Chapter 20

Chapter 20: The Asura Palace Immortals Falling into Formation 

The night was gloomy, dark shadows covered the quicksand and moved lightly. The evening wind gradually became heavy and sticky from the initial bleakness. The wind was filled with gravel and tainted with evil spirits. In the end, even the triangular pupils could not be seen. Only shallow footprints were printed on the gravel, which would be covered by the flowing sand in a moment. Lu Jiajing's pure figure was rubbed in the misty night, with only a lotus leading the way. 

The cold wind brushed against my ears, like a sinister object brushing past my shoulders, whispering in my ears. 

Lu Jiajing had no expression on her face, but her heart was getting heavier. The petals of the blue lotus withered one by one as they traveled further. The more they traveled, the more vegetation they saw, but most of them were dead. What caught their sight were layers of terrifying shadows. 

Until the light of the blue lotus dimmed and all thirteen petals withered, Lu Jiajing raised her head and saw the dim light. 

A crescent moon hangs in the sky, and an extremely magnificent dark red ancient city is like a shroud in smoke. Lu Jiajing's clothes are blown back by the wind. The layers of palaces are not too tall, but they are solemn and majestic. Now the moonlight is mottled, the wind and sand are dancing, and the sight is full of silence and vastness, just like the palace of the King of Hell standing in the underworld. 

Lu Jiajing looked at the words on the ancient city tower, which were the words "Xura" written in ancient style. 

Lu Jiajing was horrified, and she suddenly realized what she had seen. 

She once read an ancient book called "Strange Stories about Qionglou", and the last page of the book briefly mentioned three of the most mysterious ancient buildings. 

The three buildings are Beifu, Longyuan Building and Shura Palace. 

Lu Jiajing looked at the two characters "Xura" written by the soft and powerful strokes, which were like iron and silver hooks, and was secretly surprised. Could this be the legendary Shura Palace? 

It is hidden in this ancient city? 

In the blink of an eye, dark clouds covered the moon. Lu Jiajing tensed up and prepared to face the enemy. 

But the strange thing is that even though the clouds have covered the moon, the scene in front of me is clearer. 

"Tick, tick, tick..." 

A sound like bamboo hitting the floor was heard in the heavy sandstorm. Lu Jiajing pricked up her ears to look for the source of the sound. Suddenly, she saw that the city gate had disappeared silently. A black ghost was lying on the ground on all fours, flapping his limbs constantly, with his head facing the direction of Lu Jiajing. There was no color on his body, and even his pupils were pitch black. 

Lu Jiajing looked at the monster that looked like a thin shadow in the night, ready to attack at any time. 

The black ghost on all fours kept making tapping sounds at Lu Jiajing, then it turned around and walked towards the city gate, turning back to look at Lu Jiajing. 

Lu Jiajing was slightly startled. Could it be that it wanted to guide him into the city? 

The night wind suddenly blew, and the dark clouds that had been covering the moon in the sky were slowly pushed away. As the faint light of the waning moon appeared, the city gate unexpectedly reappeared in the naked eye, and then slowly began to close. 

The clattering sound became louder and louder, and Lu Jiajing could no longer see the little ghost. 

She glanced at the gradually rising moon in the sky, her mind racing. Now trapped here, it seemed that the ancient city in front of her was the only way out, and that little ghost didn't seem to have much ill intentions. 

She licked her dry lips, and without hesitation, she rushed towards the ancient city. At the moment the city gate closed, she passed through the gate in her gorgeous clothes and entered the ancient city. 

The moment she entered the ancient city, Lu Jiajing raised her eyes, and a chill suddenly rose in her heart. She felt her scalp tingling, and three snow lotuses bloomed in front of her. 

Like an arrow on a string. 

In that city, countless pairs of dark green eyes were staring at her, and those eyes were lined up in a neat row from front to back. 

He stared at the uninvited guest. 

