Under One Person: Starting from the Inheritance of Gods

Chapter 431 The Ancient City of Jingjue, Capturing the Serpent God

"Ha, that's because you haven't witnessed the magnificent grandeur of the Tang Dynasty. A frog in a well can't speak of the sea, and a summer insect can't speak of ice. This supervisor disdains to argue with you!"

Yuan Tiangang exuded an imposing aura and looked down with an arrogant and domineering gaze. Even if Chen Jiuren wanted to argue, he couldn't find a way to speak. Just one glance was enough to make him stand there in awe.

After a short rest, Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng led everyone into the Jingjue Ancient City.

Unexpectedly, there was already someone waiting there, with several corpses piled up next to him, who looked like foreigners.

The rest were countless black snake corpses, with fleshy growths on their heads like crowns, and blood-red snake eyes, each one incredibly ferocious.

"You guys are way too slow!"

Ma Xianhong frowned.

Li Chunfeng chuckled and said, "It can't compare to the speed of your cloud ladder. You fly in the sky, while we run on the ground."

Then, Li Chunfeng pointed to the corpses and asked, "What are these?"

Ma Xianhong curled his lip: "A group of foreign tomb raiders, who arrived two days before you, were easily dealt with by me. And these black snakes, their name seems to be Jingjian Agama."

“I have been studying these black snakes for the past few days and have discovered that there is a faint dragon vein evil energy in their bodies caused by the backlash of feng shui. They seem to be a kind of creature recorded in ancient books.”

"I wonder what kind of creature it is?" Yuan Tiangang asked with interest.

"Jiao Zhi!"

Ma Xianhong said in a deep voice, "Its form is similar to that of a dragon, but it has no eyes. It distinguishes right from wrong through yin and yang, and is somewhere between an animal and a demon. However, compared to demons, this thing retains the spirituality of an animal."

"Qiu Chi, with the help of Jiao Shu, lost his eyes and eventually became Jiao Chi. This creature is a demon from the legends of ancient tombs."

"Over the past few days, I have used the corpses of these Pure Vision Agamas to infuse them with Yin Steel and Evil Iron to forge a magical artifact, the Soul-Locking Chain, which is specifically designed to counter Yin Evil and evil spirits. It is quite an unexpected bonus and is just what the ghost messengers will need in the future."

As Ma Xianhong spoke, he flipped his wrist, and a jet-black iron chain appeared in his palm. It had a faint glow on it, and the snake scale pattern was clearly visible. Occasionally, it also exuded a chill.

Yuan Tiangang's gaze narrowed slightly, and he praised, "Not bad, you've managed to turn something rotten into something magical. It seems your art of weapon crafting has improved again."

Ma Xianhong said, “I intend to cultivate these Pure Vision Agamas in the Iron Enclosure Mountain of the Netherworld, to be used as a material for refining weapons in the future. What do you two think?”

Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng exchanged a glance: "Fellow Daoist, do you intend to collect more during the operation to preserve your lineage?"

“Not bad!” Ma Xianhong nodded.

"We both agreed."

Then, Li Chunfeng looked thoughtfully into the depths of the Jingjue Ancient City and said to Hu Bayi and the others, "Since there are dragons lurking here, the dangers in the Jingjue Queen's tomb are probably even greater. You must be careful, as the three of us may not be able to take care of you much in the future."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jiuren and the others tensed up. Shirley Yang gripped the Vajra Umbrella tightly, looked at the still-dead but not stiff Pure Vision Agamas, and asked in a low voice, "What if these black snakes suddenly come back to life?"

Ma Xianhong chuckled: "Don't worry, since I dared to use them to refine weapons, I have naturally sealed their yin spirits completely. However, we must guard against some of these black snakes escaping when we make our move."

"We're not afraid, you're just mortals..."

Hu Bayi and the others' faces darkened. So, we're just a burden, huh?
Yuan Tiangang laughed and said, "Fellow Daoist, you have lingered here for several days, so you must have roughly figured out the situation by now, right?"

"You two, come with me!"

Ma Xianhong looked back at Hu Bayi and the others, "As for you, those who are not afraid of death can follow me."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ma Xianhong led Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng into the main hall.

Hu Bayi and the others looked at each other, not knowing what to do. Just as they hesitated, Chen Shou suddenly stepped forward, his eyes flashing with an unusual fervor.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to unravel the mysteries of the Jingjue civilization; how can we stop here?"

Fatty Wang grabbed his arm: "Hey, old man, don't be impulsive! Those immortals are fighting, wouldn't it be suicide for us mortals to join in?"

Hu Bayi seemed to have his curiosity piqued as well, and suggested, "Why don't we go take a look? Didn't Advisor Li say before that we're carrying a destiny on our shoulders? Our luck shouldn't be that bad, right?"

"Old Hu, what happened to you too...?"

Seeing Hu Bayi's determined gaze, Fatty Wang stopped talking abruptly.

"Then let's go together!"

In Ma Xianhong's eyes, the sixteen dragon-shaped mechanism in the main hall was like a child's clumsy work, utterly unbearable to look at.

