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Chapter 470 The Secret to Soaring to the Heavens

The sounds of fierce fighting gradually faded into the distance from the camp.

The hawk's piercing cry, like a strange trick, continued to pierce everyone's hearts, causing them to tremble with fear.

Among the villagers, an old man wept and said to his children and grandchildren, "Your grandfather has lived for more than sixty years, and this is the first time I have ever seen an official of our Ming Dynasty risk his life to personally lure away evil spirits in order to save a group of common people!"
Regardless of whether Lord Xu returns alive or not, we should still build a shrine for him…

The village headman gazed into the darkness with eyes full of admiration.

Lord Xu is no longer visible.

All that could be seen were the two balls of fire at Lord Xu's feet and the lantern of the great evil Lord Gu.

It seems we've reached the canal.

It seems that Lord Xu has been driven to a dead end.

The village head gritted his teeth and said, "We must build a shrine for Lord Xu! We will sell everything we own to make this shrine stand!"

He deliberately called it a "living shrine," naturally hoping that Lord Xu would return alive.

Although he had a vague feeling in his heart that this was probably... impossible.

The villagers chimed in, all saying in unison, "It absolutely must be repaired!"

"I'm willing to pay two taels of silver!"

"I may not have money, but I have strength. Just call me if you need to work. Even if we have to forgo the rice harvest, I'll rebuild the ancestral hall first!"

“I have clay sculpting skills, I can sculpt a statue for Lord Xu.”

Di Youzhi and Zhou Leizi were extremely agitated.

They admire their leader for "loving the people like his own children," but they themselves cannot do that.

They couldn't possibly risk their own lives to save these villagers.

Even if these villagers are grateful for the kindness shown to them.

The two even secretly blamed the villagers: It's all because of you that my family has been implicated!

Miss Jinxi couldn't help but walk outside, but Wei Shi gently grabbed her arm, shaking his head with pleading eyes.

Geng Qi and Geng Jiu knelt silently to one side.

They also greatly admired Lord Xu.

But they couldn't let the young lady take the risk.

"Miss, Fourth Master and the Master will be here soon, please be patient."

"Lord Xu is a lucky man, he will be fine."

Zhong Die looked at the stove in her hand and shook her head helplessly.

She wanted to help, but since she left, the incense burner had to be handed over to Di Youzhi.

How long can a seventh-rate alchemist maintain his skills?

Miss Jinxi looked at Wei Jinyuan.

For the first time, Wei Jinyuan deliberately avoided the young lady's gaze.

Miss Jinxi was greatly disappointed: With so many people, why was no one there to assist Lord Xu?
Di Youzhi and Zhou Leizi gritted their teeth and said to each other almost simultaneously, "You stay here, I'll go help the master!"

The two were about to fight over it when they saw Dafu swaying as he walked past them.

The two were immediately puzzled: Dafu had almost always followed the adults, so why hadn't he come along this time?

Dafu came to Miss Jinxi's feet, lay down, stretched his neck and yawned, then rested his head on the young lady's feet and fell asleep.

Miss Jinxi squatted down and affectionately patted Dafu's head: "You poor little guy."

She loved reading novels and her mind was full of fantasies.

This already conjures up a scene where the owner bravely sacrifices himself, and his beloved pet refuses to eat or drink, dying a tragic death.

He felt even greater respect for Lord Xu and even more pity for Dafu.

"If Lord Xu does something he cannot bear to talk about, you will follow me from now on..."

Upon hearing this, Dafu immediately raised his head back up.

His goose-like eyes looked even more dazed from the unexpected surprise.

I just don't want you to disturb the meal.

Why are you trying to kidnap me?

Dafu then moved his body away a little.

This is only possible because it's Miss Jinxi. If anyone else dared to say that, like Zhu Zhanlei, Dafu would definitely peck his butt hard!
Almost no one noticed that, apart from Xu Yuan, Da Fu had only ever eaten millet fed to him by Miss Jin Xi herself.

Dafu was extremely cautious.

When Zhu Zhanlei fed it, it felt that Zhu Zhanlei had ill intentions and must want to fatten it up before killing it.

……

Xu Yuan rode on his fiery wheels at breakneck speed, while seven sword feathers above his head continuously slashed and struck.

Xu Yuan appeared to be in a very disheveled state, as if he were being chased.

Ahead, the canal surges and roars ceaselessly in the darkness.

Xu Yuan, in a panic, rushed to the upper reaches of the canal.

