Chapter 259: Night Watchman

Because there were traces to follow, Dou Yuankong's whereabouts were soon investigated clearly.

He last appeared in Nanming City, Wanquan Prefecture, Qingzhou; however, he had already taken a carriage out of the city gate at that time, and looking at the direction, he should have been going to that Anyuan City famous for brewing wine.

And this stretch of road was not too far from the place where his old servant's corpse was found.

But very soon, with the confirmation of Dou Yuankong's last stop, the rumors regarding this matter gradually subsided.

Whether it was Shengjing or the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan, no more news came.

It wasn't until three days later that some noble disciples mentioned this matter again, and the final clues of the search for Dou Yuankong's whereabouts were gradually spread.

"Found it?"

"Yes, it is said he went to a winery; the winery owner said he was drunk, insisted on finding singing girls, and walked into the mountain forest in a daze; there were mountain wildernesses everywhere near that winery, and the owner said he might have walked into the mountain forest with a confused mind."

"So it was purely bad luck? Unrelated to the Evil Seed matter? After tossing for so long, how could it be such a result?"

"Not being a man-made calamity is also a good thing; is it necessary that another demon Dao must appear to be good?"

"..."

Ji You had been in the Library Pavilion of the inner courtyard these past few days, flipping through records regarding the matter of "fixing the Dao," wanting to know if there was a way to bypass the Questioning Bureau and merge with the Dao.

The result was as expected; he didn't find anything.

For thousands of years, the cultivation system of cultivators had always been fixed; there weren't many who cultivated as abstractly as him.

Besides this, he also looked at the records regarding the Sages' Holy Land, as well as some history of the Remnant Race, including the research of predecessors on Evil Seeds.

The Sages' Holy Land was a place where the human race's destiny flourished; this point was no different from what he had heard earlier.

And in the broken space within the Holy Land, there were indeed Heavenly Dao altars and ancestral temples of the human race.

As for the Remnant Race, the data was relatively small, and some things were also very hard to verify.

And regarding the matter of Dou Yuankong, he had also been paying attention.

Because this matter was discussed by people every day, he didn't even need to deliberately inquire; those things would drift into his ears.

Just as Ji You was flipping through the books in his hand, Wen Zhengxin and Ban Yangshu came to the Library Pavilion; they had personally experienced the Evil Seed matter and were naturally extra concerned about this matter.

At this time, hearing the investigation results of the Dou Yuankong incident, the two hurried over to seek Ji You.

Seeing Ji You flipping through books in the Library Pavilion, Wen Zhengxin couldn't help but recall the rumors that Dou Yuankong could only pound a dozen times each time.

This body of Ji Shidi Ji, it is estimated that he could top several thousand Dou Yuankongs.

"Ji Shidi Ji, have you heard about Dou Yuankong's matter?"

Ban Yangshu sat beside him at this time: "It is said that his disappearance is unrelated to the Evil Seed matter, purely his own bad luck."

Ji You looked at the two at this time: "Have you noticed that although there is news flowing out, those walkers outside the sect haven't returned?"

Ban Yangshu was slightly startled: "?"

"I feel it is fake, a fake message specially spread."

"This... shouldn't be, right?"

Ji You looked at Ban Yangshu's uncertain appearance and reached out to close the book: "The Management Office sent out two batches of disciples this time; don't you think this is very similar to the arrangement when we went to Qiling back then?"

Hearing this sentence, Wen Zhengxin and Ban Yangshu looked at each other, and suddenly understood Ji You's meaning.

Back then, when the Qiling incident happened, they were sent out as pioneers to investigate, and it wasn't until confirming that there was immortal fate in the ruins that the seven major Immortal Sects sent a second batch of people to fight for the immortal fate.

That is to say, when the Management Office sent out the second batch of disciples, it was highly likely that they had found some clues that could represent Dou Yuankong and the Evil Seed matter.

Otherwise, the high-and-mighty Immortal Sects wouldn't have been so mobilized.

Wen Zhengxin opened her mouth, and after returning to her senses, couldn't help but lower her voice: "Could it be that they found something that cannot be made public? That's why they used a fake result to calm the discussion regarding this matter?"

"There should be such a possibility."

"Then what would that matter be?"

Ji You shook his head: "Don't know, but there are many things in the Qingyun world that cannot be made public, such as those family-transmitted techniques, and the way of fixing the Dao; it's already not fresh; it's just fearing that it's not a blessing but a disaster."

