Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 498 Water Release Technique

Lu Xingzhou got up and flipped through the pages.

The jade slips contain records of cultivation techniques, alchemy, and formations, similar to the Maha Secret Realm, but not as advanced as Tengyun. Their main focus is the study of the Five Elements, primarily the Water element (the city's main focus) and also the Earth element.

Lu Xingzhou could refer to the study of water-related items, and earth-related items were also good for collecting. They would be excellent gifts for his subordinates in the future. Lu Xingzhou put them away.

The jade bottle contained elixirs, and the method of concoction was quite remarkable, but the quality was only average, and it was expired... It's usually difficult for elixirs to expire, but this one was far too old...

In short, none of it is worthy of being considered an "ancient relic".

That's normal. This is just an ordinary resident's residence. How valuable could it possibly be? It's impossible for every resident of this ancient city to be a powerful figure; that would be too absurd. For it to be a Cloud-Soaring cultivator's possession, considered a first-grade item, is already incredibly lucky…

Lu Xingzhou looked at them one by one, and when he picked up one of the jade bottles, it seemed to be stuck and he couldn't move it. He subconsciously used a little force.

The next moment, a rumbling sound arose from the secret room, and the left and right walls began to close.

Lu Xingzhou: “?”

Dugu Qingli: "..."

Lu Xingzhou gripped the jade bottle and turned it left and right, trying to straighten the mechanism, but to no avail.

Dugu Qingli: "...Could it be that the mechanism is broken, and it can only be turned on but not off?"

Lu Xingzhou grabbed her and tried to dart out the door: "What are we waiting for? Run!"

As soon as the door to the secret chamber opened, the divine sense immediately detected the king's figure in the air, searching the area.

His injuries hadn't even healed yet, and he couldn't possibly win a fight outside, so Lu Xingzhou, covered in sweat, closed the door again.

The already small secret room, after being delayed for a while, had its walls closed so that only two people could stand side by side.

Lu Xingzhou turned around and leaned against the wall, placing his hands against the wall on the other side of Dugu Qingli, thus trapping Dugu Qingli between his hands.

The golden dragon's immense power was unleashed, barely managing to stop the wall from closing in.

The two were pressed close together, staring into each other's eyes, but instead of feeling any romance, they both exuded annoyance.

What is all this nonsense... How did it turn out like this just from taking something? And the thing is garbage.

Although they weren't pressed tightly together, they were already very close, able to feel each other's breath brushing against their faces, causing a tingling, itchy sensation.

The little white-haired boy had a decent figure, with something bulging against his chest.

Both of them simultaneously recalled those past memories, though they were long gone.

It was an accident at the time, and Dugu Qingli later treated it as an accident, insisting that there was no relationship between the two.

This time it could also be called an accident, but my feelings were different from before, which Dugu Qingli couldn't describe.

She quietly observed Lu Xingzhou's somewhat strange gaze, and after a long while, she calmly said, "I almost suspect that you did this on purpose."

Lu Xingzhou said, "Yes, yes, the king is cooperating with me, and the secret chamber is cooperating with me."

Dugu Qingli asked, "Can you hold on?"

"It's alright. This wall isn't very strong; I can hold it up, but I can't push it open."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the wall seemed to protest, suddenly becoming even heavier. Lu Xingzhou, still recovering from his injuries, lost his grip, and the two ended up pressed together.

Dugu Qingli: "...You still say it wasn't intentional?"

Lu Xingzhou felt that even a dog wouldn't be so wronged: "It really wasn't intentional. You should try to hold on a bit, I'm still injured and don't have enough strength."

Dugu Qingli also pushed forward with both palms, bracing herself against his chest. She managed to hold on, but it only made her more frustrated: "What do we do now? The healing didn't work, and it's even more exhausting... Wait a minute, you bastard, don't push against me! If you push against me again, I'll cut you up as soon as I get out!"

Lu Xingzhou stopped talking.

There's no way around it; who wouldn't have all sorts of fantasies if they got close to a soft, fragrant white furry creature?

However, his self-control was now vastly different from before. He could even forcefully suppress his desires when Yuan Muyu performed oral sex, so this was naturally even easier for him. Lu Xingzhou silently circulated his internal energy and quickly suppressed it.

Dugu Qingli's gaze turned very strange: "You... can't do it anymore?"

Lu Xingzhou: “?”

Didn't you tell me not to bump this thread?
So you don't think I can do it? Then what do you say?
Without saying a word, Lu Xingzhou gave up suppressing the attack and stood up again.

Dugu Qingli: "..."

Lu Xingzhou said expressionlessly, "I'm considering something..."

"what?"

"If I take a bite now, we can heal our wounds too."

Dugu Qingli's gaze shifted to that of someone looking at a pervert.

But deep down, we knew it really worked; everyone had tried it.

Lu Xingzhou's eyes lingered on her red lips. Dugu Qingli turned her head slightly, somewhat embarrassed, but did not say anything in objection.

It’s not like I haven’t been kissed before.

However, Lu Xingzhou remained silent for a moment before finally saying, "Unfortunately, I'm not that kind of person." Dugu Qingli was taken aback, then turned back to look at him, her blue eyes as clear as glass, filled with a searching light.

Lu Xingzhou smiled, and without making any move, the wall rumbled again and actually split apart.

The reason he remained calm and composed was that he had also released his spirits to search for the mechanism, and they had already found it.

