No taboos

Chapter 573 On the Cliff of Falling Head (12,000 words)

The "No Taboos" destiny flickered slightly.

Xu Yuan was immediately puzzled and glanced at the mandrill without making a sound.

This little thing has used trickery on me?

Xu Yuan himself was completely unaware of anything, but the saying "no taboos" was definitely true.

But its timid appearance doesn't seem to be an act.

Xu Yuan recalled the entire process of encountering the little mandrill from the beginning:
It can conceal its own "fate," clearly belonging to the sixth class, but under its own "fate-seeking," it only reveals itself to be of the ninth class.

It switches between timidity and boldness, seemingly having two forms, but the switching mechanism is unclear.

It seems to possess some kind of peculiar trickery, which it cannot detect, yet cannot bypass the "unrestricted" defense.

After thinking it over, Xu Yuan suddenly chuckled at the mandrill that was still hanging by the animal sinew rope.

With a flick of his wrist, a silver note appeared in his hand.

The face value of the banknotes was a full fifty thousand taels!
Xu Yuan handed it over, but the little mountain demon looked bewildered and hesitated to take it.

Xu Yuan glared at him: "Take it if it's given to you!"

The little mandrill's face showed a look of grievance, as if it had been bullied and dared not fight back.

Then, enduring the pain, she stretched out her little paws and grabbed the silver note.

Xu Yuan released his grip and said, "Deal made—50,000 taels of silver for your unorthodox skills!"

The little mandrill screamed piercingly: "Awooo—"

Its body writhed violently, and half of its bones were broken. Now, the broken bones pierced out of its flesh like sharp blades!
It screamed incessantly as a piece of piranha flew over, turning into a "pancake" that slapped onto its face!

All the noisy sounds that Master Xu disliked were directly blocked out.

Xu Yuan carefully experienced the tricks he had acquired using "business law".

Lord Xu's own corruption increased rapidly.

The "tricks" of cultivators are mostly imitations of the tricks of evil spirits.

But only evil spirits can perform such tricks.

Therefore, when these "tricks" are applied to Lord Xu, they will forcibly transform Xu Yuan's body into a state suitable for performing "tricks".

That is, to make Lord Xu act cunningly!

Xu Yuan did not immediately use "No Taboos" to eliminate these infections.

Because eliminating the infection also eliminates these tricks.

After checking it over, Xu Yuan understood and secretly nodded in admiration. Indeed, the evil spirits in the world have ever-changing methods!

Xu Yuan purchased four strange skills from this little mandrill.

One is "two sides of the same coin".

The mandrill is both timid and ferocious.

The cowardly are the lowest of the low, while the ferocious are the lowest of the low.

So it's not that the mountain demon has any tricks to deceive "fate," but rather that in that state, it truly is one of the nine streams.

However, it was truly a sixth-rate level, far inferior to Master Xu's fourth-rate level. Therefore, as soon as it got close, Master Xu could still keenly sense that it possessed sixth-rate strength.

But if Xu Yuan is only a fifth-rate person, he might actually be fooled.

Although the cowardly mandrill is only of the ninth class, it possesses two unique tricks.

One is "cowardice," meaning that as long as you get close to a timid mandrill, you will gradually become as timid as it.

The effect of this trick was not strong enough to affect Xu Yuan and "Dreams Come True", but it did affect Da Fu.

A crow flew up from the tree, startling Dafu.

The other is "Catching the Heart's Shadow".

When timid, the mandrill can capture some of the information that is most important to its target.

For example, when Xu Yuan entered Xiaoyushan, his primary concern was naturally the Dragon King of Luohe.

This was "seen" by the mandrill.

That's why the mountain demon fabricated a lie, saying that the weasels were fighting a dragon.

Xu Yuan's "absolute freedom" came into play at this moment, so the mountain demon did "see" it, but not very clearly. It interpreted the vaguely shaped "Luohe Dragon King" in Xu Yuan's mind as a "jiao".

That immediately gave him away.

Because from Xiaoyushan to Guiwushan, there is only one Jiao (a type of dragon).

If it comes to Xiaoyushan, it will definitely notify Xu Yuan in advance.

Besides these three tricks, the ferocious sixth-rate mountain demon also possesses another trick.

"Fanning the flames".

This trick needs to be used in conjunction with the previous two tricks to achieve the best effect.

First, use "Courage-Dispelling" to make the target less timid, and then use "Mind-Catching" to find the object of the target's greatest fear.

Finally, "fanning the fire" amplifies the target's fear to an extreme degree.

Unfortunately, it encountered Lord Xu.

Xu Daren didn't try to counter it; he simply crushed it with his superior skill.

The weakest aspect of Lord Xu's cultivation was the fifth-rate "business law," which he could not withstand.

Xu Yuan thought for a moment, then launched the sword pellet, swallowing the "Courage Dissipation" and "Fan Wind Fire" trick techniques.

The sword pellet originally possessed the power of "intimidation," and after absorbing this "fan of wind and fire," they merged and transformed into a new "intimidation," which was even more powerful than the previous "intimidation."

Xu Yuan found the other two techniques, "One Body, Two Sides" and "Catching the Shadow of the Heart," to be very useful, so he used "Fire in the Abdomen" to refine them into two "Strange Pills."

When these four strange techniques were on his body, Xu Yuan's infection level kept increasing, but once these strange techniques were removed, he was "unrestricted," and the infection level quickly dropped.

