Seeking Truth with a Sword

Chapter 399 - 350 Labyrinth

"Towering cliffs reach the sky," these words seemed to possess a magical power, making the Mountain Master squint. "I understand..."

Before he could finish speaking, Mo Si detected a surge of activity from the Dark Filth Worm within Yan Xuan’s body as it started to move toward her skin.

At the same time, the sound of fireworks shooting into the sky mingled with the howl of the storm throughout the different workshops of Chang’an.

Zhao Ming had launched their plan ahead of schedule!

Li Ang felt a sinking feeling in his heart. They indeed had spies at the wedding; seeing the Mountain Master enter the green hut, they immediately knew their plan had been exposed and launched it prematurely.

"Focus!" the Mountain Master shouted lowly. His fingertips sliced through the air, beginning to draw the Sealing Demon Talisman out of thin air.

Li Ang snapped back to attention and divided his thoughts. One part called upon the Ink Silk Worms he had previously dispersed around the city to intercept the fireworks. The other part controlled Mo Si to form layer upon layer of nested spheres, trying to encapsulate the Dark Filth Worm. "The fireworks and Chaotic Wind in the Chang’an Market..." he said urgently.

"I have already sent a message for Xi Yangyu and the others to deal with it," the Mountain Master said gravely. "Trap the Dark Filth Worm; don’t let it escape."

BANG!

The roof of the Purple Cloud Pavilion shattered, and four figures—Xi Yangyu, Cui Yixian, Tantai Leshan, and Chen Danqiu—shot straight into the sky, flying towards various parts of Chang’an.

Meanwhile, Xue Che, the Body Study Division Master, who couldn’t fly, burst through the doors of the Purple Cloud Pavilion. He dove toward the unexpectedly self-igniting lamp tower that was collapsing onto the tent below.

He first punched out, scattering the lamp tower’s structure.

Then, with dozens of kicks in mid-air, he kicked all the burning timbers into the Qujiang Pool, stirring up waves.

Not only were the people from the Academic Palace taking action, but the Imperial guards were also escorting members of the Imperial Family and court dignitaries out of the Purple Cloud Pavilion.

Shen Tuyu was asking the foreign delegations, including the Faith Cultivation Cardinal, to leave the Qujiang Pool, or at least move away from the vicinity of the green hut.

Through the Ink Silk Worms, Li Ang saw these scenes and couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

The Faith Cultivation Cardinal was Zhao Ming’s main target. As long as he wasn’t controlled by the Dark Filth Worm to self-destruct, then the situation wasn’t as bad as it could get.

He concentrated utterly, controlling Mo Si to continuously change shape, preventing the Dark Filth Worm from escaping.

However, the Dark Filth Worm was so small, and its ability to move so astonishing, that it was slowly penetrating through Mo Si.

And the Mo Si that came into close contact with the Dark Filth Worm was experiencing a delayed reaction for the first time.

As if... it were frozen in place.

"Light!"

Thinking of the information given by the Huai Spirit, Li Ang said urgently, "The Dark Filth Worm is attracted to intense sunshine or the Haotian Divine Light."

The Mountain Master’s eyelid twitched. His right hand continued to draw the Sealing Demon Talisman, while his left hand traced several strokes in mid-air, producing a Haoyang Talisman.

Blinding radiance burst forth from the talisman, lighting up the entire green hut.

Li Ang had to condense Mo Si into the shape of sunglasses in front of his eyes to avoid damaging his vision.

HUM!

The fine, sand-like Dark Filth Worm was immediately drawn to the Haoyang Talisman’s light, flinging itself into the glow.

Li Ang also took advantage of this brief gap to control all Mo Si, using the Dark Filth Worm’s characteristic of being led by sunlight, to start forming the shape of a spherical labyrinth.

"I’ll leave this to you."

The Mountain Master finished the last stroke of the Sealing Demon Talisman.

He looked deeply at the Ink Silk Labyrinth, stuck the Sealing Demon Talisman on its surface, stepped out of the green hut, and, without looking back, said, "I’ll be right back."

"Don’t let the ashes fall to the ground!"

High above Qinglong Square, Tantai Leshan, who was in flight, said urgently, "These firework ashes are made from Giant Tooth Whale Oil extracted from the Endless Sea, which can burn even underwater."

"Understood."

