Chapter 131: Reversed Directions, the Bizarre Death Sand Sea!

"You don't need to worry too much, that guy Fang Xu is clever." Huang Qingzhou comforted.

"By the way, let me tell you a piece of news: Yun Wan of the Yun clan has obtained the Immortal Gate Pass." In order to divert the two girls' worries, Huang Qingzhou changed the subject and spoke.

"Yun Wan?"

Lu Qingluo said with some doubt: "She is a princess of the Yun clan, her cultivation has reached Martial Master Ninth Level, why would she come to the Immortal Ascension Convention?"

Huang Qingzhou shook his head: "I don't know about that."

"Whether Martial Master or Martial Apprentice, cultivation level makes no difference in the entrance exam."

"Mu Junior Sister's side is fine, but Lu Junior Sister, you..." Looking at Lu Qingluo, Huang Qingzhou felt somewhat worried.

Chu Mu is a preselected disciple of Xu Changqing, also an alchemist, does not need to participate in the brutal entrance exam; after the entrance exam ends, he can directly become Xu Changqing's disciple.

Lu Qingluo is different; she needs to participate in the entrance exam.

Midnight, Death Sand Sea.

"Senior Brother, don't worry, I have a plan." Lu Qingluo said with a slight smile.

Central Province lies to the south of the Death Sand Sea, but judging from the current situation, the direction chosen by Old Monkey is north.

He shouted excitedly, Fang Xu pointed at the faint mountain range in the distance and said:

"Mountain!"

There's something wrong with the space of this Death Sand Sea!

As the sun rose, a warm feeling returned; atop the towering dunes, Old Monkey looked at the sky's sun, combined with his own sensation, he could ascertain one thing.

Old Monkey looked around, then lifted his head to gaze at the stars and moon in the sky and said: "There shouldn't be any issue; the direction is correct."

"Having a plan is good..." Huang Qingzhou said, then pursed his lips and said: "Alright, you go ahead and busy yourselves; I'll go inquire about Fang Xu's news."

After the two rested briefly, they braved the bitter cold and walked toward the front-left.

……

His true form is that of a demon beast; his sense of direction is keen, but at this moment the direction he perceives has a slight discrepancy with the star chart and the moon's position in the sky.

After some thought, Old Monkey immediately decided not to rely on the sun and moon in the sky to determine direction, but to follow his own feeling entirely.

"Yuan Bo!"

But now, from when they entered the sand sea until now, twenty-five days have passed, yet before them is still an endless desert!

After sighing, he immediately carefully observed everything around, wanting to see what caused the discrepancy between what he saw and what he felt, resulting in an inversion of direction.

"Fang Xiaozi, look at the sun!"

Fang Xu and Old Monkey continued forward under the moonlight, slowly walking across the endless desert.

"Yuan Bo, are we lost?" Frowning at the featureless wasteland around them, Fang Xu furrowed his brow and spoke.

Upon entering November, the nighttime temperatures in the northern border were terrifyingly low.

"It's already been over twenty days, why are we still in the desert?"

"Hidden Dragon Mountain!"

He also sensed something was off; if they continued, they estimated it would be hard to exit the desert.

Old Monkey exclaimed in surprise.

In their perception, their straight ahead was east, but in their sight, the sun rose from behind them!

He also didn't know why such a strange phenomenon occurred.

"Fang Xiaozi, let's change direction!"

Gazing at the distant continuous mountain range, Old Monkey couldn't help but laugh.

Fang Xu merely hesitated a moment, then chose to trust him and resolutely walked forward.

Staring at the sky, Old Monkey seemed to notice something slightly off.

After habitually looking up countless times, Fang Xu, upon this glance, suddenly discovered a faint mountain range appearing in the distance!

It seemed that this starry sky over the Death Sand Sea was not the same as the one he had seen before!

"Fang Xiaozi, let's change direction!"

"Keep going, my feeling won't be wrong." Old Monkey said firmly.

Earlier, Ku Lun had told them that under normal circumstances, it takes about twenty days to exit the Death Sand Sea.

Hidden Dragon Mountain spans between Central Province and Cool Prefecture, also serving as a natural barrier blocking the desert's invasion of Central Province; because when viewed from the desert's direction, the whole mountain range resembles a faintly visible giant dragon, hence its name.

Fang Xu nodded.

Time flew, and the two walked another three days in this boundless desert.

"Wrong! Wrong!"

"Hehe..."

