Film & TV: Public Enemy of Justice

Upon hearing Lin Yaoxie's words, a rare smile appeared on Cang Gu's face:

"Going west from Shu Mountain, there is a mountain called Jiuding Mountain. There is a mineral called Dragon Crystal on Jiuding Mountain. If Young Hero Lin can find three pieces of Dragon Crystal ore, I will naturally repair the Giant Sword."

It seems these so-called dragon crystals are no ordinary items. Cang Gu is asking for an exorbitant price, demanding three at once. But since he has a favor to ask, even Lin Yaoxie has no choice but to yield.

“Alright, I will present you with three dragon crystals within three days, however…”

Lin Yaoxie glanced at the Yilong Sword in Cang Gu's hand. Cang Gu understood and nodded, saying:

"This humble Taoist naturally believes in Young Hero Lin's character."

With that, Cang Gu returned the Yilong Sword to Lin Yaoxie.

After bidding farewell to Cang Gu, Chang Qing led Lin Yaoxie and the others to Elder Youxuan's Feilu Novel Network. Unfortunately, halfway there, Chang Qing was summoned by the Qingwei Sect Leader, leaving only Lin Yaoxie and the other two to continue to Feilu Novel Network.

On the way, Lin Yaoxie kept thinking about what Changqing had said when he left Elder Canggu:

"Brother Lin seems to have severed not the Giant Sword of Mount Shu, but Elder Cang Gu's sword, the Hundred Refinements."

Lin Yaoxie had heard of the name "Hundred Refinements." It was said to be a versatile divine weapon that could mimic any weapon in the world, provided the conditions were right.

Although Lin Yaoxie did not know what Elder Canggu meant by this, since Elder Canggu was willing to let them go, Lin Yaoxie stopped thinking about it.

The Feilu Novel Network of Shushan is not far from Elder Canggu's Hundred Refinements Residence, and Lin Yaoxie and the others soon arrived at Elder Youxuan's Feilu Novel Network.

Compared to Elder Canggu's rustic appearance, Elder Youxuan can be considered the youngest and most handsome elder of Shushan.

Youxuan sized up Xuejian, Longkui, and Lin Yaoxie. Lin Yaoxie felt that, purely from the perspective of sword control, Elder Youxuan seemed to be a level below Elder Canggu. If he were to compete with him in swordsmanship like Elder Canggu, Lin Yaoxie was confident that he could defeat him within ten moves.

Unfortunately, Elder Youxuan seemed to know that a simple sword fight would be no match for Lin Yaoxie, so when Lin Yaoxie and his group approached Feilu Novel Network, Elder Youxuan stated his conditions:

"Young Master Lin's swordsmanship is sharp, and I, Youxuan, admit I am no match for him. I, this humble Taoist, believe I have some skill in illusion magic. There are three illusions here. If Young Master Lin can escape these three illusions, I will allow him to pass through Feilu Novel Network, how about that?"

"If we say no, does that mean we don't have to go through that illusion?"

Since Lin Yaoxie was injured, Hongkui has been constantly appearing and has not left. After hearing Youxuan's words, Hongkui vented all her anger on Youxuan.

Youxuan ignored Hongkui's rudeness and waved his right hand lightly, and Lin Yaoxie and the others entered the so-called illusion.

Lin Yaoxie felt a wave of dizziness. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in the gloomy and terrifying underworld. The underworld was very simply furnished, like an ancient courtroom where cases were being handled. A man was lying down and kneeling, and behind him were countless wronged souls.

Seeing this, Longkui kept shaking her head:

"Shame on you! What kind of Yama's Palace is this shabby? The King of Hell doesn't need to flatter anyone, so why does he need to be so upright and honorable? Besides, Qin Qiong and Black-faced Gong have long been transferred to the Heavenly Realm. Why would the Ghost Realm still keep their portraits?"

Lin Yaoxie paid little attention to Long Kui's dissatisfaction with the underworld, instead listening attentively to the testimony of the man below.

The man's name was Xiaoru, a soldier from the Northern Army. It is said that this was a case that the underworld had been unable to solve for over a hundred years. Xiaoru served as a colonel in the Eastern Jin army during the Battle of Guanshui, when the Qin Dynasty attacked the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Eventually, the Eastern Jin Dynasty counterattacked the Qin Dynasty and reached Fangjiaji.

