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Chapter 261 Evil Seed? A Treasure Trove of Heaven and Earth?
"Back then, when the Qiling incident happened, your family's master personally went to investigate the Zheng family and saw those Zheng family members who had already turned into evil beings and were imprisoned in the dungeon of the old house."

"After the Zheng family patriarch failed to ascend, the seven major immortal sects searched the Zheng family's old house inside and out and should have seen those things. Logically speaking, this should not be anything new."

Ji You didn't show any surprise when she heard Ding Yao's words.

The fact that the Zheng family members had become evil beings was little known in the Qingyun world, but it was probably not a secret among the seven major immortal sects.

Logically speaking, Yan Shuyi shouldn't have sent Ding Yao and the other person to tell him something he already knew.

Ji You looked at Ding Yao and asked, "Is this time different from last time?"

As expected, Ding Yao looked up upon hearing the voice: "Young Master is intelligent..."

The fact that all the Zheng family members had become evil beings was indeed known to all seven major immortal sects.

Although they didn't know what kind of evil magic the Zheng family had used, this incident indirectly proved that trying to obtain immortality from the ruins was a pipe dream.

But this time, the seven immortal sects witnessed something completely different.

They followed Dou Yuankong's trail all the way to the outskirts of Anyuan City and indeed found the place where Dou Yuankong had last stayed.

There is indeed a winery there, belonging to the Bu family of Qingzhou, which produces spirit wine brewed with spirit animals.

Most of the wine in Shengjing City was supplied by that winery.

It is said that Dou Yuankong mentioned that winery many times when he was looking for a songstress, and said that things must be of better quality when they are from their place of origin, and that he wanted to try a glass of unblended craft beer.

Upon hearing this, Ji You asked, "So, Dou Yuankong went there on his own?"

Ding Yao nodded: "After he left Shengjing, he wandered aimlessly. He was probably invited by a friend to go to the nearby winery, so he decided to go for a drink. Apart from those courtesans, no one else knew about this."

"The songstress remembers so clearly?"

"Dou Yuankong originally intended to keep her for half a month, which is why the songstress remembered it so clearly."

Ji You opened his mouth after hearing this: "Since the songstress is still alive, it means she didn't go with us?"

Ding Yao coughed and said, "She said it's always just right, and she's tired of serving you."

"Luckily, Dou Yuankong is just an idiot..."

Upon hearing this, Ji You couldn't help but grin, recalling the laptop she had left in her dormitory before coming to Qingyun Tianxia.

Or, to put it another way, the comprehensive history of a laptop browser.

"and after?"

"There's something wrong with that winery..."

Dou Yuankong was indeed unlucky; he ended up at that winery.

What happened is unknown, but the timeframe was similar to when he found it at a farmer's house in Sanli County.

Shan Hai Ge was the first to find the winery. They didn't think much of it and just conducted a routine inspection. However, a fierce battle broke out at the winery that very night.

When the other cultivators arrived, the disciples of the Mountain and Sea Pavilion had suffered heavy losses, which greatly surprised the other cultivators outside the sect.

Because they never expected that a local powerful family could have such fighting strength.

"The seven immortal sects circled around the winery, and the people inside were unable to escape. After the search, the people sent by the immortal sects found a group of people with evil aura in a wild mountain forest. During the encirclement, they turned into evil seeds."

Ji You's eyes widened upon hearing this: "You mean they can transform into evil beings at will?"

Ding Yao nodded: "That's why the seven major immortal sects wanted to suppress the news."

Upon hearing the affirmative answer, Ji You immediately frowned, thinking to herself, "This is terrible!"

The things the Zheng family did back then turned their members into undead, monstrous corpses that looked terrifying, but they didn't actually cause much of a stir.

Because those ghostly things have no consciousness, otherwise they wouldn't have been imprisoned by their own families.

Therefore, they are not driven by humans and are basically like wandering ghosts.

But this time, someone was able to conjure evil seeds at will, and even had their own thought processes.

"It seems that Dou Yuankong has never actually been to the winery."

"?"

Ji You turned to look at the puzzled Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu: "If he really went to the winery, those ghosts should have been alerted when the news of his rescue and return to Shengjing spread. They wouldn't have waited until now to escape. Or, if Dou Yuankong really went in, he would never have been able to come back alive."

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu blinked after hearing this, and then they understood what their son-in-law meant.

It's true that Dou Yuankong went to drink, but he must have discovered the humanized evil seed in the vicinity before even entering the winery, which terrified him and drove him insane.

So the people at the winery didn't actually know he had been there. When Dou Yuankong was discovered in Sanli County, they never expected that the Seven Immortal Sects would trace him back to them.

