Seeing this, Duke Lu and his son were startled.
Duke Lu glared at Lu Ming, thinking, Did you go to the brothel again? Didn't I tell you to be more careful? More careful!
Lu Ming was bewildered, not knowing what was going on.
He didn't understand his father's expression this time, or else he would have cried out in injustice.
Duke Lu was even more furious. He coughed loudly, thinking, Do you want me, your father-in-law, to help her up personally?!
Lu Ming understood this time and hurriedly helped his wife up.
The status of Mistress Lu in the State Duke Manor had always been special. It was not because she was the wife of the prince, but because she was the most beloved daughter of the Prime Minister. More importantly, State Duke Lu suddenly disappeared on the day of her marriage to Lu Ming, which was a big joke in Zhaoge City. The people of the State Duke Manor, including State Duke Lu, had always felt apologetic and embarrassed toward her because of this, so they treated her with great respect.
"Qinghan, what are you doing?"
Duke Lu looked at his daughter-in-law and asked kindly, "If you have something to say, I will definitely help you."
Mistress Lu knew that her father-in-law had misunderstood her, so she hurriedly said, "It has nothing to do with Lu Ming. I want to ask for something else."
Hearing this, Duke Lu didn't feel relieved. He frowned even harder and asked, "What is it?"
Mistress Lu thought of the family not far away and summoned up her courage to say, "Your daughter-in-law wants to ask you to talk to the Jing family …"
Lu Ming said unhappily, "Isn't that marriage off the table?"
Mistress Lu lowered her head and said, "My niece is more favored than I was when I was at home. She has been trying to kill herself for the past two years, making the whole house restless. We have no choice but to talk to the Jing family."
Duke Lu said, "When I proposed marriage on behalf of the Jing family, your family rejected me. What else can I say now?"
Lu Ming sneered, "Your family only thinks about the lowly position of a merchant, but they never thought that Brother Li is Prince Yao's study companion. Moreover, his family's background is not limited to this."
Young Mistress Lu sighed, "Everyone in Zhaoge City knows that the Jing family has an outstanding immortal master, but my father studied in Yimaozhai …"
Lu Ming raised his eyebrows and said, "Although Yimaozhai is closer to Zhongzhou School, he is no match for Aoyama. So what?"
"But don't forget that my brothers and relatives are all related to the Dreamcloud Mountain." Madam Lu said with a bitter smile. She then turned to Duke Lu and pleaded, "Father-in-law, please tell the Jing Family to stop Brother Li from seeing Little Qi anymore. Otherwise, this matter will only get uglier."
…
…
Naturally, Jing Jiu did not know about this.
In fact, he didn't know that the Curtain Rollers were the eyes and ears of the Imperial court either.
Before leaving the Royal Palace, he told the Emperor to let the Curtain Rollers inform him if anything happened. He thought that the Curtain Rollers would be able to find him no matter where he was since they were scattered all over Chaotian. As for how the Emperor asked the Curtain Rollers to deliver the message, Jing Jiu thought it was a simple matter, because the Curtain Rollers had already delivered the message for him many times.
After leaving Zhaoge City, Jing Jiu didn't ride his sword or take a carriage. He avoided the official roads and walked toward the northwest among the mountains. He didn't encounter a single town for a few days, except that he occasionally saw a residential house with smoke rising from a distance in the valley.
Other Cultivation practitioners might spend this period of time meditating in the mortal world, but as he told Zhao Layue, he didn't think it was meaningful to do so, at least not for himself. There was no Mental Tribulation to begin with, so there was no point in creating one and then scheming to overcome it.
Seven days later, he passed by Jiuye City.
In fact, it was hard to say that he passed by Jiuye City. In fact, he passed by the mountains four hundred miles to the south of Jiuye City. However, the weather in autumn was too cool and his eyesight was too good, so he could see the dark spot in Jiuye City.
Jiuye City was three hundred miles away from White Town, and four hundred miles away from Jiuye City was three hundred miles away.
This was the rule he had set for himself: he would never step into the area within three hundred miles of the snowland.
