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Chapter 301 The Dan Sect is in Trouble
Ji You's original intention was to find the Night Watchman and find out the way back of the Body Refinement lineage, but to his surprise, what he found in the end was a news of a death from a hundred years ago.

This has indeed resolved many questions.

For example, the Night Watchman clearly came from the Heavenly Academy, so why did so many people from the Heavenly Academy not know anything about him when he asked them?

Because more than a hundred years has passed, many traces can indeed be erased.

And then there was that half-scroll of the immortal book he had found. His biggest question back then was how such a thing could have been casually thrown into the wilderness.

Now I understand that if a person dies, it's not surprising where their belongings end up.

However, this answer also raises more new questions.

For example, if the Night Watchmen are truly guarding the four directions, then why did the Immortal Sect attack them?

And why did the Night's Watch, such an important figure, not cause any ripples after his death, and why is it that only one opera troupe in the world still remembers him?

The most crucial and chilling thing is...

If the Night's Watch were to lose its tradition, what would become of the night that it had guarded for generations?

Ji You didn't sleep all night, pondering these questions, but couldn't find the answers.

This is, after all, an old story from over a hundred years ago.

If he hadn't happened to encounter a theatrical troupe performing a funeral for an immortal, he might never have known this old story.

The practical impact of knowing or not knowing is not too great. The only certainty is that the current cultivation path, which focuses on body refinement, will likely require me to explore it all over again.

I listened to the spring rain all night in my small building; dew dripped from the bamboo tips, wetting the morning crows.

On a clear morning after the rain, Ji You got out of bed, washed up, and went to the courtyard.

Now that the matter of the Night Watchman had been resolved, there was no need to look for him anymore. He would now focus on body tempering and continuing to advance through the trials, so he decided to bid farewell to the opera troupe.

However, when he arrived at the courtyard, he saw the troupe leader, the young actress, the martial arts actor, and the old actor sitting together whispering about something, each of them looking uneasy.

Good morning, everyone.

The troupe leader looked up upon hearing the voice and saw Ji You walking towards him, saying, "It's the young master. Did you sleep well last night?"

Ji You nodded: "Not bad, the spring rain awakens spring, it has a unique elegance."

"Fengxian steamed pumpkin early this morning. Would you like some, young master?"

"No, a cup of morning tea will do. I'll be on my way after I finish this."

The troupe leader was somewhat surprised: "Young master, are you leaving already?"

Ji You sat down on the stool and made herself a cup of tea: "I've already heard the ending of the story, so there's no need to dwell on some things anymore. There are still things to do after this."

"After you've finished your tea, we'll see you off, young master. The post station in Pingxi County is in a remote alley; it's not easy to find."

"Thank you."

As Ji You sipped his tea, he suddenly noticed that the young actress looked somewhat uneasy, as did the martial arts actor and the old man. After observing them for a while, he couldn't help but ask, "It's only early morning, why do you all look so anxious?"

The group exchanged glances and couldn't help but purse their lips.

They felt that since Ji You was able to hear the last play, which was not to be told to outsiders, it meant that the Grand Master thought this person was trustworthy, so they did not hide it from him.

"Young master, you may not know this, but it seems that the Lang family has run into trouble since we left Zhongzhou."

Ji You was somewhat surprised after hearing this: "Trouble?"

The troupe leader then picked up the conversation, saying, "The immortal's funeral needs to last for nine days. Our play only lasted for eight days, so I didn't dare to ask for the money before I left. I only left a man named Liu Zizaxing in Kang Le County, thinking I would ask for the money after everything was over. Then this happened."

After hearing this, the young actress couldn't help but say, "The message from Liu Zi arrived this morning, saying that the Lang family patriarch has indeed risen from the dead and even bit a member of the family to death."

What does "zombie resurrection" mean?

"We don't know what happened either, but we are still very scared."

As the young actress spoke, she couldn't help but curl up into a ball.

The young martial arts performer couldn't help but turn pale: "It seems Liu Zi won't be coming back..."

That's what it's like to work for the immortals. Although you earn more than others, you have to bear the risk of life and death. If you're not careful, you'll lose your life.

After pondering for a while, Ji You raised her head again and looked at them: "It really is a zombie coming back to life. In other words, you thought it would come back to life before. Why is that?"

The young actress spoke up upon hearing this: "Young master, when the Lang family called us away that day, they specifically asked us if we had sung a play about a corpse rising from the dead. I found it strange at the time and suspected that the corpse had risen from the dead. Also, when Qiu Ge sang the inner hall, he saw a figure in the mourning hall."

