Xi Yue River Serpent Dragon Ferry

In the early morning, the sky was cool.

At the nameless small village, a necessary stop on the way to Xi Yue River, three people in a hurry arrived.

All three were dressed in gray monk robes, with bald heads, clearly monks who had left secular life.

Soon, when they reached the end of the village and saw the mess, they immediately stopped.

One of the monks stopped in front of a pile of black ash. He picked up a handful of the ash and examined it closely, also noticing fragments of clothing scattered on the ground.

"It's exactly the same as the remains of the Holy Bodhisattva. The person who did this is the same."

"We're still a step too late. In this direction... he must have gone to Xi Yue River."

"Should we still chase him? That's where the Mother Diviner True Person's dojo is," one of them asked.

"Xi Yue River and our White Buddha Temple have always kept to ourselves. Going there rashly will surely displease the Mother Diviner True Person. However, the Communal Feast Convention is fast approaching, so we can pretend to participate in the convention and act in secret."

"Should we inform the abbot about this? Without the abbot's orders, if we rashly enter Xi Yue River and something happens, we won't be able to bear the consequences."

"It's fine. The Holy Bodhisattva has been destroyed, and the Holy Bone has been stolen. This matter concerns the White Buddha Temple's grand plan for a hundred years. If the Holy Bone cannot be recovered, the abbot will not let us off.

But if we can bring back the Holy Bone and the culprit together, the ownership of this Holy Bone will allow the three of us to stand out. Anyone could have a chance to inherit the Holy Bone.

You two, are you going or not?"

"Then we'll follow Brother Guangdu's words. We'll go together!"

The other two hesitated for a moment, but ultimately followed the words of the monk named Guangdu.

The temptation of the Holy Bone was too great for them; none of them wanted to give it up.

Soon, the three left the nameless village and headed towards Xi Yue River.

Meanwhile, after leaving the nameless village, Yang An and the other two traveled overnight. After one night, they had covered more than half of the remaining journey. It was estimated that if they picked up the pace, they would reach Serpent Dragon Ferry on Xi Yue River not long after dark.

At this moment, as the three traveled, their positions relative to each other remained somewhat strange.

Yang An followed silently behind the other two, his gaze drifting, as if appreciating the surrounding scenery, or perhaps acting guilty and not daring to speak.

Pan Yu walked alone at the very front, completely ignoring the two behind her.

Pan Shi kept chasing beside Pan Yu, chattering incessantly about something.

"Junior Sister! You must remain calm! You must restrain yourself!"

"Fellow Daoist Yang saved us. Without him, we might have been harmed by that corrupt Taoist. Compared to that, it's just letting your Small Sumeru Bag carry some things. Don't let a small loss lead to a greater one because of this."

"Besides, your Small Sumeru Bag is a high-grade magic artifact. Whatever is put inside will be isolated separately, with no influence on each other. You... just treat it as an ordinary stick."

"..."

Pan Yu, who had been ignoring him and walking quickly, stopped abruptly upon hearing this. She turned her head and looked at Pan Shi, her face flushed with anger.

"If you mention the stick again, when we get back to the mountain, I'll tell Master about you and Senior Sister Min!"

"Alright! I won't mention it, I won't mention it. You really are my dearest ancestor."

"Hmph!"

Pan Yu snorted indignantly and then turned her head away, no longer paying attention to Pan Shi.

Pan Shi immediately looked like a defeated rooster. He slowed his pace and walked with Yang An, a hint of embarrassment on his face.

He gave Yang An an awkward smile.

"Hahaha, Fellow Daoist Yang, please don't mind. Well... women, you know, they say one thing and mean another. Don't take it to heart. As a senior brother, I have some dignity."

"Cough cough... Fellow Daoist Pan speaks the truth, the truth!"

Yang An pretended not to have seen anything.

The two couldn't help but exchange a smile, a knowing look, and then quickly averted their gazes, turning their heads elsewhere.

Time flew by, and it was soon night.

After rushing as fast as they could, the three finally arrived at Serpent Dragon Ferry by Xi Yue River late at night.

According to Pan Shi, the only way to enter Xi Yue River was to first cross Serpent Dragon Ferry.

