Hearing Lu Liangsheng's words, the Taoist turned pale, put his Taoist hat back on, and walked down the wooden steps, chattering and gesticulating.
"You are putting me on the spot!"
"No, no, the thunder hasn't even hit me yet and I've already been struck by the other party!"
“…Unless there is absolutely no chance of failure!”
The wooden steps groaned continuously under people's feet. Lu Liangsheng carried the tree demon to the mat next to the extinguished fire, covered her with a thin blanket, and glanced at the three disciples who were reading over there.
The latter quickly lowered his head before continuing:
"Not now. It will take some time for you to reach the Golden Core stage."
The Taoist opened his mouth slightly, walked down the stairs, looked around, and pointed at himself.
"Does it have to be this way?"
Yan Chixia also followed down, as if he understood what Lu Liangsheng meant. He put the wooden box in the corner and brushed off the dust on his light red robe.
"How can a cultivator easily touch the thunder of tribulation? If it is someone else who is facing the tribulation, it will be even more contaminated by karma. The Holy Fire Master is an evil demon, not a saint, so he is more careful about his reputation. When he sees the thunder, he will definitely stay away from it."
Lu Liangsheng nodded and confirmed the other party's words. Now they just needed to finalize the plan. It would take some time to really go there. The sky outside turned red and the setting sun shone over.
They lit a bonfire and cooked food in a small pot. With the addition of five scholars, the corn they brought from home was not enough for two days. The Taoist and Yan Chixia hunted some game outside and brought it in. This was enough for a meal for their group of ten people.
After dinner was ready, a group of people gathered together. There were not enough bowls and chopsticks, so they used leaves and twigs instead. It was common to sleep in the open when traveling outside, and there was nothing shameful about it.
The food was ready and placed on the ground. In the blink of an eye, the shadows of chopsticks rose and fell several times, and the plate with meat was empty in an instant, still shaking in place. The five scholars were also very hungry, and they put the meat slices and vegetables in the bowl into their mouths and chewed them in big mouthfuls.
"You guys are too fast."
The Taoist held the bowl with his chopsticks suspended in the air, staring at the plate with only a few vegetable leaves left on it. He glanced at the people busy eating, and hurriedly poured the millet rice in the bowl into the plate. He also poured all the remaining oil and water from the dish of meat into the plate and mixed it together with the rice.
"What do you mean, I'm going to enter the tiger's den, and you didn't even leave some for me!"
The tips of my chopsticks tapped against the bottom of the plate. I took a few bites, and only then did I feel better after the greasy and fatty food had gone down my stomach.
After dinner, it was already dark. The five scholars still needed to recuperate, so they went to take a nap by the fire. Lu Liangsheng invited the Taoist and Yan Chixia to go to the second floor of the temple to discuss the details. He also passed on his magic power to Sun Yingxian to speed up his triggering of the thunder tribulation.
After a while, the Toad Taoist who was coiled beside the fire opened one eye, and saw the Taoist coming down from upstairs with a red face and sweating profusely. Two different kinds of magic power gathered in his body, and the heat emitted was unbearable for ordinary people. Fortunately, Sun Yingxian was a cultivator and his physique could withstand it.
The firelight flickered in the temple. Amid the gentle snoring of the five people, the Taoist priest opened his robe and shook it to dissipate the steaming heat. He leaned against the wall and asked weakly:
"I know you are not impatient, so why are you so eager to deal with the Fire Prayer Sect this time? Are you really trying to stop them from doing evil?"
The Toad Taoist grinned and glanced at the scholar beside him.
"He's just a nice guy."
The firelight reflected on his handsome face. After a moment's silence, Lu Liangsheng handed a dry branch into the fire. In the firelight, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
“Not entirely.”
The words stopped here and did not continue. Perhaps, as the master said, he was really a pushover. However, there was one more thing. Three years ago, he gave his life span to the master. If we really counted it, he would have at most 30 to 40 years left. It was unknown whether he could continue to improve his cultivation and add to his life span. If he could finish all the things as soon as possible, he could concentrate on cultivating the Tao, visiting famous mountains and rivers, and then wait for Hong Lian to cultivate into a Dharma body...
In silence, he flipped through the "Illustrated Records of Mountains and Seas" to pass the time. Perhaps in the future he could visit the places recorded in the book and maybe even encounter the ferocious beasts and divine beasts mentioned in the book.
The next morning, Lanruo Temple became lively.
"Can I not go?"
"Lu Liangsheng, what are you doing..."
"Hey, don't use the rope!"
After a while, the Taoist's voice suddenly stopped, only whimpering came out of his mouth, and he was tied up and thrown to the ground.
The old donkey not far away could finally go somewhere else. It excitedly jumped back and forth with its hooves spreading out while carrying the bookshelf. The Toad Taoist prepared the seasonings, put on the gourd and kicked the old donkey to make it quiet down. Then he climbed up to the compartment along the rope and tied his waist tightly.
The man holding the broken knife stepped forward, glanced at the Taoist priest tied up on the ground, and nodded to Lu Liangsheng in front of him.
"According to the previous agreement, Zuo will take these five scholars to the town at the foot of the mountain to recuperate, and will rush over later!"
"Thank you for your help."
Among the five scholars, Wang Feng, Ma Liu, Zhang Ti and Zhao Tang all had some feelings for the situation and could not be ignored, so they did their best to settle them in Ningxia Town at the foot of the mountain.
Lu Liangsheng bowed to Zuo Zhengyang in return, while Yan Chixia beside him walked aside in a very casual manner.
"I won't say anything more. I'm used to being alone. Ziling Mountain, right? Then I'll wait there on the eleventh of next month!"
After saying that, he leaped into the woods, his toes touching the branches and leaves, the treetops swaying, and his figure disappeared in the morning light.
After everyone left, Lu Liangsheng asked the black-skirted tree demon to transform into the spiritual root wood that he had seen for the first time. The latter tilted its head and thought for a while, then swung its skirt and a puff of black smoke rolled up.
After a while, the black smoke dissipated, and standing there was a handsome young man who looked somewhat similar to Lu Liangsheng.
"Can the spiritual root wood I mentioned... be transformed back?"
Seeing a face that was 80% identical to her own, she felt quite strange. The tree demon rolled her eyes, and her skirt flew. The next second, her long sleeves with a phoenix pattern fluttered and rolled up, and her skirt dragged on the ground. She was wearing an apricot-shaped gauze dress that showed off her fair skin. Her slender waist turned, and her long sleeves slid across her cheeks. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and she blinked her pretty eyes, showing her charm.
At the side, the Taoist forgot to shout, staring blankly, his Adam's apple making a soft "gurgling" sound as if he was swallowing saliva.
Lu Liangsheng didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He waved his hand to let her change back. After communicating with her for a while, the tree demon finally turned into a spiritual root tree that was half an arm's length.
After putting away the bookshelf, they put the Taoist priest across the old donkey's back. Lu Liangsheng took the reins and, amid the Taoist priest's sobs, led his three disciples through the foothills to Shangyong County, asking about "Zi Ling Mountain" along the way.
…
The sunlight extends to the south between the clouds, and the golden morning sun hides behind the clouds in the sky of Qixia Mountain.
In the gloomy weather, it looks like a heavy rain is coming.
The woods were swaying, and among the fields piled with hay, the farmer picked up his hoe, carried a kettle, washed his feet in the ditch, put on straw sandals, hummed country songs, and walked towards the village entrance.
In the fields behind him, a red figure was crawling on the straw. Its fox eyes looked at the surrounding mountains, and sadness flashed in its eyes.