A few minutes after Xia Pingan and the Flame Rhinoceros flew past the Reflection Mirror, five Summoners, two Naga Mages, and three Magic Wolf Mages flew down from the top of the valley. They flew into the dense thicket and quickly started searching.
After searching for five or six minutes, one of the Naga Mages suddenly saw the Reflection Mirror. The Reflection Mirror was hidden in the thicket. If one didn't look carefully, they wouldn't have noticed it.
The Naga Sorcerer didn't say a word. When he flew past the Dharma artifact, he swung his tail and stuck it to the Dharma artifact. Then, he put the Reflection Mirror Dharma artifact into his close-fitting Dharma robe. Nothing out of the ordinary could be seen from his appearance. He continued to pretend to be searching.
…
A few minutes later …
"Eh, where's the Reflection Mirror? It was thrown down from above. It should be nearby …" a Summoner muttered as he searched. At the same time, he was on guard against the Mages around him.
"It should be nearby. Did someone pick it up?" A Magic Wolf Mage roared, revealing his white teeth. He scanned the surroundings of the valley with his sharp eyes.
The valley was foggy and it was night time, so visibility was poor. Earlier, when everyone was fighting above, they didn't immediately rush down. Therefore, they weren't sure if the Reflection Mirror had been picked up by someone else.
The eyes of the Naga Mage who had picked up the Reflection Mirror spun strangely. After flicking his tongue, he suddenly said, "If someone was hiding in the valley, then the item thrown down from above might have been picked up by someone else. It's best if we split up and search. See if there's anyone else in the valley. If we continue to delay here, then the person who picked up the Reflection Mirror might have already left the valley …"
When the Mages heard this, they felt that the Naga Mage's words made sense.
The Magic Wolf Mage roared angrily. He looked in the direction of the valley and was about to give chase …
However, a lean human Summoner narrowed his eyes and stared at the Naga Mage. He suddenly sneered, "Wait, it's also possible that someone among us has already picked up the Reflection Mirror, but secretly hid it and continued to pretend to look for it. That's why the Reflection Mirror suddenly disappeared. The person who picked up the Reflection Mirror must be thinking of a way to sneak away without arousing suspicion. It's best if he pretends to look for someone else and then runs away …"
Hearing this, the Magic Wolf Mage who had just taken a few steps forward suddenly stopped. He turned around and stared at the Naga Mage who had picked up the Reflection Mirror.
The other two who were about to leave also stopped in their tracks and stared at the Naga Mage.
The Naga Mage took a step back. He held his Snake Bone Staff and looked at the lean human Summoner with a dangerous gaze. He immediately turned the tables and said with a fierce expression, "You want to frame me?"
"Hehe, this valley is so deep and hidden. Even if someone was hiding in this valley, it wouldn't be so coincidental that they would be hiding near the Reflection Mirror. Although we were delayed for a while, we still came down very quickly. Even if someone was really hiding in this valley, that person might not have been faster than us, let alone leaving. Therefore, the most likely possibility is that the Reflection Mirror wasn't picked up by someone hiding in this valley, and it wouldn't have disappeared for no reason. Instead, it was picked up by one of us. I wasn't sure if it was you if you didn't speak, but now that you spoke, I knew that it was most likely you who picked up the Reflection Mirror …"
The skinny human Summoner shrewdly analyzed. He then took a step forward and glanced at the Naga Mage with greedy eyes. He threatened, "Hand over the magic tool. That magic tool isn't something you can take for yourself. If you want to take it for yourself, you'll have to see if you still have the life to live …"
The other Summoners and Magic Wolf Mages surrounded the Naga Mage with unfriendly looks …
Another Naga Mage hesitated. He didn't know whether he should stand in front of his own kind or force the Naga Mage to hand over the Reflection Mirror.
The Naga Mage who had picked up the Reflection Mirror was about to say something when his expression suddenly changed. He started to tremble violently. The Summoners and Magic Wolf Mages who had just surrounded him thought that the Naga Mage was going to use some secret spell. They were startled and hurriedly took a few steps back …
However, the trembling Naga Mage didn't cast any spells. Instead, his body trembled more and more violently, and an expression of extreme pain appeared on his face. His eyes widened in horror, and his mouth gaped open. The staff in his hand had already fallen to the ground. He grabbed his neck and throat with both hands, trying to make a sound, but no sound came out.
"Hehe, trying to force us to retreat with such a petty trick? Too naive …" The lean human Summoner sneered and took two more steps forward.
Then, the human summoner saw the scales on the trembling Naga Mage start to fall off one by one. His originally lustrous eyes turned ash-gray in an instant, and his skin shriveled. His entire body was like a deflated balloon, or a dried radish exposed to the sun, rapidly shrinking after losing its moisture …
"Boom …" The body descended in the blink of an eye. When it had shrunk to half its original size, it suddenly exploded and turned into a tumbling blood-red mist. Behind the blood-red mist was the Reflection Mirror. It was floating in the air, emitting a strange blood-red light. It was like an open blood-red eye that was staring at everyone present.
"What is this thing?" The surrounding Summoners and Magic Wolf Mages were all stunned by this sudden turn of events.
However, before they could react, the blood-red mist suddenly turned into nine rays of blood-red light and shot towards the Summoners and Mages. The Summoners were unable to resist and were entangled by the nine rays of blood-red light. Then, the nine bodies instantly shriveled and exploded, turning into balls of blood-red light, just like the Naga Mage from before.
The copper mirror floating in the air instantly absorbed the bloody light. Following that, the copper mirror suddenly exploded, turning into hundreds of diamond-shaped fragments. The diamond-shaped fragments floated in the air and connected together, forming the shape of a door.