Upon hearing this, the martial arts performer immediately waved his hand, saying, "I only caught a fleeting glimpse; I didn't see it clearly, so it's not appropriate for me to say anything."

Listening to their conversation, Ji You's brows gradually furrowed.

There is no concept of reincarnation in the Azure Cloud Realm, and the idea of ​​a corpse coming back to life is just a folk belief. He has never heard of such a thing happening to cultivators.

To rise from the dead?

Could it be some kind of life-extending secret technique...?

Ji You held the teacup, pondered for a long time, and then put it down.

The matter of the Night Watch had already exhausted his mind, and he had no heart to think too much about other things. He simply told everyone that there were countless secret techniques for cultivators, and perhaps it was just a misunderstanding.

Since the people didn't understand the matter of cultivating immortality, they could only comfort and reassure each other.

After finishing their morning tea, they saw their elderly grandmaster again. He formally bid farewell to everyone and left the courtyard with the troupe leader, heading towards the post station in the city.

"The journey ahead is long and arduous; I wish you a safe and peaceful journey, sir."

"Thank you, Master. We'll meet again someday."

"See you soon."

Ji You bid farewell to the troupe leader and boarded the carriage at the post station.

He needs to go to Baiyang City in Qingzhou first.

Although Pingxi County is located in Yunzhou, the nearest major city is Baiyang City in the southwest of Qingzhou.

Ji You has run out of spirit stones, and the only place with spirit stone shops is Baiyang City.

In addition, he had already reserved a place in Kang Le City so that incoming and outgoing letters could be forwarded to Bai Yang City for his signature.

Besides buying spirit stones, he also wanted to check if any messages had arrived.

At dawn, the carriage moved slowly, and Ji You had already closed his eyes and entered a meditative state to rest.

The journey from Pingyang County to Yunzhou on the official road takes about an hour, and the entire route is a bumpy dirt road.

By the time they reached the official road, the sun had begun to dispel the mist and was slowly rising.

However, just as the sun reached its zenith, Ji You suddenly felt a shift, so he broke his meditation, opened his eyes, and found that the carriage he was riding in had veered to the left.

"Get out of the way!"

"When the immortal sects travel, ordinary people should stay away!"

A whooshing sound came from afar, and the magical artifacts mounted on the carriage quickly created a strong gust of wind.

Ji You lifted the curtain and looked outside, discovering that a caravan from the Xuan Yuan Immortal Mansion was passing by, with the immortal sect flags fluttering in the wind.

It wasn't until the caravan had passed by that the driver dared to steer his carriage back to the starting line.

Ji You didn't pay any attention to this until they crossed the border of Yunzhou and reached the direction of Qingzhou, when the carriage veered off course again.

The roads in Yunzhou are relatively wide because they are used for transporting spirit stones, but the roads in Qingzhou are different.

The official road in this area was already narrow, and a slight deviation pulled the carriage directly down the slope of the road.

The driver was still chatting away ahead, boasting about his excellent driving skills.

Ji You did not reply, but watched the convoy bearing the banner of the Chen Clan drive past her, her brow furrowing slightly.

The disciples of the Immortal Sect usually sit in seclusion in the deep mountains year-round and would not usually make such a large-scale trip unless something happens.

Moreover, cultivators can use their spiritual energy to fly through the air. They do not choose a means of transportation for short distances, but only for long distances, fearing that their spiritual energy will be exhausted, will they choose a carriage or a celestial ship.

Now it's both the Xuan Yuan Immortal Mansion and the Chen Clan Immortal Clan, and they seem to be heading in the same direction. Could it be that something else is happening?
As they pondered, the carriage slowly entered Baiyang City in Qingzhou.

As soon as Ji You entered the city gate, he saw the carriages that had passed by earlier resting.

The innkeeper fed the horses hay in the street, and then the disciples of the immortal sect did not linger and boarded their carriages one after another to head south.

Ji You jumped off the carriage, paid the coachman, and continued to watch the departing carriages.

These are not ordinary members of the sect; some of them have quite high cultivation levels.

After watching for a long time until the carriages disappeared down the long street, Ji You turned around and went to the spirit stone shop in the city, where he spent a large sum of hard-earned money.

Body tempering is a trap.

Ji You counted the silver notes, grumbling under his breath. He initially chose body tempering because he needed to quickly increase his combat power, and also because it eliminated his reliance on pills and spirit stones.

