Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 231 Illusions and Realities, An Upward-Facing Back
The power of the dragon soul flowed out, pouring onto the ground below the palace.

A dark red power surged forth, and the seal was gradually broken.

The wall behind the palace suddenly collapsed, revealing a huge bronze face, which was none other than the God of War.

The Demon God of Soldiers was dark blue, with a strange face, and emitted a dark red light from its body.

At first glance, it appears to be made of bronze, but upon closer inspection, a unique luster subtly emerges between every inch of bronze.

The materials used are probably extraordinary.

Aizen did not immediately enter the War God and take control of this ancient weapon. Instead, a silver light appeared between his brows as he looked around.

However, he opened his third eye and carefully observed the seal.

After a moment, he couldn't help but laugh and say, "The Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden is indeed quite shrewd!"

The crowd was puzzled, but dared not ask any further questions.

There were a total of eighty-one War Gods. The other eighty were all destroyed, but this last one was the only one that could not be destroyed. Because it was an experimental subject, the materials used were extremely precious and rare, and the craftsmanship was top-notch.

The reason for this is that, in addition to the special materials used, the Demon God of Soldiers also possesses the ability to absorb the power of heaven and earth to repair itself.

And the most important of these is, of course, the aura of metal.

After the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden sealed the God of War, she asked the dragon god to leave behind his soul.

This dragon soul is the ninth son of the divine dragon, Pixiu.

But the saying goes that the dragon has nine sons, each different from the other. Why is it Pixiu, and not any of the other dragon sons?
Because the Pixiu's sharp teeth can bite through fine steel and digest all metals, even when it is dormant, it can automatically absorb the aura of metal.

This ability is precisely what can restrain the Demon God of Soldiers under the seal.

Indeed, during the thousands of years that the Pixiu transformed into a stone ball and was placed on the statue of the Mysterious Maiden, the vast majority of the metal energy it absorbed actually came from the God of War.

The War Demon God was unable to absorb the metal energy from the outside world while it was sealed. In addition, the Pixiu absorbed it through the seal for hundreds and thousands of years. Over time, this accumulation of time was enough to completely destroy the War Demon God.

Therefore, she left behind a strange power to protect Loulan, preventing outsiders from disturbing it.

They further modified the seal, allowing the aura of metal to be transformed into the aura of water, thus enabling Loulan to survive even in the desert.

This is a complete set of interconnected puzzles, and its design is quite ingenious.

However, even with the abilities of the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden, she probably couldn't have foreseen that a traitor would appear in Loulan thousands of years later.

Or perhaps, she had already anticipated this.

After all, she had another trick up her sleeve in this world.

It's that Xiao Li!
Aizen, holding the Dragon Soul Crystal, slowly floated to the Demon God and entered it through its mouth.

Inside the Demon God of Soldiers, there were countless horizontal and vertical mechanisms and gears.

However, there are many gaps between the various mechanisms and gears.

They were not touching each other.

Many mechanisms and gears even float directly in the air, without any leverage from any direction, yet they still operate slowly, which is quite strange.

Such a machine defies all the laws governing mechanics.

Every mechanism must have a corresponding force transmission structure, whether it's a gear or a rope.

However, there are many gaps inside the Demon God, and the lasers and gears are not adjacent to each other, but rather very scattered.

It's really weird.

Aizen, with his Heavenly Eye activated, was able to observe the forces of nature with the clearest perspective, and in that instant, he grasped the mysteries within them.

It turns out that natural forces actually exist in the gaps between those mechanisms.

As these mechanisms slowly operate, the natural forces within them also flow gently.

"I see. The construction of this War God was based on a deep understanding of the principles of illusion and reality, movement and stillness. It used illusion and reality, movement and stillness to operate its mechanisms!"

The illusory part is the natural force that ordinary people cannot see at all.

The actual components are various mechanisms and gears.

Its use of movement and stillness is more comprehensive.

On the surface, the mechanical gears, as inanimate objects, appear static, while the intangible and flowing forces of nature appear dynamic.

However, in reality, all the natural forces within the body of the Demon God are sealed inside, making it virtually impossible for them to flow outwards.

It was like a stagnant pool.

Only the turning of those mechanical gears can propel the forces of nature.

So in reality, the forces of nature are static, while those mechanical gears are dynamic!
This interplay of reality and illusion, movement and stillness, is what forged the most powerful weapon of ancient times—the War Demon God!