Back then, Xu Yuan's cultivation level was not high, so his "Unrestricted" skill was naturally not strong enough.

Once a severe infection occurs, the skin needs to shed.

But now, with Lord Xu's strength, it is difficult to encounter a situation where the infection surges so rapidly that "nothing is forbidden" and there is no way to deal with it in a hurry.

Therefore, Lord Xu has been shedding his skin much less recently.

"You little brat, you're a complete liar!" Xu Yuan sneered.

Fortunately, Lord Xu always anticipated the enemy's moves with leniency, so when he applied commercial law, he directly gave him 50,000 taels of silver.

If the price isn't high enough, we really can't afford these four strange techniques!

Then Lord Xu will suffer the consequences.

The mandrill, in great pain, now resembles a "hedgehog".

Dozens of broken bones pierced out of his body, but his face was covered by a sheet of skin, so he couldn't make a sound.

Xu Yuan was too lazy to waste any more words on it. He shook the "Ten Thousand Souls Cloth," and a vast expanse of yin energy engulfed the mountain demon.

"Hey, you little devil!" Xu Yuan snapped at the three-headed demons who rushed forward before the puppet show: "Stop eating, get to the soul-summoning!"

The three heads of the three big demons nodded obediently together.

Before long, the mandrill's memories entered Xu Yuan's consciousness.

The three-headed demon was licking its lips with all three heads licking together.

It tastes really good!
Although this "little monkey" isn't particularly skilled, its spirit is unique, like... a double-layered pie.

good to eat!

Xu Yuan frowned after reading the mandrill's memories, because the mandrill was just one of the twelve "Patrol Generals" under the "Mountain Lord"!

"When did a mountain lord appear in Xiaoyu Mountain?"

The mandrill has the answer to this question in its memory.

About a month ago, a great evil spirit suddenly emerged from the deep mountains.

Its quality far surpasses that of the miscellaneous fish in Xiaoyushan.

Huang Thirty-Seven and his group wanted to put on a show of fighting and attack each other, but they ended up being captured by the other side.

A litter of weasels, numbering several hundred, yet not a single one managed to escape!

With Master Xu as their backer and a large family, the Huang family had long been a local tyrant in Xiaoyu Mountain.

The weasels weren't particularly skilled, but even the most powerful evil spirits in the mountains didn't want to mess with them.

But to their surprise, this new evil spirit showed them absolutely no respect.

After wiping out the Huang family, this great evil spirit went on a campaign everywhere. The highest level of skill in the mountains was only sixth or fifth rank, and it was no match for it.

This great evil spirit used both kindness and force, and soon had thousands of followers. Then it established its own government and temple in the mountains, proclaimed itself "Mountain Lord", and had "Two Kings on the Left and Right", "Two Generals in Front and Back", "Four Commanders-in-Chief" and "Twelve Mountain Patrol Commanders" under its command.

There are also three other battalions of demon soldiers: "Blood River," "Soul Sea," and "Bone Mountain."

After that, he stopped taking action and left all the conquests to his subordinates, who quickly unified Xiaoyushan.

Those who disagreed were all killed.

Those who were willing to submit were all given official positions.

This "Mountain Lord" is indeed capable. For example, the mountain demon was originally just a cowardly evil spirit, only of the lowest rank.

But he was quite clever, and when the mountain lord first arrived, he immediately submitted to his command.

So the Mountain Lord used some unknown means—according to the Mountain Demon's own memory, he saw a dark, luminous light fly in and enter his body.

It suffered for a long time, and then "another self" appeared inside its body.

They also naturally learned about these tricks.

The Mountain Lord forcibly elevated it to a sixth-rate evil spirit and bestowed upon it the title of "Mountain Patrol Commander".

Strangely, no one ever saw the true face of the Mountain Lord.

All I could see was a huge, deep shadow.

However, Lord Shanjun unintentionally did a good deed:
It killed most of the evil spirits in the mountains!

Evil spirits and monsters are mostly brutal and insane, lacking any rationality.

The mountain king wanted subordinates who would obey his orders. These people were impossible to communicate with and naturally did not understand the concept of "submission." So the subordinates followed the mountain king's orders and killed them all.

Xu Yuan's choice of the location for entering the mountain was quite coincidental; it had just been swept up yesterday by a commander-in-chief, along with four "mountain patrol generals" and half a battalion of demon soldiers.

Therefore, the mountains were empty and devoid of any evil spirits.

If you arrive even a day later, a new batch of minor evil spirits will be born in these mountains.

The commander withdrew his troops and returned to camp, leaving only the mountain demon to guard the area.

Although these mandrills became the mountain patrol leaders, one was timid and the other was ferocious.

The timid are looked down upon by everyone, and no one is willing to follow them.

He was so ruthless that he would often beat, kill, and devour his subordinates, and no one dared to follow him.

Xu Yuan had figured out the situation in the mountains, but he stood still, hesitant about what to do next.

Lord Nashan was clearly very powerful.

With a single move, he could elevate a lowly scoundrel to a sixth-rate one.

This is absolutely impossible for human cultivators.

Even top-tier companies can't do that.

Although the most fundamental reason is that such forced growth will inevitably lead to human cunning and change.

But the fact that Lord Shanjun was able to do this means that his own level is at least third-rate.

