Jiaohua

Chapter 1672 The older you get, the more afraid you are of death
However, just like the problem encountered by the old man, Shen Lie, and the Half-Nine Immortal Master, the sounds that were so close at hand were blocked by several walls and rocks.

Furthermore, Feng Qingang couldn't be sure whether the hidden door these people had discovered could lead to his side.

Feng Qingang has never liked to use negative words to describe himself, but now, he truly feels a sense of powerlessness, as if he has trapped himself in a cocoon.

The men didn't speak again, and from the darkness came the sounds of them still groping around.

Feng Qingang and his two subordinates held their breath. When they heard them open another stone door, separating them by only a wall, Feng Qingang was overjoyed. Following their movements, he walked along the stone wall.

Just as a man was heard saying, "We've found the mechanism," a middle-aged man's voice came softly from afar: "Jin Hai, Jin Zhan?"

Feng Qingang and his two subordinates, who had already prepared for a sneak attack, frowned upon hearing this.

Upon hearing the voices, the group turned around to look.

A middle-aged man approached: "Just you? Where are the others?"

The group went to greet her, and one of them asked, "Fang Beishuang? Are you alone? Where is Fang Xiyu?"

"With Uncle alive, there are only three of us left. Fang Hu was killed by Feng Qingang."

"So, neither the Liao family, the Chen family, the Nangong family, nor Nie Long's people came?"

Fang Beishuang countered, "Did you encounter them along the way?"

Several people shook their heads: "No."

Fang Beishuang frowned, a sense of foreboding rising in her heart. She paused for a moment and said, "You all come with me first. We can't stay here any longer. If something happens to them, whoever gets their map will be in trouble with us."

After speaking, they quickly left.

Feng Qingang's newly emerging hope vanished in an instant.

Once the sound of their footsteps faded into the distance, Feng Qingang raised his hand and felt around the spot where they had been groping.

His fingers were slender and long, with exceptionally delicate tips. As he explored inch by inch, he could actually feel neat and smooth gaps.

Feng Qingang immediately took out his dagger and slashed along the crevice, causing small pieces of gravel to fall down.

However, the dagger encountered an obstacle in the middle of the right side.

Feng Qingang wasn't in a hurry. He didn't believe that the door was one-way; there must be a way on this side as well.

"Find the mechanism!" Feng Qingang ordered in a deep voice.

Fang Beishuang led Jin Hai, Jin Zhan, and the other Jin brothers to find Fang Xiyu.

On the way, Fang Beishuang quietly explained the situation of the past few days to them, and finally said, "These Taoist disciples are very likely all summoned by that person from Liling."

The Kim brothers angrily cursed the old man, inadvertently ruining their plans.

But then they realized that the reason they were able to find Feng Qing'ang so precisely this time was because Feng Qing'ang had captured Elder Gu and Mu Tingyu and brought them here. And Feng Qing'ang's purpose was to lure the old man from Liling over here.

Everything has a cause and effect, but they were still angry and scolded the old man for making such a commotion.

To avoid the old man, Fang Xiyu left the underground riverbank where he had been hiding and went down one level to sneak into the deeper alchemy furnace chamber.

Fang Beishuang returned with her men. Fang Xiyu was holding a candle and looking at the ancient murals on the alchemy furnace.

Fang Liuhui gestured for them to be quiet. Fang Beishuang asked the Jin brothers to stay there for the time being. He went inside and stood behind Fang Xiyu: "Uncle, I only met members of the Jin family. I did not see anyone from the Liao family, the Chen family, or Nie Long. I have brought them all with me, and they have not met anyone else either."

Fang Xiyu remained silent, his gaze fixed intently on the mural.

Fang Beishuang knew he was listening, and continued, "That guy from Liling isn't afraid of making things worse. The situation is unfavorable to us. The Liao family, the Chen family, and Nie Long's people are very likely in trouble. If the topographical map they have is taken away, our initial advantage will be gone."

Fang Xiyu finally spoke: "This mural depicts the alchemy process."

Fang Beishuang looked at the mural.

Fang Xiyu said, "When I was only twenty years old, I followed my grandfather to the depths of the forest and springs. There were also nine alchemy furnaces there. The furnaces in this mural are exactly the same as the ones I saw in the forest and springs. However, the processes are not quite the same."

Are there murals there too?

Fang Xiyu nodded.

Fang Beishuang frowned: "Han Ruiqian's alchemy furnace has been around for at least three hundred years. Even I'm not qualified to enter Linquan. How did he manage to draw Linquan's furnace here? Could it be related to that wicked boy surnamed Qiao?"

