Techniques and Dao

Chapter 115 Southern Wonderland (1)

Following Tai Shang Xiao Jun's advice to seek help from Mie Ying, Hua Sheng still had some reservations.

Since the Heavenly Eye Trial, Hua Sheng has hardly spoken to Mie Ying. He only occasionally saw Mie Ying discussing immortal techniques with her disciples in the Xiyuan Academy, in the guise of the eldest sister, the Immortal Master Qingmiao. He has not seen Mie Ying as Xiao Qi since.

So today, almost since the Tianmu Trial, this is the first time Hua Sheng has seen Xiao Qi.

Just now, perhaps because Xi Yuan was in trouble, Mie Ying Xiao Qi acted in a carefree manner.

He didn't know if Xiao Qi had deliberately avoided him when he didn't see her at Xi Academy, or if he was just assuming things were different. Perhaps Xiao Qi, the Shadowbreaker, didn't even take him seriously.

But now I'm different; I seem to have more confidence.

Perhaps it's because he has the Ruyi Jingu Bang (magic staff) by his side?

However, my personality and appearance have not changed drastically from before.

If she goes to find Mieying alone, will she slap herself again like before?

Hua Sheng felt a bit self-deprecating, but he had no choice but to go find Mie Ying. After all, according to the plan they had just made, after going to the Blazing Wrath Heavenly Prison, Tai Shang Xiao Jun was responsible for holding off Yang Jian. When he tried to find Dao Ling Xing Jun, he would have to buy some time.

They also need a companion, and that companion must be highly skilled in magic.

Mieying possesses a physique with nine souls united as one. The nine sisters within her body are mostly highly skilled in immortal arts. Furthermore, Mieying wields the magical weapon of Nezha, the Fire Wheel King, which is no less helpful to them than having an additional Ruyi Jingu Bang (the magic staff).

If Tianjizi were to accompany him, it's possible that they might happen to encounter the Blazing Wrath Prison holding some kind of "reception day" where they could freely tour the prison, or that the celestial array might simply malfunction, allowing them to meet Daoling Xingjun without any hindrance—all of these possibilities are not impossible.

But as Taishang Xiaojun said, Tianjizi would definitely not help him.

Not only would they not help, but they might also cause trouble and alert the enemy, making it impossible for him and the Supreme Lord Xiaojun to make their trip.

Therefore, after weighing the options, Shadow Extinction is the most reliable choice.

Moreover, if we can persuade Mieying, Qingmiao Immortal Master might also help to deal with his absences, saving him a lot of unnecessary trouble.

Good luck comes unexpectedly.

Not long after Hua Sheng arrived at Xi Yuan, he found Mie Ying—no, he should be called Qing Miao Immortal Master.

He was secretly glad that waiting for the Pure and Wonderful Immortal Master to finish her lessons at Qixian Pavilion was a wise decision.

After hearing Hua Sheng's explanation of his purpose, Master Qingmiao seemed to be greatly surprised.

"You want to go find Dao Ling Xing Jun, who is imprisoned?"

Seeing the great surprise on Qingmiao Immortal Master's face, Hua Sheng immediately clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, explaining with utmost sincerity, "I hope Immortal Master can lend a hand. Please have Sisters Mieying accompany me and Xiaojun. My purpose in doing this is solely to protect Xiyuan Academy, hoping to find the owner of that purple-gold thread and restore Xiyuan Academy's innocence!"

Master Qingmiao said with some concern, "But how can the Blazing Heavenly Prison be a place for mischievous children to play?"

Hua Sheng quickly relayed the story of how Taishang Xiaojun and Yang Jian became relatives.

Master Qingmiao said, "You are really playing games. If Erlang Shen were such a person who cares about distant relatives, the Blazing Heaven Prison would probably be bustling with people more than a market."

"That's why I'm begging for your help, Immortal Master. You should also realize that relying solely on comparing the purple-gold threads one by one is not only time-consuming and laborious, but also has a very low probability of finding the thief within three days. The three of us can split up and act separately. Even if we fail, the Xi Academy has enough manpower to spare."

