Fangxian Heretical Path

Chapter 232 Water and Fire Robe and Giant Rat
Fang Shu walked down the mountain and looked back at the blurry Lingzhi Terrace in the mist behind him, his expression quite complicated.

After taking a few glances, he bowed to the Lingzhi Platform again before casting a spell and leaving the territory where the Old Mountain Lord was located.

He didn't stop until he had crossed ten mountain peaks, and randomly chose a recessed cave as his hiding place.

As Fang Shu sat down cross-legged, he immediately felt a fine layer of sweat on his back.

This sweat could not possibly be from the running just now.

With his current level of cultivation and the three ancient techniques he has mastered, he can enhance his movements with magic without expending any energy. Moreover, even without using magic, his physique is now like that of a Qi-refining beast; he could run for seven days and seven nights without breaking a sweat.

Fang Shu was lost in thought for a moment, his brows furrowed, and he muttered to himself, "Could it be that it's just my imagination?"

Instinctively, he looked at the object in his hand.

This object is several feet in size, silvery-white in color, and is a folded robe.

It was the item that the old mountain master gave him as a parting gift when he descended the mountain—an antique of excellent quality!

When Fang Shu received this item, he was only happy and grateful. He was too embarrassed to examine it closely in front of the old mountain lord. In addition, he still had a desire to get down the mountain as soon as possible, so he did not look at it carefully.

Now, upon closer inspection, he discovered that the quality of this object far surpassed that of the antique thumb ring in his hand.

Thinking of this, Fang Shu took out his antique thumb ring.

This item was the key to his survival on the dragon boat several years ago, when he, at the fifth level of the tribulation, withstood the soul damage comparable to that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator without a scratch, and managed to escape before others.

Unfortunately, after that incident, the ring was damaged on the spot. Because it was an ancient treasure, it was difficult to repair itself. Over the following years, it continuously lost its spiritual energy and now only has a trace of spiritual essence left, making it almost indistinguishable from an ordinary object.

“Ancient treasures are quite useful. Unlike me, the Old Mountain Lord doesn’t have the means to exorcise evil spirits. Even an ancient treasure at the Qi Refining level is not something he can just give away casually.”

Fang Shu thought to himself, feeling a little more at ease.

From this perspective, perhaps what he saw on that mountaintop just now was truly his illusion?

But the next moment.

When Fang Shu probed the robe in his hand with his divine sense, his eyelids twitched suddenly, and his face revealed a look of astonishment that he could no longer hide.

But since he was no longer on that mountain and had escaped the "dangerous place," he no longer felt fear.

His heart was filled with more surprise than doubt and fear.

This is because the robe contains the name of the item and its corresponding uses, making it convenient for the recipient to use and master it.

This item is called "Water and Fire Cloud Robe". It is a magic robe made by the Huangbai Immortals using the ancient water and fire clouds that are found in gambling stones. They refine the clouds into silk and slowly weave it.

Wearing it on one's body will make one immune to water and fire, allowing one to ascend volcanoes and descend into deep waters. Moreover, this water and fire are not ordinary water or fire, but rather fierce fire and malevolent water, neither of which can harm the wearer.

Even the Dead Sea waters could preserve this robe for the time it takes to brew two or three cups of tea before it completely decays.

It can be said that with this item, Fang Shu would find it much easier to condense evil energy and refine qi, and he would not have to worry at all that the two items would harm him when he was harvesting evil energy and qi.

From this perspective alone, the old mountain lord must have seen through Fang Shu's current cultivation level and knew that he was only half a step away from refining the Qi, so he specially bestowed this item to make it easier for him to go to the high sky to collect Qi in the future.

But strangely enough, amidst this tapestry of water, fire, and rosy clouds, there is this sentence:

"Wearing this garment, one can explore the dragon veins and tread on the miasma. Even in places where the dragon veins are filthy, one can avoid them. The garment will not be torn, and the body will not die."

And coincidentally, at the foot of Xiaoxishan, the ancestral property of Tian Jinmao, lies half of the earth vein, which is the location of the anus of the Five Internal Organs Temple Dragon Vein.

These anal openings accumulate the filth of the mountain veins. If one is not careful and comes into contact with them, they will be contaminated by the foul energy of the dragon veins, damaging their foundation and preventing them from being accepted by the earth veins of the five internal organs.

Now that he has obtained this robe, the risks of his mission to explore opportunities in Little West Mountain have been greatly reduced, and he can indeed go!

As he pondered, no matter how he looked at it, he felt that compared to being impervious to water and fire and unharmed by evil spirits, the phrase "not subject to the impurities of the dragon vein" was the true purpose for the old mountain lord to give him this robe.

