Route 82 War · Drunken Taoist

  In the collection of White Spirit, there was a ginseng doll that had taken shape and had over a thousand years of Taoist practice. It had grown into a human form, with a height of just over one foot, long white hair hanging down to its waist, and a pair of snow-white eyebrows, resembling an old man. However, its skin was both white and tender, small and lovely, hiding in the clothes on White Spirit's chest, only revealing a small head, staring out with a pair of colorful big eyes, rolling around restlessly, timidly looking outside.

  "This thing has been with me since I was born, and from the moment my spiritual wisdom opened, it has been by my side. Every year, I would eat one of its roots, and later, when it gained spiritual wisdom and could transform into a human form, I would drink a cup of its ginseng blood instead. This is how I have achieved my current level of cultivation." She stroked the small head of the ginseng doll with her hand. "After I cultivated my magical powers, I shared some of the collected solar and lunar essences with it to help it grow. Later, when it gained spiritual wisdom, I taught it how to cultivate, and we became like siblings in the mortal world, relying on each other for survival."

  Yue Qingdao said: "Don't worry, since he has gained spiritual wisdom, he is no longer the same as ordinary plants. What we cultivators seek is to comprehend the Heavenly Way, not just to increase our magical powers. He won't harm him or be harmed by him. Dig up his main body and store it in a jade box. After the journey through the rivers is over, bring it back to Wutai Mountain together and transplant it to the backyard of Huangji Palace. There are immortal arrays sealed there, so nothing will harm him again."

  As night fell, the four of them went to an inn in Chengdu city to spend the night. As they were going upstairs, they saw a Taoist priest with tattered clothes and a large red lacquered calabash on his back, eating and drinking to his heart's content. He then asked the shopkeeper to fill the calabash with good wine and left in a drunken state. Because Yue Qing walked quickly, he didn't notice him, only seeing White Spirit Fairy at the end, and was taken aback for a moment before turning around and leaving.

  Bai Ling Xian also saw him, and after going upstairs, his expression became somewhat flustered: "Shifu, I just saw the Drunken Daoist of Emei Sect. He is an elder of Emei Sect, with profound dao skills, and has seen my true form on Yunling Mountain before. When he looked at me just now, his expression was unusual, he must have recognized me. We are right under the foot of Emei Mountain, if he goes back to inform them, I'm afraid many Emei Sect elders will come knocking on our door immediately!"

  Yue Qingdao said, "The three immortals of the East Sea are now all practicing swordplay at Diaoyutai, and the two old men from Songshan have gone to Beihai. Only a useless person like Drunken Daoist is left behind. What can you do even if you come with a hundred people? Alright, since you're afraid, I'll give you a calming pill to eat!" He told Tao Jun to fetch a piece of Xuan paper, cut it into a circle, and pointed at it. The oil lamps went out, and the room was plunged into darkness. However, the circular paper began to glow, slowly rising up and hanging on the wall like a bright moon, shining brightly.

  Just as the moon was full, the figure of a drunken Taoist appeared, rushing to ride his sword and flying in front of the nun's hut, entering the courtyard and going straight into the Buddhist hall. Under the golden image of the Three Saints of the Western Heaven sat a nun in her 40s.

  Bai Ling Xian pointed at the nun and said: "That is Bai Yun Dashi Yuan Jing, the elder of Emei Sect!"

  Yue Qing let her be at ease, only to see the drunken Taoist in the moonlight say to Bai Yun Dashi: "Master sister, I just saw that demon from Yunling Mountain in Chengdu city, she has actually cultivated a human form and is mixing with the secular world."

  Baiyun Dashi said with a deep sigh, "This afternoon I heard the sound of heaven and earth cracking on the side of Yunling Mountain. That evil beast seemed to be fighting with someone. When I went over to take a look, I saw that it was Yueqinbin, a demon from the Wutai Sect, along with two demon disciples, subduing the snake demon. I observed that Yueqinbin's aura and magical powers were not what they used to be, and he even held in his hands two extraordinary treasures. Figuring that I wouldn't be able to defeat them, I didn't intervene. But now that you mention it, that evil beast must have already been subdued by Yueqinbin and is now on the same side as him!"

  The drunken Taoist was shocked: "That demon Taoist killed two of our fellow disciples back then, and now he suddenly appears in the river, he must have an ulterior motive."

  Baiyun Master sighed slightly: "That demon snake has been cultivating for a thousand years and has some magical powers. Even if I join forces with Second Brother, we can't subdue it. Because Cangxia Shimei is raising a centipede that's over a hundred years old, which is its nemesis. I asked Ziyu to borrow it several times, but Shimei was reluctant to part with it, so I temporarily put it aside. The snake has two internal elixirs in its body, and if we can obtain them and refine them into a treasure, they can break the Gu poison. Many treasures in the Western Demon Sect are refined using Gu poison, and this demon snake's internal elixir is their nemesis. However, she hasn't reached the fire stage yet, so I was planning to wait a few more years until her internal elixirs were fully cultivated before going to borrow the centipede from Cangxia Shimei again and joining forces with Second Brother to eliminate her. But unexpectedly, that demon daoist Yueqinbin took advantage of the situation..."

