Ziwei Immortal Path

Chapter 125 The storm is coming
That night.

Yuchuan City, Qinghuan Inn.

The moon sets and the stars sink, and everything is quiet.

Inside the room, Xu Boyang took out a bamboo hat from his storage bag and put it on, then said with his spiritual consciousness:
"Brother Fei, if she comes looking for you in the middle of the night, just tell her that I found the inn too noisy and went to find a place to practice. As for where I went, just say you don't know. All you know is that I'm nearby and I'll be back before dawn."

Fei Wenyu sat cross-legged on the bed, patted his chest, and smiled:

"Boyang, it's the dead of night and you two are innocent. Why would she come to you? Don't worry, everyone is already in meditation tonight, she won't come over."

"However, there is a curfew in Yuchuan City at night. You must be careful not to be caught by the monks on duty, otherwise you will be in trouble."

"It's okay, I understand."

Xu Boyang took out a bottle of "Xixi Dan" and swallowed it, then took out a black scarf and put it on to cover his face.

When he returned to Qingshen this time, Su Zilu prepared many pills for him, with everything he needed, including some pills he had never seen before. This Breath-Resisting Pill was one of them.

This is a foundation-building elixir that can conceal the aura of cultivation. If one does not see it with one's own eyes or use enhancement techniques such as pupil techniques, it is extremely difficult for a foundation-building cultivator to detect it just by using spiritual consciousness.

He originally wanted to take another disguise pill, but considering that Yuchuan City was right under the feet of Lingxiao Sect, it was no small matter and there must be many foundation-building cultivators. If he was caught directly, taking the disguise pill would be useless. He thought it was not worth it.

The simplest mask is still the most reliable. No matter how powerful the pupil skills of a foundation-building cultivator are or how strong his spiritual awareness is, he cannot see through things.

Everything was ready. Xu Boyang quietly opened the window and looked around to make sure there was no one there.

"gone!"

He performed a somersault and quietly flipped out of the window.

After lightly landing in the courtyard of the inn, Xu Boyang knew that most of the residents in this inn were cultivators, so he didn't dare to use any magic. He just relied on his physical strength to quickly run across the courtyard without touching the ground, climbed up the wall, and with a single hand, he jumped over the wall.

This set of movements is as fast as a ghost and done in one go!
As soon as he landed, Ding Xuelian's voice suddenly rang in his ears:
"Mr. Xu, it's so late, where are you going?"

Xu Boyang was struck by lightning. He immediately pulled off the scarf from his face and put it into his sleeve. Looking back, he saw Ding Xuelian standing on the wall with a smile on his face and a white robe fluttering in his hair. He smiled calmly and said with his spiritual sense:
"It's so late, Miss Ding, haven't you entered into meditation and rested yet?"

Ding Xuelian saw a flash of panic on his face, and he couldn't help but feel proud, and pursed his lips slightly:
"Xue Lian has a heavy responsibility in guarding Lingxizi, so he dares not slack off even for a moment. I just wonder why Master Xu isn't meditating and practicing in the dead of night. Where is he going?"

"Don't you know, sir, that there is a curfew in Yuchuan City at night, except for the Nine-Curved Corridor along the Linghuai River?"

"is it?"

Xu Boyang pretended to be surprised:
"If you hadn't told me, I really wouldn't have known about this. It's my first time here, so I was a bit rash. This inn is crowded and chaotic. I've been sitting cross-legged in meditation, but I've been feeling restless and irritated every time I've tried to enter a state of concentration. I want to find a quiet place to practice for a night so I don't miss out on my cultivation."

"That's it."

Ding Xuelian opened her pretty face, revealing her white teeth. "I do know a good place. If it's not a problem for Master Xu, I'd like to go with you."

"That's not necessary..."

Xu Boyang was startled and smiled, "Since there is a curfew in the city, how can you knowingly break it? Besides, if the girl leaves with me, Lingxizi in the room will be left unattended, which is not appropriate..."

"It doesn't matter."

Ding Xuelian didn't wait for Xu Boyang to finish speaking, he landed lightly and took two steps closer.
"The third son of the Fei family has just agreed to help me look after Lingxizi. If... Brother Yang really wants to practice, Xue Lian can accompany him..."

The words that she had been whispering into his ears with her spiritual consciousness suddenly softened, becoming gentle and kind, like a spring breeze.

Xu Boyang waved his hands repeatedly:
"It's not right, it's not right. We can't take risks. If that's the case, then it's better not to go. Boyang will go back to his room now, and please go back to your room and rest, young lady."