Inside the cave, Fang Shu slowly exhaled:

"Once might be a coincidence or an illusion. But twice, it's definitely not a coincidence."

He was now certain that Old Mountain Lord must have suspected him of being the murderer of Tian Jinmao's friend.

Although he claimed that he had not left any solid evidence, and that when he entered Fudang Mountain, he used the name "Hu Huangmu", according to his soul-searching and questioning, Tian Jinmao had never revealed his real name in order to harm him.

Even his identity as an inner disciple of the Five Organs Temple was only revealed to Dai Kuan of the Four Limbs Temple in the last few days.

Even if Lao Shanjun were skilled in divination or had excellent information, there would be no evidence to prove that Fang Shu was the murderer of Tian Jinmao.

However, upon thinking of this, Fang Shu couldn't help but smile wryly: "When immortals act, suspicion is enough; why do they need so much evidence?"

The mere fact that the time of Tian Jinmao's death was close to the time when Wuzangmiao was closed off is enough to narrow down the cause of his death to his friends at Wuzangmiao.

Not to mention, when Fang Shu was forced to engage in a magical duel outside the market, he had no choice but to reveal the existence of Gu worms. Although there are countless people in the world who practice Gu, it just so happens that Fang Shu is skilled in this art.

After careful consideration, Fang Shu felt a sudden awakening and silently admonished himself.

He needs to be more cautious in his future actions and conduct.

However, when he came to his senses, he was first thankful that the old mountain man was a reasonable person.

The other party must have been aware of Tian Jinmao's behavior in Fudang Mountain, and perhaps even knew about the so-called Foundation Building Mutual Aid Society, which is why they did not truly blame Fang Shu for Tian Jinmao's death.

Fang Shu was overjoyed. The old mountain lord was indeed a kind and generous elder. He not only did not blame Fang Shu, but was also willing to help him and give him such a protective magic treasure.

With this magical treasure by his side, even if Fang Shu had not searched Tian Jinmao's soul and was unaware of the other party's wickedness, he would not have truly fallen into the trap.

Fang Shuna's idea of ​​returning to the sect was immediately suppressed once again.

He thought to himself, "There are still two months until the deadline for the Immortal Sect's recall order, which is enough time for me to go to Little West Mountain to find out what's going on."

Although I haven't promised when I'll go to Xiaoxishan to sweep the tombs and pay my respects, if we don't take advantage of the current period of chaos in the temple after the war, the temple will become more stable over time, and it will be harder to take advantage of the situation.” Thinking it over, he suddenly became certain that now was the best time to explore Xiaoxishan; this was an opportunity that wouldn't come again!

Even if he were to commit murder and harm his fellow disciples in Xiaoxishan, as long as he doesn't let the news leak out, he can shift the blame onto others or the Kugu Temple.

On the other hand, if they return to the mountain in the future, or even leave traces of their visit to Xiaoxishan in public, they will be restricted and it will be difficult to keep it a secret.

Fang Shu immediately stopped hesitating.

He draped his own fox fur over himself and then pulled out a cloak, which he put on as well.

He held a flying pearl in his hand, and demonic and ghostly energy surged from his body, making him appear to be a sinister and evil ghost cultivator, showing no resemblance to his original appearance.

As for the Water and Fire Robe, he carefully stored it in his storage bag. Although this item could ward off water and fire, it was no match for other spells besides water and fire, and it was especially vulnerable to sharp weapons.

He planned to take it out only when needed, so as not to wear it on his body and risk it being damaged during a magical battle.

Whoosh!

With billowing black smoke billowing from his body, Fang Shu took advantage of the darkness and rushed towards Xiaoxishan.

He arrived at Xiaoxishan in the middle of the night.

This place is adjacent to a river, located on the west side of the river, with the water encircling it. The terrain is quite good, and the mountain is full of spiritual energy. Just by looking at it, you can tell that its spiritual energy is comparable to that of Toad Beach.

This is truly a rare find for the area outside the Five Internal Organs Temple mountain gate. If an array were set up inside the mountain, it would definitely be a wonderful place for self-cultivation.

Unfortunately, when Fang Shu arrived at this place, he did not see the hundred acres of spiritual fields that Tian Jinmao had mentioned.

He looked around and saw that Little West Mountain was barren. Although there were people doing some farming, they were just tending to the fields, and the land was empty.

Moreover, one could often see expressions of surprise and doubt on the faces of these people, and they would peek out from time to time.

