Chapter 680

Chapter 680

At this moment, Liu Qingshuang suddenly came from the direction of the ruins of the library, carrying an old wooden box with a mechanism on her shoulder. She knelt directly in front of the two of them, her forehead touching the ground: "Take me with you."

Fu Shaoping frowned: "Elder Liu, the academy needs someone to take charge--"

"The mechanism of the Tiangong Box is beyond my ability to solve." Liu Qingshuang raised her head, with a strange light flashing in her eyes, "I... I recognize the mechanism of the Mohist school."

Nangong Yue narrowed her eyes: "As far as I know, the Mohist mechanical art has been lost for a thousand years. Where did Elder Liu learn it from?"

Liu Qingshuang's fingertips unconsciously stroked the dark patterns on her cuffs: "When I was young, I read some in the ancient books passed down in my family." She suddenly unbuttoned her collar, revealing a strange scar on her collarbone - it was clearly a tear caused by the gears of a mechanism!

Fu Shaoping took a breath and said, "Is this the scar left by the Mo family's mechanical beast?"

Liu Qingshuang fastened her collar again and said in a low voice, "Twenty years ago, my whole family died in a mechanical accident. I was the only survivor and found half a volume of "Mo Jing: Mechanical Chapter" in the ruins. Only then did I know that those deadly mechanical devices were made by the Mohists." A trace of pain flashed in her eyes, "I have been secretly researching these years, just to solve the mystery of the Tiangong Box and find out the truth about the extermination of my family one day."

Nangong Yue looked at her for a long time, and suddenly asked: "Do you know the true meaning of the word 'non-aggression' in Mohist classics?"

"Defend instead of attack, use weapons to stop war." Liu Qingshuang answered without hesitation, "But what is sealed in the Tiangong Box is not ordinary mechanical skills, but a forbidden skill that can merge life and machinery - spiritual mechanical skills."

Fu Shaoping tightened his grip on the sword: "Is this what the Golden Toad Chamber of Commerce wants?"

Liu Qingshuang nodded: "Spiritual Mechanical Technique can allow mortals to possess the power of cultivators, and can also enable cultivators to break through the limits of their life span. Legend has it that the first generation of Mohist Juzi was punished by heaven and died because of this technique."

After a moment of silence, Nangong Yue suddenly reached out and pulled Liu Qingshuang up: "Get up, let's go together."

Fu Shaoping was slightly surprised, but did not object. The three of them simply packed up and set off immediately, driving the flying magic weapon to the northwest.

On the way, Nangong Yue whispered to Fu Shaoping: "She is lying. The scar is at most ten years old, not twenty years ago."

Fu Shaoping's eyes flickered: "Then why?"

"Take advantage of their own tricks." Nangong Yue's eyes flashed coldly, "She has the aura of the Mohist school, but it is not inherited by blood. I want to see who this Elder Liu is."

Three days later, Black Mist Canyon.

Before getting close, I could already feel the solemn atmosphere in the air. At the entrance of the canyon, flags were flying, and dozens of tents were stationed! Monks in various costumes were coming and going, and it was estimated that there were no less than a hundred of them.

"Tianji Pavilion, Yaowang Valley, and the Nangong family branch." Fu Shaoping identified the flags one by one, his face becoming more solemn, "There are also several old monsters who have been in seclusion for many years."

Nangong Yue sneered: "No one can resist the temptation of the secret art of immortality."

When the three landed, they immediately attracted many people's attention. An old man with a white beard stepped out from the crowd. It was Mo Yunzi from the Tianji Pavilion: "Fellow Daoist Fu, Fellow Daoist Nangong, I have been waiting for you for a long time."

Fu Shaoping clasped his fists in return: "Elder Mo is well-informed."

Mo Yunzi stroked his beard and smiled: "It is the duty of Tianji Pavilion." He turned his eyes to Liu Qingshuang, "Who is..."

