Chapter 143 An Encounter in Yumin Country

　　The merchant caravan from the Daughter’s Kingdom ambled toward the Yumin Country. Over the past few days, Wei Yuan had learned about the current state of the overseas world. The original eastern, western, northern, and southern lands were now connected, surrounded by a vast, boundless ocean, with Kunlun Void at the center.

　　Kunlun possessed the characteristic of simultaneously existing in different worlds.

　　And beneath Kunlun Void was said to be the entrance to the Nine Netherworld of the dead.

　　"Nine Netherworld? Why are you asking about that?"

　　The caravan leader looked displeased when Wei Yuan casually inquired about the Nine Netherworld. Unlike the *Classic of Western Mountains*, there was no terrifying lineup of mountain gods or powerful evil beings and top-tier deities in the overseas lands. This was a region far from the dwelling places of the gods, primarily inhabited by various countries.

　　Places like the Nine Netherworld were practically legends to them.

　　He scratched his red, bulbous nose and said, "That's the place of the dead. It's rumored to have been created when the god Gonggong crashed into Buzhou Mountain, one of the pillars of heaven. And there's also the god Zhulong, whose open eyes are daytime and closed eyes are nighttime. The fragmented chapters of the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* describe it in great detail."

　　"But if you ask me, it's all nonsense."

　　The caravan leader took a swig of wine and said,

　　"Just ancient babblings. I admit there might be some truth to it, but crashing into a heavenly pillar and creating the world? How is that possible? And Zhujiuyin? It just shows how rich the imagination of the ancients was. I can't understand why so many people still believe it."

　　"Back to the Nine Netherworld. They say the entrance is beneath Kunlun Mountain, but who knows?"

　　"No one has ever come out of there, right?"

　　"Well, if they did, they wouldn't be human anymore. They'd be ghosts."

　　He told a cold joke, which amused himself so much that he burst into laughter.

　　Wei Yuan silently sipped his tea, wondering whether to tell the caravan leader that he had come from the Nine Netherworld himself. But he decided against it, lest he be mistaken for a ghost. He looked toward the north, where the Yumin Country was already visible.

　　Kunlun Void was at the center, surrounded by millennial, never-dispersing clouds. Possessing some of Kunlun's spatial abilities, they relied on demonic beasts to traverse a portion of the special mists beneath Kunlun Void, saving a significant amount of time. Not far ahead was the territory of the Yumin Country.

　　The architectural style here was more ethereal and graceful compared to the human world and the Daughter’s Kingdom.

　　Yet it still possessed a sense of grandeur.

　　Wei Yuan took a deep breath, organizing his thoughts: Infiltrate the Yumin Country, uncover the specific truth of Zhurong's slumber, explore the possibility of finding Zhurong's aura, and finally obtain the Five-Colored Bracelet. Then, use the bracelet's ability to locate the human world and return to Quanzhou.

　　This was a difficult task, but if he only needed to accomplish the final goal, it wasn't entirely impossible.

　　Wei Yuan had some confidence in himself.

　　As he was thinking, the caravan suddenly stopped.

　　Ahead, weapons were raised, blocking the way. Elite Yumin Country cultivators in armor directly intercepted the caravan, exuding a murderous aura. The caravan leader looked momentarily stunned, seemingly unable to understand. He stepped forward and hesitantly asked, "Is, is there some mistake?"

　　"We're from the Daughter’s Kingdom."

　　"This is our official document."

　　This caravan had connections.

　　The elite Yumin Country cultivators did not make things difficult. The leader, with hawk-like eyes, scanned the group, finally settling on Wei Yuan. A uniquely shaped magical artifact in his hand emitted a faint glow, with a red light enveloping Wei Yuan.

　　The surrounding people scattered in an uproar, looking at him with suspicion and whispering among themselves. The elite Yu Clan Heavenly Guard pushed the caravan leader aside and sneered, "You indeed have no problems, but he is different. He has a big problem."

　　"Stop him!"

　　With a rustling sound, the Heavenly Guards spread out and surrounded Wei Yuan.

　　Accompanied by the instantaneous whirring of weapons, blades radiating cold light pointed at Wei Yuan, filled with a chilling aura.

　　The Heavenly Guard commander said coldly:

　　"Before you even arrived, His Majesty's magical artifact already sent out a warning. You carry the aura of Feng Siyu, a traitor who fled our country. By law, you are to be arrested and brought to justice. Anyone who dares to obstruct will be considered an accomplice and punished accordingly!"

　　"Feng Siyu?"

　　"It's her?!"

　　The crowd was first stunned, and then their expressions changed drastically. Wei Yuan, on the other hand, realized once again that all plans were useless. The existence of plans was just to tell you the truth that life would break them in different ways. He raised his hand to draw his sword, preparing to fight his way out.

　　Just then, his ears twitched, and he heard the conversations among the crowd.

　　'So, he's also a priest of the god Zhurong?'

　　'Shhh... what are you saying? Aren't we not supposed to mention that now?'

