233: A woman's heart is as deep as the sea

Honestly, Tang Ku's actions had already exceeded the limits of Xuanji Zi's imagination!

"I... you... this... that..."

Tang Ku looked impatient: "What 'this' and 'that'? You are free now, go do whatever you need to do!"

Just as Tang Ku had said, he was now free. Even after checking his body, he found that his magic power hadn't been consumed much; he even had the strength to put up a fight against Fairy Yunyi.

However, facing such a terrifying and powerful "lifesaver," for a moment, he actually didn't know what to say.

"...Senior's strength is unfathomable. Xuanji Zi has truly misjudged you!"

A few seconds later, he finally regained his composure and said with a helpless, bitter smile, "With strength like yours, there is nothing in Shu Mountain worth you coveting! It was my own narrow-mindedness."

This time, Tang Ku laughed: "Who said there wasn't? Hmm, for example, you people of Shu Mountain, including yourself—aren't those exactly what I'm aiming for?"

"Senior's meaning is... to want people?"

Xuanji Zi suddenly remembered something and couldn't help but say in shock, "Not long ago, a few cultivators came, and because of the internal strife in Shu Mountain, I drove them away. They were also here to demand people... Could it be that you are also from the Imperial Court?"

"You could say that. The Emperor begged me to come. But honestly, the cultivators of the Human Realm really do need to be tidied up. Look at your Shu Mountain—without anyone managing it, it has become such a mess!"

Tang Ku said.

"To tell you the truth!"

Xuanji Zi said in a deep voice, "My Junior Sister's will is not firm; she was taken advantage of by that Red Corpse, who seized her Divine Soul. Before long, once she obtains the Purple and Azure Twin Swords and her magic power reaches a higher level, she will completely become a Puppet of the Red Corpse... Well, if you do not abandon us, as long as Shu Mountain survives this crisis, I will submit to the Imperial Court!"

Tang Ku rubbed his chin: "You alone are not enough. Right now, we are in need of people; can't you bring more?"

"You saved my life, and you also saved the lives of Yao Muyun and Xu Yinghua. The three of us, master and disciples, submitting is no problem. But one thing is one thing; if other people in Shu Mountain are willing to submit, I have nothing to say, but I hope you do not force them!"

Although Xuanji Zi was grateful, he was not foolish enough to bet his entire School on it.

Tang Ku smiled slightly: "Then, if I help you get through this crisis, eliminate the Red Corpse, and kill that Blood Demon, are you willing to lead all of Shu Mountain to submit to the current dynasty?"

Xuanji Zi was suddenly shocked, then immediately knelt on both knees, cupped his hands, and bowed: "If you can truly do that, we of Shu Mountain are willing to go through fire and water, and will not refuse!"

These words were almost deafening, showing enough sincerity.

But for a long time, Xuanji Zi did not hear Tang Ku's response. He couldn't help but steal a glance upward, only to find himself meeting Tang Ku's smiling gaze.

Xuanji Zi was a bit embarrassed, but before he could speak, Tang Ku opened his mouth.

"As expected, those who can become sect leaders are not simple characters. You are also the type who won't release the hawk until you see the rabbit!"

Tang Ku laughed.

"This..." Xuanji Zi couldn't help but feel ashamed.

In fact, just now, when Xuanji Zi heard Tang Ku's words, he had already decided to submit, but he hoped that Tang Ku would help. After all, with such a strong person in charge, everything would become much easier.

Therefore, he played a word game, but he did not expect Tang Ku to see through it.

"Senior, please don't laugh at me. I did all this for the sake of Shu Mountain. If you... if you want to blame someone, just blame me alone!"

Xuanji Zi did not beat around the bush when he spoke. If I did something wrong, I did it wrong; I admit it, but you can only blame me—do not vent your anger on others.

Tang Ku laughed very happily this time: "Hahaha, why would I blame you? You haven't done anything wrong. In fact, being able to stick to your principles while still having a certain amount of cunning—such talent is hard to find even with a lantern... Alright, alright, let's stop being pretentious. When she launches that whatever plan tomorrow, everything will become clear... But now there is one more thing: how do we get out..."

With his strength, it wasn't impossible to forcefully break open this dungeon, but that would completely alert the enemy.

And as the sect leader candidate appointed by Baimei, Xuanji Zi naturally knew how to get out of this dungeon. After all, this place was only meant to trap enemies; if one of their own was accidentally trapped, there had to be a way out.

"Senior is right. Please follow me... There is actually only one exit here, but it takes some effort to get out..."

Xuanji Zi nodded and led the way toward the dungeon entrance with Tang Ku. Actually, it wasn't very far to the top, but firstly, the dungeon was made of special rocks, which were generally difficult to break; and secondly, there were all kinds of Formations and mechanisms set up by the Seniors of Shu Mountain. If one wasn't familiar with these things, once trapped inside, there was basically no hope of getting out.

Since Fairy Yunyi left, the Formation here had been reactivated. Xuanji Zi naturally knew how to break it, so it didn't take much effort for the two of them to reach the cave entrance.

"There is one last gate, the Dragon-Severing Stone! As long as you press this stone Bagua and rotate it in a certain order according to the Fuxi Sixty-Four Hexagrams, you can open this gate."

Xuanji Zi walked up to the giant stone and reached out to press the Bagua next to the gate, but unexpectedly, Tang Ku grabbed his hand.

"If you want to keep your life, don't touch this thing. There's something strange about it!"

Tang Ku said in a deep voice.

"Senior is joking. This dungeon has held many evil demons and heretics, and I have often come in and out in the past. I won't get it wrong..."

Xuanji Zi laughed.

"Listen to me, don't move!"

Tang Ku sneered slightly, "Your Junior Sister is no pushover. She set up an illusion Formation here just to deceive you... The Bagua diagram you mentioned is currently about half a foot to the right of where your hand is, and the place your palm was about to press is a black steel spike, covered in a greenish substance. I don't know if it's some kind of poison!"

Xuanji Zi suddenly retracted his hand, looking horrified: "Has Junior Sister's illusion reached such a level?"

Tang Ku pointed to his own eyes and said, "No one in the world can deceive me with illusions using these eyes... Here, you tell me the direction, and I will turn that thing..."

Xuanji Zi was silent for a moment, then said, "Very well, thank you for your trouble, Senior!"

Tang Ku smiled and had already placed his hand on a certain position on the wall. Xuanji Zi couldn't see it, but Tang Ku could see it clearly.

"Click..."

Hearing the mechanism sound, Xuanji Zi knew that Tang Ku had pressed the Bagua. He thought for a moment and said, "Using the Qian hexagram as a benchmark, turn it to the left to the Wuwang position... Then turn to the right to Dagua, turn it half a circle to the right for the Yi position... Continue turning to the right to the Tongren position... Turn left to the Xun position, turn left to the Guimei position..."

Tang Ku had a certain understanding of the hexagram positions, and besides, golden hexagram positions had appeared on the wall outside the Bagua. Therefore, as long as he listened to Xuanji Zi's words and rotated it, there shouldn't be much of a problem. Of course, it was indeed too complicated; if he had to memorize it himself, it would be extremely difficult.

"...Finally, turn left the Qian hexagram to face Kun, reversing Yin and Yang, and it's done..."

"Clatter..." A sound of gears came, and the gate in front of them finally slowly rose upward. Xuanji Zi saw a ray of moonlight spilling in, and the illusion in front of him disappeared without a trace.

Looking at the green spike on the wall, Xuanji Zi couldn't help but feel a lingering fear, and he smiled bitterly: "It truly is 'a woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea.' I completely failed to anticipate this..."