Along this journey, although Fang Xu and Old Monkey have faced hardships, their strength is not lacking; their speed is not slow, and along the way they have left countless caravans and martial artists far behind.

"Looks like, my feeling is still accurate."

But when he raised his head again, he discovered that the sunset, which should have appeared on his left, had unknowingly appeared on his right!

Old Monkey also became somewhat doubtful.

Fang Xu turned his head to look at the setting sun, now only half a head's worth, and exclaimed in astonishment: "When did it change?"

Old Monkey's face grew solemn as he shook his head, gazing at the desert behind him and murmuring: "This desert is too strange; there must be something wrong underneath!"

The terrifying storm that blows up at a fixed time each year can suck in even Martial Lord experts with its strange sand vortex, unknowingly reversing the direction……

All these signs indicate that the desert beneath their feet is far from being an ordinary simple desert.

"It's gotten dark, we should leave quickly." After taking a deep look at the desert behind them, Old Monkey said: "I never want to freeze in this desert again."

Facing Hidden Dragon Mountain, the two pushed their speeds to the limit.

Until the sky grew completely dark, with the Jade Rabbit high in the heavens, the two finally reached the foot of Hidden Dragon Mountain.

From the Qiankun bag, he took out the remaining two Gu pills; he and Lao Yuan each took one and swallowed them. Then he took out the third-grade treasure short spear and the hundred stalks of purple flame grass. Fang Xu once again transformed into Hu Ertu and headed toward the Yinlong Mountain Pass.

The Yinlong Mountain Pass is a massive fortress built in the middle of the mountain range, and it is the sole passage between Liangzhou and Zhongzhou.

Traveling from Liangzhou to Zhongzhou, if one does not go through the Yinlong Pass, the only alternative is to detour through Qingzhou, or continue east and detour toward Lizhou.

Under the cover of night, before the gate of the Yinlong Pass, a large number of martial artists and prefecture troops stood guard—every three steps a post, every five steps a patrol—scrutinizing all who wished to enter the pass.

Fang Xu and Lao Yuan fell into the long queue forming before the gate, walking slowly forward.

Those standing ahead of Fang Xu seemed to be several martial artists who had rushed from Liangzhou; it was unclear whether it was because they had not encountered the reversed directions or for some other reason, but they too had arrived at the Yinlong Pass at this moment.

Unintentionally turning his head, he saw Fang Xu; a few martial artists' faces flickered with shock, and they hastily made way.

"Sir Hu, please."

Fang Xu furrowed his brows and said, "Do you know this young master?"

That martial artist hurriedly gave a fawning smile and said, "Your great name, Sir Hu, has long been heard of in Liangzhou."

Fang Xu arrogantly nodded and walked straight to stand before those few people.

"No cutting in line!"

Their action naturally drew the attention of the nearby inspecting martial artists; immediately two men stepped forward, eyeing Fang Xu and Lao Yuan suspiciously, and demanded, "Why are you two cutting in line?!"

Faced with the questioning, Fang Xu wore an arrogant expression and said:

"Which of your eyes saw us cutting in line?"

"They voluntarily let this young master go ahead of them."

"You!" The two martial artists, seeing this, immediately prepared to strike.

The several martial artists who had rushed from Liangzhou hurriedly said, "Sirs, it is indeed voluntary on our part."

"This is Sir Hu; his older brother is the formerly renowned Martial Venerable of Liangzhou, Hu Erle."

Hu Erle?

Upon hearing this, several martial artists waiting in line turned their heads to look.

"So it's him!"

"Rumor has it that a chaos-causing little demon king has recently appeared in Liangzhou, relying on his brother's friendship with the Great Master Ku Lun to throw the whole city into an uproar."

"How did this brat run all the way to Zhongzhou?"

"Tch! Zhongzhou isn't Liangzhou; Great Master Ku Lun didn't come along, yet this brat is still so arrogant—sooner or later he'll be taken down."

"Never mind, never mind; I've heard this brat is muddle-headed—don't provoke him. Didn't you see he still has a Martial Master Great Perfection old servant at his side?"

The crowd chattered away; two martial artists from aristocratic families, hearing this, frowned, sized up Fang Xu, and said, "Kid, in Liangzhou you're under the protection of Great Master Ku Lun, but here there's none—behave yourself!"

Listening to his reprimand, Fang Xu remained nonchalant, not even deigning to glance at him.

"You!"

That hot-tempered martial artist, seeing this, could no longer hold back!

