Hidden Dragon Ridge.

When viewed from the front, the long and narrow Hidden Dragon Ridge looked like a gigantic dragon lying across the plains, and it exuded a sense of pressure.

A carriage was traveling at full speed along the b.u.mpy road.

It drove straight forward and soon arrived at the foot of Hidden Dragon Ridge.

Without an official road, however, it wasn't easy to travel around Hidden Dragon Ridge, and the carriage had quite a rough ride.

Soon, the carriage parked. The coachman was sweating profusely.

Lv Mudui stepped off the carriage, holding his green bamboo staff. He told the coachman to wait for him.

While rubbing the three copper coins around his neck, Lv Mudui studied Hidden Dragon Ridge, which really did look like an enormous dragon. As if a pair of intimidating eyes were staring at him, he felt incredible pressure as he gazed at Hidden Dragon Ridge. Even his fingers grasping the coins were slightly trembling.

"Is there really an Immortal encounter in Hidden Dragon Ridge?"

Lv Mudui took a deep breath. Wearing a white gown and a pair of straw shoes, his bamboo staff in hand, he marched toward the ridge faster than a horse.

He walked for quite some time along the rugged path in the hill, and the sense of pressure grew even stronger.

From a distance...

A very tanned local man carrying a bamboo basket on his back jumped out of the woods with a panicked expression on his face.

This caught Lv Mudui's attention, and he walked up to the local man.

"Run! Hurry! There's a monster coming out of the mountain!" the man shouted. "That monster eats people!"

The local man was an honest, simple fellow. He patiently described the strange things going on deep in the mountain.

Lv Mudui's eyebrows furrowed tightly, and he grew more and more serious.

Seeing that despite everything he said, Lv Mudui still wanted to go into the mountain, the local man turned around and left in terror.

He soon disappeared from Lv Mudui's line of sight.

Lv Mudui took a deep breath. He continued to walk further into the mountain while slightly tapping his bamboo staff against the ground.

Inside the deep, serene Hidden Dragon Ridge, strange howling and growling sounds startled the birds, and they all took off in fear.

Finally, Lv Mudui arrived at the spot where, according to the local man, there was something incredibly weird and horrifying.

The trees were gone, and in their place was a deep, gigantic hole.

Lv Mudui was in disbelief. His eyes reflected the l.u.s.ter from the giant deep hole. A light-blue, egg-shaped sh.e.l.l covered the hole, and it glowed splendidly.

The sense of pressure was coming from the "eggsh.e.l.l."

Lv Mudui trembled with excitement.

Immortal encounter!

The Immortal encounter that Young Master Lu mentioned... was really here!

Lv Mudui slowly walked forward. Faced with the prospect of Immortal encounter, he almost wasn't his usual self.

He walked up to the light-blue "eggsh.e.l.l."

The "eggsh.e.l.l" was somewhat see-through. Staring at it, Lv Mudui could see a blurred but magnificent gate inside. It was the entrance to the underground palace!

The Secret Realm of Immortal encounter had to be inside!

Young Master Lu hadn't lied to him.

Lv Mudui's face flushed red. He kept trying to get closer to the light blue "eggsh.e.l.l," attempting to see what the underground palace inside the "eggsh.e.l.l" looked like.

When suddenly...

A dark shadow appeared on the other side of the "eggsh.e.l.l."

A largely white eyeball abruptly showed up on the other side of the "eggsh.e.l.l" and stared right back at Lv Mudui.

Lv Mudui instantly felt a cold s.h.i.+ver go down his spine.

A morbid sense of pressure came from the other side of the "eggsh.e.l.l."

Buzz...

The air, as if rippling, went through Lv Mudui's body.

"Barf!" He spat out blood.

His white gown was stained with blood as he staggered back, his bamboo staff in hand, a fearful expression on his face...

"Indeed, the 'eggsh.e.l.l' must be the protection for the Immortal encounter. Without what Young Master Lu called 'Heaven Qi Plaques' or 'Earth Qi Plaques,' no one is allowed to enter the gate," Lv Mudui immediately concluded.

His fear was followed by ecstasy.

The Immortal encounter was real!

He burst out laughing like a madman in front of the "eggsh.e.l.l," then hurried to leave, his bamboo staff in hand.

The world was going to be shaken by this Immortal encounter.

...

On the side of Beiluo Lake.

The tension in the air dissolved.

Face down on the ground, Mo Liuqi pa.s.sed out in his own blood.

The Imperial Advisor's loose gown slightly moved in the wind. His back was soaked in cold sweat.

This a.s.sa.s.sin was something... he almost got him.

"Philosopher, how should we deal with the a.s.sa.s.sin?" Lu Fan asked, smiling.

