Although it was already autumn outside, with a sense of desolation in the air, the Red Dust Pure Land was filled with the fragrance of birdsongs, lush grass, and pink peach blossoms connected into layers, falling and landing on the head of Qingyu Dao Gu.
Qingyu Dao Gu's cold and beautiful face was a bit gloomy, as she let the peach blossom petals fall on top of her head.
She gazed solemnly at the cave of Saintess Jingxin not far away, feeling a sense of abandonment.
In the cave, there were three people: the founder of the Red Dust Sect lying on the bed, his own disciple, and another person who should logically be himself! Why was that person replaced by Jiang Li?
Qingyudao sighed dejectedly. She had no choice; she wasn't a descendant of the Red Dust founder. She was brought back to the mountain by the previous leader during her twenties and was powerless against the charm of the Red Dust founder.
Originally, she was skeptical, but with a sense of longing, she faced the founder who was asleep and had an otherworldly beauty.
Soon, longing turned into possessiveness, and she was forcibly taken out by the joint efforts of the Pure Heart Saintess and Jiang Li.
Only the method was a bit rough.
Damn it, why did nothing happen to Jiang Li? Instead, I, the head of the sect, was treated like an outsider!
In the cave, perhaps due to a change in the environment, or perhaps it was time, the Red Dust Fairy slowly regained consciousness.
She opened her eyes, and her black and white eyes looked at the two people in front of her.
At the moment she opened her eyes, Jiang Li felt that the whole cave was glowing, which made him dizzy.
The Red Dust Fairy looked bewildered and asked softly, "Who are you? Who was that foolish person who could only giggle before?"
"The 36th generation descendant, Pure Heart, pays respects to the founder." The Pure Heart Saintess bowed to the Red Dust Fairy.
"The 72nd generation, the Emperor, pays respects to the Red Dust Fairy."
"Are you my descendant? Who am I? And what is the Emperor?" The Red Dust Fairy looked bewildered, not understanding the actions of the Pure Heart Saintess and Jiang Li.
The Pure Heart Saintess asked, "Does the founder remember anything about past acquaintances?"
The Red Dust Fairy looked confused. "I only remember waking up from a giant crystal, and there seemed to be something binding me outside the crystal…"
"After I broke free, I left the mountain and walked to the east. I passed through two small towns and arrived at a forest. I became more and more exhausted along the way, and finally found a big tree to rest under…"
"After waking up, I found myself in a golden chamber. There was a man gazing foolishly at me. When I asked him questions, he didn't answer, just giggled foolishly. I found it boring, so I went back to sleep…"
"This happened several times, and then you appeared in front of me."
The Red Dust Fairy seemed uncomfortable speaking too much at once, pausing several times in between.
"Do you remember anything about your time in the fairy realm? Or perhaps what happened when you descended to the mortal world?"
The Red Dust Fairy shook her head gently.
The Pure Heart Saintess and Jiang Li exchanged a glance. The Red Dust Fairy had amnesia after being revived or did not retain her previous memories after being reborn.
Jiang Li frowned. He felt there was something wrong in the Red Dust Fairy's words.
He constructed a three-dimensional map of the Red Dust Pure Land with his spiritual power and showed it to the Red Dust Fairy. "This is where you woke up, and then you walked in this direction, right?"
The Red Dust Fairy nodded.
"Then you passed through these two small towns and finally arrived at the forest?"
The Red Dust Fairy nodded.
"You traveled during the day?"
The Red Dust Fairy nodded.
The two of them chatted with the Red Dust Fairy for a while, discussing some of her past information found in ancient books and the current situation in the Nine Provinces. When they saw that she was sleepy again, they settled her and left the cave.
"Do you have any questions?"
"I'm not sure of the specifics, but there must be some problem." Jiang Li frowned and said.
"Ever since I wanted the key to your treasure, you couldn't even produce money to buy spiritual artifacts. You had to go down the mountain to earn spiritual stones. Although I returned the key to you out of respect, it seems that you have learned a lesson. You even summoned some mortals from the Dream Jiang Dynasty to settle here, right?"
Everyone in the Nine Provinces could cultivate, but the mortals in the Nine Provinces referred to the cultivators who could only hover in the preliminary stages of cultivating their qi throughout their lives.
Upon hearing the words, "I returned the key to you out of respect," the Pure Heart Saintess blushed slightly but still nodded.
"These mortals established towns and planted Linggu. They deliver the harvest to us every year."
"The problem lies here. The Red Dust Fairy passed through two towns in broad daylight. With her appearance, how could the people in the towns not know? Yet, you didn't receive any news, which caused our founder to go missing for three years without anyone knowing!"
As Jiang Li spoke, the Pure Heart Saintess realized the problem.
Yes, the location of the tomb of the founder was remote, and it was reasonable that no one saw the founder leaving the mountain. However, it wasn't believable that she could pass through the bustling towns in broad daylight without being seen.
"It shouldn't be like this. Each town has a Gold Dan level sister overseeing it. The quality of the Linggu provided by the two towns is also excellent. How could something happen?"
Jiang Li gave the Pure Heart Saintess a disdainful glance. "You discovered the problem but didn't solve it, and instead you denied it first."
With that said, he turned into a stream of light and flew towards the two towns.
The Pure Heart Saintess stomped her foot in anger and took out a book from her storage ring, throwing it on the ground.
Supposedly, men liked silly girls. But this broken book was useless despite the Master's assurances that it was especially effective. It was said to be a best-selling book in the Nine Provinces.
The title on the cover of the book still on the ground read "One Hundred Ways to Make a Man Take the Initiative" - by the Sensual Teacher.
The Pure Heart Saintess also turned into a stream of light and followed Jiang Li.
After the Pure Heart Saintess left, Qingyudao gently sighed when she saw the book still on the ground, then picked it up.
After all, she wrote it herself.
…
The two towns were built along a small river, so the town upstream was called Shanghe Town, and the town downstream was called Xiahe Town, simple and easy to understand.
Unlike Qingcheng, Jiangli has not figured out where exactly Qingcheng is "green" after five hundred years.
The town is prosperous, with a thriving scene of people leading peaceful lives, not troubled by their inability to cultivate to higher levels, nor feeling inferior to serving a group of fairies throughout their lives.
The residents of Shanghe Town are all busy with their own affairs. Traders shout at the streets, boasting about their handmade products; waiters warmly receive guests at the restaurant, the kitchen is cooking over a roaring fire, creating delicious dishes, and a family is sitting around a table eating, while others prepare for the autumn harvest.
Everything seems so normal, no different from other towns where mortals reside.
But in the eyes of Jiangli and Pureheart Saintess, it appears extremely eerie, making Pureheart Saintess shiver with a cold chill.
There is not a trace of vitality here!
Whether it's the traders, waiters, or cooks, they are all dead people!
The entire Shanghe Town is a dead city!
Not a single living person!