Free Web NovelChapter 1782 - Mysterious Eyeball
Lu Baoguo and the other mentors wavered, hesitation creeping across their faces. They knew perfectly well that Liu Wuxie was deliberately provoking them, yet they could find no words with which to refute him. If they refused his challenge, he naturally would not reveal the answers.
If they rejected his terms but continued causing trouble, they would only expose themselves as cowards.
"Mentor Lu, those questions can't possibly have answers. He's only bluffing! Don't fall for his trick," the surrounding students said, fervently urging the five mentors to accept Liu Wuxie's terms, convinced that Liu Wuxie had disappeared for four hours merely to exert psychological pressure on them.
If Liu Wuxie truly knew the answers, why had he not proven it on the spot? His failure to do so could only mean that he had a guilty conscience.
Hearing the crowd's remarks, Liu Wuxie offered nothing more than a faint smile and remained silent.
"Very well. If you produce the correct answers, we'll resign as mentors and leave the Azure Flame Dao Hall. However, if you fail, you'll vacate this place immediately," declared Lu Baoguo after conferring with the other mentors.
"Liu Wuxie, reveal the answers now!" Qian Gu pressed.
Liu Wuxie raised his hand in a beckoning gesture, and a pill appeared for everyone to behold. Without the slightest hesitation, Ke Yuan rushed forward, took the pill from Liu Wuxie, and scrutinized it closely.
The other mentors immediately crowded around him, and even Wen Qi proved no exception. As a grandmaster alchemist, he also wished to examine the pill for himself.
The moment everyone's divine sense penetrated the Seven Rainbow Pill, Ke Yuan's expression grew darker by the second, and he began trembling uncontrollably.
"The poison within the Treasure Orchid Flower is truly gone! This is the complete version of the Seven Rainbow Pill," someone remarked.
Ke Yuan seemed to lose every trace of strength as his face turned deathly pale, leaving him standing there in utter despair.
The result shattered everyone's expectations, particularly that of the students standing behind them.
"Ke Yuan, examine it more carefully," Lu Baoguo shouted, panic beginning to seize him.
"There's no need. This Seven Rainbow Pill is flawless, and it left the furnace less than an hour ago," Lao Kaiyu pronounced, plunging the entire area into silence.
Lu Baoguo and the other mentors staggered as a powerful sense of unease swelled within their chests.
"I've lost!" Ke Yuan murmured before departing in full view of all the students. As a mentor, he naturally had to honor his word. His figure gradually faded from sight as he walked out of the Azure Flame Dao Hall.
"Mentor..." his students called out, sobbing. They glared furiously at Liu Wuxie, for he was the one who had forced their mentor to leave.
Liu Wuxie paid no attention to the resentful gazes surrounding him, for these people had brought this outcome upon themselves. He then opened his right palm, revealing a bizarre talisman upon which yin and yang energy circulated, the two opposing forces merging in perfect harmony.
The instant Qian Gu saw the talisman, he stumbled and nearly plunged headfirst to the ground. He carefully cradled the talisman like a child clutching his favorite toy, unable to bear putting it down.
"This truly is a Yin-Yang Talisman!" Qian Gu cried excitedly as he gazed at the talisman, momentarily forgetting everything else.
Lu Baoguo could no longer maintain his composure. First came the Seven Rainbow Pill, completely devoid of toxins, and now a complete Yin-Yang Talisman had appeared. This could only mean that Liu Wuxie possessed the answers to the remaining questions as well.
"I apologize for my actions. Until we meet again," Qian Gu said as he returned the talisman to Liu Wuxie.
Before the surrounding students could collect themselves, Qian Gu had already departed.
Another uproar exploded through the crowd, for Liu Wuxie had driven away two mentors with only a few words. The remaining people could no longer restrain their growing restlessness.
When Liu Wuxie shifted his gaze toward Lu Baoguo, the latter found himself unable to meet his eyes and involuntarily retreated a step.
