77 - A Farewell to Mr. Luo

Chapter 77 Upon hearing Bai Fan's suggestion, Gui Deng finally noticed the red crystal embedded in Xiao Kui Le's chest. Unlike Bai Fan and her companions who had painstakingly navigated through the maze-like corridors, the puppet's ability to pass through walls allowed it to advance much more quickly. As a result, it had never encountered the formidable puppet soldiers within the labyrinth, making Gui Deng's curiosity towards it quite understandable. Gui Deng's suggestion to take the puppet along was also an attempt to ingratiate himself with Bai Fan. In his mind, if he could win her favor now, she would be more inclined to assist him in finding a spirit vessel in the future. As the little puppet finished scattering seeds, it began watering them, completely ignoring the observing pair—one human and one ghost. Suddenly, a furious roar echoed from outside the small palace, which they immediately recognized as coming from the monster in the third coffin. The sky outside shimmered in hues of yellow and green, indicating an intense battle was taking place. "We need to hurry, or else if those people deal with the monster, things will get complicated here." Gui Deng nodded and moved to subdue the puppet, but Bai Fan stopped him with a single hand, "Let me do it." In a swift motion, she stood before the puppet. It stood as tall as a human, with elongated limbs that made it resemble an ape. Its skin was human-like, but its face bore only a pair of eyes. As Bai Fan faced it, her reflection was mirrored in its eyes. With practiced finesse, she extracted the red crystal from its chest. The puppet's previously reflective eyes immediately dulled. Stunned by the loss of its power source, it stood motionless, clutching a water bucket. Gui Deng gasped in surprise and hurried over to examine the red crystal in Bai Fan’s hand. "I thought this would take a lot of effort, but the Daoist handled it so effortlessly. So, this stone is indeed the puppet's power source." Examining the now-dark red crystal in her hand, Bai Fan then picked up the puppet and turned to Gui Deng, "Do you have a storage bag?" "Storage bag?" Gui Deng found the question puzzling. At a certain level of cultivation, a practitioner would certainly acquire a storage bag. Given this reality, Gui Deng clearly did not possess one, as he was a ghost with no tangible belongings. "Do you have one?" "No." "Then you’ll have to carry the puppet on your back." With that, Bai Fan tossed the puppet onto Gui Deng, who hadn't even had time to react, ending up pinned under the puppet's weight. "Uh, Daoist... this isn't right. I can’t maintain this human form for long. Once I revert, I won't be able to carry this thing." Bai Fan, leading the way and not bothered to listen to Gui Deng's complaints, was focused on finding an exit. Her storage bag was full, and there was no other feasible solution but to have someone carry it. They passed through a small courtyard to reach the alchemy room behind the small palace. The room was filled with various pill furnaces, and the countless small bottles made Bai Fan’s eyes light up. Unexpectedly, the place still had spiritual pills. Although thousands of years had passed, and she couldn't be sure how much remained within them, if she encountered a well-preserved beauty pill like before, it would be a great find. However, time was pressing, and she couldn't afford to open and inspect each small bottle. Her eyes quickly scanned over the display racks. One particularly exquisite small pill furnace caught her attention, not just for its design but also for its size—it was only the size of her palm. "Since I'm here, might as well take a furnace. Who knows, I might be able to sell it for a few spirit stones." Securing the tiny pill furnace in her possession, she darted out, only to see Gui Deng passing by with the puppet on his back, panting heavily, "Daoist, someone has entered the main hall." "So soon." Bai Fan quickly led Gui Deng out of the small palace from the rear courtyard, both breathing a sigh of relief upon their escape. They didn't stop running until Gui Deng could no longer keep up, "Daoist, I can't carry this any longer." In the blink of an eye, Gui Deng vanished, leaving Bai Fan looking down at the puppet and Gui Deng's lantern-like body. "I only had you carry it for a short while. How can you be so useless?" Bai Fan, somewhat speechless, picked up the puppet. Gui Deng floated up slowly, circling behind her. "Because my lantern body was refined, I need to transform quickly, or I’ll permanently remain as a lantern." "Alright, I get it." The puppet wasn’t particularly heavy. For someone as physically robust as Bai Fan, carrying it was almost like carrying a handbag. While Bai Fan and Gui Deng conversed, a large group had already broken into the secret room with the seven doors in the great hall, suffering two casualties along the way, and were now nearing the Seven-Star Coffin. Meanwhile, He Yi Man, having waited long enough without seeing anyone arrive, opened her eyes to gaze thoughtfully at the doors to the great hall. Bai Fan's prolonged absence suggested either she had left the area or had moved to the back of the great hall like the other practitioners. As mere