Chapter 525: Two Hundred Years Later
Six years later, Yu Nianzhen and Jiang Yue were still at it.
Originally, they thought the deadline was five years.
However, five years came and went.
Although they were relieved, they were not complacent.
After heaving a sigh of relief, they continued their work and didn’t stop until their puppet shell was almost fully assembled.
"It’s almost been seven years." Jiang Yue whispered and then continued.
"Do you think the deadline is ten years?"
"Maybe." Yu Nianzhen answered but frowned.
"What’s on your mind?"
"Maybe there is no deadline. Maybe our conditions in the next room will depend on our performance in this room."
Hearing that, Jiang Yue looked at his and Yu Nianzhen’s almost fully assembled puppet shells.
After that, he looked across the room at Wang Peng and Song Ruoqi.
"You and I will be done within a month." Jiang Yue said and Yu Nianzhen nodded.
After working for so many years, their puppet shells had taken shape.
At the moment, the two puppets looked like tigers with only a few pieces missing.
"Let’s hurry up and get it done." Jiang Yue urged and Yu Nianzhen smiled.
Three weeks later, the two completed their puppet shells and Jiang Yue couldn’t help but sigh in relief.
"There are no more parts." He said and Yu Nianzhen chuckled.
"It’s done." The swordsman started and wanted to say something else.
However, at this time, a door appeared and the two felt a compulsion to pass through it.
"Two fellow Daoists, have you finished your task?" Wang Peng looked up and asked.
"Fortunately. What about fellow Daoist Song and fellow Daoist Wang?" Jiang Yue asked.
"We are still working hard." Wang Peng said and everyone looked at the two incomplete puppets.
At a glance, Jiang Yue could see their progress.
If nothing went wrong, the two would be able to complete their task in one or two years.
"Work hard and don’t give up." Jiang Yue encouraged.
"Thank you, fellow Daoist Yu." Song Ruoqi said and Jiang Yue nodded.
After that, he and Yu Nianzhen walked out of the room and the door disappeared behind them.
"It’s been a long time since we were alone." Yu Nianzhen suddenly said.
"What are you thinking?" Jiang Yue chuckled and looked at his Taoist companion with a doting look in his eyes.
"I am not thinking anything. What are you thinking?" Yu Nianzhen argued and Jiang Yue snorted.
However, they both understood the situation.
Although they were alone, they weren’t actually alone.
For now, it was best to complete their task and leave the ruin as soon as possible.
"I hope the eventual rewards will be worth all the effort we have put in." Jiang Yue said and looked around.
As expected, there was no writing on the walls.
However, there was a huge pile of parts in the middle of the room.
"It seems we need to assemble the core of the tiger puppet." Jiang Yue said and Yu Nianzhen nodded.
"Fellow Daoist Wang may be in trouble." The swordsman said and Jiang Yue looked at him in question.
"It will take close to or more than five hundred years to construct the core. If nothing unexpected happens, fellow Daoist Wang will miss his tribulation."
Hearing this, Jiang Yue frowned.
However, there was nothing he or Yu Nianzhen could do.
"Let’s do our best to complete the tasks. If we can get a complete puppet inheritance, it will be a huge benefit for our Cangxing mountain." He finally said.
"Mmmm." Yu Nianzhen agreed and the two got to work.
One and a half years later, Wang Peng and Song Ruoqi finally entered the fifth room.
By this point, Jiang Yue and Yu Nianzhen had only just started to assemble the tiger core and their progress was almost negligible.
"We are in the same room again." Wang Peng said excitedly.
"Have the two fellow Daoists been okay?" Jiang Yue asked while looking at the two.
"We have been okay." Wang Peng nodded and answered.
"What about fellow Daoist Yu and fellow Daoist Jiang?"
"We are also okay. As expected, the task in this room is to assemble the puppet core. There are no instructions." Jiang Yue said and then looked at the two.
"Two fellow Daoists, do you want to enter the time formation?" He asked.
"What about fellow Daoist Yu and fellow Daoist Jiang?" Song Ruoqi asked.
