According to you, are we now certain to die…
The two sides fell into a noisy commotion once more, creating a chaotic scene. Seeing that the timing was right, Ji Longbo raised a hand to signal everyone to be quiet, and said to Feng Yuanchi, “Junior Brother Feng, it was my impatience and lack of careful consideration. Since Junior Brother Feng and the elders have arrived in person, there must naturally be a way to open it. I must trouble Junior Brother Feng to open the inner palace gates.”
Feng Yuanchi looked at the palace doors, shook his head, and said, “Brother Longbo does not know this, but these doors can only be entered, not exited.”
Aside from the Tianchen Sect elders, expressions of surprise appeared on everyone else’s faces.
“What do you mean?” Ji Longbo asked.
Feng Yuanchi turned toward the inner palace gates, his expression growing increasingly solemn while a faint sorrow showed on his face. “Past sovereigns and elders of the Tianchen Sect, when reaching the end of their lifespans, would enter this inner palace alone, and these doors would only open from the inside under such circumstances. Apart from that, no matter who it is, it is absolutely impossible to open these doors. As for the daily guard of these inner palace gates, it is the Green Python Great Demon. Back then, Grandmaster Haochen Tianzun subdued and placed it here precisely to protect the peace of this place.”
Upon hearing the title of the Green Python Great Demon, the crowd stepped back a few paces. Their expressions shifted first to sudden realization and then to terror. No wonder the magical beast transformed from the door could instantly severely injure dozens of people; if it was the Green Python Great Demon, then it was hardly surprising.
Ji Longbo also drew in a slight breath, but managed to keep his footing and held his ground. Pondering for a moment, he said, “We deployed hundreds of people from various sects of the Immortal Alliance to search above for quite a long time, but never found any trace of the two of them. Therefore, the fiend must have taken my third younger brother hostage and fled underground. If not here in the inner palace, where else could he be?”
Feng Yuanchi replied, “There are also mortal arrays set up by Tianzun within the ancestral mausoleum’s inner palace.” He suddenly seemed to recall some terrifying experience, his voice trembling slightly. “Even if the fiend really is inside, he is essentially walking to his own doom and can never come out again. That actually saves us the trouble of doing it ourselves.”
“Then the fiend has taken my third young master hostage. If the young master is also inside, won’t he be trapped and starved to death along with him?” an anxious Ji family guard asked.
“Therefore, I say it is absolutely impossible for them to be inside.” Feng Yuanchi turned back to Ji Longbo with a stern expression. “Brother Longbo, rather than wasting time here, we would do better to expand the search radius to prevent that fiend from taking the Third Young Master hostage and escaping the borders of the Tianchen Sect. Dealing with him at that point would become much more difficult.”
Seeing him so resolute, Ji Longbo could not be one hundred percent certain whether the two of them were actually behind the doors. He pondered for a moment, bowed to Feng Yuanchi, and said, “In that case, I will arrange for others to head to various locations, including the underground karst caves, to conduct another thorough search.” He glanced around at the Tianchen Sect elders, bowed respectfully once more, and said, “Please forgive us for any offense.”
Watching his eldest brother’s departing figure, Wutong sighed. In the end, they had missed each other.
Meanwhile, Feng Yuanchi turned to the Tianchen Sect elders, conferred with them for a moment, and then turned to leave as well. Several elders and disciples took up their respective positions and stood in strict readiness, seemingly to guard against anyone else entering the ancestral mausoleum.
“How many more things are you hiding and not telling us?” Gu Huaixiu suddenly asked, naturally directing his question at the green python.
“What things? There is nothing,” the green python tried to brush it off.
“That is right, just now Brother Yuanchi said the inner palace was set up with a mortal-slaying array by Haochen Tianzun, and you did not mention that at all!” Wutong also remembered.
“Heaven and earth be my witness, how did I not mention it? I gave warnings multiple times, saying that the old man Haochen had set up arrays everywhere here.”
“But you did not say it was a mortal-slaying array! Can a normal array be compared to something like a mortal-slaying array?”
“I did say the array was quite formidable.” The green python’s voice lacked obvious conviction.
Wutong wanted to retort, but when he raised his head, he saw Gu Huaixiu looking sideways at him with a peculiar expression. Annoyed, Wutong asked, “What is it with you again?”
“Brother Yuanchi?” Gu Huaixiu’s voice carried a hint of mockery. “Did you not say you did not know him? How is it that in less than a day, you are calling him so affectionately?”
Taken aback by the jab, Wutong could not reply for a moment. After pausing for a bit, he said, “I called him that yesterday, so what? Besides, who said I did not know him? I just did not remember at the time, that is all.”
“Indeed,” Gu Huaixiu nodded and said, “Everyone you see is brother.”
“None of your business!” Wutong rebuked him unceremoniously.
Seeing the two of them bickering, the green python was happily playing deaf and dumb when Gu Huaixiu hauled him back into it. “I am asking you.”
“Right, hurry up and tell us what kind of mortal-slaying array this actually is! And what was that about sovereigns and elders entering alone to wait for death? What is going on with that?” Wutong also shifted his target.
Realizing he could not dodge it, the green python had no choice but to say, “The so-called mortal-slaying array is just what those Tianchen Sect disciples call it. In reality, it is a purification array set up by the old man Haochen for these skeletal remains. Its purpose is to allow those disciples and descendants who accumulated massive karmic retributions in their lifetimes, just like him, to eliminate their negative karma and ascend to bliss after death.”
