Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 491 The Mysterious Maiden Expelled from the Joyful Union Sect
Lu Xingzhou stopped practicing his moves, and the group rushed to the mountain valley outside the city to observe the formation.

The formation was concealed by illusion magic, and it could not be found unless specifically searched. Now that the illusion magic has been broken by the fox clan, a massive formation has been exposed.

The array of stones connects the mountains, spanning over ten miles. If this array in a single location is such a grand array, one can only imagine how spectacular it would be if countless arrays across the land were to be activated simultaneously.

After examining the situation for a moment, Lu Xingzhou concluded: "It is extremely similar to the formation that Zhao En used to steal the Qi of Shadowmoon City when he was in Tianshuang Kingdom... This shows that the formation in Shadowmoon City was also part of it, rather than an independent one. It's just that Zhao En had selfish motives and thought that Tianshuang Kingdom was remote, so he used it to steal Qi for his own cultivation, but he was caught by you, Master."

Long Qinghuang said, "So Gu Yiheng is the one in charge of everything?"

"Yes, I prefer to call him Maha... even if he is just one of the many incarnations of Maha."

"Maha?" Dugu Qingli asked, "The one from Danxia Mountain?"

“Hmm…” Lu Xingzhou said, “Looking at the entire continent, have you noticed that Danxia Mountain is actually the center point of the continent?”

Dugu Qingli was stunned for a moment, then suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.

“Maha’s plan started a century ago. Even using Gu Yiheng’s identity, it was still a long time in the making.” Lu Xingzhou turned to Long Qinghuang: “Your previous collusion with Daqian was with Gu Yiheng, right? He was the one who revealed the defensive loopholes in the Northern Frontier to you back then.”

Long Qinghuang nodded: "Yes. At the time, I thought it was just the princes vying for the throne, but I didn't expect him to be the real enemy."

"He was trying to instigate a war between the two countries to make a profit... It's just that the war changed after we intervened, and there were no casualties."

Dugu Qingli asked, "But why are you so sure it's Maha? Because of the monk?"

"Because he has targeted me several times in the past, why would he target me if there is no prior cause?"

Which times?

“There was an assassin in the Demon-Slaying Domain. At the time, I determined that he didn’t belong to Prince Jin or the Huo family. Later, when Chief Sheng feigned illness, we lured out another assassin. He fled to the royal territory. We couldn’t determine who sent him before, but now we understand that it could only be Prince Qi at the time. You say that I had no grudge against him and didn’t pose any threat in any way, so why did he send people to kill me twice?”

Dugu Qingli said, "That means he knew you were special a long time ago."

"Yes, you experienced this special situation firsthand."

Dugu Qingli recalled the spiritual imprint on the water bone she obtained in the Danxia Secret Realm. This battle was truly one she had personally experienced. She never imagined that in the few times she and Lu Xingzhou fought side-by-side, they would have gone through such a profound karmic connection.

Maha knew from beginning to end that the person who stole the items from his secret realm was Lu Xingzhou, and only this past grudge could lead to repeated assassination attempts.

The problem now is whether Mohe knows that the elixir he's concocted is actually Anuo. Judging from Gu Yiheng's behavior, he probably doesn't know yet, otherwise there should have been some probing against Anuo, but that hasn't happened so far.

Lu Xingzhou continued, "But when I returned to the capital, he didn't try to assassinate me again. It seemed like he changed his plan... I don't know if it was because I was stronger and harder to deal with, or if there was another reason. In any case, I needed to cultivate and improve before I could play the game again, so my whole family ran away."

Long Qinghuang listened for a long time, unaware of the background, but she did notice something: "Is the monk also related to the Holy Mountain?"

“It’s highly likely to be related. And the connection to the Holy Mountain is different from that of other places…” Lu Xingzhou said, “The other places were things he did after he smuggled himself here, but I suspect that the footprints in the Holy Mountain’s secret realm were left by him in ancient times, and the corpses inside the Holy Mountain were all killed by him.”

