Liaozhai: Immortality Begins with Becoming Yan Chixia's Apprentice

Chapter 69 Bloodbath Against the Spirit Serpent

The wooden box was opened, revealing a bead about the size of a thumb, entirely golden, radiating a soft glow.

The light was warm and peaceful, carrying a power to purify everything.

Zhou Ning took out the relic and carefully put it away.

"Master, those who have gone missing..."

Huiming said:

"They were captured by the people of the Black Mountain. They come every few days and search the entire temple. I was able to avoid being discovered by hiding in a secret room."

He pointed to a stone slab in the corner of the stone tower: "The secret chamber is down there."

Zhou Ning moved the stone slab, revealing a dark hole.

He jumped down and found that the secret room was not large, with some dry food and water, as well as a few changes of clothes.

"Master, have you been guarding this place alone for thirty years?"

Huiming nodded: "My life was bought with the lives of my fellow disciples. I cannot let them down."

A sense of respect welled up in Zhou Ning's heart.

"Master, come with me. It's not safe here."

Huiming shook his head:

"This humble monk cannot leave. This humble monk must stay here and wait for those evil people to return. Now that the Buddha's relics have found their home, this humble monk can rest assured. Now this humble monk will personally avenge them."

Zhou Ning knew he couldn't persuade him otherwise, so he could only say, "Then take care, Master. I will protect the relic."

Huiming nodded and bowed deeply to him: "Thank you, benefactor."

Zhou Ning left the stone pagoda, returned to the monks' quarters, and left Longquan Temple with Wang Er.

It was already evening when we returned to Cangwu City.

Zhou Ning escorted Wang Er home and then went to Wang Yuanwai's house to collect a reward of fifty taels of silver.

He did not linger in the city, but left Cangwu City overnight and continued north.

As he walked, he took out the Buddha relic and examined it closely.

The golden light stood out starkly in the darkness.

"Buddha's relics... perhaps they can deal with the Black Mountain Demon."

He carefully put away the relic, quickened his pace, and walked deeper into the vast mountains.

His next target is the thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum.

According to the "Local Landscape Records", a thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum grows on the highest peak of Cangmang Mountain, which is one of the key materials for refining the Foundation Building Pill.

But that place is also the most dangerous part of the Cangmang Mountains.

The main peak of Cangmang Mountain is called "Tongtian Peak".

The peaks rise thousands of feet high, piercing the clouds; the mountain slopes are so steep that even monkeys would find them difficult to climb.

Standing at the foot of the mountain, Zhou Ning looked up at the majestic peak and felt a surge of awe.

Above the mountainside, clouds and mist swirl around, obscuring the peak's appearance.

The mountain wind howled, whipping up loose stones and withered branches that stung my face.

"The thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum grows on the cliff at the summit."

Recalling the records in the "Local Landscape Records", Zhou Ning gripped his Qingfeng sword and began to climb.

The mountain road is rugged and becomes steeper as you go up.

At first there was a faint path, but when you got halfway up the mountain, all that was left were bare rocks and sparse shrubs.

Zhou Ning used his lightness technique to leap and climb among the rocks, using both hands and feet to move forward with difficulty.

One hour, two hours, three hours...

The sun rises from the east to its zenith, then slides back down to the west.

Zhou Ning's clothes were soaked with sweat, and his arms ached so much that he could barely lift them, but he didn't stop.

He knew that rare and precious materials like the thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum often grow in the most dangerous places and are not easily obtained by people.

Finally, as the sun began to set, he reached the summit.

The summit of Tongtian Peak is a small flat area covered with thick snow.

The cold wind was so biting that it was almost impossible for people to stand.

Zhou Ning wrapped his robe tighter around himself and looked around.

On the north side of the summit is a cliff.

On the cliff face, a few sparse plants grow.

On the steepest section of the cliff, a large Ganoderma lucidum was emitting a faint golden light.

The Ganoderma lucidum was as big as a washbasin, with thick leaves, wavy edges, and a layer of fine hairs on the surface.

In the center of the Ganoderma lucidum grows a small red fruit, emitting an enticing aroma.

