Chapter 289
Chapter 289
At that moment, I suddenly realized with perfect clarity that Liu Junyan and I resonated on the deepest level of our souls.
When he chose to assume the identity of the Evil Monk to break through the Great Lama’s defenses, how was that any different from the choice I was making now?
I also believed there were many more cultivators in this world who would feel the same way we did.
After a brief silence, Fang Luo suddenly held out her hand to me. “I’m Fang Luo, Fang Chuanzong’s Second Senior Sister. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Xiao Jiu.”
I shook her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Sister Luo. You look so much younger than Elder Fang.”
“Of course I do. I’m more than ten years younger than him. That’s what he gets for joining the sect so late.” Fang Luo laughed. “Xiao Jiu, I admire your courage and wisdom, and I’d be glad to call you my friend. Move forward without fear and leave your back to me. I promise I’ll keep it safe.”
The corners of my lips immediately lifted.
Fang Luo’s attitude was the strongest possible affirmation and support for my decision.
Besides, once I entered the water, someone would need to handle all the follow-up work — retrieving the hundred children as soon as they were replaced, resuscitating them, and perhaps even performing Summon Souls rituals. Each task would be a massive undertaking.
Fang Luo could be a tremendous help.
As we spoke, hurried footsteps approached.
Hui Yumo had returned.
“Sister, the people you asked for are ready. Come with me.”
I was startled. “That quickly?”
“They’re all juniors from our Gray Immortal Hall,” Hui Yumo said. “The Gray Immortal Lineage never lacks manpower.”
“Did they all volunteer?” I asked.
Hui Yumo nodded. “Everyone answered the call!”
I instinctively looked at Fang Luo. Her eyes shone as she said, “Go, Xiao Jiu. Do everything in your power to pursue what you believe is right. Let yourself shine as brightly as you can.”
“All right. I will.”
I waved to Fang Luo, then left with Hui Yumo, carrying the Soul-Guiding Lantern.
Just as Hui Yumo had said, if there was one thing the Gray Immortal Lineage had in abundance, it was descendants. They were exceptionally prolific.
Finding a hundred juniors who were strong swimmers and had solid cultivation foundations within their vast headquarters was no difficult task.
They had gathered in the riverside town and formed a long line.
The youngsters who hadn’t been selected were still lingering nearby, unwilling to leave.
Hui Moqiong and Hui Xiaotiao were doing their best to maintain order.
I walked over and raised my voice. “What we’re about to do tonight is extremely dangerous. There’s a very real chance none of us will return. It’s not too late to back out now, but once you enter the water, there will be no turning back. Have you all thought this through?”
“We have!”
Their voices rang out in perfect unison.
Hui Moqiong said to me, “Don’t worry, Xiao Jiu’er. Xiao Tiao and I screened them three times. We rejected anyone timid or hesitant, anyone without siblings, and anyone reckless or undisciplined. In short, everyone left standing in this line will follow orders without question.”
I asked, “Have all their names and identities been registered? Have the standards for rewards and compensation been set?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure everything is properly arranged,” Hui Moqiong replied.
I asked no more questions. “Fifth Master Hui, everything that happens from here on will be unknown. I’ll leave the deployment and command entirely to you.”
Hui Moqiong answered firmly, “Leave it to me. You have nothing to worry about.”
I turned toward the river and called out, “Do you see those hundred children in the water? Your next task is to dive in as quickly as possible and take up position beneath one child each. The moment I successfully transfer their Souls out with the Soul-Guiding Lantern, you must immediately take their places. Remember, under no circumstances can the white porcelain lanterns be broken.”
There could not be a single mistake in any of these steps.
One mistake, and those hundred children — and every last one of us — would never return.
As soon as I finished speaking, Hui Moqiong repeated my warning. After drilling the instructions into the juniors several more times, he waved his hand. They plunged into the river one after another like dumplings dropping into a pot, slipping beneath the surface in single file and closing in on the children from underwater.
Then, carrying the Soul-Guiding Lantern, I stepped into the river.
Though it was already late spring, the river remained bone-chillingly cold at night.
The instant I entered the water, the hundred children seemed to sense something. They all turned their heads toward me in perfect unison.
The same eerie, rigid smiles remained plastered across their faces, but their eyes were fixed on the Soul-Guiding Lantern in my hand.
Thunder rolled directly overhead as lightning tore across the sky, threatening to strike at any moment.
I knew we had little time left.
I charged through the water as fast as I could, heading for the front of the White Dragon.
As I ran, I bit my finger and quickly drew a Blood Rune on my palm. Chanting an incantation, I thrust my rune-marked palm toward the sky.
It was a Thunder Summoning Talisman.
The first talisman Liu Junyan had ever taught me.
The instant I raised the Thunder Summoning Talisman into the air, the muffled thunder rolling above the layers of black clouds suddenly converged.
Crack!
A deafening blast erupted.
A massive bolt of lightning shot straight down from the sky toward the river.
At the exact moment it struck, I had already formed a Sword Finger and pressed it against the lantern chamber, murmuring an incantation.
Blood from my fingertip spread through the lantern chamber. The four Ghost Faces immediately bared their fangs and brandished their claws, roaring without pause.
That lightning strike had never been part of the plan for this Sacrifice.
I had summoned it into the river for one purpose: to disrupt the formation, if only for a moment.
As the lightning struck, all hundred children shuddered at once, their minds clearing for a brief instant.
I seized that moment and pointed my Sword Finger toward the White Dragon procession. The four Ghost Faces shot from the very front of the line all the way to the back.
They moved so quickly that the thunder was still reverberating when they returned to the lantern chamber.
All hundred children toppled over at once. The instant they fell into the water, the white porcelain lanterns in their hands were caught by a hundred Mouse Immortal juniors rising from beneath the surface.
Standing one behind another, each junior placed their left hand on the left shoulder of the person ahead while raising a white porcelain lantern high in their right hand. In the brief opening created by that lightning strike, they successfully completed the Substitution Ruse!
Not one of them hesitated in the face of life and death. They had entered the river fully prepared to give up their lives.
I had not held out much hope. After all, this suicide squad had been assembled at the last minute, and no one could have predicted what might happen next.
Yet everything went astonishingly smoothly.
They moved as though they had rehearsed it a thousand times, coordinating with me flawlessly.
I could not help but marvel. There was a reason the Gray Immortal Hall of Chang City had remained standing for so long.
Judging by the performance of these juniors today, the Gray Immortal Hall of Chang City would never lack talented members in the future. Its position would be unshakable.
Just before the thunder faded completely, numerous pairs of hands suddenly reached up from beneath the river. They swiftly scooped up the children bobbing in the water and swam toward the bank with them.
They belonged to Fang Luo and her fellow disciples — her Senior Brothers and junior sisters — as well as representatives of the major sects.
Everyone was doing everything they could.
Everyone’s timing was perfect.
By the time the thunder faded, I was already standing at the very front of the procession.
A small hand clutched the clothes at my waist. I had officially become the head of the White Dragon procession.
I was their guide!
Raising the Soul-Guiding Lantern high, I shouted, “Children, stay close to me! Now, we’re going to break this formation!”