fantasy novels Chapter 25: Past Events of Maoshan, Suspected Opening of a Path
Chapter 25: Past Events of Maoshan, Suspected Opening of a Path
"Who's lurking around over there?" The burly man in the lead shouted sternly, noticing the commotion.
Jiang Jun told Cai Liang to stay where he was, then parted the reeds and leisurely approached: "Just a passerby. But since I've encountered injustice, I'll have to intervene."
The burly man at the head of the group recognized Jiang Jun. A hint of disdain flashed across his face, followed by surprise and suspicion. Finally, cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and he asked solemnly, "Which gang are you from?"
He was nearing the peak of the Refining Realm and was considered a powerful figure in Qingjiang City. However, he couldn't see through this mysterious person dressed in imperial robes at all.
The elite-level monster, the Devouring Toad, which had completed its spiritual connection and fusion with him and had already been refined, trembled instinctively, as if it had encountered a natural enemy.
"You don't deserve to know." Jiang Jun glanced at him indifferently.
The other two burly men were so angry they jumped up and down, but the leader stopped them by raising his hand.
He gritted his teeth and said, "Sir, this is a private matter between our Azure Dragon Society and the Azure Bamboo Temple. Do you really want to interfere? Our sect leader is a Transcendent Realm expert!"
"So what?" Jiang Jun's expression remained unchanged. "I'm going to handle this today. Either you leave on your own, or I'll give you a ride."
The old Taoist stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Zhou Hu, your Azure Dragon Society bullies others by relying on your power. Although my Azure Bamboo Temple is weak, we have never been afraid. Even without this gentleman, I will not back down an inch."
The burly man at the head of the group, Zhou Hu, snorted coldly, his gaze lingering on Jiang Jun for a long while before finally giving up: "Let's go!"
Jiang Jun secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw them leave.
He was not a transcendent being after all. Even if he could win by joining forces with the old Taoist, it would still be a tough battle, and he would easily lose his superior demeanor in front of Cai Liang.
After the three men had walked away dejectedly, the old Taoist turned around and bowed gratefully: "I am Lin Zhengyang, and this is my disciple Lin Dingxuan. Thank you for your righteous help! May I ask your name?"
He also couldn't quite understand Jiang Jun.
Lin Dingxuan, who was standing nearby, quickly put away the strange object and bowed respectfully, saying, "Thank you, senior!"
Jiang Jun waved his hand: "You're too kind, Daoist. I heard that Qingzhu Temple has a pure and virtuous reputation and is known for its charitable deeds, so I stepped in to meddle."
Seeing that he had no intention of revealing his name, the master and disciple did not press him further and exchanged a few more polite words.
Cai Liang, who was behind him, stepped forward and naturally took over the socializing.
Lin Dingxuan then bent down and split open the head of the strange child that had caused the conflict. There was a strange stone embedded inside. He quickly dug it out and handed it to Cai Liang: "Uncle, this is for the senior as a thank-you gift..."
Twenty-nine-year-old Cai Liang reluctantly accepted the fourteen-year-old boy's address as "uncle," but refused the gift: "Keep this strange stone for yourself. I have plenty here..."
He then started chatting with Lin Zhengyang.
After a conversation, Jiang Jun learned that this was Lin Dingxuan's first time entering the Ghost Realm, and Lin Zhengyang, worried about him, had entered with him using a secret method to protect him.
The three burly men, named Zhou Hu, Zhou Biao, and Zhou Xiao, were stewards of the Azure Dragon Society, a folk organization of demon hunters.
Although their meeting was by chance, the two had a long-standing conflict over the demolition of the Taoist temple, which led to their confrontation over a blue fish-shaped ghost child.
Cai Liang asked curiously, "I've heard of the Maoshan Sect's reputation. But judging from what those three said, Maoshan doesn't even have any extraordinary inheritances. What makes their Azure Dragon Society so special?"
Lin Zhengyang shook his head and carefully explained, "Extraordinary experts and extraordinary inheritances are two different things."
The Divine Bureau has developed the "Three Souls and Seven Spirits Method." As long as the strong in the system follow this path, they can continuously grow stronger. The strongest known one is currently at the seventh level of the Extraordinary Realm, and it is said that the highest level can reach the tenth level of the Extraordinary Realm.
For example, at Longhu Mountain, the Old Celestial Master created the "Dragon Tiger Golden Elixir Method." Although he only recently reached the sixth level of cultivation, the power of this method is such that even at the seventh level, few could suppress it.
