Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 145 Entering Zhou
As soon as Murong Ruyan finished speaking, the colossal beast that seemed to be brewing in the clouds crashed down with a deafening roar—

"Boom—Crack!"

The expected tragic scene did not occur. The falling lightning struck an invisible shield, and the collision of purple and white light created a layer of light golden ripples that spread across the sky above the Lingxiao Palace.

"It's a mountain-protecting formation!"

Murong Ruyan murmured to herself.

So this is what the "Mountain Protection Formation" looks like!
She had read many books on formations in the library, including one on the "Mountain Protection Formation." It was said that many immortal sects and cave dwellings liked to set one up to defend against external enemies and also to block some of the heavenly lightning. However, ordinary cultivators would not rely on this method to avoid the tribulation of lightning, because without experiencing the tribulation of lightning, their foundation would not be solid, which would affect their future cultivation.

Back then, the eldest brother was not struck by the tribulation lightning due to an accident, so he has not broken through his realm and is stuck at the first level of the Foundation Establishment stage. Murong Ruyan suspects that it is because the eldest brother was lazy and was not struck by lightning!
Upon hearing Murong Ruyan's exclamation, all the disciples suddenly realized what was going on.

It's called the "Mountain Protection Formation"!

I've heard of it!
Very cool!

Just like now, the heavens and earth are isolated, and even the tribulation lightning cannot strike in. The sect leader truly deserves to have the body of a true immortal!
Zhang Chengdao, however, was unaware of this beautiful misunderstanding, and even he himself was somewhat surprised.

The so-called "mountain-protecting formation" is actually the circle of bamboo fences he set up below the Black Abyss.

While cultivation still requires reason, the "golden finger" (a powerful cheat ability) doesn't.

The bamboo fence not only isolates those without the necessary permissions, but also blocks actions deemed as attacks—specifically, lightning strikes.

Thus, in everyone's eyes, it appeared to be a mountain-protecting formation.

The bamboo fence had also blocked Chang Ping'an's tribulation lightning last time, but since it happened several months ago, Zhang Chengdao couldn't remember it clearly. That's why he only remembered the wonderful use of the bamboo fence when he saw the tribulation lightning explode in the air.

What a wonderful thing!
With the help of the bamboo fence, Zhang Chengdao was completely relieved and carefully gathered up the Six Jia Yang Fire little by little.

The gold sand and green jade bricks in the entire square have been "refined," and the cracks that were suddenly smashed out by He Shilie have all disappeared.

Once the fire is extinguished, the plaza will be considered "refined." Just as Murong Ruyan said, Zhang Chengdao's actions have essentially turned all the gold sand and jade bricks in the plaza into magical treasures, so there is no need to worry about them being damaged by the disciples in the short term.

The lightning struck dozens of times before reluctantly dissipating.

The disciples who watched the whole process from afar were captivated, and they even subconsciously ignored the "pressure" emanating from Murong Ruyan.

The "refined" gold sand jade bricks have a warmer luster and a more striking golden sheen than before. More importantly...

"boom--"

Wow! It really seems indestructible!

I don't know which disciple carelessly chopped at the floor tile, but it didn't even leave a scratch!

Although Murong Ruyan was also curious, she put on an expression that said, "How can you be so ignorant?" and snorted, "This is a magic weapon that the sect leader forged with true fire. How could I let you destroy it so easily?"

The disciple was immediately startled and dared not touch her again. He respectfully said, "Second, Second Senior Sister is right!" Seeing how much everyone feared her, Murong Ruyan became even more annoyed. She simply snorted coldly again and left the square.

Zhang Chengdao had already left. After putting the seed of the Six Jia Yang Fire back into the Iron Workshop, he had no choice but to sneak back to his room to meditate.

After "refining" the entire plaza, Zhang Chengdao's spiritual energy was almost completely depleted. Refining magic treasures itself does not consume spiritual energy, but it is more troublesome to use spiritual energy to protect the floor tiles from being burned, which is why it consumes so much.

Although there is no longer a "progress bar" like before after breaking through to the Golden Core stage, one can still feel the progress in cultivation during the cultivation process.

Perhaps it's because the cultivation time required above the Golden Core stage is too long, which is why it's not displayed?
Zhang Chengdao guessed and began to cultivate even more diligently.

……

At the same time, Chang Ping'an and Ye Shuyun were rushing to the Western Zhou Kingdom.

Baishi Mountain is located in the northern part of the Dahang Mountains, which form a natural barrier separating the Western Zhou State, the Southern Chu State, and the Northern Xiao State.

For a normal caravan, the route would be to detour through the southern part of the Daxing Mountains, passing through Hukou Pass to enter Zhou. Alternatively, they could simply enter the Southern Chu Kingdom and then detour through the even further south, the Dachanghe Kingdom, to enter the Western Zhou Kingdom.

The route taken by the Ye family was to enter the Western Zhou Kingdom through Hukou Pass. This route allowed them to first enter the Xiao Kingdom and resell their goods. Moreover, the Xiao Kingdom had relatively lax inspections of caravans. As long as enough money was paid to bribe the officials, it was easy to do business. Even if it involved smuggling... well, how could a big business not involve smuggling!
However, Chang Ping'an and Ye Shuyun didn't need to go through such trouble. The two chose to cross Daxing Mountain directly, bypassing Hukou Pass, and meet the Ye family's caravan in Shangdang or Jinyang.

"If we calculate the time, Fifth Brother should be either in Shangdang or Jinyang."

The two traversed the mountains for several hours before finally reaching the official road.

However, neither of them was familiar with the terrain of the Western Zhou Kingdom, nor could they tell where the official road led. Ye Shuyun then suggested, "Why don't we head south first? Jingzhao Prefecture is in the southwest, and we have to go there anyway."

Jingzhao Prefecture was the capital of the Western Zhou Dynasty.

As a small country surrounded by mountains, the Zhou Kingdom survived several dynasties of war by relying on its vast mountains and a few ancient and formidable passes.

Of course, the reason it can still live relatively well now is because of its strategic location at the intersection of multiple countries. In particular, more than 80% of the gold and various spices flowing from the Jinsha Kingdom to the Central Plains were transported through the Western Zhou Kingdom. Silk and porcelain from the Central Plains were also transported to the Western Regions through the Western Zhou Kingdom.

A country that prospers entirely through commerce has better road conditions than both the Northern Xiao Kingdom and the Southern Chu Kingdom.

The official roads were well-connected and wide enough for two horse-drawn carriages to travel side by side.

Along the official road, there was a post station almost every few dozen miles. Although many post stations were not large, they were enough to provide a hot soup and a place to rest.

"You two! Hey! Stop right there! Are you two here to participate in the martial arts tournament too?"

Just as the two of them saw a roadside inn and were about to push open the door to go in, a rather impolite voice suddenly came from behind them.

Chang Ping'an and Ye Shuyun turned around and looked in the direction of the voice. They saw a dark-skinned man looking at them with a solicitous expression. However, his tone, which was tinged with the local Jin dialect, did not match his expression: "You two don't look like locals. You're probably going to participate in the martial arts tournament, right?"

(End of this chapter)