Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 379 Soaring Snake
Madam Lü slowly stopped, her smile fading slightly. She stared blankly at the long-closed courtyard, lost in thought, while the words her husband had spoken before falling asleep echoed in her ears once more.

“Yan’er is no longer the Yan’er he once was. Judging from what he just showed, he must have already embarked on the path of cultivation. And have you seen how Yan’er has changed in the past few years?”

“Cultivating immortality and achieving longevity, Yan’er has truly embarked on the path to immortality. Perhaps even on the day we are buried, Yan’er will still look as young as he does now.”

"In the future, he may live alone for thousands of years, until the world changes."

"Of course, I'm not saying it's bad; he's a true immortal. It's just that we shouldn't leave Yan'er with too many worries, and let him cultivate in peace."

Lu Qing's words echoed in Madam Lu's ears. After a moment, she sighed softly, as if she had made up her mind. A smile reappeared on her face as she walked toward the courtyard in front of her.

On the other side, Lü Qing was meeting with a middle-aged man with a sword at his waist in the garden.

Lu Yan looked at the man in front of him with some surprise.

"You mean, a group of people targeted our Lü family last night, but were all wiped out by someone?"

The man stroked his beard and nodded, saying:

“Indeed, after I sensed something was wrong last night, I secretly sent people to investigate. To my surprise, I learned that a group of well-trained bandit assassins seemed to have appeared around the Lü residence. However, after searching all over today, we couldn’t find even a trace of them.”

At this point, the man seemed somewhat wary, lowering his voice as he said:

"But I looked at that alley outside your house. Although much of it had been scattered by the wind, there were still traces of ashes on the ground."

"You know what kind of shady business I'm involved in. I'm all too familiar with these marks, but for something like this to appear so silently overnight is simply unheard of."

As the man spoke, a look of disbelief still lingered in his eyes, which was what he couldn't understand.

It is obvious that if the Lü family was indeed targeted yesterday, and the Lü family is now safe and sound, then the group of notorious bandits outside the wall are the ones who are targeting them.

But how exactly did Lü Qing manage to do that? His reaction clearly indicates he's unaware of the matter.
Upon hearing this, a figure subconsciously flashed through Lü Qing's mind, but he maintained a shocked and surprised expression and did not make a sound.

It's one thing for rumors to circulate that his youngest son is cultivating immortality, but it's another matter if his family makes it public. It might attract unnecessary trouble, and it's also difficult to explain.

I guess I'll just have to make do with this old buddy of mine.
When the middle-aged man saw that Lü Qing knew nothing about the matter, he believed with some doubt that Lü Qing was also unaware of the truth.

After a moment of contemplation, he looked at Lü Qing, who was still deep in thought, and said:
"Oh, right, there's one more thing you should know."

"I heard that your former classmate in the court has angered His Majesty for some reason and has been imprisoned, and many officials from the same faction have also been implicated."

"It's fortunate that you've resigned from your post now. If you had acted as you did back then, you might have been implicated this time as well."

"You should be careful these days. Back then, he secretly made his voice heard, acting as a powerful backer for your Lü family, preventing you from making things difficult. But now that he's fallen from power..."

As the middle-aged man spoke, he gave Lü Qing a meaningful look, his meaning left unsaid.

Lu Qing nodded knowingly, but his heart remained calm. So many years had passed, and it was time for everything he had built up in Hezhong Prefecture to come into play. How could he truly regard the person who had pushed him out as a scapegoat back then as his backer?

However, this matter needs to be considered carefully. The Lu family's wealth is indeed substantial, which has attracted the covetousness of some people. Perhaps that's why the band of bandits came straight to the Lu family's residence.

If it weren't for Yan'er, the family would probably have suffered another disaster.
Lü Qing sighed softly and turned to look at the leisurely middle-aged man beside him.

"I wonder if Brother You and your brothers have been planning to settle down somewhere in recent years?"

Baihe River is located in the Zhongnan Mountains.

A fawn was drinking water by the river in the woods, and the scene looked exceptionally harmonious. Suddenly, the fawn's ears twitched, and it quickly raised its head, looked around in fear and unease, and then ran into the forest without looking back.

"boom"

Shortly after the deer ran into the forest, accompanied by a great earthquake, the once calm surface of the Baihe River suddenly surged, the rushing water constantly crashing against the banks, and the interior of the Baihe River became murky, making it impossible to see anything.

The tremors and roars on the earth intensified, the river surged more violently, and columns of water began to rise into the sky!
"Boom! Boom!"

As two enormous sprays of water suddenly erupted from the river's surface, two long, winding figures leaped from the white river into the air, transforming into two beams of light, one blue and one black, accompanied by roars, and clashed repeatedly amidst the towering columns of water.

Such a huge commotion clearly attracted the attention of the other immortals in the area. In the sky, a golden sword light streaked across the sky and arrived at the battlefield in an instant, slashing at the black figure!
"clang!!"

The black light was struck by the Demon-Slaying Sword and revealed its form. It was a giant black serpent, two thousand feet long, riding on black mist. Although the serpent was struck by the Demon-Slaying Sword, the sword only slightly cut through its scales before flying back.

Upon seeing this, the blue light quickly transformed into a young man, none other than Ao Wang, the fourth prince of the West Sea Dragon Palace.

At the same time, the black mist began to envelop the giant snake and began to shrink continuously. In just a moment, a girl dressed in a black dress stepped out of the black mist and appeared in mid-air. She lazily looked at Ao Wang opposite her and Zhong Kui, who had turned into golden light and was holding a demon-slaying sword pointing at her.

"Tsk tsk~ Young man~ You really are clueless about romance. I invited you to cultivate together, but you were so heartless and took the opportunity to ambush me."

"What, are you afraid I'll ruin your bloodline, you little mudfish from the West Sea?"

The girl's scarlet eyes were fixed on Ao Wang opposite her. She teased him with her words, but her eyes were filled with icy coldness and bloodlust.

As a unique species with the bloodline of the Teng Snake, even if it is the West Sea Dragon Clan, a true dragon clan, she will not be restrained by the bloodline of ordinary pythons or other aquatic creatures.

Ao Wang snorted coldly, his gaze towards the girl in front of him equally icy. She had been quite restless earlier, and if he hadn't been prepared, his Dragon Ball would probably have been stolen.

Zhong Kui's body shimmered with golden light, and countless demon-slaying swords appeared around him, aimed at the snake demon opposite him.

"Snake demon, stop with your sweet talk!"

(End of this chapter)