Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 217 The Last Fishy Taste
As soon as she returned to Lingquan Mountain, Anuo felt a burning sensation in her eyes.

Lu Xingzhou sat in a wheelchair, holding Shen Tang in his arms, and the two seemed to be taking a "stroll" around the pool.

"Feel here...see if there's a bump?"

"It really is there. Shall we press it?"

"No, that will make me shoot."

Ah Nuo thought about it for a moment, and then she thought about it again.

"Hey, Ah Nuo." Shen Tang saw Ah Nuo and waved happily, "Come here and give your master's wife a kiss."

Ah Nuo reluctantly moved over with small, quick steps.

You're doing this in broad daylight outdoors, how can you have the nerve to let children see it? Where's your shame?

Won't Mr. Ye vomit inside the house?

As they slowly approached, they realized that this wasn't the wheelchair Shen Tang had been using these past few days, but Lu Xingzhou's.

Lu Xingzhou said, "I'll teach your master's wife how to use this wheelchair. It has all sorts of functions and is much better than her ordinary one."

Ah Nuo suddenly realized.

So that's what the trigger for the Rain of Pear Blossoms needle was!
If Shen Tang were to fight, being in a wheelchair would obviously severely limit her performance, but it would be different with Lu Xingzhou. Once he gets used to all the functions, he might even increase his combat effectiveness.

If word gets out, people might get the impression that "her broken leg still hinders her in actual combat, but the high-end wheelchair makes up for it a little." Gu Zhanting wouldn't think that even a broken leg couldn't limit her, since she ultimately had to rely on external aids.

But... isn't this wheelchair the most important item Sister Fish made for Master? Is she just going to give it away like this?
"What are you standing there for? Come on, spar with Tangtang."

Ah Nuo asked, "Why isn't Master practicing?"

"I can't use my full strength, I can't achieve the desired effect... uh, no, I need to sit on it and point out its various uses."

Ah Nuo said, "Then I can't use my full strength either. I recommend another one who can definitely use his full strength... He'll definitely make this wheelchair smoke from head to toe."

Shen Tang asked curiously, "Who is it?"

Ah Nu ran towards the house, shouting, "Sir, sir, Master is calling you an old woman!"

Shen Tang: “?”

A giant, empty hand reached out from inside the room and grabbed the wheelchair like it was grabbing a chicken.

Shen Tang was not very skilled at using it, so she instinctively chose to activate the protective shield.

With a large hand gripping the shield, a crack was made in the incredibly sturdy shield, like an eggshell, but it didn't shatter completely.

Lu Xingzhou broke out in a cold sweat. Just as he was about to point out the way to escape by ejection, the entire wheelchair was lifted up and then casually tossed aside.

With a "plop," the wheelchair and the two scoundrels fell into the pool. After a couple of splashes, they both surfaced: "Lu Anuo!"

Ah Nu peeked out of the house and made a slight face: "Isn't this to help you get used to the wheelchair? Is your hand heavy enough?"

The next moment, a large hand moved behind her, and with two fingers pinched her collar, lifted the whole Ah Nuo up and threw her into the pool with a "whoosh".

The world is purified.

Ye Tinglan's voice drifted from inside the house: "This wheelchair, in terms of both materials and the energy it contains, is only at the upper level of the fourth rank... It's not that the craftsman didn't give you a good one, it's just that your abilities back then weren't enough to control it at a higher level. Now it looks like it has many functions, but in reality, its power is too weak to deal with battles of the third rank and above."

Ignoring his disheveled appearance, Lu Xingzhou hurriedly asked, "Sir, can you modify it?"

"This thing of yours is half magic weapon and half forging mechanism. I'm not familiar with forging, but your Heavenly Sword Sect has its own halls, so you can see how to add materials and reforge it yourself. As for the power it contains... the internal magic array needs to be adjusted, and the core energy source inside also needs to be replaced. There's no time to find a suitable treasure to use as the core right now, so let's modify the magic array and materials first."

Shen Tang was furious after being thrown into the water, but upon hearing this, she forgot all her anger and hurriedly asked, "What kind of core do you need?"

