Chapter 231: Chapter 23: The Tale of the Demon’s Extermination at Mount Tianmu
This time, heading to Kuaiji County in Yangzhou, the Thunder Method I sought was called “Shenxiao Thunder”.
According to the general outline of the Five Thunder True Law, Shenxiao Thunder specializes in “extinguishing the vitality”, which is highly effective against demons with robust vitality.
Along with the Jade Pivot Thunder, which specializes in killing Nether Ghosts, and the Great Hollow Thunder, which specializes in killing demons from beyond the heavens, they are called the “Three Daoist Foundations of the Thunder Method”. Almost every Thunder Cultivator could master them proficiently.
Of course, the lineage of Thunder Cultivators has almost completely died out now. The widely spread Shenxiao Thunder, along with the departure of Chonghe True Person, has since vanished from this world.
Lucky for me, Ling Yunpo did some digging and found that the lineage left by the other party was actually still around, located on Mount Tianmu to the south of Kuaiji County, reportedly now with only a single temple and two or three disciples left.
The two of us flew on our swords from Guangling County, heading southwards. Below, the fields stretched continuously, crisscrossed by paths, with travelers and caravans on the roads, bustling with activity—an indication of a peaceful and bountiful year.
Unfortunately, for rural Daoist priests, peace means no demons or ghosts, and bountiful harvests mean no droughts or disasters, yet demon hunting and rainmaking constitute the main source of their income.
The consecutive years of peace and harvest in Yangzhou have caused the business of rural Daoist priests to decline. Now it’s no wonder that the descendants of the Chonghe predecessor are living such miserable lives.
Passing through Lin’an and Kuaiji, we arrived at Mount Tianmu and landed at the temple on the mountain’s peak.
What a dilapidated temple!
Honestly, whether it was Ling Yunpo, Qiu Changtian, Luo Yan, or Wei Dongliu, none had ever seen such a rundown temple.
The roof tiles were all damaged, most of the plaster on the walls had fallen off, and one corner of the stone threshold was even missing… Ling Yunpo mused that if he were looking for someone to make it rain or catch ghosts, he would probably turn around and leave at the sight of such a decrepit facade.
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He walked up and knocked on the door; there was no response.
“There’s no one inside,” An Zhisu said.
“Looks like we’ll have to come back another time,” Ling Yunpo had just turned around when he saw a young Daoist coming from the other end of the mountain path.
The young Daoist was dressed in a tattered Daoist robe covered in patches, carrying a basket full of wild vegetables, staring dumbfounded at the two guests before him.
Ling Yunpo, handsome and resolute, with a sharp gaze; An Zhisu, tall and valiant, exuding an air of heroism. Combined with their Shushan Daoist robes that indicate they are from a major sect, the sight frightened the young Daoist so much that he dropped his basket and came over to give a loud kowtow:
“Kunlun has finally sent someone! Please, seniors, save my master! A demon has captured him!”
Ling Yunpo: ………
An Zhisu: ………
“Calm down, we are not cultivators from Kunlun.” Seeing the young Daoist kneeling and continuously kowtowing, Ling Yunpo helplessly explained, “We are cultivators from Shushan. And what do you mean your master has been captured by a demon? …Stop kowtowing to me!”
The young Daoist slowly raised his head, his gaze dizzy and puzzled, obviously having kowtowed himself into a bit of stupor.
An Zhisu was speechless as well and took out a white jade liquor cask.
First, she poured a little in her hand and then flicked it into the young Daoist’s mouth with the flick of a finger.
“Cough… cough cough…” Suddenly startled by the liquor, the child coughed several times, his senses somewhat returning to him.
“You’re… not from Kunlun?” he asked, still somewhat dazed as he looked at the two of them.
“We are Shushan Sword Immortals,” Ling Yunpo replied.
“Shushan… where is that?” the young Daoist asked, confused.
“You don’t need to worry about where Shushan is,” An Zhisu patiently said, “You just need to know that we from Shushan have a good relationship with Kunlun. So where exactly was your master taken when he was captured?”
“In the Thousand Fathom Valley! East of the Nineteen Peaks!” The young Daoist’s eyes lit up, and he immediately began to spill everything out like beans pouring out of a bamboo tube, “The demon on that side is powerful! The master didn’t dare to provoke it, but during an exorcism mission in Kuaiji County, he accidentally killed a lesser demon under the other’s command.”
“Afterwards, the monster refused and came knocking on our door to reason with my master. My master couldn’t argue with him and was kidnapped!”
“What is your master’s cultivation level?” Ling Yunpo pressed, “And the demon’s cultivation level?”
“Cultivation level? I’m not sure,” the young Taoist said blankly, “but that demon is very powerful, able to summon clouds and ride the fog, flying about…”
As he spoke and gestured, he couldn’t come to the point, and Ling Yunpo had to interrupt him:
“Never mind that, can the demon transform?”
“Transform?”
“As in, turn into a human.”
“It probably can’t,” the young Taoist recalled carefully, “Master said that demons that can turn into humans are fierce. If we encounter one, we must flee immediately, and there would be cultivators from some island who would deal with it…”
“Penglai Island?” An Zhisu asked for confirmation. Yangzhou was under the influence of Penglai’s Yuqing View, although the Heavenly Demon Path certainly didn’t see it that way.
“Right, right, right!” the young Taoist nodded repeatedly.
“Without transformation, it means it hasn’t formed a demon core yet.” Ling Yunpo looked up and said to his senior sister.
“It can be killed,” An Zhisu nodded.
“Where is that Thousand Fathom Valley you mentioned?” Ling Yunpo asked the young Taoist again.
“Over there!” The young Taoist pointed in a direction, “Past those three mountains, on the east side of the fourth mountain…”
He was interrupted by his own startled cry.
Because Ling Yunpo had already swept him up under his arm and soared up with his sword, shooting up nearly a hundred feet into the air.
“Where? Point it out to me directly,” he asked again.
Still in shock, the young Taoist strived to calm down for a moment, then pointed towards the distance and said:
“There! That narrow, long gorge!”
“Good.” Ling Yunpo turned and spoke to his senior sister, and the two of them turned and headed northwest, setting the young Taoist down outside the city of Kuaiji County.
“Stay here for now, so that when we exterminate the demon, none that flee will go to your temple to vent their frustration,” An Zhisu advised, and then took out a Green Nourishment Pill, “I see you haven’t yet started fasting? Take one of these pills daily, and you can go a day without food.”
“Thank you, Fairy Sister,” the young Taoist said earnestly.
Ling Yunpo couldn’t help but chuckle at the side. Senior Sister An wasn’t that thoughtful; it was his own idea to leave the young Taoist at a distance.
But to a child, a sister is undoubtedly easier to approach than a brother, so he didn’t quibble with him.
The two turned around once again and set off, this time flying directly to the entrance of the gorge, then descended with their sword lights.
Entering with swords a-blazing was the approach of high rank cultivators looking to overpower their enemies. Catching a target from above was far less easy than locking on to one coming from the sky when you’re on the ground.
Stepping into the gorge, and walking on the mountain trail for a while, Ling Yunpo suddenly cast his gaze into the distance.
A demon!
On the rocks on the other side of the valley, stood a horned little demon with the head of a deer and the body of a human, erect and retreating, gazing intently in their direction.
The next second, a scorching streak of light flew across, pinning the small demon dead against the rock face!