Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 54 Sunrise
Shen Tang rolled his eyes at him and said nothing more. Everyone had already arrived at the Sword Sect dungeon.

Lu Xingzhou didn't let them in, but only let Anuo push them in.

Not long after, Bai Chi's angry roar was heard from inside: "Lu Xingzhou, you actually dared to defy the world and sacrifice the Soul Banner!"

"Don't talk nonsense, what soul flag? This is the real Human Emperor Flag!" Lu Xingzhou's voice came: "Lu's Human Emperor Flag is only a few souls away from reaching the Thousand Souls level, and it can be upgraded. Brother Bai and his family are here to take the lead. It's a great honor."

"Lu Xingzhou you...ah!"

The voice stopped, Dugu Qingli shook his head, pushed Shen Tang and turned to leave.

She also didn't understand. She used to be disgusted by these things, but when Lu Xingzhou used them, she didn't think there was anything wrong with them at all.

It’s weird.

So she asked, "Lu Xingzhou practices evil cultivation, which is not tolerated by the righteous path and is strictly prohibited by the imperial court. Why don't you react at all?"

"Why should I care about that? How Bai Chi died has nothing to do with me." Shen Tang asked curiously, "I want to ask why you didn't react at all?"

Dugu Qingli opened his mouth and after a while he repeated, "How Bai Chi died has nothing to do with me."

Shen Tang laughed out loud and asked, "Fenxiang Tower is fine... but do you think those people from Lingyun Sect don't deserve the death penalty?"

Dugu Qingli thought about it and shook his head: "No. If they cause trouble at my sect's ceremony, I'm afraid they will die even more miserably. They dare to come here to cause trouble, it's simply because they think we are easy to bully, and that we dare not kill anyone no matter what. But in any powerful sect's ceremony, everyone knows that provocation will have a price to pay."

"Yes. He just bullied us because we were weak, but he never thought we would be so bold." Shen Tang stared at the dark night sky in a trance, muttering to himself, "I want to know what he thinks when news of today's events reaches the capital."

Late at night, the Beijing Demon Suppression Division received a message from Xia Zhou and rushed to the palace to report to Gu Zhanting.

Gu Zhanting looked at the report with his hands behind his back and remained silent for a long time.

After a long moment, he sighed softly, "Yitang is a phoenix among the people. Xiazhou can't stop her charm. Fortunately, she is also tacitly understanding... With her current firm footing and the alchemist by her side, it is impossible that she can't cure her leg, but she hasn't cured it yet. That is telling me, please rest assured, father."

After a pause, he ordered his attendants, "Whoever is behind this conspiracy, get him to get out of here. I said I was supporting the Tianxing Sword Sect, but that was just bullshit!"

I nodded in agreement and made some judgments in my mind.

Your Majesty feels a little guilty towards the princess...

Although he was clearly a top talent, he chose to flee to a deserted city and was even bullied by a group of ordinary forces; although he could heal his broken leg, he allowed himself to be paralyzed, indicating that he would not fight.

Even if the emperor had a heart of stone, she was still his own daughter, the little girl he loved very much when he was a child. Seeing her suffered so much, how could he not have a soft spot in his heart?
It's a shame it's a little soft, but not too much. Otherwise, the person who linked it should be punished instead of just letting it roll back.

Someone then asked, "Your Majesty, the Fenxianglou malicious attempt to assassinate the princess, this matter..."

Gu Zhanting said coldly, "Fenxianglou's strength is average, but it has a wide network of contacts. I'm afraid Yitang will have trouble dealing with it. Let it be passed on that Fenxianglou has violated my will, and no one is allowed to help it from now on, otherwise it will be a provocation to me. As for it itself, we don't need to worry about it, and let Yitang play with it slowly."

"Yes."

At this moment, Shen Tang and Lu Xingzhou had already arrived at the previous trading company's location. They stood on the roof of the tallest building and looked out into the distance between the two mountains.

The clouds were thick on the winter night, the stars and the moon were barely visible, and there was no light. The two mountains were so close, yet they were still shrouded in darkness and could not be clearly seen.

At first glance, the mingled mass looked more like a gigantic alchemy furnace. The flickering candlelight on Danxia Mountain resembled the glow of gemstones inlaid on the furnace.

They are waiting, waiting for the sunrise.

Hidden beneath the building was a massive spiritual gathering formation. The spiritual energy within it was now immense, reaching the upper third tier. Regardless of the various objectives of the daytime ceremony, gathering spiritual energy here was the ultimate goal.

There are two types of spirit gathering arrays. One type is used to gather the spiritual energy of heaven and earth on a daily basis for easy absorption during spiritual practice. The other type is used to steal and store the overflowing power from battles, including the soul power of the dead, which is also needed for spirit gathering.

This kind of thing is completely heretical, and is essentially a form of sacrifice. If it is exaggerated, it would be a sacrifice of mountains and rivers.

Before this, Shen Tang and Dugu Qingli probably never thought that they would participate in the cult, and become the main force.

Shen Tang sometimes wondered if he was a tyrant who had been bewitched by evil spirits.
But at this moment, sitting side by side with him on the roof, quietly waiting for the sunrise, makes people feel very peaceful.

It would be perfect if there weren't two people standing behind pushing the wheelchair... Now it's hard to say.

She thought for a long time and finally said, "What if cracking this also requires a specific date?"

"If that's the case, there's nothing I can do about it, but I don't think it should be that serious... After all, I've already sealed the Spiritual Spring with the right timing, so there's not much point in repeating it." Lu Xingzhou said absentmindedly, "I'm actually feeling a bit hesitant right now, not sure whether I should continue."

