Chapter 170: Tracing the Mark
Chapter 170 - Tracing the Marker
Through testing, Lu Chang'an found that by killing and devouring the target's essence and blood soul, the mask gained an identity that was more realistic and perfect not only in terms of face and breath simulation.
There's an underlying quality in the mask that affects him, a movement, a smile, that fits the inner aura of the person who acquires the identity. Just a few moments.
He was as if he was "possessed" by the dead Pei Qiunyan, vividly portraying a cold and elegant female cultivator of the Foundation Establishment Stage.
His behavior, tone of voice, all kinds of physical details, have reached the point of falsehood.
"As long as you don't say anything that would be too much, it would be difficult for those who are familiar with you to recognize the disguise."
Lu Chang'an concluded.
The main difference between this and the previous disguise achieved by merely obtaining the target's blood and mana breath was the true divinity.
A few years ago, his disguise of Master Cheng could only ensure that his appearance and aura could be faked, and if someone close to him was around, there was a chance that he would find something wrong.
Luckily, Master Cheng had been expelled from his master's school for many years, and Lu Changan had been careful to speak little, so he didn't reveal any obvious flaws.
After a long time, Lu Chang'an removed the Hundred Illusions Mask, and his mind drifted for a moment, as if he had returned from an immersive play to his real identity.
If it was an ordinary cultivator, there would be a strong sense of disparity.
However, this is nothing compared to the reincarnation of the Nine Seal Tablet.
Zee!
Seeing Lu Chang'an who had changed back to his original form, the Ground Rock Rat was overjoyed, relaxing from the tense state of frying his fur.
It stretched out its paw and touched Lu Chang'an's body affectionately, as if it wanted to recognize the real one from the fake one.
......
Subsequently for most of the year.
The chaotic killings around Wu Qi Mountain were somewhat contained.
It seems like the Leaving Fire Palace's intervention has served as a deterrent to some extent.
The spirit stones that Lu Changan gifted Song Wenshu with his hard-earned money (shared among the three Peak Masters) were not spent in vain.
Song Wenshu occasionally brought the law enforcement cultivators of the Fire Palace to patrol the vicinity of Mount Wuqi and have a cup of tea at Little Turtle Peak.
In the eyes of outsiders, it highlights the good relationship between Wu Qi Mountain and the cultivators of the Departing Fire Palace.
However, the situation where the guests of Mount Wu Qi are intercepted and killed halfway, still cannot be eliminated.
Just not as arrogant as before, the place of the crime is at least a few dozen miles away.
This situation, compared to most of the marketplaces or the Immortal City neighborhood, is already considered relatively good
It's mainly due to the general environment.
As the clan's war against the Beacon Kingdom continues, more cow ghosts, snakes, and petty criminals are taking advantage of the opportunity to make waves and fish in the water.
Those who are in trouble, the real robbers and evil cultivators, are only a part of it.
Many cases, belong to the ordinary cultivators "temporary cameo", such as the dead Pei siblings.
If not for Lu Changan's long lifespan and wealth, he might have made a cameo appearance when he encountered a good opportunity, pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger and fishing to enforce the law.
This day.
The three peak masters of Wu Qi Mountain are deliberating in the cave of Little Turtle Peak.
This deliberation was initiated by Lu Chang'an.
"Recently, there has been an increase in the phenomenon of killing people for treasures and intercepting guests around Wu Qi Mountain, and there is a tendency for it to resurface and return to chaos."
Lu Chang'an opened his mouth.
What he didn't say was this: in the last two months, its powerful soul had vaguely sensed unknown cultivators that had spied on Wu Qi Mountain from afar.
This kind of spying is not necessarily directed at Wu Qishan, perhaps it is stalking those guests.
As a long-lived person, with the Crystal Condensation Pill in hand, he needs a stable cultivation environment.
"This situation, my concubine has also sensed it. The guests who have been intercepted recently are basically cultivators with little strength or background, and most of the accidents happen at night."
