It was a hot summer day, and the hot wind blew across the dry ground. The dead grass mixed with sand swayed gently, and the flying insects that climbed onto the grass tips spread their wings and fluttered. In an instant, smoke and dust billowed, and when the dust settled, the dead grass and the flying insects were stepped into the soil.
In front of the cloud of dust, the old donkey ran wildly with his tongue hanging out. In the shaking bookshelf compartment, the Toad Taoist patted the rope around his waist, opened the small door, stuck his head out and shouted upwards:
"Liangsheng, where are we going?!"
The sound was muffled by the passing wind. Toad Taoist looked at the sky parallel to it. Lu Liangsheng was holding the hilt of the sword. The entire blade of Yuelong Sword was shining brightly, and the surrounding strong wind brought out a roar.
In the strong wind, the robes rustled, and the scholar vaguely heard the voice of the master coming from below, which then disappeared. Looking down, he saw the old donkey running wildly with a long string of lightning. Lu Liangsheng tilted the hilt of the sword in his hand, and the Yuelong Sword Heart tilted downwards as if with telepathy and fell straight to the ground.
The footsteps kicked up dust, which then dissipated. Yueyun, who was emitting sword intent, had his sword humming and trembling as it floated to one side. Lu Liangsheng looked back and saw the old donkey, who was running towards him, suddenly braked suddenly. Its hooves pressed on the ground and it slid half a foot, pushing out a thick pile of mud. The bookshelf on its back shook, and the small door was slammed open. A black shadow, dragging a rope, climbed over the door and fell down, hanging in the air and swaying for a few times.
"That woman's..."
Toad untied the rope around his waist and fell to the ground with a loud bang. He quickly got up, looked around, brushed off the dust on his body, put on his flippers, and walked to his apprentice.
"Liangsheng, now that we are in the northwest, are we going to trouble that so-and-so master? Why are you so anxious? Your master hasn't even eaten yet..."
In front, the old donkey turned his long face, and the Toad Taoist slapped the donkey's hoof with his webbed feet and shouted, "What are you looking at!" The old donkey blinked his eyes, snorted at him, grinned and neighed twice.
Black smoke came out of the bookshelf. Mu Qiyou came out with her skirt twirling. She opened her red lips and exhaled, then stretched comfortably. Then, she rushed over and hugged Lu Liangsheng tightly, rubbing against him in her arms.
"Old demon, what are you doing so fast? I almost can't catch up."
Lu Liangsheng moved her back to stand up, and saw his master, who was hugging his webbed hands and looking angry, on the ground. He waved his hand and patted the donkey's head, "Why are you making trouble with my master?"
When Li Sui'an and She Long caught up with them breathlessly, they pulled the reins, cast a spell to shrink the distance into an inch, and talked as they walked, leading the old donkey.
"I went to the palace to see the emperor, and suddenly I sensed a sudden gathering of spiritual energy in the northwest, and there was also a faint Buddha's power. I guessed that it was the old monk Zhenkong who was included in the painting by Master Wuyuan. Regardless of whether the master was resisting the calamity or had other plans, I can finally feel at ease if I come to take a look. If I can rescue the old monk, it would be the best."
Monk Zhenkong is devoted to exorcising demons and monsters. He is also stubborn and hot-tempered. He can't stop thinking about his master. But in the end, the other party has done nothing wrong. If there is a chance, he still hopes to rescue him.
The Toad, who had originally felt that his disciple was venting his anger for him, became gloomy again when he heard that he had to save the old monk.
"I haven't even eaten yet... you good-for-nothing."
He touched his bulging belly, snorted, jumped onto the rope hanging from the bookshelf, climbed into the bookshelf compartment, and closed the small door with a bang.
Li Sui'an, who was following behind Lao Lu, slapped the scabbard excitedly.
"Finally, a chance to fight!"
The Wuman wizard beside him nodded silently and looked at the Imperial Master of the Great Sui Dynasty walking in front of him. He didn't help last time, but if he could help this time, he would definitely introduce him to the emperor. With the support of the great country in the Central Plains, Wuman could have his own country.
When Lu Liangsheng heard his disciple's words, he did not laugh. He loosened the reins, made finger gestures and kept counting ahead. While sensing the increasingly strong spiritual energy, it also guided him in the right direction.
'Wujiang Mountain... that direction!'
His eyes swept across the desolate mountains around him, which stretched and undulated, and he looked further west, urging the two disciples behind him to quicken their pace.
