Chapter 46: Yinyu Peak Protects All Living Things

Halfway up Yinyu Peak, the two True Persons Danyang and Danzhu had their spiritual senses fully extended, scouting the lower half of the mountain for any missed spirit beasts, while Fuyin Zhenren stood by to guard them.

Come to think of it, these two True Persons, Danyang and Danzhu, were a pair of twin brothers, whom the former Sect Leader had encountered by chance in the mountain forests while traveling through the human world years ago.

At that time, the two looked to be no more than four or five years old, without a stitch of clothing, disheveled and filthy; they were clearly children who had been abandoned.

It is unknown what the two had endured, but upon seeing the former Sect Leader, they acted like little beasts that had been starving for a long time and had lost their mother; they roared and pounced on him, as if treating him as prey, opening their mouths to bite.

The former Sect Leader gathered his Qi and let out a shout, shaking the two of them away and sending them flying quite a distance.

How could two children withstand such a shock? They passed out the moment they hit the ground. When they woke up, they were bound tight.

Seeing them like this, the former Sect Leader felt pity and brought them back to Jiuque Mountain; the time the three spent together was full of twists and turns hard to describe.

However, the two were, after all, the children of mortals; it was likely that being abandoned in the mountain forest for so long without seeing people had triggered their beastly nature. Through the former Sect Leader's meticulous care and gradual guidance, they finally regained their humanity.

Watching Danyang and Danzhu enveloped in Spirit Qi, Fuyin Zhenren could not help but curl his lips into a smile.

He remembered that when they first met, the two were extremely timid, always clinging to their master's side and refusing to leave even half a step. It took about half a year of getting along before they finally let down their guard and became familiar with their fellow disciples.

At that time, Fuyin Zhenren had just reached twenty. Although his master had made some calculations and determined their approximate birth dates, they were the closest in age to him compared to the other senior brothers, so he intended to have them placed in his care.

Come to think of it, it was he who taught Danyang and Danzhu how to speak back then.

Not long after, their master took the two under his tutelage and bestowed upon them the names Danyang and Danzhu.

Because of the former Sect Leader's arrangements back then, Danyang and Danzhu had the best relationship with Fuyin Zhenren. Whether practicing techniques or seeking the Dao, they were always together and rarely separated; even when going down the mountain for training, they traveled the same path.

If it weren't for the events that befell the sect back then, it is likely the two would not have become the independent Elders of a sect that they are today.

Just as Fuyin Zhenren was lost in thought, he saw Danzhu finish his cultivation and sit down beside him.

"Brother, are you thinking about the past again?"

Although Danzhu was the younger brother, his mind was much more mature than Danyang's. Danyang was always a bit impatient when encountering matters, while Danzhu could think a step further than him.

"I was thinking about when you and Danyang were first brought to Yuanqing by Master, the way you two would timidly hide behind him, not daring to come out." Fuyin Zhenren sighed as he looked into the distance, as if the past were only yesterday.

Hearing this, Danzhu looked at Danyang and then said with a light laugh: "That's right~ If not for Master's mercy, we two would surely still be living a life of eating raw meat and drinking blood."

Then he lowered his head and pondered.

"If not for the Blood Calamity back then, I imagine Master would still be alive. It is just a pity for Lingxiang now..."

If not for the Blood Calamity back then, the Yuanqing Sect would be a different sight, and Tumi Xianzi would surely be living safely and soundly on Qingwei Peak...

While Fuyin Zhenren was lost in thought, he saw Danyang Zhenren also finish his cultivation and walk out of the array eye.

"I was there diligently scouting for spirit traces, but you, Brother, are quite something—actually chatting idly with Danzhu."

Hearing him say this, Danzhu teased him.

"Brother must have had his cultivation regress. I scouted the entire back mountain, which is much larger than your front mountain, and I was indeed able to finish before you, which is why I sat down to talk with the Sixth Senior Brother. It seems my cultivation is about to catch up to yours, Brother."

Danyang did not get angry upon hearing this; he sat down between the two with a smile.

"For an older brother to lose in cultivation to his younger brother, that is naturally not allowed. It is just that there was some movement on the front mountain, so I spent a little extra effort on it."

