This humble Taoist priest, Qianhe, begins his quest for immortality by slaying demons and monsters.

Chapter 135 Maoshan is a blessed land, Zhong Bai's opportunity

Seeing the fat cat's expression, Ao Tianlong immediately realized that his junior brother knew Zhong Bai's name.

"Junior brother?"

Ao Tianlong's soft call brought Fatty Cat back to his senses. Looking at his senior brother, Fatty Cat said solemnly and respectfully, "Senior brother, you have been in the desert for eighteen years and you are not very familiar with the situation in the Central Plains. I understand that, but it is better for us brothers not to mention the name of this Master Zhong."

"Oh? Junior brother, you also know that Master Zhong Bai is a Taoist master?"
To be honest, junior brother, I had some interaction with Daoist Zhong Bai on my way to Ping'an County.

"Ah! Senior Brother, you haven't offended Master Zhong, have you?"

Fat Cat was somewhat alarmed. He knew his eldest brother's personality well; he hated evil as if it were his enemy. What if…

“No, not at all.” Ao Tianlong shook his head and continued, “However, this Master Zhong Bai said that he is a true disciple of Maoshan, and even suggested that I go to Maoshan to receive the ordination in a while.”

"My senior brother believes that this Zhong Bai Zhenren, who has achieved Foundation Establishment at such a young age, must be no ordinary person, which is why he asked you, junior brother, about him."

"You scared me to death..."

Senior Brother, this is truly your good fortune. This Master Zhongbai is indeed a disciple of Maoshan, and he is also the first Daoist to be conferred a title by Maoshan in hundreds of years.

Before he was even thirty, he had already reached the Foundation Establishment stage. His deeds were too numerous for his senior brother to recount in a short time. However, one thing was certain: this Master Zhong was destined to become a giant in the Daoist sect!

As he spoke, Fat Cat looked at his senior brother with some envy. To be honest, being able to go to Maoshan to receive the ordination proved that Ao Tianlong had a chance to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm in his lifetime, while he, Fat Cat, had only reached the early stage of the sixth level of Qi Refining after working himself to the bone all his life.

Not to mention that he had no chance to get to know Zhong Bai, even if he did meet Zhong Bai, he knew that Zhong Bai would not think highly of him, let alone suggest that he go to Maoshan to receive ordination.

"So that's how it is, the Taoist Master of Maoshan!"

"Tsk tsk, Senior Brother is not only that, I heard that this Master Zhong is also a law enforcement elder of Maoshan."

Some time ago, there were even rumors that the Taoist priest from Maoshan was serving as an inspector in the mortal world in the underworld.

He was, you could say, a prominent figure.

Fat Cat looked on with longing, his eyes somewhat dazed, while Ao Tianlong fell into deep thought.

......................................................

Maoshan.

Upon returning to Maoshan, Zhong Bai immediately went to the main hall of the sect leader.

When Zhong Bai arrived, he saw Xuan Mingzi, his master, and even his grandmaster Uncle Ming Wanqian in the hall.

"Disciple Zhong Bai greets Master, Headmaster, and Grandmaster Uncle!"

Upon seeing Zhong Bai arrive, Xuan Mingzi looked at Ming Wanqian and said, "Uncle-Master Ming, you may speak!"

Ming Wanqian nodded.

Seeing Zhong Bai's somewhat curious expression, he decided to get straight to the point.

“Zhong Bai, the Ten Ancestors have already told me about your trip to the Underworld to meet with them. Now, the only people in Maoshan who know about the burden you bear are the sect leader and your master.”

Upon hearing this, Zhong Bai was immediately alarmed.

The burden on his shoulders? Isn't it the new world that the patriarch in the underworld discovered?
"Ahem, Grandmaster Uncle, you know?"

"You little rascal!"

Although the Tenth Patriarch forbade you to tell other people in Maoshan, it is still necessary for us to know about this matter.

The Tenth Patriarch gave us only one instruction: to use every means to enhance your strength before you reach one hundred years of age.

After much deliberation, we have decided to send you to a blessed land to cultivate for a period of time.

Upon hearing the name "Blessed Land and Grotto Heaven," Zhong Bai immediately thought of the true ancestors of Maoshan.

However, this might be a good thing for other Maoshan disciples, but for Zhong Bai, it really was just that.

He can continuously slay demons and monsters in the outside world to obtain demon-slaying points and accelerate his own cultivation, without having to enter any blessed lands.

