The Ninth Lady is a rebellious person.

Chapter 255 I Will Not Let Down the Path in My Heart

After agreeing on the cleanup, Lang Jiuchuan and the others stopped worrying about it. They burned the Zixiaozi and scattered the ashes outside the city, right in front of the Martyrs' Monument.

This is to scatter his ashes as a price for the merits and vows he had accumulated, and also to commemorate the heroic souls.

Gong Tinglan and the others felt somewhat uncomfortable about this, but Lang Jiuchuan had no psychological burden at all. She had already said that she was not a good person, so how could she feel sympathy for Zixiaozi? Fu Qi was even less so. He had even swallowed the other's soul, so why would he care about a handful of ashes?

Zixiaozi should have known what would happen to him if he had stood by as a bystander, aiding and abetting evil, and even stealing the power of the will.

Lang Jiuchuan looked at the stele, which was covered in dust, but every trace of the past was exquisitely crafted. He said, "Setting up an array is not something that can be done in a short time. The materials for setting up the array also need to be prepared. However, the time gate through which Fuqi and the others died in the battle of the city was before the Xuan Clan entered the world to save it. So why did their souls fail to enter the underworld?"

Gong Tinglan replied, “What I heard from the clan elder is that the great master Tongda has a formation plate that is a treasure that can capture thousands of souls. The formation plate contains a bewitching array that can confuse ghosts and make them lose track of time. This Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation has an additional layer of illusion array that reverses Yin and Yang. It is a great formation that he has been researching for more than ten years and is waiting to successfully test.”

"So, Master Tongda was there when Fuqi and the others died?" Lang Jiuchuan's voice was somewhat cold.

As long as those heroic spirits are brave enough and their merits and vows are strong enough, they will become the best nourishment in his heart. As soon as a person dies, his soul will be collected immediately.

Her tone was so cold that Gong Tinglan inexplicably dared not reply.

Gong Qi said, "There are always some madmen in the world who are obsessed with one thing, and that is what Tongda is like."

“Indeed.” Gong Tinglan said, “Master Tongda is obsessed with studying and is also proficient in array formations. For him, setting up an array that is no less than the ancient one is the only way to make his life in the mortal world worthwhile. He also likes to collect ancient formulas and fragments of array formations, and incorporate his own ideas to complete them, making the array layered. He once said that he would not hesitate to give up his life for this.”

Formations are ever-changing, and to master them requires an immense amount of mental effort; one wrong step can lead to a series of mistakes, so one must be completely focused.

But in this way, it also trains mental strength. It's like reaching a critical point, drying up and then regenerating, which can be considered a reward.

Where there are risks, there are also rewards.

"He had such thoughts, but instead of seeking benefits for himself, he gave them to the royal family. What kind of saint is he?" Lang Jiuchuan sneered.

Gong Tinglan said, "Compared to those things, he would have preferred to see a masterpiece. Unfortunately, after this formation was completed, Da Dan was established for only three years before he died."

Lang Jiuchuan immediately asked, "How did he die?"

"He died from the backlash of the formation. It seems that when he was forging a broken formation plate as his natal plate, he failed to survive the heavenly tribulation and suffered the backlash. Tibetan history is full of stories about how the heavens were jealous of his talents."

Lang Jiuchuan raised an eyebrow: "In my opinion, it's mainly because he suffered retribution."

Gong Tinglan smiled. Who knows? For people like them, such a person, though from the past, is still a legend and not to be criticized.

Not all cultivators who enter the Dao are purely righteous; some are both righteous and evil, and some are obsessed with a particular technique to the point of obsession. Tongda is one such person who is obsessed with the fission of arrays.

While some of his actions may be unacceptable, his talent is undeniable.

Lang Jiuchuan didn't say anything. Since things had come to this point, there was no point in delving into it further. The instigator was long gone, and those who were still alive could only wait for another day. So the matter was put aside for the time being.

Lang Jiuchuan glanced at the small tower, his eyes flashing slightly, until Gong Tinglan pulled him aside to tell him about Fu Qi's whereabouts.

“General Fu will follow you, but there must be some restraint. Since you have devoured living souls, you are prone to murderous intent. If you kill indiscriminately and harm innocent people, you will not be able to extricate yourself from this situation.” Gong Tinglan said, glancing at Fu Qi. He did not hide these words from Fu Qi, but rather said them to him, lest he lose control of himself, embark on a killing spree, and become a vicious and vengeful ghost.

Fu Qi was originally a fierce general, carrying a fierce aura. He was imprisoned for two hundred years and also carried resentment. Now he has devoured a living soul and turned into a vengeful ghost on his own. If he continues to be fierce and loses his mind, he will be difficult to deal with.

Lang Jiuchuan looked at Fu Qi, who said, "I dare not kill the innocent. As for the rest, I will follow your orders, Miss."

Well, they're really going to stick with it.

Lang Jiuchuan looked at Gong Tinglan and said, "My ghost, if it really did something evil, I don't need you righteous people to help me. I can kill it myself. After all, I'm not a good thing."

Two people and one ghost: "..."

There's no need to emphasize that.

Having settled Fu Qi's destination, the group did not linger in the Bagua City and entered the Yin Road to leave. However, just before the Yin Road closed, a faint aura emanated from it.

Gong Qi seemed to sense something, turned around and glanced back, looking thoughtful, but said nothing.

Lang Jiuchuan then asked Gong Tinglan, "Regarding the Bagua City matter, what are the young master's impressions of the royal family?"

Gong Tinglan did not stop walking and said with a wry smile, "Xiao Qi has already told you, hasn't he? Shen Qingtian of the court proposed to establish the Supervisory Bureau, which already destined that the clans and the royal family could no longer be as close as before, and parting ways was inevitable."

Unless Daoist lineages emerge like mushrooms after rain within the royal family, they will inevitably suppress the other clans to prevent a situation where a slave becomes too powerful and bullies the master.

Lang Jiuchuan said with a hint of schadenfreude, "That means the bond of brotherhood is about to become a thing of the past."

Gong Tinglan sighed and lowered her eyes, saying, "This shouldn't be a bad thing. If you want to cultivate the Great Dao, you have to return to your original Dao heart. Otherwise, how can you make progress? If you continue to decay, the Dao will die."

“Wrong.” Lang Jiuchuan shook his head and said, “The Dao will not die. What dies is only the rotten flesh. There will always be people cultivating the true Dao. It will never perish because of one person or one clan.”

Gong Tinglan was taken aback, and said, "I've been too attached to appearances again." He paused, then hesitantly asked, "Excuse me for asking..."

"If you're being presumptuous, then don't ask." Lang Jiuchuan immediately interrupted him: "If you ask me how I did it, how I could transfer the soul without breaking the formation, I don't know either. Perhaps it was due to a sense of unwillingness at the time, or perhaps a high monk or deity possessed me? I did it, and I have a clear conscience, and I have not betrayed the path that I have always believed in."

Gong Tinglan's eyes were bright. "What a path I have chosen! So pure, that's why I have learned such skills."
The Bagua City receded into the distance behind them, but Gong Tinglan and the others were unaware that, in the dead of night, a spiritual sense quietly arrived at the stele. It transformed its malevolent energy into a small hoe and began digging at the base of the stele, drilling deeper and deeper until it unearthed a fist-sized object coiled with a dragon. At this moment, the formation stopped, the earth seemed to tremble, and then returned to calm. A few stars lit up the originally dark night sky.

My eyes are getting worse from looking at the computer at night, and my presbyopia is getting more severe. What should I do?