After considering it for a while, Xu Yuan opened his mouth and spat out "Dragon Spits Mirage," transforming himself into the shape of a mountain demon.

Then it headed northwest.

Lord Xu decided to remain "self-centered".

The purpose of this trip into the mountains is to search for the Dragon King of the Luo River.

Let's leave the matter of Lord Shan Jun for now.

Admittedly, this mountain lord has gained power in Xiaoyu Mountain, posing a huge threat to Champa.

However, after dealing with the Dragon King of Luohe, I can go down the mountain and invite Banlan Gong, Old Master Luo, and others to come into the mountain together to exterminate him.

I am merely a fourth-rate official; why should I challenge myself with such a difficult task?

The duty of the mountain patrol commander is to patrol the entire mountain.

Therefore, the mountain demon's departure from its "territory" did not arouse the vigilance of the other demon soldiers.

Dafu continued to follow behind Xu Yuan, knowing that no one would pay attention to it anyway.

But "dreams come true" only means being separated from the master by a certain distance.

When it encounters patrolling the mountains, it has to disguise itself as a new evil spirit in the mountains.

Fortunately, it is fast, and ordinary evil spirits can't catch up with it.

But "dream come true" made me very unhappy. If that stupid goose could follow, why couldn't I?

No, I have to think of a way to develop a special ability so that I can stay by the master's side forever!

Xu Yuan turned northwest and walked for dozens of miles before encountering another patrol leader.

This is an old ghost dressed as a matchmaker.

She held a hemp rope in her hand, with a string of paper ghost brides wearing red veils tied to the rope.

In his other hand, he held a small red paper temple.

A huge "囍" character is pasted on the temple gate.

Once this small temple is set down, it becomes its "territory." Once you enter its "Temple of Marriage," everything inside is under its control.

And these ghost brides of its are all "good matches" in its mouth.

Once it ties you and one of the ghost brides together with a rope, it will demand an exorbitant "dowry."

Can't afford it?
If you can't afford it, you can pay with your life.

This ghost matchmaker patrolling the mountain was a hundred times more imposing than the mountain demon.

He was accompanied by two hundred ghost soldiers, carrying flags and banners, playing music and making a ruckus.

After they encountered it, the ghost matchmaker questioned the mountain demon a few times. Xu Yuan responded carefully and they passed each other. The ghost matchmaker and her men continued their patrol of the mountain.

Its ghost soldiers were also impetuous and prone to causing trouble; they started gossiping about the mountain demons not long after they had gone:
"Chicken-hearted."

"Just one pole."

and many more.

After walking for most of the day, we encountered two mountain patrol leaders along the way, and it gradually got dark.

Xu Yuan then found a cave, crawled inside, and took a nap.

That night, a strong wind rose in the mountains, and under its fierce blowing, Xu Yuan heard many strange noises outside.

Who knows how many new evil spirits were born in the mountains that night.

Even the cave where Xu Yuan was staying trembled in the middle of the night.

Several vein-like streaks of stone faintly appeared on the cave wall.

Xu Yuan rolled over in the cave, his "Unfettered" expression flashing.

This suppressed the strange occurrences in the cave.

When Xu Yuan got up in the morning, he flipped through the pocket-sized almanac he carried with him.

Today's ban:
Praying for rain, calling for wind, singing loudly, and taking inventory.

Xu Yuan kept it in mind, wondering if blowing out a lot of air counted as "breathing wind".
In short, you should avoid gambling.

Emerging from the cave and looking back, the cave entrance appeared twisted and distorted.

It began to resemble the mouth of an animal.

Xu Yuan had identified the direction and was about to head out of the woods when his clothes were suddenly caught on a hook.

This hook is very exquisite. It is carved from sandalwood, inlaid with jade and gold, and has a long, thin silver chain hanging from the back.

This is the "dream come true" car coupler.

Used to hang some brocade curtains inside the carriage.

To Xu Yuan's surprise, he followed the silver chain and saw the "Dream Come True" train slowly approaching, its bells jingling.

The vehicle and the two craftsmen-made horses shrank as they approached.

When it reached Xu Yuan, it was only the size of a palm!

Xu Yuan was surprised and held it in his palm.

"Is this... a new skill you've learned?"

The "Dreams Come True" swayed gently in the master's palm, tickling him like a vixen.

The carriage was filled with cheerful sounds, as if they were praising the master and telling him to hurry up and give them credit.

Xu Yuan chuckled and put "Dream Come True" into his pocket: "Little Meng, you're getting smarter and smarter."

"Dreams Come True" deliberately hung a thin silver chain outside the master's clothes, swaying proudly with the master's steps.

Protesting against Dafu:

You can follow the master, and so can I; but I can snuggle into the master's arms, can you?
Enraged, Dafu let out a series of strange cries, flapped its wings, stretched its neck, and burrowed into Xu Yuan's arms—

"Hey hey hey!" Xu Yuan grabbed Dafu by the neck helplessly: "Stop messing around!"

Dafu was left behind by Fanzhezi, flapped its wings and spun around in place several times, making the ground sink half an inch.

Then he started cursing in a very vulgar way.

With his dream of "coming true," Xu Yuan set off in the right direction.

Xiaoyushan is a branch of Guiwushan.

The Ghost Mountain stretches for thousands of miles, but in this strange era, this uncivilized place cannot be judged by ordinary standards.

