Jin Fangcaozhou
"That river is called the Hao River. It flows through Fangcao Island and winds around Shenrang Mountain. What does Miss Yu mean by asking this?"
Yu Zhu: "The group that kidnapped you in Yingtian Town claimed to be from Fangcaozhou. The back of Shenrang Mountain is also Fangcaozhou, and the Hao River flows through Fangcaozhou. It looks very suspicious. I suspect that the other three children were transferred to Fangcaozhou. Baicao Village closes at night. If Zheng Qi leaves, she may pass through Shenrang Mountain."
Bai Wei hesitated and said, "But Shenrang Mountain is teeming with poisonous creatures at night. Isn't the risk too great?"
“We didn’t see many poisonous creatures when we followed Zhao Guang that day. Perhaps they have already dealt with them.” Jing Xu picked up the teapot with his well-defined knuckles. “Besides, if they can cultivate land and grow medicinal herbs in Shenrang Mountain, crossing a mountain shouldn’t be difficult for them.”
Yu Zhu raised an eyebrow, took the teacup, and Jing Xu practically pointed at Bai Wei's nose and said, "You think the poisonous creatures of Shenrang Mountain are dangerous, but I don't think so."
After swallowing the tea, Yu Zhu said directly, "I suggest we take a trip to Fangcaozhou."
The people in the hall fell into thought.
Ning Wu spoke first, "The Guiyi Sect hastily concluded this case. If you all decide to go to Fangcaozhou, I would also like to go with you to give Baicao Village an explanation."
Jing Shu scoffed lightly, "It's good enough that you don't cause trouble. You went up the mountain that day too, but you gave us the wrong directions, which made us late. We couldn't even stop people from exploding and dying."
Ning hesitated for a moment, then said weakly, "It was my fault for leading you the wrong way, but you didn't even notice when someone self-destructed."
"Tsk!" Jing Shu said impatiently, "Alright, I'll discuss this with the chieftain."
She stood up, straightened her crimson skirt, and looked at Yuzhu. "Azhu, the chieftain wants to see you. Come with me."
After saying that, he ignored everyone else and went straight out the door, with Yuzhu following him.
"Senior sister, what does the chieftain want with me?"
Jing Shu tapped Yu Zhu's forehead, "Have you forgotten why you came to Baicao Village?"
Then, glancing at her sideways, he said coolly, "That's perfect. I don't even need to say anything. You've suffered so much for Hundred Herbs Village, and she still hands over the secret technique with both hands."
Yes, she came looking for a secret method to suppress the demon bloodline, but she ended up busy fighting crime.
The chieftain looked to be in his thirties or so, but was actually much older than that. He was wearing a soft blue dress and had a smile on his face.
After exchanging greetings, Jing Shu informed the village chief of her previous speculation.
The chieftain pondered for a moment, then said, “Some of our villagers were greedy and went up the mountain to look for medicine. They died from poison, and their deaths were gruesome. It was our negligence that we failed to notice the abnormality on the mountain in time. Thank you all for your help.”
"Chief, please don't be so polite. This is the duty of my Yingtian Sect, but I do have a request."
The chieftain leaned forward, and Jing Shu continued, "My junior sister has demon blood. She was unaware of this before and entered the spiritual path. Now, her demon bloodline and spiritual power are incompatible. I've heard that Baicao Village has a secret method to suppress bloodline power. I hope the chieftain can help."
"this……"
"Rest assured, Chieftain, whether it's feasible or not, we will go to Fangcaozhou to investigate this matter thoroughly," Jing Shu said solemnly.
Although the people of Baicao Village are skilled in cultivating spiritual herbs, their cultivation is mediocre, with few outstanding individuals. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to sneak into their back mountain.
After weighing his options, the chieftain got up and walked into the inner room. A short while later, he returned carrying a small box and a scroll of wooden slips.
She opened the box, and inside the snow-white silk was a yellow, transparent bead with a black dot inside.
"These are the eggs of the blood-drinking worm. After ingestion, the eggs hatch and grow by absorbing the power of blood. The longer the worm is raised, the stronger its ability to absorb blood becomes."
Yu Zhu's lips parted slightly, then pressed into a straight line. Raising an insect inside her body? Just thinking about it made her back itch as if insects were crawling over it, so she reached out and scratched it.
The chieftain smiled slightly, "You won't feel anything after you take it."
