Chapter 678
In Qixia Pavilion, Nangong Yue was studying the secret scroll sent by Tianji Pavilion. After hearing Fu Shaoping's description, the red pen in her hand paused slightly: "Are you sure it is 'mind control'? And not a simple Qi control object?"
"It's absolutely true." Fu Shaoping said solemnly, "Those mechanical parts seem to be an extension of her body. Even the most delicate gear meshing can be adjusted at will. This is not something that ordinary people can do."
Nangong Yue put down her pen, her eyes flashing with thought: "In the Mohist mechanical art, there is a saying of 'divine mechanical resonance'. It is said that only the direct bloodline of the Mohist family or the reincarnation of the great power can do it. It seems that Aning's identity is not simple."
"Reincarnation of a powerful being?" Fu Shaoping was surprised. "You mean..."
"It's just a guess." Nangong Yue stood up and walked to the bookshelf, taking out an ancient book. "According to the Records of Cultivation, Mo Heng, the last disciple of the Mohist School, once said before his death in a war a thousand years ago: 'My way will not end, there will be successors.' Later generations have always rumored that he will be reincarnated."
Fu Shaoping took the ancient book and turned to the page that Nangong Yue pointed to: "So Aning might be..."
"We need more evidence." Nangong Yue interrupted him, "I'll go see Aning sleeping tonight. According to records, Mohist reincarnations often relive their past life memories in their dreams during the early stages of awakening."
-
It was late at night and everyone was asleep. Nangong Yue and Fu Shaoping stood quietly outside Aning's door.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Fu Shaoping lowered his voice, "Entering a little girl's bedroom without permission."
"Just observing." Nangong Yue gently pushed open the door, "If she is really abnormal, we must confirm it."
In the room, Aning lay flat on the bed, breathing evenly. The moonlight shone through the window, casting mottled shadows on her young face. Nangong Yue signaled Fu Shaoping to stand guard at the door, and she walked quietly to the bed.
Suddenly, Aning's brows furrowed, his body began to twitch slightly, and he uttered incoherent mumblings. Nangong Yue immediately became alert, and saw Aning's right hand unconsciously raised, with a faint green light emitting from his fingertips, drawing a complex trajectory in the air.
Those traces of light stayed in the air, gradually forming a three-dimensional pattern - it was a structural diagram of an exquisite mechanical city, every detail of which was breathtakingly precise.
“Heavenly Creations” Nangong Yue gasped, “The supreme book of Mohism has been lost for nearly a thousand years!”
At this moment, Aning suddenly opened her eyes, with a green light flashing in them. For a moment, she looked not like a child, but like an old man who had experienced many vicissitudes of life. She looked into Nangong Yue's eyes, and what came out of her mouth was a hoarse old man's voice: "Xuan Ji. Nangong Wei..."
Before she finished speaking, the strange light in Aning's eyes suddenly disappeared, and she collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. Nangong Yue quickly supported her, checked her pulse, and was relieved after confirming that she was just unconscious.
"That was what happened just now." Fu Shaoping stepped forward quickly.
Nangong Yue's face was solemn: "Mo Heng Juzi's residual consciousness has awakened. He recognized my Nangong family bloodline and tried to warn me." She gently laid An Ning flat, "We must strengthen the protection of An Ning. If the news leaks..."
A slight sound of tiles colliding came from the roof. Nangong Yue and Fu Shaoping changed color at the same time - someone was lurking!
Fu Shaoping rushed out of the room like lightning, while Nangong Yue quickly set up a protective formation around Aning. Just as he finished the last stroke, there was a fierce fight outside the window.
Nangong Yue jumped out of the window and saw Fu Shaoping fighting with three men in black under the moonlight. Those men had strange movements and fierce moves, and they were obviously coming for Aning. Fu Shaoping danced with his long sword tightly, temporarily blocking the opponent's attack.
"Nangong Yue! Take Aning away!" Fu Shaoping shouted, sweeping his sword across, forcing back a man in black.
Nangong Yue had already flown to join the battle, three copper coins shot out from her sleeves, forming a triangle formation in the air: "Xuanluo trap formation!"
The copper coin shone brightly, turning into three chains of light that entangled the men in black. Two of them were caught off guard and tied up, but the third man dodged the light chain with a peculiar step - the step was as light as a cloud, with a unique rhythm in the turns, which was the unique movement of the Nangong family, "Liuyun Step"!
“Liuyun Step?!” Nangong Yue’s pupils shrank suddenly, “Are you from the Nangong family?”
The man in black didn't answer, and took the opportunity to rush towards Aning's room. Fu Shaoping immediately threw out his long sword, forcing the other party to turn around and block. Nangong Yue took the opportunity to form a seal, and the copper coin formation changed again: "Star Lock!"
