Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 393 The Approaching Past

In any case, the gains this time were considerable. Everyone obtained the cultivation techniques they wanted, and Sheng Yuanyao also received the Marrow Cleansing Technique. It is estimated that she may also acquire some of the Thunderbird's characteristics.

They also encountered a female thief, who is likely to be closely related to future events.

However, Lu Xingzhou's desired "archaeology" was somewhat unsuccessful.

At first glance, this site appears to be the remains of multiple parties left after a chaotic battle, but upon closer inspection, it seems less like that. Instead, it looks like the remains of a single, defeated force associated with wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, left behind by no one to collect them.

The golden dragon skeleton from before should also have this attribute.

If so many powerful mythical beasts belonged to the same faction, it would be more powerful than any faction in the mortal world, enough to wipe out both the Great Qian Dynasty and the Demon Realm. But the fact that such a faction was utterly defeated, leaving behind countless corpses, is somewhat alarming.

There are very few clues to determine what forces were involved, especially who the other side was. It's just a battlefield ruin, so there wouldn't be any written records.

But it wasn't that nothing was discovered.

Lu Xingzhou stood in front of a large pit, frowning in deep thought.

The large pit is shaped like a dragon, which is likely the mark left by the golden dragon's remains that was occupied by the cuckoo and fell to the ground. Next to the dragon-shaped pit, there is a huge footprint-shaped pit.

This isn't something that naturally looks like this; it's a mark left by someone actually stepping on it.

Like the sword marks left in the Ten Thousand Swords Tomb of the Tianyao Holy Land, one can often sense the lingering sword intent within those marks. This footprint also contains a faint, lingering image, but due to its antiquity, it is difficult to grasp and impossible to glean any insight from.

One can only feel a chilling aura, a power that lingers through the ages and still resonates in the soul.

This should be the only trace left by the opponent of these mythical beasts... Judging from this trace, it is very likely that it was a human, who followed the laws of heaven and earth.

The clues were too few and too vague to point to anyone, so it wouldn't be wrong to say that we got nothing.

But Lu Xingzhou's furrowed brows gradually relaxed, and he suddenly chuckled.

Sheng Yuanyao came to her side and asked curiously, "What's wrong? You look good, did you find something?"

Lu Xingzhou laughed and said, "At least I can tell that this is a man's foot."

Sheng Yuanyao: “…”

Lu Xingzhou continued, "Furthermore, if the cuckoo came from here, it's understandable that it was influenced by the immense demonic energy here and became a demon. But why would it create a Buddhist sect after it came out?"

Sheng Yuanyao's heart skipped a beat: "The other party is a monk!"

"That's highly likely. In the era when Dujuan awakened her spirit, the residual meaning in this footprint hadn't dissipated yet. Dujuan was deeply influenced by Buddhist teachings, which is why she used Buddhism as the foundation of her practice after leaving." Lu Xingzhou smiled: "Zhao En is also a monk."

Sheng Yuanyao took a deep breath, as if something was connected.

In fact, Lu Xingzhou had another thought in his heart.

Maha is also a Buddhist term, and it is most likely not a person's name, but a Dharma name.

However, everything Maha does is Taoist; whether it's the "Yin Yang Ultimate Skill" or the Dragon Tiger Alchemy Furnace, they are all very typical Taoist practices. Why this is so is hard to say.

However, we can make an assumption first: both Maha and Zhao En may be strongly related to the owner of this footprint.

It's not impossible that Maha might be the owner of the footprints.

"So actually, it was quite fruitful," Lu Xingzhou said with a smile. "And you? What did you learn from Thunderbird?"

Sheng Yuanyao's eyebrows danced with excitement: "I don't know what kind of bird this is. It doesn't seem to correspond to any of the records. It's not only associated with thunder, but also with wind. I've discovered a supernatural ability to hear information from the wind. This is an incredible stroke of luck..."

"...You don't mention a word about the powerful lightning and raging winds, but you call eavesdropping a supernatural power?"

