Chapter 279: Wind and Snow Pressing on the Five Provinces

The orphanage received donations from kind-hearted people and repaired its doors and windows.

Cotton clothes and quilts in the West Market were selling well and began to be in short supply.

And the high-ranking officials in the capital began to ask craftsmen to inspect the underground heating and test the fire channels.

There were also many winter brews made from spiritual sprouts being sent to various provinces along the official roads, looking like a scene of preparation for winter.

But no one expected that the first snowfall this winter that could be called a heavy snow would be so large, instantly covering five major northern provinces: Youzhou, Yunzhou, Fengzhou, Central Province, and Qingzhou, and lasting for several days and nights.

Because of the grandeur of this snow, the aristocratic disciples in Shengjing held many snow-viewing parties, so that the cultivators on the streets of Shengjing in the snowy weather were drinking and exchanging cups, the atmosphere harmonious and free.

There were also some aristocratic families from the south who specially came to Shengjing to rent several courtyards for snow viewing.

Because observing the changes of the four seasons is also a way to comprehend the Heavenly Dao, which is beneficial for cultivation.

Seeing this scene, Prince Chong immediately waved his hand to rent out the Winter Garden in Shengjing and conveniently held an Immortal Viewing Assembly, displaying the collected spiritual treasures and magical artifacts in the uniquely landscaped garden.

Nishan was in Shengjing; as the saying goes, those near the water get the moon first, so the disciples of the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan were naturally the first to see that batch of exquisite treasures.

Dazzling immortal robes, weapons that could cut iron like mud, incomparably mysterious magical artifacts, and expensive spiritual treasures all made people dazzled.

However, the most eye-catching was a set of sword techniques displayed in the Winter Garden, said to have been passed down from ancient sword Dao sages.

And besides this set of sword techniques, there is also a set of body-refinement cultivation methods, which also originate from the primordial era.

Seeing these two secret techniques, the disciples of the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan had somewhat strange expressions.

Because they felt that these two things had a very clear direction, as if they were specifically to attract someone.

Most crucially, the purpose of Prince Chong exhausting his family fortune to hold this Immortal Viewing Assembly was not to make money, but to enhance his advantage in the imperial court and suppress the Immortal Inspection Bureau.

In other words, these things were basically gifts, costing no money.

And this direction was clearer than any sword or body-refining secret technique.

Ji You did indeed receive Prince Chong's invitation and was also very tempted.

It had to be said that these people who were good at calculating truly knew how to grasp people's hearts, almost every punch hitting the heart.

However, what was surprising was that Ji You, who felt tempted by this, did not appear at the Immortal Viewing Assembly.

On the morning of the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, he walked down the divine path from the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan on Nishan, wrapped in a black cloak, standing in the freezing cold for a long time.

The sky was not yet fully bright at this time, looking gray from afar.

Because of the various banquets, there was a thick, lingering scent of wine in the air.

Before long, in the direction from which the scent of wine drifted, three carriages from the Immortal Inspection Bureau came along the road and stopped slowly in front of Ji You.

These carriages were different from those used at post stations; spirit stones were embedded in the top and bottom, and they were lifted by spiritual energy when moving, traveling like flying.

At this time, the curtain of the first carriage was lifted, and Xiang Kuangcheng, Inspection Division Tisi Inspector Mu Jing, and Immortal Inspection Bureau Deputy Supervisor Peng Dongyang poked their heads out, breathing out cold air.

"Young Master Ji, long time no see."

"Where are we going first?"

"Luyang County in Yunzhou."

"No time to lose, let's go."

Ji You jumped onto the carriage, burrowed into the carriage compartment, and sat next to Xiang Kuangcheng.

Peng Dongyang and Inspector Mu Jing looked at him and couldn't help but look at each other.

Although the Immortal Inspection Bureau was not in the Immortal Sect, because its main duty was to deal with Immortal Sects and aristocratic families, they were very clear about what had happened before.

A female cultivator from Fengzhou entered the Inner Court, but the disciple of the Elder Pavilion unexpectedly failed the selection.

Someone went to look for trouble, pointing the spearhead at Ji You, but the result was one withdrawal and one hiding in the back mountain under the name of seclusion.

If others didn't understand why, it was excusable, but the Immortal Inspection Bureau understood very well.

Because just this summer, when the Evil Seed appeared, Inspector Mu Jing had seen him slash and break a mountain with one sword.