Because the Fang family fought desperately, the Northern Army of the Eastern Jin Dynasty suffered heavy losses. Therefore, after capturing Fangjiaji, the Northern Army ordered a massacre of the entire village, and none of the more than eighty women and children in Fangjiaji survived.

Chapter Sixty-Three: Elder Youxuan [First Update]

The man named Xiaoru standing below was the criminal captain who raped and murdered twenty-one girls from Fangjiaji in the Fangjiaji massacre years ago.

Behind Xiaoru, twenty-one young women relentlessly demanded his life, but Xiaoru repeatedly cried out that he was innocent:

“My lord, this matter cannot be entirely blamed on me. Xiaoru is merely a captain. I had no choice but to obey the general’s orders. If I had not done so, I would have been the one to die.”

Lin Yaoxie looked at the man below the hall, unsure whether to convict him. If the man was innocent, then the tragic deaths of the twenty-one girls from Fangjiaji seemed to go unaddressed; but if Xiaoru was guilty, was he merely a tool to carry out orders, just as it was the knife that killed people, not the person? Should the knife then be convicted?

Lin Yaoxie couldn't come up with a good solution for the time being, so he had to ask Xuejian and Longkui for their opinions.

Longkui looked at Xiaoru with a hint of sympathy and pleaded with Lin Yaoxie:

I think Xiaoru's situation is understandable; it's the helplessness a soldier faces. Xiaoru should be pardoned; the one who should be punished is the bastard who gave Xiaoru the order.

When Xuejian first arrived at this underworld illusion, she was quite scared, but when Lin Yaoxie asked for her opinion, Xuejian said:

"It's a shame that Xiaoru is a grown man with his own thoughts. Everything Xiaoru did should have come from his heart. The order was just an excuse to convict this beast, Brother Lin."

It is indeed a thorny issue. Although it is a matter of environment, Lin Yaoxie only has two signs in front of him: guilty and innocent. Xuejian and Longkui's opinions also represent two different views. So, should Xiaoru be guilty or innocent?

After much deliberation, Lin Yaoxie finally picked up the "not guilty" sign. Just as Lin Yaoxie pronounced Xiaoru innocent, he clearly heard a system notification sound. Lin Yaoxie realized that his choice brought him one step closer to becoming the Demon King.

Just as Lin Yaoxie declared Xiaoru innocent, Lin Yaoxie and the others were suddenly transported to the second illusion.

When Lin Yaoxie arrived at the second illusion, compared to the first illusion, this illusion was much simpler, consisting only of a river and the Xiaoru he had seen before.

Xiaoru lingered by the riverbank, seemingly contemplating suicide, yet he also felt somewhat timid.

Lin Yaoxie stepped forward to inquire, and after Xiaoru explained, he learned that after the war, Xiaoru suffered from a chronic illness and was tormented by pain every day. Now, Xiaoru's greatest wish was to end his remaining life, so he decided to drown himself in the river. However, looking at the turbulent river, he began to feel scared. Now, Xiaoru asked Lin Yaoxie to give him a gentle push from behind to give him a quick death.

Lin Yaoxie looked at Xiaoru and suddenly had a flash of inspiration:

What benefits would I get if I helped you?

Unfortunately, this Xiaoru was a poor man. He had no valuables on him, and even if you dismembered him and sold his flesh, it wouldn't be worth much.

Xiaoru remained standing by the river. Not far away, Lin Yaoxie could even hear the gurgling of the water. Lin Yaoxie was not quite sure what Youxuan meant by the illusionary trial, or what kind of danger it contained. Moreover, Lin Yaoxie did not see Xuejian or Longkui in this illusion. Now he only had two options: either push Xiaoru in directly or try to persuade Xiaoru to give up jumping into the river.

After thinking for a while, Lin Yaoxie finally decided to use the quickest method and walked behind Xiaoru and gave him a hard shove.

Xiaoru was freed, and Lin Yaoxie successfully arrived at the third illusion.

The third level of the environment was even more bizarre than the first and second levels. Lin Yaoxie thought he would be able to see Xiaoru again this time, but when he entered the third level of the illusion, he saw a little boy surrounded by more than twenty little girls, who seemed to want to pull him to play together.

"Xiaoru, let's go pick mushrooms on the biggest mountain."

