The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 232 All Things Are Still (5k)

If it had a tail, Du Yuan suspected that she would see a kitten with its head held high and tail raised, unable to hide its smugness.

After barely suppressing a laugh, Du Yuan cupped her hands in greeting and smiled:
"Then it's up to you!"

Du Yuan had only heard of arrogant people before, but after actually encountering one in real life, she was surprised to realize just how easy it was to handle them.

Upon hearing this, the woman in the plain white robe deflated slightly, her lips curving upwards in a fleeting smile—but she quickly tightened her expression, forcibly suppressing the smile. Feeling the attempt to hide it was too clumsy, she turned her head slightly away, her tone slightly awkward:

"There's no need for you to say anything."

As soon as she finished speaking, as if afraid of omitting something if she said any more, she quickly added vaguely:

"Anyway, you should settle this matter as soon as possible. I have something to say to you later."

Before she finished speaking, she gently raised her hand. All the cultivators present keenly sensed that the sense of isolation that had created a self-contained world around them had dissipated.

Clearly, the water curtain that had previously trapped everyone had now truly transformed into an ordinary water curtain.

In other words, it's time to fight to the death!
For a moment, the cultivators from all sides couldn't help but breathe rapidly, but they didn't dare to run away right now. Instead, they all looked at Du Yuan.

No one is so foolish as to not understand the situation by now: their lives have long been in the hands of this Taoist priest!

If I had known it would turn out this way, I shouldn't have listened to those idiots in the first place!

Thinking of this, they couldn't help but look at their old enemy and the patriarch of Yiqing Mountain.

Immediately afterwards, the strange feeling that Old Ghost Enemy had vaguely sensed earlier finally surged in everyone's hearts.

Wait—why are that old monkey and the old Taoist priest already kneeling obediently over there? And what about Prince Wei?! Where is Prince Wei?!

After a moment of stunned silence, a sudden realization exploded in his heart like a thunderbolt, followed by overwhelming shock and rage. These beasts! They had betrayed them long ago!

No wonder they kept spouting nonsense about "great things being possible," and no wonder they went to such lengths to set up this trap and lure them all to this dead end!
It turns out they knew all along that they were being watched and couldn't escape—that's why they dragged everyone else down with them!

In an instant, the cultivators felt their blood rush to their heads, and their vision blurred. Such an obvious flaw, such a clear trap—and they only realized it now!

I blame myself for being blinded by greed, actually believing that my meager abilities could do anything to the old ancestors!
Noticing the murderous glares from everyone around him, even the old patriarch of the enemy family couldn't stop twitching at the corners of his mouth.

He wanted to say something to ease the tension, but then realized that anything he said at that moment would likely have the opposite effect.

He simply lowered his head and remained silent.

Quietly awaiting Du Yuan's next move.

Du Yuan also spoke at this moment:

"I have said that I will stand here and not move an inch. Then, the water curtain will be the boundary. Whoever can escape will live today!"

"Then, without further ado, you may begin!"

When Du Yuan finished speaking, the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. But the silence lasted only half a breath before it was shattered by a piercing roar—"Run! Only those who can escape are truly alive!"

The one who spoke was a giant holding a stone axe. He was about five zhang tall and covered in animal skins. He did not look like a cultivator, but rather like a barbarian from somewhere.

These words startled everyone, and they all turned around, wishing they could immediately use their fastest escape techniques to rush towards the water curtain.

But at that moment, they were shocked to see the giant wielding the stone axe swing it at a monk beside him.

This was something no one had expected. The monk was caught off guard and was cleaved through the heart by an axe, without even having time to activate his protective aura!

Before the words "Are you crazy? At a time like this, you still want to fight amongst yourselves?" could even be uttered, the person who spoke widened their eyes.

The giant roughly tore open the monk's robe, snatched a water-repelling pearl with a shimmering blue luster from his bosom, crushed it, and instantly transformed into a streak of light that sped toward the water curtain!
Knowing he wasn't good at escape techniques, he had already set his sights on other people's life-saving items before the Taoist priest even spoke!
What a quick calculation!
Wait a minute, if that's the case, there might be more than one person?
The thought had barely formed in his mind when he suddenly went limp and collapsed.

