Chapter 75

"We can go out now."

Lu Xiu stood up and said to Lu Mengyao beside him.

Over the past ten days, he had been studying the array formation, and Lu Mengyao had always stayed by his side.

"Do you know about array formations?" Lu Mengyao asked, her face showing surprise.

As far as she knew, Lu Xiu had never been exposed to anything related to array formations since he entered the Martial Hall at the age of ten. The idea that Lu Xiu had only started learning array formations a little over half a month ago and had already reached the level of a Fifth Rank Array Master was something she found hard to believe.

Lu Xiu did not claim that he had already reached the level of a Fifth Rank Array Master, as such a claim would be too unbelievable. If it weren't for the inspiration he gained from the fundamental laws depicted in the All-Heaven Life and Death Wheel, he wouldn't have been able to reach this level in such a short time.

Since he couldn't explain it, Lu Xiu simply didn't say more. He was very clear that this was his biggest secret and couldn't be casually revealed to others, even to those closest to him.

"I found the schematic of the array formation in the cave," Lu Xiu casually fabricated a reason and said, "Follow me, and don't take a single wrong step."

Seeing Lu Mengyao nod, Lu Xiu started moving, sometimes advancing, sometimes retreating, and sometimes stepping in place or turning around.

After a long time, the scenery in the valley suddenly changed. The originally lush landscape turned into a desolate wasteland, and the entrance and exit of the valley finally appeared.

Seeing this, Lu Mengyao realized that the previous scenery in the valley was just an illusion created by the array formation. The desolate wasteland was the true appearance of the Ghost Yin Valley.

Su Jingyun's soul had already been annihilated, and the Yin Stone had been taken by Lu Xiu. Apart from the Sixth Rank Trapping Array, which could only be entered but not exited, there was no other danger in the Ghost Yin Valley.

Since the Ghost Yin Valley in the Guanlei Mountains was discovered, many martial artists have died. Without the level of a Fifth Rank Array Master, anyone who entered the valley would be trapped inside.

Although there were Fifth Rank Array Masters in Yunlong County and Duhai County, they would not be trapped if they came here, but they would also find it difficult to resist the invasion of Yin Qi. Those who had previously entered the Ghost Yin Valley were likely to have had their souls devoured by Su Jingyun to restore his damaged soul.

After being trapped in the Ghost Yin Valley for more than ten days, Lu Xiu estimated that he had avoided the pursuit of the Yan family from Zuoxing City.

However, he still didn't dare to take Lu Mengyao to Zuoxing City. He didn't have the Body Transformation Pill to change his appearance, and if he went there and was recognized, it would be a real trouble.

The only way was to bypass Zuoxing City and head to other cities in Duhai County to find the Lei Wu Sect's base.

The encounter in the Ghost Yin Valley and the reminder from the Spirit of Reincarnation made Lu Xiu very clear that his strength was still very weak. If he encountered greater danger, he might not even be able to protect himself, let alone Lu Mengyao.

If Su Jingyun had chosen to possess Lu Mengyao instead of him, she would likely have already become a different person.

Therefore, the top priority was to send Lu Mengyao to the Lei Wu Sect.

However, before the two could leave the Guanlei Mountains, Lu Xiu sensed a powerful divine consciousness fall upon him and Lu Mengyao. Then, a middle-aged man in purple appeared before them.

In Lu Xiu's perception, the aura of this middle-aged man in purple was very powerful, at least that of a Spirit Cultivation Martial Ancestor or higher.

The middle-aged man in purple only glanced at Lu Xiu indifferently, then his gaze fell on Lu Mengyao. Despite the two of them wearing hoods and veils, the man's divine consciousness made this disguise completely ineffective.

"Are you the girl with the Lei Wu Token?" the middle-aged man in purple asked slowly.

Hearing this, Lu Xiu was startled. Could this middle-aged man in purple also be here to seize the Lei Wu Token?

"Yes, Senior," Lu Mengyao answered truthfully.