Fairy Shi nodded and said.
The security of the Liang Immortal Cultivation Realm has been declining in all parts of the country, and it is a common phenomenon, especially in the vicinity of small and medium sized trading clusters.
The clan is on a warpath and has limited manpower, so it's impossible for them to take care of every little case.
The deaths of only a few ordinary cultivators did not cause a big impact, and would not attract the attention of the clan.
Song Wenshu has been very busy lately, Wu Qishan this is not prominent small incident, it is not good to bother him to make a big fuss about it.
"Mister Lu suspects that there is a regular group of robbing cultivators near Wu Qi Mountain. Our guests on the mountain are one of the targets they have their eyes on."
Lu Changan stated his own speculation first. There are no marketplaces in the surrounding two thousand miles, and there are several spirit vein dojos and small Immortal Cultivation clans, so Wu Qi Mountain is considered a small gathering place where trading can take place.
"Fellow Daoist Lu invited us over, do you have any suggestions?"
Ye Fei said with a smile.
After being a neighbor for so many years, he had a better understanding of Lu Changan's acting style.
"There are two options."
Lu Chang'an mused.
"The first one, if you don't want to take the risk, spend spirit stones to invite an expert to come over and exterminate the robber cultivators that have fixedly landed in the neighborhood."
"The second, if the robber cultivators are of average strength, we will privately settle them ourselves as a warning to others."
Upon hearing this, the other two Peak Masters nodded slightly in agreement.
The three Peak Masters of Wu Qi Mountain, their financial power and strength are not bad, both options can be considered.
"The prerequisite is to find out the strength of the robber cultivator. In terms of tracking, my concubine is not good at it."
Shi Manrong pondered.
Lu Chang'an and Ye Fei looked at each other.
"This matter, leave it to the two of us."
Lu Chang'an had a second-stage rat demon with a keen sense of smell and was good at tracking and probing.
In addition to pharmacology and poison techniques, Ye Fei also mastered a mysterious insect repellent technique.
"Fairy Shifu has high cultivation and the most means, if you want to fight, you need to take care of one or two more things."
......
In the following days and nights, Lu Chang'an and Ye Fei secretly investigated.
First, they lined up a twenty-mile radius of Wu Qi Mountain and found no traces or strongholds of robber cultivators.
At noon on this day.
Little Turtle Peak, in the pavilion by the lotus pond.
Lu Chang'an sipped the spirit tea served by his maid.
The Xuan Shui Turtle was lying on its back by the pond, staring blankly in a certain direction, with a faint trace of longing in its eyes.
Lu Changan suddenly thought that Guan Qiaozhi had not written for several years.
"Twenty years."
He roughly calculated that Guan Qiaozhi had been gone for more than twenty years.
When this woman left, Lu Chang'an was one hundred and seven years old.
A few days ago, Lu Chang'an turned 128 years old.
In a few years, Guan Qiaozhi will also reach 100 years old.
Because of the lack of fighting, proper maintenance, and having taken the first-order Life Extension Pill, he expected Guan Qiaozhi to live at least until she was close to the upper limit of the Qi Refining Stage.
Whoosh!
A base-construction stage recluse light, weaving from outside Wu Qi Mountain, headed straight for Wu Qi Mountain, interrupting Lu Chang'an's thoughts.
"Uncle Lu!"
A woman's voice, as soft as a warbler's cry, came.
A long and slender woman in a green dress flew down in front of Little Turtle Peak.
Starry eyes and white teeth, as clear as jade.
The familiar voice and face evoked two memories for Lu Chang'an.
The more distant memories have already faded away.
The more recent memory is that of the lonely and persistent green-skirted girl who was one of the two main maids on Little Turtle Peak.
"Bing Yun, you're here."
Lu Chang'an got up and smiled.
The formation opened, and Mu Bing Yun entered this once incomparably familiar homeland.