One of the little girls pulled Xiaoru along, wanting to go to the nearby mountain to pick mushrooms.

But the little boy named Xiaoru said timidly:

"The village chief said there are monsters in that mountain and we can't go there. Let's go to this mountain instead. It's smaller, but it's safe."

"Xiao Ru is a coward!" The little girls laughed and walked toward the highest peak.

0oo is asking for flowers....

For safety reasons, Xiaoru chose to go to the small hill not far away.

Lin Yaoxie stood at the crossroads, and sure enough, after a short while, a huge wolf demon appeared. However, it seemed uninterested in Lin Yaoxie and instead asked him:

"Have you seen any children walk by here?"

Lin Yaoxie knew that the choice of the third illusion had arrived. Only two paths lay before him: one led deep into the mountains, where more than twenty young girls went to pick mushrooms; the other led only to Xiaoru, who had gone to the small hill.

After thinking for a while, Lin Yaoxie suddenly realized that there might be a third way: to kill the wolf demon in front of him.

..00

Thinking this, Lin Yaoxie brandished the Yilong Sword, easily cleaving the wolf demon in two. Just as Lin Yaoxie was basking in his own cleverness, he noticed another wolf demon approaching from a distance.

"Have you seen any children walk by here?"

Lin Yaoxie swung his sword again, but things didn't go as planned. No matter how many wolf demons Lin Yaoxie killed, new wolf demons would always come back and ask the same questions. At this point, Lin Yaoxie realized that he could only choose one between the twenty-odd little girls and Xiaoru.

Many little girls went deep into the mountains, but they disobeyed the village chief's warning. If the wolf demon went, none of these little girls would survive. Xiaoru, on the other hand, was an extremely obedient child who had done nothing wrong. However, if the wolf demon went to the hill, Xiaoru would also be eaten by the wolf demon.

Faced with this situation, Lin Yaoxie couldn't help but feel caught in a dilemma: should he sacrifice the twenty-odd girls or Xiaoru? Which one would be the best way to break the formation?

Unable to find a solution, Lin Yaoxie ultimately chose to betray the girls who went deep into the mountains. Looking at the lonely figure on the hilltop, Lin Yaoxie seemed to see his own childhood, which was not very popular with his classmates.

"They went deep into the mountains."

After Lin Yaoxie finished speaking, a dazzling light flashed, and Lin Yaoxie returned to Feilu Novel Network. Long Kui and Xue Jian were playing chess with You Xuan, showing no sign of worrying about Lin Yaoxie.

Chapter Sixty-Four: The Third Illusion [Second Update]

When Longkui saw Lin Yaoxie return, she angrily said to him, "Master Youxuan's chess skills are superb. Xuejian and I have lost five games in a row."

Seeing Lin Yaoxie emerge from the illusion, Youxuan calmly said, "Young Hero Lin is an hour faster than I expected."

An hour? Lin Yaoxie was somewhat incredulous, feeling that he had only been in and out of the so-called environment for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, how could it possibly be an hour?

Lin Yaoxie pulled Hongkui aside and asked, "How long have I been in the illusion?"

“I don’t know, but I’ve been playing chess with Elder Youxuan ever since I came back. Each game takes more than an hour, and we’ve played five games.” Longkui seemed unwilling to give up and continued, “Don’t underestimate my chess skills. Back then, I relied on my chess skills to gain a foothold in the Ghost Realm. I’ve rarely lost in the past thousand years.”

Lin Yaoxie, nicknamed "800," is completely clueless about chess. He joked, "Give me a thousand years, and even if my chess skills are terrible, I can still win."

"You..." Longkui was so angry she couldn't speak.

Lin Yaoxie cupped his hands to Youxuan and said, "The Shushan illusion technique is indeed remarkable. It can even simulate the story of the ancients' Rotten Axe Handle. Just now, I was only in the illusion for a short while, but I didn't expect so much time to have passed."

Elder Youxuan placed the last chess piece on the board and said calmly, "Although Miss Xuejian's strategy was ingenious, it was too casual. I'm sorry to let you win."

Xuejian lost the game, but unlike when she played against Lin Yaoxie, she didn't mess up the chessboard after losing. Instead, she sincerely bowed to Elder Youxuan and said, "Elder, your chess skills are superb, and Xuejian is no match for you. But what did you mean by the so-called Rotten Axe Handle incident?"