Long Qinghuang was startled: "If this reasoning is correct, this person is not Qian Yuan. Qian Yuan does not have that strength, and he would not have lived this long."

"Hmm... but that's his true form. At most, his avatar is at the Qian Yuan level, and it's still a suppressed level. However, all of this is just my speculation at the moment, and it still needs to be verified."

Long Qinghuang felt that apart from the footprint, there was little else to verify. But the footprint was a bit unsettling; if the opponent's true strength was at the Formless level, what was the point of their game?

But if it is matched with that alchemy furnace, it might really be formless.

Anuo was definitely not just a pill used to break through Qian Yuan; there is a certain possibility that it was used by a peak-level Wuxiang expert to break through Taiqing.

Those are realms that no one can even imagine, levels that are beyond their comprehension.

The only good news is that the laws separating these realms prevent the other party from moving up and down at will, so everyone can still buy some time... otherwise, they might as well just go to sleep.

Long Qinghuang asked, "Then what should we do with these formations? Destroy them directly?"

Lu Xingzhou thought for a moment: "He should know that we will pay close attention to formations, so he won't rely on them. I suspect he's already coming up with new tricks... It's better to keep this formation and figure out how to adapt it to our needs."

Long Qinghuang's eyes lit up: "That makes sense. I'll gather those who specialize in formations and figure it out in secret right away."

It's not the strength of the opponent that's worrisome, it's being like a headless fly. With Lu Xingzhou clarifying the situation, everyone feels at ease.

“Therefore, strength is becoming increasingly important, especially if one day the boundary membrane breaks and the two worlds are connected… Given the increasing number of illegal immigrants, this day is not impossible, and we must be prepared for it.” Lu Xingzhou said to Long Qinghuang somewhat apologetically, “We cannot stay long… We can probably only stay for another seven or eight days at most.”

Long Qinghuang smiled slightly: "It's alright, business is more important. My pregnancy will last at least three years, how can I expect you to stay by my side for three years?"

The reason for staying for another seven or eight days was that, in addition to spending more time with Long Qinghuang, Lu Xingzhou found that sparring with the Imperial Guards was quite effective, and it would be even better if he could gather strong individuals from other races for sparring.

He lacks practical experience; these are invaluable real-world experiences.

While Lu Xingzhou sparred with powerful warriors from various races during the day and spent his nights with Long Niang, Shen Tang, Pei Chuyun, and Sheng Yuanyao arrived in Xiazhou.

Pei Chuyun and Sheng Yuanyao were shocked to discover that Xiazhou, which they had visited before, was completely different from what they remembered.

The place, which was originally barren of spiritual energy and could only produce low-grade medicinal herbs, is now so rich in spiritual energy that it rivals that of the capital city.

Especially Danxia Mountain, which is the center of spiritual energy, has a level of spiritual energy that is comparable to the Imperial Palace and the National Observatory in the capital, which are the places with the strongest spiritual energy. Those are places for cultivating super-quality items.

And this spiritual energy seems to be growing, giving the impression that it will one day surpass that of the capital.

In the world of cultivation, the density of spiritual energy is more important than land development in the ordinary world, directly affecting the gathering of population and powerful individuals. In just over a year, Xia Prefecture has become a leading and prosperous prefecture.

Prefect Zhang Rongzhi was Pei Qingyan's former subordinate and also one of his own.

The General of the West's original headquarters wasn't in Xia Prefecture, but Sheng Yuanyao made the decision to move it there as soon as he took office. The General of the West was assigned to the Tianshuang Kingdom, but because the two countries were separated by mountains, there had never been any conflict between them, and the General's army was small, only tens of thousands.

In theory, a vassal king has no real power, but with the prefect being one of his own and the General of the Western Garrison being one of his own relatives, this place has become a de facto independent kingdom of King Xia, Shen Tang. Through Lu Xingzhou's personnel arrangements, his influence has spread from Xia Prefecture to the surrounding prefectures, making him a veritable separatist force spanning multiple prefectures and counties.

