Please, Young Master, Slay the Demon!
Chapter 458 - 37: Seeing the Dream Abyss Again [Ask for monthly votes!]"_1

Chapter 458: Chapter 37: Seeing the Dream Abyss Again [Ask for monthly votes!]"_1

Second Lady Gu had left her family and spent decades searching in this place before finally getting news of Gu Qingyuan. Chu Liang could hardly imagine what she must be feeling.

He handed her the letter and got the name he wanted in return and then quietly left.

Chu Liang had also agreed with Second Lady Gu that once this was over, he would accompany her into the mountains to look for Gu Qingyuan. As for the location of the Dream Abyss, Chu Liang only remembered a rough idea, but it shouldn’t be a problem if he looked more carefully.

When he returned to the inn, he said to Yan Qihu, "I found out that there is one more survivor who entered the secret realm with them. His name is Xue Ziyang. We must find him as soon as possible. If it gets dark, who knows what might happen to him."

Yan Qihu didn’t waste words, he immediately took people to Xue Ziyang’s residence provided by Second Lady Gu.

This Xue Ziyang man was quite famous in Kaoshan city and was considered a great scholar. He ran a free private school, teaching children from poor families in the city, and was commonly known as the "Purple Goat Lord."

Xue Ziyang normally did not engage in any businesses like guiding people into the mountain, so it was quite unexpected that he also participated in this.

When everyone arrived at his school, they found that the main gate was locked and there were no traces of people.

A neighbor happened to pass by. Chu Liang then stepped forward and asked, "Brother, do you happen to know where Mr. Xue has gone?"

"Oh, you mean the Purple Goat Lord?" The neighbor was quite friendly and immediately smiled answering: "I don’t know."

Why this excitement if you don’t know...?

"But my child is studying here at his school, and I heard..." the neighbor continued, "The Purple Goat Lord seems to be facing some big problem. He rarely ever cancels the children’s classes and when he occasionally leaves, he always says when he will return. But this time he said he doesn’t know when he would come back..."

Upon hearing this, Chu Liang asked further: "Did he leave just recently?"

"Yes, it was just yesterday." The neighbor replied, "He first took a day off, and after he returned and taught for one day, he left indefinitely. Ah, such a good man as the Purple Goat Lord, I hope nothing bad happens to him."

"Thank you very much.", said Chu Liang.

Turning to his companions from the Heavenly Gang Sect, he began to discuss the situation.

"His first leave likely corresponds to his participation in the expedition of the secret realm. The second time, he likely left in panic after hearing the deaths of the group the day before.", deduced Chu Liang, "He is surely seeking some sort of protection."

Ji Lingyu added, "Before coming here, I asked the City Warden Office about Xue Ziyang. He was a student of Wei Lang, a great Confucian scholar of the Scholar’s Academy in Jiangnan."

"Then he probably returned to the Scholar’s Academy," guessed Chu Liang.

"Then let’s go and look for him," said Yan Qihu on the spot.

...

The Scholar’s Academy is located in the Misty Rain Pavilion, not far from the Southern region. That’s why Song Qingyi was able to handle the affairs when the Academy in the Southern Region met with trouble.

The group quickly traveled and soon arrived at the location of the Misty Rain Pavilion.

The Scholar’s Academy now is much larger than that single ancient building. Several pavilions aligned halfway up the mountain while the Misty Rain Pavilion has become a symbolic place, only climbed and worshipped when a new great scholar’s name was added.

The organization of the Scholar’s Academy was not like the large immortal sects with numerous disciples. Only a few great scholars who managed this academy, and their disciples lived there permanently.

Although it seemed as though there were not many people in normal times, when there was a problem, the plethora of great scholars along with other colleagues from the Confucian school from all over the world would come to aid. That momentum was absolutely extraordinary.

Considering Yan Qihu’s status within the Heavenly Gang Sect, as soon as they announced themselves, a disciple respectfully led them in. Shortly after, a large Confucian scholar came out to greet them.

However, this man, with wide sleeves and a fluttering robe, was an elderly figure with white hair, but his wide body and red face showed that he was full of energy.

"I am Wei Lang. I heard that you gentlemen are here to find my disciple?" the old man spoke first.

