Chapter 21: Heading towards Qinglong Town

  This man's movements were sudden, and by the time Xuán Zhèn reacted, he had already knocked his head more than a dozen times. Not only did Su Xiāo, Su Xīn, and other fellow disciples look over, but even the martial artists who came with this person were extremely surprised.

  Xuan Zhen hastily helped him up, and the man stood upright, instantly towering over Xuan Zhen by a head. He was broad-shouldered and deep-chested, with a tiger's back and bear's waist, a truly robust giant of a man. His appearance was quite majestic, but his clothes were tattered and worn, with patches on the elbows and knees, and he wore a tobacco pipe and a limp, broken tobacco pouch at his waist, without any visible weapons like the others.

  Xuan Zhen and the others initially thought that this person wanted to join the Qionghua Sect but had not yet passed the trial, so they knelt down and begged them to take themselves in. Xuan Zhen had not yet spoken to refuse politely, when Su Yao on the side furrowed her brow and coldly said: "The rules of the Qionghua Sect have always been that only those who pass the entrance trial can become disciples, no one is allowed to arbitrarily bring in those who do not meet the requirements. If you are not talented enough, it would be better to leave the mountain early, wanting to take a detour will not work."

  Her words were somewhat untrue, the Qionghua Sect did have this rule, but there were also some disciples who were sent to the mountain as children or raised by their elders in the sect. Xuanzhen was one of them when he first entered the sect and only underwent a symbolic trial after practicing for a year. Suoyao knew all this, but she had entered the sect through her own efforts and couldn't stand those who relied on luck and trickery, so she spoke quite rudely in front of this big man.

  That big fellow looked at Su Yao, rubbed his head, seemingly very puzzled, and bowed to Xuan Zhen: "Immortal, what does this...this immortal girl mean? I didn't understand?"

  Xuan Zhen suddenly felt that his sister's words were too hurtful, and upon hearing the man's tone, it seemed that what he meant was not in line with their thoughts. He hastily said: "This big brother, my sister is straightforward and speaks her mind, don't take it to heart. What... are you after?"

  The big man said, "Alas, it's a long story! My surname is Xiang, I'm the third child in my family, and people call me Xiang San Ge. Actually, I'm just a boatman from Qinglong Town, how can I compare to these brothers who live here? Each of them knows how to wield swords and knives, and when they swing them, it's really quite impressive!"

  "Qinglong Town?" Xuan Zhen thought for a moment and said, "Could it be the Qinglong Town on the east coast by the sea?"

  "That's right, it's that place!" San Le said with a smile, "I didn't expect the immortal to have even heard of our small town, truly all-knowing!"

  "East Sea?" Xiangxiang exclaimed, jumping over and curiously staring at the left and right of Xiang San, "The seaside is far from our Kunlun Mountain, how did you come here to ask for help?"

  He turned to San and put away his smile, sighing as he said: "Alas, what can we do? Our Qinglong Town has suffered a great calamity, and seeking help from all around couldn't solve the problem. Several people even died in vain. Later, a passing knight pointed out that ordinary people couldn't help us, but rather those immortals living deep in the mountains and forests could rescue us from disaster with just a blink of an eye. The townspeople then gathered some silver coins as travel expenses, and since I had learned some basic martial arts when I was young and had also developed some strength from years of working at sea, I volunteered to find the immortals for them. I heard that ordinary mountain and tree immortals are looked down upon, but the immortals on Mount Kunlun in the great desert are numerous, so I joined a merchant group, rode a camel, and came here. When I arrived at Baoxian Town at the foot of the mountain, the old lady boss of the post station said that there were indeed immortals living here, so I came."

  "But you don't even have a sword, how did you climb up here?" Su Xiang turned her head to look at Su Yao, "Even if my master sister is so powerful, she was injured when she first came up from the mountain, let alone you with your light footsteps and no cultivation, yet not a single wound can be seen?"

  "Of course it's all nonsense, a pack of lies, just to get people's sympathy and trick us into taking him up the mountain to learn magic tricks."

  He furrowed his brow at San: "This fairy's words are not pleasant to hear! I originally wanted to go up the mountain myself, but as soon as I left the town entrance, I was blocked by a purple toad. The mountains here are indeed strange, and even the toads are different from elsewhere - not only can they spit acid water, but their heads are also as big as a cow's hoof. Luckily, that older sister came down the mountain to buy dry rations and happened to save my life along the way."

  He pointed to the crowd, and the young woman who had just been pulled by Su Xiang to ask questions without stopping blushed and said: "Who is your sister? You are bearded and old, and the girl is ten years younger than you!"

  Everyone burst into laughter, and Su Xiang was even more clapping and laughing. Xiang San touched his head and said: "Yes, yes. Thanks to this little sister for saving my life and taking me up the mountain on the way. It's so coincidental that you all came just one day later. Although I'm a rough person, I can also see that among these immortals, you are the most powerful. If I don't ask you, who else can I ask?"

