Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 169 Hunter and Prey

Lu Xingzhou glared at A Nuo; this kid was utterly cunning.

"No matter where this water came from, it couldn't possibly be corpse water. Who could purify corpse water like this?" Lu Xingzhou stepped forward and patted Sheng Yuanyao on the back: "Don't listen to Anuo's nonsense. I'm the master and she's the master."

Sheng Yuanyao nearly collapsed from exhaustion, gritting her teeth as she said, "Lu Anuo, you just wait!"

Ah Nuo turned her head to look at the sky.

I don't know whether you should scold me or thank me, look at your posture now.
Sheng Yuanyao seemed unaware that she was unconsciously leaning against Lu Xingzhou's lap, still panting and clutching her chest in a weak and helpless manner: "Since there are bones underground, are you planning to dig them up?"

Lu Xingzhou seemed unaware that he was currently holding Gua Mei on his lap, still deep in thought: "No need to dig. Since this water is related to the skeletons below, we can just follow the water down to get to them."

Ah Nuo's eyes darted between the two faces, making it hard to tell whether they were genuinely unaware or pretending not to know.

Female brothers, pshaw.

Sheng Yuanyao said, "Is it deep? I can't hold my breath for very long..."

"Don't go into the water. The situation below is unknown, and it would be too dangerous to dive in rashly." Lu Xingzhou summoned the Soul Banner, and several Yin spirits swooped into the water.

What the spirit sees is what its master sees. Lu Xingzhou held Sheng Yuanyao, his mind already absorbed in controlling the spirit.

Sheng Yuanyao glanced at him secretly and, seeing that he seemed lost in thought, hesitated for a moment about whether to stand up.

Seeing Anuo's disgusted expression, Sheng Yuanyao gritted her teeth and beckoned to Anuo: "Come here."

Ah Nuo refused: "You just want to pinch me. If you're so capable, come and pinch me yourself. Are you willing to stand up?"

Sheng Yuanyao gritted her teeth: "I'm so exhausted from vomiting!"

As soon as she finished speaking, a scorpion jumped out of the sand beside her and slammed its pincers into her ankle.

Despite claiming to be exhausted, Sheng Yuanyao kicked the scorpion, sending it flying tens of thousands of miles away.

Ah Nuo: “…”

Sheng Yuanyao's eyes darted around: "I'm here to protect your master."

Ah Nuo was too lazy to pay attention to her. When her master was controlling the soul, she was already multitasking. She did need a protector, but not one sitting in her lap...

I wonder what Master saw? Why does he look so serious?

Lu Xingzhou's spirit drifted downstream and soon entered the damp soil. Since the spirit could move through the soil, he continued to explore and saw the oracle bones.

It should be the skeleton of a huge tortoise or claw-like creature, but what he saw was only a small part. Lu Xingzhou simply released more of his yin spirits to explore horizontally.

The more they explored, the more alarmed they became. A rough estimate revealed that the oracle bones were nearly half a mile in circumference, making them incredibly large.

What truly alarmed Lu Xingzhou wasn't its size; enormous demonic creatures weren't unusual. The real problem was that, given Lu Xingzhou's sensitivity to the techniques of cultivating evil spirits and demonic souls, he suspected the tortoise-like creature wasn't entirely dead…

This water feels like it was created using water-based magic by the tortoise, gathering all the water elements in the sand to provide it with the nutrients to stay alive. Even the plants in the oasis seem lifeless, likely due to the water being absorbed.

It can be said that the formation of this desert was partly due to another source of fire and partly due to the absorption of water elements by the tortoise. The two worked together to turn an entire region into a desert.

Congratulations! The water that Sheng Yuanyao drank before was fine; it was pure water with concentrated elements.

However, since this condensation is intended to sustain the underground remains, there shouldn't be such an oasis exposed... It seems to be a plea for help, or it could be a trap.

From a monster's perspective, fishing seems more likely; any living creature that comes here to fetch water will be devoured by it.

It's very likely that it's too weak to move now, even though there are living people here... It's also possible that its enormous size and deep burial make it naturally slow to react, and by the time it realizes what's happening, the person is already gone.

If it's the former, it means there's a loophole to exploit; if it's the latter, it means there will be danger if we delay any longer.

Should we take a gamble?
After considering for a few seconds, Lu Xingzhou came to a conclusion: "Let's go, leave here immediately."

Ah Nuo had worked with her master for so many years, and upon hearing her master's words, she didn't even need to think before she shot away immediately.