"Does anyone possess a damaged artifact?" Liu Wuxie asked as another bizarre talisman appeared in his hand.
A student hastily stepped forward.
"I do!" he said as he produced a damaged immortal talisman. Cracks riddled its interior, making it extraordinarily difficult to repair.
Yet the instant Liu Wuxie sent the talisman into the immortal artifact, dazzling golden brilliance burst from within. The cracks rapidly knitted themselves together before everyone's eyes, leaving the onlookers baffled.
"What an exquisite restoring rune!" Even Nangong Shan gazed upon it with admiration. Setting aside their grudges, none of them could deny that Liu Wuxie's blacksmithing skills had surpassed their own.
Within a mere ten breaths, Liu Wuxie had restored almost the entire damaged immortal artifact. The sight proved beyond doubt that runes could indeed repair artifacts.
"Lu Baoguo, what do you have to say now?" Ye Linghan demanded as she strode forward.
Anyone with eyes could see that Lu Baoguo had orchestrated today's incident, while the other mentors had only come after he had instigated them.
Lu Baoguo's expression instantly darkened as a burning sensation scorched his cheeks.
"Mentor Ye, everything that happened today was merely a misunderstanding!" Lu Baoguo hurriedly changed his attitude, plastering a radiant smile across his face.
His shameless display immediately drew looks of disgust from countless people. Never before had they witnessed someone so utterly shameless.
Ye Linghan sneered. "A misunderstanding? Why didn't you call it a misunderstanding when you incited those students? Get lost from the Azure Flame Dao Hall, or I won't mind throwing you out myself."
The moment her words fell, Ye Linghan stepped forward and unleashed her aura at the Origin Immortal Realm, its crushing pressure forcing Lu Baoguo to bow his head.
"Ye Linghan, don't push it!" Lu Baoguo roared. His cultivation might have been inferior to Ye Linghan's, but that did not mean he feared her.
The other students lapsed into silence. The truth had become painfully clear that they had all walked straight into Liu Wuxie's trap. They had initially commanded the upper hand in this confrontation, yet who could have imagined that Liu Wuxie would overturn the entire situation with only five questions?
"Lu Baoguo, a mentor must lead by example. You went back on your word, which makes you unworthy of being a mentor. Leave immediately!" Lao Kaiyu declared. If someone like Lu Baoguo remained, he would only lead his students down the wrong path.
"Leave immediately!" Xiang Rulong and the other students thundered.
The united roar of a thousand voices crashed toward Lu Baoguo, forcing him backwards. His eyes became bloodshot with fury, while his expression darkened into something terrifying, making him resemble a beast driven mad.
"Liu Wuxie, you will pay for this! I'll make sure of it!" Lu Baoguo spat out one final threat before storming away.
"Liu Wuxie, hurry and reveal the answer to the martial cultivation question!" the surrounding students urged.
Many students had already examined the drawing, yet a single glance had dragged their consciousness into its depths and nearly caused their cultivation to deviate.
Under everyone's expectant gaze, Liu Wuxie drew another diagram identical to the one carved into the wall. His actions only deepened their bewilderment, for no one could fathom what he intended to do.
"Do any of you know the name of this immortal art?" Liu Wuxie asked as he displayed the diagram before the crowd.
Even the briefest glance sent waves of dizziness crashing through their minds, compelling them to avert their eyes. They shook their heads one after another, for not a single person could identify the origin of this immortal art.
"This immortal art is called the Demon-Purging Diagram," Liu Wuxie revealed, and fear instantly surfaced on everyone's faces.
A blacksmithing mentor abruptly coughed up blood, his complexion turning deathly pale. Black miasma began seeping from his heart, signaling that his inner demon had awakened.
"Liu Wuxie, what did you do to us?" someone shouted.
"Nothing significant. I merely awakened your inner demons," Liu Wuxie replied, remaining entirely unconcerned as inner demons erupted throughout the surrounding crowd.