However, it will still take some time to operate and adjust.

As for Shen Tang's base, the Heavenly Sword Sect, it is also not what it used to be.

Shen Tang himself has already broken through to the first rank, making the Heavenly Sword Sect the foremost first-rank sect in the world. With the support of vast resources, the core members of the sect are becoming increasingly powerful. Shen Tang's own assassin, Shen Qi, has been in seclusion for the past year and recently broke through to the first rank. Zhang Shaoyou is preparing to break through to the first rank, and elders such as Qin Buwang and Zhao Guishan are all at the second rank. Elders such as Tang Yunzhong have also entered the ranks of the upper third rank.

The first thing the Xia king did after taking up his fief was to mobilize the entire clan, together with the army of the General Who Guards the West, to advance into the Ten Thousand Mountains in the west.

Their military might was aimed directly at the Joyful Union Sect, hidden deep within the distant mountains.

It was both a training exercise and an opportunity to take advantage of Xuan Nu's injury and eliminate any potential threats at the root.

When the Holy Maiden Pei Chuyun became the guide, the headquarters of the Hehuan Sect, hidden for thousands of years, was like a young girl stripped naked, completely exposed to everyone.

As a long-established and powerful sect, the Joyful Union Sect is indeed very strong. However, without a group of exceptionally powerful members, they absolutely cannot withstand the monstrous women of the Lu family, as well as the ferocious Heavenly Sword Sect and the Western Garrison Army.

The power of a single sect is no match for the machinery of the state, especially since even the protective array and traps built up over the years were completely destroyed by the guiding saintess.

"Pei Chuyun! You traitor! The sect has treated you well, and this is how you repay it?" A female elder shouted hoarsely, "On the day the Mystic Maiden returns, she will surely tear you to pieces!"

Pei Chuyun, a far cry from her usual innocent and artistic persona in the capital, smiled dangerously and alluringly, her voice becoming several degrees more seductive: "Oh? As if my master would spare me if I obediently became a saintess... We're all cunning foxes, why are you pretending..."

"you……"

"Master has already laid everything out in the capital, so why didn't she come back to tell you?" Pei Chuyun leaned closer and grabbed the elder by the neck: "Tell me, where is she hiding?"

The dignified elder couldn't even withstand a single move from her.

Because of the counter-flirting technique, Pei Chuyun completely thwarted it, and with the release of her aura, the flirting techniques of the other Hehuan Sect members around her also lost their effectiveness.

Tianke.

“N-no, I don’t know…” the elder, whose neck was being choked, replied with difficulty, “We didn’t even know she had confronted you… She never came back at all…”

“That means you’re all expendable pawns. Ha, how ruthless.” Pei Chuyun smiled. “I’m different. I’m more compassionate than her. As long as you pledge your allegiance to me, you can still keep your lives.”

"You...you're really that kind?"

"There's no such thing as good or bad intentions. We're all just manpower. Don't I need power? Here, this is a special poison my husband made for you. It tastes very good."

Shen Tang and Sheng Yuanyao both glanced at them sideways as if they didn't recognize them.

Pei A-Lu is really not like this at home. I'm afraid even Lu Xingzhou has hardly ever seen her like this.

Xuan Nu's absence from the sect was expected, given that Pei Chuyun is on our side; how foolish would she be to return to the sect to heal her injuries? It's a pity that a Qian Yuan cultivator with millions of incarnations is hiding; no one can find her. But we can take this opportunity to subdue the Cha Nu He Huan Sect.

The influence of the Charming Maidens' Union Sect is not insignificant; countless officials have their people in their private quarters, and even many high-ranking members of secluded sects are among them.

Pei Chuyun forced a group of sect elders to take poison, then immediately issued two orders: "Give me a list of all our hidden forces. Also, Xuan Nu has been expelled from the sect and is wanted. Anyone who provides information on her whereabouts will be rewarded with a top-grade pill of any type."

(End of this chapter)