91: Sow evil causes, reap evil consequences

"Heh…"

If an ordinary person were to suffer such an attack, they might be caught off guard in their haste, but Xu Sanyan's Physical Body had long transcended the mundane, and his reactions were even swifter. With his palms pressed together, the hidden weapon obediently fell into his hand.

At a glance, it was a dagger about an inch long.

The blade emitted a faint, dark glow, looking extremely unusual, and it should also be a treasure.

"After hundreds of years without anyone nurturing it, it still possesses such power?" Xu Sanyan's heart filled with even more anticipation.

The stone door opened wide, revealing the situation inside: a small, very square stone chamber, clearly man-made, with a stone table placed in the center.

The surface of the stone table was carved with a complex pattern, which looked like a Formation.

Xu Sanyan stroked his chin, stepped forward to observe carefully, and noted it was another Formation. It seemed that the National Preceptor's Formation mastery back then was quite profound.

The Formation formed a semi-circular milky-white light shield, inverted over the stone table, making it impossible to see what was inside.

Xu Sanyan frowned. He knew nothing about Formations. How should he solve this?

Smash it by force?

Xu Sanyan controlled the Fiend on the bank, turned to look at the old man, and then squatted down to write on the ground, "There's a Formation below. How do I break it?"

The old man stroked his beard, slowly shaking his head, "This old man doesn't know either. The second generation ancestor never mentioned this matter, because if the ancestor were to revive, that small Formation would not be an obstacle at all."

Xu Sanyan felt that he made sense, so he made up his mind to smash it by force!

As for whether smashing it would damage the contents inside, that was not within his consideration. If he got it, he was lucky; if he lost it, it was his fate. Anyway, it was a freebie!

Xu Sanyan circulated his magical power, and a layer of white light condensed on his right hand, which he then slammed onto the light shield with a bang.

"Boom!"

In an instant, a muffled sound like a clap of thunder came, surging Qi waves spread out, and the light shield flickered.

Xu Sanyan was repelled by the recoil, crashing heavily against the stone wall. He got up, brushed off the dust, completely unharmed.

Above, debris fell from the stone chamber, and it looked like it would collapse if this continued.

Xu Sanyan gazed at the light shield, only to see that the milky-white light curtain had become slightly transparent, but he still couldn't see what was inside.

"Troublesome…"

Xu Sanyan muttered to himself. A few more hits and he was confident he could smash the light shield, but this stone chamber probably wouldn't hold up.

"Formation… truly mysterious." Xu Sanyan praised. Such a small light curtain, after nearly a thousand years, was still so sturdy. Remarkable.

Xu Sanyan's eyebrows twitched. The Fiend on the bank suddenly turned its head, only to see a figure appear out of nowhere not far away.

She wore a simple long dress, had a beautiful face, and her bare feet were like white jade, without a trace of dust.

It was the woman from the tomb!

Xu Sanyan secretly frowned. The commotion just now was too loud and attracted her.

The woman's skirt swayed as she gracefully approached, looking at the old man and smiling, "Heh heh… you're not being honest."

The old man's eyes were filled with melancholy, and he smiled freely, "Greetings, Xiangtan Princess."

The woman shook her head, "Don't call me Xiangtan Princess anymore. There's no Xiangtan left now. My name is Liu Wanjun."

The old man nodded, "What the ancestor did back then was wrong to you, Princess. If you hold a grudge, this old man is willing to be slain, hoping only that you do not implicate the villagers. They know nothing."

Liu Wanjun chuckled, "It's fine. Hundreds of years have passed. I've long let go of what happened back then."

The old man let out a long breath, saying gratefully, "Thank you, Princess."

Liu Wanjun smiled faintly and nodded, "No need to thank me. Now only you are left in the village. You must live well."

The old man was stunned, a bad premonition suddenly rising in his heart. He said with a trembling voice, "Princess… what do you mean?"

"Was I not clear enough?" Liu Wanjun squinted, "'Only you are left' means… there are no living people left in the village."

After she woke up, she no longer needed the villagers to provide her with vital essence, so… they were useless.

The old man's face instantly turned pale, and he collapsed to the ground, pointing at Liu Wanjun with tearful old eyes, "You… how could you do it? They are all citizens of Great Liang!"

"Great Liang?"

"But this isn't our Great Liang…" Liu Wanjun shook her head.

Hundreds of years of lonely time had long twisted her mind. Although she appeared no different from an ordinary person on the surface, her heart was filled with monstrous resentment.

"I sensed it… the item, it's right here." Liu Wanjun closed her eyes and sensed a faint, almost imperceptible connection attracting her.

Xu Sanyan's previous strike had drastically reduced the light shield's protective power, which was why she could sense that item.

Although she didn't know what it was, she knew it was very important to her.

Extremely important!

After all, she had extended her lifespan by eight hundred years, and it couldn't have been without a price. The price she paid was that she could not leave the area covered by this grand Formation!

As soon as she stepped out of the Formation, losing its protection, she would instantly turn into a wisp of smoke and dissipate into this world.

This range was within ten li of the tomb.

Only by finding that crucial item would she have a chance to leave here and return to the Imperial City she yearned for, just for a look.

Therefore, she was determined to get it!

No matter the cost!

Liu Wanjun stepped lightly into the water. The Fiend did not stop her. Xu Sanyan knew that the Fiend was no match for her.

The old man gazed blankly at the direction of the village, his heart filled with despair. He didn't know if what the National Preceptor did back then was correct, causing his descendants to suffer such bitter consequences for a vague, illusory chance of rebirth.

Perhaps the National Preceptor wouldn't even care if he knew…

The old man stepped into the water in a daze. He no longer wished to live alone.

The stream gradually submerged his chest, his mouth and nose, his head…

Until he completely disappeared.

…

Liu Wanjun followed the pull and successfully found the hidden current. When she poked her head out, she saw Xu Sanyan staring at her with a calm expression.

"We meet again, Princess." Xu Sanyan smiled and waved.

"Indeed." Liu Wanjun leaped out of the water, her wet hair dripping with water. Her gaze passed over Xu Sanyan's shoulder, seeing the milky-white light shield inside the stone chamber.

"Give me the item, and you can name your terms." Liu Wanjun said directly.

Xu Sanyan raised an eyebrow, "Terms? What do you have?"

He didn't believe Liu Wanjun could offer anything he cared about, as there might be a Soul Cultivator's relic inside the light shield.

Liu Wanjun thought for a moment, "How about I help you seize the throne of Great Liang?"

"Become an emperor? Hahahahaha…" Xu Sanyan laughed out loud. He had just abdicated not long ago and had no interest in it whatsoever.

Liu Wanjun saw that he wasn't interested, so she changed her offer, "I'll help you break this Formation. I only want one item from inside, and whatever else there is, it's all yours. How about that?"

Xu Sanyan pondered, while also sizing up Liu Wanjun's curvaceous figure. If only he knew her cultivation level, it would be good.