The amazement and admiration on everyone's faces froze the moment the phantom disappeared.
They looked at each other in dismay, not knowing what had happened.
Boss Liu and Zhao Yongkun's expressions darkened.
Boss Liu turned to look at me. There was an indescribable shock and confusion on his face. He even felt strangely relaxed. He stood there in a daze, not saying a word.
Zhao Yongkun roared angrily. He did not look at me, nor did he look at the place where the phantom disappeared. Instead, he stared at Boss Liu. His voice was extremely low as he gritted his teeth and asked, "Why?"
Boss Liu suddenly laughed bitterly.
"Why?
How would I know why?
I've prepared for decades. I've done everything I could … Why? "
As he laughed, he seemed to cry again. He continued in a strange tone, "Everything is the will of the heavens. I should have known, I should have known. The will of the heavens cannot be defied, the will of the heavens cannot be defied … But, but I can't accept it!"
Boss Liu slumped to the ground. He clenched his right fist and smashed it hard on the ground.
Zhao Yongkun roared again. He suddenly raised his leg and kicked Boss Liu away. He seemed to have gone mad as he roared, "Along the way, my paperweight Dharma artifact was gone. The paper puppet also used up all of its spiritual energy. I even lost ten years of my lifespan. Now you're telling me that this is the will of the heavens?"
His gaze was extremely cold. He raised the steel sword in his hand and was about to stab Boss Liu.
Everyone's expression changed. They went to block Zhao Yongkun.
Zhao Yongkun looked at the retired special forces soldiers, Tang Mingyang, Fan Zhichao, and the others. His expression was full of disdain. He sneered and said, "You think you can stop me?"
With that, he raised his sword and was about to charge forward.
Fatty ran over and shouted in a low voice, "Uncle-Master Zhao, calm down!"
His voice contained Dao Qi and had a calming power. However, the difference between his realm and Zhao Yongkun's was too great. This calming power could not calm Zhao Yongkun at all.
At this moment, Director Liu suddenly stood up from the ground. He stretched out his hand to wipe away the trace of blood flowing from the corner of his mouth. He raised his head, but he did not look at Zhao Yongkun. Instead, he looked at the place where the continuous shadows had disappeared. His expression gradually calmed down.
"Daoist Zhao, it's just that we didn't succeed this time. You saw it too. The Fire God Temple was just a hair away from appearing."
After saying that, he turned his head to look at Zhao Yongkun, as if he did not mind being kicked by Zhao Yongkun at all, and said with a smile, "According to my speculation, it should be because Mister Little Zhou's cultivation is still shallow, and the Dao Qi he attracted is not enough to make the Fire God Temple completely appear.
Why don't we rest for a day and wait for Master Lin to recover tomorrow before divining the secrets of the heavens. This time, it's Priest Zhao's turn to guide the Dao Qi to assist. You will definitely be able to lure out the Fire God Temple. "
Even though he was flustered when he lost his composure, now that Chairman Liu had recovered his emotions, he was still as confident as before in his speech, which was convincing.
Zhao Yongkun stared blankly for a moment, the anger on his face fading a little. He stood there in silence for a moment before sheathing his sword.
However, the gloomy expression on his face did not disappear. He looked at Chairman Liu and gritted his teeth. "I hope so."
After saying that, he waved his sleeves and walked to the stream to sit on the ground. He closed his eyes and took out a dark red stone from who knows where. His hands continuously rubbed against it.
At that moment, I jumped down from the round stone and stretched my body. Other than my clothes being drenched in sweat, I didn't feel any other discomfort.
Only then did I relax and return to the crowd.
Chairman Liu was the first to welcome me. He chatted with me and asked me if I felt uncomfortable just now. I casually replied to him, but I was very cautious in my heart.
The sense of danger that I felt when I was on the verge of death was definitely not an illusion. If it wasn't for the cold current that flowed out from the jade bracelet, I was afraid that I would have been burnt to ashes by the incomparably high temperature.
