Incense Valley

  Tian Xiang Ju

  This is a quiet place deep in the valley of incense, built tightly against the mountain range. Three sides are surrounded by high walls, with only the front gate slightly ajar, making it impossible to see what's inside.

  Although the incense valley has undergone such a huge change in recent days, there is still no disciple of the incense valley nearby, because this place is the residence of Yun Yilan, the master of the incense valley, and also his closed place.

  Since Yun Yiluan started her closed-door meditation, this place has been forbidden to all disciples of Fengxiang Valley. Of course, the outer disciples of Fengxiang Valley are naturally defending like a copper wall and iron wall. Those who can enter Tianxiangju, except for Shangguan Ce, who has always been deeply trusted by Yun Yiluan, only his personal disciple Li Xuan can come and go freely and meet his master.

  As for others including Lu Shun of the older generation, they were also banned from entering and leaving.

  Even if the Xiangxi Valley's Xuanyu Altar was infiltrated and the nine-tailed celestial fox that had been suppressed for 300 years was released, or even if the legendary Xuanyu Mirror of the valley appeared, Yun Yiluan did not leave the pass, instead letting Shangguan Ce take charge.

  What door did he close in that small courtyard?

  This question has been lingering in the minds of many disciples of Valley of Burning Incense from time to time.

  The sky gradually brightened up, Shangguan Ce pushed open the door in the early morning with a slightly damp air, walked in, and then closed the door.

  What appeared before his eyes was a small courtyard he had long been familiar with, several Bodhi trees swaying gently in the morning breeze, except for a narrow path in the middle, the surroundings were all lush green grass. Nothing else existed besides this.

  One of the leaders of the three major factions of Tianxia Zhengdao, but his residence seems simple and unadorned.

  At the end of the small path, there was a two-story house with white tiles and gray walls, built against the mountain. The door made of tung tree wood was painted purple and was also slightly ajar.

  Shangguan Ce walked over, pushed open the door and closed it again.

  The surroundings suddenly fell silent, as if all the worldly noise had been locked outside by his raised hand.

  The room was empty, with only a few pieces of simple furniture, and there seemed to be a thin layer of dust on the tables and chairs.

  Shangguan Ce settled his mind, walked straight to the inner room, came to a cabinet, pulled open the left drawer, and reached in as if turning something. A moment later, a low voice sounded from behind him.

  The entire wall slowly retreated to the right, revealing a hard rocky cliff and a narrow passageway carved out in the middle that could only accommodate one person.

  Shangguan Ce didn't hesitate, and walked in. His figure disappeared into the dark passageway, and soon the door slowly closed again, leaving no trace behind.

  In the dark passageway, every now and then there were stones the size of goose eggs that emitted a glow, illuminating the way. And as he walked, he didn't feel any suffocating sensation, naturally there must be another ventilation channel here.

  The passageway wasn't long, and he soon arrived at his destination, a stone chamber roughly the same size as the room outside. The chamber was empty except for a screen standing in the middle, blocking his view.

  Suddenly, from behind the screen, a very old voice came out: "Is it Upper Official's younger brother?"

  Shangguan Ce took two steps forward and stopped about four or five steps away from the screen, saying respectfully: "Yes, Shixiong, how is your body?"

  That voice seems to be Yun Yilan, the master of Fengxiang Valley, who is famous for moving heaven and earth. I don't know why, but the voice of this righteous giant, who was once on par with Dao Xuanzhenren of Qingyunmen and Pu Hong Dashi of Tianyin Temple, now sounds almost like a dying old man with depleted energy and insufficient vitality.

  He seemed to chuckle softly and said lightly: "My body? It's fine, just like this, waiting for death slowly."

  Shangguan Ce's face changed, his expression was complex, and he was about to say something when Yun Yiluan's weak voice interrupted him: "What's going on?"

  Shangguan Ce sank into thought for a moment, then said: "It's probably been figured out. The one who secretly stirred up the fish people that night was Jinping'er of the Mojiao Hehuan Sect. It seems she was seeking revenge because her sect members were killed by the fish people in the Dead Marsh."

  Yun Yiluan fell silent for a moment behind the screen, her voice suddenly dropping as she said, "Then did she have any inkling of our secretly planned grand affair?"

  Shangguan Ce's body suddenly paused for a moment, and in this brief instant, the voice from behind the screen was filled with majesty.

  "Not yet, in my opinion."

  "That's good," Yun Yilan visibly breathed a sigh of relief, saying: "Otherwise, if the matter leaks out, years of hard work will be wasted."

  Shangguan Ce nodded and said, "Don't worry, Brother."

  Yun Yi Lan paused for a moment and said: "Has the person who sneaked into the Xuanhuo Altar and let loose the nine-tailed heavenly fox demon been found out yet?"