People generally like to venerate the past and belittle the present.

But in reality, especially in terms of technology, the present is better than the past most of the time.

There is only one exception: in ancient times, there existed abilities that have long been lost to modern people.

The Demon God of War is undoubtedly one of them.

This ingenious combination of movement and stillness, reality and illusion, is indeed quite ingenious.

However, given Zhou Ming's current expertise in mechanisms, he could easily spot many loopholes and flaws.

"If this technique of movement and illusion is combined with the mechanical arts that have been developed for thousands of years, the power of this War God will surely be even more formidable!"

Zhou Ming thought.

Thinking of this, he really wished he could immediately take back the Demon God and study it carefully.

The Dragon Soul Crystal was sent into the core of the Soldier Demon God.

The boundless golden energy contained within it was instantly absorbed by the War Demon God.

After thousands of years of sealing and absorption, the Demon God of War, whose metal aura was severely deficient, received a large replenishment in this instant.

A dark red glow instantly flowed through his entire body, and the slowly moving gears suddenly accelerated, propelling the natural power within the Demon God to flow at an even faster pace.

"Ok?"

Aizen looked down and his Heavenly Eye pierced through the obstacles, revealing three figures at the waist of the Demon God.

It was Xiao Li, Shao Yu, and Tian Ming.

"As expected of the protagonist, he's really resilient!"

The three people fell into the water from the statue, but not only did they not die, they also seem to be completely unharmed. Moreover, they somehow managed to enter the body of the Demon God.

"Get out!"

Aizen stood inside the cockpit of the Hyōmajin, his third eye drawing upon the natural power within the Hyōmajin, which transformed into ropes to bind the three of them.

A golden light rippled, forming a spatial gate before them.

With a sudden burst of strength, he threw all three of them out.

Inside the temple, Wei Zhuang and the others walked out with grim expressions.

They ran into Gai Nie right in front of them.

"Xiao Zhuang?"

Wei Zhuang felt humiliated, and his face turned even uglier.

Just then, golden light flickered, and three teenagers flew out from within the golden light, crashing to the ground.

"Ouch!"

Tianming shouted, "What...what's going on? Weren't we just inside the War God's ambush?"

"What?" Gongshu Chou was overjoyed: "You just entered the interior of the War Demon God?"

For a mechanical fanatic like him, it was a real pity that he couldn't enter the ancient war machine, the War God, which was right in front of him.

Hearing that Tianming and the others had actually gone in, they were naturally overjoyed.

Tianming turned his head away and said, "What does this have to do with you, you wicked old man!"

Gai Nie frowned and asked, "Xiao Zhuang, what just happened?"

Wei Zhuang turned his head away, pretending not to hear.

Gongshu Chou and Da Siming both felt somewhat ashamed.

But the High Priest of Loulan showed them no respect and briefly recounted what had just happened. "The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind!" Gai Nie exclaimed in surprise, "There was actually someone hiding behind you who stole the God of War?"

Wei Zhuang's face was no longer just ugly, but also flushed red, which spread rapidly.

Almost instantly, his face turned bright red.

In short, it's reached a red temperature.

Enraged, he was about to draw his sword and return to fight again.

In fact, he is usually quite calm and doesn't get angry over trivial matters, but he always seems to be exceptionally sensitive in front of Gai Nie, and his emotions are easily provoked.

But at that moment, the entire temple suddenly trembled.

The high priest's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly said, "They have indeed unsealed the God of War!"

The War God was sealed beneath the temple. Once the War God breaks free, the temple will be the first to suffer.

"Run away!"

Without pausing, the group immediately turned and fled.

Fortunately, the demon god was actually sealed in the latter half of the temple, while the former half remained a normal palace.

They had already reached the first half of the palace, so they quickly rushed out.

The next moment, a loud crash was heard, and the top of the temple was smashed open, from which two giant bronze hands emerged.

Just like a chick hatching from an egg.

The Demon God of War used his immense power to tear open the temple, and then climbed up step by step until his enormous body stood atop the entire temple.

From afar, the bronze-cast, ferocious-looking demon god seemed to be venting his resentment that had been sealed away for thousands of years, as if it were trampling the pure white temple underfoot.

"This is... the Demon God of War..."

Shao Yu was stunned for a moment.

Most of the others had the same expression.

Gai Nie looked up and saw several figures above the head of the Demon God of Soldiers.