"If this isn't supernatural power, what is?" Sheng Yuanyao exclaimed, her eyes wide. "What could be more important than this?"

"Assuming one possesses divine consciousness, this is truly of little use..."

"This is different from the effects of divine sense, you wouldn't understand." Sheng Yuanyao smiled and didn't say much. In fact, besides this thing, her physical bones had been cleansed in some strange way, and she seemed to have an affinity for wind and thunder, but it was not systematic and she needed to find other related cultivation techniques and martial arts to match it.

However, given her fundamental attributes—the speed and ferocity of the wind, and the power and intimidation of the lightning—she already possesses a certain degree of enhancement to her combat strength.

It can be roughly assumed that they have cultivated a special physique, such as Dugu Qingli's Ice Soul Sword Body.

From this point on, she was truly freed from her mortal body and could sit at the same table with Dugu Qingli and the others, which was no easy feat. Although Dugu Qingli's was innate, hers was acquired and she couldn't reach her full potential, merely a mold, Sheng Yuanyao was already very satisfied.

After all, Shen Tang and Pei Chuyun don't have any special physical abilities, do they?
However, Sheng Yuanyao was still a little uneasy. Logically speaking, Lu Xingzhou needed to soak in medicinal baths multiple times to cultivate the pseudo-dragon body, so how come she felt an unusual power washing over her bones? Could it be that some kind of backdoor for possession had been planted there?

Thinking of this, she said, "Your medical skills are good, please check my body for any abnormalities." Lu Xingzhou also felt that she had obtained this too easily, so he carefully took her pulse and examined her.

"No problem... Your 'cleansing the marrow and strengthening the tendons' is only very basic, far from complete. If you want to pursue this body-strengthening path, you'll still need to prepare for medicinal baths. Besides, the so-called 'hearing information in the wind' is something you comprehend, similar to how people from the Tianyao Holy Land go to the Ten Thousand Swords Tomb to comprehend sword marks. It's all based on your own comprehension, not something imposed upon you. There are no backdoors..."

At this point, Lu Xingzhou was also a little embarrassed. He had touched all sorts of skeletons during his archaeological excavation, but he hadn't been able to glean anything from them. Yet, Gua Mei had actually managed to comprehend a "supernatural power"... Although it might be useless, he didn't know whether to call it talent or the persistence of a bystander.

"Let's go." Lu Xingzhou looked around and sighed with some regret: "This place is a treasure, but we can't stay any longer. Otherwise, if the wild creatures continue to invade for too long, problems will arise."

After saying that, he also took a Thunderbird bone back to figure out how to use it to make a medicinal bath for Sheng Yuanyao. Then he picked up the sleeping A Nuo and the little pig in his arms and left the secret realm.

They were startled as soon as they emerged. Long Qinghuang had appeared out of nowhere and was standing at the entrance of the secret realm, staring intently at them as they came out.

Lu Xingzhou was speechless: "Your Majesty, you have so many things to clean up right now, how do you still have time to travel thousands of miles to the Holy Mountain?"

Killing so many people in one fell swoop, and just filling the vacancies with so many officials is not something that can be done in a single day. Moreover, the entire demon realm is Buddhist, and now that the sacred mountain has been overturned, how to calmly appease and pacify them is a matter that will severely test political acumen. In addition, the Great Qian Dynasty is also watching us from the outside.

Long Qinghuang eyed Sheng Yuanyao warily, paying particular attention to whether her clothes were disheveled and whether there was anything wrong with her gait. Finding that she seemed normal, her expression softened slightly: "It's nothing. I've been discussing matters all day, and I've been thinking about how you've been at the Holy Mountain for quite a while now, so I'm a little worried... After all, the Demon Realm is still in chaos, and there are still some traitors who haven't been completely eliminated."

Lu Xingzhou sighed. This emperor was really good to him, which made him unable to say the words he wanted to use to negotiate a departure.

In the end, he simply said, "Have Long Lie keep a close watch on this secret realm entrance. It's more important than any other scriptures or treasures. Make sure no one sneaks in again."

