Chapter 249 Mountains and Rivers Intertwined (Part 3)
The city of Vine Demons was completely silent; there was no sign of any so-called vine demons.
“Vine demons are usually timid and adept at concealing themselves. They can sense when we leave the illusion array, so they must all be hiding.” Yu Sanlang stepped on the thick soil, gripped the trembling jade flute in his hand, and suppressed the fear rising in his heart. “However, some vine demons are also fierce. Be careful of ambushes nearby.”
A light rain was falling, the air was thick with moisture, and only the sound of a few footsteps could be heard around.
Wei Feng changed back into his red clothes after listening to Jiang Gu's advice, but he was still preoccupied. He would occasionally look up at the towering vine umbrella in the center of the city. The vines wrapped around it were very similar to the vines on the white umbrella he had seen in his memory. In his sea of consciousness, the vines on the Mirror Flower Scroll that he had already refined were also slowly stretching their branches and leaves, and the shadow in the scroll was restless.
"Master, something's not right here." Wei Feng cautiously spread his divine sense, and the transparent ghost patterns silently adhered to Jiang Gu's body. He divided a part of his primordial spirit into Jiang Gu's sea of consciousness. Mist rose, completely enveloping Jiang Gu's primordial spirit, and the aura belonging to Jiang Gu instantly disappeared.
Seeing that his tense expression eased slightly, Jiang Gu went with him.
Hidden in the shadows by the branches and leaves, a pair of pale green eyes were watching them intently. The figure moved among the vines, making only a faint rustling sound.
Feng Wuyou turned around abruptly, but saw nothing. He asked Yu Sanlang, "Where are your memories hidden?"
Yu Sanlang said, "If I knew where it was hidden, would it still be considered hidden?"
“That makes sense,” Chanlin agreed, but was immediately changed his tune after being glared at by Feng Wuyou. “Yeah, right! You should think about it.”
Yu Sanlang formed a hand seal and said, "My memories were controlled by that vine demon. It wasn't until I died and the master-servant contract expired that I was able to make my own decisions. If I want to hide, I'll definitely erase my memories first. However, based on my understanding of myself, the more obvious the place, the safer it is..."
As he spoke, he looked up at the enormous vine umbrella in the center of the city and said, "Perhaps it's right here under this vine umbrella—"
Before he could finish speaking, a green figure suddenly darted out from the side and headed straight for the vine umbrella. However, someone was faster than him. Wei Feng swung his Mo Dao around, and the tip of the blade stopped just between the other person's eyebrows.
The opponent was jolted back slightly by the sharp blade energy, a drop of blood slowly seeping from between his brows. He staggered half a step backward in mid-air and hurriedly said, "Don't, don't kill me."
The other person had green curly hair, fair skin, and delicate and beautiful features. When looking at people, he had a frail and pitiful appearance. He was thin and short, not even as tall as Wei Feng's shoulder. When Wei Feng pointed a knife at him with murderous intent, he was so frightened that his face turned pale, making him look even more pitiful.
"Who are you?" Wei Feng asked in a cold voice.
The man's eyes were red, as if he had been frightened to tears, and he whispered, "I...I am Wen Hanjiu, the city lord of Vine Demon City. That vine umbrella is a sacred object of my clan. You...you cannot touch it."
With a flick of his wrist, Wei Feng slammed the man to the ground.
Wen Hanjiu fell to the ground and struggled to get up for a while. She covered her mouth but still spat out blood and fell back down.
"Dead?" Chanlin leaned closer to look.
Wei Feng sheathed his sword and flew down. Seeing Jiang Gu walk to Wen Hanjiu's side, he lowered his gaze slightly, grabbed Jiang Gu's wrist, and Jiang Gu turned to look at him.
"This vine demon is extremely cunning, Master. Be careful, it might be a trap." The ghostly markings covering Wei Feng's body almost completely engulfed him.