"Are those people the ones who ultimately reap the benefits?"

The high priest nodded: "It's them."

In that instant, she instinctively wanted to mention the other party's identity as a descendant of Chi You, but then she suddenly remembered Aizen's last words.

The colossal demon god stood proudly atop the mountain, casting its shadow as if to envelop the entire Loulan.

The high priest's lips moved, but he ultimately did not utter those words.

At this moment, Xiao Li suddenly started walking towards the temple.

Or rather, heading towards that demon god.

Shao Yu hurriedly asked, "Xiao Li, where are you going?"

"I'm going...to stop them!"

"What? You...you're not kidding, are you?"

Xiao Li looked down at the necklace she was wearing and said, "This is my mission."

Shao Yu quickly said, "Xiao Li, I know very little about you, but looking back on our journey, I think we can be considered friends..."

The power of the War Demon God is visible to the naked eye. I don't know what your mission is, but... you have no obligation to face an invincible enemy? Do you understand?

Xiao Li paused for a moment, then took another step.

"Xiao Li!"

Shao Yu tried to persuade him again, but Tianming punched him on the forehead: "What do you mean by 'can be defeated' or 'cannot be defeated'? I don't understand! Xiao Li! I'll go with you!"

After saying that, he skipped and hopped to catch up with Xiao Li.

“Really…” Shao Yu shook his head, then followed after them.

"Heh," the High Priestess sneered, "You really are like a newborn calf unafraid of a tiger. You little brats? Don't even mention the God of War, you probably couldn't beat even their subordinates!"

Gai Nie asked, "It seems that the Grand Commander knows their identities?"

"good."

The High Priest nodded: "You've probably heard of that man in golden armor, Jin Jiu, but his name is..."

"Ok?"

Not long ago, Gai Nie was the personal bodyguard of the First Emperor Ying Zheng, so he would naturally know relevant information.

"So... it was them, that mysterious organization, who actually set their sights on the God of War!"

The Grand Master of Fate laughed and said, "It's not just him. He also has the Wood Taoist by his side, as well as two people who seem to be of similar status to them."

In other words...it's very likely four Grandmasters!

"Thanks for letting me know."

Gai Nie clasped his hands in a fist salute, then stepped forward.

"Has my senior brother become childish from spending so much time with that kid?"

Wei Zhuang sneered and mocked, "You don't actually think you can handle four Grandmasters, plus that giant War Demon God, do you?"

Without turning his head, Gai Nie said, "On the contrary, I believe that is an enemy I could never defeat."

"Then what are you going to do?!"

Wei Zhuang shouted, "What does this have to do with you?"

Gai Nie continued walking, his voice coming from ahead.

"Xiao Zhuang, I know clearly that people's paths are not replicable. Even if we are from the same school, I will not be your master, nor will I be Su Zi. I will walk my own path, and no matter how strong the wind and rain, no matter how muddy it is, I will keep going."

You ask me what this has to do with me? It truly has nothing to do with me, but I will never stand idly by and watch three young lives perish here. This is my path, it lies beneath my feet!

"Hehehe... Hahahaha..."

Wei Zhuang let out a wild laugh, then shook his head and said, "I think you've gone mad! But thankfully, I'm mad too..."

He immediately started walking and chased after them.

Chi Lian and Bai Feng exchanged a glance.

Without hesitation, I followed suit.

Their path is not that complicated; all they need to do right now is follow Wei Zhuang closely.

"Oh..."

A cry.

Pixiu flapped its little wings, took flight, and chased after the group ahead.

It flew only half a meter or so before suddenly turning back to look at the high priest.

The high priest was torn between his inner turmoil and his own conscience, and in the end, he could only sigh and dare not look into the eyes of the Pixiu again.

The Demon God of War is truly too powerful.

Not to mention those few who stole the God of War.

A Grandmaster... even if there is only one, he can be said to be an enemy that the entire Loulan cannot fight against.

But now, there are four people above!

She really dared not offend those people again.

Otherwise, the entire Loulan would face annihilation.

The little Pixiu naturally didn't understand the reason behind this, and with a slightly angry snort, it turned and flew towards the crowd.

Under the sun's radiance, the shadow cast by the Demon God covered most of Loulan.

Even a mere temple is completely overshadowed by its shadow.

But beneath this shadow, the upright figures of the seven people and one beast seemed even taller.

(End of this chapter)