Long Qinghuang was taken aback: "Again?"

Then he noticed that there was blood on the chest of Anuo, whom Lu Xingzhou was holding, and she seemed to be injured.

Long Lie, standing nearby, watched as Long Yan began to show signs of great anger, his expression changing drastically, and he trembled in fear.

Just as he was about to kneel down and beg for forgiveness, Lu Xingzhou waved his hand: "Anuo's injury was not caused by the other party, but by something else. The other party's movement and escape techniques are very strong. Yesterday was a mess, so we can't blame General Long Lie too much... Anyway, we'll start blocking the entrance now, so that they can't find any more loopholes."

Long Lie wiped away his cold sweat: "Understood."

Lu Xingzhou's voice sounded tired: "My injuries haven't healed yet, and I'm a bit exhausted after a day of running around... There's a lot to talk about, let's go back and discuss it slowly."

These words made Long Qinghuang feel a little happy: "Then I'll take you back, come up."

As it spoke, it transformed into its true form, looking like it was waiting for you to ride it. But that wasn't its actual large form; it was a deliberately shrunk size, made to be ridden.

Sheng Yuanyao was dumbfounded: "?"

"Hey you," Long Qinghuang gestured to a female dragon, "take Vice Envoy Sheng back and settle him in properly."

"Hey hey hey..." Before Sheng Yuanyao could say anything, several female dragons stood in front of her, separating her from the others. She could only watch helplessly as Long Qinghuang led Lu Xingzhou and his disciples away on the clouds.

"Holy crap?" Sheng Yuanyao's mind went blank. Could this really be written into a book?
Back in the palace, it was already dark. Lu Xingzhou put A'nuo on the bed and covered her with a blanket, then asked Long Qinghuang in a low voice, "Could you find a member of the Niu tribe to check on A'nuo's condition?"

Long Qinghuang had already heard Lu Xingzhou briefly explain the situation on the way. After pondering for a long time, she suddenly said, "Besides the possibility that your blood experiment with Ye Tinglan points to a natural enemy, there is actually another possibility."

"what?"

“With the same kind of race, especially as purebloods are to subspecies, I can cause a similar situation to subspecies… well, though not quite that extreme.”

Lu Xingzhou's eyes widened: "You're saying Anuo is a cow? Or a subspecies? That's impossible."

“No.” Long Qinghuang shook her head: “Anuo is not human. Although I can’t see its true form, it is clearly not an ordinary animal or plant. Is it possible that it is a mixture of many things, and that it contains the blood of the Kui Ox?”

Lu Xingzhou paused for a moment, then suddenly realized that this possibility was quite high.

Because Anuo has a small amount of Kui Niu blood in his body, he can be sensed by his clan; because his bloodline is "impure" and may even be incompatible, his clan discovered his weakness; and finally, because he has Kui Niu blood in his body, he aroused the lingering resentment of the Kui Niu's remains.

If things go wrong, it could be the blood of this Kui ox...

"Furthermore..." Long Qinghuang paused, her tone hesitant, "You might think they're natural enemies, and that might be partly true... But if they're just from the same race, it doesn't seem like there should be such an exaggerated, antagonistic reaction... It's just that they might not be natural enemies, but rather enemies acquired later in life..."

"What does this mean?"

“For example, we forge armor to counter sharp weapons, and we also create blunt weapons to counter armor. This is a kind of countermeasure created later.” Long Qinghuang hesitated and said, “I don’t know what kind of life form A’nuo is. You should know more about it. Why don’t you consider whether there is a similar countermeasure?”

Lu Xingzhou pondered for a long time, then suddenly had a sudden realization.

This is precisely why A'Nuo is afraid of fire; Long Qinghuang's analysis is flawless. If A'Nuo were a pill, what else would she be besides naturally being tormented by fire?
Dan furnace.

That was her prison, the root of everything.

What if the hide or bones of the Kui ox were used in the forging of that alchemical furnace?
(End of this chapter)