Chapter 86: Heavenly Authority, Key Unlocked; Greedy Wolf, Fate Illuminated
As Lu Qingyang stepped onto the star trails projected by the Tai Xu Yin Yang Seal and vanished into the sea of clouds, the Xuan Du Jade Slip hidden in his crotch suddenly grew hot.
He grimaced and pulled out the booklet, finding the four characters for "Heavenly Authority Secret Treasure" seeping golden-red blood beads, which, under the moonlight, congealed into an arrow pointing southwest—exactly matching the Hehuan Sect's mark on the silk handkerchief left by Liu Sanniang.
"This woman truly has ill intentions," he spat out a blade of grass from his mouth, and three copper coins stained with rouge slid from his sleeve.
These were divination Magical Artifacts he had pilfered from a courtesan in the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion, and the divination showed the omen of "Ze Huo Ge" (Lake Fire Revolution).
Just as he was about to examine it closely, a whooshing sound suddenly came from the northwest, and nine Sword Qi formed a net stretching across the sky and earth.
The remaining members of Taiyi Pavilion stood in mid-air, treading on chasing soul banners, and the leader was none other than Immortal Master Xuan Yin, who should have perished.
Half of the old man's face was covered in corpse spots, while the other half was as delicate as a baby's: "Junior, hand over the Jade Slip and you can join my Corpse Puppet Dao..."
"Join your ancestors!" Lu Qingyang threw out the copper coins, which transformed into the size of cartwheels against the wind, and with a clanging sound, they actually cracked the chasing soul banners.
He seized the opportunity to form a hand Seal and activate the wine gourd at his waist, amber nectar spraying out as mist, with the Soul Devouring Gu hidden within swarming towards the enemy formation like locusts.
Xuan Yin sneered and waved his sleeve, and seventy-two bronze Corpse Puppets burst out of the ground.
Lu Qingyang suddenly tore open his Daoist robe, revealing a ferocious taotie pattern tattoo on his chest: "Old fossil, do you recognize the Devouring Spirit Secret Art?"
The moment the tattoo's eyes opened, three Corpse Puppets suddenly turned against their own, the sound of them gnawing on their companions making one's teeth ache.
Taking advantage of the Chaos, Lu Qingyang fled a hundred zhang, then clapped his hand back to unleash eighteen Thunderfire Talismans.
The Talismans in the air assembled into the four characters "Have a safe journey" and exploded with a roar; in the flames, he glimpsed Xuan Yin's decaying right hand clutching a Hehuan Sect token.
A chill climbed his spine—this old ghost actually had a connection with Liu Sanniang!
The entrance to the Heavenly Authority Secret Treasure turned out to be a dilapidated matchmaker's temple.
Lu Qingyang kicked open the spiderweb-covered shrine, and the rusted bronze mirror held in the statue's palm suddenly reflected a bloody divination omen.
He bit his fingertip and drew an incantation on the mirror's surface, and the rumbling of gears turning came from underground, as the entire temple sank into the abyss.
"Xuan Yin virgin blood..." He stared at the newly appearing Seal script on the Jade Slip, then suddenly pressed Liu Sanniang's silk handkerchief onto the bronze mechanical beast's eye socket.
The stone wall cracked open in response, and the Innate Geng Gold Qi that rushed out stung his face.
Just as he was about to step forward, a fragrant breeze suddenly assailed him from behind.
Liu Sanniang's Crimson Serpent Rope coiled around his neck, her seductive smile carrying a chilling killing intent: "Young Master Lu certainly knows how to make the most of things."
Her fingertip traced the man's Adam's apple, scarlet blood beads seeping into the Crimson Serpent Rope, "It's a pity, but this Xuan Yin body of mine broke its Yuan three hundred years ago."
Lu Qingyang suddenly leaned back and crashed into the woman's embrace, his right hand precisely gripping her vital point: "Madam Liu, do you know that Mr. Lu is best at breaking formations?"
Half a piece of osmanthus cake slid from his sleeve, and the Devouring Spirit Gu hidden within had already burrowed into the woman's Meridians, "How does the Drunken Immortal Powder from the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion taste?"