"You can't touch my clan's sacred artifact—" Wen Hanjiu raised her head with difficulty, and when she saw Jiang Gu's face clearly, she was slightly stunned. Her eyes reddened and tears instantly fell. She wiped away her tears helplessly and said with a bit of confusion, "Fellow Daoist, have we... met before?"
Jiang Gu replied calmly, "Never."
Wei Feng ground his back teeth and transmitted his voice to Jiang Gu: "Master, his hypocritical act is ill-intentioned. We should just kill him."
Wen Hanjiu awkwardly wiped away her tears and said dejectedly, "I'm sorry, I haven't seen any outsiders in a long time. I might have mistaken you for someone else."
Jiang Gu astutely seized upon his words: "Haven't seen outsiders in a long time?"
"The Half-Immortal Clan has already sealed off the city from the outside. Apart from the clansmen who went to Fujie City earlier, only the deceased clansmen are qualified to leave the city." Wen Hanjiu was stunned for a moment, as if she had finally realized something. "You are not from the Half-Immortal Clan?"
Chan Lin's pupils contracted, and he abruptly turned his head, shouting, "Feng Wuyou, come back!"
Feng Wuyou was helping Yu Sanlang unlock the magic seal that sealed his memories when he heard Chanlin call him. He instinctively tried to stop, but the array connecting the magic seal seemed to be absorbed into his sea of consciousness. He realized something was wrong, but it was too late. The next moment, a snow-white longsword came crashing down on him. The black ghost patterns blocked Yu Sanlang's attack. Jiang Gu grabbed him by the collar and dragged him back.
Standing in front of the vine umbrella, Yu Sanlang slowly raised his head and sighed regretfully: "What a pity. The Worry-Free Beast, at the Great Perfection of the Dao Ancestor Realm, has exceptionally good fortune. If it could devour your primordial spirit, it could hold on for a while longer."
“You are not Yu Sanlang.” Feng Wuyou was still shaken. If Jiang Gu hadn’t intervened, he probably would have fallen into the other party’s trap.
“Of course I am not Tamasaburo. I only allowed him to become a spirit after his death because of our past relationship. Unfortunately, he is still not satisfied with the status quo and always hangs out with Fujiki, dreaming of revenge.” He raised his head, his eyes gleaming with a light green.
“It’s a soul possession technique.” Feng Wuyou took a step back. “This person has been keeping his soul buried in Yu Sanlang’s body, and can possess him at any time. He has already devoured Yu Sanlang’s soul and primordial spirit.”
“Exactly.” The other person smiled. “I’m quite bored staying in Chenyaobo, so I always have to find some fun.”
"Oh, right, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Wen Xiuji, and I am currently the Holy Son of the Half-Immortal Clan." With Yu Sanlang's effeminate face, he idly twirled the jade flute in his hand, his gaze falling on Jiang Gu's face. "Fellow Daoist Jiang Gu, I have long admired your name."
"What is the meaning of your leading us here?" Jiang Gu asked.
“Hey, Fellow Daoist Jiang, please don’t misunderstand. It wasn’t me who lured you here; it was Yu Sanlang who brought you here, intending to sacrifice you to this vine umbrella so he could obtain his memories and improve his cultivation. He’s trying to kill two birds with one stone. Although you might not lose, you’ll likely have to fight a hard battle to escape.” Wen Xiuji landed on the ground, stepping on the entwined vines. “I intervened to help you when I saw injustice. I realized he wanted to take your memories, so I acted first to save you.”
"You almost devoured my primordial spirit just now and you still say you'll save me!" Feng Wuyou said. "Brother Jiang, don't listen to his nonsense. I have never heard of any holy son in the Half-Immortal Clan."
“Eh, I only said I would save Fellow Daoist Jiang, when did I say I would save you?” Wen Xiuji curled his lips. “Besides, you are just a small Worry-Free Beast. You have only lived a little longer, yet you want to take shortcuts and climb up to immortals to ascend to heaven. You can’t dream like this.”
