The next day, Jiang Tong'er was quietly cultivating when he suddenly received a summons from his Master.
He did not dare to delay and promptly left his room, walking to the quiet chamber of his Master.
“Master, your disciple has arrived!”
Jiang Yuan waited patiently for his Master.
Before long, a gust of wind blew through, and the door to the chamber swung wide open, revealing his Master seated on a meditation cushion.
His Master spoke, “Tong'er, come inside and speak.”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan entered the quiet chamber, bowed respectfully, and asked, “Master.”
His Master replied, “Tong'er, do you remember Da Hui?”
Jiang Yuan answered, “Master, Da Hui is your second disciple, a generation younger than me, belonging to the ‘Da’ generation. How could I forget?”
The twelve characters of the Master’s sect are ‘Vast Wisdom, True Suchness, Sea of Nature, Enlightened Understanding, Complete Awakening.’
They were currently at the ‘Hui’ generation.
Among the ‘Guang’ generation in the sect, Da Hui was the only one, being the first of the ‘Da’ generation.
He had previously cultivated a side path, achieving complete Dao power, attaining longevity, and had descended the mountain for quite some time.
His Master raised his hand, pointing outside the cave, and said, “Fifty miles east of Ling Tai Fang Cun Mountain, there is a mountain called ‘E Feng Mountain.’ Within that mountain, there is a tiger demon. I do not know how many years it has cultivated its powers and taken over the mountain to commit evil. Da Hui entered this mountain and encountered the tiger demon, resulting in his death and the dissipation of his Dao. Tong'er, you must go there, subdue the demon, and ensure that no evil remains in the mountain.”
Jiang Yuan sighed inwardly; after all, Da Hui was his junior brother.
He had not expected his death and the dissipation of his Dao, indeed proving that side paths do not lead to true Dao fruits.
He bowed and said, “Master, your disciple will go and return promptly, ensuring the demons and monsters are subdued!”
With that, he headed towards the Three Stars Immortal Cave.
Now that he had the Heart Monkey and the Golden Public, with a bit of magical power in his possession, how could he fear a tiger demon?
Jiang Tong'er left the slanted moon Three Stars Cave and saw the eastern sky turning white.
He leaped a hundred zhang into the air, attempting to fly towards the east to seek out E Feng Mountain and subdue the troublesome demons.
As he departed Ling Tai Fang Cun Mountain, he realized that the situation below had changed.
He did not know when, but many people had gathered at the foot of the mountain.
Many were natives of the Southern Zhan Region, likely fleeing from the three disasters that had befallen the Southern Zhan Region.
In earlier years, there were few people near Ling Tai Fang Cun Mountain.
However, due to the chaos of the Zhou Dynasty, the natives of the Southern Zhan Region crossed the vast seas to come here.
Jiang Yuan glanced around and quickly shifted his form towards E Feng Mountain.
…
Tong'er flew swiftly and arrived at the foot of E Feng Mountain just in time for dusk.
He surveyed the mountain and saw many stone pillars and various red trees, covered in red vines.
From a distance, the mountain resembled the head of a demon, truly a ‘fangs propping sword blades, red hair in disarray,’ indeed a place of evil.
Jiang Yuan circulated his qi in his eyes.
Since obtaining the Golden Public, he could peer into the celestial realm above and explore the underworld below, but he had not yet tried it since acquiring the Golden Public.
However, he sensed the presence of demonic energy and reached out to grasp it.
Upon closer inspection, he found that the mountain was shrouded in black mist, far more than that of Yu Zhu Mountain, indicating that there was indeed some method to it.
He initially intended to ascend the mountain, but he suddenly noticed an old man ahead, looking anxious, pacing back and forth under an old red tree.
He approached the old man.
“Old brother!”
Jiang Yuan called out.
The old man jumped in fright and stumbled, turning to see it was a person, and then he relaxed, saying, “Why did you scare me?”
Jiang Yuan stepped forward and said, “Old brother, I saw you standing here in distress, so I came to ask you. This mountain is not peaceful; why are you here?”
The old man looked up closely and, seeing Jiang Yuan's demeanor was not that of a highwayman, said, “Why do you call me old brother? I am eighty years old; how can you address me like that?”
Jiang Yuan chuckled and said, “Old brother, you may not know, but I am three to four hundred years old! If I do not respect you, I should call you a junior.”
The old man did not believe it. “You look about eighteen or nineteen; how could you be three to four hundred?”
