C533 Into the Ground
In the Silverwoods, on an unnamed island, Du Jing sat motionless beneath an ancient locust tree, resembling nothing so much as a lifeless corpse. At high noon, under the blazing sun, his body, which hadn't moved for ages, suddenly shuddered.
Whoosh!
Beams of brilliant light burst forth, illuminating the forest clearing.
Du Jing's expression turned icy as a ferocious glint flashed in his eyes. In a dark, menacing tone, he demanded, "Who goes there?"
Copper coins, gleaming with a radiant golden light, rained down upon him like a deluge.
"Tong Laoqian!"
Du Jing was both stunned and enraged. "I bear no grudge against you. Why do you seek me out?"
"It was Wei Feng, wasn't it? You trained her," Tong Laoqian's mocking laughter seemed to come from everywhere. "That commander wreaked havoc in the Forgotten Ruins, nearly costing me my life! You're cut from the same cloth. Isn't it only right that I come to you for retribution?"
"How did you find me here?"
Du Jing exclaimed, darting from spot to spot.
Though he remained seated, his figure flickered from one locust tree to another as if by teleportation.
The copper coins, intent on striking him, failed to lock onto their target, missing him by inches.
"If you wish to keep your deeds secret, you shouldn't commit them at all. You're the only one who thinks your actions are unknown!" Tong Laoqian's laughter boomed.
Suddenly, nearly a hundred copper coins blazed with blinding golden light.
Ancient characters detached from the coins, each accompanied by the image of an emperor—some clutching jade seals, others wielding sovereign swords, and still others holding maps of their dominions.
For a brief moment, the once-forgotten Silverwoods were saturated with the aura of imperial destiny.
No longer able to conceal himself with the aid of the old locust trees, Du Jing found himself exposed.
Boom!
A massive jade seal crashed onto his hunched back, causing vivid liquid to seep out.
He let out a muffled groan, unable to locate Tong Laoqian and thus powerless to deploy his potent venom.
"Du Jing, you've been marked. There's no escape for you," Tong Laoqian's threatening voice echoed from every direction, as if a chorus of his doubles were all shouting in unison.
Already plagued by a guilty conscience, Du Jing's resolve wavered at the sound of those words.
"Could it be..."
Recently, in the depths of the ocean, Yuan Lianyao from the Ruby Hand divulged my name and origins. Now, Tong Laoqian emerges, seemingly knowing me just as intimately.
Du Jing was in a state of panic, fearing that his closely guarded secret had been exposed, or that he had become a target of the Poison Cult and the God of Medicine from the Order of Healing.
Suddenly, with a loud pop, his hunchback burst open.
Enveloped in a miasma, his body, resembling a desiccated corpse, began to shrink rapidly amidst the falling leaves of the Silverwoods, under Tong Laoqian's watchful eye.
In an instant, he was reduced to a walnut-sized orb of miasma.
The glowing sphere struck a copper coin, causing the spectral figure of an empress clad in a dragon robe to vanish into thin air.
The next moment, the sphere touched the ground and vanished without a trace.
Subsequently, the Silverwoods were shrouded in a swirling mist, as various toxic miasmas burst forth from the earth's depths.
With a fizz, the spiritually imbued copper coins released by Tong Laoqian, now tainted with the forest's smoke, sparked with electricity.
Tong Laoqian, concealed in the shadows, swiftly summoned his Lunar Spirit to collect the copper coins around him.
Bathed in sunlight, the miasma in the Silverwoods transformed into a mystical haze, creating a surreal and dazzling display. It was as if multiple rainbows had materialized within the woods, their beauty unparalleled.
Tong Laoqian's remnant soul dared not linger in the forest and hastily withdrew it.
"Do not concern yourself with the happenings in the woods," Yu Yuan's timely voice advised. "Stick to our agreement, and once I return to the Forgotten Ruins, I will convince her to ensure your safe passage back."
"Rest assured! I will honor our agreement to the letter," Tong Laoqian responded.
"That would be wise."
