Chapter 124 The woman whose eyes were covered during the festival bumped into his chest. ...

The Moyu River originates from Kunlun Mountain and flows northward for thousands of miles, passing through the remaining territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty. It then continues northward, flowing under the icy abyss in the far north, and finally empties into the North Sea.

"Auntie, look, that's Moyujiang."

On the back of the roc, the person in Jiang Yuhuo's arms excitedly peered down, pointing with their finger as if afraid Jiang Yuhuo couldn't see them.

"Don't move around, or you'll fall."

Jiang Yuhuo pulled the person back, but also followed her finger and looked down from the sky.

As the thin clouds dispersed and we left the Kunlun Mountains, the mountain range gradually leveled out, and a green river flowed through the flat land, winding northward like a ribbon across the land.

Even from the air, one could see the crystal-clear, jade-green river below, a sight that seemed incongruous with its name. Jiang Yuhuo couldn't help but recall the stories of the immortal sects that Wen Yizhan had told her before, as well as the origins of the river purification ritual.

A century ago, the Great Zhou Dynasty, which had ruled the Central Continent for a thousand years, was in turmoil. It was defeated by the rising power in the Yongshui region, and war raged across the land, leaving countless people in despair. The demons, which had long been suppressed by divine power, gained strength and had the opportunity to escape their seal. War and demons raged together, making the world increasingly chaotic.

The gods have departed from the heavens and will no longer hear the cries of the mortal world. Only the immortals dwelling high in the mountains can save humanity from suffering.

The various sects and families of the immortal sects, who were originally engaged in many open and covert struggles, now had no choice but to work together to kill the demons. However, the demons of that time were nourished by the sorrow, hatred and resentment that filled the human world, and their strength was far beyond what the demons of today could compare to. Even if the entire immortal sect worked together, it was only a Pyrrhic victory. At the cost of the deaths of hundreds of cultivators, the demons that were causing trouble were finally suppressed at the bottom of this river.

The name of Moyu River was originally Fumo River. However, the people who relied on the river for their livelihood did not want the river, which they depended on for survival, to only have the connotation of subduing demons. So they gradually called it Fumo River. And because the river water is clear all year round, the people also gave it the character "Yu" (jade).

Over the course of a century, the world has undergone numerous changes. The Great Zhou Dynasty, originally ruled by divine decree, has become a bandit regime confined to a corner of the land. The Demon-Subduing River, which buried hundreds of immortal cultivators and countless demons, has transformed into the Black Jade River. Legends of immortals and demons, along with the lives of ordinary people, have all been swept away by this river, flowing northward with its rolling currents.

The only constant is the annual river purification ritual.

Due to its advantageous location, the Moyu River has always been guarded by cultivators from Kunlun. Every March, Kunlun sends cultivators along the river to pray, burn talismans on the riverbank, throw in magical objects containing spiritual power, and perform various sacrificial rites to remove any possible demonic energy and to pay tribute to the predecessors who perished here in the past.

Jiang Yuhuo stared intently at the river below. The further north she flew, the closer she felt something was getting.

Her trip to Moyujiang was not entirely for the sake of purification rituals, but more because she knew that there were spirit-summoning trees here, and not only were there, but there were many.

There is a large area near Moyu River where the spirit-summoning trees have always been in the same place. Jiang Yuhuo guesses that they may be growing in this area, but this is not within the scope of her investigation.

What she was looking for was another plant nearby, but one that kept changing locations, as this would be in accordance with the way the ritual implement was used.

Wen Yizhan rode on his sword and arrived at a position next to Jiang Yuhuo's roc. Jiang Yuhuo was looking at the ground, deep in thought, seemingly writing something, completely unaware that he was right next to her. He had to call out to her loudly, "Junior sister, we are about to reach Xidu City. Let's rest here for the night and then meet up with the senior priests we have contacted."

Jiang Yuhuo came to her senses, nodded, and then saw Wen Yizhan curl her lips, ride her sword and swoop down like a meteor, quickly disappearing from the sight of the two people on the back of the roc.

Xiao Jing stared in disbelief, then grabbed Jiang Yuhuo's clothes tightly. "Auntie, he won't fall to his death, will he?"

Jiang Yuhuo couldn't help but laugh, and deliberately leaned close to her ear and said, "Are you ready? We're going down too."

Before Xiao Jing could understand what to prepare, Jiang Yuhuo blew a whistle, and the roc beneath him immediately folded its wings and plunged downwards.

The sudden weightlessness startled Xiao Jing, who screamed in terror. She clung tightly to Jiang Yuhuo, not daring to open her eyes, fearing she would fall at any moment.

Wen Yizhan sheathed his sword and stood on the ground to wait. From a distance, he could hear a scream coming from the sky. The roc swooped down for a distance, and only when it was about a hundred feet from the ground did it finally slow down and land slowly. But the little girl on the bird's back was already crying loudly in fright, and her snot and tears were smeared all over Jiang Yuhuo's clothes.