When the lotus snow light illuminated the area ahead, Lu Jiajing looked carefully and found that those were just carved stone statues. 

There were many stone statues of sand foxes on the ground. They had triangular eyes and kept strange postures, motionless, as if they were the ones leading Lu Jiajing to the ancient city. 

The slightly taller stone statues are angels with wings on their shoulders and white eyes. 

The tallest ones are stone statues of military commanders, holding swords and axes, with sharp eyes and majestic demeanor. It seems that the weapons in their hands will fall down at any time and chop off their heads. 

The clattering sound had disappeared without a trace, and the surroundings were filled with a dark and dead silence. 

Lu Jiajing walked carefully between the stone statues, her mind tense the whole time. If the stone statues suddenly attacked, the lotus would instantly wrap around her body and take her away. 

There were small dark objects floating above the tower, like gusts of wind swimming in the air. 

The further he went inside, the more spirits he could see. Many of them he couldn't even name, but their powers were very low. 

Some of those spirits fluttered in the wind, while others clung to eaves, door plaques, and pillars, like inconspicuous dust. 

Lu Jiajing saw the black ghost again. 

The black ghost slowly stood up, like a human. It looked at Lu Jiajing, let out a strange cry, and suddenly turned around and ran towards the main hall door, disappearing in an instant. 

Lu Jiajing didn't know what it wanted to do, so he hesitated for a moment, and then approached it and disappeared into the hall. 

The alternation of day and night was absurd and silent. As soon as Lu Jiajing stepped into the main palace, it was already a dazzling day outside. The palace was already dark. Lu Jiajing slowly glanced around. The main hall looked like it had been looted. It was extremely poor. 

The already huge hall did not have any furnishings at all, and looked extremely empty. 

She looked around but found no trace of the black ghost. 

She didn't want to stay any longer, and just as she turned around to leave, the clattering sound suddenly rang out again in the hall. Lu Jiajing frowned and turned back. At the end of her sight, there lay a black humanoid monster. 

Lu Jiajing flicked her thumb and middle finger, and a lotus shot out towards the black ghost. The ghost was extremely agile, sticking to the wall and moving like a shadow, moving around the walls to avoid the lotus. 

"Stop it, sir." The kid made a dry voice. 

Lu Jiajing frowned, but did not quickly retract the lotus: "Can you speak?" 

The little ghost kept moving on the wall, and the small lotus was like a maggot on the tarsal bone. It said in a strange voice: "I hope the guests can save this ancient city." 

Lu Jiajing was unmoved. Three more lotus flowers flew out of the air with the flick of his fingers, firmly locking onto the ghost's trajectory. The ghost was forced into a corner, and seemed to be very afraid of the lotus. The lotus flower hovered three inches in front of it, and it curled up like a hedgehog, trembling slightly. 

Lu Jiajing said coldly: "I need to ask a few questions, you must answer truthfully." 

"Please feel free to ask any questions you may have." 

Lu Jiajing didn't ask any questions, but directly asked: "First, where is this place, and what is the stone statue outside?" 

The little ghost said: "This is Shura City, a tomb. The stone statues outside are tomb keepers. They are stone statues at night and come alive during the day, while the spirits are the opposite." 

Lu Jiajing continued to ask: "Guarding the grave? Whose grave?" 

"The Tomb of King Shura." 

Lu Jiajing had heard some legends about the Shura King. It was said that he was a god worshipped by the Snow Country. He was a huge monster born in the glaciers of the far north. He had great power and controlled life and death. Later, he disappeared for no reason in a war called "God's Silence". 

Later, people found a huge skeleton in the ruins of the Snow Country. Many people believed that it was the skeleton of King Shura, and it is still hidden in the secret room of the Qianming Palace. 

Lu Jiajing continued to ask: "Before entering here, I once entered an ancient city. What was that?" 

