From a loser to an immortal sage

Chapter 458 The Palace Mystery Traps People's Hearts

The scent of aged wood mixed with the aroma of medicine wafted in from inside the door, chilling to the bone compared to the outside, like well water that had been soaking for a thousand years washing over your ankles.

As I held Xiaotao's hand and stepped onto the third step, the star map beneath our feet suddenly went dark—not gradually extinguished, but with a "whoosh," as if someone had stubbed out a lamp.

"Senior sister!" Xiao Tao's voice trembled, and she gripped my sleeve tightly with her other hand, her knuckles turning white.

I looked up, and the dark shadow behind the vermilion window lattice flickered again. This time I could see it clearly; it was an outline—long, disheveled hair and a hunched back, much like the tomb guardian figurines enshrined in the ancestral hall.

"Watch out!" Chu Qing suddenly lunged forward.

I instinctively spun around, and heard a "whoosh" sound as it cut through the air beside my ear.

The arrow grazed Xiao Tao's hair and embedded itself in the stone pillar behind her. The arrowhead gleamed with a dark blue hue and was speckled with green rust.

"A mechanism!" Zhou Xianzi's lightning-patterned handkerchief unfolded with a "whoosh," and the two characters "Master's Grace" on the torn part suddenly lit up like two small lightning bolts.

With a flick of her wrist, she sent the handkerchief flying towards the rain of arrows shooting from the beam, but this time the handkerchief failed to stop them—the arrowheads struck the lightning pattern and hissed, igniting black smoke, instantly scorching a corner of the handkerchief.

"Come closer!" I pulled Xiao Tao towards the center of the steps. Suddenly, the fragment of Wang Erniu's breastplate became hot. He pressed the fragment to his chest and shouted at me, "I'll block the way!" Before he finished speaking, another round of arrows came from all directions—the coffered ceiling above, the railings at my feet, and even the gaps in the window frames. The dense arrows were like a torrential downpour.

Xiao Tao screamed, and I pulled her into my arms. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my left shoulder.

Looking down, I saw an arrow had grazed my sleeve, and beads of blood were oozing out.

Wang Erniu's breastplate shards clattered as they deflected the two arrows, but the shards were too thin, and one arrow still pierced his arm. He gritted his teeth and pulled out the arrow, the blood dripping onto the jade steps like a small red flower.

Chu Qing's talismans were scattered all over the ground. He held up the last spirit-gathering talisman as a shield. The arrow pierced through the talisman and embedded itself in his right shoulder, causing him to break out in a cold sweat: "This arrow... the arrowhead is coated with spirit-corroding poison!"

My heart sank.

Elder Li said that the mechanism of the ruins was a "secret technique that communicates with spirits," but the rain of arrows before them was clearly meant to take lives.

Zhou Xianzi's lightning-patterned handkerchief blocked another volley of arrows. This time, the handkerchief tore even more thoroughly, leaving only half a stroke of the character "Shi En" (師恩, meaning "Master's Grace") remaining. With red eyes, she stuffed the handkerchief into my hand: "Senior Sister Xiao, this is what my master left me last..."

“I know.” I clutched the handkerchief tightly; it still held her warmth.

During a brief lull in the rain of arrows, I quickly scanned my surroundings—all the arrow holes were engraved with the same star map as the steps, and the angle at which each arrow was shot corresponded exactly to the position of "Tian Shu Tian Xuan" in the star map.

"A star map!" I blurted out. "The location of the arrow rain is related to the movement of the star map!"

Xiao Tao sniffled and looked up at me. Her face was covered in dust, and there was a bloodstain on her left cheek. "Senior Sister, when the steps were dark just now, the star chart... it turned to the 'Yao Guang' position."

I suddenly looked down.

Sure enough, the star map on the jade steps was slowly rotating, and the darkened area was the "Yaoguang" star of the Big Dipper.

As the arrow rain came again, I kept an eye on the movement of the star chart. The instant the star "Tianquan" lit up, I grabbed Xiaotao and jumped to the left—the arrow rain just missed us by three steps to the left.

"Move with me!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, "Watch where the star chart is!"

Wang Erniu gritted his teeth and got up, the shards of the breastplate drawing blood from his palm: "I remember the star map!" Chu Qing clutched her shoulder, drawing a star map on the ground with her other hand: "Tian Shu corresponds to due east, Tian Xuan corresponds to..."

We dodged three rounds of arrows by following the rotation of the star chart, but the arrows were getting faster and faster, and the star chart was also rotating at an increasingly faster frequency.

Zhou Xianzi's lightning-patterned handkerchief was completely shattered. She clutched her hand, which had been cut by an arrow, and said in a trembling voice, "Senior Sister Xiao, if this continues... we can't hold on."

Just then, black mist suddenly rose from the four corners of the palace.

"Little brat, taste my methods!" The Blood Fiend Old Man's sinister laugh seeped from the black mist, the corner of his black robe brushing against my feet. "The Netherworld Ghost King said that the treasures in these ruins require a living sacrifice!"

