The abandoned cannon fodder girl's path to immortality

Chapter 295 The Flowing Sand Order Appears!

Chen Jinshu put down his teacup, pondered for a long time, and then slowly said, "I am honored by the Alliance Leader's high regard for me. However, there are two matters that I need the Alliance Leader to clarify."

"please say."

"Firstly, what dangers lie within the ruins? The Alliance Leader must tell me the truth so that I, Chen, can make preparations as soon as possible."

"Secondly, who exactly is the person that Bloodhand Old Demon is looking for? Since the Alliance Leader knows about this, he must have some information. Since I am cooperating with the Alliance Leader, I do not want to be unwittingly dragged into some inexplicable conflict."

Upon hearing this, Sha Xie's eyes flashed with approval: "Fellow Daoist Chen is indeed cautious."

He waved away his attendants, leaving only the two of them in the hall.

"The ruins are divided into three levels. The first level has many mechanical puppets, the second level is a poisonous swamp illusion array, and the third level... no one has ever entered it. It is rumored to be the place where an ancient cultivator passed away. It has the strongest restrictions and is most likely to contain great treasures."

After considering it for a moment, Sha Xie said in a deep voice, "There are naturally dangers, but with your alchemy skills and my preparations, we should be 70% confident."

"As for the person that the Bloodhand Demon is looking for..."

"According to my intelligence, that person is named 'Jiang Yi,' originally a member of the Jiang family in the Southern Frontier, with dual spiritual roots of wood and fire, and a cultivation level of mid-Foundation Establishment."

This person was taken in as a disciple by Elder Xuan Yinzi of the Yin Sha Sect. Several months ago, Xuan Yinzi died, and Jiang Yi took the opportunity to escape. The Yin Sha Sect was furious, which is why they asked the Blood Hand Demon to investigate.

Upon hearing this, Chen Jinshu thought to himself, "So that's how it is. Thank you for your frankness, Alliance Leader."

Sand Scorpion chuckled, "So, about cooperation?"

“Alright.” Chen Jinshu stood up and cupped his hands in greeting.

"Please have someone inform me of the specific details, Alliance Leader. I need to go back and prepare the elixirs and talismans."

"Great!" Sand Scorpion laughed, taking out a jade pendant shaped like a sand scorpion and handing it over.

"This is a token. With this token, you can move freely within Flowing Sand City. I will invite you to discuss the details in three days."

……

That night, inside the stone house.

Chen Jinshu sat cross-legged on the couch, with the sand scorpion jade tablet floating in front of him.

A ghostly flame flickered as it emerged from her sleeve and lay beside the jade tablet: "Master, what that sand scorpion said... is it true?"

"Half true, half false," Chen Jinshu said calmly.

"The intelligence from the Imperial Household Agency should be largely correct, but his invitation to cooperate with me is definitely not solely due to my clean identity as an alchemist."

Qingheng transformed and landed on her shoulder: "Master, are you saying that he may already suspect that Jiang Yi is related to us?"

"It shouldn't be!" Chen Jinshu shook his head. "Sha Xie has been able to dominate this dangerous place, Liusha City, for decades. He is very cunning. He invited me more because he values ​​my 'mid-stage Golden Core' cultivation and my ability to assist as a 'Pill Master'."

As for Jiang Yi… he might have some guesses, but lacked concrete evidence, which is why he spoke to test the waters.

She put away the jade pendant and quietly released her divine sense.

A moment later, a gray figure quietly climbed over the courtyard wall; it was Jiang Yi.

He was still dressed in the gray robes of a servant, but now had a camouflage scar on his face, and his aura was concealed to the early stage of Foundation Establishment.

"Senior, I've found out some information."

"Three hundred miles southwest of Liusha City, there is a small settlement called 'Chisha Town'. Three years ago, it was robbed by sand bandits, and a small family named 'Yan' in the town was wiped out."

Chen Jinshu's gaze paused slightly: "What is the young master of the Yan family's name? What is his current whereabouts?"

"His name was Yan Shuo, and he was at the early stage of Foundation Establishment at the time. On the night of the massacre, someone saw him fleeing into the Death Sand Sea severely injured, and his fate is unknown."

"But strangely, half a year ago, someone in Flowing Sand City claimed to have seen a young man using fire-based sword techniques at the 'Sand Scorpion Tavern,' whose cultivation had reached the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. After buying a large number of Soul-Stabilizing Pills, that person disappeared without a trace."

