Fighting Soul Clan Demoness

Chapter 554 The Ones on Their Way Home

Yin Valley, Wanyan Ridge.

A procession of carriages and horses was speeding through the mountains, seemingly trying to leave before nightfall.

At the rear of the convoy, Xiao Yan was leaning against the seat, his fingertips lightly tapping the armrest.

"The previous expenditure was indeed too great," he suddenly sighed.

First, he helped Venerable Tianhuo refine his body, then he withstood the lightning tribulation to improve his physical strength, and finally he even fought fiercely with the Elder of the Soul Hall for several days. It can be said that without the assistance of pure water battle qi, Xiao Yan would probably have been exhausted long ago.

If Ruoruo hadn't urgently needed treatment and if he hadn't been wary of Yin Gu, she probably would have already fallen into a deep sleep.

The journey was slow, and the bumpy road made it difficult for Xiao Yan to calm down and recuperate. Feeling utterly bored, he casually rolled up the curtain of the carriage door and looked out at the scenery.

The carriage in Yin Valley was very luxurious, but it did not use the window screens commonly found on the mainland. Instead, it used more nostalgic roller blinds. The brocade patterns carved on the inner walls and the flowers vying for beauty in the mountains complemented each other, presenting a magnificent scene of thousands of reds and thousands of colors.

"Is it pretty?" A slightly flippant voice suddenly rang out.

Xiao Yan turned around and saw a man wearing a bamboo hat who had somehow slipped into the carriage and was sitting opposite him with his legs crossed.

"As a scenic view, it is indeed very beautiful." Xiao Yan nodded, not feeling too surprised.

“That’s right.” The man in the straw hat said smugly, “Don’t be fooled by how bright and delicate those flowers are. This is the gatekeeper formation of my Yin Valley, called Wanyan Ridge. Without our escort, ordinary people would never find the way in their entire lives.”

"Another large formation?"

Xiao Yan's admiring gaze instantly changed, and his lips twitched: "You guys really have a lot of Sound Valley formations."

First there was the Yellow Sand Formation, powerful enough to trap even a Dou Zun, and now there's this mysterious formation known as the Ten Thousand Beauty Ridge. No wonder Yin Valley has always been shrouded in mystery on the continent; it seems you have to swipe your card twice just to get in.

The man in the straw hat gave him a strange look, then shook his head and said in a low voice, somewhat excitedly:
"Putting aside these young men, you're really something! You dare to hug the little princess. She's the apple of everyone's eye in both of our families. If those old guys saw this, they'd probably go crazy!"

"But aren't I already a prisoner now?"

Xiao Yan said calmly, "According to you, does that mean my situation will be even worse after I arrive at the Sound Valley?"

"Hey!" The man in the straw hat waved his hand. "What kind of talk is that?"

He clearly sensed the mockery in Xiao Yan's words, so he simply shifted his body and plopped down in front of the other person.

"To tell you the truth, my brother is an old-fashioned person!" The man in the straw hat lowered his voice even further. "Among the entire younger generation, he is the most law-abiding. He is so stubborn that even the Grand Elder can't control him. He doesn't understand any flexibility at all."

"No, he can't even be considered part of the younger generation, because he's much older than all of us!"

Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow: "He's your brother?"

The "brother" the other party mentioned was clearly the man who had previously suggested locking him in the carriage.

Based on Xiao Yan's previous observations, everyone, including the senior sister named An Wan, seemed to listen to each other and had considerable prestige. They were very likely to be the leaders of the younger generation in Yin Valley.

Despite being blood relatives, the older brother is old-fashioned and steady, while the younger brother is frivolous and unrestrained; it's really hard to tell the difference.
"Yes, he's like that with everyone. He really didn't mean to target you, young man." The man in the straw hat scratched his head apologetically. "Besides, this matter involves the little princess, so it's inevitable that he's been a bit too harsh."

"But don't worry, with Senior Sister Wan taking care of the little princess, she'll definitely be fine!"

Xiao Yan smiled, neither confirming nor denying.

Of course, Ruoruo will be fine.

From the moment he boarded the carriage, he enveloped the entire caravan with his soul power. Anyone who dared to do anything improper to the young girl would be immediately and ruthlessly killed.

However, even though he knew this person was trying to calm him down, Xiao Yan didn't choose to offend them. Instead, he casually asked:
"You previously said that Ruoshi is the apple of everyone's eye in the Sound Valley, yet I have such close contact with her. As fellow disciples of the Sound Valley, don't you care?"

The man was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled and said, "Of course not."

Seeing Xiao Yan's puzzled expression, he took the initiative to move closer and said mysteriously, "Don't look at me like this, I am also knowledgeable in music. The ancestor said: 'Practice music to understand people's hearts.' Not only me, but the entire Music Valley is like this."

