Chapter 71: A Dao Field Has Been Established

After the firebird vanished, spiritual rain began to fall over Mount Wuzhi.

It could not be helped; the spiritual energy that had surged upward earlier was too dense. Now that both the giant monkey and the giant hand had dissipated, the overflowing spiritual energy, concentrated to its extreme, turned into spiritual rain.

Within Mount Wuzhi, clouds and mist churned while five-colored spiritual light flickered intermittently among the peaks. The vegetation in the mountains, as if injected with hormones, continuously shot up and grew robust.

On the periphery, cultivators from all factions watched everything clearly, their faces filled with shock.

"What was that firebird?"

"In ancient times there were the Four Spirits: the Azure Dragon, the White Tiger, Zhu Que, and the Black Tortoise. That firebird is Zhu Que, one of the Four Spirits."

"The Four Spirits guard the four directions, dispelling evil, averting disaster, and praying for blessings for all living beings under heaven."

The elders of Tai Su Palace and San Qing Palace exchanged glances, their expressions complex. They had scoured the world for disciples with extraordinary cultivation talent and nurtured them with care, yet they never expected that the first person to summon one of the Four Spirits would not come from their own sects.

"Look, people from the Asura Sect are entering Mount Wuzhi."

Someone shouted, and forces from all factions moved out together, rushing into Mount Wuzhi.

With spiritual rain falling and strange phenomena appearing frequently within Mount Wuzhi, rare treasures must surely be emerging. If not now, when would be the time to seize them?

"Go. You have been here for so long; it is time for you to undergo training within the mountains."

Daoist Qingyun of Tai Su Palace smiled as he instructed his disciples, "Remember, do not venture too deep into Mount Wuzhi, and do not separate."

Leading the way, Senior Brother Liu Yiyun guided the disciples as they rushed into Mount Wuzhi.

At the rear of the group, Chu Junmo noticed something amiss with Hua Changxi and immediately asked, "Seventh Junior Sister, are you feeling unwell? Your complexion does not look good."

Hua Changxi herself could not quite describe her condition. Just moments ago, she had felt a lethal danger, as if she were about to die, but now that sensation was gone, though her heart still beat somewhat fast.

Since nothing was actually wrong with her, why did she feel as though she were on the verge of death?

Hua Changxi pressed her hand to her chest, recalling the first time she had felt the threat of death.

It was a summer day; she had been playing by the river with her sisters when she accidentally fell into the water. Ninth Lady saved her and pulled her ashore, but Ninth Lady herself was swept away by the current.

Back then, she had also been physically unharmed, yet she had felt an anguish as if she were dying.

Ninth Lady...

Has something happened to Ninth Lady?

"Second Senior Brother, after this training concludes, I wish to return to the capital."

"Return to the capital?"

"I have not seen my family in a long time. I miss them and wonder if they are all well."

"Very well. I have not returned to the palace to see my mother, the Consort, in a long time either. I will accompany you back."

"Mm, let us hurry and catch up with Senior Brother and the others."

At the location of the Demon-Suppressing Army and the Qingzhou Army, watching the various cultivators rush into Mount Wuzhi, Prince Dong'an and Chu Junyi made no attempt to stop them.

Prince Dong'an looked at Chu Junyi and said, "The commotion in Mount Wuzhi just now was too great; it could not be stopped. Even if the various factions agreed on the surface to let the imperial court take over Mount Wuzhi, they would still sneak in secretly."

Chu Junyi, wearing a Qilin mask, had an unreadable expression, but his eyes were extremely serious. "Mount Wuzhi... I fear the imperial court will no longer be able to take control of it."

Prince Dong'an's eyes flashed as he suddenly recalled the excuse the Asura Sect spies had used to urge him to enter Mount Wuzhi: to capture the mountain spirit of Mount Wuzhi and claim the mountain for themselves.

Although he already had suspicions, Prince Dong'an pretended ignorance and asked, "On what grounds do you say this?"