The homeowner designed the mechanism so that if someone carelessly touched the jade bottle, it would be activated, but the deactivation mechanism was not in the same location; instead, there was a raised button in the corner of the wall.

Once an intruder activates the mechanism that causes the wall to close, their first reaction is to run away; they naturally won't check what else might be in the corner. After they leave, the wall closes again, the button is pressed in the opposite wall, and the wall is restored. A simple and effective design.

Lu Xingzhou only needs to let the Yin spirit gather its power to press the button, and even if the Yin spirit's physical power is very small, it will be enough.

Dugu Qingli also noticed the ghostly figure that had slipped back into the ring from the corner and understood. The girl was silent for a moment, then whispered, "Why not take advantage of the situation?"

"I've already said I'm not that kind of person."

"I don't believe you," Dugu Qingli said. "Is it because of your darling Tinglan?"

Lu Xingzhou was both annoyed and amused: "You want me to kiss you, don't you?"

Dugu Qingli tilted her head: "No, I'm just curious."

You're clearly so lustful, yet suddenly you've become a gentleman.

For some reason, he felt a little lost, but he knew that this mindset was wrong. Little White Hair didn't know what to say.

Lu Xingzhou could roughly guess what the girl was thinking at the moment, and couldn't help but reach out and rub her head without saying anything.

I'm not as hungry as I used to be, and I don't always want to take advantage of people.

Besides, a young girl's heart is full of complex emotions. Even if she seems lost and forlorn now, your relationship hasn't really progressed that far. If you were to actually kiss her, you might offend her and she might think you're a shameless person.

Amidst their differing thoughts, the secret room has been restored to its original state.

The two sat down cross-legged to heal their wounds, seemingly back to normal, but their minds were no longer as calm and untroubled as before. They were both a little confused and didn't know what they were thinking.

Even though it was just the two of them alone in a quiet room, and they hadn't felt anything before, now they felt like even the air was filled with ambiguity.

Thankfully, it was just healing and not a breakthrough in cultivation, otherwise he would have suffered a qi deviation... So the Dao of Severing Emotions does have some merit after all...

Neither of them was seriously injured, and they had recovered well after a little rest. Lu Xingzhou's dragon body had a stronger recovery ability and healed faster. He glanced at Dugu Qingli and saw that she was still meditating with her eyes closed, so he took out the jade slip he had just used to look at the ancient water movement technique.

Upon closer inspection, Lu Xingzhou spotted a water escape technique, and he was overjoyed.

All kinds of escape techniques are rare and closely guarded secrets, as they are life-saving techniques. Lu Xingzhou really wanted to learn Pei Chuyun's teleportation ability, and Dugu Qingli's frost-free technique was also very powerful and had no cooldown, but unfortunately, their cultivation methods were different, so they couldn't learn either of them.

I can definitely learn Water Release and Fire Release techniques myself.

Water Escape isn't a water-splitting technique; rather, it's about merging with the water element, like disintegrating particles. Generally, opponents can't find you at all. Lower-level versions require a specific water element to utilize, but at higher levels, it works as long as there's water in the air.

Lu Xingzhou pondered for a moment, a thought stirring in his mind.

Just like the Taiyin True Fire in the palace courtyard before, Little White Hair said that there was soil under the ice, and she couldn't get in either, but there must be moisture in the soil. I wonder if I can use this to escape? Also, since there is fire below, has the moisture around it already disappeared?
Could we simultaneously use water escape techniques and pump water forward, producing and consuming our own water...?

Just as she was pondering this, Dugu Qingli opened her eyes and saw Lu Xingzhou studying the cultivation technique. She asked with great curiosity, "You recovered so quickly?"

"Hmm, body tempering is different." Lu Xingzhou asked, "Can your escape technique simultaneously use Ice Escape and release ice in front of you?"

Dugu Qingli was stunned: "Okay, but isn't this scene stupid? What occasion would you use such a caterpillar-like crawling solution?"

Lu Xingzhou chuckled: "Alright, alright, I'm a caterpillar."

As he spoke, he gradually disappeared.

Dugu Qingli clearly felt that he was merging into the underground water, but she couldn't grasp the specific movement for the time being.

He couldn't help but be amazed. Lu Xingzhou must have just learned water escape techniques, but he had already reached a certain level of skill. This was not only due to his talent, but also because of his water-elemental immortal bones, which were extremely compatible with water.

Just as he was thinking this, a thought suddenly struck him, and all the water elements around him froze into ice.

"Thump!" Lu Xingzhou bumped his head and revealed himself, clutching his head: "Why can't water escape techniques melt ice? That doesn't make sense."

Dugu Qingli asked expressionlessly, "What do you want to do?"

I had already tacitly allowed you to kiss me, but you didn't. Now you're trying to trick me and launch a sneak attack.

"I didn't do anything, it's just that why can't water-style techniques melt ice?"

"How can it be the same thing when the form has changed?" Dugu Qingli stood up irritably. "Let's go. The king left a long time ago. How long do you plan to hide here?"

Lu Xingzhou said, "Now that we have a method of escape, I think we should change our approach."

"Ok?"

"We're not here to kill the king, we're here to explore the secret realm and bind the space, why are we going against the king?"

Dugu Qingli: "..."

"The reason we went straight to the palace was because it must be an important node for setting up the formation. While the king is not in the palace at this moment, we can quietly slip back, set up the formation, and then make a clean getaway at any time. If the situation allows, we can even collect the Taiyin True Fire before we talk about anything else."

(End of this chapter)