Liaozhai: Immortality Begins with Becoming Yan Chixia's Apprentice

Chapter 31: The human heart is full of ghosts

It's that same trick again.

This wasn't the first time Zhou Ning had faced this kind of magic.

He used his lightness skill to weave and dodge among the tentacles, while constantly throwing out "exorcising talismans" to clear away the approaching tentacles.

"No, we can't hold out much longer like this."

Zhou Ning felt a growing urgency. His gaze swept around and he suddenly noticed the black incense burner in the center of the open space.

The black-robed men seemed to be casting their spells through that incense burner.

The black smoke rising from the incense burner is of the same origin as their magic.

"The core of this evil magic is that incense burner."

Zhou Ning made a decisive move, ceasing his entanglement with the man in black robes, and shot towards the incense burner like an arrow.

"Stop him!" the black-robed man in the middle shouted sharply.

The three men in black robes attacked simultaneously, sending three black beams of light hurtling towards Zhou Ning.

Zhou Ning gritted his teeth, poured all his inner energy into his protective aura, and withstood the impact of the beam of light as he continued to charge forward.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Three black beams of light struck his protective aura, producing a dull thud.

Zhou Ning felt a tightness in his chest and a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, but he did not stop walking.

Closer, closer.

The incense burner is right in front of me.

Zhou Ning concentrated all the remaining internal energy into the tip of the Qingfeng Sword, and then thrust it fiercely towards the incense burner.

"break!"

A highly refined cyan light condensed at the tip of the sword, piercing the incense burner like a steel needle.

"boom!"

The incense burner exploded, and black smoke scattered everywhere.

The three men in black robes screamed simultaneously, clutching their chests and staggering backward.

Their evil magic has been broken.

Zhou Ning seized the opportunity to press his advantage, pulling out the last two "evil-repelling talismans" from his waist and throwing them at the two men in black robes.

Two golden beams of light struck them precisely in the chest.

"what!"

The two men in black robes were scorched by the golden light, their bodies engulfed in golden flames. They rolled and roared on the ground before turning into two piles of ashes.

Only the black-robed man in the middle remained.

He was the strongest, and although he was injured, it was not fatal.

He clutched his chest, glaring venomously at Zhou Ning.

"Kid, you wait, Black Mountain won't let you get away with this."

He suddenly crushed a black token, which turned into a wisp of black mist and disappeared into the air.

escaped.

Zhou Ning did not give chase. He was panting heavily when he turned to Wang, the local gentry.

The local gentryman was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground, trembling all over.

Seeing Zhou Ning approaching, he immediately knelt down and begged for mercy.

"Brother Zhou, spare me! Spare me! I was forced into this, those men in black forced me."

Zhou Ning looked at him coldly:

"Forced? You were forced to dig a secret chamber in the back mountain and create the Corpse King, were you forced to do that too?"

The local gentryman's face turned ashen, his lips trembled, and he was unable to speak.

Zhou Ning walked up to him, squatted down, and pulled a small black bottle from his sleeve.

Upon opening the bottle, a pungent medicinal smell wafted out.

"Poison?" Zhou Ning asked.

Wang, the local gentry, lowered his head, not daring to look at him.

Zhou Ning carefully put away the small bottle, stood up, and said to Li Laoshuan, who had rushed over:

"Village head, go and release the villagers. Wang, the local gentry, hand him over to the government."

Li Laoshuan nodded repeatedly and led a few bold villagers to rescue the imprisoned villagers.

Wang, the local gentry, was bound hand and foot and held aside.

He lowered his head, remained silent, and his eyes were filled with despair.

Zhou Ning looked at him, a complex mix of emotions welling up inside her.

This man was originally the richest man in Baihe Village, with fields, land, a wife, and children.

He could have enjoyed a life of wealth and luxury, but greed and ambition led him down this path of no return.

The human heart is a den of demons, even more so than evil spirits.

His master's words rang in his ears once again.

The next morning, the villagers of Baihe Village gathered at the village entrance and watched as Wang, the local gentry, was put onto an oxcart and sent to the county government.

