Snake Demon · Yunling Mountain

  Yue Qing was delighted to see Tao Jun resolutely become his apprentice, and took out a Tian Ge sword: "This is the sword that our Wudai Sect's direct disciples use when they first enter the sect. I'll give it to you for now, and when your skills improve in the future, we can find another good sword for you."

  Taoyuan took over the treasure sword, which was three feet and three inches long. The sword light was like water, clear and cool, and lightly shook, the sword tip would overflow with dry sky killing evil spirits. With a wave of his hand, it became a heavenly sword rainbow that was several meters long. He had never seen such a divine weapon before, and he was overjoyed, kowtowing again to thank him.

  Yang Li gave Tao Jun a white jade sword case, put the sword in it, and let him carry it on his back. He then asked Yue Qing, "Do you want your disciples to send your younger brother back to the mountain first?"

  Yue Qingdao said, "This time we are entering the demonic ring to lie in wait, but it's not about competing with others in martial arts. The Emei Sect, Ci Yun Temple, and Qingluo Gorge have been at odds for a long time, so there's no need to be overly cautious either. Jun'er is just starting out on his immortal path, so it's good for him to get a glimpse of the state of affairs among the immortals, and also to have a standard in mind."

  Yang Li understood the intention of his master at once, and he was afraid that Zhao Xin Yuan's previous words would leave a scar in Tao Jun's heart. So this time, he brought him to Sichuan to let him see for himself, lest there be discord between master and apprentice in the future. He was also happy to go down the mountain and wander freely once, and hearing that he didn't have to send someone back to the mountain made him even more delighted.

  Yue Qing took out a bottle of dan medicine and gave it to Tao Jun: "Your parents died early, and the family business was taken care of by the old steward Tao Quan. As the saying goes, 'cultivating truth has no time limit.' This time you entered the mountain to cultivate, and the return date is uncertain. You go and kowtow to him a few times, recognize him as your father, and let his son inherit the family business. Only then can you be considered to have left home with a clear conscience and no worries. Give this bottle of dan medicine to them, and let them take one pill every three years to prolong their lives."

  Tao Yuanchun was extremely filial, and went to kowtow to the old steward and offer him medicine. Tao Quan's heart was full of reluctance, and he couldn't help but shed tears: "Young master, just go and cultivate your immortal spirit, I'll stay here and guard this place for you. If I die, there's still my son; if my son dies, there's still his son - they will definitely take care of the family business for young master."

  Tao Jun was also heartbroken, and after some comforting words, Tao Quan wanted to pack his bags for the young master again, but was stopped by Yue Qing: "We travel instantly, thousands of miles in a moment, departing from Kunlun in the morning and arriving at the Cang Sea in the evening, no need for luggage or supplies."

  Tao Jun put everything in order at home, and then said to Zhao Xin Yuan: "I have already taken Yue Xian Chang as my master and entered the Wutai Sect. Although Elder Brother Zhao has always refused to accept me as a disciple, I have already regarded Elder Brother as my master. I know that Elder Brother has offended the Eight Demons of Western Sichuan and is hiding here in exile. I have instructed my family members that after I leave, Elder Brother can continue to stay here..."

  Zhao Xinyuan waved his hand repeatedly and sighed, "Brother, you are a kind-hearted gentleman, easily deceived by others. A few years ago, those wine bags and rice buckets pretended to be teachers here, deceiving you into eating and drinking, and now you've been fooled by the witch's way..."

  Tao Jun frowned and interrupted him: "Brother Zhao! I've already become a disciple, please don't speak ill of my master again. Whether my master is good or evil, Tao Mengren will be able to discern for himself."

  Zhao Xinyuan didn't get angry either: "Brother, you've been deceived for a moment, but you can't be deceived for a lifetime. As you said, what's right and wrong will become clear with time. If there's any trouble in the future, you can go to Yichang San You Cave to seek help from my master."

  Tao Jun knew he was also doing it for his own good, and his tone also softened: "Thank you so much, brother!"

  Tao Jun was not at home, so Zhao Xin Yuan naturally couldn't continue to stay here with a thick face. He left ahead of time and went elsewhere. Yue Qing also didn't care about him and only took Tao Jun away from Nanchang. Since there were still many days before the scheduled time, Yue Qing had the intention to teach his disciple. He used silver to buy a boat that could automatically move on the water without anyone rowing or sailing it. It was fast and stable, going upstream along the Yangtze River towards Sichuan. Every day, Yue Qing would teach and discuss the cultivation of the five elements and the heavenly gauge sword on the bow of the ship. Tao Jun had a great talent for swordsmanship and could learn any move quickly. After practicing for nearly half a month, he mastered the small five elements sword technique and began to practice the large five elements sword technique. However, his true energy was too shallow, otherwise, he would have been able to control the sword in mid-air with the large five elements sword technique.

  On this day, they disembarked and walked westward, seemingly strolling in a leisurely manner. Within half a day, they had covered several hundred miles. At first, Tao Jun couldn't keep up, but later, following the breathing exercises taught by his master, he quietly worked on his internal energy and gradually quickened his pace.

