On the ruins of Bianjing, the broken walls cast twisted shadows in the dim sunlight, as if silently telling the tragic disaster suffered by the city. The once prosperous and bustling streets are now in ruins, with broken bricks and tiles, charred beams and pillars piled up in a mess. The bloodstains everywhere have long dried up and condensed into dark red patches, emitting a disgusting stench. Xuan Zhenzi, wearing a Taoist robe that was washed white and patched with patches, stood out in the dead silence. His hands, covered with wrinkles of time, were like smart butterflies, quickly forming seals in the air, and each movement was accompanied by an indescribable rhythm and power, so fast that it was hard to keep up. As his fingertips danced, the originally flat blue bricks on the ground seemed to be awakened by a mysterious and powerful force, and began to tremble violently, as if a sleeping giant beast had awakened underground and made a dull roar. Then, a series of Bagua formation patterns slowly emerged from the blue bricks, emitting a strange light of golden and red, like burning flames or flowing magma, with an awe-inspiring heat and majesty, as if announcing to the world the extraordinary power contained in this formation.
These array patterns seemed to be endowed with life, like a series of agile but dangerous spirit snakes, twisting their bodies and winding towards Lin Feng's ankles. In a flash, they tightly wrapped around him, just like a series of extremely solid golden locks, binding him tightly. The veins on Xuan Zhenzi's forehead bulged like angry earthworms, and beads of sweat as big as beans rolled down his haggard cheeks. Each drop of sweat flashed a faint light, as if carrying his soon-to-be-exhausted vitality. From his seven orifices, deep red blood slowly seeped out, and the blood slowly slid down the corners of his mouth, eyes, and nostrils, leaving shocking blood marks on his pale skin, like winding red streams, telling of the great pain he was enduring at the moment. However, even though he was enduring such tremendous pain, he still gritted his teeth, and with his tenacious will, he tried his best to maintain the operation of the formation, muttering to himself: "Enter the mirror! If you want to control the Qingming Mirror, you must first overcome this hurdle!" Although his voice was a little hoarse due to the pain, it revealed an unquestionable firmness, as if these short words were the only belief that supported him at the moment.
Before Lin Feng could react, he suddenly saw a dazzling white light flashing before his eyes. The light was so bright that he couldn't open his eyes, as if it was going to burn his soul to ashes. In an instant, he was completely swallowed by the white light. When he slowly opened his eyes again, he found himself in an extremely strange peach forest. The scene in front of him was completely different from the peach forest in his memory. The peach blossoms, which should have been pink and delicate, symbolizing beauty and vitality, were now flowing with scarlet blood. Every petal that fell down stained the ground with a dazzling blood stain, as if the peach forest was crying silently. The soil under his feet was a little too wet. When he stepped on it, it made a tooth-grinding and creepy "gurgling" sound, as if countless wronged souls were hidden under the soil. He looked down subconsciously and couldn't help but gasp. He saw countless pale, paper-like, dry fingers struggling to get out of the soil, as if struggling desperately to grab his ankles and drag him into the endless dark abyss. The skin on these fingers was wrinkled, and there was still dark brown soil between the nails, emitting a strong stench that made his scalp numb.
"Is this. Qingtian Village?" Lin Feng's eyes widened, his pupils suddenly contracted, his eyes full of shock and confusion. In the distance, the familiar outline of the village was looming in the thick fog, but the smoke that used to rise up and was full of the breath of life has now turned into a black fog that rises up to the sky and covers the sky, as if the devil from hell is baring its fangs and claws. The old locust tree that has stood for many years at the entrance of the village also looks particularly eerie at this moment. The iron chain makes a harsh friction sound in the breeze, "creaking" and sounding, as if it is the wailing of evil spirits. Lin Wanqiu was tightly locked to the tree trunk by a thick iron chain. The broken part of her dragon horn kept dripping with green blood. The blood was like a winding stream, dyeing the large area of ??land under the tree red, which was shocking. Her hair was scattered messily on her face, covering most of her features, but her bloodless cheeks and chapped lips could still be seen. Her body was trembling slightly, as if she was in great pain.
"Lin Feng, why do you do this to me." Lin Wanqiu's voice was weak and sad, as if all her strength had been drained away, and it echoed faintly in the silent peach forest. She slowly raised her head, and her eyes, which were originally bright and moving, were now full of despair and confusion. She looked straight at Lin Feng, as if she wanted to see through his soul. Seeing this, Lin Feng felt a sudden pain in his heart, as if he was stabbed by a sharp blade. He wanted to step forward to untie the chains and save Lin Wanqiu from the water and fire without thinking. However, as soon as he took a step, he was horrified to find that his feet were like being nailed to the ground. No matter how hard he tried, he could not move at all, as if the land had a deep grudge against him and did not want him to get close. He looked down and saw that the land under his feet seemed to have turned into a black quagmire, slowly swallowing his feet. An invisible force was pulling him tightly, making him unable to move.