Back in the mortal realm, Liu Wuxie had endured the torment of his own inner demon. Only through the complete version of the Heart-Calming Mantra from the Elven Race had he ultimately managed to overcome it.
The Demon-Purging Diagram possessed a single terrifying function of awakening the inner demon lurking within a person.
The mentor whose inner demon had awakened lunged toward Liu Wuxie. "Liu Wuxie, I'll kill you," he yelled.
Zuo Yang and the elders beside him instantly turned pale. They could scarcely believe that a mere diagram could awaken someone's inner demon, nor could they comprehend how Liu Wuxie had achieved such a feat.
Ye Linghan swiftly intercepted the mentor, barring him from approaching Liu Wuxie.
"Mentor Gong, can you break the Demon-Purging Diagram?" Liu Wuxie asked, fixing his gaze upon Gong An.
Gong An could only shake his head blankly, his expression steeped in dejection.
Liu Wuxie picked up a brush and added several more strokes to the diagram. The diagram underwent a complete transformation, yet no one could explain exactly how it had changed. Merely looking at it soothed their minds as a refreshing current flowed throughout their bodies.
Incorporating the Heart-Calming Mantra into the diagram had produced this effect, and the mentor's inner demon gradually receded.
The students who had regained their senses stared at it with astonishment. They chimed, "How strange. The diagram doesn't appear to have changed, so why is it releasing power opposite to before?"
"I've lost. I accept my defeat wholeheartedly," Gong An conceded without hesitation before leaving the Azure Flame Dao Hall without another word.
Liu Wuxie had now answered four of the five questions, leaving only the final one unresolved.
"Assistant Liu, your methods are truly remarkable, and I am deeply impressed. There's no need to reveal the answer to the final question. My age is already catching up with me, and it's time for me to retire. The future belongs to you young people. Until we meet again," Zhongsun Wen said as he stepped forward and cupped his hands toward Liu Wuxie.
Although the others had forcibly dragged him here, he had still taken part in this matter. Since he had come, his presence alone had represented where he stood.
"Elder Zhong..." Ye Linghan called out, her voice choking with emotion.
After all, Zhongsun Wen possessed an amicable temperament and an excellent reputation. He could not bear the entire blame for this matter, as Lu Baoguo had forcibly dragged him there.
"Mentor Ye, there's no need to say anything more. Even without today's incident, I had already planned to retire," Zhongsun Wen replied. He accepted the outcome calmly, without the slightest trace of regret. Instead, he appeared almost relieved.
Under everyone's watchful gaze, Zhongsun Wen departed from the Azure Flame Dao Hall, prompting many people to sigh emotionally.
With his departure, the farce finally reached its conclusion, and the surrounding students gradually dispersed.
Once peace returned to the courtyards, Yi Zhong and the others released long sighs of relief. They knew that without Liu Wuxie, they would have faced unimaginable consequences, and their enemies would undoubtedly have seized the courtyards.
As the days slipped by, Liu Wuxie devoted most of his time to cultivation.
On this particular day, a strange phenomenon emerged within the Dragon Burial Mountain Range. An object resembling an eyeball appeared there, drawing vast numbers of cultivators toward it.
News soon reached the Azure Flame Dao Hall, and many students requested leave to investigate the mysterious eyeball.
"Wuxie, a mysterious eyeball has appeared in the Dragon Burial Mountain Range!" Ye Linghan called from outside the courtyard. Nearly a week had passed, and Liu Wuxie had remained in seclusion throughout that entire period.
"A mysterious eyeball?" Liu Wuxie opened the gate and invited Ye Linghan inside.
"I only just received the news myself. Many mentors from the Azure Flame Dao Hall have already gone there to investigate," Ye Linghan said as she sat upon the stone stool, picked up a cup of cold tea, and gulped down several mouthfuls.
The moment Liu Wuxie turned his gaze toward the Dragon Burial Mountain Range, the Ghost Pupil, dormant for so long, suddenly throbbed as though something in the distance were calling out to it.
