Mountain and sea lantern

Chapter 594 Situ's Visit
Situ Gu seemed uncomfortable with beating around the bush and asked directly, "What are you doing?"

"Senior, it's like this, the owner of the library in Dazhi City has three daughters and one son..." Shi Chun then recounted his promise to the woman in red to take on a disciple, and finally emphasized, "To be honest, if it weren't for going to help that young lady find you to become her disciple, and I happened to go to the Lian Tian Sect, I really wouldn't have run into the demonic sect's actions. I'm afraid I wouldn't even know who kidnapped Zhen'er."

"Senior, I only wanted to gain some influence with the Empress's confidants, which is why I boasted about it. That girl is actually terrified of the Extreme Fire Sect and just wants to be known as your disciple to protect her family. As for teaching and mentoring, it's up to you. You can teach her if you want, or not if you don't."

Facing the important figure, Wu Jinliang nodded repeatedly in agreement, "That's right, it's just a nominal position, it doesn't matter if we don't care later."

Situ Gu turned around, his wide robes billowing in the wind, and faced the vast天地 (heaven and earth), he refused without hesitation, "No! When I accept disciples, it means the Lian Tian Sect is accepting disciples. How can a sect recruit disciples? I am an elder of the Lian Tian Sect. If I act recklessly, what will become of the sect's rules? I also have my bottom line."

Unexpectedly, he refused so decisively. Shi Chun was speechless and wanted to ask him, "Where is your bottom line when you accept gifts?"

After a moment's thought, he immediately changed his tune, "Senior, I have no choice but to do this. Not to mention myself, Zhen'er is different from normal people and has been targeted by the demonic path. If I don't find some connections to protect myself, how will I take care of Zhen'er in the future? Will I have to ask you for help with everything?"

Wu Jinliang glanced at him discreetly. The chief was talking about the future without even knowing where the real people had been kidnapped or whether they could be rescued.

Situ Gu remained silent for a while, then slowly lowered his gaze and said, "I'll take that female disciple from the academy."

He changed his mind so decisively that Wu Jinliang was completely taken aback. He couldn't help but look at this senior with newfound respect, realizing that even the senior's bottom line could fluctuate at any time.

Shi Chun quickly bowed repeatedly to express his gratitude.

Situ Gu was uninterested in such formalities and turned to look at him, "Let's rescue her first. She's in the hands of the demonic path, and Huo Ling's identity should have already been exposed. Once we rescue her, we need to find a way to extricate her from all this trouble."

Wu Jinliang felt a toothache upon hearing this. This matter was not so easy to resolve, but from the way this person described it, it didn't seem too difficult.

“That’s right, that’s right. Senior is right. I will definitely give her a proper arrangement and make sure to give Senior a satisfactory explanation.”

Shi Chun, determined to send the person to the underworld, took on the responsibility.

Situ Gu said, "Let's go. If there's nothing else, let's get going."

Shi Chun paused for a moment, then asked, "Where to?"

Situ Gu: "Naturally, we're going to capture them. The demonic path hidden in the Phoenix Clan's sacred mountain in Juku Continent—didn't you say it's the same lineage as the one that kidnapped Zhen'er?"

Shi Chun exclaimed in surprise, "That Jiang You'er's status in the Demonic Path is probably not that high. What's the use of capturing him? It's unlikely we can get Zhen'er back."

Situ Gu: "I need to find someone to deliver a message to that lineage of demons: if we don't arrest him, can you find anyone else from that lineage?"

"So that's how it is," Shi Chun said with a wry smile. "The demonic path is used to hiding, so it's not so easy to find them. If it's just to deliver a message, then going to find them is fine. Um, I wonder what message you want to deliver to the demonic path, senior? You don't need to go to all that trouble; I can pass it on for you."

Situ Gu: "I'm just passing by the library, you can help me identify the people there."

