"But he didn't die?"

"Back then, we thought we had killed him, so I left first for the Central Plains. Later, they purified the Earth Vein together, clearing the source of the formed Demonic Qi, thinking the matter was concluded."

Hu Yijun nodded and said, "But this time, Elder Hongchang brought news from the Great Jing Dynasty, suggesting that he might not have died."

Lu Zheng pondered and asked, "Could it be a small rogue that slipped through the net back then?"

Hu Yijun shook his head, "Back then, they cleansed thousands of miles of mountains and rivers, digging three feet into the ground, killing all demon spawns thoroughly."

"Uh..."

"Of course, it's uncertain, maybe there were those who escaped early."

Hu Yijun said with a smile, "So this time, we'll take advantage of Zhou'Er's wedding day to gather together for another discussion. But you know, words couldn't make their way, and two monks even had a confrontation."

Wang Yuzhi listened, her heart pounding, "Such a terrifying figure, still our enemy, possibly not dead, and you can still laugh?"

"What does it matter?"

Hu Yijun laughed, "We received news that each family has investigated their vicinity, finding nothing. So neither the escaped demon cultivators nor the Demon Ancestor is near us now.

Now it seems, they caused trouble during the Great Jing's floods, presumably eyeing the densely populated Central Plains. So, the old monsters and folks there will deal with it, what do we have to worry about?"

Lu Zheng: "..."

You make a good point, but we live in the Great Jing, come on!

However, as Hu Yijun laughed, his expression turned stern, "Back then we didn't realize, but thinking now, we might really not have killed him."

"How do you mean?"

"Wuxin became True Desire, it's the Dao of turning real into illusion." Hu Yijun explained, "Back then, his actual Dao Practice was beneath us, yet he held his own against us six, truly displaying the demeanor of a Demon Ancestor."

"We destroyed his physical form, expelled his True Spirit, but the desire he casted, lingering between heaven and earth, wasn't erased immediately. It dissipated slowly instead."

Lu Zheng's eyes flashed, "Did you mean he escaped using the desire lingering in天地?"

"Upper Realm Celestial Demons have many tricks, escaping isn't surprising," Hu Yijun nodded.

Lu Zheng asked, "But this isn't a method an ordinary demon cultivator can achieve, right?"

"Of course, even if the Demon Ancestor passed down his Dao Heritage here, it would take thousands of years for someone to cultivate to such a level," Hu Yijun said naturally.

Then glancing at Lu Zheng, he smiled, "What are you afraid of? There are plenty of old monsters in White Cloud Temple. As soon as the Innate Cloud Qi emerges, all evils retreat, clearing desires in people's hearts, it's merely an Innate Cloud Purification Curse."

Lu Zheng couldn't help but flash an awkward yet polite smile.

Oh dear, I'm not an old monster.

However, as my own power increases, the cooldown period for cultivation indeed keeps decreasing, and each time I level up, I gain more strength.

But to elevate to that level of an old monster, it would take at least a decade, right?

Oh, cultivation is just too hard!

"Alright, let's not talk about him anymore," Hu Yijun waved his hand, skipping the topic.

"In this realm,天地 is mainly Spiritual Qi, with Upper Realm heritage still intact, Great Powers abound, while demon cultivators must generate their own Demonic Qi, making it twice the effort for half the result, so there's nothing to worry about."

Hu Yijun laughed, "Instead of worrying about this or that, why not think about what name our grandson should have?"

As soon as he said this, Hu Zhou and Gao Junyu, newly married, even if straightforward, felt a bit embarrassed at this moment.

Wang Yuzhi pinched Hu Yijun lightly, "After talking for so long, it's nearly noon. Why don't we start having lunch first?"

...

In the subsequent ten days, Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan toured the sights in the territory of Dingfeng Mountain under Wang Yuzhi's hospitality.

Celestial Wind Gorge, Five Fish Creek, Twin Eagles Gully, Eighteen Villages of Lianshan, Dushan Forest...

However, Hu Zhou and Gao Junyu, newlyweds, did not join them, choosing to go elsewhere, and not even Lu Zheng's cooking could hold them back.

...

Half a month later, they bid farewell.

Before leaving, Hu Yijun engaged the couple in a half-day discussion, and to thank them for traveling miles to attend the wedding, Lu Zheng gifted them two hundred jin of Wuliangye, thus they reciprocated by gifting them each a scripture.

"Little Cyan Hill Enchanting God Technique."

"True Dragon Great Hand Seal."

The former was found by Hu Yijun in a fox spirit's lair, mainly involving spiritual secret techniques, an enemy-countering method, just suitable for Liu Qingyan's cultivation.

The latter was a Martial Arts Technique, seeing Lu Zheng's Daoist and Martial Dual Cultivation, deeply inherited from the Daoist Sect White Cloud Temple, but without a strong martial technique, he specifically gifted him this.

This "True Dragon Great Hand Seal" not only has deeply refined Blood Qi but can also cultivate the Spirit, truly stimulating and promoting Daoist Techniques mutually.

Lu Zheng initially wanted to refuse the gift, but after thinking it over, Wuliangye is indeed the finest wine in this world, and the wedding banquet added much prestige.

Thus... truly delightful!

...

Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan headed north, soon leaving the border of Dingfeng Mountain, then continued their journey further north.

"North of Dingfeng Mountain, there seems to be a few masters occupying several hundred miles of territory who don't obey Dingfeng Mountain's jurisdiction, and not under the rule of Nine Nether Abyss." Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan chatted casually and then laughed, "Seems there's a fox spirit among them, do you want to chat with her?"

Liu Qingyan tilted her head and glared at Lu Zheng, "No!"

At the wedding banquet, Liu Qingyan had indeed met that relative from her own family, truly seductive and alluring.

However, it's said her greatest hobby is annually recruiting among mortal souls, selecting handsome youths to join her, bestowing Spirit Medicine for a job well done, even allowing marriage and to succeed as village chief once she's tired of them.

As for those who don't serve well, it's said many corpses are buried behind the cliff of Jiyue Mountain's back hill.

But this is the Southern Border after all. Eliminating demons isn't Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan's job, considering the Valley Master of Mist God Valley is even a guest of Hu Yijun. Lu Zheng naturally can't apply modern rules and Great Jing customs to the Southern Border.

Unless there's a large-scale massacre, cannibalism, and blood sacrifice, such events are common in the Southern Border.

Of course, this isn't to Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan's liking, hence Liu Qingyan doesn't wish to say hello to her.

Just because Liu Qingyan doesn't want to greet her, doesn't mean she doesn't want to connect with Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan.

In the next instant, a figure emerged from behind a tree in the distance, "This is Xin Yuniang of Jiyue Mountain, greetings Young Master Lu and Miss Liu!"

Dressed in a warm yellow gold-threaded white-patterned lily rain silk gown, with her creamy smoke lotus hairstyle draped in black hair over her shoulders, eyes like autumn water, neck like White Jade, red lips and white teeth, graceful and elegant, swaying with charm.

"So it's Master Xin!" Lu Zheng paused, and bowed in salute.

Xin Yuniang's eyes softened as she glanced at Lu Zheng and then Liu Qingyan, "How could I dare to accept such a title from you two, I'm just a small fox with no ambition."

Lu Zheng couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, calling yourself a small fox despite being an ancient demon, is that really appropriate?

"Meeting you today is fate, as evening approaches, why not stay at my lair for a night, and continue your journey tomorrow?"