From a loser to an immortal sage

Chapter 495 The Secret of the Guardian Barrier

The black-scaled beast's claws brushed against my earlobe, lifting a wisp of hair.

My hand, gripping the Key of Destiny, was drenched in cold sweat; the tremor of the sword traveled from my palm straight to my heart—this was the weapon spirit giving me a warning.

Wen Chen's golden net stretched taut around me like a thin string. His spiritual power flowed in through our clasped fingertips, carrying the familiar scent of pine and cypress, mixed with the stench of decaying leaves from the black-scaled beast, making my nose sting.

"Watch out for its left eye!" Zi Ling's silver bell rang crisply from behind.

I recall that when that beast lunged at me, the red light in its left eye was brighter than that in its right eye—was that where the demon core was located?

The moment the thought crossed his mind, the black-scaled beast roared and pounced, its front claws tearing spiderweb-like cracks into Wen Chen's golden net.

Wen Chen let out a low shout, and with his other hand he formed the Demon-Slaying Seal. Golden light shot out from his fingertips and struck the black-scaled beast's left eye.

"Ouch—" The beast fell to the ground in pain, its dark green saliva splashing onto the tips of my shoes, sticky and threatening to corrode the fabric.

I seized the opportunity to swing my sword. The white light of the Key of Destiny, wrapped in the sharp cry of the weapon spirit, pierced precisely into its neck. Back in the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons, I had seen spirit beasts corrupted by blood evil, their weaknesses all located under the reverse scale three inches behind their necks.

The black-scaled beast's struggles gradually weakened, and it finally dissipated into a cloud of black mist.

I staggered and grabbed Wen Chen's arm. The warmth of his palm seeped through his Taoist robe, carrying a slight dampness of sweat. "Are you hurt?" He looked down at me, the red mole at the corner of his eye blurred by cold sweat, like a drop of blood about to fall.

I shook my head, but then I noticed a tear in the fabric of his left shoulder, revealing a shallow bloodstain underneath.

“I’m fine.” He followed my gaze and tugged at his collar, his tone as soft as if he were asking what he’d had for breakfast. “Let’s check the barrier first.”

The tremors of the altar had stopped at some point, and the cave where Blue Pearl was located still glowed with a faint light. However, the originally crisp scent of grass and wood now carried a burnt smell—the smell of the Black Scale Beast being burned by the Demon Extermination Technique.

I helped Wen Chen walk towards the cave, but after taking only the third step, I suddenly felt as if an invisible hand was gripping my chest, and a sweet taste rose in my throat. I staggered back two steps.

"Yao Yao!" Zi Ling rushed over to support me. The warmth of her palm carried the scent of medicine—this girl always hid a calming sachet in her sleeve.

I wiped the corner of my mouth, where there was a trace of pale red blood: "Something was pushing me."

Wen Chen reached out and probed ahead, his fingertips condensing spiritual energy into a fine needle, but it bounced off with a "ding" three feet from the cave, as if hitting an invisible wall. "It's the repulsive force of the barrier," he frowned. "We unlocked the outer layer before, but the core area requires a matching path to approach."

Elder Qingfeng leaned closer, the Bagua compass spinning rapidly in his hand: "Ancient books mentioned that ancient barriers often had 'maze arrays,' and if you went the wrong way, you would hit a brick wall."

But we've searched the entire altar; there's no path to it.

As I gazed at the bamboo fragrance wafting from the cave entrance, I suddenly recalled the century-old bamboo forest behind the mountain gate—when I was punished to sweep the bamboo path, I always felt that the intertwined bamboo roots resembled some kind of pattern.

Lost in thought, Zi Ling's silver bell rang again, this time as softly as a snowflake falling on the heart: "Sister Yao Yao, look at the edge of the altar!"

She squatted where the black-scaled beast had fallen, her fingertips gently tracing the cracks in the bluestone slab.