Without waiting for her to answer, he stepped forward, jumped onto the wall, quietly crossed the yard, and climbed back into the room through the window. He saw the three Lingxi sons of the Ding family sitting in front of Fei Wenyu's bed, with sleepy eyes and confused looks on their faces.

Fei Wenyu smiled bitterly with his spiritual consciousness:
"Boyang, what's wrong with you? Why are you here in the middle of the night?"

"Excuse me, excuse me..."

Xu Boyang quickly put away his bamboo hat and asked the three Lingxi girls to sleep on the bed next to him. He finally breathed a sigh of relief. Thinking back to the time when only a few dozen breaths had passed, it was reasonable to say that since he had taken the "Restraining Breath Pill", it was impossible for her, with her seventh level of Condensation Yuan cultivation, to notice his movements. He felt very puzzled and asked with his spiritual consciousness:
"How long after did she enter the room?"

Fei Wenyu smiled bitterly and stretched out a finger. Xu Boyang asked in surprise, "One breath?"

"I guess she was already outside when you climbed through the window."

Xu Boyang sucked in a breath of cold air. He didn't know what kind of strange magic this girl from the Ding family used to know his movements anytime and anywhere. He didn't dare to act rashly anymore. He used his spiritual sense to carefully check his body, but found nothing abnormal.

I was upset for a moment, sitting cross-legged on the ground and thinking to myself:

"Could it be that the Ding family discovered something? But after I came back, they didn't make any moves. Everything is as normal as before. Besides, the matter about the Ding family's elixirs is all hearsay. I haven't made any judgments. To put it bluntly, their family is betraying us. What does it have to do with me?"

"Could it be that they discovered me because I borrowed the Ding family's name to build an island for myself?"

"That would be troublesome, but actually, this matter hasn't caused any harm to his family. Moreover, I've already brought the storage bag that Ding Tianshi asked me to bring. Besides, I've been supporting his family for many years. It's unlikely that he would keep me in the dark over such a small matter."

"...That's not right. If the Ding family is wary of me, why did they ask me to attend the 'Taihe Jingwu Banquet'? Isn't that superfluous? If that's not the case, and I haven't done anything to offend their family, why is Ding Xuelian pressing me so hard? It's really inexplicable!"

"This situation is very difficult right now. This woman is always with me. How can I find Wolf Mo Changge? Fei Wenyu is trustworthy, but the matter of the [Hidden Demon Mirror] is very serious. He must not know about it."

Countless doubts suddenly popped up in Xu Boyang's mind, and he was puzzled. After thinking for a moment, he slowly closed his eyes:
"Forget it. Since it's inconvenient to move around at night, I'll look for an opportunity during the day."

Ding Xuelian returned to the front of the room, looked around, pushed the door open with one arm and slipped in. The candlelight in the room flickered, and there were two people standing quietly, both with gloomy faces and flickering eyes!
A fat guy in a blue cloth shirt turned out to be the owner of Qinghuan Inn!
The other one had arms and waist as big as apes, and was dressed in black. He had a square face, thick eyebrows and big eyes. He looked to be in his twenties, and his eyebrows actually bore some resemblance to Ding Tianshi.

When the young man in black saw Ding Xuelian come in, he asked softly, "Auntie, how are you?"

"Shh!"

The fat innkeeper pointed silently, took out a blood-red jade ruyi, and silently recited the magic formula. The blood-red ruyi in his hand glowed, and a dull and dim light array appeared, spreading to the entire room like water ripples.

Sitting at the table just now, he asked, "Come on, Xuelian, what's going on?"

Ding Xuelian sat down at the table and said:

"Keqing Xu, Yunshan, he said he was tired of the noise in the inn and wanted to go out to practice. I told him about the curfew and asked me to accompany him, but he didn't agree and went back to his room." "Practice? Humph!"

The fat shopkeeper surnamed Xu flicked his mustache and snorted:
"This guy is talking nonsense, and you believe him?"

Ding Xuelian nodded. "I know about Mr. Xu, but I don't know where he's going right now, so I can't expose him. Otherwise, I'll alert the enemy."

The young man in black interrupted:
"Aunt, just when you left, I was thinking about this. You said he'd been away for two years, and when he came back he was already at the ninth level of Condensation Yuan, not to mention he'd made friends with quite a few cultivators. This is truly unbelievable. Something must be fishy when things aren't normal. If he didn't get a great opportunity outside, then someone must be harboring ill intentions towards my family!"

