Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 524 The Tianyao Group: Hurting Each Other
Lu Xingzhou quickly identified the cause.

It's somewhat similar to using the Tai Xu Lun Zhuan skill, where you guide the forces of both sides to collide through your own body, turning your body into a battlefield.

While cultivating, he was still in the state of yin and yang rotation and had not yet withdrawn from it. Unexpectedly, he achieved the effect of his divine thoughts passing through him, which turned him into a route in disguise.

Well, speaking of which, in a physical sense, I seem to be a router as well.

Currently, my divine sense is only enough to connect two people at the same time. If I continue to hone my skills, will I really be able to create a group chat?

This discovery energized Lu Xingzhou, making him incredibly excited. He felt that even mastering the art of holding the imperial city in one's hand and dominating the ages wouldn't be as interesting as having a group chat; this was the true goal of cultivation, right?

Just as they were getting excited, Ye Tinglan and Yuan Muyu started arguing: "Back then you told me you wouldn't give up the power of the Yama Palace, saying it would be useful for the new emperor and the ancient realm. Now, listening to this so-called demonic bounty, it's not what you said at all. Are you still going to go down the dark path of the demonic path?"

"So what?" Yuan Muyu said, "You, the Holy Lord of Tianyao, are so righteous, why don't you issue a bounty for the righteous path and see how many sects listen to your lofty Holy Lord's decree? You haven't even settled the discontent at sea, and you still have to deal with the Grand Competition every now and then, and you're still putting on airs in the Great Qian."

Ye Tinglan said, "I can use the Imperial Preceptor's order. This is the right way, and it is also the meaning of our Tianyao Immortal Sect's involvement in the mortal world."

"Come on, with your imperial decree, the lower levels will just escalate the search and looting, and the destructive power will be even greater than that of the demonic path. Besides, even if they find it, how do you know they won't keep it for themselves, or secretly hand it over to Gu Yiheng? He's the emperor, and you'll be the one taking the blame."

"That's why I said we should check the records first," Ye Tinglan said. "Don't you think your demonic decree could lead to the destruction of other families? Even official matters are covered up, but what about yours?"

It's really hard to say who's more ruthless, Yuan Muyu.

But every time Ye Tinglan opened his mouth, it was a lecture, which annoyed her. Everyone put in effort, and there are always consequences, so why does he have to talk so much nonsense?

Lu Xingzhou was surprised that the two sisters had a little argument right in front of him, which dampened his excitement by half. He was both amused and exasperated: "Hey, this isn't a private chat between you two, it's an argument in my head."

Ye Tinglan said, "Xingzhou, look at her~"

Yuan Muyu shuddered.

Forget it, just go back to your motherly lecturing style. I don't recognize this sister who's whining and complaining to my face.

What's even more infuriating is that she also wants to whine and complain like this, but he won't help her; he'll only help Ye Tinglan...

Upon thinking of this, Yuan Muyu lost all her fighting spirit and became somewhat listless.

But Lu Xingzhou said, "You're all overthinking it. The True Fire of the Sun is not an ordinary treasure. It is a supreme treasure that will be fought over by the world once it appears. No matter who knows its whereabouts, they will only try to get their hands on it quietly. The righteous and demonic paths searching for it will not only be useless, but will also cause too much noise. It will only make things more difficult for us and will not be of any other use except to reach Gu Yiheng's ears and create obstacles for us."

Although it was somewhat evasive and didn't address the core of the dispute, it still made Yuan Muyu unexpectedly happy.

I thought I was going to have to watch him show favoritism.

Ye Tinglan was acting out of public interest and hadn't thought much about it. She listened to Lu Xingzhou's reasoning: "In that case, shall I consult the classics first? But Xingzhou, consulting the classics might only find some possible clues, but it might not be of any use. After all, if there were really records pointing to something, we would have searched for them long ago."

"We can send some people to conduct undercover investigations, such as collecting information on whose fire-based spells are suspected of using the True Fire of the Sun, and so on."

