Strange Stories

Chapter 581 Finally meet
"The giant snake in the mountain is called the Emperor Snake, and there are also rumors that it is the Phoenix Snake. The former means the emperor of snakes, and the latter means the phoenix, because they often overlap with the phoenix's residence and are often used as food by the phoenix. They are indeed closely related to the Immortal Tree. If they live under the Immortal Tree, they only need to absorb the dense spiritual energy of the Immortal Tree and they don't need to eat or drink."

The old man explained to Lin Jue under the tree.

"So, this giant snake is really the best guardian of the Undead Forest?"

"Why? You want another one?"

"Ha ha……"

Lin Jue said embarrassedly: "Thanks to the immortal, I did plant some immortal trees, and I do need a full-time caretaker."

“How many trees do you have?”

“Now there are more than 20.”

"The spiritual energy you emit is probably not enough for a royal snake to eat and drink. The rest must be supplemented by food." The old man shook his head and said, "How big is your mountain? How many cattle and sheep are there, and how many spiritual plants are there?"

"There are only more than 20 trees now, but there will be more in the future." Lin Jue said, "There is only one mountain now, but it will be bigger in the future."

"It seems that you are about to achieve enlightenment..."

"I have a famous teacher."

"Haha, forget it." The old man waved his hands repeatedly, "If you can fight me for 200 times today, I will allow you to take one away."

"OK……"

"But I don't think you can get down today."

"Then wait until tomorrow."

Lin Jue was holding the chess piece, and suddenly his brows frowned, as if he had sensed something.

After a moment, his brows relaxed, and he shook his head and sighed:
"It's a pity, it's a pity..."

"What's a pity?"

"It's a pity that I have limited talent and chess skills. Even if I study hard, I can't accompany the Immortal Master to have fun." Lin Jue sighed, "It's also a pity that my enlightenment is almost over and I have to leave. I wonder who will play chess with the Immortal Master to relieve his boredom when he wakes up from his nap every day."

"pat..."

The immortal smiled and made his move: "I was wondering why you were so absent-minded today. You showed signs of weakness after only 120 moves. It turns out that your mind was elsewhere, plotting against an old man like me."

"Immortal..."

Lin Jue looked at the old man:
"You said, I am originally a human, the Purple Emperor exorcises evil spirits, and I have also exorcised evil spirits in my life, and we have no dispute over this matter. Although I don't like the Purple Emperor's random exorcism, he is the Emperor of Heaven. As long as it doesn't implicate me and affect my relatives and friends, I won't easily stand up and oppose it.

"But how can it be so? Even a demon who has done countless good deeds is not spared. Instead, they have to tear him apart and turn a good story into a tragedy."

"What are you talking to an old man like me?"

"Ugh……"

Lin Jue sighed and held the chess piece:

"It seems that I really can't play 200 hands today. Someone has come to see me outside. I have to take my leave for now."

The old man also looked up into the distance.

It seemed as if the sight had penetrated the barriers between the worlds, and from this Yuanqiu fairyland, one could see the outside world at a glance.

"It seems that you are indeed about to succeed in enlightenment." The old man said leisurely, "I will be lonely for a while again."

After hearing this, Lin Jue fell silent.

The old man seems indifferent...

He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself.

"Time passes too fast here, Immortal Master. I dare not delay any longer. I will take my leave today and come back tomorrow to play chess with you, Immortal Master."

Just as he took two steps, a voice came from behind him:
"It's rare that you're so thoughtful as to introduce a chess friend to me. In that case, if they're willing, please invite them in and play a few games with me."

When Lin Jue heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up.

He took a step and waved his sleeves, and suddenly, a hole appeared between this place and the outside world.

……

Rumbling--

I don’t know if it was because it rained a lot at this time of year or if it was God’s help, but from Jiangnan to Huizhou, a journey of thousands of miles, I had a smooth journey with thunder and lightning all the way!

The woman rode the thunder and the wind and flew in the sky like a dandelion. She stopped to rest when she was tired and found a cave to sleep when she was sleepy. But because she flew too slowly and had to rest, recover and bandage her injuries, the monk kept chasing her closely.

Until it flew to the mountain.

The thunderstorm continued, the green mountains became blurred shadows, and even the white walls and green tiles on the river bank turned gray in the rain.

The woman grabbed the man and flew into the air.

But this is just an ordinary mountain. There was no one at the ferry in the rain, the bamboo rafts were still rising and falling, and even the people living on the river bank did not go out. How could there be any gods?
Time passes so quickly in Yuanqiu Fairyland that there is no room for any delay or hesitation. Just as Lin Jue and the old man were saying the last two sentences, the big monk had already caught up with them.

"Monster! Even if you run to the ends of the earth, I can still catch you! Why don't you surrender now!"

A monk came across the river in the rain.

The official stood in front of the woman, and the woman pulled him behind her, and in the blink of an eye, they fought for several rounds.

The woman was already pregnant and injured, and had traveled all the way here exhausted. How could she be a match for him?
"King Kong subdues the demons..."

The monk raised one hand high, and before he finished reading, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

Amidst the dark clouds and thunder, a gigantic seven-tailed white fox was galloping through the air. It glanced down inadvertently, its eyes as sharp as lightning, staring straight at them.

In the blink of an eye, there was another person in front of him.

He was a man wearing a plain Taoist robe. He looked very young, and his robe was so old that it had turned white. He was holding a paper umbrella.

The Taoist priest was standing in front of the man, bending over and holding an umbrella for him. Mr. Gu was falling here, and he looked at this familiar figure with a look of surprise.

