A magical journey of a sharp-tongued woman and a goofy man

Jiang Ye supported Ye Shuli's neck with his left hand, while the Big Dipper pattern was burned into the palm of his right hand by bronze powder.

The bronze fragments embedded in his coccyx for three years are awakening, climbing up his spine and exploding in excruciating pain between his ribs, a mixture of ice and fire.

"Those ants who should have died three months ago." The Dark Messenger reformed his body from the particles of light; three claw marks appeared on his black iron mask. "I underestimated the gift of the bronze gate."

The blood droplets coughed up by Ye Shuli hovered in mid-air, then were absorbed into fine red mist by the fragments of divine essence.

She stared at the bulging veins on Jiang Ye's neck—the star trail map they had discovered three months ago at the bronze gate was now emerging along the veins in his neck.

"Don't use that!" She grabbed Jiang Ye's belt, but touched hot bronze shavings.

The gear-like sounds coming from underground grew increasingly rapid, resonating with the humming of the divine fragments.

The Dark Messenger lashed out seven bone whips, the ghostly flames at their tips scorching in the air.

Jiang Ye suddenly grabbed Ye Shuli's bleeding left shoulder and pressed his blood-stained palm against the Big Dipper pattern.

The bronze powder ignited upon contact with blood, condensing into a translucent star shield on his back.

The moment the bone whip struck the star shield, Jiang Ye spun around and flung Ye Shuli into the holy light array set up by the purification master.

As the bronze star shield shattered, fragments shot out and cut his cheek. Blood splattered onto the claw marks on the Dark Messenger's mask, and surprisingly, smoke rose from them.

&34; Twelve gates... &34; Ye Shuli suddenly opened her eyes wide when she fell into the Holy Light Array.

The star chart recorded three months ago when he passed through the bronze gate perfectly overlaps with the star trails flowing through Jiang Ye's veins at this moment.

She suddenly grabbed the hem of the Purification Master's robe: "Give me three Holy Light Stones!"

The Dark Messenger's bone whip wrapped around Jiang Ye's ankle, slamming him against the stone wall engraved with star maps.

When Jiang Ye crashed into the mural, shattering it, a bronze gear hidden in the mural's layers suddenly shot out.

Those mechanical parts that should have failed three years ago are now automatically embedded into the Big Dipper pattern on his back.

&34; So this is the key. &34; The Dark Messenger's bone whip transformed into a giant python, its fangs piercing Jiang Ye's right shoulder, &34; It's a pity you won't live to see it—&34;

The Holy Light Array suddenly exploded, revealing seven golden threads.

Ye Shuli pressed the three Holy Light Stones into the blood hole in her left shoulder. After absorbing the holy light, the divine fragments condensed into a bronze-colored light blade.

She used the Cloud-Stepping Steps that Jiang Ye had taught her three months ago. The moment the light blade cleaved through the giant python's fangs, the phantoms of twelve bronze gates lit up one after another on the ground.

Jiang Ye coughed up blood and laughed.

The bronze gears embedded in the back began to turn, perfectly matching the rhythm of the mechanical sounds coming from underground.

He seized the broken python fang and plunged it back into the Dark Messenger's chest: "What you should fear is her excellent memory."

The Dark Messenger shattered the python's fangs and retreated ten feet, his mask completely shattered.

Ye Shuli then noticed that his face was covered with prism patterns identical to those on the Sage's Scepter, and those patterns were frantically absorbing the energy of the Holy Light Stone.

"Then!" The Purification Master tossed out twelve copper coins.

Jiang Ye bit the string of copper coins in mid-air, and as the veins on his forehead bulged, the gear set on his back quenched the copper coins into bronze arrows.

Ye Shuli's light blade cleaved through the shield surrounding the Dark Messenger, tearing a crack in the bronze arrow.

The moment the arrowhead pierced the prism's pattern, a roar came from underground as the gate opened.

The Dark Messenger's body suddenly stiffened, and the prism patterns beneath his skin began to reverse.

Jiang Ye knelt on the ground, blue smoke rising from the gear assembly on his back—the forced activation of the bronze gate mechanism caused blood beads to seep from all the meridians in his body.

"How dare you..." The Dark Messenger's roar was cut off by the bronze gate that rose from the ground.

When Ye Shuli lunged at Jiang Ye, she saw that the blood vessels in his pupils had spread into a complete prism structure, exactly the same as the planetarium they had seen deep inside the bronze gate three months ago.

The Holy Light Array suddenly trembled violently.

The Purification Master's white robe was torn in three places by an invisible force. He stared at the slowly opening bronze gate, and suddenly all the prayer beads in his hand snapped in two: "Quickly seal his Heavenly Spirit Acupoint!"