Having his thoughts exposed, Feng Wuyou was speechless, but also became more wary.
Wen Xiuji paid no attention to the others, his gaze fixed on Jiang Gu. He cupped his hands in greeting and said, "I have come to welcome Fellow Daoist Jiang on divine orders. If Fellow Daoist Jiang has any needs, please feel free to ask. The Half-Immortal Clan will do its utmost to assist you."
Upon hearing the words "divine decree," Feng Wuyou and Chanlin exchanged bewildered glances, while Wei Feng's expression turned somewhat grim.
He was so focused on ascending with Jiang Gu that he almost forgot Jiang Gu was also an immortal from the upper realm. Although Jiang Gu had mentioned that he was just a minor immortal from the upper realm, even a minor immortal was still a true immortal. Since the semi-immortals could communicate with the gods, they would naturally know Jiang Gu's identity...
"I appreciate your kind words, fellow Daoist." Jiang Gu's reaction was very calm.
"Fellow Daoist Jiang, please wait." Wen Xiuji stepped forward to stop him, but the three people beside Jiang Gu simultaneously revealed their weapons and blocked his way.
"Didn't you hear my master appreciate it?" Wei Feng looked at him rudely.
A rare hint of killing intent flashed in Feng Wuyou's eyes. Jiang Gu was the first immortal reincarnation he had found, and his future ascension depended entirely on Jiang Gu. This half-immortal suddenly appeared and interfered, ruining his plans and cutting off his path to immortality.
Chan Lin was purely interested in Wen Xiuji's status as a half-immortal—this guy had already risen to the rank of Holy Son, so he must have many treasures on him; killing him would allow him to make a fortune.
Seeing that Jiang Gu did not stop them, a hint of displeasure flashed in Wen Xiuji's eyes, but he did not show it. He lazily raised his hand and said helplessly, "Please don't misunderstand, everyone. Since Fellow Daoist Jiang does not want our Half-Immortal Clan's help, we will naturally not force you. It's just that you just went through the illusion array to enter the city, and you will have to go through it again to get out. It's really not worth it. How about this, you can rest in the city for one night, and leave freely tomorrow when the illusion array ends and the city gates open?"
He spoke sincerely, walked to the side and helped the seriously injured Wen Hanjiu up, saying, "Ajiu is the spirit of this divine artifact, the vine umbrella, which she cultivated in the city. She has always protected the people in the city and did not mean to offend Fellow Daoist Jiang. Please forgive her."
Wen Hanjiu looked at Jiang Gu with red eyes, cupped her hands in a gesture of respect, and said, "Fellow Daoist Jiang, please forgive me."
After Wen Xiuji put his words to this point, the vine demons that had been hiding around gradually revealed their true forms. There were even more than a dozen half-immortals with unfathomable cultivation levels. Jiang Gu and Wei Feng exchanged a glance, shook their heads almost imperceptibly, and said to Wen Xiuji, "It's alright. Since that's the case, let's do as Fellow Daoist Wen says."
Wen Xiuji smiled brightly and said to Wen Hanjiu, "Ajiu, why don't you quickly take Fellow Daoist Jiang and the others to the manor to rest?"
"Yes." Wen Hanjiu nodded, looked at Jiang Gu as if he wanted to say something but hesitated, and said softly, "Fellow Daoist Jiang, please come with me."
"Thank you for your trouble." Jiang Gu nodded.
Wen Hanjiu smiled at him, a glistening tear still clinging to her eyelashes. Her gaze remained fixed on Jiang Gu, but the next moment a tall shadow loomed over him, blocking his view. He looked up and met Wei Feng's sinister gaze.
"Lead the way," Wei Feng said, looking at him with a forced smile.
A terrifying and eerie aura swept over them, making Wen Hanjiu's scalp tingle. She quickly turned around and led the way.
Wei Feng licked his sharp canines with displeasure.
It's disgusting and shameless for a grown man to get teary-eyed and cry all the time.
Trying to seduce his master? No way!
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