Please call me Huanxian

Chapter 231 Who is whose prey?

Night falls again, and the crescent moon shines on the earth.

Xu Yuanchang was not in a hurry to go out and chatted with Liu Xianfeng via telepathy.

"Sir, your magic trick is very amazing. It can turn a child into an adult. It's better than Lao Shi's magic trick, but it's a bit expensive."

"There is no superiority or inferiority in magic, it all depends on the depth of understanding and timing. I performed the magic on myself, and there were no flaws. Some of Zeng Shanlang's behaviors were inconsistent with his changed identity. If he was too close, it would be difficult to hide from the observation of the cultivators of the same level. When you are in danger, anything that can be solved with money is not a big deal. If you lose money, you can earn it again."

"I'm not stingy with the money. We've been hiding here and haven't moved. Throughout the day, many cultivators have passed by nearby. I heard them complaining in low voices. They are all the people sent by the fifth young master of the Shu family to look for us. If the young master of the Shu family can't find us, will he go to the Shanyang country to continue to cause trouble for us?"

"It's very likely that he won't give up."

"Still not taking action?"

"Once we are out of the thousands of mountains and hills and into the territory of Shanyang, we won't have to worry about them blocking us or provoking us. We will strike with thunder when the time comes."

"That's better. I want to catch him alive and ask him why he is making things difficult for us."

Liu Xianfeng suddenly thought of a question and said, "Sir, what if the fifth young master of the Shu family chases us to the Shanyang territory and opposes us? What should we do if we meet him on a narrow road?"

Xu Yuanchang said without hesitation, "Don't hold back, just do your best and kill him first."

Since the contradiction cannot be reconciled, what is there to be cautious about?
He is not a hard-headed person, he is just more thoughtful and cautious.

The Shu family's power does not allow them to do whatever they want in Shanyang State. Even if the Shu family has friendships with the big families in Shanyang State, others have to consider whether using their power to intercept and take away the Kuxin Road monks for the sake of outsiders will cause big trouble.

Without sufficient interests, no one will act rashly.

Furthermore, if the matter becomes serious, the Xiyuan Ancestral Holy Land is not just for show, and they will definitely send monks to investigate.

Liu Xianfeng suddenly transmitted a message: "Someone else is coming."

She was able to use the sparse vegetation to detect movements within a two-mile radius amidst the chaotic spiritual energy.

In the dim moonlight, four figures, two tall and two short, came from the east and walked in the shallow valley between the hills. A man and a woman walking in front were talking in low voices, and they seemed quite intimate.

"...If the Shu family monks hadn't checked on us repeatedly, we would have already left this wilderness and wouldn't have had to travel in the dark."

"I am lucky enough to travel with Fairy Mu. Even the most remote places are still beautiful scenery."

The man sniffed the subtle fragrance emanating from the woman beside him. The more he looked at the beauty under the moon, the more delighted he became.

"Friend Yin, please respect yourself. The two children are here."

The delicate woman murmured in a low voice and slapped away the man's outstretched hand.

She held up the light flower basket, withdrew her right hand, and gently brushed the beautiful hair hanging down by her ears. She was extremely charming and took a step away from the burly man who was approaching.

The man glanced at the boy and girl walking hand in hand three meters ahead, smiled, and approached the charming woman again, saying something for fun: "What good things are in the flower basket you are carrying? Why don't you put it in your bag so that you can walk with your hands free."

"It contains rare treasures, do you want to see it?"

The woman smiled tenderly and half-heartedly, raising the basket of flowers towards the man who was rubbing against her relentlessly.

"Ha, you can take a look. Yin is so lucky..."

After getting the consent, the man stretched out his right hand and uncovered the blue flowered cloth covering the flower basket.

The blue flowered cloth turned into a ferocious beast's mouth with sharp teeth, and it had already bitten the man's wrist fiercely.

The blue-black poison spread rapidly, and the man was unable to move.

"Puff", the sharp claws pierced into the back of the unsuspecting man from behind, and pulled out a bloody heart that was still beating "bang bang".

The man did not die immediately, but his face was filled with disbelief, fear and pain.

"伱...you..."

With his eyes wide open, he staggered to the side with his body stiff, then fell to the ground with a loud bang.

