Mountain and sea lantern

Chapter 581 This is our ancestor
"No need to die, no need to die, it's nothing." Wu Jinliang was very pleased and directly took out the black cloth bag for capturing souls and handed it to him. "I need to help kill something here, so I'll trouble Brother Lao to help capture its soul."

Lao Xi, slightly taken aback after receiving the black cloth bag, tentatively asked, "That's it?"

“That’s it.” Wu Jinliang nodded, pointing to himself and Lao Changtai. “The situation is special and requires some coordination. We don’t have enough manpower, and since Brother Lao is reliable, we have no choice but to trouble him to help.”

Lao Xi thought it was a big deal, but a hint of disappointment flashed in his smile. He still patted his chest and said, "It's no trouble at all."

For him, small favors are worthless, but helping others in big ways is valuable. However, he cannot refuse and must accept it happily.

And so it was settled. Wu Jinliang immediately used his earth-遁术 (earth-遁术 is a type of magic that allows one to burrow underground) to create a large mound resembling a grave. He then left Lao Xi outside while taking Lao Changtai into the mound himself.

Before entering, Wu Jinliang didn't forget to tell Lao Xi, "It's about to begin. Brother Lao, let us know after you've captured the soul."

"Okay." Lao Xi agreed, but was puzzled. What were these two up to? Did killing something and capturing a soul really need to be so complicated?

Even Lao Changtai was a little confused, wondering what this big guy was up to.

Once inside the burial mound, and after seeing Wu Jinliang seal it up, Lao Changtai suddenly understood Wu Jinliang's strategy from beginning to end. He was stunned. Was it really that simple?
Wu Jinliang pulled a coyote out of the bag containing the ice sheep, which had been protected by magic all along, and strangled it to death.

Lao Xi, who was casting spells and keeping watch outside the mound, suddenly saw a point of light fly out from inside the mound. He casually opened his black cloth bag, swiftly swiped it inside, pulled the sealing rope, and tied a knot.

He cast a spell and called out, "Brother Gao, it's done, I've got it."

So the mound opened up again, and the two people crawled out again.

Lao Xi directly presented the tied black cloth bag.

Wu Jinliang took it and felt it, but couldn't feel anything inside. He couldn't detect anything even with his magic. However, he figured the other party was unlikely to lie about this, so he silently accepted it.

Then he asked Lao Changtai for a bill worth one thousand yuan and stuffed it into Lao Xi's hand.

"Oh, it's nothing, no need at all," Lao Xi said, genuinely feeling ashamed of accepting the favor.

Wu Jinliang insisted on giving it to him, saying, "Brother Lao, if there are any unusual developments in Langdangchuan today, please let us know as soon as possible, okay?"

It turned out there really was something to do. Lao Xi immediately accepted without hesitation, grabbed the money, patted his chest and said, "Okay, I'll take care of it. I'll go treat my brothers to drinks."

That's settled.

After seeing Lao Xi off, Wu Jinliang shook the black cloth bag in his hand and said smugly, "Alright, let's just wait for the boss to come in. Come on, let's go to the hill we came from and wait there."

Lao Changtai looked at the bag in his hand and felt a little emotional. He was still thinking about how to fool Lao Xi when killing the creatures from the outside world, and what method he could use to do it properly without arousing Lao Xi's suspicion.

Before any formal communication even began, this big guy Wu got things done so simply and directly. His methods were so crude, yet the result was speechless.

Two hours was the time agreed upon with Shi Chun outside.

When the time came, Shi Chun, who was hiding deep underground, actually put in some effort to burn the incense that would kill him. He didn't know any fire-based techniques, so he could only burn the fuel for the fire.

Fortunately, things went smoothly in the end, and the passage to the underworld reopened.

Shi Chun dashed inside. His right eye had barely scanned the surroundings when he spotted two figures not too far away. It didn't matter that he couldn't see them clearly; he could tell one of them was Wu Jinliang without much effort. He immediately called out, "Jinliang."

Sure enough, Wu Jinliang and Lao Changtai rushed over upon hearing the sound.

