Chapter 131

The next morning, in Lotus Peak, the Mountain God's cave heaven.

The report from Lin Jue and Xiao Shimei was naturally clearer than that of the senior brothers, because the two not only traveled with the fellow Daoists of Qiyun Mountain for a while, but also witnessed the Demon King releasing death energy with their own eyes.

The two were also the last to return to the mountain.

They saw the Mountain God still sitting on the stone chair at the head, with the four protectors—the Green Lion, White Elephant, Black Bear, and Snapping Turtle Dragon—guarding him, listening quietly to Lin Jue until he finished speaking.

"It seems this Demon King truly has some skills. It's fortunate that it was discovered early. If it had been allowed to lurk for a few more years, until the world was in chaos and the spirits began to worry about incense and divine power, the disaster it would have brought would surely have been much greater than it is now."

As the Mountain God spoke, he raised his hand, and the token in Lin Jue's hand flew up automatically, returning to his hand. He then looked at the two standing below, and the fox that was squatting obediently at Lin Jue's feet, looking up and staring at him.

The Mountain God thought for a moment:

"Since the turmoil at the foot of the mountain is over, you should return to continue your cultivation. However, considering that you stood guard and scouted for me, and have often made offerings to me since this year, I will also gift you a treasure."

After speaking, he waved his hand.

Two pieces of gold and iron flew from who knows where and fell into their hands.

The gold and iron had a strange shape, as if they had been dismantled from something large. They felt heavier than ordinary steel and iron in the hand, yet not as heavy as silver, but they felt similar to that Mountain God token.

"The ancient Emperor once refined pills on this mountain. After the pills were refined, the furnace shattered, and these are the fragments. They can be used to make knives, weapons, furnaces, or other magic tools. I think they are very suitable for you."

"Many thanks, Mountain God."

"Many thanks, Mountain God!"

"Ying-wu?"

The fox tilted its head and stared at the Mountain God.

"Sigh..."

The Mountain God waved his sleeve.

Another piece of gold and iron flew over and fell in front of it.

"Junior has one more matter that I truly have no one to ask, and I would like to ask the Mountain God," Lin Jue said, seeing this scene, and took the opportunity to ask.

"You can ask everywhere, why ask me?"

The Mountain God waved his hand, and before they knew it, two envoys carrying lanterns had silently stood behind Lin Jue.

"Farewell."

Lin Jue bowed. When he raised his head, the Mountain God and the protectors had all turned into stone statues, so he turned and left.

The two envoys escorted him back to the Daoist temple.

With the two of them escorting, the road was much flatter, with fewer twists and turns.

"Third Shixiong brother."

Walking into the Daoist temple courtyard, Xiao Shimei was still holding the gold and iron, examining it with confusion, and asked him, "What do you plan to use this for?"

"What? You want to learn from me again?"

"What?"

Xiao Shimei scratched her head, not understanding what he was saying.

Isn't it natural for a junior sister to learn from her senior brother?

"I haven't thought about it yet. And what I think of might not be suitable for you. Just think about what you want to use it for yourself," Lin Jue said. "If you like swordsmanship, you can go ask the third senior brother to help you make a sword, or think of something else."

"Okay!"

Xiao Shimei continued to scratch her head.

The two returned to their rooms.

That evening, Lin Jue went to consult Daoist Yunhe again. The master and disciple had both basically confirmed that Good Fuyao must have some connection with Jun Niangniang Yao Hua, but they didn't know how deep the connection was.

Therefore, they chatted about that Jun Niangniang while drinking tea in the night.

"Come to think of it, it was only from this dynasty that the reputation of fox demons and fox spirits turned bad. Before that, foxes were always symbols of intelligence, holiness, and loyalty, and fox demons and fox spirits were the same," Daoist Yunhe said, unable to help shaking his head, feeling regret for this. "It probably all went bad in the hands of those poor scholars who toyed with pens."

"That might be it."

Lin Jue actually knew this.

"It is said that Jun Niangniang Yao Hua is a nine-tailed fox. Nine-tailed foxes have always been symbols of holiness and auspiciousness, as long as they don't run into some scholar who toys with pens and writes them badly," Daoist Yunhe said.

