CHAPTER 281: CHAPTER 1: FENGDAN COUNTY—THE LAST FEUDAL TERRITORY

"Fengdan County?" Could it be that the Yue Family still has private properties in that Fengdan County? Yue Jinghua was quite surprised; she originally thought that the bankrupt Blood Cherry Duke Manor had nothing left.

The situation was even more optimistic than Yue Jinghua had imagined. Located on the outskirts of the Xuan Beast Ridge within the Dragon War Empire, Fengdan County turned out to be the feudal territory of the Yue Family.

"When the Dragon War Empire was founded, it continued the system of nobility. Apart from a small number of Prince Territories and Duchies, most inheriting dukedom families had their own feudal territories, and the Duke Mansion was no exception." When Yue Jinghua was younger, she was too young for Hongling to bring up the details of the Duke Mansion in front of her.

A feudal territory was a domain that the Emperor of the Empire bestowed upon his loyal and meritorious subjects. The ownership was entirely in the hands of the recipient, and it cannot be transferred or sold mid-way. Unless it was by imperial decree, even if the lord went bankrupt, they could not be deprived of it.

The taxes collected or the development within the feudal territory were all managed by the recipient. Each year, the feudal territory only needed to submit a fixed proportion of tribute taxes to enjoy the territory indefinitely.

The feudal territory of Fengye Dan Jun, due to its remote location and proximity to the outskirts of the Xuan Beast Ridge, had always been unmanaged. The previous Blood Cherry Duke Yue Nian only occasionally visited during the winter hunting season.

Afterward, when the Blood Cherry Duke Manor fell into decline and the feudal territory could not be sold, Lie Rou had Hongling’s father go to help manage Fengdan County. Hongling’s father would submit a portion of winter wages on time each year, which served as the last piece of property left for the current young lord, Yue Minzhi.

In the Dragon War Empire, a village was a hundred people, a town was a thousand, a city was ten thousand, and it took nearly a hundred thousand to be called a county.

In Yue Jinghua’s view, a Duke Mansion that possessed a mountain county adjacent to the Xuan Beast Ridge was like holding a golden rice bowl while crying poor – it was just too frustrating.

"Since that’s the case, let’s go to Fengdan County. Fengdan County is very close to the Xuan Beast Ridge. We can take a shortcut to send mother and Yue Chen there first, and then enter the region previously mentioned where the Dark Beast Egg was damaged," Yue Jinghua decided to send Lie Rou and others to meet with Hongling’s father in Fengdan County, before she and Teng Wu and the others rush to the belly of the Xuan Beast Ridge.

After deciding on the plan, they called Teng Wu over.

When they explained that they planned to go to Fengdan County, Teng Wu’s expression was a bit odd, but it was only very fleeting, and he quickly covered it up.

Yue Jinghua and the others didn’t notice, and the group divided up the carriages.

Teng Wu and his servant Yun Luo took one carriage, Yue Chen, Lie Rou, Hongling, and Shalman shared another, and Yue Jinghua, for the convenience of cultivation, requested a separate carriage for herself. The group traveled by carriage during the day and rested at night. They continued this for several days, gradually leaving Polo City behind and things went relatively smoothly on the journey.

After leaving the borders of Shang Kingdom, the towns became sparser, and eventually, they were replaced by vast snowfields and undulating ice ridges.

It was the height of winter, departing from the southern Shang Kingdom and heading towards the northern Dragon War Empire and the Xuanshou Mountain range, the weather grew cold.

Fortunately, all of them were Dark Practitioners. Using Protective Xuan Qi, they didn’t feel cold. Lie Rou, Shalman, Yue Chen, and others, whose Dark Energy cultivation was somewhat lower, had prepared enough fox fur winter clothes. The group proceeded with intermittent stops along the way, and it wasn’t too tiresome.

After approximately half a month, the places where the carriages had passed no longer had the dilapidated farmhouses that they had seen in the wilderness before; there was only thick snow that had accumulated over several days.

Unable to locate a village ahead or a store behind, and after a whole day of carriage travel without finding a farmhouse to stay for the night, the group had to stop. They found a wind-sheltered spot, lit a bonfire, heated some dry food, drank some boiled snow water and then went to sleep each to their own.

