Chapter 157 Conspiracy

Old Liu smiled inscrutably, while Zhao Ci was filled with worry. After avoiding Old Liu, he sent instructions to his subordinate ghosts, ordering them to closely monitor the movements of the Reincarnation Division.

In fact, the Reincarnation Division reacted much faster than Old Liu had imagined, arriving at Qingyan Village in force in just half a day.

At that time, Ye Yang was at the most critical moment of unlocking the secret lock. He had fallen into a state of complete absorption, as if he had merged with his surroundings.

The Realm of Microscopic Perception!

The Realm of Microscopic Perception, as it is called in the world of術 (Shu – esoteric arts), does not refer to a state of cultivation, but a state of being. It is a state in which a practitioner perceives the most minute changes by merging with the environment.

No matter what a practitioner's purpose for entering the Realm of Microscopic Perception, they cannot be disturbed. Otherwise, they will inevitably suffer a Qi deviation and die on the spot.

On the surface, I appeared calm, but my nerves were already on edge, ready to rescue Ye Yang at any moment.

However, what one fears most often comes to pass!

Zang Tianji, sitting across from me, frowned slightly: "The people from the Reincarnation Division are here!"

Startled, I saw Zang Tianji pour water on the table. Soon, an image of the village entrance appeared in the water.

A large group of Reincarnation Division disciples, led by five experts, surrounded the village entrance from all directions.

From the water reflection, the disciples in the front row, advancing slowly with their sabers raised, were beginning to gather at the village entrance. Behind them, others advanced with crossbows, the five experts providing cover for each other, holding the line.

The entire formation advanced slowly like a military formation, but they proceeded cautiously, step by step.

The Reincarnation Division had changed its tactics this time. With their current formation, even if someone launched a surprise attack, it would be difficult to inflict heavy damage on them, unless there was an equal number of people to block them outside the village.

I took a deep breath and said, "Feng Ruoxing, keep an eye on Ye Yang. I'll go out and try."

"No!" Feng Ruoxing shook her head. "That secret lock has already locked down an area of one hundred meters. If you go out now, you will disturb Ye Yang's unlocking of the secret lock."

Feng Ruoxing's voice sank: "Wait! The worst that can happen is they come over here, and we fight to the death, perishing together."

My right hand, under the table, slowly clenched into a fist. Given Feng Ruoxing's movement techniques, she was the most likely to break through the encirclement. If she said she would hold out until the end, she wouldn't break out on her own.

Are the three hall masters of Liangjie Tang (Two Realms Hall) really going to be buried here today?

Just as my heart sank, I saw in the water reflection that all the Reincarnation Division disciples had stopped in front of the bluestone at the village entrance.

Without waiting for me to speak, Zang Tianji shifted the position of the water reflection, showing the stone slab from the front.

On that bluestone, a patch of blood-red names had appeared at some point. Du Song, Lü Jiantong, and others were listed, each name dripping with blood, except for Wen Yi's name, which had not yet turned red.

I said in a low voice, "See if our names are on it?"

"They're below!" Zang Tianji moved his finger slightly, and the image in the water reflection froze on a corner of the bluestone.

Li Po, Ye Yang, Feng Ruoxing, Zang Tianji—the blood on these four names had already congealed, appearing somewhat purple at first glance.

I could now be certain: someone was indeed helping us in the shadows. Moreover, the other party's cultivation was extremely high. That person was using the names on the bluestone to confuse the Reincarnation Division.

Sure enough, one of the experts leading the Reincarnation Division said, "The blood writing on the stone tablet suggests that the village's ghosts and gods have already slaughtered those who entered the forbidden area!"

"Moreover, the first to die were from Liangjie Tang (Two Realms Hall). The blood on the names of Li Po and the others is almost dry. They must have been dead for more than a day!"

Another person nodded in agreement: "Hall Master, I think we should go back! The ghosts and gods are warning us with blood writing that they don't want us to enter the forbidden area. Moreover, the sky above this Qingyan Village is already covered in baleful aura. I don't think there will be any living people left."

The people from the Reincarnation Division didn't know that the only ruler of Qingyan Village, the Life-Controlling Ghost God, had already vanished, and the dead Reincarnation Division disciples couldn't tell them the truth either.

But I knew that someone was deliberately trying to frighten the Reincarnation Division disciples away.

The leader of the Reincarnation Division, however, was not swayed by his subordinates. He walked up to the bluestone, squatted down, pinched the blood on my name with his fingers, rubbed it a few times, and then sniffed it under his nose before sneering, "This is probably Li Po's trick."

"Look closely, the names on this stone slab are written from bottom to top. Overall, the names at the bottom should have been written the longest time ago, so the bloodstains are the most dried up. But…"

The man paused and said, "The person who wrote these names made a common-sense mistake, and that is that they didn't pay attention to their own handwriting."

"People who are skilled in術 (Shu – esoteric arts) write a piece of writing in one go, without long pauses in between. Because when a person's mind, thoughts, and state of mind are completely focused, being suddenly interrupted makes it difficult to return to the original state. The written characters will show some differences, even for famous calligraphers."

"Look closely at the names on the stone tablet. There is no difference in the way the person started each stroke, which can only mean that he wrote all the names in one breath. And deliberately used human blood to create the illusion that everyone died at different times. Also…"