The Young Swordsman: The Taoist Priest of Qingcheng Has Descended the Mountain

Zhou Zhenhuan nodded: "Okay, how do you want to trade?"

"I'll tell you what I know, and you'll let me go."

Zhou Zhenhuan touched his chin: "It's not quite enough."

The rabbit gritted its teeth: "I swear a mighty oath to the heavens and demons that if you release me, I will leave immediately. Taoist, don't push your luck. If I fight to the death, even someone as strong as you won't be able to withstand it."

You humans have an old saying: even a rabbit will bite when cornered.

Zhou Zhenhuan seemed genuinely threatened, and nodded with a light laugh: "That makes sense. Okay, deal."

"You swear you'll let me go."

"Don't be ridiculous. Would someone like me lie to you about a rabbit?"

Tianmoji seemed unaccustomed to the rabbit's body, squirming a few times before nodding: "Alright, ask whatever you want."

Zhou Zhenhuan shifted to a more comfortable position: "Why did the celestial being come down?"

The rabbit plopped down on the table, hugging its two short legs.

"Isn't the problem obvious? They're short-staffed."

"That's right, there are four great immortal palaces in this outer world."

Corresponding to your far western region is the Lingshan Buddhist Palace.

The far north is the Heavenly Heart Mysterious Palace, the far south is the Guanshi Zizai Palace, and the far east is closely related to your Taoist sect, and is called the Lingxiao Heavenly Palace.

Zhou Huanzhen's heart skipped a beat: "There is no Bai Yujing as you mentioned before."

"That's right, Baiyujing is located in the center, but Baiyujing is quite special, it's more like a secret realm."

The four celestial palaces would wage war against each other every year, resulting in rivers of blood. Then they would determine the winners, which would be something like the "Top Ranking" created by your human race, but in the outer realms, it would be called the "Heavenly Ranking".

Those who rank in the top ten of the Heavenly Ranking can enter the Jade Capital.

The more slots a palace occupies among the four celestial palaces, the more fortune it will receive.

There was once a person who entered Baiyujing and escaped from it. He was the only person to enter Baiyujing and then walk out of it.

He's gone mad. He says that the Jade Capital holds unparalleled immortal techniques and endless elixirs.

As the rabbit finished speaking, Zhou was surprised to find that a complex expression appeared on the rabbit's face in a very human-like way.

"Shouldn't this be a good thing? Why say he's crazy?"

The rabbit put down its two short legs that it was holding, lay down on the table, and crossed its legs.

"Because he said those things were all bait, and that Bai Yujing was eating people."

So everyone said he was crazy.

When all four great immortal palaces outside the realm say he's gone mad, then whether he's mad or not is no longer important.

Some say he obtained a supreme celestial treasure from the Jade Palace, which is why the four great celestial palaces have all issued kill orders against him.

Zhou Zhenhuan popped a piece of dried peach into his mouth and nodded: "So he ran down here?"

The rabbit glanced at what he was eating and actually swallowed a mouthful of saliva, but Zhou Zhen pretended not to notice.

"Yes, but he didn't expect that there would be a powerful figure in the human world who could kill him."

So before he died, perhaps out of revenge, he tore a piece off that barrier.

You don't understand the outer realms. Cultivation there is very slow. The four great immortal palaces divide up the fortune, and everyone relies on fortune to cultivate.

Moreover, it's very difficult for those so-called celestial beings to have children; every time one dies, there's one less.

In the past, some people could ascend the path once their cultivation reached a certain level, but now the path is gone.

When they discovered that the barrier was broken and that it was easier to cultivate on the ground, with people as numerous as ants, they naturally wanted to come down.

Firstly, it allows them to recruit more disciples, and secondly, it provides them with more people to enslave—a sure-fire way to make a profit.

It's a pity they weren't treated as gods, but rather as enemies. I must say, you human guardians are all truly exceptionally talented.

The rabbit moved to the edge of the table and reached out to grab the dried peach from Zhou Zhenhuan's hand, but Zhou Zhenhuan stuffed it directly into his mouth and slapped it across the face.

Chapter 104 A Dead City

What kind of person is Zhou Zhen?

If Zhao Yuzhen were to give her evaluation, she would say that he is sometimes reliable, but mostly unreliable.

If a few younger people were to evaluate him, he would naturally be considered a kind and benevolent elder.

If judged by those in the martial arts world, Zhou was truly a noble person, a person who had transcended base desires, a person who selflessly dedicated himself, and was practically the white moonlight in the hearts of those in the martial arts world.

But Tianmoji felt that this person was not human.

No normal person would do something like riding a rabbit.

The rabbit that sealed the Heavenly Demoness now has a name: Night Dew.

It was truly a miserable existence; at night it had to be used as a bed warmer and a pillow, and during the day it had to be used as a mount.

Zhou could treat it as anything, but he never treated it as a rabbit.

And they're always doing this and that, without being given food.

The rabbit resisted many times, but was ruthlessly suppressed each time, and was even thrown into a pot and boiled for three hours.

The Heavenly Demoness is, after all, the Heavenly Demoness; even if she were boiled in hot water, she would not be harmed in the slightest.

Then it was enlarged and became a mount.