A shadowy cauldron stealthily rose from the sea, moving with the swiftness of a phantom. It appeared in the miasma-enshrouded Silverwoods in the blink of an eye.
The cauldron hissed as it withstood the toxic onslaught, its engraved array and peculiar nature forming a barrier against Du Jing's final gambit.
With a whoosh, the cauldron soared toward an unassuming, withered old locust tree and plunged into the hollow with a thud.
It settled firmly as Yu Yuan materialized, clutching the Crucible of Evil, and called forth the key he had acquired from Zu Ann.
Upon the key's emergence, hundreds of delicate streams of light cascaded down like water.
Yu Yuan, holding the key, became enveloped in a cascade of light that poured over him and spilled onto the earth at his feet.
These filaments of light, far finer than hair, caused the hollow old locust tree to burst apart the moment they touched the ground.
The earth beneath him overflowed with radiance, flinging dirt into the air.
The light enveloped Yu Yuan, shielding him from the forest's toxic miasma that could no longer seep through.
As the soil dispersed like swept-away dust, a smooth "manhole cover" was revealed.
Crafted from an exotic material neither metallic nor gem-like, the cover was intricately etched with a web of arcane circles, its complexity almost overwhelming.
The light streaming from the key infused the arcane circles, illuminating once-dim pathways.
Seconds later, the elaborate and mystical patterns on the manhole cover shone brightly.
"Success!" Yu Yuan's lips curled into a pleased smile as he exclaimed.
The cover lifted on its own, hovering in midair, and Yu Yuan swiftly descended.
As he vanished, the mysterious cover closed gently behind him.
In the instant it sealed, the light retracted, and the lingering smoke left by Du Jing rolled back in like a surging tide.
Within the smoke's depths, the old locust trees shifted their positions autonomously.
Another tree took root above the "manhole cover," and the magically displaced soil returned, refilling the peculiar void.
Moments later, Tong Laoqian, harboring suspicions, sent his Lunar Spirit to silently hover above the Silverwoods, employing a spell to probe the area.
Yu Yuan's presence and remnant soul had vanished without a trace.
Tong Laoqian's Lunar Spirit, wary of the toxins in the smoke, refrained from descending fully, instead carefully scanning the surroundings.
Ultimately, he detected nothing at all.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a figure materialized in the Silverwoods without any forewarning. He had arrived in his real body, shrouded in swirling smoke, wearing a robe adorned with numerous mystic runes. With a furrowed brow, he surveyed his surroundings.
As the miasma left behind by Du Jing rolled towards him, it parted on either side, unable to come near.
He looked up at Tong Laoqian's Lunar Spirit and inquired, "Where's Yu Yuan?"
"Why have you come?"
Tong Laoqian, whose true self lay hidden beneath the sea, spoke through his Lunar Spirit, "You're Gao Qin, aren't you? Did you secretly follow us when we left the island?"
"Enough talk!"
Gao Qin's demeanor towards Tong Laoqian was far from friendly, and he was quite blunt. "Yu Yuan is a valued guest of the Merchant Union. The island's protector has made it clear that his safety in the Sundering Isles is to be ensured. What are you up to, leading Yu Yuan to such a place?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Tong Laoqian retorted with a cold snort.
Gao Qin, still in the late period of the Lunar Spirit Stage and not yet having reached the Spirit Walk Stage, didn't command Tong Laoqian's full respect despite his affiliation with the Chamber of Commerce.
"Tong Laoqian, have you not grasped the gravity of the situation?" Gao Qin's smile was chilling. "You're aware of the Chamber of Commerce's influence in the Sundering Isles, aren't you? My presence here signifies the Chamber's watchful eye over this island!"
At that moment, a crystal jade pendant around his neck began to glow.
Tong Laoqian's confidence wavered. "Who is observing me through you?"
"Take a guess," Gao Qin challenged.
"Zhu Peining?" Tong Laoqian ventured.
Gao Qin shook his head. "Think higher."
"The island's guardian!"