The little ghost said without hesitation: "That is an illusion. The guest is standing on the corpse of a huge mirage monster. Those are just shadows reflected by its pupils, except for an equally mysterious ancient building." 

Was it an illusion? Lu Jiajing recalled the strange things about the ancient city and closed her eyes without saying a word. 

"How do I get out of here?" 

"I have never left here." The little ghost said frankly. 

Lu Jiajing frowned and said nothing. 

Seeing that she was silent, the ghost asked, "Does the guest have anything else to ask?" 

Lu Jiajing opened her eyes and asked in a cold voice: "One last question. Who are you?" 

This time, the black ghost was no longer as fluent as before. It was silent for a while before giving the answer: "I am Xueya." 

Lu Jiajing nodded, took back the lotus, and looked at the little ghost with cold eyes. 

"What is your purpose in bringing me here?" 

"I hope you can save the ancient city." 

"What can I get if I help you?" 

The black ghost said: "Something seems to be wrong with the guest's body. I can help the guest repair the damage to his body." 

Lu Jiajing remained calm and said, "There is a spring in the Northern Territory that can also heal my body." 

The little ghost nodded: "If the guest has already found another way, that's great. Anyway, no matter how big the gift is, as long as the girl asks for it, Shura Palace will definitely do it for the guest." 

Lu Jiajing did not agree immediately. She just asked slowly: "What do you want me to do?" 

The ghost's body suddenly rose up like a whistling wind. For some unknown reason, its originally tiny figure suddenly grew a little bigger. The ghost's figure fluttered in the hall like a flag calling back souls. 

Gold lines burst out on the wall like sparks, and like countless fireworks blooming before my eyes after the fuse was lit. Strange golden totems were slowly outlined on the wall. Lu Jiajing couldn't help holding her breath. The slowly outlined gold lines had no impurities, and were hot as if molten, sacred and ancient, like a country's military flag rising slowly in front of the army's tent. A huge picture scroll slowly unfolded, with the wind dragon, the ghost general, the dragon walking on the river, and the god king. 

Countless human figures appear like totems on the mountains and waters, from the upper right to the lower right, from the vast clouds in the sky to the winding and surging waters in the four seas. 

Wherever the eyes pass, only the hot golden line passes by, revealing its sharp edge. 

The little ghost stood in front of the huge painting, looking humble and insignificant. 

Lu Jiajing was shocked as he looked at the magnificent masterpiece. An ancient term slowly emerged in his mind: Shura City Immortal Formation Map. 

In just a blink of an eye, everything in the palace disappeared. 

Golden threads lingered between heaven and earth, and the dazzling light receded in the pupils like a tide. 

The gods in the sky fell like rain. 

Lu Jiajing found herself in the mural. The black ghost stood beside her. 

They stood on a snow-white bridge spanning the sky and earth, surrounded by a vast sea of ​​clouds. 

A snow-white lotus blossomed from Lu Jiajing's fingers and silently pressed against the black ghost's neck. 

The little ghost felt the chill coming from behind him and asked respectfully, "Do you have any questions, sir?" 

Lu Jiajing said seriously: "I haven't agreed to help you yet." 

The little ghost said: "This has nothing to do with the guests. The temple has recognized you. As long as you don't resist in your heart, you will be automatically included in the murals." 

Lu Jiajing said dissatisfiedly: "Your hospitality is so overbearing?" 

The little ghost laughed and said, "Our king is not a slow person. I hope you will forgive me." 

Lu Jiajing did not answer. 

The gods were fighting in the sky, and she glanced at them intentionally or unintentionally, then turned her gaze to look down at her feet. The vast sea of ​​clouds was rolling under her feet, and the clouds were treacherous and turbulent. Looking at it from afar, she felt a sense of awe in her heart. 

She recalled a passage she had seen in an ancient book and clenched her fingers slightly. 

The black ghost led her slowly down the white bridge. 

It had its back to Lu Jiajing, so she couldn't see the dark face of the little ghost whose features were hard to discern, and a strange smile slowly appeared on it. 

