Nonsense! How could my adopted son be a villain?

Because Lan Jian agreed to go with him, Xu Lingguang rested for two days before preparing to go to Mangya.

However, this time when he went out, Xu Lingguang brought the cubs with him.

The cubs were overjoyed to be going out with Xu Lingguang. They started preparing even before they left, packing their favorite pillows and toys into their little bags.

Yu Rong and Yun Feng, in particular, were both amazed and envious when they heard Mu Yun boast about his adventures with Xu Lingguang in Fengling City.

Now that they could finally go out, the little ones immediately became proud and no longer envied Mu Yun.

Yu Rong grumbled, "Fengling City is nothing special. I've heard that Fufeng City is the capital, much bigger and more powerful!"

Mu Yun tilted his head back, thinking that he was already a worldly-wise rat and couldn't stoop to the level of a clueless little rascal like Yu Rong. So he shook his head and said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've been to all of those places!"

Yu Rong slapped her paw in dissatisfaction, turned around angrily, and climbed into the carriage, refusing to talk to him anymore.

Xu Lingguang watched the children's childish bickering, trying hard to suppress his laughter, and turned to look at Lan Jian: "Can you transform into human form?"

Because he was traveling with his cubs, Xu Lingguang wasn't in a rush. He planned to take a carriage to Fufeng City at a leisurely pace, enjoying the local customs and culture of Shangyang Continent along the way, treating it as a vacation.

The cubs were given shapeshifting pills in advance, so they wouldn't attract attention in the carriage.

However, Lan Jian was such a large Chenghuang. Even now, with its size reduced, it is still quite eye-catching.

If they went out like this, they wouldn't even have to go far; just entering Qingyu City would cause a sensation.

Lan Jian understood his implied meaning and said somewhat guiltily, "I don't like human form."

After hesitating for a moment, his figure suddenly shrank, becoming about the same size as Yu Rong and Yun Feng.

Its fur was silvery-white, and the horns on its back were tucked in. Apart from its golden eyes, which clearly indicated that it was no ordinary creature, it looked like an exceptionally beautiful spirit fox at first glance.

Xu Lingguang stared at him in surprise, his eyes wide, and couldn't help but rub his hands together.

Perhaps because he had gotten much closer to Lan Jian these past two days, he boldly suggested, "Shall I carry you to the carriage?"

Lan Jian glanced at him and nodded.

Xu Lingguang couldn't wait to hug him.

Lan Jian, who has grown to about the size of a cub, is so adorable, and feels incredibly fluffy and soft when you hold her.

Xu Lingguang slowly moved to the carriage, and when he put Lan Jian down, he was still a little reluctant. He secretly touched her a couple more times before placing Lan Jian among the cubs.

Lan Jian didn't feel any discomfort with his body size change at all. On the contrary, the cubs were extremely excited to see their older brother become about the same size as them.

Yu Rong kicked her hind legs, let out a howl, and pounced on Lan Jian's back, excitedly rubbing against him.

Not wanting to be left behind, Yun Feng quickly followed suit and pounced upwards as well.

A step too slow, Zhaoling turned her little head and looked around. When she realized there was no room for her on Lanjian's back, she spread her wings and tried to burrow into Lanjian's chest, kicking her claws as she tried to squeeze her round body under Lanjian's armpit.

Mu Yun was originally a little afraid of Lan Jian, but now that Lan Jian has shrunk and is not as intimidating as before, he was tempted and followed Zhao Ling to take advantage of the situation and also went into the furry place.

Only Youyu sat obediently to the side.

He glanced at it again and again, his ears popping out uncontrollably and twitching.

Finally, unable to resist, he reverted to his original form and found an empty spot to lie down next to Lan Jian.

Lan Jian was engulfed by a group of cubs with a blank expression. Her tail slapped impatiently, but she couldn't shake the cubs off her.

