“South” is a very relative and broad concept.

According to Lu Xingzhou’s current understanding, whether one divides north and south by the Qinling-Huaihe Line or by the Yangtze River, the vast southern regions encompass countless different geographies and cultures; it doesn’t refer to just one place.

One could also say that everything north of Guangdong is “north.”

Miaoyin Shan is roughly located in the area corresponding to Lingnan in the current world. Further south, one would exit the borders of Daqian. It’s clear how far Yuan Muyu ran with the child to avoid Ye Tinglan.

However, the geography of the two worlds is ultimately different. Beyond the southernmost point of Daqian is not the Nanhai but a vast desolate land.

There is no spiritual energy, and the land is extremely barren, like a Gobi Desert full of useless rocks and碎岩, but without yellow sand.

Old legends say that some ancient wars drained the spiritual energy from this region. In any case, no decent person lives there; instead, it becomes a haven for vicious demonic cultivators and wanted criminals.

Not only that, staying there for too long often causes problems—people either become somewhat deranged or are afflicted by unclean things as if possessed by ghosts, leading to continuous bad luck even after leaving.

Thus, it is known as the Land of Curses.

Some once suspected that a Kindling or Ethereal Water might be buried beneath, causing the Kindling to dry up spiritual energy or the Ethereal Water to be poisonous. However, years of exploration yielded nothing, and the world generally considers it a desolate wasteland.

When Lu Xingzhou and Yuan Muyu first moved to Miaoyin Shan, they tried exploring the Land of Curses due to its relative proximity. Of course, they also found nothing, and in recent years, they stopped paying attention to it.

With his current knowledge and cultivation far surpassing what they once were, Lu Xingzhou now felt a slight urge to explore it again. But he also feared wasting time, so it wasn’t his first choice, just a backup plan if he had spare time.

He wanted to go to the southeast, corresponding to the Jiangnan region of the current world.

For no other reason than Chen Yu’s Chunshan Ge being located there.

Most of the factions that colluded with King Jin had already pledged allegiance to Lu Xingzhou, with only a few exceptions, and Chunshan Ge was one of them.

It was one thing for Chen Yu to be tricked to his death by Lu Xingzhou, but his master, Grand Elder Gu Xuyang, went to Tianxing Jianzong to trouble Shen Tang, only to be ambushed and killed by Lu Xingzhou on his way back. This created a deep feud. However, it was clear that even as a first-rank powerful sect, Chunshan Ge was far from enough to challenge Lu Xingzhou. There was a very high probability that they had pledged allegiance to Gu Yiheng.

There was even a certain possibility that they had been Gu Yiheng’s people all along.

The so-called patrolling of demons across the land is presided over by Sheng Qingfeng’s Zhenmo Si. Lu Xingzhou, holding the imperial envoy’s arrow, wouldn’t be doing his duty if he didn’t cause some trouble for Gu Yiheng’s plans, would he?

To understand what Gu Yiheng was doing, this was the breakthrough.

“Are you really only taking this little white-haired one to the southeast?” The airship stopped outside Miaoyin Shan, Yuan Muyu asked, feigning calmness, “Once I enter meditation for my breakthrough, I’ll be hard-pressed to help anymore.”

Lu Xingzhou said, “It’s fine. If I can’t handle it, I’ll find Old Ji.”

Ji Wenchuan also wanted to say that their influence throughout the south was vast, and Old Lu could find many people to help, so he wouldn’t need her. But he knew he dared not say it, as saying it would truly mean death.

Yuan Muyu said, “Ji Wenchuan has something to do.”

Ji Wenchuan quickly said, “Indeed, many internal matters require my attention right now. I’ll be leaving now, talk later.”

With that, he plunged into the mountain and disappeared in a flash.

Lu Xingzhou helplessly said, “As you said, should I also leave a mark in the Yanluodian Grand Array? To make it easier to find Old Ji and the others.”

Yuan Muyu said, “The grand array is broken.”

Right now, it’s enough that you can contact me through the Tianyao Grand Array. Once you have access to the Yanluodian Grand Array to find Ji Wenchuan, Situ Yue, or Dong Chengbi, what role would I have then?

Lu Xingzhou sighed, “You focus on your breakthrough; that’s more important than anything else. These matters are really not difficult.”

Yuan Muyu pursed her lips.

She certainly didn’t think that a mere Chunshan Ge would pose any difficulty for Lu Xingzhou; she just wanted to find more reasons to contact him.

But she also knew that continuing to speak would turn into nagging again, and she didn’t want to ruin the current somewhat normal interaction.

Forget it.

Yuan Muyu forced herself to remain calm: “Alright, go in and leave a mark.”

As she spoke, the stone gate in the mountain rumbled open, and Yuan Muyu entered first.

Lu Xingzhou stood outside for a long time, then took Dugu Qingli’s hand: “Come, let me show you mine and Ah Nuan’s old home.”

The stone gate closed, and Jiang Yuan quickly followed to the outside but couldn’t get in, angrily kicking it.

“Swish swish swish!” Mechanisms activated, and ten thousand sword rays shot out. Jiang Yuan flashed away, covering her head and fleeing.

Lu Xingzhou and Dugu Qingli didn’t even know she was secretly following. Yuan Muyu knew but couldn’t be bothered to care. The three entered Yanluodian in silence.

Dugu Qingli turned to look at Lu Xingzhou’s expression. He appeared calm, but in fact, he looked somewhat dazed.

Perhaps Lu Xingzhou never thought he would return here two and a half years later, a perfectly standard Kun year.

