Chapter 185: The Mechanism Ground Before the Dragon-Pattern Gate

What was originally a common item that anyone could taste had, for a time, become a symbol of the status of the local gentry.

Those who had their souls snatched by witchcraft were also sent back home, yet these people acted as if they had only gone out yesterday and returned today, and their families were the same, as if the soul-snatching incident had never occurred. This actually made things convenient for the government; to avoid public unrest, they just went along with the flow.

Prefect He also woke up not long after that, and the old Assistant Prefect was so overjoyed that he was moved to tears, hurriedly ordering a banquet to be set to thank Lingxiang and her group.

At the table, the Prefect was stunned upon seeing Lingxiang, then immediately bowed low to perform a grand salute. Everyone was taken aback; this gesture was perhaps a bit excessive.

Prefect He hurriedly explained that the grace of saving a life was like a rebirth, so put that way, it was reasonable.

The few of them stayed in Liangcheng for several days, and once their injuries were seven or eight parts healed, they prepared to set off and leave.

Lu Ying was going to the border city of Youlu to visit his family, which was north of Liangcheng, while Guyang City was located to the southeast of Liangcheng, so he left a day early.

After bidding farewell to Prefect He and Assistant Prefect Zhao, who insisted on seeing them off outside the city, Lingxiang and Long Qi set off with many local specialties.

"Oh my," Lingxiang suddenly said while walking, "some people are born with peerless beauty, unlike others who are like tigresses~~" The sentence was spoken like the mountain paths of Dian Mountain; the tone twisted more intricately and melodiously than a stage actor's singing.

Long Qi was stunned upon hearing this, then immediately looked left and right to change the subject: "Hey, isn't this because you were struck by the Soul-Snatching Technique and your mind is unsettled?"

"Ah~ is that so? Why do I feel like I'm missing what I should have." Lingxiang said, flicking her sleeves, "It's clearly a man~" When she felt her feet touch the ground, she opened her eyes to see: the person was like a cypress, standing gracefully in the wind; looking up, his brows were like long swords, his eyes like bright stars, standing in the turbid world, elegant and awe-inspiring.

"Offense taken." Seeing that Maidong had finally stood steady, Xin Yi released her and bowed in a salute.

But Maidong seemed not to have heard, staring straight at Xin Yi.

"No offense taken, no offense taken," Lingxiang, seeing this, hurriedly stepped forward and nudged Maidong with her elbow, "You were saving a life; in an emergency, one must act with flexibility. Don't mind those pedantic dogmas."

Maidong came to her senses, instantly blushing, and lowered her head to thank him: "Th... thank you, Young Master..."

Seeing Maidong like this, Lingxiang understood immediately. Don't let her rough-and-tumble appearance fool you; she was actually as sharp as a needle: the two had grown up together since childhood, and this stubborn girl had always been unconstrained; when had she ever been so coy? Her heart must have been stirred, ripples of spring water flowing within.

This hopeless girl! It was just saving her once, and she had already secretly pledged her heart?

Long Qi saw Lingxiang constantly trying to strike up a conversation with Xin Yi and only felt a sourness rising in his gut.

"Why did you come to the Yuanqing Sect?"

"This is my home to begin with, why can't I come?" Lingxiang said, dragging Maidong to the side.

"Your home?" Long Qi knew she had a deep connection with Yuanqing, but he did not know what her actual status was, and she could even command the Sect Leader like this. With Lingxiang saying it this way, he became even more confused.

"Rumors often circulate in the streets about a woman in Youran Abode who can make things bloom at a touch, but I never thought it would be Miss Lingxiang, and that she is a disciple of Yuanqing; this truly leaves me astonished." Liu Xia said in surprise. The person in white spoke again to stop them, and the enchanting woman could not help but feel stifled.

"This won't do, that won't do; could it be that you have other ideas about her?" The woman said this with a provocative face.

"I am different from you; not everything can be used as a plaything." The person in white looked at the enchanting woman with contempt, then turned to bow and cup his hands to the person on the seat: "That woman back then did indeed use this girl as a sacrificial curse to harm the Master, but now I don't know why she is still alive, and according to my investigation, that woman perished in the Yellow Springs shortly after. In this subordinate's humble opinion, it is better to wait for a while."

The person on the seat moved slightly upon hearing this, and after a moment, waved his hand downward, and the person in white bowed and hid his figure.

The accumulated snow on the mountain melted by seven or eight parts after a few days, leaving only a little, as if reluctant to leave the world, huddled together in a desperate last stand.

After the snowfall, the mountain seemed to have been washed clean, moist everywhere, and even the stream had a torrential momentum.

This snow had delayed many days of cultivation, but Hanyang at Hufeng Hall informed the Outer Disciples that the end-of-month martial arts drill would be held as scheduled.

Many disciples had complaints upon hearing this; the heavy snow had sealed the mountain in previous days, and classes had not been held, so everyone had just been enjoying themselves and had completely forgotten about cultivation. But this was the decision of the Sect Leader and the Elders, and no one could do anything about it, so they had to intensify their training.

Of course, there were those who were carefree, and naturally, there were those who were working hard in secret.

