Wet viviparity

Chapter 984 The Question, Lin Zhonghu
The night was as dark as ink, with only a few stars and the distorted halo of light from the direction of Longmen in the distance providing some illumination for the hurried journey ahead.

Jiang Shiliu, along with Zhou Qingquan, the tall and thin Senior Brother Min, and the short and stout Junior Brother Yang, guided by the claw stone seal left by the Dog Guardian, struggled through the ruins and fallen trees, rushing towards the Listening Wave Stone.

The suppressed breathing was especially clear in the silent night; the shadow of death and the uncertainty of the future weighed on everyone's hearts like shackles.

Junior Brother Yang was barely holding on to his spirits when, on this journey, he was almost crushed by the worries in his heart. His face was ashen, his eyes were unfocused, and he was almost dragged behind him by Zhou Qingquan's magic.

As they passed through a dense forest, in a small clearing illuminated by the moonlight, a figure emerged from behind a huge rock half-buried in the ground—Jiang Zheng.

The four tigers of the Jiang family still carried that huge gourd on their backs, their bodies thin and bony, looking like ghosts in the hazy night.

He showed no hostility, simply standing there quietly with his gourd on his back, as if he had already anticipated their path and intentions.

Zhou Qingquan instantly became alert, shielding the short, stout disciple surnamed Yang behind him, while the tall, thin disciple surnamed Min nervously gripped the magical artifact at his waist. Only Jiang Shiliu, after his initial shock, had calmed down and stepped forward to negotiate.

"Senior Jiang."

Jiang Shiliu walked to within five steps of Jiang Zheng, his voice hoarse with exhaustion and tension, "Are you here on Mr. Ji's orders to stop us?"

"Mr. Ji?"

"It was the God of the Righteous Path. He told me about it under that name, but it was probably just a pseudonym he came up with on a whim."

Jiang Zheng nodded knowingly, then slowly shook his head. "Stop me? No, if I wanted to kill you, you wouldn't have gotten this far. With your ethereal nature, you should be able to sense the shallow malice in me, which is not malice intended for killing."

"Then why are you here, senior?" Jiang Shiliu pressed, his vigilance undiminished.

"I've come to show you a way that might save your lives, and to answer some of your questions." Jiang Zheng's gaze fell on Jiang Shiliu, trying to see through his inner turmoil. "You're heading to Tingtao Stone now to meet up with Zhao's reinforcements. Do you think you can atone for your crimes and save your lives?"

"Shi Liu, don't be bewitched by him."

The eldest, Zhou Qingquan, had just spoken when he heard the whistling of the wind. Suddenly, his body was struck, twisted in the middle, and smashed to pieces on the ground.

Where Zhou Qingquan had originally stood, there was now a sturdy, short tiger with gray-black fur standing upright. Its whiskers were long and uneven, and it carried a large gourd on its back. It was the true form of the tomb tiger that Jiang Zheng had manifested.

"Pooh!"

Jiang Zheng spat, swung his arms as he walked, and said, "I told you long ago, I didn't come here to kill, provided you don't test my patience. Haven't all these years as a member of a scattered sect taught you how to respect members of the main sect?!"

At this moment, Zhou Qingquan's body was folded up like a folding fan, and he lay on the ground with his head touching his legs. Jiang Shiliu and his fat and thin junior brothers surrounded him in a panic.

"Time flows!"
"Time flows!"

Zhou Qingquan, barely breathing, transmitted his voice through his nearly dissipated primordial spirit: "Actually, I know, Senior Quan Shou! The one who truly intends to pass on the primordial talisman is you. We are all just decoys. But even so, we are happy to be these decoys."

This isn't for the sake of those from the scattered sects, nor is it for his sycophantic ways; it's because you, Jiang Shiliu, deserve it.

Jiang Shiliu remained silent as he stood up from beside the motionless corpse of Zhou Qingquan.

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Jiang Shiliu asked.

"Zhao Mingyan, that old devil from the Zhao clan, has personally gone to the old camp of the spotted sharks. As far as I know, he intends to block off the area around Longmen for three hundred miles."

Meanwhile, at Tingtao Stone, the Yaksha tribe and the Daoist army had already deployed their troops, but had not made any move, clearly observing from the sidelines with other plans.

Zhao Ni, the leader among them, might have some admiration for you, but with Zhao Langxing by her side, her help to you is limited. Therefore, your trip is a suicide mission, a death sentence, a sacrifice to appease the Zhao family's internal anger.

These words were like an ice pick piercing his heart; the sheep disciple's legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to the ground.

"And what is the purpose of the righteous gods?"

Jiang Shiliu suppressed his murderous intent and continued to ask.

"Isn't it obvious?! He seized the Dog Yuan Talisman of the Dog Guardian, studied the 'Six Jia Spirit Flying Strategy Essence Book,' reformed himself, and joined the True Spirit Sect."

"No, it's a talisman."

Upon hearing Jiang Shiliu's words, Jiang Zheng seemed to be seeing Jiang Shiliu for the first time. He stood directly in front of Jiang Shiliu, no more than half a step away, and looked down at him, asking, "How do you know?"