While Liu Sanniang's True Qi was in disarray, he rolled into the core of the Secret Treasure.
The night-luminescent pearls embedded in the dome suddenly transformed into blood-colored vertical pupils, and the River Chart and Luo Shu appearing on the ground were actually pieced together from Cultivator's spines.
Lu Qingyang's pupils constricted—this was not an ancient Secret Treasure at all, but clearly a Devouring Spirit Evil Formation!
"What a Tai Xu old man!" he cursed, offering up a bronze compass, the counterfeit Magical Artifact crumbling inch by inch under the erosion of evil Qi.
Just as he was about to retreat, the Jade Slip in his embrace suddenly flew towards the eye of the formation, and the Chaos Qi, merging with the evil formation, actually gave birth to a twelve-petal black lotus.
The lotus heart held not a rare treasure, but half a finger bone inscribed with birth characters.
Xuan Yin's corpse stench suddenly intensified, and bronze Corpse Puppets surged into the underground palace like a tide.
Lu Qingyang stepped on the black lotus and leaped towards the finger bone, the taotie pattern tattoo letting out a painful roar—this was actually the Reincarnation token of Taiyi Pavilion's first Pavilion Master!
The moment his fingertip touched the bone fragment, the entire underground palace began to collapse.
"Greedy Wolf Swallows the Moon!" he roared, tearing open the Seal on his chest, his Golden Core forcefully activating a Nascent Soul-level secret technique.
The Devouring Spirit black mist surged back inward, the taotie pattern tattoo swelled three zhang, actually swallowing Xuan Yin, along with his Corpse Puppets, into its belly.
Amidst Liu Sanniang's screams, Lu Qingyang clutched the finger bone and burst through the earth's veins, with ten thousand zhang of boiling lava behind him.
Three days later, Lu Qingyang lay sprawled in an unnamed mountain cave, tallying his gains.
That section of finger bone, under the sunlight, revealed the Seal script for "Nine Netherworld," and the blank space on the Jade Slip showed the confession of Taiyi Pavilion's first Pavilion Master.
He stared at the words "feeding the Underworld with one hundred thousand living souls," and suddenly pressed the finger bone towards his Dantian—since all crows are black, why not make this water even muddier?
Outside the cave, a green phoenix suddenly let out a long cry, and the righteous Sword Qi of the Nine Flowers Mountain Elder split the mountain rock.
Lu Qingyang, however, unhurriedly pulled out a record Jade Slip, and with spiritual power, a scene of Xuan Yin and Liu Sanniang secretly conversing appeared: "Do you all know what's beneath your sect's Scripture Pavilion..."
"Silence!" The Sword Qi suddenly veered off, cutting off half of his sleeve.
Lu Qingyang seized the opportunity to crush a teleportation Talisman, his wild laughter echoing among the mountains: "Tomorrow at this time, the Drunken Immortal Pavilion will auction the secret history of Taiyi Pavilion—all Fellow Daoists are welcome to attend!"
As dusk fell, he squatted in a corner of the black market, gnawing on a roasted chicken.
The finger bone and Jade Slip in his embrace resonated, outlining a star map of the Huangquan Sect's main altar in the Void Realm.
Suddenly, a pair of embroidered cloud shoes appeared at his feet, and Liu Sanniang's venomous voice drifted over with a fragrant breeze: "Lu Qingyang, do you know the true purpose of the Netherworld Finger Bone?"
"Of course." He spat out a chicken bone, then, with a backhand, revealed the mechanism hidden within the finger bone, "Isn't it just the key to opening the Nine Netherworld Blood Pool?"
With a soft click, the finger bone split open, revealing half a Jade Slip, inscribed with the five characters "Huangquan Duer Sutra," "If Madam Liu wants a share..."
The moment the Frost Moon Sword pierced his afterimage, Lu Qingyang had already fled ten li.
The Jade Slip in his embrace suddenly grew hot, revealing the prophecy "Greedy Wolf illuminates fate, Nine Netherworld opens."
He looked in the direction of Taiyi Pavilion's old site and suddenly burst into laughter, bending over backward—this game had only just begun.