Chapter 54 of 100

Chapter 54

7 min read1,834 words

The Quwu Mountains stretch for five hundred miles from east to west, with high mountains and dense forests, and a perilous terrain. Located at the boundary of Yu and Zhang counties, the mountains are not only a habitat for birds and beasts but also a birthplace for fierce beasts, birds of prey, and rare and toxic creatures.

Yang Junshan had been in the Quwu Mountains for two days, during which he had been very cautious. However, while attempting to cross a valley, he encountered a fog of miasma rising from the valley, which quickly enveloped him. The miasma spread rapidly through the forest with the mountain wind.

Yang Junshan immediately fled, but the miasma surrounded him from all directions, making it impossible to escape. He had to fully activate the Earth Spirit Technique to resist the miasma's intrusion into his body and tried to hold his breath to reduce his breathing rate.

Fortunately, as the miasma spread, it gradually became thinner, and its toxicity should have weakened. As long as he could escape the miasma's range, he could then find a way to expel the toxins.

However, when Yang Junshan inhaled the first breath of miasma, a sweet and sticky sensation rushed to his brain, causing dizziness and disorientation. Yang Junshan was greatly alarmed, not expecting the miasma to be so toxic. Just as he was about to fully activate the Earth Spirit Technique, he suddenly felt his heart beat fiercely twice, as if his face was flushed with hot blood.

At the moment this sensation rose within him, the dizziness and disorientation caused by the miasma were instantly suppressed. Yang Junshan felt a surge of energy, realizing that he seemed to be immune to the miasma's effects.

But before Yang Junshan could fully enjoy the joy of being immune to the miasma, he accidentally inhaled another breath of miasma and felt the suppressed toxins start to stir again. In a panic, he quickly fled while his mind was still clear, escaping the miasma's range.

After taking a few deep breaths, the discomfort in his chest and abdomen caused by the miasma gradually subsided. Only then did Yang Junshan have the time to ponder why he was immune to the miasma.

During his escape, Yang Junshan had clearly seen that not only he but also many beasts and birds fled when the miasma swept over. A wild rabbit, while fleeing, got entangled in a vine and was soon convulsing violently after the miasma passed, eventually lying still on the ground. This showed that the miasma was extremely toxic.

Since the miasma was lethal, the reason Yang Junshan could resist it must be within himself. After much thought, Yang Junshan concluded that there were three possible reasons: First, the Earth Spirit Technique he practiced had a strong detoxifying effect, though he thought this was unlikely. Second, his powerful physical body, or the Mountain Lord Diagram he practiced, made his body strong enough to resist the miasma. Third, the top-grade immortal spirit marrow he refined when opening his hidden acupoint might have played a role.

In his previous life, Yang Junshan had heard that after opening a top-grade immortal spirit acupoint, one might gain innate abilities like Xu Jing, or use it to practice special techniques. However, these were just rumors, and Yang Junshan couldn't verify their truth.

After opening his hidden acupoint with the top-grade immortal spirit marrow, Yang Junshan had hoped to gain innate abilities, but unfortunately, he only experienced an extraordinary expansion of his spirit acupoint, without any innate abilities.

However, this time, safely escaping the miasma's range gave Yang Junshan renewed hope. Could the innate ability from the top-grade immortal spirit acupoint be the ability to neutralize all toxins, like the ox gallbladder spirit?

Thinking about this, Yang Junshan saw that the miasma behind him had stopped spreading. He bravely returned to the edge of the miasma, and the dizziness and disorientation returned, though weaker. His heart beat fiercely again, and the dizziness was suppressed.

Yang Junshan quickly stepped back and shook his head, reflecting on the process. It seemed he wasn't completely immune to toxins but had a strong resistance to them. The toxins in his body were temporarily suppressed by his robust qi and blood, and he would need to use his spirit energy to expel them.

The Mountain Lord Diagram and the hidden acupoint in his bone marrow both enhanced his qi and blood. It seemed that the hidden acupoint didn't grant him any innate abilities, which was somewhat disappointing.

