Black Mountain Scouts

Several people covered in blood stumbled and ran down the mountain path. The one in front was a burly man with a thick beard, about forty years old, holding a chipped ring-pommel sword with dried blood all over the blade, and blood was still seeping from the wound on his shoulder.

Behind him were four equally disheveled men. Two of them were supporting each other, and one had an arrow in his leg; the shaft was broken, and the arrowhead was still embedded in his flesh.

They were dressed in matching black short jackets with the words "Zhenyuan" embroidered on their chests; they were none other than Chief Escort Zhou and his men, whom they had spotted from afar on the official road earlier.

"Master, save me!" When Zhou Biaotou saw the wooden sign that read "Sanyi Temple" hanging at the entrance of the courtyard, he practically rushed in.

His knees buckled and he knelt on the bluestone steps at the courtyard gate. His ring-pommel sword clattered to the ground at his feet. He didn't bother to pick it up; he just gasped for breath.

Zhao Fengnian quickly put away the fireball and ran over to help him. Chief镖师 Zhou grabbed his arm, his fingers gripping it tightly, and his lips trembled several times before he could speak coherently.

The Zhenyuan Escort Agency accepted a shipment to the north, transporting a batch of medicinal herbs and several antiques. When they reached the foot of Black Mountain, they were suddenly ambushed by a monster. The monster pounced out from a pile of rocks by the roadside, moving so fast that the escort agency's men didn't have time to form a defensive formation and were scattered.

Several of the escorts died, and the rest fought their way back to a mountain valley, where they managed to hold out only because of the narrow terrain.

The monsters were still surrounding them. He and several other skilled fighters fought desperately to break through and seek help. They were chased by the monsters all the way. When they reached the vicinity of Sanyi Temple, the monsters chasing them suddenly slowed down, as if they were unwilling to get close to the area of ​​Sanyi Temple.

"They deliberately drove us this way," Zhou Biaotou said through gritted teeth. "Those beasts can talk. They said, 'Let them go beg the newcomer.'"

Zhao Fengnian paused, supporting Zhou Biaotou's hand. He turned to look at Liu Jin by the stone table. Liu Jin put down the demonic energy ball in his hand and glanced at the dark gray forest at the end of the mountain path. Several dark figures flashed by in the forest, their outlines indistinct in the twilight, but their movements were clearly not human.

His divine sense spread out, covering the entire mountain forest, before withdrawing after a moment. There were no powerful demons present; the auras of those dark figures were mixed and weak, at least two levels weaker than those of the tree demons.

Moreover, they merely lingered far outside the Sanyi Temple's perimeter, not daring to approach, clearly wary of the aura of the Samadhi True Fire.

"Brother, this is clearly a reconnaissance mission," Zhao Fengnian said in a low voice. "They've been sent by Black Mountain to test us."

Liu Jin nodded: "Go ahead. Practice."

Zhao Fengnian pointed to the tip of his nose, then grinned, revealing a set of white teeth. He stood up, tucked the hem of his new short brown coat into his belt, and flexed his wrists, revealing the fiery red scales on the back of his hands.

Zhao Fengnian followed Chief Escort Zhou back along the mountain path. As dusk deepened, the pine forest on both sides of the path swayed in the evening breeze, casting strange and distorted shadows on the ground.

He ran very fast, his steps light. Zhou, the镖头 (bodyguard), was injured but managed to keep up behind him and give him directions. He was secretly surprised that this young Taoist priest had such good stamina.

They quickly arrived at the foot of the mountain, and sure enough, there was a rocky ravine beside the official road leading to Black Mountain.

Several overturned caravans blocked the entrance to the mountain pass, their medicinal herbs scattered all over the ground, some packets stained dark red with blood. The caravan members hid behind the carts, retaliating with broken stones and arrows, but they were clearly on the verge of collapse.

There were about a dozen monsters surrounding them, mostly minor demons. There were a few short, gray-skinned rat spirits with sharp ears and teeth; three or four wolf demons with human bodies and wolf heads, wielding crudely made spiked clubs; and two ghosts floating in mid-air, resembling tattered black cloths.

Zhao Fengnian took a deep breath, flipped his right hand, and three fireballs appeared simultaneously in his palm. With a flick of his wrist, the three fireballs traced three arcs, accurately striking the two rat demons and the ghost.