But some people are different.
They often break through to the extraordinary level by chance, such as the president of the Azure Dragon Society. However, the method of advancement cannot be replicated, and it is difficult to make any further progress after the promotion.
The Maoshan Sect also has a few experts of this extraordinary realm, but they all broke through by chance and could not advance any further.
When the Transcendent Realm was first opened up, they were still able to maintain their deterrent power; but now that the Transcendent Realm is expanding deeper and deeper, they are gradually falling behind.
Qingzhu Temple was a branch temple of the Maoshan Sect in Qidong Province that was incorporated before the opening of the Transcendent Realm, with the intention of sharing resources such as strange objects.
However, as the situation changed, the Maoshan Sect retreated completely, and Qingzhu Temple naturally became a discarded pawn.
Cai Liang was somewhat puzzled: "Even though the Maoshan Sect is facing difficulties in its development, the Qinglong Society only has one extraordinary individual, how dare they..."
Lin Dingxuan, standing nearby, reluctantly chimed in, "Qidong Province is, after all, not Jiangdong Province. With the Laoshan Sect holding sway here, the Maoshan Sect is simply too far away to reach us..."
Jiang Jun understood immediately: when Maoshan was in power, it must have had many conflicts with other Taoist sects. Now that it's fallen from grace, everyone is kicking it while it's down, and Qingzhu Temple has also suffered.
Jiang Jun neither wanted to nor could he get involved in the infighting among these Taoist sects. Now that he had helped the Qingzhu Temple master and disciples out of their predicament, he was about to take his leave to search for the Azure Fish Ghost Child.
"Please wait, sir," Lin Zhengyang hurriedly said. "My Qingzhu Temple has a secret technique, most skilled at finding the Azure Fish Ghost Child. Thanks to you for rescuing us today, let me lend you a hand as a way of repaying you, what do you say?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Jun nodded: "In that case, let's look out for each other and search together. The strange stones we find will be divided equally between us."
Lin Zhengyang took out a compass, which had a sinister aura and a strong fishy smell.
He bit his finger, forcing out a little blood, which fell onto the pointer as he muttered an incantation.
The pointer spun rapidly and soon pointed to the left front.
With the compass as their guide, the four of them hunted the Blue Fish Ghost Child with great efficiency.
In just half a day, they killed six elite-level ghost children and hundreds of wandering-level ghost children, obtained four elite-level ghost stones, and accumulated a lot of ordinary ghost stones.
Jiang Jun used his true form to suppress the evil spirits, and both his lightsaber and crimson flames shocked the Lin family master and his disciples.
Considering the recent activities of the Divine Bureau and the three types of protective objects they are promoting, Lin Zhengyang's estimation of Jiang Jun's strength has quietly risen from the Perfect Refinement Realm to the Transcendent Realm.
He had been stuck in the Refining Realm for many years and had seen several Transcendent Realm experts, but he had never seen anyone with such a pure and upright aura as Jiang Jun.
Moreover, this master's every move exudes neither eeriness nor yin energy, displaying the demeanor of a high-ranking Taoist priest, perhaps even closer to the aura of a true Taoist master than the old Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain.
Unaware that his teacher had been bluffing, Cai Liang, seeing that the two were interested in the power of suppressing objects, casually explained the principles of suppressing objects.
Upon hearing that Jiang Jun had opened his own method, replacing the evil energy with the power of suppressing objects, abandoning the yin energy to cultivate true energy, and then merging and refining the suppressing objects, Lin Zhengyang was even more excited.
"This must be an unparalleled master who has established his own lineage, a true pioneer of the Dao!"
He solemnly bowed to Jiang Jun: "You are truly compassionate! Not only have you cultivated the Dao and immortal arts, but you also have the grand ambition to open up new paths. I deeply admire you."
After a slight hesitation, he made up his mind: "According to my young friend Cai Liang, the True Man's path to enlightenment is still not fully developed and requires drawing on the strengths of various schools. In addition to the Maoshan lineage, my Qingzhu Temple has three volumes of cultivation methods, which I would like to offer for the True Man's study."
Cai Liang, standing to the side, looked delighted.
Lin Dingxuan looked longingly at him.
Only the tassels on Jiang Jun's forehead trembled slightly, completely concealing his utter bewilderment: "Who am I? Where am I? How did I become a real person?"