The space inside Ghost Witch Mountain is far more than a thousand miles wide.

Xiaoyushan is about 300 li away on the map.

Xu Yuan hurried along, and since there were no other evil spirits around, he pushed his speed to the maximum.

Logically speaking, having been in the mountains for over a day, if it were only three hundred li, Xu Yuan would have already left Xiaoyushan from the northwest.

But so far, Xu Yuan has not yet arrived at the "northwest" area of ​​Xiaoyushan that Aunt Wang had designated.

Xu Yuan ran all the way until noon, and a sense of unease began to creep into his mind: "Something's not right!"

Xu Yuan stopped and took out the map that Aunt Wang had given him.

Dafu, who was behind them, was so tired that he stuck out his tongue.

This map mainly shows the northwest region, but it also marks several landmark locations leading into the northwest area.

One is three peaks connected together in the shape of a pen holder.

The middle one is barren, except for a giant pine tree with human skin growing on its summit.

That was a notorious evil spirit in Xiaoyu Mountain.

The second location is a hillside meadow spanning dozens of miles.

The withered grass above was as red as fresh blood.

The last one is a strange stone forest, which also covers an area of ​​several dozen miles.

There are countless strange pythons with wolf heads and rooster combs in the Stone Forest.

These three places are in different directions.

Logically, no matter which direction you enter the Northwest region from, you will pass through one of them.

Once you encounter it, you'll know you've arrived.

But Xu Yuan has been running all this time and hasn't encountered any of them yet.

Moreover, according to the map, the terrain in the northwest area of ​​Xiaoyushan is very different from other places, with streams crisscrossing everywhere.

In the center is a huge, cold lake.

This cold lake is the source of all the streams, which then disappear as they flow through the mountains.

None of them are connected to rivers outside the Northwest region.

But even now, Xu Yuan hasn't seen that kind of "stream-filled" landscape.

In other words, Xu Yuan did not miss those "iconic" landforms, which may have led him to venture into the Northwest region.

Xu Yuan looked up at the sun in the sky.

Once he was sure he was heading in the right direction, he put away the map and started running again.

This time, they ran until it was almost dark.

"Some changes must have happened in the mountains that I'm unaware of!"

Xu Yuan was already very certain.

"No, we can't keep running around like headless flies. Tomorrow we have to ask the evil spirits under the Mountain Lord's command."

The three great demons possess all of the mandrill's memories.

But this thing knows nothing about the northwest of Xiaoyushan!
Before he met the Mountain Lord, this fellow was a cowardly little evil spirit who only stayed within the area where he was born.

The area is no more than thirty li.

Even after becoming a patrol commander, he dared not patrol the entire mountain area.

If it weren't for the superior's urging, it would still wander around within that thirty-mile radius, which would be considered "patrolling the mountain".

After all, most of the time, it is timid as a mouse.

This time, Xu Yuan didn't bother looking for any caves. He released "Dreams Come True," and the carriage stopped at the foot of a cliff. Xu Yuan crawled inside, lay down, and fell asleep.

Then Xiaomeng, somewhat disgusted, kicked the old man out.

Dafu opened its goose beak and laughed loudly, looking up at the sky.

Xu Yuan cursed and found a stream, where he washed his feet, removing only his shoes and socks.

As soon as I finished washing, several shadows swam into the water!
Xu Yuan hurried away; the mountains at night were truly eerie!

This time, Xiaomeng let him into bed.

But Xu Yuan became wary and said in the carriage, "Don't do anything reckless at night!"

"Your husband is a respectable man!"

Soothing music filled the carriage.

It has a strong hypnotic effect.

Xu Yuan yawned and then lay down to sleep in a daze.

That night, I had several wonderful dreams.

One moment, the princess, dressed in a grand court robe, stretched out her embroidered feet and pressed them against Xu Yuan's chest. With a gentle push, Xu Yuan fell down.

One moment it was Zhu Zhanmei and Xu Miaozhi, one reserved and the other proactive, flanking Xu Yuan from both sides. Then Miss Jinxi chuckled softly…

Suddenly, it changed again to... the Fairy Miaoyan!
Xu Yuan was almost startled awake.

Soothing music started playing in the carriage again, and Xu Yuan shuddered as if an electric current had passed through him.

He turned over and fell asleep again.

A soft laugh rang out from inside the carriage.

……

Another day begins, a mountain morning, starting with the fresh scent of dew and grass.

The sound of the stream flowing over the rocks drifted from afar, blending with the birdsong in the forest to create a refreshing and cheerful melody.

On a steep cliff, vines slithered down like monstrous pythons.

A horse-drawn carriage was parked at the foot of the cliff.

At the tip of the vine grew flower buds the size of a human head.

As they approached the carriage, the flower buds all bloomed at the same time.

Instead of blooming bright and beautiful flowers, what emerged were gaping maws covered in foul-smelling saliva and sharp teeth.

But they slid down several more feet, and then, seeing something on the roof of the carriage, they all scurried back as quickly as startled rabbits.

The mountaintop was shrouded in mist, and the strange vines retreated, no longer daring to make the slightest sound.

Xu Yuan crawled out of the carriage, yawned, and looked a little unwell.

After getting out of the car, Mr. Xu subconsciously rubbed his lower back.

Then I took out my pocket-sized almanac and looked it up. Today is a day of taboos:
Clearing land, hunting, marriage, dilapidated houses.