Ban Yangshu and Wen Zhengxin looked at each other, then pursed their lips: "The things the seven major Immortal Sects care about are definitely major events; it's better not to know; anyway, small characters like us cannot participate."

Hearing the words of the two, Ji You pressed his hand lightly on the desk.

The seven major Immortal Sects hold the handle of the world's ox ear and have always been the true power holders leading the human race to survive in the world.

The things they plot, small characters indeed cannot participate in, but the problem is that the things they decide might not necessarily be good things; this is what makes people most worried.

Now that Fengzhou has just developed, the days of the common people are already quite good; what is most feared is that unexpected things will happen.

But as a rustic private cultivator, being able to let a few less children die in this world is already beyond his previous expectations.

You know, his initial idea was just to find a bandit den to be a hall master, and if there was nothing to do, rob the immortals to help the poor.

Wen Zhengxin also saw the book regarding merging with the Dao on the table at this time, and couldn't help but look at Ji You.

Ji You had once lived in her courtyard for a period of time; at that time, he was fixing the Dao, and afterward, Ji You resolutely walked onto the path of body refinement.

He claimed to the outside world that he was interested in body refinement, and also said a good man should have a good body, but Wen Zhengxin had always felt that Ji You was unable to merge with the Dao; looking at the books he had flipped through at this time, her heart was slightly confirmed.

Just at this moment, Ban Yangshu's voice suddenly sounded from her ear.

"What book is the junior brother reading?"

"?"

Wen Zhengxin turned her head to look, discovering a book in Ji You's hand, with three words written on the cover—Night Watchman.

Ji You picked up the book and pondered for a long time before speaking: "Do you know if there was a saying called Night Watchman in the Qingyun world?"

Wen Zhengxin frowned: "Haven't heard of any Night Watchman."

"It seems it really is a story fabricated based on reality."

"Fabricated? What is the junior brother researching?"

"Nothing, just looking at it casually..."

After chatting for a long time, Wen Zhengxin and Ban Yangshu left afterward.

Just as they said, even if Dou Yuankong was truly related to the Evil Seeds, this matter ultimately wasn't something they could participate in.

When everyone was discussing, it was fine to watch the excitement, but if something unexpected truly happened, they could only pray that this matter wouldn't have any dangerous aftermath.

Seeing Ban Yangshu and Wen Zhengxin leave, Ji You looked at the "Night Watchman" in his hand again.

He discovered this book when checking data; he was attracted by the name, feeling it was quite exciting, so he took it out casually.

This book was placed on the bookshelf storing body refinement techniques, and body refinement was in the deepest part of the entire Library Pavilion, and this book was in the most corner, so ordinary people would really find it hard to discover.

After all, body refinement techniques had always been regarded by people as side-door left-paths, and fundamentally no one would specially

Even Ji You had never paid attention to this corner within a corner before.

The book "Night Watchman" does not speak of the history of the Azure Cloud World; it is more like a story in a vernacular novel.

When he first opened it, Ji You thought this book had been misplaced by someone.

There is a legend in the story that says this world hides a terrifying night, and within the night lie countless crises, including man-eating demons and world-ending disasters.

However, people do not worry about the arrival of the night, because the world they live in has the existence of Night Watchmen.

This is a profession that has existed since ancient times, as old as the history of the Sacred Artifacts' descent.

Every generation of Night Watchmen comes from the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan, and their inheritance, like that of these Heavenly Tian Shuyuan disciples, also comes from the Little Little Tian Shu's Awakening of Spirit.

However, Night Watchmen do not live in the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan, but guard the deep mountains alone, resisting those demons and disasters from descending; apart from the Seven Great Immortal Sects knowing of them, they are basically unknown to others.

The reason Ji You regarded it as a vernacular novel is that the descriptive style of this book is just like a vernacular story.

Moreover, he not only asked Wen Zhengxin and Ban Yangshu, but also asked an elderly Elder who managed the Scripture Library, and he had never heard the name of a Night Watchman in reality either.

And when Ji You saw "guarding alone" and "until death," he could not help but complain, thinking to himself that there is such a thankless job in the world—even a dog wouldn't do it.

Indeed, only those who write vernacular novels could come up with such a plot.