Lord Jiu chased after him without hesitation.

Its feathers are waterproof, allowing it to float easily on the river like a duck.

A wave of water vapor rushed towards me.

Lord Gu's first reaction was that the river was very humid.

But then it immediately sensed something was wrong.

The Xu Yuan in front of us doesn't seem real!

"We've been caught in an illusion!"

It immediately raised the human skin lantern, and the eerie flames spread out, trying to burn away the illusion.

But they discovered that there was an endless expanse of water vapor on the river surface, and this illusion was hidden in the water vapor, vast and boundless!

Lord Jiu wondered: Did that person have this skill?
On the river, Lord Gu's movements were not as convenient as on land.

A moment later it felt the moisture seeping into its feathers.

Suddenly, "Xu Yuan" appeared on my left.

Lord Gu swung his sword down.

Right on target.

However, "Xu Yuan" subsequently shattered.

It was indeed an illusion.

However, three more "Xu Yuan"s then appeared in different places around him.

Holding bells and long thorns, they all lunged at it.

Lord Gu snorted coldly and opened his mouth wide.

A deep, abyss-like vortex appeared in its mouth.

The ethereal figure floated lightly and was quickly sucked into the vortex.

The remaining one is the real one.

Lord Gu swung his wood-chopping knife and clashed with the long spikes of the bell.

Lord Jiu then lifted the human skin lantern, and the lantern suddenly became huge, covering Xu Yuan's head.

It did not reveal the abilities of the human skin lantern when fighting Uncle Xi.

Xu Yuan's shadow appeared on the human skin lantern.

Xu Yuan immediately felt that his skin was being summoned by the lantern, wanting to break away from him and become part of that human skin lantern!

Lord Xu enjoys shedding his own skin, but doesn't want to be skinned alive.

But a thought suddenly popped into Lord Gu's mind: he didn't want to skin this guy alive.

With a flick of his wrist, the human skin lantern fell back down.

Lord Jiu was taken aback: What's going on?!
The power within "Lingxiao" permeated Lord Gu's mind.

As Lord Jiu angrily raised the human skin lantern and the wood-chopping knife, another thought suddenly popped into his mind:
Let him off the hook.

He put both hands down again.

Lord Jiu let out an angry scream!
They had realized that Xu Yuan was using some kind of "trick" to interfere with their train of thought.

Several more feathers flew up from behind it and pierced the back of its head.

The intense pain made its thoughts incredibly clear.

The human skin lantern rose high once more, this time with even greater changes, enveloping Xu Yuan and himself within it.

Xu Yuan's figure appeared on the lantern once again!
It felt as if countless tiny knives were cutting under Xu Yuan's skin.

A thought once again entered Lord Jiu's mind.

But this time, Lord Jiu was prepared.

He forcefully suppressed the thought, and the human skin lantern began to spin.

Xu Yuan's skin was twisted and wrinkled all over his body!
Lord Gu let out a sinister laugh and shouted as he hurled the wood-chopping knife in his hand at Xu Yuan with all his might!
whoosh-

The machete flew out of his hand.

Xu Yuan slammed the long bell-shaped spike into the wood-chopping knife.

Clang!

The guillotine was redirected, but it still grazed Xu Yuan's shoulder as it flew past.

laugh--

A deep wound appeared on Xu Yuan's shoulder, and blood splattered five steps away.

The machete flew diagonally for dozens of feet before landing in the river with a thud.

Lord Jiu was puzzled: Why should I throw the weapon out?

Could it be that this guy has disrupted my train of thought again?

However, the machete, though thrown from his hand, also attacked Xu Yuan, leaving a huge wound on his body.

Therefore, Lord Jiu did not think much about this aspect.

With a wave of its hand, it was about to retract the wood-chopping knife from a distance.

But the river surface churned, and suddenly the water split open to both sides.

A dragon god rose from the river, holding three wood-chopping knives in his hands: "Which one did you fall into the river with—this golden wood-chopping knife, this silver wood-chopping knife, or this iron wood-chopping knife?"

Lord Jiu was momentarily stunned.

Its first reaction was that this dragon god was fake.

There can't possibly be a second dragon god in the canal besides the Canal Dragon King.

However, his machete was indeed restrained by some powerful force and he couldn't take it back.

Lord Gu rushed over suddenly: "What kind of monster dares to impersonate the Dragon God!"

"Give me back my treasure!"

The dragon god wasn't angry, and tossed the "golden woodcutter's knife" over: "Then here's a golden one for you."