What was even more terrifying was that at this moment, he saw countless villagers slowly walking out of the thick black fog. These villagers were the familiar faces in his memory, but at this moment, their bodies were gradually petrified at a speed visible to the naked eye, their skin became rough and cracked, and they lost their former vitality. But even so, they still maintained a kneeling posture, muttering in their mouths: "Seal the Dragon Spirit, keep me safe." The voice was neat and mechanical, revealing a terrifying and strange atmosphere, as if they had lost their self-awareness and became puppets being controlled. Their eyes were empty and there was no expression on their faces. They were like zombies, slowly approaching Lin Feng step by step. Every step they took would leave a string of gray-white footprints on the ground, as if their bodies were constantly weathering.
"This is not true!" Lin Feng could no longer bear the anger and pain in his heart, and roared to the sky, his voice constantly echoing in this strange peach forest. However, as soon as his roar fell, he heard a cold and piercing laugh from behind him, that laugh seemed to come from the Nine Nether Hell, making people's backs cold. The mirror spirit turned into a wisp of black smoke and slowly emerged. Her fingertips were entangled with fragments of Lin Feng's previous life's memories. Each fragment emitted a faint blue light, and it was constantly playing the scene of him raising the Qingming Mirror and stabbing it fiercely into Lin Wanqiu's chest. The picture was so clear that every detail was vivid, as if it was a ruthless whipping of his soul. "Look, you've only hurt her since thousands of years ago." The mirror spirit stuck out her tongue and slowly licked the corner of her mouth, with malicious light flashing in her eyes, like a poisonous snake waiting for an opportunity to strike. "Now Bianjing is in devastation because of her, and you can't save anyone, it's the same in the past and now. You are just a loser, and you can never change any of this!" Her voice was sharp and piercing, echoing continuously in the peach forest, like countless steel needles piercing into Lin Feng's ears, giving him a splitting headache.
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Lin Feng felt his temples throbbing and his head splitting, as if countless steel needles were stirring wildly in his mind. The fragments of the Qingming Mirror in his arms seemed to be awakened by some evil power at this moment, becoming extremely hot, as if they were going to burn his body. He subconsciously looked in the mirror, and saw another self reflected in the mirror - that was the executioner from a thousand years ago, wearing a black armor embroidered with gold thread, majestic but with cold and ruthless eyes, as if he had no emotion at all. "Killing her is your only mission." The voice of "himself" in the mirror overlapped with the voice in his memory, ringing in his ears like a huge bell, and the mirror in his hand glowed with a faint blue light, as if urging him to make another unforgivable mistake. The voice kept echoing in his mind, repeating over and over again, making his consciousness gradually blurred, as if he was trapped in an endless dark vortex, unable to extricate himself.
Just when Lin Feng's consciousness was about to be swallowed by the endless darkness and pain, the calm ground suddenly cracked into a huge gap without any warning. The gap was like the mouth of a hideous beast, emitting a suffocating stench. Countless resentful spirits surged out from the ground, exuding strong resentment all over their bodies, with heart-wrenching and heartbreaking screams, as if telling the endless suffering they had suffered in their lives. Wherever they passed, the peach trees that had been stained red with blood instantly turned into charcoal, leaving only a piece of charred wreckage, as if this peach forest had also suffered a catastrophe under the anger of the resentful spirits. The figures of these resentful spirits were illusory and distorted, and their faces were full of pain and resentment. Some stretched out their hands as if they wanted to grab something; some opened their mouths wide and made silent shouts; some had incomplete bodies and flowed with black blood. Wherever they went, the air seemed to be corroded and exuded a pungent smell. What was even more terrifying was that the entire scene began to distort and deform. Lin Wanqiu's figure became extremely tall in the distortion. Her dragon claws flashed with cold light, and the scene of tearing the villagers apart was played in a continuous loop, as if it was a nightmare that would never stop. The mirror spirit took the opportunity to invade Lin Feng's sea of ??consciousness and screamed in a sharp and almost piercing voice: "Look at the monster you are protecting! She is the real devil! Everything you do is to help the evil!" The voice kept echoing in his sea of ??consciousness, like a surging tide, trying to completely submerge his consciousness.
