze figure fell straight to the ground with a loud crash.

Seeing this, everyone present, including Zhang Yuanqing, breathed a heavy sigh of relief. The fire saint shouted loudly, "You really took it down. I was actually saved by a young man who just advanced to the saint stage. Haha, Yuanshi Tianzun, you really have it. You really are a genius, different from those who just advanced to the saint stage."

*This straightforward fire master is quite cute.* Zhang Yuanqing put away the Demon Subduing Pestle. "It's all thanks to everyone's efforts."

The delight on the faces of the cold and beautiful female instructor and the obedient girl were undisguised. Hearing the words of the fire saint, Xia Shu Zhi Lian smiled and said, "A genius can have excellent performances at any stage."

She silently apologized in her heart for her previous underestimation and completely changed her view of this celebrity figure.

The well-behaved Hua Yu deacon looked at Yuanshi Tianzun with growing curiosity and interest. The steady and heavy "Hou De Zai Wu" gave Zhang Yuanqing a slight nod and then said, "The fog will take a while to dissipate, but it can no longer confuse us. Let's go out first and report the investigation results to the branch."

The Jiang Jingwei at the side muttered discontentedly, "Damn Yuanshi Tianzun, stealing my thunder. I obviously made a great contribution too." But no one cared about the complaints of a middle school student who was 1.5 meters tall.

Guan Ya squatted next to the bronze figure and, through the gap pierced by the Demon Subduing Pestle, saw that the inside was charred black, emitting a rotten, burnt odor that was extremely unpleasant.

Yuanshi's guess was correct. This was a puppet refined by a Mist Master.

Based on the bronze figure's combat power, this Mist Master was definitely at the God General level before his death.

The immortal sect that refined him into a puppet was very strong, definitely with Ruler-level figures sitting in charge, and

The "demon" in the ancient tomb was sealed, not killed.

Since it was sealed, that meant that even such a powerful immortal sect couldn't kill the demon. What kind of terrifying existence would that be?

She told everyone her thoughts. Zhang Yuanqing pondered. "The methods of ancient cultivators may not be the same as ours. We can't guess the specific situation now. Let's wait until we notify the elders and explore the ancient tomb together."

The group immediately left the museum and walked towards the outside of the fog. On the way, Zhang Yuanqing approached Guan Ya and said in a low voice, "That sword, did Fu Qingyang give it to you? Or did he lend it to you?"

Guan Ya said, "After advancing to the saint stage, that broken gun was useless. I returned it to the family. I don't want to take their things, lest they start clamoring for me to marry again. Fu Qingyang saw that I lacked a handy weapon, so he gave me the ancient sword."

*Having a cousin who convinces people with virtue is great.* Zhang Yuanqing held her soft hand, smiling. "I still like the way you play with the gun, although your posture when being cheap is also very charming."

Guan Ya glanced at him and hummed. "The gun I play with is too long and too thick, afraid you'd feel inferior, so I switched to a sword."

If this were the office, Zhang Yuanqing would have grabbed her little hand and stuffed it into his crotch to let her feel the greatness of the Zhang family's ancestral big gun.

The group walked out of the thick fog and saw the little green tea happily jumping over. "Brother Yuanshi, you're out!"

Seeing this, the queen in the car quickly posted on the forum: #The Jinhui City thick fog incident has been resolved, Yuanshi Tianzun led the team out#

She put down her phone, pushed open the car door, and hurried to meet them.

Xia Shu Zhi Lian looked at her subordinates who remained outside and said in a deep voice, "The Yunmeng deacon and the team she led were sacrificed. The team that entered the thick fog last night has not been found yet. The bronze sculpture has been resolved, and there will be no more danger. You quickly organize people to search for the lost colleagues. Contact the Public Security Bureau and have them prepare to send troops for the aftermath."

She arranged the subsequent actions in an orderly manner. After finishing, she looked at the three saints from the Songhai branch and said, "Let's go back to the hotel conference room first and wait for the elders there."

Returning to the hotel conference room, Xia Shu Zhi Lian personally called the direct elder. In order not to waste time, she focused on the information about the ancient tomb and ended the call quickly.

About twenty minutes later, Zhang Yuanqing, who was browsing the forum, saw the carpet crack in a certain empty space in the conference room. Immediately after, a figure condensed from mud and sand "grew" out of the floor.

The mud and sand then turned into real flesh and blood, becoming a middle-aged man in old mountaineering clothes with a thin face.

He looked like a mountain climber with a receding hairline, his skin tanned from years of sun exposure, his temperament steady and simple, gentle and introverted, without the slightest majesty of an elder.

*Is this earth escape?* Zhang Yuanqing immediately recalled the summaries of various professional skills he had read. "Greetings, Elder!"

Zhang Yuanqing and Guan Ya immediately got up, but found that, except for Xia Shu Zhi Lian who got up to greet him, the other deacons remained seated. Xia Shu Zhi Lian introduced, "This is Elder Gao Feng, one of the six great elders of our Hangzhou branch. His Lingjing ID is 'Challenge Gao Feng'. Elder Gao Feng has a very good temper and doesn't like messy rules. He hopes to become friends with the colleagues under him, preferably to go hiking together or invite him to a big meal."

*I can see that he has a good temper, but what does inviting him to a big meal mean? Is he hinting that I should bribe him?* Zhang Yuanqing, who was good at socializing, immediately relaxed his body and showed a casual attitude. "Elder Gao Feng, sit down, sit down."