　　'It's said that the god Zhurong has long been asleep. For the past thousand years, those priests have been falsely conveying divine decrees and secretly controlling the entire country. That Feng Siyu is the biggest liar. She ran away before, and now there's someone related to her who dares to return? Tsk tsk tsk...'

　　'Will he be locked up in that place too?'

　　'Probably. The other priests are all there.'

　　Wei Yuan's eyes flickered slightly, and he was lost in thought.

　　Zhurong's tribe of priests...

　　His action of drawing his sword elicited a huge reaction from the crowd. The guard leader's weapon was raised violently, emitting extremely powerful energy. The group almost instantly formed a formation, bursting out with a strong sense of oppression. This was the style of cultivators from the Age of Gods civilization, different from the Qin Dynasty's military formations.

　　The atmosphere was tense.

　　Ordinary passersby turned pale and stumbled backward.

　　Just then, Wei Yuan released his grip on the sword and said:

　　"I surrender."

　　"Hmm??"

　　The leader frowned and glanced at Wei Yuan. For some reason, he felt a faint sense of unease. He finally gave a look to his men on either side. They stepped forward, one disarming Wei Yuan of his Iron Eagle Sword, and the other taking out a magical artifact similar to a chain, directly binding Wei Yuan's hands, locking them with a click.

　　Only then did everyone feel relieved.

　　This was a sealing method used by the country that once worshiped Zhurong as its guardian deity.

　　Mortals could hardly break free from such restraints.

　　"Take him back!"

　　The leader waved his hand, and someone dragged Wei Yuan into the city. The people from the caravan that Wei Yuan had hitched a ride with were dumbfounded. Someone wanted to speak, but was stopped by the caravan leader. He rubbed his nose and said, "Don't interfere rashly. This is the Yumin Country. One country is different from another."

　　"In the Yumin Country now, the priests of the previous generation of the god Zhurong are the greatest taboo."

　　"We can't help Wei either."

　　At this moment, Wei Yuan had been taken into the city. The matter of Feng Siyu was a taboo in the entire Yumin Country. Now that someone related to her had been captured, it was a great achievement for the Heavenly Guard. As for whether he had deliberately entered the prison, ha...

　　Having been disarmed and his cultivation sealed, what waves could he make?

　　They would just wait for a while before taking him out for further interrogation.

　　Wei Yuan saw the tall stone tablet at the city gate of the Yumin Country's capital. He never expected that his second visit to the Yumin Country would be in such a way. However, it seemed that the situation in the Yumin Country was indeed stranger than he had anticipated.

　　They directly labeled the millennia of miracles of Zhurong as the priests' deceptions.

　　Such a grand scheme, were they not afraid of alarming Zhurong?

　　Or were they confident that Zhurong would not wake up?

　　Wei Yuan was directly taken into the deepest part of the prison and thrown inside.

　　The guards outside heavily closed the gate and opened the seal inside.

　　He could hear the sound of footsteps and voices gradually fading away. Wei Yuan sat in the prison cell. After a long while, when the sounds had completely disappeared, someone hesitantly asked in the darkness, "Young brother, I heard them say... do you know Siyu?"

　　"Feng Siyu? Yes, I know her. Are you..."

　　The old man's voice trembled slightly as he said, "We are priests of the god Zhurong."

　　"Did Siyu manage to escape successfully?"

　　"Yes."

　　Wei Yuan briefly described Feng Siyu's current situation. The old man was very familiar with the true side of this young girl and quickly confirmed that it was indeed Feng Siyu. He genuinely breathed a sigh of relief. Wei Yuan had deliberately come here to meet these Zhurong priests. He had originally thought it would take some effort, but now it was simple.

　　He could now inquire about Zhurong's situation and the origin of Feng Siyu's Five-Colored Bracelet.

　　"What exactly happened before?"

　　The old man sighed bitterly, and another person spoke through gritted teeth:

　　"It's the current ruler. He intends to erase all of the god Zhurong's achievements and even covet the fire god's authority. Originally, he was going to marry the priest Feng Siyu when he ascended the throne, eroding it bit by bit. But after we discovered it, we arranged for Feng Siyu to leave quickly during the wedding."

　　"At the time, we thought that no matter how crazy this guy was, he couldn't go too far."

　　"But after discovering that Priest Feng Siyu had left, he directly fabricated a monstrous lie and threw us all into prison. Unfortunately, the deity has been asleep many times in the past few hundred years, and only Feng Siyu has ever seen Him. We have no way to prove that the god Zhurong is awake. As a result, we can't explain ourselves, alas."

　　Wei Yuan pondered for a moment and asked, "How did Feng Siyu escape in the first place?"

　　One of the priests said, "I took her place on the bed in the bridal chamber, and then she quietly left with the Five-Colored Bracelet. That was part of the remaining material when Nuwa refined the Five-Colored Stones. When refining the Five-Colored Stones, the god Zhurong helped, so she obtained this treasure and it has remained in the Yumin Country."

