Chapter 612
Nangong Wan's injuries finally healed. In the morning, she opened the window and saw Fu Shaoping waiting in the yard, with his sword slung across his back and his robe fluttering slightly in the morning breeze.
"Is everything packed?" Fu Shaoping asked, turning around.
Nangong Wan nodded, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the flame mark between her eyebrows. It used to be as blazing as the sun, but now it is much dimmer. She whispered, "Let's go."
The two left their home and set out on the mountain road heading east.
Three days later, they arrived at the foot of a strange peak shrouded in clouds and mist. The mountain was steep, the forests were lush, and there was a faint sound of flowing springs. At the foot of the mountain stood a broken stone tablet, covered with moss, and only the word "Heaven" could be vaguely seen.
"Heaven Mountain?" Fu Shaoping frowned, "I've never heard of this place."
Nangong Wan approached the stone tablet, and a golden flame ignited on his fingertips, illuminating the gaps in the inscriptions: "There are words below - 'Those who enter this door will abandon their fleshly bodies and ascend to paradise'."
As soon as he finished speaking, ethereal music suddenly sounded in the mountains, and the clouds slowly parted, revealing a white jade staircase. At the end of the staircase, you could vaguely see a jade building, and the sky was filled with rosy clouds, like a fairyland.
Fu Shaoping put his hand on the hilt of the sword: "Illusion array?"
The flame mark between Nangong Wan's eyebrows flickered slightly: "No, it's the power of will... Someone is using the obsessions of all living beings to create a realm."
Countless shadows suddenly appeared on the stairs——
A monk knelt down and cried: "Please grant me immortality!"
An old lady opened her arms and said, "Let me see my late husband again!"
Even Fu Shaoping's own afterimage appeared, holding the blood-stained Nangong Wan, with a look of despair...
"It's spying on the inner demons!" Fu Shaoping pulled Nangong Wan back, only to find that the stairs had spread to their feet.
The white jade steps turned blood red in an instant when they touched the tip of Nangong Wan's shoes.
The scene before my eyes suddenly changed.
They stood in a magnificent palace, surrounded by glazed lanterns and fairy music. Dozens of fairies in fluttering robes raised their cups to greet them with warm smiles. The man in white at the head of the palace held a jade cup and said in a gentle voice: "My two Taoist friends, since we have entered the Heavenly Mountain, why don't you drink a cup of 'Forget Worry Wine' together?"
Nangong Wan sneered: "Using obsession as bait, is it worthy of being called heaven?"
The man in white was not angry, and a bronze mirror flew out from his sleeve. The mirror flashed, reflecting the deepest scene in Fu Shaoping's heart - the entire Xuantian Sword Sect was slaughtered, he knelt in a pool of blood and screamed; Nangong Wan dissipated in the sky fire, and he stretched out his hand in vain...
"Stop!" Fu Shaoping's sword energy surged, but was restrained by the golden chains wrapped around the pillars of the hall.
"Painful?" sighed the man in white. "Drink this cup of wine, and you will forget the past and live in bliss forever."
The golden cup floated to Fu Shaoping's lips. He suddenly bit his tongue and blood splashed on the bronze mirror: "I would rather die with my memories than live as a walking corpse!"
The mirror cracked, and the man in white finally changed color: "You can actually break free from the power of will?!"
Nangong Wan's body was covered with golden flames, and the phantom of a fire phoenix rose into the sky. She put her palms together, and the sky fire turned into thousands of golden needles, piercing the "immortals" around her. Those figures were pierced by the fire needles and melted like wax figures, revealing their original appearance - mummies covered with human skin!
The man in white had a distorted face, and the palace began to collapse: "Impossible! No one can see through the illusion of heaven!"
"Because the real heaven," Fu Shaoping cut the chains with his sword and stood back to back with Nangong Wan, "is never in escaping, but in facing it."
The last sword fell and the Glazed Palace shattered.
The two fell back to the foot of the mountain, only to find that the "Paradise Mountain" had turned into a barren hill of charred bones. The wailing of countless dead souls could be heard in the wind, which were the remnants of those who had indulged in the illusion in the past.
Nangong Wan raised his hand, and fire from the sky rained down, liberating the souls of the dead.
Fu Shaoping sheathed his sword and suddenly held her hand: "Where are we going next?"
She shook his hand back, her palm burning with heat: "Keep going, until... there is no more illusion to deceive us."
Okay, I will continue the story of Nangong Wan and Fu Shaoping after they leave Tiantang Mountain. I will keep the original narrative style and focus on the details of the environment description and character interaction. Here is the next story development:
After leaving Heaven Mountain, the two headed east. As the sky darkened, a swamp stretching as far as the eye could see stretched out in front of them. Gray-green mist slowly flowed over the swamp, and occasionally a few strange calls could be heard, as if some creature was moving through the mud.
