21: Chapter 21 The First Journey East

When the morning bell of Heyin City rang, Lu Mingyuan had already packed his bags.

He pushed open the inn door; the hallway was still quiet. The previous night's clamor seemed washed clean by the morning light, leaving only the occasional creak of the wooden floorboards. As he walked downstairs, the innkeeper behind the counter was yawning. Seeing him descend, the innkeeper quickly forced a smile: "The guest is up so early; the porridge on the stove isn't ready yet."

"No need, I'm heading out now." Lu Mingyuan settled the bill and placed two copper coins on the counter.

Walking out of the inn, the streets were still asleep. Dew condensed on the flagstone path, and a few early-rising porters carried vegetables to the market, their shoulder poles creaking. The air was cool and crisp, carrying a scent of vegetation mixed with morning mist as he inhaled.

Lu Mingyuan tightened the bundle on his back—actually, most of his things were in the qiankun bag, and this bundle was just a ruse—and walked toward the east city gate leaning on his tingchao staff. The gate had just opened, and the night guards were changing shifts with the morning crew. Seeing him approach, they waved him through casually.

Leaving the city, the official road stretched southeast in the morning light. Unlike yesterday, there were few pedestrians on the road today, with only the occasional post horse galloping past, kicking up faint dust. Lu Mingyuan activated his Swimming Dragon Step, moving at a steady pace, the tip of his staff clicking rhythmically against the ground.

After traveling about ten li, a deserted Earth Deity Temple appeared by the roadside. The temple was dilapidated, with missing tiles and a plaque hanging askew over the lintel, where the words "Fude Zhengshen" could be faintly discerned. An old locust tree stood before the temple, and beneath it was an ancient well with mottled moss on its rim.

Lu Mingyuan stopped in his tracks.

Under the Eye of Clarity, the aura around this temple was somewhat unusual. In an ordinary abandoned temple, Spiritual Qi should gradually dissipate and return to normalcy. But here, there was a faint sense of stagnation and oppression, as if something had "nailed" the Spiritual Qi in place.

He approached the temple door and peered inside through a crack. The interior was dim, the statue had toppled over, and the offering table was covered in dust. However, there were no fallen leaves on the ground—this was strange; with the bleak autumn wind and the broken temple door, fallen leaves should have been blown inside.

He pushed open the temple door.

"Creak—"

The sound was exceptionally piercing in the silence. Dust fell in flurries, dancing like gold powder in the morning light. Lu Mingyuan stepped into the hall, holding his tingchao staff horizontally in front of him as his Divine Thought quietly expanded.

After three breaths, his brow furrowed slightly.

There was no Demonic Qi, no ghostly aura, nor any sign of living creatures in the temple. But that sense of stagnation became even more apparent, as if he had stepped into a pool of stagnant water. He walked to the statue and crouched down for a closer look. Beneath the base of the statue were faint carvings—not words, but a kind of distorted pattern, like a child's graffiti, or rather...

"Remnants of a Formation."

Although the patterns were severely damaged, one could still tell they were a corner of some kind of binding Formation. Judging from the residual Spiritual Qi fluctuations, it had been set up no more than three months ago. The technique was crude, but the core runes emitted a "scent" he was unfamiliar with—turbid and greedy, thirty percent similar to the aura of the Northwest Rift, yet a hundred times weaker.

"A derivative of... Chaos Devilish Qi?" Lu Mingyuan guessed to himself.

He stood up and looked around. There were strange stains on the temple walls, dark brown, like dried blood, yet without the smell of blood. There were several claw marks in the corners, deeply embedded in the brick and stone, beyond what human strength could achieve.

Suddenly, the tingchao staff vibrated slightly.

Lu Mingyuan focused his senses—a faint "sound of tides" came from the staff, pointing toward the back of the temple. He went around to the back, where he found a patch of overgrown wasteland. On the ground lay a skeleton.