Seeing the two suddenly land, Wen Yizhan raised an eyebrow. Her little niece was quite capable, managing to teach her junior sister to be mischievous.

"Alright, alright, we've landed on the ground. Open your eyes and see for yourself." Jiang Yuhuo patted her back gently, comforting her softly.

Xiao Jing opened her eyes a crack and saw the ground right in front of her. Only then did she calm down. She angrily punched Jiang Yuhuo, complaining and feeling wronged, "You scared me on purpose!"

It's clear that my aunt didn't land like this when we went to Kunlun last time.

Jiang Yuhu surrendered, but couldn't hide the smile on her lips. "I was wrong. I won't scare you again, okay?"

Xiao Jing gave a heavy "humph," wiped away her tears, and still took her aunt's hand as usual.

*

The three of them had quite a bit of trouble to find an inn with vacancies in Xidu City. Upon asking, they learned that it was the day of the Immortal Spirit Festival in Xidu City, and people from all directions had come to Xidu City, making it extremely difficult to find a room. In the end, the three of them managed to get the last vacant room in this inn.

However, it was only a short stay, and since cultivators could meditate at night, having only one room was not a problem.

However, Wen Yizhan has not yet been able to contact the senior guarding Moyujiang. The message was sent out back in Kunlun Mountain, but there has been no response to date.

Inside the guest room, a purple jade tablet hung in the air, completely empty, showing no signs of spiritual energy fluctuations, and not a single word was transmitted.

"Could it be that the seniors are busy with other things?" Jiang Yuhuo asked.

"That shouldn't be the case. These seniors are usually incredibly idle, except when they're performing purification rituals." Wen Yizhan reached out and picked up the jade piece, examining it carefully. She couldn't see any damage to the talisman. "It's not broken either. What on earth are those seniors doing?"

The demons had long been sealed away, so the purification ritual wasn't a difficult task, just arduous. There were no real demons to deal with; all that remained was completing the ritual and traversing a river on foot. The journey, with stops along the way, would take anywhere from a month to two or three months. For a young cultivator eager to advance in their cultivation, such time was precious and shouldn't be wasted. But for Wen Yizhan, who lacked ambition, or rather, had reached a point of no progress, it wasn't.

Zhang Zhenyang sends him here every year, intending to temper his character. Whether his character has improved much is unknown, but he's become extremely familiar with these veteran river guardians. This is the first time they've ignored him like this.

"Never mind, they're still on the banks of the Moyu River, they can't escape." Wen Yizhan put away the talisman. "If there's still no news by tomorrow morning, we'll go downstream to look for them."

Jiang Yuhuo nodded. That's good too. By searching along the way, they can more accurately sense the location of the Spirit Tree.

Little Jing, who was leaning against the window, said, "Auntie, let's go out and play! There are so many exciting things to see in the city tonight."

Jiang Yuhuo, who was visiting Xidu City for the first time, originally wanted to go out and explore, but when she heard Xiao Jing's words, she frowned and asked, "How do you know there's a lot of excitement here? Are you familiar with this place?"

Hearing this, the person by the window turned around, quickly waved their hand, and looked around nervously, "We're not close, I... I just walked over and saw it."

Jiang Yuhuo stared at the person by the window for a long time, seemingly lost in thought.

*

As the daylight faded inch by inch, the city lights began to illuminate the city one by one.

Xidu City is the temporary capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty. It is built on the banks of the Moyu River, and a tributary, the Qingshui River, flows through the city.

Although this capital city was temporary, it has now been around for a century. As the capital, the Western Capital is rather small, even smaller than some of the prefectural cities within the Dayong territory. However, what makes a capital a capital is not its size, but more importantly, the functions it serves.

The Immortal Spirit Festival is one of the important functions of Xidu City. It is a festival set up for the immortal cultivators who perished in the battle against demons a hundred years ago. It cannot be held in any other city but only in Xidu City. A hundred years ago, the immortal sect stood on the side of the Great Zhou Dynasty to stop the war in the human world, and the final battle between the hundred cultivators and the demons also took place on the Moyu River.

When the immortal sects and the demons sank into the river together, the people of Xidu City were the witnesses to it all.

Therefore, all those in the world who wish to commemorate this great war will come to this city during the Fairy Festival.

The water flows gently, with countless lanterns floating on it, swaying as it flows towards the Moyu River outside the city. The entire surface of the Qingshui River is covered with a continuous stream of floating lanterns, creating a magnificent and beautiful scene.

Ling Changyu casually picked up a floating lantern and began to read aloud, word by word, "May the Immortal Lord bless my mother with good health, my son with long life and wealth, my husband..."

There was probably something else written after that, but the ink had been blurred by water and was no longer legible. The person who wrote it was probably a lady who was praying to the immortals for her family, but she didn't write about herself.

Upon closer inspection, almost every floating lantern is covered with wishes. Mortals believe that the immortal lords who fought for them a hundred years ago will continue to protect them after their deaths, so they let the lanterns carry their wishes to those immortal lords. The Qingshui River in the city is a tributary of the Moyu River, and these lanterns will eventually be carried by the water to the Moyu River.

