txolops Chapter 33 Wandering in the World and Gazing
Chapter 33 Wandering in the World and Gazing
Inside the secret chamber, Fang Chen frowned slightly as he sensed the message coming from the Kunlun Mirror.
The true spirit returns to its original body, leaving behind this avatar. In order for it to move freely, at least 30% of its soul power needs to be left behind as a clone.
But this time, returning home means not only surviving the tribulations of the turbid world, but also engaging in life-or-death battles with demons from all sides of the Dao City.
Even at its peak, it wouldn't be enough to deal with this, let alone having its cultivation level reduced by 30% out of thin air.
Fang Chen pondered for a moment and then summoned Fang Bo.
"What are your orders, young master?" A short while later, Uncle Fang entered the room.
"I need to go into seclusion for a while. You will be in charge of making all the decisions in the manor."
"This..." Uncle Fang suddenly looked up, his face showing astonishment, and said urgently, "But young master, this would be fine under normal circumstances. However, recently you have been secretly recruiting refugees, cultivating wasteland, and training guards and even elite soldiers with the flesh and blood of demons. Such actions have already attracted the attention of various tribes in the county, not to mention that the origin of those demons is still unclear..."
"It's just a little spying, and there's still the origin of that demon..." Fang Chen pondered for a moment, "Very well, I'll leave my body and investigate. You just wait for news."
"...Yes, ma'am."
Although Fang Bo was deeply worried, he still bowed and left.
After he left, Fang Chen sat cross-legged in the secret room, his soul leaving his body and riding on the clouds.
He first sank into the ground, using earth magic to travel several miles before emerging from the ground, now more than ten miles away from the manor.
At this time, the sun was high in the sky, and the net of human law covered the surrounding area, so most demons and monsters dared not go out.
Fang Chen's soul was protected by the cloud spirit formed from the chariot and horse spirit, so he was temporarily safe, which was a good opportunity to investigate.
He first looked down at the manor from the air and saw several spies hiding in secluded places, some disguised as woodcutters and others as merchants. One or two of them even had traces of Taoist magic on their bodies, as if they were disciples of cultivators.
"Just recruiting refugees to reclaim wasteland has attracted so much attention? It seems everyone in the world isn't a fool; any slight disturbance will surely draw attention, it's just a matter of whether they take it seriously..."
Fang Chen's expression darkened slightly. After pausing for a moment, he headed south.
To the south lie the Black Rock Mountains.
He did not approach the mountain, but only gazed at it from a distance of a hundred miles.
The mountains were shrouded in darkness, barren and lifeless, devoid of any vegetation. Not a single flower, bird, fish, insect, or beast could be seen; only the cold wind howled, whipping up black dust that filled the sky, leaving the earth desolate and barren.
On the surface, it was nothing more than a desolate wasteland, yet it was strangely different. Even when Fang Chen used his spiritual eye to observe, he could not see anything unusual.
But after staring at it for a long time, he suddenly sneered:
"Excellent...nothing seems amiss!"
Every place, regardless of its auspiciousness or inauspiciousness, will inevitably exhibit certain phenomena. Either yin energy will gather, or spiritual energy will permeate the air. But these eight hundred miles of mountains have neither yin energy nor the aura of a spiritual land. They are empty and clean, as if all traces have been erased!
If it wasn't an innate ability to conceal the law, then it must have been the work of a powerful being who obscured the destiny of the thousands of miles of mountains and rivers.
The person who could so thoroughly conceal the fortune of an area must have a cultivation level of at least Yang God True Monarch, or even a Primordial Spirit Great Power!
"This place... must not be approached under any circumstances." Fang Chen's heart sank, and he turned west.
To the west, a mountain range stretches for three thousand miles, with overlapping peaks and shrouded in clouds and mist. Hidden within are countless sacred mountains and several fertile basins, making it a truly blessed and beautiful place.
However, upon closer inspection, Fang Chen saw that the forest was dense and filled with miasma. Several powerful auras were hidden within, suggesting that monsters and demons were hiding there. Furthermore, he saw several places where yin and yang were mixed, transforming into ghostly realms in the mortal world, which was extremely dangerous.
'This Cloud Mist Mountain Range is indeed a place where hidden dragons and crouching tigers reside,' Fang Chen thought to himself. 'It has both powerful demons dwelling there and cultivators cultivating in seclusion, making it truly complex... However, it is suitable for establishing a cave dwelling and training ground, but it will certainly require some effort...'
He didn't dare to go too far, but after memorizing a few places with strong auras from afar, he withdrew his gaze.
They turned north.
The north was originally a vast plain with crisscrossing paths.
However, even though his soul was suspended in mid-air, thousands of miles away, Fang Chen could faintly sense a sense of scorching and withering, as if the earth had lost all its moisture and was lifeless.
