Invasion Myth: Starting with the Schoolteacher

Chapter 664 Dongting Lake, here we come!
Take advantage of this holiday to go to Dongting Lake, have a look around, and maybe even kill some monsters.

Before leaving, I consulted a few professors, since I was going to Jingzhou anyway, and it wouldn't hurt if there was a small side mission I could complete along the way.

These old professors are all treasures.

Having once held a high position, he naturally attracted much attention and influence. A casual task might just yield some valuable rewards.

Xu Xuan really reaped too many benefits in this regard.

Walking deeper into the academy, towards the "Cangzhuo Studio," the creaking bamboo door opens to a whiff of aged ink and medicinal herbs. Seven or eight white-haired elders, some playing chess, others sipping tea, all cast meaningful glances at him as he entered.

The greatest joy the academy has had in so many years is here; I bet something interesting is about to happen.

"Dean Xu?" Professor Gu, holding a chess piece, was the first to challenge, his white beard twitching.

Was it because he spoke incoherently that he got punched by Yu Gong back then?
Professor Shi, as if disconnected from the internet, exclaimed in surprise, "Hanwen is going to be the dean?!" He was so shocked his bamboo hairpin tilted to one side, then shook his head and muttered to himself, "That's fine. That's fine."

It's not that you just need to know what's acceptable. But I'll remember that.

Professor Sheng glanced coldly at Gu Wei and clarified the rumors for his promising junior: "Not yet."

Xu Xuan's eye twitched; this clarification was worse than no clarification at all.

Your speech is typical of yours, very concise. However, the use of the word "still" is a bit imprecise.
Professor Qin, sitting in the corner, suddenly had a gleam in his eyes. He muttered about becoming the dean and then picked up his withered fingers and began to fiddle with counting rods. Using yarrow stalks as warp and copper coins as weft, he arranged the twenty-eight constellations on the table. When he got excited, even the Liuren compass hanging at his waist began to spin on its own. It seemed he really wanted to see how long it would take to become the dean.

At this time, mathematicians could not do without the I Ching and astrology; almost everyone was a fortune teller.

The old mathematician suddenly looked up, "After the Awakening of Insects next year..."

The more I talk about it, the scarier it gets.

Xu Xuan was utterly helpless; this was exactly what older people liked to do.

"Ahem, I'm going to Jiujiang in Jingzhou. Have any of you professors given me any advice?" I'd better explain the situation honestly.

As expected, the senior professors gave the young people a serious lesson.

After all, they traveled all over the country in their youth, constantly going on study tours and visiting many places, so they have a lot of experience to share.

Professor Gu was the first to present a rusty tiger-shaped seal: "The prefect of Jianchang County is my cousin. He's not a very good person, but you can contact him if you encounter any difficulties. As for the magistrate of Baling County, he comes from Bailu Academy, and his reputation isn't very good either."

Professor Sheng silently handed over the scroll, which unfolded to reveal a document marked with red dots titled "The **** Case." Next to the entry for "Lady Xiang," a chilling annotation in red ink read: "If you encounter a woman singing at night, do not respond—a seven-year-old bloodbath."

When it was Professor Shi's turn: "I spent some time in the ancient Yunmeng with Brother Yifu during those years."

Everyone looked sideways.

Okay, this guy is ruthless.

The so-called ancient Yunmeng is Dongting Lake, which is shrouded in fog. The Holy Father knows the power of this fog.

It's like two people surviving in a dangerous jungle full of monsters, which shows how badly they were tortured back then.

"In short, if you encounter danger, you can go to Mount Jiuyi to take refuge." Then he handed over another item. "This is half of the ancient music 'Xianchi' composed by the Yellow Emperor. If you encounter a crisis and do not have time to go to Mount Jiuyi, you can play this music in the wilderness."

Xu Xuan was stunned. Professor Shi truly lived up to his reputation as someone associated with numerous legends of gods and ghosts.

I feel guilty accepting it like this.

Professor Shi could hear the sentiment in my heart, so he said, "My zither was lost in the fog back then. If we are destined to meet, please bring it back for me."

Xu Xuan said there was no problem.

After asking around, I took on quite a few small tasks, most of which were related to the culture of the Chu region.

Even the still-living Professor Taishi gave him a small task: to go to the water and offer sacrifices to Qu Yuan. It seems that the romanticism of literati is always the same.

Inside the Third Hospital, the Holy Father effortlessly retrieved several key pieces of equipment:

Butterflies, poisonous sand, the Victorious Evil Sword, various original scriptures, and a large number of identity tokens. Finally, his gaze fell upon an inconspicuous wooden box—a secret letter from Gui Da, detailing the current situation in Dongting Lake:
Six of the seven secret boxes have been revealed. The Blood Vine Demon King and the Alligator Dragon King are both severely injured. The Cloud Lord is still hiding in the clouds of Junshan and his whereabouts are unknown.