As the only ferry crossing within dozens of miles, Serpent Dragon Ferry belonged to Jinma County and was located in Qishan Village within Jinma County. However, it was a desolate place, rarely visited by anyone.

Local legends said that a flood dragon god resided in Xi Yue River, and boats traveling to and from Serpent Dragon Ferry were often capsized by giant creatures in the water. Therefore, fewer and fewer people dared to cross the river at Serpent Dragon Ferry.

Furthermore, in recent years, with constant warfare, many civilians had been displaced by the conflict, and Jinma County was no exception, suffering greatly.

Even the county was in a state of desolation and ruin, let alone how many people were left in this village far from the bustling city.

Although people liked to believe in ghosts and gods, and many things were fabricated rumors, there had indeed been a flood dragon demon in Xi Yue River.

What they didn't know was that the flood dragon demon had been killed by the Mother Diviner True Person more than ten years ago and had long since turned to bone. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been the subsequent Communal Feast Convention.

"If we want to enter the real Xi Yue River, we need to wait here for a moment. Someone will come to welcome us."

Pan Shi had clearly learned the way to enter Xi Yue River from his fellow disciples.

Fortunately, they arrived here before dawn, otherwise, they would have had to wait another day until nightfall.

As expected, after waiting for a short while, a faint light appeared on the dark expanse of the river in the distance.

As the light grew closer, a plain wooden boat finally docked at the ferry crossing.

The light was merely a lantern hanging on the wooden boat, emitting a dim, yellow glow.

Yang An glanced over and saw that there was no one on the wooden boat; it was completely empty.

But the next moment, a voice suddenly called out.

"Are you fellow Daoists here for the Communal Feast Convention? Please reveal your true identities before boarding this boat! If you attempt any deception, please depart from this place, for the Xi Yue River does not welcome you!"

Yang An was startled. Following the direction of the voice, he realized that the source of the sound was coming from the lantern on the boat.

"I am Pan Shi, and this is my junior sister, Pan Yu. We are disciples of True Man Rou Shu from Three Pine Mountain, here to participate in the Communal Feast Convention. As for this fellow Daoist Yang An..."

Pan Shi introduced himself first, but paused when it came to Yang An. He remembered that Yang An hadn't mentioned his sect, and neither he nor Pan Yu knew which hidden sect Yang An belonged to.

However, participation in the Communal Feast Convention required revealing one's identity without deception. Now, they would finally know where fellow Daoist Yang's immortal mountain was. Pan Shi looked at Yang An with anticipation, and Pan Yu's eyes were also filled with curiosity.

Feeling their gazes upon him, especially the lantern on the boat, Yang An felt as if someone was watching him, even though there was no one on the boat.

His sect?

He didn't have a sect!

Yang An felt a surge of panic when he realized that participating in the Communal Feast Convention required revealing one's sect. He hadn't heard Pan Shi mention this earlier; he had thought he could just tag along with Pan Shi and Pan Yu.

In a flash, countless thoughts raced through Yang An's mind.

It seemed that falsely reporting a fake sect and identity wouldn't work.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up. He thought of the only two methods he currently knew.

One was a Bone Relic, from the White Buddha Temple. However, the White Buddha Temple was neither too close nor too far from the Xi Yue River, and Yang An dared not use the name of the White Buddha Temple, fearing potential entanglements.

But the Lighting Method he knew came from a sect he had never heard of – the Fate Crane Sect!

Even when he had used the Lighting Method multiple times in front of the Pan siblings, they didn't know what kind of technique it was. This showed that the Fate Crane Sect must be an obscure, minor sect.

And since he had mastered the Lighting Method, and in another sense, the Lighting Method originated from Old Man Fate Crane of the Fate Crane Sect, he could be considered half a disciple of the Fate Crane Sect.

In that case, it wouldn't be a lie, right? After all, the Fate Crane Sect was a real sect.

He decided. He would use the name of the Fate Crane Sect!

With this decision, Yang An gained confidence and followed suit.

"I am Yang An, a disciple of Old Man Fate Crane from the Fate Crane Sect, and I am also here to participate in the Communal Feast Convention!"