Linhuan Pass

A majestic and lofty Treasure Hall stood alone by the banks of the Huai River.

The wood used to build this hall was a type of divine maritime lumber known as the Golden Silk Red Willow, which was opulent and resplendent in its golden glitter, yet the interior was unexpectedly simple and elegant.

The Treasure Hall was divided into a room and a hall by a screen.

Behind the screen was the place where Yu Yuan practiced the Great Dream Heart Sutra, furnished only with a soft and spacious bed. The hall was spacious, with two rows of bookshelves against the walls that were piled with scrolls, animal skins, and jade scrolls.

A soft, comfortable carpet was spread out in the center of the hall, with a wooden desk placed on top of it. On the opposite wall hung a painting with calligraphy.

The writing, graceful and beautiful, held a unique character, evoking a sense of ice and snow upon sight—not a bone-chilling, merciless cold, but rather a serene frost of the earth dressed in silvery white.

This particular piece of calligraphy had been gifted to Yu Yuan by the Golden Spirit Saint Mother when he first became her disciple, and it consisted of just a single, large character: "Tranquility."

Just gazing at this painting seemed to have a heart-clearing effect.

Of course, for Yu Yuan it only served to agitate him more, so he usually paid it no heed.

However, at this moment, it was not he who sat behind the desk looking at the painting, but Huo Ling'er, who had just arrived.

Upon hearing her request, Yu Yuan had said nothing and immediately led her into the Treasure Hall.

He then asked her to sit quietly behind the desk and look at the painting.

The bright morning light streamed through the bamboo forest, casting mottled spots on the ground that moved lightly with the breeze, occasionally slanting into the hall.

Huo Ling'er sat on a cushion, her legs neatly together, looking up at the painting on the wall with wide, round eyes, her black pupils shimmering like crystal.

Her eyebrows curved like crescents, her delicate features as if finely crafted jewels. Pouting in displeasure, her cheeks were round and blushed with a faint pink, glistening temptingly in the morning light.

"How much longer do I have to look at this?"

Huo Ling'er stretched her hand to rub her sore neck and muttered softly.

"Until all your evil thoughts are gone!"

Yu Yuan replied irritably, "Cultivation is like sailing against the current or climbing a mountain with a burden—it requires advancing step by step. How could there be any shortcuts? Precipitate growth in cultivation is like a castle in the air, utterly baseless. How can you hope to reach a higher level later?

It is a waste that you are a direct disciple of Jie Sect and yet fail to understand even this simple truth!

It is fortunate that you are complaining to me. Should your Master hear this, he might just be angered to death."

"So according to you, aren't you harming Bai Ling by helping her with her cultivation?" Huo Ling'er retorted, unconvinced.

Are you even comparable to her?

She has racial talents!

Yu Yuan thought silently to himself.

But to verbalize it would be too hurtful.

Moreover, he could see that Huo Ling'er did not know what exactly Bai Ling's so-called "cultivation" entailed, otherwise, no matter how bold she was, she wouldn't have dared to voice such a remark.

"You are still young; you can't handle that method of cultivation…" Yu Yuan chose his words carefully, trying to be as gentle as possible.

"How am I still young?" Huo Ling'er turned around and glared at him dissatisfied. Because of her sitting posture, her red dress tightly wrapped her exquisite curves, like a fiery red lotus rising.

This inadvertent seductiveness made Yu Yuan suddenly realize that his fellow disciple had truly grown up.

"Cough cough…" Yu Yuan coughed lightly, "Not young, not young at all, are you satisfied now that you're the eldest?"

Before he could finish, there was a sudden stir in his heart, and he took out his copper mirror. A short message appeared on it.

[Xun: Elder brother, hurry to the thatched cottage for an urgent matter!]

"What is that treasure?"

Huo Ling'er looked over curiously.

"It's a communication Spiritual Treasure... A junior brother has something to discuss with me."

As Yu Yuan spoke, he got up and walked outside.

There were only nine of these copper mirrors, and Yu Yuan had not planned on giving one to Huo Ling'er. However, a few days ago, he sent Ao Yi to deliver one to Bai Ling in Qingqiu.

It was for this reason that Huo Ling'er knew Yu Yuan was at Linhuan Pass and, without a second thought, bid Bai Ling goodbye and rushed over from Qingqiu.

It was evident that over the years, she had indeed gained experience following Bai Ling.

In the past, she definitely would not have dared to travel such a long distance alone.

Even though she possessed Golden Immortal Dao and was protected by many Spiritual Treasures, virtually walking sideways across the Southern Continent.

"What's happened?"

Huo Ling'er's eyes gleamed with curiosity as she stood up, ready to follow.

Yu Yuan didn't give her a good look, and spoke irritably, "You should stay here and reflect quietly; you are not allowed to go anywhere!"

"Fine, fine, why are you being so fierce?"

Huo Ling'er pouted and sat down again, her eyes showing no annoyance, but rather a glint of mischievous delight.

...

Upon arriving at the thatched cottage, Yu Yuan saw that a crowd of villagers had already gathered in the surrounding woods.

And in front of the cottage door stood several travel-worn commoners of the Human Race.

The leader, an old man with grey-white hair and beard, was telling Wen Zhong about something.

When he reached the most exciting part, he "plop" knelt down, perhaps too eager, he couldn't stop coughing, his face turned as red as blood, and only Wen Zhong was able to help him even his breathing with his mana.

