Chapter 1134: Forbidden Doll

"What a grand setup!"

At the end of the maze walls, an elderly man stood with a little girl, right outside the doors of a majestic grand hall.

"Let's see, this is the fourth hall in Zui Yi Dian."

"This humble saint didn't realize that Zui Yi Dian looks unassuming from the outside, but inside it's a vast realm with hidden dimensions, full of side halls beyond count... Isn't that right, little one?"

Jiang Buyi gazed at the hall doors sealed by the grand array for a moment, then turned back to look at the little girl beside him.

She was a very special existence. After Jiang Buyi and Tianren Wushuai were separated due to the spatial chaos in Zui Yi Dian, he had encountered this little girl.

She couldn't speak, wouldn't act on her own, seemed utterly harmless like a doll, and her cultivation appeared to be only at Wangzuo Dao Realm level.

However, her physique was extraordinarily unique, with an incredibly high and potent level of life force that even made Jiang Buyi feel awed.

Looking beyond the surface to the essence, Jiang Buyi could vaguely sense that this doll-like little girl harbored a faint trace of world power.

What a terrifying thing that was!

Jiang Buyi had already encountered so many unbelievable people and events on Xukong Dao. There were sword immortals who could slay Half-Sages, the decaying body of Tianren Wushuai, Teng Shanhai who nurtured the power of a demon god... In short, no ordinary person could enter Xukong Dao.

And now, he was in Zui Yi Dian, one of the nine forbidden zones of Xukong Dao.

In such a place, Jiang Buyi never believed that a weak, ordinary little girl could appear.

If that were the case, she would have been drained of her life force by Zui Yi Dian's forbidden attributes and died long ago.

So, either she was a special existence, like Teng Shanhai, whose power surged after awakening a demon god's strength,

Or she was a hidden forbidden doll of Zui Yi Dian, which would fully awaken and go on a killing spree once a certain mysterious mechanism was triggered.

"Shall we stick to the old method?"

Jiang Buyi bent down gently and handed over a key infused with special power, looking at the little girl whose face was deathly pale, without a trace of color.

He never forgot his limited opportunities to act, so when this little girl stared at him like a curse and chose to follow him, he didn't dare refuse.

Just as he was cautious with Tianren Wushuai, he remained constantly vigilant for any strange behavior from the little girl.

Once he realized there was none, he tried to make use of her power.

For example, by channeling her spiritual yuan through his "Breaking Array Key," he could unlock the spiritual array seals on various grand halls.

This way, he could reduce his own actions while exploring the halls and searching for the "Exemption Decree," which was a great plan.

As with the previous times, Jiang Buyi wasn't surprised to see the doll-like little girl nod slightly and take the key—she seemed born not to refuse.

Mu Zixi was panicking! Extremely panicking!

More than when she had been caught peeping at Xu Xiaoshou's groans and thrown into a cauldron to be boiled into medicine.

Just a moment ago, she was still with her three bodyguards, and in the next second, the space twisted, leaving only an old man beside her.

If this old man had been Si Ren, at least she would have felt safe.

But one glance told her otherwise—memories long buried in her mind resurfaced, showing the scene at the Lei family where this old man had torn apart the clan elders with his bare hands.

Jiang Buyi!

Her heart skipped a beat, her blood flowed in reverse, and her face turned as white as a corpse that had been dead for ten days.

Once, Mu Zixi had asked her senior brother a question: "How do you stay so calm in front of so many experts, never panicking? Is it something you're born with?"

"I'm panicking too!" Xu Xiaoshou had replied back then. "But what can you do about it? You just have to imagine that you're even more badass than them, that everyone in front of you is trash, big watermelons that you can crush with one finger."

Mu Zixi thought that answer was nonsense, but she shrugged and asked anyway,

"In that kind of situation, what do you need to do to survive?"

"The moment someone speaks, you interrupt them. The moment they ask a question, you counter with one of your own. In short, don't answer, don't play by the rules, and don't let them see you as controlled. You have to hold the reins of the conversation, dominate the scene, know exactly what outcome you want, and guide it subtly." The smug Xu Xiaoshou went on confidently.

"Got it," Mu Zixi said thoughtfully.

Xu Xiaoshou added, "But if it's you, don't even bother. If I'm not by your side, just wait to die, because even if you understand what I said, you couldn't pull it off."

Mu Zixi remembered that her head felt like it was about to explode when she heard that.

And sure enough, she ended up punching and kicking, but couldn't land a hit on that damn Xu Xiaoshou.

"What if I really end up in that kind of extreme situation?" Mu Zixi asked in the end.

"That depends on the circumstances, like timing, geography, human factors, and all sorts of variables." The cheeky Xu Xiaoshou laughed. "Simply put, if the other person is a fool, there's nothing you can do—might as well wait to die. But if they're smart..."

"What's with smart people?" she asked.

"Then just keep your mouth shut, don't do anything, don't say anything—that's the best way to survive. You only need to act profound and let them overthink."