The rat demon was blown to pieces, collapsing before it could even scream; the ghost was pierced by the fireball, its black, cloth-like body burned with a large hole, emitting a piercing shriek as it desperately tried to float upwards, but it vanished into the night before it had gone more than a few feet.

The remaining monsters all turned their heads, their eerie green pupils forming a sinister galaxy in the darkness. The largest wolf demon raised its spiked club and charged towards Zhao Fengnian.

Zhao Fengnian did not dodge. He clasped his hands together in front of his chest, and the scales on his arms instantly spread to his shoulders. The muscles in his legs swelled slightly, and his dragon muscles were strengthened.

The wolf demon's spiked club came crashing down with a whooshing sound. He dodged the clubhead by sidestepping it, and grabbed the handle with his right hand. He squeezed it tightly with his five fingers, and the scales rubbed against the wooden handle, making a piercing creaking sound.

The wolf demon tried to pull back with all its might, but couldn't budge it. Zhao Fengnian conjured a fireball in his left hand and pressed it directly against the wolf demon's chest. The fireball exploded on the wolf demon's chest, and the wolf demon screamed as it released its spiked club, staggering backward. A patch of charred blackened skin and torn flesh appeared on its chest.

Upon seeing this, the remaining monsters let out a cry and scattered in all directions. But they hadn't gone far when they all stopped, as if some invisible force had blocked their path.

They hesitated and turned back, their eerie green pupils filled with fear. They dared not flee forward, nor dared to return to fight, and stood frozen in place, trembling.

Zhao Fengnian noticed this detail: they weren't afraid of him, but of some being lurking in the shadows observing everything. The Black Mountain Demon had sent them to test the Sanyi Temple; now that they had failed their mission, they would die if they returned. He raised his hand, preparing to give them a quick death.

"Wait a minute." Liu Jin's voice suddenly rang in his ear, very softly, as if whispered, but there was clearly no one around. This was telepathic communication. Zhao Fengnian paused for a moment, then pretended to scratch his head, his ears perked up.

"Use the Gluttony Seal. Although these monsters are minor demons, they have the rudiments of a demon core within them, and their life essence is much richer than that of ordinary wild beasts. Absorbing it with the Gluttony Seal will accelerate your Qi cultivation."

Zhao Fengnian lowered his hand from his head and his gaze fell on the wolf demon closest to him. He took a deep breath, and the Gluttony Mark deep within his soul slowly opened.

A dark red thread shot out from his fingertip and burrowed into the wolf demon's wound. The wolf demon convulsed violently, its skin withered away at a visible speed, and the eerie light in its eyes quickly went out.

The energy recovered by the silk thread flowed into Zhao Fengnian's body through the soul channel. He closed his eyes and sensed it. This energy was more than ten times stronger than the cold porridge he had absorbed before. He could vaguely feel a trace of extremely weak demonic essence in it, which was transformed into the most basic Qi by the Qi fire and replenished his dantian.

He opened his eyes, his expression somewhat complicated, but he quickly regained his composure and walked towards the remaining monsters.

After the battle, Zhao Fengnian helped the镖局 (escort agency) men right the overturned caravan and reload the scattered medicinal herbs. Chief镖头 Zhou counted the number of people; six of the escorts were dead, and the rest were all wounded, but the goods in the caravan were mostly intact.

He walked up to Zhao Fengnian, supporting his bandaged shoulder, and knelt on one knee: "Thank you so much for saving my life, Daoist Master. Zhenyuan Escort Agency has no way to repay you. If you ever need our help in the future, just say the word, Daoist Master, and I, Zhou, will do my utmost."

Zhao Fengnian helped him up, explaining that he wasn't the abbot, but merely a servant in the temple. Zhou, the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort), was taken aback and couldn't help but ask, "Then where is your abbot?"

Zhao Fengnian glanced back at the twilight at the end of the official road. Liu Jin's figure slowly emerged from the twilight, his steps unhurried, as if he were taking a stroll after dinner. He reached the entrance of the mountain pass, glanced at the withered monster corpse on the ground, and nodded to Zhao Fengnian.

Then he turned to the back of the pile of rocks deep in the ravine, his gaze passing over the layers of stone shadows and landing on the edge of a dense forest further away.

Several well-hidden demonic energies were rapidly retreating, fleeing towards Black Mountain. He withdrew his gaze, not giving chase, but simply turned and walked back, tossing a sentence to Zhao Fengnian as he passed by: "Come back when you're done cleaning up."