Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 171 Second Floor Tour Group

Amidst the sandstorm, the man was anxiously trying to give chase when the demon saw someone charging towards him with a sword and instinctively slammed it down.

"Get lost!" The man shook off the monster and tried to give chase, but the entrance was already sealed.

"Damn it!" The man was furious. He couldn't understand how the second-floor entrance could open and close so conveniently, as if it were helping Lu Xingzhou, and Lu Xingzhou even knew about it all along...

But then he thought about it again and realized that didn't make sense. The second floor was so dangerous; could Lu Xingzhou and his two companions really "tour" there?
Lu Xingzhou already knew this was the second-level entrance, thanks to Sheng Yuanyao's warning that this battleground had a second-level entrance and he should be careful not to go in. But even Sheng Yuanyao hadn't expected Lu Xingzhou to be so eager, as if he had been waiting for the entrance to open, and happily crawled inside.

"I've never been down to the second floor before, I'm not familiar with the terrain!" Sheng Yuanyao said anxiously as soon as she went down, "These are all third-grade demons, even if their strength has been worn down, they are still at the fourth-grade level, and there are many of them still alive, unlike the sparse ones on the first floor. I told you to be careful not to come down, why did you still jump down on your own?"

“If we don’t jump, we can’t handle this third-grade sword cultivator. There’s no visibility in the sandstorm, and it’s extremely easy to get injured or killed. It’s safer down below.” Lu Xingzhou said, “Besides, the fourth-grade level demonic land is the place I think is suitable for me and A’nuo to train. We need to seek rare and precious materials in danger. What training value can we have with the meager stuff on the first floor?”

Sheng Yuanyao was speechless. She had never realized that Lu Xingzhou was actually a crazy martial arts fanatic. This theory would be more likely to come from Dugu Qingli, but she never expected it to come from Lu Xingzhou's mouth.

No wonder your relationship has started to feel strange.

Of course, she herself is someone who loves trouble. If it weren't for the mission she had, she might be even more excited about adventure than Lu Xingzhou.

Lu Xingzhou said, "Let's go, let's move first and talk as we go. It wouldn't be good if they caught up with us... Let's just move to another place first, so they won't have a hard time finding us if they do."

Ah Nuo quickly pushed her wheelchair and ran away.

Sheng Yuanyao followed closely behind and asked, "Why do you act like you knew all along that the entrance to the second floor was going to open?"

"I didn't know beforehand. It's just that since you all say there are many surviving demons on the second floor, there's a high chance that some demons will be lingering around the entrance. Once it's opened, some will rush out to escape. If someone wants to trick me, and they see me near the entrance, there's a high possibility that a demon will suddenly rush out to attack me. I just took this precaution in advance. Hmm... the person who opened this entrance is most likely Chen Yu, and he's not with this sword cultivator."

Sheng Yuanyao: “…”

"Since we were prepared, we can naturally use these likely demonic creatures to help us delay the enemy. Then, with the sandstorm obscuring our vision, Chen Yu won't know we're facing a third-grade sword cultivator. He'll probably be overjoyed to see us go down on our own, thinking that sealing the entrance means we're just sending ourselves to our deaths on the second floor. Look, the entrance is sealed off, which helps us block the enemy. Chen Yu is such a good guy."

Sheng Yuanyao looked at Lu Xingzhou as if he were a monster.

Lu Xingzhou initially thought that losing sight during a sandstorm would be extremely disadvantageous, but he turned the tables and used this obscuring effect to mislead the enemy.

Given the knowledge that Chen Yu was spying on them, analyzing these things wasn't particularly difficult. However, in the extremely chaotic battle, how could Sheng Yuanyao, focused solely on manipulating the Flame Demon to seize fire, possibly have her mind racing with so many thoughts? She was completely focused on the tense battle situation; how could she possibly be distracted by such matters!

I used to think that being infected by the wandering monster's energy was incredibly unlucky, but now it seems that might not be the case...

She asked rather cautiously, "Then which side does this third-rank swordsman belong to?"

"It's highly likely that he's a retainer of the Huo family. No other force would be so ruthless as to want me dead. Old Huo is really going all out this time. He used Xuan Qing as bait to make me think that my opponent was nothing special, but in reality, he had another trump card hidden to kill me."

Sheng Yuanyao breathed a sigh of relief. This judgment was the same as hers. Thank goodness, no one else had come up with something beyond her judgment, otherwise she would have questioned whether she was an idiot.

Lu Xingzhou then added, "But it could also be an unknown force... the kind that fundamentally doesn't want Shen Tang to have any assistance, and is targeting Shen Tang, not me."

"Prince Jin?"

"It doesn't seem like the Prince of Jin. The Prince of Jin wouldn't hide so secretly. We didn't even know Chen Yu was his man before. He was already hiding, and he was hiding twice... Besides, this person doesn't seem to be with Chen Yu."

Sheng Yuanyao's expression turned extremely ugly.

It's not that I'm afraid of becoming mentally challenged; what I'm afraid of is that if this conjecture is true, then the matter is far more serious than the internal strife within the Huo family! Is there another force besides the Prince of Jin?
"Hey, this has nothing to do with you. Why are you all pale?" Lu Xingzhou laughed. "Look, the monsters are coming..."

Two shadowy figures silently attacked from the left and right.

The shadow's body was entirely black, but its eyes were bright red, making it seem like a soul without flesh and blood.

The Shadow Demon.

Sheng Yuanyao drew her sword, about to chop one of them, when with a "bang," A'nuo slapped a large pancake out, and the right-hand Shadow Demon crashed directly into the pancake, letting out a strange roar.