The group followed Yuan Tiangang and his two companions to the underground river. After crossing the river, they arrived at a plaza filled with gold and silver treasures.

For a moment, the gold was dazzling, and Wang Pangzi's eyes were wide open. Even Hu Bayi couldn't take his eyes off it. Wang Pangzi couldn't help but reach out to grab the gold.

"Fat!"

Hu Bayi slapped his hand away and hissed, "Have you forgotten about those black snakes? This place is very eerie, don't touch anything!"

Fatty Wang sheepishly withdrew his hand, but his eyes still couldn't help glancing at the treasures: "Old Hu, with so many treasures, we can't go back empty-handed, can we?"

Shirley Yang frowned and said, "Never mind that for now, look ahead."

Following her gaze, everyone saw a stone gate at the end of the square, through which Ma Xianhong and his two companions had already entered.

Fatty Wang muttered under his breath, "With so much gold and silver treasure, they didn't even glance at it. What could these three possibly want?"

As the three figures disappeared from sight, Shirley Yang hesitated for a moment before following closely behind. Although the others were also somewhat unable to walk, after taking one last, reluctant look at the gold and silver, they had no choice but to hurry forward.

Don't get me wrong, Professor Chen is interested in the cultural value and meaning behind these gold and silver artifacts, while Fatty Wang is simply reluctant to part with the money.

Upon approaching the stone gate, what greets everyone's eyes is a bottomless, enormous black hole, and it can be seen that some paths leading downwards have been carved into the stone walls beside it.

But for some reason, it was only half-finished before it was abandoned.

A suspended stone platform extends to the very center of the Ghost Cave, upon which sits a coffin. However, the coffin is very simple, like a piece of uncarved wood, its color a bluish-black, yet it gives one a sense of inner vitality.

On the coffin was a bright flower, surrounded by a large, blood-red leaf. The flower's stamens were curled together, resembling a ribbon, swaying in the wind, creating an eerie scene.

"Kunlun Divine Tree and Corpse-Scented Devil's Flower!"

It's often said that the Kunlun Divine Tree is related to the legendary Ruomu tree, but Ma Xianhong believes this isn't the case. Records of the Kunlun Divine Tree in this world only date back to the Qin Dynasty. Legend has it that a magical tree grows on Mount Kunlun. This tree grows upside down, with its roots at the top and trunk at the bottom. It grows very slowly, only one inch every hundred years, hence the saying "an inch of wood is worth an inch of gold."

In addition, the sacred tree has a very strong vitality. Even if the trunk is cut off, it will not wither and will quickly recover its former lushness.

Because the divine tree grows deep in the Kunlun Mountains within millennia-old ice layers, it absorbs the essence of heaven and earth, making its material incredibly hard and emitting a fragrant aroma.

If used to make coffins to hold the body, it has the effect of not decaying for thousands of years and not decaying for tens of thousands of years, and can always maintain the lifelike appearance of the deceased.

Qin Shi Huang sent people to search for it, but they were never found.

The fact that the Queen of Jingjue used such a large piece of wood to make her coffin is probably due to the fact that Jingjue Kingdom is close to the Kunlun Mountains.

After examining it for a while, Yuan Tiangang shook his head and said, "Although its vitality is not bad and it can be considered a different species, it is ultimately no match for the Ancient Tree of Life and the Ghost Tree among the ancient gods."

Ma Xianhong said, "Since neither of you is interested, then I'll take it!"

Li Chunfeng and Yuan Tiangang naturally had no objection.

Just as Ma Xianhong was about to make a move, the Corpse Fragrance Devil's Flower on the Kunlun Divine Tree suddenly bloomed, its enchanting petals surging like waves of blood, and a captivating fragrance instantly filled the entire space.

Hu Bayi and the others felt a series of hallucinations before their eyes. Shirley Yang even saw her father struggling and screaming in the sea of ​​fire, while Fatty Wang had already picked up an entrenching tool and was chopping at Professor Chen's head.

"You can do a small job even if you're a master of a skill."

"Dawei... Pah!"

"Soul-Locking Chains!"

The Soul-Locking Chain in Ma Hong's sleeve clanged, and the black snake scales suddenly glowed with a ghostly blue light. The chain wrapped around the Corpse-Scented Devil's Taro as if it were alive.

With a tearing sound, the konjac flower emitted a scream like a baby crying, and a foul-smelling viscous liquid gushed out from its stamens, only to evaporate into blue smoke the moment it touched the chains.

With a flick of his finger, Ma Xianhong caused the Kunlun Divine Wood coffin lid to shatter violently. Amidst the flying wood chips, a bewitching female corpse suddenly sat up, and two clusters of eerie blue ghost fire rose from her eye sockets, which resembled black voids.

The Queen of Jingjue's jade fingers were like hooks. Suddenly, the hissing of ten thousand snakes could be heard, and countless Pure Vision Agamas poured down from her eye sockets like a black waterfall!

"Ah!"