Ji You then looked at Ding Yao: "Where are the people from the winery?"

"They are more familiar with the terrain of Qingzhou than those disciples of the immortal sects. After several battles, they escaped and are now fleeing in the mountains and wilderness."

"The seven great immortal sects sent disciples twice, and they still couldn't stop these ghostly things?"

Zhuo Wanqiu pursed her lips at this moment: "They did not want to kill them, but ordered that they be kept alive. However, the cultivation level of those people completely exceeded the expectations of the Immortal Sect. After transforming into evil seeds, their bodies became even more rigid and their speed was extremely fast, making them very difficult to capture. So far, they have not succeeded."

After a long silence, Ji You looked at her and asked, "Where are they now?"

"Located in the Dongping Mountains of Qingzhou."

Where is your appraiser?

"After this incident, Tianjian Peak sent a large number of people to Qingzhou. The Master of Appraisal also left the mountain. Before leaving, she instructed us to follow the young master for the next few days."

The information blockade of Qingyun Tianxia is not truly airtight, especially when certain things are completely unexpected, it cannot be kept completely secret.

So, within a few days, news began to spread that a fierce battle had taken place in the Dongping Mountains.

However, no one knew that this matter was related to Dou Yuankong, and no one knew the mysterious events hidden behind it.

Some people speculated that a dispute had broken out among the local aristocratic families in Qingzhou, but this was later clarified by the Qingzhou aristocratic families. As a result, some people speculated that some kind of precious natural material that had been nourished by the sun and moon had appeared in the Dongping Mountains.

Such speculation, which easily attracts covetousness, naturally draws widespread attention.

Inside the inner courtyard, on the east side of the Purple Bamboo Zen Forest, lies a stone pavilion built of white marble.

He Lingxiu, a disciple of Zizai Hall, was inviting everyone to have tea and casually brought up this matter.

In fact, the He family had also participated in the investigation of Dou Yuankong, but after the case was closed, the people sent by the He family were dismissed from Qingzhou by the seven major immortal sects.

She felt that the treasures of the Dongping Mountains must have been discovered during the investigation of Dou Yuankong. Her He family was closely connected with the Tianshu Academy due to marriage ties, so if there were indeed treasures of the world, they might be able to get a share.

Fang Jincheng, who was sitting on the south side of the tea table, shared the same idea.

Since entering the inner courtyard, this grandson of Elder Fang has been living a life of great prestige, considering himself superior to others. He has stopped associating with his former friends and instead prefers to hang out with He Lingxiu and her group.

In his view, only these disciples of the Immortal Palace are worth befriending nowadays.

Also present, drinking tea with them, was Lu Hanyan, the second young lady of the Lu family.

After Miss Lu Er entered the inner courtyard, Lu Xiong used his spiritual core to pave the way, which can be considered as using his daughter to open up connections for his family.

This has always been the way of making friends in Qingyun Tianxia, ​​especially the Lu family, who started out with spirit mines and are well-versed in this.

However, Miss Lu seemed to be less comfortable in such situations, and she simply sipped her tea without making a sound.

"It is extremely difficult to go from the Fusion Realm to the Heavenly Realm. I have been trying to step into the next realm since the Heavenly Dao Assembly, but I have no clue what to do."

"If my Heavenly Academy obtains this treasure, it might be able to help me and make my breakthrough easier."

He Lingxiu sat facing the others, holding her teacup and murmuring something.

Upon hearing this, Shi Junhao and Xiao Hanyan crossed their arms and fell into deep thought.

When they accompanied the Great Xia delegation to the snowy region, they received a promise that they would be selected as personal disciples after entering Yingtian Realm.

However, everyone knows that after entering the Upper Five Realms, each realm is more difficult than the previous one. Even for a genius like a direct disciple of an immortal sect, it takes countless hours to break through a realm.

They originally intended to find another way, planning to enter the sacred land of the ancient sages to attain enlightenment and break through to higher realms, but in the end, it was all for naught.

Thinking of this, they couldn't help but recall Ji You, who had spent more than half a year in the sacred land of the sages but had not even entered the realm of Dao integration.

Like Tang Jingming from Zhongzhou, they also felt that Ji You had wasted their opportunity.

Thinking of this, Xiao Hanyan couldn't help but raise her eyes to look at the crowd in front of her: "It seems like we haven't seen Ji You for the past few days?"

He Lingxiu snapped out of her reverie about the precious materials of heaven and earth: "Didn't he go back to Fengzhou to do some autumn harvest?"

"I'm back now."

"After his cultivation level got stuck at the Profound Realm, I paid less attention to him, and I really didn't know he was back."

He Lingxiu originally had high expectations for Ji You, otherwise she wouldn't have tried to win him over through marriage so many times.