Then came the excruciating pain in his chest. He looked down blankly and saw a withered hand retracting from his ruptured dantian, holding in its palm the Three-Colored Exquisite Pill that he had cultivated for a thousand years and was so proud of, still covered with warm flesh and blood.

Finally, I heard another sentence:
"Hehe, I've cultivated a supernatural power, and I'm currently lacking a high-quality golden core as a foundation. Rest assured, once I'm free, I will definitely burn incense and pray for you day and night. I will never forget that!"

'You beast—!'

The thought had barely formed in his mind when he collapsed, his vision completely blacking out.

In an instant, the once relatively orderly group of cultivators descended into complete chaos. The clanging of clashing magical artifacts, the muffled groans of the injured, and the curses hurled during the looting mingled together.

They all knew that getting out today would be extremely difficult, so they didn't think about how to escape on their own.

Instead, they were thinking of striking first and seizing the remaining treasures!
In this way, with a plan in mind but no one acting on it, success is assured, and one can have more confidence.

Their idea was correct, but in practice, only the first few who took action could be considered to have successfully retired.

The others were either too slow to act, misjudged their targets, or simply became easy prey for each other. Du Yuan even witnessed two people simultaneously attacking each other and then dying at the same time.

It's unbelievable that these two, who wanted nothing more than to skin and gnaw on each other before they died, were found 'sleeping together' in death. What a cruel twist of fate!
Because of this vicious scheming, what should have been a swift and decisive escape turned into a foolish struggle that infuriated even themselves.

Knowing that time was precious, they wanted to stop and escape, but none of them dared to entrust their backs to anyone else. In the end, they all found themselves in a dead end.

The two people with the highest cultivation levels in the arena, namely the man holding the Heaven-Turning Seal and the young man carrying the national treasure, did not act immediately.

They were watching Du Yuan, trying to figure out how this Taoist priest would make his move.

As the giant wielding the stone axe approached the water curtain step by step, Du Yuan finally raised her hand and pointed, uttering a soft "Change!"

The next moment, the two felt their eyelids twitch wildly—the giant, who was just a hair's breadth away from breaking through the water curtain, turned into a heavy lump of gold along with the light surrounding him, and crashed straight to the ground.

What kind of magical power is this? There was no flow of magical power, no fluctuation of spiritual energy, and not even the slightest warning from the interaction between heaven and man.

The man's lips twitched for a moment, then he finally sighed and made a suggestion that completely surprised the young man: "Prince Zhen, you should understand that today, only one person and one magic weapon can leave safely from this place."

"what do you mean?"

The young man, called Prince Zhen, gently stroked the sword in his hand with his fingertips, and the golden dragon on the sword appeared. However, the golden dragon at this moment was somewhat timid, staring intently at Du Yuan, who was always standing in front of him.

The artifact is imbued with spirit; how could it not know that it would likely meet a tragic end today?

The man took a step forward and said in a deep voice:
"I am willing to risk my life to pave a way for you, so that you may preserve this national treasure in your hands!"

Prince Zhen subconsciously looked at the sword in his hand—this sword was obtained by Emperor Taizu in a dream from an immortal. Emperor Taizu not only used it to establish the great dynasty, but subsequent emperors also protected it and offered sacrifices to it every year, eventually making it the true national treasure of the great dynasty.

For Da Cheng, this object is like the Nine Tripods of antiquity to the Holy Dynasty—the foundation of the nation.

In the past, he would have risked his life rather than lose this sword; but now, the Great Cheng Dynasty is long gone, and even his father has accepted this fate—so naturally he dares to give it up.

But if there's a chance to save it, he's willing to try!
"So what are you after?"

"I have failed my lord, so I beg you to remember this kindness and to remember that when we return, we can reconcile our two families!"

Crown Prince Zhen raised an eyebrow, then nodded seriously:
"I understand! And please rest assured, with your words today, regardless of whether it comes to fruition or not, our two families will surely remain friends forever!"

"Then I can rest assured!"

Having said that, the man shouted:

"You bunch of fools, those who have the guts will fight alongside me, and those who don't should hurry up and get lost while I'm at it!" With that, the man flew into the sky and splashed obscure Sanskrit characters onto the Heaven-Turning Seal with his open palm.

In an instant, clear and melodious Buddhist chants surged forth from the Heaven-Turning Seal, like a thousand monks chanting sutras and ten thousand Buddhas singing in turn, stirring up layers of golden ripples in the sea of ​​clouds.