These days the great clans have joined forces to screen Fang Xu here; the Yinlong Pass is garrisoned by a Martial Venerable, yet this brat, relying on a Martial Master Great Perfection old servant, acts so arrogantly—he must make him know whose territory Zhongzhou is.

"Never mind, never mind!"

The martial artist at his side hastily grabbed his companion and whispered:

"Don't forget our objective."

"This brat has Great Master Ku Lun behind him—one of the top two experts in the Great Yu—don't go looking for trouble."

Having heard his words, that martial artist furrowed his brows, glared fiercely at Fang Xu, and then left it at that.

After this commotion, the reputation of Hu Ertu spread once again.

The queue before the gate underwent layer after layer of inspection, slowly moving forward.

Fang Xu felt extremely nervous inside, yet he still had to maintain Hu Ertu's unruly and unrestrained demeanor.

Finally, as the line progressed, the two passed through the layers of inspection and entered the Yinlong Pass.

To avoid raising suspicion, after entering the Yinlong Pass they spent the night there, and only the next day did they set out for Zhongzhou City.

The journey to Zhongzhou City still had two thousand li to go.

Along the way, nearly fifty large and small cities must be passed, and between each city, patrol squads formed from various factions' martial artists shuttle through the villages and towns, strictly scrutinizing all strangers.

But Fang Xu now wears Hu Ertu's face, so he has nothing to worry about.

Along the road, whenever he encountered a city he would enter it, and after entering he would invariably cause some disturbance, letting people know his title of 'chaos-causing little demon king'.

As the day of the Ascension Immortal Association's entrance examination drew nearer, Fang Xu simply vanished without a trace, while all factions of the Yu State were already scrambling in panic.

At this critical juncture, they also did not want to provoke further trouble by offending such a powerful figure as Great Master Ku Lun.

Regarding the disturbances caused by 'Hu Ertu,' the major powers chose to endure them if they could.

The second day of the winter month.

A heavy snowfall arrived unexpectedly, turning the entirety of Zhongzhou into a world blanketed in silver and white.

With winter's arrival, the commoners all grew idle; taking advantage of this time, they rushed from the villages to the various county towns to prepare to use their limited funds to purchase some New Year goods.

The Emperor Yu issued a self-reproach edict and also promulgated an imperial decree reducing and exempting taxes, giving some commoners extra surplus grain so they could enjoy a good year.

A large number of commoners entering the cities undoubtedly increased the difficulty of inspection for all the factions.

Fang Xu and Lao Yuan followed the commoners' queue into the city, slowly walking into Lincheng.

This is the final city on the route to Zhongzhou City; leaving Lincheng, heading south two hundred li and crossing the Zhangshui River brings one to Zhongzhou City.

"Young Master, there are still three days left." Lao Yuan reminded him on the city streets.

Fang Xu gave a slight nod, turned sideways to glance at the few sneaky shadows trailing behind him, frowned, and said, "I miscalculated; these fellows, fearing I would cause trouble, have actually been sending people to tail me all along."

"Uncle Yuan, we need to think of a way to slip away."

Lao Yuan turned back, glanced at the few tails, frowned, and said, "If we were to leave the city now, could we shake them off?"

Fang Xu shook his head: "Hu Ertu inevitably seeks trouble upon entering the city; since I have now entered Lincheng, if I do not cause trouble and go straight to Zhongzhou City, they might become suspicious."

Let's go, let's cause a scene up ahead.

Pushing through the crowd, Fang Xu carried a wineskin filled with horse milk wine and slowly entered a tavern in the city.

Just like in Liangzhou that day, after entering the tavern he immediately caused a scene, forcibly made nine friends, and then prepared to leave.

Stop!

The two had just stepped out of the tavern when an angry voice shouted at him.

Fang Xu turned his head and saw a handsome youth in a silver robe, hair tied up, looking graceful and angry, glaring at him.

Squinting with a half‑smile, Fang Xu said lightly, "What's up?"

The handsome youth, leading a group of guards, strode up to Fang Xu and snapped angrily, "You drove away the tavern's customers, wrecked my tavern, and forced trades—do you think there's nothing wrong?"

Fang Xu gave a playful smile: "How do you want to settle this?"

The handsome youth stared at him, thought a moment, and said, "Pay up! One thousand taels of gold!"

One thousand taels?

You treat your lifesaver like this?

Fang Xu laughed and said.

Hearing that, the handsome youth froze.

You can't remember?

Then let me remind you: Liangzhou, the Gobi Desert, the bandits...

"Is it you?!" Upon hearing Fang Xu mention those, the handsome youth's beautiful eyes widened, looking at him in disbelief.