The black fog suddenly thickened, and everything in front of me went completely dark.

Xiao Tao's hand slipped from my palm. I called her name, but only heard my own echo.

Wang Erniu's roar seemed to be covered by a veil, while the sound of Chu Qing's talisman shattering came from near and far.

"Form the formation!" I groped for Zhou Xianzi's wrist, but all I touched was cold air.

A foul-smelling wind blew into my throat in the darkness. I remembered that the bronze fragment was still in my palm, so I quickly took it out—the fragment was incredibly hot, like a piece of red-hot charcoal, emitting a faint light in the darkness.

"Xiao Yao, taste the power of this Netherworld Soul-Locking Array." A hoarse male voice descended from above, its tone sharp and metallic. "Your lives are enough for me to sacrifice to the mechanisms of this palace."

I gripped the bronze fragment tightly, and spiritual energy surged from the fragment to my fingertips.

In the darkness, I seemed to see Xiaotao's eyes—the star map in her eyes overlapped with the star map on the steps.

“Don’t be afraid,” I whispered into the darkness, both to my disciples and to myself, “I will lead you out.”

The bronze fragment suddenly shone brightly. I made a hand seal with my fingertips, and spiritual power surged into the fragment like a tide.

A soft "click" came from the darkness, like some kind of shackle being loosened—

(To be continued in the next chapter: Will Xiao Yao be able to use the spiritual power of the bronze fragments to tear through the darkness?)

Did the trapped disciples find each other?

An even more dangerous mechanism is quietly being activated through the cracks in the darkness...

The moment the light from the bronze fragment pierced the darkness, I heard Xiao Tao's tearful cry, "Senior Sister!" followed by Wang Erniu's heavy breathing—he must have been protecting Xiao Tao, huddled behind the stone pillar on the left.

A foul-smelling wind suddenly rushed in, carrying eerie flames. I spun around and pushed Zhou Xianzi away from my side. The eerie flames grazed my right shoulder and burned through my sleeve. The smell of burnt flesh mixed with the stench of blood went straight to my throat.

"You brat, you're pretty tough!" The Blood Fiend Elder's laughter was like a rusty gong. Several bluish-gray ghost claws emerged from the black mist, grabbing at the back of Chu Qing's neck.

His arrow wound on his left shoulder was still bleeding, and his hand holding the talisman was trembling. I was so anxious that my spiritual energy surged, and the bronze fragment suddenly became scalding hot. I made a warding spell with my fingertips and slapped it down—the ghostly claw touched the blue light and hissed as it curled into black smoke. Chu Qing staggered and bumped into my back, cold sweat soaking my clothes: "Senior Sister Xiao... I'm almost out of talismans."

"Hold on!" I gritted my teeth, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw a ball of eerie blue light shimmering on my left—it was the Jade Bracelet of the Azure Lotus Fairy.

She gripped the bracelet and tossed it into the air. Twelve silver chains burst forth from the jade bracelet, their ends wrapped with pale blue fairy patterns. They barely managed to contain the ghostly mist that was trying to ambush Xiao Tao: "These are spirit-locking chains!"

"It can trap a ghost for half an incense stick's time!" But as soon as she finished speaking, two of the silver chains snapped with a "crack," and the Blood Fiend Old Man, shrouded in ghostly mist, emerged with a sneer: "You think your little wench can trap me?"

The sound of Ling Feng's sword suddenly came from the right.

He somehow found himself behind a pillar, and his black iron sword parted a wisp of black mist, revealing his taut jaw: "Miss Xiao, this wall!" He tapped the white marble wall behind him with the hilt of his sword, and stone chips fell down, revealing dark red patterns underneath—array patterns from the same series as the star map on the steps, only with a few more flame-like connections.

My heart skipped a beat.

Elder Li previously said that the mechanisms in the ruins were "connected to spiritual beings," so perhaps the control mechanism is hidden in this wall?

Before I could think it through, the Netherworld Ghost King's voice came down again: "Sacrifice these seven living people, and I will be able to break the seal on this dilapidated palace!" The black mist suddenly condensed into a ghost face with a blue face and fangs, dripping dark green venom from its fangs, and bit straight at Xiao Tao's crown.

"Xiao Tao!" I practically pounced on her.

The bronze fragment burned a red mark on my palm, and I poured my spiritual power into it recklessly—this is an ancient artifact I found in the far north ice plains. I had sensed it before in front of the star map steps. At this moment, it suddenly emitted a blinding white light. The ghost face was illuminated by the white light and screamed "Aow!" Its fangs grazed Xiao Tao's hair and pierced the ground, shaking the entire palace.

"Senior Sister Xiao!"

"Look there!" Suddenly, Fairy Zhou tugged at my sleeve.

