Chapter 240: The Same Person

Chirp, chirp, chirp.

The setting sun burned the clouds crimson, casting its glow over the mountain ridges filled with the continuous cries of cicadas. From the lush little village below the mountain, the occasional crowing of roosters and barking of dogs could be heard. With his eyes closed, what Lu Liangsheng sensed was the howling of the astral winds between Heaven and Earth. Had his Yang Spirit not been within the protection of the formation, he feared he would have been blown away by the astral winds, leaving him unable to find his physical body again.

“So this is Yang Spirit Astral Projection. Although it is quite free, it seems that even it is constrained by Heaven and Earth. To project the spirit right after entering the Nascent Soul Realm—without the protection of a formation, I reckon I would have met with disaster.”

Upon entering the Nascent Soul Realm and forming the Dao Embryo, one gained a sense of returning to simplicity and the original nature. Only then could one truly be considered to have stepped from the path of Dao cultivation into the first threshold of Immortal cultivation. The hallmark of this realm was precisely the divine ability of Yang Spirit Astral Projection. However, the road ahead would only become increasingly difficult.

Lu Liangsheng gathered his mind and tried returning to his body several times before finally grasping the trick. He drew his spirit back into his physical body and opened his eyes. Climbing down from the stone couch, he waved his sleeve and dispelled the Spirit-Gathering Formation, then comfortably stretched himself. The bones throughout his body crackled softly in succession.

It should be time to leave seclusion.

He picked up the book from the stone platform and held it in his hand. Without even forming a hand seal, he simply walked toward the stone door. With a heavy rumble, the enormous stone shifted, as though sensing the surging spiritual power within the person approaching and opening on its own.

Sure enough, now that my cultivation has improved, I don’t even need to open the door myself.

Lu Liangsheng looked back at the enormous stone as it closed itself once more and smiled. With a flick of his broad sleeve, he tucked the book behind his back and, in the blink of an eye, descended to the mountain path below.

Not far from the cliff, atop a crooked old camphor tree, the Toad Daoist had stretched out his long tongue and wrapped it around a branch, swinging back and forth. Whenever he neared the trunk, his forelegs and webbed feet, along with his two short legs, kicked frantically as he tried to scramble back onto it.

Damn it! Will someone come and get this old man down?!

Beneath his desperately kicking short legs, a warm palm rose up to support him. Only then did Toad Daoist release his long tongue. His four limbs completely drained of strength, he sprawled across his disciple’s shoulder and glared at him.

“Your master could have gotten down by himself, hm?”

He pushed himself upright and sat up. “Liangsheng, you’ve left seclusion?!”

“I’ve just left seclusion. I’ve reached the Nascent Soul Realm.”

Lu Liangsheng helped his master steady himself before walking down the mountain. After his repeated attempts to break through from the Golden Core to the Nascent Soul Realm, the Toad Daoist naturally knew what had happened. Several times, his disciple had ended up bedridden, and it was only because the old man had cooked for him and fed him that he had managed to survive. Otherwise, he would have long since become meat left to dry in the mountain wind.

Toad Daoist folded his webbed forelegs around himself and leaned weakly against his disciple’s ear. He let out a long sigh.

“It’s good that you made it. It’s good that you made it. Your master can finally go down the mountain and eat the food your mother cooks. There’s almost nothing left to eat up here.”

“Aren’t there still wild game on the mountain?”

“Your master has eaten almost all of it. Do you expect me to eat bats instead? Ribbit.”

At the foot of the mountain, the fields stretched out in a sea of golden yellow. Plump ears of wheat hung heavily, swaying in the breeze. Lu Liangsheng plucked a few grains, gently blew upon them, and watched the husks peel away and drift off. He popped the kernels into his mouth and chewed slowly. He liked this taste.

Passing through the stretches of golden fields, he entered the village. Quite a few villagers stood outside their homes, repeatedly looking up toward the sky. Some were still holding their rice bowls, only now coming back to their senses.

“What was that just now?” “I don’t know. It sounded like thunder.”

“It doesn’t look like rain. We only had heavy rain a few days ago.”

“What thunder? It was obviously the roar of a beast. I heard it once before when I was in the mountains, and it sounded just like this. Speaking of which, you wouldn’t believe it—that was something Liangsheng raised. Nine heads! Good heavens, its body was thicker than a water vat.”

“Ah, Liangsheng is back.”

“It really is Liangsheng. I haven’t seen him in quite a while.”

From afar, some of the villagers waved and called out to Lu Liangsheng as he approached. He smiled and returned each greeting one by one. During this period, he had rarely come down the mountain. Fortunately, he had not been the sort to enter seclusion for decades at a time. Otherwise, by the time he came down and entered the village, he might not even recognize a familiar face.

Well… perhaps that wasn’t quite right either. The Spirit-Gathering Formations around Qixia Mountain nourished the land with spiritual qi, and naturally nourished the people as well. The villagers should have much longer lifespans than those living elsewhere. Combined with their years of hard labor, their bodies were strong and healthy. Living into their eighties or nineties, perhaps even a hundred years old, should not be a problem.

In the future, whenever people spoke of Qixia Mountain’s Lu Village, perhaps the words long-lived would be added to its name.

“Haha.”

Thinking of this, Lu Liangsheng could not help laughing aloud. On his shoulder, Toad Daoist glanced at him. “You must be laughing at the embarrassing state your master was in just now, aren’t you?”

