Chapter 20: The Second Talisman Refinement

Chapter 20: The Second Talisman Refinement

A few days later, at Manfeng Mountain in Wangyue Prefecture.

Armored units were stationed here in organized squads: shield-bearers in the front, spearmen in the middle, and crossbowmen in the rear, with each squad consisting of at least a hundred men.

The perimeter of these soldiers was coated with a strange ink. The ink spread thinly, creating a uniform and fine layer of "black tiles" on the ground. Anyone attempting to walk upon the ground would inevitably leave a trace in the ink.

The squads operated on a two-shift rotation; while half rested, the other half stood guard.

They could not withdraw, for their mission had only just begun.

They had been here for four full days and nights.

How much longer they would have to wait, they did not know.

But as long as the General above had not issued the order, they had to continue waiting.

Soon, night fell.

The bright moon cast fallen leaves densely upon the ground.

Numerous torches and fire basins lit up from the ground, their blazing flames reflecting a crimson hue onto the sky.

Suddenly, figures dressed in martial attire approached from the distance. Upon their arrival, they skillfully joined the various armored units, guarding the dimmer areas on the periphery, forming a complementary joint defense.

The General of this force also emerged from the rear, clad in armor.

Among the martial artists, a Taoist in yellow robes approached him, accompanied by two Taoist acolytes.

"General Zhang."

"Perfected Master Han."

After a brief greeting, the two stood together in silence; the atmosphere was somewhat oppressive.

Soon, more people arrived one after another from afar. These newcomers were all renowned experts from Wangyue County and the surrounding areas, each carrying their own specialized weapons.

A moment later, two more yellow-robed Taoists appeared, bringing the total to three, including the first one.

With these three joined by General Zhang, the conversation became more substantial.

"Is the Celestial Master truly coming?"

"The army here was dispatched by the Celestial Master. Of course he is coming. Not only will the old gentleman come, but he will also launch a formal offensive against Manfeng Mountain."

"We have already suffered too many losses here. There are at least three types of demons in this place."

"Fortunately, the bear demon in Old Mountain of Xinghe County was destroyed by you, Perfected Master Han."

As soon as the words fell, the yellow-robed Taoist—who had previously used a golden snake to entwine the bear in Old Mountain—waved his hands repeatedly and shook his head solemnly.

He had not disclosed the true situation of "Old Mountain" to the outside world, as the Celestial Master did not wish to incite further panic.

If General Zhang was the leader of the soldiers in Wangyue Prefecture, then the Celestial Master was their leader.

Seeing his reaction, the remaining two Taoists fell into deep thought.

One of them asked, "In short, it was destroyed, correct?"

This time, the yellow-robed Taoist did not deny it, simply saying, "Yes."

The Taoist nodded slightly. "Fortunately it was destroyed; otherwise, there would be at least four types of demons here."

Another Taoist sighed softly and said, "The Celestial Master had previously left Manfeng Mountain untouched, merely blockading the surroundings and declaring it a forbidden zone. Today, by mobilizing the army and gathering us here for a suppression campaign, he is surely taking a step further. Yet, I wonder how many will survive after this encirclement."

Everyone fell silent.

In an instant, a sense of tragic heroism rose in the air.

Everyone was prepared to die.

In this prefectural capital, they were the first to encounter the truth, and the first to encounter despair.

Just then, a vast expanse of golden light suddenly surged from the dark, fiery earth. Two figures emerged from within. As the red light from the fire basins washed over them, they cast long, heavy shadows upon the ground.

Both wore bronze ghost masks. The difference was that one wore purple Taoist robes, appearing transcendent and detached, while the other was wrapped in the robes of a Taoist acolyte, carrying an exaggeratedly long beast-slaying saber on his back.

The Taoists looked at the acolyte in surprise. In their impression, because the Celestial Master dealt with formidable demons, he always borrowed acolytes; they wondered which province this one had been borrowed from today.