"Row."

Yuan Muyu immediately said, "I can also send someone to investigate secretly."

Lu Xingzhou said, "Okay, thanks."

He found that as a relay for routing, he couldn't stay mentally alert for long and got tired quickly, so he ended the call.

The call had just ended when Yuan Muyu's jade talisman began vibrating wildly again.

Yuan Muyu knew who it was without even having to guess: "What?"

Sure enough, Ye Tinglan's voice came: "We went to wipe out the Ice Prison Sect and reported back that Yama King is also in the Ice Prison Sect. Ye Fuyao, what are you doing there?"

Yuan Muyu gave the standard answer: "I have my own plans for the Ice Demon, what's it to you?"

Ye Tinglan sneered: "You have a plan for the Ice Demon, how come it just so happens that you happened to be there when Xingzhou was there?"

"The boatman used people from my Yama Palace. Isn't it normal for me to receive the news and go there?"

"Don't give me that. You left after breaking your leg, and you didn't even show up at the wedding. Wasn't it because it was too embarrassing to face him? Now you think time has passed and you've gotten shameless again, is that it?"

Yuan Muyu's face flushed.

That's the truth. She didn't attend the wedding, claiming she didn't want to see the sadness, but wasn't she just torturing herself by staying outside and waiting for the sun to rise? The reason she didn't show up was, of course, because that time was too embarrassing; she was too ashamed to face anyone and couldn't bear to confront Lu Xingzhou.

The timing of his appearance this time was perfect. He entered with the air of a master, which greatly impressed Little White Hair. Then, he acted as if he was on official business, minimizing the embarrassment of the meeting. The matter of being too ashamed to face anyone was forgotten.

Even Lu Xingzhou, who was caught in the middle of it all, didn't realize how smoothly this series of moves had gone. He just felt like the kidnapping and rape had simply passed by, and he was now cooperating with her in a serious manner, even receiving help from her cultivation technique, and finally being confessed to...

As it turned out, Ye Tinglan saw through everything from thousands of miles away.

Yuan Muyu bit her lower lip and after a long while said, "Yes, I deliberately came at this time because I wanted to see Xingzhou, is that not allowed?"

Ye Tinglan didn't curse; instead, she sighed and asked, "Have you figured it out?"

“Sister…” Yuan Muyu said in a low voice, “Back then, he asked me whether I loved him or the beautiful memories and obsessions of the past. These days, I have been locked up in the Yama Palace thinking about it for a long, long time. At first, I couldn’t figure it out no matter what, but then one day I suddenly understood. This question is easy to judge.”

Ye Tinglan was intrigued by this revelation: "Oh?" "Because he's now married, he can never go back to the past. He just needs to ask himself, can I not care about him now? Can it be that the past is the past, and unintentionally, it's more in line with the path of cultivation?"

"The results of it?"

“It turned out it wouldn’t work, I couldn’t get over it.” Yuan Muyu sighed. “You’re right, I’m too stubborn, I’ll never learn to let go. The so-called path of severing ties shouldn’t have been mine. It’s a pity I spent more than ten years just to prove myself wrong.”

The night waves remain silent.

“If you can’t let go, then don’t let go.” Yuan Muyu said calmly, “I will make up for what I owe him, and I will start doing what I should have done but didn’t… even if it’s late.”

Ye Tinglan finally said, "Then... what if there's never a result?"

"..." Yuan Muyu wanted to say that there would be no result, but the words got stuck in her throat and she couldn't say them.

Who doesn't want a result? Saying it is just self-deception.

Ye Tinglan didn't say anything more. She really wanted to say, "Have some shame! That's your sister's man. How can you say such things to me?" But she felt sorry for her younger sister, so she couldn't bring herself to say it.

The two sisters could only hear each other's breathing, and before they knew it, the call had ended.

By the time Yuan Muyu realized she had forgotten to tell him that her good apprentice had stolen her home, the call had already ended.