"The foggy swamp is ahead," Fu Shaoping stopped and took out a yellowed map from his arms. "Legend has it that this was once an ancient battlefield. The remains of countless monks are buried underground. The resentment has not dissipated for years, forming this deadly place."
Nangong Wan stared into the depths of the swamp, the flame mark on his forehead slightly burning: "There is something in the fog spying on us."
Before he could finish his words, dozens of black shadows suddenly jumped out of the swamp - they were actually pitch-black vines covered with thorns, and they were wrapping around the two of them like living things!
Fu Shaoping drew his sword, and the sword flashed like lightning, cutting off all the attacking vines. However, those broken vines quickly regenerated after falling to the ground, and new branches grew in the blink of an eye.
"These vines feed on resentment, and ordinary sword energy cannot hurt them at all." Nangong Wan formed seals with his hands, and golden flames gushed out from his palms, "Let me do it."
Wherever the skyfire passed, the vines screamed shrilly and turned to ashes in the flames. However, more violent vibrations came from the depths of the swamp, and more dark shadows were gathering.
"Let's go!" Fu Shaoping grabbed Nangong Wan's wrist and jumped onto a dead old tree. The trunk was already hollow, but it could barely bear the weight of the two people.
Nangong Wan suddenly held his arm: "Wait, look over there-"
In the middle of the swamp, where the fog was slightly thinner, there stood a dilapidated stone pavilion. There seemed to be a green lamp in the pavilion, emitting a faint light in the thick fog.
"Why would anyone light a lamp in a place like this?" Fu Shaoping frowned.
"It's not a human," Nangong Wan's pupils shrank slightly, "it's a 'Soul Guiding Lamp'."
The two approached the stone pavilion carefully. As the distance shortened, the shape of the green lamp gradually became clearer - the lamp base was carved from white bones, and the wick was a wisp of blue flame, burning quietly.
The moment Nangong Wan stepped into the stone pavilion, the green lamp suddenly lit up! The surrounding scene fluctuated like the surface of water. In a blink of an eye, the swamp disappeared, replaced by a charred battlefield.
"Is this an illusion?" Fu Shaoping gripped the hilt of the sword tightly.
"No, it's memory." Nangong Wan's voice trembled a little, "This lamp is showing us the images it has recorded."
On the battlefield, countless monks were fighting. Suddenly, the sky cracked and a huge black hand fell from the sky. Wherever it passed, the monks exploded and died!
"That's..." Fu Shaoping's pupils suddenly shrank.
The scene changed, and a man bound by chains appeared. He raised his head, revealing a face that was 70% similar to Fu Shaoping!
"Father?!" Fu Shaoping shouted.
The man seemed to hear the call, his lips moved slightly, but no sound came out. The next second, the black hand swallowed him up, and the scene stopped abruptly.
The green lamp went out, and the two stood in the dilapidated stone pavilion again. Nangong Wan found that Fu Shaoping's hands were shaking slightly.
"Thirty years ago, the Xuantian Sword Sect was wiped out." He said in a hoarse voice, "So this is how my father died."
Nangong Wan was about to speak when the swamp suddenly churned violently! A giant made up of countless bones broke out of the mud, staring at them with its empty eye sockets.
"Be careful!" She pushed Fu Shaoping away, and a beam of black light shot through the gap between them, blasting the stone pavilion behind them into pieces.
The skeleton giant let out a deafening roar: "Trespassers. Die."
The battle was about to break out. Fu Shaoping's sword energy and Nangong Wan's sky fire intertwined, but every time the skeleton giant was injured, he would absorb the resentment in the swamp and be reborn.
"There's no end to this!" Nangong Wan panted, with beads of sweat on his forehead. Fu Shaoping suddenly remembered something and took out a jade pendant from his arms - this was the only relic left to him by his father. The moment the jade pendant came into contact with the resentment of the swamp, it actually made a clear sound!
The skeleton giant froze and wailed in pain. Taking this opportunity, Nangong Wan gathered all the heavenly fire in his palm, turning it into a flaming spear and pierced the giant's chest!
"break!"
With a loud bang, the giant collapsed, and broken bones fell like rain. The swamp began to sink, revealing a dark hole, and a cold wind rushed out from the depths.
The two looked at each other and decided to find out what was going on.
Deep in the cave, they found a corpse sealed on the stone wall by nine bronze nails. A broken sword was stuck in the heart of the corpse, and the word "Xuantian" was engraved on the hilt.
"This is..." Fu Shaoping was struck by lightning.
The corpse suddenly opened its eyes and uttered a hoarse voice: "Ping'er, hurry up! He is about to wake up."
The cave began to collapse, and Nangong Wan pulled Fu Shaoping out. At the last moment, Fu Shaoping looked back and saw the corpse showing a strange smile, and his lips moved:
“We will all become part of Him”
After escaping the swamp, the two rested at the edge of a cliff. Fu Shaoping was silent for a long time, holding the broken sword tightly in his hand.