Immortal Master Qingmiao hesitated for a moment, then said, "I mistakenly trusted Mingyou and led him into the Academy of Arts and Sciences. I don't know how many sins I have committed, yet no one holds me accountable. On the other hand, Dao Ling Xingjun has saved billions of lives and accumulated countless virtues, yet he has ended up in prison. I am truly filled with remorse; I have sinned!"

Hanamori deeply sympathized with these words.

"Immortal Master, please don't hold this against me. I heard Master Ruokong say at Daqian Temple that more than a thousand years ago, when Shengping Ning was facing a life-or-death crisis, Dao Ling Xingjun strongly advocated for the preservation of this place. So he offended some... I don't know how to put it, but I guess he offended some forces. With Xingjun's merits and magical power, it's a waste of his talents to only manage a training academy. And now that he's been caught red-handed about the Qiankun Guard War, it's not surprising that he's being questioned."

Hua Sheng then added, "Moreover, Ming You Wei Yu's magical power is far superior to what it is now. No one would have thought that she would enter the Academy of Arts and Sciences for such a purpose. Even Dao Ling Xing Jun himself could not see through her in person, so it is indeed not the Immortal Master's fault."

Master Qingmiao sighed softly and said, "Very well. My sisters and I will go with you. With me by your side, we can protect you two disciples of the academy along the way."

Hua Sheng was overjoyed to see that Master Qingmiao had agreed.

"Shall we set off now?"

"Please allow me a moment to prepare. After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, you may wait for me here."

"Immortal Master. When we leave, please help me and Tai Shang Xiao Jun to mark our departure and say goodbye."

"You disciples are truly... I know." With that, Master Qingmiao flicked his Taoist robe and gracefully flew away.

The time it takes for an incense stick to burn is not long, so Hua Sheng simply found a stone platform under Qi Xian Pavilion, lay down with his hands as pillows, and spaced out.

Returning to Xiyuan felt like a dream. In contrast, the scene in the hospital felt real, and the pain of breaking my leg was still vivid in my mind. The old hospital, the desk in the ward, the sheets, the pillow... the air, every detail was extremely clear to Hua Sheng.

During the hundred days I spent at Daqian Temple after leaving the hospital, Hua Sheng's memory became somewhat hazy. It is often said that memory can be compressed; when you do repetitive things every day, your memory shortens. But when you experience something short-term yet impactful or novel, that short period of time can feel very long in your memory.

What happened in the hospital was just a "moment's thought." But it seemed like a very long time had passed. After being reminded by the doctor there, the memories of Wei Yu gradually became clearer in Hua Sheng's mind. Those memories were like something that had been sealed away: Wei Yu in her Taoist uniform and in her hospital gown, and Mie Ying sitting on the hospital bed, needing large doses of sleeping pills every day to fall asleep.

Is all of this a curse brought about by the Year Star Veil? It can not only disrupt the laws of time and space, but also trample on the laws of memory.

Where did the Star Veil come from? If the moment it was destroyed was the future, then who gave the Star Veil to Weiyu? And how did that person know where the Star Veil was?
Hua Sheng suddenly remembered what the female magician had mentioned about the lost Jupiter Thread from the Klin Magic Academy.

The Starry Night Veil comes from the future, so it's possible that the Starry Night Veil doesn't exist in the world right now.

The Jupiter thread and energy string are likely two important materials used in the production of Jupiter gauze. Therefore, the disappearance of the Jupiter thread is very likely related to the formation of Jupiter gauze.

Perhaps because of the disputes that had just occurred, Hua Sheng felt somewhat tired after lying down.

Just as my eyelids were about to close, I suddenly felt a kick in my calf. A sharp pain shot through me, and I immediately fell off the stone platform.

"Who kicked me!"

"You're still dozing off when you see me? Tell me, don't you deserve to be kicked!"