The woman next to him also looked at him with eyes wide open.

"you……"

Mr. Gu stared at him.

"I played chess with Mr. Gu seventeen times in my dream. Thanks to his guidance, we finally meet here."

The Taoist said while holding an umbrella.

Mr. Gu was still surprised, while the woman was nervous.

It seems that this is indeed an immortal, not an ordinary god or monster who came in a dream.

"Please save me and my husband, Immortal!"

"Immortal, help me!"

"Who are you? Why are you blocking me from exorcising the demon?" The monk behind him shouted with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes. At the same time, he pressed down with his palm, "Vajra Seal to Subdue Demons!"

A golden light rose from the wind and rain, forming a huge golden palm that slammed down from the sky.

But it disappears into thin air in the wind and rain.

"what?"

The monk was shocked.

Looking intently, he saw the Taoist pulling the man up and turned to look at him: "Master, you are a monk, why are you so violent and bloodthirsty?"

"I am the abbot of Wuwo Temple, my Dharma name is Baolin, my teacher is Master Zhenru, and my grandmaster is Master Yunchan. This Vajra Seal does not hurt people, but only demons and ghosts. If you were a human, this move would not hurt you at all. If you are not a human, why would you be so violent and bloodthirsty?"

"Master Yunchan..."

"Exactly!"

Monk Baolin was not surprised, because his master's grandfather was once the Shaoqing of Juxian Palace, in charge of the affairs of Jiangnan. It was normal for the practitioners here, strange people, and even demons and ghosts to have heard of his name.

"You mean to say that killing goblins and ghosts is not called killing?"

"Exorcising demons is to uphold justice and comply with the laws of heaven, so it cannot be called violent and bloodthirsty!"

The monk looked righteous and unwavering.

Lin Jue couldn't help but sigh when he saw him like this.

How long is more than a hundred years?

To say it was long was actually just a blink of an eye in history. The old man had only been sleeping in Yuanqiu Fairyland for over a hundred days. To Lin Jue, it didn’t seem like much time had passed.

But what about the human world?

The Purple Emperor has ruled the Nine Heavens for more than a hundred years. In the hearts of many people, he is already the "God of Heaven since ancient times". The Purple Emperor's philosophy has also taken root in the human world. Many people have grown up listening to it and have regarded it as the same righteous concept since ancient times.

In previous dynasties, people could live with demons and ghosts. In the attics of temples, there lived good ghosts that were lost after returning from battle, and the monks did not drive them away. Foxes lived in the deserted houses next to the common people in the capital, and the common people lived with them. Many literati and scholars made friends with fox spirits and monsters, and thought it was elegant. Even the man in red clothes was originally a monster, and was sought after by people. But in this dynasty, these things would never happen again.

Even Master Yunchan's disciples were like this.

But today's event is even more special——

In the old Tianweng's illusion, the Purple Emperor's second demon-elimination did not distinguish between good and evil, but it was mainly small demons. Big demons like this woman were not within the scope of elimination. In addition, the secret struggle between Emperor Yujian and the Purple Emperor made the demon-elimination efforts in the south even lower. Logically, they should be fine.

This was exactly the case in other places at this time. Although the scope of Zi Di's demon-elimination campaign was wide, the intensity was not great, so most of the demons he eliminated were minor demons and ghosts.

The reality is quite different.

Lord Luo appointed Master Yunchan as Shaoqing of Juxianfu out of his trust in Master Yunchan and his responsibility to the local people. Unexpectedly, when later emperors followed suit, it led to the prosperity of Buddhism.

The fight between the Purple Emperor and the Jade Mirror Emperor became more intense.

This has led to a polarized situation in the South in terms of fighting demons and eliminating evil.

Emperor Yujian hardly responded to the Purple Emperor's edicts, but the Buddhist sect was very active and very forceful, even attacking a big demon.

"Master, are you going to team up with the demons and go against the Heavenly Law?" the monk asked in the rain.

"My wife has never hurt anyone, so how can there be a demon?" Mr. Gu immediately retorted loudly.

"She is just a demon, not a monster. Although I don't know much about the couple, and I only see her husband once a night every year, I have known them for many years. I know that they are kind and generous, and they saved countless people when the Changhe River was diverted." Lin Jue said while holding an umbrella, "Before you, a monk, come to get rid of her with a righteous attitude, why don't you look at yourself and see how many people you have saved in your life? How many good deeds have you done?"

"Stop talking nonsense! If you want to help them, you have to ask me, the Buddha Dharma, whether it will allow you to do so! Golden Dragon!"

The monk chanted a mantra and pushed with both hands.

The golden light appears again in the rain!

With a loud dragon roar, a golden dragon as thick as a water jar flew out from his hand, with its fangs and claws bared, running straight towards Lin Jue.

However, the ferocious golden dragon shrank a little bit every inch it flew out. By the time it flew in front of the Taoist priest, it was only as thick as a chopstick and barely appeared as a faint golden smoke.

The smoke disappeared silently.

"You little monk, how dare you attack me." Lin Jue just looked at him and slapped him casually.

Bang!
There was no sound or movement. Even the rain curtain in the sky was not blown sideways, and the puddles on the ground did not even have ripples. This previously invincible monk was knocked flying, flew backwards several feet, and fell into the mud.

"Ahem... Immortal... Seven-tailed Fox... Could it be that you are... Master Lin?"

"My last name is Lin, and I am an old friend of your master, Master Yunchan."

"Master Lin..."

Even though the monk was so determined, he couldn't help but open his eyes wide and froze when he heard the name.

(End of this chapter)