Three or five scales appeared on the woman's forehead. She smiled strangely, opened her mouth and gently sucked out a ball of struggling and twisted air from the man's body and swallowed it into her stomach. The man stopped convulsing and died.

Liu Xianfeng, who "witnessed" this tragic sudden change, almost leaked his breath out of shock.

The red willow tree swayed slightly.

The woman who succeeded in the valley a few miles away proudly turned her bent slender arms back to normal, and her claws returned to delicate fingers. She was about to swallow the monk's fresh heart full of blood and essence in one gulp, but suddenly she noticed something unusual and shouted in a low voice: "Who is spying?"

The abnormality on the forehead also returned to normal.

The flower basket in her hand turned into a strange green beast, and the blue flowered cloth turned into a ferocious beast's mouth, with a slender neck between the two.

The strange green beast swallowed the dead man in several mouthfuls without any care. Its slender neck bulged and squirmed as the monster swallowed, which looked extremely strange. Then it burped and spit out a bunch of bits and pieces, including torn robes, storage bags, swords and the like.

The woman carefully sensed for a while, then waved her sleeves to pick up the things on the ground, reached out and grabbed the shoulders of a boy and a girl who were standing hand in hand in front of her, and flew towards the chaotic pit.

The green monster followed closely behind, sweeping across the hills like a gust of wind.

"Sir, guess who I saw?"

Liu Xianfeng confirmed that the woman and the monster had left before transmitting the message.

Xu Yuanchang had already heard the intermittent voices that drifted over with the wind. The spiritual energy in this place was chaotic, and he could not use his spiritual sense, but he could guess most of it. He replied jokingly: "It was that 'graceful and pitiful' Mu Ya. I didn't expect that you are such a beautiful woman, but you are a thief in the wilderness and murder people."

Just as the blue flowered cloth transformed into the mouth of a beast and bit the lustful man, the altar for summoning gods in Xu Yuanchang's spiritual space trembled slightly.

He was a little surprised. Was the woman named Mu Ya related to the remnant soul of the god?
There's no telling how many lives were behind the purple gold plate that the woman used as a prop to deceive people.

"She is not a human, she is a monster. The basket of flowers she is holding is also a monster."

Liu Xianfeng ignored Xu Daoyou's teasing and told him the tragedy that she "witnessed with her own eyes". Fortunately, she did not accept the woman's invitation to go with her.

Beneath the liar's pitiful appearance, he actually has a heart of a vicious snake, making it hard to guard against.

She still hasn't figured out what kind of monster could transform into a dead flower basket without revealing any flaws?
"The fragrance emanating from that woman is poisonous and alluring, but that man is not a good guy either. He is weak-willed and could not resist the temptation, which is why he was easily seduced by the shameless woman."

Liu Xianfeng made the final judgment on the man whose body was nowhere to be found, without any sympathy at all.

It's just a pity for the two children who were kidnapped by the monster.

There are many crises on the road of hard work.

"Monsters...monsters related to gods."

Xu Yuanchang made a note of this, stood up and got out of the shade of the red willow tree, and whispered: "We are not far from the border, let's hurry on in the dark."

He handed a low-level phantom stone to Zeng Shanlang who followed out, made a gesture with his fingers, and silently recited something. Then Zeng Shanlang transformed into a young man of seventeen or eighteen years old.

The two of them ran quickly along the valley to the west, one in front and one behind.

Liu Xianfeng, who was invisible in the air, cast a spell to clear away the traces and the insignificant breath left behind, and hid in the bag carried on Brother Xu's shoulder. He could cast spells in a place with chaotic spiritual energy, but the cost was greater than the effect.

Not long after the two men passed, a green mist emerged from a crack in the ground and transformed into a green monster, sniffing around the coppice and the remnants of red willows that had withered to ash.

The monster let out a low cry towards the distance, and soon a hazy and slender figure floated over like a ghost.

"There really is a cultivator hiding."

The hazy figure was the woman named Mu Ya who had returned.

He shook his head at the crouching blue monster and said, "They are on guard. We are not good at fighting them head-on. Let's not risk causing trouble. Let's go back instead of chasing them."

