The Ninth Lady is a rebellious person.

Chapter 585 Human effort can make a difference; one can take the rat's path.

Lang Jiuchuan watched as Fengya forcibly defied the rules to gather her remnant soul back together, and also watched as the power of the law backfired on his soul. That was the true law of heaven and earth, with powerful and merciless pressure.

She watched as he endured the excruciating pain of his soul being torn apart to send her remnant soul into the Netherworld, then rushed towards the altar, gathered his ghostly power, grabbed the mysterious stone chain, and tried to break it.

Fengya was unwilling to leave her on this altar.

The moment he moved, the altar made a sound like a mechanism, and a powerful force came from below the altar, attacking Fengya.

That was the immense power of faith and the energy of the dragon vein.

Fengya blocked the attack, but his soul was weakened by the backlash of the law's power. He dared not fight back with all his might, fearing that he would suffer more losses than gains. He glanced unwillingly at Lang Jiuchuan on the altar, said "There will be plenty of time in the future," and left the place.

Memories are interrupted.

Lang Jiuchuan and Feng Ya returned to reality at the same time, both of them looking rather grim. They exchanged a glance and saw the storm raging in each other's eyes.

"Did you remember it?" Fengya asked her after secretly adjusting his breathing.

Lang Jiuchuan nodded: "It's not an array I've seen before, but it's somewhat similar to the Devouring Fortune Array. It should be an ancient array or fragment he found, which he later completed and modified to create the Devouring Fortune Dragon Suppressing Array. Moreover, that altar is the array's core, but the one suppressing the array isn't an inanimate object, but a living sacrifice. I think the attack I suffered when you tried to seize my body was from the dragon vein's energy. This array is set up on the dragon vein, and the core of the dragon vein must be beneath it."

Fengya sneered: "If it weren't for the concern that you would be trapped there by the power of the law, and unable to save your soul, you would have to fight against that power and snatch back your physical body."

"There are priorities and degrees of importance. The soul can be saved, but the physical body can be sacrificed. There's no need to waste spiritual energy." Lang Jiuchuan seemed to be comforting him, but he was also convincing himself.

However, even though that's what they say, one day they still have to take those remains away; it's too disgusting!
"I see the altar's base is made of Netherworld Mystic Stone, emanating a deathly aura. Its arrangement is reversed according to the celestial constellations, resembling a giant, inverted bowl-shaped cage." Lang Jiuchuan closed his eyes, carefully recalling, "As the living sacrifice at the array's core, although my soul wasn't directly killed, most of my consciousness was forcibly stripped away, leaving only a purer essence of my soul. Let me think, if he used the array as lamp oil, my primordial soul power as the wick, and the underground dragon vein as the lamp, then what illuminates and nourishes..."

Lang Jiuchuan suddenly opened his eyes and said, "He must have placed his physical remains in the dragon vein and used the dragon vein's energy to nourish them, just like you placed my physical body in the center of that hidden dragon vein. My divine soul essence acts as a wick, continuously nourishing the dragon vein with merit and vows, ensuring the prosperity of the nation, which then feeds back to him. This allows him to perfectly steal fortune for himself while also circumventing the karmic consequences of heaven. It's a clever scheme that achieves several goals at once."

"How vicious!" Fengya sneered.

Lang Jiuchuan's lips twitched. He wanted to say that she had done the same thing. She was also nurtured by the dragon vein energy for a period of time before she was able to undergo Nirvana. However, she was not as shameless as Tantai Wuji, who set up formations and stole energy. The place that he found to nourish her was a pure and unknown dragon vein treasure land.

Fengya said, "That place is not easy to enter. The imperial mausoleum is equipped with a grand formation and is protected by imperial and dragon energy. If he really hid his remains there, they have probably existed for thousands of years. Even if we find them, we may not be able to take them out or destroy them. After all, he has this plan, so he will not let it fail. More importantly, this is one of his lifelines, of utmost importance. There must be his restrictions on it. If it is disturbed, he will know. You should be prepared."

"It's all up to human effort." Lang Jiuchuan's eyes sharpened. "If we do nothing, and he completes the perfect loop and his soul and body become one, he will be even more difficult to deal with. That is his true form, which has been nurtured by the dragon vein's energy for thousands of years."

Even if it might leave her injured, she had to go and do things unpredictably to disrupt his plans. But if she did nothing, she would simply be led by the nose.

Fengya didn't try to persuade her. She had her own destiny. Just like this corpse poison plague, saving one person is an act of kindness, saving the world is a responsibility. When the matter fell on her shoulders, it was her responsibility and her path!
He seemed somewhat reluctant to speak, saying, "When I went there that day, in order not to disturb the formation and attract that old ghost who would hinder my work, I used the rat method."

"Oh." Lang Jiuchuan was taken aback: "What did you say?"

A rat trail, like a dog hole or something?
Feng Ya looked very uncomfortable and said, "There's a weasel that dug a tunnel over there that leads directly to the depths of the imperial tomb in Da Dan."

Lang Jiuchuan said, "You, a dignified ghost immortal..."

"To put it nicely, you are an immortal, but in reality, you are a ghost, a spirit ghost. Your imperial aura is naturally righteous, which is not good for me. Furthermore, I am not a cultivator from the human realm, and I interfere in the affairs of the human realm. If I hadn't brought you out, I would have been strangled by the power of the laws of heaven and earth. You would be in danger!" Fengya said calmly, "I cannot take any risks before I find you."

He could, of course, openly barge in, but that would inevitably attract Tantai Wuji, and the two would fight, which would be a waste of time. By the time it was over, Lang Jiuchuan's soul would probably have dissipated, so what would be the point of winning?
As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn; the future is long!

Lang Jiuchuan didn't offer any thanks, as that would seem pretentious. Instead, she asked with great interest, "Where is that rat trail? How come that old monster didn't discover it? Has it become a spirit?"

“It has indeed become a spirit, and even received an official title. This is my way of repaying its kindness.” Fengya said, “It was born next to the imperial mausoleum and knew that the mausoleum was a place of great feng shui. Its original intention was to steal some of the fortune. So it made a path for rats, and with the earth’s vein energy covering it, it secretly intercepted some fortune little by little, like ants moving house, to help its cultivation.”

Even without the earth's energy, it is a mountain spirit or wild monster in that area. As long as it doesn't act recklessly with greed, it won't attract much attention. Especially since the rat path is winding and twisting, who can notice the twists and turns underneath?

Fengya then scoffed, "Old Ghost Tantai was clever all his life, scheming and plotting, but he couldn't have foreseen that a monster would snatch food from his own pocket. How laughable."

"Another reason is his arrogance. He was confident that his layout was perfect, but he didn't believe that even the most meticulous plans could have a flaw. Often, the most inconspicuous things are the biggest variables that cause changes in the game," Lang Jiuchuan said. "So his 'escape' of the lamp wick was also one of the inevitable variables."

Fengya suddenly asked in confusion: "Since you are the wick of the lamp, and your soul self-destructed and escaped, your original soul power would naturally be interrupted. Why didn't he notice this and give you so much time to be reborn instead of taking you back?"

Lang Jiuchuan was also stumped by the question.

That is indeed true. He personally set up the altar and personally separated the soul and consciousness. As for the origin of the soul, Lang Jiuchuan escaped, how could he not know anything about it?

A thought flashed through her mind, followed by a complex expression and a sigh: "It's the power of faith and vows from the Pancheng Shrine..."

(End of this chapter)