  Xuan Zhen smiled slightly, and asked: "You've said so much, but what exactly happened in Qinglong Town?"

  Su Xuan chuckled and said, "If you encounter a sea disaster, your senior master can't help you. He has never left the mountain, let alone gone into the water!"

  He shook his head and said, "It's not a sea disaster. Alas, this matter is quite miserable and also very strange. In our Qinglong Town, many children have gone missing at night over the past year, all of them were only two or three years old. At first, their parents thought they had been kidnapped, but who would have thought that after just a few days, those children would be found dead, all of them were found on the sandy beach east of the town, with extremely tragic deaths. Not only did the parents see it and feel extreme pain, but even we felt unbearable when we saw it. It's unknown who was so ruthless to harm these young children! Later, the people in the town gradually realized that something was wrong, even if they locked their children at home at night, the men in the town patrolled the streets, those babies were still being stolen and killed, several heroes who passed by our town to help with the investigation also fell into evil hands. Some old people said it was because we offended some gods, but which god is so vicious? It's clearly a monster haunting us!

  At this time, the people around had quieted down, their faces all showing anger, especially these disciples of the Qionghua sect. They had heard their elders in the sect talk about the evil deeds of monsters and the tragic fate of those children in the three villages, which made them burn with anger. Xiang San took a deep breath and continued: "That's why I've come all the way here to ask for your help, Immortal. Please save the children of our town! If not, I'm afraid everyone in Qinglong Town will be finished. I've been on the road for half a year now, and every time I think about how many children have suffered in our town, my heart is... Alas, it's really worrying!"

  Xuan Zhen saw the worried look on his face and comforted him, "Third Brother, there's no need to be so anxious. Exterminating evil and protecting the Tao is what cultivators should do. Alright, I'll go with you this time. If there really are monsters, we'll risk our lives to eliminate them." His words were not just empty consolation. Although he had been ordered by his master to come down the mountain, that person of extreme yin-yang was already unknown where to start from. Moreover, saving people was already an urgent matter, and it was extremely difficult for Xuan San to find this place, how could he let him return disappointed?

  San Yi listened, and suddenly turned sorrow into joy: "Good, good! Let's hurry up and go, the leader of that merchant team is probably still at the foot of the mountain. I'll let you ride my camel!"

  Xuan Zhen shook his head and smiled wryly, turning to look at Su Yao and saying: "Su Yao, I'll leave Su Xiang in your care. I'll take Xiang Liu and go now. Be careful on the mountain road, you've always been cautious in your actions, but I'm worried that Su Xiang will cause trouble, so please keep an eye on her."

  Su Yao nodded solemnly.

  When he left, Xuan Zhen bid farewell to the other disciples with a bow and turned around to chant the incantation: "Heart moves with thought, sword follows spiritual energy, energy and thought communicate, man and sword unite - rise!" As he descended the mountain, he carried his personal sword on his back. The scabbard let out a clear and long sound, and the "Spring Water" long sword transformed into a stream of light that flashed before everyone's eyes, stopping in front of Xuan Zhen.

  The name is Spring Water, the sword body is transparent throughout, it's like a three-foot wave condensed in mid-air, and it looks like a narrow and long ice, from the tip of the sword to the hilt there is no gap, even the guard seems to be integrated with the sword body. One side of the sword is carved with auspicious cloud patterns, and there is a small sword hidden in the clouds, which is the emblem of the Qionghua School. The other side is engraved with the words "Spring Water" in seal script, although the strokes are shallow, they show elegance. Everyone in the Qionghua School uses swords, and they have their own way of nurturing and protecting them. Xuan Zhen is very fond of his long sword, the soft cloth wrapped around the hilt was sewn by him personally, and even the pendant on the sword is his favorite wooden small knife pendant.

  Xuan Zhen's toes barely touched the tip of the sword, and he had already arrived at the sword's edge. Turning around, he saw Xiang San still standing in his original position, looking stunned, only knowing that he had opened his mouth wide to stare at himself and Chunshui Sword. He smiled and said: "Xiang San brother, if you ride a camel to the seaside, it will take half a year to get there. You and I can afford to delay, but those children cannot wait. Why not come with me on the sword, and we'll arrive at Qinglong Town in just three or two days?"

  Xiang San patted his head, walked forward and said with a big smile: "This sword is so thin, I can sink it easily, but don't get it crushed, the travel expenses are almost gone, I won't be able to afford it - ah!"

  Before he could finish speaking, a shout of surprise erupted. It turned out that Xuan Zhen had reached out and grabbed his collar, causing him to involuntarily fly up into the air. His mouth was still open when he found himself neatly planted behind Xuan Zhen's back. Xuan Zhen turned around and beckoned to the two female disciples, then pinched off a spell, and with a joyful long whistle, transformed into a beam of clear light that shot towards the eastern horizon.

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