Divine Tang Era

Chapter 152 The Prodigy Reappears

To be honest, regardless of the climate, the scenery on the plateau is truly breathtaking.

The rolling mountains, the towering peaks, the vast grasslands and majestic snow-capped mountains, the seemingly endless land, and the sky that seems within reach—all these combine to create a sense of vastness and grandeur that is a charm that cannot be felt anywhere else.

But the plateau is also desolate.

As far as the eye can see, there is only a vast and boundless wilderness.

Aside from the sparse vegetation covering the ground, there were some low grasses and hardy shrubs, and occasionally a few tenacious wildflowers. There were hardly any tall trees, let alone any. So, looking out, the view was vast, as if there was only one person in the world.

Here, tranquility is the dominant theme.

Silence can almost swallow up all other sounds.

The wind is the only protagonist here, sometimes whispering, sometimes singing softly, sometimes howling, sometimes roaring, just like the weather at the end of spring, changing in an instant.

Xu Dan and his companions' plan for digging for treasure was to start by searching areas with a lot of ghostly aura. Once they had found enough, they would turn around and circle back to Jingning City.

It started raining and snowing again.

The weather has dropped sharply these past few days, getting colder and colder, so everyone has to quicken their pace.

After crossing a mountain, they found themselves on a relatively flat grassland. Xu Dan and his companions were surprised to find many people digging there. Pit after pit, and they could be heard shouting with joy from time to time, suggesting a good harvest.

"I found it! The ghost's aura is down there!" a martial arts disciple exclaimed excitedly.

"I found it too, it's over there," another martial arts student said.

"Me too."

Seeing the martial arts disciples finding the locations of ghostly auras one after another on the grassland, Xu Dan muttered to himself: Could this be a mass grave? Otherwise, how could so many ghosts be hiding here? Looking down at the teams digging for treasure on the grassland, he became increasingly certain that his suspicions were correct.

Several martial arts school disciples were eager to dig for treasure, so the group followed them and hurried towards the place where the ghostly aura was present.

This digging lasted all day.

There's a downside to following the aura of ghosts to find treasure: once you start chasing, it never ends. You're either on the move or digging in the dirt, which is exhausting.

Xu Dan is small, so he doesn't have to do any heavy work, but walking a lot still gets tiring. Besides, he can't just watch everyone else digging and stand by and watch; he has to go down and dig a couple of shovelfuls to make an appearance, otherwise he'll lose face.

They were more careful when they camped out for the night.

The tents were gathered together, a wooden wall was erected outside, mechanisms were set up, and the array plate was taken out and opened to protect the camp.

That's not all. At night, some members of the team take turns keeping watch to prevent anyone from breaking through the array's restrictions and entering without anyone noticing.

There was no other way; everyone was terrified of the Evil-Faced Spider.

In the evening, everyone gathered together for dinner, discussed the plans for the next day, and then returned to their tents to rest.

Xu Dan didn't go to bed early. He went to the Xuan Ding to check on the vegetables planted by the spirit boy. They were growing well. He praised the boy a couple of times before leaving.

In the past few days, he acquired another treasure from the martial arts school disciple who had unearthed the treasure—a gilded bronze Ruyi scepter with mysterious patterns.

The ruyi scepter, with its mysterious patterns, was about three feet long and quite heavy. It was cast entirely in bronze, and its head resembled a lingzhi mushroom, made with remarkable realism. Fortunately, Xu Dan was very strong, so this weight was nothing to him.

However, perhaps due to being buried underground for too long, the gilded bronze Ruyi with black patterns has developed some rust.

Xu Dan then guided the fire from his heart meridian upwards.

Soon, the rust crumbled away, revealing a smooth, glossy bronze ruyi scepter with gilded patterns. Xu Dan brandished it, quite pleased with himself. It was a pity he was too short; if he were taller, carrying this thing around would probably give him a subtle air of superiority.

After playing for a while, he lay down on the bed to rest and soon fell into a deep sleep.

The wilderness at night was shrouded in boundless darkness, and all around was silent; time seemed to stand still here.

The night sky over the plateau was exceptionally clear, with the Milky Way stretching across the horizon and stars twinkling in the darkness, seemingly within reach.

