0119 A Secret Meeting in Memory (Please Vote!)

The dungeon was utterly silent. Jiang Feng sat cross-legged on a straw mat, his eyes lowered slightly, not moving at all.

Shangguan Qing had indeed seized Jiang Feng’s weak point.

From the moment Miss had been forced to leave the Jiang family, Jiang Feng had been left with only one goal—to win the Grand Examination all the way to the end, go to the capital, and stand before Miss openly and honorably.

For that, he had to do everything possible to win the Grand Examination.

During his battles against the demons in Taicang City, that goal seemed to have receded somewhat into the background. Yet whenever he found a moment of leisure, it would still appear before him with crystal clarity, accompanied by memories of Miss.

Shangguan Qing was threatening him with the thing he valued most. A thread of fury kindled in Jiang Feng’s heart and silently spread through his entire body.

He closed his eyes for a moment and steadied his mind.

Whatever happened, he had to remain calm.

With two Dawn Warriors guarding the dungeon, the possibility of forcing his way out was nearly nonexistent.

Moreover, his imprisonment had been ordered by Wanqi Yu, the state warden, under the grand and legitimate pretext of military security. If Jiang Feng escaped, it would amount to defying a superior’s orders at a sensitive time, and he would immediately lose all justification for his actions. He still had to take the Grand Examination. He absolutely could not become a wanted criminal.

He had released Night-Meal Rabbit and left behind a few contingencies. But by temperament and habit, he hated placing all his hopes in someone else’s hands.

What was he to do now?

To Jiang Feng, Wanqi Yu was an enemy vastly more powerful than himself. Why had Lord Fuliu sent him here? What did Wanqi Yu want? Was there anything within all this that he could exploit?

Only after sorting out these matters could he find a breakthrough!

A long time passed. One of the wardens grew curious and walked over to glance into the dungeon. The other asked, “What is it?”

The first warden asked strangely, “Can you hear him breathing?”

The other watched carefully, then cried out in alarm. “He really isn’t breathing! What’s going on? Should we go in and take a look?”

“…Forget it. When Lord Shangguan brought him here, he warned us that this boy was extremely cunning and possessed of bizarrely good luck. We must keep a close eye on him. Who knows what sort of scheme he’s plotting?”

After discussing the matter, the two wardens tightened their watch over Jiang Feng, but neither dared enter and disturb him.

In truth, although Jiang Feng appeared perfectly still, deep within his body he was like the center of a storm, filled with violent and tumultuous waves.

For the past five days, he had carried the curved saber without pause, never daring to relax his mind even for an instant.

While the curved saber was present, his luminous power had continued to increase normally. But the portion that originally supplied the Celestial Mechanism Cube had now entered his golden bloodline directly through the Origin Branch.

Jiang Feng could vaguely understand that this was meant to preserve the bloodline’s vitality and maintain his control over the curved saber.

In short, during those days, the Celestial Mechanism Cube had possessed no opportunity to absorb luminous power or move of its own accord.

Now that the curved saber had finally vanished, this dungeon was quiet and concealed, though the demonic energy within it was exceedingly thin. In the current Taicang City, this dungeon should have been one of the most peaceful places available.

The Celestial Core slowly and continuously absorbed the luminous power around it, and the Celestial Mechanism Cube within it began to stir.

Scene after scene formed around the cube. Jiang Feng stared at those images as though examining the memories of the past few days.

He skimmed through them rapidly, paying particular attention to details he might have overlooked at the time.

Suddenly, he saw a person emerge from a corner, stare intently in a certain direction for a moment, and then hurriedly leave.

It was a detail he had encountered on the way to Bitter Oleander Street. He had been in too much of a hurry then to pay it much attention. Now, within his memories, the figure stood out with uncanny clarity.

The person was completely shrouded in a loose robe, making it impossible to see his true face. Yet his build and certain gestures as he walked seemed both unfamiliar and strangely familiar to Jiang Feng.

He searched through his memories for a while, then suddenly remembered.

It was Second Master Chong from Wen Liangji’s side!

He had never been on very good terms with Wen Liangji—or, more precisely, with the faction aligned with Chong Fan. But regardless, Second Master Chong was still a member of the Chong family. Why had he suddenly appeared here, hiding his face and acting so furtively?

Jiang Feng’s gaze sharpened. Another shadow followed behind Second Master Chong, and the two seemed to be communicating.

Jiang Feng fixed his eyes on that shadow. The longer he looked, the more horrified he became.

Following his consciousness, the Celestial Mechanism Cube began analyzing the figure’s data. In the blink of an eye, Jiang Feng’s eyes widened.

The data clearly revealed that it was a demon—and one even more powerful than Huang Gui!

How could Second Master Chong be together with a demon? From the looks of it, he had no wariness at all. If anything, the two seemed rather close.

What Jiang Feng was seeing had been reconstructed by the Celestial Mechanism Cube from his memories. It could not be mistaken.

Even before this, Jiang Feng had sensed that something was wrong.

The Twelve Demon Caverns were precise and intricately designed. How could a single demon like Huang Gui have completed such an arrangement in Taicang City? The difference between demons and humans was immense. How had he managed to hide there for so long without being discovered?