Xu Yuan stretched a bit, took a deep breath of the fresh mountain air in the morning light, and felt his blood and energy flow smoothly, sweeping away the fatigue he had felt after sleeping.

"Xiao Meng, let's go."

"Dreams Come True" shrunk to the size of a palm and jumped into the old man's arms.

Such rare good behavior.

It's like... I've done something bad in secret, and I feel a little guilty.

But she still left the silver chain hanging outside the master's clothes, swaying gently.

It's like... a smug little fox that's stolen a chick and is wagging its tail.

Today, Xu Yuan wandered aimlessly through the mountains.

I hope to bump into a handsome mountain patrolman.

When I don't want to run into someone, I always seem to bump into them.

I hoped to encounter it today, but after searching for two hours, I still couldn't find a single mountain patrol leader.

However, many new evil spirits emerged in the mountains, and Xu Yuan killed many of them.

Xu Yuan gradually became impatient.

The mountain demon knew where the mountain lord's temple was, and Xu Yuan pondered whether he should head in that direction, where the chances of encountering the mountain patrol commander or the commander-in-chief would be greater.

With that thought in mind, my feet naturally moved in that direction.

After walking another seven or eight miles, a large and imposing force suddenly appeared ahead – a troop of demon soldiers.

The demon soldiers wielded a variety of weapons, some rusty swords and spears, but most were bamboo swords and spears.

The procession was filled with prisoners, all short and small, tied together in long strings with ropes, screaming and wailing incessantly.

Xu Yuan was taken aback. What a coincidence! It was indeed that nest of weasels.

Xu Yuan glanced at them and counted at least seven or eight hundred. It seemed that the Huang family had never relaxed their efforts in the important matter of inheritance during this time.

Several demon soldiers, dressed as officers, carried whips. If they didn't like a weasel, they would lash it out hard.

With a loud slap, the weasel's skin was torn open.

"Ow—"

The weasel howled and pleaded for mercy, its little paws waving in front of it: "Grandpa, spare my life! I've been good."

At the very front of the procession stood a stone statue of a general.

Large and heavy, it seems to have been transformed from the stone figures on both sides of the spirit path of some ancient tomb.

It only cared about walking ahead, ignoring the prisoners behind it.

Upon seeing the "mountain demon" coming towards him, he shouted, "You cowardly monkey, what are you doing wandering around here?"

Xu Yuan had noticed yesterday that the mountain demon was not well-liked under the Mountain Lord's command.

The other commanders and patrol leaders all thought he was a treacherous minister.

Timid and incompetent.

They just benefited from following the mountain god early.

Many evil spirits under the Mountain Lord's command often felt resentful: If the Mountain Lord's favor had fallen on me, I'm afraid I would have reached three levels in a row!
Giving this cowardly monkey a life-threatening gift is such a waste!

Xu Yuan adopted a timid and hesitant demeanor, stepped forward cautiously, clasped his hands in a fist and bowed: "This humble general greets the Commander-in-Chief."

General Shi angrily said, "I'm asking you a question, why don't you answer truthfully? Are you hiding something?"

When its demon soldiers saw the little mountain demon tremble like a leaf after being frightened by its master, they burst into laughter.

The mandrill trembled as it said, "This humble general is utterly loyal to Lord Mountain Lord and would never dare to have any disloyalty. Commander-in-Chief, please do not wrong this humble general..."

"Hmph!" General Shi sneered, "You've been idling around all day! Since you have nothing to do, you've come with me on this errand!"

The little mandrill dared not disobey and cautiously asked, "What is the Commander-in-Chief taking these prisoners with him?"

General Shi said in a deep voice, "The Mountain Lord has ordered that these weasels be taken to the Mountain Lord's territory today and beheaded!"

Upon hearing this, hundreds of weasels immediately began to howl and scream in agony, wailing and lamenting!

Many were so frightened that they collapsed to the ground, their expressions blank, and a foul stench emanated from beneath them.

"I told you we shouldn't have rebelled against the mountain king! What kind of people are we? How could we possibly fight against the mountain king!"

"It's all Huang Thirty-Seven's fault! You ruined my whole family!"

"Blame Xu Yuan! He's the one who backed up Huang Thirty-Seven. Otherwise, we would have just been saving money honestly, instead of getting all cocky and wanting to unify Xiaoyu Mountain..."

"Ahhh... I don't want to die yet! I've only given birth to ten babies. My goal in this life is to have a hundred. I'm still a long way off."

"What's the point of having so many? They'll all be killed!"

At the very front of the group, the two people wearing heavy shackles were Huang Thirty-Seven and Huang Ninety-Four.

They were noticeably larger and of a higher standard than the other weasels.

Huang Thirty-Seven was already a sixth-rate person.

Huang Jiushisi gritted his teeth and asked in a deep voice, "You always brag to me that Lord Xu supports you, so you are the head of the family!"

Now, where is your Lord Xu? Will he come to rescue us?

Huang Thirty-Seven was also very scared, and its two front paws trembled incessantly.

It said with a mournful face, "Didn't you also try your best to please Lord Xu? It's just that your flattery wasn't as good as mine."

Huang Jiushisi let out a strange squeak, twisting his whole body and struggling so hard that the shackles on his body rattled, but to no avail.

It cried out to the sky: "Ah—"

Humans, indeed, are unreliable!

Xu Yuan's face was burning.

