Chapter 28: Things in the Book at This Time

"I heard that the Mountain Lord here is seeking a temple plaque, probably wanting to be a local god. And because the immortals in heaven are particularly harsh on spirits and monsters, and the human imperial court is particularly wary of spirits and monsters, this Mountain Lord is particularly cautious at this time. The reason for sniffing is probably to smell if there is evil qi, evil spirit, or impure mixed qi on you."

The old Daoist said to the two with a smile:

"Don't worry."

Lin Jue nodded and said "hmm", while the young girl listened honestly, not saying a word, and continued to walk forward.

There was no road here long ago, green grass grew, and one didn't know if there would be pits or stones underneath when stepping down, so it was very difficult to walk.

Lin Jue climbed and crawled, following with difficulty.

From time to time, he had to reach out and pull the young girl.

The old Daoist was walking on flat ground.

Until the wild boar led them to the top of the mountain.

"Roar..."

The wild boar let out a low roar and turned to leave.

Lin Jue climbed to the very top, pulled the girl up, stood up straight, and looked forward, but he was startled in his heart.

This was already the peak of the mountains, the view was very open, the mountains and rivers in the distance were all under his feet, only the sky and white clouds were still above his head. And on this high mountain, there was a flat land, not very spacious, but there were a few ancient pine trees and a piece of green grass. At this time, the prototype of the banquet was already here.

Yaoguai, many yaoguai.

There was a monkey sitting on the ancient pine in front. If you only looked at its appearance, it was just an ordinary monkey, no more than cleaner. But its demeanor and expression were too dignified. It was sitting cross-legged on the ancient pine with its eyes closed, so even if it didn't show any other signs, one knew it was not ordinary.

Seeing a group of people walking over, it opened its eyes.

On the green grass like silk on the right hand, a leopard sat upright, and a wild deer stood, but they were close together, their heads very close, as if they were saying something.

They also saw a group of people and turned their heads.

On the left hand, there was a big snake, coiled in the shade cast by the umbrella cover of an ancient pine, flicking its tongue, turning its head to stare quietly at the group of people walking over, its vertical pupils looking extremely cold.

There were also sparrow hawks, spirit cats, pangolins, black eagles, yellow cattle, and big black bears.

They were all in the appearance of birds and beasts. Some had some size differences from ordinary birds and beasts, and some were exactly the same, but those that were exactly the same could also be distinguished from their demeanor that they were yaoguai.

They probably formed a circle.

The granite rock at the very front was about a person's height, like the Mountain Lord's seat. Sitting on it was the only yaoguai that looked like a human—

A dark, strong man, but with a black wild boar head on his neck, full of mane on his chest.

This scene was very fantastic, making Lin Jue open his eyes wide.

And because this was the peak of the mountains, not deep mountains and old forests, it was bright and not dark. At this time, the sun had not yet set, and the summer sun was still scorching. The blue sky and white clouds were hanging above his head, so this scene did not look gloomy at all, but because of the order, it actually had a sense of solemnity.

As for this Mountain Lord...

Was it a wild boar that became a spirit?

Right, there were no tigers here. The so-called Mountain Lord was naturally the one with the highest cultivation and Daoist attainment.

Lin Jue couldn't help but turn his head to look at the old Daoist and the young girl, but saw the old Daoist still had a normal expression, as if he was used to such scenes. The girl was so scared that her eyes opened wide and her face turned pale, but she kept her mouth tightly closed and still didn't make a sound.

"Another guest has come?"

The Mountain Lord sitting at the very top waved his hand, spitting out human words, his voice vigorous: "Guests, make some room."

The deer and leopard closer to Lin Jue's group heard this and immediately moved to the side. The big snake looked coldly at them and also moved to the side, but it seemed unwilling to be exposed to the sun, so it only moved to the edge of the tree shade.

Lin Jue paused slightly and walked over to sit down.

The old Daoist walked over and sat cross-legged beside him.

Then it was the young girl, walking between the two, still trying her best to maintain composure, but when she wanted to sit down, her legs went weak and she fell to the ground with a thud.

"Swish..."

