The sound of copper bells rang out on the mountain path.
In front of him, the woodcutter stopped, turned sideways with his load on his shoulder and saw a scholar leading an old donkey. He subconsciously looked around and raised a hand to point at himself.
"Master, you called me?"
"Exactly."
Lu Liangsheng handed the reins to Banxia and walked over to him, bowing: "I like to visit famous rivers and mountains, and I like the strange stories of the people along the way even more. I am planning to write a book to record them. From what you said just now, the story of the store owner is your experience. I wonder if you can tell me about it?"
Hearing that the story was going to be written into a book, it would be something he could brag about for the rest of his life. The woodcutter lowered his burden, rubbed his hands sheepishly, his face flushed, and he spoke stutteringly.
"Old Zhao has already told the story. It's basically the same as what he said. I... I don't have much to say."
"It's okay. I like to listen to it."
Lu Liangsheng speculated that the reason why the magic line of "Boundless Mountains and Seas" did not move was probably related to the giant snake. After all, there is a big monster on every mountain. Usually, such monsters will occupy the top of the mountain and seek the best place for spiritual energy to practice. The altar will naturally be placed in a place with abundant spiritual energy. If this is the case, there must be a connection between the two. Knowing more will make it easier to judge what to do next.
The woodcutter followed to the side of the mountain path and told the story again. It was not much different from what the innkeeper had told him, except that the person in the story was a woodcutter. The only difference was that he specified the direction and the mountain, and it became more detailed.
"So it's in Yunquangou?"
"Yes, yes, sir, do you want to go there?" The woodcutter looked at the weak scholar carefully and could not help but persuade him: "There are few people there, and there are no mountain roads. I think you'd better not go there. Not only is the road difficult to walk there, but it will be dark by the time you go there. If you encounter wild beasts such as wolves, tigers and leopards, you will lose your life."
"Yeah, I think so too. Let's go another day."
After thanking the woodcutter for the reminder and watching him leave, Wang Banxia leaned forward and whispered, "Master, do we really have to go over there? If we encounter a big snake, it will be bad for you."
snort!
In the compartment, Toad Taoist snorted coldly through the small door, opened the door slightly, his eyes flashed coldly, and he stood up holding his webbed feet.
"I have traveled the world and have seen all kinds of monsters. What is a mere snake monster? If it is blind, I will eat it... Back then, I was besieged by several major sects. There were huge crowds of people and clouds, and the magic weapons covered the sky..."
Lu Liangsheng scratched his ears and snapped his fingers at Ban Xia: "Go!"
As the master chattered about the past, we walked up the mountain path in the direction the woodcutter had pointed. Gradually, there were fewer and fewer people walking around. The Toad Taoist also came out to get some fresh air. He opened the small door, basked in the afternoon sun, stretched himself, sat down with a rope tied around his waist, and kicked his flippers.
"Liangsheng, how long will it take? I'm eager to meet that snake demon."
"I'm afraid that Master won't have the chance to take action. The monster didn't hurt the woodcutter, so it must have gained intelligence and is a good monster. In this case, we must not take action."
Lu Liangsheng turned around and raised his sleeve to throw a large protruding rock under Banxian's feet to the side. He then pulled the old donkey to an uninhabited yellow mud road. Looking from afar outside the mountain, lush forests surrounded the mountain, like a green city.
When they reached the foot of the mountain, they saw a clear stream flowing down from another mountain. Lu Liangsheng squatted down, scooped up some stream water and took a sip. He filled the water bag and handed it to Wang Banxia. He looked at the stream in front of him, which should be the one the woodcutter pointed to.
'The white snake should be on the mountain ahead.'
He walked around the master who asked Wang Banxia to feed him water, took out "Boundless Mountains and Seas" from the bookshelf and opened it. He followed the path he had taken to climb the mountain and deduced along the picture. The position of the normal line was almost here.
Lu Liangsheng put the book back in its place, waited for his master to drink some water, then pulled the old donkey along the stream toward the green mountain.
The wind blew, and the dense leaves rustled. The mottled wind cast by the gaps swayed and fell on the two men and the donkey. At this time, there were no people on the foothills. The road under their feet was overgrown with weeds, and there were cliffs outside. Wang Banxia followed behind with his crutch, poking and probing. He could clearly hear the subtle movement of stones rolling down the mountain wall, and was so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat.