... 

Lin Xuanyan climbed up to the eighth floor, his face pale and his pupils slightly empty. 

Starting from the first floor, he felt his body getting weaker with each floor he climbed, and the feeling became more obvious the higher he went. 

When he reached the eighth floor, he was like a sick mortal, even his breath became much weaker. 

The text on the eighth floor is the official text commonly used in the world at that time. 

Lin Xuanyan could understand every word. 

He took a few deep breaths, suppressed his complicated emotions, and slowly looked at the wall. The words were also glowing green, and as Lin Xuanyan's eyes passed by, the words disappeared one by one. 

The first wall is covered with names. 

These names are listed in order, layer by layer, forming a pyramid shape. 

Lin Xuanyan looked from bottom to top. He had never heard of many of the names at the bottom. Occasionally, he saw the names of a few people who had participated in the Dao Trial Conference. However, the fame of some people had faded, as if the owners of the names had passed away. 

His eyes gradually moved upwards, and he silently memorized every name. The further up he went, the fewer names there were. In the third row, he saw the names of Xiao Wang and Ji Xinian, as well as some young people who had also shined at the Dao Trial Conference. 

When he looked up, his heart skipped a beat. He saw Pei Yuhan's name, and felt a little sad. The stuttering boy who had played chess with him was also on the list. 

The names in the second row, apart from his own disciples, were all well-known figures in the world. Some traveled around the world, some cultivated in seclusion on floating islands, some lived in the human world, and some lived in the northern demon realm. All of them were well-known figures in their own area, and at least some of them had been heard of by others. 

There were just two names that sounded strange: Su Lingshu and Jiang Miaoxuan. 

When his eyes fell on the first row, Lin Xuanyan's mood became extremely calm. He could almost confirm that the order of these names from low to high represented the level of their achievements. 

Does this count as knowing destiny? 

However, peeping into destiny has never ended well, and the punishment from the heavens is mysterious, so from ancient times to now, no high priest has ever lived past a hundred years old. 

He looked at the names in the first row, and even though he tried his best to restrain himself, his eyes still couldn't help but burst into excitement. In the end, he stood there woodenly, as if struck by lightning, and his heart seemed to be overturned, with mixed feelings. 

He couldn't help but let his mind wander, and even wanted to forget it. 

He turned around, feeling confused, and took a quick glance at the other stone wall. It was the history of the past thousand years, from the establishment of the Demon Sect to its annihilation, from the meteorite falling in the North Country, the rise of the Snow Country overnight, all the way to the world's northern expedition. 

From the fall of the Snow Country to the establishment of Xuanyuan, and then the opening of Longyuan. 

Five hundred years passed by like a stream, and he saw them in a hurry. The five hundred years of seclusion were just a moment to him, and now he had a general idea of ​​the major events that had happened during that time. 

However, the record here is not very detailed, no specific names appear, and it only describes some major changes in the human world. 

It seems that there is a master who uses his magical powers to cover the floating island, and there is no mention of the floating island here. 

Lin Xuanyan calculated inwardly for a moment. Without the aid of magic, his ability to calculate was extremely limited. The truth was hidden behind the fog. Even if the fog was cleared, what he saw might just be an illusion carefully prepared by someone. 

After looking at a certain place, Lin Xuanyan stopped looking down. The densely packed history on the wall was too complicated. If he read it all, he would almost understand the trajectory of his fate. Knowing the trajectory of fate is an irresistible desire for most people. 

But Lin Xuanyan was afraid for no reason. 

Because I have lived too long, I have some fear. It is not because I am afraid of death, but because I am in awe. 

Even if one is calm and composed on weekdays, it is difficult to hide the fear. 

He lowered his head, but the words on the wall still disappeared quickly. 

He lowered his head, and the Way of Heaven seemed to be before his eyes. 