When he came to Xiaoyushan this time, he knew that the entire weasel family had been captured, and he had never even considered rescuing them...

But now, Xu Yuan was filled with more doubts:

What kind of place is this "Shanjunqu"?
I've never heard of that before.

Moreover, since it's called a "canal," it must have been dug out.

Are there still ditches dug by humans in these mountains?

The mandrill has no memory of "Shanjun Canal".

Seeing the mountain demon's blank expression, General Shi sneered, "Even the Mountain Lord didn't tell you about this canal, did he? Heh heh, you really are a favored subject!"

The mandrill feigned shame: "I really don't know."

General Shi waved his hand, and a huge stone hand fanned up a strong wind: "Come on, follow me."

The team then sprang into action again.

They came straight towards the mountain demon, and even the ordinary demon soldiers showed no intention of going around it. If the mountain demon didn't move aside, they would run into it.

The mandrill, true to its nature, darted away to the side.

The demon soldiers then began to chuckle smugly.

General Shi said to the mountain demon, "After the Mountain Lord unified Xiaoyu Mountain, he ordered the demon soldiers of the Bone Mountain Camp to dig a water channel, which is located below Luotou Cliff and leads directly to Xiaoliu Creek."

Xu Yuan was taken aback.

On the map that Aunt Wang gave me, every stream in the northwest of Xiaoyu Mountain was marked with its name.

Xu Yuan remembered that this "Little Stream" was one of them!
When Xu Yuan first saw it, he found it very strange: there are so many streams in these mountains, how come they have names?

Rivers and streams are named by people, of course.

But Xiaoyu Mountain is a remote and secluded place, and no one would dare to venture in or have the leisure to name this mountain stream.

Xu Yuan initially thought that Aunt Wang had given it the name herself.

But now it seems... even the evil spirits in these mountains know the names of these mountain streams.

This is very strange.

Xu Yuan originally intended to spit out the sword pellet directly, kill the stone general, and save the nest of weasels.

I just secretly used the "Looking at Fate" method to assess him, and this General Shi is only a fifth-rate person.

But now Xu Yuan has decided to hold back for the time being.

On the way, Xu Yuan tried to get information out of General Shi: "Commander-in-Chief, what is the purpose of digging this Shanjun Canal?"

Without turning his head, General Shi reprimanded, "This is Lord Shan's grand plan! You cowardly monkey have no right to know, and don't ask any more questions!"

The mandrill fell silent, as quiet as a cicada in winter.

This naturally caused the demon soldiers on the side to burst into laughter again.

But after walking a while longer, General Shi suddenly heard the cowardly monkey beside him muttering to himself with its head down, "It clearly doesn't know anything, yet it comes to bully me..."

General Shi was furious. He swung his hand and struck horizontally, creating a hurricane that sent the mountain demon flying several feet away with a loud crack.

It rolled down among a cluster of rocks, and those boulders, all affected by the Stone General's cunning technique, transformed into the shape of the Stone General's head, its eyes blazing with snow-red light, its mouth full of fangs, roaring and cursing:

"You utterly useless thing, how dare you look down on me!"

Huge rocks rolled around, their fangs snapping open and closing, chasing and tearing at the mandrill!

The mountain demon was so frightened that it scrambled to its feet, while the surrounding demon soldiers burst into laughter.

Only Huang Thirty-Seven remained dejected, muttering to himself, "I was wrong. I shouldn't have gotten to know Lord Xu. If I hadn't met Lord Xu, I wouldn't have harbored the ambition to unify Xiaoyu Mountain. If I hadn't harbored that ambition, I wouldn't have..."

General Stone then brought down its heavy, massive stone hand, which fell with an overwhelming force that blotted out the sky. The mountain demon had nowhere to escape and was grabbed and pulled close to its face.

"The Mountain Lord dug this canal, naturally to plot against Hanxiangtan, upstream of Xiaoliuxi!"

As for what exactly his scheme is, does this envoy dare to tell you, and do you dare to listen?!

General Shi glared angrily, his eyes spitting out a foot of bloody light.

Its mouth was full of rocky fangs, each three feet long and as sharp as a sword.

Its teeth alone were taller than the little mandrill's body.

Both General Shi and the surrounding demon soldiers were convinced that this fright alone would cause the cowardly monkey to faint.

I absolutely dare not say another word or ask any more questions.

Unexpectedly, the little thing shouted, "What do you dare to say that I wouldn't dare to hear? I'm afraid you don't know anything at all and are just bragging to me."

"Waaaaah—" General Shi roared in anger, but after shouting for a long time, he could only manage to utter one sentence: "Lord Shanjun has strictly ordered that this must not be revealed! Even if you provoke me, I will not tell you!"

Xu Yuan sighed inwardly, confirming that this blockhead truly didn't know.

Otherwise, if it had already spoken when provoked earlier, why wouldn't it have fallen for the trap when provoked again?
"Hmph!" the mandrill sneered. "If you don't know, just admit you don't know. There's no need to make excuses."

Among the demon soldiers, the charlatan shouted, "It's changed! This cowardly monkey has turned into a ferocious little monkey!"

Upon closer inspection, General Shi saw that the mountain demon in his palm had indeed changed.

No wonder you're so bold as to dare to defy me!
It couldn't really kill the mountain demon, after all, it was one of the twelve patrol commanders personally appointed by the Mountain Lord.

