...
Lu Ding joked with a smile: "No way, you'll be working for for life."
As his words faded, the Red Coffin behind him burst open.
A pale ghostly hand handed over the territory-dividing knife seized from Jin Chuan, placing it into Lu Ding's palm.
Holding the dagger.
He pressed it into the recess on the door.
If the main investigator was foundational, the assistant investigator wasn't. If the assistant investigator was foundational, the main investigator couldn't be.
The two had to complent each other.
Now Yan Feifan was starting to get reckless.
So Lu Ding had to use his brain.
As the temple doors rumbled and slowly swung open, Lu Ding said, "A role like cleverly disarming traps really suits you better—I'm not exactly cut out for it."
Yan Feifan switched gears in an instant, positioning himself behind Lu Ding as a shield, standing back.
"Brother Lu, I'm all hidden now."
Alright, that was more like it.
As Lu Ding stepped into the temple.
Yan Feifan shuffled closely behind him.
Ahead.
What greeted them were seventy-two black cauldrons arranged in a formation according to the number of earthly fiends.
Beside them stood a stone tablet.
Inscribed on it.
【Those who pass the formation may claim the Earth God's inheritance from the shrine.】
The Earth God's inheritance didn't hold much appeal for Lu Ding.
To him, any inheritance touched by a god ca with a ceiling.
But if he didn't take the Earth God's inheritance now, it seed impossible to gain control of the spirit fields.
This...
Yan Feifan noticed Lu Ding's hesitation and stepped forward to ask, "Brother Lu, what's wrong?"
Lu Ding frowned: "The problem now is, I don't want the inheritance, but I do want the herb garden. I really wonder how Jin Chuan managed to control the garden before getting the inheritance."
An unfamiliar na popped out of Lu Ding's mouth.
Yan Feifan instinctively asked, "Jin Chuan?"
Lu Ding replied, "The previous owner of this herb garden."
"The dagger we just used to open the door ca from him too."
Yan Feifan listened thoughtfully, then glanced at the stone tablet. "Based on classic storytelling, he probably had that dagger first."
"Jin Chuan got the dagger by chance, then through so cliché accident, he ended up with a blood bond, or so other thod, becoming the dagger's master."
"Then, through the dagger, he controlled the herb garden, which had been masterless for a long ti."
"Or maybe, Jin Chuan is the reincarnation of the original master of this Earth God Temple, or has so mysterious connection to him—like a descendant after many generations."
"So he could use the garden without getting the inheritance first. This inheritance would wait until his cultivation progressed enough, and when he had the power to break through the formation, he'd claim it."
"If that's the case, this sequence isn't replicable. Whether it's a bloodline descendant, a reincarnation, or just a random blood bond."
"For the forr, we don't have the conditions. For the latter, the garden has already gone through a reset and is in a saved state. Only by breaking through the formation can we trigger a priority code override."
"After all, the only reason we got in is because I used my dominant trait to sink us straight down."
Hearing Yan Feifan say this.
Lu Ding's eyes lit up. "Feifan, do you want the inheritance?"
Yan Feifan: ????????
"Brother Lu, don't I already have the Kitchen God's ceremonial tablet?"
Lu Ding smiled: "No harm in double-dipping. I'll stuff another one in you to raise your ceiling."
Yan Feifan said doubtfully, "Two inheritances on one person... can that work? Isn't that main character treatnt?"
Lu Ding reached over and patted him on the shoulder. "In your life's script, you're the one and only main character!!!"
Yan Feifan, who wouldn't hesitate to do anything for Lu Ding but was just a bit uncertain, instantly hardened his resolve upon hearing those words.
"I want it!!!"
A higher ceiling ant faster steps to catch up to Brother Lu's pace!
If the gap between two people was too big, even the strongest friendship would gradually fade due to the disparity in circumstances.
The gap in strength was like best friends sharing a bunk bed in school days, then being separated after graduation by distance.
Even if both believed the bond wouldn't weaken.
But too much distance always brought reality.
Occasional reunions only rehashed old mories, like looking for a sword mark on a moving boat.
Only by closing the gap could new stories erge, instead of always saying, "Rember back then" or "How it used to be."
Hearing Yan Feifan's answer.
Lu Ding's apertures slowly opened.
Black smoke poured out.
"Follow closely—let's break through the formation together and help you claim the inheritance!! When it's done, I don't want the inheritance, but the herb garden? I want it both ways!!"
Lu Ding wouldn't shoulder the risk of a potential ceiling from the inheritance, but he'd devour the rare treasures grown in the herb garden with relish.
As for whether the inheritance might contain spells or secret techniques?
Lu Ding cared even less. With a golden finger in hand, would he lack them?
Or rather, could it asure up to things like [Way of the Jinche], [Golden Ao Island], [Heaven-Man Unity]—stuff with maxed-out stats and chanics?
Soone might say, wouldn't that lower Feifan's ceiling?
But the reality was, even the current Feifan had already surpassed his original ceiling by who knew how much.
Lu Ding shielded Yan Feifan as he charged into the formation.
If it were just him, [White Snake Shakes Scales] might have been enough, but now there were two of them.
The mont they entered.
The large black cauldrons spun and flew, endlessly shifting, launching various attacks accompanied by seductive sounds that affected Feifan's sanity. As for Lu Ding...
His [White Snake Shakes Scales] said, don't even co near!!!
But precisely because of this, the formation seed to default to treating Yan Feifan as the challenger, focusing all pressure on him. This gave Lu Ding a bird's-eye perspective to participate in the battle.
Both hands waved, palm seals filling the sky.
The trendous force of [Mountain-Shaking Earth-Quaking] sent the seventy-two black cauldrons flying in all directions.
anwhile, Yan Feifan, affected by the formation's interference, was in a dazed state, about to sink into an illusion.
[Call of the Seized Soul] seized his soul, Lu Ding's voice carrying a celestial resonance as if pronouncing a divine decree: "Yan Feifan!!!"
Instantly.
Yan Feifan's state, compromised by the formation, was imdiately overwritten by Lu Ding's [Call of the Seized Soul] chanics.
He froze completely.
It was like a mosquito had just landed on a patch of skin—before it could bite, a heavy slap ca down, turning the area red, but killing the mosquito.
Thus avoiding the swollen bump and itch from the mosquito bite.
Sly, too sly.
Lu Ding was full of such chanisms.
With Yan Feifan frozen, the formation could no longer affect him. His brain was short-circuited—it couldn't generate illusions.
No matter how hard those black cauldrons tried.
Yan Feifan: Babababa...
As for the physical attacks coming his way, Lu Ding blocked them, swatted them away, and counterattacked. He was practically Yan Feifan's humanoid 'stand'.
Muda muda muda muda...
Thump thump thump...
While Yan Feifan stared blankly, his eyes glazed over, wrapped in Lu Ding's Black Energy and protected by his side. Babababa...
Inside the Earth God Temple, dull thuds echoed continuously.
Not until they passed the formation and reached the inner hall did Lu Ding wake Yan Feifan.
"Wake up, Feifan, wake up. Hey, look at , look at . Focus your eyes, focus your eyes. Don't have one eye on guard and the other on patrol. Watch my move—how many fingers is this?"
Lu Ding patted Yan Feifan's cheek and held up two fingers.
Yan Feifan shook his head and blurted out with certainty: "Four!!"
Lu Ding: ........
He supported Yan Feifan. "Take a mont to recover."
Feeling like the world was spinning, Yan Feifan kept talking: "No need, Brother Lu. Let's start breaking through the formation. Don't waste your ti."
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