Elder Youxuan chuckled: "The story of Rotten Axe Handle is just an ancient legend. It has never happened even in the Immortal Realm. Young Hero Lin just feels that time is passing quickly because he has something on his mind."

"Elder, you are too modest." Lin Yaoxie thought that since he had already passed three illusions, there was no need to stay in this place any longer. After all, the sooner he passed the tests of the five elders, the sooner he could go find the Dragon Crystal Stone for Cang Gu.

Lin Yaoxie asked Elder Youxuan, "Have I passed the elder's test?"

Elder Youxuan nodded and said, "Of course."

Afterwards, Lin Yaoxie bid farewell to Elder Youxuan and decided to go to Wuchen Pavilion to find Elder Jingming. Before leaving, Elder Youxuan pointed out the location of Wuchen Pavilion and invited Lin Yaoxie to drink a cup of divine tea. Lin Yaoxie then said goodbye to Elder Youxuan and headed towards Wuchen Pavilion.

As for Xuejian and Longkui, Lin Yaoxie asked a disciple of Shushan to escort them back to Anning Village to rest.

After leaving Feilu Novel Network, it was already midnight. Lin Yaoxie recalled the day's experiences. Although there were some minor setbacks, there didn't seem to be too many obstacles, especially with Elder Youxuan. It seemed that no matter what choice he made, he could get through it. And what Changqing said to him today, Elder Canggu's method of simulating the Giant Sword with Hundred Refinements, seemed to puzzle him even more.

Following Elder Youxuan's instructions, Lin Yaoxie easily found Elder Jingming's Wuchen Pavilion. Located in a remote area, Wuchen Pavilion differed from Canggu's Bailian Residence and Youxuan's Feilu Novel Network; it resembled more of an ordinary residence.

Lin Yaoxie entered the Dustless Pavilion and looked around. The courtyard was empty and there was nothing there. The quiet moonlight shone from the doorway onto the white marble floor of the courtyard, making it even more tranquil. Every now and then, a gentle breeze would blow through the sycamore tree in the center of the courtyard, making the leaves rustle.

Lin Yaoxie called out several times in the courtyard, but received no reply from Elder Jingming. Lin Yaoxie had no choice but to venture into the house, but strangely, Elder Jingming was not inside. The house was extremely simple, with only a table and a traditional Chinese ink painting on it.

The painting depicts a lifelike white tiger in a mountain stream overgrown with weeds, its huge red mouth open and sharp claws extended as if pouncing on its prey. Its eyes are fixed straight ahead, fierce and intense. It's as if its prey is right outside the door, drawing the viewer involuntarily to look out along with the tiger's gaze.

This painting is incredibly lifelike, depicting the white tiger pouncing on its prey with remarkable realism. The mountain stream, grass, and rocks are also clearly layered and detailed, demonstrating the skillful hand of a master.

Seeing that Elder Jingming was not in the room, and considering that it was already midnight, Lin Yaoxie decided to leave early and come back tomorrow.

But just as Lin Yaoxie was about to leave, he suddenly found that he could no longer circulate his cultivation technique and could not exert much strength. Lin Yaoxie first thought that he might be poisoned, but then he thought that his Demon King System was completely immune to toxins, so there was no way he could be poisoned. But now his cultivation technique could not be circulated. What was going on?

Lin Yaoxie tried to ignore these strange details, calm himself down, and continue to analyze the current situation... but after analyzing for a long time, he still couldn't find any clues.

Left with no other choice, Lin Yaoxie walked out the door. As he entered the courtyard, a strong wind suddenly blew up. The leaves, which had been rustling, began to rustle violently, and there seemed to be sounds of hard objects colliding, making the atmosphere even more eerie.

Although the wind wasn't strong, it was extremely cold. Coupled with Lin Yaoxie's current loss of power, he was drenched in a cold sweat. The gust of wind further chilled him.

I couldn't help but feel a chill from the inside out.

To put it dramatically, Lin Yaoxie seemed to have suddenly arrived in an extremely cold place such as a snow mountain or an ice cellar, where the body heat was instantly sucked away by the surrounding air, making people shiver.

Besides the sudden gust of evil wind, the surrounding scenery began to become blurry, and it seemed as if a fog was rising around us.