A thought suddenly popped into Lord Jiu's mind: This must be an attack!
They disguised themselves as a "golden machete" to deceive me.

Lord Gu immediately dodged the golden wood-chopping knife, but the knife circled around and chased after him.

The dragon god then said, "You don't want the gold one? Then I'll give you the silver one."

Then he tossed the silver wood-chopping knife over.

The silver and gold hatchets chased after Lord Gu together.

The thought in Lord Jiu's mind intensified once again: This must be a treacherous tactic; if I accept it, I will fall into their trap!
Lord Gu trembled all over, sending more than a dozen feathers flying as he tried to knock the two wood-chopping knives down.

Ping ping ping...

Sword Feather kept crashing into the two wood-chopping knives, until they were finally knocked into the water.

Lord Gu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but then he saw the two wood-chopping knives rise from the river again with a splash...

Lord Gu shouted and was about to urge his sword feathers to knock it down again.

Suddenly, he felt something was wrong. Looking down, he saw a huge black shadow floating in the canal beneath him.

Before Lord Jiu could react, the dark figure had already opened its blood-red maw and was about to bite Lord Jiu.

Lord Gu suddenly swelled up.

You want to eat me, sir?
dream!

But suddenly, a peculiar pressure surged from that huge mouth.

A sense of fear welled up from the depths of Lord Gu's heart.

The expansion of the body then stopped.

It opened its mouth wide and swallowed Lord Jiu whole.

"what--"

Lord Gu's scream only lasted half a whistle. His mouth snapped shut, and the sound vanished.

Dozens of sword feathers in the sky, summoned by Lord Gu, plunged into the river together.

But then a large net rose from the river.

A vile web!
The sword feathers were all covered by the foul net.

The fourth-rate sword feathers were incredibly sharp, slicing through the layers of the filthy net, but new filthy nets kept appearing ahead.

It felt like entering a spider's web.

They were trapped, unable to break through the layers upon layers.

Xu Yuan rode on a fire wheel, floating three zhang above the river.

Watching the river, Pilong swallowed Lord Jiu and then slowly sank down.

After Pilong devoured the Well Dragon King of Gangtou Village, it absorbed a portion of the true dragon's essence.

It has a strong ability to suppress and deter evil spirits and strange phenomena in the world.

But Lord Gu is, after all, only a fourth-rate person.

Even if Pilong were to swallow it, it might not be possible to completely subdue it in a short period of time.

If it were carrying a machete and covered in sword feathers, it might just slash open the skin dragon's belly and crawl out!

Xu Yuan used the power of "Lingxiao" to insert his thoughts into Lord Gu's mind.

But they soon discovered that Lord Jiu was able to forcefully suppress these thoughts.

Then we can't force it.

The subsequent thoughts all followed Lord Jiu's wishes, but they deviated slightly from them...

In the river, the dragon's belly kept swelling.

Lord Gu is still struggling.

But this struggle seemed somewhat futile.

Its wings and claws transformed into hands and feet.

The huge bird's beak was also very sharp, but Xu Yuan was prepared and had already put Pi Dan inside, wrapping it up layer by layer.

Piercing through one layer only leads to another.

The fourth-rate "Dragon Transformation Method" consumes bait extremely quickly.

Pilong slowly sank to the bottom of the water.

Xu Yuan felt relieved.

Defeating Lord Gu with Pi Long's help is not difficult, but catching this evil spirit is not so easy.

call--

Beneath the fiery wheel, flames roared from its belly, carrying Xu Yuan out of the river and back to the fire-shrouded tent in no time.

……

Everyone inside the fire-curtained tent craned their necks to look towards the canal.

Eyes full of anticipation.

No one prays, because in this era, no one knows to pray to.

Suddenly, someone saw two balls of fire floating in mid-air, swaying and moving up and down, slowly flying over.

Upon closer inspection, everyone could see clearly: "Lord Xu!"

Xu Yuan was pale, with a shocking wound on his shoulder, and he could no longer control the fire wheel.

The flames on the wheel flickered a few times before going out completely.

Lord Xu swayed and fell from mid-air.

thump!
Di Youzhi and Zhou Leizi immediately rushed forward, shouting, "My lord!"

Miss Jinxi also hurriedly ran out.

This time, Geng Qi and Wei Shi couldn't stop her and could only follow closely behind the young lady as she came out.

Everyone hurriedly carried Lord Xu back.