Chengkai was calm and composed about this.

The first martial arts drill had a significant impact on him, and when combined with the previous incident in the kitchen, it made him believe that the gap between himself and others was vast.

If Fengke picked the wrong Spirit Plant, the corresponding points would be deducted.

Upon hearing this, the crowd exploded: first, they had never heard of point deductions, and second, the scroll hung at Hufeng Hall had never mentioned any "Roaming Cloud Perilla."

Just as the Outer Disciples were whispering to each other, the two True Persons, Danyang and Danzhu, twisted their hand seals and opened the mountain array.

"As long as you enter this array gate, you may be transported to any place within the array. If you are lucky enough to land in a place where Spirit Keeper Fruit is abundant, you might even be able to take the lead." True Person Danyang said, nodding to Hanyang to indicate the start of the drill.

It wasn't even together!

The disciples prayed in their hearts, lining up to enter the mountain array, each hoping that they would be as True Person Danyang said and be lucky enough to land in a pile of Spirit Keeper Fruit.

On Wangxian Terrace, True Person Shangqing and five other True Persons were observing the Dust-Peering Mirror together, and even Lingxiang actually had a seat.

It was just that she was a bit different today: since obtaining the Fire Spirit Bead, she had worn much thinner clothing, but now she was wrapped in a thick cotton coat, which truly left True Person Zhaoming extremely puzzled.

Could it be that this girl had lost his precious bead?

Thinking this, he couldn't help but feel a sharp pain in his heart and hurriedly asked about it.

"Look at what Fifth Senior Brother says, am I the kind of person who would lose a treasure?" Lingxiang smiled and tucked her hands into her sleeves, "It's just that I don't have it on me right now. Furthermore, since you gave it to me to play with, why do you want it back now? You and I had an agreement that day; surely Senior Brother doesn't want to go back on his word?"

The words were spoken so thoroughly that True Person Zhaoming really couldn't ask about the whereabouts of the Fire Spirit Bead anymore.

A practitioner values faith and righteousness; promises made cannot be easily taken back, but he had not yet recovered from the pain of losing the treasure.

True Person Chengxin had deep empathy for his plight, but could only shake his head and pat True Person Zhaoming's shoulder to offer consolation.

Who let her be their own Junior Sister!? As her consciousness gradually returned, Lingxiang only felt her lower leg aching and itching as if her bones were being eroded; she wanted to get up to check, but she couldn't muster any strength.

Just then, Maidong came in with a bowl of medicine, and seeing Lingxiang wake up, she hurriedly stepped forward to help her sit up.

"You woke up quite quickly; Master will probably take another half an hour to come over."

Lingxiang saw her eyes were red and swollen, surely because she had been taking care of her without sleep or rest, so she spoke to thank her for her hard work.

Upon hearing this, Maidong gave her a light push.

"Sisters for many years, do you think I could watch you suffer?" She said, picking up the medicine bowl, blowing on it, and handing it to Lingxiang.

"Master said that although there is the Bone-Mending Pill to help you regenerate bone, the injuries to your skin, flesh, and meridians still need to be slowly nursed with medicine; I'm afraid you won't be able to get out of bed for some days."

"Bone-Mending Pill?" Lingxiang did not expect her injuries to be so severe that even a Bone-Mending Pill was used; that was no Mortal Grade item, and she herself had not yet been able to refine one.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Four days. Master was afraid you couldn't bear the pain of bone regeneration, so he gave you Sleep Saint Powder during the treatment. Perhaps he felt that the mountain eggplant was too overbearing, so after feeding it to you yesterday, he ordered that the medicine no longer be used. Do you feel any discomfort now?"

Lingxiang shook her head; apart from the pain in the injured area and her overall weakness, she felt no other discomfort, but that was something one had to experience during the healing process.

Long Qi was pacing back and forth in the room anxiously; ever since he learned that something had happened to Lingxiang, he had always been in a state of unease.

"No, I must go find Lingxiang!" Long Qi said and was about to go out, but was stopped by Liu Xia.

"Not to mention that the Punishment Elder said that day that we are forbidden from setting foot on Qingwei Peak, even if you just went like that, what could you possibly do?"

Long Qi knew deep down that these words were reasonable, but he simply could not set his heart at ease; these past few days he had been restless and uneasy, terrified that something might happen to Lingxiang.

"According to what Banxia found out, it was the Punishment Elder himself who diagnosed and treated Lingxiang. It is not early now, and tomorrow just happens to be the Punishment Elder's morning lecture. Why not go and beg him when the lecture ends tomorrow? Even if he doesn't allow us to visit, it would be good if we could ask for details. That is better than just worrying blindly now, isn't it?" Liu Xia let go of Long Qi and analyzed it carefully for him.

Hearing this, Zhao Wuyang hurriedly chimed in: "The Punishment Elder is kind-hearted and has profound attainments in the medical arts. My mother recovered gradually just by taking the prescriptions he wrote. If Lingxiang really has any trouble, with the Punishment Elder there, she will certainly be safe and sound. Seventh Brother, you can rest assured." "What I actually meant is that the Array Formation is mysterious and ever-changing, so naturally, it has many uses. Take the current situation for example," Lianqiao said, patting a stone, "In our current predicament, there are stones, trees, light, and fog, but we are missing one thing."