If you run too fast, you complain that the ride is too bumpy; if you run too slow, you complain that you're running too slowly.

Tianmoji deeply regretted why she had come down.

Even though she was only a low-level demon above, it was still much happier than being bullied by a stinky Taoist priest here.

"As a rabbit, you have too many thoughts."

Then Zhou Zhen saw the rabbit's head rotate a full 180 degrees, from the back of its head to facing him directly.

"Hey Zhou, don't go too far!"

Otherwise..."

Zhou Zhenhuan took out a piece of dried peach and stuffed it into its mouth: "Hurry up and keep going, the road is still long."

The rabbit immediately fell silent, rolled its eyes in a human-like manner, turned its head, and this time ran much faster, with each leap covering tens of feet.

Once you leave the outer heavens and head further west, the scenery changes dramatically.

Snow falls year-round in the outermost heavens, but further west lies the vast desert.

There is a city in the desert called Xiyang City.

The city walls were very tall, even taller than those of Snowmoon City. It felt as if these walls were built to defend against giants.

Zhou Zhen stood on the rabbit's head, looked around for a while, and then lightly landed on the ground.

However, a hint of compassion and empathy was revealed in his expression.

The entire sky above Xiyang City was shrouded in a layer of deathly aura, which, under the Dao Eye, resembled a raging dragon, rolling endlessly.

On the city wall, a tattered flag still stood, weathered and broken, its embroidered words no longer legible.

This... is a dead city.

However, Xiyang City, which should have been a dead city, was bustling with activity.

"Sir, on patrol again? Look, these are the fish we caught today, they're very fresh. Please take them home and have a taste."

The official was not an official; he was just a young man in his early twenties.

However, this young man's surname was Guan, and his given name was Guan Tao.

He is the young master of the Tiger Might Escort Agency in Xiyang City.

Mention Tiger Might Escort Agency, and everyone in Xiyang City, from the oldest to the youngest, knows about it.

Because Tiger Might Escort Agency opened a martial arts school, offering free martial arts lessons to everyone.

This place is not peaceful.

Besides the frequent appearance of ferocious beasts in the surrounding area, there are also attacks from celestial bandits.

To leave the city, one must be at least a ninth-rank martial artist.

However, learning martial arts is just too expensive.

Fortunately, the Tiger Might Escort Agency did good deeds, which gave many children a way to learn martial arts.

When they grow up, they can work as escorts for the Tiger Might Escort Agency, earning a lot of money on each trip.

Outside Xiyang City, there is a river called Tongtian, which is said to originate in the heavens and flow from the abode of immortals.

There were plenty of aquatic products inside, but a dragon had been causing trouble there before. It was this young master Guan Tao who stepped in and killed the dragon.

Good heavens, that dragon was enormous.

Everyone in Xiyang City received a share of dragon meat.

Therefore, Guan Tao's reputation in Xiyang City instantly soared.

After all, this is a powerful expert capable of slaying a dragon.

Guan Tao declined the fishmonger Qiang's offer, and said with a smile, "Brother Qiang, fishing is not easy, as you know. My family is not short of food."

Keep the money to sell and use it to find a wife for your younger brother, Asheng, so he won't be fooling around outside all the time.

I heard he recently got involved with the Illusionary Immortal Grass; that stuff is absolutely forbidden, it can be deadly.

The fishmonger forced a smile and repeatedly said, "Don't worry, sir, I'll definitely break his legs later."

The Illusionary Immortal Grass is said to have seeds that fell from the heavens.

After eating it, you can see celestial beings dancing and even travel through celestial palaces; it's truly wonderful.

It is said that some martial artists even broke through to a higher level overnight after consuming it.

But Guan Tao knew that it was a complete poison.

However, he wasn't a real official, so he couldn't really control so many things.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Guan Tao continued his patrol on the street.

Soon, he was drawn to one.

This person wore a blue robe, with his hair loosely draped over his shoulders and tied in a simple bun on top of his head, adorned with a peach blossom.

A rabbit was being led by a straw rope by this person, almost like a dead dog, leaving a long trail on the ground.

This person is truly beautiful, and she exudes a refined and elegant aura, setting her apart from the crowd.

But isn't this a bit too cruel?

Why go to such lengths for a rabbit?

Guan Tao frowned and stepped forward to stop the person.

Do you feel sorry for this rabbit?

Before Guan Tao could speak, the person who had been stopped had already spoken.

The faint smile on her face made Guan Tao feel as if he were basking in a spring breeze.

Even the unhappiness in my heart dissipated.

Guan Tao clasped his hands in a fist salute: "Judging from your demeanor, you are no ordinary person. Why bother with such a petty beast?"

However, to Guan Tao's surprise, after he finished speaking, the rabbit that was pretending to be dead on the ground suddenly jumped up and kicked him directly in the face with its powerful hind legs.

Guan Tao was taken aback for a moment, but his martial artist's keen senses remained intact.

He instinctively reached out to block, but his body slid several meters across the ground in an instant.

He glanced at the rabbit whose ears were being grabbed by the man in the blue robe with some surprise, wondering why a rabbit could have such strength.

Zhou looked at Guan Tao with amusement: "Although it is a rabbit now, it doesn't like people calling it a beast."

So you don't need to worry about its safety.