Right before their eyes, the talismanic runes on the door shifted once again, emitting a rhythmic clicking sound. The green python suddenly contracted back into the door, blending into the runes where it rapidly swam and violently coiled in endless loops.
What is going on?! Wutong cried out in shock.
A series of dull thuds followed, sounding as though a group of people had all crashed down onto the ground together.
Wutong rushed toward the grand doors, and Gu Huaixiu followed closely behind. For some reason, the two seemed to share a silent understanding at that moment, moving in sync to avoid any physical pulling or dragging.
Green Python! What is happening? Wutong shouted.
The movement of the runes gradually came to a halt, and the python’s head stretched back out from the door. Good grief, the green python grumbled, one after another, nobody ever lets me have peace today!
What on earth is going on? Gu Huaixiu also demanded.
The green python rolled its eyes. See for yourselves.
The clicking sound echoed again. The green python coiled itself into a circle on the door, and the runes expanded outward from its center like ripples widening in water. The center gradually grew transparent, finally settling into a lens-like aperture two feet in diameter. Although the scene in the main hall outside looked as though it were veiled in a thin layer of gauze, it was now clearly visible.
Over a dozen people had suddenly appeared in the main hall. Among them were disciples of the Tianchen Sect as well as scions of other sects and aristocratic families. All of them were facing the doors, meaning they were face-to-face with Wutong and Gu Huaixiu. Several of these people had sustained injuries, and patches of blood stained the stone floor. A few individuals were just now clambering back to their feet, their hats crooked and collars disheveled, staring in absolute terror toward the direction of the doors.
Eldest Brother! Wutong spotted Ji Longbai in the crowd instantly. Overjoyed, he threw himself against the door, only to find that the lens-like circular opening was impossibly hard. He slammed his fists against it, shouting repeatedly, Eldest Brother, Eldest Brother, I am right here!
Stop pounding; they cannot hear or see you from the outside, the green python’s voice echoed from the door, followed by an indignant huff. Morals are declining day by day. None of these people know how to show respect to an elder. If you do not teach them a lesson, they never learn how dangerous the world is.
It was evident that these people had also experienced the green python’s reflective defense mechanism earlier, leaving many of them injured. Furthermore, just as the python had claimed, they were completely unable to see what was happening inside or hear Wutong’s cries. Wutong guessed that the lens created by the python probably only allowed one side to see and hear, while the other side remained completely unchanged.
Wutong pulled his hands back, turned to Gu Huaixiu, and said, Lend me your body one more time so we can open the door.
Gu Huaixiu remained noncommittal, but the green python let out two dry coughs and said, You are overthinking it, little fellow. Once you enter, you cannot get out.
How can that be? Wutong asked in astonishment. Using the same method we used to come in…
His words were cut off by Gu Huaixiu: Coming in before was merely a fluke. His tone and demeanor clearly conveyed the message that Wutong should not even think about it.
Rebuffed and deeply disappointed, Wutong had no choice but to press back against the door and look outside.
Out in the Main Hall
Ji Longbai was not among those who had been injured. With a dark, heavy gaze fixed on the great doors, he asked a tall cultivator standing beside him, Did you truly see Wutong?
Wutong squinted and looked closely. Was that not the very head disciple of the Zongyang Sect who had given him trouble earlier? Why had this group of four also entered this underground ancestral mausoleum?
Facing Ji Longbai now, these individuals wore humble, ingratiating expressions, completely stripped of the arrogance they had displayed earlier at Yixing Tower. The sight left Wutong marveling inwardly.
Utterly opportunistic, Gu Huaixiu muttered softly beside him. Wutong agreed entirely and nodded slightly, but a second thought struck him: was this not also implying that his Ji family was the very object of their opportunism? He whipped his head around and glared fiercely at Gu Huaixiu, but the demon lord did not even spare him a single glance.
Upon hearing Ji Longbai’s question, the tall Zongyang Sect cultivator immediately turned to his junior sister. Junior Sister Feng Lan, tell the Young Master Ji.
Feng Lan, the very same female Zongyang Sect disciple who had stood frozen in a daze for a long time when she first met Wutong, glanced evasively at Ji Longbai before speaking to the male cultivator. Senior Brother Song Ming, I was searching for traces of the demon lord at the time and happened to stumble close to the upper entrance of the ancestral mausoleum. That entrance is exceptionally deep, so even the slightest sound became greatly magnified. I heard movement below but did not dare peer inside. I only took out my personal makeup mirror to reflect the space, and I saw… I saw…
She stole another shy glance at Ji Longbai, her face flushing slightly as she hesitated. It looked extremely like the face of Young Master Wutong, but the face vanished in a flash. I… I could not be entirely sure if it was him.
Another female disciple immediately stepped forward, turning to Ji Longbai. Young Master Ji, my senior sister’s makeup mirror is no ordinary bronze mirror. It is a Cloudy Wave Mirror, capable of cutting through light interference to reflect distant objects with absolute clarity. Your esteemed younger brother has such an extraordinary appearance that one simply cannot forget him once seen. Therefore, my senior sister is undoubtedly correct.
Song Ming hurriedly chimed in to support her claim: Young Master Ji, that demon lord must have abducted Young Master Wutong and dragged him into this mausoleum, hiding behind that very door. With that, his gaze turned dark and ominous as he stared toward the great doors, his eyes glinting with malice and cunning.
Meeting Song Ming’s gaze, Wutong felt a chill run through him. It was only then that he remembered Song Ming could not see him. If he had not witnessed that vicious expression with his own eyes, Wutong might have actually believed Song Ming was sharing a common hatred with the Ji family and worrying over his safety. At this realization, Wutong curled his lip in disgust. He figured that Song Ming had likely omitted his own wicked behavior at Yixing Tower from his account. Now that they were all swarming around his eldest brother, who knew what schemes they were plotting? He just hoped his eldest brother would not be fooled by them.
