Peach Blossoms in Chang'an

Chapter 256 The storm is coming

The night fell on the abandoned factory. Wu Tao and Hu Bugui sneaked into it. The air was filled with the smell of oil and dust. The roar of the machines was like the roar of wild beasts, which was frightening. They found the entrance to the basement according to the markings on the map. The entrance was locked with a thick iron chain, obviously to prevent outsiders from entering.

Hu Bugui pulled out a dagger from his waist, and with a flash of cold light, the iron chain broke. He pushed open the heavy iron door, and a cold breath hit him. The basement was brightly lit, and a group of men in black were busy moving something. When they saw Wu Tao and Hu Bugui, they were stunned at first, and then rushed over.

"Protect Master Wuzhu!"

A fierce fight broke out in the empty basement. Wu Tao and Hu Bugui stood back to back, working in perfect harmony to knock down the men in black one by one. Wu Tao was agile, and the Emei Spear in his hand was like a spirit snake spitting out its tongue, and every move was deadly; Hu Bugui's fists and feet were as powerful as the wind, and his fierce offensive left the men in black powerless.

At this moment, an old voice came from deep in the basement, with a hint of teasing and ridicule: "Haha, I didn't expect that you could find this place..."

Wu Tao and Hu Bugui looked at each other, and at the same time they had an ominous premonition. They slowly walked towards the direction of the sound, and saw an old man in a black robe and holding a dragon-headed cane slowly walking out of the shadows. His face was full of traces of time, but his eyes were bright and seemed to be able to see through everything.

"Who... are you?" Wu Tao asked with a hint of vigilance in his tone.

The old man smiled coldly, his eyes revealing an air of looking down on the world: "I am the Lord of 'Destiny', you can call me...Wuzhu."

"Wuzhu?!" Wu Tao and Hu Bugui were shocked. This title seemed to come from ancient times. Could it be...

"That's right," the witch seemed to see through their thoughts and continued, "I am a wizard who has existed in the world since ancient times. I have the ability to control the power of heaven and earth."

As soon as he finished speaking, the witch slammed the dragon-headed cane in his hand to the ground, and the entire basement began to shake violently. Ancient runes appeared on the walls, emitting a strange light. Wu Tao and Hu Bugui suddenly felt a powerful force imprisoning them, unable to move.

"How dare you mortals trespass into my territory? You are courting death!" The witch's voice was icy cold, as if it came from the Nine Nether Hell.

Wu Tao and Hu Bugui struggled desperately, but to no avail. At this critical moment, a familiar voice sounded in Wu Tao's ears: "Tao'er, don't panic, I'm here to help you!"

Wu Tao was delighted, it was the voice of that ancient wise man!

"Can you hear me?" Wu Tao asked in his heart.

"Yes," the ancient wise man said anxiously, "The situation is critical now. Let me make it short. This witch comes from ancient times and has great magical powers. You are no match for him..."

"Then what should we do?" Wu Tao asked anxiously.

"Only by using the power of the magic weapon of time travel can we defeat him..."

Before the ancient wise man finished speaking, the witch's attack came. He formed seals with his hands and muttered something. A black lightning bolt fell from the sky and struck Wu Tao and Hu Bugui directly...

"Tao'er!" Hu Bugui roared, and threw Wu Tao to the ground, but he himself took the blow... Black lightning exploded on Hu Bugui's back, and he groaned in pain, and his body pressed heavily on Wu Tao. Wu Tao was stunned by this sudden change. She looked at Hu Bugui in horror, only to see that his face was pale and a trace of blood oozed from the corner of his mouth.

"No return!" Wu Tao screamed heartbreakingly and tried desperately to push him away, but found that her strength was so small.

"Tao'er, I'm fine..." Hu Bugui tried to suppress the severe pain and force a comforting smile, but his injury was aggravated and he started coughing violently again.

"It's already this late, and you still say everything's fine!" Wu Tao's tears welled up in her eyes. She had never been so scared as she was now, scared of losing him.

"Ahem... Taoer, don't cry, listen to me..." Hu Bugui raised his hand with difficulty, wanting to touch her cheek, but it dropped down weakly.

"No return!" Wu Tao held his hand and burst into tears.

"Tao'er, do you still remember... the magic weapon for time travel..." Hu Bugui's voice became weaker and weaker, and his consciousness began to blur.

"A magic weapon that can travel through time?" Wu Tao was stunned. Suddenly, the words of an ancient wise man emerged in his mind: "Only by using the power of a magic weapon that can travel through time can we defeat him..."

"Yes... the magic weapon for time travel..." Hu Bugui nodded with difficulty, "Only it... can... save us..."

"But I don't know how to use it!" Wu Tao was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

"Feel it with your heart...it's right beside you..." Hu Bugui's voice became lower and lower, as if it would disappear at any time.

At this moment, the voice of the ancient wise man sounded in Wu Tao's ears again: "Tao'er, don't panic, the magic weapon is with you, feel its power with your heart!"

Wu Tao closed her eyes, concentrated her mind, and tried to feel everything around her. Suddenly, she felt a warm force coming from her chest. It was a jade pendant that she had been wearing when she traveled through time.

"Is this it?" Wu Tao asked in his heart.

"Yes! That's it!" The ancient wise man's voice was filled with excitement. "Quick, inject your thoughts into it and activate it!"

Wu Tao took a deep breath and focused all her thoughts on the jade pendant. In an instant, the jade pendant emitted a dazzling light, and a powerful force gushed out from her body, enveloping her and Hu Bugui.

