I've never felt happy to become an immortal.

Chapter 219: Spring Breeze Does Not Pass Yumen Pass

Northern Zhou Dynasty, Xuanlong Pavilion.

Night Hours Headquarters.

Marquis Ye Qing received an urgent report.

He spread out the paper, his movements always appearing unhurried and calm.

He spent a full three minutes reading those few hundred words.

"Prime Minister?" an aide called out tentatively.

"Hmm?" Ye Qinghou came back to his senses and then chuckled: "Don't worry, this news has nothing to do with the overall situation, it just surprised me a little."

The three staff members were somewhat strange.

"Curious? You may tell me, just to refresh your tired mind." Ye Qinghou threw the paper into the incense burner to burn: "Not long ago, I arranged for someone to try to secretly target the six major sects of Qingzhou, causing them to accelerate their struggles in the martial world. Unexpectedly, this gave the young people on the Crouching Dragon List an opportunity to make a name for themselves."

"Even several of the spies we planted were dealt with."

"What surprised me most was that the White Plum Sect's connection to immortality had disappeared."

The advisor thought to himself, "Isn't that a good thing? Without the chance to ascend to heaven, the White Plum Sect will no longer have any more Heavenly Positions."

"Not necessarily." Ye Qinghou sighed softly. "In my opinion, the rise of the White Plum Sect is an inevitable trend. Its inheritance does not lie in the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts. Besides... who can say for sure that the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts has not been obtained by someone else?"

He sat back down in his chair, looking at the geomantic map, and said, "Among the six people who entered the secret realm, one of them was a secret agent of my Night Watch. His identity was actually very simple, but by chance, he managed to deceive many people. After he went through the secret realm, his whereabouts were unknown... He was just found half an hour ago."

This refers to the only unremarkable exterior scene among the six.

Where is it?

"A branch of the Wind Blade Sect... but the man has gone mad." Ye Qinghou said, "Although he's mad, he's still useful. The Night Watch spies retrieved the Eye Stone from him."

Eyestone is a special type of crystal.

Among the Yao Yi tribe, there is a special bloodline called the Spirit Eye tribe. Their eyes possess the ability to communicate with spirits, and members of the tribe can share memories to a certain extent through these eyes.

Therefore, this tribe was later exterminated because of this characteristic, and the eyes of all the tribe members who died were collected and turned into 'eyestones'.

These eye stones can store a person's memories for a certain period of time once implanted in the human body. Although they are not complete and can only retain memories with strong emotions, they are very useful in intelligence gathering.

Ye Qinghou continued, "The Eye Stone's memories are incomplete, but it retains a lot of interesting information."

He interlaced his fingers: "Pass on my orders. Have the Night Scouts operate throughout Northern Zhou, and keep a close eye on the following four people..."

"Xu Tingfeng".

"Vermilion Bird Sword".

"Frosty Green".

"Bai Xuan!"

"If there is any news."

"Capture the first three alive if possible; for the last one, life or death doesn't matter!"

After the order was issued.

He continued, "Next, let's discuss the current situation in Youzhou and the grasslands."

The staff began to discuss the intelligence they had gathered.

"This Prefect Gongsun is a tough nut to crack."

"According to calculations, the grain supply in Youzhou is already insufficient, and supporting the army would mean starving the people."

"But this time of year, when spring turns to summer, is the best time to attack the grasslands, but without provisions, nothing can be done."

"If we don't inflict a heavy blow on the horses on the grasslands when they are weak, and the cavalry invades again this autumn and winter, Youzhou will suffer another round of plunder. There will be starving people everywhere and the people will be living in misery. At that time, I will be out of a position as governor!"

"Now this governor will surely face a difficult choice, which will be the best opportunity for us to show goodwill."

"court?"

"It should be a dog leash, right?"

"They all mean the same thing."

"The same goes for the northern grasslands. They have just come through winter, and the sheep and horses are very weak from the busy breeding season. Let them fight each other."

"And we can reap the benefits!"

"That's fantastic! I understand everything now, and I can't wait to reap the rewards!"

……

on the grassland.

Xu Tingfeng listened to the sounds of sheep and horses around him, his face full of confusion.

After his vision was blocked, he was completely unaware of his surroundings, only able to smell the grass and the stench of various animal droppings.

Don't have too many romanticized notions about the vast grasslands, really...

The sky is vast and the wilderness is endless, the wind blows the grass low and cattle and sheep can be seen.

Looking at poetry always feels beautiful, but when the wind blows, the various fermented smells hit you, which modern people definitely can't stand.

Completely lost, he could only hold onto his white cane.

Soon the sound of horses' hooves could be heard.

He heard two people standing in front of him, but he couldn't hear what they were saying.

But those words startled him.

That is the language of the grassland people.

After being questioned, someone finally appeared who could speak the Mandarin of the Southern Dynasties.

"Who are you? What are you doing on our ranch?"

"I am blind."

"I see it."

"I'm a street performer," Xu Tingfeng lied with his eyes closed.

He knew that the grasslands were in the north, and if his identity was exposed, he might be surrounded and killed, his head offered as a reward.

The people of the Northern Dynasties were fierce and untamed. Although they did not eat raw meat and drink blood, they were indeed very wild, especially on the grasslands. Life was tough, and they had no interest in formalities.

