novelraw Chapter 126
Chapter 126
From the perspective of family ties, he would rather believe that his third uncle had died.
From the perspective of human nature, the old man most likely ran away, deliberately hiding it from him, wanting him to take the blame for negligence.
The second guess was more in line with reality, was it not?
Because of this, Yuan Qu’s emotions were very tense at this moment, to the point of being on the verge of erupting.
Just then, a subordinate at the third layer of Qi Refining ran over with a strange expression and said:
“City Lord Yuan, the envoy has ordered action.”
“What?”
Yuan Qu almost jumped up, grabbed the subordinate by the collar, his eyes turning red.
“He has gone mad, has he not? It is broad daylight, large-scale plundering will definitely be discovered from above.”
“No…”The subordinate said nervously.
“The envoy and a few disciples of the Spirit Vulture Sect seem to want to search the whole city for a mysterious person. Last night this person captured the envoy’s disciple, a cultivator named Wang Wu.”
Only then did Yuan Qu calm down a little.
“Wang Wu? I know him. He disappeared?”
“Yes.”
“That little bastard, still delaying my affairs at this time.”
After cursing a few words casually, Yuan Qu gradually calmed down, but felt something was not right. The image of his third uncle’s spotless bamboo house appeared in his mind.
“No, where is the envoy sent by the Spirit Vulture Sect?”
The subordinate wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
“The envoy said he would search outside the city, leaving the inside to us.”
“Nonsense, he ran… he must have run away!”
In this world, the smarter a person is, the more they believe in themselves. Yet there are also those with paranoia, who believe themselves different, always beginning with ‘Am I the only one who thinks…’.
Trying to show their superiority and uniqueness, yet in the eyes of others looking like a clown, blind to the excellence of others and their own shortcomings.
While being stubborn, they always live in their own world.
Yuan Qu was between this type and the truly clever. His mind was not sharp, yet he firmly believed in the so-called truths he deduced.
He was convinced the old City Lord and the envoy had run away, so they had run away.
He could not see the unreasonable parts of this guess.
For example, why did the old City Lord make him inherit Stone Lake City, why did he choose to live nearby in seclusion, nor did he see the mission the envoy carried. Instead, he stubbornly clung to his imagined “truth.”
“It must be an agent of the Heavenly Void Sword Sect coming. Run quickly… if late, there will be no life left. Yes… I must run.”
Yuan Qu whispered in a barely audible voice.
After a long time, he raised his head and said:
“Pass down the order. Everyone immediately carries out the plundering task. Send all the captives to the fourth tunnel entrance, wait for the envoy’s instructions.”
“Yes.”
The subordinate received the order, asked no more, and went to execute it immediately.
Once the subordinate had gone far, the seemingly composed Yuan Qu stumbled away like a panicked dog. From the direction he ran, he was clearly going to gather his valuables.
Obviously not very brave, yet still doing such things. It was hard to understand.
……
……
In an unknown forest, Wang Yu carried the unconscious Wang Wu and used the Thousand Li Divine Travel technique, rushing all the way toward Black Mountain Pass.
He was not familiar with the terrain of the Taihu Spiritual Domain, but he knew the direction of Black Mountain Pass. Using it as a landmark, to the north lay Withered Leaf Marsh, to the south lay the Black Mountain Demonic Land.
Both of these areas were occupied by Core Formation stage demonic beasts, and not just one.
According to his plan, he would not be able to return to the Blood Reversal Sect in the short term, and he had already prepared to break through to Foundation Establishment in the Taihu Spiritual Domain. The resources were all ready, Wang Wu was already in his hands, only waiting for the secret art to reach perfection.
At that time, once the breakthrough succeeded, he would directly cross one of the two dangerous regions. After returning to the sect, he would then plan further matters.
Now what he needed to do was set up a temporary cave residence that was sufficiently hidden, and quietly wait for the day of success.
Compared to the harsh environment of the marshlands, the Black Mountain Demonic Land was an area of primitive mountains, brimming with spiritual essence, with multiple third-rank spiritual veins and many derived second-rank and first-rank ones.
For his cultivation, except during realm breakthroughs, he had almost no requirements for the environment.
As long as he found a suitable location on the outskirts, he could settle down in seclusion.
Another reason was that the six members of the slave-hunting team, carrying a secret mission, had disappeared heading north and had yet to return. His choice to head south was deliberately to avoid them.
In case of encounters that were hard to explain, no matter how one looked at it, his choice was very reasonable.
Thus, along the way he did not encounter any unexpected events.
After spending nearly half a month, Wang Yu barely arrived at his destination. On the way, Wang Wu woke up several times, only to be forcefully knocked unconscious again. By now his whole face was swollen, his neck drooping, giving off a strange impression as if his spine was dislocated.
The landscape of the Black Mountain Demonic Land was different from the Blackbone Mountain or Spider Mountain he had seen before. The soil was fertile, spiritual energy was abundant, and the air was filled with natural fragrance.
Towering ancient trees hundreds of meters tall stood everywhere, vegetation thrived with vitality, and even the grasses on the ground reached one zhang in height. A person stepping inside would appear almost invisible.
Such places were only visited by cultivators, either to hunt demonic beasts or to search for spiritual herbs and rare treasures, since these lands bordered the Black Mountain Pass.
Normally, cultivators of the Taihu Spiritual Domain would settle in Heixiong City near Black Mountain Pass, using that place as a center for their activities.
Wang Yu had no identity here, so he did not dare to approach rashly. After all, he did not even know the common knowledge of the cultivation world in the Taihu Spiritual Domain. It was better to stay far away.
“This is it.”
After entering the Black Mountain Demonic Land, Wang Yu no longer rode the Blue Butterfly Sword through the skies but instead landed and began walking through the forest.
As he went deeper, whenever he encountered a second-rank demonic beast, he would use the invisibility technique gained from the Hidden Dragon Treasure Bone and detour around them.
From the outer mountains, he moved inward until reaching the edge of the inner zone, not fully entering before stopping.
According to his cautious nature, preparing in advance was his habit.
Back in the Blood Reversal Sect, he had collected maps for some time, which now proved useful. Although he did not have a map of the Taihu Spiritual Domain, the Black Mountain Demonic Land bordered the Crimson Kite Demonic Domain.
Both sides regarded it as one of their exploration zones.
Therefore, some rough or fragmentary maps were available.
After careful identification, Wang Yu walked a few more li to the right. Soon a cliff wall as though carved by knife and axe appeared before his eyes, with an exaggerated fissure in the center, extremely striking.
This was the result of natural evolution.
Seeing the cracked cliff, Wang Yu finally felt more at ease. Entering from below, he followed the narrow passage, turned three bends, and walked dozens of steps further before it suddenly opened up.
Inside was a world of its own.
Three hundred years ago, this was discovered as a refuge by a disciple of a demonic sect. At that time, when the demonic sect invaded the Taihu Spiritual Domain, they plundered and, while returning with spoils, were ambushed by righteous cultivators.
Outnumbered and unable to resist, they scattered and fled into the Black Mountain Demonic Land to survive.
It was then that this place was discovered.
Wang Yu had found this information in the biographies stored in the Scripture Pavilion. The biography belonged to a Foundation Establishment cultivator who had already passed away.
Therefore, this place was considered relatively safe.