But now it seems that retribution is inevitable, it's just that the time hasn't come yet.

Fortunately, Ji You is no longer as poor as before.

With the increase in productivity in Fengzhou, coupled with the trade with the demon race, Ji Zhai's annual profits were enough to support his cultivation.

After buying the spirit stones, Ji You went to the Wulu Trading Company in the city.

Sure enough, the business kept a message for him.

Ji You unfolded the letter, glanced at it lightly, and couldn't help but furrow her brow slightly.

He then tucked the letter into his sleeve, and with a whoosh of spiritual energy, he headed south, crossing the city in the blink of an eye.

The letter was sent from Lingzhou, and the handwriting belongs to the Junior Master of Lingjian Mountain.

There were only four characters inside: "The Dan Sect is in trouble."

Yan Shuyi is quite proud and has never sent letters to me since we met, except for replies to my own.

For her, replying to a letter was a reward from a stranger, but sending a letter first meant that she missed him a little.

Therefore, unless the situation was truly urgent, Yan Shuyi would not have specifically notified him, let alone written it herself instead of having Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu do it for her.

Whatever happened, let's go and see first.

Above the clouds, Ji You used spiritual energy to fly through the air, then gracefully landed on the mountaintop. Relying on her pure physical body, she stepped forward and leaped through the air as if flying.

His spiritual energy was already greater than that of ordinary cultivators, and with the strength of his physical body, he was able to travel across the sky in the blink of an eye.

Qingzhou and Liangzhou are adjacent, but because Danzong is located in the eastern part of Liangzhou, the distance is not very close.

Several days later, Ji You arrived at the foot of Dan Mountain, travel-worn, and saw that countless carriages bearing the banners of immortal sects were already parked at the foot of the mountain, arranged in a staggered pattern along the mountainside.

These carriages were all entirely black, with bronze horn bells hanging from them. Under the vermilion and gold-painted cloud-patterned canopies hung silk curtains that fluttered in the mountain wind, almost identical to those he had encountered on the official road in Yunzhou.

It turns out those carriages were all heading to the Pill Sect...

Ji You muttered to himself, then walked along the mountain path.

He did not see the Dan Sect's protective array activated, and he is still unclear about what happened.

It wasn't just the carriages that remained at the foot of the mountain; there were also some disciples of the Immortal Sect guarding the area. Those with higher cultivation levels stayed where they were, while those with lower cultivation levels watered their horses by a river that ran around the mountain.

As the footsteps drew closer, the disciples who remained behind all looked up at Ji You, their eyes showing a hint of surprise.

"Ji You, why is he here?"

"The woman from the Dan Sect seems to be Ji You's Daoist partner."

"Didn't the Dan Sect publicly claim that this was a rumor?"

"Perhaps Ji You wanted to marry her, but Dan Zong forbade it. However, it seems that there was a secret affair between the two of them. Yuan Caiwei spent her New Year in Shengjing."

"Didn't the Pill Sect intend to form a marriage alliance with the Mountain and Sea Pavilion? This..."

"They don't live together, and besides, the Mountain and Sea Pavilion's desire to form a marriage alliance with the Pill Sect isn't simply for a woman; it's for the priceless pills."

At this moment, Ji You was walking up the mountain, facing the cool spring breeze towards the mountain gate. As the altitude gradually increased, a towering three-legged furnace came into view.

This is Danxiaping in Danzong, a vast area built according to the mountain's contours. There are nine drops from the mountain gate upwards, leading to the mountaintop.

When he last visited Danzong, he often saw disciples practicing the Xuan Yu Dan Shou at Danxia Ping, but now Danxia Ping was filled with cultivators from various immortal sects.

They wore distinctive immortal robes; some stood with their hands behind their backs, some overlooked the sea of ​​clouds, and others savored medicinal tea accompanied by alchemists.

Besides these people, there were also some people who were neither disciples of the Immortal Sect nor alchemists of the Pill Sect, gathered in a corner, some old and some young.

They are usually accompanied by an alchemist, who seems to be observing these cultivators.

Just like the disciples at the foot of the mountain, as Ji You arrived at Danxia Ping, the immortal sect members couldn't help but turn their heads to look at him.

These people were older and had a stronger aura than those at the foot of the mountain. When they saw him, their eyes instantly turned to surprise and wariness, followed by hostility.

