Chapter 52: Encounter on the Road! Scorpion-tailed Leopard

Name: Zhang Lingshan

Martial Arts: Gale Kick (Minor Accomplishment), Wind-Settling Stance (Minor Accomplishment), Mountain-Splitting Axe Technique (Beginner), Red Cloud Saber Technique (Beginner), Blood Claw Hand (Beginner), Red Line Fist (Minor Accomplishment), Hunyuan True Yang Stance (Perfection)

Energy: 57

"Alright."

Zhang Lingshan checked his panel and saw that the Red Cloud Saber Technique had reached the beginner level.

Feeling the changes in his body, he found that the changes in muscle strength and other physical attributes were minimal; his saber technique had simply become much more proficient.

Firstly, it might be because he had already reached the Flesh Refining stage, so breakthroughs at the beginner level no longer yielded significant results.

Secondly, the Red Cloud Saber Technique was primarily about skill rather than raw strength.

After all, not every martial art could be compared to the Mountain-Splitting Axe Technique, and since it only cost a mere 20 energy points, why ask for more?

After practicing the Red Cloud Saber Technique for a while longer and fully adapting to the sensation, Zhang Lingshan packed up his heavy-backed wide saber.

Then, he returned to his room and took out a small booklet with a dark green cover.

It was none other than the one he had obtained from Fang Qiuyue.

Having learned to recognize characters from his younger brother, Zhang Lingfeng, during the New Year period, Zhang Lingshan could now recognize about seventy to eighty percent of the words in the booklet.

Unfortunately, he had forgotten about it while busy with flesh refining and testing medicinal herbs.

By the time he remembered, his brother had already returned to the Jiang family in the Inner City.

Starting to read again, Zhang Lingshan picked out the characters he didn't recognize and wrote them down. He then found Song Dazhuang and asked him to take him to see the Song family's teacher.

Since he had already made arrangements with Song Dazhuang before the New Year, there was no delay, and he soon met the teacher.

Under the teacher's guidance, Zhang Lingshan learned to recognize all the remaining characters one by one.

That night, he read by lamplight, finding it immensely beneficial; it was well worth the hurried trip he had taken today.

At dawn the next day, with everything prepared, Zhang Lingshan shouldered his bundle and weapon and arrived at the entrance of the Zhenwei Escort Agency.

"So many people?"

Zhang Lingshan was slightly stunned.

The key wasn't just the number of people, but the fact that he noticed many young people in the crowd, both men and women, all brimming with youth and playing around with smiles on their faces.

It felt less like they were going on an escort mission and more like they were going on an excursion.

"Senior Brother Shan is here."

Lu Feng stepped forward to greet him.

Zhang Lingshan asked, "Are you going on this trip too?"

Lu Feng chuckled. "Yeah. Thanks to you, my Third Grandfather is personally acting as the bodyguard this time. It's foolproof. If we don't follow along to gain some experience, wouldn't we be wasting Third Grandfather's skills?"

Zhang Lingshan realized the situation. "So, this escort mission is a loss for the agency—the adults are protecting the juniors. In that case, I owe your Third Grandfather a huge favor."

"Forget it."

An old voice suddenly sounded beside him. "I owe Hong Zhengdao. It has nothing to do with you."

Zhang Lingshan was startled; he hadn't noticed the man approaching from behind at all.

He turned around to see a burly old man with a scar running from top to bottom over his right eye. His pupil was white; he was actually blind in one eye.

"Greetings, Third Master Lu."

Zhang Lingshan cupped his hands in greeting.

Lu Sandao stared at him silently with his left eye for a long moment before saying, "Solid foundation, full essence and qi. Hong Zhengdao has taken in a good disciple. Do you know how to ride a horse?"

"I haven't ridden before."

"Then while the group hasn't fully assembled, Lu Feng, teach him."

"Yes, Third Grandfather."

Lu Feng immediately invited Zhang Lingshan to his family's courtyard and gave him a brief lesson on riding experience.

As a Flesh Refining martial artist, Zhang Lingshan already had a certain level of mastery over controlling his body's muscles, so he learned it quite quickly.

Just then, Lei Bao and Lei Tao arrived.

"Is this the person you're bringing?" Lu Sandao asked.

Zhang Lingshan replied, "He's helping me go to Jingguang Temple to find my father."

"Greetings, Senior!"

Lei Bao and Lei Tao hurriedly bowed, shocked in their hearts. They had actually managed to enlist the famous elder Lu Sandao for this trip.

He was an old-school Qi Condensation expert.

With him presiding, this trip was secure; nothing would go wrong. They only needed to be responsible for leading the way to Jingguang Temple.

"Mm, then let's set off."

Lu Sandao waved his hand, and a middle-aged, burly Flesh Refining man from the Lu family took the lead.

This man was named Lu Fang, the head escort for this mission.

After walking for a while and the long line having formed, two scouts were sent to the front to call for the path to clear, while the head escort, Lu Fang, sat in the center to maintain order.

Behind him were the Lu family youths like Lu Feng, who were following to gain experience, looking left and right with great curiosity about everything outside the city.

