Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 86 Demonic Way
Dugu Qingli then realized that Anuo, who was always by Lu Xingzhou's side whenever he wasn't cuddling with a woman, was not there this time. Curious, she went into the room to see what she was doing.

As soon as I stepped inside, I felt a sudden explosion in the room. Ah Nuo was covered in black soot, with only her white eyes blinking.

Dugu Qingli asked curiously, "Anuo, what are you doing?"

Ah Nu sniffed, "I dug up their elemental magnetism from the Incense Burning Pavilion's secret vault, trying to control it myself, but I failed..."

“Yuan Ci…” Dugu Qingli looked at A Nuo’s palm, where a strange, black hole-like magnetic field was flashing with fine electric light.

"How could Fenxianglou have this thing..." Dugu Qingli was puzzled. "This thing is very effective against us sword cultivators. Even Dao cultivators would be disrupted and restrained if they brought magic weapons containing metal. It doesn't seem like Fenxianglou has the ability to possess and control it."

If they could truly control it, the Incense Burning Pavilion could take it to fight against sword cultivator sects and make those sects very uncomfortable.

However, this thing looks small, so its impact area might not be large?
Ah Nuo said, "The Incense Burning Pavilion also has ancestors."

"Well……"

"Sister Qingli, what do you think about me turning this into my own magic weapon? My own pancake is becoming less and less useful... Hmm, or maybe I could knead it into my pancake?"

“Then you need to change the material of that cake. You need to find something non-metallic but strong enough.” Dugu Qingli didn’t like this thing. She felt like she could barely hold her sword, so she stepped back outside the door: “Don’t hold it anymore. Put it away first… put it in a jade box.”

Lu Xingzhou's voice came from behind: "Is this the attitude of a swordsman who aspires to experience the world, when faced with something that can restrain him?"

Dugu Qingli was taken aback: "This little lump of dead thing, what do you want me to do, fight it and conquer it?"

“Even Gua Mei knows how to trace the origins…” Lu Xingzhou sighed and took out the Ten Thousand Soul Banner.

The remnant soul of Master Yiyang appeared before them, dazed and confused.

Lu Xingzhou pointed a finger at his brow: "What is the origin of this Yuan Magnetism?"

Master Yiyang said, “There is a large area of ​​strange magnetic field at the bottom of our Fenxiang Mountain. This magnetic field was born in the early years and changed the soil of Fenxiang Mountain, making it suitable for planting many types of medicinal herbs. However, it has been expanding in recent years and has begun to affect the living conditions and interfere with the growth of medicinal herbs. Therefore, we have set our sights on Danxia Mountain.”

So that's the backstory... Dugu Qingli's heart stirred slightly: "Have you explored magnetic fields before?"

"We explored it and removed the original magnetism. But the magnetic field is still expanding, and we can't do anything about it."

"Does the magnetic field have any special function? After your exploration, do you think it's man-made or natural?"

"Interfering with cultivation seems to also have a disruptive effect on the mind, offering no benefit... It should be natural."

Lu Xingzhou looked at Dugu Qingli, and Dugu Qingli was also looking at him.

Lu Xingzhou laughed: "How about it, wouldn't you say it's a good place for your confrontational cultivation?"

“It should count,” Dugu Qingli said readily. “But we must see for ourselves; guessing won’t do.”

Lu Xingzhou nodded: "I'll go with you. The remnant soul of True Immortal Yiyang can provide a lot of experience and reference."

"Alright." Dugu Qingli summoned the Frost Sky Sword, seemingly intending to fly away on it, but then hesitated and turned to look at him: "Can you fly?"

As the words were spoken, the wheelchair began to float.

Dugu Qingli: "..."

This wheelchair really is a flying artifact... This land-based vessel is incredibly good at hiding.

Lu Xingzhou knew what she was thinking and explained, "Daoist cultivators need to reach the middle third rank to use flying artifacts. A few days ago, I was only at the seventh rank and couldn't use them... I broke through to the sixth rank when my leg was reattached."

