Chapter 283

The Baihe Mouth is north of the north-south line of the Daduhe, and Qionghai is south of the north-south line of the Daduhe. Thus, on this day, people near the middle and upper reaches of the Daduhe all saw a towering sword pavilion rise from the ground. The sound of it breaking through the air was like a thunderclap, heading south along the Daduhe, as if it were a flying mountain.

The sword pavilion was brilliant, and the thunder rumbled; Cheng Xinzhan naturally saw it too.

He was standing on the mountaintop.

Watching the sword pavilion go into the distance, he suddenly said to the young boy beside him,

"There will be no major movements within the territory of Little Xikang for the time being. The northwest has contracted its defensive lines. If you still want to gain experience and search for Gang and Sha, you can go to the south to take a look."

The two children looked at each other, and Zhaoli then said,

"Master, are you going over there?"

Cheng Xinzhan shook his head,

"No, I will stay in the mountains."

Zhaoli asked again upon hearing this,

"Then do we need to live in the Baihe Sword Pavilion when we go south, to watch over Daoist Zhou for you, Master?"

Cheng Xinzhan's expression changed drastically upon hearing this,

"What kind of talk is that? What 'watch over Daoist Zhou'? Where you live is none of my business. Go away, go away!"

Zhaoli shrank his head and hurriedly pulled Bai Long away.

Cheng Xinzhan watched the two children run off and couldn't help but shake his head,

"They really never grow up."

Afterwards, he looked at the snow lion lying on the side sleeping and asked,

"How has your original Daoist injury recovered?"

The lion was feigning sleep; hearing this, it opened its eyes, spoke in human language, and replied,

"Master's divine method is effective; I have recovered sixty percent."

The lion called him "Master" with complete sincerity. It had thought that since its birthplace's earth veins were dug up and its true body's mountain peak was destroyed, its path of cultivation for this life was already a dead end. It never expected that it could be continued by Master using the Heaven-Mending Technique.

This was the grace of life-extension and rebirth.

And on the day it was freed from the White Jade Stone Forest, after coming out of the stone tower, it saw layers upon layers of Xuanmen cultivators. It also knew that if it weren't for Cheng Xinzhan, it would likely have been beaten to death as a monster. If its identity as a Mountain Lord had been exposed, it certainly wouldn't be living as freely and comfortably as it was now.

This was the grace of being freed from trouble and disaster.

Not to mention, in order for this lion to have more divine presence, Cheng Xinzhan also specifically drew a "Picture of Nine-Headed Lion's Walking and Sleeping" for the snow lion to observe and comprehend, based on his own visualization of the Nine Sacred Primordial Spirits.

Besides that, the lion was born of heaven and earth and was very good at consuming Qi, but it didn't know how to circulate it at all. Most of the spiritual energy that entered its body was used to nourish its flesh, and very little was converted into magic power. It didn't know how to cast spells and only knew the three basic supernatural powers of roaring, pouncing, and scratching.

So he taught the lion some incantations and Qi circulation methods.

This was the grace of preaching and teaching.

And since the lion was unsealed from underground, Cheng Xinzhan had only ridden the lion once and made an appearance in front of the Xuan cultivators just after leaving the stone mountain. After arriving at Kanli Mountain, he completely let the lion roam free, letting it sleep on the snow mountain. No matter where he went, he never rode it again.

Listening to the lion's answer, he nodded,

"That is quite fast."

After saving the lion two years ago, he sent a clone back to his sect. The thousand-year-old great sect of Mount Sanqing, the ancestral court of ten thousand methods—what kind of monsters and ghosts had they not taught? He went to Goddess Peak, and within two days, he found a method for recuperation for someone like Lion Mountain Lord whose foundation had been destroyed.

The "Golden Goblet Flawless Heaven-Mending Technique," a method specifically for recuperating and compensating for the innate deficiencies of monsters.

Since the founding of Mount Sanqing, there had been a total of two Mountain Lords. Kui Mountain Lord was one, and the other was the first Vice Sect Master of Goddess Peak, who had ascended as early as the Sui Dynasty. This secret manual was created by her.