He gazed at the Imperial Advisor as he sat in his wheelchair.

After all, the Imperial Advisor was the a.s.sa.s.sin's target, and it was the Imperial Advisor who had suffered the most from the a.s.sa.s.sin's unexpected moves. Therefore, it would be better to ask for the Imperial Advisor's opinion when it came to how the a.s.sa.s.sin should be dealt with.

The Imperial Advisor calmed down a little. He said with a smile, "Thanks to Ping'an, the a.s.sa.s.sin was stopped, so it's up to you as to what to do with him."

The Imperial Advisor was incredibly insightful. How could he tell that Lu Fan was intrigued by this a.s.sa.s.sin?

Lu Fan nodded. "Uncle Luo, please take this a.s.sa.s.sin to the cell. Later, I will interrogate him myself."

Luo Yue's heart was still pounding with fear, but when he heard what Lu Fan said, he hurriedly clasped his hands. "Yes," he said.

He then ordered someone to bind up Mo Liuqi and tie his hands behind his back.

When they were tying him up, a pearl hairpin fell off Mo Liuqi's waist.

Lu Fan beckoned, and the pearl hairpin flew into his hand.

It was a low-quality, cheap pearl hairpin with "Ah Zhu" carved on it. Lu Fan raised one eyebrow and glanced at Mo Liuqi.

The group packed up and made their way to Lu Manor.

Because of the a.s.sa.s.sination, the atmosphere on their way back was less relaxed than before.

At Lu Manor...

Jing Yue sat in a stone chair, bored, and played with his sword. He could support the standing sword with one finger, and the sword wouldn't move or fall.

In the center of the yard...

Mo Tianyu's hair was a total mess, and his lips were dry and chapped. The blood on his face was dry. He almost couldn't keep his eyes open.

"Don't fall asleep or you'll never wake up again. If you don't wake up, the Young Master will punish me when he comes back," Jing Yue said.

Jing Yue glanced at Mo Tianyu's head, which was sticking out of the ground.

"The top disciple of Confucianism ended up like this. What are we supposed to do with you?

"Tell me, why did you show off like that? What's wrong with living a low-profile life like I do? What's wrong with staying alive?

"You can't beat your opponent? Run! You can't run fast enough? Beg for mercy! Only staying alive can give you the chance to experience the future. That's called 'hope.'"

"You were lucky City Master Lu pleaded for you. Do you know what happened to the last guy who showed off like you did in front of the Young Master? His body's cold now. Alas..."

Jing Yue kept rambling as he played with his sword.

Mo Tianyu's face was flushed red with anger.

"Shut... shut..." Mo Tianyu weakly protested.

"What? You want me to shut up? Why didn't you tell me earlier? You didn't say anything. How was I supposed to know you wanted me to shut up?" Jing Yue said, still playing with his sword.

Mo Tianyu nearly stopped breathing.

He was already suffering, and yet they sent this chatterbox to drive him crazy.

Was Young Master Lu a monster?

Suddenly...

Jing Yue, who was about to continue arguing with Mo Tianyu, put his sword back into the sword box and stood up straight, a serious expression on his face.

Faint noises came from outside the small yard.

Lu Fan, still sitting in his wheelchair, showed up. The Imperial Advisor was also in Lu Fan's company and stood next to him.

The whole group arrived.

Mo Tianyu, whose head was the only visible part of his body, caught their attention immediately.

"Young Master!" Jing Yue had a flattering smile on his face even before he saw Lu Fan. "This guy isn't dead yet. Under my influence, he finally realized that life is amazing and managed to survive with his strong will. He's a miracle of life."

Lu Fan cast a glance at Jing Yue.

Lu Fan didn't know what to say about this absolutely shameless Sword Sect Grandmaster.

Seeing Mo Tianyu's pathetic situation, the Imperial Advisor stroked his beard and shook his head, a complicated expression on his face.

"This rascal made so much trouble for Ping'an. I apologize," the Imperial Advisor said.

Sitting in his wheelchair, Lu Fan smiled.

"Don't worry. It's not that much trouble to take care of Mo Tianyu."

Lu Fan was soon surrounded by light blue Qi flows.

His control of Spirit Pressure was now even more proficient.

The Spirit Pressure went underground.

Boom!

With a soft sound, Mo Tianyu's body was squeezed out of the ground and flew into the air.

"Jing Yue, catch him," Lu Fan said. He then withdrew the Spirit Pressure.

Jing Yue instantly leaped acrobatically into the air, sending the leaves in the yard whirling above the ground.

He took the falling Mo Tianyu into his arms, and the duo then slowly whirled down, the leaves dancing around them.