Xu Yuan said weakly, "I've already taken the medicine, I'm... I'm fine."

The reason he was hit by Lord Gu's wood-chopping knife was twofold: firstly, to numb the evil spirits, and secondly, to play the victim at this moment.

Even if you, Lord Xu, are a genius of unparalleled talent, capable of killing fourth-rate opponents with your fifth-rate skills, you still couldn't escape unscathed, could you?
"You focus on recovering from your injuries, and leave the rest to us," Miss Jinxi said, extending her hand to Wei Shiyi.

Wei Shi reluctantly handed a plaster to the young lady, saying, "This is a miraculous medicine bestowed by the Supervisor."

Xu Yuan felt ashamed to accept such a gift and quickly sat up, saying, "There's no need to waste such a miraculous medicine..."

The young lady gently pressed him back down.

"You're injured, don't move around."

She first used the water in her water bag to wash Xu Yuan's wound, then peeled off the plaster, and a strong, fishy smell wafted out.

The young lady closed Xu Yuan's wound with one hand and carefully applied the plaster with the other.

He then rubbed the plaster on with his hand a couple more times.

Zhou Leizi wanted to step forward to help, but Di Youzhi quietly pulled him back.

Everyone gathered around Lord Xu, and when they saw that Miss had finished treating Xu Yuan's wounds, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Behind them, Xiao Bin and Nan Zhenchuan had just carried back Uncle Xi, whose body was charred black.

Uncle Xi is in relatively good spirits, but he looks much more miserable than Xu Yuan.

However, apart from Wei Jinyuan and his group, no one cared about Uncle Xi...

Even Wei Jinyuan, who was heartbroken at this moment, was not doing so for Uncle Xi.

It was because he had personally witnessed Miss Jinxi taking such gentle and considerate care of Xu Yuan!
I wish I could take his place!
He knew all too well how precious the medicine bestowed by the Imperial Censor was.

Even Miss Jinxi wouldn't have many.

They were willing to give Xu Yuan a patch.

In the darkness outside, the evil spirits stirred once again.

The two strongest fighters in the fire-curtained tent are both seriously injured!

That doesn't seem quite right either; there's only one capable fighter in the fire-shrouded tent.

That old fellow was all bravado, but he couldn't even last five rounds against Lord Gu.

The one who could fight just fell off the fire wheel.

Let's all rush up together, maybe we can break through this fire barrier, and there will be plenty of delicious food behind it!

If you can bite off a piece of flesh from the strongest fighter, your skill level will also rise!
The strange voice rang out again in the darkness, and it sounded extremely urgent!

"Hmph!" Uncle Xi snorted and stood up.

I just took a few medicinal pills, and the superficial wounds caused by the fire in my abdomen are healing rapidly.

He still has the strength!
This time it's finally my turn, isn't it?
Even if I can't defeat these fourth-rate evil spirits, I can still easily suppress these shrimp soldiers and crab generals!

He stood up...

Suddenly a long howl came from afar.

A long, dragon-shaped tail of flames stretched across the night sky.

In the blink of an eye, they were above everyone's heads.

Zhong Die cheered, "Teacher!"

At the tip of the flame was a massive artifact.

It looks like a kite, or a flying kite.

After diving down, it tilted to one side.

From the wing on this side, twelve long, sharp blades shot out!

The sharp blade sliced ​​through the ground, pulverizing the evil spirits!
The screams were endless.

The artifact flew dozens of feet close to the ground, and wherever it passed, all evil spirits were destroyed!
It was a decisive move!
The surrounding evil spirits were so frightened that they scattered and dared not attack the fire curtain any further.

The artifact was lifted up again, circled in the air, and then slid steadily down in front of the fire curtain.

Then a hatch was opened in the abdomen, and another artifact was pushed out from inside.

Xu Yuan recognized it at a glance: the Thousand Arrows Crossbow modified by the stepmother!
"Whoa, whoa, whoa..."

The thousand-arrow crossbow began indiscriminately firing at the surrounding darkness!
More screams followed.

Mr. Feng Si just now used the "Sky-Piercing Machine" to plow the land, and the momentum was truly astonishing.

But in terms of the number of evil spirits killed, the Thousand Arrows Crossbow actually killed more.

The surrounding area is full of low-level evil spirits; the Thousand Arrows Crossbow is enough to kill them.

The evil spirits finally couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed and scattered.

But by this time, most of the evil spirits that had besieged the fire-draped tent tonight had already been killed.

