Chapter 92: Inevitable Fate

  This voice was all too familiar to Liang Xin. The only person in the world who could make the three words "Liang Zhuang Gu" sound so pleasant was Lang Ya.

  Two people originally agreed to meet at the foot of the town mountain in early December, now there is still a month away from the appointment, unexpectedly Liang Lianju came, Liang Xin understood that things must have changed again, furrowed his brow and hurried along the direction of the sound.

  Lingyue stands alone in the wilderness, barefoot and with her hands behind her back, slightly raising her chin, smiling serenely as the autumn wind blows through her long hair.

  Liáng Xīn arrived with a slightly surprised expression. He wasn't quite used to Láng Yuè's calm demeanor, and upon rushing to her side, he asked: "What's wrong?"

  Langya's expression was heavy with worry, not even bothering to lift an eyelid. His voice was soft but clear: "Something has happened in the southern borderlands. Not long ago, there was a catastrophic event, and a demon has appeared." It is said that it is a giant rhinoceros.

  In the east of Zhongtu lies the Great Sea, to the north are the vast grasslands, and to the west are the endless Kunlun Mountains. The south is a vast wetland and rainforest, known as the Southern Frontier. There are also many barbarian tribes and indigenous peoples in the Southern Frontier, but most of them are isolated and do not interact with outsiders. People from Zhongtu also have no interest in venturing into the swampy lands, so it's basically a situation where they don't come into contact with each other.

  This rhinoceros was born to wreak havoc, wherever it went, the forest withered and the water cried, causing quite a few great disasters. It is said that several batches of Chinese medicine practitioners who came to the southern border to collect medicine and seek elixir were killed under the rhinoceros's hooves.

  As he spoke, Langya sat down on the ground, resting his chin on his knees, and let out a weak sigh: "After hearing this news, Master led his trusted high-ranking officials to rush to Nanjiang to slay demons and resolve the disaster."

  Exorcising demons might be something that some cultivators would do, but it's definitely not something that the leader of an evil sect would do. Liang Xin was completely bewildered and asked casually: "Is your master from Southern Border?"

  Langya burst out laughing, flapping her hands at Liang Xin like a swarm of mosquitoes, stirring up a stunning white wave: "With my master's cultivation, I've long forgotten what my surname is, what old house or not. This rhinoceros is a naturally born spirit, although extremely difficult to deal with, but its entire body is a treasure, whoever sees it will be envious! Do you think those cultivators killed by the rhinoceros were accidentally trampled to death? Weren't they just overestimating themselves and being blinded by the treasures on the rhinoceros's body?"

  Liáng Xīn was unaware of the value of this rhinoceros, so he had a completely nonchalant expression.

  Langya continued, "This time, the monks who went to Nanjiang for hunting are not just our family, but two others. The leader of the evil sect also brought people there, and I estimate that Wudao Sansu will also intervene. With so many masters competing, and that rhinoceros being very powerful itself, this battle is going to be intense."

  The demon girl was originally getting more and more cheerful as she spoke, but when she got to this point, she suddenly changed back to her previous disgusted expression, turned her head to look at Liang Xin: "This rhinoceros has the power of the five elements, its hooves are metal, its body is wood, its heart is water, its tail is fire, and its horn is earth."

  Liāng Xīn couldn't help but laugh and say, "Is this for real? Can something like this actually exist?"

  Langya's eyes were bright and clear, staring at Liang Xin, she repeated again with emphasis: "Earth Trigram, Earth! Move! Angle!"

  Liang Xin was stunned for a moment, and suddenly understood Lang Ya's meaning!

  The demon rhinoceros has a single horn on its forehead. The master of Langya's trip is to seize this horn containing the power of evil soil, in order to open up the cave of the old devil and obtain the "great divine power of heaven and earth".

  To know that he and the witch had a deal, Langya helped him rescue people, using his own evil land power to help Langya pass through the old demon's cave ban. If Langya's master got the rhinoceros horn, Liang Xin would become worthless at once, and Langya would naturally not go to rescue him again.

  Liang Xin immediately stopped smiling and said in a low voice, "You've also said it, with so many powerful people going to snatch it, the rhinoceros itself is a top-notch spirit beast. Your master may not be able to get his hands on it."

  Langya's eyes dimmed, and he shook his head: "With his methods, hum, you'd better not hold such a lucky thought. If he wants to knock down the entire rhinoceros, it may not be easy, but he only asks for one horn, and the odds of winning are great. This time, he almost took all the masters to the South Territory."

  Cultivation, what is being cultivated is resources. The heavens and the earth, spiritual herbs and magical stones, secret manuals and techniques, divine weapons and sharp tools, etc., are all objects of contention. From a broad perspective, currently all resources have been occupied by the Orthodox Dao.

  The evil path develops with great difficulty, while the righteous path prospers smoothly. As time goes on, the evil path will be left further and further behind. Master Leng's master has grand ambitions and cannot wait any longer, so this time it is imperative to succeed, to seize the rhino horn and seek spiritual power, first unite the evil sects, then seek to contend with the righteous path.