Yuan Muyu stared at the jade talisman in silence for a moment, then suddenly laughed. "So you can steal your sister's man, and now you'll taste what it's like to have your home stolen by your disciple. Let's hurt each other, shall we?"

…………

Lu Xingzhou originally thought he would need a few days to sort out his cultivation, but he didn't expect to get it all out in just one day. So there was no need for him to stay at the Ice Prison Sect any longer; he could leave at any time.

After asking the Ye sisters for help in finding information about the True Fire of the Sun, Lu Xingzhou went to find Jiang Yuan, intending to ask her if she wanted to leave together.

As for the year-long escort... Little White Hair said, "Don't worry about her protection, I'll protect you, okay?" Such sweet words from a young girl extinguished Lu Xingzhou's lustful desires for Jiang Yuan once more. If she didn't want to come along, so be it; asking was simply a matter of basic respect.

When they arrived at Jiang Yuan's guesthouse, they knocked on the door, but there was no response from inside; they guessed that Jiang Yuan was still in meditation.

This meditation has lasted quite a while, two days now... Lu Xingzhou didn't think much of it; at this level of cultivation, two days of meditation is perfectly normal.

Just as they were about to leave, they suddenly felt a surge of energy in the house, and the house began to shake.

Lu Xingzhou immediately turned around and kicked open the door.

Inside the room, there was no further exposure of clothing or skin; Jiang Yuan's reinforced robes were quite sturdy...

Jiang Yuan sat cross-legged on the bed, her cheeks burning and her face contorted in pain. Despite being in the icy wilderness of the Ice Prison Sect, she was covered in sweat, her beautiful face distorted by the agony.

It doesn't seem like a case of qi deviation, but rather like the symptoms of meridians and dantian bursting due to consuming pills beyond one's tolerance.

Pills shouldn't be taken indiscriminately. Even Lu Xingzhou had to warn Ji Wenchuan against taking them unless he was at a critical stage. Jiang Yuan's absorption of that drop of blood was likely due to a similar reason; it probably exceeded her tolerance.

Lu Xingzhou rushed forward and pointed a finger at Jiang Yuan's dantian.

His Tai Xu Lun Zhuan (a system of energy circulation) is remarkably effective for this kind of bursting situation. It guides energy into one's own body, transfers and resolves the problem.

When they tried to guide it, they found that there was nothing wrong with the dantian meridians. It wasn't that the energy was bursting... but rather that the blood in the whole body was boiling and bubbling, like boiling water.

Lu Xingzhou immediately changed his method, and began to use the method of cleansing the dust with clear water to soothe his qi and blood.

The water seeped into Jiang Yuan's blood, causing it to sizzle and steam, making the blood feel like it was burning.

Lu Xingzhou felt a slight unease.

As a top-notch alchemist, he seemed to have no solution for Jiang Yuan's condition, and couldn't even diagnose what kind of pills she should take.

Fortunately, the cleansing water wasn't entirely ineffective; it did help Jiang Yuan regain some clarity and open her eyes.

Jiang Yuan blinked her peach blossom eyes a couple of times, looking somewhat confused. Seeing that it was Lu Xingzhou helping her to harmonize things, she whispered laboriously, "Where did your...Imperial Aura of Mountains and Rivers...come from?"

Lu Xingzhou said irritably, "My wife is Gu Zhanting's biological daughter. How could you forget that you were her bridesmaid?"

Jiang Yuan was a little confused: "What does your wife having the aura of an emperor have to do with you...?"

"Shared practice during dual cultivation."

Jiang Yuan fell silent.

Lu Xingzhou frowned: "You mean, this is useful for your situation?"

“Yes…” Jiang Yuan said weakly, “But I don’t want to cultivate together…”

Lu Xingzhou said expressionlessly: "Fun fact: Dual cultivation is only necessary when one enjoys joint marital property; it's not necessary when giving a beggar a few copper coins."

(End of this chapter)