Junior Sister is skilled in subduing demons.

Chapter 3: Entering a Dream, Achieving a Thousand Years
Under the cover of night, Sanqing Mountain evokes a sense of tranquility and mystery. The rolling mountains stretch out into the darkness, merging seamlessly with the horizon, allowing one to appreciate the grandeur and magnificence of nature.

Overlooking the Sanqing Blessed Land, the Jinsha and Fenshui rivers form a grand, interconnected layout, transforming it into a mysterious Taoist Bagua labyrinth. The enigmatic Taoist architectural system is particularly magnificent in the darkness. It has long been renowned as "a peerless blessed land, utterly free from worldly clamor, a towering peak south of the Yangtze River, the foremost immortal peak in Jiangnan."

The pavilions were brightly lit, and the disciples of Sanqing Palace would usually come here in the evenings to review their old knowledge and learn new things.

As one of the last few to finish in the previous Demon Catcher Competition, Anzhi's fellow disciples naturally didn't want to say much to her. After cleaning the dust in the Scripture Pavilion and arranging all the ancient books in their proper places, she came to the Blessed Land Pavilion again.

Just as she was racking her brains about what to do in the future, little did she know that a small golden snake had crawled out of the ancient book.

"Don't be sad, beautiful lady, you'll have your day."

Anzhi turned his head in the direction of the sound and saw that the spirit snake had crawled to his window. It was golden yellow all over and a foot long (30 cm). It also had two antennae on its head, which looked a bit like a tentacle snake.

The spirit snake is a demon spirit of Sanqing Mountain. Like the leopard cat, its "Dreamland" can take people into a dream.

“Where did this demon come from? Does it know where this is?” An Zhi immediately recognized it as a demon.

The serpent writhed to the window, gazing into the distance as Nannan repeated, "There will be a day when things will get better!"

These words touched An Zhi's heart. What did she mean by "this day will come"? She shook her head sadly and said, "Hehe, there's no chance. Really, this day will never come."

"Oh dear, don't be discouraged. It's fate that we met here. Tell me, and maybe I can help you." After the spirit snake finished speaking, it still looked in the same direction as Anzhi, sensing Anzhi's sadness.

Thinking about the grievances he suffered today, and reflecting on his cultivation experiences over the past year, Shen Anzhi shook his head in frustration: "Sigh, forget it, forget it, no one can help me, no one..."

"If you don't speak up, how can you not know that no one can help you?" After saying that, the spirit snake looked down at the pavilion below and said, "Look, your fellow disciples are practicing their demon-catching techniques so late at night. Don't you want to join them?"

Anzhi really wanted to, but she knew she wasn't qualified, so she shook her head.

“Young man, if you have a dream, you should pursue it. If you don’t even dare to speak it, what’s the difference between you and a salted fish?” After the snake finished speaking, it crawled onto An Zhi’s palm and continued, “Speaking it out is also a kind of courage.”

Looking at the snake curled up in her palm, Anzhi felt that what she said made sense. She waved her sleeve and fiercely wiped away her tears.

She wanted to unleash all the grievances she had suffered throughout the year, and in a short while she was crying her eyes out, looking like a tearful person.

The serpent silently coiled up beside Shen Anzhi.

Shen Anzhi cried his heart out, while the spirit snake lay dormant, seemingly guarding its new master.

Midnight,

She cried until she was exhausted, then wiped her face, stood up unsteadily, and looked at the towering Sanqing Palace in another direction, saying firmly, "I want to become a demon slayer like Meng Hong, so that there will be no demons in the world."

The serpent stretched its neck out, seemingly shocked. It seemed to have ignored all of Anzhi's previous complaints, but it took this sentence to heart: "Meng Hong is the first head of the Sanqing Palace, a ten-coin demon slayer."

“Yes.” An Zhi answered firmly, but the expression on his face gradually faded: “How could I possibly be like that, hehe.”

The spirit snake said excitedly, "No, you can succeed, really. To tell you the truth, I know this amazing person from the Sanqing Palace."

"You!" An Zhi didn't believe it, and said with a contemptuous smile, "Hehe, don't joke around."

"Don't disbelieve me." After saying that, the spirit snake jumped onto the ancient scriptures and continued, "Back then, Meng Hong fought the Demon Emperor for thirty days on Jade Flower Peak. The scene was simply magnificent. Although a thousand years have passed, it feels like yesterday."

Anzhi had heard the story the spirit snake told him a thousand times, so he comforted him, "Hehe, stop daydreaming and go to sleep. We still have to clean the main hall tomorrow morning. Remember, don't damage the ancient books, or I'll kick you out."

After venting, Anzhi felt a bit better, stretched, and prepared to go to sleep.