Back in the Cultivation tournament of the Plum Meeting, he was tricked by Taiping Zhenren and trapped in the snowland for six years. He didn't want to experience such an experience again, and he didn't want to face the Queen of the Snowy Kingdom again.
The Cold Mountain was located to the west of Jiuye City. As far as the eye could see, there were barren fields, yellowish weeds, and lonely mountains, devoid of any signs of human habitation.
Most of the deviant sects and free-traveling practitioners in Chaotian had been driven to this barren world by the orthodox Cultivation sects. It was unclear how many demons and dangers were hidden under the seemingly peaceful fields. The orthodox Cultivation practitioners were prone to mishaps here. As such, few people came here alone, save for the swordsmen like Fang Jingtian and Yue Qianmen.
Jing Jiu walked to a wild lake and sat down.
The reason the Cold Mountain was called the Cold Mountain was because it was very cold here, especially in the recent years when the cold waves in the snowland grew stronger. It was still autumn, but it was as unbearable as it had been in the deep winter. A great deal of thin ice had formed on the surface of the wild lake, cutting the blue sky into many pieces and the perfect face into many beautiful details.
Looking at the surface of the lake, Jing Jiu wondered what the hardest object in the world was. It was himself.
His Cultivation state wasn't very high at the moment, so he could still find something to sharpen his sword. Otherwise, when his Cultivation state was higher, his sword would be able to grow with him, and even the Dragon-Tail Inkstone of Yimaozhai would be useless to him. As such, he had to cure his right hand as soon as possible. However, the demon bone had already been ground into powder, so where could he find another demon bone of the same state?
Did he really have to go to Cuiping County in Ruzhou and dig up the grave of that mountain demon? However, that mountain demon had died after encountering the thunder punishment, and his corpse had probably turned into green smoke that day. Of course, even if his corpse was still there, he couldn't do so; otherwise, that little monk would definitely get angry.
Or should he go to Yimaozhai and borrow the Dragon-Tail Inkstone from Shisui? If Bu Qiuxiao didn't agree, he could rob it? If Liu Ci didn't want to help him, he could steal it?
Thinking of all these things, Jing Jiu took a bite of the chilly lake wind and started meditating with his eyes closed.
The sky grew dimmer, and the time went by. The lake scenery grew darker, until the night arrived.
Jing Jiu stopped breathing, and so did his energy. But he didn't have any intention of dying. He was like a rock by the lake.
The next morning, the morning sun shone on the surface of the lake, bringing a warm feeling to the lake and preventing the dampness in the wind.
A few dewdrops appeared on his perfect face, dripping down slowly until they reached his lips.
Jing Jiu opened his eyes, waking up like a lotus flower.
He looked at the wild lake. After one night's cold intent, the thin ice on the surface of the lake had all frozen into one spot, turning into a bright mirror reflecting the morning sunlight.
The booming sounds could be vaguely heard under the layer of ice. It wasn't the roars of the demons in the lake, nor was it the earthquake; it was the sound made by the layer of ice itself.
It was also his intention to come to the Cold Mountain.
Jing Jiu had an idea a long time ago, but he hadn't made up his mind yet, which was why he sat by the wild lake all night.
The wild lake was frozen after one night.
Jing Jiu got up and walked to the surface of the ice. A few formidable sword wills came out from his fluttering white cloth.
Jing Jiu disappeared soundlessly from the surface of the ice and entered the lake, leaving behind a round cave entrance.
The lake water rippled in the dark cave, making a pleasant sound.
It was believed that the cave would be frozen again at night, so nobody would know that Jing Jiu had been here.
…
…
There were many passageways connected to the Underworld on the surface of Chaotian.
The most famous one was the huge whirlpool in the deep part of the ocean, and the Heavenly Well by the East Ocean was the second.
There was also a passageway in the Cold Mountain, which was the Gathered-Soul Valley. However, this passageway had been sealed by the important figures of the previous generation of the Zhongzhou School many years ago.
Only a few people knew that the wild lake where Jing Jiu sat the whole night was connected to a branch of the Gathered-Soul Valley.