Judging by the mask, this acolyte did not wish to reveal his identity, which added a layer of mystery to his presence.

Chunü scanned the surroundings and then looked at Ning Xuan. "Qingfeng, on the way here, I have told you almost everything about the situation. We will rest tonight, and tomorrow morning, we will... ascend the mountain."

Ning Xuan nodded.

Immediately, Chunü was escorted into a temporarily constructed tent.

The Celestial Master’s constitution was very poor; if he were to take action the next day, he certainly needed to rest well the night before.

As the acolyte, Ning Xuan sat upright by the bonfire outside the tent, closing his eyes to rest while simultaneously guarding the tent behind him.

The Celestial Master slept; the acolyte kept watch.

Such was the fate of an acolyte.

If it were anyone else, Ning Xuan certainly would have been unwilling.

But thinking of how tragic his elder brother was—disfigured, stripped of his name, unable to acknowledge his kin—while he enjoyed everything in his brother's stead, he felt it was nothing.

Moreover, with his current constitution, standing guard for one night was nothing at all.

Ning Xuan sat cross-legged by the fire basin in front of the tent. During this time, some people attempted to approach him to strike up a conversation, but he ignored them entirely without a word. Gradually... no one approached him anymore.

He inhaled a breath of the night wind, which was a mixture of grass juice and a metallic scent, and gazed at the dark, heavy mountains in the distance.

His brother said there were three types of demons on this mountain.

A monkey,

An ox,

A sheep.

Currently, there were these three.

But they were still attempting to invite more demons here.

For what?

Most people speculated that these demons wanted to form an alliance.

But his brother told him, "Not necessarily."

Throughout Wangyue Prefecture, including its nine counties and twenty-eight townships, there were many travelers and missing persons; the number of disappearances was actually quite high, and the locations were not fixed.

In the eyes of the Taoists, disappearance meant death.

These people had already entered the bellies of the demons and become food.

However, his brother told him, "No."

Because once, by accident, his brother had heard human cries deep within Manfeng Mountain. Those voices drifted from all directions with the wind, and the most frequent cry was "Help!"

From this, his brother reached a simple conclusion: those who disappeared were likely not eaten, but imprisoned.

Why would demons imprison humans?

And why would they invite other demons?

His brother reached a terrifying conclusion: A banquet.

The demons wanted to hold a banquet. Therefore, they captured humans but restrained their hunger, refusing to eat them directly, instead keeping them imprisoned to wait for the banquet to commence.

But a banquet must eventually host someone.

What kind of people would make demons restrain themselves from eating?

His brother did not dare to imagine.

Lately, the number of missing people had been increasing. His brother could no longer restrain himself from taking action, especially since his cultivation had advanced a step, and he now had an extraordinary acolyte like Ning Xuan.

The day had been set for tomorrow.

Tomorrow, his brother would take him to investigate.

Once they had investigated as clearly as possible, they would launch a massive offensive.

Ning Xuan's task was to protect his brother and buy him some time to "perform his arts."

The bonfire crackled.

The light danced in his eyes.

He casually tossed in a few cold branches and closed his eyes to rest.

He did not want to marry into the Hanzhou Ranch, so... this mission had to be completed.

The night grew deep.

As time passed, Ning Xuan vaguely felt that dawn should be approaching.

His perception was sharp, and he had his own judgment regarding the flow of time.

Then, he felt that dawn must have arrived.

He opened his eyes.

To his sight, the sky was still dark.

The sky...

Was still dark.

Why?

The sky had not brightened at all.

Except for the black moon hanging high above his head.

The moonlight formed a strange halo, illuminating the area around the bright moon with a deathly pallor, while that black moon looked like a descending black pupil, staring straight down at him.

Ning Xuan was certain that he had not used the essence blood of the "Ghost Monkey" to refine the talisman, so there was only one possibility left...

In this place, a Heavenly Demon was about to arrive.