The four of them walked on the long street of Zhengyang City, and Du Heng asked blankly: "Where are we going now? Is Shenxu Palace?"

Jing Nan smiled and said, "You think Shenxu Palace is the one that we want to go to whenever we want to go to Shenxu Palace? Usually, only people from the sect can enter Shenxu Palace. If others want to go, they can only wait until the mountain gate is opened and the disciples are accepted."

Feng Gui looked at the rolling mountains to the west and added: "There is another way to enter, that is, to kick the hall." Xuan Yu said: "With our current cultivation level, when we go to the hall, we will probably be stabbed into a sieve by the sword cultivators when we go to the hall."

Du Heng's mouth twitched: "So we can only wait in Zhengyang City now? When will the Shenxu Palace open the door to accept disciples?"

Jing Nan said: "It's probably March next year? Don't worry, it's also very soon. Look, it's almost the twelfth lunar month, and time will pass in a flash." Du Heng's mouth twitched: "Stop making trouble, now it's only the light snow season at most, and there is at least one and a half months before the twelfth lunar month."

In this way, wouldn’t they stay in Shenxu Palace for half a year? Where did they live for such a long time? The longer they stay here, the more likely they are to be exposed.

Feng Gui whispered to Jing Nan: "It won't work for you to fool him in the season." Jing Nan nodded: "I can see it."

Xuan Yu said: "In addition to the two methods they just mentioned, there is another method. That is, to be a mission disciple, and you can also become a disciple of the sect. If you succeed, you don't have to wait until next spring, and we will be able to retire."

Du Heng nodded repeatedly: "Yeah, then let's go to the mission disciples! Let's go now?"

Feng Gui grabbed him and said, "Don't worry, even if we do mission disciples, we can't do it in the past. We still have to find a recommender to go."

Du Heng smiled and said, "Didn't we meet Xu Changge before? Isn't it enough to just let him be the recommender?"

Jing Nan said: "Well, it makes sense, but do you know how to find Xu Changge? Do you have any talismans to contact him? Just come to the door rashly, I guess I can't even enter the door of Shenxu Palace."

Du Heng was stunned: "What should I do?"

Xuan Yu said: "No hurry at this time, let's go to the residence first and then make a long-term plan."

Hearing this, Du Heng and the others began to worry again. God knows where Xuan Yu has prepared for their temporary residence this time!

The house is located in the old street of Dongcheng, where many ordinary people live. Compared with the tall Xicheng, Dongcheng is a slum that monks do not want to set foot on.

Walking on the bumpy bluestone street and looking at the ordinary people who were rushing to buy groceries on the roadside, Du Heng was stunned: "Is this... where we want to live?"

Xuan Yu said calmly: "Yes, this place used to be very lively."

Thousands of years ago, before the city was renovated, the east of the city was the most prosperous place. However, a new urban area was built later, and the rich ordinary people and powerful monks moved to the west of the city. The west of the city is close to Shenxu Palace. What is the saying? If you get close to the water tower, you will get the moon first. Every time there is any movement in Shenxu Palace, the people in the west will always know it before the people in the east of the city.

Jing Nan smiled and said, "I didn't see a monk all the way. It's hard for you. Xiaoyu. It's not easy to find such a pure land in a city as big as Zhengyang City."

Jing Nan said this a thousand times, and Du Heng didn't know whether he was praising Xuanyu or belittled him for a while.

Xuan Yuquan thought Jing Nan was praising him: "The house I bought before was not so remote at that time."

While talking, the four of them came to a remote alley. The alley had no name. There was a family in the alley. There was a tall weeping willow in the yard. Willows covered most of the alley. You could see branches and leaves swaying in the wind when you raised your head.

The east of the city is not as hidden as the west of the city. It is already early winter, and the leaves on the willow trees have fallen. The roads in the alley are covered with willow leaves rotten by rain, and the alley exudes an aging atmosphere like an old man in twilight.

The alley is only three feet wide, and it can only accommodate two people walking side by side. There are eight-foot-high courtyard walls next to it, with moss covered on the top of the walls, and the blue-black wall bricks are still crooked and a few grass grow. When Du Heng looked up, he happened to see a strong black cat flashing past the courtyard wall. The shrill cat moan scared Du Heng's hairs stood up.