“I don’t understand the righteous gods, but I understand the Little Saint’s style. The Little Saint’s approach lies in ‘change,’ in the next step that cannot be predicted according to common sense.”

Therefore, according to this line of reasoning, if the common sense that everyone believes is that the Righteous God will seize the Dog Yuan Talisman of the Dog Guardian, then the truth may be the opposite, and the Righteous God's target has always been the Zhao clan.

Although I don't understand why the Zhao clan didn't immediately appeal to the Zhao clan's true immortal, or send other six realms of wandering immortals to eradicate the righteous gods completely.

However, no matter what schemes the Zhao family has, as long as their main force moves, the third patriarch of the Zhao clan, who carries the Chenyun Talisman, will definitely step in. Only this third patriarch of the Zhao clan can keep the Dragon Gate battle in check.

Among the four great families, there are imitations of the Yuanfu talisman. The Yinyang Golden Talisman that disappeared from the Jiang family many years ago was also such an imitation. Although these talismans differ from the Yuanfu, they are still sufficient to aid in the cultivation of our sect's fundamental method, the "Six Jia Spiritual Flight Strategy Essence Book."

"I see, that's a very good deduction." Jiang Zheng clapped his hands in praise.

"Heh, so you're not a key figure after all." Jiang Shiliu laughed, suddenly feeling relaxed.

Jiang Zheng ignored Jiang Shiliu's sarcasm, a hint of awe and complexity flashing in his eyes. He said in a daze, "Even if I know nothing, I am happy to give. You don't understand what that person means to me, what he means to me, even beyond the meaning of the Jiang family bloodline to me. You will never understand."

Seeing that Jiang Zheng was momentarily dazed, Jiang Shiliu suddenly raised his right hand, which had been hanging by his side and seemed to be trembling slightly due to fatigue.

A streak of multicolored light shot out from his sleeve, growing as it went, transforming into an exquisite ring with an inner circle shimmering with five colors: gold, cyan, blue, red, and yellow—the very magic weapon, the Little Five Elements Ruyi Golden Ring, which Master Huayue had lent him for protection.

The golden ring appeared and precisely snagged the enormous gourd on Jiang Zheng's back, the one to which his life was intertwined.

The golden ring closed, and the light shone brightly, as if five shackles had been put on at once, instantly imprinting themselves on the concave waistline of the gourd.

The gourd, which had been shining brightly and contained the sound of wind and frost, suddenly dimmed, as if its lifeline had been seized and all its spiritual energy had been imprisoned in an instant.

"Ugh!"

Jiang Zheng let out a shrill roar that sounded inhuman, as if a crucial part of his soul had been forcibly ripped out, and a tearing sensation more painful than being slowly sliced ​​apart overwhelmed his senses.

"Give me back my magic gourd."

Jiang Zheng's true form, the tomb tiger, bristled with fur and bared its fangs, emitting a foul stench. It lunged at Jiang Shiliu without regard for anything. Just before his madness reached its peak, a sudden chanting arose from his primordial spirit, like an invisible tight band tightening abruptly.

Its gaping maw and fierce tiger eyes conveyed pain, anger, and an incomprehensible bewilderment.

He wanted to roar, but his voice was choked; he wanted to pounce, but he couldn't move. The Buddhist teachings within him acted like a shackle, not only binding his movements but also restraining the madness and anger fueled by his greed and avarice due to the loss of the "precious gourd."

In that split second of stillness, the river began to flow!
Without any hesitation, a short blade, barely a foot long, appeared in the hand that had just unleashed the golden circle—the Slaying Blade. This blade was cast using magic, specifically designed to break through protective qi and annihilate tangible matter.

The short blade flashed in an arc, grazing the neck.

With a hiss, the ferocious tiger's head shot into the sky, and scalding blood gushed out from the severed neck, staining the open space crimson.

Jiang Shiliu stood with a knife in one hand and raised the other.

The half-person-tall gourd shrank beneath the golden circle, landing squarely in Jiang Shiliu's raised palm, its surface shimmering with light. Jiang Shiliu stared at Jiang Zheng's headless corpse, his face devoid of joy, only a serene calm and a profound bewilderment in his eyes.

"Mr. Ji, are you helping me? Why are you helping me?"

The fact that he and his fellow disciples had not been killed by the aftershocks of the Hidden Dragon Tower in the Immortal Workshop had aroused his suspicion.

He had thought that leaving them behind would distract the arriving Inugami and cause him to reveal a flaw, but this time it only made him more suspicious.

"The Dog Talisman, the Cloud Talisman, and me, Jiang Shiliu—what exactly is your purpose?"

"go!"

Suddenly, a wave of water enveloped him, and together with his two terrified disciples, one fat and one thin, they fled towards the Listening Wave Stone. A voice from within the water said, "When you get to the Listening Wave Stone, do not mention what happened here. Just pretend nothing happened. I will ask a master to cover up the mystery."

"Senior Iron Fork!"

Jiang Shiliu said happily.

(End of this chapter)