To Qin Yi's surprise, there were no strange techniques ahead. The underground palace was quite large, but aside from the unusual demon refining array in front, the rest was just a place where Dong Huazi's trusted disciples and demons practiced secretly. In other words, it was mostly a living space without many traps.
Instead, there were quite a few formations for gathering spiritual energy, which were used to assist in cultivation.
As they moved forward, they saw many Taoists running away in a panic, only to be caught up and completely wiped out by Li Qinglin and his team.
Many of the rooms were empty, and some demons lying inside nursing their injuries were also dealt with by the soldiers, one by one.
The small demons killed by the Ming River's Seven Star Array didn’t have the same black mist rising like Ye Ling’s because they were underground. In reality, the place had long been emptied, and everything made sense here.
There was nothing unusual.
Li Qinglin personally grabbed a senior Taoist and smiled, "Brother Qingfeng, long time no see."
The Taoist turned pale and trembled like a leaf. As Dong Huazi's confidant, he often opposed Li Qinglin, and now he didn't know how to save himself.
"No need to be so nervous," Li Qinglin said with a smile. "This place is too big, and we're getting frustrated. Please lead the way so we can meet the National Master sooner."
The Taoist, clearly not someone willing to die, led the way cautiously. Before long, they arrived outside another hall. The door was made of thick metal, tightly closed, with a large, fierce ghost face carved on it, surrounded by small figures dancing, resembling some kind of ancient ritual.
The Taoist trembled and said, "The National Master is inside, but I... I don’t know how to open the door."
Qin Yi stepped forward to inspect it and said, "This isn’t some witchcraft; it’s just a mechanism. Someone who understands mechanisms can open it easily. If you don’t understand, smashing it will also work. It seems Dong Huazi’s skills are quite shallow; we overestimated him."
Suddenly, a "whoosh" sound came from inside the hall, as if an arrow had been shot, and "thud" it struck something, causing Li Qinglin to cover his head again.
At this moment, everyone sensed something was wrong. Could it be that there was some witchcraft going on inside, trying to harm Li Qinglin?
Qin Yi could no longer hold back and slammed heavily on the door.
Everyone worked together to break the door down. The heavy metal door couldn’t withstand the combined force of so many martial artists, and soon the mechanism was broken, the door swung open.
The first thing they saw was a puppet that looked exactly like Li Qinglin, lifelike, with the same clothes and figure. The puppet had arrows shot into its forehead, throat, heart, and dantian.
Dong Huazi was sitting cross-legged in front of it, muttering something.
Everyone was furious. Li Qinglin charged forward, and with one thrust, he pierced Dong Huazi through, nailing him to the wall: "How dare you use witchcraft to harm me!"
Dong Huazi spat out a mouthful of blood but looked at Li Qinglin and laughed heartily.
Qin Yi felt an ominous feeling rise in his heart.
Clearly, the witchcraft wasn’t complete; otherwise, Li Qinglin wouldn’t be so lively. In theory, whether it was witchcraft or Taoist techniques, they couldn’t withstand such a fatal interruption. As long as the caster was killed and the puppet burned, the witchcraft would be useless.
Why was he still laughing?
Li Qinglin seemed to have the same doubt. This thrust didn’t hit Dong Huazi’s vital points; it only pinned him to the wall, wanting to ask questions.
Dong Huazi was bleeding profusely and clearly wouldn’t last long, but he looked somewhat spirited, his smile warm and bright, mixed with blood, making him look bizarre.
After a few breaths, he slowly spoke, "Actually, this soul-stealing method requires nailing three hundred sixty-five major acupoints, and it’s far from complete. The original plan was to finish in five more days, but the prince is indeed powerful, moving swiftly and unexpectedly. This method can’t be completed in time."
This was Dong Huazi’s original plan. The king probably had five to seven days left to live, and if Li Qinglin suddenly died then… the fate of Nan Li was easy to imagine.
Li Qinglin said coldly, "If that’s the case, are you still stubbornly performing your technique here, unwilling to accept your fate?"