The former Sect Leader possessed a Chaos Spiritual Root and was a rare genius in cultivation, proficient in both Mysterious Arts and Martial Dao. However, due to the sect's calamity, he passed away too early and did not pass on all his skills to Shangqing Zhenren. Although the current Yuanqing Sect Leader and Qianyuan Zhenren have the highest cultivation, they also have their shortcomings.

To prevent that calamity from happening again, the other six Elders each spent a few short years painstakingly cultivating a specific Daoist technique.

Just as Zhaoming Zhenren is excellent at Array Formations, if one were to ask what skills Danyang and Danzhu possess, it would be Spirit Searching and Spirit Communication.

The art of Spirit Communication actually divides into many types: Communication with Heaven, Communication with Earth, Communication with Humanity, Communication with Divinity, and Communication with Ghosts—these are the so-called Five Communications. And the ability that the two True Persons Danyang and Danzhu possess is Communication with Earth.

Perhaps because they were abandoned in the mountain forest from a young age, the former Sect Leader discovered when teaching them that they could listen to the sounds of all things in the world. Any spirit creature or beast that had gained intelligence could converse with them.

As for Spirit Searching, it is the ability to detect traces of Spirit Qi within a certain range; if it is something familiar, they can recognize it instantly.

And sure enough, Zhaoming Zhenren's Mountain-Arranging Array had already been activated, yet two people had bypassed the array and were coming from the front mountain.

Hearing this, Fuyin Zhenren hurriedly sat up straight—now that there was movement on Yinyu Peak, could it be that it exactly matched the omen on the Hunyuan Instrument from not long ago?

Seeing Fuyin Zhenren like this, Danyang tugged on his sleeve and said it was nothing.

"It is not some ominous thing, but if you must call it trouble, I wonder if those two troublemakers count."

Troublemakers? That could only be the two of them.

That Lingxiang, she is going to corrupt his disciple again!

"Fuyin Senior Brother is becoming increasingly lax with you lately. On a day like this, instead of practicing or meditating, you run to my Leisurely Cloud Abode every day with nothing to do. You don't look like a disciple at all!" Lingxiang complained to Maidong while walking quickly.

Having heard the exam questions for the Second Martial Exercise today, she intended to come to Yinyu Peak to scout the path, but who would have thought she would run into Maidong just after descending Qingwei Peak.

Once Maidong heard that the questions for the Second Martial Exercise were a bit suspicious, she insisted on following along to get to the bottom of it.

"Since it's suspicious, two people investigating is easier than one, isn't it? In case you miss a clue, perhaps I can make up for what you missed." Maidong looked righteous. "If we discover anything, we can quickly tell the Junior Uncles, right?"

Lingxiang glanced at her—did she really think she didn't know what little schemes she was up to? It was nothing more than wanting to find some clues before the martial exercise, so she could tell her lover in that courtyard later and have him prepare early.

Although she said that, she was actually a bit worried herself. For one, the questions were already quite difficult for those Outer Disciples, and if one were not careful, the items they were looking for could be confused with some poisonous things. Secondly, and the biggest problem, was this Yinyu Peak itself.

Although the Seventh and Eighth Senior Brothers had long since driven their precious spirit beasts up the mountain, the lower half of the mountain was not entirely without danger. Just in the depths of this dense forest, there was no telling how many monsters were hidden within.

Maidong had personal experience with this.

When they were little, they often came to Yinyu Peak to catch spirit beasts for fun. It was fine when they were together, but if they accidentally got separated, nine times out of ten they would be entangled by some of the spirits and monsters. Once unable to escape, if the two Junior Uncles Danyang and Danzhu did not come to rescue them, they would be trapped inside.

Lingxiang and Maidong walked along the mountain path, completely unaware of the vines crawling behind them. Those vines followed behind like snakes, yet they did not make a single sound.

Just as Maidong turned around to check if there was anything unusual in the surroundings, those vines wrapped around her body in an instant and dragged her into the forest.

Lingxiang only felt a gust of wind blow past behind her, followed by a scream from Maidong. When she turned her head, Maidong was already nowhere to be seen, and standing before her were many tree vines.

Those tree vines were thicker than an arm, standing there like snakes rearing their upper bodies, as if they would fly out and wrap around their prey at any moment.

But...

Just as they were about to wrap around Lingxiang, they stopped the moment she turned around!