"Liu Qingshuang from Qixia Academy." Liu Qingshuang bowed calmly, "I'm here to help you crack the mechanism."

Mo Yunzi's eyes flashed with a gleam of light: "I see. Everyone please follow me, I have prepared the tents."

While passing through the camp, Nangong Yue noticed that many cultivators had anti-poison sachets specially made by Medicine King Valley hanging around their waists, and the disciples of Medicine King Valley were very close to the people from Tianji Pavilion, and it was obvious that they had reached some kind of cooperation.

Suddenly, a sharp voice pierced through the noise: "Hey, isn't this the 'Copper Coin Fairy' of our Nangong family?"

The crowd parted automatically, and a sinister man in brocade clothes walked out, followed by more than ten monks in Nangong family costumes. The man held a folding fan and waved it elegantly: "Nangong Yue, I heard that you were robbed of your position as the heir to the family by a little girl? It's really sad."

Nangong Yue remained calm and said, "Nangong Jie, why don't you stay in Nanling and be your own emperor? Why are you here to die?"

Nangong Jie's face darkened: "How dare you! The head of the family is in a coma, and you, as a direct descendant, don't stay in charge of the family. Instead, you come here to look for some secret technique of immortality. What is your intention?"

There was an uproar all around. The news of the Nangong family master's coma had obviously been strictly kept secret, but now it was revealed in public, and many cultivators were shocked.

Nangong Yue's pupils shrank slightly, and then she chuckled: "Second Uncle was in seclusion to comprehend the 'Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art', but you said it was a coma?" She flicked her fingertips, and three copper coins flew out of the air, forming a Chinese character "品" above Nangong Jie's head, "Do you want me to send a message to him to come and explain it in person?"

Nangong Jie's face changed drastically, and Queen Cang retreated. However, the three copper coins followed him like a shadow, always hanging three inches between his eyebrows, making a subtle buzzing sound.

“Nangong Yue! How dare you commit a crime in public?” Nangong Jie shouted, but he couldn’t hide the trembling in his voice.

"Murder?" Nangong Yue pretended to be surprised. "I just wanted to show my cousin the newly refined 'Three Talents Questioning Heart Money', which is said to be able to reveal the good and evil in people's hearts." She suddenly lowered her voice, "For example, someone secretly poisoned the head of the family."

Nangong Jie's face turned pale, and his folding fan fell to the ground with a "bang". Just when the atmosphere was tense, Mo Yunzi intervened at the right time: "You two, in the face of a powerful enemy, can you put aside your personal grudges for the time being?"

Nangong Yue snorted coldly and took back the copper coin. Nangong Jie retreated in embarrassment, but he did not forget to look back and cast a resentful glance.

After entering the Tianji Pavilion tent, Mo Yunzi set up a soundproof barrier and said solemnly, "Fellow Daoist Nangong, your father is serious..."

"He is in a coma due to poisoning and is on the verge of death." Nangong Yue said bluntly, "The person who poisoned him must be from Nangong Jie's lineage, but I have no evidence."

Fu Shaoping gripped the hilt tightly: "So the secret of immortality in the Tiangong Box"

"It may be the only thing that can save my father." A trace of pain flashed in Nangong Yue's eyes. "If the Mo family's spiritual mechanical technique can really integrate life and machinery, perhaps it can create mechanical organs to replace poisoned organs."

Liu Qingshuang suddenly said, "Spiritual Mechanical Technique is not used in this way." Seeing everyone's look, she added, "According to the Mohist Classic, Spiritual Mechanical Technique was originally used to treat the wounded Mohists on the battlefield, not to prolong their lives."

Mo Yunzi was thoughtful: "In any case, the most urgent thing is to enter the canyon. According to investigation, there is a Mohist 'Nine Palaces Star Locking Formation' at the entrance, and we have lost three experts in breaking the formation."

Liu Qingshuang stood up: "I'll go take a look." At the entrance of the canyon, nine stone pillars engraved with runes were arranged in a circle, and the ground was a complex pattern composed of countless small metal blocks. Three corpses fell in the formation, with no injuries on their bodies but hideous faces, obviously killed by some kind of spiritual attack.