The skeleton was not large, resembling a bobcat or a wild dog, but the bones were an unnatural jet black. The skull was shattered, and the rib cage was twisted into a bizarre shape. Lu Mingyuan used the tip of his staff to gently push aside the grass, discovering that no grass grew around the skeleton, and the soil was also jet black, emitting a faint, nauseatingly sweet and bloody scent.

He took out a yellow talisman paper—this was a "Purification Talisman" given to him by Xuanweizi before his departure, one of ten used to purify evil. He pressed the talisman onto the skeleton and silently recited a mantra.

The talisman ignited without wind, and bluish-white flames enveloped the skeleton. Within the flames, the skeleton made a "sizzling" sound, and a wisp of black smoke rose, twisting and struggling in the air, faintly forming a blurred mouth filled with sharp teeth before dissipating.

After the flames died out, the skeleton returned to a normal grayish-white, and the surrounding black soil also lost its color.

"As expected, there are remnants of Chaos Devilish Qi." Lu Mingyuan's expression turned grave.

This was just an ordinary beast that had mutated after being eroded by Devilish Qi, eventually dying in a frenzy. But the problem was—this place was more than a thousand li away from the Northwest Rift. How could Devilish Qi spread all the way here?

Unless... there is more than one rift.

Or, something carrying Devilish Qi is moving southeast.

He remembered the merchant at the tea stall mentioning that "all birds and beasts on Eagle Mountain had died out," and the notice about Wang Meng raiding "Black Wind Ridge"—which was also to the Northwest. Was there a connection between these events?

After a moment of contemplation, he took out the original copy of the classic of mountains and seas and communicated with it using his Divine Thought. The pages turned on their own without wind, stopping at the topographical map of "Central Plains Southeast." Three hundred li east of Heyin City, a line of small silver characters was marked: "Within three hundred li of this area, there are seven clogged nodes in the earth veins. If they encounter abnormal Qi, they easily become breeding grounds."

"Clogged earth veins..." Lu Mingyuan closed the ancient scroll and looked toward the southeast.

Longhu Mountain was in that direction.

He turned and left the Earth Deity Temple to continue his journey. This time, he increased the speed of his Swimming Dragon Step to fifty percent, his figure moving like the wind as the scenery on both sides of the official road receded rapidly. At the same time, he operated the Eye of Clarity at full power, constantly sensing changes in the surrounding aura.

At noon, he arrived at a fork in the road.

There was a stone stele at the intersection engraved with "Sancha Station," with arrows pointing toward "Southeast to Jiangzhou," "East to Luling," and "Northeast to Yuzhang." According to the map, going "Southeast to Jiangzhou" was the shortest path to Longhu Mountain.

Lu Mingyuan stopped before the stele and took a sip from his water skin. Just as he was about to continue, he suddenly heard the rapid sound of horse hooves coming from the small path to the east.

Three horses charged out from the path, carrying three men in tight-fitting attire with sabers on their backs and bows slung over their shoulders, looking travel-worn. The leader was a burly man with a bushy beard. Seeing Lu Mingyuan, he reined in his horse and cupped his hands, saying, "Brother, I'm asking for directions—is this the way to Luling?"

Lu Mingyuan pointed toward the small path to the east: "Indeed."

"Many thanks!" The man was about to spur his horse but paused, sizing up Lu Mingyuan for a few moments. "Are you a scholar, brother? Traveling through these desolate mountains and wilds alone isn't very safe."

"Just a study tour; I'll just be careful."

"A study tour?" Another tall, thin man sneered. "In this day and age, what's the use of studying? It's better to learn a few martial arts moves." He patted the saber at his waist.

The bearded man glared at his companion and then said to Lu Mingyuan, "Brother, take my advice. About thirty li ahead, the area around Qingsong Ridge hasn't been peaceful lately; there are monsters afoot. Several traveling merchants have already gone missing. If you must take this path, it's best to wait for a merchant caravan to travel with, or take a detour."

"Monsters?" Lu Mingyuan's heart stirred. "What kind of monsters?"