“The timing matches up.” Chen Jinshu said thoughtfully.

"Xuan Yinzi's main soul was injured more than a year ago. If he had chosen Yan Shuo as a vessel and planted a soul imprint at that time, half a year would have been enough for someone in the early stage of Foundation Establishment to break through to the middle stage."

The Soul-Stabilizing Pill... is precisely the kind of pill that suppresses the erosion of the soul imprint.

"Senior, should we make our move now? If we wait until Blood Hand Old Demon finds out about Yan Shuo, things might change."

"No rush." ​​Chen Jinshu raised his hand to stop him. "Sand Scorpion invited me to cooperate in exploring the Lost Mansion. This is a good opportunity. When the Lost Mansion opens, Blood Hand Old Demon will definitely go there. At that time, the city will be undefended, which will be the time for us to make our move."

"Continue to keep a close watch on Yan Shuo in the next few days, and be careful not to alert him. At the same time, spread the word that 'Jiang Yi' has fled to the Southern Frontier to confuse the public."

“Yes!” Jiang Yi responded, but then hesitated, “Senior, Sha Xie is not trustworthy. Cooperating with him is like asking a tiger for its skin.”

Chen Jinshu's lips curled slightly, but there was no smile in his eyes: "Precisely because he is a tiger, we need to borrow his 'skin' even more."

"Three months later, the Lost Palace will open, the Blood Hand Demon will enter the game, and Sand Scorpion and I will each have our own thoughts... It's time to stir up the waters of Flowing Sand City."

……

For a cultivator, three months is but a fleeting moment.

The yellow sand of Liusha City still filled the sky, but there was an unusual restlessness in the air.

Inside the simple stone house in the gravel alley in the south of the city, Chen Jinshu slowly opened his eyes, a blue light flashing in them before disappearing.

"Master, there are unusual fluctuations in spiritual energy in the direction of 'Illusory Sand Valley' in the west of the city," Qingheng transmitted telepathically, transforming into a jade hairpin and inserting it into her hair.

“Since midnight last night, I have heard the sound of swords ringing in the valley. Although it is faint, it cannot escape my perception.”

Chen Jinshu stood up, flicked his sleeves, and a communication jade talisman appeared on the stone table.

She tapped her fingertip, and Jiang Yi's slightly hurried voice came out:

"Senior, the Sand Scorpion Alliance has assembled. The Sand Scorpions sent a message this morning, saying they will meet at the entrance of Illusion Sand Valley at Chenshi (7-9 AM) three days from now. Also... the Blood Hand Old Demon's men entered the city yesterday, a total of seven people, led by his disciple 'Blood Dove,' who is in the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm."

She put away the jade talisman and went out the door.

Beside the dry well in the courtyard, a figure with an identical appearance stood silently; it was the substitute puppet.

At this moment, however, the puppet's eyes were filled with suppressed spiritual light, its aura was reduced to the late Foundation Establishment stage, and it was dressed in the gray robe of an ordinary rogue cultivator, with an inconspicuous medicine pouch hanging at its waist.

"On this trip to the Former Residence, you will accompany the Sand Scorpion Alliance," Chen Jinshu said to the puppet. "Use the name 'Chen Yan,' speak little and observe much. If you encounter danger, prioritize your own safety; if necessary, you may abandon the alliance and flee."

The puppet nodded slightly, its movements fluid and natural, indistinguishable from a living person.

Chen Jinshu took out three more jade slips. One contained solutions to common mechanisms in the puppet maze, another contained the key to breaking the poisonous swamp illusion array, and the last one contained the possible layout of the ruins she had deduced over the past three months.

“My consciousness is now connected to yours, and I can sense anything that happens.” She handed the jade slip to the puppet. “This man, Sand Scorpion, cannot be trusted entirely. He invited me to travel with him, and besides his alchemy skills, he probably has other motives.”

"Understood." The puppet took the jade slip, its voice calm and even.

Three days later, at the beginning of Chen Shi (7-9 AM).

Illusion Sand Valley is located thirty miles west of Flowing Sand City. The entrance to the valley is shrouded in a pale yellow sand mist all year round, and ordinary cultivators will lose their way if they step into it within ten feet.

But today, the sand and fog have thinned considerably, and a distorted portal of light can be vaguely seen at the mouth of the valley. It is about three zhang high and wide enough for two people to walk side by side.

The five members of the Sand Scorpion Alliance were already waiting outside the valley.