Liu Qingshuang signaled everyone to step back and walked to the front of the formation alone. She took out the wooden box with the mechanism, took out nine bronze keys of different shapes, and began to insert them into the keyholes on the stone pillars one by one.

"How does she know the shape of the key?" Fu Shaoping asked in a low voice.

Nangong Yue stared at Liu Qingshuang's movements closely: "It's not knowing, it's judging. Look at the frequency of her finger trembling - she is sensing the internal structure of the keyhole."

Sure enough, before inserting each key, Liu Qingshuang would touch the edge of the keyhole with her fingertips and close her eyes for a moment. As all nine keys were in place, she suddenly bit her finger and dripped blood onto the central metal pattern.

"With blood as the guide, the Nine Palaces will return to their positions." Liu Qingshuang said softly while turning the nine keys.

Click, click, click.
Nine crisp sounds rang out almost simultaneously, and the metal blocks on the ground began to move and reorganize on their own, eventually forming a star map. The runes on the stone pillars lit up blue light one by one, converging into a light gate in the center.

“It’s open!” Cheers broke out from the crowd.

Liu Qingshuang suddenly staggered, with beads of sweat oozing from her forehead. Fu Shaoping quickly supported her: "What's wrong?"

"It's okay. I was just exhausted." Liu Qingshuang managed to stand still, but Fu Shaoping noticed that blood was seeping from the cuff of her right hand - there was no wound there!

Mo Yunzi stepped forward, his face full of admiration: "Elder Liu is indeed a man of hidden talents. How about you all take a short break and enter the canyon early tomorrow morning?"

Everyone agreed. After returning to the tent, Nangong Yue immediately set up a soundproof barrier: "When she was bleeding, I saw a mark on the inside of her wrist that was covered by her sleeve."

Fu Shaoping nodded: "I noticed it too, the blood seemed to be seeping from under the skin."

"It's not a blood mark, it's more like..." Before Nangong Yue finished speaking, the ground suddenly shook violently!
The three rushed out of the tent and saw dark clouds over the canyon, with a blood moon hanging strangely in the center. Under the blood-red moonlight, the runes on the stone pillars all turned dark red, and the light gate began to distort.

"Blood Moon Vision!" Mo Yunzi screamed in shock, "Everyone be alert! The ruins mechanism may go berserk!"

Before he finished speaking, the ground suddenly cracked into countless cracks, and mechanical vines like metal tentacles broke out of the ground and entangled anyone they saw! Screams came one after another, and in an instant, more than a dozen monks were dragged underground.

"Back off!" Liu Qingshuang suddenly rushed forward, took out a bronze ruler from a wooden box, and drew a complex trajectory in the air. Strangely enough, when the vines encountered the trajectory drawn by the ruler, they retreated as if struck by lightning.

Nangong Yue's pupils suddenly shrank: "Is that... Mohist Ruler?!"

What was even more shocking was that under the light of the blood moon, faint lines actually appeared on Liu Qingshuang's forehead - although not as clear as Aning's, it was clearly a mark of the same origin as the Mohist school!
Fu Shaoping swung his sword to cut off the attacking vines and asked loudly: "Elder Liu, what should we do now?"

Liu Qingshuang turned around, a strange red light flashed in her eyes: "Enter the canyon! The blood moon is the self-protection of the mechanism array. Only under the moonlight can we find the real entrance to Tiangong City!"

Mo Yunzi appeared beside them at some point, sprinkling a large amount of golden powder from his sleeves. Wherever the powder touched, the vines withered: "I will go with you!"

The five of them rushed towards the light gate, with the chaotic camp and shrill screams behind them. The moment they stepped into the light gate, Nangong Yue keenly noticed that Mo Yunzi and Liu Qingshuang exchanged a meaningful look.
Inside the light gate was endless darkness and a sense of weightlessness. As he fell, Fu Shaoping vaguely heard Liu Qingshuang whispering, "The blood moon appears, and Juzi returns. The legend is true."