In the next second, Zu Motian, the Hierarch of the Blood Demon Sect, whose hair and beard were all blood red and had a vertical eye between his eyebrows, stepped out of the bloody portal, his demonic aura soaring to the sky …
…
Just a few minutes before Zu Motian stepped out of the copper mirror portal, Xia Pingan and the Flame Rhinoceros had already flown out of the valley and away from the battlefield outside Youshan City.
Outside the valley was a winding mountain road leading to the Shang Kingdom. On the road, a black four-wheeled carriage with a lantern was parked by the side of the road. One of the wheels of the carriage was stuck in a hole on the road. For a moment, the carriage couldn't move.
Such a carriage wouldn't have attracted Xia Pingan's attention. However, just as Xia Pingan's gaze swept across the carriage, he saw a familiar face standing beside it.
Jing Yuxing, Elder Jing.
This was Xia Pingan's "roommate" when he first arrived in Shangjing City. The two of them had taken the same boat to Shangjing City and spent half a month together on the boat. Xia Pingan had benefited greatly from this.
Jing Yuxing opened a small bookstore in Shang Jing City and stood aloof from worldly affairs. When Xia Pingan was in Shang Jing City, he took the time to visit Jing Yuxing once and drank tea with him in the bookstore, but that was it.
Elder Jing stood beside the carriage that was stuck in the ground and looked helplessly at the coachman who was trying to pull the carriage out of the hole. However, no matter how hard the coachman and the two horses pulled the carriage, the wheels were still a distance away from being pulled out of the hole.
Why was Elder Jing in Youshan City?
It wasn't peaceful outside Youshan City. If a carriage was stuck here in the middle of the night, the people below would be in danger if there were bandits or criminals.
A strange thought arose in Xia Pingan's mind, but he didn't delay. He called Yan Xi, and Xia Pingan withdrew the illusion. His whole body directly fell from the sky, and landed near the carriage's headlights, just enough to let Jing Lao and the coachman see his face.
Seeing Xia Pingan descending from the sky, the coachman, who was directing the horses to pull the carriage out of the hole, was shocked. However, Elder Jing was calm and didn't make a fuss. He even smiled and said to the coachman, "Look, someone is here to help …"
"Sir, is there a problem with your carriage …" Xia Pingan said as he walked towards them with a smile. Before the coachman and Elder Jing opened their mouths, Xia Pingan had already come to one side of the carriage and put one hand on the bottom of the carriage. Closely after that, the heavy carriage chassis and carriage were lifted up by Xia Pingan. Closely after that, the wheels of the carriage left the pit.
"Old mister, the carriage is fine now. We can leave now …" Xia Pingan smiled and said to Elder Jing.
"Thank you, thank you …" Elder Jing looked at the sky and stroked his beard. He then said to Xia Pingan directly, "It's late now and the mountain road is not peaceful. Our carriage has been stuck here for too long. I'm a bit worried on the way. I see that you are very capable. Can you escort me for a while and accompany me along the way?"
Jing Yuxing's request was a bit unreasonable. However, it was reasonable at this moment.
"That's good. It just so happens that I'm going the same way as Old Mister, so I'll have to bother Old Mister!" Xia Pingan waved his hand, and the Flame Rhinoceros transformed into an eagle owl landed on his shoulder.
The coachman opened the door of the carriage and let the two of them in. After that, he closed the door and continued to drive the carriage at a moderate speed.
The carriage was very spacious and elegant. Besides the sofa at the back, there were also a table, a bar and a small bookcase. This carriage was a bit like a station wagon, which was a magical tool for long-distance travel in this world.
"Recently, Secluded Mountain has not been peaceful. Why did Old Mister take a carriage to Secluded Mountain alone?" Xia Pingan sat in the carriage and asked.
"I came to Youshan Mountain to see an old friend!" Elder Jing smiled and looked at Xia Pingan with a genial look.
"Have you seen your old friend?"
"Of course. That day, I arrived at Shang Jing City with my old friend by boat. Today, I left Youshan Mountain with my old friend by carriage. This is fate. Rivers and mountains are easy to change. My old friend is safe and sound. Not bad, not bad. This is also a great pleasure in life …"
After hearing Elder Jing's words, Xia Pingan was shocked.
However, before Xia Pingan opened his mouth, the fiery rhinoceros who had turned into an eagle owl had instantly turned into a human figure with a bang. Closely after that, it put a sharp dagger against Elder Jing's neck as it glared at Elder Jing ferociously. "Old thing, I don't think you're an ordinary person. You must be setting a trap for us when the carriage got stuck on the road. Tell me, what's your purpose? If you dare to play tricks, be careful that I will stab some holes in your neck …"
Yan Xi didn't know the past between Elder Jing and Xia Pingan. He just felt that this "old b * stard" was too suspicious.
"Don't be rude …" Xia Pingan hurriedly stopped him.
Elder Jing smiled and flicked his finger. With a bang, the fiery rhinoceros that had just turned into a human turned back into a dumb frog. It landed on the table in the carriage and looked up blankly at Xia Pingan and Elder Jing who had suddenly become "tall and big" in the carriage.
Yan Xi didn't understand what was going on. He wanted to open his mouth; however, he just croaked twice — — after that, Yan Xi became stunned!
Elder Jing reached out his hand and took out a blue colored glass lamp from the carriage. He flipped the lamp cover over and covered the Flame Rhinoceros who had turned into a frog on the table with the lamp cover. It couldn't even jump up.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