Chen Danqiu, who was about to summon the Thunder Cloud to make it rain, immediately stopped casting and skimmed low over Tongshan, Changle, and Baoning Square. While flying, he stirred up a gale, catching the falling firework embers and bundling them together.

Chen Danqiu headed towards the southwestern direction of Chang’an.

Tantai Leshan was in charge of the southeast.

Xi Yangyu and Cui Yixian, meanwhile, went towards the north side of the city.

Four Candle Cloud Cultivators acted in unison, stirring up a continuous gale. However, Chang’an City was simply too vast, and some embers still fell to the ground, sparking fires.

Giant Tooth Whales, demon beasts living in the depths of the Endless Sea, were considered treasures through and through.

Their meat could be dried into jerky; eating a single piece could sate one’s hunger for a day.

Whale bristles were exceedingly tough, suitable for longbow strings or harp strings.

Dragon Saliva Fragrance was alluring and fragrant, a top-tier spice.

As for whale oil, it could burn for a long time without producing smoke and was used as fuel for Long Burning Lamps.

In the East and West Markets, one tael of Giant Tooth Whale oil was worth two taels of silver. Even the wealthiest nobles couldn’t afford to use it daily.

And now, these costly extracts of whale oil were being scattered across the rooftops of the city wards, as if they were worthless, spreading the fire.

That included the Imperial Palace.

"The plan’s been exposed?!"

On Banzheng Square, Ghost Shovel frowned slightly, looking towards the figure of Xi Yangyu streaking across the distant sky.

"No, it seems an accident occurred, triggering things prematurely," Yuan Sou said, squinting. "The Chaotic Wind has still been released, the prohibitions of Chang’an City have failed, and the fires have been lit. Should we continue our mission or retreat?"

"Mountain Master Lian Xuanxiao hasn’t arrived yet, several Academic Palace Directors have gone to fight the fires, and the Imperial Palace Tributors are busy relocating the Emperor," Ghost Shovel said, glancing at the bustling crowd rushing to extinguish fires at the headquarters of the garrison. He whispered, "Such a good opportunity; it would truly be a pity to miss it. Let’s make this quick."

As he finished speaking, he stamped on the ground and shot out like an arrow. His chopper flashed sharply, shattering the main gate of the garrison along with the placard above.

Before the people of the garrison could react, he was already above a corner of the courtyard, chopping down from midair.

BOOM!

The stone tablets shattered, the bedrock collapsed.

Ghost Shovel plummeted downwards.

Yuan Sou hurriedly followed. Standing at the edge of the pit, he drew his sword to intercept Vice Commander of the Town Patrol Office Qi Ji and the others, preventing them from stopping Ghost Shovel.

Faster, even faster.

Ghost Shovel continued slashing, breaking through the thick bedrock layer by layer.

The monstrous appetite within him was nearly bursting forth, as acid secreted frantically in his stomach, as if to devour and digest himself as well.

BOOM!

With the final layer of bedrock crumbling, Ghost Shovel sped along the wall, his chopper severing the chains binding the Stone Coffin Forest.

The stone coffins opened one by one.

The imprisoned Demon Cultivators, held for who knew how many days and months, saw the light of day once again.

EAT! EAT! EAT! EAT!

Ghost Shovel’s abdomen ripped open a vast maw. He nonchalantly grabbed a Demon Cultivator and, without a glance, stuffed him whole into the gaping hole.

BANG!

The giant maw snapped shut, the serrated teeth on either side mincing the Demon Cultivator into pieces.

Ghost Shovel took a deep breath of satisfaction, his voracious hunger temporarily satiated.

The Life Essence extracted from the Demon Cultivator flowed into his limbs and bones.

He shivered all over—the power gained from just this one person was equivalent to five years of his hard cultivation.

Another one!

Ghost Shovel grabbed another Demon Cultivator, pushing him toward the giant maw on his abdomen.

That newly freed Demon Cultivator, not yet realizing what was happening, had his neck placed between two rows of teeth. His hoarse voice pleaded for mercy.

CRACK!

The maw came to a sudden halt just before shutting completely.

Ghost Shovel felt every hair on his body stand on end, his whole being dropping into an abyss of ice. He instinctively looked up.

There, amidst the collapsing layers of the dungeon above, Mountain Master Lian Xuanxiao stood mid-air, gazing down at him expressionlessly.

His Longsword radiated a cold gleam.