"The two of us are not in a hurry. We will not enter the time formation."
"Not in a hurry?" Song Ruoqi was surprised and looked at the two suspiciously.
In their current situation, it didn’t make sense for anyone to not be in a hurry.
However, Jiang Yue didn’t plan to explain.
Instead, he looked at the two people and waited for their answer.
"I want to enter the time formation." Wang Peng agreed and Song Ruoqi immediately followed.
Hearing this, Jiang Yue waited for the two to sort their puppet parts before putting them in the time formation.
’This is all the help I can give.’ Jiang Yue thought and looked at Yu Nianzhen.
"We have done what we can. Everything else depends on them." Yu Nianzhen said.
"I know."
After that, the two continued to work on their puppet cores.
Two hundred years later, Jiang Yue looked at the assembled puppets and couldn’t help but be surprised.
"It was easier and faster than I expected." He said.
"We have spent a lot of time studying puppetry. I guess we have unknowingly become masters." Yu Nianzhen said.
However, he was also surprised.
Yu Nianzhen didn’t expect to become so proficient in puppetry.
Still, the two were a little happy about their achievements.
"XiaoYue, have you grown to like it? Do you want to become a puppet master?" Yu Nianzhen asked but Jiang Yue rolled his eyes.
"I may be proficient but my heart is not in it. It’s good to have the knowledge but I don’t plan to pursue this dao in the future." Jiang Yue said and looked at his lover.
However, before Yu Nianzhen could say anything, Jiang Yue burst into laughter.
"What’s wrong?" The swordsman questioned.
"You are a swordsman. It’s unlikely you will fall in love with the puppet dao."
Hearing this, Yu Nianzhen also laughed.
"You are right. Swordsmanship is my second love and has an irreplaceable position in my heart."
"Second love?"
At that, Yu Nianzhen pulled Jiang Yue and kissed him on the lips.
"I feel the same way for my swordsman." Jiang Yue said and happily returned the kiss.
However, the two didn’t linger for too long because a door suddenly appeared in the room.
"It’s time to go to the next room." Yu Nianzhen said and Jiang Yue nodded.
"Azhen, fellow Daoist Wang and fellow Daoist Song are still in the time formation. What should we do?"
If it was an ordinary formation, Jiang Yue wouldn’t care.
He would leave it behind and let the two come out when they were ready.
However, the time formation was different.
To arrange it, Jiang Yue used a grain of the sand of time.
These grains of the sand of time were priceless treasures he encountered in the Cangxing world.
No matter what, Jiang Yue didn’t want to lose a single grain.
"They have been in there for two thousand years. Why have they not come out?" Jiang Yue couldn’t help but frown.
Yu Nianzhen also frowned when he considered the matter.
"Let’s have a look." He said and Jiang Yue agreed.
Soon after, the two discretely checked the time formation and found the two people had already completed their task.
However, rather than come out of the formation, they chose to stay inside to supplement their cultivation.
"It’s not a bad plan." Jiang Yue said.
"It’s time for them to come out." Yu Nianzhen suggested.
After that, the two subtly called Wang Peng and Song Ruoqi.
Less than an incense stick later, four people stood in the fifth room.
"Congratulations on completing your task and improving your cultivation." Jiang Yue said while looking at the two.
"Everything is thanks to fellow Daoist Yu and fellow Daoist Jiang." Wang Peng said and bowed.
At the same time, Song Ruoqi also bowed and looked at the two gratefully.
"Since we are all here, let’s enter the next room." Yu Nianzhen said and everyone agreed.
Soon after, everyone walked through the door and entered the sixth room.
However, the sixth room was vastly different from the previous rooms.
As soon as they entered, the four people were immediately separated.
By the time they realised they were no longer together, each of them was trapped in a small room.
Like previous rooms, the room was made of blue stones and it had no door or window.
’Should I use the golden teleportation talisman to find Azhen?’ Jiang Yue wondered but soon shook his head in denial.
’I am not in immediate danger so he should also be safe. For now, it’s best to figure out the rules of the task. After that, I will decide what to do.’