In the deserted and narrow alley, the tall willows, the slippery and soft touch under his feet, and the unprepared cat moan, Du Heng felt like he was walking in a haunted house. He couldn't help but hug Xiaoxiao tightly, Xiaoxiao was strangled a little uncomfortable, and he raised his head and protested twice at Du Heng.

Xuan Yu soon walked to the innermost gate of the courtyard. There were broken copper locks hanging on the decaying wooden door. Half of the wooden door was already open, revealing the ground full of leaves in the courtyard. Du Heng found that the willows that enveloped the alley grew out of the courtyard!

Even if the sun was in the sky at this time, the yard was extremely gloomy under the willow trees. Du Heng looked around and said, "Is this alley... the only one family?"

Xuan Yu said, "It should be, there may have been residents, but they all didn't live long enough." It would be fine if Xuan Yu didn't say this. After saying this, Du Heng's back felt cold. He begged for mercy repeatedly: "Stop talking, stop talking."

If you continue, he will have a nightmare tonight.

Xuan Yu reached out to remove the broken copper lock. He gently pushed the wooden door, and the wooden door fell down in response.

Xuan Yu, whose hands were hanging in the air:...

Jing Nan said happily: "This is the yard that greets us, right? Not bad."

After the five people entered the door, Xuan Yu actually picked up the broken wooden door on the ground and put it on the door. Feng Gui said, "It's so bad, let's make another one."

Xuan Yu closed the wooden door and said, "You can't activate the formation if you don't close it."

Jing Nan looked around and saw that the narrow courtyard was square, facing the gate was the main hall. The gate was half open, revealing the black hole inside. He walked to the willow tree: "Is it the eye of the formation? Is it so big? Is it still useful?"

Xuan Yu knocked on the willow tree three times, and the trunks of the willow tree made a sound of solidity. When Xuan Yu knocked on the fourth time, the sound of the willow tree changed. Du Heng heard the sound of water splashes, and the sound was like the sound of a gurgling stream passing by.

The tall willow tree turned into water and fell down with a bang. The huge water flow bypassed Xuan Yu and the other four rushed towards the ground in the courtyard and the courtyard walls on all sides. The place where the water flow crawled through had an amazing change. The ground with thick willow leaves became a clean and flat bluestone floor. The dilapidated door turned into a bronze wooden door with a door bolt, and the mottled courtyard wall with moss turned into a blue brick and black tiles, even the height was raised.

The open main hall door has become spacious, and the dark room has light. The best thing is that the willow trees that are covered with sunlight in the courtyard are gone, and the dilapidated and gloomy courtyard has suddenly become a clean and tidy courtyard. Even the black cat who was just whispering on the courtyard wall has become a three-cat cat licking its paws on the courtyard wall and basking in the sun.

Du Heng's mouth has grown up: "Wow..." So magical! Is this the legendary illusion?

Xuan Yu's voice was very calm, and he said, "There are illusions in the industries I bought. There are only a few of us in the alley, so no one will find us here."

Feng Gui gave Xuan Yu a thumbs up: "Well, you're still careful. The industries I bought cannot be used, but you're still safe to do things." Jing Nan patted Xuan Yu's shoulder: "I'm interested."

Du Heng praised Xuan Yu for a rainbow fart: "Xiaoyu is so awesome!"

Xuan Yu smiled and held Du Heng's hand: "Go in and take a look? If nothing unexpected happens, we should be able to stay here for a while."

The yard purchased by Xuan Yu is a typical Chinese-style courtyard with two in and two out, which is more than enough for four of them to live in. There are formations in the yard and there are rare spiritual plants in it. Jing Nan's eyes shine when he sees it, and now he has started to dig up stone slabs and dig up spiritual plants.

Feng Gui was walking in the yard. He squinted his eyes and asked Xuan Yu: "When did you buy these industries? Why haven't you heard of them before?"

Xuan Yu said: "Those who bought it while walking in the world of human cultivation in those years, even if they are alone, they want to have a place to settle down. First, they are convenient for their actions, and second, they also think that one day there may be emergencies. Only I know when I was buying these industries, and the names used are all pseudonyms, so there is no need to worry that anyone will find out."

