Chapter 247 Mountains and Rivers Intertwined (Part 1)

Tengyao City is located in the eastern part of Chenyao Continent, where hundreds of powerful spiritual veins are located. It is hidden among the mountains and surrounded by desolate and uninhabited deep forests, where ferocious beasts that have not yet developed intelligence often appear. It is currently the season of continuous rain, and the air is filled with dampness and the smell of decaying vegetation. Even boots feel sticky when they step on the ground.

Yu Sanlang led the way, gripping his flute and brushing aside the withered vines in front of him. His once white robes were now stained with mud and leaves, and his wet hair clung to his forehead, making him look quite disheveled. He stopped beside the roots of an ancient vine that was three zhang thick, pointed into the distance, and said, "That is the Vine Demon City."

In the distant mountain valley, there is a deep green city, with vines entwining and spreading on its ancient walls. It stands quietly in the drizzling rain, adding a touch of gentle mystery.

“This city was massacred two thousand years ago.” Feng Wuyou didn’t like the damp weather. He stood on a dry vine branch and looked out. “The vine demon clan was originally hunted down because they could be used to make life-extending pills after death. That massacre almost wiped them out. Later, they joined the kite bird clan. Ji Jingchen treated them very well, and their situation improved a lot. But there aren’t many strong fighters in the clan. However, they are very good at setting traps, so it’s difficult for outsiders to get in.”

Wei Feng liked the dark and damp environment. He stretched and said, "Since there aren't many capable fighters, let's charge in."

“We have no grudge against them, it wouldn’t be good to start a fight right away.” Chan Lin was very amiable, but when he met Wei Feng’s murderous gaze, he immediately looked at Jiang Gu, “You agree, Brother Jiang?”

Jiang Gu nodded. He naturally wouldn't make a move, after all, having too many enemies would be troublesome. He looked at Wei Feng: "Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"

Although Wei Feng usually has a quick temper and a strong desire to kill, he always has a reason for it and rarely kills without explanation. Jiang Gu felt something was wrong when he fought with Yu Sanlang before, and now it's even more obvious.

Wei Feng touched his nose and said, "I don't feel uncomfortable."

Jiang Gu casually drew two calming talismans and placed them behind Wei Feng's ears. The anger in Wei Feng's heart was instantly suppressed by most of it. He was stunned for a moment and said to Jiang Gu, "It may be because my soul is unstable."

"Stay by my side," Jiang Gu said.

Wei Feng nodded. Jiang Gu glanced at him, puzzled, when a cool hand grasped his.

Wei Feng's eyes lit up instantly, and his mood brightened visibly. He no longer had any thoughts about fighting and killing.

"Fellow Daoist Yu, do you remember the massacre of the city two thousand years ago?" Feng Wuyou's voice came from the front.

Very few people knew the cause and effect of this matter, and even he could not fathom the secrets behind it.

Yu Sanlang shook his head: "I only have some vague impressions. I can only wait until I get my memories back before I can say anything more."

"Do you still remember your master's name?" Consultant Jiang asked.

Yusaburo subconsciously gripped the flute in his hand and gritted his teeth, saying, "I have no recollection of it at all."

"Then why haven't you come to retrieve your memories yet?" Jiang Gu looked at him.

Yu Sanlang pursed his lips, his face pale: "He's still alive. If I alert him, he'll definitely kill me again."

Jiang Gu looked thoughtfully at the distant Vine Demon City and asked Feng Wuyou, "Whose temple is in this city?"

“It’s the temple of the God of Fate, Kong Xuan.” Feng Wuyou thought for a moment. “Oh right, there should be a Yong’an City on your Wangyue Continent. That Immortal Lord Yong’an is Kong Xuan’s little disciple.”

"You really know a lot," Chanlin clicked his tongue twice.

"There's no way around it. I've lived too long, so I have to find some interests to do." Feng Wuyou said, tucked into his sleeves. "Besides, if I ascend to heaven in the future, I'll definitely have to deal with these gods. This is what you call being prepared."

Even Yu Sanlang turned around and looked at him: "You actually still think about ascending to immortality?"

“That’s natural.” Feng Wuyou said mysteriously, “Young people, you should know that the great way is always natural, things will inevitably turn around when they reach their extreme, and things will eventually turn around when they are in dire straits. As long as you live long enough, anything is possible.”

Yu Sanlang pursed his lips, clearly disbelieving. Chan Lin seemed to believe it but still held onto a sliver of hope. Wei Feng's heart sank further upon hearing this. Only Jiang Gu remained unmoved, showing no sign of being affected. He had never thought that ascension was an impossible thing.