Ye Shuli pointed her fingers at Jiang Ye's brow, but instead touched scalding bronze fragments.

The foreign objects that had been embedded in his coccyx for three years were now flowing up his spine toward his brow, turning the whites of his eyes bronze.

The grinding of gears from underground grew increasingly urgent, and the screams of the Dark Messenger mingled with the rumble of the bronze gate, creating a piercing sonic boom.

As the illusory image of the twelfth gate took shape on the ground, Jiang Ye suddenly grabbed Ye Shuli's wrist with his other hand.

The gears on his back cracked under the strain, and the prism structure in his pupils began to rotate in reverse.

Ye Shuli heard the breathy sound squeezed out of his throat, which was the secret signal they had agreed on three months ago when they were trapped in the bronze gate.

Release!

The light blade formed from the Holy Light Stone suddenly changed direction, and Ye Shuli personally pierced it into Jiang Ye's heart.

Jiang Ye's knee slammed into the pile of rubble with a dull thud, while the gears on his back emitted a piercing metallic screeching.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, the bronze fragments making a crunching sound between his teeth.

The illusory images of the twelve bronze gates projected pale blue spots of light onto the ground, creating an eerie echo with the prism patterns flowing in reverse on the face of the Dark Messenger.

"You damn mechanism..." He spat out blood mixed with bronze powder, his right hand gripping the half-eaten python tooth stuck in his shoulder blade.

The wound scalded by the Holy Light Stone was festering at a visible rate, but the clicking sound of the gears turning became clearer and clearer—the bronze part that had been stuck in the coccyx three years ago was now vibrating wildly along the spinal nerves.

The Dark Messenger raised his hand to wipe away the fragments of his mask, and prism patterns crept onto his eyelids: "You think the key to the bronze gate is so easy to obtain?" The black light condensing at his fingertips suddenly exploded, transforming into thirty-seven bone nails that hurtled straight at Jiang Ye's heart.

Ye Shuli's Cloud Steps left afterimages along the edge of the Holy Light Array.

The bloody hole in her left shoulder was plugged by three holy light stones, and the bronze light blade vibrated and buzzed in her palm.

Three months ago, the star chart that was rubbed at the bronze gate suddenly appeared in his mind—the rhythm of the gear set on Jiang Ye's back rotating perfectly matched the frequency of the thirty-second axis of the star instrument.

"Three to the left, five to the right!" The moment she shouted, Jiang Ye had already rolled to the side towards the illusory image of the second gate.

The bone nail pierced through his fluttering robe and embedded itself in the stone wall, the exploding black mist corroding the murals into honeycomb-like holes.

Just as the Dark Messenger was about to raise his hand, the bronze light spot beneath his feet suddenly became blindingly bright.

Ye Shuli's light blade cleaved the connection line between the fourth and seventh light spots, and the energy accumulated by the Holy Light Array surged in along the patterns of the gate's phantom image.

The string of copper coins thrown by the purification master automatically arranged themselves into a star-like shape in the air, with each coin precisely embedded in the groove of the gear set on Jiang Ye's back.

Open!

Jiang Ye roared and arched his back, the bronze-colored air waves from the gear set sending rubble flying everywhere.

The prism pattern on the Dark Messenger's face suddenly distorted. He staggered and pressed his hand to his chest. His black robe was torn open with seventeen rips by an invisible force—each rip corresponded to the star trail mark that Ye Shuli had carved on the bronze gate three months ago.

Ye Shuli's light blade pierced through the black mist at that moment.

The bronze blade, infused with divine power, sliced ​​through the dark messenger's protective aura, branding a charred Big Dipper mark on his left rib.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Jiang Ye threw out a piece of poisoned python fang, which accurately embedded itself into the mechanism hub that they had set up in the dome three days earlier.

Suddenly, a rain of bronze rained down from the temple dome.

Thirty-six thousand fingernail-sized gears poured down like a torrential rain, automatically adhering to Jiang Ye's back under the effect of the holy light array.

The Dark Messenger's attempt to teleport suddenly froze—the illusory gate beneath his feet had somehow formed chains, and the prism patterns were frantically drawing away his primal power.

"How dare you use my power..." The Dark Messenger's roar was drowned out by the sound of gears turning.

The bronze component on Jiang Ye's back had expanded to three times its original size, and bluish-purple electric sparks flew from the meshing of the twelve sets of linked gears.

Ye Shuli suddenly reversed the light blade and stabbed it into her left shoulder. The shockwave generated by the divine fragment absorbing the energy of the holy light stone swept away the remaining dark aura of the dome.

The purification master's white beard was whipped straight by the shockwave: "Quickly cut off the energy circuit!" The Buddhist beads he threw exploded into golden dust above Jiang Ye's head, but were instead absorbed by the gear set and turned into pale golden light.