He immediately threw it down, too lazy to bother with it anymore.

But the mountain demon landed on the ground, put its hands on its hips, pointed at General Shi and said, "If you really know, then tell me again, why did Lord Mountain Lord drag these weasels to the canal to behead them?"

If you could tell me, I would believe you; you just can't.

If you still can't answer, then admit that you don't know either, just like me!

General Shi gritted his teeth, his voice bursting from between his massive teeth: "Use the blood of these weasels to flush that little stream!"
Around Hanxiangtan, there are a total of twenty-four streams and rivers. The Mountain Lord has already given the order to dig twenty-three more Mountain Lord Canals, each to scour one stream!

Xu Yuan thought to himself, "Just as I thought."

Otherwise, how could these weasels have been left alive until now?
"But if we kill all these weasels today, where will the blood from the remaining twenty-three canals come from?"

"New evil spirits keep emerging in these mountains; we'll catch them when the time comes!"

Just as General Shi finished answering, he heard the mountain demon burst into wild laughter and spit out a bright, glittering golden ball.

"I'll teach you to look down on me again!"

The golden pellet appeared before him in a flash, so fast that General Stone couldn't even react. It roared, "You dare..."

The golden ball had already entered its brow, and then with a snap, it exploded into countless golden rays!
It instantly smashed its head to pieces!

This golden pellet is naturally a sword pellet, and the myriad golden rays are countless sword threads.

Killing a third-rate sword pellet with a fifth-rate stone general is naturally a piece of cake.

General Shi never expected that the cowardly monkey he had always looked down upon would kill him so easily!
It's a pity that this evil spirit didn't have a complete soul, otherwise it would probably have jumped out and begged for forgiveness.

"Ah—" The surrounding demon soldiers were thrown into chaos.

But then the ferocious mountain demon leaped and landed on General Shi's headless body, hands on its hips, and roared fiercely, "Don't panic!"

"General Shi is dead. I am now the highest-ranking officer here!"

"You all obey my command and follow me to complete the task assigned by the Mountain Lord."

"General Shi is dead, so be it. The Mountain Lord won't blame you. But if you ruin this mission, the Mountain Lord will devour you alive!"

This roar caused the demon soldiers to hesitate.

Although unwilling to obey the mandrill's orders, the job simply couldn't be stopped.

Just as they were hesitating, the ferocious mountain demon impatiently waved its hand, and a strange black and gray net fell from the sky.

This net is unlike a fishing net, which has only one layer. This net, however, has many layers upon layers, making it incredibly complex.

A foul web.

Each grid enveloped a demon soldier.

"You should not resist. I will take you with me to finish the task assigned by the Mountain Lord, and then I will go to apologize to the Mountain Lord."

The demon soldiers wanted to struggle and resist, but after hearing what it said, they obediently stood still.

The filthy net fell, trapping all the demon soldiers, along with the weasels, firmly within it.

A few of the demon soldiers, those who were slightly more intelligent, vaguely felt that although the Mountain Demon Commander had transformed into a ferocious form and his abilities had greatly increased, he shouldn't be stronger than the Commander-in-Chief...

But before they could figure it out, they were trapped in the filthy web.

The mandrill jumped off the headless corpse of General Stone and walked forward, carrying the net in one hand.

Although it is small in size, it seems to have immense strength.

Huang Thirty-Seven was still wailing and howling: "I shouldn't have gotten to know Lord Xu..."

The mountain demon suddenly stopped, pointed at one of the demon soldiers, and said, "You show the way."

The demon soldier refused to submit, but the mountain demon glared at him with a fierce light, and he shrank back, pointing with his hand: "This way."

In less than an hour, they arrived at a strange cliff.

The cliff seemed alive, swaying constantly in the mountain wind, causing some huge rocks on the top of the cliff to tumble down with a rumble.

It crashed down dozens of feet and shattered into pieces.

A new irrigation canal has been dug at the foot of the cliff, but the workmanship is very crude.

But there seems to be something strange about the arrangement.

The demon soldier who was giving directions urged, "Hurry up and kill those weasels, then go back and report."

The mandrill's eyes darted around as it asked, "What kind of strike?"

"The clam skin carries a guillotine."

Among the demon soldiers, one that looked like a toad called out, "I am Toad Skin."

With a thought, Xu Yuan loosened the net of filth, and the clam jumped out, forcefully pounding its round, slippery belly.

With a "vomit" sound, he vomited a whole bunch of stuff on the ground.

Inside were half-digested rotten fish and rotten flesh, as well as a dozen rusty guillotines.

Clam gave the mandrill a fawning smile, but its hands moved swiftly to pick up the rotten fish and flesh and stuff them back into its belly.

"Ugh—" Xu Yuan felt nauseous, then breathed out a mouthful of fire, burning the clam skin to ashes.

The demon soldiers were filled with doubt and surprise: they had never heard of this cowardly monkey having such abilities.

Huang Thirty-Seven was still repeating his studies, feeling utterly dejected: "I shouldn't have..."

Snapped!
I got slapped.

Huang Thirty-Seven was stunned by the beating, but then the mountain demon pulled out Huang Ninety-Four next to him.

He turned around, his appearance completely transformed: "Look who I am?!"

Huang Thirty-Seven trembled all over, his face ashen—a foul stench emanated from his crotch.