  Li Qingshu didn't care about the underlying reason and directly asked: "What about time? When are they coming back?"

  "Perhaps an hour. Perhaps a year, no one can say how long he will be delayed by the rhinoceros."

  Liang Xin also sat down, facing Lang Yue face-to-face, staring into her eyes: "So what do you think now?"

  Langya straightened his body, with a rare solemn expression on his face, and replied seriously: "It's the same as before, just need to change the order. You help me enter the cave first, then I'll help you rescue people!"

  Liang Xin stared into Lang Ya's eyes, feeling a strange sensation, and for an instant, he seemed to not recognize Lang Ya at all.

  He had this feeling before, if he stared at a word for a slightly longer time, he would feel that he didn't recognize the word anymore. Langya's eyes did not move in the slightest, and his mouth still said lightly: "Time is limited, I only have this one chance, and I won't miss it. I promised to help you rescue people after things are done, you must believe me."

  Liang Xin made a slightly more relaxed expression and said to Lang Ya: "Tell me, why should I believe you."

  Langya burst out laughing and jumped up: "I'm not going to hide the fact that I've gone to 'steal the divine art'! As long as I do it, Master will definitely find out! I've already betrayed my sect, and for self-protection, I'll go to Zhen Shan Qianqiu Pavilion too. You should understand!"

  In the previous plan designed by two people to save someone, the most crucial link is to frame the disaster of Qian Shan on the evil path. After success, the righteous path will go all out to attack Lang Ya's master, and Lang Ya's master will definitely shrink his defense in a state of unpreparedness, temporarily unable to take care of the old devil's Dao field, and Lang Ya and Liang Xin will take this opportunity to break through the "Tou Shen Tong" formation.

  Now, the order of things has changed, but the essence remains the same. If Luoye steals her master's must-have "Tianxia Renjian", in order to escape the pursuit that follows, she still needs to use the power of the righteous path to attack her master.

  The difference lies in some details of operation.

  As for Langya, saving people is just a matter of convenience, the real purpose is still to expose her teacher's true nature in front of "Five Greats and Three Rudes" and Tianyi at the "Three Halls Trial"!

  Liang Xin nodded, he understood Lang Ya's temperament even more, of course, he didn't dare to believe her so easily. In his heart, he was thinking that during the secret meeting, he should find an opportunity to hold her back.

  Before he could say anything else, Lang Ya continued:

  Everything has been arranged properly. As long as we can return safely from the old devil's wine shop, Qu Qing Shi and Liu Yi will not be convicted.

  Liáng Xīn suddenly laughed and abruptly changed the subject, asking: "The injury you got on the grassland last time, hasn't it healed yet?"

  Langya burst out laughing, loud and clear: "Of course not, I still can't exert my powerful handprint, otherwise why would I bother negotiating with you in a low voice, I'd just take your evil land power and leave!"

  Liang Xin also burst out laughing, knowing that in the eyes of the demoness, he was still only at the third step of initial refinement. With this guarantee, who knew what the final outcome of this trip would be? Would it be to collude with the tiger or pretend to be a pig to eat the tiger!

  Qu and Liu's lives are just a trivial matter to Liang Xin, Lang Ya had long known that Liang Xin would definitely agree with him, and at this moment he didn't want to wait any longer, urging him to set off immediately.

  Liáng Xīn shook his head, leaving her with a sentence: "Go and come back, wait for me here!" After finishing, he ran towards the team of Qingyi, and had to go back and explain to those comrades who shared life and death with him.

  Xiao Hai saw Lang Ya, and seeing Liang Xin wanting to go with her to take care of something, she slightly furrowed her brow, but ultimately didn't say anything. She just made an appointment with him to meet at the foot of Zhen Mountain before the trial in the Third Hall.

  The deaf and dumb youths brought by Liang Xin and the cucumber, were temporarily entrusted to Cheng Qilian. At first, Liang Xin was still worried that the two children would be unhappy, but unexpectedly, the brothers held hands and ran excitedly to the back of Old Man Cheng.

  They exchanged a few more words, and Liang Xin didn't linger any longer. After joining Lang Ya, he left. When his back disappeared from view, Xiao Quan's eyelids drooped, and in the blink of an eye, she cut off her gaze.

  Cheng Lao Tou smiled like a neighbor's old man who had just eaten a full dinner, walked to Xiao Yu's side, moved his lips and was about to say something when Xiao Yu shook her head, with a gentle smile: "We can still meet again, don't worry."

  Cheng Qilian smiled and patted Xiao Yu's shoulder with a big hand.

  Langya was injured and her strength had dropped to only twenty percent of what it normally was. To say nothing of using magic to levitate and travel quickly, she couldn't even sustain running for a long time. She had already hired a large carriage and was waiting for Liang Xin to return before setting off towards the west.