“What mortals ask for is the same thing every year.” Ling Changyu shook his head, getting a little bored after looking at it for a while. He turned to his side and asked, “Sect Master, will you be following the custom this year and granting the wishes of a few people?”

On the banks of the Qing River, a blue-haired merman in a white robe stood by the water, looking down at the surface. Lanterns floated past him, their light seemingly filling the river, yet none of them caught his eye. He seemed to be standing there quietly, lost in thought, detached from the world.

Whether it was just his imagination or not, Ling Changyu felt that the Sect Master had changed at some point.

If he was desolate before, now he seems lifeless. He is almost expressionless, and all emotions, such as joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, seem to have vanished from his face. He is often absent-minded, and even after a period of seclusion, his condition has not improved. It often takes many calls to bring him back to his senses, and no one knows what he is thinking.

When exactly did the changes begin?

Ling Changyu thought back carefully. Perhaps it started from the time he came out of the sinking pool, or perhaps even earlier, from the night the spirit-suppressing array collapsed.

Ling Changyu couldn't remember, but he felt that the current Sect Master seemed to have lost interest in everything, and probably even less interest in something as trivial as fulfilling mortals' wishes, so he asked a question.

Sure enough, a moment later he heard the clan leader's reply, "No need, I'm just here on behalf of Tianque to offer sacrifices."

Ling Changyu nodded; this was within his expectations.

The sacrificial ceremony had been completed on the banks of the Moyu River. Ling Changyu was about to ask permission to return to Tianque when he noticed the Sect Master's gaze fixed on a certain spot. Following his gaze, Ling Changyu saw two floating lanterns on the water, always close together. While the other lanterns had been swept away by the current, these two remained inseparable. Upon closer inspection, one could see the spiritual energy applied to the two lanterns, indicating they were bound together by spiritual power.

Ling Changyu found it amusing, "Having already embarked on the path of immortality, do you still need to pray to the immortal lord like a mortal?"

He became interested, and with a flick of his finger, the two floating lanterns drifted towards him. He picked them up and saw that one of them had the words: "May my junior sister have all her wishes fulfilled and be free and at ease."

Even the lamps are tied together, so the other lamp must belong to that devoted junior sister.

Thinking this, Ling Changyu looked at the other lamp, only to find that the entire lamp was blank except for a smudged ink dot. The person holding the lamp seemed to have thought for a long time without writing anything, and finally the ink from the tip of the brush slid down and smudged on the lamp surface.

A slender, jade-like hand reached out, brushed away the spiritual energy from the two lamps, and took away the lamp that had not been inscribed with a single word. The fingertip slowly caressed a spot on the lamp surface, a spot that a person would touch when holding a lamp.

"My lord, what's so special about this lamp?"

Lord Zongzi stared at the lamp in silence for a long time, and Ling Changyu couldn't help but ask curiously.

There was nothing unusual about the lantern; in fact, because it had been submerged in water, even the scent of the person who had held it had dissipated. Jia Yue gazed silently at the candle flame in the center of the lantern.

If that person were still alive, she would probably have written such a pair of lanterns with her senior brother.

If she were there...

The blank lamp was placed back on the water and drifted away alone.

Jia Yue gazed at the departing floating lanterns in silence for a moment, then finally turned away, flicked her sleeve, and said, "Let's go, it's time to go back."

Ling Changyu, puzzled, quickly put the other lamp back in his hand and hurriedly followed.

Along the Qingshui River, some people set off fireworks by the water, while many others watched from the shore with lanterns, playing and laughing.

Everything around was chaotic, and it was all too noisy for Jia Yue.

"Auntie, come and catch me!"

A clear, childlike voice rang out, accompanied by the tinkling of silver bells, as someone ran past him.

Jia Yue suddenly stopped in her tracks.

As the noise subsided, the faint scent of incense lingered in the air.

He paused for a moment, then instinctively turned around. A very young girl passed by behind him, hiding behind a tree and secretly observing in another direction. He suddenly felt nervous, his fingers unconsciously clenching.

Then, he followed the girl's gaze back—

The female cultivator, dressed in black with a white silk blindfold, her long black hair tied up high, walked slowly, occasionally turning her ear to listen to the sounds around her, as she slowly approached him.

Jia Yue was completely stunned.

His blood seemed to freeze instantly, his mind going blank. It felt as if someone was drumming in the heavens and earth, one beat after another, deafening, on his temples, his neck, his chest. In a flash, he realized it was his heartbeat.

He dared not move, suppressing all his aura, even though it was just his imagination. He was afraid that if he accidentally disturbed something, she would disappear silently again.

The city was ablaze with lights, and the riverbank was ablaze with shimmering reflections.

The woman with her eyes covered bumped into his chest.

In an instant, my heart stopped beating, all sounds ceased, leaving only the warmth of the body and the familiar scent.