This method explained how a Mountain Lord could reside in another mountain and, without affecting the lifespan of the other mountain, use the mountain spirit and earth Qi of the other mountain to recuperate from their own Daoist injuries. In addition, this method also explained how to plant a natal mountain that could replace the destroyed original body, which could not only thoroughly solve the future trouble but also be cultivated into a natal magic treasure.

And Lion Mountain Lord, in these two years, practicing this unique method for a Mountain Lord to nourish its body and listening to Cheng Xinzhan's cultivation guidance, how could it not be wholeheartedly convinced?

When the time comes to follow Master back to the Sanqing Xianshan and plant the natal mountain in the immortal mountain, what else would there be to worry about in the future?

The lion's only thought every day now is for Master not to stay in this broken place of Xikang and to return to the immortal mountain to cultivate sooner, which is the right path.

"Come, today I will teach you another incantation, 【Disperse】. If you practice this incantation to great success, no matter what kind of spell or supernatural power, what kind of physical body or primordial spirit, as long as you chant this incantation, everything will vanish into thin air."

He sat down beside the lion and began to preach. The lion lay on the ground, listening carefully. Just its head was taller than Cheng Xinzhan sitting down. The mountain wind blew, and its green mane rose, as if it were new willow branches.

————

Several days later.

Looking out from the peak of Kanli Mountain, the west was still covered in white snow, a cold and frozen world. But looking to the east, the Wilds of Duguang were already full of spring. By the Daduhe, wild flowers were in full bloom, banana leaves were new, and tender willows were budding—a scene full of vitality.

It was already the Spring Equinox.

The Spring Equinox is when Yin and Yang are equal, so day and night are equal, and cold and heat are balanced.

And at the same time, the Daduhe, as the boundary between the Wilds of Duguang and the Xikang Plateau, is cold in the west and warm in the east, which is also a balance of Yin and Yang.

The unity of time and geography in the Yin-Yang boundary at this moment is truly interesting.

With this interest, he added another page to the "Banana Leaf Collection":

"I preached to the lion on the peak of Kanli for several days and nights. It happened to be the arrival of the Spring Equinox. I clearly felt that day and night were of equal length, the cold air was gradually disappearing, and the warmth was rising.

Looking down at the sunny side of the mountain, peach and willow trees were beginning to bloom, and the earth veins were warming first; on the shady side of the mountain, icicles were still hanging, and the cold wind was still biting. I deeply felt the divine strangeness. So I looked out into the distance, looking west at the snow region, thousands of peaks with white heads; looking east at the Shu wilds, ten thousand valleys with green returns.

One mountain ridge, judged as Yin and Yang, is truly a wonder of creation.

The two Qi of Yin and Yang divide the time of day on this day, and also intersect the earth Qi on this mountain. Future generations, if they enter Kang in the spring, must come to this mountain.

Alas, the principle of Kan and Li helping each other is not only in the alchemy furnace; between heaven and earth, there is no place where it cannot be seen, and no thing that is not within it!"

He put away his book and pen, preparing to return to the temple. This lion had high comprehension, especially in incantations. After only three or five days of effort, it had already entered the door of the 【Disperse】 incantation.

Just at this moment, a loud noise came from the south.

"Boom—!"

The entire Xikang Plateau was shaking.

Cheng Xinzhan stood up abruptly and looked south. He saw that at the end of his gaze, dust and smoke were rising, and group after group of black clouds were condensing in the air.

The movement there could reach Kanli Mountain; this was much, much greater than the movement when the lion was unsealed.

Cheng Xinzhan's heart was shocked, because the scene before him was extremely similar to the scene he saw many years ago on Mount Siming when Gu Chen broke the seal on Mount Juqu. Although he didn't know what happened there, a bad premonition had already risen in his heart.

He immediately turned into a streak of light and flew towards the direction of the black clouds.

The mountains and rivers turned into flowing light and color behind him, retreating rapidly. But not long after, he discovered that an aura was chasing him quickly. He scanned with his divine sense.