Obviously, the handsome youth before him was the person Fang Xu and Lao Yuan had unintentionally rescued that night in Liangzhou's Gobi Desert—a girl dressed as a boy.

But this girl seems to like cross‑dressing as a boy, and she still dresses that way.

"Little lady, your outfit is too casual." Fang Xu glanced at the youth's slightly raised chest and smiled faintly: "At least you should bind this up…"

"You…" The little girl, still surprised and happy to meet her benefactor, blushed with anger when Fang Xu said that.

"All right, you owed me your life that day, and today I wrecked your shop—we're even."

Not wanting to waste more words, Fang Xu waved his hand, turned, and prepared to leave.

Wait… wait a moment!

The little girl shouted again at Fang Xu: "You can't leave!"

Fang Xu slowly turned, frowned at her, and asked, "Anything else?"

The little girl pouted and said, "Saving me and wrecking my shop aren't the same thing."

"Wrecking my shop means I must pay; saving me is something I can repay."

Fang Xu also laughed at her bizarre logic and said, "Then how do you plan to repay me?"

"You say." The little girl hesitated, then kicked the leather ball back.

"I say? Then give me one thousand taels of gold." Fang Xu laughed.

"One thousand taels of gold… good!" The little girl immediately turned to ask the martial artist behind her for money.

Fang Xu spoke again: "I wrecked your shop and owe one thousand taels too, so you don't need to pay—we're square."

Having said that, he ignored the little girl standing there and headed straight for Lincheng City Gate with Lao Yuan.

Behind her, the little girl obviously hadn't processed it yet; seeing Fang Xu walk away, she angrily stomped her foot: "This guy!"

"Young master, what now?" the martial artist beside her asked.

The little girl tilted her head, thought, and said, "You go back first."

The martial artist blinked, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "But…"

"Fine, I'll return to Zhongzhou City myself!"

"Going!"

After sending off her attendants, she immediately chased after the direction Fang Xu had gone.

……

Yanghua Mountain lies three hundred li south of Zhongzhou City; after entering the winter month, the number of martial artists preparing to go to Huayang Mountain keeps growing.

Yet these martial artists are now blocked outside by an allied army formed from Yu State's major powers, with layer after layer of checkpoints screening every martial artist who wants to go to Huayang Mountain.

This naturally provoked the martial artists' complaints; they clamored for the Ascension Immortal Society to come out and uphold justice.

Speaking of which, the major powers behave this way, and the Ascension Immortal Society should have stepped in to reprimand them, but for some unknown reason it has not intervened, simply letting the allied army run wild outside the mountains.

At the south gate of Zhongzhou City, after Fang Xu and Lao Yuan had just cleared a thorough inspection and exited the gate, they hadn't gone far before encountering another checkpoint.

Seeing the long line forming before the checkpoint, Fang Xu furrowed his brow.

With nearly half a month left until the eighteenth of the winter month, at this inspection speed the major powers would not delay the martial artists' entry exam.

The problem is that his and Lao Yuan's Gu Pills won't last that long.

They had taken their last Gu Pill upon entering Yinlong Pass, and now its efficacy has dwindled to less than five days.

If, after five days, they still haven't entered Huayang Mountain's territory, under this inspection they will surely be discovered.

As the eighteenth of the winter month approaches, the various powers' branches outside have already gathered all their martial artists in Zhongzhou; once their identities are exposed, he dare not imagine how many martial artists would surround him and Lao Yuan.

What to do?

Looking at the squirming crowd ahead, Fang Xu grew anxious.

Beside him, Lao Yuan gazed at the long line ahead and said in a low voice, "Kid, as long as we can get within a hundred‑li radius of Huayang Mountain, I'm confident I can lead you in a breakthrough."

In his prime he had the strength of a Martial Sovereign Ninth Level, but with his qi and blood waning and the price paid for transforming from an ape into a human, his strength is far less than before.

Fang Xu clearly understood that Lao Yuan's suggested breakthrough would likely cost him his life.

"Uncle Yuan, this is the worst option; we can't resort to force unless absolutely necessary."

"Let's just go slowly and see."

Old Monkey nodded, and the two silently followed the vanguard, slowly walking toward Splendid Yang Mountain.

……

Splendid Yang Mountain.

In a small valley embraced by surrounding peaks, pavilions and towers were built against the mountains and beside the water; a heavy snowfall a few days earlier made everything in the valley look like ice carvings and jade sculptures, resembling a fairyland on earth.