He closed the wooden box and smiled slightly: "The chaos is set; it's time to close the net."

The next day, we descended the mountain!

The Baoan Hall had already entered a state of war, with all units on high alert.

Inside the courtyard, young apprentices were packing baskets of dried realgar and mugwort into wooden boxes covered with talismans. The old shopkeeper stood on the steps, holding an abacus. With each number called out, an assistant would load cinnabar, lightning-struck wood, and other exorcising items onto a carriage.

Inside the Dugu Garden, Xiahou the Swordsman sat cross-legged on a bluestone slab, a sheathless iron sword lying across his knees. His eyes were slightly closed, and within a three-zhang radius around him, fallen leaves floated, each one sliced ​​into a neat octagon by an invisible sword aura.

Yu Gong had already given prior notice that he would help look after the entire Wu County during this period.

So the most crucial point is...
Xu Xuan stood on the shore of West Lake, the water shimmering in the twilight. He spoke softly to the calm lake, "Xiao Qing will accompany me to Dongting Lake, so don't worry about her."

The water rippled slightly, reflecting his blurry figure.

“It’s good that Xiaoqing isn’t bound by her divine position.” She continued, her fingers unconsciously stroking the Shengxie Sword at her waist. “At least she’ll be able to move around more easily.”

The Dragon Palace of Dongting is about to emerge. This is a chaotic situation orchestrated by someone, aimed at disrupting the enemy's internal affairs and inflicting effective damage.

At the same time, this bait is real; if the Dragon Palace really appears, Xiao Qing may gain huge benefits from it.

Unlike humans, the innate bloodline is extremely important for the demon race.

His gaze deepened: "If Xiaoqing can obtain the essence of the true dragon's blood, she can leap over the Dragon Gate."

He talked on and on patiently for a long time. Xu Xuan's visit to West Lake seemed to be to report to Xiao Qing's parents, but in reality...
The lake water suddenly surged and boiled, and a ball of white light burst out of the water with a "splash" and landed steadily in his palm. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a plain white oil-paper umbrella.

The umbrella ribs were cold to the touch, and golden Sanskrit characters could be vaguely seen flowing in the drifting clouds on the umbrella surface.

"Finally decided to return it to me?" Xu Xuan chuckled, his fingertips tracing the ribs of the umbrella.

Last year, when Bai Suzhen went north to retrieve the divine sword, she asked this umbrella to be "repaired," but unexpectedly, a year passed.

The moment the umbrella unfolded, his pupils contracted slightly—the ordinary oil-paper umbrella was now shrouded in swirling mist. This was the mist from Dongting Lake brought by the Great Compassionate Dharma King, which had been refined into the umbrella.

"Excellent method," Xu Xuan exclaimed.

I opened the umbrella to test it, and the curtain of rain hanging from the edge completely blocked out the air, even blurring the reflection on the lake.

Suddenly, a line of small characters appeared on the umbrella handle: "The Lord of the Clouds can see a thousand miles, but he cannot see the person under the umbrella." The ink was still wet, clearly just written. Xu Xuan raised an eyebrow. This wasn't just repairing an umbrella; it was clearly a magic weapon made to deceive him.

The tip of the umbrella inadvertently brushed against the ground, and tiny ice crystals instantly condensed in the cracks of the bluestone slabs—this umbrella contained a wisp of cold air, and seemed to have other wonderful uses as well.

Good, good, with this treasure by my side, this time we're sure to cause a huge upheaval!

He closed the umbrella, turned around, and took one last look at the lake surface, which had returned to calm. In the blink of an eye, Xu Xuan's black boots stepped onto the Taihu stone embankment.

"Dongting Lake," he whispered to the surging waters, "shall we go?"

The lake surface suddenly froze for a moment.

"Wow--"

And look at the breathtaking scene on Lake Tai! We see:

Suddenly, the vast waves split open, parting the towering waves to both sides. A beam of azure light shot into the heavens—it was the Azure Serpent King revealing his true form!
What a majestic little green maiden! How is she dressed? A poem testifies to it:
Wearing a crown with dragon patterns, and a chainmail armor with blue scales, she had a dragon-threaded silk belt around her waist and boots that shone like blue waves on her feet.

With two swords crossed behind him, Gan Jiang and Mo Xie gleam brightly. A single vermilion mark between his brows adds to his heroic and dashing appearance!

"go with!"

Xu Qing's team, which hadn't performed as a group for a long time, set off again.

Dongting Lake! Here we come!
(End of this chapter)