Chapter 439

The mountain was empty, the sunlight bright, as if that immortal had never been there.

Yet that scene remained in their hearts.

The group had no choice but to slowly descend the mountain.

The seemingly dull personal guard was actually quite clever; seeing the general having difficulty walking, he immediately took a spear to use as a crutch and handed it to the general.

The general leaned on the spear, walking slowly, his brows tightly furrowed:

"Advisor, you say this..."

"That was undoubtedly an immortal."

"Then..."

"The immortal descended to the mortal realm specifically to meet the general; it must be fate." The military advisor said readily, "The immortal was right; the general is not lacking in civil or military skill, but you must remember the courage and bravery of yesterday. In this way, meeting this once-in-a-century time of change, why worry about not finding a title of nobility?"

The military advisor was thinking for him, and also for himself:

"In my opinion, after the general returns, you must fulfill your promises, and you should build a pavilion on the top of this mountain and erect a monument, so that the world will remember this immortal, remember the general, and also so that the general himself will remember the deeds of fighting the monster to the death on this day, never to be forgotten."

"Reasonable, reasonable..."

The general nodded repeatedly, as if he had gained something.

Perhaps this was what the immortal had lent him yesterday.

Descending the mountain this way was naturally much smoother.

After descending, everyone saw that the two giant turtles that had died on the beach last night—the monster corpses they were still worrying about how to dispose of—had unexpectedly turned into two stone peaks, about two zhang high, with only the head of the giant turtle killed by the soldiers remaining unchanged, while the other giant turtle had no head to begin with, having been smashed by the armored giant god's whip.

Besides that, the spears, arrows, fishhooks, and harpoons stuck in the giant turtles had all turned into stone, with claws, tails, shells, and skin textures all lifelike.

Everyone was amazed.

Immediately, they cut off the giant turtle's head, loaded it onto a cart, pulled it with several horses, and had dozens of soldiers take turns pushing it, only then managing to send this head, about one zhang long, back to Mirage City.

At this time in Mirage City, the streets and alleys had just begun to spread the story of the expert performing magic tricks to tease a rascal peddler, and everyone found it wonderful and interesting, especially the children. Suddenly looking back, they saw the timid general covered in blood, his hair and clothes disheveled, leading a group of soldiers and pulling a head as large as an ox back into the city.

Several hundred li away, it was the Jiangnan region.

Lin Jue was sitting on another beach, head bowed, carving.

In front of him was a campfire, with an iron pot set up, boiling large lobsters and swimming crabs.

The fox lowered its body and tilted its head to look at the fire, and with a flick of its paw, a piece of firewood flew into the fire. It watched the fire for a while, then poked its head to look into the pot:

"Here! Bugs! So big! They've become spirits!"

"They are shrimp."

Lin Jue didn't even lift his head, carving earnestly.

The wooden carving in his hand already showed the figure of a tall, graceful Daoist, holding a horsetail whisk in her arms.

"Eh? She has no eyes?"

The fox was surprised, poking its head to look into the pot.

"They are lobsters."

"And no ears either!?"

"It's called a lobster, and this is a swimming crab."

"Oh..."

The fox understood then, nodded, and said: "They are just bugs!"

Lin Jue ignored it, and the fox stopped talking.

Suddenly, its ears twitched, and it immediately stepped to the side, and a coconut fell exactly where it had just been standing.

The fox turned its head and stared at it, as if thinking.

After a while, it suddenly opened its mouth and inhaled:

"Hoo..."

With a light breeze, the coconut suddenly flew up, gradually shrank, and entered its mouth.

"This tree egg is fated with me! Little Flower and Xiao Xiao Shimei haven't seen this thing, I'll take it back for them to drink!" The fox said, "We will go back, right?"

"We are in the southeast now, going to the west, and the capital is in the middle." Lin Jue said with a smile, "A slight detour, and we'll pass through there."

"We will go back, right?"

"We will."

"We will!"

"You can also bring them some lobsters and sea crabs; they haven't seen those either."

"The fox thought of that! But they will stink and rot!"

"Just breathe a mouthful of cold air on them every day to freeze them, and they won't go bad."

"The fox thought of that! But it will be cold in my stomach after swallowing them, and it will be uncomfortable!"

"Just put them in my cloth bag, and then swallow the bag, and it won't be cold."

"Smart!"

The fox immediately ran toward the sea.

It had obtained the method of entering and controlling water from the Dragon King and General Rhino; the former allowed it to breathe freely in the water and come and go as it pleased, and the latter could control water, which was just right for hunting in the sea.

Lin Jue continued to carve with his head bowed.

Time flew by when he was focused.

In a daze, his peripheral vision caught the fox returning to the beach, bowing its head and breathing cold air onto a few shrimp and crabs.

In another daze, the fox was back by his side, poking its head to stare at his hands:

"You carved a female hero!"

"Yes..."

"She looks like Daoist Jiang!"

The two, who had prepared themselves to be punished, were stunned for a moment, and only then were they certain that this person was truly an Immortal.

"Is it Daoist Jiang?"

"Yes..."

"Ying?" The fox was shocked, opening its mouth wide, "You're going to turn Daoist Jiang into a bean!"

"?" Lin Jue, so focused, couldn't help but turn his head and tap it on the top of its head with his wrist, "When I first learned the method of bean soldiers and practiced wood carving, didn't I carve foxes and cats too?"

"Eh?"

The fox was stunned for a moment, becoming suspicious: "Then why didn't the fox and Little Flower turn into beans?"