  "Should we send a message to gather all of you senior brothers back here to join forces and get rid of him? Isn't Mrs. Miao Yi on the mountain right now?"

  Baiyun Master glanced at him: "The three sect leaders are currently in the East Sea practicing swordsmanship. It is said that the Five Tai Sect's evil disciples have already refined the Taiyi Yin-yang Sword and the Jiuzi Mother Yin Soul Sword. The Yin Soul Sword is tolerable, but the Taiyi Yin-yang Sword is not easy to deal with. Brother must quickly refine the Golden Light Fierce Fire Sword, otherwise, Ziqing and Qixiu may be born at any time, and if they come to kill us first, we will suffer heavy losses." After a brief pause, he continued, "I know you want to avenge your two brothers, but who in our Emei Sect doesn't want that? However, over the past few years, the demonic monks and Taoists of Ci Yun Temple have become increasingly arrogant. The female killer star of Qingluo Gorge has newly established the Wanmo Divine Palace, and the Qingcheng Sect of the two old men of Songshan still hasn't made a move. The four provinces are in a state of turmoil, and our Emei Sect is isolated and unable to make a sound. It's not suitable to create more branches at this time."

  The Drunken Taoist said: "That demon Taoist brought his followers to Sichuan, could it be that he's going to join forces with the demons of Ci Yun Temple?"

  Baiyun Dashi said: "How can the demonic path be, I... who am I?" Suddenly, he raised his head and looked over, his gaze piercing out from the round moon. The people watching in front of the mirror, except for Yue Qing, were all shocked, and the round moon also spontaneously caught fire and fell.

  Yue Qing let Tao Jun relight the lamp, then said to Bai Ling Xian: "You see, those who are capable are not at home, and there's only these two useless people left. What is there to be afraid of? Tomorrow we'll leave anyway, no need to clash with them."

  Yang Li said: "These people claim to be orthodox, speaking heresy with their mouths and closing their mouths as heretical disciples. It's really hateful!" Tao Jun was also indignant on the side.

  "Others may say so, never mind them." Yue Qing said indifferently, and then let them go back to their rooms to rest.

  On the second day, they set out early in the morning and headed to Mount Daxue. Yue Qing was still strolling leisurely, covering a thousand miles in a single day. Tao Jun had made significant progress by now, although he was sprinting along the way, not as calm and composed as the other three, his speed had already surpassed that of flying birds.

  As they left Chengdu and headed south, just as they were about to enter the Daxue Mountains, Bai Lingxian suddenly said: "Master, there's someone following us from behind."

  Yue Qing nodded: "It's Zui Dao Ren and Bai Yun Dashi, he has always been uneasy about us." He stopped in his tracks, pondered for a moment, and said to the three of them, "We have a long-standing feud with Emei Sect, they are following us from behind, definitely not with good intentions, maybe even brewing some sinister plot. Ling Xian, you and Li Er hurry ahead, bypass Qingxuan and head southwest, to a mountain valley where black clouds gather and snowflakes dance in the air, that's where I and Liu Quan Shidi agreed to meet. I'll take care of the annoying ghosts behind us with Jun Er, then rush over to join you. Be careful to avoid the demonic heads inside Qingxuan Gorge, this is their lair, try not to conflict with them."

  Yang Li and Bai Lingxian led the way, entering the Great Snow Mountain first. Yue Qing called Tao Jun over and quickly instructed him a few words before following Yang Li and Bai Lingxian into the mountain. Tao Jun stood alone in the middle of the road, opening his stance, and said loudly: "The Emei Sect's wicked nuns and evil Daoists, sneaking around and following us all the way, aren't you tired?" He had originally heard Zhao Xinyuan mention the Emei Sect, saying it was the number one famous sect in the world, admired by all immortals, and the focus of global attention. The Wutai Sect, on the other hand, was the first great evil cult, self-degrading and shameless, despised by the world. However, after meeting Yue Qing and Yang Li, he completely overturned this impression, as these two people's words and actions were in line with his ideal image of a perfect immortal. But when he met the two Emei Sect members, they actually spoke ill of others behind their backs, not distinguishing between good and evil, calling one person a demon and another a monster, making him lose almost all his good impression of the Emei Sect. Now being followed again made him even more angry, so he spoke without leaving any room for politeness.

  Before he could finish speaking, he was slapped heavily in the face. A drunkard appeared out of nowhere: "Let this demon's spawn learn to watch his mouth!"

  Tao Jun was knocked to the ground, his teeth loose, and half of his face immediately swelled up. He spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and cursed loudly: "You stinky Taoist, you sneak attacked me from behind, what kind of hero are you?" He reached back and slapped the scabbard on his back, and the Tian Gang sword shot out of its sheath, bringing with it a fierce gust of wind, and hacked viciously at Zui Dao Ren.

  The Drunken Daoist didn't take him seriously, yet he stood right in front of Tao Jun, using the Splitting Light and Shadow technique to grab the Tianxia Sword. The sword kept twisting, with a cold and sharp light flowing from the hilt to the tip, making the Drunken Daoist's face turn pale, his hair flying wildly, and his body hairs standing on end. He shouted in surprise: "The Demon Child actually has such a good sword!"