　　"It was an emergency, so we just had her run quickly."

　　"Hmm??"

　　Wei Yuan was slightly stunned: "You took her place?"

　　This priest was a man.

　　He turned his head and saw a burly priest with tattoos on his arms, a goatee, and an even bigger belly. This priest sighed:

　　"Yes, I originally thought I could delay him for a while, or try to talk to the ruler nicely with my eloquence, but I didn't expect that after he lifted the covers, he would directly become enraged and want to chop me with his sword. Fortunately, I had practiced external martial arts and had some Kuafu bloodline, so I wasn't killed by his sword."

　　"He really has two faces. He originally seemed quite amiable, but I didn't expect him to have such a violent temper."

　　As he said this, the fat on his belly rippled in circles.

　　Wei Yuan: "…………"

　　No, anyone would react the same.

　　Wedding night, slightly tipsy.

　　As a result, he lifted the covers and saw a hulking man even stronger than himself.

t Be calm about it.

　　The priest seemed to notice Wei Yuan's gaze and patted his abdomen, saying wistfully:

　　"I've only become like this now."

　　"Back then, I was very thin."

　　"With the god Zhurong's divine arts, it was very easy to maintain my figure. I could eat as much as I wanted without getting fat."

　　"Unfortunately, after coming in here, I can't use it anymore."

　　The god Zhurong's power?

　　Wei Yuan was stunned. His mind instantly flashed a picture: a devout believer completing a ritual, chanting loudly, 'Great Fire God, please burn away ten kilograms of fat. I am willing to sacrifice ten kilograms of fat to you.'

　　Using the power of the Fire God to burn internal fat. This was only because Zhurong was still asleep. If Zhurong woke up, what would He do? That was not certain.

　　Wei Yuan then thought of Feng Siyu, who never seemed to gain weight no matter how much she ate.

　　As the most talented priest of Zhurong's lineage in the past few hundred years, what had this little girl done with the divine power...?

　　The old man sighed, "It's also our fault that we can't send messages out. Siyu doesn't know what's happening here. It's implicated you in coming here, young brother. What are you doing in the Yumin Country?"

　　Wei Yuan said:

　　"I was thinking of seeing if there was a Five-Colored Stone Chain, and also, I wanted to ask the god Zhurong for something."

　　The old man was stunned, seemingly not reacting to the second sentence, and then suddenly understood. He simply assumed that Wei Yuan wanted to ask the priests who worshiped Zhurong for a treasure. He said regretfully, "The Five-Colored Stones used to mend the sky were eventually melted into several treasures. There is a Five-Colored Stone Chain, but unfortunately, it's in the original place of worship. Once you're in here, I'm afraid there's no way to get out."

　　He looked dejected: "This chain is specifically designed to restrain us."

　　"Unless you're a god, no one can get out."

　　A cracking sound echoed in the empty prison, causing everyone's voices to abruptly stop.

　　The old man suddenly looked up.

　　In the darkness, the young man's pupils glowed with a golden light.

　　"God?"

　　He said, "That's me."

　　……………………

　　The human realm.

　　Xiang Hongyu watched Xiang Hongbao busy himself.

　　Xiang Hongyu, with his inherent cleanliness, frowned and said, "What are you doing?"

　　Xiang Hongbao didn't even look up and said, "Of course I'm preparing for the ritual. Anyway, those Jingjiao old folks refuse to let me hold the ritual in the cathedral." He couldn't help but complain, "It was all agreed upon, but as soon as I showed them the sacrificial rites, they all turned hostile after seeing the first line."

　　"Some even chased me out with rolling pins."

　　"And they call themselves seniors. None of them have any patience. Can't they even read one sentence?"

　　Xiang Hongyu said, "Indeed."

　　"But their mental fortitude should be strong. What was your first sentence?"

　　Xiang Hongbao said, "God said, let there be fire."

　　Xiang Hongyu: "…………"

　　He rubbed his forehead and concluded, "You deserved to be beaten."

　　Xiang Hongbao grumbled, "Why are you saying that too, Brother? Anyway, it doesn't matter. That Miss Yu has returned to Quanzhou, right?"

　　Xiang Hongyu was slightly startled and suddenly felt a stabbing pain in his heart: "Quanzhou..."

　　Xiang Hongbao rubbed his hands together: "Anyway, I'm just going to hold the ritual in your living room."

　　"Hehe, just wait and see."

　　"Maybe we'll even see a god..."

　　ps: Buffer chapter, four thousand three hundred words

　　A brief mountain and sea adventure, just to serve as a prelude.

　　Yuan's blood certainly does not have the effect of immortality. The previous chapter mentioned that it was to counter the poison of Mount Nvchou. In connection with what Qi said, Yuan ate a large pile of exotic beast herbs and could not digest them. It avoided the danger of absorption and explosion, but also made his blood full of medicinal properties, which could detoxify.

　　The story chapter of Kua Lin will be mentioned, this is the clue later, and I sell a suspense.