  Look, the sun is about to set in the west, and a short mountain blocks the way ahead. Although the mountain is not very high, its slope is steep, stretching for dozens of miles. Not a single blade of grass grows on the mountain, facing the setting sun, a white mist rises, covering the entire mountain top, slowly rising, merging with the cloud layer in the sky, like boiling water, rolling and churning, reflecting millions of purple and red colors under the sunlight, forming a magnificent view.

  Yu Qing asked Tao Jun: "What do you think of those clouds and mist?"

  Tao Jun said: "This scene is so beautiful and magnificent, as if there are gods and goddesses, that mountain must be the residence of immortals."

  Yang Li said: "I see that there is a surge of evil energy in the air, although the clouds and mist are beautiful, they are charming but not elegant, it must be where a demon is cultivating."

  Yue Qingdao said, "What the carp said is not wrong. In that mountain, there is a thousand-year-old snake demon. After avoiding the third heavenly calamity ten years ago, its divine powers have become even stronger. It mixes the toxic liquid in its body with the poisonous grass juice of the mountain to refine it into cloud and mist. Every day at 5 am and 3 pm, it spits it out, rises into the air, combines with natural cloud energy, and is tempered by the wind and rain for several months before it can be refined. This place is called Yunling Mountain, also known as Cloud Spirit Mountain."

  Tao Jun was previously embarrassed because he had guessed wrong, and after hearing the back, he was shocked to see that a large piece of cloud in the sky that could cover the mountains was actually spit out by a snake spirit. How big would this snake spirit be? If it came out to eat people, I'm afraid all the people in the city would be swallowed up by her in one mouthful. He asked Yue Qing: "Master, is there a way to get rid of the snake demon?"

  Yue Qingdao said: "It's easy to get rid of his many methods, but why should I get rid of her?"

  Tao Jun said: "That's a thousand-year-old giant demon, if it wants to harm people, one mouthful can swallow tens of thousands."

  "But others have not eaten humans yet. For example, if you have the ability to kill a child, would the government be afraid of you killing people and eliminate you first?"

  "Isn't it the duty of cultivators to slay demons and eliminate evil?"

  "We need to understand what is a demon and what is an evil spirit. The heavens are not benevolent, treating all things as straw dogs. Whether it's immortals, Buddhas, gods, ghosts, demons or evil spirits, they are all equal under the great Tao. Do you know that the heavenly demons mentioned in Buddhism refer to the heavenly people of the Desire Realm and the Self-Transforming Heaven?

  Yue Qing pointed with his hand, "Take this snake spirit for example. She has been cultivating in the mountains and has never harmed anyone. If we were to mistakenly slaughter her as an evil creature, then wouldn't we become evil ourselves?"

  Tao Jun seemed to understand and yet not understand what Yue Qing said: "Is that to say we should just wait for this snake demon to cultivate its divine powers, then come out and harm people?"

  Yue Qing smiled and said, "Of course not. I brought you all here today to prevent future troubles. Since she has gained spiritual awareness, we can use a combination of courtesy and force on her. If she is willing to listen to our advice, then we can coexist peacefully in the world and ascend to the heavens together. Li Yu, the snake demon's lair is located in the valley behind the mountain. Go and invite her out to meet with us."

  Yang Li rode the blue light to the top of the mountain, looked down and saw a huge crack in the valley below, with a foul wind blowing out, and a gloomy atmosphere filling the sky. He said loudly: "I invite fellow Taoist practitioners below to come up! I am Yang Li of the Wutai Sect, my master is Yue Qing, the master of the Taiyi Palace on Mount Wutai, and he specially invites you to meet!"

  He said it three times, and there was no movement in the cave below. However, the colorful cloud above began to quietly and quickly descend, spreading out along the sky, and in an instant, it pressed down on Yang Li's head, as if wanting to wrap him up together with it.

  Tao Jun saw below and couldn't help but shout loudly with a burst of true energy: "Brother, be careful above your head!"

  Yang Li raised his head, and the colorful cloud pressed down. He hastily merged his double hooks into one, merging with his body, transforming into a ten-meter-long cyan light that was about to pierce through the clouds. However, in the valley below, a strong gust of wind suddenly arose, sending sand and rocks flying as it roared loudly, unexpectedly giving rise to an extremely powerful suction force that pulled Yang Li down, causing him to plummet downwards.

  Yang Li was greatly shocked in his heart. He had originally thought that the other party was a heterodox demon fairy, and even with a thousand years of Taoist practice, it was absolutely not a match for a human immortal family, let alone himself who also had shallow Taoist practice. Before arriving at the Purple Cloud Palace, he already had the strength of a scattered immortal, and later on, after arriving at the Wutai Sect, he cultivated the orthodox Taoist sect's Taiyi Xuan Gong. No matter what, he wanted to be stronger than the other party. He also thought that if the snake demon didn't know how to behave, he would take his master's place and cut down this snake demon, eliminating a great evil for humanity. However, he hadn't expected that this snake demon actually had such powerful magic!