Missing one thing? What does that mean? Everyone looked blank, and Lianqiao did not keep them in suspense, explaining directly:

"Stones represent earth, trees represent wood, light represents fire, and fog represents water. There are four of the Five Elements, but metal is missing. I suspect this is the Five Elements Dust Array. This Dust Array is different from other array techniques; the methods of setting it up all use common objects nearby as metaphors. If it exists, it can serve as a phase. Now that the Five Elements are missing metal, I think that as long as we find the right place to fill in this phase, we can break it."

Liu Xia frowned upon hearing this and asked: "Then where should this place be?"

"This..." The smugness had not yet faded from Lianqiao's face, but when asked this, his expression vanished instantly, "I only heard my elders talk about these things when I was at home, but I never knew how to set up the array..."

"In that case, if this array is not broken, we cannot escape from here?" Long Qi suddenly asked at this moment.

Lianqiao nodded upon hearing this: "I suppose that must be the case." However, this time Shangqing Zhenren really did not arrange any tasks for Lingxiang, only telling her to properly refine Pills for the sect.

Refine Pills? They even hid the furnace from her; what kind of ghost pills could she refine? Didn't you see that she refined the room until it was broken!

However...

"Ahem! How should I put it? After all, I am going to take on disciples, so what should be there naturally must be there. Otherwise, where would my two disciples put their faces when they go out?"

Seeing her like this, Long Qi quietly leaned over to Xin Yi and whispered: "Your cultivation is the highest, and you also come from an Exorcist Family, so you must know about this array, right?"

But Xin Yi shook his head: "Most Exorcist Families have their own unique skills. Just like how your Long Family was famous for the sword back then, and the Qiao Family was better than others at divination and the Demon Sealing Technique, the Lu Family specializes in the art of concealment and assassination. Although I have heard of array formations, it is only superficial knowledge."

This was the first time Long Qi had heard of this, and he glanced at Xin Yi with skepticism: It was a pity that this fellow had previously been severely injured by him; he had thought he was so formidable, but at a critical moment, he was still unreliable.

But at this moment, Banxia suddenly asked Zhao Wuyang: "I remember the Qingwei Peak Master mentioned some Five Elements array formations when teaching the Five Elements Hand Seal, is that right?" It was only his own fault for focusing solely on the Talisman Method at the time and not listening carefully to these.

Zhao Wuyang recalled this upon hearing it and said: "It was indeed mentioned. It seemed to be said that the layout of the Five Elements array is either a five-pointed star or the Four Phases Combined; it definitely wouldn't be anything other than these two."

Although these two said so, Long Qi still found it hard to be at ease. At this time, Xin Yi spoke up:

"If something were really wrong, even if you went now, you wouldn't be able to do anything. Besides, there is no news from the sect at the moment, so I suppose she is fine."

Seeing Chengxin Zhenren act this way, Lingxiang sneered and began to sing.

"A poor girl like me, traveling the world, yet without a single skill to rely on. I finally obtained some magic treasures, only to have them coveted by others. If not that, then someone is secretly taking this young girl's hard-earned efforts to provide for their own disciples..."

She pulled a handkerchief from somewhere, and while singing, she feigned wiping her face:

"How unjust is Heaven, to treat me this way, woo~"

The Elders were wondering what kind of trouble she was stirring up again, only to see her glancing at Fuyin Zhenren from time to time while wiping away tears.

Fuyin was left feeling creeped out by being stared at: Lingxiang hadn't done much down the mountain, but she had learned seven or eight parts of those theatrical singing styles. Combined with her affected posture and her method of pointing at the mulberry to curse the locust tree, she truly left him helpless.

When on the mountain, he did not slack off, still sitting in meditation and practicing martial arts every day, contemplating the Dao.

Since he was a child, his master at the escort agency had taught him a principle—living in troubled times, the world is treacherous, affairs are like a game of chess, and lives are like ants. In a person's life, if one cannot be strict with oneself and strive for progress, then even just living is a luxury.

Therefore, in his life, he hated those who were opportunistic the most. That was why when someone rumored that Zhao Wuyang had taken a shortcut, he took it to heart, which was why he couldn't stand him.

Such diligence was very much to the liking of Zhaoming Zhenren.

Although everyone was currently only an Outer Disciple, the various Elders had already begun to keep an eye on those with potential. From time to time, they would come to the courtyard to observe, and if someone suited their fancy, they might take them under their wing directly after they were promoted to the Inner Sect, just like Qianyuan Zhenren did that day.

"Oh my, these small matters are not worth mentioning. A hero does not ask about their origins, let alone a woman like me."

"Since it is your home, why have I never seen you here after being here for so long?" Long Qi was full of doubt.

"The mountain is bottomless, when have you been everywhere?" Lingxiang smiled, "Besides, I only came up the mountain yesterday, so naturally you wouldn't have seen me."

Long Qi sighed inwardly that it was bad: This tigress, how long ago was that, and she still remembers it so clearly. It is truly true that only women and small-minded men are difficult to deal with.