"No!" At this critical moment, Lin Feng suddenly burst out with a powerful force, and he suddenly pulled out the dagger from his waist. However, unexpectedly, he did not stab Lin Wanqiu with the dagger, but stabbed it into his chest without hesitation. Blood gushed out like a flood, staining his clothes red. At the moment when the blood gushed out, cracks began to appear in the illusion in front of him, like a broken mirror. "In my previous life, I was cowardly and incompetent, and listened to slander; in this life, I was blinded by hatred and almost made a big mistake. But this time." He used all his strength to hold the bloody handle tightly, and pointed the tip of the knife at the cold "self" in the mirror, revealing an unprecedented firmness in his eyes, "I want to cut off the inner demon with my own hands! I will no longer be bound by the past, and I will no longer let hatred control my will!" His voice was firm and powerful, and it stood out in this chaos, like a flash of lightning, cutting through the dark night sky.
Outside the formation, Xuan Zhenzi was already at the end of his strength. A large amount of blood flowed from the corners of his mouth, dripping down his chin, and gathered into a small pool of blood on the ground in front of him. Maintaining the Inquiry Formation had exhausted him, like a lonely lamp that was about to go out. But even so, he still relied on his tenacious willpower to recite the spell. Every word he uttered seemed to have exhausted all his strength. His hands were trembling slightly, but he was still trying to maintain the posture of making seals. The sweat on his forehead kept rolling down, mixing with the blood at the corners of his mouth and dripping on the ground. The Bagua formation pattern shone brightly, and the light was more dazzling than before, like the rising sun, completely enveloping Lin Feng's figure, as if to give him the last strength. The light was like a substance, rotating around Lin Feng, constantly injecting into his body, making him feel a powerful force surging in his body.
In the illusion, Lin Feng had a thrilling, life-and-death struggle with the cold "self" in the mirror. Every collision of swords and swords was accompanied by a dull bang, as if two souls were fighting a final battle. As the battle continued, every collision made him more conscious, as if the fog was gradually dissipating, allowing him to see his heart clearly. The attack of the "self" in the mirror was fierce and fierce, and every move and every style carried a fatal threat, but Lin Feng did not retreat. With his tenacious will and firm belief in Lin Wanqiu, he blocked the attack again and again. His eyes were full of determination, and the short knife in his hand was waving vigorously, as if to chop all the darkness into pieces. Finally, after an arduous battle, he used up the last bit of his strength and pierced the heart of the "self" in the mirror with the blade in his hand. At this moment, the entire illusion was like a collapsed building, shattered, and turned into countless fragments that dissipated in the air. The body of "myself" in the mirror gradually faded and disappeared in a beam of light, while Lin Feng stood there, gasping for breath. A smile of victory appeared on his face, as if a heavy shackle had been lifted off his shoulders.
The mirror spirit screamed unwillingly, the sound was so sharp and piercing that it seemed to shatter the whole world. Then, she turned into countless fragments, like flying snowflakes, scattering and disappearing in the void. Lin Feng's body fell from the white light, like a falling star. And the fragments of the Qingming mirror in his hand seemed to be summoned by some mysterious power and began to automatically piece together. As the fragments were pieced together, new runes gradually emerged on the mirror body. Those runes emitted a soft and mysterious light, as if they contained endless power. Each rune flickered with a faint light, as if telling an ancient story. They intertwined with each other to form a complex and beautiful pattern that made people fascinated.
Xuan Zhenzi fell to the ground exhausted, his body hitting the ground heavily, raising a cloud of dust. However, his face covered in blood and fatigue showed a gratified smile, as if he had fulfilled a lifelong wish. He looked at Lin Feng and said in a weak but gratified voice: "Congratulations, you have truly become the master of the Qingming Mirror. You have finally defeated your inner demons and gained real power." His eyes were full of love and admiration, as if he was watching his own child grow up healthily.
However, before Lin Feng could catch his breath, a deafening roar suddenly came from afar. The roar seemed to penetrate the heavens and earth, making the whole world tremble. Jiuying's breath became stronger and stronger, like a volcano about to erupt, ready to go. At the same time, the light of three dragon blood arrows pierced the sky, like a bright meteor, pointing directly to the dungeon. Lin Feng held the repaired Qingming Mirror tightly, his eyes were as firm as a rock, as if burning with a flame that would never go out. He looked in the direction of the dungeon and silently said in his heart: "Wanqiu, I'm here to save you. No matter how many difficulties and obstacles there are ahead, I will never let you get hurt again!" After that, he turned and ran towards the dungeon, his steps firm and powerful. His figure quickly shuttled through the ruins, bringing up a cloud of dust, like a black lightning, rushing towards the target.