The wound on the back of her hand was still bleeding, but she looked up at the caisson ceiling—a thin ray of golden light was now leaking through the hole where she used to shoot arrows, like a golden thread stringing stars together, casting a palm-sized spot of light on the ground.

I looked in the direction of the light.

Sunlight fell on the gaps between the white marble floor tiles, where a tiny six-petaled blue lotus was carved—exactly the same pattern as the jade hairpin in the hair of the Blue Lotus Fairy!

She followed my gaze and suddenly gasped: "This is... the 'Spirit-Guiding Array Eye' that my master mentioned!"

She had seen this mark in ancient texts when she entered the ruins years ago; it said it could only be activated by resonating with a magical artifact!

"Your jade bracelet!" I stared at the spirit-locking chain still trembling on her wrist. "The light from the jade bracelet was the same color as this spot of light!"

The fairy's fingertips trembled slightly on the jade bracelet.

She glanced at her sleeves, torn to shreds by the ghostly claws, then at Xiao Tao huddled behind Wang Erniu. Suddenly, she gritted her teeth, took off the jade bracelet, and pressed it against the light spot: "My master said this bracelet was made from the cold jade marrow from the ruins; it should be able to—"

"Crack!"

Suddenly, a thin crack appeared in the floor tiles, and the fairy patterns on the jade bracelet seemed to come alive and crawled into the crack. The darkness of the entire palace began to surge like the receding tide.

The old man's curses suddenly rose in pitch: "Not good!"

This young lady has activated the formation-breaking technique!

"Go!" The black mist surged out of the hall with a "whoosh." The ghostly face of the Netherworld King glared at me one last time, its fangs scraping three deep marks on the ground before disappearing along with the black mist.

The rain of arrows stopped at some point.

I straightened up by holding onto the pillar, only to find that my back was completely soaked in cold sweat.

Xiao Tao rushed over and hugged my waist. The bloodstains on her face were still wet, but she grinned and said, "Senior sister, light!"

The light is back!

Looking up, the star map steps lit up again, and the morning light leaked through the holes in the caisson ceiling, making the runes on the walls glow with a golden-red hue.

I've seen those runes in ancient books—the ancient "Spirit Suppression Technique." Each character seemed to crawl like a living thing, finally converging in the center to form the sentence: "If the heart is set on the light, the stars will guide the way."

Ling Feng tapped the wall with his sword sheath and raised an eyebrow at me: "It seems the mechanisms in this palace are meant to test people's character."

That barrage of arrows and the black mist just now were probably testing whether we had the determination to break the deadlock.

Qinglian Fairy picked up the jade bracelet from the ground. There was a fine crack on the bracelet, but she smiled and her eyes curved up: "My master said that the one who can activate the spirit-guiding array must be a person who is 'pure in mind and dares to take life from a desperate situation'."

Miss Xiao, you did it.

I looked down at the bronze fragments in my palm.

It had cooled down at some point, and fine lines appeared on its surface, resembling some kind of ancient script.

Xiao Tao leaned over to look, then suddenly pointed at the fragments and shouted, "Senior Sister!"

The patterns and the star map on the steps!

Looking at the fragments, the patterns on them were exactly the same as the trajectory from "Tian Shu" to "Yao Guang" in the star map.

A sudden surge of warmth welled up inside me—perhaps this fragment is the true key to this ruin?

"Let's go." I wiped the blood from Xiao Tao's face and pressed the medicine on Chu Qing's shoulder. "Now that we've broken through the first layer of the mystery, we should go see what's hidden inside."

Wang Erniu tucked the fragments of the heart-protecting mirror into his pocket, grinned at me, and said, "Wherever Senior Sister Xiao goes, I'll go." Zhou Xianzi clutched the shards of her handkerchief, her eyes shining like stars: "I'll follow Senior Sister."

When I pushed open the second door inside the hall, a refreshing fragrance suddenly filled the air, like an ice lotus on a snow-capped mountain, or like some kind of elixir I had never smelled before.

The light inside the door was dimmer than outside, but the jade bricks on the ground could be seen to gleam with a faint glow. The further you went in, the brighter the light became, as if something was beckoning you.

“Miss Xiao.” Ling Feng suddenly stopped, staring into the depths of the room, his brows slightly raised. “Did you hear that?”

I pricked up my ears.

In the far distance, it sounded as if someone had plucked a string on a musical instrument. The sound was as light as a feather brushing against the heart, yet clear enough to discern the melody—it was not a tune from the mortal world, but rather as if someone in the clouds had sung a song without beginning or end. The lingering sound, imbued with spiritual energy, circled three times within the hall before finally disappearing into the cracks of the jade bricks.

Xiao Tao tugged at my sleeve, her eyes sparkling: "Senior sister, that voice... it sounds like it's saying 'Come on!'"

I touched her head and glanced at the bronze fragment in my palm—it was getting hot again, the heat traveling through my veins to her heart.

The jade bricks inside the door still gleamed, and the lingering sound of the zither still drifted on the air.

It's time to go in.