Finding a secluded spot, with no signs of fierce beasts nearby, Yang Junshan quickly began to recover his spirit energy and expel the miasma toxins.

After a while, the sounds of human shouts and horse neighs, along with the creaking of wheels, woke him from his meditation.

Where did these carriages and horses come from in this desolate mountain?

This question had just arisen in Yang Junshan's mind when he suddenly remembered something. He quickly looked around and muttered, "Could this be the secret passage of the Quwu Mountains? The terrain here does look similar. It seems this secret passage already existed at this time."

The secret passage was not an underground tunnel but a smuggling route. Yu and Zhang counties were controlled by different forces, and although there were trade routes, they were heavily taxed. Thus, people opened secret passages in remote and dangerous areas to avoid the heavy taxes, and the Quwu Mountains' secret passage was one such route connecting Yu and Zhang counties.

In his previous life, Yang Junshan had used this secret passage several times, so he was very familiar with it. However, this time, he had been too panicked by the miasma to notice that he was near the secret passage.

Following the sounds, Yang Junshan ran through the forest and soon found himself hiding behind a bush, looking down at a dirt road about ten feet wide below a high earthen cliff. The road looked newly opened, with a rough and uneven surface, so the three carriages coming from the opposite direction were moving slowly.

As they approached, Yang Junshan saw that the three carriages were grain carts, each pulled by a mature ox beast. Although ox beasts were slower than horse beasts, they were strong and enduring, making them suitable for such rough and newly opened secret passages.

These three grain carts were different from the ones he had seen in the Wild Mountain Town, which were used to buy spirit grains. The spirit grain boxes on these carts were much larger, capable of holding more spirit grains, a common method for long-distance trade.

Based on Yang Junshan's experience, each of these large grain carts could hold fifty stones of spirit grains, and the three carts together could hold at least one hundred and fifty stones.

There were five people with the three grain carts, all looking like ordinary grain merchants, but they were cultivators. Ordinary people couldn't navigate the Quwu Mountains' secret passage.

When Yang Junshan saw the three grain carts, he first thought of the people who had been buying spirit grains in Wild Mountain Town. The five people's auras clearly indicated they were not martial realm cultivators, which made Yang Junshan feel more at ease. As long as they weren't in the martial realm, they wouldn't detect him hiding on the earthen cliff without using their spirit senses.

Three of the five were drivers, and the other two were sitting on the last grain cart, chatting. As they approached Yang Junshan's position, the older of the two suddenly stopped talking and looked around, then shouted, "Stop!"

"Whoa—"

The three grain carts stopped. The driver of the lead cart turned around and asked, "Senior Brother Ma, are we getting off here?"

Senior Brother Ma jumped off the cart and said, "Yes, here is fine. If we go further, we might exceed the range of the Heart-Linking Talisman. If we accidentally make Ning Ji think his son is dead, that old man will definitely turn against us, and Senior Brother Yao and the others in Wild Mountain Town will be in danger."

He gestured to the cultivator still on the cart and continued, "We'll get off here. I and Junior Brother Cheng will take this boy to meet Senior Brother Zhao and the others inside the mountain. Junior Brother Niu and the others will take these three grain carts back to Zhang County."

As he spoke, Junior Brother Cheng, following Senior Brother Ma's gesture, opened the spirit grain box and revealed the full load of spirit grains. He then reached into the grains and pulled out a boy of about fourteen or fifteen, who was tightly bound and gagged with a cloth. The boy, buried under the grains, was not at risk of suffocation. When he was thrown off the cart, he tried to struggle but was quickly restrained by Senior Brother Ma.

Junior Brother Niu laughed, "This secret passage has only been open for a short time, and few people know about it. Besides, Senior Uncle Feng and the others are waiting on the other side of the Quwu Mountains. What could go wrong? It's you two who are staying in the Quwu Mountains and dealing with Senior Brother Zhao, so you need to be extra careful."

After the two groups separated, Junior Brother Niu led the three grain carts forward, while Senior Brother Ma and Junior Brother Cheng took the bound boy into the mountain from the other side of the earthen cliff. Throughout the process, neither group knew that everything had been observed by Yang Junshan.

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