Normally, after dark, the people digging for treasure would crawl into their tents to sleep, but perhaps because there are so many people now, there are quite a few digging for treasure at night. But all of this did not affect Xu Dan and the others' rest.

After an unknown amount of time, a burst of light suddenly emerged from the ground inside Xu Dan's tent.

Upon closer inspection, it wasn't some kind of magical light, but rather the silhouette of a small, naked little girl.

Xu Dan was unaware and remained sound asleep.

The little girl, innocent and naive, sensed a familiar, pleasant aura emanating from him. She loved it so much that she couldn't help but rub her face against Xu Dan's, feeling its warmth and fragrance—it felt so comforting!

The little girl's eyes lit up with joy, and she reached out to hug Xu Dan's neck.

So I hugged him and kept rubbing my face against his.

In his sleep, Xu Dan felt as if someone was choking him, making it hard to breathe, and he involuntarily opened his eyes. He was startled to see the girl, yet felt he had seen her somewhere before; she looked very familiar. After a moment's thought, it dawned on him—the little girl looked exactly like the child spirit he had encountered!

Is this another prodigy?

Xu Dan was suddenly wide awake and got up to look at the little girl.

The little girl wasn't afraid of him at all; she just hugged his neck and rubbed her face against his like a kitten.

After observing for a while, Xu Dan finally confirmed that the little girl was a spiritual child. Overjoyed, he immediately formed hand seals and cast a spell, drawing a wisp of divine soul to imprint a mark deep within her soul. Because the little girl was at her most innocent and pure at this time, without any distracting thoughts, she would not resist the spell. If she were any older, it would be hard to say.

Xu Dan never expected to encounter such good fortune. He hadn't even gone looking for the spirit child yet, but the child came to him. It truly is a case of "those who survive a great calamity are destined for good fortune."

I survived falling from the sky, being sucked into a vortex, being in an underground cave, and being in the wilderness.

These repeated brushes with death, the endless blessings accumulated, are now coming one after another.

After planting the soul imprint, Xu Dan immediately felt a strange connection between himself and the spirit child, as if he had developed a deep attachment. The spirit child felt the same way, looking at Xu Dan with curiosity.

Xu Dan ignored her curiosity and directly put her into the Hidden Mystic Cauldron. Inside, the previous spirit child kept her company, so she wasn't lonely.

Because spirit children are highly valued, especially by ghosts and cultivators—they're like the flesh of Tang Sanzang (a monk from Journey to the West). Therefore, the longer a spirit child remains outside, the greater the risk; not a moment can be wasted, hence the immediate imprisonment.

Fearing he might cause trouble, he recited the Purifying Mantra again before lying down to sleep.

"True love!"

Shanzhu and Zhu Yuxian stood on a hilltop, looking at Lin Qing, the head of Yinlong Pavilion, who was holding an umbrella to shield Rui Wuni from the wind and rain, and sighed.

The rain fell coldly, the wind blew coldly, and the chill was biting, but Lin Qing seemed to feel nothing, even though his clothes were soaked through.

"What a devoted person!!!" On another mountain, Pleiades Star Lord stood with the two Star Lords who had previously chased down the powerful figures. When he saw Lin Qing holding an umbrella for Rui Wu Ni, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

"Pleiades".

Kui Mu Xingjun said, "I remember you entered Fengzhen Temple back then to pursue Wu Niangzi, so why don't you go and lend a hand now?"

"Given her pride, she certainly wouldn't like anyone seeing her like this, so let's not go." Pleiades Star Lord shook his head.

"I heard that Linqing once pursued Lady Wu Ni, is that true?" asked Ji Shui Xingjun.

"Who does he think he is, to even be considered one of us?" Pleiades Star Lord sneered. "Back then, countless men pursued Ni Niang; how could he possibly be a contender? If Ni Niang weren't in trouble right now, he wouldn't even have the chance to get close to her."

"What, are you jealous of this too?" As petals fell, Shanzhu and Zhu Yuxian appeared beside the three of them.

"This isn't jealousy, it's the truth. Everyone in the capital knows it," said Pleiades Star Lord, his face flushed, trying to maintain the composure.

Shanzhu and Zhu Yuxian exchanged a glance. Sure enough, men, regardless of age, are always stubborn.