Nangong Wan whispered: "The 'He' your father mentioned, could it be the one mentioned by the white-clothed man in Tiantang Mountain?"
"No matter what it is," Fu Shaoping raised his head, his eyes burning with unprecedented determination, "I will get to the bottom of it."
Nangong Wan nodded and looked at the rolling hills in the distance: "Where to go next?"
"To the north," Fu Shaoping unfolded the map and pointed to an area marked as "Eternal Night," "It is said that there is an observatory there that records the entire truth of the ancient war."
After leaving the misty swamp, Fu Shaoping and Nangong Wan headed north.
The weather gradually became colder, and the sky became darker. Three days later, they stood in front of a towering black mountain. The mountain was completely black, with no grass growing, as if it had been eroded by some force. On the top of the mountain, an ancient stone platform was looming - that was the legendary observatory.
"This is the 'Eternal Night.'" Fu Shaoping looked up at the top of the mountain, frowning slightly, "It is said that there is no sunlight here all year round, but the stars are exceptionally bright."
The flame mark on Nangong Wan's forehead flickered slightly. She reached out to touch the mountain wall, and a piercing chill came from her fingertips: "The whole mountain... has been contaminated by some kind of power."
Fu Shaoping nodded: "Be careful, let's go up."
The two climbed up the steep mountain road. The higher they went, the thinner the air became, and even breathing became difficult. What was even more strange was that the darkness around them seemed to have life, flowing slowly, and occasionally there would be low whispers, like some ancient existence whispering in their ears.
"Did you hear that?" Nangong Wan asked in a low voice.
Fu Shaoping clenched the broken sword in his hand: "Well, it seems like some kind of...calling."
Finally, they reached the top of the mountain.
The observatory is a huge round stone platform with intricate star maps engraved on its surface. In the center stands a stone pillar with a faint blue crystal ball suspended on top of it, and stars seem to be circulating inside.
Nangong Wan approached the crystal ball, reached out to touch it, and in an instant——
hum!
Countless images exploded in her mind!
——The sky collapsed, and a giant black hand that covered the sky and the sun descended upon the earth, destroying everything in its path.
——Countless monks came forward one after another, but they couldn't even get close and turned into blood mist.
——In the end, the seven strongest men joined forces and sacrificed themselves to barely seal the giant hand.
"This is... an ancient war!" Nangong Wan suddenly withdrew his hand, his face pale.
Fu Shaoping immediately supported her and asked, "What did you see?"
"That hand..." Nangong Wan panted, "is the murderer who destroyed Xuantian Sword Sect!"
Fu Shaoping's pupils suddenly shrank: "What on earth is it?"
Nangong Wan shook his head: "I don't know, but the records of the observatory show that it is sealed, but..."
"Just what?"
“The seal is loosening.”
At this moment, the crystal ball suddenly vibrated violently, and the dark blue light turned into dark red!
"Not good!" Fu Shaoping pulled Nangong Wan over and they both retreated quickly.
The next second, the crystal ball exploded, and a black shadow rushed out of it, transforming into a distorted human face, emitting a piercing laugh:
"Finally... I found you..."
The black shadow suddenly pounced towards the two of them!
Fu Shaoping swung his sword, but the sword energy penetrated the black shadow directly, and it had no effect! Nangong Wan immediately activated the sky fire, and the golden flame swept out. The black shadow was burned and roared continuously, but it still did not dissipate.
"It's useless... You can't kill me..." The black shadow laughed grimly, "Because... I am a part of you..."
Before he finished speaking, the black shadow suddenly split and drilled into the eyebrows of Fu Shaoping and Nangong Wan respectively!
"ah--!"
The two of them knelt on the ground at the same time, and countless confused whispers echoed in their minds:
"Submit..."
“Accept me…”
"You will gain...real power..."
Fu Shaoping gritted his teeth and resisted, veins popping out on his forehead: "Get out!"
Nangong Wan closed his eyes tightly, the flame mark between his eyebrows flickered wildly, and heavenly fire erupted in his body, fighting fiercely with the black shadow!
The encroachment of the black shadow became stronger and stronger, and Fu Shaoping's consciousness gradually became blurred.
In a trance, he saw the ruins of Xuantian Sword Sect. His father stood in a pool of blood and looked at him coldly: "You are too weak... You can't even get revenge..."
"No..." Fu Shaoping clenched his fists, "I will become stronger... but not with this kind of power!"
He suddenly opened his eyes, the broken sword in his hand burst out with dazzling golden light, and he slashed at his own shadow!
"Ah——!" The black shadow screamed and was forced out of the body!
On the other side, Nangong Wan also fell into a fantasy. (End of this chapter)