Misguided practice of sinister cultivation techniques: Slander! The problem lies with you all, not me!
Chapter 433 - 269: Hero Duan Juxia to the Rescue! (Please Subscribe)

South of Leizhou, those in the Martial World who wish to seek the Jade Guanyin will likely find this snow mountain a formidable barrier.

Compared to Duan Yun’s previous venture deep into the snow mountain to annihilate the Thunder God and Mother Sect, the path here is much easier, though the journey is long and arduous for the horses and the coachman.

Fortunately, both the horses and the coachman are top-notch, capable of handling the huge responsibility.

The scenery along the way was originally quite beautiful - snow-capped meadows, wildflowers in bloom during spring, and clear streams like transparent ribbons off a fairy’s costume.

But later on, you would grow tired of it.

Because every day, it’s the same picturesque scene, and the snow mountain seems like a giant exerting immense pressure, watching you all the time.

And the once warm spring, due to the proximity of the snow mountain, begins to chill.

Frost hangs in the early morning and evening.

Fortunately, Duan Yun is now disguised as the wealthy merchant Mr. Guan Qi, and his expensive carriage is filled with drawers of food from all over the world and all kinds of fine wine.

Duan Yun can also dine and drink with his "lovely wife and beautiful concubines," a different array each day.

When they’re lucky, they even manage to hunt down a deer for a barbecue.

One must admit that the deer meat here, gifted by the snowy meadow, is succulent and rich in taste, without the slightest gamey flavor.

Just when Duan Yun and his companions were growing weary of the same landscape, the snow mountain had imperceptibly moved to their left side.

In other words, they had finally circled around this vast mountain range.

Simultaneously, many marshes began to appear on the ground.

The coachman’s expression also became much more serious, for there were many mud pits here.

The coachman knew well that a rich merchant like Mr. Guan Qi must be a skilled martial artist; otherwise, with both money and looks, he would’ve been snatched away by the seductresses of Martial World, used and drained of wealth, which seems entirely improbable.

Mud pits would not trap such a person; if he wanted, he could even carry the carriage across mud pits.

But the coachman also understood that their patron Mr. Guan Qi would never stoop to such actions.

He might enlist her for the unseemly task of wiping his bottom, but he wouldn’t do such dirty and tiring work himself; neither would the two vixens by his side.

Thus she had to be extra careful: falling into a mud pit would seem unprofessional, and if she really got stuck, she would have to do the dirty and tiring job of pulling the carriage.

The carriage zigzagged across the damp meadow, and it was visibly obvious that the shrubbery had increased significantly.

If the previous view was vast, allowing one to gaze effortlessly into the distance, here the view was obstructed by many bushes.

The coachman successfully found a muddy trail marked by carriage tracks, clearly a sign of frequent travel, but she remained cautious nonetheless.

This region, which the locals call "Black Grassland," signifies a place abandoned by the gods.

There are rumors spreading that under the grassland, there lies a giant demon that swallows carts and devours people, while in reality, the coachman knows these are just shifting underground rivers.

The underground rivers here often change course, and normal-looking roads may collapse due to the underground water flow.

After another day and night, the coachman slowly began to relax.

The water on the ground was decreasing, replaced by black mud.

Although also moist, this mud was much firmer.

Yet what confused Duan Yun was that, in his memory, black soil was fertile, but the land before him was barren.

Even the bushes, which were usually hardy, were sparse here.

Crops planted along the road also seemed to grow poorly.

And the farmers, with their thin bodies and numb expressions, didn’t fare much better.

Here, there were occasional caravans and travelers on the road, most likely people heading to the Desert Country.

This meant that their destination, Wuye City, was not far away.

Duan Yun looked out at the scenery and complained, "Damn it, what a godforsaken place."

In order to flaunt his romantic and bold character, he now opened his robe, embracing beauties left and right.

Feng Ling’er and Shen Ying could only reluctantly play along with his act.

Because around them, merchants and carriages were aplenty.

Upon seeing their black carriage, and the man that was Duan Yun, many would secretly make way.

This time Duan Yun disguised himself as "Guan Qi," so what others saw was not his gentle knife or the Huangshan Golden Sword.

Instead, he carried the Blood Shadow Mad Blade with him.

The one previously acquired by the Murong brothers at the inn.

The "Mad Blade" in Blood Shadow Mad Blade suggests that its wielders were often madmen.

Either the person using the blade is reckless by nature, or initially valuing their life, they are influenced by the blade and become careless with it.

Another characteristic of this blade is its striking presence.

Just by placing it there, it emits a crimson glow; with a slight motion, blood-red shadows overlap as if trailing behind.

This fits perfectly with Guan Qi’s love for showing off.

Ordinary martial arts practitioners, upon seeing this blade, would not dare to provoke its wielder.

It is said that there are multiple Blood Shadow Mad Blades, each with unique blood shadows, but one thing remains consistent: each blade seems to thirst for blood, like a person who knows hunger and craves blood. The more human blood it consumes, the more sated it becomes, and the heavier the blood shadow gets.

And the Mad Blade in Duan Yun’s hands had a rather pronounced blood shadow, not looking like it was starved at all.

...

At dusk, the setting sun was as red as blood.

On the black mud ground, some mud figures began to appear.

These mud figures, large and small, intricate in some cases with clearly etched pupils, and rough in others with their features blurred.