"It's a pity that you and I don't know the whole story. Where did he go during his two years away? I need to ask my uncle!"

The young man in black was none other than Ding Yunshan, a member of the Fengqing clan of the Ding family who had entered the Samadhi Mountain to practice and was then arranged by Ding Tianshi to join the branch of the Immortal Sect. However, Ding Yunshan was two years older than Ding Xuelian and was a generation younger.

His original surname was not Ding, but he was married to Feng Qing and took his mother's surname. His mother was Ding Xuelian's sister, but unfortunately she was a mortal.

Now Ding Yunshan has given up his status as the head of the Ding family and has become a disciple of the Huaiyou Immortal Sect's branch, but secretly he still has his heart set on the Ding family and is the right-hand man of his uncle, the Immortal Sect cultivator Ding Tianshi, who is in charge of Yuchuan's miscellaneous affairs.

The fat shopkeeper snorted:
"I can conclude that this person is not from Yishan Town. I, Xu Rucheng, have been in Yishan Town for thirty years and have never heard of this family. I'm afraid he is a member of a small clan that came out of Fulong Mountain many years ago. Humph, if the Ling family knew his identity, he would be silenced sooner or later."

Ding Yunshan replied:
"Xu Keqing, my family and I have already investigated this matter. His family should be from Fulong Town back then. However, it has been many years since this happened. The mortals in Fulong Town are all over Qingshen. It is not surprising that a few people in a population of hundreds of thousands have embarked on the path to immortality."

Ding Xuelian asked:
"Yunshan, in your opinion, could it be that he is really from Langfeng Peak?"

"Probably not."

Ding Yunshan shook his head and said,

"If he really was from Langfeng Peak, how could Uncle dare to stay at home? He would have been handed over to the Taoist priests long ago, let alone sent him out on a mission. Well, it's also because of the unrest in Sishui that all the foundation-building cultivators at Samadhi Mountain have been wiped out, leaving no one to guard the mountain. Now that I'm a disciple of a branch of the Immortal Sect, I can't go out. Uncle is too busy to split his time and has no one else to use. Otherwise, why would he use him?"

"I heard from my uncle that this man, while escorting an convoy more than ten years ago, accidentally went to Guiyun Mountain on the Huai River. He happened to hear the Immortal Master preaching, and then he opened the Crimson Palace and embarked on the path to immortality."

"Is he so lucky? But how did he manage to make friends with so many monks?"

Ding Xuelian asked curiously after hearing this, and sighed to himself.
"Alas... But then again, he's been traveling around for so many years, so it's possible he met someone by chance."

At this point, he couldn't help but hum,
"In the final analysis, it's because your uncle is too concerned and favors boys over girls. I've been practicing at home all this time, but has he ever thought of me? The same goes for the elixir. After so many years, there's no need to rely on outsiders for our own family."

"Aunt, you misunderstood uncle when you said that."

Ding Yunshan heard Ding Xuelian's complaints and frowned,

"Uncle has been able to get to where he is today by playing both sides of the fence. He doesn't want us to get involved in this mess, and there's a reason for that. The world out there is too chaotic, and you don't know, Auntie, since you've never been out there."

"What's more, Ding Duwu from Taihe Town often opposes him and often speaks ill of him in front of the old master of the feathered priests. You know that my uncle has been walking on thin ice in Yuchuan for many years..."

"Okay, now is not the time to discuss this. Every family has its own problems. Let's save these for later."

Xu Rucheng frowned and asked, "Xue Lian, what did your father say? This kid's identity does seem a bit suspicious. Do you need me to send someone to take him down?"

Ding Yunshan and Ding Xuelian were both shocked and said, "This is absolutely unacceptable!"

Ding Xuelian blushed slightly, knowing that his father's words that day were full of selfish motives, and were for the sake of his own family. He must not say them in front of his nephew and the Ding family's guest official, so he could only stammer:
"Father told me that this person has inherited the Taoist tradition of Langfeng Peak and has cultivated rapidly. He should not be underestimated. If he can be used for family use, that would be the best. If you find any suspicion, please report it to Brother Tianshi of the Immortal Sect immediately."

"exactly."

Ding Yunshan took over the conversation and said in a deep voice, "Xu Keqing, Auntie, you don't know that it was actually my uncle's idea to let this kid participate in the 'Taihe Jingwu Banquet'."

"Although I don't know the reason, there must be a reason. Since my uncle is behind this, we don't need to delve into it. We just need to keep a close eye on him. However, this kid has been away for two years and has suddenly reached the ninth level of Condensation Yuan and made friends with many cultivators. I'm afraid my uncle doesn't know about this. So, I have to find an opportunity to go to the main mountain, Yunxiao Mountain, and let my uncle know."