Seeing Yuzhu's resistance, Jingshu asked, "Is this the only way?"
The chieftain nodded. "This is the secret method of Hundred Herbs Village to suppress bloodline power. There are only three Blood-Drinking Worms."
Before Jing Shu could say anything more, Yu Zhu pressed down on her forearm. "Thank you, Chieftain."
The chieftain opened the wooden slip and said, "Please leave a mark on this slip to prove that you requested this Gu."
It seems that something did happen in Baicao Village because of the Gu worms, and the people in the village are very cautious about it.
After using her spiritual power to inscribe the mark, Yu Zhu came out of the village chief's house. Jing Shu still needed to discuss the follow-up plans with the village chief.
Jing Xu was waiting outside, his posture upright and his features exquisite.
He had been talking with Ning Wu and Bai Wei and learned that Zhao Guang had entered Baicao Village three years ago under the guise of a medicine merchant, so their plan had probably already begun.
Upon hearing this, Yu Zhu gripped the small box in her sleeve tightly, her face showing worry.
Sensing Yu Zhu's agitation, Jing Xu asked with concern, "What's wrong, Senior Sister? Could it be that the secret technique of Baicao Village is useless?"
What's wrong? Half of her troubles stem from him, but when she met Jing Xu's clear, flowing eyes, she couldn't bring herself to say it. Jing Xu really cared about her.
"Nothing much, the secret technique is useful. Once the sect leader and the others find a way to remove the soul imprint, you will be able to replenish your soul and your cultivation will advance by leaps and bounds."
“There’s no rush to replenish the soul. We still need to find a foolproof plan, with Senior Sister’s safety as the top priority,” Jing Xu said slowly.
Yu Zhu smiled, neither confirming nor denying. Deep down, she still hoped to resolve the matter as soon as possible. There was a feeling that a storm was brewing. Zhao Guang and his group had been hiding well for the past three years. What made them suddenly make a fuss?
However, Jingxu is still a sapling, so Yuzhu didn't say these things to him. She should focus on his studies first.
Did you see me use the Wind and Snow Technique that day?
"I saw it! Senior Sister's sword shadows are illusory, creating a mix of reality and illusion, leaving the enemy overwhelmed."
"Illusion and reality complement each other?" Yu Zhu turned around and walked backwards. "Does it snow in Kanzhou? When it snows, are any snowflakes fake? Every sword strike of the Wind and Snow Technique is real."
For this reason, the Wind and Snow Technique places extremely high demands on the user's spiritual power; it must be not only abundant but also pure.
"You can try practicing it. Ask me if you don't understand. The more you improve your cultivation, the more powerful your Wind and Snow Technique will be."
Jingxu nodded in agreement and decided to start cultivating later.
Back in her room, Yu Zhu lay on the bed, staring at the blood-drinking worm on her fingertip for a long time. Suddenly, she sprang up and went to the table, swallowed it with water, and waited for a while. She felt nothing at all.
The jade tablet flashed, and Yu Zhu picked it up; it was a message of condolence from Chang You.
The first person Yu Zhu saw after transmigrating was Chang You. He brought news that Immortal Venerable Qiong Fang had sacrificed herself to repair the Bi'an Gorge formation, leaving her speechless.
During that period, her memory was confused, and she didn't act like the original owner of the body. It was he who said, "Yu Zhu suffered a blow, and her temperament has changed." This gave her time to process the transmigration and the series of events related to the original owner of the body.
Later, she asked Changyou to move out of Luobai Residence, saying that she was afraid of being reminded of the past. When she said this, she didn't dare to look Changyou in the eye, for fear that he would realize that she was not the original owner of the body.
After moving to Qingyao Garden, Changyou and Jingshu often came to visit her. It was Changyou who noticed her awkwardness, and gradually, the two of them visited Qingyao Garden less often.
Yu Zhu could sense their concern for him, but he couldn't interact with them without reservation. Firstly, he was afraid of being discovered as not being the original owner of the body and being mistaken for someone who had possessed it. Secondly, their concern stemmed from the fact that the original owner was their junior sister whom they had known for a hundred years, and Yu Zhu always felt that she had been usurped.
Yu Zhu shook her head, banishing the past eighteen years from her mind, and replied to Chang You, asking if he had found a way to erase the soul imprint.
Meanwhile, Jing Shu discussed with the chieftain that she and Bai Wei would go from Shenrang Mountain to Fangcaozhou to check if there were any traces of others in the mountains, while Yu Zhu and the others would take a flying boat to Fangcaozhou and go into the city first to investigate.