  Liang Xin and she were in the same car, with a faint scent of coolness always lingering on her nose. After they set off, Liang Xin asked her what kind of formation Old Demon had laid down in his cave.

  Unexpectedly, Langya shook his head and smiled: "In these years, I have been investigating, but my master is very careful. So far, I have only found out two things. One is the location of the cave house, and the other is that it can only be broken by relying on the power of evil soil. As for the rest, I don't know anything!"

  Liang Xin was startled and bitterly smiled: "You don't know anything, yet you dare to lead me into the formation? Isn't this just rushing to one's death?"

  It seemed like Lang Ya was afraid of making Liang Xin unhappy, so he reached under the seat and pulled out a small wine jug in his right hand and an oil-paper package in his left hand. He handed them to Liang Xin with a coaxing tone: "Here, eat something!"

  Open the paper package, a deboned chicken with shiny oil, lift the bone and tender meat falls off automatically, Liang Xin's eyebrows and eyes smile.

  Langya watched him eat with relish, and she was quite happy herself: "As for me, 'the world is a narrow strip of land'. I won't let it slip away, as long as there's a 1% chance, I'll take action; but as for you, relying on yourself to save people is just courting death. Why bother going to the Qianqiu Pavilion knowing you'll definitely die, when you could follow me and fight for this 1% chance?"

  As she spoke, she also carefully tore off a piece of meat and put it in her mouth, chewing slowly while making an expression full of satisfaction and enjoyment. Then she leaned forward, almost face to face with Liang Xin, and smiled: "I want to cultivate my inner energy to heal my wounds. Want to join me?"

  "You first, I'll talk after I've eaten my fill!"

  On the road, Langya showed no restraint in front of Liang Xin and calmly closed her eyes to meditate and heal her injuries.

  Liáng Xīn however did not dare to practice his skills, fearing that the female demon would become aware and discover the power of his Seven Star Array Method. His four-step cultivation was the key to preserving his life, so he had to be extremely careful in hiding it.

  Fortunately, Langya's heart is evil and treacherous, but she looks really beautiful. Liang Xin has been looking at this pretty girl all the way, and it's quite delightful.

  They galloped all the way until five days later, when the carriage drove into a mountain that was not particularly majestic but somewhat precipitous. The two got off the carriage, and Langya led Liang Xin along the familiar path, jumping and skipping along the winding road, until they arrived at the gate of an abandoned mountain temple, where she shouted out loud: "Face Granny, Langya is here!"

  Then he whispered to Liang Xin: "Jie Popo is an unsociable cultivator, with a very eccentric temperament. Later on, you'd better not make a sound, just watch quietly."

  Liang Xin only then understood that they had not yet arrived at the lair of the old demon, and just as he was about to ask, a hoarse coughing sound suddenly rang out. An old woman, hunched over with her head lowered, slowly walked out of the mountain temple.

  It was deep autumn, and the Mountain God Temple had been in disrepair for many years. The two originally majestic vermilion-painted great doors were covered with cracks, crookedly hanging on their frames. The courtyard in front of the temple was also neglected, swept clean, and covered with a thick layer of dead leaves.

  As soon as the old woman walked out, the dry leaves on the ground seemed to come alive suddenly, like insects encountering their natural enemy, rustling and retreating in all directions. In no time, only a large patch of mottled blue bricks was left on the ground.

  The old woman walked with her head bowed and her hands clasped behind her back, looking as if she might fall over at any moment. Liang Xin couldn't see her face unless he lay down on the ground; all he could see was a few strands of dry, grass-like hair hanging sparsely from the top of her head, which were not enough to cover her bald scalp.

  The atmosphere was eerie, but Langya smiled and helped the old lady up with a gentle gesture.

  The old woman coughed all the way, finally clearing her throat, and smiled as she said "good girl!" Then, with a loud splat, a mouthful of thick phlegm landed at Liang Xin's feet.

  Langya hastily smiled and said: "This is my companion, who has always been very good to me!" While speaking, he gave Liang Xin a wink. Liang Xin, following the rules of juniors meeting seniors, bowed deeply: "Junior Su Nai Shan Liang Mo Dao, pays respects to his aunt."

  The old woman laughed hoarsely, with a tone of deep entrustment: "If you really treat Langui well, then you're also good." As she spoke, the old woman struggled to lift her head and looked at Liang Xin.

  At a glance, Liang Xin felt a chill all over his body. This old woman's "face" was simply non-existent!

  A wax figure suddenly encountered high temperatures. Just as its face was melting halfway, it managed to cool down and solidify, and that's how the old lady's face became like this.

  Such a face, yet clearly smiling, the old lady seemed to be trying hard to put on a kind expression!

  The old woman turned around, with Langya's support, and walked towards the mountain temple again, panting with effort, while saying to Langya: "What you want, I've prepared almost everything, come take a look, ah, time is still a bit tight, not well-raised, but should still be able to make do."

  Langya smiled and replied, thanked, Liang Xin followed behind them, and walked into the Mountain God Temple together.