All-around protagonist mentor

The sky was cloudless, the morning sun was radiant, and the sky was clear and clean. It was another beautiful day.

On a small road outside Shangxi Prefecture, Qingxuan and Tianyujun sped along, like two afterimages.

Qingxuan, as always, floated leisurely in mid-air, three inches above the ground, her feet barely touching the ground. Tianyujun still traveled on foot, her movements incredibly swift. However, compared to before, Tianyujun's movements were much less noticeable; though fast, she made almost no sound, like a nimble raccoon.

Their destination was White Butterfly Valley, dozens of miles outside Shangxi Prefecture, where the Du family's headquarters were located.

White Butterfly Valley is located in a rather remote area, and this road is usually rarely traveled. Since the incident involving the Du family, rumors have spread, and no one dares to come here anymore. The entire road is quiet, with only Qingxuan and Tianyujun present.

Qingxuan accepted Jiang Shangqiu's request and agreed to help her find Miss Du, Ling'er. To obtain more clues, they absolutely had to go to the scene.

Seeing Tianyu Jun's condition, Qingxuan smiled and said, "Little Yu, you're quite something. You've only practiced for seven days, yet you've improved so much in controlling your body and Yuan energy."

Tianyu Jun replied shyly, "Brother Xuan's 'The Way of All Heavens' is indeed extraordinary. Its content is profound and extensive, yet the language is easy to understand. In addition, it is compatible with our Wujiang Dao's cultivation methods, so it is naturally very fast to cultivate."

Upon hearing this, Qingxuan laughed heartily, feeling a little smug.

Over the past seven days, Tianyu Jun has been diligently studying the "All Heavens, Only My Way" that he created, and his strength has visibly improved considerably. Whether it is physical energy or spirit, he is already close to the limit of breakthrough.

Moreover, this is just the beginning. Once Tianyu Jun's cultivation gets on track, his strength will grow even faster.

"Oh, right."

As if remembering something, Tianyu asked curiously, "Xuan-ge'er, you promised Sister Qiu that night to find someone, why did you wait seven days before setting off?"

Qingxuan grinned: "Of course, it's to wait for an opportunity. I made Yizhilang faint that day. Although Xuanxin seemed indifferent on the surface, do you think he would really let us go? There are already spies watching us outside Wuyi Pavilion. I also happen to have some things to take care of, so I'll just take a few days off."

"The weather's nice today, perfect for going out. Those guys keeping watch on us've let their guard down, and we shook them off in just a few turns. Now we can really go all out and get things done."

Tianyu Jun was surprised, realizing that he was indeed too inexperienced and hadn't considered this. If he had rashly left the city to search for someone the day after agreeing to Jiang Shangqiu's request, he would definitely have been followed, and things would have been difficult to handle.

As the two spoke, the terrain gradually rose, the trees on both sides of the road became denser, and a stream babbled through the woods, creating a truly serene and beautiful scene. Sunlight filtered through the dense foliage, casting shadows on the road and making the surroundings appear deep and tranquil.

Looking into the distance, two mountain ridges rise at the edge of the forest, forming a valley with undulating and winding terrain, which is quite impressive.

Qingxuan stopped here, observed the surrounding situation, and then pulled Tianyujun into the woods on both sides of the road. Then, Qingxuan lightly leaped onto the branches of a large tree next to her and nimbly moved through the woods.

Tianyu quickly followed, asking with some confusion, "Xuan-ge'er, why are we ignoring the proper path and insisting on traveling through the forest?"

Qingxuan pointed to the ground on the road and said, "Look at those tire tracks on the road. They are dense and deep, which means that people often drive here or transport things from here. If we continue to walk along the road, we may run into those people."

Upon hearing this, Tianyu looked over and found that the road surface was indeed like that, and he couldn't help but feel a surge of relief.

As expected, when the two arrived at the entrance to White Butterfly Valley, they saw a checkpoint where five or six armored soldiers were sitting on the ground chatting idly. In the woods on both sides of the checkpoint, there were also two sentries hiding in the trees.

However, given Qingxuan and Tianyujun's cultivation levels, it was incredibly easy for them to deceive these soldiers. Both of them concealed their auras and easily bypassed them from both sides.

Following the dense trees, the two quickly climbed up one of the ridges and arrived at a secluded cliff to observe the situation in the valley.

White Butterfly Valley is shaped like a typical kettle, with a small opening and a large interior. The outer entrance is only a few meters wide, but the interior space is vast, covering an area of ​​a thousand acres.