Xu Lingguang secretly observed from the side, barely managing to suppress his laughter before jumping onto the carriage, patting the horse's rump, and signaling to go down the mountain.

After descending the mountain, Xu Lingguang made his usual trip to Qianjinlou to inquire about information from Manager Zhao.

Since we're going to Fufeng City, we should at least learn a little about the situation there so we can be prepared.

When Manager Zhao heard that he was going to Fufeng City, he immediately looked worried: "Fufeng City hasn't been very peaceful lately, why are you going there at this time?"

Xu Lingguang was caught off guard by this unfortunate timing: "Why is things not peaceful?"

Manager Zhao said, "It's said that a demon has infiltrated the city, and now the whole city is under martial law to capture that demon."

Xu Lingguang was somewhat surprised: "How could the demon race have infiltrated Fufeng City?"

He now understands this world very well; for example, the demon race is universally hated in the Shangyang Continent.

The reason why the human-faced spider named Zhu Sanniang dared to run rampant near Qingyu City was simply because something happened to the Qingyu Sect, and there was no one to guard Qingyu City for the time being.

Later, the imperial court dispatched General Yu Xian to defend the city, and Qingyu City was at peace, with no further trouble arising.

Moreover, this general guarding the city was exceptionally capable. It was later said that he had also uncovered two other spider-faced creatures lurking in the city and executed them in public, which won him the hearts of the people.

Furthermore, during the aftermath of the events in Fengling City, Xu Lingguang had some contact with people from the imperial court. He discovered that these officials and soldiers were actually no less powerful than cultivators.

As the capital of Shangyang Kingdom, Fufeng City should be more heavily guarded, and it is impossible for the demon race to run rampant.

Shopkeeper Zhao said, "I heard that this time the demon's abilities are extremely strange. Magical artifacts cannot detect its whereabouts, and no one has witnessed its true form. However, many people have already died in the Princess Huai'an's mansion. It seems that the demon was targeting the princess. The matter has escalated and alarmed the Western Prime Minister and the palace, which is why the whole city is under martial law."

"This Princess Huai'an is the wife of Yu Xian, the general guarding Qingyu City. A few days ago, General Yu rushed back to Fufeng City after hearing the news."

"The city gates weren't completely sealed off, but the checks on people coming and going were much stricter, with easy entry but strict exit."

"This is indeed quite unfortunate."

Xu Lingguang thought about it and figured he was just going to Mangya and then on the way to Fufeng City.

We'll go to Fufeng City first and take a look. If things aren't going well, we can simply skip it and visit the surrounding cities instead.

After bidding farewell to Manager Zhao, Xu Lingguang left the city.

To travel from Qingyu City to Fufeng City, one must head northeast, passing through six cities of varying sizes, including Junan City, Pingning City, and Yanling Prefecture, before finally reaching Fufeng City.

Junan City, which they passed through, was rich in spiritual herbs and had many alchemists, making it a famous alchemy city on the Shangyang Continent.

I heard that the Gongyang family, who guards the city, is not some kind of immortal cultivation sect, but rather a powerful local family.

The Gongyang family excels at cultivating rare spiritual herbs. The clan has trained many alchemists and has also recruited alchemists from all over the country as their students or retainers. Over time, the city has become a famous alchemy city in the Shangyang Continent, attracting many alchemists from all over the country. Many small sects have also attached themselves to it.

Xu Lingguang himself was an untrained alchemist. Since transmigrating, the only living alchemist he had ever met was Master Liuzhu, so he was naturally very interested in other alchemists.

Therefore, he planned to stay in Junan City for a few days when he passed through it, to broaden his horizons.

Otherwise, if you keep working in isolation, you won't know how good your alchemy skills really are.

Furthermore, he wanted to find a skilled alchemist in Junan City to help him refine pills. Although Master Liuzhu had given him the pill formula, his cultivation level was limited, and he couldn't refine them himself in a short time, so he could only find someone else to refine them.