Three rays of starlight burst out from the copper coin, entangled the legs of the man in black like chains. The man groaned, and without hesitation swung his knife to cut off his entangled legs - in the gushing blood, he crushed a talisman, and his figure suddenly turned into black smoke and dissipated.
The other two captured men in black, seeing that the situation was not good, bit open the poison sacs in their mouths at the same time and died instantly.
Fu Shaoping quickly checked the body, his expression becoming increasingly gloomy: "There are no markings, and the weapons are ordinary stuff. But the one who used the Flowing Cloud Step..."
"It's the Nangong family's traitor." Nangong Yue's voice was cold, and there seemed to be frost in her eyes. "Those who can learn Liuyun Step are either direct descendants or core disciples."
Fu Shaoping looked towards Aning's room: "Why are they so obsessed with Aning? Is it really because of the Mohist heritage?"
"That's not all." Nangong Yue recalled the words of the old man in Aning's dream, "Mo Heng seems to know some secrets about the Nangong family. Let's go and make sure Aning is safe first."
-
The dean's room was brightly lit with candles. Aning was placed on the bed in the inner room and looked after by the academy's medical staff. Outside, Nangong Yue, Fu Shaoping and the dean were discussing countermeasures.
"This is a serious matter." The dean frowned. "The Mo family's inheritance has reappeared, the Nangong family's internal traitor has appeared, and the previous warning from the Tianji Pavilion. All these signs indicate that the world of cultivation will undergo a major change."
Nangong Yue tapped the table with her fingertips: "The most urgent task is to ensure Aning's safety. I suspect that the Nangong family has colluded with certain forces."
Fu Shaoping pondered: "The man in black would rather cut off his own legs to escape, which means the person behind him is more terrifying than death."
"The remnants of the Golden Toad." Nangong Yue said the name coldly, "Only they can make the people of the Nangong family so afraid."
The dean hesitated for a moment and said, "I have activated the academy's defense formation, but if the other party is determined to take it,
"I need to strengthen my defense." Nangong Yue made up her mind, "Please allow me to use the Xuanji Formation Diagram to set up the 'Starry Sky Net Formation' in the academy."
The dean was shocked: "Starry Skynet? That is a forbidden formation that will consume your life force!"
"A Ning is worth the price." Nangong Yue said firmly, "Besides, I always feel that she has some connection with me."
Fu Shaoping glanced at her and said, "You said before that Mo Heng's residual consciousness recognized your bloodline and said the word 'danger'." Nangong Yue nodded and took out a small cloth bag from her sleeve: "This is the jade pendant that Aning wears with her. I have never looked at it carefully before." She opened the cloth bag, revealing an ancient green jade, "Look at the patterns on it."
Fu Shaoping and the dean took a closer look and saw that the edge of the jade pendant was engraved with fine lines. It looked like decoration, but it was actually an ancient symbol.
"Is this the Mohist secret code?" the dean recognized it.
"More than that." Nangong Yue pointed at one of the special symbols, "This mark is exactly the same as the one on the relic left by my mother."
The room was silent. This discovery meant that Aning's life experience might be related to Nangong Yue's mother, and Nangong Yue's mother was suspected to have disappeared while investigating the remnants of the Golden Toad.
"Things are more complicated than we thought." Fu Shaoping broke the silence, "Aning may be the key."
Nangong Yue put away the jade pendant: "Early tomorrow morning, I will contact Tianji Pavilion and use the second question. At the same time, I need to go back to the Nangong family to find out the identity of the traitor."
"It's too dangerous." Fu Shaoping immediately objected, "If there really is a traitor in the Nangong family, you will be caught if you go back."
Nangong Yue showed a resolute look: "Because of this, I must go back. The Nangong family cannot be destroyed in the hands of these traitors." She looked towards the inner room, "Until I come back, Aning is in your hands."
Fu Shaoping wanted to dissuade her, but the dean raised his hand to stop her: "Let her go. The Nangong family's calamity will eventually be resolved by someone from the Nangong family."
-
For the next three days, Qixia Academy was on high alert. Nangong Yue spent her blood and energy to lay a star-shaped skynet array covering the entire academy, and any unauthorized intruder would immediately trigger the alarm. At the same time, Fu Shaoping began to personally teach Aning the basic sword techniques, hoping that she would at least have the ability to protect herself.
Surprisingly, Aning also showed extraordinary talent in swordsmanship and learned very quickly. But what worried Fu Shaoping even more was that since waking up from the dream that night, Aning became more silent, and his eyes often flashed with deep thoughts that did not belong to children.
On the morning of the fourth day, Nangong Yue was ready to return to the Nangong family. In front of the academy gate, Fu Shaoping handed her a jade slip: "This is the communication talisman I made overnight. If there is any danger, crush it and I will sense it immediately."