Even though my consciousness was a little blurry at that time, I could feel that the Fire God Temple's image that appeared out of thin air was slowly solidifying under the high temperature. This feeling was as if I was the sacrificial offering to lure out the Fire God Temple!
At first, I wasn't too sure about this idea. However, when Chairman Liu came over and asked me in a roundabout way, I felt that there was something fishy going on.
Then, I thought about it. Why did Chairman Liu call me here in the first place?
Was it because I helped him move his ancestral grave?
Although Daoists were different from geomancy masters, it was more of a difference in cultivation concepts. Zhao Yongkun's power was much higher than mine. It was impossible that Chairman Liu didn't know that. However, he knew that with Zhao Yongkun here, he wouldn't need me along the way. Why did he call me here?
A person like Chairman Liu always had a purpose in everything he did. It was just like how he called the fatty to divine the Heavenly Secret to lure out the Fire God Temple. He called me here for the last ritual to guide the Daoist energy to help lure out the Fire God Temple.
Or rather, it was for the last sacrificial ritual!
From the beginning to the end, in Chairman Liu's plan, I was just a sacrifice. Even if he relied on me many times to make everyone go off track, in Chairman Liu's heart, my role had never changed.
Looking at Boss Liu who was still smiling and asking about my well-being, I felt a chill in my heart. Originally, I thought that I had chosen this experience, but I didn't expect that I had fallen into this trap from the very beginning.
A few years ago, when Chairman Liu found me for the first time and asked me to help him look at his ancestral grave, all the traps had been laid out!
Now that I thought about it, his ancestor could find someone to set up the Metal Water Formation to protect the ancestral grave. Why did he have to move the grave now?
Moreover, when he moved the grave, couldn't he find a real geomancy master? Why did he have to find me, who was still a child at the time?
I reckoned that Chairman Liu just wanted to use this method to find a geomancy master without any background, so that he wouldn't have to worry about anything. Who knew that I would stupidly bump into him?
After thinking through everything, I couldn't help but feel angry. However, I didn't explode in the end.
I remembered that Chairman Liu had casually told Zhao Yongkun that he would replace me tomorrow to summon the Fire God Temple again.
It was pure murder, but Zhao Yongkun didn't know about it. Moreover, he didn't have a jade bracelet, so he couldn't be as lucky as me.
After Zhao Yongkun had lost his composure, he had kicked Chairman Liu. At that time, he didn't expect that a few minutes later, Chairman Liu would draw a death cage for him.
Although Chairman Liu was just an ordinary person, he was a boss in the business world. Being ruthless and ruthless was the most basic training. According to him, he had prepared for this trip for dozens of years. I didn't believe that he didn't have other trump cards.
I smiled at Chairman Liu and pretended to chat with him for a while. Then, I went to find the fat man.
It wasn't the time to turn hostile. Chairman Liu was more familiar with the situation here than I was. If I turned hostile now, who knew what tricks he would use to deal with me?
Thinking about what the powerful Zhao Yongkun would have to face tomorrow, my heart became colder.
I found the fat man and asked him about Chairman Liu. However, the fat man didn't know much. He had joined this trip because of Zhao Yongkun.
I didn't tell the fat man about my speculation. I just reminded him to be careful. Chairman Liu's purpose for coming here might not be that simple.
The fat man didn't find it strange. He just nodded in silence. I guessed he had found some clues.
In the blink of an eye, it was the second day. When I saw Zhao Yongkun and Chairman Liu, their eyes were red. I guessed they hadn't slept for the whole night.
Chairman Liu calmly arranged for us to eat. Compared to yesterday, it was much calmer today.
On the other hand, Zhao Yongkun seemed to be in a hurry. He kept urging Chairman Liu and the fat man to prepare.
I didn't know if Chairman Liu had promised Zhao Yongkun something, or if there was something in the Fire God Temple that was important to Zhao Yongkun. That was why he was in such a hurry.
Looking at Zhao Yongkun's appearance, I couldn't bear it even though I had a grudge against him. However, when I opened my mouth, I realized that I couldn't tell him the truth.
To open the Fire God Temple, we needed a sacrifice, and there were only two candidates for this sacrifice.