mesbooks Chapter 29 Opposition
Chapter 29 Opposition
"Aren't you coming with us?" Li Shancheng asked.
"I'll stay behind to cover their retreat and activate the self-destruct program in Qingyun Alley," Bishop Qin said calmly. "This stronghold has been exposed and cannot be left to the enemy. But I know every inch of this place, I know how to delay them, and I know how to evacuate safely."
"It's too dangerous!" Xu Qingqing objected.
"I am the master here, and I have a responsibility." Bishop Qin took out a set of keys from his pocket and handed them to Li Shancheng. "These are the keys to the magazine's safe. There are some important documents and spare magical artifacts inside. If we get separated, go to this place in three days—"
He drew an address rune in Li Shancheng's palm. The rune lit up briefly and then disappeared, but the information was already imprinted in his memory.
"Now, let's go!" Bishop Qin gave them a push.
Su Yan carried Jiang Han on his back, with Xu Qingqing and Liu Wei following closely behind, and entered the secret passage. Li Shancheng hesitated for a moment, but Bishop Qin's stern gaze forced him to obey.
The entrance to the secret passage closed automatically after they entered. Li Shancheng glanced back one last time, and through the closing gap, he saw Bishop Qin standing in the center of the courtyard, his hands forming a mudra, and the leaves of the Purple Dragon Wood began to burn, emitting dazzling purple flames.
Then everything was swallowed by darkness.
The secret passage was narrow and damp, filled with the smells of mildew and earth. Su Yan walked at the front, a flame lit in his hand for illumination. The flame flickered on the damp walls, casting their hurried figures on the surface.
"Where does this secret passage lead?" Xu Qingqing asked.
"The old drainage system outlet in the southern part of Kyoto City is near the Yongding River," Su Yan replied. "It's an escape route that Chief Editor Qin arranged twenty years ago, and only previous chief editors know about it."
"Can he hold off all those people by himself?" Liu Wei asked worriedly.
"Qin Yunfeng is no ordinary cultivator," Su Yan said. "He is one of the most talented guardians of the Wen Shu Array Core in the past hundred years. If it weren't for that accident back then..."
She didn't finish her sentence, but the respect in her tone was obvious.
After walking for about ten minutes, a fork in the road appeared ahead. Su Yan chose the left path without hesitation. After walking for another five minutes, the secret passage began to slope upwards, ending at a rusty iron door.
Su Yan melted the lock with flames and pushed the door open. Outside was the embankment of the Yongding River, and the sky was completely dark, with the city lights twinkling in the distance.
They are safe now, but at the cost of losing Qingyun Lane as their stronghold.
"Where to now?" Li Shancheng asked.
Su Yan checked Jiang Han's condition; he had fallen into a coma again, but his breathing was still relatively steady. "We need to find a safe place to settle Old Man Jiang. One of my safe houses is in the west of the city, but it's too far away, and it's too risky to take the wounded across the entire city."
"Let's go to my place," Liu Wei suddenly said. "I have an apartment in Yang District, which I rented under a fake name. Even Hanshan Technology doesn't know about it. It should be safe there."
Su Yan considered it for a moment and nodded in agreement: "Okay, but we need to be careful. Hanshan Technology may have already been monitoring major roads and public transportation."
They moved carefully along the riverbank, trying to avoid streetlights and surveillance cameras. Li Shancheng could feel the power within his body slowly merging with the Wen Shu bloodline; the restless agitation gradually subsided, replaced by a deeper and more stable flow of power.
He seemed to be beginning to truly understand the meaning of "Seven Stars in One." Different forces are not mutually exclusive, but complementary. The wisdom of Wen Shu, the resilience of Kan Wei, and other forces yet to be encountered... if they could all be integrated, a qualitative change might occur.
But risks also exist. Each fusion of power is like walking a tightrope; the slightest misstep will cause him to lose his balance. Moreover, as his power increases, he feels his connection with something is also deepening—those ancient voices, those whispers from the earth's veins, even... the call of the stars.
At 11 p.m., they finally arrived at Liu Wei's apartment. It was an ordinary high-rise residential complex with a simple security system and a low occupancy rate, making it a truly secluded place.
After settling Jiang Han in, the four of them sat down in the living room, the atmosphere still heavy.
"We need a plan," Su Yan broke the silence. "There are only seven days left until the full moon, but we've lost our base, Elder Jiang is seriously injured, and Editor-in-Chief Qin is missing. And now, another woman, possibly my aunt, has appeared at Hanshan Technology; she seems to have mastered the technology for dividing the relics and remote communication."
