Invasion Myth: Starting with the Schoolteacher

Chapter 1036 The Stone King Falls!
Even the immense military formation's aura and pressure had thinned considerably, allowing it to utilize some of its demonic power to unleash more sophisticated spells.

Tight on the outside, loose on the inside?

The Stone King was somewhat puzzled; why was the defensive setup done in the opposite way?

It's like an iron barrel on the outside, but so lax on the inside?
His hands never stopped using the magic formulas to calculate celestial secrets and predict good and bad fortune, and his mental calculation ability was brought to its peak.

Repeated calculations showed that there were no fatal signs of danger ahead.

"Since the divination indicates no major misfortune, let's continue going in."

Upon reaching the innermost entrance, there were no more shortcuts available.

Without hesitation, a glint of light flashed in his eyes, and an extremely subtle mental fluctuation spread out like ripples, precisely affecting the minds of the two guards at the gate, causing them to experience a very brief moment of disorientation.

In that split second, the rock-like fingers, with an indescribable angle and force, gently touched the edge of the seemingly ordinary sealing talisman at the crack in the door.

The talisman's spiritual light flickered slightly, but it wasn't triggered. Instead, a subtle force temporarily "pried" open a barely perceptible gap!

The next moment, the Stone King's enormous body seemed to have no substance, transforming into a streak of light and instantly flashing into the gap.

The entire process was so fast that it was beyond the limits of what the naked eye could perceive, without triggering any spiritual alarms or alerting any guards.

What may seem like a few simple movements actually require perfect timing, precise control of power, and a deep understanding of the principles of talismans.

To be able to perform such an operation while surrounded by an army is difficult enough to surpass 99% of all cultivators in the world!
What defines a master?
What is meant by a Great Demon King?

What does it mean to have lived and followed the Father on a 2,000-mile journey north?

However, after successfully infiltrating the core area, the Stone King's sense of pride was instantly replaced by a strange feeling of unease.

It discovered that the level of defense here was even lower than that of the middle-level area, making it almost completely undefended.

Moreover, why is there an extremely pure yin energy permeating the air?

Having once opened the passage between Yin and Yang in Dazexiang and briefly served as a "gatekeeper," it has long remembered the unique aura of the underworld.

"As expected... something's fishy!" Stone King's heart skipped a beat.

Numerous ancient records and folk tales about Xingyang quickly surfaced in his mind, and thanks to his extensive knowledge of "human races," a startling conjecture began to take shape.

So next...

The sound of rushing water from underground grew clearer and more powerful, like ten thousand horses galloping.

This means that the goal of this trip is not far away.

The last leg of a journey is the hardest; the closer you get to the finish line, the more cautious you need to be. But no matter what, I still have to go down and see for myself to determine what the situation is like inside.

Otherwise, when Xu Xuan returned, he would ask, "What did you find out?"

If I answered myself, "I retreated as soon as I sensed the yin energy..." wouldn't that make me seem useless and cowardly?
Besides, even if it really leads to the underworld, so what?
Which of our Baoantang employees hasn't been there?
Going to the underworld is like visiting a neighbor; that's the confidence and strength that the new company brings!

It continued its silent, stealthy advance, heading deeper into the direction from which the sound of water came. Once there, there were no longer any soldiers watching or meditating figures; it was as if the area had been deliberately emptied.

However, as I walked, I keenly sensed that something was wrong with the man-made passageway beneath my feet.

The rock face above and the supporting wooden stakes, including the occasional sealing talismans, all show signs of recent excavation and placement.

However, the soil layer closer to the ground below, in terms of color, texture, and even the faint aura it exudes, carries a completely different, more ancient and weathered feel.

Based on its perception of the earth's power, it judges that there is at least a time gap of thousands of years between these old and new soil layers.

Just as the predecessor of the Liang Kingdom was the ancient Shangqiu, the land of Xingyang also holds a history far longer than that of the current dynasty.

But when it comes to such deep underground excavation, a thousand years ago, perhaps only…

Just then, a drop of yellowish-brown water silently seeped out from the wall to the side and landed right on my arm.

"laugh……"

A very faint, corrosive sound rang out.

The Stone King was shocked to discover that the condensed demonic power around him had been slightly dissipated by this drop of water!
Instantly, all my senses were heightened to the highest alert level!
Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the magic power was not directly "dissolved," but rather that its operation was subject to some strange interference and obstruction, becoming sluggish and irritable.