The valley was filled with numerous pavilions and towers, none of which were particularly tall, but all were exquisitely crafted. To the northwest of the valley lay a small lake, covering several dozen acres, which enhanced the valley's picturesque atmosphere. It was truly a hidden paradise, a secluded haven.

However, most of these pavilions and towers have now collapsed, and there are ruins everywhere, a scene of desolation. There is also a faint smell of blood in the air. From these scenes, it is not difficult to imagine how tragic the battle that wiped out the Du family was.

Several squads of soldiers from the Yazhou government office were lazily patrolling the ruins of the Du family estate, their formations quite disorganized. In the center of the Du family mansion, all the buildings had been completely razed to the ground, and a dozen soldiers were supervising a large group of craftsmen who were building a huge, makeshift platform, the purpose of which was unknown.

Next to the construction site, there were rows of black shipping containers, surrounded by soldiers guarding them, clearly containing something extremely important.

Tianyu-jun looked at the scene before him with a puzzled expression and couldn't help but ask, "Why are there so many people from the Yazhou Prefecture government here? What are they doing? And..."

When Tianyujun saw the cargo boxes next to the construction site, he frowned: "These cargo boxes are exactly the same as those on Young Master Xuanyu's ship that day. Is there any connection between the two?"

Qingxuan smiled and said, "The Du family is under the jurisdiction of Yazhou. With such a big incident happening to the Du family, the Yazhou government should at least make a response, or at least put on a show for others. We can't let down the big families and powerful clans that are under the protection of Yazhou."

"However, the Yazhou government ostensibly sent people to investigate the scene, search for clues, and sort through the Du family's belongings, but now they've tightly sealed off White Butterfly Valley and are carrying out large-scale construction here. There must be some conspiracy involved. As for why Xuan Yu's goods are here..."

Qingxuan patted Tianyujun on the shoulder and laughed, "Xuanxin's surname is Xuan, and Xuanyu's surname is also Xuan, and both of them are of extraordinary status. What do you think their relationship is?"

Tianyu Jun was taken aback, then realized something and shook his head with a regretful expression.

The Du family was destroyed by a joint effort of the Holy Dynasty and the Huangluo Sect, and Xuanxin, as the Holy Dynasty's special envoy, is definitely involved in this matter. Xuanyu clearly has a close relationship with Xuanxin, so it seems very likely that Xuanyu was also involved in this affair.

The thought that such a pretty girl as Xuan Yu had also been involved in such a cruel thing filled Tian Yu Jun with regret. He had a pretty good impression of Xuan Yu.

"Let's go down."

Qingxuan shook her head and jumped off the cliff, followed by Tianyu Jun.

A cliff several dozen feet high would be a life-or-death chasm for ordinary people, but for Qingxuan and Tianyujun, it was like walking on flat ground. Using the trees in the mountains as cover, the two of them silently slipped into the valley with a few leaps.

The two followed the path through the valley, using various forms of cover, until they arrived at a small grove of trees behind the Du family mansion. The soldiers in the valley had been stationed in this remote place for the past month, doing these tedious and boring tasks with no entertainment. They were already listless and lethargic, and had no idea that the two had appeared.

This forest is far from the Du family mansion's residential area, and there is hardly anyone around. It is full of lush trees. However, most of the trees here are broken, with fallen branches and scattered leaves everywhere. The ground is pitted and uneven, clearly indicating that a major battle has taken place.

However, the vegetation in the mountains grows very quickly. A month later, the area was covered by a large amount of weeds and vines, making it difficult to see any trace of it.

Qingxuan rubbed his chin and pondered, "According to Miss Yun, this is where she escaped with Du Ling'er, and it was here that Chu Yufeng began his pursuit of her, hmm..."

"Squeak~ Squeak~ Squeak squeak~~~"

Qingxuan suddenly looked up, slightly opened her mouth, and let out a series of clear bird calls from her throat.

Tianyu Jun was startled and then looked around nervously. However, there were many birds in the valley, so a few bird calls were perfectly normal. Qingxuan's bird calls were so realistic that they didn't attract the attention of the Yazhou soldiers in the distance.

Seeing that no enemies had been attracted, Tianyu Jun was relieved and was about to complain to Qingxuan when something happened that made his eyes widen, and he forgot to speak for a moment.

After Qingxuan let out a series of bird calls, several small birds of various colors flew out of the forest and circled around her. Qingxuan stretched out a hand and raised a finger, and a warbler landed on her finger.

The oriole landed on Qingxuan's finger and chirped twice. Qingxuan responded with the same chirping. The two seemed to be conversing, which amazed Tianyu Jun.