  Shangguan Ce said, "Last night, Li Xun's disciple and Ke Ruhui were tracking down Jin Ping'er near the Tianshui stronghold. They returned this morning to report that the Ghost King of the Demon Sect, Gui Li, also appeared there, launching a sneak attack, which resulted in Ke Ruhui being ambushed and killed. Fortunately, Lu Xueqi from the Qingyun Gate happened to be passing by on his way to the Southern Border to inquire about Shixiong, and lent a helping hand, allowing them to escape the joint attack of the two demons."

  "Ghostly fierce?" Yun Yi Lan's voice paused for a moment, then said: "Could it be that Zhang Xiao Fan who betrayed Qingyun ten years ago?"

  Shangguan Ce nodded and said, "It's that person. In the past, the battle at Qingyun Mountain shook the world. Zhang Xiaofan rebelled against Qingyun and in just a short decade, his Dao line has made rapid progress. Now he is already the number one general under the Ghost King."

  Yun Yi Lan snorted and said: "Dao Xuan is an old fellow, his age is advanced, his brain is a bit muddled, he has such talent but can't use it."

  Shangguan Ce smiled and said, "Li Xuan's disciple came back and told me that he suspected the person who sneaked into the Xuanhuo Altar that night was indeed Gui Lie. To rescue the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox, without our secret incantation from the Valley of Burning Incense, the only way to unlock the seal of the Xuanhuo Furnace would be to use the Xuanhuo Mirror made from the essence of ten thousand fires. In his opinion, it's likely that the Xuanhuo Mirror is on Gui Lie's body."

  Yun Yiluan fell silent for a moment before suddenly asking: "What do you think?"

  Shangguan Ce was behind the screen, his face changed slightly, and after a moment he said respectfully: "I also think it's very likely."

  Yun Yi Lan's voice came from behind the screen, saying: "When I met Dao Xuan Lao Dao back then, he claimed to be a reputable and orthodox sect, always holding onto the idea of 'rather let go than kill wrongly', and boasted about it to me. Do you still remember?"

  Shangguan Ce was taken aback, but nodded and said: "That's right, I was also by Shixiong's side at that time, I remember it clearly, Daoxuan Zhenren indeed said so."

  Yun Yi Lan smiled faintly and said, "But I saw ten years ago, on the Tongtian Peak of Qingyun Mountain, when he used the Exterminating Immortal Ancient Sword to slash at that disciple named Zhang Xiaofan, what was his mood then? I'm afraid it's already been 'rather kill mistakenly than let go'!"

  Shangguan Ce was silent and did not speak.

  Yun Yiluan smiled softly and said, "You go! It's better for you to take charge of things here."

  Shangguan Ce hesitated for a moment before asking: "What about Gui Lai...?"

  Yun Yi Lan's voice came clearly from behind the screen.

  "It is better to kill by mistake than to let the guilty escape!"

  Shangguan Ce's facial muscles twitched, and he nodded immediately, saying: "Yes."

  Having said that, he turned and left.

  He disappeared into the dark passage soon after, and a low mechanical sound was heard a moment later, apparently he had opened the secret door to leave.

  In the quiet stone room, Yun Yiluan's laughter suddenly rang out, with a hint of desolation and a hint of mockery: "You attribute all your thoughts to Xun'er, saying that he thought of it, thinking I don't know? Three hundred years ago you lost the Xuanyin Mirror due to dereliction of duty, but three hundred years later, junior brother! You still haven't made any progress!"

  "Hehe, hehe......"

  A bleak and desolate laughter echoed slowly in the cold stone chamber.

  Leaving Tianxiangju, Shangguan Ce walked out of that door, and for some reason, with his cultivation, he also involuntarily let out a sigh of relief.

  He calmed himself, pondered for a moment, and then walked out. The familiar twists and turns led him to the front of a rather majestic hall. On the sign above the door were three characters:

  Mountain River Hall

  This name matches this magnificent and majestic hall, it really has a bit of an overbearing flavor, I don't know if the ancestors of Fengxiang Valley thought about having a day when they built this hall to meet guests, with the taste of surpassing all under heaven.

  Shangguan Ce thought so in his heart and slowly walked in.

  Inside the hall, there were people sitting, except for a few standing incense valley disciples on one side. The guests here were mainly orthodox Taoists who came to ask about Li Xuan's well-being, with around ten or so people in total. Li Xuan was sitting among them, keeping each other company.

  In Shangguan Ce's eyes, however, the most important ones were actually the two people sitting at the very top.

  Lu Xueqi

  Dharmalakshana

  These two outstanding disciples of the two great schools of today, coming out to represent their respective schools, so although they are not as old as some other older people, their positions are actually in front.