Twenty years have passed, and the layout of the mountain, every blade of grass and tree, is almost unchanged.
The Xuan Shui Turtle has only grown a little.
The revered Uncle Lu is still dressed in white, ageless, warm and serene.
The handsome figure, as if rooted in the earth of the ancient wood, with the precipitation of the years, more and more deep, solid.
At that moment, perhaps it is her psychological effect, vaguely gave birth to an illusion of greatness.
......
"Bing Yun, meet Uncle Lu."
Mu Bing Yun walked forward, her tone of voice was respectful, obeisance.
As a servant girl who used to spend a lot of time together after the deceased, Lu Changan didn't make polite pleasantries and let her take a seat in the pavilion at will.
The moment Mu Bing Yun entered the pavilion, she almost entered the role of a maid of honor, ready to serve tea and water to Uncle Lu.
She realized that the twenty years she spent in Little Turtle Peak had an indelible impact on her life.
"Nowadays, the surrounding area of Wu Qi Mountain is rather chaotic, you shouldn't come here at will."
Lu Chang'an took a sip of tea and re-sized this former maid.
Mu Bing Yun has already been promoted to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, it should be in the last two years.
This is smoother than he expected.
"Uncle Lu, nowadays, within the territory of Liang, apart from the land of the clans, where is there a truly stable place?" Mu Bing Yun sighed softly.
She then recounted the purpose of her visit to Wu Qi Mountain
"A few months ago, the originally chaotic Bamboo Leaf Mountain market was attacked by a group of cultivators. The workshop market around killing and looting, the family's store, heavy losses, casualties a few people......"
Lu Changan did not realize that the security environment of Bamboo Leaf Mountain is much worse than Wu Qi Mountain.
Wuji Mountain surrounding, at most only a small number of robbing repair, did not make a big mess.
"The owner of Bamboo Leaf Mountain is the Maple Leaf Huang Family. The Taoist partner of the Huang Family's Foundation Establishment female cultivator 'Huang Yingchun', that late Foundation Establishment, did not make a move?"
Lu Chang'an's gaze flickered.
"No. That Late Foundation Establishment is nearing the end of his lifespan and is already old. Huang Yingchun just distanced himself from him two years ago, so the other party naturally won't fight to the death for this......"
Mu Bing Yun explained.
"During the battle in the marketplace, a new Foundation Establishment Stage that the Huang Family had managed to cultivate some years ago also unfortunately fell."
Hearing this, Lu Changan basically concluded that Bamboo Leaf Mountain would become a place of right and wrong.
"Fei Yuehu is a Foundation Establishment family that is relatively close to Bamboo Leaf Mountain, and the safety of the cultivators within the clan is threatened. I have discussed with Uncle Erqing and intend to upgrade the clan protection formation of Fei Yue Lake."
"Wu Qishan's Fairy Shi is a quasi third-order formation master and has a good relationship with Uncle Lu. Bing Yun wants to ask her to help with the formation."
Mu Bing Yun explained her intentions.
"This matter is not a big problem. Later, I will take you to visit her."
Lu Chang'an nodded.
His friendship with Immortal Master Shifu was not normally deep.
"Right, Bing Yun. Did you have the feeling that you were being watched when you came to Wu Qi Mountain."
Lu Chang'an inquired.
"It seems like at a certain moment, there was this feeling."
Mu Bing Yun didn't confirm it and showed a thoughtful face.
With her understanding of Uncle Lu, there must be a reason for asking this question.
In today's relatively chaotic situation, the occasional prying eyes on the road is a normal thing.
However, as a mid-foundation cultivator and a second-ranked talisman master, the casual robber cultivator would not dare to make a move.
Without prior planning, even a late stage Foundation Establishment practitioner wouldn't be able to take down a mid-Foundation Establishment talisman.
Lu Changan realized that Mu Bing Yun's body had been marked with a hidden tracking mark.
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