"Does that work?"

"It works! It works like a charm! Smart people always overthink. Their first reaction to something they don't understand is to overestimate the other side, thinking it's all a case of great wisdom appearing foolish. After all, it's always better to be cautious with potential trouble—smart people are always careful."

Mu Zixi pondered this again.

She felt like Xu Xiaoshou was talking nonsense, but it seemed to have a grain of truth.

Vaguely, she sensed he was mocking her, but she couldn't pinpoint where.

Xu Xiaoshou just chuckled and rubbed her head, sighing, "Great wisdom appearing foolish—that's a profound state, one that some people spend a lifetime trying to achieve. But you're different..."

"How am I different?" Mu Zixi had perked up, thinking her senior brother was about to praise her.

Sure enough, Xu Xiaoshou lavished praise, not hiding his appreciation for his cute junior sister. "You're born with that state!"

A day later, when Mu Zixi finally woke up to what he meant, she forgot what happened next—anyway, she must have beaten Xu Xiaoshou, not ended up being refined into a pill or soup.

Now, she was just glad she had asked Xu Xiaoshou that question.

If it had been back then, pretending to be Xu Xiaoshou and thinking from his perspective to fool others, she would have been killed by them.

Now, Mu Zixi had learned from her mistakes. Facing Jiang Buyi, who was definitely a smart person, she chose the second survival method that Xu Xiaoshou had mentioned.

Surprisingly, it worked well.

When Jiang Buyi asked her something, she didn't answer.

When he tried to chat with her, she ignored him.

When he wanted to kill her and even released Half-Sage pressure, she just stared straight at Jiang Buyi with empty eyes, then released her own Half-Sage power.

Jiang Buyi was so scared he backed away repeatedly, calling her "little ancestor" in a humble tone!

He didn't dare act rashly anymore and chose to leave.

Mu Zixi worried it was a test—if she was alone and exposed something, Jiang Buyi might turn back and kill her.

Or, if he left, she might face other dangers.

In any case, she didn't dare let this menace go. Biting her lip, she endured her fear, imagined herself as a dog-skin plaster, and stuck to Jiang Buyi like glue, treating him as her bodyguard. When Jiang Buyi tried to shake her off and got angry again, wanting to strike,

Mu Zixi just stared at him with blank, calm eyes, no killing intent at all. Jiang Buyi called her "grandma," urged her to go her own way, and when he got no response, he half-suggested, half-probed that they travel together.

Mu Zixi finally reacted, nodding her little head slightly.

Jiang Buyi's face turned deathly pale in an instant, then he took a deep breath and turned to walk away.

Why did Jiang Buyi take that breath? Mu Zixi didn't understand.

Why did he call her "little ancestor" and "grandma"? She didn't understand that either.

But she remembered another piece of advice from her senior brother: "When something starts running in a weird way, don't force yourself to interfere or change it—just follow the result."

Mu Zixi had sneered at that "advice" back then, not even bothering to ask why, because it was pure nonsense!

Now, she treated it as precious wisdom, practicing it with her life on the line.

"Xu Xiaoshou, come save me! I'm really about to die, wahhh..."

While her heart wailed desperately, her expression remained as calm as a wooden doll's. Mu Zixi mechanically took the key from Jiang Buyi, effortlessly channeling her spiritual yuan into it and inserting it into the spiritual array of the grand hall before her. "Zhen Huang Dian!"

Without moving her eyes, she scanned with her spiritual sense and memorized the name of this grand hall.

She didn't know what use it was to remember these, but it was the only thing she could actively do right now. It might be meaningless, but it felt meaningful.

Jiang Buyi was very powerful!

Following Xu Xiaoshou, Si Ren, and Can Yue Xian Cheng's eldest senior brother, Mu Zixi knew those three were still trapped in the maze, unable to find their way.

But with Jiang Buyi...

In just one day, he had somehow escaped the maze multiple times. Including the one in front of them, they had encountered four grand halls.

Mu Zixi had also memorized the names of the first three: "Wu Xu Ting," "Fei Yuan Ting," "Que Ming Ting." Compared to the current "Zhen Huang Dian," what she had done—memorizing names, which felt pointless but she forced meaning onto it—now seemed truly significant.

She found the difference.

The first three grand halls ended with "Ting," while this one ended with "Dian."

That was a visible difference! A historic breakthrough! Incredibly important!

But what deeper meaning this difference held, Mu Zixi couldn't figure out. Jiang Buyi seemed to be searching for something.

He was extremely cautious—after having her unlock the spiritual array and enter each grand hall, he showed no interest in the treasures, taking nothing.

He was like a casual tourist, wandering through the hall, and if he didn't find what he wanted, he left, even politely restoring the spiritual array to its original state. That was worlds apart from the image of him tearing apart the Lei family elders.

Compared to Xu Xiaoshou, they were complete opposites!

Mu Zixi could even imagine that if it had been Xu Xiaoshou entering the first three halls, nothing would be left—not even the plaques.

