After waiting for a long time, the Taoist still did not come. Shi Feng did not know what time it was. He had been climbing the mountain for four or five hours straight and was tired and sleepy. He was also worried that a tiger or wolf would suddenly come after him in the middle of the night.
He rushed into the temple, thought for a while, apologized silently in his heart, then climbed up to the arms of the statue, curled up and half-laid down, then closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
He didn't know how long he had slept, but in the dimness, he heard someone softly calling his name. He suddenly woke up. In the darkness, he saw a person standing in the hall. It was vaguely the Taoist priest in green robes that he had seen yesterday. Shi Feng hurriedly jumped off the stone statue, turned over and bowed, "Greetings, Taoist priest."
The Taoist waved his left hand, and a round, bead-like object appeared. Initially, the bead appeared normal, but gradually grew brighter, illuminating the entire hall. The Taoist saw that Shi Feng's robes were ripped and torn, his hands were swollen and scarred, his hair was disheveled, and sweat mixed with ice. It was clear he had endured considerable hardship along the way. He couldn't help but sigh, "Although you're young, you're incredibly determined. What a pity, what a pity!"
Shi Feng felt a chill in his heart when he heard him praise himself first and then suddenly say it was a pity. "Could it be..." The Taoist smiled slightly and said, "Taoist magic and immortal items are not originally passed on to mortals. Shi Feng, considering your filial piety, I will make an exception this time." As he spoke, he took out a small bottle from his bosom, poured out a pill, and said, "This is called the Seven Flowers and Three Ginseng Pill. It can revive the dead and turn flesh into bones. Give it to your mother to take, and she will be able to move normally that day."
Shi Feng was overjoyed. He knelt to receive the pill and kowtowed repeatedly. "Thank you, Taoist priest, for saving my life. Please grant me a Dharma name. My family will definitely erect a longevity tablet for you and offer you daily sacrifices." The Taoist priest waved his hand and said, "When fate comes, we gather; when fate ends, we disperse. You don't need to know my Taoist name. Give this pill to your mother immediately when you get home. You must not reveal my whereabouts to anyone else." Suddenly, his tone turned harsh. "Otherwise, I will take your life." Shi Feng said hurriedly, "Don't worry, Taoist priest. I understand."
"Rest in the temple for a while, and go down the mountain at dawn." With that, the Taoist flicked his sleeves, and in a flash of white light, he disappeared. Shi Feng was stunned, realizing he had actually encountered an immortal. He kowtowed three times in the direction the Taoist had disappeared.
After a while, Shi Feng suspected he was dreaming. He pinched himself hard, feeling the pain. He looked at his palm again. The pill was still there, though he couldn't make out its shape in the darkness. He sniffed it, and a delicate fragrance filled his nostrils. Shi Feng took a piece of brown paper, wrapped the pill in layers, and carefully hid it close to his skin.
Walking through the temple gate, the sky was still pitch black. It was midnight, and the Taoist had indeed arrived on time, saying only a few words before leaving. If he had been late, he would have missed this golden opportunity. Shi Feng was incredibly excited, completely unable to sleep. He wished he could fly down the mountain, but it was pitch dark, and he was exhausted, so he couldn't go down overnight.
At that moment, he sat down at the door of the temple, put his bow and arrow aside, held a sharp knife in his hand, and waited for dawn.
About a meal's worth of time passed when a distant thunderclap was heard. Shi Feng hurriedly stood up and saw a sudden flash of white and red in the western sky, accompanied by a faint rumbling sound. Shi Feng recognized that direction as the location of the Wanzhang Cold Pond. Because the water was deep and cold, and rumored to harbor dragons, a villager with good swimming skills had once tried to explore the area, but after swimming only a dozen feet, he was nearly frozen to death.
Shi Feng looked at the strange sight in the sky. The light and sound did not sound like thunder or lightning. Could it be that the immortal was casting a spell?
Just as he was feeling doubtful and uncertain, the ball of light slowly moved towards Youzhen Temple. Suddenly, a white light flashed across the sky like a meteor, flying towards Lushou Peak. Shi Feng was startled and hurriedly slipped into the hall, leaning against the door to take a peek.
The ball of light was a sphere that was at least two meters square, with countless white lights surrounding it, spreading out like ribbons. Suddenly, a young man's hateful voice came from inside, "Old Taoist Danyang, I have no grudge against you, why are you chasing me so hard?" As he spoke, a green light flashed from behind. It was the Taoist in green robes, standing on something that looked like a flying shuttle.
The wind howled fiercely in the air, but not a single hair or sleeve of his was disturbed. Upon hearing this, he said coldly, "Monster, you sneaked into my Yan State with evil intentions, and yet you still claim to have no grudges or hatred?"
The young man in the white light said, "Humph, I've been cultivating here freely. I've never hurt anyone, let alone caused trouble for your Tai Chi Sect. You took advantage of my weakness while I was undergoing the tribulation and attacked me, and now you're accusing me of scheming against me?"