Sand Scorpion, still dressed in a dark gold brocade robe, stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes fixed on the portal, a sharp glint in them. Beside him stood three Golden Core cultivators: the bald, burly man "Iron Rock," skilled in earth-based defensive magic; the tall, thin old man "Yin Wind," who practiced ghostly arts; and a masked female cultivator "Shadow Veil," whose aura was elusive, suggesting she was an assassin.

Seeing that "Chen Yan" had come alone, Sha Xie raised an eyebrow: "Master Chen, your master has not arrived yet?"

The puppet cupped its hands, deliberately lowering its voice: "My master suffered a backlash of spiritual energy while refining pills yesterday and needs to rest for several days. He has sent me in his place, and I will follow the Alliance Leader's arrangements."

A hint of doubt flashed in Sha Xie's eyes, but he quickly smiled and said, "It's alright. Since Master Chen has sent his esteemed disciple, he must have already given instructions. I hope you will take good care of me after we enter the valley."

As he spoke, the light gate in the valley suddenly solidified!

"Om-"

The sound of swords echoed from within the valley, clear and resonant, causing the sand and mist to surge.

A palm-sized phantom of a token appeared in the center of the portal, its shape resembling the gathering and dispersing of quicksand—it was the "Quicksand Token"!

Sand Scorpion said no more and took out a physical token.

The token is earthy yellow with flowing sand patterns on its surface, echoing the illusory image of the light gate.

"go!"

He gave a low shout and stepped into the portal first. Tieyan, Yinfeng, and Yingsha followed closely behind, with the puppet "Chen Yan" lagging behind.

The moment they passed through the portal of light, a sense of spatial distortion washed over them. When their vision cleared, they found themselves in a dimly lit passageway.

The passageway was about two zhang wide, with smooth stone walls on both sides, as smooth as a mirror, with faintly visible runes. The ground was paved with neat bluestone slabs, but each slab was a different shade of color, giving it an eerie feel.

“A labyrinth of mechanical puppets.” The old man with the cold wind spoke in a hoarse voice, his eyes flashing with a ghostly light. “I have entered similar ruins before. The stone slabs here are full of hidden mechanisms. If you take the wrong step, you may trigger the traps.”

Sand Scorpion looked at the puppet: "Young friend Chen, did your master explain how to break this?"

The puppet remained silent for a moment, then took out a palm-sized bronze compass from its medicine pouch. The compass needle moved automatically without wind, slowly pointing to the third light-colored stone slab on the left side of the passageway.

“My master deduced that the mechanism here is based on the ‘Nine Palaces Step’. One must move in the order of ‘nine on top, one on the bottom, three on the left, and seven on the right’.” The puppet’s voice was calm. “This junior may proceed to test it first.”

A hint of surprise flashed in Sand Scorpion's eyes, then he smiled and said, "Thank you for your trouble, young friend."

The puppet stepped forward and lightly tapped the third stone slab on the left with its toes.

"Click".

The stone slabs sank slightly, making a soft sound. But the passageway remained silent, without any unusual movement.

The puppet took nine steps in sequence, each step landing on a stone slab of a specific color. When she took the last step, a loud "boom" resounded from the end of the passageway ahead, and a stone door slowly rose.

"It's done!" Tie Yan grinned.

A flicker of joy flashed in Sand Scorpion's eyes, but he didn't rush forward. Instead, he looked at the puppet and said, "Young friend, you have indeed received your master's true teachings. In that case, how about I lead the way?"

The puppet nodded, offering no refusal.

The group continued deeper into the passageway. The passageway was winding and had many forks. At each fork, the puppet would use a compass to calculate, and if it hesitated, it would flick out a copper coin to test the waters.

If a copper coin falls to the ground silently, the path is clear; if it makes a clanging sound, it indicates a trap.

After traveling for about half an hour, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

A stone chamber, about a hundred feet in diameter, appeared before them. In the center of the chamber stood twelve bronze puppets, all humanoid, about ten feet tall, holding long spears and giant shields. Although they were still, they exuded the pressure of the early Golden Core stage.

The stone chamber has three stone doors on each of its four walls, totaling twelve doors, and each door is engraved with ancient seal script.

"Geng Metal", "Yi Wood", "Gui Water", "Li Fire", "Wu Earth"...