Ye Tinglan said calmly, "What's wrong? Are you uneasy about the upcoming battle?"

Shen Tang said, "I'll rely on this for combat... It's Xingzhou's most important flying artifact right now!"

"..." Ye Tinglan was silent for a moment before answering, "I don't have many requirements. I just need a treasure with strong compatibility and at least the third grade of internal energy. If your spirit stone mine contains spirit crystals or even spirit marrow, that will be fine."

“We didn’t dig too deep into the spirit stone mine, so we’re not sure. But as for treasures like this…” Shen Tang thought for a moment, then took out a pearl from her ring: “Would this work?”

Ye Tinglan remained silent for even longer, unsure whether she should admit that she recognized it as the Royal Mountain and River Pearl, a treasure created by gathering the power of the four seas and rivers. It was generally used as a second energy reserve, providing a backup energy source even when exhausted, allowing for a counterattack.

Even the youngest princes don't have one of these; there are only a handful in the world. You're using it to make a wheelchair for your lover?
But then I thought about it again and realized it wasn't impossible to disassemble, so it didn't matter: "If that's the case, you go and forge it first, and I'll remake the core for you later."

Shen Tang leaped out of the water and wheeled herself straight to the forging workshop, while Lu Xingzhou hesitated to speak.

Well... if even this wheelchair has been modified, then there will truly be no more original connection with Yuan Muyu around. The main cultivation method has been changed, the main soul of the soul banner has also changed, the core and materials of the wheelchair have also been changed... the alchemy teacher has changed, the alchemical fire is all newly obtained, and even the alchemy furnace was stolen by the Incense Burning Pavilion.

But this wheelchair will need to be upgraded sooner or later, otherwise it won't meet the demand. As for the fishy smell, well, it's fine if it's gone...

Perhaps all that's left are the combat skills and formation knowledge I've learned; once learned, they're learned, and I'll never forget them.

"What's wrong?" Ye Tinglan's voice came: "You seem to be reminiscing about something."

Lu Xingzhou entered the room and saw Ye Tinglan sitting cross-legged on the edge of the bed. That familiar face gave him a sense of time travel. It seemed like he wanted to say something, but he knew it wasn't the right person, so there was no point in saying anything.

Ye Tinglan opened her eyes, met his gaze, and frowned slightly. This was incredibly disrespectful.

“I don’t miss anything, and it doesn’t really matter.” Lu Xingzhou lowered his eyes: “It’s just that some old things occasionally pop into my mind, especially when there are any hints… I can’t completely forget them; after all, I’m not an immortal. This applies to revenge, and naturally to everything else as well.”

Ye Tinglan said, "You also know that immortals should be detached from emotions... People who are too sentimental can be easily hurt by the sight of things, which is not good for cultivation. You seem to be cultivating quickly, but the third rank might actually be an extremely serious hurdle for you."

Lu Xingzhou smiled and said, "We haven't reached the hurdle yet, who knows? Let's just let nature take its course."

Ye Tinglan clearly told her apprentice to let things take their natural course, but she felt that Lu Xingzhou was different from her apprentice.

But since he wasn't my real master, there wasn't much to say, so I changed the subject, saying, "Don't expect me to make a big move in your arena."

“I know that we never intended for you to be the main force. It’s not just that we don’t want to trouble you, but more importantly, we want to show the might of the Heavenly Sword Sect in this battle.”

Ye Tinglan said sarcastically, "Based on your behavior of still holding a wheelchair and pressing on the bulge at this critical moment?"

Lu Xingzhou said, "It's just that the whole world looks down on Shen Tang."

Even Gu Zhanting, or the Prince of Jin and the Prince of Qi, looked down on Shen Tang.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have just broken a leg and then used a third-rate force like the Incense Burning Pavilion to suppress it... Even this time, they still didn't make a decisive and swift decision.

They are destined to regret it.

…………

Three days flew by.

These three days were enough for the duel between the Heavenly Sword Sect and the East River Gang to become a hot topic, attracting many people not only from Xia Prefecture but also from surrounding counties to watch the battle.