Looking down, I was even more shocked!
On the surface of his demonic body, which had been tempered and refined to be as hard as refined gold, a layer of fine, yellowish-brown water droplets had silently seeped out!
How come I didn't notice anything before?!
Fortunately, it was a stone spirit, born and nurtured by nature, with its body surface and internal structure perfectly integrated, and apart from its nine natural orifices, there was not a single gap on its body.

Otherwise, if these strange brown water droplets were allowed to seep into the body through pores, joints, and other gaps, that would truly be "destroying the body through accumulated damage," making it difficult to regain one's freedom!

Without hesitation, he unleashed his surging demonic power, which erupted from his body like a shockwave, attempting to completely shake off and evaporate all the water droplets on his body. At the same time, he prepared to turn around immediately and leave this eerie passage as quickly as possible.

Ok? !

But just as it was about to exert its strength and retreat, the already soft soil beneath its feet became even more unbearable, as loose as mud, making it impossible to gain any leverage!

In the blink of an eye, the ground within a radius of several feet turned into a thick, deep swamp, exuding a strange aura of earth element and yin energy, tightly wrapping around the lower half of the stone king's body and continuing to pull it downwards!
Even with the immense divine power to move a mountain, the three-realm demonic body was now like someone trapped in a real quicksand abyss, unable to escape for a time!
In a state of shock and anger, the Stone King acted with extreme decisiveness.

It held nothing back and began to unleash its full magical power. A thick, earthy yellow light emanated from the surface of its rocky body as it prepared to revert to its original rocky form, which was tens of feet tall, and to break free from the mud's constraints with absolute power!
Before we came, the young master specifically instructed us: if we encounter danger that we cannot handle, we don’t need to worry about being secretive or not. We can cause a huge mess!

In any case, the Holy Father has plenty of "experience" in taking risks and winning amidst chaos.

The bigger the scene, the muddier the water, and perhaps the greater the opportunity!
The Stone King had personally witnessed how Xu Xuan "won amidst chaos" in various desperate situations, so he deeply believed in that seemingly absurd advice.

"Oh well, so be it if the infiltration fails."

He thought to himself, "I should go back and do my job properly, which seems meaningless but is actually very important: 'Protecting the White Lotus Holy Father'."

However, reality is more severe than imagined.

The surging demonic power, enough to stir up huge waves in Dongting Lake, flowed into the mud at his feet, but it was like a mud ox entering the sea, without stirring up the slightest ripple!

It tried frantically to expand its demonic body and break free from its restraints, but the viscous mud seemed to be alive, with yin energy gathering wildly and constantly negating its self-rescue efforts.

At the same time, the ever-present sound of surging waves suddenly amplified tenfold, even a hundredfold!
The entire passageway was shaking violently, as if it were about to collapse at any moment.

A cold, deathly "wave" of energy is surging toward it with unstoppable force!
Stone King's heart sank.

This situation is intricately linked!
The celestial signs indicated a normal entry, and the passageway was initially unobstructed. However, strange water droplets disrupted the magic power and spirit, and the mud trapped the true body... This was clearly a dead end.

"The vastness of destiny is found within this, and the rise and fall of the world are beyond our control." Thinking of Xu Xuan's lament, the Stone King couldn't help but sigh.

It seems there's a serious problem with the method of divination, otherwise I wouldn't be in this situation!
The surging, turbid, and brownish-yellow "Yellow Springs" tide was almost within reach, and the answer it needed to verify had been found.

Since they cannot fight back, nor can they escape...

Stop making futile struggles.

Using the last of his demonic power, he activated a butterfly that shimmered with a faint phosphorescent light, making it fly silently back the way it came.

Immediately, its massive body suddenly curled up like a real rock, its hands tightly hugging its feet, burying its head deep between its knees.

Completely sealing off the five senses, six consciousnesses, and the nine innate orifices, suppressing all life force and magical fluctuations, it fell into the most primitive and thorough "stone" state.

Without thought, without feeling, without perception, one is immune to all laws.

By returning to one's origin in this way, one can preserve one's core soul and will to the greatest extent possible, preventing them from being washed away, eroded, or assimilated by the strange Yellow Springs water.

This is its innate supernatural power, born from a rare stone that has become a spirit of heaven and earth.

Of course, this is by no means a passive acceptance of death!

The Stone King is not one of those baseless mountain spirits or monsters.

Our leader of Baoan Hall is best at finding life in the face of death and creating miracles out of the impossible.

Before completely sealing off consciousness, it gathered the last wisp of divine thought, like a prayer, or like the most steadfast belief.

