Chapter 365: North Leopard Spring

I came to the northwest this time; although there was a royal bounty and the North Leopard Spring here, my main purpose was to subdue demons and eradicate evil.

To meet Long Bo was an unexpected joy.

It truly proves Master Hua's words—

"Long Bo is simple and straightforward, easily manipulated; they never appear in times of peace, only hiding away. In times of chaos, you'll see them—so if you seek them, go where chaos reigns."

If we speak of chaos, nowhere in Qinzhou is more turbulent than the northwest and northeast.

This Leopard King must be just as Master Hua described—aware of Long Bo's power, anticipating Tianxia chaos, he schemed meticulously to capture one Long Bo, transform it into a chang Gui, and make it his general, hoping to gradually strengthen it through slow ritual refinement into a great asset. He never expected to encounter me so soon.

But one Long Bo still isn't enough…

This Long Bo seems unable to speak—can I extract more information from it?

As Lin Jue pondered this, firelight suddenly appeared above him.

Looking up, a figure clad in flame armor stood atop clouds blazing like fire.

"May I ask, Divine General, did you catch it?"

Lin Jue bowed respectfully; he held this Divine General in due regard.

First, because this Divine General of Heavenly Fire came here to slay demons—someone willing to do such a thing deserves reverence, whether they're a Divine General centuries older than me, or even a common villager carrying steamed buns to deliver food.

Of course, he might also be here for incense offerings.

But there's another reason—

Nearly all spell-binding arts in the world draw power from deities. Lin Jue's former favorite, the Sword-Attaching Spell, channeled thunder and fire energy, which originated from the Thunder and Fire Generals under Yi Li Shen Jun. They passed down this spell for centuries to aid the people in driving away evil and eliminating demons.

As for centuries ago…

The Sword-Attaching Spell then differed from today's; the power it borrowed, and the deities it invoked, were likely different.

This is why ancient texts say spell-binding arts "change with time, differing by dynasty"—a truth Lin Jue only learned later.

Yet the Divine General above replied:

"I didn't catch it."

"It escaped?"

"Not exactly!"

"Explain."

Lin Jue looked up at the Divine General, frowning.

"That beast used an extraordinary escape technique—a profound divine art designed solely for survival. Its speed wasn't faster than mine, but this place is too close to its lair. Before I could kill it, it fled back home."

The Divine General's voice carried a hint of shame:

"But it lost its body. In this regard, it's weaker than its subordinate, the wood-root spirit general. Even with its divine art, it can only hide in its lair, using the Leopard Spring's spiritual essence to nurture its soul—it cannot quickly rebuild a body or regain its cultivation. I've already set up a heavenly net around the Leopard Spring. It must remain within the spring, unable to leave easily, and I won't let it go either."

Lin Jue understood fully.

But one question remained:

"Now that it's alone, why doesn't the Divine General simply enter its lair and kill it outright?"

"Its lair has been cultivated for years—it's not easily breached."

The Divine General's voice boomed heavily.

Behind him, a faint voice explained:

"This mountain is full of water. The Leopard King's dwelling lies at the source of the Leopard Spring—a complex place, long refined by the king. The Heavenly Fire General excels in fire, but there his full power would be reduced to less than half."

It was Master Yun Chan's voice, extremely weak.

He had clearly been injured in the earlier battle.

Yet even this faint voice reached the Divine General above.

"Don't worry. Since the Daoist has already defeated it, and the beast has lost its body and now possesses only a soul, if I still cannot eliminate it, I have no right to remain Heavenly Fire General!"

The Divine General's voice rang out again.

But Lin Jue thought differently—

"If that place disadvantages the Divine General, then let us enter and destroy it!"

Yet the Divine General frowned at once:

"No!"

"Why not?"

"No time for explanations! I will deal with it myself!"

"..."

Lin Jue pondered, sensing something hidden.

Yet after a moment, he spoke sincerely: "Divine General, this demon has killed countless lives, grown wildly arrogant—it deserves death. After battling me today, it was gravely wounded, abandoned its body, and fled. If we don't strike now, while it's weakest, I won't rest easy—I'll eat no food by day, sleep no rest by night."

He paused:

"Besides, I have here a former Great River Water God aiding me."

Everyone turned to look at Pan Yi.

The Divine General fell silent.

As if lost in thought.

After a moment, he spoke:

"But you and I are different. That place has been cultivated by it for years—it holds tools to counter me, and tools to counter you too. Even if you enter with these others, it won't be easy to break through."

"Then please assist me, Divine General!"

"Hmph! Fine! Since you're fearless and refuse counsel, what reason do I have to hesitate?" The Heavenly Fire General said from the clouds, "I'll stay with you half a year!"

"Half a year?"

Lin Jue frowned.

Clearly, the Divine General believed this would be a prolonged battle.

"My spiritual power is nearly spent. Let me rest one night."

"No rush. A few nights will do." The Heavenly Fire General spoke, then vanished.

Only the red-armored Divine General and numerous heavenly soldiers gradually rose and disappeared; the flames in the clouds above seemed to die out—burning from crimson to orange, then pale yellow, slowly fading to gray-black ash until darkness fell.