It turned out that the lion had followed him.

After recuperating for two years, this was the first time the lion had left Kanli Mountain. He didn't expect that its speed when running would be so fast.

"Master, please get on my back."

The lion said.

Cheng Xinzhan did not hesitate, turned from the streak of light back into his form, and sat cross-legged on the lion's back.

The Mountain Lord roared, as if even the void was about to be torn open by him, and turned into a streak of green light, flying rapidly towards the direction of the black clouds.

Along the way, he went south along the Daduhe and soon arrived at White Dragon Flag Mountain. Many people here were also alarmed and flew south one after another. Not long after flying away from the Daduhe, he saw a giant blue lake in front of him.

That was Qionghai.

The earthquake here was even more obvious. Qionghai had waves without wind, giant waves hitting the sky, and water overflowing the four banks.

On the north bank of Qionghai, there was a tall building, which was the Baihe Sword Pavilion that Cheng Xinzhan was familiar with. But looking closely, one could find that the plaque on the sword pavilion had already been changed to the four big characters "Qionghai Sword Pavilion."

At this time, Qionghai was also very lively. Everywhere there were human figures, everywhere there were streaks of light, and shouts were connected into one piece. Looking at the sky again, the black clouds were right in front, and they were still spreading, about to cover Qionghai.

The black clouds were as thick as ink. Under the black clouds, the sky light was dim, as if it had come to night.

At the same time, Cheng Xinzhan also saw that under the stretching black clouds, there was a white cloud, emitting dazzling light, illuminating one side.

"Yangming Yuntang Gang," that was Ye Yuanjing's cloud.

Cheng Xinzhan recognized it immediately.

There was a battle of spells going on there, and the sounds of shouting and weapons were endless.

So he continued forward, flying towards the white cloud.

The earth was still shaking, still rumbling. Soon, he saw the root of this huge movement.

Just four hundred miles south of Qionghai, at the border of Kangnan, it was about to reach Yunnan. Among the high mountains and steep ridges, the earth cracked open a mouth, emitting black smoke like a volcanic eruption, causing the earth to tremble along with it. After the black smoke rose to the sky, it did not disperse and condensed into black clouds.

And outside the boundary of the black clouds, many people were surrounding it, and they were constantly retreating as the black clouds expanded.

Cheng Xinzhan only took a rough scan and recognized that they were all Xuanmen disciples, especially those from Emei and Qingcheng, and there were also many acquaintances from the Baihe Sword Pavilion.

That's right, during this period, the Xuanmen was building a defensive line on the southern border of Little Xikang, no wonder there were so many people.

At this moment, people from both Kang and Shu should have heard the movement and were rushing over from all directions.

And Cheng Xinzhan came riding a lion, the movement was also very big, many people saw it and recognized it.

"It's Daoist Guanxuan!"

"Daoist, there is great poison under the clouds!"

Someone reminded him.

"Master!"

Cheng Xinzhan looked in the direction of the sound and saw that Bai Long and Zhaoli were also here, and were flying towards him, so he patted the lion, signaling it to stop.

"Master!"

The two children came close, and Zhaoli quickly told Cheng Xinzhan the situation like beans pouring out of a bamboo tube,

"The ground suddenly collapsed there, and an abyss appeared, gushing out black gas. Those below the Golden Core realm die upon contact, and their deaths are miserable, with their whole bodies festering and oozing pus."

Bai Long followed up and added,

"It's the work of the Demon Sect. As soon as something happened here, people from Qionghai Sword Pavilion came, but they were blocked by the Demon Sect. Although we don't recognize them, we heard from Xuanmen disciples that they are people from Mount Ailao and Mount Wuliang."

"Daoist Ye and Daoist Zhou have already gone in."

Zhaoli added again.

Cheng Xinzhan nodded and said,

"I'll go in and take a look. You two be careful, don't run around, and don't go in. I see this formation doesn't look like something that can be created by the Third Realm. If you see that the situation is not right, go north immediately and return to Kanli Mountain."

The two clasped their fists and said yes.

(End of chapter)