Feng Wuyou was even happier to see this, knowing that he had not misjudged the person.

They soon arrived near the entrance to Vine Demon City.

"Although the Vine Demon Clan is xenophobic, they are gentle in nature and very tolerant of cubs. Many kind-hearted Vine Demons even adopt abandoned cubs. By changing their appearance, it will be much easier to pass through the illusion array at the city gate." After Yu Sanlang finished speaking to the group, he took the lead and walked into the city gate. The moment he entered, he shrank a lot and became a child of about ten years old.

Feng Wuyou and Chanlin followed closely behind. Chanlin had transformed into an eleven or twelve-year-old child, while Feng Wuyou remained largely unchanged, still resembling a young man. He said helplessly, "There's nothing I can do. I'm too old. No matter how much I shrink, I can't change it. This formation of the Vine Demon Clan is quite powerful."

Wei Feng was the youngest among the group, transformed into a three or four-year-old child with short arms and legs. He had two child buns on his head, adorned with hair ornaments made for him by Jiang Gu. He was adorable and had bright, lively round eyes. He turned to look at Jiang Gu, expecting to see his master transformed into a child, but Jiang Gu remained unchanged, still looking the same as before.

"Master, why haven't you changed?" Wei Feng strained to look up and realized for the first time how tall Jiang Gu was.

“There’s no need.” Jiang Gu looked down at him.

Wei Feng was somewhat disappointed and lowered his head to try to change back, but his foot suddenly lost its footing and he was picked up from the ground. This feeling was really strange. He had never been held like this when he was a child, and he felt uneasy. He said anxiously, "Master, please put me down. I want to change back."

“Your soul is unstable and your mind is restless; you’ll have a hard time getting through this.” Jiang Gu refused his request, glanced down at his chubby cheeks, and pinched them.

Wei Feng's eyes widened, but Jiang Gu casually lowered his hand, picked him up, and continued walking forward.

Wei Feng leaned on his shoulder, feeling a little annoyed. He wished he hadn't changed, and had waited for his master to shrink so he could carry him away.

The surrounding greenery gradually thickened, and the path ahead became increasingly narrow. Yusaburo, who was walking at the front, said, "The illusion array is just ahead. We will definitely be separated. We must not be fooled by the vines inside, or we will become their nutrients."

Wei Feng raised his head and looked around. A jewel-encrusted necklace appeared around his neck. Jiang Gu examined it for a moment, then added several layers of calming spells to it, instructing him, "No matter what you see in the formation, do not believe it."

Before Wei Feng could nod, he heard him say again, "It's alright if you believe me, I'll bring you out."

As soon as Jiang Gu finished speaking, Wei Feng's body suddenly felt empty. When he opened his eyes again, he was sitting alone in the swamp, with a mournful wind and howling rain pelting down on him.

Wei Feng instinctively wanted to run, but when he stood up, he found that his line of sight wasn't much higher. When he looked down, all he could see were dark, muddy legs—if you could even call them legs, they were more like tentacles, seven or eight of them, some thin and some thick. He hadn't run for long when the rain intensified, hitting his head and making it ache. With no other option, he could only follow his instincts and burrow into the mud.

He was completely dizzy and couldn't remember his name or why he was there. He was just starving, and the torrential rain and thunder outside terrified him. He vaguely remembered that it hurt a lot when lightning struck him.

He didn't know how long he had been hiding in the mud. When he was extremely hungry, he started to gnaw on the mud around him, but his stomach was still empty, which made him very anxious. Finally, he mustered up his courage and poked his head out. He carefully took a breath of spiritual energy, but the next instant, a black and purple lightning tribulation struck him down. He was so frightened that he hid back in his mud hole, trembling with fear.

But he was so hungry that he shakily crawled out from another place. This time he was smarter and didn't dare to touch the delicious spiritual energy. He only secretly licked a mouthful of turbid air into his stomach. Seeing that no lightning tribulation was coming, he happily began to inhale the turbid air. However, his stomach soon began to hurt. He howled and rolled on the ground, smashing his body to pieces. All the turbid air returned to heaven and earth, leaving only a few traces. He lay on the ground, barely alive, struggling to piece together his limp body, but he had no strength to go back to his nest.

He was in pain and hungry, so miserable that he wished he could die right now. He swallowed a large mouthful of spiritual energy, waiting for a lightning tribulation to strike him dead. But when the lightning tribulation struck, he still didn't die.

Someone blocked his way.

A young man in red held a white umbrella with emerald green vines wrapped around it. He radiated a golden light. Rain pattered on the umbrella, and small droplets splashed onto Wei Feng's nose, making him feel a little itchy.

