Chapter 2054: 破败神庙

Zu'an was already prepared. Ripples appeared in the void behind him, and all the weapons before him were replicated. These countless copies began clashing with each other. Although each replicated weapon was slightly weaker than its original, it wouldn't be easy to determine a victor quickly.

Zu'an seized this opportunity to say, "It's unlikely that Yu Menbeiqing went to all this trouble just to trap your souls here. He must have given you some other instructions, perhaps for atonement?"

He had just been about to use the *Primordial Chaos Scripture* to completely purify these beings, but he quickly realized that doing so would simply grant these traitors complete liberation.

Yu Menbeiqing must have had a purpose for such a design.

As expected, upon hearing his words, Shi Bingxiu's expression flickered, as if he were engaged in a fierce internal struggle.

The ethereal image of the Pure Buddhist Bell once again enveloped Zu'an, as rays of clear light emerged and various formations appeared around him. He then asked, "Do you truly believe you can defeat me?"

Shi Bingwei remained silent, feeling immensely frustrated. This person, who had appeared out of nowhere, was absurdly powerful.

Of course, if his opponent didn't possess a special cultivation technique that countered ghostly bodies, his army wouldn't be afraid. But with all these disadvantages combined, they truly couldn't fight.

Sensing his wavering resolve, Zu'an added one last push: "If I'm not mistaken, if you are killed by me again in your ghostly forms, you might never reincarnate, right?"

Hearing him say this, the replicated weapons also hesitated in their actions.

They had originally thought that death was simply the end. But now, knowing there was another world after death, the prospect of never being able to reincarnate meant losing all hope.

Noticing his army's wavering resolve, Shi Bingwei finally spoke: "You win. Yu Menbeiqing said that we should fight for the demon race. As long as we help future generations reseal the demons, we will naturally be liberated."

Zu'an secretly nodded, noting that it was largely consistent with what Shi Bingwei had said before. Most of what Shi Bingwei had just said, even in an attempt to deceive him, was actually true.

He was also somewhat surprised that Yu Menbeiqing possessed such an ability—to be able to determine whether beings thousands of years later could achieve liberation.

He wondered how Yu Menbeiqing had managed that.

Even though he had now learned the *Baopuzi Scripture* and possessed extensive knowledge in this area, he still couldn't think of any method that could achieve a similar effect.

He could only ask, "Do I still summon you with this Skycloud Sword?"

"That's right, but it requires a special incantation," Shi Bingxiu replied, then recited the incantation.

Zu'an secretly tried it with caution and only breathed a sigh of relief when he found that he could indeed command these ghostly soldiers using the incantation.

He was somewhat puzzled: "Since Yu Menbeiqing left you here to help the future demon race, why didn't he pass this incantation down to the demon race, instead leaving it for you to teach?"

Shi Bingxiu's expression was strange: "At first, I didn't know either. I even thought that guy was very foolish; how could I possibly obey him obediently? He said something at the time: 'Only by sincerely reciting this incantation and cooperating with people from the future can you achieve true liberation.' Now, I seem to understand a little."

Zu'an paused, realizing that Yu Menbeiqing wanted them to genuinely repent, so they could be truly helpful at critical moments.

Otherwise, if they chose to betray again during a crucial battle against the extraterrestrial demons, everything would be lost.

Although he understood these reasons, Zu'an was still shocked by how audacious Yu Menbeiqing was. Didn't he fear that these individuals would never change their true nature?

If he hadn't been so astute this time, and another junior from the demon race had come, they would most likely have failed, and Shi Bingxiu certainly wouldn't have honestly revealed the true incantation.

After much thought, he still couldn't understand where Yu Menbeiqing's confidence came from. However, with urgent matters at hand, he couldn't dwell on it any longer.

Taking the Skycloud Sword, he hurriedly departed for the next location.

The numerous ghostly soldiers stood on the snow mounds, watching his figure gradually disappear. Clearly, they were confined here by rules and could only temporarily leave if summoned by the Skycloud Sword.

One of the lieutenants couldn't help but approach Shi Bingxiu, asking:

"General, do you think he might just use the divine artifact for sealing and not rescue us at all?"