"But when I was at the foot of the mountain and met those foxes in Pear Village, they didn't seem to think Good Fuyao was of the same kind as them."

"They are right; you thought wrong," Daoist Yunhe smiled and leaned back on the lounge chair. "A fox is a fox, and a nine-tailed fox is a nine-tailed fox. How can they be confused?"

"What is the difference?"

"Do you know the difference between a fox, a fox demon, and a fox spirit?"

"I know roughly."

"Then do you know the difference between a snake, a snake demon, a dragon, and a true dragon?"

Lin Jue found it a bit confusing when he heard him say this.

But it is actually not hard to understand.

"Dragons" and "fox spirits" are the two most representative mythical creatures in folklore, and both have been ruined by people.

For a time, people loved dragons and foxes. When they saw an unknown creature and didn't know what it was, if it was related to water, they called it a dragon; if it was related to mountains or people's homes, they called it a fox.

Snakes are naturally ordinary animals. A snake that becomes a demon is naturally a snake demon, just as a fox that becomes a demon is a fox demon; this should be the correspondence. However, there are people in the world who respectfully call snakes with deep cultivation "dragons," and people in the previous dynasty randomly called those strange things encountered in the water dragons. This should correspond to people seeing strange spirits they don't know and calling them fox spirits.

The master's meaning should be that a nine-tailed fox is neither an ordinary fox, nor a fox that has become a demon, nor is it a fox spirit or dragon randomly touted and named by people, but a category of its own, or that it is an auspicious beast.

Just like a true dragon.

A true dragon is not a snake, and a snake cannot cultivate into a true dragon, just as a nine-tailed fox is not a fox, and an ordinary fox cannot cultivate into a nine-tailed fox.

Lin Jue glanced at the fox beside him.

He saw the fox using the candlelight to chase a fallen leaf on the ground, occasionally snatching it from the cat.

"..."

Lin Jue withdrew his gaze.

"Then why would Jun Niangniang Yao Hua entrust it to me? Or is it that Jun Niangniang Yao Hua has too many descendants, and I just happened to meet one of them?"

"Who knows? It must be that you have something worthy of Jun Niangniang Yao Hua's trust."

"Me?"

"Haha..."

Daoist Yunhe was already very old, but he still couldn't help turning to hit him: "You brat, my disciples are all full, yet I could still take you in. How could you not have anything worthy of trust? Don't doubt my judgment just because Jun Niangniang Yao Hua is an ancient great power. My Fuqiu Temple also has the orthodox spirit-method inheritance passed down from ancient immortals."

"But it doesn't look like Jun Niangniang Yao Hua did it personally," Lin Jue analyzed. "If it were a direct descendant of that Jun Niangniang, and she personally had the Mountain Lord send it, with her status, how could she act like this?"

"That also makes sense, cough cough," Daoist Yunhe nodded. "But that Jun Niangniang helping you with such a big favor can also be considered a great gift."

"Yes."

Daoist Yunhe coughed twice more.

The late autumn night was getting colder. The master did not stay outside for long; after finishing the hot tea, he returned to his room.

Lin Jue also returned to his room.

The fox naturally followed him back to the room, its steps small and light, its expression natural.

"I'm talking about you, saying you are a nine-tailed fox comparable to a true dragon, a descendant of Jun Niangniang Yao Hua."

"Ying?"

The fox raised its head and looked at him in shock.

Am I not a cat?

Lin Jue shook his head, too lazy to pay attention to it, and turned to stand in front of the bookshelf.

He first took out the flower petal gifted by the Green Emperor, examined it a few times, didn't know what it was for, so he put it back, and then picked up the Pear Ancestor's wood core, examining it back and forth.

If this piece of wood core were stuck in the ground, its length would probably reach a little above Lin Jue's knees. At the very least, it could make three bean soldiers. If he designed the cutting points well, making four bean soldiers would be no problem. The remaining scraps could easily be made into shields and spears.

It's just that the residual soul obsession is not enough.

And the spiritual aura on this wood core gathers the essence of Pear Ancestor's lifelong cultivation, which is not inferior to the Dan fruit wood. There are even faint traces of divine lightning strikes on it, and it is stained with the spiritual aura of divine lightning.