Inside the pavilion, Li Cangwu, wearing a black fur robe and looking somewhat languid, held a black stone and placed it decisively on the board before him.

Opposite him, a figure with white hair and beard but a youthful face saw his move and a faint smile appeared on their face.

"A daring move, Your Majesty the Yu Emperor shows great resolve."

Li Cangwu smiled slightly: "As they say, without destruction there is no establishment; Brother Jiang, the state of the world is such, and I too must go with the flow."

"Our founding ancestor was muddle-headed; at the state's inception he actually decided to share rule of the world with aristocratic warriors..."

"In my view, the Yu State can have only one voice."

The white-haired man opposite smiled faintly and said: "The Ascension Immortal Association has rules against meddling in secular affairs, but it cannot stand by when someone is blocked at their doorstep; the Yu Emperor's request..."

"Brother Jiang, as an Elder of the Ascension Immortal Association and the person in charge of the Yu State branch, I have never before asked you for anything these years; this is the sole matter—will you still refuse me, Brother Jiang?"

Li Cangwu stared at the white-haired man and spoke.

From his words it could be seen that the white-haired youthful-looking man before them was none other than Jiang Feng, Elder of the Yu State branch of the Ascension Immortal Association.

Jiang Feng slowly picked up a white stone, about to place it on the board before him—

"Brother Jiang."

Li Cangwu spoke again.

His hand holding the white stone paused slightly, hovering in midair; Jiang Feng lifted his head, met Li Cangwu's gaze, hesitated a moment, and still placed the piece elsewhere.

With this move he did not choose to surround and kill the black stones' large dragon, but only captured a small part of it.

Seeing his own large group of black stones being taken one by one, Li Cangwu's face darkened as he said: "Brother Jiang, are you truly unwilling to grant me this face?"

"It's already a compromise—hasn't the Yu Emperor noticed?" He picked up the captured black stones one by one, looked up at Li Cangwu with a faint smile, and said: "The Yu Emperor still has ten moves to break out."

"Ten moves then ten moves, thank you, Brother Jiang." Li Cangwu stared at the board, feeling somewhat unwilling, yet he finally picked up three black stones, gently tossed them onto the board, then rose, cupped his hands toward Jiang Feng, and left the pavilion.

Watching the Yu Emperor's retreating figure, Jiang Feng gave a faint smile, lightly tapped the board with his palm, and all the black and white stones sprang into the air; as he swept his hand lightly across, the scattered stones instantly fell back into their respective boxes.

"Little one, this seat can only help you this much."

He lightly waved his hand, taking away the chessboard in front of him along with the two chess boxes; Jiang Feng slowly rose to his feet and gazed toward the mountain gate.

Outside Splendid Yang Mountain, three days had already passed.

Fang Xu and the old monkey had passed through layer after layer of inspection; now they were still roughly fifty li from Splendid Yang Mountain.

Feeling the effects of the Gu pill gradually dissipating, Fang Xu's inner anxiety grew stronger and stronger.

Only two days left!

In two days' time, the effects of the Gu pill will disappear, and then his true appearance will be revealed.

His gaze swept over the surrounding clan alliance, whose eyes were tiger-like, and his mood became unusually solemn.

"Hey!"

Just as Fang Xu was pondering how to face the upcoming predicament, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind him.

Coming to his senses, he slowly turned his head and, frowning at the girl dressed as a boy behind him, said, "How did you follow me here?"

The girl pursed her lips and said arrogantly:

"What do you mean 'I also followed you here'!?"

"The entrance examination of the Ascension Immortal Association is a grand annual event; can't I go take a look?"

Seeing her spoiled demeanor, Fang Xu couldn't be bothered to respond, turned away on his own, and pondered what to do next.

"Hey, want to cut in line?"

The girl behind him spoke again.

Fang Xu blinked slightly, suppressing his excitement, and said calmly, "Do you have a way?"

The girl proudly lifted her chin, took out a token carved from black jade from her belt, waved it in front of Fang Xu, and said, "Beg me, and I'll let you cut in line."

"Please." As soon as her words fell, Fang Xu directly said:

This sudden change left the girl momentarily stunned.

"You..."

Having made a move at Gobi Beach, later meeting again in Lincheng, and adding the information I gathered myself, the girl has always thought that this guy before her is an unruly, spoiled brat.

Making him beg her was originally just a plan to tease him a little.

The girl never expected that Fang Xu would agree without a hint of hesitation, giving in directly!!

(End of chapter)