Yu Yuan slightly raised his eyebrows, noting the impoverished and gaunt appearance of these few people, which was quite different from the spirit of the villagers at Linhuan Pass.

They must be outsiders.

"Immortal, your divine skills are vast and mighty, please show us mercy, you must save us!" The old man with grey-white hair, as soon as he recovered, immediately kowtowed and worshipped towards Wen Zhong.

Wen Zhong nodded slightly, reached out to help him up, and was about to speak when his gaze passed through the crowd and saw Yu Yuan, and he quickly conveyed through Primordial Spirit Transmission:

"These villagers have travelled thousands of miles from not far from JINshuiguan to seek help, claiming there is a Mountain God committing misdeeds nearby, demanding a new wife every other month, putting the local common people in unspeakable suffering, brother, do you think I can..."

"Go, go."

Yu Yuan knew what he wanted to say.

After all, Wen Zhong had made a vow before to slay all the Evil Gods for the Human Race.

Knowing that there's an Evil God causing trouble within a thousand miles, how could he just turn a blind eye?

"By the way, you take this chain with you."

Yu Yuan handed over the Chaining Dragon Rope he had acquired from Wu Zhike.

It was a Merit Spiritual Treasure of the Human Path, he couldn't use it even if he kept it.

"Thank you, brother!"

Wen Zhong repeatedly thanked him, then looked around at the villagers who were staring at him expectantly, and said solemnly: "No matter when and where, as long as I learn of an Evil God causing chaos, harming my Human Race people, then I, Wen Zhong, will definitely take care of it to the end!"

"That's great!"

"Thank you, Immortal, for your kindness!"

The villagers from Jinshuiguan knelt down and thanked him one after another, and the bystanders at Linhuan Pass also couldn't stop praising.

"Big Pudgy!"

Wen Zhong called out, and a blue-backed beast with fangs called Dangkang ran over to the cottage.

Its huge body like that of a giant elephant kicked up gusts of wind, truly frightening those Jinshuiguan villagers.

Soon, Wen Zhong rode on Dangkang, taking those Jinshuiguan villagers and soared into the sky, heading towards the distance at a rapid pace.

Seeing this scene, Yu Yuan nodded secretly in approval.

Wen Zhong's personality was somewhat similar to Yun Zhongzi's, both were the type that were particularly zealous about principles and had a very strong sense of justice, intolerant of any wrongs.

Once they determined something, they would surely not waver easily.

Now Wen Zhong didn't care much about the Immortal Path anymore, his entire focus was on revitalising the Human Race and eradicating Evil Gods.

In fact, many in the Human Race became Immortal through cultivation.

Even in the Primordial era, the Immortal Gods of the Human Race had a special title – Human Immortals.

But few of these Human Immortals continued to stay among the Human Race, most went into seclusion, unseen by the world.

Even if some Human Immortals stayed, most were in pursuit of the Human Dao Destiny to cultivate or they saw no hope for the Golden Immortal Dao Fruit, so they switched to cultivating the Incense Fire Divine Dao, gathering the Power of Faith of the Human Race.

True Human Immortals like Wen Zhong, who were willing to stay for the revitalisation and protection of the Human Race, were few and far in between.

At least before this, Yu Yuan had never seen one.

Although Wen Zhong had become an Immortal, he seemed not to have the consciousness of being an Immortal, still considering himself as a part of the Human Race.

...

The Mountain God at Jinshuiguan was not very formidable; Wen Zhong had two Spiritual Treasures, the Wupeng Fan, and the Chaining Dragon Rope, which the Mountain God could do nothing against.

Wen Zhong did not act rashly, but instead investigated the Mountain God and discovered it was merely a grey wolf that had become spirit, cruel and bloodthirsty, using the pretense of taking a wife to actually satiate its thirst for the blood of the Human Race to cultivate some malevolent divine skill.

Hence, Wen Zhong did not hesitate to use the Chaining Dragon Rope to capture it and then, in front of the multitudes of Jinshuiguan, waved the Wupeng Fan, burning it to ashes with fire.

The people of Jinshuiguan were mixed with grief and joy, endlessly grateful.

What surprised Wen Zhong was that after this event spread, more people from nearby cities and towns came running to Linhuan Pass seeking help.

Wen Zhong also did not turn anyone away, as long as someone sought help, he would rush over to investigate.

If the news was true, he would execute the mischievous divine beings in front of everyone.

The people were grateful and full of praise, seeing him as a savior.

Through their word of mouth, more and more people learned of Linhuan Pass.

This place was very safe, the land fertile, the water abundant, with many, many wastelands that could be cultivated; as long as one came here, they could live and work in peace and contentment.

Most importantly, here not only did they not have to worship malevolent divine beings, but they could also learn various skills from the Human Immortal!

Therefore, many people from nearby cities and towns started coming to Linhuan Pass, bringing their families and belongings.

At the same time, a Sealing Decree from Chaoge also arrived at Linhuan Pass.

The content of the Sealing Decree was simple: as a member of the Wen Family, Wen Zhong was officially ennobled as a Viscount, granted the land of Linhuan Pass to feed upon.

With this scroll, Linhuan Pass was no longer under the direct rule of the Great Shang Dynasty, but became the fief of Wen Zhong, only having to pay a nominal tax.

For Great Shang, Linhuan Pass was but a barren land that was dispensable, and even Wen Zhong only sought this scroll from his family for convenience.

But for Yu Yuan, this place was the starting point of a vast dynasty!

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