The prism-like patterns on the Dark Messenger's face began to crack, and the cold light unique to bronze gates shone through his skin.

Jiang Ye's pupils had completely transformed into the prism structure of an astrolabe. He raised his hand and grabbed Ye Shuli's bleeding wrist.

The moment their palms touched, the star chart they had seen three months earlier deep within the bronze gate suddenly materialized—108 bronze stars floated in mid-air, forming a mirror image that was completely opposite to the face of the Dark Messenger.

&34; Break! &34;

Amidst Ye Shuli's stern shout, the bronze star fell like a meteor.

The black mist protecting the Dark Messenger was pierced, creating a honeycomb-like gap. The dark power he tried to gather was transformed into replenishing energy for the Holy Light Array the moment it touched the star chart.

The gears on Jiang Ye's back emitted a roar like a dragon's cry, and the twelve illusory gates suddenly contracted into bronze chains, firmly pinning the Dark Messenger's limbs to the ground.

The temple floor tiles began to crack.

The purification master suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, and the broken Buddhist prayer beads in his hand burst forth with dazzling golden light: "The gate is about to materialize!"

Ye Shuli pulled Jiang Ye back seven steps, and a giant bronze gate suddenly rose from the spot where the Dark Messenger had been standing.

Thick black mist poured out from the crack in the door, but was purified into silver specks of light the moment it touched the star chart.

The Dark Messenger's screams abruptly ceased—his body was being dragged toward the door crack by bronze chains, and prism patterns peeled off his skin like the receding tide.

&34; No!

This is... mine... His fingertips scratched five bloody marks on the door, and his pupils suddenly reflected the scene inside.

The gears on Jiang Ye's back stopped turning at this moment, and the twelve copper coins popped out of the grooves and burned to ashes in mid-air.

As the last wisp of black mist disappeared through the crack in the door, the massive bronze gate slammed shut.

Ye Shuli staggered and fell to her knees. Three holy stones rolled out of the wound on her left shoulder and smashed into the ground, creating a charred crater.

Jiang Ye reached out to help her, but suddenly heard a metallic cracking sound from behind—the overloaded gear set was disintegrating, and bronze fragments mixed with blood splattered all over the stone wall.

"Your back..." Ye Shuli's voice was stuck in her throat.

Beneath Jiang Ye's tattered clothes, the skin that was once embedded with gears was now covered with bronze-colored veins, the lines of which were spreading along his shoulder blades toward his heart.

The Purification Master's exclamation came from the other end of the Holy Light Array: "Quickly leave the gate's domain!"

The entire temple suddenly trembled violently.

The star chart on the dome began to shift, and the bronze animal heads sleeping in the murals opened their bloodshot eyes one after another.

Jiang Ye grabbed Ye Shuli's wrist with his backhand, his fingertips touching the pulsating fragments of divine essence on her wrist—three months ago, on a rainy night, they used this kind of resonance to open the first bronze gate.

"Southeast corner!" Ye Shuli suddenly pointed to the third pillar.

The defensive array patterns they repaired there seven days ago are now glowing with a familiar bronze light.

Jiang Ye dragged her across the rubble, the blood flowing from his back leaving a winding bronze mark on the ground.

The temple shook more and more violently.

The purification master's white robes were torn to shreds by an invisible force, and the scrolls in his hands spontaneously burned into golden butterflies: "The gate is about to open a second time!"

When the twelfth floor tile shattered, Ye Shuli finally touched the core rune stone of the defensive array.

The moment she pressed her blood-stained palm against it, the bronze veins on Jiang Ye's back suddenly shone like lava.

The defensive array, which had been unable to be activated for three months, was now slowly unfolding, emitting azure and gold light.

The vibration suddenly stopped.

Ye Shuli's pupils contracted sharply—the light screen projected by the defensive array was displaying prism patterns that were exactly the same as those on the surface of the bronze giant gate.

Jiang Ye let out a muffled groan. The bronze veins on his back were resonating with the defensive array, and the outline of the astrolabe was faintly visible under his skin.

"Don't let go!" The Purification Master's roar cracked.

The scene outside the defensive array began to distort. A black mist hundreds of meters high rose from where the bronze gate had been, and a sickening metallic scraping sound came from within the mist, as if thousands of gears were turning at the same time.

Ye Shuli's fingertips dug deeply into Jiang Ye's wrist.

As she watched the increasingly clear prism pattern on the defensive array's light screen, she suddenly recalled that fateful rainy night three months ago—when Jiang Ye first touched the bronze gate, the blood beads seeping from his back had drawn similar star trails on the ground.