Jiang Feng had long suspected that there were demonic agents among humanity, but he had possessed no concrete evidence. Now, within his own memories, he had witnessed the truth of it firsthand.

The Chong family’s status was extraordinary. It was practically the foremost clan among humanity, and had nearly become a spiritual symbol of mankind’s resistance against the demons.

If it were discovered that someone within the Chong family had colluded with demons…

Jiang Feng forcibly suppressed his suddenly disordered heartbeat. If this was true, the entire human world would undoubtedly be thrown into chaos.

He absolutely could not reveal the matter recklessly. But how could it be dealt with?

He was thinking so deeply that he failed to notice the data streams within the Celestial Mechanism Cube beginning to change. Vast quantities of repeated data appeared, shifting so rapidly that they dazzled the eye.

For seven full days, Jiang Feng had fought the demons in close proximity to the demon caverns.

From lesser demons to school-ranked demons, vast amounts of data had been broken down and incorporated into the Celestial Mechanism Cube. Unlike the data previously transmitted by Ye Xiao, all of this was direct, firsthand information.

There was also the data from the demon caverns themselves.

While crafting the demon-repelling incense burner, he had come into subtle and intimate contact with demonic energy. At the time, he had been too distracted to analyze it. Now, before the Celestial Mechanism Cube, none of that data remained concealed. Everything was exceptionally clear.

His earlier speculation had been correct. Demonic energy truly deserved to be called “dark luminous power.” Its properties were remarkably similar to those of luminous power, yet all its data was diametrically opposed. It was as though a mirror stood between the two: luminous power on one side, dark luminous power on the other.

After discovering the essence of demonic energy, the Celestial Mechanism Cube began attempting to deduce the origins of the demon caverns.

A demon cavern was an extraordinarily complex structure. It contained an immense quantity of dark luminous power, arranged in forms of extreme intricacy.

Sweat gradually appeared on Jiang Feng’s forehead. The air within the cell began to move of its own accord, streams of air converging toward him from every direction.

The wardens were startled. They hurried over to the cell and exchanged baffled looks.

“Is he cultivating?” one of them asked softly.

The other frowned. “It seems so… How can this boy be so calm?”

“…Hmph. As expected of a reckless young pup, ignorant of the heights of heaven and the depths of earth. He’ll soon learn just how formidable Lord Shangguan is!”

Jiang Feng was completely immersed in his own consciousness, utterly unaware of everything around him.

During this period, he had approached three demon caverns in all, and fought thousands upon thousands of demons.

Now, the three caverns reappeared within his memories: Zitong Woods, Stonecutters’ Street, and Bitter Oleander Street. The appearance of the caverns themselves, along with the demonic energy in their surroundings, was all transformed into data and absorbed by the Celestial Mechanism Cube.

The cube absorbed luminous power faster and faster, and its own rotation accelerated accordingly.

The data naturally unfolded within Jiang Feng’s consciousness, where he understood it in its entirety.

The three demon caverns appeared identical, but in truth, each was different. Yet even saying they were different was not entirely accurate, for clear connections and links existed between them.

That was indeed the case. The Twelve Demon Caverns in Taicang City were interconnected. All of them had to be closed simultaneously for the network to be truly sealed. Otherwise, as long as even one remained, the others would revive.

That was Taicang City’s greatest predicament.

Closing the twelve demon caverns simultaneously required twelve experts at the level of Heartlight Martial Saint or above. But with the Fuliu Sect and the great clans dragging their feet, Taicang City could not gather enough such experts.

When he had helped at Bitter Oleander Street, the curved saber had fought behind him while Jiang Feng sat beside the demon cavern, observing it. Even then, a thought had occurred to him:

Could he find a way to sever the connections between the demon caverns?

If he could devise a method to cut them off—even temporarily—then they could be closed one by one.

The data from the three demon caverns was completely absorbed. Based on their differences and similarities, the Celestial Mechanism Cube began deducing the structure of a fourth.

The air currents within the dungeon grew even more violent. The complete panorama of a fourth demon cavern began to appear, flickering in and out of view…

Before he realized it, a long time had passed.

Suddenly, another series of footsteps echoed from the dungeon entrance, and a group of people entered.

The two wardens were watching Jiang Feng anxiously. The moment they saw the newcomers, they immediately relaxed and hurried forward.

“Lord Shangguan, there’s something strange about this boy!”

The visitor was Shangguan Qing. He was still dressed entirely in black, but it was clearly a different outfit. The cuffs were tighter, and a string of cloth pouches hung from his waist, each bulging as though filled with something.

Two people followed behind him. Their black hats were pulled low over their brows, and deep shadows concealed their features.

Shangguan Qing smiled faintly. “What’s strange? Don’t worry. It will soon be gone.”

He strode inside and reached Jiang Feng’s cell before long.

The air currents in the dungeon had become distinctly visible. Shangguan Qing raised his head slightly, somewhat surprised.

“This boy is cultivating? That’s quite a commotion…”

He reached out and made a grasping motion in the air, then brought his hand to his nose and sniffed. Frowning, he said, “This luminous power feels rather strange…”

———

Damn, I actually forgot to hit publish after putting it in the scheduled-drafts folder… Thanks for the reminder, Fried Rice!!!