# 1695
Chapter 1695: Soul-Hiding Technique
"Is this what a god looks like..." Yan Zhong breathed a sigh of relief, leaning against the wall as he slowly slid to the ground, his back already soaked with sweat. "How did Marquis and the others fight against beings like that?"
"Brother Seven Nights is truly fierce, fighting the Wood God Gou Mang to a standstill all by himself. How long will it take me to reach that level?" Zhan Yuwu couldn't help but exclaim.
"Don't even dream about it. That realm can't be reached through time alone."
Gongyang Wan spoke faintly.
Hu Jia's gaze swept across the surroundings. After the temple doors were closed, there was not a shred of light in this grand hall—it was pitch black.
"Didn't we enter the Dharma Hall?" Hu Jia asked in confusion. "Why is there no light at all?"
"There is."
Jialan raised her hand and gently brushed against a spot on the wall. A flash of radiance swept across, and streaks of light ignited throughout the hall, dispelling the darkness before their eyes.
The interior space of this grand hall was far larger than it appeared from outside. Countless scrolls floated in the midair, resembling a suspended ocean—stretch out one's hand slightly, and they could be touched.
"Pure Yang Forging Technique..."
Hu Jia gazed at the scroll floating nearest above him and murmured the characters written on it.
"These are all the secret techniques collected within the Dharma Hall. The Queen Mother excels at weapon forging, so most of them are related to that craft. There are other methods as well, but ordinary mortals can barely utilize them." Jialan explained.
"This one is the 'Mysterious Ghost Summoning'... It seems to be about enslaving spirits? Place of origin... Fengdu? Where exactly is Fengdu?" Zhan Yuwu blinked.
"It's the Ghost City."
While Yan Zhong explained, he walked among the secret techniques. He had always been fond of scrolls, let alone divine scriptures.
His gaze swept across these secret techniques one by one, then suddenly stopped on one of them, his brow slightly arching:
"Soul-Hiding Technique?"
He curiously retrieved this technique and began flipping through it. The astonishment and joy on his face gradually gave way to solemnity, until finally both his brows knit tightly together.
"What's wrong? Is there something special about this technique?" Zhan Yuwu asked.
"It truly is special. It teaches one how, at the brink of death, to forge one's soul into a weapon and nourish it with vast quantities of fortune and luck, ultimately achieving soul-hiding immortality... But the process is unbearably painful—skin peeling, bone抽取, heart slicing and blood drawing. Who could endure that?"
Yan Zhong shook his head and placed the technique back where it belonged.
"How is the situation outside?" Gongyang Wan walked to the temple doors and asked.
Jialan gently opened the door a crack. Just as she was about to look outside, a thunderous explosion of firelight engulfed her figure, nearly catching the behind Gongyang Wan as well.
Jialan immediately shut the temple doors and hesitated before speaking:
"It seems... not good?"
Outside the hall,
Dense tree roots coiled around the tops of the three grand halls. Shadows of an aswha tree swayed beneath the firmament. A blade of sword light pierced through the void, instantly cleaving the towering tree in two!
A figure in blue robes descended onto the shattered earth. Ame-no-Murakumo spun through the air for a moment before steadily hovering behind him.
From the base of the split giant tree, a shepherd child's figure slowly emerged. A ferocious sword gash had already appeared on his body.
Crimson blood stained the ground with each of his footsteps, and from those marks sprouted dense green sprouts. He frowned as he gazed at Lin Qiye before him and said in a deep voice:
"Just who are you? Why does the Hongmeng Spirit Embryo of Heavenly Court reside within you?"
"Why don't you answer me first—where is the Queen Mother of the West?"
"The Queen Mother is currently engaging the counterfeit. As long as we kill her, the fakes in the Jade Pool will be completely purged... If you are from Heavenly Court, why don't you join hands with us against the enemy instead of fighting me here?"
Lin Qiye's brow arched. "Have you ever considered that you might also be a counterfeit?"
The shepherd child's eyes narrowed slightly. "My counterfeit has already been slain by me and Zhu Rong together. The two of us watched it with our own eyes as it transformed into willow branches. How could I possibly be a counterfeit?"
"Your perception has been altered."
"Preposterous nonsense."
Seeing this, Lin Qiye could only helplessly shake his head. Trying to make a counterfeit realize it was a counterfeit through words alone was as difficult as ascending to heaven. It would be more direct to simply fight.
Just as Lin Qiye was preparing to strike again, a flash of light shimmered from the sky above. His figure instantly froze in place.
And together with him, the Wood God Gou Mang, as well as Zhu Rong and Huo Qubing off to the side, were all paralyzed.
In an instant, the entire area in front of the three great halls fell into silence.
That was...
Lin Qiye's pupils contracted slightly. In the heavens above, a massive mirror surface materialized. The mirror clearly reflected the forms of all of them. A beautiful woman dressed in gilded purple-patterned robes stepped out from within the mirror.
The Queen Mother of the West?
Lin Qiye recognized the Kunlun Mirror at a glance, but before he could speak, a second beautiful woman's figure emerged from within.
Two Queen Mothers of the West stood shoulder to shoulder beneath the Kunlun Mirror, overlooking the Alchemy Hall and Lin Qiye's group below. Two pairs of beautiful eyes squinted slightly...
"What's going on? Why aren't they fighting each other?" Seeing this, Chloe spoke in astonishment.
Huo Qubing frowned as he gazed at the two figures above, lost in thought.
"Queen Mother! These people charged into the Alchemy Hall and battled with us. We don't know their intentions." Though Gou Mang also couldn't distinguish which was the true Queen Mother of the West, he still took the initiative to report.
The two Queen Mothers of the West exchanged glances. The one on the left slowly spoke:
"How is it?"
"Let's kill them first." The one on the right replied.
"Agreed."
The words fell, and both Queen Mothers of the West struck simultaneously. Two beams of blinding azure light pierced through heaven and earth, instantly piercing through the foreheads of the paralyzed Gou Mang and Zhu Rong!
The Queen Mother of the West's sudden attack was something they never anticipated. They were still frozen in their originally restrained positions. A ferocious blood hole marked their foreheads. Their eyes gazing up at the sky were full of confusion.
Why would the true and counterfeit Queen Mothers of the West suddenly join forces?
Why would they kill him?
The vital energy of the two Chief Gods rapidly dissipated. In the end, they collapsed before Lin Qiye's group, transforming into two willow branches each bearing a pair of eyeballs.
"How is it?"
"This one sees willow branches."
"This one also sees willow branches."
The two Queen Mothers of the West exchanged glances, their beautiful eyes darkening,
"Now that the Jade Pool has been purged in blood... As long as this one kills you, everything will end."
"This one will return the same words to you." The Queen Mother of the West on the right paused for a moment, then pointed downward. "What about them?"
Both Queen Mothers of the West lowered their gazes simultaneously to look at Lin Qiye's group.
This scene before them completely exceeded Lin Qiye's expectations. They had originally planned that after breaking into the Jade Pool, they would identify the false Queen Mother of the West and then help the true Queen Mother of the West eliminate her... But never in their wildest dreams had they imagined that the two Queen Mothers of the West—one real, one fake—would actually join forces and appear before them so harmoniously.
"The younger one Lin Qiye greets the Queen Mother... Mothers of the West." Lin Qiye's expression was peculiar as he spoke.