On the other side, a ball of black flame silently entangled another shadow demon. The seemingly compatible elements collided, but the next moment, the shadow demon's body began to wisp smoke, and it roared earth-shatteringly: "What kind of fire is this!"

"I haven't studied the newly melted fire in detail yet." Lu Xingzhou grinned, revealing his teeth, "I'll use the two of you as a sacrifice."

Just as the Shadow Demon was about to flee, a surge of malevolent spirits rose up around it, binding it tightly in the center.

Black flames rose, shadows twisted, and the crimson pupils gradually darkened, eventually being refined into a shadow crystal.

Turning around, Ah Nuo had already pinned another Shadow Demon to the ground with a single blow, then jumped on top of it and stomped on it repeatedly: "You dare to ambush me? You'll get what's coming to you for ambushing me!"

The shadow demon quickly died, and black flames swept across from the ground, also crystallizing. Sheng Yuanyao had only half-drawn her waist knife, having no chance to make a move from beginning to end.

Who exactly is the demon here? These two are clearly fourth-rank shadow demons. They were once third-rank demons, and they were refined into crystals in a few breaths, while these two master and disciple didn't even break a sweat.

I think I should first subdue you master and disciple!
Lu Xingzhou frowned and shook his head: "The effect of the fused black flames is not as good as expected. The fire seed I just absorbed may not be suitable for black flames. If there is a convenient place later, I will have to separate it and study it further. Maybe it will be more suitable for making pill fire..."

As he spoke, he reached out and summoned two crystals into his hand: "If these shadow-condensing demons are of the third rank or higher, they can be refined into shadow crystals, similar to demon cores. Fortunately, although the demons here have dropped to the fourth rank, they were originally of the third rank."

Sheng Yuanyao asked, "Can we refine weapons?"

"Hmm, it can also reinforce and strengthen my soul banner. Besides, it's good for refining Anuo's flatbread, replacing some of the low-grade substances inside." Lu Xingzhou looked at Sheng Yuanyao's waist knife: "Your knife looks like the Demon Suppression Division's official version?"

"The design is the standard version, but the quality of the knives distributed varies depending on the official rank."

"So ultimately it comes down to generic designs, and there aren't any truly custom-made knives?"

Sheng Yuanyao laughed and said, "What, you want to forge a weapon for me?"

"Well, although I am an alchemist, I also know a little about weapon crafting, since we both play with fire. If you have suitable materials here, I can craft some for you."

"But my true signature weapon isn't this kind of waist knife."

"what is that?"

Sheng Yuanyao touched her ring and pulled out a long, wide, thick-backed sword, grinning from ear to ear: "This. It's for fighting. My father has a first-class ancestral sword, and mine is also a third-class one."

Ah Nuo stumbled and almost knocked her wheelchair off course.

Sheng Yuanyao glared: "What? You're so small, yet you can throw a discus, but I can't wield a heavy-backed sword?"

"Yes, yes." Anuo shrank back slightly and said with a fawning smile, "Your Majesty, spare my life."

"Hmph." Sheng Yuanyao pinched A Nuo's face: "If I were a mountain bandit king, I would tie you up and take you back to be my wife."

Although her hands were pinching Ah Nuo, her eyes were darting around, seemingly to someone else.

Lu Xingzhou just smiled, stopped using the wheelchair, put it into his ring, and walked around to observe and collect any possible medicinal herbs.

It was obvious that there were many more things to grow on the second floor than on the first floor. Just by randomly heading in one direction, I found quite a few special materials that could be used for alchemy, and they were of a pretty high grade.

However, the number of monster attacks encountered along the way increased, and dealing with them became increasingly difficult.

"Whoosh!" Sheng Yuanyao cleaved a horned demon in two with a single slash, sustaining minor injuries in the process. "Blindly moving forward like this isn't going to work. We'll eventually get tired. We need to find a specific location, preferably a suitable defensive spot, to crouch and hold our ground. After a while, when everyone realizes we've entered the second floor, someone will come to our rescue."

The second floor also features different unique terrains and landforms due to the long-term evolution of various monsters. In terms of terrain alone, it's not more complex than the first floor; it's all of the same few types. Lu Xingzhou gazed into the distance for a moment and smiled, "That's about it. See that smoke over there?"

"volcano?"

"Hmm." This time, Lu Xingzhou really wanted to go to a volcanic lava terrain. It's true that such places are easy to hide fire sources. There's a high probability that there won't be any on the first floor, but there's a high probability that there will be on the second floor.

Lu Xingzhou could never have too many of these "fire seeds," and now that A'nuo was refining pills independently, she needed them too.

The three quickened their pace and sped toward the volcano, only to brake abruptly as soon as they reached the edge.

A monstrous creature rose from the lava, its body towering over ten feet tall, resembling black steel, yet cracked, from which flowed "blood" like lava. Its gaping maw spewed lava, hissing and emitting a scorching heat, a truly terrifying sight.

This thing is less a magma demon and more a type of iron demon; its so-called flowing "magma blood" is actually molten metal.

Unable to withstand the unique power of the Demon-Slaying Domain, it hid in the magma, attempting to blend into its environment and eke out a living. In a sense, this place was also territory it had claimed after its wars with other demons.

The problem now is that it's not a demon.

The three stared in disbelief at the rock pillar behind him, where a naked, alluring woman with long horns was bound tightly in chains.

Look at the woman's alluring eyes, the seductive licking of her lips when she saw Lu Xingzhou, and the obvious fourth-grade aura emanating from her... that so-called being bound hand and foot was less a matter of being captured and more a matter of pleasure.

Lu Xingzhou was quite stunned: "Did I travel to the wrong place? How come there are succubi in this world?"

(End of this chapter)