Even when it knew it was about to be killed, it didn't lose control of its bladder in fear...

"Lord Xu..."

Xu Yuan walked away in disgust.

"Aww—" Huang Thirty-Seven was filled with remorse and knelt down with a thud: "It was my fault..."

With a thought, Xu Yuan conjured up layers of filthy netting, trapping it tightly.

A network cable strangled its mouth, and Master Xu was too lazy to listen to its lies.

"You," Xu Yuan pointed at Huang Jiushisi, "kill all these demon soldiers, pour their blood into the canal, do you know what to do?"

Huang Jiushisi was also trembling with fear, and he said a lot of bad things about Lord Xu...

"I know!" it hurriedly replied, then immediately organized its tribe: "Quick, quick, everyone get moving—"

When the demon soldiers saw the mountain demon suddenly transform into a human, they immediately understood!

But before they could even cry out, their mouths were sealed shut by the foul web.

Lord Xu had deceived them before because he was worried that there were too many demon soldiers and that if he tried to capture them, some would escape.

Huang Jiushisi took the lead, peeling a demon soldier from the filthy net. The demon soldier struggled and roared, but its strength was no match for Huang Jiushisi. It was dragged to the edge of the cliff, stuffed under the guillotine, and snapped—

A head rolled off, and foul blood gushed out.

Huang Jiushisi knew this was his chance to redeem himself, so he worked very hard and killed people very quickly.

Some of the demon soldiers had souls, but Lord Xu had already unfolded the "Ten Thousand Souls Cloth," causing his soul to leave his body. He wanted to escape to inform the Mountain Lord, but the Ten Thousand Souls Cloth directly absorbed his soul.

In an instant, the guillotines on the ground rose and fell continuously, and the heads of the demon soldiers rolled like gourds.

The "Ten Thousand Souls Garland" in the sky is filled with eerie energy, devouring all souls!
It was truly a purgatory of evil spirits, terrifying beyond compare!
The demon soldiers who had not yet been killed were so frightened that their bodies went limp and they could not stand.

The turbid blood gathered in the Shanjun Canal and gradually flowed forward.

Xu Yuan rode on his fiery wheels, descending from the cliff in mid-air, following the waves of blood until he reached the side of the small stream.

The stream was clear and icy cold, but the foul blood that rushed in could not mix with it; instead, it blended distinctly into the small stream.

However, the stream water clearly repelled the blood, actually blocking it and preventing it from flowing in.

But the blood gushed in from behind, and a menacing red light shone from the bottom of the Shanjun Canal, urging the blood to keep rushing forward.

On the cliff of headfall, demon soldiers were beheaded one by one, their blood gushing down.

Half an hour later, all five hundred demon soldiers were wiped out, and the stream finally could not withstand the onslaught and was forced to retreat by the blood.

This retreat took them three miles.

A stalemate has been reached between the two sides.

Xu Yuan looked closely and found that the stream water could no longer remain clear. At the point where the two sides were facing off, the thin layer of stream water had begun to turn red!

Xu Yuan turned and left. When he reached the top of Luotou Cliff, he waved his hand and beckoned Huang Jiushisi over.

"grown ups."

Xu Yuan glanced at Huang Thirty-Seven, who was still kneeling to one side with his head on the ground, and shouted, "You get over here too!"

Huang Thirty-Seven shuddered and hurriedly scrambled over.

"Stay away!" Xu Yuan said, covering his nose in disgust.

Huang Thirty-Seven obediently retreated half a zhang.

"Do you know anything about Han Xiangtan?"

Huang Jiushi hurriedly replied, "I know, I know. Our ancestors all said that more than a hundred years ago, a giant turtle, as big as a small mountain, suddenly broke into the mountains, killed the old water ghost that originally lived in the pool, and then took over the place."

Later, it used its body to arch the ground, creating many streams in the mountains.

That thing is terrifying; the evil spirits of Xiaoyu Mountain rarely venture into its territory.

Xu Yuan thought to himself: So, this Luohe Dragon King is actually a turtle-dragon?
Huang Thirty-Seven suddenly said in a low voice, "But you don't know that the old turtle died not long after it opened up these mountain streams."

"Dead?!" Xu Yuan was shocked.

Huang Jiushisi retorted angrily, "You're talking nonsense! I've never heard of that before. Besides, if he were dead, why haven't any evil spirits dared to set foot in all these years?"

Huang Thirty-Seven, with a fawning expression, tried to move closer, but seeing the look of disgust on Lord Xu's face, he retreated awkwardly: "Of course he's dead. This matter concerns my great-great-great-grandfather... I can't even say which generation of grandfather he was."

In short, only family members know.

The old man, who had been hiding in a tree hole, witnessed a large bird flying in from the south amidst lightning, thunder, and wind and rain. The bird plunged into the cold Xiangtan Lake, pecked out the old turtle, and flew away with it in its mouth.

As for why no evil spirits dared to enter, it's likely that another powerful evil spirit has reoccupied this place.

Xu Yuan thought to himself: South?
From the sea?

The Dragon King of Luohe tricked the Dragon King of Jiaozhi back then. The latter was resentful after retreating to the sea and sent his men to clean house.

Xu Yuan thought for a moment and then asked, "Has anything changed in this area recently?"

This time, Huang Jiushisi chimed in again, "Yes, yes, there are three mountains that grew legs and ran away on their own."

(End of this chapter)