Fang Shu stood among the clouds and surveyed the valley for a good while. Then he turned into golden light and flew toward Witch Valley.
Before he could draw near, the expected pressure of an array entered his senses, and he landed in time.
Whoosh. A streak of light flew from the edge of Witch Valley and landed before him. "The Lü Mountain Witch-Ghost Way welcomes the immortal master as its guest!" came a smiling voice.
A woman adorned with silver ornaments bowed to Fang Shu.
Fang Shu studied her. She was only at Refining Qi, likely an outer disciple tasked with receiving visitors.
He nodded. "I've long heard of your Dao, and today I finally get to see it. But which peak is the legendary Lü Mountain?"
Fang Shu looked around.
Peaks stretched away on either side of Witch Valley, but none rose abruptly like Mount Lu or Scarlet City Mountain.
The Witch-Ghost Dao disciple gestured for him to follow as she explained, "Daoist master, this place is Lü Mountain. But the true Lü Mountain cannot be seen by those outside our Dao. Even a low-ranking disciple like me has never seen it, so I'm afraid I cannot answer you properly."
A thoughtful look crossed Fang Shu's face.
The ancestral seat of the Witch-Ghost Dao wasn't here. This was once just one of its branches. Could Lü Mountain refer to its ancestral seat? But rumor places it deep in the Hundred Thousand Mountains.
He glanced up at the sky, though he could make nothing of it for now.
Fang Shu followed the disciple through the array and strolled into the vast Witch Valley.
The moment he entered, its character, utterly unlike that of the Western Continent's heartland, struck him.
Few people here wore Daoist robes; many bared their chests