At the very end of these youths was Lu Sandao.

The large, stout old man was taciturn, following the group on horseback without saying a single word.

Zhang Lingshan, walking beside him, had no intention of speaking either. Instead, as he rode, he carefully ruminated on the words in Fang Qiuyue's booklet.

'Within the Profound Gate lies the Profound Mansion; the deeper the Profound Mansion, the deeper the Netherworld... All eerie and evil spirits are Yin Spirits and should enter the Netherworld...'

Zhang Lingshan pondered deeply. 'When Fang Qiuyue was killing me before, she said that once I turned into an evil spirit, she would let Li Ziming absorb me. This means they have a way to absorb evil spirits. Is this what they mean by the Netherworld?'

Thinking of this, Zhang Lingshan couldn't help but feel excited.

If he could also learn this method of absorbing evil spirits, and then directly absorb and suppress/refine them, wouldn't his energy skyrocket?

However, how could he open the Profound Mansion?

Zhang Lingshan fell into deep thought.

The term "Profound Gate" (Youmen) sounded mysterious at first glance, but if you added three more characters, it became very familiar.

*Helicobacter pylori*. Who didn't know it?

And the "profound gate" refers to the junction between the stomach and the duodenum.

According to Fang Qiuyue's booklet, entering the Profound Gate and opening the Profound Mansion referred to this area.

However, the booklet didn't say how to open it; it only said, "Those with spirit will open it themselves; those without spirit have no gate to enter." So, was he considered to have spirit or not?

'Forget it. Since there is no known way to open it, I'll use a brute-force method.'

Zhang Lingshan thought it over and decided to devise his own method.

Since he was currently in the Flesh Refining stage, he could sensitively control the small muscles of various parts of his body. As the Profound Gate acts as a valve to prevent the reflux of intestinal contents, it must have a sphincter.

So, if he placed his hand on the skin at the corresponding position of the Profound Gate and applied pressure, could he attempt to control the internal sphincter?

Zhang Lingshan tried it.

The result proved it was pure wishful thinking.

But there was another way: using the heat from the Hunyuan True Yang Stance to burn it. Perhaps he could burn the Profound Gate open.

The fire of the Hunyuan True Yang Stance was an invisible fire capable of extinguishing evil spirits.

With such a profound fire, what if it actually burned the Profound Gate open?

Without hesitation, Zhang Lingshan immediately assumed the "Embracing Yang" posture of the Hunyuan True Yang Stance while on horseback.

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.*

Instantly, a surge of fiery qi steamed within his body.

"Hmm?"

Lu Sandao suddenly turned to glance at Zhang Lingshan, but he didn't notice anything unusual. He only thought the young man was exceptionally hardworking and secretly envied Hong Zhengdao for picking up such a good seedling.

The day passed in a flash.

The Zhenwei Escort Agency was clearly well-acquainted with the route, arriving at a village and town just as evening approached.

"The Zhenwei Escort Agency is here!"

Someone shouted.

Then, people from the surroundings quickly came to help hold the horses. Everything was orderly, showing that they traveled this road frequently and the villagers relied on them for their business.

"There's actually a village and town here."

Lu Feng said in surprise, "It seems the outside world isn't as dangerous as imagined."

"Heh." A middle-aged escort nearby smiled. "Danger is always relative. If everyone were in danger, everyone in this world would be dead. There are always the inexperienced who don't listen, dying in place of the experienced who do. And our Zhenwei Escort Agency is the type that is experienced and listens to advice."

Another escort chimed in, "Then the question is, where does experience come from?"

"Experience is the correct path verified through repeated trials. Do you understand, young master? That is the wealth of our Zhenwei Escort Agency," the escort said earnestly.

Lu Feng nodded, understanding somewhat but not fully, but he didn't dwell on it and immediately went to chat with the other youths.

In any case, everything was under the control of his Third Grandfather, so he didn't need to worry.

That night.

The inn's doors and windows were tightly shut, and candles were lit. No matter how much the wind howled outside, it was peaceful inside.

'It seems just like Jingcheng; as long as you close the doors and windows and don't go out looking for death, the evil spirits can't get in,' Zhang Lingshan thought to himself.

Furthermore, based on his previous experience facing Li Fu, he had discovered that evil spirits didn't actually like to wander around aimlessly.

For example, Li Fu had stayed at home; he only came looking for trouble when Zhang Lingshan returned to the old residence, rather than chasing him down on Hongwu Street.

Therefore, as long as no one had died an unjust death in this inn and no evil spirit was hiding within, it was basically impossible for an evil spirit to appear.

Just as Zhang Lingshan expected, the night passed without incident.

The next day.

Zhang Lingshan grabbed Lei Tao and asked sharply, "Your father is leading people to repair Jingguang Temple without an escort agency. How far can he get? He's already been traveling for a day. Why haven't we seen Jingguang Temple yet? Do you actually know where it is?"