But how could someone who has hit a bottleneck at the Profound Realm, even if their combat power exceeds their current level, continue to pique her interest?

He Lingxiu then looked at Lu Hanyan and said, "A few days ago, your father asked me to introduce you to some talented young men. I have been keeping this in mind. There will be a banquet at Dongyuan in a few days. Would you like to come with me?"

Lu Hanyan looked up upon hearing this: "Thank you, Senior Sister. However, I am currently at the mid-stage of the Profound Realm and need to go into seclusion. Could we discuss this matter in a few days?" "Of course, after all, cultivation is the most important thing."

Upon hearing their conversation, the people at the tea table couldn't help but exchange glances.

Everyone at Tian Shu Academy knew that the Lu family had always wanted to marry their daughter to Ji You, and the Second Miss Lu herself also had this intention.

It is said that when she was learning swordsmanship from Ji You, she would still whine even when she was being spanked.

This was the first time they had learned that when Lu Xiong delivered the spirit core to the Zizai Palace, he had asked He Lingxiu to act as a matchmaker for him.

This is not surprising, after all, the Profound Realm is indeed not very useful for a family that specializes in spirit stones...

However, Miss Lu's answer clearly showed a delaying tactic.

She probably didn't want to waste the connections her father had painstakingly built, but deep down she still longed for Ji You.

Yu Shiliu, who was sitting at the tea table with them, understood this mentality.

Who isn't like that?

She remembered that after watching Ji You slay Yan Hao, she was in a daze for a long time.

So much so that it would change its silk trousers every morning and would subconsciously chase after him in Rusheng Garden. Only now that the enchantment has been removed did it realize that he was just a rural hermit who could not break through to the next realm.

As the group chatted, a flying sword brimming with spiritual energy suddenly descended from the sky, passing through the Heavenly Academy's protective array amidst a flash of mysterious light.

Attracted by this aura, everyone immediately turned to look.

The head of the academy, He Tong, who had left the academy earlier, landed on his flying sword, then waved his sleeve and went straight to the Free Immortal Palace.

"Bu Qirong?"

"Yes, the leader of the mutated evil species in that winery is a collateral branch head of the Bu family in Qingzhou."

Zuo Qiuyang stood deep within the main hall, turning to look at Lang Hetong: "Where are the Bu family members?"

Lang Hetong shook his head: "The house is empty, and everyone is missing. However, the matter that the Palace Master asked us to investigate has now been clarified."

Zuo Qiuyang reached out and took the letter from his hand, gazing at it for a long time.

The Bu family is also a very ancient family, but it has gradually declined over the years.

In the world of Qingyun, there are quite a few such aristocratic families, many of whom have been forgotten, and the most common result is that their populations have gradually declined.

For this reason, these aristocratic families would generally engage in some business to maintain their wealth, such as grain stores, trading companies, wineries, or brothels.

Logically speaking, there aren't many scions from such aristocratic families who can even cross the threshold of the Lower Three Realms Perfection.

But Bu Qirong's level of achievement is indeed somewhat surprising.

"A fifty-year-old Tongxuan Realm cultivator reached the Yingtian Upper Realm in just one year...?"

"Yes."

Zuo Qiuyang said expressionlessly, "No wonder it was so difficult to catch."

Upon hearing this, Lang Hetong looked up from the main hall and said, "Such speed is definitely not normal. I wonder if this exaggerated leap in realm is related to their ability to transform into evil species."

Upon hearing this, Zuo Qiuyang's gaze deepened...

News about the Bu family's mutation into an evil species, as seen at places like the Heavenly Academy, continued to circulate secretly, sparking much discussion.

As people came and went, many more, unaware of the truth, believed that there must be a treasure hidden in the mountains.

Meanwhile, on the official road from Shengjing to Qingzhou, a carriage rented from the Shengjing post station was speeding along.

Because the immortal sects and aristocratic families have been making constant moves during this period, one can sense the extreme quietness in the county towns and villages of Qingzhou as soon as one enters the city.

Aside from government officials, only a few scattered people were seen on the road, all in a hurry.

Inside the speeding carriage, Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu sat upright like ladies, staring at Ji You who was deep in thought. They then exchanged a glance, a hint of doubt flashing in their eyes.

After they told the groom what the appraiser had instructed them to do, the groom didn't say anything else and immediately decided to come to Qingzhou.

We have been traveling a long way, day and night without stopping.

Even now, they still don't understand why their son-in-law would get involved in this mess after hearing about these things.

In their view, the matter of the evil seed had little to do with the young master, but it was extremely dangerous. Even if something was found, it would inevitably fall into the hands of the immortal sect. No matter how you looked at it, it was not worth getting him involved.