Killing a few herders is easy; the problem lies in the endless stream of pursuers.

"And what about your musical instrument?"

I lost it by accident.

"Then sing a couple of lines."

Xu Tingfeng thought to himself, "How could I possibly sing... Wait, wait, I actually do know how to sing." He cleared his throat and started clapping his fingers to the beat.

"Facing the towering waves with heroic spirit—!"

……

The Vermilion Bird Sword was teleported to a location in the water.

He surfaced from the water, swam to the shore, and looked around blankly.

This place was completely unfamiliar, and judging from the clothing of the people around him, it was not a place he was familiar with at all.

His expression changed slightly, especially after he heard several children speaking in their local dialect.

The Vermilion Bird Sword immediately bypassed the crowd.

After some indirect questioning, he came to a simple conclusion.

Oh no, is this the Northern Zhou Dynasty?

He was renowned in Southern Chu, and the same was true in Northern Zhou.

After all, the servers are the same.

The Book of Mending Heaven did not care about the division of the country into the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

The reputation of Southern Chu could bring him praise, while the reputation of Northern Zhou could only bring him disaster.

The fans of Southern Chu shouted, "We are your fans, brother!" and rushed up to express their joy, while spending money to buy all kinds of merchandise. The fans of Northern Zhou shouted, "We are also your fans, brother!" and rushed up with knives, spears, and halberds, grinning and saying, "Why don't we split him up?"

If you love him, break up with him.

His hero is my enemy.

The Vermilion Bird Sword suddenly felt countless gazes surrounding it.

When he walked out of the river just now, he didn't show it at all, and his physical characteristics are so distinctive. Plus, there are many sharp-eyed people on that street, so it might get out soon.

The Northern Zhou was an alliance of martial arts forces disguised as the imperial court. The five major sects controlled the entire court from top to bottom. Therefore, there were no independent small sects in the Northern Zhou. All sects had the shadow of the five major sects behind them, either as suppliers or distributors.

Although the five major sects are not a monolithic entity, but rather have internal strife that creates a balance of power, they are still behemoths that a wandering swordsman like him could not challenge.

Even the Grand Tutor of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, who held the throne, could only manage a 50/50 split with the five major factions, barely maintaining the independence of imperial power.

The Vermilion Bird Sword knew it had to change its identity.

but……

He doesn't understand the art of disguise.

I had never learned this skill in my previous life, because in Southern Chu, being high-profile was usually not a problem; on the contrary, it could deter enemies.

Showing off like this now is practically suicide.

As he pondered what to do, he suddenly saw a clothing store, from which several beautifully dressed young women walked out.

Bai Moumou's teasing laughter rang in Zhuquejian's ears—"Brother, you smell so good."

His eye twitched violently.

To be honest, the moment he thought of this idea, he felt like he must have lost his mind, and he wished he could kill the person who said it with a sword.

After a while...

The rational will to survive prevailed.

He walked with heavy steps, as if facing death without fear, toward the shop.

Shortly after, a beautiful woman with a flat figure left the clothing store wearing a veil.

In the short time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the constables of the Northern Zhou government had begun patrolling the streets, but they had not found the direction in which the Vermilion Bird Sword had left.

……

Fan Qingshuang opened her eyes.

She was lying on the ground.

But the memory is still stuck in the previous second.

—Wait until I find you.

Remembering those words, Fan Qingshuang immediately sat up, her eyes suddenly clearing as she looked around.

The swirling white mist was eerie and desolate.

An unfamiliar scene, a vast and deserted place.

She reached out to grab onto the surrounding trees to stand up, but when she touched them, her fingertips stung and all five fingers were cut. Looking back, she could make out with difficulty that it wasn't a tree at all, but a heavy giant sword amidst the swirling white mist.

The sword was three zhang tall, making it a weapon that no normal person could use.

Moreover, there was more than one sword.

All sorts of swords can be seen everywhere.

Ancient, rusty, brand new, broken... and the completely shattered sword has been completely absorbed into the soil, becoming the thick layer of rusty, hard mud beneath our feet, exuding the smell of steel.

Fan Qingshuang had no idea where she was, so she could only hold Jiang Chengzi in her arms and slowly walk forward step by step.

Unbeknownst to her, countless sword energies were attempting to pierce her body, only to be blocked by her constitution.

Invisibly, the piercing pain of being stabbed by a thousand swords is avoided.

She walked up to a stone tablet, which had two sides.

The front reads 'Sword Tomb', while the back reads 'Dragon Abyss'.

“Dragon Abyss Sword Tomb.” Fan Qingshuang’s pupils contracted: “One of the three great holy sites of swordsmanship.”

The Sword Burial Mountain in Western Shu, the Sword Tomb of Longyuan in Northern Zhou, and the Sword Pavilion in Duxianye.

These three places are collectively known as the Three Sacred Sites of Swordsmanship, but they are also the Three Most Dangerous Sites.

Those who returned safely from it all became renowned peerless swordsmen, but countless others died there. If one considered themselves to have failed the challenge, they had to stay and serve as slaves.

Fan Qingshuang never expected that she would end up here.

"Let go of distractions..."

She bit her tongue: "Don't be afraid."

Holding Jiang Chengzi in her arms, Fan Qingshuang took a deep breath.

"I must leave this place alive..."

"I must..."

Wait until he finds me!
(End of this chapter)