"Now!" the ancient wise man shouted, "Use this power to defeat him!"

Wu Tao opened her eyes, her eyes full of determination. She stood up, pointed the jade pendant in her hand at Wu Zhu, and said coldly: "Today, I will make you pay for what you did!"

The light from the jade pendant grew brighter and brighter, illuminating the entire basement like daylight. Wu Tao and Hu Bugui's bodies were lifted up by an invisible force, suspended in mid-air. The jade pendants in their hands seemed to have turned into two sharp swords, pointing directly at the witch.

"Hmph, you don't know your own limitations!" The witch snorted coldly and swung the dragon-headed cane in his hand again. Black lightning bolts fell from the sky and struck Wu Tao and Hu Bugui.

Wu Tao and Hu Bugui were not afraid at all. The jade pendants in their hands emitted an even brighter light, blocking the black lightning one by one.

A world-shaking battle has begun...

However, just as Wu Tao and Hu Bugui were gradually gaining the upper hand, the light of the jade pendants in their hands began to gradually fade...

The light of the jade pendant flickered like a candle in the wind, and Wu Tao and Hu Bugui's hearts sank. They were forced into a corner, and black lightning fell like raindrops. Every time they dodged, it was like dancing on the edge of a knife. Hu Bugui's injuries worsened, and there was more and more blood at the corners of his mouth, but he still protected Wu Tao tightly, not letting her get hurt.

"Bugui, we can't go on like this. The power of the magic weapon is about to disappear!" Wu Tao shouted anxiously, with a hint of despair in his voice.

Hu Bugui was panting heavily, his forehead was covered with cold sweat, but he still held on, his eyes firm: "Tao'er, don't be afraid, I won't let anything happen to you!"

"But..." Wu Tao looked at the increasingly dim light, feeling powerless. Are they really going to die here? No, she was unwilling to accept this!

At this moment, Wu Tao suddenly had an idea. She remembered the knowledge about energy conversion in modern society. If other forms of energy were converted into the energy required by the jade pendant, would it be possible to enhance its power?

"Ancient wise men, can you hear me?" Wu Tao called out in his heart.

"Child, I'm here." The voice of the ancient sage was still steady and powerful, as if giving Wu Tao a glimmer of hope.

"I have an idea..." Wu Tao told the ancient wise man his idea about energy conversion and asked eagerly, "Do you think it's feasible?"

The ancient wise man was silent for a moment, and seemed to be thinking about the feasibility of this plan. Just when Wu Tao was about to despair, he finally spoke: "It is feasible in theory, but..."

"but what?"

"However, you need to find a powerful source of energy and complete the transformation and guidance of energy in a very short time. Otherwise, if you fail, the power of the magic weapon will disappear completely, and you will also..."

The ancient wise man said nothing more, but Wu Tao understood what he meant. This was a risky gamble, but it was their only hope.

"I'm willing to give it a try!" Wu Tao's eyes were firm, without any hesitation.

"Tao'er, what are you going to do?" Hu Bugui noticed that Wu Tao was acting strangely and asked worriedly.

"Trust me, I won't come back." Wu Tao gave him a reassuring look, then closed his eyes and began to build a model of energy conversion in his mind, looking for usable energy sources around him.

Suddenly, she felt a strong energy fluctuation not far from them. It was...

"Bugui, give me the jade pendant!" Wu Tao suddenly opened his eyes, with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

Although Hu Bugui didn't know what Wu Tao was going to do, he handed the jade pendant to her without hesitation and chose to trust her unconditionally.

"That's it!" Hu Bugui followed Wu Tao's gaze and his face instantly became solemn. That was where the leader of the mysterious organization was, and a frightening energy was emanating from him.

"Let's go for it!" Wu Tao took a deep breath and raised the jade pendant above her head. Under the guidance of the ancient wise man, she began to try to guide the powerful energy and transform it into the energy form required by the jade pendant.

The whole process was extremely dangerous. If one was not careful, all the previous efforts would be wasted, or even get burned. But Wu Tao was extremely calm. She had only one thought in her mind: to survive, to survive with Hu Bugui!

As time passed, the light of the jade pendant grew brighter and brighter, and finally turned into a dazzling beam of light that shot up into the sky. The attack of the mysterious organization leader was completely disintegrated by this powerful force. He widened his eyes in disbelief, let out an unwilling roar, and finally disappeared in the light.

"We won?" Wu Tao looked at everything in front of him, somewhat unable to believe it.

"We won!" Hu Bugui hugged her in his arms, his tone full of relief and joy for surviving the disaster.

However, before they could recover from the joy of victory, something strange happened. The jade pendant, which was originally radiant with light, suddenly became dim and a strong suction force enveloped them.

"Tao'er, be careful!" Hu Bugui's face changed drastically. He felt a powerful force tearing their bodies apart, as if it was going to drag them into an endless abyss.

"Bugui, hold my hand!" Wu Tao held Hu Bugui's hand tightly, his fingertips turning white from the force.

"Tao'er..." Hu Bugui looked at Wu Tao's panicked eyes, and a deep sense of powerlessness surged in his heart. He wanted to say something, but found that he could no longer make any sound.

Time and space began to distort, and everything around them became blurred. At this moment, Wu Tao felt the jade pendant in her hand suddenly become hot, and a powerful force pushed her and Hu Bugui back violently...

"Tao'er!"

Hu Bugui suddenly opened his eyes and found himself in an unfamiliar forest. He looked around and anxiously called Wu Tao's name, but got no response.

"Tao'er, where are you?!"