When he left, it was snowing heavily; when he returned, spring was in full bloom.

When Lu Xingzhou left, he never thought he would one day return to show off or act smug; he only wanted to be separate. But objectively, the current Yuan Muyu would agree to anything. The so-called supreme authority of Yanluodian—he only needed to say the word to have it.

This realization made his emotions exceptionally complex. Was he proud? Not at all. Instead, he felt a sense of detachment in his thoughts.

Including the Yanluodian disciples he saw, those who once ostracized and mocked him now bowed respectfully, not daring to breathe loudly. The tragic part was that people didn’t know how to address Lu Xingzhou when they saluted him now.

Could they still call him Judge? They didn’t know.

The entire atmosphere of Yanluodian was oppressive and strange.

Lu Xingzhou silently walked to his former residence and gently pushed open the door.

Inside, everything was as it used to be. Even the book spread open on the table was still on the same page, and the mischievous smiley face Ah Nuan had drawn on the desktop hadn’t been wiped off; its wide grin was about eighty percent similar to Ah Nuan’s.

It was as if two and a half years had been forcibly erased, as if he had just stepped out for a moment and returned, with nothing having changed.

Yuan Muyu sat silently behind him, her body trembling slightly. She suddenly regretted letting Lu Xingzhou come back. With these memories triggered, she didn’t know what emotions would surface, and it might mean all their recent interactions had been in vain.

But then Lu Xingzhou suddenly spoke: “Actually, there’s no need to keep the room; I won’t be living here again, it’s just a waste of space.”

Yuan Muyu sniffled: “No one else is qualified to live in your room.”

That voice… Lu Xingzhou turned to look, and there were tears in Yuan Muyu’s eyes.

Lu Xingzhou was silent for a moment, then whispered, “Let’s go, to the communication array.”

After speaking, he skillfully went to the communication grand array and left his mark: “If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave now?”

Yuan Muyu pursed her lips and only hummed in agreement after a long while.

Lu Xingzhou cupped his hands: “Then, Sister, take care, and I wish you an early breakthrough to Qianyuan.”

From beginning to end, there was no special gesture, nothing to say.

Yuan Muyu also had nothing to say, her heart feeling choked. Not until Lu Xingzhou pulled Dugu Qingli away did several subordinates maintaining the array look on in shock as their normally cold and ruthless Yan Jun suddenly burst into tears.

It’s over, we’re not going to die, are we?

Ji Wenchuan appeared beside them and gestured to the few people. They fled as if granted a great pardon.

Yuan Muyu sobbed and asked, “Wenchuan… this time I feel it so clearly, the barrier is like a physical presence, suffocating me. I don’t even know how to speak, how to ask him to stay for two days.”

Ji Wenchuan said, “Actually, it’s not that complicated… When I go back to my hometown now, I see my old ancestral home and childhood friends and so on. At first, I’ll lament how time flies, and childhood playmates have become old men, feeling a little complex inside. But after the lament, there’s still nothing to say, and I turn and leave.”

Yuan Muyu, with teary eyes, asked, “Is… is it just like that?”

“That’s how it is when feelings fade, but friendship can be rekindled. If I wanted to rekindle friendship with those old men, I just need to ask them to play a game of chess, and we could be drinking together that very day. Aren’t you and Old Lu talking again now? Just keep going.”

Yuan Muyu: “…”

Everything became so simple when this guy talked about it, and yet it sounded so incredibly logical… But would this logic really work?

It was truly strange. What was the point of discussing this with this eternal bachelor? Wouldn’t she be led astray?

But Yuan Muyu preferred to ask the straightforward Ji Wenchuan and never once thought of asking her best friend Situ Yue. She didn’t suspect Situ Yue had any issues, but because of Lu Xingzhou, a slight rift had formed between the best friends after all.

However, Yuan Muyu wasn’t a boss who would casually shift blame to others; she still acknowledged that the main problem in the Lu Xingzhou incident lay with herself and didn’t blame Situ Yue.

“Forget it, you’re right. Now that we have a topic, we can continue.” Yuan Muyu wiped away her tears and took a deep breath: “First, I need to break through to Qianyuan. In the coming battle, Huiyang will probably only be considered useless.”

Ji Wenchuan touched the Huiyang Breakthrough Pill in his pocket, with only two words in his heart: “You’re kidding.”

Meanwhile, Lu Xingzhou and Dugu Qingli left Yanluodian. Dugu Qingli cautiously watched Lu Xingzhou’s expression: “I’m sorry…”

“Huh?” Lu Xingzhou came back to himself and asked in surprise, “What are you apologizing to me for?”

Dugu Qingli was a little embarrassed: “I said I wanted to see your and Ah Nuan’s former home, but after seeing it, I realized it was meaningless and only made you feel bad.”

“No, I don’t feel bad at all. It’s just a bit complicated, the kind that’s hard to describe…” Lu Xingzhou smiled: “But after leaving, seeing this bright spring light, the vast sky and sea, my mood has become much clearer. Speaking of which, Yanluodian is nestled in the mountains, never seeing the light of day, which probably has some influence on people’s temperament. I should suggest they move to live on the mountain in the future.”

Dugu Qingli confirmed that Lu Xingzhou wasn’t genuinely in a bad mood, so she breathed a sigh of relief and followed up: “If they moved to live on the mountain, directly facing the world, then Yanluodian would no longer be a demonic sect.”

“Isn’t your master always waiting for that day?” Lu Xingzhou held the girl’s hand and strode down the mountain: “Perhaps one day, her wish will come true.”