Before Sheng Yuanyao could react, Lu Xingzhou had already carried her and propelled the wheelchair straight away. Sheng Yuanyao instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.

Even after they had gone quite a distance, there was still no movement from the other side. Sheng Yuanyao asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

“The monsters below aren’t quite dead yet. Normally, I might take a gamble to see if I could pick them up, but the environment is dangerous now, and someone is watching us. It’s not appropriate to do something that puts us in danger.” Lu Xingzhou picked up a bulging sandbag and hid it behind him, whispering, “Don’t make a sound. We’re the hunters now.”

Sheng Yuanyao's heart stirred, and she understood Lu Xingzhou's meaning.

If someone were secretly following them and causing trouble, seeing that they had spent so much time surveying and staying in that oasis, they would definitely follow them to survey it as well.

Then they would turn from hunters into prey.

Seeing that Anuo was already peeking out from under the sandbag, watching the show, Sheng Yuanyao couldn't resist either. She finally left the warm human-shaped sofa and moved to Anuo's side to watch.

Ah Nuo glanced at her with disdain, and Sheng Yuanyao shoved Ah Nuo's head down.

During the two's silent performance, not long afterward, two figures suddenly appeared in the oasis in the distance.

One was Xuanqing Daoist, and the other was Chen Yu.

"It's true." Sheng Yuanyao's face was as black as the bottom of a pot: "I must report this!"

Lu Xingzhou said leisurely, "What's there to report? They haven't done anything yet. Is it a crime for them to follow us and pick up the scraps?"

Sheng Yuanyao asked, "So what do you plan to do?" "I come from the demonic path, and I've never been a good person... They probably think I'm honest just because I'm low-key and honest in my work and studies in the capital." Lu Xingzhou smiled slightly, "If I had a choice, I would only want to be the defendant."

Sheng Yuanyao: “…”

Xuan Qing was saying, "Lu Xingzhou and the others have been observing here for half an incense stick's time... but the plants here have little medicinal value, and even seem somewhat lifeless."

Chen Yu said, "So he left without taking anything. We don't need to investigate anymore. Let's just leave. We might lose him if we're too late."

Xuan Qing hesitated for a moment: "Just because Lu Xingzhou couldn't find anything doesn't mean we can't. Are you really willing to let Lu Xingzhou suppress everything, without even trying to prove that you have better insight than him?"

Chen Yu silently shook his head: "Know what's important and what's trivial. Don't lose sight of the bigger picture for the sake of small gains. Let's go."

He was just as jealous of Lu Xingzhou, to the point of being furious. But he was much more steady than Xuan Qing. His personality was clearly demonstrated during the initial entrance examination; he only refined three pills to ensure they were of superior quality.

His choice was undoubtedly correct.

Unfortunately, he encountered Lu Xingzhou.

Just as the word "go" was uttered, Lu Xingzhou's hidden spirit slapped the turtle's head viciously.

"Roar!" A furious roar finally came from the depths of the earth. The next moment, a sandstorm raged, the earth shook, and the entire oasis collapsed and disappeared in an instant, with the overwhelming sandstorm burying the place.

Xuanqing Daoist and Chen Yu were shocked and leaped into the air. Below, a sandstorm churned, and a huge tortoise shell, half a mile in diameter, was violently torn open and slammed directly into the two people in mid-air.

"Holy crap!" Xuan Qing was about to leave in shock when his body suddenly stiffened.

From afar, Sheng Yuanyao watched helplessly as the talisman in Lu Xingzhou's hand burned out; it was a slowing talisman.

"Bang!" Before Xuan Qing could even react, the tortoise shell slammed into him, turning him into a lump of mud, and he fell heavily into the sand.

He died without ever knowing why he died.

Sheng Yuanyao: “…”

Unexpectedly, without doing anything, the highly regarded Xuanqing Daoist had already died here. The Demon Suppression Division personnel who were secretly following and protecting Xuanqing were also unable to provide assistance in time. The only cause of death they could report was that Xuanqing died at the hands of the desert tortoise...

Chen Yu's strength far surpassed Xuan Qing's. Despite the slowing spell being applied to him, he quickly broke free and, in a flash, had already left the range of the tortoise shell's attack, running away like a madman.