After thinking it over, Shi Chun immediately agreed, "Alright, we'll do as you say, senior. By the way, when Zhen'er was kidnapped, after I made a commotion, did the Refining Heaven Sect disciples go after the kidnappers? Didn't they catch a single one?"

Situ Gu shook his head. "They escaped, we lost them. We didn't catch a single one, which is quite strange to us. Now that you say they're from the demonic path, those people have many tricks up their sleeves, so it's not surprising they escaped. However, the two Xun Gates that led out were sealed off in time. No one is allowed to leave without permission. To prevent anyone from taking advantage of the situation, the Heavenly Court even sent an elite force to personally participate in the sealing off after they found out. Those demonic cultivators are already trapped in Yan Continent and can't escape. Well, dragging this out is not good for Zhen'er and will probably make her suffer more. Let's go to the Phoenix Clan's Divine Mountain to find them first."

After speaking, he cast a spell to lift the two of them into the air, intending to take them away with him.

This startled the two of them; not knowing that the other party had the privilege of flying in the capital was secondary.

Shi Chun hurriedly cried out, "Senior, please wait! The entrance to Jukuzhou is currently checking the two of us. We need to use some tricks to get in. Please go ahead first, and we'll meet up in Jukuzhou later."

Wu Jinliang nodded hurriedly, "Yes, yes, you see how tall and strong I am, it's easy for me to be spotted."

Situ Gu didn't say much, just grunted and waved his hand to let them go, then disappeared in a flash.

The two brothers, who had been looking at each other in bewilderment, breathed a sigh of relief. After causing trouble at the Eastern Victory Royal Court, they didn't want anyone to know that they had left Jukuzhou, a typical case of a guilty conscience.

The way back to Jukuzhou is the same old way: go deep underground, first pass through the Underworld, and then head to Jukuzhou...

Shortly after Situ Guqing's dark figure disappeared into a Xun Gate, three Heavenly Court soldiers dressed in red armor emerged from a Xun Gate leading to Yan Continent not far away.

After the three of them came out, they immediately flew away, but they didn't fly far. After finding a suitable place, they all disappeared into the depths of a mountain forest.

After checking the surrounding environment and confirming that there were no problems, they quickly changed out of their red armor and changed their appearance again. One of the men with yellow beards was none other than Ju Shihong, the hall master of the patrol hall of the Lian Tian Sect.

The other two were none other than the two top experts who led the kidnapping of Zhen'er.

After changing their appearances again, the three quickly left the mountains and forests. They flagged down a carriage on the road, changed carriages again upon entering the city, walked for a while, and then changed carriages again. After repeating this several times, the three finally appeared on foot in front of a secluded mansion.

After going around to the backyard, Gu Shihong, who was looking around, followed the other two people over the wall into the yard and headed straight for a house.

The room is divided into inner and outer rooms, with a beaded curtain and gauze curtain separating them.

The three people standing in front of the curtain could see a figure pacing behind the gauze curtain.

"Young Master." The two leaders bowed and greeted him. Upon hearing this, Ju Shihong's expression turned solemn, and he quickly followed suit.

The person behind the gauze curtain spoke, their tone unpleasant, "Didn't you say we could leave safely once we got the person? Why did you cause such a commotion?"

Ju Shihong hurriedly said, "Reporting to the Junior Commander, the evacuation was going smoothly, and we don't know how a huge explosion suddenly occurred."

One of the experts in the group spoke up in support, "Shao Si, this sudden change is indeed a bit strange."

The man behind the gauze curtain paced back and forth before asking, "I heard you were being chased. Are you sure you didn't expose your identities?"

Another expert in the same field said, "We used a little trickery and fooled them all. We managed to escape smoothly, so we probably didn't expose our demonic identities."

The man behind the veil snorted, "Fortunately, some of the Heavenly Court's forces this time have a weakness that I have, otherwise you wouldn't be able to escape so easily. Where is the person? Did you bring them out?"