Seeing that Zhong Bai was somewhat reluctant, Master Qian Yuan coughed.

"Cough cough!"

Upon hearing this, Zhong Bai saw his master wink at him and immediately understood that there was something fishy going on.

"Grandmaster Uncle, this disciple is willing!"

"Hahaha, you're not stupid, kid. We know your situation is special. But Zhong Bai, you want to recklessly use the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to infuse your body, but I know that this requires a physical body to support it. And now your physical body is difficult to improve. What you lack is the essence blood of demon beasts, isn't it?"

Upon hearing this, Zhong Bai was overjoyed.

"Grandmaster Uncle, your eyes are so discerning, nothing can escape your notice. This disciple also wishes to quickly improve the Upper Clarity Dragon Elephant Technique, but even Foundation Establishment Demon Generals are hard to find in the world, let alone Golden Core Demon Kings..."

Ming Wanqian nodded.

"That's natural, but my Maoshan Grotto Heaven and Blessed Land has the essence blood of the demon beasts you need!"

This is the real reason I'm sending you to the Blessed Land. It opens once every ten years, and this time it's only three months away. I'm telling you in advance so you can prepare and won't be completely lost when you enter.

“Nephew Zhong Bai, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth in the blessed land is more than ten times that of Maoshan now.”

It contains not only the essence of demonic beasts you need, but also the spiritual energy of heaven and earth that will make you extraordinary ten years from now.

This is an opportunity we need to seize.

Hearing that Sect Leader Xuanmingzi said the same thing, Zhong Bai, besides feeling hopeful, also started to plan how to quickly harvest a wave of demon-slaying points.

"I understand this matter!"

Back to the Hall of Law Enforcement.

Zhong Bai walked behind, while Master Qian Yuan smiled slightly after entering the hall.

“Disciple, the blessed land is a treasure trove. Among the elders of Maoshan, only those who have reached the Golden Core True Monarch level are qualified to go to the blessed land to cultivate. Your qualification is not only due to the favor of the Underworld Ancestor, but also your good fortune!”

Zhong Bai arrived and sat cross-legged, then asked, "Master, do you know of any places where large numbers of evil spirits gather?"

???

When Zhong Bai asked this question, Master Qian Yuan was somewhat taken aback. He was expecting Zhong Bai to ask about the Maoshan Grotto Heaven and Blessed Land, but he didn't expect to find out where evil spirits gathered.

"Disciple, what are you doing...?"

Zhong Bai remained calm.

"Master, I need to eliminate some evil spirits before I can enter the blessed land."

Zhong Bai's words were rather blunt, but Master Qian Yuan could probably guess the reason.

However, Zhong Bai did not say it explicitly, nor did he intend to ask further.

"A large number of evil spirits have gathered..."

Master Qian Yuan began to ponder.

"If we're talking about places that attract evil spirits, the closest one to Maoshan is Tengteng Town."

"But there's a flying zombie in Tengteng Town that's comparable to a Golden Core True Monarch. Even your Master Uncle isn't confident he can kill it. There are tens of thousands of zombies in Tengteng Town. Can you handle such a number, disciple?"

Zhong Bai fell into thought.

"Master, besides Tengteng Town?"

Master Qian Yuan responded quickly this time.

“There are a few hundred zombies in Coffin Mountain, and the leader is a silver-armored zombie king. Perhaps this one is more suitable for you, my disciple.”

"Coffin Mountain?"

"That's right. To be honest, Coffin Mountain is not within the territory of Maoshan. It belongs to Gezao Mountain, the lair of a band of mountain bandits a hundred years ago. For some unknown reason, all the hundreds of bandits in the lair died on the mountain. It just so happens to be a natural place for raising corpses. Since these zombies have never left Coffin Mountain, Gezao Mountain has never eradicated them. They are kept in reserve."

Zhong Bai understood what it meant; it was probably like the corpse-raising grounds of Gezao Mountain.

"Um... Master, since this is a corpse-raising ground in Gezao Mountain, isn't what we're doing a bit inappropriate?"

"Hehe, disciple, you don't know this. This corpse-raising ground does belong to Gezao Mountain."

However, there are very few corpse-driving cultivators left in Gezao Mountain, and the zombies in Coffin Mountain are of such poor quality that they are neither good to eat nor worth throwing away.

"My disciple, if you need it, I can simply write a letter and have you clean up this mountain of coffins."

"I see, thank you very much, Master!"