It was quiet at this time, and she fell down like this, and suddenly all the mountain spirits and wild monsters turned their heads in unison, staring at her with many pairs of different eyes.

"!"

Although the girl's legs were weak, she was also smart, still keeping her mouth shut and not making a sound, only lowering her head to stare at the green grass on the ground.

Lin Jue was also nervous for a moment.

He didn't know if these mountain spirits and ghosts had any other requirements. Anyway, even if it were a human, it was impolite to be very afraid of the host when visiting actively, but it was also impolite.

"Fellow Daoists, don't be nervous. This is the disciple I just picked up. She hasn't started practicing yet. Climbing the mountain all the way, her legs are soft." The old Daoist opened his mouth and laughed, his voice dragged very long, "If you want to blame, blame the Mountain Lord's dojo for being set too high, like the Mountain Lord's ambition, located in the clouds of immortals, which is difficult for mortals to reach."

The Mountain Lord heard this and felt happy, laughing loudly.

"Are the guests not familiar?"

"My name is He Xianyu, Daoist name Yunhe. I have been practicing on a mountain far away. Now that I am old and don't have many years to live, I want to take advantage of the time I can still walk to see my old friends from many years ago for the last time." The old Daoist tidied up the hem of his Daoist robe, "Being able to meet the Mountain Lord here is also a connection."

"My name is Lin Jue. I have always longed for immortal and strange things, so I boldly came to see and see when I heard by chance that the Mountain Lord was holding a banquet here."

"Connection is good! Connection is the best!" The Mountain Lord was quite enthusiastic, and his temperament seemed very honest. After speaking, he raised his eyes and looked down, "Are there any other guests who haven't arrived?"

There was a sound in the green grass.

A wild boar ran to check.

Another hawk that had taken its seat flapped its wings, fanning a big wind, flying two or three zhang high on the flat ground, looking around, and then landing again, then spitting out human words, the voice contradictory, both hoarse and sharp:

"There are no more coming up the mountain."

"The hawk fellow Daoist still sees far! Since that's the case, prepare to start the banquet!"

"I have a treasure to offer to the Mountain Lord."

The monkey on the ancient pine opened its mouth immediately, jumped down from the tree, held a red fruit, and walked to the granite stone where the Mountain Lord sat, respectfully placing it under the stone.

"Some time ago, I caught a thousand-year-old ginseng, and I also brought it to give to the Mountain Lord."

"I also have an object..."

Many spirits and monsters came forward one by one, offering the gifts they brought.

Some spat out human words, some didn't seem to be able to speak, so they held or grabbed various heavenly materials and earthly treasures, placed them under the bluestone, and saluted the Mountain Lord before walking back.

The scene became more and more fantastic.

Finally, there were only Lin Jue and the three of them left.

"I heard that the Mountain Lord intends to seek the temple plaque, so I specifically brought a pot of divine water from Dansha Well for the Mountain Lord with my disciple."

"Hmm?"

Some didn't seem to know what this was, their voices full of doubt. Some seemed to know that this water was relatively precious, and their voices were mostly surprised.

The Mountain Lord was the latter, very surprised.

After the surprise, there was great joy, saying he was polite, thanking him, and almost treating him as a distinguished guest.

"I accidentally obtained a few pieces of peach gum, which were given by a peach tree with Daoist attainment, so I also took them out to offer to the Mountain Lord."

Finally, it was Lin Jue holding the peach gum.

There was no big reaction to this.

But no one said anything gossipy.

At this time, the sun had gradually reached the edge of the sky, vaguely touching the edge of the distant mountains. With a wave of the Mountain Lord's hand, a group of macaques climbed up from below, all holding food.

Some were holding a rabbit, some were half a sheep, some were a bundle of high-quality grass, some were a pile of fruit, and there were many kinds.

Another group of macaques worked together to move up a few jars of wine, and macaques moved up firewood and piled it into a pile.

Lin Jue watched without blinking.

The wine jars were opened, and inside were green liquids, a bit thick, emitting a burst of wine and fruit fragrance.

Then the last macaque that looked a bit different walked up, but it was holding fire stones, bent down and beat for a long time, tossed and turned, and lit the firewood into a fire pile.