Ma Xianhong sneered and said, "What Boundless Demon Eye? It's nothing more than an imaginary space anchor point tainted with the power of the Serpent God. The so-called Queen Jingjue is now nothing more than a corpse puppet."

Faced with the swarming snakes, Ma Xianhong suddenly produced a magical artifact in his hand. It was shaped like an umbrella, made entirely of pearls, and adorned with nine kinds of treasures. There were also pearls strung together to form the four characters "Loading the Universe".

As the chief craftsman of the Heavenly Court in the Juntian Realm, Ma Xianhong possesses an abundance of treasures.

With a flick of his wrist, the jeweled umbrella spun in the air, instantly unleashing a torrent of seven-colored light. The four characters "Loading Heaven and Earth" on the umbrella's surface suddenly lit up, tearing open a vortex in the void and sucking in the surging tide of snakes.

Upon seeing this, the Queen of Jingjue let out a shrill scream, and the ghostly fire in her obsidian eye sockets surged three feet.

She spread her arms, and the entire ghost cave suddenly trembled violently. Countless snake-men crawled out from the unfinished passages on the stone walls.

Its upper body resembles a human, but its lower body is a snake's tail. It has sharp teeth, claw-like hands, and huge, abruptly protruding eyes that gleam with the same blood-red light as the Pure Vision Agama.

"So they were snake slaves made from living people. I never expected those giant-eyed stone statues to be such realistic sculptures."

Ma Xianhong made a hand seal, and the Bright Jewel Umbrella was suspended upside down above the Kunlun Divine Tree, continuously capturing the snake slaves, as many as there were, without ever filling it up.

At the same time, twelve golden ropes hung down from the ends of the umbrella ribs, coiling around the coffin like serpents.

Just as the Queen of Jingjue was about to struggle, the Soul-Locking Chains suddenly pierced through her seven orifices, completely destroying her Boundless Demon Eyes and blocking her way out. Then, twelve golden chains, along with the coffin, pulled her into the treasure umbrella.

Then, Ma Xianhong put away the treasure umbrella, and a bell appeared in his palm. With a gentle shake, the bell jingled, and Hu Bayi and the others immediately broke free from the illusion.

Fatty Wang's hand, holding the entrenching tool, froze in mid-air, cold sweat pouring down his face: "I... I just saw you, Old Hu, turn into a snake demon and try to bite me!"

Hu Bayi rubbed his temples and smiled bitterly: "I saw that Shirley Yang's face had turned into a skull."

He suddenly widened his eyes, "Where's Professor Chen?"

Everyone turned around in horror, only to see Chen Jiuren walking towards the edge of the ghost cave with a silly grin, half of his foot already dangling in the air. Shirley Yang rushed forward and grabbed his backpack, but he pushed her away and she almost fell. The nearly sixty-year-old professor was surprisingly strong at this moment.

"Ding--"

The clear bell rang again, and Professor Chen shuddered and collapsed to the ground.

"The hallucinogenic poison of the Corpse Fragrance Arum has invaded the internal organs."

Li Chunfeng pressed his fingers together on Professor Chen's forehead, and a wisp of black energy was forced up his throat along the meridians. "If it weren't for Fellow Daoist Ma's Cleansing Bell, this person would probably have jumped into the cave to be buried alive with him."

Yuan Tiangang sneered, "A clueless idiot."

Suddenly, Yuan Tiangang waved his hand and scattered several copper coins. The coins flickered in and out of Yuan Tiangang's divination plate. He calculated with his fingers and his expression gradually darkened: "That action just now has probably awakened the remains of the snake god. We need to retrieve the bones as soon as possible."

As if to confirm his words, the entire stone platform began to tilt, and thick black liquid seeped from the unfinished passages, which then transformed into small, pitch-black snakes.

Li Chunfeng looked up at Ma Xianhong and asked, "I wonder what treasure you have brought that can help us extract the bones?"

Ma Xianhong then took out a treasure from his neck, shaped like a longevity lock. The lock was golden in color, with strange Heavenly Dao inscriptions engraved on both sides. Below the lock were three white jade chains.

"A heart-piercing lock?!"

Li Chunfeng's pupils contracted, and he clapped his hands and laughed, "With the help of such a treasure, this matter is easy!"

Yuan Tiangang nodded as well.

Without hesitation, Ma Xianhong threw down the three white jade chains of the Heart-Piercing Lock. They instantly transformed into nine black jade chains, extending downwards as if they were living things, seemingly without end.

According to legend, those who are struck by this spell will have their three flowers on their head destroyed, their five vital energies in their chest extinguished, and their three souls, seven spirits, and five internal organs locked up so that they cannot move. This causes them extreme pain, making them unable to live or die, and leaving them at the mercy of the one who cast the spell.

Even a great immortal who has attained enlightenment for many years cannot escape this calamity; in reality, it is an unparalleled treasure for capturing and ambushing.

Of course, the Heart-Piercing Lock that Ma Xianhong possessed wasn't as powerful as some others, but it was still crafted by Meng Fan himself and incorporated many fragments of rules. This Heavenly Dao artifact was specifically made to capture ancient gods.

(End of this chapter)