"That's fine too."

Xu Rucheng frowned and said, "Right now, the envoys from the three immortal sects of Yuchuan City have all arrived. The situation is turbulent and there are many people watching. I see undercurrents surging in some invisible places. You all need to be careful!"

Ding Yunshan's expression changed slightly, and he asked, "Could it be that Mr. Xu discovered something?"

Xu Rucheng shook his head slowly:
"I'm just an ordinary person. It's only with the help of Taoist Ding that I can manage the spies in the southern part of Yuchuan City. It seems calm on the surface, so what can I find? But I feel that there are more people in Yuchuan City this year..."

"Logically, even during the peak season of the Jiaozi Conference, coupled with the first Taihe Jingwu Banquet landing in Yuchuan, there shouldn't be so many people. Now that Qingshen is at war, facing internal and external difficulties, I have a constant feeling that a storm is brewing!"

Ding Yunshan nodded silently: "Don't worry, Manager Xu, I will report this to my uncle."

"Now, all the cultivators on Yunxiao Mountain of the Xian Sect have been taken to Sishui by the head priest, Fuhuo Yingtian, and the great elder, Liyang Yangguang. Lingkong Mountain of the Ling family in the north of the city, and Feiwo Mountain of the Xun family in the west, are almost deserted. Only a few cultivators remain on Samadhi Mountain in the south of the city and Luanli Mountain in the east of the Jiang family to maintain the operation of Yuchuan City. However, they strictly follow the instructions of the Immortal Master and the rules of the Xian Sect. Entering the city with a certificate, there shouldn't be any suspicious individuals. The shopkeeper may be overly suspicious."

"My uncle has just ascended to a high position, and he's busy with numerous affairs every day. If there's nothing unusual about this kid, I think there's no need to be suspicious. His family has been in Fengqing Town for many years, and we know him well. He's been in this lineage for ten years. If he had any ulterior motives, he would have revealed them long ago. Why wait until today?"

Ding Xuelian had already fallen in love with her at this moment, and felt that it was all a coincidence. He secretly defended her and nodded.
"Yunshan is right. There's no need to panic. Just tell Big Brother about his rapid increase in cultivation. It's human nature to make friends with cultivators. I've been keeping an eye on him during this period. It shouldn't be a big deal."

"To be frank, he's still our own guest official after all, and he's done a lot for us over the past ten years. It's possible he got a chance outside, or perhaps he just achieved enlightenment overnight thanks to the Dao Unity at Langfeng Peak. It's hard to say. Just because he's cultivated so quickly and has so many friends, you're suspicious and investigating him. How can you treat someone like that? Don't let him down!"

Ding Yunshan smiled and said:
"Aunt is right. In my opinion, there's no need to worry about it. Uncle is very fond of him anyway. How could he be wrong? Aunt, just deal with it well. Who knows, he will be a great help to our family in the future!"

Ding Xuelian heard that Ding Yunshan had something to say, and for no reason his face turned slightly red. He remained silent and heard him sigh:

"But he was frightened just now. Auntie, you were also reckless just now. Why didn't you follow him quietly?"

Ding Xuelian snorted:
"Yunshan, are you still blaming your aunt? I used [Paper Cutting into Soldiers] to connect the soul and spirit, which is unpredictable. Suddenly, his breath disappeared completely. I don't know whether he is dead or alive. How can I not panic in such a sudden situation?"

"Besides, if I hadn't arrived just in time, I'm afraid he would have disappeared long ago. His cultivation is higher than mine. How could I find him if he disappeared? In the end, I'd still be groping in the dark!"

"It looks like he took the Breath-Suppressing Pill. Where is he going?"

Ding Yunshan's face changed slightly, and he said in a low voice,

"Aunt, don't push him too hard during this period. You might as well observe him secretly. Whether it is a good god or an evil ghost, we can only know its true appearance after it reveals itself. Besides, this Taihe Jingwu Banquet is the most important thing for your trip. Aunt, you have practiced hard for many years to get to this moment. Don't put the cart before the horse and lose sight of the big picture."

Ding Xuelian nodded:
"I understand. Starting tomorrow, I'll let him go for a while and see what he wants to do."

Thanks to book friends Yuzi, 9407, and Chili Fried Salted Fish for their monthly tickets!
It’s the last day of this month, and book friends who still have monthly tickets can vote, thank you!



(End of this chapter)