Jing Jiu seldom stepped into the human world, so he didn't know about it. However, it was recorded in Taiping Zhenren's notes, so he wanted to try his luck. The Underworld was good at controlling the demons, as evidenced by the Dace Devil Liu Shisui encountered in the Muddy River. Though the passageway to the Gathered-Soul Valley was sealed, there should still be some skeletons of the powerful demons left behind after the great war.
The Heavenly Well was called the Heavenly Pit, and the passageway at the bottom of the Gathered-Soul Valley was a crack in the ground, which was as complicated as a spider's web, and it was narrow and difficult to walk through.
Entering the crack from the bottom of the lake was a dark world. Even with his sword vision, Jing Jiu could only see a distance of one hundred feet.
Of course, the crack in the ground was full of twists and turns, so he had no chance to see so far.
Many dangers were hidden in the crack, like the deviant practitioners, the demons who were good at hiding themselves, and even the demons of the Underworld.
Not long after entering the crack, Jing Jiu sensed many energies.
Among those energies hiding in the darkness, some were vigilant, and some were ferocious. The only thing they had in common was that they were all powerful. Jing Jiu didn't care about them, because in such a dark world, even the most sensitive demons couldn't find him. His hesitation last night was not because he was afraid, but because of something else.
After walking along the crack for several hours, Jing Jiu came to a relatively spacious underground cave.
This underground cave was quite marvelous. There seemed to be some kind of gravitational force in the damp rock walls. Standing in the cave, one couldn't tell the direction of up and down. If one stayed here for too long, he would lose his sense of direction and get lost easily. It would be very difficult for him to walk back to the surface of the earth, and he might even be trapped in the maze-like crack.
Jing Jiu released his sword awareness and sensed the distant energy in the deep underground. He knew that this was the place. The skeletons of the powerful demons were dozens of miles deep underground. If he walked along the crack, even if he didn't get lost, it would still take him dozens of days. Therefore, he had been thinking of other ways since the beginning.
Jing Jiu was about to take down the Sword of the Universe, but he stopped after some thought. He rolled up the sleeve on his right arm and tied it up carefully, exposing his slightly deformed right hand.
Jing Jiu leaped up into the air, turned his body upside down, and reached out his right hand.
His white robe fluttered.
Buzz!!!
A gust of wind arose in the underground cave, attracting many demons to peep at him from afar.
Jing Jiu disappeared.
Jing Jiu broke through the hard rocks and flew toward the deep underground.
He was like a real sword, and his right hand in front of him was the edge of the sword.
The stone chips were cut open and shot out. It was easy to imagine the speed at which Jing Jiu moved.
Strangely enough, the deeper he went, the drier the air became instead of wetter. Even the rocks and sand became much more fluffy. Jing Jiu flew faster and faster. Some powerful energies sensed him, but they didn't have enough time to launch an attack. Even if they could, how could they attack Jing Jiu, who was hiding in the rocks?
After flying for a long time, Jing Jiu's right hand bumped into something, giving off a loud boom.
Jing Jiu was a bit surprised that it could block his right hand. That object must be extremely hard. Could it be the demon bone he was looking for?
Jing Jiu used his sword awareness to sense the structure of the space outside the rocks. With a slight movement of his body, Jing Jiu drilled out.
He was more than ten miles deep underground. The air was extremely hot, and the dim lava was flowing slowly about one hundred feet away. Jing Jiu's right hand had been rubbing against the hard rocks at a high speed for such a long time, so it was extremely hot. Now that it was exposed to the air, it glowed even brighter than the lava.
In the dim underground, he was as eye-catching as a firefly in the dark.
Jing Jiu walked to the object that had been knocked away.
It was a magic treasure of a high state, with a strong murderous aura and a bloody aura that made one's Dao Heart restless. It was unknown how many innocent creatures had been killed to make it.
Jing Jiu raised his eyebrows slightly and picked up the magic treasure of the deviant sect.
With a sizzling sound, the magic treasure was burned by Jing Jiu's right hand, giving off a few puffs of green smoke; it was badly damaged.
Hard objects didn't mean that they could withstand high temperatures, such as diamonds.
This magic treasure was obviously one of them.
Not far away, a voice filled with shock, anger, and absurdity could be heard.
"Where did this little thief come from? How dare you steal … No! How dare you destroy my magic treasure! "
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