Nangong Yue put away the jade slip and smiled, "Thank you." She looked at Aning who was standing next to Fu Shaoping, and squatted down to look her in the eye. "Aning, remember, no matter what happens, don't go with strangers. If you have any strange dreams again, be sure to tell Mr. Fu."
Aning nodded, and suddenly took out a small puppet from her arms and handed it to Nangong Yue: "Here you go. I made it to protect you."
It was a crude wooden figurine, but the details were extremely delicate and the joints were all movable. Nangong Yue took the puppet and was surprised to find a hidden mechanism inside - by pressing an almost invisible protrusion on the back, two sharp knives would pop out of the puppet's arms.
"Thank you, I like it very much." Nangong Yue carefully put away the puppet, stood up and said to Fu Shaoping, "I have arranged it. If I don't hear from you within seven days, you will take Aning to the Mo family ruins - there may be power there to protect her."
Fu Shaoping agreed solemnly. After watching Nangong Yue's figure disappear in the morning mist, he held Aning's hand tightly and said, "Let's go. I'll teach you a new sword move today."
Ah Ning looked at the direction where Nangong Yue left and said softly, "Sister Nangong, you will be in danger."
Fu Shaoping's heart tightened: "How did you know?"
Aning pointed to her chest and said, "It hurts here. It seems like something bad is going to happen."
Fu Shaoping followed her gaze and saw a dark cloud slowly covering the morning light in the distant sky. He couldn't help but tighten the hilt of his sword - Nangong Yue's journey might be very dangerous.
The sky above Qixia Academy was covered with dark clouds.
Liu Qingshuang stood on the top floor of the library, the Juzi Ling in her hand emitting a faint green light. The three fragments finally merged into one, and the ancient runes flowed on the bronze surface, outlining the shape of a star map. Fine beads of sweat oozed from her forehead - the process of piecing together was more difficult than she had imagined, and each fragment seemed to weigh a thousand pounds.
"Strange." Liu Qingshuang muttered to herself, "It stands to reason that after the pieces are put together, the exact location of the Heavenly Crafts Box should be revealed, but this star map..."
Click.
A barely perceptible crisp sound came from under her feet. Liu Qingshuang's expression suddenly changed, and she retreated violently. The floor suddenly collapsed where she had just stood, revealing a dark hole. A cold breath gushed out from it, carrying the smell of decay and blood.
"Soul Devouring Formation?!" she screamed, "How could there be such an evil formation under the academy!"
Almost at the same time, the entire academy began to shake violently. Twelve golden light beams shot up from all over the academy, interweaving in midair to form a giant golden toad phantom. The phantom opened its huge mouth, and a terrifying suction force instantly enveloped the entire academy.
"All students evacuate immediately!" Liu Qingshuang crushed the jade talisman on her waist, and her voice instantly spread throughout the academy, "This is not a drill! Repeat, this is not..."
Her words came to an abrupt end. Outside the library, twelve golden figures came in from the air, each with a ferocious golden toad embroidered on their chest. The leader wore a bronze mask and spoke in a hoarse voice like rust: "Elder Liu, long time no see."
Liu Qingshuang's face turned pale: "You all dispatched the Twelve Golden Toads!"
"For the Mo family's treasure, it's worth it." The leader of the Golden Toad raised his hand and waved, "Activate the second level of the Soul Devouring Array!"
Twelve people formed seals at the same time, and countless blood-red lines instantly lit up on the ground. Those lines moved like living things, and wherever they passed, the grass and trees withered and the bricks and stones weathered. What was even more terrifying was that the students in the formation fell to the ground one after another, and the spiritual power around them was forcibly drained away, turning into strands of white light that converged on the golden toad phantom in the air.
"Asshole!" Liu Qingshuang shouted angrily, and seven talismans flew out of his sleeves, forming a Big Dipper formation in the air, "Tianshu Suppress the Demon!"
The talisman burned, turning into seven lightsabers that slashed at the Golden Toad Envoys. However, the leader just sneered, flicked his finger, and a copper coin shot out, smashing the seven lightsabers at the same time!
"Half a step to becoming a god." A trace of blood flowed from the corner of Liu Qingshuang's mouth, "The Golden Toad Chamber of Commerce actually has someone with such a high level of cultivation."
The leader of the Golden Toad Envoys stepped forward slowly and said, "Hand over the Juzi Order and I will spare your life."
Liu Qingshuang wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and suddenly smiled: "Do you think I am the only one guarding the academy?"
Before he finished speaking, a cyan sword light came from the east like an upside-down river in the sky, instantly cutting off the three golden light pillars! Wherever the sword energy passed, the blood-colored lines broke one after another.
"Fu Shaoping is here, don't act so arrogantly!" (End of this chapter)