Before leaving, Jing Shu specifically instructed Yu Zhu that they were only going to investigate the situation first, and all actions would be decided after exploring Shenrang Mountain. She also told Jing Xu and Zhou Nan to keep an eye on her.
Yu Zhu wanted to say that she actually expected two Foundation Establishment cultivators to keep her in check. She didn't even need to use her ultimate skill; the two of them would have collapsed by now.
But seeing that her senior sister, a bright and beautiful woman, was about to become a chatterbox, she still meekly agreed and promised to protect herself.
Then there's Ning Wu. Whether he was righteous and indignant or shameless, he managed to hitch a ride on Yu Zhu and the others' flying boat and went to Fangcaozhou together.
Baicaozhai is very close to Fangcaozhou, just a few hills away. Yuzhu arrived before she even had a deep sleep.
She was still yawning, half-asleep, when everyone disembarked from the flying boat.
"Senior sister is tired, let's go into the city and settle down quickly," Jing Xu's voice came.
"It's alright, let's take a look around first. Fangcaozhou is also known as Huadu (Flower City). The flowers are beautiful, the water is beautiful, and the people are even more beautiful. We must take a good look around." Yuzhu waved her hand.
As soon as you enter the city gate, you are greeted by a cacophony of noise. The streets are bustling with people, the women dressed in various styles, but all of them have beautiful hair and graceful figures, and the men are also dressed in fine clothes, each with their own unique charm, and even everyone has flowers in their hair.
Yu Zhu spotted a flower shop and exclaimed excitedly, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do! Let's go pick out a flower too!"
Dazzled by the myriad of flowers vying for attention, Yu Zhu was at a loss as to which one to choose.
"This green jade flower perfectly complements your dress, fairy. Why don't you take a look at it, fairy?"
Yu Zhu looked up and saw a man with a handsome face and red lips leaning casually against the flower stand. His hibiscus-purple robe was loose and loose, revealing a large part of his chest. He held a white peony with green petals between his fingers and smiled at Yu Zhu.
"Fox...fox spirit." Aren't all the demons in the cultivation world hiding in deep mountains and forests?
A smile spread across the man's lips as he approached Yuzhu, intending to place a flower in her hair.
A pulling force came from her wrist, and Yuzhu took two steps back.
"Senior sister, it looks like someone is giving away flowers for free up ahead. Let's go check it out."
Jing Xu turned to the man and said, "I'm sorry, we just lost some money and we're short on cash right now."
Yu Zhu then remembered that that damned Zhao Guang had damaged his spiritual energy bag, and she still needed to find a repairman to fix it.
The man shrugged and said nonchalantly, "Please go ahead, sir."
Jingxu pulled Yuzhu out of the flower shop.
"Senior sister, do you know what else Fangcaozhou is famous for besides its flowers?"
Yu Zhu asked, puzzled, "What?"
"The Art of Union," said Zhou Nan, who had been silent all along.
Ning Wu: "It has only become popular in the last ten years. Fangcaozhou is full of beauties, and cultivators often come here because of their reputation. But there are also venomous beauties among them. Some cultivators have not only been cheated out of their treasures and spiritual artifacts, but have also lost their cultivation."
"While the femme fatale is certainly detestable, the cultivators who come seeking her out are not necessarily innocent either. It's simply a matter of who has the better skills," Yu Zhu concluded.
Ning Wu opened his mouth as if to say something, but suddenly heard a commotion in front of him.
Free flowers?
Yu Zhu pulled Jing Xu forward, and Zhou Nan and the other two followed.
Squeezing through the crowd, a chubby male cultivator was announcing loudly, "As you all know, my Jia family will be happily married to the Baili family, and the wedding procession will arrive at Fangcaozhou tomorrow. From today until the wedding ceremony, anyone who comes to the Jia family to offer their congratulations will receive three spirit stones and one Qingling Flower."
Upon hearing this, the people around him became excited. Although spirit stones and Qingling flowers were not rare, they were still useful. It was considered a bargain to gain something just by saying a few words.
Yu Zhu and Jing Xu exchanged glances for a moment. The Jia family—the focus of their trip—was actually going to form a marriage alliance with the Baili family.
According to Yu Zhu, there is only one family in the cultivation world that calls itself the Baili Clan.
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