Only a few dozen escaped.

"Teacher!" Zhong Die rushed out happily and stood under "Tengtianji".

This artifact was truly enormous; Zhong Die standing beside it looked like an ant standing next to a pigeon.

Mr. Feng seemed to harbor a deep hatred for evil spirits. Even after they escaped, he would still raise the crossbow at an even higher angle and chase after them, shooting all the arrows into the air.

However, the results of this last wave were not significant; only three or five more were killed.

Then, Mr. Feng Si walked out from behind the Thousand Arrows Crossbow, his hands behind his back and his face stern. He first looked at Miss Jinxi, and only after finding her unharmed did his expression soften a little.

Miss Jinxi shrank her neck, stuck out her little tongue, and whispered, "Oh no, I'm going to get scolded."

Mr. Feng looked at Xu Yuan again and found that he was still alive—that was good, he could finally explain things to his close friend.

Inside the fire-draped tent, the three people he cared about—Miss Jinxi, Zhong Die, and Xu Yuan—were all safe and sound; he didn't even glance at the others.

Mr. Feng, with his hands behind his back, approached Geng Qi and Wei Shi and cursed, "Stupid as pigs!"

"Four pigs!"

Geng Qi and Wei Shi knelt down together.

Do you know where you went wrong?

Both of them broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly replied, "We know."

"Tell me, what did you do wrong!"

The two men spoke very differently from the start, each saying several things: "They underestimated the dangers of this trip, showing a lack of experience," "They shouldn't have let the young lady get into danger; they should have returned to Champa immediately," and "They didn't decisively support Lord Xu in the crisis, showing hesitation and indecisiveness," and so on.

Mr. Feng interrupted them without any politeness: "You really are a bunch of idiots!"

Mr. Feng Si pointed at them and said angrily, "The mistake was that when you discovered the danger, you should have immediately, without hesitation, not informed me at all!"

Regardless of whether the danger is big or small, understand?
The reason I agreed to let you bring Jinxi out is because I am in Champa and can come to her rescue at any time.

What are you worried about? Are you afraid of disturbing this old man?
Jinxi's safety is the most important thing!

"Yes!" The two kowtowed together.

Indeed, if Mr. Feng had been notified immediately, there wouldn't have been so many twists and turns.
Mr. Feng was a student of the Supervisor, a third-rate master repairman, and they couldn't help but feel awe towards him.

Since the young lady didn't say "seek help," some of them were hesitant to contact Mr. Feng.

Miss Jinxi grabbed her fourth uncle's arm and shook it, pleading with a slightly nasal tone, "Alright, alright, fourth uncle, please stop scolding them."

Mr. Feng wasn't about to let the four off so easily: "When we get back, I'm going to tell your father to replace you with a different group of people..."

“That won’t do.” Miss Jinxi pouted. “They watched me grow up since I was little. I’m not used to it if it’s someone else.”

"I'm afraid these people will become arrogant and complacent because of their favor!"

"Seventh Uncle and the others wouldn't do that. They love me just as much as Fourth Uncle does." Miss Jinxi started shaking his arm again, while giving Geng Qi and the other man meaningful glances.

Geng Qi and Wei Shi kowtowed heavily: "We made a mistake this time, and we will never do it again. Please rest assured, Fourth Master, if there is a next time, we will commit suicide to atone for our sins!"

Mr. Feng finally snorted coldly and let the four go. Then he came to Xu Yuan's side and saw the plaster on his shoulder. His eyes twitched with heartache.

"Can't die?"

Xu Yuan was certain: "He won't die."

Mr. Feng nodded calmly and turned to face the evil spirits of the fake village.

Xu Yuan then presented the Yin Messenger's Tooth Token: "Senior, please take a look."

Mr. Feng glanced at it and was moved.

He reached out and took it, examining it for a moment: "Indeed, some of the underworld officials have fallen."

This group of fallen beings were the three divisions of the 'Zhou Jue Yin Tian Palace' that once guarded the six paths of reincarnation.

It is said that something went wrong with the six realms of reincarnation, which led to their downfall.

Mr. Feng frowned again: "But these three works... mostly ended up in the mortal realm, with very few entering the mortal realm."

He glanced at Jia Zongdao again: "Only underworld officials can bring a soul back from the underworld and reseal it into the body.

But why would they want to bring you back to life?

Mr. Feng became increasingly suspicious of Jia Zongdao.

(End of this chapter)