Chu Junyi shook his head. "An intuition."

Prince Dong'an narrowed his eyes, looking at the young commander of the Demon-Suppressing Army before him.

In truth, fierce beasts and demonic beasts had appeared long ago, but the matter had always been kept secret. Whenever a demonic beast emerged in a famous mountain or great river, the imperial court would conquer that location, with the Demon-Suppressing Army always leading the charge.

Surely the Demon-Suppressing Army should know about the existence of mountain spirits?

"Commander Yi, what is your assessment of the battle just now?"

Hearing this, Chu Junyi looked at the Demon-Slaying Sword in his hand, which was still humming. The moment the giant monkey had appeared, he had nearly lost control of the sword.

"Its momentum was terrifying, but it is nothing to fear."

Prince Dong'an clearly had not expected Chu Junyi to describe the recent battle so lightly.

Seeing Prince Dong'an looking at him in surprise, and recalling that Yan Xiaoyang had helped the Demon-Suppressing Army several times, Chu Junyi explained, "Both the giant monkey and the giant hand were formed from condensed spiritual energy; they cannot be maintained for long."

Prince Dong'an replied, "But the spiritual energy in Mount Wuzhi is very dense," implying that the giant monkey and giant hand could persist for a long time.

Chu Junyi countered, "But the giant monkey and the giant hand will consume each other."

Prince Dong'an said, "The giant hand was dispersed by the giant monkey."

Chu Junyi responded, "The giant monkey only dispersed the giant hand formed from condensed spiritual energy. The true body of the giant hand cannot be shattered by the spiritual-energy giant monkey. In the end, the giant monkey will definitely be eradicated by the giant hand."

Even if the true body of the giant hand were truly shattered, once the Demon-Slaying Sword was drawn, it could slay the giant monkey.

Prince Dong'an nodded thoughtfully. "No wonder you were not worried earlier that the giant monkey would break out of Mount Wuzhi."

Chu Junyi did not continue speaking with Prince Dong'an. Instead, he frowned as he looked at the third peak of Mount Wuzhi. "The giant monkey and the giant hand are merely problems left over from the past and pose no real threat. The true trouble lies with the person capable of summoning Zhu Que."

Prince Dong'an thought of the mysterious cultivator who had used a fire lotus to save him within Mount Wuzhi and remained silent.

Chu Junyi turned to Prince Dong'an. "Your Highness, please keep a closer watch on the area outside Mount Wuzhi."

Prince Dong'an smiled. "What, does the Demon-Suppressing Army wish to be lazy?"

Chu Junyi glanced at him. "I am about to lead the Demon-Suppressing Army into Mount Wuzhi."

Prince Dong'an immediately asked, "Are you going to capture the person who summoned Zhu Que?"

Chu Junyi replied, "The Minister has issued a strict order: any cultivator capable of summoning one of the Four Spirits must be captured and imprisoned in the Heavenly Department's celestial prison."

Prince Dong'an furrowed his brows. "Why?"

Chu Junyi shook his head. "If Your Highness wishes to know, go to the capital personally and ask the Minister." With that, he clasped his fists in salute, turned, and went to assemble the Demon-Suppressing Army.

Meanwhile, in a cave at the foot of Mount Wuzhi, Jiang Guanyun watched the depths of the mountain with a gloomy expression. The successor of Zhu Que—that wild girl was actually the successor of Zhu Que!

The emergence of the Four Spirits meant that the struggle for fortune and destiny in the Four Spirits Realm had begun.

This was too fast, faster than he had anticipated.

Damn it, that wild girl truly deserves to die.

Without her, the Four Spirits Realm would not have initiated the contest for fortune so quickly; the Jiang family would have had time to seize resources and establish their foundation. In this contest for fortune, the Jiang family would undoubtedly have secured a place.

All of this was ruined by that wild girl.