It is worthy of being the Mountain Lord, using so many macaques.

Could it be that all the macaques on the whole mountain were here?

It seems that these yaoguai and the Mountain Lord don't have the art of spitting fire and lighting fire? Or do they feel that lighting the fire themselves lowers their status, so they sit still and let this macaque light it?

Lin Jue pondered like this.

Looking at the side inadvertently, he found that the young girl had also broken away from the state of fear. At this time, like him, she was staring at the situation around her without blinking, also showing a look of contemplation.

But I don't know what she was thinking.

As if feeling his gaze, the girl turned her head and looked at him. Her eyes were clear, obviously showing confusion.

"..."

Lin Jue smiled and took back his gaze.

But he saw that a banana leaf had been placed in front of him, and on the leaf was a handful of raspberries and a handful of ground fruit. The raspberries were very large, each nearly the size of a thumb, bright red and dark, all of the quality that children in Shu Village would exclaim when they accidentally encountered them while playing and farming on the mountain. The ground fruit was also about the same size, and each was a boutique that was hard to find even a basket of in ordinary times.

There were also a few peaches, plums, and loquats, all in season, and all of excellent appearance.

The fragrance of the fruit had already hit his face, mixed with the wine fragrance emitted from the wine jars, making people feel intoxicated.

Lin Jue didn't lose etiquette, but first looked to the side.

In front of the old Daoist and the girl were also these things.

In front of the monkey on the ancient pine were also these things.

It seems that the treatment of the few of them was referenced to this monkey yaoguai.

As for the grass, raw meat, and fish, they were supplied to different spirits and monsters, and they were avoided from the body types of the guests sitting there.

"Quite particular..."

Lin Jue couldn't help but mutter in his heart.

However, few spirits and monsters were like him, putting their attention on the food in front of them, but almost all of them looked at the wine jars in the middle of the open space.

"Oh! My Thousand-Day Wine is in batches of ten years, and this is the first batch today!"

The Mountain Lord stood up lazily. He was wearing a coarse cloth robe, with a vine belt, which was very simple, but it matched his rough appearance.

He saw him walk to the middle of the open space, in front of the wine jars, reached into his waist, and took out two small bottles, one black and one white.

"Since I invited everyone to the banquet, I naturally have to add this essence of heaven, earth, sun, and moon."

"Boom..."

Many spirits and monsters couldn't hold their posture anymore, exposing their animal nature. Either they stretched their necks and stared tightly at his hands, or they were so anxious that they turned around in place and couldn't sit still, scratching their ears and cheeks.

He saw the Mountain Lord's wrist turn.

One bottle poured out, like flowing rock, emitting scorching glow, just like the sunset at this time.

Poured into a wine jar.

One bottle was like black satin, with ten thousand points of light in the darkness, just like the galaxy in the world hanging upside down, and it was also poured into that wine jar.

"..."

A hint of strange fragrance was added to the wine fragrance.

This kind of fragrance didn't seem to be smelled by the nose, not a perception of some organ, but a deeper nourishment. Just the fragrance it emitted drifting over made people feel comfortable, so the fragrance smelled was more like a deeper pleasure.

The Mountain Lord scooped the wine himself, put it in bamboo tubes one by one, handed them to the macaques one by one, and then sent them to the guests one by one.

These macaques carried bamboo cups and walked, but they couldn't help but sniff their noses constantly. The things in their hands brought huge temptation to their instincts, but the Mountain Lord's majesty urged them to continue delivering wine, so they had to use this compromise method to taste the spiritual charm in the wine. Walking to the back, their footsteps were soft.

A cup was also placed in front of Lin Jue.

Green wine liquid, slightly thick, with impurities in it, like small black ants, and countless fine sand, emitting light like ten thousand stars, with fire light flowing, like the sunset glow in the sky.

Lin Jue lowered his head, his reflection in the wine.

He still felt a bit unreal in his heart.

The Mountain Lord held a banquet, spirits and monsters attended, offered treasures and shared wine, it was simply like the strange legends in the village elders' mouths, but he didn't expect that there were truly such magical things in the world.

And he was at the banquet. ===== CHAPTER 29 =====