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墨書 Inktalez
Heaven and Earth Platform Western Region Exit
The landmark strange stone mountain was completely gone, leaving only a pile of crumbled stones. The hot wind blew, and the stone pile rapidly weathered at a visible speed. It was evident that before long, even this pile of rubble would disappear.
Everyone was stunned; the exit had been destroyed, what were they to do now!
Ling Xiangzi's face was somewhat pale. She had already been injured during the fierce battle with the Demon Sect Monster. Although she received a warning from Yue Qingzi, she did not have time to retreat. In that moment, she felt her Dantian shake violently, the world spinning around her, and she fell uncontrollably, soon buried deeply under a torrential downpour of sand and dust. She was unable to crawl out and had to hold her breath and conserve energy. Fortunately, she was discovered and dug out by others. Although her injuries had somewhat stabilized, she needed to enter seclusion as soon as possible; otherwise, her cultivation would be unstable.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but look at Li Hong. It was said that he saved her, or rather that the strange little cat he raised found her. The little cat... A faint warmth appeared in Ling Xiangzi's eyes as she looked at Li Hong with a gentle gaze for the first time, while her eyes softened even more when looking at Chu Xi.
She said calmly, "The Demon Sect has set an ambush here, which means this exit of the Heaven and Earth Platform has been exposed. It's better that it was destroyed. We shouldn't linger; let's hurry on our way."
Her words reminded everyone, and they quickly summoned their Flying Swords, but Spirit Stone looked at them with difficulty, hesitating to move.
Ling Xiangzi understood his meaning and sighed deeply: "Elder Brother Zhangmen will surely have good fortune on his side; we should leave."
Ling Xuzi, Ling Yizi, and over a dozen elders had not been heard from since; Spirit Stone was constantly worried about this. However, during the ambush by the Demon Sect, they were too preoccupied to remember where they last saw Ling Xuzi.
He sighed again and reluctantly agreed to set off.
This place was in the Western Region; as long as they flew eastward, they could reach one of the main exits of the Heaven and Earth Platform at Luliang's Azure Oil Temple. The problem was, who knew if there were Demon Sect Monsters secretly tracking them? If they exposed the Azure Oil Temple exit as well, it would be very troublesome.
"We can't worry about that now; let's fly toward the Central Plains and take it step by step," Ling Xiangzi said lightly, her complexion growing even paler.
Chu Xi was very concerned. She suggested, "How about I carry you while flying? You can rest for a bit."
"That works; I can keep watch for you," Ling Xiangzi agreed to Chu Xi's suggestion.
However, Chu Xi became even more worried. She knew her master was very strong-willed; if it weren't for her serious injuries, how could she ride on her Flying Sword? Thinking of taking out the box of Supreme Fire Jade Essence that Li Hong had given her from her Spirit Bag, she quietly concealed it in her sleeve and passed it over while transmitting sound: "Master, use this to absorb Li Fire Aura; you'll recover faster."
Ling Xiangzi's gaze flickered with surprise at where she had obtained this, but then she thought about how close her beloved disciple was to Chu Hong, and everything became clear. She silently accepted it, took one from inside, and handed the small Box back to Chu Xi, saying, "I only need one. Keep the rest safe."
The group set off again.
After a day of rest, Li Hong's Awareness had recovered, so he volunteered to scout ahead.
It was a long journey of thousands of miles to Luliang. At Li Hong's sword speed, he could easily reach there in a day, but that was with Lingyi's speed, not Yue Que's. However, considering the lower cultivation levels of Chu Hai and the others, as well as the need to guard against the Demon Sect, Li Hong calculated that they would need at least three days if they traveled during the day and rested at night.
Li Hong secretly decided that he must stay fully alert during these three days and ensure the safety of his master and senior brothers on their return to Nine Li Sect.
Unknowingly, he had taken the responsibility upon himself.
The first day passed in a tense rush. They spent the night by an unnamed Great Lake. The water sparkled under the sky, deep blue and clear, with white reeds swaying in the wind along the shore. A bright full moon illuminated the vast surface of the water, creating a beautiful scene.
Under the clear moonlight, fish occasionally leaped from the mirror-like lake, their large tails splashing water everywhere, creating sounds that echoed far into the quiet night.
At first, Li Hong was startled by these sounds and jumped up; once he realized it was just fish, he chuckled at himself for being so jumpy. He turned to Chuxiong and asked, "Are you hungry? Want some grilled fish?"
Chuxiong eagerly nodded in excitement. The two flew low over the water on their Flying Swords. With a swift motion of his Dragon Tail Whip, Li Hong focused on the surface of the water and caught a fish with a flick. In less than half a moment, they had caught over ten large fish, each more than three feet long and still wriggling as they were pulled from the water. Chuxiong's eyes sparkled with joy as he grabbed a piece of water grass to string them together. However, when they reached about ten fish, the grass couldn't hold such weight and suddenly snapped. The fish fell back into the water with a splash.
Chuxiong panicked and jumped into the water to catch them one by one and throw them onto the shore while shouting, "Quick! Help! How dare you escape! Just wait until I catch you!"
The big fish flopped vigorously near the shore. The previously heavy-hearted group burst into laughter at this scene and jumped up to help. One by one, they pinned down the fish and moved to clean and scale them by the lake.
Chu Xi finally revealed a sweet smile after being tense until now as she approached the shore to watch.
Chuxiong squinted his eyes and deliberately threw a four-foot-long fish toward Chu Xi with all his might. Caught off guard, she was startled when the large tail slapped against her cheek.
Feeling her hand covered in fishy smell made her angry instantly as she shouted, "Chuxiong! Get up here! Just wait until I deal with you!"
Chuxiong smiled silently, but Li Hong called out loudly, "Let's clean the fish! Chuxiong's meat is tough and not tasty!"