"Pfft~"

Thinking of how his schemes had been destroyed, Jiang Guanyun's rage surged, causing him to spit a mouthful of fresh blood. Killing intent boiled in his eyes; originally planning to rush back to the Jiang family to heal, he now decided to stay.

He must kill that wild girl; the contest for fortune should not have begun so soon.

Across all of Mount Wuzhi, no place possessed denser spiritual rain than the Third Peak.

In the area where the monkey cave had originally been, countless fresh spiritual grasses, fruits, and plants sprouted like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. Especially at the spot where Hua Changxi lay, the fire spiritual energy was so dense it had directly scoured out a pool of fire spiritual spring water.

Hua Changxi floated above the spring pool, her body enveloped in diffusing red light.

By the poolside, the Mountain Spirit bulged its eyes, watching Hua Changxi, who appeared to be asleep. Seeing the fire spiritual energy in the pool continuously enter her body, it confirmed she was unharmed and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The Fairy is truly amazing! I had already prepared for my spiritual body to be shattered, yet at the critical moment, the Fairy actually summoned Zhu Que.

No wonder the Fairy did not fear the Monkey King's domain.

Zhu Que! That is the supreme existence capable of suppressing all demons and evils.

The Mountain Spirit gazed at Hua Changxi with shining eyes, once again marveling at its incredible luck. It casually picked a spiritual fruit from the poolside to gnaw on, grinning until its eyes narrowed into slits.

Suddenly, the Mountain Spirit's bun-like face wrinkled: "Annoying! Those greedy cultivators have entered Mount Wuzhi again."

Due to the previous great battle between the Monkey King and the Buddha's Hand, the powerful impact of spiritual energy had caused some mountain ranges to protrude, thereby exposing several shallow mineral veins.

The Mountain Spirit did not mind cultivators entering the mountain to gather spiritual plants and fruits or hunt demonic beasts, but those cultivators actually attempting to monopolize the spiritual veins was something it could not endure.

Among them was even a descendant of that frizzy-haired old Daoist who had wanted to refine it.

"I'm furious!"

It would drive these cultivators out of Mount Wuzhi.

The Mountain Spirit stomped its feet in anger by the pool, then looked at Hua Changxi in the water and suddenly let out an "Eh?"

The inheritance seemed to mention that once Mount Wuzhi became a Fairy's cultivation ground, no one could enter or leave freely without her permission; otherwise, they would suffer punishment.

The Mountain Spirit did not care whether Hua Changxi truly possessed the ability to punish those who trespassed on Mount Wuzhi; right now, it trusted her completely.

Since the Fairy could summon Zhu Que and resolve the Monkey King instantly, dealing with those cultivators would surely be a trivial matter.

Thus, the Mountain Spirit opened its mouth wide and spat out the Mount Wuzhi Mountain Seal.

The Mountain Seal had condensed after the Monkey King's domain was destroyed; it was a miniature version of Mount Wuzhi, about the size of an infant's fist.

"Fortunately, the Fairy spat blood earlier; there are still bloodstains on the corner of her mouth."

The Mountain Spirit manipulated the Mountain Seal to fly toward Hua Changxi in the pool, rubbing it against the bloodstains at the corner of her mouth. As the seal emitted a red glow, the spirit itself forced out a drop of essence blood, merging it into the seal.

The two red glows merged, and the Mountain Seal "whooshed" into Hua Changxi's dantian.

The cultivation ground contract was thus rashly established; while unconscious, Hua Changxi had acquired a cultivation ground.

Seeing the Mountain Seal enter the Fairy's body, the Mountain Spirit immediately grinned until its eyes narrowed.

Simultaneously, within Mount Wuzhi, all demonic beasts and plants that had awakened spiritual intelligence, as well as all cultivators who had sneaked into the mountain, looked up at the sky in unison.

Although they could see nothing, they could clearly feel an invisible power descending upon them.

As that power passed through their bodies, a voice rang out in their minds: "Mount Wuzhi has an owner. Without the owner's permission, no one may sneak in privately. Violators will be severely punished without mercy."