Nangong Yue stared at Liu Qingshuang's back, quietly holding seven special copper coins in her hand - they were tempered with the deadly poison she extracted from her father's poisonous wound, enough to kill any Nascent Soul cultivator instantly.

At the end of the darkness, the outline of a huge bronze city could be vaguely seen. On the city gate, huge gears slowly turned, making a dull roar, as if welcoming someone's arrival.
The gate of the huge bronze city slowly opened in front of everyone, making a dull roar that had not moved for a thousand years. The scene inside the city made everyone's breath catch in their throat.

Countless bronze gears are suspended in the air, operating on their own according to some mysterious rules; on both sides of the streets stand mechanical figurines as tall as a person, which are covered in dust for thousands of years but are still spotless; and in the center of the city, a nine-story altar rises from the ground, with a soft bluish-white light emanating from the top.

"Heavenly Box," Liu Qingshuang said softly, with the light reflected in her eyes, and the ink mark on her forehead flickered.

Mo Yunzi suddenly stepped forward: "Everyone be careful, the trap in this city——"

Before he finished speaking, a black shadow suddenly rose from the shadow of the city gate! The cold light went straight to Nangong Yue's back!
"Qiang!"

Fu Shaoping blocked the attack with his heavy sword, sparks flew everywhere. The shadow missed the attack and jumped back lightly, revealing its true appearance - it was a woman wrapped in black leather armor, holding a snake-shaped dagger in each hand.

"People from the Shadow Pavilion?" Nangong Yue had three copper coins on her fingertips. "Elder Mo, it seems that the confidentiality of your Tianji Pavilion needs to be strengthened."

Mo Yunzi's face was grim: "I swear by my inner demon that I will never reveal it--"

"Stop talking nonsense!" Dozens of monks suddenly appeared around the city gate. They were dressed in different clothes but they worked in harmony. They surrounded the five people in a blink of an eye. The leader was a scarred man with an exposed chest, carrying a huge sword as wide as a door on his shoulder: "We, the Blood Sword Sect, are determined to take the Tiangong Box!"

Fu Shaoping glanced at the crowd and whispered, "At least seven different forces have temporarily joined forces."

Nangong Yue sneered: "A mob."

Liu Qingshuang suddenly grabbed Nangong Yue's wrist and said, "Don't move! There's something underground!"

The ground suddenly shook violently, and countless bronze spikes broke out of the ground! Amid screams, more than a dozen monks had their feet pierced, and the scarred man was even pierced through the chest by a protruding copper pillar!

"Mo family's Earthly Evil Formation!" Mo Yunzi sprinkled a handful of gold powder, which turned into light spots on the ground to mark a safe path, "Follow me closely!"

The five of them ran along the light spot, and monks behind them kept triggering the trap and dying. When they approached the altar, the pressure increased sharply - every time they climbed a step, it felt like a heavy burden was pressing on them. Fu Shaoping stabbed the ground with his heavy sword and forcibly opened a path; Nangong Yue kept throwing copper coins to break the invisible trap; Liu Qingshuang walked in front, the ink mark on his forehead became brighter and brighter, as if resonating with the altar.

When they reached the seventh floor, something strange happened! A familiar figure turned out from the corner, followed by more than 20 elite monks of the Nangong family. The man had long gray hair tied behind his head, and his face was three-quarters similar to Nangong Yue. He held a jade ruyi inlaid with seven gems.

“Nangong Jue!” Nangong Yue’s pupils suddenly shrank.

The second elder of the Nangong family, Nangong Jue, smiled slightly: "Yuer, I haven't seen you for many years. You don't even call me second uncle?"

Fu Shaoping blocked the way with his heavy sword: "Are you the one who colluded with the Golden Toad Chamber of Commerce?" (End of this chapter)