Dugu Qingli glanced at him sideways: "Then why did you take a carriage to and from Dongjiang County?"

This white-haired fellow, is he asking a question he already knows the answer to?

Lu Xingzhou didn't reply to her at all, and called out to A Nuo in the house: "A Nuo, you stay home and play for a while. Your sister Qingli and I are going to check the magnetic field and we'll be back soon."

Ah Nu sniffed, wanting to say that Ah Nu could also fly on a cake... but never mind, Master likes Little White Hair, so let's not make lanterns. Anyway, there's definitely no danger there; the people from Burning Incense Pavilion have already scouted it.

Lately, A-Nuo has been less and less able to help her master... because Sister Shen Tang and Sister Bai Mao are both very powerful, and A-Nuo should be even more powerful.

The little girl angrily stuffed the unfathomable Yuan Ci into a jade box and hid it in her ring, then took out a handful of pills and ate them like food.

Is it so great to be a fourth-rank official under the age of eighteen? Just wait, A-Nuo can do it at ten!

The journey, which takes only half a day by carriage, is practically non-existent if one can fly. Even though the two of them were flying very slowly, they arrived in just half an hour.

Looking down, one could see many cultivators from the vicinity of Dongjiang County still rummaging through the ruins of the Incense Burning Pavilion, hoping to find some lost resources. For ordinary people without background or sect support, cultivating in this world is truly difficult; resources are scarce, and cultivation techniques are lacking. These post-war ruins often present them with opportunities.

Keep in mind that there are still many corpses in the ruins that haven't been cleared yet... As for whether there are any gains, there really are... The Heavenly Sword Sect and the East River Gang often look down on some low-grade medicinal herbs and magical artifacts, as well as unripe medicinal herbs planted in the herb garden, which are all great gains for ordinary people.

Some people even fought over a bottle of Grade 9 Qi Refining Pill, resulting in bloodshed on both sides.

Lu Xingzhou was used to this kind of thing; his own childhood was much worse... Dugu Qingli, on the other hand, looked down for a while, her expression somewhat dazed, as if she was seeing such an ecosystem where people could fight over trash for the first time, and was quite surprised.

It is said that she lingered on the glacier with a sword in her arms since childhood, but that only applies to the harsh training environment. In terms of resources and cultivation techniques, she has no shortage of them, after all, she has the best master in the world and the strongest sect in the world.

Lu Xingzhou glanced at her, somewhat amused. What human-machine interface or ice block? In the end, she was just a girl who lacked worldly experience and whose database was not rich enough.

"Let's go, but don't let them find out, or they'll cause trouble."

Dugu Qingli gave him a strange look: "Logically speaking... everything here belongs to you. You... don't mind them taking it?"

Lu Xingzhou shook his head: "It's not easy for anyone, why make things difficult for each other?"

Dugu Qingli fell silent and said nothing more.

With Master Yiyang leading the way, it was like coming home; they easily found the underground passage amidst the chaos. Lu Xingzhou set up an array to block the entrance and another array to sense the outside situation, and the two headed straight down.

Before long, they arrived at the center of a hollowed-out mountainside. There was indeed nothing there, only a faint magnetic field emanating from it, which made Dugu Qingli's sword difficult to hold, and her mood was inexplicably agitated.

Master Yiyang honestly said, "The Yuan Magnet was suspended in the center earlier. We originally thought that removing the Yuan Magnet would solve the problem, but we later realized that we were wrong. The magnetic field was not caused by the Yuan Magnet, but rather it was formed by the Yuan Magnet converging due to the magnetic field oscillation."

This magnetic field oscillation is very detrimental to the soul. Yi Yang Zhenren felt like he was about to be shaken apart after saying just one sentence. Lu Xingzhou immediately put him back into the banner and stroked his chin in deep thought.