"Mr. Wei," Yan Qihu was very courteous to the old man, and immediately explained the purpose of their visit, "We want to figure out where exactly they have gone and what they encountered there."

"Ah..." Wei Lang sighed, "My disciple’s condition hasn’t been good since he returned. I’ll bring you to see him."

As he spoke, he led them through to a room in the backyard. Pushing the door open, they saw a middle-aged scholar lying with his bare upper body on a bed, looking weak and haggard. His body was covered in talismans and there were even a dozen needles inserted into his head.

"He came home yesterday, saying he had encountered some dangers and hoped that he could evade them in the Scholar’s Academy." Wei Lang recounted, "As night fell, he began to behave violently and wildly, and a demonic aura began to seep from his body. I had no choice but to suppress him temporarily, letting him fall into slumber."

"Mr. Wei, was there a blood moon appearing over the Scholar’s Academy last night?" Chu Liang suddenly asked.

"I didn’t see anything of the sort," Wei Lang shook his head.

Chu Liang nodded subtly.

So it seems, the influence of the blood moon was limited to the vicinity of Kaoshan City, which was most likely because the origin was in Zhennan Region’s Mountain. Those far away from there would be less affected ... but it was still limited.

In this state, Xue Ziyang would probably have met misfortune last night if a Great Confucian Scholar hadn’t been by his side to help him.

"If we want to save him now, we must find out what exactly happened to them," Chu Liang said, "Can we wake up Senior Xue?"

Wei Lang hesitated a bit, but finally nodded in agreement: "Alright."

With a gentle wave of his right hand, an ethereal blue light seeped out from the talismans and steel needles, and in the blink of an eye, the seal on Xue Ziyang’s body was unlocked.

"Ah——"

He cried out in pain, his body jerking violently!

...

Xue Ziyang took his time to catch his breath before he finally settled down, his expression still somewhat dazed. It wasn’t until Wei Lang stepped in to help him calm his mind that he gradually returned to normal.

Only then did they dare to ask him questions.

"Senior Xue, who did you enter Zhennan Region’s Mountain with that day, which secret realm did you enter, and what did you encounter?"

Xue Ziyang sighed heavily upon hearing the question, "Ah, it’s a long story..."

"I used to deliver teachings in Kaoshan City and did not enter Zhennan Region’s Mountain without good cause. But a few days ago, Chun Yutu suddenly approached me. He said that the treasure medicine required for me to reach the Peak Sixth Realm might exist in a certain secret realm. An extravagant lady from the Western Region happened to want to form a group to enter Zhennan Region’s Mountain, so he asked if I wanted to join."

So it was all because of heavenly material and earthly treasures.

Having heard this, Chu Liang couldn’t help but think—while money may not bring happiness, it could indeed prevent many troubles.

"At that time, seeing that all the expedition members were renowned experts in Kaoshan City, I thought it wouldn’t be too difficult, so I agreed," Xue Ziyang continued, "The journey at first went quite smoothly."

"We passed through a misty mountain valley where numerous ghosts and reaper ghosts resided, but they posed no threat to us. Later, we even encountered ghosts from the previous dynasty blocking our path..."

"Hmm?" Chu Liang was slightly surprised upon hearing this, "Senior, did you... go to the Misty Mountain Valley, the Dream Abyss?"

"Indeed." Xue Ziyang confirmed, "You know?"

"I have also been there before..." Chu Liang said puzzledly, wondering why he hadn’t encountered such a situation before, "Behind the Dream Abyss, isn’t there a secret realm filled with spiritual energy and a palace at the top of a mountain?"

"No..." Xue Ziyang shook his head, "After the Dream Abyss, we arrived at a gloomy ghost realm, which was a battlefield full of countless bones and decaying corpses."

Huh?

This description struck Chu Liang as odd.

Because when he, Pu Shan, and Luo Yao and others had traveled with the Demon Sect’s team through the Dream Abyss, what they saw was completely different from Xue Ziyang’s depiction.

That should be the secret realm where Gu Qingyuan was trapped, it should be full of lush greenery, palaces, and pavilions.

"As soon as we entered there, we realized something was wrong, as we could hear a voice constantly calling out something all around us, but we couldn’t find the source of the sound... the further we got, the clearer it became, and finally, we realized that the voice was calling that woman’s name!"

"Her name is Cai Yi."