Lin Jue tapped it again.

"Daoist Jiang gifted us the longevity spirit wood, and I have nothing to repay her with, so I used the longevity spirit wood she gave me to carve a statue to gift to her on the way back. This is called reciprocity."

"..." The fox tilted its head and thought again, "Then I'll gift her a lobster!"

"Polite."

"Polite!"

The man and the fox happily ate the shrimp and crabs. Not long after, they set off again.

"The snow lotus isn't mature yet, but we won't go back to the capital to wait; we'll just pass through the capital, and it will be a good chance to see this human world, gain some knowledge, and subdue some demons."

Lin Jue had already discovered one thing—

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth and the creation of the world are all in the world.

Since he left the mountain, what he had seen, heard, felt, realized, cultivated, and gained was all superior to Mount Yishan; since he left the capital, what he had seen, heard, felt, realized, cultivated, and gained was also superior to the capital.

The fox followed by his side and said:

"Pick a few more tree eggs to drink on the road."

"They are coconuts."

"Nonsense! They are fruits!"

"..."

The two figures drifted further and further away.

!

At the Red Leaf Temple on Mount Fengshan, the junior sister chopped coconuts by hand.

On the cloud sea platform in front of the temple, the fox carried a huge lobster and crab, attracting the curious gaze of the colorful fox and the young girl.

The tassels bloomed again in the Zhenjian Palace.

The female Daoist, in her Daoist robes, her skin as white as snow, stood in the room, looking straight at the center of the bookshelf, where a wooden carving was placed—slender, in Daoist robes, with a calm expression, and apart from holding a horsetail whisk, it had no other decorations, yet it was lifelike, exactly the same as her standing in front of the bookshelf.

And Lin Jue and Fuyao did not stay long in the capital, but soon left again, continuing into the world, toward the northwest.

Meditating in ruined temples on desolate mountains, sleeping in thatched shops by the roadside, catching demons in mountain villages, punishing thieves in small city markets, facing the cold winds of heaven and earth, traveling through snow, writing letters by lamp in the night rain of the world of men.

Footprints suddenly appeared in the depths of the desert, and human traces were found on the peaks of snow-capped mountains.

Riding a donkey across boundless grasslands, traveling on the wind through mountains, waters, and clouds.

Another summer, another thunderstorm.

However, the north was already chaotic, and this place was near the border; trade routes were almost cut off, the people's livelihood was difficult, bandits were rampant, most temples were dilapidated and could not shelter from wind and rain, most inns had closed down with doors locked, and the people did not dare to let strangers stay easily.

On the wide mountain road, there were only the Daoist and the fox.

Lin Jue looked up at the sky; in the dimness, dark clouds pressed heavily into the world, but his pace remained unhurried.

Ahead, there was a post station.

Lin Jue walked to the front of the post station and looked; the gate was closed but not locked, looking as if no one had been there for a long time.

"Is anyone here?"

Lin Jue called out toward the inside.

"No one!"

The fox answered for the people inside.

"Then let's go in."

Lin Jue pushed open the courtyard gate and walked in.

A courtyard, already abandoned.

This was a government post station, and one could see it had been quite elegant before, but the weather here was dry with unpredictable heat and cold, and the flowers and plants in the courtyard would soon wither if not tended to; only the bamboo forest behind the house had tenacious life, not only not withering from lack of care but growing even more lush.

Pushing open the room door, inside was a main hall; although empty, without tables or chairs, there was no other clutter.

It must have been emptied after it fell into disrepair.

The tiled roof was still in good condition.

"Let's stay here tonight."

Lin Jue did not shrink down to live in the box but found a corner of the wall and sat cross-legged.

Outside, thunder rumbled, and the spiritual aura of heaven and earth was irritable; as soon as he closed his eyes, it all entered his heart.

Not far after passing the pass, he should reach Mount Tianshan.

With Chen Niu to guide him, he wouldn't get lost.

It was a pity that when he reached Mount Tianshan and the Snow Lotus Gathering, he didn't know what the situation would be, whether he would be welcomed, or how he could obtain the snow lotus.

Chen Niu could only take him there.

"Chen Niu, oh Chen Niu, if only you were a bit smarter."

"?"

A small ghost in brown clothes appeared out of thin air, his face a mix of seriousness and confusion, looking at Lin Jue.

"Nothing, I'm praising you."

"?"

Chen Niu looked at him with that expression, waited for a moment, and seeing that he didn't ask for directions, vanished into thin air again.

Lin Jue shook his head helplessly.

Not long after, it turned dark.

"Boom-rumble..."

"Splash..."

Thunder sounded outside, and it suddenly started to rain.

The rain was heavy, like water being poured, splashing on the forest outside and the roof of the post station with a violent sound.

Thunder and lightning mingled, reflecting on the doors and windows.

Suddenly, the fox turned its head to look outside.

Amidst the sound of thunder and rain, two figures pushed open the door.

Lin Jue looked closely; they were two middle-aged men, one tall and one short, dressed like an official and an attendant, their clothes already soaked.

Both were stunned when they saw him and the fox.

Both sides sized each other up.

Lin Jue did not move, and the others did not leave, but walked slowly into the post station.

Lin Jue was on the far left, and they were on the far right.

Both sides were at peace.

Not long after, another person came, looking like a scholar.

The scholar was also stunned for a moment.

Then he sat down in another corner.

Thus, several people came one after another, all to avoid the rain.

Only Lin Jue remained the calmest.

(End of chapter)