mortals often do, she dared not proceed alone, choosing instead to continue waiting. Standing atop the platform, she glanced at the crystal skeleton once more, then turned to discover a hidden compartment behind the high throne. After surveying her surroundings, she reached out her pale hand to touch the hidden compartment, pressing it after a couple of strokes, triggering a clanking sound from the iron chains. The chains binding the crystal skeleton were pulled increasingly upward, making the skeleton ascend higher, presenting an almost judgment-like scene. The platform beneath began to sink, revealing a dark pathway. He Yi Man, taking a deep breath and gripping her flute tighter, pulled out a luminous pearl and entered. Once inside, the platform slowly remerged, and the chains descended, causing the crystal skeleton to return to its previous position, as if nothing had happened. Inside the dark passage, He Yi Man realized the entrance had closed behind her, startling her. Pushing at the overhead stone slabs, she found them heavy and sealed, risking fatal injury if forced open. Helplessly, she continued onward, surmising that the airflow indicated an exit existed. She expected traps similar to those in the tomb’s front chambers but traversed the entire passage unscathed, suggesting it wasn’t intended for outsiders or wasn’t meant to be discovered. Upon emerging from the passage, the sudden bright light made her squint. After her eyes adjusted, she realized she was in a small secret realm, featuring a large tree whose golden leaves hung with cute, thumb-sized fruit swaying playfully. Elsewhere, Bai Fan and Gui Deng, upon reaching a secluded spot, paused. Bai Fan issued orders, "Keep an eye out while I set up an array." Gui Deng watched curiously as Bai Fan laid out the dismantled array materials, piece by piece. He couldn’t help but marvel at her skill before obediently going to stand watch. Arranging arrays required Bai Fan’s full concentration. Unlike recalling language phonetics and general meanings, where mental review sufficed, arrays demanded precision down to the last measurement, making her cautious of any error. Misplacing merely one element could lead to teleporting to an unknown destination. After laboring for several hours, Bai Fan finally completed the array. Repeatedly verifying its correctness allowed her to sigh in relief. She called out to Gui Deng, who scampered over stealthily, "Daoist, what’s the matter?" Bai Fan, standing in the array's center and holding a large spirit stone, beckoned him in, "Hurry, get in here." Gui Deng hesitated, surprised that Bai Fan had set up an array identical to the previous one, "Did the Daoist arrange all this by herself?" Impatiently, Bai Fan grabbed and dragged him into the array, "Enough dawdling." "Ouch, my ear!" As soon as Bai Fan finished speaking, she placed the spirit stone into the last slot. With a flash of white light, the figures standing on the array vanished in the blink of an eye, and the large spirit stone on the ground was completely consumed. Experiencing the teleportation array for a second time, Bai Fan felt much better than before. The nausea and dizziness she had previously endured were finally gone. When she landed, another flash of white light dispersed. With a quick survey of her surroundings, she felt immense relief at not finding herself in a spatial rift. Shortly after Bai Fan and her companion had left, cultivators from the Northern Continent arrived on the second level, standing right where Bai Fan had previously dismantled the array. Seeing the dismantled array on the ground, the group members looked troubled. "How could this be? The array has been completely dismantled." "Damn it! Who could have done this?" "If the array were only partially dismantled, we could have reconstructed it bit by bit. But now, the entire array has been taken apart, and none of us possess the skill to set it up again, nor do we have enough materials." It turned out that this wasn’t their first time there. In previous visits, they would use the array to save time. This time, however, someone had preempted them by dismantling it. "Time is of the essence. The barrier has been open for half a month, and we have just half a month left. We should hurry ahead; the Dao Fruit must be nearing ripeness." Meanwhile, Bai Fan, after teleporting, found herself in a small secret realm. As she took in the unfamiliar surroundings and a towering tree, she initially thought she had made it out of the tomb. But then, catching a glimpse of a familiar figure at the base of the tree, Bai Fan suspected she was seeing things, until a clear voice called out from that direction. "So, that's where you are." ※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※ Thank you, little angels, for casting your king votes or nourishing with nutrient solutions~ Special thanks to the little angel who cast [grenades]: Sui Yi, one; Special thanks to the little angel who cast [land mines]: kanbujian, one; Special thanks to the little angels who nourished with [nutrient solutions]: Thank you all very much for your support. I will continue to work hard! Previous Chapter Table of Contents Next Chapter Home Computer Version Bookshelf Novel Directory Hot Novels