Fang Xiyu took a deep breath: "That's not the problem."

"Where is that?"

“Whether it’s Lin Quan’s alchemy furnace room or this one, look how terribly dilapidated they are.” As he spoke, Fang Xiyu shone his candle around.

The walls were cracked, and many rat bones were scattered on the ground. There were many spider webs hanging in the corners, but the spiders were gone, and the webs were covered with dust, creating an atmosphere of death.

Fang Beishuang understood what he meant: "If alchemy is really useful, then neither Linquan's alchemy room nor the alchemy room in this underground palace should have been abandoned for a hundred years."

"Yes, and Tang Xiangsi was down on his luck. If he hadn't encountered many benefactors and been targeted by the Northern Yuan people who provided him with financial support, he would have died long ago. So, where would he get the money and manpower to refine pills?"

"So their immortality has nothing to do with alchemy?"

"It should be unrelated."

Fang Beishuang suddenly felt a tightness in his chest and couldn't speak. Fortunately, he quickly calmed himself down and said, "So what is the purpose of our lord sending us here to deal with Feng Qingang? Our lord has rarely made such a grand gesture in recent years, gathering all of us together. If he wanted to kill Feng Qingang, he could have just killed him directly. Why did he have us use the mask of Princess Wulan to scare him? What could we possibly scare out of him? What we scare out of him will be very important to our lord? Perhaps it is related to immortality? Also, Tang Xiangsi has sent General Xie Huaichu. What are they looking for?"

Fang Xiyu was also unable to answer these questions.

Fang Xiyu turned his gaze to the Jin brothers, Jin Hai and Jin Zhan: "If neither Nie Long nor the Liao family members are here, then we can only rely on them. Do you have any masks?"

“I asked on the way, and they have it.”

"Were there any other discoveries along the way?"

"There are several fresh markings, but we don't know who left them. This underground palace is quite lively today, full of people."

Fang Xiyu's expression was serious: "It will probably be difficult to lure Feng Qingang to an open space where we can scare him. In fact, he may have already left this underground palace... So, you all stay here for now, and I will go and investigate personally."

Fang Beishuang exclaimed in surprise: "Uncle, you can't go! You are our pillar of strength!"

"Why can't I go? You can go, so am I inferior to you?"

After saying that, Fang Xiyu handed him the candle: "This matter is important. Feng Qingang is elusive. If he gets away again, we don't know when we will see him again. In fact, I may not even live to see that day."

Immortality is something everyone desires, especially for Fang Xiyu, who is getting older.

His grandfather and father had tried many methods, including using the Qiao family as a medicinal ingredient, to complete that evil Hundred-Tu technique, but all to no avail.

His grandfather and father grew old year after year, eventually passing away in anxiety and panic.

Besides them, the older generation of the Nangong family did the same, as did the Jin family, the Chen family, the Liao family...

It seems that once they reach a certain age, they unconsciously begin to fear birth, aging, sickness, and death, and are more afraid than ordinary people.

Fang Xiyu wondered why this was when he was young. In middle age, he finally understood.

Because the world has no comparison, but the families surrounding Wei Xingchuan do.

Everyone else is getting old, but Wei Xingchuan remains young.

Wei Xingchuan's existence inspired in them a sense of longing and desire, as well as intense jealousy.

Because of this, Fang Xiyu and Fang Ziqian parted ways, and Fang Xiyu returned to work for Wei Xingchuan.

He wanted to seize every possibility.

At the same time, Feng Qingang and his two subordinates finally found the mechanism.

The mechanisms weren't particularly ingenious back then, but Feng Qingang overlooked a very important issue: the mechanisms were too old and dilapidated.

Just as the Kim brothers had drawn him there, the sound of him opening the stone door also attracted the "ears" in the darkness.

Feng Qingang disregarded this and quickly led two of his men through the stone gate to the place where the Jin brothers had just been talking.

The other hidden door, which had just been opened by the Jin brothers, was very easy to find. Feng Qingang did not hesitate and pushed open the stone door.

The Jin brothers knew how to open the door, so they were very careful, but Feng Qingang was unaware of it.

With this push, the stone door rumbled, its rough, old, hoarse sound harsh and shrill.

Feng Qingang was dumbfounded.

Those nearby "ears" became even more certain of their target and sped up their pace.

Feng Qingang immediately said to his two subordinates, "Let's go!"

For the first time in centuries, he experienced the feeling of "tension" and fled in disarray into the darkness.

The people closest to him, besides Lü Wuwei and Xie Huaichu, as well as Wu Shaoning following behind them, were the old man, Sect Master Gu, and Mu Tingyu.

The group all rushed towards him.