Chapter 280: The Mysterious Entrance

Lu Fang and Li Yu had a heart-to-heart talk, after which their relationship rapidly warmed; in truth, they loved each other, but had previously avoided confronting the truth, acting awkwardly—once that barrier was broken, they became inseparable.

Qian Zheng and Zhao Weiru, who knew Lu Fang and Li Yu’s true identities, watched them with envy.

To live quietly with Lu Fang in Shuixiang Town, Li Yu had also altered her appearance.

To outsiders, they clearly appeared as a married couple.

In the blink of an eye, three months had passed.

That day.

Lu Fang and Li Yu tidied up the tables and chairs at Ping’an Inn, then returned together to their residence, one grinding ink while the other spread out the rice paper.

They had long practiced together; a single glance was enough to know what the other intended.

Over these three months, Lu Fang had written many elegant passages of *Journey to the West*, all sent to the capital—unfortunately, so far no one had extracted transcendent power from the elegant text.

It wasn’t that few read it; on the contrary, someone had spread the rumor that *Journey to the West* in elegant text might reveal the transcendent path to immortality, sparking a nationwide craze in the Nineteen Provinces of Da Zhou to read *Journey to the West*.

Perhaps because the transcendent power within the book was too potent, or for other reasons, comprehending its transcendent power proved exceptionally difficult.

This gave the Demon and Barbarian clans a great sigh of relief.

Anyone could see the value of the elegant *Journey to the West*; since only the human race could extract transcendent power from Lu Fang’s elegant text, how could the Demon and Barbarian clans not fear?

Previously, Lu Fang’s elegant texts had granted many in Da Zhou the fragrance of scholarship and transcendent power, dealing the Demon and Barbarian clans a heavy blow.

If the elegant *Journey to the West* now granted Da Zhou’s humans all manner of transcendent powers, the Demon and Barbarian clans would surely suffer.

After writing a while longer, Lu Fang set down his brush and sighed softly, smiling bitterly: “Still no progress—the Heavenly Dao’s restrictions haven’t lessened at all.”

He could restore his strength by consuming the fragrance of scholarship, but no matter what, each character he wrote was excruciatingly difficult; this tedious task made it impossible for him to sustain focus, making his writing of the elegant *Journey to the West* even harder.

It felt like a vicious cycle, leaving him unsure how to break free.

Had it not been for Li Yu’s encouragement and supervision beside him these past three months, he likely wouldn’t have finished even the fourth chapter of the elegant *Journey to the West*.

Li Yu shook her head and said: “You’re distracted—are you thinking about that stranger’s claim that mysterious entrances have appeared across Da Zhou? You want to go see for yourself?”

Lu Fang smiled lightly: “I don’t particularly want to go, but I’m curious. Yu’er, don’t you think this is unusual? Why would mysterious entrances appear now? Could the Demon and Barbarian clans be scheming again?”

“Probably not,” Li Yu hesitated. “Why don’t you go take a look? I’ll wait here for you.”

“No,” Lu Fang affectionately tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “Right now, writing the elegant *Journey to the West* is most important—and I don’t want to be apart from you.”

“Don’t give me that!” Li Yu gave him a playful glare, blushing. “What’s going through your mind, do you think I don’t know? If you really want to go, then go—true men seek horizons beyond the four seas.”

“But one thing—you must prioritize your own safety.”

“Da Zhou is in danger now; expecting you to stay here with me forever isn’t realistic.”

“When I return, I’ll take you to the capital to see the first performance of *Dream of the Red Chamber*,” Lu Fang said apologetically.

If only mysterious entrances had appeared across Da Zhou, he wouldn’t have gone—but the day before, he learned from Mo Xin that faint traces of the Punishment’s aura had surfaced everywhere.

Combined with the stranger’s report of mysterious entrances, he suspected they were connected to the Punishment.

Though Lu Fang didn’t know the Punishment’s origin, he had a feeling: if the Punishment truly entered this world through these mysterious passages, it would be a catastrophe for Da Zhou.

Thus, after weighing his options, he decided to go investigate.

After all, Mo Xin said the Punishment found it extremely difficult to descend into this world—it would likely enter gradually, in scattered fragments.

And Lu Fang possessed a longsword forged from Solid Stone, capable of inflicting massive damage on anything bearing the Punishment’s aura—now was his best chance; if he missed it and the Punishment truly descended, it would be too late.

Li Yu leaned against Lu Fang, whispering softly: “When you return, let’s go to the capital together to see the first performance of *Dream of the Red Chamber*—then you, me, and Ling’er can come back here and live in seclusion, alright?”

“Yes,” Lu Fang smiled and pressed a firm kiss to Li Yu’s forehead.

A night of violent wind and rain.

The next morning, the sun rose high.

Lu Fang was explaining the situation to Qian Shi, saying he would be traveling to visit relatives for a while; though Qian Shi disliked losing her golden goose, she had no excuse to stop him and reluctantly agreed.

After all, Li Yu, disguised as Lu Fang’s wife, remained at the inn—he would surely return.

At the Shuixiang Town gate.

Zhao Weiru, Qian Zheng, and Li Yu stood there, seeing Lu Fang off.

After three months of being pestered by Qian Zheng and Zhao Weiru, Lu Fang had reluctantly taken them as disciples—Qian Zheng as the senior disciple, Zhao Weiru as the second disciple—so now they were master and pupils.

“Master, be careful—we and Master’s wife will wait here for your return,” Qian Zheng waved.

Zhao Weiru added: “Master, please stay safe.”

They didn’t know exactly what Lu Fang intended to do, but they guessed it wasn’t merely visiting relatives—especially since news of the mysterious entrances had spread across Da Zhou; they could sense something was amiss.

After whispering a few words to Li Yu’s ear, Lu Fang turned to his two disciples and said solemnly: “While I’m gone, you two must obey Master’s wife and cultivate diligently.”

Because the fragrance of scholarship could restore and strengthen the body.

Many cultivators of minor paths in Da Zhou suddenly discovered that with the fragrance of scholarship as support, their progress accelerated rapidly.

If they were lucky enough to gain transcendent power, their strength would surge dramatically.

Thus, Da Zhou’s cultivation system had become far more diverse, with many branches now centered on cultivating the fragrance of scholarship.

Qian Zheng and Zhao Weiru replied in unison: “Yes, Master!”

Li Yu waved goodbye: “Come back soon.”

Lu Fang nodded, turned, and walked toward the outskirts; once alone, he transformed into a streak of light and shot northward toward the northern frontier.