Chapter 104 The Disaster of Fat Legacy (1)

"Fuji Mountain is under the jurisdiction of the Blackwood Sect and governed by the mortal city of Longlan. It was originally just an island in the middle of a lake, surrounded by the waters of the Liuzhong River. Who could have imagined that over the millennia, the terrain would gradually shift, transforming the small hilltop into a mountain range stretching from east to west, effectively monopolizing sunlight? The people of Fuji Town, at the foot of Fuji Mountain, are all mortals. How could they have known the feng shui damage this shift in terrain would cause?"

Qu Qitao seemed to have a hint of pity for the mortals he was talking about. "This terrain is the most yin of yin, perfect for those demonic cultivators and ghosts to cultivate their yin spirit poisons. Although the mortal world hasn't reacted to any major events, we cultivators have a duty to serve the world. To avoid being late to the party, we have been ordered to go to Fuji Mountain to set up an evil-repelling formation to keep out the evil."

Hearing this, Xi Xingji sighed softly, "This isn't a big deal. If the Mortal Emperor hadn't set up a station there, the Black Wood Sect and I could have solved it on our own."

Shang Qian snorted coldly at the word "Emperor." "Didn't you elect the new emperor? He's raising armies to attack smaller states, and he's also wary of powerful officials and exiling meritorious generals. How does this benefit the people? By the end of this year, we'll unite with the Yunyu Sect and demand his abdication."

"Although that's true, he is respectful to the monks after all. He only messes with the mortal world. He is much better than those emperors who always want to overthrow the six major alliances. After all, in this year."

The three began to talk, and Luo Xuanyi listened silently, feeling somewhat baffled. Under the Zang Yao Sect's rule, there were only the original valley paths, no mortal life, let alone an imperial dynasty. At most, they supported a few small, evil sects. Therefore, she had learned everything about the righteous path from books. Now that she thought about it, if the people of Guning Village hadn't also been imprisoned for hundreds of years, they would have immediately sensed Luo Xuanyi's ignorance of the mortal world.

From the three's words, we can roughly infer that the Mortal Dynasty is a subordinate of the Six Great Alliances, indirectly governing the mortal world on behalf of the Immortal Sect. Even though these three are only in the Foundation Establishment stage, they show no respect for the emperor and frequently talk about overthrowing him. However, they also tacitly acknowledge the immortal cultivators' duty to protect the common people, rushing to prepare for a rainy day even when no evil is imminent. It seems they truly care about the people.

However, Luo Xuanyi cared more about the Fu Jishan they mentioned. It sounded like the terrain was an excellent place to gather spirits and yin. She could cultivate her body and soul at the same time. In order to relax their vigilance, she also began to chat with the three of them, secretly revealing from her words that she had been in seclusion for forty years and had just come out.

Not long after, the ferryman called out, and the bamboo pole stood firmly on the shore. "Gentlemen, we are obeying the river gods and cannot leave the Yanhe River. Therefore, please disembark at Jiao Ferry. From here, you can take the Wenyang River boat to Liuzhong River."

Qu Qitao smiled and said, "You've been ferrying people across this Yanhe River for so long, you don't know what's happening outside! Aside from the Yanhe and Yanghe Rivers, most of the major rivers on this land have dried up and their water levels have receded. The Wenyang River has long been impassable to navigation, and the Liuzhong River is one of the few rivers that has actually risen instead of dried up."

"A disaster for the fat man," Shang Qian sighed, pulling a translucent cyan spirit stone from his belt storage pouch and tossing it to the ferryman. However, Luo Xuanyi sensed something amiss about the stone's appearance. The Zang Yao Sect's spirit stones were mined and polished briefly to avoid cutting. Because some people would drain the spirit stones of their energy and then trade them, the spiritual energy within them was measured and recorded on the stone's surface as a measure of value.

But the spirit stone Shang Qian retrieved, while still emitting the aura of pure spiritual veins mined from heaven and earth, was strange in appearance. The spirit stone had been cut and pressed into a round, flat coin, half the size of a palm, and a layer of something resembling a barrier enclosed it, completely sealing the spiritual energy within. Not only did his spirit stone resemble this, but Xi Xingji also retrieved three spirit stones of the same design, bending down and placing them into the small jar at the ferryman's feet.

"Fellow Daoist Xuanyi, you've been listening to my nonsense all this time, so let me pay you with this spiritual coin." Xi Xingji smiled, followed Shang Qian and lightly jumped onto the shore. Qu Qitao turned around and looked at Luo Xuanyi: "Fellow Daoist Xuanyi, are you willing to come with us? I haven't made any friends who are independent cultivators yet!"

Seeing Luo Xuanyi nod, she happily jumped on the spot and floated lightly from the bow of the boat down to the river bank. Luo Xuanyi followed closely behind.

The ferrymen sang their river god song loudly, threw away their bamboo poles and disappeared into the smoke.

"I'd like to thank Fellow Daoist Xi for helping me out." Luo Xuanyi tried to appear frank, using the fact that she hadn't been out of seclusion for a long time as an excuse. "I only have some spirit stones I got from a small mine in the wild. I don't know if the world has changed now. Can I pay directly with spirit stones?"

Xi Xingji seemed to understand why Luo Xuanyi, a mere "wandering cultivator," didn't have any spirit coins. "Just now, when I heard Fellow Daoist Xuanyi say he'd been in seclusion for forty years, I kind of understood. After all, I have some friends who are wandering cultivators. You haven't joined the Six Great Alliances or White City, so most of what you have are spirit stones. You can use them, but they've become increasingly standardized in recent years, and many places no longer accept them. When we arrive in Longlan City, you can go to the Baose Store to exchange them for spirit coins, but the market value is uncertain."

"Tsk, what are we going to Longlan City for?" Shang Qian didn't bother to hide his dissatisfaction with the Mortal Dynasty. "Do we still need to report to them?"

Xi Xingji was clearly more reserved and steady than the outspoken Shang Qian. "That's the procedure. Besides, the records we have on Fu Jishan are definitely not as detailed as those obtained by Longlan City. This is also for the people of Fu Jishan."

Shang Qian smacked his lips, no longer protesting. Without a word, he raised his sword and flew southwest. Xi Xingji took a deep breath, nodded to Qu Qitao and Luo Xuanyi to follow, and flung open his robe. He followed Shang Qian through the air, stepping on the dark clouds that curled from his sleeves. Luo Xuanyi took a closer look and saw that the dark clouds were actually a swarm of black beetles.

Qu Qitao clearly disdained Xi Xingji and deliberately kept her distance. She pulled a flying boat from her storage bag, its ornate curtains draped across it, making the others appear rather shabby. Luo Xuanyi declined Qu Qitao's invitation and instead summoned a bamboo slip to fly away.

"Just follow Fellow Daoist Shang Qian and head southwest."

The three of them sped up their escape technique and caught up with Shang Qian in a matter of seconds. Xi Xingji was about to strike a pose and say something when he noticed Shang Qian looking down in silence. Xi Xingji and Qu Qitao followed Shang Qian's gaze and fell silent as well.

Luo Xuanyi was somewhat curious about what caused them to react like that, and she looked down curiously.

First update~