On the ground, only one lamp remained—the lantern staff held by Wan Wan Xinrong.

Yet the dark clouds above slowly parted.

Moonlight spilled down, cold as frost, outlining the contours of the surrounding mountains.

The night and scenery were so tranquil, hard to imagine that just two hours ago, a fierce battle had raged here between mortals, deities, and a demon king.

"Gentlemen, if you're tired, wounded, or unwilling to fight further, take the skins, horns, and scales you've taken from these demons and leave. Sell them in the market as curiosities—they fetch good coin. To officials, nobles, or wealthy monks and Daoists, they're even more valuable."

Lin Jue called out into the darkness:

"If you wish to follow me and Master Luo to the demon's lair and slay the demon king, I'll be deeply grateful. I know the Leopard King, when raiding, steals not only people but also gold, silver, and jewels. If we find them, I beg you all to fill your clothes and trousers!"

"You underestimate us!"

"Then we'll go with the True Man!"

This book was most recently updated in ##!! UPDATE!

"With Lin Zhen here, what do we fear?"

Many warriors cheered and laughed in agreement.

Lin Jue turned to the mystics of Zhenxian Mansion.

Those mystics who had previously fought the Leopard King needed no urging—they'd go. The mystics who followed Lin Jue this time, though fearful, had seen his prowess in battling the demon general and fighting the demon king alone; most agreed to join.

Lin Jue then turned to the Daoists of Zhenjian Palace.

"Daoist, progress has been substantial."

Daoist Jiang, holding his sword, said only this to him.

No further words were needed—

Subduing demons and eradicating evil was, after all, the duty of these Daoists who received earthly incense and the offerings of the common people. Eliminating this demon king best served their interests. If Lin Jue and countless martial artists, Daoists, and mystics are willing to stay and fight, how could they possibly leave?

"Light the lamps…"

Someone whispered a spell, and lanterns ignited once more in the mountain pit.

But the mountain pit had already grown dark.

The tents were nearly all collapsed; no one bothered to rebuild them. Lin Jue sat cross-legged in the center of camp to rest.

The fox returned, shrinking to a small form and curling beside him.

"Are you hurt?"

Lin Jue stroked the fox's fur as he asked.

"Ying wu!"

"So you're a parrot."

"Wu?"

"What did you learn?"

"Ying!"

"Clever…"

The man and fox whispered to each other—words no one else understood.

Daoist Jiang sat nearby, cross-legged, holding a fly whisk, eyes closed, meditating.

…

The next morning.

Some warriors went into the mountains to gather dry branches and logs, piling them into a pyre; the many strange and extraordinary individuals pooled their strength—those with physical power lent their strength, those with magic cast their spells, moving all the demon corpses to one place, and the bodies of demon generals and demon kings were mostly hacked into pieces.

All useful items had already been selected and collected by the crowd, ensuring nothing went to waste.

Then Master An spat a burst of flame, and the pyre ignited.

Watching the flames grow fiercer, the crowd packed up their tents and supplies and turned to leave.

They began heading deeper into the Leopard Forest.

Following a small stream, they felt it was like a jade ribbon, passing through several lakes, each with a different hue, as if precious gems were set amid the mottled autumn woods, until ahead, mist began to rise, the spiritual aura of the mountains thickened and grew mysterious, mingled with an increasingly heavy aura of demonic energy.

Lin Jue looked down at the stream beside the path; the growing spiritual aura around him came from within it, while demonic energy was everywhere—he immediately knew they were nearing Leopard Spring.

That is, the Leopard King's lair.

But the terrain had grown complex now.

The ground was littered with rocky hills, caves, and grottoes, all interconnected, the stream weaving through them like a network of waterways, mist rising everywhere.

The surrounding ground, soaked for years, had become swamp-like.

No one knew whether, long ago before the demons infested this place, people had come here by boat, or whether the demons themselves had used boats to come and go—but small boats sat floating on the swamp.

Lin Jue heard someone behind him murmur:

"Boats float upon the marsh, rivers overflow; ministers grow strong while the sovereign weakens, all rivers boil, mountain peaks collapse and boulders crumble, high ridges become deep valleys, deep valleys become hills; the petty seize power, the noble decline, black and white indistinguishable—this is the omen of great chaos."

The meaning was clear: boats floating on the marsh, rivers swelling, signaled ministerial dominance and sovereign decline; rivers boiling, mountains crumbling, high ridges turning to valleys and valleys to hills, foretold the rise of the base and the downfall of the noble, a blurring of black and white—the omen of great chaos.

And soon they grew wary—

Upon entering the Leopard King's lair, the very place of Leopard Spring, they found statues everywhere.

Through the forest, whether living trees or dead stumps, all had been carved into wooden statues. Over rocks, from half a person's height to two or three zhang tall, even four or five zhang, every one was a stone statue. Even the stream held submerged wooden and stone statues, and faces faintly emerged from the sand.

Countless bronze and iron statues stood distant and silent.

Though motionless, they sent shivers down their spines.

(End of Chapter)