As for Guan Ya, who came from the Baihu Bingzhong, she still maintained respect for the elder. - The Baihu Bingzhong valued the hierarchy most.

Elder Gao Feng glanced at him with some surprise and smiled with satisfaction. "Yuanshi Tianzun? Not bad, an interesting young man." He then looked at Xia Shu Zhi Lian and sighed. "I already know about Yunmeng's sacrifice. The branch has lost an excellent deacon. I deeply mourn. The organization will not mistreat her family."

"Now is not the time to be sad. I need to know the specific combat power of that bronze sculpture to assess the danger level of the ancient tomb." Xia Shu Zhi Lian nodded. "The bronze sculpture was refined from the body of a Mist Master, with a combat power equivalent to a level 5 peak."

Hearing this, Elder Gao Feng raised his hand and frowned. "A Mist Master close to level 6, how did you all return intact?"

As a Ruler-level elder, he immediately sensed something was wrong. Being in the thick fog and encountering a Mist Master of that level, the worst case scenario was that half of the deacon members would be lost, and the best case scenario was that everyone would return heavily injured.

But the current situation was neither of these. The deacons were all lively, only the fire saint's face was slightly pale, as if he had been injured.

Xia Shu Zhi Lian looked at Yuanshi Tianzun and smiled. "Thanks to the genius from our Songhai branch. His props restrained the puppet."

Elder Gao Feng revealed a look of understanding and couldn't help but look at Zhang Yuanqing.

He smiled. "The Hangzhou branch owes you a favor. I will report it to headquarters."

After speaking, Elder Gao Feng put away his smile and said in a deep voice, "Except for the fire saint, everyone else will come with me to the ancient tomb."

Hearing this, Xia Shu Zhi Lian, Hua Yu, and Hou De Zai Wu got up and held each other's hands. Seeing this, Zhang Yuanqing and Guan Ya followed suit and held hands.

When everyone formed a long line, Elder Gao Feng put his hand on Xia Shu Zhi Lian's shoulder. The next second, Zhang Yuanqing felt his body "collapse," like a statue made of yellow sand.

The scenery inside the hotel conference room disappeared, replaced by pitch black.

In the darkness, he felt he was moving at high speed, but there was no light or sound around, and he couldn't feel anything.

*This is earth escape? And can take people with him? Being a Ruler is so convenient, it's like abandoning transportation*

Thoughts ran through his mind.

In less than half a minute, he felt his body begin to rise and then saw the light.

The sun was shining brightly overhead, the sky was blue, cloudless, and the surroundings were a wasteland. Directly ahead was a construction site, with piles of dirt piled high, and excavators and pickup trucks parked quietly in the distance.

Further away, a cordon was set up, and many uniformed public security officers were stationed around, prohibiting civilians from entering.

*These public security officers are fine, indicating that there is no danger in the ancient tomb. At least the demon hasn't come out.* Zhang Yuanqing withdrew his gaze and made a judgment in his heart.

"Then why do we only use professional skills, but the ancients knew so much?" Jiang Jingwei asked, not understanding.

"Because they have Dao traditions!" After explaining, Elder Gao Feng walked to the stone gate, raised his hand, and pressed his palm against the stone gate.

In the next moment, the towering three-meter-high stone gate quickly weathered and mottled, and fragmented stones fell rustling. In a dozen seconds, the stone gate collapsed with a bang, raising a cloud of dust.

The group stepped over the shattered stones and entered the main chamber. Light could not penetrate here, and the main chamber was dim. "Whoosh!"

Jiang Jingwei consciously raised her hands and created a huge fireball with a diameter of one meter above her head. The flames burned fiercely, quickly consuming oxygen, bringing heat and light.

With the brightness emitted by the fireball, everyone could see the scene inside the main tomb. It was a semi-circular wide cave, like an inverted bowl.

In the center of the main chamber stood a trapezoidal stone platform six to seven meters high, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom. A stone coffin lay horizontally on the stone platform, covered with talismans.

And under the stone platform, there was a circle of "moat." The river water was bright silver, solidified, and filled with a metallic taste that made the teeth ache. "Mercury?" Zhang Yuanqing stood on the edge of the two-meter-wide moat, sniffed, and distinguished the essence of the river water.

Studying at a prestigious university, he immediately asked, "It shouldn't be. From the Song Dynasty to now, nearly a thousand years, why hasn't the mercury evaporated?"

Jiang Jingwei, who was studying at a prestigious middle school in Songhai, asked, "What is mercury?"

But no one paid attention to her.

At this time, Xia Shu Zhi Lian keenly observed that in the darkness on the side, where the firelight could not reach, stood a stone tablet.

"There's a tablet over there!" she said.

The group immediately stepped over and stopped in front of the stone tablet. Jiang Jingwei held up the one-meter-diameter fireball and approached, and everyone smelled the smell of their own hair burning.

Elder Gao Feng silently protected his already sparse hair. "Go, go, go!" Zhang Yuanqing spat to the side.

The stone tablet was one meter high, with a few large characters like a title on the far left, and dense small characters starting from the second row.

Guan Ya, with the help of the firelight, saw the inscription on the stone tablet clearly: "Sealed Demon Land of the Chunyang Sect!"

At this time, Zhang Yuanqing sensed that the Demon Subduing Pestle in his inventory was transmitting waves of scorching heat.