Chapter 80 Qixia Village

The group set off for Jinglan Mountain.

Lu Jianhong dialed the phone, and a gleaming black Maybach slowly drove up.

The luxury car exudes a cool luster, understated yet luxurious.

Lu Jianhong raised an eyebrow slightly and looked at Lu Yao. "Yao Yao, it's not too late for you to change your mind and go home with your parents."

Lu Yao didn't know much about cars.

When her spiritual energy was at its peak, she would fly on a sword.

Even if Lu Jianhong came out in a spaceship, she would remain unmoved.

At that moment, a strange and sharp buzzing sound came faintly from afar, growing closer and closer.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a Wuling Hongguang speeding towards them, raising clouds of dust behind it.

This Wuling Hongguang is no ordinary vehicle; its body is covered with the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams diagrams, and the left and right rearview mirrors are tied with red ribbons inscribed with talismans.

The wheels rolled on, and a constantly rotating golden compass was mounted on the roof of the vehicle.

The Wuling van came to a smooth stop in front of everyone. Lingji opened the car door and said to Lu Yao, "Miss Lu, please get in. This is the Lingxiao Purple Gold Escape Divine Vehicle, which I painstakingly crafted. It combines the spiritual energy of heaven and earth with the wonders of modern mechanics. Going to Jinglan Mountain will be as easy as walking on flat ground, as fast as lightning!"

Lu Jianhong was stunned for a full three seconds, then sneered contemptuously, "Daoist, what... what are you doing? Driving a Wuling van, yet you're talking about it like it's some kind of magic!"

Lingji, with a serious expression, flicked his whisk and said, "The runes on this carriage can ward off all evil and ensure a safe journey; the compass on the roof can discern good and bad fortune and guide the way. When traveling, it can draw upon the power of heaven and earth to travel unimpeded. Can your Maybach compare? If you don't believe me, let's have a contest."

Even a glimpse of the road revealed that this was no ordinary car.

She got into the car without a second glance at Lu Jianhong.

Lu Jianhong sneered, thinking that she was ungrateful and would have plenty of time to regret it later.

With the roar of engines, the two cars set off simultaneously.

Surprisingly, the Maybach, which is usually known for its speed and performance, seemed powerless in front of the Wuling Hongguang and was left far behind.

Lu Jianhong was incredulous. He turned around abruptly and yelled at the driver, "What are you doing? Step on the gas and chase after them!"

However, no matter how loudly the engine roared, the Maybach could never close the distance with the Wuling Hongguang.

Sitting in the back seat, Xie Yutong was already dizzy from the crazy speed of the car, and her stomach churned so badly that she vomited right there in the car.

Lu Jianhong, however, was still unwilling to give up. He gritted his teeth and was determined to catch up.

Just as he was focusing on speeding up his thoughts, a police car with flashing lights quickly caught up with him.

The traffic police officer sternly issued a ticket to Lu Jianhong.

Lu Jianhong was indignant. "What about that Wuling? It was speeding too, so why wasn't it fined?"

The traffic police officer's face was stern. "There are no Wuling vans on the road at all; you're the only ones speeding. This is the city center; are you courting death?"

"How is that possible!"

Lu Jianhong's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief.

Little did he know that all of this was a smokescreen cast by Lingji.

That Wuling Hongguang van had long since disappeared without a trace in the mysterious light and shadow.

At the foot of Jinglan Mountain.

A winding bluestone path stretches slowly from the foot of the mountain to the front of the house.

The small house is a typical Chinese-style building with white walls and black tiles, which looks particularly fresh and elegant against the backdrop of green mountains and clear waters.

There is a garden pergola in the front yard, and Grandma's small vegetable garden in the back yard.

Lu Yao often works with her grandmother in the vegetable garden, helping with weeding and watering.

Eight kilometers away from Xiaozhai, there are vast expanses of farmland surrounding a village called Qixia Village.

In spring, tender green wheat seedlings sway gently in the breeze; in summer, golden rapeseed flowers bloom in profusion; in autumn, heavy ears of rice bend the branches; and in winter, the fields are covered with a thick layer of white snow.

This is a memory deeply buried in Lu Yao's mind.

This time, when passing through Qixia Village, Lu Yao found that it was different from what she remembered.

The village, which was originally full of life and the warmth of human interaction, was now eerily silent.

Every household had its doors tightly shut.

Even the sounds of roosters crowing and dogs barking have disappeared.

Lu Yao frowned. "There's a bloody smell."

Lingji slammed on the brakes. "Grand Preceptor, is this man-made or supernatural?"

Lu Yao calculated with her fingers, her expression turning solemn.

Lu Yao signaled Ling Ji to stop the car, then opened the car door and stepped into the desolate Qixia Village.

The sound of shoe heels striking the stone slabs was exceptionally crisp, yet it didn't provoke a single bark from a dog or elicit a single human voice.

“This village is strange.” Lingji held a compass, his brows furrowed. The compass needle spun wildly and erratically. “The yin and yang energies here are in disarray, and evil spirits linger.”

Lu Yao stopped in front of a house.

The moment my palm lightly touched the door panel, the wooden door slid open silently.

The room was dark and gloomy, with tables and chairs scattered haphazardly, and overturned bowls of rice on the floor, the food long since dried up.

A faint sobbing sound came from deep within the house. Lu Yao and Ling Ji exchanged a glance and quickly followed the sound.

An elderly man with white hair huddled in a corner, his face filled with terror, his clothes tattered.

"Grandpa, what's wrong? What happened in this village?"

Lu Yao slowly approached and asked softly.

The old man raised his head, trembling, his cloudy eyes filled with fear: "Young lady, hurry... that sorcerer is coming back..."

Lu Yao brought her index and middle fingers together and reached towards the old man's brow to try and access his memories.

Three days ago, a Taoist priest in black robes descended upon the village entrance amidst a blood mist, black blood dripping from the crack in his compass.

The old man was the oldest person in the village and was in poor health. He fainted as soon as he saw the man in black.

The man in black robes ignored the flickering candle in the wind.

The remaining villagers were as if bound by invisible ropes, floating up one by one and being held hostage by the man in black robes.

Lu Yao was startled. The old Taoist in black robes and the compass he was holding were familiar to her.

It was that evil man who helped Ye Zhirou's husband who used a mind-altering spell to make Ye Zhirou stupid for ten years!

Until Lu Yao appeared, broke his spell, and even cleaved his beloved magical compass in two with a single sword strike.