Ji You's decision to cut off the supply of spirit stones offended the entire world. No cultivator who needed to comprehend the Dao liked him, so this reaction was not surprising.

He did not linger at Danxiaping, but turned around and chose a secluded mountain path, then headed towards the back of the mountain.

The atmosphere at the Dan Sect was strange; it didn't seem like something big was happening, but rather like a simple gathering.

However, because the Dan Sect lacks combat power, it has been in a semi-closed state for many years. Even if immortal sects come to visit, they may not invite all of them to the mountain. Therefore, the gathering of so many immortal sect disciples here is a problem in itself.

However, you can't guess anything just by guessing, so it's better to ask Yuan Caiwei directly.

The Dan Sect is in trouble...

He didn't think Yan Shuyi was making baseless accusations. This girl was most afraid of meeting Yuan Caiwei alone and having her man stolen, so she would never joke about something like this.

Ji You traversed the mountain, rushing past peaks shrouded in mist, and landed in a small courtyard with a bamboo house built with twelve green bamboo stalks as its frame and a cantilevered structure.

He discovered that Yuan Caiwei's residence was empty when he used his divine sense to investigate.

squeak-

Ji You pushed open the door and entered, and saw an elegant room with a tea table, a writing desk, a painting table, and a bed, all arranged in an orderly manner.

Soon, his gaze was drawn to the painting table by the window.

On the table is an unfinished painting of the New Year's Lantern Festival, and the figure in the painting is clearly his own.

Ji You reached out towards the painting tube and unfolded some of his old works to look at them. As he looked, his expression gradually became strange.

Why are there so many people not wearing clothes?

This one has her chest exposed...

As he looked at it, he saw himself in the painting, sitting down, his vigorous posture almost piercing the paper.

Yuan Caiwei has always presented herself as knowledgeable, gentle, and dignified, with a smile that never reveals her teeth and a gentle demeanor. It was unexpected that she would create such a masterpiece in private.

The key point is that the ink on the scroll has aged, indicating that it was not painted after the New Year's Eve dinner.

This reminded him of when he first came to Danshan and was tricked into the medicinal pool by Yuan Chen.

When Ji You woke up, there was a silk cloth covering her legs, but Yuan Caiwei insisted that she hadn't seen it. Only now did Ji You realize how clearly Yuan Caiwei had observed her back then.

If this gets out, I reckon I'll really have fiancées all over the world.

Just then, Ji You heard footsteps, so he slightly concealed his breathing and looked outside, then pushed open the door and went out.

The newcomer was a young girl dressed as a maid, carrying a sieve filled with medicinal flowers. After entering the courtyard, she walked to the bamboo rack as if she was going to dry them. She was startled when she heard Ji You open the door and immediately turned around.

"Son-in-law...?"

"?"

Upon hearing this form of address, Ji You's eyes showed a hint of confusion.

Since he was certain that he had never seen Yuan Caiwei's maid, then correspondingly, this little maid should also have never seen him.

However, the next moment, as the maid's gaze involuntarily shifted downwards and her face flushed slightly, Ji You finally understood why she recognized him.

That girl Yuan Caiwei, she doesn't even put her painting away properly after she finishes it.

The young maid was quite outgoing; otherwise, she wouldn't have dared to call him "Young Master" so readily. She introduced herself as Jiyue, Yuan Caiwei's personal maid.

"And what about your young lady?"

"Replying to the young master, the young master has been forced into voluntary seclusion, and my young lady is guarding his place."

Ji You's lips twitched upon hearing this. "Forced voluntary, please?" she thought. "Where are they in seclusion? Can I go see them?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Yue immediately waved her hand: "Their secluded cultivation place is in the Yao Guang Hall at the very top. There is an order within the sect that no one is allowed to approach them at will."

"Do you know why so many disciples of immortal sects have come to Dan Mountain?"

"I don't know exactly what happened, but the sect leader gave an order yesterday that, apart from the alchemists sent to Danxia Plain, everyone else should stay in the courtyard and not leave."

"And what about your sect leader?"

Ji You felt that the most important thing now was to find out what had happened. Since she couldn't see Yuan Caiwei and Yuan Chen, she could only go to find the sect leader.

To everyone's surprise, Ji Yue frowned slightly upon hearing this: "The sect leader is ill and is recuperating in the Jade Balance Hall."

"Is the sect leader of the Dan Sect, who is known for his ability to bring the dead back to life and heal the wounded, ill?"

"I don't know about this either, but that's what the clan says..."

(End of this chapter)