Seeing Anzhi swaying from side to side, the spirit snake on the windowsill excitedly climbed onto Anzhi's shoulder and said, "If you trust me, I'll take you somewhere after midnight to meet someone."

Anzhi put down the bedding she was tidying and opened her palm again. The spirit snake crawled into her palm. Although she didn't believe the spirit snake's words, thinking about the grievances she had suffered over the past year, Anzhi still looked at the spirit snake with a half-believing and half-doubting gaze.

The tiny spirit snake curled up in Anzhi's palm. Seeing that Anzhi was still skeptical, it encouraged him again: "I am a spirit snake, you have to believe me. What if that person wants to take you as his disciple?" "Who is that person?" Anzhi blurted out, his eyes revealing anticipation.

The serpent leaped out of An Zhi's palm: "At the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), remember the time. It's at the back door of the pavilion. I'll only say it once."

As the serpent, gleaming with golden light, crawled into the vast ancient books, Anzhi was filled with a million questions...

Chou hour (1-3 AM)

Sanqing Mountain was very quiet. Apart from the lights still on in the pavilions, everything else was in a state of hibernation. Even the two junior sisters guarding the gate of Sanqing Blessed Land had fallen asleep, slumped over on the stone lions.

Anzhi carefully crawled out from behind a pine tree, just in time to encounter the wandering spirit snake.

"Quick, go out the door and turn right, all the way to the top of the mountain." After saying that, the spirit snake quickly jumped onto Anzhi's shoulder.

Without thinking twice, Anzhi followed the snake's instructions and ran straight to the mountaintop, his mind completely blank.

She didn't know how long she had been running, stumbling and stopping along the way. When Anzhi finally stopped again, a look of horror appeared on her face.

Before us stands a towering pagoda, majestic and magnificent, yet it has shown signs of decay after the ravages of time.

"Wind and Thunder Tower!" An Zhi looked up at the tower, feeling an even greater sense of oppression.

The Wind and Thunder Pagoda is a forbidden area of ​​Sanqing Mountain. Legend has it that Meng Hong, the first sect leader of Sanqing Palace, suppressed the Demon King Black Python General inside the pagoda.

"Would you like to meet the patriarch?" The spirit snake climbed up the stone steps of the Wind and Thunder Tower.

An Zhi was stunned and asked incredulously, "Is it...is it Meng Hong?"

"Otherwise what? Actually, Meng Hong has been cultivating all along, and his name is Meng, so we need to enter his dream to meet him." The spirit snake jumped onto An Zhi's shoulder again, a little excited, and said, "If you want to become his disciple from beyond the realm, meditate, and I will help you."

Anzhi couldn't believe it was true, and immediately sat cross-legged facing the Wind and Thunder Tower.

The serpent slithered around Anzhi, crawling left and right. After chanting incomprehensible incantations, Anzhi suddenly felt dizzy...

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Deep in the Sanqing Mountains, the silence is like a poem, with only the sound of the wind and birdsong to accompany you.

Anzhi walked on the bluestone slabs, and the frogs by the roadside seemed to be croaking to welcome him.

Through the woods, a man could be seen practicing with a long sword in hand. His magic was powerful. He controlled the sword with his mind, and the sword, like a beam of light, cleaved through the rocks in front of him. Then he flew up to the top of a straight tree and struck down with his palm, causing the tree to explode.

An Zhi was stunned. Before she could react, the man was already standing in front of her.

"Shen Anzhi?" the man casually called out Anzhi's name.

"Ah, yes, yes~~~~." It took Anzhi a while to react: "Anzhi pays respects to the Ancestral Master."

From such superb martial arts skills, Anzhi felt that the man must be Meng Hong, the first sect leader of the Sanqing Palace.

Meng Hong nodded in satisfaction: "I already know about your situation. Don't be discouraged. Becoming a demon slayer is not something that can be accomplished overnight. The spirit snake was once my personal spirit and has been cultivating in the Three Pure Lands."

“I know, I know, it brought me here.” An Zhi was full of anticipation, finally meeting his idol: “I, I was born in Lanmo Village at the foot of the mountain. I grew up listening to your stories, especially your battle against the Demon Emperor for thirty days. So, so last year, with the village chief's recommendation, I came to Sanqing Palace to cultivate, but, but…”

Anzhi couldn't bring himself to describe what happened next.

Meng Hong nodded and smiled with satisfaction: "Yes, the spirit snake can take you into your dreams. If you need anything, you can have it bring you to me. We are destined to meet, so I will give you a burst of spiritual energy and an introductory sword technique."

After saying that, Meng Hong pushed off with his feet and flew out, then placed his long sword under his feet and rode away on it.

(End of this chapter)