Upon hearing that voice, Hua Sheng was instantly wide awake. It was Mie Ying Xiao Qi!

He got up and turned his head to see Mie Ying, with his golden-brown curly hair, shaking his head and staring at him. It seemed that Immortal Master Qingmiao must have deliberately revealed Xiao Qi's identity.

Just like the Shadowless Seven I met earlier, she was outgoing and full of energy. Completely different from the Shadowless I remembered from the hospital, with her vacant eyes.

Not only that, the Shadowbreaker was a boy. The one in front of us is clearly a girl.

Hua Sheng thought to himself, "This Mieying should be a girl... right?"

He asked, "So... are you coming with us?"

"Are you dissatisfied or what!"

"No, no, no! I'm very satisfied," Hua Sheng quickly replied.

Mieying seemed quite pleased with the answer, replying, "That's more like it! My sisters work so hard every day, I, Xiao Qi, can handle your little troubles. Why bother them?"

Hua Sheng said, "Shall we set off now? I've never been to the Crimson Fury region south of Saint Pingning before..."

"You talk as if you know the Eastern Lingzhou, the Northern Yezhou, the Western Baizhou, and the Central Hanzhou like the back of your hand," Mieying retorted.

Hua Sheng scratched the back of his head, chuckled, and said, "The Supreme Lord asked me to use the Ruihua Treasure Mirror to guide me, but I'd be more at ease if the young lady could point out the route. I'm really not familiar with it myself."

“I knew I’d have to be the one to rely on,” said Mieying. “This Blazing Heavenly Prison isn’t located in the central region of the southern part of the Holy Peaceful Immortal Realm. The Red Zone can be divided into two parts, north and south. The part closer to the north is a rainforest, with exceptionally lush tropical plants. Beyond this area lies the desert.”

"Desert? Shouldn't Shengpingning be a picturesque Jiangnan landscape filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers?"

"Of course not. The five regions of Saint Pingning are home to all kinds of mountains and rivers in the world. Naturally, there are also deserts with flying sand and stones. Deserts do not mean there is nothing there. Some spirits that are adapted to desert regions still live there. For example, spirits such as camels, cacti, and chameleons."

"I never imagined that the types of immortals were so detailed..."

Mieying said, "It's a thousand miles away. We'll have to cross rainforests and deserts to reach the Blazing Wrath Heavenly Prison."

"Then I'll really have to trouble Miss Mieying... no, Miss."

Mieying, resting his chin on his hand, said, "As a disciple of the Arts Academy, I'm not studying at the academy, and I'm visiting prisoners in a prison where visits are not allowed. If I get caught, it could cause me a lot of trouble..."

Hua Sheng thought about it and realized it made sense. Shengping Ning was not without its own security patrols. If they saw a disciple of the Xiyuan Academy wandering around alone, they would naturally ask him a few more questions after stopping him. If they found out he was going to prison, it would probably cause trouble.

"So what do you think we should do?"

Mieying said, "I think we should try to avoid going onto the clouds when we're riding them. Although we can fly at high speeds there, the heavenly soldiers will set up checkpoints for random inspections from time to time..."

"Not taking the highway? If we fly below the clouds, wouldn't we be closer to the ground? Although the chances of encountering celestial soldiers are low, wouldn't we be quite conspicuous from the ground?"

"Even below the clouds won't work."

"So neither going up nor down works? We can only fly through the middle of the clouds? Wouldn't that be all fog and poor visibility, making it dangerous to fly too fast?"

"I'll fly ahead, we just need to control our speed."

Hua Sheng thought that it wasn't really his style to let a girl go first when it came to traversing through thick clouds, so he said, "I'll go first. It would be too dangerous if you bumped into some kind of fairy or spirit that happened to be in the clouds."

Mieying agreed, saying, "Alright... it wouldn't be worth it if my pretty face got scratched. But Hua Sheng, who's going to show you the way?"

"I have navigation!"

(End of this chapter)