"Master, please walk slower..."
"Hmm?" Lu Liangsheng turned his head while holding the reins.
The old man listened attentively to the sound of stones rolling down the steep cliff from afar, and swallowed his saliva with a gulp.
"Cheng'en was afraid that while we were walking, Master would turn around and not see me anymore."
"Don't worry, you haven't fallen yet, you'll come back up."
Since Wang Banxia couldn't see and was afraid of heights, Lu Liangsheng smiled and waved his sleeves at him. A breeze blew over and the magic light wrapped around the old man's waist like a rope. This was the traction technique in the sixth chapter of "Qinghuai Bugeng". No matter how long or far they walked, Wang Banxia could keep up. Even if he slipped and fell off the cliff, he would be pulled back by the magic.
In front, Lu Liangsheng looked around at the forest where the cries of birds and beasts could be heard from time to time. He raised his hand and pointed at his forehead, then closed his eyes. When the Dharma light appeared, he suddenly raised his eyes upwards and opened them again.
—Searching for the gods!
It was the soul-searching technique he learned from his master after entering the Nascent Soul stage. With his current magical power, he could only use it twice a day. It could lock onto monsters or individuals among the mountains, which was much more advanced than ordinary searching methods.
As the magic power was unleashed, the scholar's eyes turned light blue, and the foothills and forests seemed to fly backwards in his sight, passing through the mountains and forests, and suddenly stopped at the moment he saw a different kind of aura.
Lu Liangsheng closed his eyes, pulled the old donkey over and cast a spell to shrink the distance in the direction of the evil spirit. With a flash of his body, he disappeared on the spot with Wang Banxia in an instant.
When they stopped, the two men and the donkey had come to the entrance of a cave. The cave was more than ten feet high and thirty feet wide. It looked like a mouth. It was pitch black inside and nothing could be seen.
Woo woo woo woo~~
The sound of wind blew out from inside, and when it reached the cave entrance it turned into a strange whimpering sound, and the spider webs hanging in the corner were flying sideways.
"Liangsheng, wait a minute!"
In the bookshelf, Taoist Toad stared at the cave entrance with a serious expression. He jumped down with a flex of his short legs. The rope tied around his waist suddenly tightened, and his whole body dangled in the air, shaking.
"Wait... wait for the master to come first, and then go in with you."
Wang Banxia, who was standing by, quickly helped him untie the rope, and Toad finally landed on the ground. He patted the back of his disciple's hand and said, "No need to help me!"
With a clacking sound, he walked to his disciple's side, carrying the gourd on his back, his face becoming more solemn.
"Let's go in with the master!"
Well…
I don't know why the master is so serious. Is it because Cheng En just said that snakes are the natural enemies of toads? Lu Liangsheng probably thinks that the master still wants to save face. However, the master who used to be a bit timid is so heroic today. Could it be that... his cultivation has recovered
He asked Banxia to wait behind, and then, with his guess, he followed the Toad Taoist holding the lantern and walked half a step into the stone cave. When he went inside, the ceiling of the cave was still a little low, so he needed to lower his head to pass through. The further he went in, the denser the inverted stalactites became.
Tick-tock…
Water drops dripped along the tips of the stalagmites, and amid the crisp sound, the dim light from the lantern in the scholar's hand suddenly shook, making the surrounding stalactites look strange, like ghosts.
Pah~
As he was walking, it seemed as if he was stepping on something soft. When the lantern was shone down, Lu Liangsheng quickly moved his feet away. He didn't know when the Toad Taoist had stopped and was stepped on by him. He lay there with his mouth crooked and his tongue hanging out.
"Master, please stop and say something. It's dark here and we can't see."
"It's okay! It's okay!"
The Toad Taoist retracted his tongue, rubbed his chubby toad face, climbed up and looked around.
"Master smells a demonic aura nearby."
Lu Liangsheng, however, felt nothing. He stood up, holding up the lantern and looking around. He could not see the scenery behind him among the strange rocks.
Is it possible that the master is the only one who noticed it
The lantern was raised above his head, and the swaying flame illuminated a range. The Toad Taoist also raised his eyes. The light illuminated a long black stone across which a snake head as big as a carriage drooped on the edge. The huge snake eyes were looking down and confronting the scholar and the Toad.
call-
A cold wind blew, and the candle in the paper lantern suddenly went out.