He smelled the boy's clear and pure fragrance.

"So it was you." The boy's voice came from near and far, his face hidden in the golden light, but it felt familiar to Wei Feng. He looked down at Wei Feng and said, "You ruined my birthday banquet, swallowed my spirit pet, and even broke into my palace last time. Haven't you suffered enough? You still dare to follow me to the Demon Forest."

Wei Feng was completely confused, but he was instinctively afraid of the other person and trembled like a leaf.

“Although you are filth, you have also gained sentience. Why don’t you become more presentable?” The boy in red looked at him with disdain, raised his foot to kick it, but then stopped mid-air with his clean boot and put it back. “Speak.”

Wei Feng said weakly, "I'm hungry, I can't get enough to eat... Please, please save me."

The boy's boots were very close to him. Hearing this, he said coldly, "Even filth should have some backbone. You always beg for help. When will you ever achieve anything in your cultivation?"

Wei Feng didn't know what backbone was, nor did he know how to cultivate. He only felt that he was about to starve to death. He broke down and cried out, "I'm really going to starve to death... I'm in pain... Just kill me."

The young man in red was taken aback for a moment, then said unhappily, "Although you have repeatedly offended me, your crime does not warrant death."

Upon hearing this, Wei Feng cried even harder.

The boy was probably crying at the sight of filth for the first time. Holding his umbrella, he took a step back, somewhat at a loss. Soon, the heavy rain pounded on Wei Feng. He trembled all over in pain, curled up into a ball, and sobbed softly, filled with despair. After a moment, the rain suddenly stopped.

Wei Feng looked up and saw the white umbrella blocking his head, while the boy in red still looked down on him, standing in the rain with his shoulders soaked but refusing to come any closer.

"This umbrella can withstand lightning." The boy in red looked at him, arrogant and indifferent. "You look even uglier when you cry."

After saying that, he disappeared from the spot.

Wei Feng stared blankly at the vines on the umbrella, sniffed, and stretched out a tentacle to tentatively wrap around the umbrella handle, still warm from the other person's body heat.

It's still warm.

He stared in surprise, his eyes wide. He cautiously opened his mouth and took a mouthful of spiritual energy. Immediately afterward, lightning struck. He was so frightened that he clung tightly to the umbrella handle, but the expected pain did not come. He was overjoyed and began to devour spiritual energy in large gulps. It was the first time in his life that he had filled his stomach.

He ate until his belly was round and full, then happily rolled around in the mud, clutching the white umbrella that was much bigger than him like a treasure, and skipped and hopped back home.

However, on the way, they encountered several people emitting different colored lights.

"Hey, isn't that Little Immortal Lord's rattan umbrella? What's it doing here?"

Is there something down there?

"Strange, I've never heard of this vine umbrella developing sentience—ah! There really is something here!"

"You scared me to death! It was just a little filthy thing." A tall figure lifted the umbrella, and Wei Feng was left hanging in mid-air, struggling desperately.

"Let go, this is mine!" He was very angry; it was given to him by the Little Immortal Lord.

"How could it be yours? This is the Little Immortal Lord's favorite magic weapon," someone laughed. "You little filth, where did you steal it from?"

“I didn’t steal it.” Wei Feng gripped the umbrella handle tightly. “He gave it to me.”

"Ha ha ha ha."

The people around burst into laughter.

“The Little Immortal Lord is most fond of cleanliness. Last time, some filth broke into his palace, and he almost tore down the entire Hua Yan Palace. How could he possibly give you anything?”

"Little filth, it's not easy to develop intelligence, lying is not good."

"This Demon Forest is dangerous. You'd better not linger here. If the Little Immortal Lord discovers that you stole his things, be careful he will punish you."

With a flick of the wrist, Wei Feng lost his grip and fell heavily into the swamp. He struggled to wrap his tentacles around the umbrella handle and shouted, "It's mine! Give it back to me!"

"Hey, don't pull—be careful!" The other person seemed not to have expected him to be so strong. In the struggle, the white umbrella flew out and disappeared into the air.

"Oh no, there's a divine array here. Could we have fallen into some kind of small world?"

"Go to the Palace of Fate and ask Immortal Lord Xuankong for help."

"Let's go, let's go."

The group left in a hurry, leaving Wei Feng lying blankly on the ground. Several of his tentacles were broken off; the immortal power of those people was too strong, and the tentacles could not be glued back together. He searched around for a long time but could not find the white umbrella that could help him withstand the lightning tribulation and feed him. He cried anxiously and sadly.

He's going to go hungry again.