I followed her hand and saw that the edge of the altar, which I had thought was plain, was engraved with extremely fine cloud patterns, which were almost invisible in the blue light.

But now, those cloud patterns are shimmering with light as Zi Ling touches them, like stars that have been awakened.

“These patterns…” Zi Ling’s fingertip paused at a spot where the cloud-like pattern suddenly protruded slightly, “…it looks like the way the Big Dipper is arranged in the Star Chart I saw in the Library.” She looked up at me, her eyes shining like they held two small moons, “Could they be for guiding directions?”

Wen Chen bent down to examine it closely, his fingertips tracing the cloud patterns: "The star orbit has reversed, starting at the Gen position and ending at the Li position..." He suddenly looked up, his gaze meeting mine, "It's exactly the opposite direction we were heading."

I touched the keychain that was burning hot in my heart. This time, the spirit's voice was filled with joy: "Master, the lock is moving again!" The bamboo scent in the cave was even stronger, as if an invisible hand was playing with the tassels in my hair—the ones Wen Chen made for me in the peach grove last year, saying that this way he could find me in a crowd at a glance.

“Perhaps…” I stared at the cloud patterns on Zi Ling’s fingertips, my throat tightening, “we should follow these star trails.”

Elder Qingfeng's Bagua compass suddenly emitted a soft "hum," and the pointer pointed directly at the Gen position indicated by Ziling.

The ethereal immortal, who had been standing silently to the side, suddenly spoke up: "When hearts are aligned, the lock opens. Perhaps this doesn't just mean that two people are of one mind, but also that the person and the array are in sync." A corner of his Taoist robe was lifted by the wind, revealing the bamboo pattern embroidered underneath—exactly the same as the fragrance wafting from the cave.

I took a deep breath and grasped Wen Chen's hand.

The calluses on his palm brushed against my fingertips, like an unspoken promise.

Zi Ling stepped aside and helped me straighten my hair, which had been tangled in the battle; Elder Qing Feng put away the Bagua compass and nodded to me; Immortal Kong Ling retreated to the edge of the altar, and a bamboo leaf floated out of his sleeve, gently landing on the Gen position of the cloud pattern.

"Let's go." Wen Chen's voice was low and hoarse, but as steady as a mountain.

We walked forward on the faint light of the cloud-like patterns, and this time every step felt like walking on cotton, so light that we almost floated away.

The cave's eerie light grew brighter, and I saw more cloud patterns emerge on the cave walls, merging with the altar's markings to form a luminous river.

Zi Ling's voice drifted from behind, tinged with a nervous smile: "Sister Yao Yao, look at those cloud patterns... they're moving with you."

I didn't turn around.

Wen Chen's hands grew hotter and hotter, so hot that the keychain on my heart also felt hot.

A faint "click" sound came from deep within the cave, like a lock being turned.

Perhaps the true path is never what the eyes can see.

(The star trails and cloud patterns that Zi Ling pointed out flowed beneath my feet, and my shadow and Wen Chen's shadow overlapped, casting their light onto the cloud patterns.)

Deep within the cave, amidst the scent of bamboo, clearer patterns seem to await—the secrets hidden beneath the cloud-like patterns may hold the key to unlocking the barrier.

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Wen Chen and I gradually became more steady as the clouds swirled around us.

The oppressive force that had been pressing down on my chest, like a smoldering fire, was gradually drawn away from my fingertips and the soles of my feet, as if blown away by the wind.

I stared at the silvery star trail patterns on my feet, feeling them creep into my skin with every step—as if confirming something, or perhaps welcoming something.

"Yaoyao, look." Wen Chen's thumb gently rolled across the back of my hand.

I looked up and saw that the dark blue light deep in the cave had faded to moon white, enveloping half of a floating jade cong.

The taotie pattern on the surface of the jade cong is no longer ferocious, but instead has a warm glow, like the surface of a lake touched by a spring breeze.