Dong Huazi didn’t answer but suddenly spoke of something else: "Does the prince know that although I was indeed sent by the Western Wilderness to cause trouble, over the years, the king has trusted me, and the people love me… My heart has grown fond of Nan Li, and I have never betrayed its interests. On the contrary, I have genuinely cared for Nan Li all these years."
Li Qinglin laughed, "Are you trying to say you’re a great loyalist who was forced to turn against us by me?"
"I can’t say if I’m loyal or not. I come from the wilds and haven’t learned much, so I don’t know many great principles," Dong Huazi said slowly. "Perhaps in the prince's eyes, I have disrupted Nan Li and deserve to die, but in the king's heart and my own, everything I did was for the sake of longevity. Under the pursuit of longevity, everything else is vanity. The king thinks this way himself, so why blame me alone?"
Qin Yi pursed his lips. He knew this view was quite similar to Liusu’s, and perhaps Ming He thought the same way.
Things in the world, especially the matters of a mere country, were of little concern to them. Who is loyal and who is treacherous? Does it matter who benefits this small nation?
Li Qinglin laughed, "You want to say you’re truly helping my father achieve longevity? Just with those pills that could kill someone?"
"The scriptures do record that lead and mercury are the essence of yin and yang. I’ve asked many fellow Taoists, and they all refine it this way. I believe that if this method doesn’t lead to longevity, it’s because of missing important ingredients, so I collected demon pills for this purpose. Does the prince really think the king doesn’t know I refine demons for pills? He knows; he’s just eating them himself."
Li Qinglin shouted angrily, "He’s dying from your pills and yet you’re here spreading lies!"
Dong Huazi said slowly, "The prince thinks the king is dying… but how do you know he hasn’t achieved liberation and gained great freedom?"
Everyone looked at him in disbelief. Such absurd words, yet Dong Huazi seemed to truly believe it.
Li Qinglin was too lazy to listen to his nonsense anymore and said, "Then go and enjoy your great freedom."
As he spoke, he flicked his wrist, intending to shatter Dong Huazi’s heart.
But Dong Huazi said, "Does the prince know why I continue to perform this witchcraft even though I know it’s too late?"
Li Qinglin paused.
Dong Huazi grinned, "Because the prince will surely be furious upon seeing this scene and will come to kill me personally at the first opportunity. My real witchcraft, when used on myself, means whoever kills me will suffer my life curse. The puppet is fake; I am the real trump card."
Li Qinglin’s expression slowly changed.
"You have many good qualities, brave and wise, a true talent of the world. But everyone has flaws. For instance, your warrior spirit of always leading the charge can be heroic, but sometimes it can be deadly, like now."
Li Qinglin listened quietly and said lightly, "Thank you for the lesson, National Master."
Qin Yi also fell silent. Even if they didn’t understand witchcraft, there was no way to guard against it. Once Li Qinglin pierced Dong Huazi with that shot, he had already fallen into the trap.
He whispered to Liusu, "Is there any way?"
Liusu sighed, "It doesn’t seem fatal, but…"
Dong Huazi coughed up blood, his smile growing more pleased, "The prince doesn’t believe in longevity… or rather, even if there is longevity, you disdain it. You’re full of ambition, wanting to achieve great things for your country and the world. That’s because you’re still young, and the time hasn’t come yet… I really want to know, when the day comes that the prince grows old, with white hair, will you still be that Li Qinglin who doesn’t believe in longevity? Ha… hahaha…"
With his laughter, he closed his eyes with a smile and fell silent.
Li Qinglin still held his gun in position, but everyone could see his body was slightly trembling. Qin Yi stood behind him, watching as his black hair slowly turned gray, gradually becoming completely white.
PS: This is a note added after the completion of the book: When the gun pierced in, Dong Huazi was already beyond saving, and the curse was already established, so sending a small soldier to finish him off is meaningless. Additionally, this plot twist has no real significance, and I hope future readers will be patient.
(End of Chapter)