Chapter 275: Liu Hai plays with the Golden Toad

Deep in the empty mountains, the sounds of nature are silent, and the shadows of the trees in the forest are in the moonlight.

A little starlight falls in the mountain, only two lines of figures, walking along the narrow mountain road.

"I suddenly remembered a text I learned in junior high," Zhang Fan said suddenly.

"What?" Qi Delong asked subconsciously.

"In this world, there was originally no road, and there were many people walking, so it became a road," Zhang Fan sighed.

This Toad Treasure Mountain has not been developed, with scattered rocks and muddy roads, where did the road come from?

In this place, on weekdays, occasionally hikers come to visit, and apart from that, only the nearby mountain patrolmen come once or twice a month.

"The road I walked last time was much more dangerous than this," Qi Delong said solemnly.

"We are now on the toad's back, and those bumps will move."

The shape of Toad Treasure Mountain is a toad lying down. The protruding mounds and strange rocks in the mountain are the meat bumps on the toad's back.

Qi Delong's so-called "will move" means that once a person arrives here, it is easy to get lost. Even if the Nascent Soul is awakened, it will be affected by the feng shui formation. After all, human power is difficult to match the terrain. The road walked last time is not necessarily the road walked this time, just like these meat bumps will move.

On the contrary, it is like Qin Ergou, who is extremely familiar with every grass and tree of Toad Treasure Mountain, to be able to wander in the mountain without getting lost.

"What did you find when you entered the mountain last time?" Zhang Fan asked.

"I can only say that the big tomb in this mountain is extraordinary, and that Daoist priest is not an ordinary person..." Qi Delong said solemnly.

The Daoist priest in his mouth should be the one who passed the fishing for toad Qi to Qin Ergou's ancestors.

Back then, the Daoist priest saw that this mountain was extraordinary, Golden Toad Holding Pearl, so he turned it into a big tomb, as a place to sleep after death.

"I met a tomb-guarding beast in this mountain."

"Tomb-guarding beast?" Zhang Fan's gaze condensed.

Li Yishan studied folklore in university and played well with those who studied archaeology next door. He heard Li Yishan say that those people encountered many strange things when digging tombs.

One year, three senior archaeology students followed the professor in the department to a Han tomb. As a result, when they entered the main tomb chamber, the door just opened, and a gray rat actually rushed out, as big as a jackal, biting two people to death on the spot.

That Han tomb had not been visited by anyone, and the main tomb chamber was also completely sealed. It is hard to imagine what kind of thing that gray rat was and why it could survive in it for so long.

Li Yishan said that the thing was a tomb-guarding beast, which only great nobles in ancient times could enjoy. The method of refining and raising tomb-guarding beasts was passed down from the alchemists of the pre-Qin period.

This incident was suppressed by the school, and the surviving senior student was directly recommended for graduate school.

However, Li Yishan said that if he were that person, he would never do this line of work again even if he were beaten to death.

"I met a stone lion on the periphery of that big tomb, it was very powerful, and I almost left an arm," Qi Delong said solemnly.

The tomb-guarding beast he met was not even a living thing, a stone lion, but it was more strange and terrifying than that living thing.

"What kind of means is this?" Zhang Fan wondered.

That stone lion was definitely not a trick of some puppet mechanism.

"I don't know." Qi Delong shook his head.

Since the Daoist gate, many transmissions have been broken in the long river of time, especially many earth-shattering and mysterious methods.

He heard that in ancient times, there was a Daoist method that could refine and raise a kind of alien species, like a god but not a god, like a demon but not a demon, like a monster but not a monster, called the Yellow Turban Warrior, often used to guard the mountain gate and sit in the position of protector.

Unfortunately, this kind of method has long been lost.

That stone lion is estimated to be refined by a similar method.

"Burial place, that Daoist priest is afraid that he has pressed all his wealth into that tomb, can it not be powerful?" Qi Delong said solemnly.

It was also thanks to meeting those Daoist priests from Mount Zhongnan that Qi Delong avoided trouble, but those people were not so lucky, losing two "Yellow Feather Magic Treasures" to get out of trouble.

"That's really a good thing," Zhang Fan's eyes narrowed slightly.

If that stone lion was obtained and used to guard the gate, it would simply be too prestigious.

"Wait!"

Just then, Qi Delong pulled Zhang Fan, who was slightly stunned, and looked up, seeing not far away, moonlight spilling, sparkling, but it was a mountain pool, but there was a wisp of golden brilliance permeating that pool of water.

"This is..." Zhang Fan's gaze condensed into a line, revealing a strange expression.

"Golden Toad!?"

Although this mountain matches the "Golden Toad Holding Pearl formation," it is not the same as the legendary real "Golden Toad."

