From Joy of Life, the Tian Gang is reversed

Chapter 376 The Holy Land of Spirit Communication? No, it seems to be a dilapidated place.

The sun blazed high, pouring down its rays without any obstruction. The intense heat engulfed everything like a surging tide, distorting the air and filling it with a scorching atmosphere. This was a vast, boundless desert, with sand dunes stretching endlessly like solidified yellow waves. Occasionally, a gust of wind would howl through the desert, whipping up clouds of sand and emitting a mournful roar.

A long-dried-up riverbed, like a huge scar, stretches across the yellow sand. The bottom of the riverbed is full of cracked soil, without a trace of moisture. Judging from the depth and width of the riverbed, this river must have been very wide at one time. Although it is in the desert, there is a drop of nearly 100 meters between the bottom of the river and the ground compared to the surrounding sand.

As a white mist flashed, Asma and the white giant lizard appeared in the desert.

hiss! !

As soon as it appeared, Asuma felt a wave of heat wash over him. Every breath felt like he was swallowing scalding sand, and his nasal cavity and throat felt so dry they were burning.

This is not the Land of Wind, but the sacred land of the lizard race, the Tuilin River.

"Chuan" means river, referring to this dried-up river. Standing on the edge of the riverbed, Asma could still vaguely see lizards of varying sizes wriggling in the shadows.

These lizards vary in size, the smallest being about the size of a gecko, while the largest is four or five meters long. Although not as large as the one next to me, they are still quite frightening. Their bodies are close to the cracked riverbed, moving back and forth in the shadows.

"Zaemon, you're back?!"

Lost in thought, Asuma heard a buzzing sound. He looked in the direction of the sound and his gaze sharpened. In the distance, a sand dune over a hundred meters high suddenly began to move. Large amounts of yellow sand cascaded down, revealing a huge body—a lizard. This giant had a rough, rock-like skin and an enormous body, but it moved quite quickly. It had been hiding under the dune, but the appearance of Zaemon beside it had startled it.

This was also the first time Asuma had learned the name of the white lizard beside him: Lizard Saemon.

“Elder Heijiro…” A hint of surprise flashed in Zaemon’s eyes. He leaped to Elder Heijiro’s side, gave a proper bow, and then pointed to Asuma, saying, “Elder, this is the new contractor, Sarutobi Asuma…”

"Elder Heijiro." Asuma swept over like the wind, looked up at the enormous creature before him, and took a deep breath. "It's an honor to meet you."

"A new contractor!" Elder Heijiro squinted, looking Asuma up and down. "The Tuilin River hasn't had a new contractor in a long time, nor has it ever thought about having one. Young man, what benefits can you bring us?!"

Well? !

Asma was genuinely bewildered this time.

What's the situation?
A spirit contract is signed, so why does it need to come with benefits? Tuilinchuan is way too materialistic.
but……

Asma looked at the two large lizards, then at his surroundings, and vaguely sensed that something interesting was about to happen.

"Benefits? That depends on your needs," Asuma said. "I don't know how familiar you are with the ninja world right now, so let me introduce myself. My name is Sarutobi Asuma, the young lord of the Sarutobi clan in Konohagakure of the Land of Fire, and the future Hokage. If even I can't meet your needs, then there are very few contractors in this ninja world who can." "The Land of Fire, Konohagakure?!" A hint of confusion flashed in Heijiro's eyes. Zaemon had been trapped in the Land of Honey for nearly fifty years, and this Elder Heijiro had obviously been isolated from the world for even longer, unaware of the changes in the ninja world.

"To put it simply, the contractors from Mount Myōboku, Ryūchi Cave, and Shikkotsu Forest are all in Konoha. These three contractors can all be considered my senior brothers."

Heijiro said he didn't know about Konoha, but when the topic turned to the three great summoning sites, he finally reacted, "Mount Myoboku, Ryuchi Cave? Heh..."

These three names seemed to resonate with Elder Heijiro, especially Mount Myōboku and Ryūchi Cave. He murmured something to Asuma and said, "Come with me."

Having said that, it turned its massive body and headed into the depths of the desert. Asuma followed closely behind. Although the giant lizard's movements didn't seem strange, its size was simply too enormous. Each step covered a distance of one or two hundred meters. Asuma was as swift as the wind, but after all, he was only a six-year-old child with limited chakra. Coupled with the harsh environment of the desert, it was no place for humans to live. Before long, he was panting heavily. Then, without any hesitation, he leaped onto Zaemon's body and lay down directly on his head, panting heavily with his tongue lolling out like a dead dog.

Zaemon: "..."

Alright, I, Lord Saemon, will not stoop to the level of a child.

And so, the two giant lizards ran through the desert for a full two hours before finally stopping in front of a mountain.

No, this isn't a mountain, it's... a skeleton!
A skeleton as tall as a mountain.

"this……!"

“This is the Lizard Sage!” Lizard Heijiro looked up at the huge, ferocious skeleton, three times his size, and said, “The Lizard Sage of the Tuilin River has been dead for a thousand years.”

"A thousand years?!" Asuma's eyes narrowed involuntarily, and then he looked curiously at the lizard Heijiro. Judging from what he said, could this old thing have also lived for a thousand years?

This lifespan...

“I’m not that old. The Lizard Sage died before I was born, and since then, there hasn’t been a Sage in the Tuilin River.” He paused, looking Asuma up and down, and said, “For the past thousand years, the Tuilin River has been hoping for another Sage to appear, but without success. Zaemon was the most promising in this generation, but he was trapped in the ninja world for fifty years, achieving nothing. You say that your Konoha Village has contractors in those places, so can you bring Sage Mode back to the Tuilin River?!”

"Damn, so he's a down-and-out! He's even lost the cultivation methods of immortals?!"

Asuma twitched his lips and said, "Elder Heijiro, I do know a little about Sage Mode. However, in essence, it's a chakra pattern formed by mixing natural energy and one's own chakra in a certain proportion. We call it Sage Mode. It's just that the mixing ratio is very difficult to control. As far as I know, the three places on Mount Myōboku all have methods to assist in the training of Sage Mode. So, what exactly do you want me to bring back? Is it the training method for Sage Mode, or something to assist in the training? If it's the training method for Sage Mode, that's simple. When I grow up a bit and have enough chakra, I'll definitely be able to get the method if I want to train. But if it's something to assist in the training, you have to tell me exactly what it is. I need to evaluate it!"

Heijiro blinked, stared at Asuma for a moment, and then said somewhat shyly, "I want them both!"

(End of this chapter)