"Good and evil cannot coexist. If you succeed in transforming, countless lives here will suffer. Stop talking nonsense and prepare to die!" After Danyang Zhenren finished speaking, he raised his hand and a precious orb was sacrificed. It was the glowing round orb that Shi Feng had seen before.
The round bead flew out of the air and grew in size when it met the wind. In an instant, it had become the size of a millstone. With a slight sound, a purple light shot out from the bead, as thick as a bucket, and headed straight for the white light ball.
The young man in the white light ball snorted, "I'll just give your Tai Chi sect three points. If we really want to fight, do you think I'm afraid of you?" The light ball floated and avoided the purple light. The young man muttered a few spells. Suddenly, the snow on the Lu Shou Peak flew all over the sky, chasing each other in the air, and gathered into thousands of ice arrows, shooting towards Danyang Zhenren.
Zhenren Danyang's face was solemn, "What a great Mysterious Ice Technique!" He took out a small shield with a ghost face from his arms, and with a little magic power, the ghost face on the small shield suddenly opened its eyes, and a giant ghost face emerged from the small shield, meeting the ice arrows that were shooting from the sky.
The ghost face seemed illusory, but the ice arrows shot at it, like hitting a solid wall, making a crisp sound like metal colliding with stone, and the ice arrows broke one after another. At the same time, Taoist Danyang pointed at the orb in mid-air, and purple light shot out continuously.
The young man in the ball of light sneered repeatedly, the white light flickered, and he moved unsteadily. Although the purple light was sudden and rapid, it could not touch him.
The "crackling" sound gradually subsided, and thousands of ice arrows were finally shot out, turning into broken ice chips in the air. The ghost face had become so illusory that it was almost transparent. It closed its eyes, and with a whoosh, it flew back into the small shield.
Shi Feng had never seen such a scene before, and he was terrified. Seeing that Taoist Danyang had the upper hand, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
At this moment, something unexpected happened. The young man in the ball of light chanted a few more incomprehensible incantations, and the icy debris suddenly began to surge upward, sweeping towards Taoist Danyang from all directions. Taoist Danyang's expression changed slightly, and he pulled out a pale red talisman from his bosom. The style was quite ancient. He looked a little reluctant, but gritted his teeth, injected a stream of magic power into the talisman, and threw it out.
With a clear cry, the talisman transformed into a crimson firebird. The air's temperature suddenly soared, and even Shi Feng, hundreds of meters below, felt a sudden burst of heat. As the firebird soared, ice shards and ice arrows within a hundred feet of the firebird instantly turned to vapor, while even those farther away melted into water droplets. The firebird danced for a moment, then with another long cry, transformed into tiny pinpricks of spiritual light and vanished. The ice shards in the air also transformed into pools of clear water, suspended in mid-air.
The young man in the white light said, "You are so generous that you even use such a top-grade Fire Phoenix Talisman." As he spoke, several light bands dancing outside the light ball suddenly exploded. With a "whoosh", the puddles of clear water in the air suddenly moved and merged quickly, turning into a huge wave that rushed towards Taoist Danyang.
Taoist Danyang raised one palm and muttered a few words. A green light surged from his body, shielding it completely. A huge wave crashed down on him, sending him plummeting dozens of feet, but not even his robes got wet.
Taoist Danyang was just about to make some hand gestures when he suddenly cried out inwardly, "Oh no!"
An incredible scene appeared.
The huge waves and water vapor hit the protective true qi of Danyang Taoist, but they didn't stick to it and quickly turned into solid ice. The subsequent waves hit the solid ice and also turned into solid ice. One after another, in an instant, Danyang Taoist was wrapped like a huge ice egg and fell straight from the sky.
Shi Feng exclaimed, "Master!" and rushed out of the hall. The ice ball wrapped around Taoist Danyang and was falling from the side of Lushou Peak. Below was the bottomless cold pool. The cold pool was full of yin energy. Even people with profound magical powers would be in danger of death if they sank to the bottom of the pool.
Only three or four bands of light remained around the ball of white light, and the ball of light had dimmed considerably. Clearly, the young man's mana had been significantly depleted. The ball of light also spotted Shi Feng, but a quick scan revealed him to be a mere teenager. Unconcerned, it flew down from the sky, chasing after the trapped Danyang Taoist priest.
Just as the ice ball was about to fall into the cold pond, suddenly there was a thunderclap, and a white light flashed from the ice ball, splitting it in two. A green shadow flew out and headed towards the white light ball. In a flash, the white light ball had no time to dodge. The young man screamed, "Tiangang Sword Qi!" With a loud "bang", the sword energy split the white light ball more than ten feet away. The white light dissipated, revealing the young man inside.
Shi Feng took a closer look and was so scared that he took several steps back. There was no young man inside, but a fox that was several times bigger than a buffalo. It was covered with white fur without a trace of other colors. Its eyes were like two lanterns, emitting a faint green light. The most surprising thing was that this giant fox had four tails, three of which were the same size, and the one on the far right was only half the size of the others.