At that moment, two Ji family guards approached from the outer edge of the crowd, bowed to Ji Longbai, and reported, Young Master, we found a doorway on the side of the main hall leading into a vast limestone cavern, and we found traces of human footsteps there.
Is it Wutong? Ji Longbai asked.
The guards exchanged glances and answered cautiously, The cave system is deep, dark, and full of branching tunnels, compounded by underground streams that washed away most of the footprints. Whether it was the Third Young Master, your subordinates cannot be certain.
Young Master Ji, earlier when the aperture appeared on the Fairy-Ascending Platform, we suspected the demon lord and your younger brother had fallen into it. The Fairy-Ascending Platform is only a few miles from here, so they must have traversed the caves to enter this mausoleum from underground, Song Ming helpfully chimed in with a flattering tone.
Wutong thought to himself that while this Song Ming was utterly despicable, his brain was not entirely useless. Wutong desperately wanted to tell his elder brother that he was right inside, but even though they were only inches apart, he had no way to make his brother see or hear him. Just as he was racking his brain for a solution, he saw Ji Longbai wave his hand at the guards: Blow the door open!
Blow it open?
While that might be a viable method in ordinary circumstances, this was the ancestral hall of the Tianchen Sect. Wutong never imagined that his usually prudent and cautious eldest brother would be this reckless. Just as he was wondering whether he should step back further from the door, he heard the green python let out a mocking laugh, sounding half-pitying and half-gleeful. As you sow, so shall you reap. You will not blow this door open; a bunch of fools with a death wish are just digging their own graves.
Wutong was startled and began shouting again at the top of his lungs, Eldest Brother, it is dangerous! You cannot blow it up!
Naturally, there was no reaction from the outside.
I told you, little fellow, did I not say they cannot hear or see you?
Ignoring the python, Wutong resumed pounding frantically on the door. Seeing the Ji family guards approaching the entrance carrying gunpowder packages while he remained powerless to warn them, he stamped his feet in helpless anxiety.
Right then, another wave of chaos rippled through the crowd outside. A different male cultivator led a group of seven or eight people striding rapidly from the other end of the main hall, sweeping toward the group like a gust of wind.
As they drew closer and their faces became clear, Wutong recognized that the leader was none other than Feng Yuanchi, the head disciple of the Tianchen Sect! The people accompanying him were dressed in Tianchen Sect garments, but unlike ordinary disciples, their advanced years indicated they were likely elders of the sect.
Brother Longbai, absolutely not! Feng Yuanchi rushed up to block Ji Longbai. This place is the resting place of our Tianchen Sect ancestors. Disturbing it to this extent is already inappropriate, let alone destroying it!
The several elders also wore expressions of intense fury. Young Master Ji, this is the Tianchen Sect. Even if the Grand Elder is injured, we are still here; we will not allow you to run amok!
Facing the elders’ censure, Ji Longbai immediately wore a warm smile, offered a respectful bow, and said, You elders misunderstand. When I was young, I spent a few years as an outer disciple here at the Tianchen Sect, so I share deep ties with the sect. How could I ever disrespect the sect’s predecessors?
His earnest words made it difficult for the imposing elders to maintain their anger; their expressions softened slightly, though suspicion still lingered in their eyes.
Sensing that he had stabilized the situation, Ji Longbai continued, It is just that the position of the Immortal Alliance Leader has only recently been transferred to the Ji family, and our sacred treasure, the Heaven-Slaying Token, was snatched away by the arch-demon Gu Huaixiu. All of this happened in broad daylight, right here on Tianchen Sect territory. Now, Master Quanheng and my father are both injured and unable to personally recover the sacred treasure. As the acting head of the Ji family, I am forced to take drastic measures for the greater good of the Immortal Alliance. I truly have no other choice.
By deliberately emphasizing that these incidents occurred on Tianchen Sect soil and that both senior leaders were injured, his subtext was clear. He was subtly implying that the Tianchen Sect bore primary responsibility for the loss of the Heaven-Slaying Token, and since they were currently handling the situation ineffectively, they had no right to interfere with his actions.
Listening from the other side, Wutong felt his heart sink: Father is injured?
It was only then that he suddenly realized he had not seen his second brother, Ji Yinsang, anywhere. Could he be injured as well? But if Father is hurt, how could Eldest Brother leave him behind to come here?
The elders flared up again, their recently abated anger ready to erupt. Feng Yuanchi quickly interjected, The Immortal Alliance’s sacred treasure was stolen, and the Tianchen Sect will naturally do everything in its power to recover it. However, our sect’s mausoleum temple cannot suffer the slightest damage either.
His tone was resolute. Not only the elders, but the other Tianchen Sect disciples had also crowded around. With conflict hanging by a thread and fearing that he might provoke public outrage, Ji Longbai raised a hand to signal the Ji family guards at the door to halt their operations.
He then turned back to Feng Yuanchi. I completely understand how Junior Brother Feng and the elders feel, but someone witnessed the demon lord abducting my third younger brother into this underground mausoleum. Now that the Heaven-Slaying Token is with that demon, every moment we wait increases his cultivation power by another fraction. If we do not act immediately, the entire Tianchen Sect could be wiped off the face of the earth. In that case, where would an ancestral mausoleum even exist?
Exactly! Your Tianchen Sect is also a core member of the Immortal Alliance; why can’t you put the bigger picture first? someone in the crowd immediately chimed in to support him.
When the skin is gone, what can the hair adhere to? Is the Immortal Alliance more important, or is your family’s mausoleum?