Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 41: Bone Reshaping
"Is there a new version of the Heroes List? Let me take a look." Lu Xingzhou stretched out his big hand.

Sheng Yuanyao threw the booklet in her hand over in annoyance. Lu Xingzhou took it and flipped through it. His eyes were hooked on the first page and didn't move.

Both women could guess who he was looking at. It was no longer a secret in their minds that this guy came from the Hall of Yama.

Sheng Yuanyao said in a cold tone: "Why, seeing that your Lord Yan's rank has risen and he is even more powerful than before, do you regret running away?"

Lu Xingzhou stared at her in a trance for a long time before whispering, "How did she suddenly rise to third place? Has she fought against a first-rank cultivator recently?"

"No, this is because of the battle a year ago... I easily escaped from the attack of two first-rank elders and many second- and third-rank elders from the Tianyao Holy Land, and even injured several of them. It was really a raging demonic flame."

"Oh, that time... It's been a year. You guys are so slow in updating the Heroes Rankings, aren't you? Was it written by Banana?"

"It was revised half a year ago, why didn't you read it?"

Lu Xingzhou stopped talking.

"It's impossible to change all the rankings just because of one battle record. They're all cumulative, and basically they're changed every six months. This time it's time to change the new rankings, so I came to ask you." Sheng Yuanyao said, suddenly becoming interested. He put his arm around Lu Xingzhou's shoulder like a brother and whispered, "Could it be that you were also involved in that battle a year ago? Tell me the details?"

Lu Xingzhou glanced at Dugu Qingli and said, "No, no, how could a mere seventh-rank lame man like me possibly participate in such a high-level battle?"

That battle was a plot against her master... Fortunately, no one died, otherwise I don't know if Little White Hair would turn against her. But Little White Hair probably wasn't familiar with those elders...

Dugu Qingli also glanced at him and roughly guessed what he was thinking, but actually didn't care.

My disciples...except for my master, I hardly ever met anyone else. I have no feelings for them. Even when I met them, they would just frown at me, a white-haired, blue-eyed monster.

Who cares about them.

In this world, it seems that Lu Xingzhou is the only one who thinks this is beautiful... Even Shen Tang doesn't care, rather than thinking it is beautiful.

But isn't this because Lu Xingzhou is weird?

Sheng Yuanyao didn't believe Lu Xingzhou's nonsense and said angrily, "Let's do this first. Can you guys just be quiet from now on and stop making things difficult for me?"

Before he finished speaking, a merchant guard came running in from outside and said hurriedly, "Someone from the county is here, looking for Commander Sheng."

Sheng Yuanyao was very puzzled. When she went out, she saw several officials smiling and bowing to her: "Commander Sheng, congratulations on your promotion."

Sheng Yuanyao was puzzled: "What promotion?"

"The Ministry of Personnel believes that Commander Sheng has made great contributions in this battle and is familiar with the specific circumstances, so they plan to have Commander Sheng temporarily assume the position of Xiazhou City Lord."

Sheng Yuanyao was shocked. "My Demon Suppression Division is independent and not subordinate to the other officials! Besides, I don't know anything about government affairs, so how can I be the city lord? Isn't this ridiculous?"

"It's just a temporary appointment, to quickly stabilize the situation. Once this matter is over, Commander Sheng will definitely promote you to County Commander..."

Sheng Yuanyao pinched her forehead, unable to complain.

I wanted to go back to Beijing, but not only could I not go back, I also had to take over as the city lord.

But I can roughly imagine what's going on. Apart from anything else, why the demons appeared here is still unclear. What if there are stronger ones? The position of city lord is a hot potato in the short term, and no one wants to touch it for the time being.

It was her father who was keeping her here, who had no idea what he was thinking. The higher-ups, seeing the situation, felt it would be best to let her do it for a while, as continuing to investigate the demon case was in line with her duties, and they didn't expect her to do any government work.

Seeing her expression, the county officials knew she understood, and they all smiled and said, "Congratulations, City Lord Sheng! You've become City Lord before the age of twenty, making you the youngest City Lord in this dynasty... Since everyone is here today, how about we hold a banquet at Zuixian Tower to congratulate City Lord Sheng on his great promotion?"

Sheng Yuanyao didn't have the strength to speak anymore: "Whatever."

After watching Sheng Yuanyao being escorted away by a group of people, Dugu Qingli asked, "Is this what you and Shen Tang meant by waiting for the city lord's appointment?"

"I didn't expect it to be her... But if it's her, things will be much easier. It's obvious that Sheng Yuanyao has been secretly watching over you all this time."

"Did not see it."

Lu Xingzhou smiled and didn't explain much. His main focus was on regulating the fire in his dan.

Dugu Qingli looked at him with a slightly worried look and asked in a low voice, "You don't dare to refine the bone pill?"

"It's like feeling homesick... Be cautious and take it one step at a time."

Dugu Qingli hesitated for a moment and said, "Have you ever heard of a bone-replacing method? I always feel that it would be more suitable for your condition. Your bones really can be useful even if they are not connected."

Lu Xingzhou was a little lost in thought: "I've heard of it... To put it bluntly, it's just making prosthetic limbs, using various treasures to refine into bones... But this seems a bit extravagant to me, I haven't expected it."

Dugu Qingli said, "It's not just prosthetic limbs. Years ago, some people would seek out the abandoned lands of ancient immortals and demons, using their bones to replace their own. Even those with intact limbs would deliberately do so, after all, because such immortal fortunes could create a stronger foundation for cultivation. However, these days, it's rare to hear of such secret places. There haven't been any in recent years."