Even more astonishingly, a giant Buddha image, tens of meters tall, materialized from the seal, its body radiating Buddha light. It stood on the clouds with its eyes lowered, and the white hair between its eyebrows flowed, presenting an image that looked down upon all living beings, exuding both majesty and compassion.

"I am a member of the Cicada Shedding Cave Heaven. Today, I humbly request your guidance, Daoist Master!"

He had never seen the extraordinary power of a figure at the level of the three patriarchs, but he knew that this Heaven-Turning Seal was a genuine Buddhist treasure bestowed by the Bodhisattva.

However, under normal circumstances, given his cultivation level, if he encountered that Daoist, he feared that the Daoist could easily shatter this treasure along with his arm with a single casual strike.

After all, the difference in cultivation levels between the two sides is far greater than a thousand miles. Ultimately, the power of a magic weapon depends on the cultivation level of the cultivator.

But today is different.

Today is the day of Heaven's decree, and this Taoist priest has promised to return the Heaven-Turning Seal in his possession intact to his lord.

Therefore, his plan was to take advantage of these points!
He didn't need to fantasize about being able to directly confront the Daoist with his own limited cultivation; he only needed to borrow the Buddhist power of the Heaven-Turning Seal to maintain the situation.

Daoist Master was bound by the Heavenly Law and had made a promise beforehand, so he would never dare to actually destroy the Heaven-Turning Seal; as long as the Heaven-Turning Seal remained intact, he could use the Buddha's light and sound of the treasure to deal with the situation, and he would not have to worry about being crushed by the other party's cultivation.

To put it bluntly, he was betting on the Daoist's concern that "the seal cannot be destroyed," intending to use this concern to bridge the gap between their cultivation levels.

Of course, even so, he believed that he could not hold out for long, but as long as he could hold out for a few more breaths, he could let Prince Zhen escape with his family's important weapons!

He even told the other idiots to run away as soon as possible.

Even if those people run as fast as they can, they can't escape the Daoist's sight. But if a few more figures are moving around, they can at least divert some of the Daoist's attention. Even if it's just that the Daoist catches a glimpse of the fleeing figures out of the corner of his eye, it's still a gain, isn't it?

After a series of calculations, the more he thought about it, the more confident he became that the matter could be accomplished.

The moment he spoke, Prince Zhen, who was holding the sword, also moved.

With a sudden flick of his wrist, he forcefully pulled out the national treasure adorned with a bright yellow tassel from his bosom. The sword hummed as it thrust forward, its tip pointing sharply, his voice filled with a desperate urgency:

"Open it for me!"

This sword is named Zhenguo, and it was used by their Great Cheng Dynasty to suppress the fortunes of the four rivers and five mountains.

When Emperor Taizu used it to establish the dynasty, it was a first-class weapon of war. However, as successive emperors and the people continued to worship it, its greatest use was no longer for attacking, but for 'seizing territory'!
He intends to use this national treasure to seize the mountains and rivers of this place for his own use, so that he can escape to the ends of the earth in an instant!

As he had expected, the moment the sword was drawn, a warm golden light emanated from its blade. The mountains within dozens of miles seemed to come alive as if awakened beasts. The power of the earth's veins surged wildly into his body along the sword, instantly intertwining with his aura and merging into one.

He didn't dare touch the churning waterways around him, because it was too dangerous.

Feeling himself become one with the mountains and the earth, Prince Zhen was overjoyed and immediately took a step to escape the water curtain.

Seeing the two men exerting such force, the rest of the people dared not delay and fled in all directions.

In an instant, various methods emerged, including flashing light, creating clones, burrowing underground, and turning into smoke.

Old Ghost Qiu wanted to follow suit, but he was held back by two cultivators, which made him so angry that his hair stood on end.

"Idiot! Get out of here first! What's the use of pestering me!"

But those two had long since given up all hope; all they remembered was that he had instigated everyone to come to this perilous place, and now they wished they could tear him apart alive.
"If you hadn't betrayed us, we wouldn't be in this mess! And you're not getting away with this!"

Old Ghost Qiu almost vomited blood again:

"Then why don't you go find that old monkey and the old Taoist priest?"

The two fell silent for a moment, then turned their heads away.

They had thought about this too, but the two of them were kneeling in front of that great god and the Taoist priest.