  Fa Xiang still wore a white monk's robe, with a gentle smile on his face, chatting and laughing with Li Xu. He responded elegantly. As for Li Xu, he had known Fa Xiang for a long time, and meeting him again brought some joy. Their conversation was pleasant, but during their talk, his gaze would occasionally glance at Lu Xueqi sitting beside Fa Xiang.

  Shangguan Ce saw all this and, as he walked into the hall, everyone stood up one after another. Shangguan Ce smiled and returned the courtesy, walking to his seat, his eyes inadvertently glancing at Lu Xueqi and Fa Xiang.

  The two of them bowed to him simultaneously, Lu Xueqi remained silent, while Fa Xiang smiled and said: "It's been many years since we last met, Officer Shang's health is as robust as ever, truly a rare thing."

  Shangguan Ce shook his head and chuckled: "Old, old, already useless." After speaking, he stretched out his hand to invite everyone to sit down.

  He thought to himself that over the years, Fa Xiang's reputation in Tianyin Temple and Tiandao had been rising like the sun, and all parties had recognized him as the next abbot of Tianyin Temple. Therefore, it was not unexpected that he represented Tianyin Temple and Master Pu Hong this time.

  But on the side of Qingyun Mountain, it seems that they have heard that Xiaoyi, a disciple of Changmen, is actually the young disciple most valued by Daoxuan Zhenren. Of course, in recent years, Lu Xueqi's reputation has also been extremely brilliant and powerful, plus her stunning beauty, making her the talk of the town among cultivators all over the world.

  Shangguan Ce's mind was racing with thoughts, secretly speculating that the Qingyunmen sect had sent Lu Xueqi for some other purpose. However, he wouldn't reveal anything on his face and continued as usual, smiling at everyone: "Everyone, I'm Shangguan Ce, and I'd like to express my gratitude to all of you for your concern about our valley. The volcanic eruption the other day was indeed a normal change in the heavens and earth. Thanks to your blessings, our valley hasn't suffered any damage."

  Fashang smiled and said, "Amitabha, this is for the best. However, I heard that there are rumors circulating about Cloud Easy's safety, so my master Pu Hong sent me to pay his respects to Elder Yun."

  As soon as he spoke, it turned out that he had spoken out the thoughts in the minds of most people present. After all, the actions of the Valley of Burning Incense were strange, especially after such a big event, the master of the valley, Yun Yilun, had not appeared at all, which was indeed puzzling.

  At this moment, everyone echoed in agreement and focused their attention on Shangguan Ce.

  Shangguan Ce smiled and said: "Actually, I won't hide it from you all, I just came from the Valley Master's residence 'Tian Xiang Ju'."

  The crowd's "ahs" and "ohs" suddenly erupted, filling the air. After waiting for the crowd to calm down slightly, Shangguan Ce stood up, bowed his hands to everyone, and smiled: "Everyone's concern is appreciated, I have already reported it to Master Yu one by one, and Master Yu is very grateful in his heart. However, Master Yun is indeed in a critical moment of closed-door training and cannot come out to meet guests, which is an offense, please forgive him."

  Having said that, he smiled and clasped his fists, while Li Xuan beside him also stood up and bowed together with him.

  Everyone looked at each other in dismay, and after a moment, Fa Xiang stood up with a smile on his face, saying: "Since both of you have said so, I'm sure Yun Lao must be safe and sound. We can now put our minds at ease. It's really inconvenient for us to intrude here."

  Shangguan Ce and Li Xuan said in unison: "No, no."

  Fa Xiang glanced at Lu Xueqi beside him, but saw that the woman beside him had no expression on her face, as cold as ice, especially her complexion was almost pale and translucent, with a hint of desolation.

  Fa Xiang smiled wryly in his heart, knowing that Lu Xueqi would never speak up on her own initiative. For the time being, he had to speak on her behalf, saying: "Elder Yun's body is healthy, which is the best outcome. Also, earlier Li Xuan Shixiong said that this time there seems to be a demonic cult taking advantage of the chaos, I wonder if there's anywhere we can help?"

  Shangguan Ce sank into thought for a moment, then said: "The demonic cult's wicked people are full of tricks, and they love to take advantage of others' misfortunes. They took advantage of the natural disaster to secretly attack our valley, which is truly detestable. Fortunately, we defended ourselves tightly and drove them out of the valley. Although this matter cannot be let go easily, for now, we can't find their whereabouts. The Tianxiang Valley sent out many disciples, but up until today, except for some minor characters, only Li Xuan's nephew and Lu Xueqi were able to track down the demonic cult's Hehuan branch's Jinping'er last night, but unfortunately, she escaped again. Now we don't know how to continue investigating."