Chu Junyi, who was rushing swiftly toward the Third Peak, stumbled and halted his journey.

The premonition had come true; Mount Wuzhi had an owner!

Was it the person who summoned Zhu Que who had obtained Mount Wuzhi?

"Pfft~"

Jiang Guanyun, unwilling to give up and having sneaked back into Mount Wuzhi, spat out several more mouthfuls of fresh blood, his eyes nearly splitting from rage. He had been so close; just a little more, and Mount Wuzhi would have been his.

That wild girl deserves to die!

Cultivators from various factions felt somewhat at a loss regarding this sudden situation.

"Should we continue?"

There were truly too many spiritual medicines and plants within Mount Wuzhi; asking them to abandon these treasures and leave was simply impossible.

"How about we gather a bit more?"

All the cultivators knew how precious cultivation resources were; leaving empty-handed was truly unacceptable, so they all attempted to remain in the mountain.

Gradually, everyone realized that gathering items caused no harm, so their boldness grew; they began frantically collecting spiritual medicines and plants and excavating spiritual mines.

By the spring pool, although the Mountain Spirit could sense that those cultivators had not left, with the Fairy still unconscious, it could do nothing.

"Wait until the Fairy wakes up; I'll make them pay."

"Commander, should we continue deeper?"

Chu Junyi did not answer immediately; an entire mountain suddenly becoming someone else's cultivation ground was something he had never encountered before.

A cultivation ground...

Under imperial governance, there were many mountains, yet not a single one definitively belonged to the court as a cultivation ground.

Without a definitive mark, those mountains, to put it plainly, remained contestable.

Where exactly did the person who summoned Zhu Que come from?

Their appearance had simply caught everyone completely off guard.

Seeing Chu Junyi remain silent, another Demon-Suppressing Army soldier spoke up: "Commander, this subordinate feels the situation inside the mountain is somewhat abnormal."

"At our speed, we should have long since passed through the Second Peak, yet now we are still circling within the First Peak."

Chu Junyi had also noticed this situation; knitting his brows, he said, "Mount Wuzhi has expanded."

This situation was not unfamiliar to the Demon-Suppressing Army; during past battles against demonic beasts and struggles to seize mountains, they had encountered similar incidents many times, so they were not particularly worried.

Chu Junyi, however, sighed. He had intended to take advantage of that person's weakness to capture them in one stroke, but now that Mount Wuzhi had expanded, by the time they reached the Third Peak, that person's injuries might have nearly healed.

Now that Mount Wuzhi had become that person's cultivation ground, capturing someone within it would be difficult.

"No need to go any deeper."

"Didn't we spot an open-air spirit mine earlier? Let's head back and start mining."

Hearing this, all the Demon-Suppressing Army soldiers perked up; although they handled many cultivation resources, the vast majority were turned over to superiors, leaving them with just enough for their own cultivation.

Their daily lives could be described as tight; regarding the spirit mine they had just seen, given their commander's nature, he would surely let them keep a portion if they mined it all.

Because Mount Wuzhi suddenly had an owner, cultivators from all factions no longer wandered casually through the mountains as before, but frantically searched for various cultivation resources.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

On the Third Peak, above the Fire Spirit Spring Pool, the red light enveloping Hua Changxi slowly converged; when the last trace of red light vanished, Hua Changxi opened her eyes.

"Fairy, you're awake."

Seeing Hua Changxi open her eyes, the Mountain Spirit danced with joy, waving its hands and feet.

Looking at the Mountain Spirit, Hua Changxi showed a look of astonishment: "Chubby baby, how have you grown up?"

The Mountain Spirit before had resembled a newborn infant; yet the Mountain Spirit now looked like a toddler of two or three years.

The Mountain Spirit's eyes curved into crescents: "Because I've become stronger! To suppress the Monkey King, Mount Wuzhi consumed a massive amount of spiritual energy and was suppressed by the Buddha's Hand. Now that the Monkey King's field has been destroyed and the suppression lifted, I've grown stronger!"