"You—" Chu Xi wanted to say something harsh, but when she saw the proud White Shadow on the water's surface, the words just wouldn't come out. Suddenly, she dove into the water, creating ripples that spread out as she disappeared.
After a long wait, Chu Xi still hadn't surfaced. Li Hong grew anxious and was about to fly over to check when he suddenly saw the water ripple. Chu Xi shot up from the water, surrounded by mist. She gracefully turned in the air, her Silver Moon Robe fluttering in the breeze, and in that instant, her clothes had already dried.
Under the moonlight, a bright White Shadow stood on the water.
Chu Xi casually tossed her Long Hair and laughed, "The water is very refreshing."
She had actually washed off all the dust this way. Li Hong admired her cleverness and decided to follow suit by diving into the water.
Everyone felt enlightened; soon there were splashes as they all took a quick bath.
The aroma of grilled fish gradually filled the air as everyone gathered around the fire. That night was peaceful and satisfying.
The next day, they flew for three or four thousand miles and reached the area of Weizhou in the Qin Feng Road of the Song Dynasty. After passing through Liupan Mountain, they entered Guanzhong.
Spirit Stone looked back towards the north and pointed at a range of majestic mountains on the horizon. "North from here is Kongtong. How about we rest there tonight? They have kinship ties; perhaps they will escort us to Lüliang."
Ling Xiangzi showed a mocking expression. "Kinship ties? They are just like that old man from Yiyang! Seeing us in trouble, who knows how they would take advantage of it! It's getting dark on Pegasus; we should hurry along and find a densely populated area in Guanzhong to spend the night. We won't have to worry about those Demon Sect Monsters causing trouble!"
Spirit Stone nodded.
As dusk fell, everyone quickened their pace, and soon Guanzhong appeared beneath them.
But where could they find a densely populated area? The more they looked, the more desolate it became. The once fertile land of Guanzhong was now mostly empty. With the invasion of the Jin people and Western Xia taking advantage of the chaos, Song Dynasty citizens either died or fled. The scenes of countless homes lit up at night were gone forever, leaving only sparse flickering lights in dark ruins that resembled a Dead Zone ghost town.
Occasionally, they flew over areas with concentrated lights, but no one had any intention of stopping—those places were already under Jin control. Chuxuan had long shouted angrily that he would never coexist with the Jin people in one city; otherwise, he would not hesitate to kill ordinary people.
No one blamed him; everyone understood his feelings and could only continue silently forward.
As midnight approached, Chu Hai swayed precariously on the Flying Sword. Spirit Stone, unable to bear it, pointed to a spot below and said, "There's a small village over there; let's make do and stay for the night."
In the darkness, everyone flew directly to the front of the village and landed, immediately furrowing their brows tightly.
The small village was not large, with about ten dilapidated earthen Thatched Cottages. The courtyard doors were wide open, allowing a clear view inside. The interior was pitch black, and the broken windows rattled violently in the wind. Aside from that, there was an eerie silence with not a single person in sight.
"Where is everyone?" Chu Hai casually chose a house and stepped inside. Before Li Hong could remind him, he turned and rushed out, his face pale as he shouted, "Dead bodies!"
Li Hong had already caught a whiff of the overwhelming stench; he was familiar with this smell—the odor of decaying Corpses.
Chuxuan's expression darkened further; his eyes glowed faintly green like a beast in the darkness. He turned to leave, spitting angrily, "Another mess caused by the Golden Dog!"
No one wanted to share a room with corpses. Spirit Stone sighed and turned to walk out of the village. Li Hong noticed something strange in a certain area; his heart stirred, and he stopped, turning back into the earthen courtyard that Chu Hai had just fled from.
The small courtyard was not big, containing three earthen houses. Much of the thatch on the roof had been blown away by strong winds, but some remained greenish. He paused briefly to look at the thatch before stepping into the dark doorway.
The door was wide open, and on the ground lay a person dressed like an ordinary villager. Li Hong bent down to examine the dead person's face closely; his confusion deepened as he walked into the left room.
On the kang (a traditional heated bed) and beneath it lay two Corpses, both dressed as women. The Corpse on the kang was curled up, with black hair and not much age. Li Hong looked at the one on the ground. With gray hair and wearing a simple dress, it was an old woman whose Corpse lay face down.
He approached the Corpse and turned it over. His heart sank again.
The three Corpses were identical in their state of death: their faces were cyanotic, eyes bulging, mouths leaking dark purple clots of congealed blood, and there were no visible wounds on their bodies. They had undoubtedly died from poisoning. Moreover, they had not been dead long; Li Hong estimated it couldn't have been more than two days at most. Since it was late summer and still warm, decomposition had just begun but was still relatively mild.
Li Hong exited the earthen house and turned to enter another courtyard, then another.
As he walked out of the small village, his confusion reached its peak.
The crowd could not withstand the ominous atmosphere. Since Li Hong had not yet emerged, they waited at the front of the village, but no one dared to approach. After a long time, Spirit Stone frowned and asked, "What took you so long?"
Li Hong did not respond; instead, he looked around. This small village was located in the hills, situated on a flat area halfway up the mountain, with a large forest blocking the view in front. It was relatively far from the frontline of the Jin Army's attack. This meant that unless the Jin Army was familiar with the surrounding environment, they would not discover that such a small village was hidden in these hills.
From what he had observed earlier, it was clear that no soldiers had passed through this small village. Although most of the young adults were absent, the elderly and women and children continued to live there. These people had all died at nearly the same time, all from poisoning.
It wasn't done by the Jin Army! The Jin Army couldn't have used poison!
Li Hong voiced his suspicions. Before he could finish, Spirit Stone's expression changed drastically: "We need to leave! This place is not safe!"
"It's too late," someone said ominously.
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