"And then there are the modified creatures," Xu Qingqing added. "If they truly possess swarm intelligence, then the tactics need a complete overhaul. The traditional method of eliminating them one by one may be ineffective."
Li Shancheng had been pondering a question, and finally asked it: "That woman who claimed to be Teacher Jiang's niece, her left eye is golden... Sister Su, your eyes are also golden. Is this a characteristic of the off-center array eye?"
Su Yan nodded: "When a Guardian of the Departed Realm cultivates to a certain level, their eyes will turn golden. This is a sign of mastering the 'Golden Eye Technique.' But my aunt's eyes are normal brown, unless... she used some method to forcibly change them."
"Fragments of the relics," Liu Wei suddenly said. "If she implants fragments of the Tianquan relics into her body, unpredictable changes may occur. Engineer Chen's notes mentioned that when fragments of relics fuse with living tissue, they can produce a 'mutation reaction,' potentially altering physiological characteristics."
"So she might not be the same Su Qing anymore." Su Yan's voice was low. "The power of the relic is changing her, even... controlling her."
At this moment, Jiang Han, who was unconscious, suddenly let out a groan. He opened his eyes, and his gaze was much clearer than before.
"Qin Yunfeng... he activated something..." Jiang Han said weakly, "I can feel... the power of the Wen Shu array eye is... regrouping..."
Li Shancheng felt it too. The work badge on his chest began to heat up; it wasn't an alarm, but a resonance. He closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into his bloodline connection.
The scene of Qingyun Alley appeared in their vision: the Purple Dragon Wood had completely burned, transforming into a tree of flames. But the flames were not destructive; rather, they were a purifying purple flame. Within the flames, countless points of light rose—the energy reserves accumulated by Qingyun Alley over decades, now released in their entirety, flowing along the earth's network of veins.
The flow of light points was not random, but divided into three streams: one stream flowed towards the direction of the Wen Shu array eye, one stream flowed towards their current location, and the other... flowed towards an unknown direction.
"Editor-in-Chief Qin is redistributing the energy." Li Shancheng opened his eyes. "He ignited the Purple Dragon Wood, releasing all the stored energy in Qingyun Lane. Part of it was used to strengthen the Wen Shu array eye, part was used to protect us, and the rest... I don't know where it went."
"It might be to support the other remaining array eyes," Jiang Han guessed. "The Seven Stars are one, and the Wen Shu array eye sacrificed a part of itself to help the other array eyes stabilize."
This hypothesis was quickly confirmed. Li Shancheng sensed that the energy flowing in the unknown direction eventually split into three branches, each flowing to a different location. The energy characteristics of the endpoint of one of these branches were similar to those of the displaced array eye.
"Sister Su, is the core of the departure formation located at Phoenix Mountain in the south of the city?" Li Shancheng asked.
Su Yan was surprised: "How did you know? That's classified."
"The flow of energy tells me," Li Shancheng explained. "Editor-in-Chief Qin diverted some energy to support the detached array eye. There are two other directions, possibly the Dui and Gen positions—if they still exist."
This discovery brought a glimmer of hope. Even in the most dangerous moments, the guardians continued to support each other. But it also meant that Editor-in-Chief Qin might have exhausted all his reserves, and might even have sacrificed himself.
"We can't act rashly now." Jiang Han sat up, still very weak, but with a determined look in his eyes. "Qin Yunfeng has bought us time, and we must make good use of it. The full moon night seven days from now is crucial, but before that, we need to do three things: First, stabilize my injuries and protect the Kan position crystal; second, investigate the woman and the modified body; and third, find the exact method to activate the Twin Dragon Bridge node."
"There's a fourth thing," Li Shancheng added. "I need to learn how to control my newly acquired power. If I'm to fight against Cold Mountain Technology on the night of the full moon, I must become stronger."
"I can guide you," Jiang Han said. "Although my power is almost exhausted, my knowledge and experience remain. I understand the characteristics of the Kan position's power very well and can help you complete the fusion."
"And I'm in charge of intelligence gathering," Su Yan said. "I have some channels to find out about Hanshan Technology's movements and that woman's information."
"I helped take care of Mr. Jiang and prepare supplies," Liu Wei said. "I know about Hanshan Technology's experimental model, so I might be able to predict their next move."
"I assisted with the training in Shancheng, and at the same time tried to contact Cheng Xu and other potential friends," Xu Qingqing said.