Chapter 146: Dragon Gate Inn |
The moment the Zhurong spirit soul was born, Chu Xun also obtained the Fire Minister status.
And this status was one level higher than the Metal Minister, Wood Minister, and Water Minister statuses.
Looking at the hundred-zhang flame giant, Chu Xun’s gaze flickered.
So a spirit soul could raise the initial level of a status by so much. Had he not wasted many opportunities before?
Especially the spirit of the Songliu Water God. In the beginning, in order to avoid being hunted by incense gods, he had chosen to keep it hidden.
Now, it seemed that his decision back then could not be called wrong. It was only because of preconceived notions that his later Metal Minister and Wood Minister statuses had suffered losses.
If he had done things like the Fire Minister status and brought out the spirit soul first, he would not have needed to work so hard accumulating incense value for advancement.
Chu Xun shook his head slightly, not becoming overly concerned about gains and losses.
Gain and loss were both heavenly mandate. One could force things, but one might not necessarily obtain them.
Fire Minister: governs summer growth, presides over flame and brightness, and commands the essence of Li Fire.
Chu Xun extended his palm, and a strand of Southern Bright Li Fire appeared in it.
This was a fourth-tier flame between heaven and earth, higher than pill fire and Samadhi True Fire, but below Solar True Fire and the strongest Six Ding Divine Fire.
Its color was like glass. It specifically restrained yin evils, ghosts, and Nine Nether filth, and among postnatal divine fires, it was first in evil-breaking power.
According to the classics, it could burn away all yin demons in the world.
“I vaguely remember that Southern Bright Li Fire can be used to refine extremely powerful magic artifacts?”
Chu Xun extended his other hand. Six divine seals floated in his palm.
The Six Ding Divine Seals were currently his strongest trump card, without exception.
Each divine seal alone was already a powerful method.
If all six seals could be combined into one, they would possess the power of the Six Directions, and their might would be even more terrifying.
However, these were ultimately things belonging to the Six Jia Divine Generals. Chu Xun could use them, but could not lend them to others.
Now Jie Sect had only just been established, but within the sect, there were few decent magic artifacts.
Whether he wanted to bestow them on disciples in the future or use them to intimidate others, this was truly somewhat improper.
“Perhaps I really should find a place and properly temper my Dao of artifact refining. I should refine a few powerful magic artifacts to display the might of my Jie Sect.”
As Chu Xun thought this, Wei Youyou’s shout came from below the mountain.
After brief thought, Chu Xun did not recall the Zhurong spirit soul, instead allowing it to stand atop the mountain peak.
Then he descended to the mountainside on his own. Wei Youyou looked at him with a face full of astonishment, then looked at the flame giant on the mountain peak.
She could sense that the hundred-zhang-tall flame giant was closely connected to the Old Master before her.
Chu Xun did not explain to her. Instead, he looked toward the Wu Clan members still kneeling in worship nearby.
He said, “Today, I will leave. The Western Wasteland mountains will be entrusted to the fire god Zhurong. He is me, and I am him.”
Although Wu Xian and the others were not skilled in this language, after a hundred years, they naturally could understand what he meant.
Knowing Chu Xun was leaving, all of them were extremely reluctant and somewhat frightened.
Although there was still a Fire God atop the mountain, the god’s true body was leaving. What should they do?
Even though the Wu Clan now had a certain ability to protect themselves, they had also grown used to the days with Chu Xun present.
Once Chu Xun left, it was as though they had lost their backbone.
But to Chu Xun, this was not a place where he could stay long.
To gather the Five Ministers, he still lacked the final Earth Minister status.
Once he completed that, he could advance from the Golden Core stage to the Purple Mansion stage.
This was his foundation.
Although he also felt reluctant toward the Wu Clan, Chu Xun could still clearly distinguish when he should leave and when he should stay.
“After I leave, I may not return for some time. The Wu Clan should continue following its previous conduct. Do not act recklessly.”
“If you find the people below the mountain too troublesome, cut off the mountain path,” Chu Xun instructed.
Wu Xian and the other Ten Wu no longer spoke.
They only chanted loudly.
There was no need for Chu Xun to say anything. Wei Youyou had already come over and tugged the corner of his clothes.
Her dark, round eyes were full of reluctance.
“You all have to live well, yo.”
“If any letters come for me, don’t forget to tell me, yo!”
Wei Youyou had not forgotten that she had asked Liang Ciyue to help search for the Marriage Stone.
It was only that after so many years, Liang Ciyue had not sent letters for many years. He had probably already died of old age.
As for whether his descendants would continue following this promise, no one knew.
Perhaps they would. Perhaps they would not.
As for accidents, there was no need to worry too much.
When Liang Ciyue left, Chu Xun had given him several protective talismans.
Those talismans might not make him invincible under heaven, but at the very least, against dangers below the Golden Core stage, he could come and go freely.