It's a thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum, and it has already produced fruit.

Zhou Ning was overjoyed.

Ganoderma lucidum fruit is the fruit that Ganoderma lucidum only produces once every thousand years, and its medicinal effects are several times stronger than those of Ganoderma lucidum itself.

With it, the success rate of refining Foundation Building Pills will be greatly increased.

He walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down.

The cliff face is steep, almost vertical, and below it is shrouded in mist, with no bottom visible.

The Ganoderma lucidum grew on a protruding rock on the cliff face, about five or six zhang (approximately 10-15 meters) above the top of the cliff.

Zhou Ning took out a rope from his bag, tied it around his waist, and attached the other end to a solid boulder.

He took a deep breath and slowly slid down the cliff face.

The cliff face was covered with moss and was extremely slippery.

Zhou Ning inserted his Qingfeng sword into the crevice to steady himself and moved down step by step.

Five zhang, four zhang, three zhang...

We're getting closer and closer to the Ganoderma lucidum.

Just as he was about to reach the Ganoderma lucidum, suddenly, a dark shadow darted out from a cave on the cliff.

It was a giant black snake, as thick as a bowl, covered in fine scales, with its eyes burning with a ghostly green light.

It opened its blood-red maw and lunged at Zhou Ning.

Zhou Ning was prepared; he swung his body and dodged the snake's bite.

At the same time, he drew his Evil-Repelling Sword and slashed it down on the snake's head.

"Ding!"

The sword blade struck the scales, sending sparks flying.

Only a faint white mark remained on the giant snake's head.

Zhou Ning felt a chill run down his spine; this giant snake was even more ferocious than the python in Yunmengze.

It is clearly the guardian of this thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum, having lingered here for countless years.

The giant snake missed its attack, then lashed out with its tail, sweeping towards Zhou Ning.

Zhou Ning used his lightness technique to dodge and weave along the cliff face.

However, the ropes restricted his range of movement, preventing him from moving over a large area.

The giant snake's tail swept across the cliff face, sending rocks flying and blinding Zhou Ning.

"This can't go on."

Zhou Ning gritted his teeth, pulled out an "evil-repelling talisman" from his waist, and threw it at the giant snake.

"disease!"

The talisman transformed into a golden ray of light and struck the giant snake's abdomen.

"hiss!"

The giant snake let out a scream as a charred wound appeared on its abdomen, from which wisps of black smoke rose.

Enraged, it opened its mouth and spewed out a cloud of black poisonous mist.

As the poisonous fog spread, Zhou Ning quickly held his breath, but the fog still seeped into his skin, making him feel dizzy.

"not good!"

Zhou Ning bit his tongue, and the sharp pain brought him back to his senses.

He desperately circulated his "Innate Qi," condensing his true essence into the tip of his sword to unleash the "Demon-Slaying Slash."

A dazzling cyan sword aura shot straight towards the giant snake's head.

"Pfft!"

The sword energy pierced through the giant snake's head, and green blood gushed out.

The giant snake let out a desperate hiss as its body detached from the cliff and plunged into the bottomless abyss.

Zhou Ning, panting heavily, sheathed his sword.

He reached out and uprooted the thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum, carefully placing it along with its red fruit into his bag.

"I've got the thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum."

He climbed back to the top of the cliff using the rope.

Zhou Ning collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

He had exhausted most of his internal energy, and his arms were still trembling slightly, but his heart was filled with joy.

I've already acquired the ambergris and the thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum.

Next, he needs to find the Fire Lotus from the Earth's Core and the water from the Frozen Pool.

According to the "Local Landscape Records", the Earth Core Fire Lotus grows deep in the Flaming Mountains in the south, where magma surges and nothing grows.

The water of the Cold Pool is located in the extremely cold north, where it remains frozen year-round.

One in the south, one in the north, thousands of miles apart.

"Looks like we need to go to the Flaming Mountains first," Zhou Ning muttered to himself.

He stood up, preparing to descend the mountain, when he suddenly felt the communication jade talisman in his bosom become slightly warm.