Hua Changxi uttered an "Oh," then raised her head to look around: "Has the Monkey King disappeared?"

The Mountain Spirit replied: "The Monkey King died long ago; what remained was merely a wisp of its aura. That wisp of aura has already been scattered by you, Fairy."

Hearing this, Hua Changxi recalled the instant the Monkey King's fist crashed down.

At that moment, she had already despaired, certain of her death, when suddenly an image of a small bird breathing and circulating energy flashed through her mind.

Then, she felt herself transform into fire spiritual energy, and the small bird burst forth from her body, flying away.

"Chubby baby, did you see a small bird?"

The Mountain Spirit paused in confusion: "A small bird? Does Fairy mean Zhu Que?"

"Zhu Que?" Hua Changxi was somewhat stunned.

The Mountain Spirit continued: "Yes, Fairy summoned Zhu Que. As soon as Zhu Que appeared, it instantly scattered the Monkey King."

Hua Changxi was speechless: "The small bird was actually Zhu Que..."

"Fairy!"

The Mountain Spirit suddenly shouted: "Fairy, you must quickly deal with those greedy cultivators; they are seizing your resources!"

Hua Changxi looked over in confusion: "Who is seizing my resources? What resources of mine are they taking?"

The Mountain Spirit grew extremely anxious: "Fairy, Mount Wuzhi is now your cultivation ground. Many cultivators are inside the mountain snatching spirit plants and spirit fruits, and even mining; all of these belong to you."

A thought stirred in Hua Changxi's mind; she sensed something new within her sea of qi, raised her hand, and a miniature Mount Wuzhi, the size of an infant's fist, appeared in her palm.

"How did Mount Wuzhi become my cultivation ground?"

The Mountain Spirit immediately took credit: "I formed the bond contract for you."

Hua Changxi was dumbfounded: "Chubby baby, you truly are... too good to me." It had freely gifted Mount Wuzhi to her.

The Mountain Spirit smiled shyly: "I was consecrated by the Fairy, which makes me equivalent to your child; naturally, I must look out for your interests."

Hearing this, Hua Changxi did not know whether to laugh or cry, utterly at a loss for words.

The Mountain Spirit said: "Fairy, please quickly drive those cultivators out."

Holding the Mount Wuzhi seal, Hua Changxi already knew that no one could enter or leave Mount Wuzhi at will without her permission, or they would suffer punishment.

Punishment?

How was she to punish those cultivators?

The only attack method she knew was burning them with the Fire Lotus.

Mount Wuzhi was vast; Hua Changxi could sense its general scope. There were many spirit plants, spirit fruits, and demonic beasts within the mountain; she did not mind if other cultivators took a little.

However, since rules had been established, they must be obeyed.

"Anyone who enters Mount Wuzhi without my consent will be burned by the Fire Lotus."

The power of the Fire Lotus depended on the cultivator's realm.

Hua Changxi did not wish to kill those cultivators, only to make them leave Mount Wuzhi, so the Fire Lotus's power was set to merely one-tenth of a cultivator's cultivation base.

It would not be fatal, but being burned by the Fire Lotus would still be extremely painful.

Soon, cries of agony rose one after another throughout Mount Wuzhi; the cultivators who had previously lingered within the mountain fled toward the outside in succession.

The Demon-Suppressing Army soldiers, who had been frantically mining, were also startled by the sudden appearance of the Fire Lotus; even after quickly extinguishing the flames, they could still feel the searing pain of the burn.

"Commander, should we continue?"

Chu Junyi looked toward the depths of Mount Wuzhi: "Withdraw."

He understood that although the Fire Lotus's power was currently weak, it was merely a warning from the owner of Mount Wuzhi; if they did not withdraw, the Fire Lotus's power would increase, and they might not be able to withstand it then.