It just so happens that the weakness of bean soldiers is that they are difficult to deal with evil spirits. Perhaps the bean soldiers made with it can make up for this weakness.

There will be plenty to keep busy for a while.

Lin Jue also temporarily placed it on the bookshelf.

Finally, there were the two pieces of gold and iron.

He was just worrying about the lack of spiritual gold, and the Mountain God sent it. Moreover, this one doesn't seem to be ordinary spiritual gold.

It was indeed sent at just the right time.

Lin Jue had ideas for a long time.

Not to mention anything else, he wanted to make bean soldiers, and the armor and weapons of the bean soldiers all needed spiritual gold. Previously, the three bean soldiers were still using the third senior brother's, and he had used up his stock.

"This first piece..."

Lin Jue first picked up one piece.

Perhaps it could be used to make armor and weapons for the remaining bean soldiers, and the rest could be used to return to the third senior brother.

Let's not say return, let's say gift.

Lin Jue put this piece on the table beside him.

"One piece left..."

Glancing to the side, his own fox was sitting beside him, looking up at him obediently, its eyes bright.

"This is useless for you, so I'll help you use it. Otherwise, it's a waste if you keep it, and it's tiring to carry," Lin Jue said very seriously to it.

He had also thought about this piece for a long time.

It was to be used to make weapons for the spell-control.

But what Lin Jue hadn't decided yet was whether to make it in the style of a dart or a long sword?

A long sword has more power, consumes more material, and is not as concealed. A dart has weaker power, but saves more material and is more concealed.

How about a compromise?

Lin Jue fell into thought.

Finally, he decided not to rush, do other things first, and think slowly.

Then he sat back on the bed and took out the ancient book.

"Hua..."

The two newly acquired magic arts, one "Mountain Pressing Down" and one "Flowers Blooming in an Huakai Qingke," Lin Jue listened to them simply.

He knew that the magic art "Flowers Blooming in an Huakai Qingke" was rare among plant and tree spirits, and it was extremely difficult for humans to cultivate. It required not only high cultivation but also a bit of mysterious spiritual light, the latter being even harder to come by.

So he planned to cultivate this "Mountain Pressing Down" first.

This magic art is relatively simple.

And this magic art is also very useful.

If he could cultivate it to the level of that old fox, even if it were only a few hundred jin, it would be very easy to crush people when they were caught off guard. Even if he couldn't crush them, a continuous weight of several hundred jin could make people very passive.

Especially when fighting with other Daoists, most Daoists of the spirit-method sect do not have strong physical strength.

Although the primary task of going down the mountain this time was just to slay demons and eliminate monsters, so that fewer people would die in this turmoil, and the secondary task was just to ask about the fox's origin, these could also be considered gains.

He was reading carefully, but didn't notice that a wisp of black smoke had emerged from his long sword behind him at some point.

It was the fox that reminded him.

Hearing the sound, Lin Jue turned his head sharply and just happened to see the black smoke rising and floating in the room, with a faint aura of evil. His first reaction was to close the ancient book, put it back in his arms, and reach for his sword. But since this black smoke and evil spirit was emerging from his own sword, he suddenly waved his hand and fanned out a gust of wind.

"Hoo..."

The black smoke was flickering and was immediately blown into the corner of the wall.

Lin Jue was thinking about where he had picked this thing up while already preparing spiritual fire to burn it to ashes.

Yet he only heard a shout:

"Spare my life, True Man!

"Spare my life!"

The black smoke dissipated, revealing a big-headed ghost.

This ghost looked like a child; its body was like a child's, and its head was like a child's, quite fair and delicate, but its head was far larger than that of an ordinary child, and it was looking at him in terror.

"What is this?" Lin Jue temporarily put away his sword and frowned at it. "How dare you cause trouble here?"

"Spare my life, True Man! I have no ability to harm people, and I have never done anything bad! I was just temporarily residing in the True Man's sword!"

"What are you?"

"A demon ghost."

"What kind of demon ghost?"

"Silver... Silver-Eating Ghost..."

"Hmm?"

Lin Jue couldn't help but be surprised. How did this thing end up with him?