Following the direction the three men and the donkey had gone, beyond the mountains, the whole mountain was filled with the sound of birds singing, flapping their wings and flying in groups across the woods, landing on another hilltop.
In a Taoist temple located amidst lush greenery, the last ginseng fruit dropped from a towering tree. The red light on the ground surrounding the tree gradually converged, forming a series of magic arrays. If Lu Liang was born here, he would definitely recognize it. It was the mysterious magic array that he saw with the head of Chengyun Sect in the north that day.
Now there are as many as five.
"Uh ah... evil and perverse! The fruit condensed into a baby statue, how many people did you use as blood and nutrients?!"
The old monk who was half-kneeling on the ground began to struggle. His snow-white beard was standing up, and the rope snakes were shaking and tightening on his body. He was staring angrily in the direction where Master Wu Yuan was looking. He slightly raised his face and looked at the lush green tree cage. He did not speak, but just flicked his whisk, and the rope snakes sank down, pulling the struggling old monk back to the ground.
The exciting Buddha's power continued to extend underground along the rope snake. The five magic arrays that had originally lost their red light suddenly had lines outlined and lit up with golden Buddha's energy, which intertwined and conflicted with the red light.
"Zhenkong, stop struggling. Since you are so dedicated to subduing demons and eliminating evil, how can such pure Buddhist teachings be wasted? You should use them for practical purposes."
Master Wu Yuan slowly closed his eyes and called out "Qing Feng!". He handed the whisk in his hand to the Taoist boy who came forward and made two different spells with each hand.
Between his long white beard, his lips whispered: "Get up!"
With spells extended from his sleeves, two streams of faint green spiritual aura curled and meandered away. The five magic arrays suddenly became turbulent, and the red light instantly swallowed up the Buddha's power and turned scarlet, bulging into a ball of light.
"Soul Devouring... What kind of demon formation is this..."
Under the horrified gaze of the struggling old monk Zhenkong, the condensed light bud was like a blooming lotus. Scarlet light pillars shot up into the sky from the stamens. The barrier set up in the Wujiang Mountain suddenly caused five ripples. Then, the barrier shattered and rushed straight into the sky.
…
In the forest, where rustling branches and leaves were heard, trees were tilting and tree cages were shaking. A tall and fat monk came running over, waving a large string of Buddhist beads on his chest.
"Master—"
The sound was like a bronze bell echoing in the mountains, pushing aside a large tree that was blocking the road. Fa Jing rushed to the hill ahead. Just as he was following the fleeting Buddha's power, a red light suddenly appeared in his peripheral vision. The copper ring on his earlobe swayed. He turned his head sharply and saw five beams of light rushing into the sky.
“Master!”
Fa Jing was stunned for a moment, then he reacted and ran towards the mountains. He crossed the hill on this side, leaped into the sky, drew a long arc, and landed in front of a mountain he had never seen before.
Before he had taken a few steps, he saw a fat figure in front of him, carrying a rake and looking up at the mountain. When he got closer, he saw the other person's long mouth with fangs, black hair and steel bristles. He couldn't help but frowned. He was familiar with the demonic aura on the other person. He had seen this demon at Lu Liangsheng's place.
"Friend Lu... is here too?"
Over there, the figure carrying the rake was none other than Zhu Ganglie who had arrived earlier. He scratched his itchy nostrils, turned around and saw the monk walking straight towards the mountain ahead, and raised his long snout in a muffled voice.
"Don't go, you can't beat him."
"… "
Fa Jing ignored him and continued to stride forward. Thinking of his master who was still imprisoned in that man's hands, he became more determined in his steps. However, a spiked rake fell in front of him, blocking his way.
The pig demon did not let him go in alone.
"I, Old Pig, may not have much chance of winning, and you are even less likely to win. Don't throw your life away in vain."
In the mountains where red beams of light rose, the tree cages that looked like a canopy were illuminated by the red light. Master Wu Yuan raised his hands, maintained his magic power, turned his face slightly, closed his eyes and gave instructions to the Taoist boy behind him.
"There are two uninvited guests outside. Go and send them away. One of them, watch out for his weapon and don't get hit."
"Yes, Master."
Soon, the man and the demon who were still arguing at the foot of the mountain heard a childish voice coming from a large rock in front of them.
"You two should leave quickly, or my master will make me fight you. I am very powerful!"
Zhu Ganglie snorted at the fat monk. After hearing these words, he turned around and saw a little man in a Taoist robe and a Taoist bun, sitting on a big rock, shaking his two small feet in cloth shoes.