Chapter 93

The Zhenhai Pass is located on the western frontier, built against the mountains, and named for the undulating mountains that resemble the sea.

To avoid causing a stir, Song Yun and his party did not enter the pass but descended from their flying carriage early and walked to a watchtower twenty miles outside the Zhenhai Pass. General Xu Changsheng personally led a detachment of his personal guards to welcome the various immortal masters from Kunlun.

Xu Changsheng was nearly fifty, with a square face and a rugged appearance. He wore casual attire, and his disheveled hair resembled a lion's mane, yet his speech and manners were very polite.

After a few pleasantries, Song Yun timely inquired about the Kunlun disciple who had gone missing in the Zangye Forest. Xu Changsheng summoned a deputy general named Ouyang Quan to recount the details.

Ouyang Quan had met the immortal master, who called himself Yao and claimed to be from Kunlun. He was dressed as a layman, carried a long sword on his back, was of medium build, had a large belly, and a scar on his right cheek that extended from his eyebrow to his cheekbone. He appeared in the Zhenhai Pass about a year ago. At that time, the general was away leading troops against bandits, so Ouyang Quan received him. He helped gather a batch of rare herbs at great expense. Before leaving, Yao asked Ouyang Quan for a map of the Zangye Forest.

After Yao left, there was no news of him until half a year ago, when a caravan passing through the Zangye Forest encountered a group of monkeys playing with a sheathed long sword. A porter, out of curiosity, lured the monkeys with a few oranges and obtained the sword. The leader of the caravan, who was knowledgeable, recognized the seal script on the scabbard as "Goulian" and knew it was a fine sword. He bought it from the porter for some silver. When the caravan entered the Zhenhai Pass, the sword was presented as a gift to the official, and after a few rounds, it ended up in Ouyang Quan's hands.

Ouyang Quan speculated that Yao had likely met with some mishap in the Zangye Forest and lost his sword. He promptly reported this to the general, and Xu Changsheng sent a message to Deng Yuantong, who relayed the news to Kunlun.

Xu Changsheng handed the sword over to Song Yun. Song Yun glanced at the seal script on the scabbard and knew that the missing disciple must be Yao Jiang, the only one in the Goulian Sect who used a flying sword.

After a moment's thought, Song Yun asked Ouyang Quan for the list of herbs and a similar map of the Zangye Forest. Ouyang Quan, a shrewd man, not only prepared the map but also marked the location where the monkeys were encountered by the caravan.

Song Yun took the map and said to Xu Changsheng, "We have troubled you, General Xu. You have a capable subordinate."

Ouyang Quan was flattered, and Xu Changsheng smiled slightly. He had put a lot of effort into this matter, and being able to connect with the Kunlun Sect would be beneficial for his young son's future in Xiandu.

Song Yun put away the map and bid farewell to Xu Changsheng. Deng Yuantong ordered Xu Li and Xin Laoyao to follow the general back to the Zhenhai Pass and wait. Xu Li was very reluctant, eager to follow and see the excitement, but before he could speak, Xu Changsheng coughed, and he immediately wilted like a flower. He was truly terrified of his father.

Deng Yuantong had his own considerations. First, the realms of immortals and mortals were separate, and Xu Changsheng and his son had not seen each other for three years. They should spend more time together before returning to Xiandu, as they might not meet again for a long time. Second, the Zangye Forest was likely dangerous, and his nephew's cultivation was too weak. It was better to leave him behind.

Xu Changsheng returned to the Zhenhai Pass with his guards. Deng Yuantong watched them go, recalling the days when Xu Changsheng and his sister, newly married, galloped on the grasslands outside the pass. He felt a deep sense of nostalgia. How many years had passed since then? His sister had been frail and unsuitable for childbirth, but she was determined and gave birth to Xu Li, only to pass away shortly after. The pines and cypresses at her grave must be quite thick by now.

Song Yun drew the sword from its scabbard and examined it closely. The blade was spotted with green rust, the edge jagged, and the light flickered uncertainly. She sighed, "This is Yao Jiang's Green Rust Sword. He is Master Lu's disciple."

Deng Yuantong was startled. The Master Lu she mentioned was Lu Ping of the Goulian Sect, one of the elders of Liushi Peak, a high-ranking and powerful figure who was said to have once competed with Ziyang Daoist for the position of Kunlun Sect leader but lost to the Qingming Sword.

"Yao Jiang gathered herbs such as Chizhu Jiao, Danteng, Suihuang, Jiuyin Cao, and Niaolong Xu. These are the main ingredients for Wu Ma San, which is highly effective against snakes and dragons, second only to Anhun Xiang. Yao Jiang's goal was likely some kind of snake or dragon-like creature," Song Yun said, pointing to the location where the monkeys were found on the map. "Let's go there first. The Green Rust Sword being found by the monkeys might be a clue."

The hand-drawn map was quite crude, roughly marking the outer perimeter of the Zangye Forest, which resembled a broken leaf. The place Song Yun pointed to was at the edge of the leaf's stem.

Deng Yuantong followed Song Yun's lead, and the four of them continued on the Qianyun Carriage toward the Zangye Forest.

The Zangye Forest was thirty miles west of the Zhenhai Pass, a dense forest filled with decaying leaves and fallen fruits, emitting miasma, and rarely visited by people. Occasionally, monkey groups appeared at the forest's edge, but what lay deeper was unknown even to the border troops stationed at the Zhenhai Pass.

More than a decade ago, a few outsiders, unaware of the dangers, entered the Zangye Forest to hunt and never returned. To calm the people, the general sent a detachment of soldiers to search for the hunters, but they also never returned. Since then, the Zangye Forest has become a forbidden and terrifying place.