Jing Nan finally dug out a pitiful spiritual plant growing in the cracks of the rock. He pinched the leaves of the spiritual plant and said with a smile: "It's really no one to be a demon god to do this for the three of us. If we were placed in other sects, why would we compromise so much? We would have rushed to Shenxu Palace and grabbed the current palace master and forced him to hand over the Mian Dzi Pearl."

Du Heng said: "Is Shenxu Palace so powerful?" When he was in his hometown, he read those cultivation novels. In the novels, they all said that sword cultivators are the most powerful cultivators, and their combat power is stronger than Dharma cultivators. Are Jing Nan and the other three afraid of the sword cultivators of Shenxu Palace?

Feng Gui said: "It's amazing. The first sect of sword cultivation is filled with countless golden elixirs in it. Those sword formations can make out-of-body cultivators come and go. In addition, their demon-destroying arrays do make us feel a little headache."

Du Heng asked in confusion: "Demon Destroy Formation?"

Jing Nan introduced: "That is one of the two maze formations passed down from ancient times, specializing in dealing with demon cultivators with high cultivation. The location of the Shenxu Palace is located in the middle of the human cultivation world. According to historical records, once the formation is activated, most of the individual cultivation world will be shrouded in the Demon-Destroying Array, and all the demon clans in the formation will be subjected to a devastating blow.

"Of course, the Demon Demon Array is no longer as powerful as recorded in history. It's just that it's enough for the three of us to drink a pot."

Xuan Yu said: "It is precisely because of this that the three of us have to find a way to sneak into the Shenxu Palace. If we can do so, we should try not to disturb them as much as possible to avoid accidents."

Du Heng nodded with a slight understanding: "So that's it." It's too embarrassing to Xiaoyu and the other two, but as long as you can take out the Mian Dzi beads and find out the situation in the forbidden area, temporary tolerance is worth it.

Feng Gui said: "Today, take a day off, and tomorrow the three of us will go outside Shenxu Palace to check out to see if we can be a mission disciple of the outer sect."

Jing Nan sighed with his hands in his arms: "It's a sin. I remember that the Palace Master of Shenxu Palace asked us to come, and we didn't come. Now we still have to sneak in. Alas..."

Du Heng said: "It's okay, didn't Wen Tingzhi of Tianyi Sect say it before? He said that we must be very good at doing mission disciples. I believe that with everyone's strength, we will definitely be able to become mission disciples smoothly tomorrow!"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone stared at Du Heng, who scratched his hair in confusion: "What...what happened?"

Xuan Yu tidied up Du Heng's clothes and said gently: "It's nothing, you're right. But don't go, you and Xiaoxiao are doing well and familiar with the surrounding situation."

Wen Tingzhi is right. They are indeed very powerful, but they don’t include Du Heng. After they become mission disciples, they will find a way to take Du Heng to the Shenxu Palace!

The next day, the sun was shining brightly, and Du Heng walked aimlessly on the long street with Xiaoxiao. There were a lot of food he bought in the basket behind him, the most of which were water chestnuts and mushrooms with mud.

It is magical. There are many aquatic plants in Zhengyang City shrouded under the golden seal barrier, including water chestnuts and mushrooms all over the streets. However, only ordinary people and spirit beasts can eat these things, and monks are disdainful of these things.

Du Heng is now visiting the South Street. The reason why he is here is mainly because there is really nothing to visit in the east of the city. Du Heng walked two sticks of incense before he reached the south of the city, and there were more people in the south of the city.

When Du Heng came out, the sun had just risen. After a walk around, he felt it was time to go home. I don’t know if Xiaoyu and the others had made any progress in finding a job near Shenxu Palace…

Just as Du Heng hugged and laughed, there was a harsh sound of gongs and drums at the end of the long street. Du Heng looked at it and saw a red carpet at the end of the long street. On the platform were two Taoists in Qi Refining Period in the High Street.

These two men were arrogant, one was tall and thin, the other was short and fat. The tall and thin man held a golden ring magic weapon in his hand, and the short and fat man was holding his hands behind his back.

An enthusiastic voice came from the magic weapon: "Neighbors! Neighbors! Good news, Shenxuling Beast Garden, the kitchen now needs to recruit errands! Five taels of silver per month, and three days of rest! The treatment is generous, if you perform well, there will be additional rewards! Come and register! No matter men, women, young and old, as long as you come, we will use it!"