His cultivation was definitely not as simple as everyone had seen; just like his status in the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan, although he was still a student, the attitude of the high-level figures of the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan toward him had already become completely different.

Prince Chong should have also realized this point, spending a fortune some time ago to buy a sword technique and a body-refining technique from the Qionghua Pavilion, just to attract him.

But probably no one expected that Ji You would ignore it and leave the city with them.

Then the carriage started slowly, flying out of the city under the lift of the magical artifact, heading northwest.

After flying for a long time, the group left the place with cities, and the wilderness they looked at was completely white, with not a blade of grass to be seen.

Because the road they were taking was an official road, they could see some scattered villages along the way.

The atmosphere in the carriage was good at first, with much idle talk, and Peng Dongyang even talked about Xiang Fu entering the Inner Court, as if he were probing.

However, when they saw those villages along the way, the people in the carriage instantly fell into silence, and their expressions gradually became solemn.

Because those visible houses were basically all submerged by heavy snow, and the number of collapsed houses was countless.

And near these collapsed villages, one could faintly see human shapes buried under the wind and snow.

This year's snow was too big, and it lasted too long; the wonders that were worth exclaiming about in the mouths of those immortal sect disciples in Shengjing had now become a disaster.

After looking for a long while, everyone suddenly felt a wave of air surging from the carriage.

The next moment, they saw Ji You had already roared out, his flying figure carrying a fierce aura, pulling a deep snow mark in the snow, the snow waves towering wherever he passed.

Before long, Ji You landed outside the courtyard wall of a collapsed thatched cottage.

He squatted down slowly, looking at the tiny figure curled up under the collapsed house.

It was a little girl, the whole person already frozen stiff; Ji You didn't say a word, reached out his hand, gathered spiritual energy at his fingertips, pointed at her brow, and slowly transferred spiritual energy into her body.

After a long while, the girl seemed to be thawed, then collapsed softly on the ground.

But Ji You's spiritual energy was still constantly being transferred out, even though those spiritual energies all rushed out from the girl's orifices and dissipated between heaven and earth without stopping.

After a long while, Ji You exhausted all his spiritual energy, squatted on the ground for a long time before standing up slowly.

Really, being an immortal is of no use; things that should be impossible to do are still impossible to do.

The Immortal Inspection Bureau's carriage changed course at this time, heading in the direction where Ji You was, and finally the carriage stopped slowly; Xiang Kuangcheng and the others got off the carriage together, looking at this scene.

He got off in a hurry and wasn't wearing much, his thin figure shivering in the freezing cold: "Brother Ji."

"Why did you come down?"

"I thought I had found a living person."

Ji You was silent for a moment, then draped the cloak on his body: "The situation is more serious than imagined; we must first consider grain and the resettlement of refugees. Resettlement depends on the specific situation, and grain will be transported from Fengzhou."

Xiang Kuangcheng, wrapped in that black cloak, looked at the little girl on the ground, looking at him with words he wanted to say but didn't, but in the end, he didn't say anything.

So the carriage continued forward, and at the same time, a handwritten letter from Ji You was sent to Fengzhou by a supervisor official accompanying them, riding at full speed.

Fengzhou, after so many joint harvests, joint farming, and joint reclamation, had already achieved extremely high efficiency in transmitting information from top to bottom.

Upon receiving the handwritten letter, someone immediately opened the warehouse door and summoned carriages to start equipping grain.

"..."

"Ji You still hasn't gone to Prince Chong's place?"

"No, he left. A few days ago in the morning, someone heard that he left Shengjing."

"That's strange. I heard that a genius from Yongzhou took a fancy to a knife in Prince Chong's hand and traveled thousands of miles to come here. Why is this Ji You not tempted at all?"

"Perhaps he doesn't look down on it...?"

"Nonsense, I heard people say that with his greed, he would even pick up a few stones on the side of the road that don't cost money."

In the following days, the winter snow still hadn't stopped, and snow-viewing parties in Shengjing city were held one after another.

The Winter Garden rented by Prince Chong's mansion also welcomed batch after batch of guests, and some big figures couldn't help but come here to stroll.

Only as time passed, these cultivators began to furrow their brows while playing.

Because they discovered that the price of spirit stones had suddenly begun to grow earth-shakingly, making people feel numb in their scalps.

In fact, it is well known that spirit stones rise in price every winter, because it is difficult to transport in winter, and costs naturally increase. ===== CHAPTER 280 =====