Chapter 75: The End of the Month, Battle with the Moon-Swallowing Toad (First Order Request) Friday, September 6st. On the last day of June, the embers slipped from the sky and darkness began to take over the earth. A bright moon jumped out from the deep mountains, emitting silvery light. At Tsukimisha Shrine, on a huge osmanthus tree, Jingu Yaezakura sits on a branch, looking up at the barren mountain 20 kilometers away. It is the last day of another month. At the end of the month there are always ambitious people who want to come and infringe on the authority of the Moon Goddess. Because at this moment, her strength was the weakest. If that moon-eating toad dared to come on the full-moon night of the 15th, she would have killed it long ago. At the main hall gate, Daijo Palace Chief stood straight, sometimes looking into the distance, sometimes looking at the osmanthus tree not far away, with a worried look on his face. Since the goddess came to the world, Tsukimisha would close the shrine for various reasons on the last day of every month, especially at night, to prevent any outsiders from disturbing it.
In the past, the goddess would sit before the statue of Tsukuyomi in the main hall on this night until dawn. But tonight, the goddess actually chose to leave the main hall and just sit on the osmanthus tree without any protection. Is this too risky? Or has the goddess already completely descended to the world, so there is nothing to worry about? Time passed by minute by minute as the Grand Priestess was filled with speculation and worry. When the bright moon completely appeared from the mountains, when the moonlight began to illuminate everything. From the top of a barren mountain in the distance, a puff of black smoke emerged and gathered in the sky to form a black cloud. As luck would have it, the black clouds just happened to block the moonlight from shining onto the hill where the Tsukimi Shrine was located. As black smoke rose and dark clouds covered the sky, Ojoji could no longer see clearly what was happening on the barren mountain. As far as the eye can see, there is only darkness, as if it can swallow up any prying eyes. Sitting on the osmanthus tree, Jingu Yaezakura's gaze penetrated the obstruction and saw more clearly. She could see a huge black toad figure on the top of the barren mountain, looking up at the moon. Then, the black toad spit out a round white bead from its stomach. There was a corner missing on the right side of the white bead, as if it had been bitten by something, and there was an obvious curved gap. When the white beads began to spin and shine, it was like a small moon rising. This is a false moon and also the toad's magic bead. The little moon drew the silvery moonlight from the moon in the sky down and gathered. As the moonlight continued to gather and condense, it finally seemed to condense into a drop of milky white water. That is moon dew, condensed from the essence of the moon. At this time, the toad perched on the barren mountain raised its head, opened its mouth, stuck out its tongue, and swallowed the drop of moon dew into its stomach. Monsters are different from human practitioners. Their power mostly comes from the essence of the sun and the moon between heaven and earth.
Compared to the overbearing and scorching heat of the sun's essence, the moonlight appears to be more gentle and approachable, and easier to breathe in and absorb. Therefore, monsters who have achieved success in cultivation often absorb and exhale the power of the moonlight at night to practice and improve their cultivation. This is the path of practice chosen by many monsters. There are monsters practicing at night on the barren mountains, and there is nothing wrong with that. However, the barren mountain is at a high altitude, and it just happens to be between the Tsukimi Shrine and the bright moon in the sky. That toad intercepted the moonlight power that was supposed to flow to the Tsukimi Shrine. In the barren mountains, practicing once a month is enough to offset a year's hard work in absorbing the power of the moon. In addition, the toad swallowing the moon is an ancient tradition. There is a poem to record this: The toad eclipses the moon's shadow, and the bright night is over. Fortunately. The monk came. Jingu Yaezakura looked out from afar and clearly noticed a mountain bike parked in a ditch at the foot of the barren mountain. A figure began to climb along the foot of the barren mountain. The speed was getting faster and faster, as if leaving a black afterimage between the top and the foot of the mountain. "Prepare paper and pen for me. I want to paint tonight." Jingu Yaezakura's whisper was clearly conveyed to the ears of Omae no Miyabi. He trembled slightly and nodded in agreement. He quickly prepared pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and was also considerate enough to prepare a drawing board that could be hung on a tree branch. The Ojoji placed the thing under the osmanthus tree. When a ray of moonlight passed by, the thing disappeared. Seeing this, the Grand Priest returned to the main hall silently and stood guard. No matter what happened, as long as the statue of Tsukuyomi-son was still there, the goddess and Tsukimi Shrine would not be in any trouble. …… On the nameless desolate mountain, Pinggong Qianye finally saw the giant moon-swallowing toad. Or should it be called the Moon-Swallowing Toad? After all, it is a big monster and it deserves a more resounding name. Is this the big monster that is still alive and able to move? Pinggong Qianye raised his head and looked at the Moon-Swallowing Toad squatting on the top of a barren mountain, gazing at the moon and swallowing the moonlight. It is as big as a bull, with black skin, green eyes, compound eyes on its back, a short and wide body, strong and long forelimbs, and strong and short hind limbs. The body surface has black-green stripes, there are oblique black longitudinal spots on the sides of the body, and the ventral surface is not smooth, with fine brown or black spots. Behind it, a black toad shadow that was several times larger than its body condensed. Dharma image? Or a symbol of immense demonic power? It is so ferocious and menacing, and looks like it has the ability to swallow the moon.