Shi Bingwei shook his head: "No, he needs us."

Immediately, countless figures gradually vanished into the air, and snow and wind once again covered the snow mounds.

Zu'an headed northwest, towards another location identified by the people of Monte City. Another divine artifact was hidden there, a fact confirmed by Shi Bingxiu, who said the Nine-Chi Mirror should be in that very place.

He knew that any delay could allow the extraterrestrial demons to achieve a full breakthrough, so he flew at full speed without any rest.

Upon arriving at the area indicated on the map, and after some searching, he stopped near several black stones.

Given that the area was covered in ice for thousands of miles and snow for tens of thousands, with everything cloaked in white, the presence of these black stones was highly unusual and drew immediate attention.

He walked up to the stones and noticed they weren't natural formations; there appeared to be traces of artificial carving on them.

He could even discern some carved patterns, and faintly, some characters were visible amidst the snow and wind.

Just as he was about to brush away the accumulated snow to investigate, his foot suddenly found no purchase. The ground seemed to collapse, and he instantly fell downwards.

However, with his cultivation, he quickly stabilized himself in mid-air. He initially thought there was a trap below, but upon closer inspection, the surrounding snow began to slide away, gradually revealing what was truly there.

They weren't stones at all, but towering pillars.

The snow had previously covered them, not reaching their tops, which had led people to mistake them for mere stones.

Because of the vast space below, the accumulated snow structure had been unstable for years. His step had caused the snow to completely collapse, revealing its true form.

Looking at the dilapidated walls and isolated pillars before him, Zu'an felt puzzled. He hadn't expected to find such structures in this place, as they clearly exhibited the architectural style of the demon race, resembling a ruined temple.

The ancient demon race actually built such a temple here?

Was it specifically for storing the Nine-Chi Mirror?

He used his divine sense to scan for a while, and only after confirming there were no demons ambushed here did he proceed inward.

As he went deeper, Zu'an looked at the surrounding architecture with some confusion. These walls were simply too peculiar.

Logically, after years of erosion, many structures would naturally weather and decay. However, weathering should leave at least some traces; it was impossible for nothing to remain.

Moreover, many other walls were remarkably well-preserved, suggesting that being buried in heavy snow had, surprisingly, protected them.

Given this, the complete disappearance of many structures was truly bizarre.

Despite his doubts, Zu'an did not hesitate, quickly moving further inside.

The Nine-Chi Mirror should theoretically be stored in the most central and important location of the temple. Recalling the architectural style of demon race temples, he headed towards the directions of the likely main halls.

However, not long after, he reached a dead end. There were no grand halls, only a blank wall.

He reached out and examined the wall; it was solid behind it, with no hidden chambers.

Undeterred, he continued to search through the ruined structures, virtually overturning every spot. But he found nothing. The places that could be called rooms were few and far between, making it impossible to hide the Nine-Chi Mirror.

Had the demons gotten here first?

Zu'an shook his head. The three divine artifacts were the core secrets of the demon race. Even the senior leaders of Monte City didn't know this information, so the Second Prince certainly couldn't have.

It seemed the Nine-Chi Mirror must be hidden somewhere here; he just hadn't found it yet.

He decided to sit down in an open space and began to ponder a solution.

Could the architecture here be some kind of formation?

He had just checked; the stone used for these structures was extremely peculiar, something he had never even seen before.

Striking it with a fist, it could even absorb the force of the attack, remaining completely unharmed. No wonder it had stood for so many years.

Of course, with Zu'an's current cultivation, he could find a way to destroy it if he truly wanted to. However, he worried about ruining the arrangement here, which might prevent him from ever finding the Nine-Chi Mirror.

Countless formation combinations appeared in his mind, but none matched what was before him.

Time passed imperceptibly. Soon, the sky gradually lightened, indicating that night was finally ending.

Zu'an, who had been meditating, suddenly opened his eyes, staring incredulously at his surroundings.

He had almost perfectly memorized the surrounding structures while trying to find a solution.

But now, the surrounding structures had completely transformed. No, to be precise, except for a few, they were entirely different from before.

Many of the buildings from the previous night had vanished, while many new ones had appeared in other places!