Because if this were placed in the real Azure Cloud World, once Night Watchmen had the ability to resist demons, wouldn't they just establish a new Immortal Sect to lord over others?

However, when he looked further, he fell into silence.

Because the story says that in order to have enough combat power to guard this world, Night Watchmen all take the path of Body Refinement, achieving the realm through the physical body...

Things in the world are so strange; when he specifically went to look for Body Refinement materials, he gained nothing, yet now he had found a few words related to it in a vernacular novel. Just because of this one sentence, Ji You did not recover for a long time.

This story is written too mystically, with a very exaggerated feeling, looking as if it were written by Gong Shu Chou.

But the information revealed in this sentence made him feel as if there was a correspondence in the dark.

Because the Body Refinement technique he cultivated blindly is almost the same as what is said in this book.

People in the world all think he is a wild private cultivator without family inheritance, but in fact, only he himself knows that he has an inheritance.

His inheritance lies in the half-scroll of the Immortal Book he picked up in that dense forest back then.

However, he had never found the source of that half-scroll of the Little Little Tian Shu, nor had he heard of similar Body Refinement methods, but at this moment, he suddenly had a feeling of mutual connection.

If Night Watchmen truly exist, then what he is cultivating is likely their technique.

Ji You closed the book at this time, sat quietly in the Scripture Library, and pondered.

Back then, in order to save Qiu Ru, he broke through two realms in one night, followed by coughing up blood for several days, and his spiritual essence shattered as a result.

He had always thought that was the result of a backlash, but if what he is cultivating is truly the Body Refinement path of the Night Watchman lineage, then that means this is not a backlash.

This is very likely the correct path of cultivation for the Night Watchman lineage.

From Awakening Spirit, Dim Illumination, to Condensation and Transformation, the hidden force of the technique had long ago laid the groundwork in his body; when the Lower Three Realms are perfected, the spiritual essence will naturally shatter, thereby allowing spiritual energy to irrigate the whole body, laying the foundation for body tempering.

That makes sense.

Because after Ji You entered the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan, he checked many rumors about shattered spiritual essence, and without exception, they all ended in death and the dissipation of the Dao.

If it were not for the Body Refinement technique, he would likely have met the same end.

However, why would he obtain the inheritance of the Night Watchmen?

Could it be that some Night Watchman passed through Fengzhou back then, accidentally dropped half a scroll of the Immortal Book, and he picked it up?

Then where are they guarding now?

Ji You has actually always been quite lonely, mainly because he cannot find a sense of belonging.

Old Qiu calls him Young Master, but he himself knows clearly that he is not that Young Master Ji.

As for the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan, forget it.

His sense of belonging to the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan is not even as high as that to Spirit Sword Mountain; after all, there is a tsundere ghost in Spirit Sword Mountain.

And after knowing that there is a lineage of Night Watchmen in the Azure Cloud World, Ji You's heart suddenly had a slight sense of belonging.

This is not because they might be cultivating the same technique, but also partly because according to the story, these Night Watchmen seem to be good people.

I wonder if there will be a chance to meet them in the future?

However, the lonely and thankless job of guarding the mountain alone is better forgotten; he is not very suitable for it. He can't even sit still in the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan, let alone in the mountains.

Honestly, this kind of job of guarding the night alone is truly not something just anyone can do.

Ji You pondered in the Scripture Library for a long time, then closed the book, and walked out of the Scripture Library.

After knowing the possible source of his inheritance, Ji You actually felt a certain degree of peace of mind.

Because earlier, he had always felt that his choice of Body Refinement was a helpless move, especially since everyone around him said that Body Refinement was a side path, making him worry that this road would be a dead end.

But now it seems that he was not cultivating blindly.

The Night Watchman's inheritance also comes from the Little Little Tian Shu, but it differs from Dao cultivation, which can explain why his resonance with the Little Little Tian Shu is different from others.

Ji Bochang really has some luck; he can cultivate like this just by picking something up, and he even picked up a great beauty.

However, why he saw Yan Shuyi in the Little Little Tian Shu, Ji You still does not know the answer to that.

In the following days, Ji You was quite attentive to matters concerning Night Watchmen, and he also asked many people around him who were reliable, and even specifically went to check the books of the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan.

The information obtained was very little, not even more than a page in that book.

Cao Jingsong was also asked by him, but he had no information to provide: "What is a Night Watchman?"

"Wang Jiaoxi, it seems your understanding of this world is still very limited."