The expert who had just spoken immediately took a Qiankun bag from his waist and presented it with both hands, saying, "Shao Si's information is correct. This woman is indeed a fire spirit. She won't die in a short time if she's kept in the Qiankun bag, which makes it convenient to bring her out this time."

The gauze curtain and beaded curtain were parted, and a gray-clad man with a clearly human skin mask on his face and no expression walked out. He took the Qiankun bag into his hand, used magic to examine it, and then waved his hand to release an unconscious woman out of thin air. He put one arm around her waist and let her lie in his arms, admiring and looking her over.

After a moment, he clicked his tongue and said, "It really is a fire spirit, it really is a fire spirit. A fire spirit that has cultivated into a human is really rare."

Ju Shihong chimed in from the side, "Shao Si, she is not only a fire spirit, but also a spirit born from the reversal of extremes, a water flame that is extremely rare among divine fires."

"Oh!" The man in gray admired the beauty in his arms again. "Since Situ Gu is taking such good care of her, she must be hiding a great secret."

Hearing this, Gu Shihong hesitated for a moment, but still reminded her, "Shaosi, based on my understanding of this woman, she seems to think differently from normal people. She seems very willful, and since she is not made of flesh and blood, I am worried that interrogation may not be able to get her to talk."

The man in gray stroked Zhen'er's face as if admiring a fine work of art, and said with a smile, "It's alright. It just so happens that an elder recently mastered the 'Searching God Technique,' which is extremely difficult for my demonic path to cultivate. Don't you think this is heaven helping us? When the elder arrives, all the secrets in her spiritual consciousness will be revealed to us."

Upon hearing this, the three people beside him fell silent, actually feeling a chill run down their spines. Someone had mastered the legendary "Searching God Technique." In that case, not only would the secret of the Fire Spirit be lost, but their secrets would also be exposed in the future.

At the foot of the sacred mountain that faces Yaoshan City across Jukuzhou, two figures flashed and descended from the sky.

The one in the dark blue robe was Situ Gu, and the other in the maroon robe was Shi Chun, who had disguised himself as a disciple of the Lian Tian Sect and was serving Situ Gu.

As for Wu Jinliang, his height was a real problem, so he didn't come along.

The two walked down the mountain gate, which resembled a small town. Shi Chun admired Situ Gu. Damn it, he didn't even bother to inform his own sect or the Phoenix Clan before barging into their home to arrest people. Wasn't he afraid of causing trouble?

Personnel from the sacred mountain have already come to stop and question them. Those who can guard the gate here have specifically studied the clothing of some top sects to prevent them from looking down on others.

After getting closer and seeing clearly the characteristics of Shi Chun's clothing, he immediately asked politely, "May I ask who you two are?"

Shi Chun immediately announced loudly, "Please inform the goddess that Elder Situ of the Refining Heaven Sect has come to visit."

As soon as he said those words, he actually felt a sense of smug satisfaction, and his nostrils practically flew to the sky.

The interrogator was taken aback, not expecting that the person in front of him was Situ Gu, the number one weapon refiner in the cultivation world. He immediately bowed respectfully and said, "Greetings, Senior Situ. Please wait a moment, I will inform him immediately."

Then he turned and ran, telling people to quickly report the news to the mountain.

Looking at the towering mountain gate archway, Shi Chun thought of the mountain-guarding formation. He glanced down at his Lian Tian Sect disciple robes and suddenly had an idea. He asked in a low voice, "Senior, have you ever seen the 'Big Dipper Spirit-Repelling Formation'?"

Situ Gu didn't open his mouth, but directly transmitted his voice: "I came here once before specifically to see this formation. The formation is indeed mysterious, and I have never been able to figure it out."

Shi Chun said in a low voice, "Senior, could you make an excuse to take another look? Could you take me to the core of the formation to broaden my horizons? We can arrest people after we've seen it, right?"

(End of this chapter)