This so-called magnetic field is not the same concept as the magnetic field in physics. It belongs to the realm of immortal earth veins, and physics is not very useful in this kind of world... The so-called "spiritual mountains and treasure lands" are actually a type of such place, but they are not the type suitable for living. However, they are a good choice for creating special training grounds.

For example, it would be very beneficial for Dugu Qingli to improve her control and stability with the sword, as well as to cultivate the "Heart Like a Cold River" mental technique. Similarly, it would be very good for Lu Xingzhou to cultivate a stable spiritual platform; perhaps this magnetic field oscillation would even have some use in the fusion of water and fire.

There is also a possibility that there are some treasures hidden inside... The Incense Burning Pavilion explored it and concluded that there were none, but that doesn't mean there really aren't any.

"So?" Lu Xingzhou asked Dugu Qingli, "Are you planning to cultivate here directly, or come with me to explore if there are any treasures?"

“It’s not formed by a treasure.” Dugu Qingli shook her head and said, “This is a ley line phenomenon. My sect has records of it, called ‘Mysterious Magnetic Ley Line.’ It has both advantages and disadvantages. If this magnetic field continues to spread, the people of Fenxiang Tower who live in it for a long time probably won’t live long. But it may also cure certain special diseases and change the properties of the soil, etc.”

Lu Xingzhou pondered for a moment: "Alright, you continue your cultivation, and I'll try to set up an array to stop it from spreading further. We still have a use for this mountain."

Dugu Qingli didn't say much, but simply sat cross-legged, holding her sword across her knees.

The sword trembled uncontrollably. Dugu Qingli didn't use her hands to hold it, but focused her mind to control it, thus honing her control over her flying sword.

In reality, being in such a place significantly weakened her strength. Lu Xingzhou was in a better position; although his Myriad Soul Banner was also somewhat restrained, his current main technique, Yin Yang Extreme Intent, was an unarmed martial art that didn't rely on any weapons.

That means Lu Xingzhou is now considered her protector.

However, in terms of the impact on her mental state, she was much better off than Lu Xingzhou. She could almost ignore the mental disturbance and irritability, while Lu Xingzhou needed to suppress it.

After enduring his nausea and frustration for a while, Lu Xingzhou frowned and shook his head.

He couldn't figure out how to stop the magnetic field from spreading... This thing was too invisible and intangible, and he felt it was impossible to stop.

Are we really going to abandon the mountain we've finally managed to occupy? Abandoning it is a minor issue; what if it continues to expand? What will happen to Dongjiang County?
This matter should be discussed with Wan Cheng of the Demon Suppression Division; perhaps the authorities have an idea.

Just as Lu Xingzhou was about to greet Dugu Qingli and go out to find Wan Cheng, a thought suddenly struck him.

The sensory array previously set up outside responded, faintly hearing screams coming from outside, followed by someone shouting: "Who are you! Even the Heavenly Sword Sect didn't stop us, what right do you have... Ah!"

Lu Xingzhou frowned. He hadn't expected that someone would come to these ruins to brutally kill and seize them.

Carefully sensing the outside world, the array's feedback sent faint images—a group of black-robed figures suddenly appeared in the ruins, killing people and refining corpses without saying a word.

The hem of the black robe was embroidered with skull patterns.

Lu Xingzhou, who came from the demonic path, naturally knew who they were, as they had crossed paths in previous years.

The infamous Yin Corpse Sect of the Demonic Path.

In the Great Qian Dynasty, where both the official and righteous forces are powerful, most demonic cultivators operate in secret and are rarely seen. Even the most arrogant Yama Palace members are only arrogant because of Yuan Muyu; the others are quite well hidden. Lu Xingzhou even needs a code to find his old subordinates, as he has no idea where they are hiding.

This was the first time Lu Xingzhou had ever seen demonic cultivators so arrogant, appearing in broad daylight to indiscriminately kill a large group of ordinary cultivators, and right on his own turf!

(End of this chapter)