"Hard to say." The bearded man shook his head. "Those who went missing all disappeared at night, leaving only a pool of black water that smells foul. The local authorities called in a Taoist, and that Taoist said something like... 'not a demon, not a ghost, seemingly a devil but not quite.' Anyway, it's very sinister."

The tall, thin man grew impatient: "Big brother, why waste words with him? We still have to get going!"

The three spurred their horses eastward, the sound of hooves gradually fading.

Lu Mingyuan stood in place, looking toward the small path to the southeast. Qingsong Ridge... on the map, that was exactly one of the clogged nodes of the earth veins.

To go, or to detour?

A detour would mean traveling an extra two hundred li, delaying him by at least three days. Going directly might mean encountering unknown dangers.

He remembered Xuanweizi's words: "The path of cultivation is unavoidable. Retreating in the face of danger will tarnish the Dao Heart."

He also remembered his determination when he left Zhongnan Mountain—to experience events, observe the heavens, and seek the truth within this Mortal World.

"I'll go and take a look then," he said softly, stepping onto the southeast path.

The small path was much narrower than the official road, flanked by dense pine forests. It was late autumn, and the pine needles were still green, but a heavy atmosphere permeated the woods. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the needles, casting mottled light and shadows on the ground, yet it could not dispel the chill.

Lu Mingyuan slowed his pace, spreading his Divine Thought to a radius of three zhang around him. Holding the tingchao staff in his hand, his Spiritual Qi flowed quietly, ready to trigger his Protective Aura or cast a Spell at any moment.

After walking about ten li, the pine forest became even deeper. Strange marks began to appear on the road—like stains from a dried viscous liquid, dark brown, emitting a faint, sweet, and bloody scent. It was from the same source as the aura in the Earth Deity Temple.

He crouched down to look closely, his fingertip lightly touching the edge of a mark.

"Sizzle—"

A faint stinging pain came from his fingertip. It wasn't high temperature but an erosive power trying to burrow into his flesh. Lu Mingyuan circulated his Noble Spirit, and a faint white light appeared on his fingertip, dispelling the power.

"What a domineering erosive quality..." He frowned.

These were just residual marks. If he encountered it head-on, how strong would it be?

Continuing forward, the marks became more frequent and fresher. Some even twitched slightly as if they were alive. Several pine trees by the road appeared unnaturally withered and yellow, with deep claw marks on their trunks.

Suddenly, a bird's cry came from the forest.

It wasn't a crisp chirp, but a hoarse, distorted sound, like a mournful cry from a strangled throat. Lu Mingyuan looked up and saw a crow perched on a withered branch. Its eyes were a turbid dark red, its feathers were disheveled, and black saliva dripped from its beak.

The crow stared intently at him, then suddenly flapped its wings and lunged!

It was extremely fast, like a black shadow. Lu Mingyuan stepped aside to dodge and swung his tingchao staff in one smooth motion—

"Smack!"

The staff hit the crow squarely. The crow shrieked and exploded into a cloud of black mist, a foul stench filling the air. Within the black mist, tiny insect-like things could be seen wriggling before they dissipated.

Lu Mingyuan looked at the tip of his staff—a wisp of black mist had clung to it and was trying to erode the bamboo staff. He channeled his Spiritual Qi, and the green bamboo staff emitted a warm, gentle glow, purifying the black mist.

"Even ordinary birds have been eroded to this extent..." His heart felt heavy.

This was only the outskirts. What would the center of Qingsong Ridge be like?

He took a deep breath and continued forward.

The pine forest grew darker and darker, with sunlight barely able to penetrate. The sweet and bloody scent in the air became stronger, mixed with the smell of decay and death. Animal skeletons began to appear by the roadside—rabbits, foxes, and even a deer, all with jet-black bones and twisted in death.

Turning a corner, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

It was a clearing in the forest where seven withered giant pines stood. The pines formed an irregular circle, and in the center, the ground had collapsed into a pit three zhang wide.

Within the pit, a viscous, dark red liquid was surging.