They dared not go up.
Seeing this, Old Ghost Qiu also reacted and cursed:

"You all deserve to die! Even now you're bullying the weak and fearing the strong! Ah—! I'll kill you all!"

After saying that, the three of them immediately engaged in battle.

Du Yuan stood still the whole time, and the storm caused by the fighting among the cultivators didn't even stir his robes.

But the chaos didn't make him show any sign of panic; it was the woman beside him who couldn't contain herself any longer.

Her fingertips unconsciously twisted her sleeve, afraid of being noticed, so she only dared to tiptoe closer to Du Yuan, moving half an inch closer. Her eyes were filled with panic, a fear that 'it'll be too late if we don't act now,' but she insisted on putting on an indifferent expression:

"I said, if we keep staring like that, everyone's going to run away!"

She paused, and seeing that Du Yuan didn't move, she leaned forward again, her tone softening slightly but still maintaining her composure, with a hint of expectation hidden in her voice that she herself didn't realize:

"However, if you're willing to beg me a couple of times right now, I'm in a pretty good mood today, so it's not like I can't help you out."

As she spoke, she deliberately raised her chin, but couldn't help glancing at Du Yuan's face out of the corner of her eye, waiting for him to respond. Her face was full of "Come and beg me! Just beg me once, and I'll agree!"

But when she caught a glimpse of Prince Zhen's robes almost brushing the edge of the water curtain, her carefully maintained arrogance crumbled, replaced by, "If you keep dawdling and refusing to lower your head, I'm not going to wait until you're up there, whether you want to or not!"

Seeing this, Du Yuan's previous composure, seemingly unmoved by any storm, finally crumbled. A low laugh escaped her throat, her tone tinged with a helpless amusement:

"No need to worry, it's a trivial matter."

After saying that, Du Yuan looked at the Heaven-Turning Seal that had crashed down in front of her. The seal was indeed extraordinary, with boundless Buddhist light and immense pressure.

Du Yuan merely glanced at it indifferently, her gaze passing directly over the treasure seal suspended in mid-air, and looking at the sky above her head, which was being stirred up by spiritual energy.

He then raised his hand, and a dazzling golden light condensed at his fingertips. With a flourish of his brush, the character "禁" (forbidden) appeared out of thin air under the sky: horizontal strokes like cast gold, vertical strokes like engraved iron.

The next moment, all phenomena in this place ceased to exist!

The Heaven-Turning Seal, which had previously been so large that it covered half the sky, suddenly lost its earth-shattering power—the golden light faded rapidly, and the enormous seal shrank rapidly like the receding tide, shrinking to the size of a palm in the blink of an eye, carrying a trace of the warmth it had just used, and steadily fell into Du Yuan's outstretched palm.

The man who controlled the Heaven-Turning Seal also plummeted from the clouds, utterly speechless. The magical power he had absorbed from within a hundred miles, barely recovering a fraction of it, vanished completely in that instant, as if a clay ox had disappeared into the sea!

His performance was the first to bear the brunt of the criticism, making the rest of the companies even more embarrassed.

Those that transformed into streaks of light fell directly from mid-air, while those that created countless clones to try and distract Du Yuan were dumbfounded to see that only she remained. Those that used earth magic suffocated on the spot, while those that turned into smoke fared a little better, but still fell to the ground amidst a cloud of dust.

But Prince Zhen, who was holding the sword that protected the country, truly passed through the water curtain!

Looking at the water curtain that was really right behind him, he even glanced at the sky in disbelief to make sure he hadn't lost his mind and gone the wrong way, mistaking the inside for the outside.

Fortunately, the sunlight overhead proved he wasn't mistaken; he really had run out!
But just as boundless joy welled up in his heart, his face suddenly froze:
There stood his own national sword, engraved with cloud patterns and symbolizing the majesty of the royal family, firmly planted in the ground inside the water curtain. The tassel swayed gently in the lingering breeze, as if mocking him.

He finally realized: Yes, he had escaped, but it wasn't because he was fast; it was because that Taoist priest had named him long ago and calculated that he was destined to go through this ordeal.

Therefore, he was able to leave, but the Zhenguo Sword was left in the water curtain, and he couldn't take even a fraction of it with him.

With a thud, Crown Prince Zhen fell to the ground.

(End of this chapter)