This is a duel between several third-rank cultivators, a high-level event that most ordinary cultivators might never even witness in their entire lives.

On the surface, it's a comparison of whose "bodyguards" provide a greater sense of security, but even a child can see that this is actually a contest to determine the leader of Dongjiang County.

The victor will gain immense power and influence, and the number of vassal forces under his protection may increase by hundreds overnight. There will be no more dissenting voices in the entire county, and he will rule over thousands of miles.

This battle also allowed foreign aid to prove that "connections are very important when you're in the game." In fact, it can also be used to prove the local dominance and whose network of relationships is stronger.

As everyone knows, the Heavenly Sword Sect has no connections.

Once someone leaves, the relationship cools. Even if the old sect leader had some connections, they were mainly in distant Yongzhou, and it was unlikely that his influence would extend to the newly formed sect. If others were to stand up for you or say a few words, it was already out of respect for a deceased friend; expecting much actual assistance was asking too much.

The Dongjiang Gang has been operating locally for many years, with connections everywhere and even stronger backers. Just look at the people sitting around the arena this time; besides Shi Tielong, the Lingyun Sect's leader, Daoist Jingxu, is also present, proving the complete merger of the Lingyun Sect and the Dongjiang Gang.

There's also Elder Shi Zhong of the Canglan Sect, a second-rank cultivator; it's unclear whether his fellow disciples also possess second-rank abilities. And who's behind the Lingyun Sect?

I heard Shen Tang is very strong, and he and Shi Zhong exchanged a palm strike and were evenly matched. But that was just a palm strike; do you know how many unknown techniques a second-grade expert has in a real fight?
Even if you win, you'll be injured by now. How many more do you want to wear? How about another second-grade one?

No matter how you look at it, it was a crushing defeat, and people simply couldn't imagine how Shen Tang dared to agree to such a contest.

It just goes to show that young people are often arrogant and get carried away once they achieve something.

A chilling aura of swords emanated from the distance, and the murmurs of conversation gradually subsided as people turned to look.

Lu Xingzhou pushed Shen Tang ahead, with a little girl eating candied hawthorn on their left and a mature and elegant woman walking gracefully on their right.

Behind them, a sea of ​​white, like snow, resembled a sword formation, each person like a sword, exuding a chilling aura.

Many people gasped in shock.

I've heard that the Heavenly Sword Sect is a mixed sect, with members from the Danxia Gang, the Incense Burning Pavilion, and the recently recruited Dan Ding Gang, whose members come from all sorts of backgrounds.

How could such a ragtag army develop a unified and chilling sword intent in such a short time?
And then there's Shen Tang... I never imagined a cripple could be so beautiful. Sitting in a wheelchair doesn't diminish her charm at all; on the contrary, it adds a touch of fragile beauty. Just looking at her makes one hesitate to pick up a knife.

Can someone like this really be a sect leader? Can he even control his powerful and fierce troops?
And there's more than one of them who's this beautiful.

Who is that beauty following Lu Xingzhou to the right? She's practically a goddess descended from heaven. At least for now, no one can tell who's prettier, her or Shen Tang.

What people didn't know was that in their emperor's heart, this woman was the most beautiful woman in the world, while his own daughter, Shen Tang, was just a nobody in comparison.

Some people have already started whispering, "Is it too late for me to join the Heavenly Sword Sect now?"

"Add my ass, I might get hammered into the mud right away."

"So what? The peak produces false support, the twilight witnesses true believers! I will accompany them as they emerge from the mud..."

“Lu Xingzhou has already done this. Wake up.”

Upon arriving outside the arena, Lu Xingzhou stopped.

They all stopped abruptly behind them, displaying an air of strict discipline and unwavering obedience.

Looking at the various factions like the Dongjiang Gang and Lingyun Sect now, people had strange thoughts... Who exactly was this ragtag group that had only been established for a little over half a year?

Shen Tang spoke softly, his voice carrying far and wide: "Shen Tang of the Heavenly Sword Sect, along with his disciples, is here for the appointment."

(End of this chapter)