After a moment's thought, Fang Shu realized that Tian Jinmao's hometown, like Lao Shanjun's, had also been plundered.

"That's true. Even the demon market under the old mountain lord couldn't escape it, so how could this place be spared?" Fang Shu thought to himself.

He also thought of what the old mountain man had said: "Good fortune may be a harbinger of misfortune, and misfortune may be a harbinger of good fortune." Unfortunately, fate played a cruel trick, and Tian Jinmao ultimately could not escape misfortune.

However, all of this, including the current situation at Xiaoxishan, is actually a good thing for Fang Shu!

The business on the mountain was in dire straits and manpower was scarce, making it the perfect place for him to sneak in. Moreover, since this place had been plundered, the immortal sect's level of attention would inevitably have dropped sharply, and they would not send capable people to oversee it.

Therefore, even if we force our way in, it would be worth a try.

But Fang Shu suppressed his impulse.

He neither charged into the fray nor made any rash moves to immediately advance. Instead, he patiently circled Little West Mountain and waited for several days.

Over the course of several days, although there were people coming and going on Little West Mountain, they were all just odd jobs who went out to chop wood and fish; not even a single immortal who stopped by on the way.

Having thoroughly understood the situation, Fang Shu followed Tian Jinmao's guidance and darted into the river beside Xiaoxishan like a water rat.

He floated up and down, soaking in the water for a long time, before finally finding a hidden channel with flowing water at the bottom of the river.

During this time, due to the rapid current, the chaotic nature of the river, and the difficulty in discerning the spiritual energy, as well as the presence of some large objects in the water, he was repeatedly swept downstream. He had to surface to probe his surroundings and locate the source before returning to the vicinity of Xiaoxishan to search for the secret passage.

After several attempts, to avoid wasting time and attracting attention, he finally put on the water and fire robe.

This robe is truly remarkable. Wearing it, although he couldn't move freely in the water, he was less disturbed. He could breathe naturally and fully explore the hidden passage, saving a lot of time.

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, his eyes brightened slightly as he spotted the entrance to the secret passage.

Then, as soon as he touched the hidden passage of the flowing water, he lost his footing in the water and was swept away by the flowing water, plunging into the interior of the small western mountain.

This is the pitfall that Tian Jinmao planted in his "last words".

That fellow only told us the location of the secret passage with the flowing water, but he didn't mention that the water flow inside was unusually rapid, and that we should not rush forward rashly.

Furthermore, because the secret passage directly connects to the interior of the mountain, although there are no restrictions or barriers at its depths, it happens to pass through the place where the dragon's energy is filthy, and it connects to the "cesspool" in the mountain used for composting.

Those who are unaware of this, even if they are lucky enough to find the secret passage, will find it difficult to enter Little West Mountain alive and will only become fertilizer in the cesspool like fish and shrimp.

Since Fang Shu already knew this, and had the help of his magic robe, he naturally wouldn't fall into such a trap.

Just as he was about to emerge from the cesspool, he activated his wall-penetrating technique, darting away from the cesspool and emerging from the side.

In this way, without much effort, Fang Shu arrived at the depths of Xiaoxishan as quietly as a rat stealing its home.

However, even in this process, unexpected events can occur.

As soon as he entered Xiaoxishan, he heard voices in a secret room in the mountains, which almost made him think that his actions had been discovered.

Fortunately, he calmed down and listened carefully, and realized that he had encountered real giant rats, and they happened to be a male and a female.

From the secret chamber at the foot of the mountain ahead, rustling and foul sounds could be heard, filled with extreme pleasure, sometimes laughter, sometimes mockery and curses.

Upon hearing the commotion, Fang Shu's expression changed. He immediately activated his invisibility spell and stealthily crept forward.

According to Tian Jinmao, this underwater passage leads to a place in Xiaoxishan where spiritual grains, Huangjing (Polygonatum), and various spiritual fruits are stored. The restrictions are extremely strict, and people are not easily allowed in to avoid contaminating the spiritual items and polluting their quality.

Fang Shu raised an eyebrow and muttered to himself, "Could it be that during the war, all the wealth here was looted, and this place was then taken over by that scoundrel?"

But when he rounded a corner and the scene before him appeared, he found that the situation was completely different from what he had imagined.

In front of us, in the meticulously repaired granaries and fruit silos, the rice was like pearls and the fruit like jade embryos, each grain round and glistening, a scene of abundant wealth and a bountiful harvest!
Unfortunately, there were two large, white, fleshy worms rolling around on the rice, a truly filthy sight that was a real waste of these precious creatures.

(End of this chapter)