Shen Tang was stunned: "What? It has come to this point."

Lu Xingzhou sighed, "If this place truly hides a former immortal secret realm, we might not be able to withstand it." Shen Tang smiled, "At least we can be sure that before this place was sealed, Xiazhou was better than it is now. This shows that even if it's powerful, it's not the type that would be detrimental to the outside world. At most, the crisis is only internal. Right?"

"Ah."

Shen Tang said softly, "That's it. Whether there is a crisis or not is still unknown. It may just be a peaceful place. Even if there is, it's an internal matter that won't harm others. We can just face it together."

Lu Xingzhou turned to look at her profile. He knew Shen Tang didn't need much of this decryption. The Tianxing Sword Sect had already laid a solid foundation. As long as they continued to develop step by step, it wouldn't be long before they became a powerful sect. If they wanted to decrypt the secret, they could wait until their power was strong enough. There was no need to rush and take risks now.

The one who was really anxious was Lu Xingzhou.

Dugu Qingli's recent suggestion about bone replacement was still fresh in his mind. He hadn't considered the possibility before, as he hadn't had the conditions. But if this was a secret immortal realm, there was a good chance that immortal bones and other beneficial treasures might exist.

Lu Xingzhou looked calm, but in fact he was holding back a huge desire in his heart. All his recent arrangements were for this purpose.

But he also knew that there were unknown dangers, and he didn't want to involve others too much.

But she said that we should just face it together.

Lu Xingzhou's tense expression gradually relaxed, revealing a hint of a smile: "Yeah."

The first rays of light gradually appeared in the distance. The two men stopped talking and stared at the space between the two mountains in front of them.

A halo above the sun slowly appeared in the valley.

Lu Xingzhou suddenly lit a talisman, and the spirit gathering array at the bottom of the building seemed to have received a signal, and the stored power began to be slowly released into the depths of the earth veins.

The gathered force continued to sink, and the sun in the distance slowly rose. It looked as if the sun in the distance rose because of the downward pressure of the force here. The scene was very mysterious.

When the stored energy was exhausted, a small portion of the sun remained hidden beneath the valley, not yet fully emerging. Lu Xingzhou was well prepared, and the talisman flew straight down, transferring all his power into the formation.

Then Anuo, Qingli and Shen Tang took turns to take over.

When more than half of Shen Tang's spiritual energy was injected, the sun finally jumped into a complete circle, just like a pill jumping out of a furnace.

Lu Xingzhou raised his talisman again, and the illusion-breaking magic circle that had been set up in the valley in advance began to shine brightly.

The soft, rising sun suddenly burst into dazzling brilliance, shining on the magic circle in the mountains. In an instant, the light spread out and covered the valley.

The entire space of the valley seemed to be slightly distorted by the reflection of light, but upon closer inspection, there was no change.

"Now." Lu Xingzhou slapped his wheelchair and rushed towards the valley.

Everyone followed closely behind him and headed straight for the center of the valley.

Even though I was prepared, I was still shocked by the scene I saw.

The once ordinary soil in the valley had somehow become covered in mysterious veins, its color changing from that of ordinary soil to a hue reminiscent of white jade. In the center, a yin-yang fish shape appeared, half flame, half icy blue. The two sides were not joined, but slightly open, like a door.

The valley is very large, not just a small acre of land. Looking around, everything in sight has changed completely, looking very spectacular, as if you are in a fairyland.

Shen Tang took a deep breath. "You're right. This door was opened by the Spirit Gathering Array, and the point of opening is towards the trading company. Once the door is open, sunlight will shine in below, and the Illusion-Breaking Array will take effect, revealing the true scene. Add to that the previous combination of water and fire. If any one of the three links is missing, the puzzle cannot be solved."

Seeing Shen Tang's almost admiring look, Lu Xingzhou shook his head without feeling complacent.

It seemed that he started thinking about it after he got the Huo residence, but in fact he had been thinking about it for more than half a year, starting from when he went to Danxia Mountain to work as an alchemist. It should even be said that the fuse had been in place ten years ago.

Once the secret was revealed, I was filled with mixed emotions.

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!" The mysterious changes here naturally attracted the attention of the disciples of the Tianxing Sword Sect. Jin Mingxiu, Tang Yunzhong and others flew over and were shocked when they saw this: "Sect Master, this is..."

Lu Xingzhou slowly and methodically set up a concealing magic circle around him without saying a word.

"It's a secret place, and its details are unknown." Shen Tang responded nonchalantly, "Once Elder Lu has set up the magic circle, this place will be covered up. Uncle Zhong will lead the trusted core disciples to guard it, and even the ordinary disciples are not allowed to reveal it. Let's go in and take a look at the situation first... Remember to seal off the outside entrance and don't allow anyone to approach or disturb."

As she spoke, her beautiful eyes fell on Jin Mingxiu, and she seemed to casually order: "There may be danger below. Master Jin has profound cultivation, so come in with us."

Everyone thought this arrangement was perfectly normal. Tang Yunzhong accepted the order solemnly and went to arrange for the guards. Anuo and Dugu Qingli, each carrying a wheelchair, jumped down first.

Jin Mingxiu's eyes moved slightly, as if he was smiling, and he quickly chased after him.

As soon as the figures of the crowd disappeared, there was no need for the concealing magic circle set up by Lu Xingzhou to take effect. The ground had naturally closed, the texture disappeared, and it returned to the appearance of an ordinary valley, nothing special anymore.

(End of this chapter)