"?"

Ji You did not continue the question, but changed the subject: "Wang Jiaoxi, has your monthly salary been issued yet?"

Cao Jingsong immediately waved his hand: "No, not a cent."

"That's not right, hasn't the day for issuing the monthly salary already passed?"

"The Administrative Office currently only has a few resident disciples, and the others haven't returned yet, so the issuance of the monthly salary has been delayed."

Ji You frowned upon hearing this: "The people from the Administrative Office haven't returned yet?"

Cao Jingsong nodded, and his eyes also became a bit more solemn.

Ji You felt that the matter of Dou Yuankong encountering an Evil Seed due to bad luck was fake, and Wang Jiaoxi Cao also knew about this.

In fact, he had originally thought that the wicked disciple was alarmist, but after noticing that the Administrative Office disciples had not returned for a long time, he actually had some misgivings in his heart.

However, after a few days, Ji You received a note from Xiang Kuangcheng, inviting him down the mountain.

Ji You immediately went down the mountain to Xiang Kuangcheng's courtyard and saw Xiang Kuangcheng looking at Ji You somewhat solemnly.

"Brother Ji, did you hear about Dou Yuankong's matter a few days ago?"

"I heard about it; they say he was unlucky, that he got drunk and accidentally entered the mountain forest, got lost, wandered around blindly, and somehow ended up in Sanli County, where he then encountered an Evil Seed."

Xiang Kuangcheng looked at Ji You at this time: "The matter is not that simple."

Ji You raised his eyes to look at him: "What else did you find out?"

"I have a colleague who just returned from Anyuan City and had been there on the way."

"Could it be that there is no so-called winery there?"

Xiang Kuangcheng shook his head: "The winery exists, but there is only wine and no people inside, as if they evaporated from the world. Either this winery had no one before, or it was only after the Seven Great Immortal Sects went there that there was no one, but the truth is definitely not as they said."

If the winery had no one before, then there could not have been a boss who told of Dou Yuankong's whereabouts.

If the people were gone only after the Seven Great Immortal Sects went there, then it means there are some things the Immortal Sects do not want the outside world to know.

Ji You had this guess earlier and did not feel surprised: "Are the sect-walking disciples of the Seven Great Immortal Sects still in Anyuan City?"

"They are not there anymore. According to my colleague, there are no cultivators in Anyuan City now."

"But they haven't returned either."

In fact, Ji You had already sent a letter to Spirit Sword Mountain after learning about this matter earlier.

In his view, regardless of whether this matter is hidden or not, Yan Shuyi would ultimately know what happened.

However, until now, he had not received a reply.

So in the following days, Ji You had been practicing Body Refinement.

Having learned that he was not cultivating blindly, he was not as cautious as before. He practiced until autumn approached, and then Ji You and Xiang Kuangcheng left the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan together.

With the Heavenly Dao Assembly and the cultivation in the Sages' Holy Land, in the blink of an eye, it was another autumn.

For the two of them, there are some major world events they cannot intervene in, and even if they are concerned, it doesn't have much significance, but the autumn harvest in Fengzhou is something they should do.

"Ji You has returned to Fengzhou again?"

"Isn't autumn coming again? He returns every year at this time, right."

The Heavenly Tian Shuyuan originally no longer had voices discussing Ji You, but after learning of Ji You's return, a wave suddenly came again.

Because almost everyone knows that he returned to Fengzhou this time for the autumn harvest.

This matter seems very important to him; he even had to find time to return when he participated in the Heavenly Dao Assembly before.

And the reason why he is being paid attention to this time is mainly because Ji You is still at the Profound Understanding Realm after coming out of the Sages' Holy Land, so in their view, those Immortal Manors that once submitted to Ji You's tyranny might not be so cooperative anymore.

But what they didn't expect was that the real situation was not like this.

Those Xianzhuang disciples in Fengzhou basically all come from the major families in the North.

So they have enough channels to know about what happened after Ji You returned.

It is said that after Ji You returned for the first time, he rested for a day and then went to visit several larger families in Fengzhou.

At that time, the attitudes of these Immortal Manors were not good, and even the gatekeepers who opened the doors had cold faces.

What was surprising was that when Ji You came out, the previous coldness was completely gone; not only did the Manor Master personally send him out the door, but they were even nodding and bowing one by one...

(End of chapter)