"It's the Spirit-Locking Jade Cong!" Elder Qingfeng's Bagua compass clattered to the ground. He rushed to the cave wall, his fingertips trembling as he traced the newly emerging stone patterns. "The Ancient Record of Spirit Sealing says that this jade cong was cast from the cold jade marrow of Buzhou Mountain, specifically to lock the rampant spiritual veins between heaven and earth—so it was hidden here!"

Zi Ling's silver bells jingled behind me. I don't know when she plucked the osmanthus flower from her hair and tucked it behind my ear: "Sister, look, the mist around the jade cong has dissipated!" I looked in the direction of her finger and sure enough, a ring of dark patterns appeared below the jade cong, just like the star trails I had seen at the edge of the altar, only more intricate, with tiny golden rays flowing through each pattern.

Wen Chen's palms suddenly felt hot.

I looked down, and the key pendant of the Key of Destiny was vibrating violently against my heart. The spirit's voice almost burst out of my body: "Master!"

The lock cylinder is open!

It was the jade cong that was guiding me!

"Step back a bit." Wen Chen pulled me half a step behind him, his wide sleeves brushing against my hair, and the wind carrying the scent of pine and cypress, along with the fragrance of bamboo, rushed in.

Zi Ling consciously pulled Elder Qing Feng back outside the cave, while the ethereal immortal stood in place, looking at the jade cong as if he were looking at an old friend he had not seen for a long time.

When the heat from the keychain made my eyes sting, the jade cong suddenly emitted a soft "hum".

The sound was like a morning bell, or a spring stream breaking through ice, so loud that the cloud patterns on the cave walls shook.

I instinctively gripped Wen Chen's hand, only to find his fingertips trembling—not from fear, but from excitement, just like the way he held the medicine bowl when I first successfully brewed the Qingling Pill in his medicine shed.

"It's done." The ethereal immortal's voice suddenly came very close.

I turned my head, and there he was, standing beside the jade cong, his fingertips hovering three inches above it. "The sealing array of this jade cong requires the blood of someone who shares your heart." A bamboo leaf floated from his sleeve, a drop of pale golden blood clinging to it. "I made a pact with the array spirit: if anyone could unlock the outer lock, I would use this drop of my life's blood to help them."

The moment the pale golden blood droplet touched the jade cong, the entire cave suddenly became as bright as day.

I squinted and saw the Taotie pattern on the surface of the jade cong turn into a stream of light and drill into the cave ceiling. The oppressive force of the barrier that had been suffocating me suddenly dissipated with a "boom," and even the spiritual vein remnant in my body that had been aching since I transmigrated felt a little better.

"We did it!" Zi Ling's cheers came from outside the cave. She ran into the cave, holding up the hem of her skirt, the silver bells in her hair making a series of laughs. "Sister Yao Yao, look, the fog over the mountain gate has dissipated!"

I just caught a glimpse of the peach blossoms blooming on Wangxian Peak, a sea of ​​pink—"

"Wait." Wen Chen suddenly grabbed my wrist.

His spiritual energy surged through his pulse, carrying a chilling urge. "The jade cong's spiritual energy... is surging."

Only then did I notice that the originally moon-white jade cong was becoming brighter at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The Taotie pattern reappeared on the surface, but this time the pattern no longer flowed with golden light, but with blinding purple lightning.

The cloud patterns on the cave ceiling suddenly reversed, and the star trails that were originally pointing away from the cave now formed an inverted sword.

"This isn't right." Elder Qingfeng's Bagua compass started spinning again, the pointer swirling wildly. "The Sealing Spirit Jade Cong is supposed to suppress spiritual veins, how could it be releasing spiritual power on its own?"

Zi Ling's silver bells stopped ringing.

She gripped my sleeve, her fingertips as cold as ice: "Sister, I... I smell something burning... Is the jade cong burning?"

I looked closer and sure enough, wisps of green smoke rose from the surface of the jade cong.

The wisps of smoke weren't black; they were translucent, like spiritual energy that had been extracted.