"Here you go. I don't know if there's anything inside, but I suppose there should be." Wu Jinliang handed over the Soul-Binding Pouch directly.

Shi Chun took the bag and felt it, but couldn't tell the difference, so he said, "Bring over two more hyenas from the bag outside, just in case."

He turned around and pointed to the location of the entrance behind him.

"Okay." Wu Jinliang agreed and quickly disappeared, returning shortly with the items.

"This place is not safe to stay for long, you should leave for a while..." Shi Chun gave some instructions and then slipped away.

Wu Jinliang and Lao Changtai immediately slipped away. Shortly afterward, Lao Changtai received a message from Lao Xi saying that another soul thief had appeared and the underworld officials had begun their operation.

Back in the outside world, Shi Chun, who had severed the passage between the two realms, waited quietly on the spot. As soon as his right eye's ability stopped, he immediately activated his blood energy to make his right eye's ability reappear.

Holding a knife in one hand, he kept his eyes glued to the soul-binding pouch in the other.

Just then, the woman in red sent him a message, saying she missed him and asking where he was.

Shi Chun glanced at it quickly, but ignored it. He didn't have time to pay attention to it this time either, for fear of misjudging it.

Before long, a yin energy suddenly seeped out from the void. He looked up and saw a golden thread piercing through the air, heading straight for the pocket in his hand like a nimble snake.

He decisively struck with a magic-free blade, severing it, but to his surprise, it continued to spread after being severed.

Immediately afterward, golden threads emerged one after another, coming from all directions, many directly from underground. Even with his chaotic attacks, he couldn't protect them all. The reason he protected them was simply to ensure they were effective; there was no need to actually let the golden threads capture the soul, thus saving him the trouble of finding someone to kill and capture the soul again.

Amidst the constant banging and exploding of blades, Shi Chun had a sudden inspiration. He directly channeled the azure energy of the Demon Bathing Technique to protect the Soul-Binding Bag. Sure enough, the golden thread probes were unable to enter when they touched the azure energy.

Hundreds of golden threads, like snakes, circled around the Soul-Binding Bag, constantly sniffing around.

Shi Chun kept at it, observing the number of golden threads. He also discovered a major problem: unlike when he used the Demon Bathing Technique to concentrate and guide the smoke from the burning incense, he could create tens of thousands of golden threads through the corpses after guiding a large amount of smoke. Only a few hundred thin threads could create a passage that was big enough for a person to pass through. The space that could be supported by these threads was probably no more than the thickness of a finger, and it was impossible for a person to pass through.

He could understand the reason, but most of the smoke from the burning incense failed to reach the corpse and mostly dissipated.

In other words, in the future, if he wants to enter and exit the two realms, he will have to personally participate in burning the incense of death.

However, even if enough golden threads were to grow, he still wouldn't be able to open the passage between the two worlds without his participation, because currently only he can restrain the golden threads and create a passage.

It took quite some time before those futile gold threads gradually faded and disappeared.

Shi Chun breathed a sigh of relief and finished his practice, waiting once again for the next time he had arranged to meet Wu Jinliang...

The Refining Heaven Sect is the number one weapon-refining sect in the cultivation world. Its blessed land spans hundreds of miles, with red clouds and green peaks, waterfalls and beautiful waters. Spiritual birds roam here leisurely and carefree. There are wisps of human smoke, as well as figures flying and landing.

It is a rare place without high mountains, but with many rivers and lakes, like a clear mirror reflecting the sky and earth, or like a ribbon.

On a covered boat, a rather old man with a yellow beard, dressed in a maroon robe, was fishing.

Inside the awning, a figure sat shrouded in a cloak.

Huang Xuhan sighed, "Why are you here again? It's no use you're looking for me. You all know Situ Gu. His mountain is heavily guarded by the sect, and there are also important treasures guarding it. No one is allowed to trespass except for elders and above. I can't even see Zhen'er. I heard that he's been under Situ Gu's nose for a long time. I really have no way to get him out."