  Fa Xiang furrowed his brow, and the others also couldn't speak up. Moreover, the Demon Sect was now powerful, and Jin Ping'er was a famous fierce woman in the world. Some low-level righteous cultivators might not dare to provoke her either.

  But Fengxiang Valley here, due to various reasons, is actually unwilling for other factions to intervene.

  At this moment, Officer Zhang gave Li Xuan a glance, and Li Xuan understood, took a step forward, cupped his hands and said: "Thank you all for your kindness, but Tongxiang Valley will do its best to investigate this matter thoroughly, even if it takes time, so please don't bother..."

  "Wait!"

  Suddenly, a cold voice came from beside him.

  Everyone was stunned and turned back to look, only to find that it was Lu Xueqi, the icy woman who had been silent all along.

  This woman, who is high and cold in the eyes of the world, has a frosty face, but in her originally cold eyes, there is now a faintly flowing soft light, and it's unknown what she is thinking in her heart.

  "Those demonic cult members," her voice echoed in everyone's ears, "most of them went to a place called 'Seven Li Fort'."

  Others suddenly burst into a flurry of discussion, but Li Xu's body shook, and his eyes gazed at Lu Xueqi with an unusual expression.

  "Last night, when I was fighting against those demonic cult witches with Li Xuan, we both heard the witch Jin Ping'er say to... Her voice paused for a moment before continuing normally, saying: 'to the Ghost King of the Demonic Cult, Gui Lie, about "Qī Lǐ Dàng"'s three words."

  Shangguan's eyebrows furrowed as he glanced at Li Xuan, who for some reason hadn't informed him of this news.

  In the grand hall, everyone's eyes fell on Feng Xiang Gu and others for a moment. Shangguan Ce's mind turned, and he smiled: "I didn't expect Miss Lu to have a clue. Since that's the case, I'll send someone to investigate immediately. As for you fellow Taoists, it's not necessary for you to go, after all, this is Nanjiang, and you're just here to pay your respects to our Valley Master. So, I appreciate your kind intentions."

  Everyone responded in unison.

  Li Xun stood quietly behind Shangguan Ce, looking towards Lu Xueqi. Last night he had been tracking Jin Ping'er, first because Jin Ping'er's skills were not inferior to his own, and secondly because Jin Ping'er was cunning and had used multiple tricks to shake him off. When he thought of Lu Xueqi still being in the abandoned Tian Shui stronghold, facing off against Gui Li of the Demon Sect, he hurried back.

  Unexpectedly, on the way, he met Lu Xueqi who was riding a sword back. After meeting, he couldn't help but be shocked. At that time, Lu Xueqi seemed to have lost her soul, her face was pale and bloodless, and her white clothes had some crimson stains, which were actually bloodstains.

  He panicked and shouted repeatedly, which seemed to have called Lu Xueqi back from her strange mood, but she just looked at him silently for two eyes and then went straight back to the incense valley.

  What exactly happened between this icy woman and that ghostly fierce man who was once her fellow disciple in the abandoned Tiānshuǐ mountain stronghold?

  Is it a fierce battle? Is it a conversation?

  For some reason, as soon as Li Xun thought of this, a wave of inexplicable anger surged up in his heart.

  His complexion changed with his thoughts, and all of these did not escape the eyes of Shangguan Zhen and Fa Xiang.

  These two people, however, didn't say a word, but wore smiles on their faces and chatted happily.

  Finally, the other sects decided to return. Because of their deep relationship with Huo Xiang Gu and the news was provided by Lu Xue Qi, Lu Xue Qi and Fa Xiang stayed behind and went to Qi Li Dang with the people sent by Huo Xiang Gu to take a good look.

  And almost at the same time, Gui Li and Xiao Bai appeared in front of Ma Tou Shan with Xiao Hui.

  Looking at this mountain resembling a horse's head, Xiaobai smiled and said: "It is said that there is a deep cave on this mountain, where the dog god worshipped by the Miao people lives. At the foot of the mountain, there is a narrow mountain path that can only accommodate one person walking, and after entering, it is the seven-li stockade where the Miao people live."

  He looked at the high mountain in front of him with a stern expression, without saying a word, and walked forward silently. From last night to now, he hasn't said a single word.

  Xiao Bai stood behind him, looking at his back, but a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. He turned his head and patted Xiao Hui who was perched on his shoulder, smiling: "Then let's go."

  Xiao Hui chirped twice, grinned, and suddenly jumped down from her shoulder, ran three steps forward, and swooped up onto Gui Li's shoulder with a whoosh, sat down, and turned around to wave at Xiao Bai.

  Xiaobai slightly shook her head and smiled lightly, following after him.