Chu Xun raised his head again and looked toward the fire god Zhurong atop the mountain peak. Then he sent out the Jiawu Divine Seal and traveled a hundred li in an instant.
Under Wu Xian’s leadership, the Wu Clan members turned and continued kowtowing toward the mountain peak.
In a certain sense, this was the true god they had always believed in.
As for Chu Xun, from beginning to end, he had always considered himself human, not a god.
Before long, Chu Xun brought Wei Youyou out of Jixia Pass and arrived in Mobei.
In the region between Jixia Pass and Eagle Pass, Chu Xun stopped.
Ahead came the obscure aura of an evil sacrifice wild god. It was extremely dark.
It was a wild god hidden in the wind, rolling everywhere like withered grass.
Whenever it encountered living people or creatures, it would roll over and entangle them, strangling them alive before absorbing their blood and flesh essence.
“Old Master!” Wei Youyou cried.
Chu Xun pointed a finger. Southern Bright Li Fire instantly burned this withered-grass wild god into ash.
Mobei was the place the Heavenly Order used to feed evil sacrifice wild gods. There were no especially powerful existences here.
At the Golden Core stage, he could move about without restraint.
Chu Xun did not continue walking. Instead, he beckoned.
A simple earthen house rose from the ground. All the furnishings it should have were present.
Above the doorway hung a plaque.
Dragon Gate Inn.
Wei Youyou looked left and right, then asked in confusion, “Old Master, why is it called Dragon Gate Inn? Where is the dragon gate?”
Chu Xun smiled and said, “It exists somewhere you cannot see.”
From this day onward, Chu Xun brought Wei Youyou and settled here.
Mobei’s weather was strange and changeable. Summer was so hot one could steam eggs on the ground, while winter was so cold that one’s tongue could freeze just by exhaling.
But to Chu Xun and Wei Youyou, this was not much of a problem.
Especially Wei Youyou. She liked staying here very much.
It was boundless, with few people, and she could run however she wanted.
Moreover, it was not far from Jixia Pass, making it convenient for her to buy sesame wheat cakes.
The only bad thing was that planting radishes here was troublesome.
The wind and sand were too strong. Sometimes, after a single day, half the house would be buried.
The place Chu Xun chose to live was the necessary route between Jixia Pass and Eagle Pass.
Many traveling merchant caravans discovered that an inn had suddenly appeared here and felt surprised and curious.
Although Mobei was now also part of Jing Kingdom’s territory, survival here remained difficult.
After the older generation of Mobei Horse Tribe members were fully assimilated, almost no one was willing to live in such a godforsaken place anymore.
The weather was poor, the environment was poor, and from time to time, they would encounter evil sacrifice wild gods.
Aside from the Ministry of War of Jing Kingdom assigning some people here to garrison and graze warhorses, the only ones left were passing merchant caravans.
The army had many people, strong combat power, and enough experience.
Evil sacrifice wild gods usually did not actively seek trouble from them. But merchant caravans were different.
In the eyes of evil sacrifice wild gods, even a hundred-person merchant caravan was not much different from a ten-person one.
So the scale of merchant caravans began to expand continuously.
Sometimes, several familiar merchant caravans would unite and travel together to avoid accidents.
Even small merchant caravans sometimes gritted their teeth, paid silver to larger caravans, and sought protection.
Aside from these legitimate people, the only ones who traveled through Mobei were two kinds of people.
One kind was bold jianghu figures with powerful martial arts who liked roaming everywhere.
The other kind was criminals who had committed crimes and had no choice but to cross Mobei to hide elsewhere from enemies or avoid pursuit by the court.
Chu Xun’s Dragon Gate Inn welcomed its first guest amid curiosity, scrutiny, and suspicion.
The other party was a woman. Holding a child, she staggered and ran inside.
The moment she saw Chu Xun, she begged him to save her and the child.
Outside the inn, urgent hoofbeats sounded.
Chu Xun glanced outside, then looked toward the woman holding the child and said calmly, “This place is an inn. If you truly have grievances, you should go to the prefectural yamen.”
“You… how can you be so heartless!” The woman revealed the infant in her arms, who was not even one year old, and sobbed uncontrollably. “We are an orphaned mother and child. It wasn’t easy for us to escape here. If they catch us again, we will die unjustly.”
“Are you truly going to watch with open eyes as a weak woman like me, and an innocent child, are captured by a wicked tyrant?”
“If that tyrant were not devoid of conscience and did not seize women from good families by force, why would I bring the child here?”
Wei Youyou blinked as she looked at the woman, then stood on tiptoe and looked at the child.
She said nothing. Chu Xun grabbed the woman by the collar and threw her out without hesitation.
The woman screamed and fell heavily to the ground.
As for the child, he had landed in Chu Xun’s hands.
The woman struggled to rise, and the hoofbeats had already arrived close by.
She looked back, revealing a terrified expression.
Struggling to climb up, she tried to enter the inn again.