"It is said that the Golden Toad is a dragon species. Back then, one of the five ancestors of the Quanzhen Dao, 'Liu Haichan,' attained the Dao because of this," Qi Delong said solemnly.

Liu Haichan was an ancestor of the Quanzhen Dao and also one of the famous nine road gods of wealth. In the Five Dynasties, he was the prime minister of Liu Shouguang of Yan, and later met the point of Zhong Liquan, also known as the famous Zhong Liquan. Later, he was taught alchemy by Ancestor Lu, and finally attained the Dao and became an immortal on Mount Zhongnan, one of the ancestral homes of Daoism in the world.

There is another saying about Liu Zu becoming an immortal, which is the widely circulated "Liu Hai plays with the Golden Toad" among the people.

"The Golden Toad is a dragon species, coming out of the West Sea, hiding in the well, spitting white light from its mouth, rushing straight into the clouds. A person with the Dao can ride this white light and feather into an immortal..."

"Liu Zu played with and fished for the Golden Toad, the Golden Toad came out, Liu Zu rode on its back, flew into the sky in broad daylight, and attained the Dao and became an immortal."

Since then, Liu Hai playing with the Golden Toad has become a legend.

"Seen it, this toad has a golden back..." Qi Delong said solemnly.

Chang'an is the dragon cave of one of the three dragon veins derived from Mount Kunlun. Toad Treasure Mountain must be contaminated with the dragon energy of the ancestral dragon vein, not only forming the "holding pearl" formation but also producing a "golden back," which is a genuine dragon species Golden Toad.

"If this treasure land were in ancient times, whoever buried their ancestors here, the descendants would at least be the life of a king or marquis," Qi Delong sighed.

Golden Toad life is not a king, but at least it is great wealth.

"Not necessarily, don't forget, this toad is a holding pearl formation, it contains the dragon energy and treasure light of a mountain and a vein in its mouth..."

Zhang Fan's gaze condensed: "If this is really the case, it might be just as you guessed, a spirit fetus was raised in this mountain."

Speaking to this point, Qi Delong's breathing became heavy.

Natural Spirit Fetus, unparalleled creation, has been extremely rare since ancient times.

Especially after the great calamity of the Daoist gate, only Bai He Guan in the world still enshrines a Natural Spirit Fetus.

"This thing is a great killing weapon."

"Did you notify your Mount Laojun?" Zhang Fan asked solemnly.

"Notified," Qi Dongqiang blurted out.

"Zhang Fan, don't look at me like that... Natural Spirit Fetus, if it is really born, what a great calamity it is? We... we three can't handle it," Qi Delong hurriedly explained.

"At that time, it might be necessary to leave our lives."

"Forget it..." Zhang Fan pondered for a moment, his gaze cast toward that deep pool.

"Get that treasure to hand first."

"That is Dragon Toad Oil," Qi Delong's eyes narrowed into a line.

The golden light in the pool water is the grease of this "toad" in the mountain, contaminated with dragon energy.

This is the legendary heaven and earth treasure, mountain and sea strange treasure.

Even the "Dao Secret Record" that Zhang Fan has seen has records. It is said that a drop of "Dragon

This is the legendary heavenly material and earthly treasure, a rare treasure of the mountains and seas.

Even the 【Dao Secret Record】 that Zhang Fan has read contains records of it. It is rumored that a single drop of 【Dragon Toad Oil】 can burn for half a year. If used to worship ancestors, it can protect the family's wealth; as long as the oil does not run out, the wealth will not run out. This is also the wonderful use of the Golden Toad in attracting wealth and treasures.

Besides this, this thing is also a treasure for refining external elixirs, especially when it falls into the hands of an external elixir expert like Lin Jian, who can use it to refine many spiritual pills and medicines.

Precisely because of this, 【Dragon Toad Oil】 is of extraordinary value. On the black market, a single drop starts at at least fifty or sixty thousand.

"Just in time, I'm short on money," Zhang Fan's gaze was fiery.

Now he has over five hundred thousand left in his card, which is a huge sum for ordinary people.

But for him, it seems insufficient.

Especially at his level, cultivation is extremely expensive. Not to mention anything else, last time on Fangs Mountain, his 【Majestic Spirit Demon-Suppressing Golden Seal】 was damaged by the 【Demon-Revealing Mirror】 of Mount Qiyun. After returning to Yujing City, he inquired a little, and the repair cost alone would require seven figures.

Splash...

Walking to the edge of the pool, the clear water rippled, creating layer upon layer of waves, crushing the bright moon in the water.

If an ordinary person were here, with their soul-aspect not yet awakened, they would naturally not be able to see the wisp of golden light at the bottom of the pool. But if one observes with the soul-aspect, one can see the golden light gathered together, sinking at the bottom of the water.