"Yes, over the years, all the places we should have found have been explored by various forces. It would be such a stroke of luck to encounter such a good fortune. I never expected it. The Yama Palace intelligence network has been built for so long, but no similar places have been found in all these years." Dugu Qingli hesitated, but did not say it out loud.

In fact, this kind of thing is possessed by the royal family and in holy places as well.

However, Shen Tang couldn't possibly ask the royal family for such a thing in her current situation. Dugu Qingli was somewhat qualified to ask her master for some treasures, but on what grounds? The reason was not enough. There was no way her master would agree to a treasure of this level.

Frankly, Master probably didn't want Shen Tang's leg to be healed. After all, a disabled state would have been more conducive to her hiding her true self. Otherwise, he should have secretly sent the medicine a while ago. Why would he have waited until Lu Xingzhou could treat her...

Besides, no one knows whether the collections of the royal family and the holy land are suitable for Lu Xingzhou. This kind of thing depends on fate and cannot be given to everyone.

The two of them were silent. After a while, the alchemy furnace shook slightly.

Lu Xingzhou gathered his thoughts and carefully adjusted the fire in his elixir.

Not long after, the furnace lid jumped slightly, and a pill slowly floated out.

Sixth-grade tendon-repairing pill, of top quality.

This alone meant Lu Xingzhou's level as a sixth-grade alchemist was already high. He was proficient in both formulating and refining the pills, which was enough to qualify him for a rank assessment. Being an alchemist was a profession that required a great deal of experience, and at his age, a sixth-grade practitioner wouldn't be any easier than Dugu Qingli's fifth-grade cultivation.

Perhaps there was still some gap between him and Chen Jinnian? After all, there was a gap in age and experience. Lu Xingzhou might not have seen as many patients as Chen Jinnian had... but it was still quite impressive.

They said they were geniuses in cultivation, but in reality, Lu Xingzhou was also a genius in all aspects, but was limited by his body and was stuck here. Dugu Qingli didn't dare to imagine how Lu Xingzhou would soar to the sky if he solved the problem.

By that day, can Shen Tang really keep him?

Perhaps the King of Hell did not treat his leg because he felt that once he was freed from his shackles, he would turn into a dragon and ascend to heaven, and there would be no way to stop him.

Lu Xingzhou put away the pills, feeling much better, and moved to the window to mix the external application medicine. Glancing at Dugu Qingli, he smiled and said, "What are you thinking about?"

Dugu Qingli was about to answer when his heart moved slightly and he drew his sword.

A figure suddenly flashed by, avoiding her sword and appeared beside her: "Wait!"

Dugu Qingli stood guard beside Lu Xingzhou, staring coldly at the newcomer: "Who are you?"

The visitor bowed and said, "I am the Huo family's worshiper, Edward Yang. Nice to meet you two."

Lu Xingzhou's expression remained unchanged: "Since you're here, why are you hiding and observing from the sidelines? What are you trying to do?"

Of course, Edward Yang came here to secretly observe whether this person might be Huo Shang. He was also an old man in the Huo family and recognized Huo Shang.

But the trouble is, Huo Shang was only eight years old when he died, making it difficult to compare his appearance to that of a younger man. Huo Yu recognized Lu Xingzhou as Huo Qing because they were of similar age and had even bullied each other as children, giving him a vague memory. How could anyone else possibly remember what other children from the mountains looked like? Edward Yang had never even met Huo Qing.

After observing secretly for a long time, he felt that he was somewhat similar to Huo Shang, but he could not confirm it completely. Instead, he was slightly moved when he saw that he had successfully refined the sixth-grade elixir and even the best one, and his aura was detected by Dugu Qingli.

Edward Yang thought for a moment and said, "Young Master has already entered the Huo family's sight. In fact, some things may as well be open and honest. If Young Master is not the Seventh Young Master, then the Huo family really has no premise for any contact with Young Master. We should just live in peace. If he is indeed the Seventh Young Master, blood is thicker than water. What hatred can't be resolved?"

Lu Xingzhou smiled and asked, "How do we resolve this?"

To Edward Yang, this was tantamount to direct admission. He smiled and took out a land deed, "It is said that the Shen Company rented this land to you, young master. Since your land is adjacent to the Huo residence, perhaps you would like it?"

Lu Xingzhou laughed: "That old house is already a haunted house. The Huo family will either leave it there forever, or it will be worthless if they want to sell it. Is this what you call recycling?"

Yang Dechang said with a chuckle, "Young Master, you've underestimated it... This vast expanse of farmland outside, including the hills behind, is all included in this deed. It's more than just a house."

Lu Xingzhou was silent for a moment. "Let's settle the bill. I'll pay for it, and you can name your price."

"Why bother? Even if you're not the Seventh Young Master, we can still be friends." Yang Dechang left the deed and suddenly disappeared. "I'll have a drink with you again someday, young master..."

Before he could finish the word "Huan", a gold ingot suddenly appeared in front of him with a talisman stuck on it.

Teleporting Talisman.

Yang Dechang felt a chill in his heart. This was such perfect control of the spell... If this was a magical weapon that suddenly exploded, he might suffer.

He subconsciously caught the ingot in his hand, and heard Lu Xingzhou's cold voice behind him: "No merit, no reward... That's it, please return."

Dugu Qingli glanced at Lu Xingzhou and said, "How can you have the nerve to say that you want to exchange a gold ingot for such a large piece of land..."

Lu Xingzhou leaned back in his chair, his voice cold, "We said it was a done deal, but I just didn't want them to think they were giving me something. Trying to settle the grudge with this little bit of interest... that's wishful thinking."

(End of this chapter)