However, the two Taoists outside the magic weapon were not enthusiastic at all. They poked on the stage and frowned, with disdain in their expressions. However, even so, a lot of people gathered under the high platform in front of them: "I sign up! I sign up!"

Du Heng and Xiaoxiao looked at each other, and Xiaoxiao chirped twice with encouragement. Du Heng was so happy that Xiaoyu and the others were still thinking of invading into the Shenxu Palace, and they even left him at home. Maybe he would become the first person to enter the Shenxu Palace!

After thinking it through, Du Heng also squeezed into the crowd: "Take me one!"

Xuan Yu and the others looked bad when they came back at noon. Looking at the delicious dishes on the table, the three of them were a little frowning. The three of them sat beside the table and were wilted. Du Heng smiled: "Today I made a stewed lion head! Adding water chestnuts into it will be very crispy. Everyone should try it."

Xiaoxiao burped with the smell of lion's head and promoted Du Heng: "Jiuchi!" It was delicious, he ate two, so happy.

Du Heng served the rice for everyone, and the warm rice grains were emitting a clear fragrance. Such rice was the best. Du Heng happily distributed the chopsticks in his hand to the three of them: "Lion's head is paired with rice, warms the stomach and heart. Don't stand there, eat quickly."

As he said that, he opened the casserole on the table, and saw eight lion heads floating in the casserole, which were bigger than fists. The usual lion heads were braised, and this time the lion meat was stewed, and one was half a pound. There were fresh bamboo shoots and green vegetables in the soup, which looked like the enlarged version of the meatball soup of the small green vegetable meatball soup I had eaten before.

In addition to the stewed lion head, there is also braised pork with zest mushrooms on the table. The mushrooms that have removed the mud and rinds are dyed beautifully by the braised pork soup, which looks like potatoes. However, as long as you eat a bite, you will know that they are two completely different varieties from potatoes.

Today he also made a stir-fried water chestnut dish. This dish is sweet. The diced water chestnut is drizzled with thin thickening. It tastes crispy and sweet, as if you are eating fruits.

In addition, a roasted pigeon was specially made for Nan Nan. The little maroon pigeons squatted in the plate and raised their heads, just like Du Heng's mood.

Xuan Yu picked up the bowl and greeted Feng Gui and Jing Nan: "Let's have dinner first."

Feng Gui spit out a sip of turbid air and said the first sentence after returning home: "I'm so angry." Jing Nan said nothing, and he scooped a spoonful of lion head soup and took a sip: "It's better to be at home."

Du Heng asked Xuan Yu quietly: "Are you wronged?" Xuan Yu gave Du Heng a comforting smile, and he said slowly: "Let's have dinner first, and then talk slowly after you finish it."

The stewed lion head made by Du Heng is very large, and it is a bit difficult to eat it in one bite. Jing Nan grabbed a lion head and divided it into two halves. None of the half could be put into his bowl. Jing Daxian'er had to separate half again.

After taking a bite, Jing Nan's eyebrows stretched out: "It's so tender, what's the crispy here? Are bamboo shoots? They don't look like it." Jing Daxian'er obviously didn't listen carefully to what Du Heng said just now, otherwise she wouldn't have asked this question.

Du Heng and Xiaoxiao looked at each other and smiled even happier: "It's water chestnuts. This can be eaten as fruit. I'll peel it for you to taste after the meal."

The stewed lion head is softer and tenderer than the meatballs in the vegetable meatball soup I had eaten before. Du Heng specially chose half-fat and half-lean meat as the filling. The meat filling with starch and seasonings was added to make it into meatballs and then stewed on the vegetable leaves. Although it is not complicated, it still requires some thought.

Xuan Yu ate most of the meatballs in one breath: "It's delicious, is this soup chicken soup?"

Du Heng nodded: "Yes, I use chicken soup to hang it. If you like it, eat more."

Du Heng secretly glanced at Feng Gui's face. Feng Daxian'er first poked the mushrooms in the braised pork. After eating the mushrooms, his face was a little depressed. After he ate the chopsticks of stir-fried water chestnuts, his face became even more depressed.
To be continued...