The middle-aged man in purple nodded, then looked at Lu Xiu, "You have quite the nerve, a mere Sixth Rank Qi Sea to dare kill a member of the Yan family. Your courage is commendable."

Seeing the cautious expressions on Lu Xiu and Lu Mengyao, the middle-aged man in purple said indifferently, "You don't need to worry about me seizing the Lei Wu Token. I am the Lei Wu Sect's Guardian, Yue Pengcheng. I heard that the person with the Lei Wu Token appeared here..."

Before Yue Pengcheng could finish speaking, Lu Mengyao exclaimed, "You are Uncle Yue?"

Lu Mengyao removed her veil, "Uncle Yue, it's Mengyao."

"Is it Mengyao?" Yue Pengcheng first looked puzzled, then seemed to remember something and appeared before Lu Mengyao, "Are you Lu Dage's daughter, Mengyao?"

"I heard that the Free and Easy Sect had an incident. How is Uncle Lu now?"

"Father he..."

From the conversation between Lu Mengyao and Yue Pengcheng, Lu Xiu learned that Lu Feichen had once trained with Yue Pengcheng when he was young, and they had a life-and-death friendship.

The Lei Wu Token was an extremely important token of the Lei Wu Sect. The holder of the Lei Wu Token could make one request to the Lei Wu Sect, and as long as the request was not too outrageous, the Lei Wu Sect would agree.

Yue Pengcheng seemed to have a special status in the Lei Wu Sect, and he had given such a Lei Wu Token to Lu Feichen in the past.

"Hmph, those Yan and Duan families in Zuoxing City must be tired of living. They dare to seize my niece's Lei Wu Token, not knowing their own limits!"

After hearing Lu Mengyao's account, a fierce killing intent rose from Yue Pengcheng. In his eyes, the two major families in Zuoxing City were not worth mentioning.

Although Lu Xiu couldn't see through Yue Pengcheng's cultivation, based on his life force, he estimated that Yue Pengcheng was also a Martial Dao Grandmaster like Lu Feichen.

"Since Uncle Lu has already gone, you should follow Uncle Yue and cultivate well in the Lei Wu Sect, striving to avenge your father one day," Yue Pengcheng said.

"Thank you, Uncle Yue. I will work hard to avenge my father," Lu Mengyao said, somewhat excitedly.

Previously, Lu Xiu had never heard Lu Mengyao mention revenge, clearly she had buried this hatred deep in her heart. The person who could severely injure Lu Feichen must be a Martial King realm existence.

"Uncle Yue, this is Lu Xiu. He has great talent and can even kill a先天武师 (先天武师 means 'Natal Martial Master', but it's a term that doesn't have a direct English equivalent, so I'll use 'Natal Martial Master' for consistency). If it weren't for him, Mengyao might not have been able to see you."

Lu Mengyao introduced Lu Xiu to Yue Pengcheng and told him about Lu Xiu's feats of killing Gou Jinchuan and the two Song Mountain heroes.

Lu Xiu inwardly cursed. A Sixth Rank Qi Sea martial artist killing a Natal Martial Master—any fool would know he must have had an extraordinary encounter.

Moreover, Yue Pengcheng was a Martial Dao Grandmaster. With his shrewdness, he would naturally guess this from the moment he heard it.

Sure enough, after hearing Lu Mengyao's words, Yue Pengcheng's gaze fell on Lu Xiu, his eyes flashing with a keen light. He smiled and said, "With such talent, you can also join me at the Lei Wu Sect. As long as you cultivate well, becoming a core disciple is not a problem."

Lu Mengyao, lacking experience and guile, but Lu Xiu saw a hint of unusual meaning in Yue Pengcheng's tone and eyes.

Lu Xiu immediately clasped his hands and bowed, "I am used to a free life and don't like the constraints of a sect. I hope Senior will understand."

His words were already very tactful, indicating that he did not want to join the Lei Wu Sect. If Yue Pengcheng insisted on taking him, it would definitely be for ulterior motives.

