Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 562 - 562 561 Longxu River Path Happy New Year

562: Chapter 561 Longxu River Path [Happy New Year] 562: Chapter 561 Longxu River Path [Happy New Year] PS: Each month resembles the last, but each year is different.

In the clear morning, I peer into the mirror, and my appearance nears that of a withering old man.

It’s hard to stay idle in the world, and personal matters are mostly void.

Life is so fleeting, so why not cherish the intoxicating spring breeze?

…

A month later, Hou Niao and his group arrived at a place called Longxu Gully.

Longxu Gully, also known as the ancient riverbed—which goes back over a thousand years—was once a verdant area with an abundance of water and grass.

The Longxu River flowed here, nourishing countless herds of cattle and sheep and sustaining numerous herdsmen.

However, once the Heaven and Earth Spirit Mechanism of Jinxiu began to awaken, the area slowly turned desolate.

Sandstorms moved southward, and undead creatures roamed freely, driving the original inhabitants southward with no signs of stopping even now.

The Longxu River has long ceased to exist, leaving behind only Longxu Gully.

But to call it a gully now seems inappropriate because after thousands of years of change, endless dunes have formed, and sandstorms have erased any trace of the river that was there a millennium ago.

Only from high above, surveying from the sky and through a cultivator’s Divine Sense, can one faintly discern a line of slightly lower terrain that twists and turns—the remains of Longxu Gully, intermittent and indistinct.

“This is Longxu Gully, right?

If it weren’t clearly marked on the map, who would have thought that a river once flowed here thousands of years ago?” Nan Xiangye remarked.

Fairy Huang peered down with her peach blossom eyes.

“I don’t see anything special.

Why does the report say that this is a place overrun with undead creatures and tell us to search carefully?”

Before this mission, Yu Zhengxing specifically instructed them to conduct a thorough investigation of Longxu Gully.

Once they passed Longxu Gully and headed west for a few hundred miles, they would reach the end of their patrol and could then return.

From the air, the old riverbed meandered across the three-hundred-mile section they were responsible for, then stretched farther away.

It not only spanned the Realm of Ancient Lop but also traversed the territories protected by other Daoist powers.

Historically, the Longxu River was more than ten thousand miles long at its peak, a considerable water system even on the vast Jinxiu Continent.

If this old riverbed truly hid something or served as a midpoint station for the southward movement of the undead creatures, then their effort in just this section alone would be meaningless.

Regardless, a mission was a mission and had to be carried out with determination.

To shirk their duties here would render their coming pointless.

Hou Niao pointed to the map and told everyone, “Let’s comb through from west to east, along the course of the river.

We aim to complete this section in three days; the Ape Man and I will walk on the ground where we can sense more clearly, while the Fairy and Pumpkin will follow from above to provide backup…”

The three nodded in agreement.

This method of cooperation had formed gradually as they traveled together and was the most suitable for their team.

Among them, it was the two on the ground who had the strongest close combat abilities, ready for any surprise attacks by the undead creatures.

Having made their plans, Fairy Huang and Nan Xiangye continued to float in the air, while Hou Niao and Yuan Shangyuan landed on the ground.

The old riverbed wasn’t narrow; originally a massive water system tens of miles wide, after a thousand years of natural transformation, the riverbed’s landscape had been completely altered, complicating their exploration.

The two walked several miles apart in parallel, and since they were traversing dunes, they sometimes lost sight of each other.

Communication had to be maintained through their two companions flying above, a slight inconvenience.

Yuan Shangyuan had a Dharma Form that allowed him to burrow underground and sense across a wide area; Hou Niao had a profound understanding of the Earth Element, which made the several-mile radius around them and several tens of feet deep under the sand part of their sensory range.

From the sky, Nan Xiangye couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

“Longxu Gully, the old riverbed, beneath the layers of sand, must lean towards the Water Element.

Are undead creatures fond of water?”

Fairy Huang covered her mouth and laughed.

“You can’t assume they tend toward the Earth Element just because they like to burrow under sand and soil…

Water is the source of life, true for all things in the world.

I have a feeling that, although it’s hard to find traces of the Water Element in their skeletal frames, the undead creatures must have a profound connection with the Water Element.

It’s just not something I can comprehend at the moment.”

“I’m curious, what would happen if we threw them into the water?

Would they turn into members of the Sea Clan?”

As for how the undead creatures came about or were formed, humanity’s Cultivation World still has no consensus; they are neither common Mortal Beasts that have gained enlightenment nor entirely spiritual like ghostly entities.

Their source of energy seems to come from the Spirit Mechanism of Jinxiu Continent, yet it doesn’t seem entirely so?

This is a mystery that has troubled the human Cultivator’s world for over a thousand years and is the fundamental reason why human Cultivators dare not completely eradicate the undead creatures of the Kneecap Desert.

Humans don’t care much about the things they are familiar with because they know the source, such as Mountain Demons and water monsters, evil demons and sneaky ghosts…

But they are full of awe for the unknown, worrying that a rash attempt to exterminate the undead creatures of the Kneecap Desert might bring even greater trouble.

Of course, these issues are not something for them at their current Realm to consider.

After a few moments, Yuan Shangyuan’s Divine Sense spoke up,

“There is a Dark River underground!

My Dharma Form has detected dense Water Element fluctuations five fathoms below the sand layer, but they’re intermittent…”

Hou Niao nodded, “That should be the case.

I’ve felt it too.

The reason it’s intermittent is that due to the undulations of the sand dunes, the top of the dunes, because of the accumulation of a lot of loose sand, makes it imperceptible, but at the bottom of the dunes, it’s very clear.”

Yuan Shangyuan frowned, “The depth to which my Dharma Form can submerge is limited; any deeper and it’s easy to lose control.

Such a pity.”

Hou Niao stopped his attempt, “There’s no need, just follow the course of the river for now, then we can plan in the long term.”

They walked for three days, but to everyone’s surprise, they found nothing, not even encountering a single undead creature or experiencing any unexpected incidents.

“Did we find the wrong place?

That shouldn’t be right.

How could the four of us, alive and kicking, misinterpret the map?” Nan Xiangye was puzzled.

Fairy Huang patted her towering chest, “No matter, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Xiangye, don’t talk nonsense, everyone being safe is better than anything else.”

Yuan Shangyuan was still unsatisfied, “Should we walk it again?

Take a different route, investigate deeper?”

Hou Niao, as leader, made the final decision, “Walking it again now wouldn’t be very meaningful.

By common sense, we can consider our patrol mission accomplished.

No abnormalities mean no abnormalities.

We cannot doubt our own judgment simply because there might be something deeper down.

That’s already beyond our capabilities.”

He looked around at everyone, “Let’s continue westward, about three hundred li until the end point of this patrol.

When we return, with ample time, we can comb through here again.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

If they were to comb through this area on the return trip, naturally it would be much easier since they had already plowed through the region once, so there was no need to be overly concerned about a large group of undead creatures suddenly appearing.

Hou Niao was truly prudent when it came to taking action.

….

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