Chapter 176

Leaving the Profound Creek Sword Sect, Su Chen continued his journey westward.

Having resolved this matter of karma, he felt his mind become much clearer, which further refined his comprehension of the Dao.

After exiting the Profound Creek realm, Su Chen's pace slowed even more.

The Western Cattle Joy Continent is vast, with mountains and forests standing tall; trying to find a mountain that is not widely known is no different from looking for a needle in a haystack.

Su Chen was not in a hurry; whenever he arrived at a town where people gathered, or a cultivator's market, he would stop for a while to chat with others and gather information.

On this day, he arrived at an immortal city named "Pingyang."

This immortal city was quite large, with many cultivators coming and going, a mixed bag of people from all walks of life.

Su Chen found a restaurant, ordered a pot of spiritual wine and a few side dishes, and while drinking, he listened to the chatter of the surrounding cultivators.

"Have you heard? A demon appeared in Tan Mountain a few days ago. True Person Tanming of Tan Mountain fought it to drive it away, but in the end, he was swallowed by that demon."

"Sigh, these demons are becoming more and more rampant, and the Heavenly Court doesn't even care."

"Care? How can they care? The Western Cattle Joy Continent is the territory of the Buddhist Sect; the Heavenly Court's reach cannot extend that far."

Listening to these discussions, Su Chen sighed inwardly.

The Great Tribulation is approaching, and the tribulation energy between heaven and earth is becoming heavier, which in turn makes these demons and ghosts more active and bold than ever before.

Just as he was listening, the conversation of two loose cultivators at the next table suddenly caught his attention.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, I heard you managed to get a three-hundred-year-old fire lingzhi; is that true?" asked a cultivator dressed in white.

"Hehe, could that be fake?" a fat cultivator opposite him smiled triumphantly. "Let me tell you, I discovered a great place. The spiritual energy there is abundant, there are many heavenly materials and earthly treasures, and there are no powerful demon kings occupying it; it is simply a blessed land for us loose cultivators!"

"Really? Where is that place? Tell me quickly, I'll go try my luck another day," the sharp-mouthed cultivator asked eagerly.

"Want to know?" The fat cultivator chuckled and held up three fingers. "This much."

"Three hundred spirit stones? Why don't you just go rob someone!"

"Take it or leave it; this is a treasure land I discovered with great difficulty."

Hearing this, Su Chen smiled slightly.

This fatty actually dared to boast about having a treasure mountain here; if he wasn't stupid, he must have had other motives.

However, none of this concerned him; he came here to inquire about Mount Fuling.

Su Chen summoned the waiter and asked him if there was anyone here who was well-informed.

The waiter was also a cultivator, but he only had the cultivation base of Refining Essence into Qi.

Hearing this, he patted his chest and said that he was the most well-informed person in this immortal city.

Hearing this, Su Chen casually took out a spirit stone and placed it on the table.

Seeing the spirit stone, the waiter's eyes went straight.

Working as a waiter in this restaurant, he couldn't even save a few spirit stones in a year.

"I am asking you about a place; if you know it, this spirit stone is yours," Su Chen said to him.

"Ask away! Ask away!"

The waiter stared at the spirit stone, unable to look away, and said hurriedly.

"Have you ever heard of a place called Mount Fuling?" Su Chen asked.

"Mount Fuling?" The waiter frowned and thought carefully, but finally shook his head regretfully, indicating he didn't know.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, the fat cultivator from earlier suddenly rushed over and said, "This fellow Daoist is looking for Mount Fuling?"

Su Chen looked at him and asked, "Oh? You know Mount Fuling?"

The fat cultivator nodded with a smile: "I have heard of it, it's just..."

As he spoke, his eyes looked at the spirit stone Su Chen had placed on the table.

Su Chen smiled and said to him, "If you know, this spirit stone is yours."

The fat cultivator's smile became even brighter upon hearing this.

He hurriedly took out an animal skin map from his bosom, pointed to a location on it, and introduced it enthusiastically: "Fellow Daoist, please look. From this Pingyang City, head straight west, and after flying for about three days, you will see a great river named 'Wusi River.' After crossing the river, head south for about three thousand li, and you will be able to see a mountain range; that mountain is Mount Fuling!"

Su Chen kept the location on the map in his heart and nodded at him.

"Good, this spirit stone is yours. However, I hope you are not lying to me, otherwise, I will come back to find you."

"No, no. Fellow Daoist, rest assured, I, Fatty Wang, am the most trustworthy."

The fat cultivator patted his chest and said.

Su Chen nodded, settled the bill, left Pingyang City, rode an auspicious cloud, and flew west at full speed.

With his cultivation base, it took only a moment for him to arrive at the banks of the Wusi River, after which he set his sights on the south.

Not long after, a rolling mountain range indeed appeared before his eyes.

The mountain range was shrouded in clouds and mist, with lush forests, and spiritual energy faintly rising from within the mountains.

"Finally arrived."

Su Chen felt a joy in his heart, slowed his speed, restrained his aura, and slowly flew toward the mountain range.

Mount Fuling, with its continuous mountain terrain and ancient trees reaching the sky.

Although the spiritual energy in the mountains could not compare to those blessed caves and lands, it could still be considered rich, and it was indeed a good place for cultivation.

Su Chen restrained his own aura and entered the mountains.

He spread out his powerful spiritual sense, and soon he discovered a cave dwelling in the mountains that was concealed by a formation.

A faint demon aura drifted out from the cave dwelling, which was clearly a demon's cave.

"This should be the place."

Su Chen thought to himself, his figure flickered, and he arrived before the cave entrance.

Ignoring the formation before the cave, he used his divine ability to arrive in front of the cave dwelling, only to see three large characters carved in a dragon-flying and phoenix-dancing style on the stone wall at the cave entrance—Cloud Stack Cave.

Just as Su Chen was about to call for the door to be opened, he saw the cave dwelling's entrance open, and immediately after, a charming figure walked out, looking at Su Chen with hostility.

That was a female demon who looked to be about thirty years old, wearing a gorgeous dress, with a complex hairstyle on her head, and a pair of ruby-like eyes full of vigilance.

A faint demon aura radiated from her body; her true form should be a rabbit.

"Who are you? Why did you come unannounced and force your way into my cave dwelling?" the female demon asked Su Chen sharply.

Looking at her, Su Chen understood everything in his heart.

This person was likely the Luan Erjie Luan from the original work, who took Zhu Bajie as a live-in son-in-law, only to die not long after.

"Fellow Daoist, don't be anxious; this matter is my fault." Su Chen apologized hurriedly. "I have no ill intentions; coming before your cave dwelling, I only wanted to ask you about someone."

"Ask about someone?" Luan Erjie Luan blinked her red eyes and asked, "Who do you want to ask about?"

"I am looking for a pig demon named 'Zhu Ganglie'; I wonder if you have ever heard of him?" Su Chen asked straightforwardly.

"Zhu Ganglie?"

Luan Erjie Luan thought for a long time, then shook her head.

"Never heard of him. Within a thousand li of this Mount Fuling, I basically know all the demons, big and small, and I have never heard of a pig demon with that name."