589: Lu Xueqi (66)

The three of them left the valley and headed toward the nearest town.

Along the way, Su Han kept recalling the battle with True Man Chi Xia.

The opponent's strength far exceeded his imagination; if Wang Shouren had not appeared in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

This made him even more urgently desire to improve his strength.

As he walked, he subconsciously touched the reincarnation mirror fragment in his bosom.

What kind of secrets did this mysterious ancient mirror hide?

Why did even an expert like True Man Chi Xia value it so much?

Several hours later, the three arrived at a small town named "Linnan."

This town was located at the junction of the Central Plains and the Southern Border, and its architectural style already bore distinct Southern Border characteristics. The clothing of the pedestrians on the street was also quite unique, with many people wearing brightly colored ethnic costumes.

"Let's find an inn to rest first, and while we're at it, we can inquire about the latest news from the Southern Border," Su Han suggested.

Lu Xueqi and Bi Yao had no objections.

The three found an inn in the center of town named "Ke Zai Lai" and requested two superior rooms.

Su Han took one room alone, while Lu Xueqi and Bi Yao shared the other.

After getting settled, the three went to the inn's main hall to have a meal.

It was near noon, and the main hall was filled with all sorts of people, making it extremely noisy.

Su Han specifically chose a quiet spot by the window and ordered a few small dishes.

While waiting for the food, he listened to the conversations of the diners around him, hoping to glean some useful information.

Most of the diners were talking about daily trivialities or the trading conditions for Southern Border specialties.

Just as Su Han was feeling somewhat disappointed, the conversation of a few people dressed as merchants at the neighboring table caught his attention.

"Have you heard? The Southern Border hasn't been peaceful lately!" a burly man with a full beard said, lowering his voice.

A thin, small man next to him asked curiously, "Brother Wang, what's going on?"

The man called Brother Wang looked around before whispering, "Strange phenomena have been appearing frequently deep in the Southern Border recently. It is said that a treasure has emerged!"

"A treasure?" Another person immediately became interested. "What kind of treasure?"

"I'm not clear on the specifics, but I've heard that several large Schools have sent people to investigate, and even some factions from the Central Plains have been stirred into action."

Su Han and Lu Xueqi exchanged a glance, both seeing a sense of gravity in each other's eyes.

Bi Yao's eyes lit up; she was clearly very interested in the "treasure."

The people at that table continued their conversation.

"Not only that, but I've also heard that the Southern Border Witch tribe has been very active lately, seemingly plotting something big."

"The Witch tribe? Those guys who specialize in Witch Gu arts?"

"Exactly. A friend of mine returned from the Southern Border a few days ago and said that all the major villages of the Witch tribe are gathering manpower, seemingly to hold some important ceremony."

Su Han frowned slightly.

The Southern Border Witch tribe was one of the most mysterious local factions, skilled in all kinds of bizarre sorcery and Gu poisons, and rarely interacted with the outside world.

Now that they had suddenly become active, could it be related to the Ancient Bronze Palace?

At this moment, the dishes they ordered arrived.

Su Han temporarily suppressed the doubts in his heart and began to eat.

After the meal, Su Han said to the two women, "I'm going out to inquire about the specific situation; you two should rest at the inn for now."

Lu Xueqi nodded. "Be careful."

Bi Yao stood up instead. "I'll go with you. I'm more familiar with the Southern Border, so I might be able to help."

Su Han thought for a moment and did not refuse.

The two left the inn and wandered around the town.

Although Linnan Town was small, because it was located on a major traffic artery, the market was quite prosperous.

Shops lined both sides of the street, selling all kinds of Southern Border specialties, from strange herbs to exquisite silver ornaments; everything was available.

Su Han noticed that there were indeed many more outsiders dressed as Martial Forest practitioners in town, all looking hurried, as if they were all rushing toward the Southern Border.

In front of a stall selling medicinal herbs, Su Han stopped, pretended to pick out some goods, and asked the stall owner casually, "Boss, has anything major happened in the Southern Border lately? I see quite a few outsiders in town."

The stall owner was a lean old man from the Southern Border. Hearing this, he sized Su Han up and smiled. "Is the customer also here for that 'Heavenly Divine Light'?"

"Heavenly Divine Light?" Su Han felt a stir in his heart, but his face remained calm. "Please enlighten me, Boss."

The old man lowered his voice. "It is said that half a month ago, a strange light appeared in the sky above Black Witch Mountain deep in the Southern Border every night at the Hour of the Rat. Some say it is a rare treasure emerging, while others say it is an ancient Secret Realm opening."

Bi Yao interjected, "Old man, has the Witch tribe been doing anything big lately?"

The old man's expression changed slightly. He looked around before whispering, "Young lady, you are well-informed. The Witch tribe is indeed acting unusually; wizards from all major villages are gathering at the Sacred Mountain. It is said that they are going to hold the 'Witch God Sacrifice,' which happens once every hundred years."

Su Han bought some herbs as a token of thanks and left the stall with Bi Yao.

"It seems that something major is indeed happening in the Southern Border," Su Han mused.

Bi Yao nodded. "The Heavenly Divine Light and the Witch God Sacrifice happening at the same time is likely no coincidence."

The two returned to the inn and informed Lu Xueqi of the news they had gathered.

After hearing this, Lu Xueqi pondered for a moment and said, "In that case, we should head to the Southern Border as soon as possible. If it is truly related to the Ancient Bronze Palace, we must not let others get there first."

Su Han agreed. "That is what I was thinking too. We will rest for one night and set out early tomorrow morning."

That night, Su Han sat in meditation in his room, carefully feeling the residual medicinal power of the Rejuvenation Pill circulating within his body.

After the battle with True Man Chi Xia, he felt that his control over his spiritual power had become more refined, and his cultivation showed faint signs of a Breakthrough.

He took out the reincarnation mirror fragment from his bosom and examined it carefully under the moonlight.

The material of this ancient mirror was neither gold nor jade; it felt warm and smooth to the touch, and the mirror surface was blurry, only able to vaguely reflect a human figure.

Su Han tried to inject a trace of spiritual power into it; the mirror surface suddenly glimmered, but then it dimmed again immediately.

"It seems I need to collect all the fragments to unleash its true power," Su Han muttered to himself.

Just at this moment, he suddenly felt a disturbance in his bosom.

He took it out and saw that it was the ordinary bronze mirror he had obtained from Yuelai Inn.

At this moment, the bronze mirror was vibrating slightly, and a faint halo of light appeared on its surface.

What surprised Su Han even more was that a few lines of small text appeared in the bronze mirror:

"Black Witch Mountain, night of the full moon, bronze appears."

The text appeared for a moment and then disappeared, and the bronze mirror returned to normal.

Su Han was shocked.

This bronze mirror gifted by Wang Shouren was indeed no ordinary object!

It seemed to be pointing out the time and location of the Ancient Bronze Palace's appearance.

Black Witch Mountain must be the place where the strange phenomena mentioned by the herb stall owner occurred, and the night of the full moon referred to the time of the full moon.

Su Han calculated the time; there were exactly twenty days left until the next full moon.

"There is not much time left," he thought to himself.

From Linnan Town to Black Witch Mountain deep in the Southern Border, even with fast horses, it would take at least half a month.

This meant they had to set out as soon as possible to catch the opportunity on the night of the full moon.

Early the next morning, the three packed their luggage and prepared to set out. (End of chapter)