The strong demonic aura and the bloody smell condensed from the massacre of numerous lives formed a red and black airflow that surrounded its body. It makes people want to vomit just by smelling it. This is a harmful monster that has eaten many lives. Pinggong Qianye walked around it several times and even squatted down to take a look. This was the most truly great monster he had ever encountered in his life. The danger level is over 10, probably around 15, less than 20, but it is already a very good level of cultivation, slightly better than that of Omae Miyaji. The green lantern before should have been just a silhouette, and it disappeared in a flash, so it was not clear. He had only seen a strand of fox hair from the great nine-tailed fox Tamamonomae, and had not even seen its shadow. Only the Moon-Swallowing Toad in front of you is the real big monster. But, wasn’t it agreed that it would be as big as a mountain? Although the calf is of extraordinary size, it doesn't look like it can withstand a lot of beatings. Pinggong Qianye felt a little disappointed. He had been looking forward to this battle at the end of June for a long time. While Pinggong Qianye was observing, the three pairs of compound eyes on the back of the Moon-Swallowing Toad had already looked Pinggong Qianye over inside and out. The Buddhist atmosphere is a bit threatening, but not too big. He must be the successor of a big temple. No need to worry too much about it, just eat it as dessert after you finish practicing. Speaking of which, humans are indeed the most intelligent creatures in the world. The taste of food is indeed more comfortable than that of ordinary livestock, especially when eaten raw or chewed alive. That taste always makes it linger. The Moon-Swallowing Toad continued to breathe in and out moonlight to practice, its belly bulging and making crisp toad-like sounds. Because he absorbs and releases the power of the moon, he is called the Moon Swallower? Pinggong Qianye also looked up at the sky. The silvery-white moonlight was drawn towards him, as if drawing a silver river between heaven and earth. Could it be that the Milky Way in the sky is a strange phenomenon created by a Moon-Swallowing Toad when it was practicing facing the moon? The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl are standing at the two ends of a toad, looking at each other across the Milky Way? This picture seems terrible. Pinggong Chiye quickly abandoned this idea. It would be better not to add a toad with dark green bumps all over its body to the beautiful love story. Putting aside his distracting thoughts and looking up at the moon, Pinggong Chiye began to look serious. His eyes were fixed on the bulging belly of the Moon-Swallowing Toad in front of him. Something's wrong? This aura is... How could it be so powerful! The Moon-Swallowing Toad suddenly sensed a breath that was life-threatening, and quickly took back its magic bead and stopped practicing absorbing and exhaling the power of the moon. Look down. The human being who he had just considered insignificant and needless to pay attention to was hitting his swollen belly with his fists as thick as bowls. The human body is really thin. Even though he has shrunk his huge body into this shape, he is still stronger than humans.
But...an indescribable huge force burst out from those seemingly thin fists! His belly was sunken inward, the pair of compound eyes on his back were wide open and bulging due to the severe pain, and his heart almost stopped. The whole body slid all the way down the mountain, smashing the boulders and trees on the top of the mountain, and plowing a ditch on the ground that was more than 100 meters long and about ten feet deep. Then, the calf-like body of the Moon-Swallowing Toad was knocked off the top of the mountain, stayed in the air for a short while, and then fell straight to the foot of the mountain. The black clouds covering the sky of the barren mountain lost the support of the Moon-Swallowing Toad's power and gradually began to disperse. The silvery moonlight, like a Milky Way, once again extended to the Tsukimi Shrine, illuminating the osmanthus tree. (End of this chapter)