Lei Tao hurriedly said, "Please don't be anxious, Young Master Zhang. Although my father doesn't have an escort agency, he has been working outside for years and is very experienced. As far as I know, Jingguang Temple is at least two days away."

"Two days? Is the direction correct?" Zhang Lingshan asked again.

Lei Tao hesitated. "The direction... seems... correct."

"You really don't know the location of Jingguang Temple!"

"No, no, no..."

Lei Tao explained nervously, but he couldn't make sense of a single sentence.

Beside them, Lei Bao hurriedly said, "Please calm your anger, Young Master Zhang. We have followed you this time specifically to help you find your father. Rest assured, we will not return until the mission is complete."

"It had better be found."

Zhang Lingshan dropped the sentence and felt a heavy heart.

If they ended up not even finding Jingguang Temple, this trip would have been in vain, and he would have wasted Lu Sandao's favor for nothing.

Because he was in a bad mood, Zhang Lingshan remained silent for the rest of the journey, silently using the fire to burn the Profound Gate within his body.

Soon, night fell again. This time there was no village or inn, but there was a mountain god temple.

Everyone quickly went inside to repair the broken windows, doors, and holes in the roof, then lit a bonfire with straw and wood to make do for the night.

During this time, Zhang Lingshan used hot water to soak a packet of medicinal powder called Deer Antler Atractylodes Powder.

This powder was not very cost-effective; it cost 30 taels of silver per packet but only increased energy by 10 points, and one could only drink one packet every two days, far inferior to the Three-Ingredient Astragalus Soup.

However, its advantage was that it was portable and easy to prepare, as there was no time to decoct Three-Ingredient Astragalus Soup during an escort mission.

"What medicine are you drinking? Are your kidneys deficient?"

Lu Sandao looked at Zhang Lingshan in surprise.

"No, it's just a little..."

Before Zhang Lingshan could explain, Lu Sandao said meaningfully, "Young people should practice moderation."

With that, he lay down on the ground and fell into a deep sleep.

Zhang Lingshan was speechless.

He hadn't expected this taciturn, stout old man to crack jokes.

"Hiss—!"

In the middle of the night, a long horse neigh suddenly echoed from outside.

Everyone woke up abruptly. Lu Feng and the other youths looked at each other in shock, their eyes filled with horror. "What happened? Who is calling?"

"Is an eerie thing coming? Didn't they say it's safe because of the experience?"

"Waaaah, if I had known, I wouldn't have come," a young girl said with a sob.

"Shut up!"

Lu Sandao gave a low shout and pricked up his ears.

He heard the sound of heavy, ragged breathing from outside, followed by the scream of a horse, and then the sound of something dragging on the ground.

Once the sounds completely vanished, Lu Sandao said, "It's not an evil spirit. It's just a demon beast that got hungry and stole a horse to eat. We'll go slaughter it tomorrow to give you all some experience. Go back to sleep. What are you afraid of? You're all going to be escorts in the future, yet you're scared of a single demon beast. What a bunch of cowards!"

After cursing, he immediately fell back into a deep sleep.

But Lu Feng and the other youths couldn't sleep. They stared at each other, their previous excitement about the "excursion" completely gone.

At the same time, curiosity grew in their hearts.

They had only heard people in the agency mention demon beasts and had occasionally eaten demon beast meat, but they had never seen a living one.

Tomorrow, with Third Grandfather leading the hunt, they would finally see one alive!

Hearing that they would hunt a demon beast, Zhang Lingshan was also secretly pleased.

Eating ordinary beast meat over the last two days had made his energy accumulation very slow. If he could eat demon beast meat, he could greatly accelerate his accumulation speed.

Early the next morning.

Pushing open the door, they indeed saw that one horse was missing, with a trail of blood being dragged up the mountain.

Lu Sandao ordered the head escort, Lu Fang, to keep some escorts at the mountain god temple to guard the belongings. Then, he took the lead, bringing Zhang Lingshan, Lei Bao, three Flesh Refining escorts, two scouts, and the young disciples like Lu Feng, following the blood trail up the mountain.

"You two, go scout and see how many demon beasts there are," Lu Sandao commanded.

The two scouts immediately disappeared into the forest.

Soon, they returned to report: "Third Master, there are two Scorpion-tailed Leopards. The male is injured. It was the female that dragged our horse to the male yesterday."

Lu Sandao nodded. "Very good. You can even distinguish between male and female; you must be quite capable. Then, I'll let you two go and take them out."

The two scouts looked embarrassed. "Third Master, please calm your anger. We were just guessing about the male and female, but it is a fact that one of the two Scorpion-tailed Leopards is injured."

"Fine. You handle the injured one. I'll go kill that beast that stole the horse yesterday!"

After saying this, Lu Sandao turned to Zhang Lingshan and said, "You come with me. Let me see the skills of Hong Zhengdao's favorite disciple."

"Alright."

Zhang Lingshan felt no fear and immediately followed him.

He hadn't fought a demon beast since the battle with the demon rabbit.

Encountering one today, with an expert like Lu Sandao presiding, was the perfect opportunity to test his current strength against this Scorpion-tailed Leopard.