"Ordinary oil floats on the surface of the water, but Dragon Toad Oil is extremely heavy," Qi Dongqiang said in a deep voice.

"This thing probably isn't easy to get," Qi Delong hesitated slightly and said solemnly.

"Why?" Zhang Fan turned his head to look.

"Any rare treasure, within ten steps, must have danger..." Qi Delong said in a deep voice, "Look at that layer of black water below. I heard from the elders in the sect that this is called Soul-Falling Water, which specifically destroys the soul-aspect."

"For a practitioner, if the soul-aspect is awakened and one goes down, nine times out of ten, one will suffer."

"Let me try."

Zhang Fan hesitated slightly and took off his coat.

"You?" Qi Delong was somewhat hesitant.

"How about this, I'll tie a rope to you, and if anything changes, I'll pull you up."

As he spoke, Qi Delong took a bundle of rope and a gourd from his backpack. "If you succeed, use this to store it."

"What is this?"

"This is a Treasure-Nurturing Gourd," Qi Delong said in a deep voice.

Within the Daoist sects, even gourds come in many varieties, all cultivated from special roots, pointed with elixir stones, and refined with secret methods.

This kind of 【Treasure-Nurturing Gourd】 is specifically used to store rare treasures of the mountains and seas and great medicines of heaven and earth, so that their spiritual essence does not dissipate.

Besides this, there is also a kind of 【Sword-Nurturing Gourd】. It is said that in ancient times, there was a class of people in the Daoist sects called Sword-Refining Immortals, who specifically refined a single breath, usually nurtured in a gourd. Once opened, sword energy would surge, capable of killing from a distance, which was extremely remarkable.

"Good stuff. If we get the treasure, we'll split it fifty-fifty," Zhang Fan took the gourd.

"Just take one gourd, don't take it all," Qi Delong urged.

A naturally occurring rare treasure, if taken completely, will surely cause a shocking change in the mountain, and earthquakes and landslides are also highly likely.

"I know."

Zhang Fan nodded, held his breath, and jumped into the deep pool. The bone-chilling cold surged crazily.

!

It is only early spring now, and the winter cold has not yet receded. However, Zhang Fan is a practitioner, and the true Yang in his body is like fire, dispersing into his limbs and bones, like a constant-temperature central air conditioner, so he is not afraid.

As he went deeper and deeper, the surrounding pressure became stronger, and that wisp of golden light became closer and closer.

"Brother, he is about to enter the black water layer," Qi Dongqiang said in a deep voice.

"Don't speak," Qi Delong's brow furrowed.

He had seen the terror of this 【Soul-Falling Water】 in many Daoist books of Mount Laojun. The more the soul-aspect is awakened, the greater the damage.

Splash...

Just at this moment, Zhang Fan finally entered the black water layer.

In an instant, the gazes of Qi Delong and Qi Dongqiang trembled violently. They saw fire rising within the black water, red light burning, black energy surging, actually penetrating Zhang Fan's spiritual platform and burning his soul-aspect.

"This thing is indeed dangerous," Qi Delong's expression changed suddenly. He gripped the rope in his hand tightly, intending to pull Zhang Fan back.

"Brother, look..."

Just at this moment, Qi Delong's eyes narrowed sharply. He saw Zhang Fan seemingly unaffected, his figure even faster, like a swimming fish, "whoosh," passing through the black water layer.

"His soul-aspect is actually not affected at all?" Qi Delong's expression trembled slightly, revealing an incredible look.

"Divine Demon Sacred Embryo... worthy of being a Divine Demon Sacred Embryo..."

At this moment, Qi Delong finally recalled the scene when Zhang Fan fought Li Changgeng at the Prisoner Immortal Temple that day.

"Brother, his soul-aspect is strange. Hasn't he not yet succeeded in merging his soul?" Qi Dongqiang muttered in a low voice.

"I don't know either," Qi Delong's brow furrowed, a look of deep thought appearing in his eyes.

At this time, Zhang Fan had already reached the bottom of the pool. That wisp of golden light was quite dazzling. The golden grease appeared drop by drop, like marbles, separating from the surrounding pool water.

Zhang Fan scooped up the 【Treasure-Nurturing Gourd】 and filled it. As the golden grease entered the gourd, it automatically squeezed out the water inside.

Without much to say, one gourd was filled.

Zhang Fan glanced at it; there was still a small half of the Dragon Toad Oil left.

He knew that this small half would take at least several hundred years to accumulate.

Qi Delong was right; what is given by heaven and earth cannot be taken completely. Exhausting the pond to fish will surely lead to a great calamity.

Thinking of this, Zhang Fan took the gourd and pulled the rope.

"Go."

Qi Delong had long been waiting for Zhang Fan's signal. As the rope moved, he exerted force suddenly, and the terrifying power pulled Zhang Fan directly out of the water from the bottom of the pool.