“Then why is it mortal-slaying?” Wutong asked.
“Think about it, who was this array designed for? Dead people. So when a living person enters, naturally it slays mortals.”
“How does the array operate? Make it clear,” Gu Huaixiu said impatiently.
“Once the array senses someone has entered, it treats them as someone destined to die and activates accordingly. This process takes about three hours. The person who entered can mentally prepare themselves, reminisce about their life, and so on. After that, the person inside enters an illusion, reliving their deepest life memories. During this process, their spiritual power, mental fortitude, and vital blood are consumed sequentially until their soul dissipates and they pass away. Finally, they condense into a crystal-clear spiritual bone.”
The green python’s voice gradually drifted off as the entire snake seemed immersed in a wonderful fantasy, its expression revealing an incomparable yearning.
Looking unsatisfied even after finishing, he added, “To be honest, if I did not still want to live right now, I would really want to experience it myself. But there is no rush, I have already made a reservation. Ten thousand years from now, this place will be my final resting place.”
Unimpressed by his nonsense, Wutong asked, “You mentioned entering the array, how does one count as entering? If you do not enter, will you not be fine?”
Snapping back to reality, the green python glanced at Wutong and replied in a mosquito-like voice, “Stepping through this door counts as entering.”
“Ah?” Wutong panicked. “Why did you not say so earlier?”
“I have been saying it all along! And I repeatedly warned you not to come in, not to come in. You are the ones who insisted on entering!” The green python’s voice suddenly spiked.
Unable to refute this, Wutong could only glare fiercely at him before turning to shoot an angry look at Gu Huaixiu, fully conveying the meaning of this is all your fault.
“Then if someone enters but has no desire to die, is there a way to escape this array?” Gu Huaixiu asked, his voice entirely devoid of fluctuation.
“It does not matter whether you want to die or not. Dead or alive, the array treats everyone equally, unless…”
“Unless what?” Wutong quickly asked.
“Unless you possess World-Slaying Power to break this array.”
“That is no different from saying nothing.” Wutong looked discouraged.
“Since ancient times, has no one ever escaped from this array?” Gu Huaixiu pressed on.
Lost in thought for a moment, the green python said, “There have been three. However, one of them does not really count as breaking the array, he just managed to claw back a sliver of life by pure luck. Yes, that Brother Yuanchi of yours. As for another, that was Dongyao, but he only did it after acquiring the World-Slaying Jade and obtaining World-Slaying Power, which is nothing extraordinary. And there is one more…”
As the green python spoke, he suddenly grew indignant. “That is Gouqing’s brat!”
“That mysterious senior!” Wutong chimed in. “What about him?”
“He treats this place like his own private estate! He comes and goes as he pleases, and every single time he puts me through the ringer!”
“He is that powerful?!” Wutong’s eyes widened. “This mortal-slaying array has no effect on him?”
“Who knows how that kid uses World-Slaying Power so effortlessly? In any case, this array is completely under his control!” Although the green python’s tone held reluctance, it also carried submission.
“No wonder you mistook us for him right from the start,” Wutong realized. “Then, when was the last time Senior Gouqing came here?”
After recalling for a moment, the green python suddenly frowned and said, “That is right, now that you mention it, he has not been here in a long time. I was even wondering about it. The time before last, he just came in, took a nap, and left. When was the last time…” He seemed to get a headache from thinking about it, shaking his head vigorously.
“What happened to Feng Yuanchi inside?” Tiring of waiting for him to slowly recall, Gu Huaixiu changed the subject.
Just as Wutong was about to rebuke him for interrupting, she thought better of it. Neither of them currently possessed World-Slaying Power, so they naturally could not emulate Immortal Venerable Dongyao, let alone the even more formidable Senior Gouqing. Since Feng Yuanchi had managed to escape the array, it held far more practical reference value for them. She immediately clamped her mouth shut and waited for the green python’s answer.
“That should have been twenty years ago. After Dongyao’s great battle with the demon race, his meridians were shattered and he did not have much time left. Having fallen into a coma, he was already unable to enter the ancestral mausoleum on his own. His junior brother, who is now Elder Quanheng, decided to offer his own body as a sacrifice to send his master’s remains into the mausoleum. Who would have thought that his eldest disciple would secretly take Dongyao’s remains and open this door first? Right as the doors were about to close, his master rushed over and pulled him out at the very last moment, but in doing so, he lost half of his cultivation.”
After finishing, the green python sighed softly. “Though that kid’s magical power is weak, his utter devotion to his master is truly commendable.”
Hearing that Feng Yuanchi had such a background, Wutong felt a deep sense of emotion. No wonder he had shown such terror and lingering fear when mentioning the array to her eldest brother earlier, and no wonder Elder Quanheng insisted on declining the position of sect master. Part of it must have been due to his impaired cultivation.
As for how terrifying this mortal-slaying array truly was, it was enough to make an extraordinary cultivator like Feng Yuanchi turn pale at the mere mention.
Realizing that Feng Yuanchi’s experience offered no practical reference for their current predicament, Wutong could not help feeling a bit disappointed, while Gu Huaixiu’s expression grew even more stern.
“Green python, according to you, are we now certain to die?” Wutong asked.
“The chances are slim,” the green python shook his head, preparing to shrink back into the doors while muttering under his breath, “Do not speak to me of conferring titles among the gods, one general succeeds while ten thousand bones wither…”