He was also very decisive, knowing that he absolutely could not get entangled in a fight here, otherwise Lu Xingzhou and Lu Nuonuo could launch a sneak attack from behind, and he would surely die!
"Heh... I didn't expect that the quiet Chen Yu was the real boss, much stronger than Xuan Qing." Lu Xingzhou patted his wheelchair: "Let's go too. This tortoise has devoured Xuan Qing's flesh and blood and has become stronger. Just its size is beyond our ability to handle. Let's leave and continue to observe."

"Observe... what else is there to observe?" Sheng Yuanyao was stunned when she suddenly felt a tightness around her waist as Lu Xingzhou picked her up and ran away.

"Observe where the flames are raging between the tortoise and the octopus; that is the root cause of the desert wasteland. The tortoise and the octopus, having briefly regained their vitality, will certainly try to destroy this source..."

Before the words were finished, the tortoise swallowed Xuan Qing's corpse whole, then roared to the sky, its massive body soaring into the air and hurtling towards a seemingly unremarkable desert location.

"Boom!" The enormous tortoise shell, spanning half a mile in diameter, cut diagonally into the desert, unleashing a sandstorm and a dust storm that filled the sky.

Lu Xingzhou held Sheng Yuanyao and A Nuo in his arms, desperately spreading the wheelchair's protective shield to resist. The impenetrable darkness couldn't hide the vengeful spirits lurking around the tortoise and the turtle. The information transmitted by these spirits clearly indicated that beneath the desert cleared by the tortoise and the turtle, there was a cluster of bluish-green flames flickering in the sand.

There really is a spark!

It seems that some kind of fire demon once died here, leaving behind its essence.

A terrifying water elemental force condensed within the turtle's skeleton, directly impacting the fire in an attempt to destroy it.

This thing is too much of a counter to it. As long as the flame remains, it won't be able to survive in the first level of this Demon-Slaying Domain.

"Boom!" Water and fire clashed, energy erupted, and the sand and dust thickened.

Lu Xingzhou unfurled the Soul Banner, and the Flame Demon roared forth, heading straight for the location of the fire seed.

Regardless of whether the tortoise and claw are strong enough to destroy this seed of demonic fire, it's always a good idea to collect it first. This type of fire seed is not suitable for alchemy, but it is often very suitable for combat, especially for the Flame Demon of the Soul Banner, making it worth collecting.

Just as Lu Xingzhou was focused on controlling the Flame Demon to seize the fire, the wheelchair's protective shield was suddenly struck from behind by an energy impact, causing it to collapse. A sandstorm instantly engulfed the three of them. Lu Xingzhou could no longer remain seated in the wheelchair, and the three of them, caught off guard, were directly scattered.

This was a completely unexpected turn of events, belonging to the "omnipresent special attack" within the Demon-Slaying Domain, and its root cause was the chaotic energy surge of dead demons.

They hadn't enjoyed it before, but unexpectedly, it happened at this most tense moment, and it just so happened to hit their location—completely unlucky. Sheng Yuanyao was hit with a mouthful of sand, looking utterly bewildered.

Everyone says Lu Xingzhou is a person of great fortune, but how come he's just like those unlucky demonic cultivators who are condemned by heaven? What kind of fortune is he?
Fortunately, none of the three were ordinary people, and this sandstorm did not cause any harm to them; it only blocked their vision, making it impossible to see anything.

Sheng Yuanyao gathered her inner energy to protect herself and rushed towards Lu Xingzhou. She couldn't let Lu Xingzhou out of her sight! As long as she was sure that he couldn't see her or report her, the enemy's hidden malice would overwhelm Lu Xingzhou!

Standing on the hill where he had come from, Wang Yue smiled slightly. He had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time...

A wisp of sword energy silently rose up and shot straight toward Lu Xingzhou in the distance.

"Clang!" The sword energy was suddenly cut off. Dugu Qingli stood with her sword horizontally in front of him and said coldly, "The teachers of the Pill Academy also have such character, secretly attacking their own students... I've learned something new."

Wang Yueshen's expression changed slightly, and then he looked around, but there was no one around.

He sneered, "Sheng Yuanyao kept you here to guard against me? You're quite the little girl."

Dugu Qingli said coldly, "She guessed right, didn't she?"

“But don’t you know that no matter how strong you are, you are only a fourth-rank, while I am a third-rank… The gap between the three ranks is not like the gap between ordinary ranks, which can be crossed so easily.” Wang Yue held his sword and said coldly, “The successor of Tianyao… I absolutely cannot let you go out to complain. I’m sorry for the offense.”

(End of this chapter)