The cloaked figure slowly said, "This time is different. The higher-ups have put a lot of thought into this grand scheme. They will transfer Situ Gu away for three days. Luo Yan and many other high-ranking members of the Lian Tian Sect will also leave. This will inevitably lead to some internal reshuffling within the Lian Tian Sect. With your status and position, can't you find an opportunity to make a move in three days? If all else fails, you can create some opportunities for us."

Huang Xuhan pondered for a moment, "It's difficult. As long as people don't come out, I can't get in, and I can't interfere with getting up to that mountain. If I force it, I'll easily be exposed."

The cloaked man said, "It's not easy to orchestrate something big. If you miss it, it won't come around often. This is a rare opportunity, and I've been told to tell you that this time you must spare no expense!"

The meaning of "at any cost" is not hard to understand. Huang Xuhan understood that as long as he could get Zhen'er out, it didn't matter if he was exposed. He was puzzled and asked, "I don't understand, what is so special about Zhen'er that it is worth such a price?"

The cloaked figure said, "I don't know what's going on either, but don't you find it strange that Situ Gu keeps staring at that female disciple? I won't think about anything else. This time, we will give as much support as possible from above."

Huang Xuhan was silent for a while, then said, "If Situ Guruo were here, neither small nor big moves would be of any use. If he were not here, perhaps we could try our best."

Looking back, I saw two towering mountain peaks in the distance.

One of the flat-topped mountains has many caves, showing heavy signs of smoke and fire damage. The other mountain has several old trees and a manor house with pavilions and towers. An arched bridge connects the two mountains.

Upon returning from his trip, Situ Gu Luo arrived at the mountain with its pavilions and towers. After wandering around inside, he came to a closed iron gate.

He cast a spell on the iron gate, and the heavy iron gate immediately began to rotate and split open, shrinking out of the four walls at the entrance.

Before he could even enter, a fair-skinned and beautiful woman ran over. It was Zhen'er from the Divine Fire Domain, and she was also dressed in a maroon dress.

He looked quite dignified, but the moment he saw Situ Guli, he completely changed, yelling at Situ Guli, "You locked me up again! You locked me up again! Let me go! I want to find spring..."

Situ Gu wasn't exactly overwhelmed; he was simply numb to his disciple's antics. Why was he locked up? It was because if he wasn't watching closely, the disciple might escape. Imprisoning him without using any magical artifacts was already quite lenient.

Even the best relationships can't withstand such commotion. Situ Gu realized that he had really been tricked by Shi Chun.

Of course, this statement is somewhat biased. To be honest, Shi Chun probably didn't know that this woman was so troublesome.

It never ends. With his abilities, he finally found a cultivation technique suitable for fire spirits, but he just won't cultivate it. He keeps shouting that he wants to find Shi Chun, and he even yells that he wants to have a child with Shi Chun. You, a fire spirit, are going to have a ghost's child?
This was Situ Gu's nominal disciple, and he was too ashamed to let anyone hear it. The moment he opened his mouth, he felt panicked. He didn't know how he had gotten through these past few days. This wasn't a disciple; this was an ancestor.

He was tired too, so he held up three fingers and said, "Three days. You stay here obediently for three days. After three days, I will take you to find Shi Chun."

The Heavenly Palace is undergoing repairs, and key figures from the ten major weapon-refining sects have been summoned to discuss the repairs. It would be inappropriate for him not to participate, so he must leave for three days. This woman often goes crazy, and he really can't bring her to the Heavenly Palace with him.

Fortunately, he realized that he really needed to discuss a complete solution with Shi Chun, otherwise his apprentice would drive him crazy.

Zhen'er's eyes immediately lit up, "Really?"

"Have I ever lied to you?" Situ Gu retorted, pointing inside.

Zhen'er immediately spread her arms and twirled around, lifting the hem of her skirt, and voluntarily and joyfully turned into the closed space.

Situ Gu didn't want to face it for another second. With a wave of his hand, the iron gate slammed back into place, sealing the entrance. He turned and left.

(End of this chapter)