Upon closer inspection, one could see a faint reddish-yellow hue on the northern horizon, as if shrouded in drought clouds, stretching for thousands of miles without end.
"This is... the aura of a drought demon?!" Fang Chen's heart skipped a beat.
I recall ancient records stating that when the drought demon appeared, the land turned barren for thousands of miles, and wherever it passed, rivers stopped flowing and vegetation withered.
If this is indeed the case, the people of the north are likely to suffer from drought and disaster, which explains the large number of refugees recently.
However, such calamities were beyond his immediate concern, so he withdrew his gaze.
Finally, he turned and headed east.
The vast sea, with its boundless blue waves, blends seamlessly with the sky, presenting a magnificent and awe-inspiring scene.
However, near the shore, one sees a dense network of hidden reefs, jagged and interlocking, stretching for dozens of miles. Furthermore, raging waves crash against the reefs, piling up like snow-white piles, their roar audible for miles around.
"Such a treacherous place is difficult for large ships to approach; the slightest mistake could result in the ship being destroyed and everyone on board perishing. No wonder it's so difficult to conduct maritime trade..."
Fang Chen took a closer look and was about to look away when he suddenly saw several small boats shuttling between the rocks.
The boat was long and narrow with a shallow draft, weaving through the reefs. There were about twenty or thirty people on board, dressed in short clothes and with long knives at their waists. Several of them were also using binoculars to peer westward, acting furtively.
Fang Chen looked closely... and realized they were Japanese pirates!
"Strange... It's true this place is near the East China Sea, but it's at least a thousand miles away from Japan. Why are these things here?" He frowned slightly. "And judging from their behavior, they seem to be investigating something?"
With a thought, Fang Chen did not intend to delve into it. He simply raised his hand and pressed down, causing the clouds and mist to surge and transform into a giant hand that covered the sky, descending from the air.
Before the small boats and the Japanese pirates on board could react, they were grasped into a cloud of blood mist by the giant hand of cloud and scattered into the sea. The waves swept them away, and they were gone without a trace.
After doing this, Fang Chen turned around and went back.
What he didn't know was—
……
In this place, thousands of miles away in the sea, several large ships are cutting through the waves.
Its hull is enormous, its sails are billowing, and its bow is carved with a ferocious ghost face.
On board, there were samurai wielding Japanese swords, black-clad ninjas moving between the masts, and several Onmyoji dressed in trench coats sitting cross-legged in the cabin, chanting incantations with their eyes closed, their bodies exuding the aura of shikigami.
At that moment, a knocking sound suddenly came from the largest cabin in the middle of the ship.
A young Onmyoji entered and bowed:
"Lord Abe, the scouting fleet we sent out earlier... has just been completely wiped out."
The middle-aged man in the room slowly opened his eyes. His face was bluish-purple, his fangs protruded, and his pupils were not visible in the deep-set eye sockets. Only two eerie green ghost flames flickered, and there was also a faint black mist swirling around him.
As he opened his mouth, a stench of rotting corpse filled the cabin.
"It's alright."
"But there are still members of the Abe clan on board..."
"Dead or not, they're dead." Abe's voice was calm, yet chilling. "This voyage was solely to track down the enemy who stole the fortunes of my land and wiped out several families of Onmyoji. Mere spies are not worth mourning!"
"……yes."
The perspective shifts, and several large ships are seen cutting through the waves on the East China Sea, their destination being... the Central Plains!
……
They set out at dawn and returned at dusk.
During this half-day, Fang Chen traveled in all directions, traversing thousands of miles, riding the clouds and mist, truly like a celestial being from another world.
"Traveling to the North Sea in the morning and Cangwu in the evening, riding the clouds and mist, observing the phenomena of the world in all directions, such great power, no wonder people all envy longevity and carefree life..." Fang Chen sighed softly, feeling a sense of wonder.
He turned back to the mountains outside Qingzhang County, intending to secretly return to his village, but stopped in front of a small path in the mountains.
But the deep forests on both sides were already tinged with the colors of late autumn frost.
The cobblestone path leads down the mountain, seemingly untouched by human feet, with wild grass growing along the way.
Looking along the road, all that could be seen at the end of the road, at the foot of the mountain, was a solitary city leaning against the river, silently standing in the twilight. The city gates were closed, and the sounds of people were gradually fading away.
The setting sun cast its last rays across the vast river, its light spreading for miles. It illuminated the mountains, turning them ablaze with color and the forests a tapestry of hues, while also casting a desolate, shimmering glow over the river.
Words cannot fully express the scene before me.
Only one sentence remains:
The lonely city gates are closed, and the distant river trees stretch to the rosy clouds.