The local gentryman, Wang, hung his head, his face ashen, his eyes filled with despair. His wife and son stood in the crowd, tears streaming down their faces, but not a single person stepped forward to plead for him.

"Serves you right!"

"brute!"

"He's killed so many people; even being flogged to death ten times wouldn't be enough!"

The villagers cursed and some even threw rotten vegetable leaves and rotten eggs at Wang, the local gentry.

Zhou Ning stood aside, quietly watching this scene.

He felt no joy at vanquishing demons and evil spirits, but rather an indescribable heaviness.

While Wang, the local gentry, certainly deserved to die, the villagers who were killed by his evil magic would never return.

Those innocent people who were bitten to death by the Corpse King, those villagers who spent every day in fear.

Their pain will not disappear just because Wang, the local gentry, has been brought to justice.

"Brother Zhou."

Li Laoshuan walked to his side, his eyes reddening:

"We owe you so much this time. If it weren't for you, our Baihe Village would be finished."

Zhou Ning shook his head: "Village head, you're too kind. Exorcising demons and monsters is simply our duty."

Li Laoshuan took out a tattered booklet from his pocket and handed it to Zhou Ning:

"This is a book passed down through generations in our Baihe Village, called 'Local Landscape Records.' It records the feng shui and legends of the nearby mountains and rivers."

"I don't understand these things, so there's no use for me keeping them. Young Master Zhou is a cultivator, so perhaps he can use them."

Zhou Ning took the booklet and opened it.

The booklet's paper was yellowed and brittle, with severely worn edges, clearly indicating its age.

The writing inside is handwritten, and some parts are already blurred.

He casually flipped through a few pages, and suddenly, a word caught his eye.

"Montenegro".

Zhou Ning felt a chill run down his spine and carefully read that passage.

"...Black Mountain, located in the coldest part of the north, is shrouded in mist and clouds year-round, never seeing the sun. Legend has it that a great demon dwells in the mountain, known as the 'Black Mountain Demon,' who has cultivated for a thousand years and possesses boundless magical power. The people in the mountain are all his servants, and are forbidden from leaving for generations..."

Zhou Ning's brows furrowed tightly.

Black Mountain Demon.

This wasn't the first time he'd heard this name.

The last time the man in black robes died, he also mentioned "Black Mountain".

There was also the Taoist priest Wang, the enemy of the white-clad women, who was said to have also joined the Black Mountain sect.

It seems that this Black Mountain Demon is far more terrifying than he imagined.

"Village head, I'll accept this book." Zhou Ning carefully put the booklet away.

Thank you.

Old Li quickly waved his hand, "Brother Zhou, you're too kind. You saved the lives of our entire village, what's a book compared to that?"

Zhou Ning then gave Li Laoshuan some more instructions.

Villagers are cremated after death, not buried.

Every year during the Qingming, Zhongyuan, and Hanyi Festivals, people burn incense and pray at the village entrance.

The cave in the back mountain must be sealed off; do not go in again.

Li Laoshuan wrote everything down and expressed his deepest gratitude.

Zhou Ning declined the villagers' offer to stay, mounted his horse, and embarked on the journey back to Lanruo Temple.

Throughout the journey, he kept recalling the records about Heishan in the "Local Landscape Records".

The Black Mountain Demon, who has cultivated for a thousand years, possesses boundless magical power.

With his current strength, he probably couldn't even defeat a single finger of the Black Mountain Demon.

But as Master said, on the path of cultivation, one either progresses or regresses.

He cannot stop because he is afraid.

It was already afternoon when we returned to Lanruo Temple.

Yan Chixia was meditating in the main hall when he heard footsteps and opened his eyes.

"You're back?"

Zhou Ning bowed respectfully and reported everything that had happened in Baihe Village.

When Yan Chixia spoke of how Wang, the local gentry, was willing to sacrifice the lives of the entire village in order to join the Black Mountain gang, a chill flashed in his eyes.