Young master, save me!
Then, the massive rock was completely swallowed up and swept into the depths by the surging, turbid, yellowish-brown river water, disappearing without a trace without even a bubble rising.

After swallowing the immense spiritual energy and physical form of the Stone King, a demon king of the third realm, the gap in the ground seemed to have been stretched even wider!
The sound of surging underground water was no longer confined to the core of the ruins; it began to subtly expand outwards, reaching even more distant places.

For a time, many people in the eight counties under Xingyang Prefecture who had not slept at night could vaguely hear the roaring sound of water coming from the depths of the earth, like ten thousand horses galloping.

This unusual phenomenon, on the contrary, elevated the grand occasion and rumors of "auspicious birth" to an even higher level, attracting more people to discuss it and yearn for it.

At the same time, the celestial phenomena also changed.

Thick, dark clouds, seemingly gathered from nowhere, quietly obscured the moonlight and starlight.

A chilling wind swept across the plains, howling past the camp flags and withered branches with a mournful sound that sent shivers down one's spine for no apparent reason.

Meanwhile, in the camp above, all the soldiers were completely awakened by the increasingly turbulent roar of the water, which seemed to be right next to them, and the slight tremors under their feet.

It felt as if a raging dragon was imprisoned deep within the earth beneath my feet, struggling frantically and trying to break free!

If it weren't for the fact that the garrison here consisted of battle-hardened elites with mental fortitude far exceeding that of ordinary people, and that experienced captains and lieutenants hadn't been there to quell the unrest in the camp, a mutiny would have almost broken out.

Zheng Lian was urgently awakened in the middle of the night. He didn't even have time to put on his official robes properly, so he just put on an outer robe and rode a fast horse to the scene.

Looking at the ground trembling slightly and listening to the terrifying sound of water, his face turned pale and his legs were trembling.

I'm about to cry.

At this moment, there's probably only one thought in my mind: Is this "auspicious" event... a bit too much?!

The retainers scrambled forward to report, their voices trembling: "My lord, the 360 ​​Xuan Yin Water-Suppressing Talismans and 72 Vein-Stabilizing Bronze Stakes that we set up earlier... have already been destroyed by more than 90%! That water... that water has too much malevolent energy, it simply can't be contained!"

"At this rate, the water in the 'Yuhe Ancient Road' will completely overflow into the Yanshui Ancient Road, and then spread along the underground river veins..."

There's no need to say more; all those in the know looked ashen-faced.

If this malevolent water were to pollute the entire water system of Xingyang Prefecture, not only those directly responsible, but even the high-ranking officials in the Luoyang court would likely face consequences...

must die!
Zheng Lian clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging into his flesh.

He only wanted to offer auspicious omens in exchange for a better future, how did he end up causing such a terrible disaster?

Are they not even giving us the chance to drink poison to quench our thirst? Where will we find the next cup of 'poisoned wine' that can temporarily alleviate the crisis?
Just as despair filled the air, Xu Xuan slowly opened his eyes.

A ghostly blue butterfly formed from demonic energy shattered into specks of light in his palm, leaving behind only a final, poignant message that transcended the boundaries of Yin and Yang:

"We will not meet again until we reach the Yellow Springs."

Xu Xuan sighed softly; the Stone King had finally fallen for it.

However, the intelligence did get through, and this clue was enough for me to understand the problem.

only……

He got up, opened the window, looked out at the sky outside the city shrouded in ominous dark clouds, and suddenly smiled.

"What? Are you afraid that I, Xu Hanwen, will turn around and run away with my six precious disciples if things go wrong? Why do you have to make such a fuss?"

The night wind ruffled the stray hairs on her forehead, and her eyes, which always held a hint of mockery, were now unreadable.

"Then you've really misjudged him," he muttered to himself.

"The vow I made in Guobei to restore order to the world and to re-establish the moral order of heaven and earth was never just empty talk, nor was it merely to pass the divine punishment."

The dull sound of his knuckles tapping on the window frame filled Xu Xuan with a chilling aura.

"In that case..."

With a flick of the wrist, a jade plaque engraved with the words "Security Guard" quietly appeared.

Got the wrong one.

The Bao'an Hall in the north has nothing to offer in terms of assistance.

He flipped his hand and took out a freshly made "white lotus" mark.

"Let's do something big!"

A muffled thunderous echo came from the distant mountains, as if a vast army was awakening.

Xingyang, hold on!
(End of this chapter)