"We are master and disciple, no need for thanks. Let's deal with these bandits on Coffin Mountain first. If you still need evil spirits, then let's go to Tengteng Town."

That flying zombie is usually in a dormant state. As long as my disciple lures some zombies to the outskirts of Tengteng Town and secretly kills them, and runs away fast enough, he'll be fine.

Zhong Bai nodded with a smile. Having a master is really great; he's truly a master of ideas!
With only three months left before heading to the blessed land, Zhong Bai dared not delay even for the slightest moment.

After deciding on the target, Master Qian Yuan wrote a letter to Ge Zao Shan. In just two days, Ge Zao Shan replied and agreed to the matter. For Ge Zao Shan, it was worth it to exchange a naturally formed corpse-raising ground with several hundred zombies and a silver-armored zombie king for the friendship between Zhong Bai and Master Qian Yuan.

Inside the Hall of Law Enforcement.

When Zhong Bai heard his master say that Gezao Mountain had agreed to the matter, he couldn't help but smile.

“My disciple, before you go down the mountain, you can carve the Kui Niu Drum. It’s a trump card to save your life.”

Zhong Bai broke through to the ninth level of Qi Refining at the foot of the mountain. After returning to Maoshan, he was already at the stage of constructing the Taoist platform, so he never had the opportunity to carve the Kui Niu Drum imprint.

Now, Zhong Bai's descent from the mountain this time is no child's play. Even though Master Qian Yuan knew that his disciple's supernatural powers and magic were formidable, he still brought up this matter.

As the saying goes, it's always good to have many skills.

"Master, that is absolutely right!"

"Disciple, empty your mind and try to refine the Kui Niu Drum with your divine sense."

We bear the mark of a Maoshan disciple who has received ordination. Although the Kui Niu Drum, a magical artifact, has never developed sentience, it will not cause any backlash to Maoshan disciples. During the process of attempting to refine it, the Kui Niu Drum will automatically condense a mark in your consciousness.

"Once you reach the Foundation Establishment stage, obtaining the Kui Niu Drum imprint isn't difficult, unlike the Qi Refining stage where, without divine sense, you can only refine it through blood. Although I thought you could do it, blood refining is ten times more difficult than refining with divine sense."

As Zhong Bai listened, he released his divine sense to try and refine the Kui Niu Drum.

Just as Zhong Bai's divine sense enveloped the Kui Niu Drum, the thunderous energy emanating from the drum pushed his senses to the surface, preventing them from penetrating deeper.

At the same time, once the illusory Kui Niu drum was imprinted on Zhong Bai's consciousness, and as the imprint became clearer and clearer, Qian Yuan Zhenren was extremely surprised.

"This is... the divine sense of a mid-Foundation Establishment stage cultivator?"

This was something True Person Qian Yuan had not anticipated, after all, it had only been a short time since Zhong Bai broke through to the early stage of Foundation Establishment.
Zhong Bai did not release his aura when he returned to Maoshan this time, and it was impossible for Master Qian Yuan to use his divine sense to scan Zhong Bai's situation when he had nothing better to do, since that would be somewhat suspicious of spying.

He has already broken through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. Even True Person Qian Yuan couldn't help but roll his eyes at such a cultivation speed. He is truly the darling of heaven and earth!

Time passed slowly, and the Kui Niu Drum imprint on Zhong Bai's consciousness became clearer and clearer. Finally, Zhong Bai seemed to realize that it was impossible to continue imprinting the mark, so he simply withdrew his consciousness.

"Master, I have not failed you."

Master Qian Yuan was somewhat speechless. As a Daoist master in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, there was no possibility of failure.

"Of course it's impossible to fail..."

Alright, disciple, you can go down the mountain now. With your mid-Foundation Establishment cultivation, the Silver Armored Corpse King of Coffin Mountain probably won't last more than a few moves against you.

Originally, I said I would go down the mountain to accompany you, but now it seems that I don't need to.

As for Tengteng Town, if you really want to go there, just lure and kill him on the outskirts. You have the Ten Ancestral Tablets on you, so there's not much point for me to go with you. Neither the Silver Armor Corpse King nor the Golden Armor Corpse King could stop you, and I can't stop the flying zombies either...

Good luck!

Zhong Bai sensed a hint of bitterness in his master's tone, but he didn't know why. Obtaining demon-slaying points was the priority, and Zhong Bai didn't want to linger in Maoshan for too long.

(End of this chapter)