Jiang Yuan pointed to Ling Tai Fang Cun Mountain and said, “Old brother, do you not know? There is a Ling Tai Fang Cun Mountain nearby, with a slanted moon Three Stars Cave. An old immortal resides in the cave, living as long as the heavens, with great virtue and high Dao. I have been cultivating with the old immortal, and I am indeed three to four hundred years old.”
Upon hearing this, the old man felt a sense of awe and fear, trembling as he said, “I did not expect to meet an immortal; I am sorry for my rudeness!”
With that, he pretended to bow.
Jiang Yuan supported him and said, “Old brother, do not perform such formalities. I am not an immortal, just a cultivator. I have come here on my Master’s orders to subdue the demons and monsters of this mountain. I saw you wandering, so I inquired.”
The old man said, “Listen to me, Master. I am originally from outside E Feng Mountain, living in San Li Gu Men Village. I came here fleeing from disaster.
My hometown is across the vast ocean, in the Southern Zhan Region, where the villagers are all disaster victims. Recently, we heard that the demon of E Feng Mountain is fierce and is threatening to eat people. The village pooled a hundred coins to invite an immortal to subdue the demon and fight against the evil wind.
However, those who entered the mountain have not returned for a day, with no news at all.”
Jiang Yuan, upon hearing this, understood the situation.
He asked, “The immortal you invited, does he have a name?”
The old man replied, “That immortal is called ‘Da Hui,’ with great abilities. I invited him to the village for ten days, and he did not eat grains or rice, meditating every day. He is truly a person among immortals.”
Jiang Yuan thought to himself, indeed, it was Da Hui, his junior brother, who had encountered misfortune in the mountain.
How could his junior brother have gone to subdue demons and monsters? His Master had long said that this path was one of ‘guarding the grain and sleeping in meditation,’ allowing one to not eat grains and achieve longevity through dreams and meditation.
How could he be skilled in combat? If he truly encountered blades and weapons, he would likely become flesh and mud in an instant, let alone fight against demons and monsters.
Da Hui should not have acted this way, losing his life in vain.
He said, “To not hide it from you, that Da Hui is indeed my junior brother. I have received my Master’s orders, and Da Hui has already died and dissipated his Dao, likely harmed by the demons.”
Upon hearing this, the old man fell to the ground, terrified, exclaiming, “The demon is formidable, the demon is formidable!”
Jiang Yuan supported the old man and said, “You can rest assured. I have come here to subdue the demons. The demons and monsters of this mountain will no longer cause trouble; there is no need to panic.”
The old man said, “Your junior brother has already been harmed by the demons and monsters in the mountain. How can you be more capable than him? If you are indeed more capable, you may also be harmed and lose your life. Master, you should leave; I will return and tell the villagers to migrate together.”
Jiang Yuan smiled and said, “Old brother, rest assured. My abilities far exceed those of my junior brother. I will definitely subdue the demons and monsters in the mountain. If you do not wish to leave, you may wait here and see me bring the demons down the mountain.”
With that, he leaped up the mountain, his body light and agile, reaching a height of seven or eight zhang.
The old man saw Jiang Yuan’s prowess and bowed repeatedly, calling out, “Master, subdue the demons! Master, subdue the demons!”
…
As Jiang Yuan entered the mountain, he felt the fierce winds of evil blowing.
He leaped towards the source of the demonic energy.
Upon entering the mountain, Jiang Tong'er felt that the ‘yin energy was oppressive, chilling to the bone, and the foul wind carried a stench that pierced the heart.’ The scenery of this mountain was truly terrible; calling it a place of evil was an understatement.
Jiang Yuan thought, “The demon causing trouble in this mountain is far beyond the old wolf demon of Yu Zhu Mountain. I must be cautious! I must be cautious! I cannot fall into the trap of this demon and lose my life and face.”
He had the Heart Monkey and the Golden Public, so he certainly had some abilities.
However, the demons of this mountain seemed to be quite numerous.
Without having encountered them in battle, he did not know their abilities, so he dared not be careless.
At present, he only knew that the demon of this mountain was a mountain tiger; everything else was unknown.
Jiang Yuan held the Yu Ding, causing the Mud Palace to tremble, summoning his primordial spirit for assistance, and adjusted the Golden Public and Heart Monkey, leaping towards the source of the demonic energy…
(New book period, seeking subscriptions, monthly tickets, and recommendation tickets!)
(End of this chapter)