Bang, bang, bang—

The carriage jolted and swayed as it sped along.

The Great Xia Kingdom had been in decline for a long time. Apart from the newly repaired official road in Fengzhou and the official road in Yunzhou repaired by the Ling Shi Merchant Guild, the roads between other prefectures and counties were basically in a state of disrepair.

During the bumpy ride, Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu were round and bouncy, almost bursting out of their skin the whole way.

In ancient times, women's bodices were mostly made of silk, which was soft and smooth and did not have a binding function. It was normal for them to jump around freely in such situations.

When she confirmed that the appraiser truly wanted to marry Ji You, she changed her address to "Young Master" and from that moment on, she no longer treated Ji You as an outsider.

Moreover, she had grieved for Ji Youying for a long time back at the Heavenly Dao Assembly.

Ji You sat upright and pondered for a long time before realizing the very active bouncing in front of her. After watching it for a while, she couldn't help but think to herself, "Are you accumulating anger points for your pain-averse appraiser?"

The weather in Qingzhou has been very gloomy for the past few days, with large swaths of dark clouds covering the sky, so much so that even during the day it feels like dusk.

As the carriage turned into the mountains, thunder rumbled in the sky, as if a heavy rain was about to fall.

Ji You lifted the carriage curtain and looked out the window.

Along the way, in many villages and towns, one could see scenes of ramming earth with wooden stakes, as if repairing earthen houses before the heavy rain.

Kuang Cheng had told him before that the torrential rain in spring had actually destroyed many houses, which must have left a shadow on the lives of the people...

After passing through the town, the carriage gradually entered the boundless wilderness, and the Dongping Mountains were getting closer and closer to them.

As far as the eye could see, leaden clouds hung low, almost brushing against the jagged peaks, while the mountains, which resembled lurking beasts, lost their layers of light and became a blurry and enormous silhouette, as if a blunt knife had scraped the outline of the iron-gray sky, stretching across the east and west, seemingly without end.

The mountain is covered with lush vegetation, which has grown so densely over thousands of years that even sunlight cannot penetrate it.

Among such vast and continuous mountain ranges, humans are indeed as insignificant as ants.

"The Dongping Mountains are that huge?"

Zhuo Wanqiu nodded after hearing Ji You's voice: "Qingzhou is different from Fengzhou, which is scattered with mountains. Here, the plains are vast, while the mountains are almost all concentrated in this area, making the overall area even larger than Qiling."

Ji You frowned slightly: "No wonder they chose to escape here; they really are not easy to find."

Cultivators arranged by the Immortal Sect patrolled the outer perimeter of the Dongping Mountains with a wary expression.

So they didn't decide to get off there, but instead went around along the mountain road to the back.

The carriage slowly came to a stop by the roadside when the wilderness stretched out to the horizon. The three of them then jumped off the carriage and gazed up at the mountains for a long time.

"I'm going into the mountains, but it's too dangerous inside. You two shouldn't go. Find a town nearby and wait for me."

Zhuo Wanqiu and Ding Yao exchanged a glance: "The appraiser is also in the mountains now, let's go with the young master."

Ji You pondered for a long time: "Then don't stray too far from me, and be careful."

"Yes."

Ji You did not insist that they wait outside, and then walked through a secluded forest into the Dongping Mountains.

Qingyun Tianxia prioritizes the path of immortality and has virtually no civil engineering or construction.

Apart from the dojos of immortal sects and aristocratic families, most of the mountainous areas are wild lands without roads.

Ji You led the two women through the area for a long time before they could vaguely see some old trees that had been cut down and some bloodstains dripping onto the leaves.

These should be the traces left by the disciples of the seven major immortal sects who came to hunt down the Bu family.

"Could it be that you, young master, are also... interested in the matter of the evil seed?"

"I don't know..."

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu whispered to each other behind them, and then they saw Ji You follow the traces they could find and move forward, gradually entering the mountains with towering peaks.

Looking up again, all that could be seen above was a gloomy sky, and high mountains surrounded the surrounding area.

After a long time, they gradually began to see a sparse glimmer of light moving through the dense forest.

“Young master, ahead of us are probably outsiders from some immortal sect, using magical artifacts to illuminate and search for the Bu family.”

Upon seeing these points of light, Zhuo Wanqiu immediately looked at Ji You.

Upon hearing this, Ji You stopped and observed for a while before looking at them: "They should be heading southeast. We'll head due east."

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu looked somewhat bewildered after hearing this.

They didn't understand why they had to avoid the disciples of the Immortal Sect; it felt as if they were evil beings hiding in the mountains.

(End of this chapter)