However, Lu Xiu's cleverness was still a bit naive. The more he didn't want to join the Lei Wu Sect, the more Yue Pengcheng believed he had secrets, and the reason he didn't want to join was to avoid exposing his secrets.

"Ha ha, if you don't want to join the Lei Wu Sect, I won't force you. You have protected my niece Mengyao all the way to Duhai County, and I should thank you. Here, take this small trinket."

As he spoke, Yue Pengcheng took out a jade token, "This is a Fourth Rank Array Jade Token. Once activated, it can unleash an attack comparable to a Spirit Cultivation Martial Ancestor."

Such a jade token was priceless, and any Qi Sea martial artist would be tempted. To avoid suspicion, Lu Xiu pretended to be excited and thanked him as he accepted it.

Yue Pengcheng smiled and nodded, "Now follow me back to the city. With me here, the Yan and Duan families won't dare to touch you."

On the way back, Yue Pengcheng kept asking Lu Mengyao about Lu Xiu.

Because Yue Pengcheng and her father were life-and-death friends, Lu Mengyao had no guard and told him everything she knew.

Reaching the Sixth Rank Qi Sea from the Second Rank Body Tempering in less than a year, and having the strength of a Fourth Rank Natal Martial Master?

Lu Xiu was secretly anxious, regretting not telling Lu Mengyao not to reveal his story to others.

"Niece Mengyao, has your Fire Yang Absolute Pulse been cured?" Yue Pengcheng, being a life-and-death friend of Lu Feichen, naturally knew about Lu Mengyao's Fire Yang Absolute Pulse.

"Yes, it was thanks to Lu Xiu. He cured my Fire Yang Absolute Pulse," Lu Mengyao replied with a smile, unaware that the more she said, the more dangerous it was for Lu Xiu.

She told Yue Pengcheng about Lu Xiu's feats in the hope that he would be valued by the Lei Wu Sect. However, since Lu Xiu didn't want to join the Lei Wu Sect, she felt a bit sad.

She knew that a martial artist without the support of a sect would find it hard to achieve anything. To avenge her father, Lu Feichen, she had to join the Lei Wu Sect.

She also knew that if they parted ways this time, they might really go their separate ways.

Undoubtedly, this was another choice. The last time, she chose to leave Lu Xiu for her father and marry Gou Jinchuan. If not for the unexpected turn of events, it would have become a reality.

This time, she had to choose to join the Lei Wu Sect and part ways with Lu Xiu again.

Half a day later, the three arrived at Zuoxing City.

Before entering the city, the Yan and Duan families had already received the news but did not show up, clearly aware of Yue Pengcheng's identity.

"You killed Yan Qiu, the only son of the Yan family's patriarch. But as long as you become a disciple of the Lei Wu Sect, the Yan family won't dare to touch you," Yue Pengcheng said with a smile.

Lu Xiu heard the underlying meaning but didn't want to join the Lei Wu Sect, so he pretended not to understand.

"Lu Xiu, you should still come with me to the Lei Wu Sect. Without the support of a sect, it will be hard for you to cultivate," Lu Mengyao urged.

"No, I plan to travel and train," Lu Xiu said with a smile.

He knew that Yue Pengcheng hadn't made a move because Lu Mengyao was there. He also didn't know what secrets Lu Xiu had. If he knew about the Life and Death Pearl, he would definitely make a move, even with Lu Mengyao there.

If he followed to the Lei Wu Sect, it would be like a lamb entering a tiger's den. He would have to reveal all his secrets and treasures, and might not even be able to keep his life.

In this world, there are good people and bad people. People like the Qingyun Sect's Master, Elder Zhuang, and Ye Xiangdou were good. But this Yue Pengcheng, Lu Xiu had a gut feeling that he wasn't a good person.

Perhaps he was good to Lu Mengyao because he and Lu Feichen were life-and-death friends, but Lu Xiu was an outsider.