Chu Xun casually waved his sleeve. A long sword appeared out of thin air and landed before the woman’s feet.
“One more step forward, and you will be cut down.”
His tone was casual, but this method horrified the woman.
At that moment, more than ten fast horses arrived.
More than ten large men leapt down from horseback. At the very front was a middle-aged man whose face had been weathered by wind and sand.
He stared fixedly at Chu Xun and said in a deep voice, “Return the child to me!”
The horror and fear in the woman’s eyes vanished completely.
Her gaze toward Chu Xun was full of wariness, and a flash of resentment passed through it.
Then she fled into the distance without hesitation, her speed as swift as a wild goose.
Compared with her weakness earlier, she seemed like a completely different person.
The middle-aged man was furious. “Still trying to escape? Chase her!”
At the same time, he looked toward Chu Xun, ruthlessness appearing in his eyes.
“That woman dared break into my house and steal my grandson, then came out from your place. You must be connected! Take him down and force him to reveal that woman’s background and the mastermind behind her!”
Several large men answered and rushed toward Chu Xun.
They had not seen Chu Xun’s graceful display when the sword fell earlier.
But now, they did.
A white sword shadow flashed past, and sword qi directly sent several of them flying.
Even though each of them possessed at least second-rank martial strength, before Chu Xun, they were no different from children.
The middle-aged man froze. Stormy waves rose in his heart.
“Who are you?”
He had not seen Chu Xun act at all. The sword stuck in the ground had released sword qi on its own.
It was not that he had never seen such a method.
But at the very least, one had to be a Xiantian Grandmaster!
And even a Xiantian Grandmaster did not have such effortless ability.
Besides, Chu Xun looked so young.
The middle-aged man’s eyes shifted to the sword on the ground.
“Could it be this sword?”
He had once heard his elders say that in this world, there were immortals even more powerful than Xiantian Grandmasters.
His own family had countless connections to one such immortal. Although they had not seen that immortal for many years, even Jing Kingdom’s imperial family did not dare act recklessly toward them.
Although he did not know who the young man before him was, such a formidable weapon made the middle-aged man instinctively think of those immortal-like figures.
He immediately ordered his subordinates to continue the pursuit. At the same time, he stared at Chu Xun and asked, “Who exactly are you? Where did this weapon come from?”
Chu Xun held the child with one hand and did not answer his question. Instead, he carefully looked at the infant.
His features were fairly good. One could tell he would grow into a handsome appearance.
Only his fortune was slightly poor, somewhat thin.
What was quite unusual was that his fortune actually had some connection to Chu Xun.
Chu Xun raised his head and looked at the middle-aged man, asking, “What is your grandfather’s name?”
The middle-aged man froze. That tone made him feel as though an elder were questioning him.
He immediately frowned and said, “Although Your Excellency is an expert, your manners are lacking. First return my Song family’s child. As for other misunderstandings…”
Chu Xun looked at him. His gaze was calm, yet it brought an indescribable pressure.
The middle-aged man felt as though a giant stone pressed on his heart. For a moment, he could hardly breathe.
His heart was even more shocked. Only now did he realize that what was formidable was not merely that sword.
The young man before him must also have astonishing methods.
“I am Song Zhengye of the Song family of Mingzhu Prefecture. My grandfather was Song Shanhai.”
Chu Xun thought for a moment and had not heard of this name, so he asked again, “Then what about your great-grandfather?”
Since he had already answered one question, Song Zhengye felt slightly less burdened and replied, “Song Yuanshu.”
This time, Chu Xun had the slightest impression. That seemed to be Song Qizheng’s son?
No wonder the infant’s fortune had some connection to him.
Song Qizheng had been canonized as the Fifth Hall’s Yama. His descendants received protection from his divine office, so naturally they would have ties to Chu Xun.
“Why did that woman want to steal your family’s child?” Chu Xun asked.
“I don’t know,” Song Zhengye said cautiously, shaking his head.
What kind of person was Chu Xun? He could tell at a glance that Song Zhengye was not telling the truth.
Since that was the case, he did not ask further.
He tossed the child out. Song Zhengye’s heart jumped, but he saw the child drift lightly and land accurately in his arms.
Chu Xun said, “Leave. Fighting is not allowed inside Dragon Gate Inn. Your affairs also have nothing to do with me.”
At any other time, Song Zhengye would definitely not let things go so easily.
But Chu Xun’s methods just now had intimidated him. How could he dare act recklessly?
Yet he was unwilling to leave just like this, so he gritted his teeth and asked, “May I ask Your Excellency’s title? Do you have an old connection with my Song family?”
“A little. Not much,” Chu Xun said.
The one he truly had an old connection with was Song Qizheng, the provincial examination graduate of the tenth year of Chongming.
As for the Song family, if it was merely a small effort, Chu Xun would not be stingy with his help.
But since Song Zhengye was unwilling to tell the truth, he could not be bothered to meddle.
(End of Chapter)