“Master, you misunderstand. I was thinking about the future of this village, and it made me happy.”

Lu Liangsheng smiled as he explained, then walked toward the threshing ground ahead. His smile gradually faded as he sensed the demonic qi from afar. There was still something vaguely familiar about it, as though it resonated with the Golden Core within him.

He slowed his pace as he approached, and from a distance, he could already hear the commotion ahead.

“The spiritual power that came from the mountain just now was incredibly strong.” “It must have been the Black Mountain Old Demon. There was a faint trace of demonic qi within it. As expected of a great demon—demonic qi hidden beneath such righteous power.”

“Heh heh, let’s see what you do later, you disheveled man!”

Over there, Li Sui’an sat on Wang Banxia’s fortune-telling table with a blade of grass between his teeth, one leg crossed over the other. Watching them argue, he picked at his ear before adding,

“There’s no Black Mountain Old Demon here. The disturbance just now was caused by my master.”

Yan Chixia, who had been frowning, pressed one hand down on the wooden box. Seeing the two fox demons wearing expressions that clearly said we’ll make you pay later, he was so angry that he turned around and walked away.

Seeing him heading toward the village entrance, the white fox demon tilted her head, raised a forepaw to cover her long muzzle, and let out a soft laugh.

“Disheveled man, are you trying to leave already?!”

Yan Chixia stopped in his tracks and turned around with a heavy snort. “I’m going to wait at the temple over there. I’ll keep an eye on the two of you while I’m at it. If you dare escape, I’ll cut you down with one sword.”

As he said this, his words suddenly stopped. His gaze shifted toward the western side of the threshing ground. His bushy beard spread into a broad grin, and he strode forward.

The white fox demon was still saying, “Whether anyone escapes or not is still uncertain,” when she saw the disheveled man change direction and walk toward someone. He raised his hands in greeting.

Ahead, a man dressed in a green robe, a jade pendant hanging from his waist, came walking over with a book in hand and his other hand behind his back.

When the two demons saw his face clearly, as well as the gesture of Yan Chixia cupping his hands in greeting, their furry faces stiffened into expressions of utter astonishment.

How could they not recognize him?

Back then, before the Mountain God Temple, that very man had wielded a brush and casually drawn lines of magic, effortlessly binding the two sisters.

And now, she had actually delivered herself right to his doorstep?

“Yan Chixia greets Daoist Lu!”

Lu Liangsheng raised both hands and returned the greeting with a clasped salute. His gaze fell upon the two fox demons being watched intently by the old donkey, and he could not help but feel somewhat curious.

“Daoist Friend Yan was supposed to leave after traveling throughout the world. How did you come to Qixia Mountain? And why have you come together with these two demons?”

Seeing the hesitant expression on the other man’s face, Lu Liangsheng waved his sleeve. At home, a painting of Mingyue Pavilion suddenly bloomed with spiritual light. The two demons and one man standing in the open ground before him felt their vision blur. The crimson-red setting sun and the endless distant mountains vanished. Once their vision steadied and they looked again, they found themselves beneath a bright moon and a star-filled sky.

The scenery of the pavilion standing upon the solitary cliff stretched out before them, while the chirping of insects came in waves from the grass.

“Th-this is an illusion technique, or a spell like opening up a separate heaven and earth?”

All of Yan Chixia’s cultivation lay in slaying demons and eliminating evil. He was astonished by this illusion, which was almost indistinguishable from reality, and could not help reaching out to pat one of the pavilion’s lacquered-red pillars. It answered with the solid thump, thump of real wood.

“An illusion.” Lu Liangsheng sat down on a stone stool beneath the pavilion. With a sweep of his sleeve across the stone table, he conjured wine and cups from the illusion, inviting Yan Chixia to sit.

He then turned his head toward the pavilion’s exterior. The red and white fox demons had also been drawn into this illusionary realm. His thin lips parted, his voice calm.

“You two, come over as well!”

The two demons had originally wanted to flee, but with their cultivation, there was no way they could leave this illusory realm. Bracing themselves, they stepped forward and respectfully lowered their bodies.

“Greetings, Sir.”

“And why did you two demons come to Qixia Mountain?”

The red fox faintly sensed a strange feeling from the expert before them. His gaze also occasionally drifted toward her. Unable to resist, she raised her head and spoke before her elder sister could.

“We sisters came here on Granny’s orders. She told us to come to Black Mountain and find the Black Mountain Old Demon. The place she gave us was here. Sir, are you the Black Mountain Old Demon?”

Before the stone table, Yan Chixia breathed in the fragrance of the wine in his cup. Upon hearing the fox demon’s question, he looked toward the Daoist Friend before him.

“No.”

Lu Liangsheng lifted his wine cup and took a small sip. Just as he was about to speak, the red fox spoke again.

“Then, Sir, do you know the tree demon of Lanruo Temple?”

The rim of the cup, which had just moistened his lips, stopped in midair.

Those words caused Lu Liangsheng to freeze for a moment. Only then did he remember the thousand-year-old tree demon whose mind had been thrown into confusion back then. He had left it at Lanruo Temple to suppress the Earthly Fiends.

He nodded.

“I remember.”

The instant these words left his mouth, not only did the red and white fox demons freeze—even Yan Chixia’s hand trembled, spilling a little wine.

Does the tree demon (Granny) knows Daoist Friend Lu (this master)? Wait… could it be that we are all looking for the same person?!