A huge splash erupted, and Zhang Fan landed on the shore like a big fish.

"Hehe, this gourd is really heavy," Zhang Fan shook the Treasure-Nurturing Gourd in his hand.

The density of Dragon Toad Oil is very high; one gourd is at least fifteen jin, and the value of over a hundred drops is conservatively estimated at several million.

"You are really amazing," Qi Delong looked at Zhang Fan deeply and said sincerely.

"We'll split the treasure inside fifty-fifty," Zhang Fan grinned and laughed. In the blink of an eye, he had seven figures in his account. At least the cost of repairing the 【Majestic Spirit Demon-Suppressing Golden Seal】 was covered, and there would be quite a bit left over.

"Our brothers didn't contribute, you take it all," Qi Delong shook his head, unwilling to take advantage of Zhang Fan.

"How can that be?" Zhang Fan said solemnly.

"You told me the location, and the gourd is also yours..."

Although Zhang Fan wanted to accumulate wealth, he was unwilling to give others a penny less than what they deserved.

"How about this, later you leave us twenty drops of Dragon Toad Oil, and that will count as our share," Qi Delong pondered slightly and then said.

Twenty drops of Dragon Toad Oil are worth about a million, estimated to be only about twenty percent of this gourd.

"That works too," Zhang Fan was in a great mood and nodded.

"Where did you death-wishers come from? Running into the mountains in the middle of the night?"

Just at this moment, a series of shouts came suddenly, accompanied by a blinding beam of light.

Zhang Fan turned to look and saw a man standing in the distance, about forty years old, with stubble, a faint scar on his face, wearing a mountain patrol uniform, holding a flashlight, and looking suspiciously at Zhang Fan and Qi Delong.

"Are you backpackers crazy? Running around in mountains that aren't open. If you get lost and suffer from hypothermia, you'll die," the mountain patrolman walked over, cursing.

"Don't you know you can't just enter the mountains at night?" The patrolman walked up close, shaking the flashlight in his hand.

"We..." Qi Delong curled his lip, wanting to say something but stopping.

"You're lucky you met me. Usually, I only come once every two months," the patrolman glanced at Zhang Fan sideways, "You'll suffer from hypothermia like this, come with me..."

"The forest protection station is not far ahead."

Generally, forest protection stations are set up in the mountains for patrolmen to rest and resupply.

"That's fine, let's rest our feet first and change clothes," Qi Delong nodded and said.

"Alright."

Zhang Fan slowly stood up and followed.

A moment later, the group arrived at the dilapidated forest protection station, where people only came every two or three months.

A heater was turned on in the not-so-spacious wooden cabin. Zhang Fan sat beside it, feeling a hint of warmth, and the moisture on his body was also evaporating.

"Uncle, how should I address you?" Zhang Fan asked.

"My surname is Nian, the Nian of Nian Gengyao. Everyone calls me Old Nian."

As he spoke, Old Nian took a bottle of Erguotou from his bosom and placed it in front of Zhang Fan.

"Drink a couple of sips to warm up."

He squinted his eyes, his face flushed, obviously having drunk more than a couple of sips.

"Uncle Nian, how long have you been a mountain patrolman?" Zhang Fan asked casually.

"I can't remember. Since I started working, I've been wandering in these mountains. I've seen more mountains than people," Old Nian took the Erguotou by himself and drank a large gulp, head tilted back.

"I've seen quite a few death-wishers like you... In previous years, there were always some backpackers who died in the mountains. When their families came looking, the crying was earth-shattering... I've become numb to it..." Old Nian sighed to himself.

Zhang Fan and Qi Delong looked at each other but did not speak.

This person is somewhat similar to Qin Ergou; his fate for his whole life is closely linked to the mountains.

"However, sometimes you can also meet interesting things..."

As he spoke, Old Nian, with a red face and squinting eyes, revealed a look of obsession.

"What interesting things?" Zhang Fan asked casually.

"Two years ago, there was a trend of mountain-climbing beauties. That scene, I've never seen anything like it in my whole life..."

As he spoke, Old Nian grinned and chuckled: "Kid, have you ever seen anyone climbing a mountain in yoga pants?"

"..."

Zhang Fan's expression was strange. Why does this line sound so familiar?

This person is almost identical to Li Yishan.

"I haven't seen them in the last two years..." Old Nian recovered from his reminiscence, unable to hide the look of disappointment in his eyes.

"But last year, I did meet a great beauty. She was truly beautiful... her name was also special..."

Old Nian poured wine for himself, talking to himself, as if he were the only one left in the room.

"Called... what was it called... surname Li... called... Li Ling... Li Ling..."

"Li Ling?"

"No, called Li Linglong!" Old Nian slapped his forehead and suddenly remembered.

(End of chapter)