In a trance, he seemed to see a peerless master with an immortal appearance and spirit carving these words here. His expression was crazy, and his sleeves were like a god writing, revealing countless secrets. 

Lin Xuanyan sat cross-legged, sweating all over. He clutched his sleeves tightly, his body shaking constantly. 

The words gradually disappeared. At the very end, Lin Xuanyan suddenly raised his head, sweat dripping down his cheeks. The last line of words suddenly exploded in his mind: If one of them is executed, the Dharma will end. 

One? 

Why? 

One why? 

Before Lin Xuanyan could think carefully, all the light suddenly disappeared from his sight. There was no sound of the sky collapsing or the earth splitting, as if everything was emptied out in an instant. 

The surroundings were as quiet as death. 

He reached out and touched the bricks beside him. His fingers felt cold, and he suddenly realized that he was blind. 

There is no fear, but confusion. 

Is this the backlash of peeping into the secrets of heaven? Lin Xuanyan smiled bitterly and stood up. 

This is only the eighth floor. What are the records on the five floors above? 

Is this the end of the world? 

If the ultimate secret of this world requires one to exchange one's life for it, would one really be willing to do so? 

But no matter what, I can't see it. 

He felt a little disappointed, but also a little relieved. 

But now that I am blind, how can I get out of this ancient city? 

Before Lin Xuanyan could feel sad, a beam of light suddenly appeared in his field of vision. 

Lin Xuanyan raised his head and looked at the source of the light. 

It seemed like a square skylight, embedded in the top of the dark sky. 

He moved his ears slightly and heard some noise. 

A small head suddenly appeared near the skylight. The person had a beautiful face, a slender figure, a clear mind, dark green clothes, and long lavender hair that flowed down like a stream. He looked familiar. 

It was then that he suddenly realized that he was not blind, but that the surroundings were suddenly pitch black. 

Just as Lin Xuanyan was about to speak, he heard the girl say excitedly, "Ah, there really is someone here. What are you doing in this underground dark room? Did someone lock you up here? By the way, do you know where this is?" 

"..." 

... 

Shura Palace came alive. 

Snow was falling outside the palace, fluttering down like a blessing from the gods. 

Snowflakes fell on the stone statues, and the statues' shoulders swayed slightly, shaking off the gravel. Although their eyes were dim, the entire statues came alive. The sand foxes curled up on the ground were ejected as soon as they touched the snowflakes. Their small bead-like eyeballs rolled lightly. They used their front claws to dig up the sand and nimbly hid in the sand. The spirits that were already active did not become petrified by the falling snow, but instead grew in size at a speed visible to the naked eye. 

Suddenly, a sharp cry came from under the sand, and a sand fox jumped out from under the soft sand, looking at the hole, with its hair standing up, as if it had encountered something terrifying. 

The sand cracked silently, and snow-white hands slowly emerged from the sand. Those hands only had four fingers, thick and strong. They emerged from the ground, as if a civilization that had been deposited for thousands of years had surfaced. 

Snowflakes kept falling, the quicksand on the ground slowly turned, and abysses appeared one after another between the layers of sand. 

Monsters with red horns on their heads, snow-white hair all over their bodies, and dark blue eyes walked in the rolling yellow sand. 

The sand fox was frightened and fled away. The stone statue wearing hard armor raised its knife and fork, looking sternly, about to scold. 

The snowman-like monster glanced at him with contempt, and suddenly stretched out his arms, causing snowflakes to fall off, and the extremely hard armor was torn apart. 

General Gu uttered a heavy groan, raised his head and fell backwards. The moment he touched the ground, he turned into stone again and broke into pieces. 

The revived monsters raised their heads and looked around at this snowy world, and finally their eyes converged on the majestic and solemn palace. 

Monsters came from all directions and arrived in front of the majestic and magnificent hall. 

They all knelt down, their horns touching the ground, and worshiped devoutly. 

It seems that the real devil lives there.