He might even pry off the gold edges on the plaques to find "meaning"—why use gold edges? Was there some special significance? Could breaking the mechanism lead to rewards or treasures?

Her mind raced with thoughts, but Mu Zixi didn't dare stop her hands.

This "Breaking Array Key" came from Jiang Buyi and was of very high quality, possibly even reaching Saint-grade.

In any case, it could unlock the spiritual array seals of various ancient grand halls in Zui Yi Dian, though it required a lot of spiritual yuan.

Luckily, Mu Zixi lacked everything except spiritual yuan.

She drew on the power of the Bai Ku small world, and even if using the key could drain a normal Wangzuo Dao Realm cultivator, it was only a minor consumption for her.

Jiang Buyi waited quietly nearby, showing no impatience, even though the little girl was injecting spiritual yuan into the key at an incredibly slow pace.

This was the advantage of this forbidden doll.

When he couldn't act himself, she could serve as a special spiritual yuan dispenser.

Hmm, her spiritual yuan was endless—just like the mysteries of Zui Yi Dian, it was truly bizarre! Jiang Buyi didn't dare provoke this little girl at all. His biggest fear now was accidents, especially after dealing with Tianren Wushuai. After shaking off that decaying body, Jiang Buyi decided that before finding the "Exemption Decree," he wouldn't disrupt anything strange that was running smoothly.

Even if it came from Zui Yi Dian and manifested as a forbidden doll.

"Click!"

The spiritual array cracked open.

Soon, the spiritual yuan injection was complete.

Mu Zixi felt that as long as she twisted the key in her hand, the grand array would split open a door for three people to pass through, just like the previous three times.

Without asking for permission or looking back, she calmly turned the key with absolute serenity.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, a violent explosion echoed from afar, and a thick aura of calamity descended from the sky. Waves of energy surged from the shattered spaces around, sweeping over the area.

"Pfft!"

Mu Zixi didn't resist, not even using her spiritual yuan. She was hurled by the raging storm, her small body slamming into the ground as she spat out blood.

Fortunately, the storm had been weakened considerably by the maze walls, so her injuries weren't severe—just a sore backside and some internal spasms.

With the strong life force in her body, it was a minor wound.

"Sage Tribulation?"

Jiang Buyi whipped around, his pupils contracting sharply. "Who dares to undergo Sage Sealing Tribulation here? Are they insane?"

He detected a faint trace of sword intent mixed in the Sage Tribulation aura, though it was subtle and further weakened by the layers of barriers in Zui Yi Dian.

But Jiang Buyi was no ordinary person—he saw through it immediately.

"Sword intent, Sage Sealing... "

Memories of the Miracle Forest flooded back, and Jiang Buyi wondered uncertainty, "Mei Yiren?"

Not long after the Sage Tribulation descended, Jiang Buyi sensed another Half-Sage aura from afar.

A cold Half-Sage presence broke through the maze walls from the left at an extreme speed, charging fearlessly to the other side, smashing through countless obstacles, seemingly unconcerned about triggering attacks or punishments from the forbidden zone's attributes.

Behind it, the sword intent carrying the Half-Sage Tribulation grew even more pronounced, pursuing relentlessly.

"Screech—"

A shrill cry rang out.

Even without seeing it, just sensing it from a distance, Jiang Buyi felt a slight chill.

Inside Zui Yi Dian, a Half-Sage chase was unfolding? And one of them was breaking through to Sword Dao Half-Sage?

"Truly insane..."

With the "exile countdown" ticking in his mind, Jiang Buyi couldn't comprehend such suicidal behavior. He shook his head, deciding not to get involved.

By now, the spiritual array of Zhen Huang Dian had opened a door.

Jiang Buyi didn't think twice and turned to enter, but glancing aside, he realized the forbidden doll was gone!

"Dam—"

In that moment, Jiang Buyi's heart stopped, and his scalp tingled with fear.

Distracted for just a second, and the forbidden doll had vanished? Where could she have gone?

But turning his gaze, Jiang Buyi was surprised to find the little girl lying nearby, blood at the corner of her mouth. She hadn't disappeared or merged into his soul.

"Whew~"

Jiang Buyi let out a long sigh of relief, the chilling sensation on his back fading away.

He quickly went over, reaching out to help her up, but stopped midway, as if realizing something, and subtly withdrew his hand.

"Are you okay? Can you get up?"

Not daring to touch this delicate forbidden doll, Jiang Buyi just asked softly.

After a while, Mu Zixi calmly stood up. She didn't speak, didn't shake her head, and even suppressed the urge to brush the dust off her backside.

"You..."

Jiang Buyi hesitated, staring at the blood at the corner of her mouth and pointing it out. "You've got blood."

Mu Zixi calmly looked at him. After a long pause, she stuck out her tongue and licked it off.

Jiang Buyi's eyelid twitched violently, and he chose to turn away, putting some distance between them.

"Come on, let's go inside the grand hall. It's dangerous out here."