“Although you are an outsider, your concern for the little princess cannot be hidden from our eyes. Otherwise, my elder brother and senior sister would not have agreed to let you enter the Sound Valley.”

At this point, he patted Xiao Yan's shoulder meaningfully: "If you were willing to learn the way of music, you might one day be able to take away your elder brother's title of 'the number one young person'!"

"Hmm, I'll think about it."

Xiao Yan feigned thought and gave a perfunctory reply, but inwardly he was somewhat amused and exasperated by this sudden invitation. He was tone-deaf, after all!

Let alone learning the art of music, even singing a song would be difficult; fighting and killing would be much easier.

"Okay, okay, then you should think about it!"

The man in the straw hat was overjoyed. He patted his backside, turned around, lifted the curtain, and was about to leave: "I'll talk to you later. We'll be at Yin Valley soon. My brother also asked me to help you arrange an identity."

"Oh, right, buddy, I almost forgot to ask, what's your name?"

"Xiao Yan."

"Alright." The man in the straw hat pondered for a moment, then made up his mind: "Then, young man, how about you call yourself Mo Yan for now?"

"Whatever, having an identity is enough," Xiao Yan said with a faint smile.

His gaze sharpened slightly as he looked at the man: "But speaking of which, I don't seem to know your name yet."

"Me?" The man tugged at his straw hat, then revealed a smug smile: "My elder brother and I hold important positions, and apart from special circumstances, we cannot easily reveal our names to outsiders, so it's a secret."

Having said that, he stomped his foot and, without giving Xiao Yan time to react, flew away as fast as a swallow.

"."

Watching the man's departing figure, Xiao Yan lowered his eyelids and fell into a brief silence.

"His soul power couldn't even penetrate his bamboo hat. It seems that Yin Gu's mastery of soul power is indeed quite remarkable."

"They clearly lost a priceless treasure, yet they were completely unaware of it. They didn't even react when the Soul Hall, which had harmed countless disciples of the Sound Valley, was mentioned. Are these people just too carefree, or is there another reason?"

"And that man in the straw hat from earlier, him..."

The deeper Xiao Yan went into the Sound Valley, the stranger and stranger the place seemed. He knew very well that the only way to find out the inside story was to wait for Ruoruo to wake up or to meet the mysterious mother-in-law herself.

However, no matter how many secrets are hidden in the Valley of Sound, the most important thing right now is the seal within Ruoruo's body.
As thoughts flashed through his mind, Xiao Yan gradually closed his eyes and focused his mind, slowly restoring the Dou Qi within his body.

There were no words for a moment.

Yin Valley, Queyin Palace.

The bronze magpies lined up one after another on the eaves of the hall, numbering as many as thirty-six. The zither was on the left side of the hall, and the se was on the right side, their faint, harmonious sounds echoing throughout the hall.

The white-browed old man sat at the head of the hall, plucking the strings of his zither. With each movement, invisible spiritual energy transformed into white smoke that soared into the sky and entered the mouth of the bronze magpie above. As dusk approached, the mouth was already more than half full.

"Elder, the patrol team has important matters to report."

Suddenly, a respectful and pleasant voice came from below. Looking closely, it turned out to be a small sparrow with blue-green wings, blinking its round, black eyes and its head lowered.

The old man kept his eyelids closed and said calmly, "Rules cannot be broken. The ensemble performance is not over yet. Let's talk about it later."

“But Senior Sister An Wan said they found the little princess,” the little bird said hesitantly in a low voice.

"clang!"

A discordant sound of clashing strings suddenly rang out in the hall. As pale white mist flew into the mouth of the bronze magpie, the once lifelike bronze statue instantly lost all its charm and fell into silence.

"Ugh."

Looking at the broken string before him, the old man sighed softly and said helplessly, "Never mind, let them in."

"As ordered!"

The little bird hopped up excitedly, flapped its wings, and flew away chirping away into the distance. If you listened carefully, you could faintly hear the giggling of a young girl.

"This girl, she wants to see me make a fool of myself again." The old man shook his head, put away the broken string, and his eyes flickered.

He gazed into the distance, and with a flick of his wrist, the broken string in his hand transformed into a pale white whisk in mid-air. He tucked it into his arm, exuding an air of otherworldly elegance.

"It finally came."
-
As readers should know, the Sound Valley is a very, very important chapter for Ruoruo, so there are many foreshadowing elements to be planted. Therefore, I will try to write it in as much detail as possible!
To avoid affecting everyone's reading experience, we will try to increase the frequency of future updates. If you like it, you can look for foreshadowing in the updates!
(End of this chapter)