"This is... the Five Elements Puppet Formation." The old man with the yin wind had a solemn expression. "The twelve puppets correspond to the twelve doors, and you can only enter by breaking the formation. But once it is triggered, all twelve puppets will come out at once, and even a late-stage Golden Core cultivator would have difficulty resisting them."

The Sand Scorpion looked at the puppet: "Young friend, do you have a solution?"

The puppet's gaze swept across the stone chamber, then suddenly it pointed to the stone door in the northeast corner that was engraved with "Gui Water":

"This gate has the weakest aura, and the puppet guardians should be water-elemental, which is countered by earth. Fellow Daoist Tieyan mainly cultivates earth-elemental magic, so he can directly restrain them."

Senior Yin Feng disturbed its spiritual core with ghostly arts, while Fellow Daoist Ying Sha sought an opening to break its core. This junior, with the aid of elixirs, should be able to break it.

Upon hearing this, the Sand Scorpion's eyes gleamed even brighter: "Then I will do as my young friend says!"

Tieyan let out a low roar, his body radiating a bright yellow light, his fists covered with a layer of rock-like armor, and he charged first toward the two puppets in front of the "Guishui" gate.

Several streams of black energy flew out from the old man's sleeve, wrapping around the puppet's joints like chains.

With a flicker, Ying Sha vanished into a faint shadow.

The puppet "Chen Yan" then took out three crimson pills from its medicine pouch and launched them out.

The elixir exploded in mid-air, turning into a red mist that enveloped the puppet's head.

"Clang! Clang clang!"

The battle erupted instantly. The bronze puppet moved somewhat slowly, but possessed immense strength, its long spear whistling through the air. Tieyan withstood a blow, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, yet he held firm against his shield. The old man's black aura continued to erode the puppet's joints, emitting a hissing sound. Shadow Veil appeared like a ghost, her dagger stabbing viciously into a dark mark on the puppet's nape.

After an incense stick had burned, the two puppets collapsed to the ground with a thud, and the spirit stone at their core dimmed and shattered.

"Hurry up!" Sand Scorpion shouted, taking the lead in rushing towards the "Gui Water" stone gate.

The stone door opened with a sound, revealing another passageway behind it. However, this time the passageway was no longer flanked by smooth stone walls, but by numerous niches, each containing a jade slip or a magical artifact.

"Ancient treasures!" Tie Yan's eyes lit up, and he reached out to grab the nearest jade slip.

"Wait a minute," the puppet suddenly spoke, "the niche is protected by a restriction."

Before he could finish speaking, Tie Yan's fingertips had already touched the jade slip. The niche suddenly lit up with a white light, and a bolt of lightning struck out!

"Pfft!" Tie Yan groaned, his entire right arm charred black, and he staggered backward.

Sand Scorpion's face darkened: "Reckless!"

The puppet stepped forward, carefully examined the runes in the niche, and said after a moment: "The restriction uses divine sense as the key. One must simultaneously touch the jade slip and the hidden patterns at the bottom of the niche with divine sense in order to retrieve it without damage."

As she spoke, she separated a wisp of her divine consciousness and gently enveloped another jade slip. A faint white light flashed in the niche, then went out, and the jade slip floated out.

Seeing this, a glint of greed flashed in the eyes of the Sand Scorpion, but he suppressed his thoughts and ordered, "Time is limited, take three items each, and finish this quickly."

Everyone did as instructed.

The puppet took four jade slips, one of which contained ancient alchemy techniques, two of which were fragments of cultivation methods, and the last one was a partial map of the ruins.

She then took out a palm-sized jade box from the niche. The box contained a milky white liquid with a fragrant aroma; it was the "Ten Thousand Year Stone Milk".

"This item can temper the physical body and improve the purity of spiritual energy." The puppet put the jade box into its bosom. "My master may find it useful."

Sand Scorpion glanced at it but said nothing. He was already satisfied with the two defensive magical artifacts and the jade slip containing the secret technique.

The group continued onward. At the end of the passageway, there was another stone door. Pushing it open, the scene before them changed abruptly.

No longer was it a dimly lit stone chamber, but a boundless wasteland. The sky was gray, the earth was cracked, and countless broken swords and blades were stuck in the ground. Some swords were rusted and mottled, some still gleamed coldly, and some were even wrapped in visible sword energy, hissing incessantly.

"Sword Tomb..." Ying Sha spoke for the first time, her voice cold and clear, "The sword intent here soars to the heavens; only sword cultivators can venture deep into it." (End of Chapter)