After chatting for a short while, the oriole left Qingxuan's finger and flew off in one direction. Qingxuan patted Tianyujun and said, "Come on, follow her."

With that, Qingxuan followed the oriole away. Tianyu Jun then realized what was happening and quickly chased after her.

Tianyu Jun excitedly asked Qingxuan, "Brother Xuan, you actually know how to communicate with spirits?"

Qingxuan smiled smugly: "I know a lot more than this. What's a little spirit communication technique? In a few days, when your opportunity comes, I'll show you something big."

Upon hearing this, Tianyu-jun's eyes lit up, and his heart trembled with excitement.

Humans have human speech, and animals have animal language; the methods of communication between different species are certainly different. The ability to communicate with creatures of different species, and even things not limited to living beings, is called "spiritual communication." Spiritual communication refers to the methods of communicating with spiritual beings other than humans and other races.

However, psychic arts are just a general term, and the specific methods vary from person to person. Some people communicate with otherworldly beings through their spirits, some through special mediums, and some are born with special talents, naturally understanding the communication methods of certain species.

Tianyu Jun had heard of this spirit communication technique, but he had never seen it in person. Because in the eyes of ordinary people, this kind of technique is only used for communicating with otherworldly beings, and is rarely needed under normal circumstances, so very few people practice it.

Humans are the children of Heaven, the most intelligent of all beings. Do we really need to communicate and learn from those lowly microorganisms?

Qingxuan's move today has once again broadened Tianyu Jun's horizons.

The two followed the oriole deep into the back mountains of the Du family mansion, walking for several miles. However, after walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the oriole chirped twice and flew away.

Tianyu-jun asked in surprise, "Xuan-ge'er, what's going on?"

Qingxuan said, "It came here with Miss Yun and Du Ling'er that day, and it doesn't know what happened after that."

Tianyu-jun asked, bewildered, "What should we do?"

Qingxuan smiled calmly, remaining composed, and said lightly, "Don't panic!"

As she spoke, Qingxuan walked to a large tree, placed her hand on the trunk, and closed her eyes to contemplate.

Then something surprising happened to Tianyu Jun: even though there was no wind, all the leaves of the tree were pointing in one direction.

At this moment, Qingxuan opened her eyes, walked in the direction the leaves were pointing, and called out to Tianyu Jun, "Come over here."

Tianyu Jun was immediately filled with amazement, and asked Qingxuan, "Brother Xuan, you can actually communicate with these plants?"

Qingxuan laughed and said, "Spirit communication, spirit communication, of course, you can communicate with anything that has a spirit, not just animals. These flowers, plants and trees also have their own consciousness. Didn't I tell you that even those ancient mountains and lakes, and even stars and oceans, have their own consciousness? It's a pleasant thing to chat with them."

Upon hearing Qingxuan's explanation, Tianyu Jun was once again filled with excitement and longing, wondering when he could ask Qingxuan to teach him.

Guided by the plants and trees in the mountains, the two continued their journey. Every so often, Qingxuan would stop to feel the trees with her hand or squat down to gently stroke the weeds. These plants would sway their leaves or twist their branches, indicating the way for the two. However, as they ventured deeper into the mountains, the path became increasingly steep and difficult to traverse, and each step required more and more effort.

As the two relentlessly pursued their goal, the sun began to set, and they had walked for dozens of miles along the mountain path.

Finally, following the guidance of the vegetation, the two arrived at a steep waterfall, hundreds of feet high, along a small river formed by the convergence of mountain streams. All they could hear was the roar of the water, and all they could see was the rushing, splashing river. Ahead lay only a pool of water hundreds of feet below; there was no further path.

Qingxuan and Tianyujun looked at the sky and the surrounding mountains and forests, which were now completely dark, and both breathed a sigh of relief. Tianyujun said breathlessly, "This Miss Ling'er really knows how to run."

Qingxuan wiped the sweat from his brow, feeling incredibly frustrated. He hadn't expected Miss Ling'er to be so difficult to find, having spent so much effort without success. Qingxuan gritted his teeth angrily, "Bah! No matter how powerful Miss Ling'er is, she can't escape my grasp. Come on, let me ask her again. I want to see where this little brat can run off to."

As she spoke, Qingxuan placed her hand on the tree beside her and began to communicate with it.

Instantly, the leaves on the tree gave them a clue. The two opened their eyes and looked, their hearts skipping a beat, and they fell silent in shock.

The direction the leaves pointed was right in front of the waterfall, at the pool below, hundreds of feet deep!