Using poison to confuse, attacking from behind, and taking the enemy by surprise were her first choices, and then she headed southeast.

Dark clouds obscured the crescent moon, and the world fell into darkness.

This did not affect Xu Yuanchang and Zeng Shanlang who were traveling at night. They had a smooth journey. Just as they were about to walk out of the vast hilly area, three figures emerged from the bend of the low mountain in front of them and blocked their way a hundred feet ahead.

Xu Yuanchang had already recognized one of them through the phantom seal. He was the young monk in black who had followed them before.

It seems that the young master of the Shu family has deployed a lot of monks on the edge.

He spoke in a hoarse voice, and took the initiative to shout: "My fellow Taoists, are you seeking wealth or life?" The aura on his body surged in waves. He was not intimidated by the large number of people on the other side. Instead, he showed a hot temper that would start a fight at the slightest disagreement, drawing everyone's attention to himself.

Zeng Shanlang retreated to the side, as if he would run away at the slightest sign of trouble.

There was also a hot-tempered monk on the opposite side, who just shouted "You kid..."

Another middle-aged man in grey tights waved his hand to interrupt, saying: "Fellow Daoist, you have misunderstood. We are not robbery cultivators. We are here to present the horoscope to find someone. We don't want to rob him of his money, nor his life." He glanced at the black-robed cultivator beside him.

The black-robed monk observed carefully for a moment and shook his head slightly, indicating that they were not two people.

The two people in front of him were very different from the person he was looking for, no matter in appearance, figure, or cultivation aura.

There are ways to change one's appearance in the world of cultivation, but it is almost impossible to change the height, appearance and aura of a little guy from the first floor so drastically.

Anyway, he couldn't see any flaws?
The three of them stepped aside.

Xu Yuanchang didn't say much and took Zeng Shanlang to the other side, as if he was worried about being ambushed.

After running for more than ten miles, the spiritual energy in the outside world returned to normal, and lush and green trees stretched into the distance.

They walked out of the uncomfortable mountains and hills.

Liu Xianfeng escaped from the bag and disappeared into the woods at ease.

The mountains gradually rise and birds sing at night.

Xu Yuanchang walked very fast and said with a smile, "Let's rush to the wallless city three hundred miles away overnight and enter the city at dawn. Fellow Daoist Meng and Brother Song should have arrived first. I don't know what problems Shanyang will encounter before they are willing to stamp the pass and let us pass."

"Sir, you can go and ask the monster catcher for help and say hello to the monks from the Wuqiang City government to save time."

"The acquaintance introduced by Manager Hei is working in other cities. However, when we arrive in the Wallless City, it is only natural for us to visit the local monster catchers. We will act accordingly."

"The problems raised by Shanyang Country should not deviate from the aspects of cultivation techniques such as weapons, formations, pills, and talismans. The boat will naturally straighten itself out when the time comes. Let's work together to find a solution..."

Liu Xianfeng suddenly leaned half of his body out from a tree, looked behind with his magical power, and said, "Those people came out from the thousands of mountains and hills. There are six of them, and they are accompanied by a black dog. They are five or six miles away and are looking around. What are they going to do?"

Xu Yuanchang did not have any hope of luck and said decisively: "Hurry up and hide underground."

He judged that those people were after them, but he didn't know where he had gone wrong. Cheating would not work, and it was unrealistic to deal with six people.

And once they are entangled and unable to escape, more and more people will come.

With a wave of his hand, he cast a spell and released an incarnation wearing a Taoist robe, which quickly went into the woods to the west.

How far will it lead those people astray?

The roots of the ground turned over, revealing a hole going down. Xu Yuanchang and Zeng Shanlang jumped in, and followed the collapse diagonally all the way down. The soil above continued to pile up and cover them, and the roots were densely intertwined.

Weeds grew and fallen leaves decayed at a rapid pace.

After leaving the area of ​​Thousand Mountains and Hills and entering the forest, Liu Xianfeng's innate magical powers can be fully utilized.

"He ran west, chase him!"

The gray-clothed man in the lead pointed in the direction the incarnation was running, and the group quickly flew over. The black dog paused for a moment in confusion, then followed them and ran towards the woods.