After everyone had fallen asleep, Yue Jinghua, who had already settled into her clothes to sleep, sat up again.

She looked around and used Pu’s Concealment to enter the pitch-dark Yanghuai Wood Forest behind her.

Just as Yue Jinghua swiftly entered the Locust Tree Forest, Ye Zi’s figure, ghostly as a specter, followed her into the forest, trailing right behind her from her carriage.

Blowing several breaths of cold air from her mouth, Yue Jinghua looked up at the sky. It was around the third period of the night, a time from then until just before dawn when the Dark Energy of the world would temporarily dissipate, and the Evil Qi would be at its strongest, making it the best opportunity for the practice of Sha Techniques and the Dark Summoning Demon Technique.

All along the way, to avoid Teng Wu’s keen sense of touch, Yue Jinghua had been doing her best to conceal her aura and had not summoned the Snake Woman Ge’er, whom she had just acquired.

Taking advantage of tonight’s outdoor lodging, it was a good opportunity to try and let Snake Woman Ge’er absorb some of the world’s Evil Qi.

On this winter’s night, the sky was clear with more stars than clouds, and heaven and earth seemed to merge into a single line. The deadwood in the forest was piled with snow that hadn’t melted for days, making the visibility at night even clearer than during the day.

Yue Jinghua first circulated her Sha Technique from her Dantian through two small cycles before starting the Dark Summoning.

Between the snowflakes, on the snowy ground, a five-star dark array for Summoning Demon revealed its shape, and the Evil Qi in the forest, like cats smelling fish, hurriedly gathered around.

In the center of the Summoning Demon Array, the golden-haired, blue-eyed Snake-haired Demoness Ge’er swung her slender tail as she cooed at Yue Jinghua with a voice like that of a spoilt child.

As Evil Qi continuously flowed into the Summoning Demon Array, Snake Woman Ge’er, still in her infantile form, could not petrify enemies yet, but her appearance was that of a perfect little beauty-in-the-making, which was quite delightful.

Soon, a reminder sounded in Yue Jinghua’s mind, "Infant-stage golden-haired Ge’er has gained enough Evil Qi to make a perfect advancement, transforming into a child-stage Ice Snake Woman Ge’er."

"Aoao, adorable little girl, come here, let me give you a kiss," the various Dark Beasts all came forward to offer their congratulations. The Gold Eater Worm saw the beautiful little Snake Woman and was so smitten it drooled while approaching the plump cheeks of the little girl Ge’er.

In the Summoning Demon Array, the young girl Ge’er with flowing hair saw the chubby Meat Worm and arched her delicate eyebrows high before swishing her tail and sending the Gold Eater Worm flying in disarray with a smack.

Following that, her golden hair billowed, and a burst of freezing chill shot out from her eyes.

"Crack," the Gold Eater Worm instantly became a segment of "ice" worm even harder than an ice pop. The spectacle made the surrounding Dark Beasts laugh uncontrollably, while Yue Jinghua laughed so hard she couldn’t straighten her back.

"Meat Worm and Little Shanshan are in charge of keeping watch. In a few days, we will reach the outermost ridges of Xuanshou Mountain. Find out what types of Dark Beasts there are along the way, whether they live in groups, and if there is a Beast King leading them, investigate everything clearly," Yue Jinghua commanded. With her order, Little Shanshan immediately transformed into a shadow and quickly vanished on the snowy plains.

The Gold Eater Worm cursed and muttered, but dared not offend Snake Woman Ge’er again, repressing its lust, forlornly flapping its wings to go on the lookout.

Yue Jinghua, unafraid of the biting cold, sat cross-legged on the snowy ground, starting to rotate the Nine Revolutions Star Creation Technique within her body, emitting a star-like radiance from her form.

Behind her, on the snowy ground, an Icefield Rhododendron bloomed silently, its crystalline petals unfurling. From the very heart of the blooming flower, a poisonous, gleaming Ice Thorn shot out soundlessly towards Yue Jinghua’s throat.