Old Ranger was a guard hired by Xue Changming. At that time, Jiang Wen's cultivation wasn't high, and he thought Xue Changming was just a secular disciple.
Now that he thinks about it, he was a bit naive. With Xue Changming's personality, he didn't seem like a young master from a wealthy family without any cultivation. If Jiang Wen wasn't mistaken, Xue Changming's strength back then must have been much higher than his.
But now, he's the one being called to rescue people. The transmission talisman for help came at a really strange time.
The paper figure grew out of thin air, its height matching Jiang Wen's. In the blink of an eye, it turned into Jiang Wen's appearance, standing there blankly.
Taking blood from his fingertip, he smeared it on the paper figure's body. Before long, the paper figure's face became full, and it had breath and blood. Standing in front of Jiang Wen, it was difficult to tell who was real and who was fake.
This technique is called Paper Cutting into a Person, considered a minor Taoist magic. Jiang Wen had been developing it but hadn't used it until now, never expecting to have the chance to use it.
Paper Cutting into a Person is a Taoist magic, but mostly used for creating illusions. However, Jiang Wen, relying on the stone tablet's deductions, had gradually deduced many Taoist spells. However, some of these spells were fantasy-based, so he weakened them.
This Paper Cutting into a Person spell isn't very useful on ordinary days, as the paper figure doesn't have much combat power. But it allows the caster to possess it, using the paper figure's body to explore some dangerous things. Even if the paper figure's body is destroyed, it's just a piece of paper.
As long as one's blood is dripped on it, the paper figure can become exactly like the caster, even its aura is indistinguishable. Without divine abilities like the Heavenly Eye, or a cultivation realm far higher than the caster, it's difficult to see the truth of the paper figure.
So, this kind of spell can be considered a life-saving spell.
Seeing the paper figure formed, Jiang Wen sent a wisp of divine sense to attach to the paper figure's body. Grasping a flying sword, he rushed out of the hidden place and walked into the narrow cave.
The cave was lined with black whiskers on all sides, and the cave walls seemed to be slowly wriggling. If Jiang Wen's senses were correct, this cave was a bit like a human nostril. It's just that the nostril wasn't so wide, able to fit three or four people standing shoulder to shoulder.
Those black whiskers were like tentacles, floating and swaying in the air. Seeing this, Jiang Wen thought that these whiskers were a bit strange, carefully avoiding them as he advanced into the cave.
After about eight hundred steps, he entered the cave.
Looking at the hall, Jiang Wen was able to discern its unique characteristics. The hall was wide, with no exits on any side. In the center of the hall was a round table, with a dozen small statues placed on it.
Jiang Wen recognized two of them. One was the tiger demon he encountered outside Tai Cang City, and the other was Chi Gou.
Counting carefully, there were twelve statues, the largest of which was a dragon head statue.
The other eleven revered the dragon, all surrounding the dragon.
"Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit... Are there also the twelve zodiac signs here?" Jiang Wen stared at the statues, wondering why Dagan also used the twelve zodiac signs. Then he remembered that the calendar he used in Tai Cang was the same as the current world, so it was normal to have the twelve zodiac signs.
"So, I was the one who spread it. Then it's nothing." Jiang Wen resolved his doubts, raised his head, and looked at the people nailed to the wall. He observed the situation of the people and found that they were all still alive.
Each person had some strength, with the most powerful even reaching the Life Fire realm.
Those in the Lantern Lighting realm have various life-saving methods, let alone those in the Life Fire realm. As long as they don't encounter too strange and tricky enemies, even when facing a Dao Palace Real Person, they can escape with their lives. In the current world where saints don't appear, Dao Palace masters and those in the Life Fire realm are considered top experts among cultivators.
Cultivators who can reach the Life Fire realm are not mediocre, and they all have intelligence. To be captured alive can only mean that the person who captured them has a higher cultivation.
Checking the Life Fire cultivator, the fire of his life was flickering weakly. His cultivation mana had been completely drained, barely maintaining his survival.
Jiang Wen didn't have the intention to save this person for the time being. He turned to look at Chi Gou on the other side. He shot a flying sword to cut off the binding tentacles, and then watched Chi Gou fall heavily to the ground.
Walking forward a few steps, he pressed on Chi Gou's philtrum. Feeling that he still had a faint breath, Jiang Wen nodded and took out a pill, feeding it into his mouth.
The pill melted upon entering his mouth, and soon Chi Gou's breathing became heavy and powerful. Then, his eyes trembled slightly, and he slowly opened them with a hoarse sound in his throat.
"Ugh..."
Chi Gou coughed lightly, widened his eyes while clutching his chest. He looked around and saw Jiang Wen beside him.
"It's you..." Chi Gou was very surprised, never expecting that they could meet again after parting outside Su City.
"It's me," Jiang Wen nodded. "I received Xue Changming's call for help, so I came to find him."
"You, you are indeed benevolent," Chi Gou said with a bitter smile on his pale face. He struggled to sit up, but he couldn't get up because he had no strength. Jiang Wen helped him up and let him lean against the table.
"Your body is too weak, so don't move vigorously," Jiang Wen said.
"Thank you, I know my life is in what state," Old Ranger smiled bitterly. "If you hadn't come to save me today, I would have died here sooner or later."
"This place is too strange, I'd better take you to a safe place." Without waiting for Old Ranger to answer, Jiang Wen easily carried him on his shoulders, and then quickly ran towards the cave, and soon left the cave.
Then he traveled several miles to a hidden corner. Looking at the empty corner, Jiang Wen pointed forward, and a ripple-like halo spread out, gradually revealing another Jiang Wen.
In Old Ranger's surprised eyes, Jiang Wen's true body greeted him: "That's my magic, I am the real me, long time no see."
Only then did Chi Gou realize that the one who brought him out was an incarnation. He watched the other Jiang Wen stand stiffly in place, then sat on the ground and looked at Jiang Wen's true body.
"Thank you very much," Chi Gou sincerely thanked him.
"No need to be so polite, tell me about your matter," Jiang Wen smiled. "Didn't you go to Yunze? Why did you suddenly come to this Buzhou Mountain?"
Hearing Jiang Wen's words, Old Ranger's face showed a bitter smile. He shook his head and sighed a few times, then told about his and Xue Changming's situation.
It turned out that after separating from Su City, they did head towards Yunze. However, just as they entered Yunze, they encountered a foggy day. The group wandered around for a long time without getting out, so they stayed in a village of barbarians.
When the fog in Yunze cleared, the group set off towards Black Cloud Mountain. Who knew that as soon as they entered Black Cloud Mountain, the entire Black Cloud Mountain began to shake. Then the group was swallowed by a sudden cloud of mist, and woke up in Luoyan Valley.
"That day, there was thunder in Black Cloud Mountain, as if the heavens and the earth were shaking. Then we inexplicably came to this Luoyan Valley. And this Luoyan Valley is also strange, with two-winged monsters guarding the side of Luoyan Abyss. It was thanks to Young Master Xue using a secret method that we were able to escape."
"..." Jiang Wen listened to Old Ranger's words, and he suddenly realized that this matter did have something to do with him.