Liu Xianfeng cleared the smell within a few miles nearby and set a small trap. Hearing noisy voices coming from the other side such as "We've been fooled, it must be the Taoist's pet in disguise" and "Another trick of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west", she hid in the trees and disappeared completely.

"They can't run far. They are still nearby."

"There is indeed something wrong with those two people. Tell Gouzi to look carefully."

The six people scattered and flew in the air. The black dog on the ground was sniffing everywhere. Suddenly, it let out a sharp bark and jumped up several feet high.

"It's poisonous, be careful!"

"Look, five miles to the south, there's a figure running."

"Leave three of you to guard, and the others will chase separately."

"No, those two must still be nearby, and they want us to split up our forces."

"The dog is poisoned, how can we find someone?"

"Come quickly, it's the Taoist priest. He hid the child and ran away alone."

"Be careful of the Taoist's pet, capture it alive."

The group of people had different thoughts, and no one wanted to miss out on the credit, so they split into two groups and flew south one after another. One of them used his magic power to carry the poisoned black dog, and in an instant, they were gone.

Liu Xianfeng transformed herself into a Taoist priest and took advantage of the darkness to trick those people into going far away in the woods. She quickly returned using the Wood Release Technique.

A hole appeared on the ground. Xu Yuanchang and Zeng Shanlang quickly got out and ran towards the mountains in the northwest direction.

Liu Xianfeng waved his hand, restoring the ground to normal, and then disappeared into the trees.

If the other side didn't have so many people, this forest would be a hunting ground.

By the time those people returned separately, Xu Yuanchang and the other two had already hidden in the dense forest on the mountain twenty miles away.

The mountains are high and the forests are dense, like looking for a needle in a haystack.

The six people complained to each other for a while, then split up into groups of two to search on their own.

……

When the sky was just getting light, Xu Yuanchang and Zeng Shanlang, who had transformed his appearance, walked out of their hiding place and headed northwest towards the direction of the wallless city. Liu Xianfeng hid in front to explore the way.

About an hour later, when they were still about a hundred miles away from their destination, Xu Yuanchang led Zeng Shanlang out of the wooded forest area.

In front of us were low piles of dark red rocks, bare and covered with rough gravel left over from weathering of the rocks, as if they had been crushed by something.

Spring seems to have gone away all of a sudden, and only a little bit of withered yellow-green can be seen occasionally.

Liu Xianfeng has already hidden in Fellow Daoist Xu's bag. After being busy for a long time, she also needs to rest.

"This place is so weird. Why is there no vegetation in this kind of terrain?"

"It is said that this place is an ancient battlefield that was cursed by the gods, causing a lack of vitality. Over the past thousands of years, it has shrunk to only 70 or 80 miles. Some low-lying areas can even grow shrubs and weeds."

Xu Yuanchang explained that he read it from the classics he bought in the market.

This place is called "Rolling Fire Plain". It looks like there was fire rolling across the earth, leaving a huge semi-arc-shaped mark.

It is an ancient relic that is not dangerous, and the spiritual energy has long returned to normal.

However, less than three miles away, Xu Yuanchang suddenly stopped, took out a red willow branch from his bag, stuck it into a clump of grass beside him, and shouted, "Come out, you sneaky fellow!"

When they met on a narrow road, he did not choose to retreat.

Behind a dark red rock about ten feet high standing in front of them, the black-robed monk and a man in brown tight clothes walked out.

"Ha, what a skill! We were hiding in the 'stealth concealment array', but you still found us in advance."

The black-robed monk carefully observed the rough-looking black-faced man and the handsome young man behind him. They looked completely different from the two he saw last night. A thin needle in his sleeve trembled, confirming that the other party's identity was correct.

No matter how cunning the Taoist priest was, he still could not escape from his grasp.

He was as enthusiastic as if he had met an old friend and casually threw a communication talisman into the air.

He would not be foolish enough to fight to the death with a Taoist priest who was full of tricks and good at changing his ways.

Since they had discovered the Taoist's whereabouts, of course they would call for people to attack him, and he and another companion would have to take the lead in this effort.

This area has a wide view, except for the dark red rocks which are the highest.

The morning mist was thin and there was a murderous atmosphere everywhere.

……

(End of this chapter)