Wen Chen suddenly shielded me behind him, his Demon-Slaying Seal condensing into golden light in his palm: "Step back, this is..."

"It is an awakening." The ethereal immortal's voice carried a heaviness I had never heard before.

His gaze upon the jade cong was like that of someone looking at a child who had been asleep for many years and was finally about to awaken. "Back then, the Spirit Sealing Array not only locked the spiritual veins, but also locked..."

"boom--"

A muffled thud erupted from deep within the jade cong.

I was shielded by Wen Chen and slammed into the cave wall. My ears were ringing and I saw stars.

When vision cleared, the jade cong had turned completely purple, the patterns on its surface twisted like a living thing, and the once stable light now seemed to be tearing the heavens and earth apart.

"This is..." My throat tightened, and I reached out to touch it, but Wen Chen grabbed my wrist: "Don't go over there, the spiritual energy fluctuations are too strong." Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and the silver ornaments at the ends of his hair were whipped around by the spiritual energy. "It's more than ten times stronger than the demonic energy of the Black Scale Beast before."

Ziling suddenly tugged at my clothes.

She pointed outside the cave, her voice trembling, "Sister, the cloud patterns on the altar... are seeping into the jade cong."

I turned my head and sure enough, I saw that the star trails that had been shimmering with silver light on the edge of the altar were now being pulled away by an invisible hand, disappearing into the cave bit by bit.

Elder Qingfeng's Bagua compass cracked open with a "crack," and he staggered two steps, staring at the pointer that had been broken in two: "The array's core... is collapsing."

What we unlocked before wasn't the outer lock at all, it was...it was the seal!

The ethereal immortal suddenly raised his hand, and a bamboo leaf floated lightly onto the jade cong.

The bamboo leaves had barely touched the purple light when they sizzled and burned to ashes.

He gazed at the wisp of ashes, his voice as soft as a sigh: "So true protection is waiting for it to awaken on its own."

The purple light from the jade cong suddenly surged.

I instinctively closed my eyes tightly, but I could still see the glaring purple through my eyelids.

Wen Chen's embrace suddenly tightened, his chin resting on the top of my head, his low voice making my eardrums ache: "Yao Yao, hold on tight to me."

When I opened my eyes again, the jade cong had disappeared.

A semi-transparent sword floated in the center of the cave, its blade vibrating in sync with the rhythm of my keychain.

I had never seen the inscriptions on the sword before, yet they felt strangely familiar, like a brand etched deep into my soul.

“This is…” My voice was hoarse.

"This is what the barrier truly protects." The ethereal immortal reached out, his fingertips almost touching the sword, then slowly withdrew. "In ancient times, a female immortal sacrificed her life to forge this sword, sealing away the most ferocious evil in the world."

Where the sword is, the evil remains; where the sword awakens, the evil awakens...

The purple light on the sword suddenly trembled again.

This time, I heard it clearly—it wasn't an illusion, nor was it a spiritual resonance; it was the sound of a sword, filled with profound sorrow, like crying, or perhaps shouting.

Wen Chen gently patted my back.

His body heat emanated through his Taoist robe, like a stabilizing force: "Whatever it is, we'll face it together."

I stared at the sword, the keychain on my chest burning so hot it felt like it was about to burn through my clothes.

The spirit's voice held an unprecedented seriousness: "Master, it is waiting for you."

A strange wind suddenly blew up outside the cave.

The wind carried a scent I had never smelled before, like rotting flesh, like scorched earth, like withered bones soaked in blood.

Zi Ling's silver bells jingled wildly in the wind. She huddled behind Elder Qingfeng, her voice trembling, "Sister... this wind is so cold."

Wen Chen pulled me closer to his arms.

His golden net re-unfolded around him, its spiritual power three times stronger than before.

I gazed at the suspended sword, at the altar outside the cave, its branches swaying in the wind, and suddenly it dawned on me—

What we broke down was never any protective barrier.

What we have awakened is real trouble.