Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 373 Havoc on the Holy Mountain
These are not ordinary pigs; they are a group of pig demons, and among them, they are of relatively high status within the pig clan, and their cultivation is quite good.

Some of the pig demons were even more skilled than the old monks here, since it's difficult for ordinary pigs to enter the Holy Mountain for a grand party.

The headache is that these aren't the kind of animals we can be ruthless against; they're all aristocratic pigs, pigs with status!

Caught off guard, the monks were suddenly thrown into chaos by a group of powerful and influential pig demons running rampant across the mountain. The old monks couldn't control them for a while, and soon the solemn halls were filled with pigs running around, causing chaos among the worshippers and making the entire temple a mess.

By the time Long Qinghuang and Pudu arrived, powerful Dharma protectors who were cultivating were already catching pigs in various places.

Lu Xingzhou, who was invisible, had clearly not escaped Long Qinghuang's senses. She quickly landed beside him with a smile: "What's going on?"

Lu Xingzhou turned his head to look, and saw that Pudu had already flown over to protect the pilgrims and catch the pig that was rushing towards the Mahavira Hall.

He then answered Long Qinghuang in a low voice: "Two things have come together... First, they secretly cast a spell on me, trying to arouse my lust and make me mate with animals in this kind of place. They also said that I was not good enough, but I can't even withstand the slightest aphrodisiac effect, which means that I am lustful."

Long Qinghuang's expression became very strange.

"Cough." Lu Xingzhou looked up at the sky. "They seem indifferent, but they're actually quite conflicted about our relationship. They're trying to make you look down on me this way. It's just gone too far. This is practically trying to ruin my reputation. Is it really necessary..."

For some reason, Long Qinghuang just wanted to laugh: "They're targeting you so maliciously, and you're alright?"

"I'm quite resistant to seductive arts... Haven't you noticed that even your aphrodisiac scents have no effect on me? What level are you at, and what level are they at? How could this be..."

The more he talked, the more he noticed that Long Qinghuang's expression was off. Lu Xingzhou lowered his voice, and the air suddenly became still.

Long Qinghuang was slightly taken aback at first, then her face turned red and her eyebrows stood on end.

I originally thought that his Dragon Claw Hand skills, which even involved Dragon Valley, were due to the influence of aphrodisiac effects, but it turns out that's not the case!
He just wants to touch it!
"Fine, Lu Xingzhou, I guess I know you now." Long Qinghuang gritted her teeth.

Lu Xingzhou had no idea what she was angry about. After thinking it over, he realized what was going on and couldn't help but laugh. He said in a low voice, "If she's really influenced by those things, how can she prove her own charm, Miss Long?"

With just one sentence, Long Qinghuang's anger turned to joy. She turned her head to look at the pig-catching spree all over the mountain: "You said two things came together, what's the second one?"

"Because of what they did to me, Ah Nuo and I decided to cause them some trouble. Ah Nuo happened to discover that when they were breeding the pig demons, one of the little white pigs was behaving strangely. It seemed like an ordinary pig demon but it had intelligence and remained conscious even though it seemed to be under the influence of aphrodisiacs. Ah Nuo wanted to save it, and the little white pig itself also became aware and asked for help, so Ah Nuo released it... and that's how it happened."

Long Qinghuang was stunned for a moment before remembering to search for A Nuo.

Ah Nuo, concealed, was deliberately running towards the monks' quarters while carrying the little white pig, with several pig demons who could sense her presence chasing after her. The chaotic temple was momentarily oblivious to this situation.

"What is she doing?" Long Qinghuang asked curiously, "Aren't you going to help her?"

“Children won’t attract too much attention from the temple’s higher-ups, but it’s different when I show up. I’ll inevitably get special attention.” Lu Xingzhou smiled slightly. “Besides, there are some things that A’nuo knows better than I do.”

Before Long Qinghuang could ask any more questions, she saw A Nuo burst into a courtyard.

The next moment, a group of women screamed throughout the temple: "Help! There's a pig!"

Long Qinghuang swallowed back the questions she wanted to ask, her face turning ashen.

The worshippers in the temple were also taken aback.

The worshippers were no ordinary people; they were all demons with spiritual cultivation, possessing hearing and perception far beyond that of ordinary humans. Although the backyard was far away, many worshippers still heard the commotion and exchanged bewildered glances.

This is where?

Holy mountain, Buddhist temple, monks' residence.

Where did all these women come from?
Pudu, who was catching the pig, also had a grim face.

What kind of place is the Holy Mountain? No one would dare to cause trouble here. He doesn't have any elite soldiers guarding his backyard where he hides women. He has simply set up an extremely sophisticated concealment formation. Even someone as powerful as the Dragon Emperor wouldn't notice anything amiss if he just scanned it with his divine sense.

Who would have thought that a group of pig demons would be attracted by a child running around invisibly!
How did that kid get in there?!
Pudu could no longer care about keeping a low profile and hiding his strength. In an instant, dark clouds rose and sand and stones flew. The power of the Myriad Manifestations Great Demon surged forth, and in the blink of an eye, he controlled all the scattered pig demons, including some of the first-rank ones.

Long Qinghuang watched his actions with slightly narrowed eyes, offering no comment.

The next moment, the black mist swept into the backyard, not only trying to control the pig demons that had broken in, but also trying to control Anuo and the women.

Long Qinghuang gave a soft hum.

It was as if a dragon's roar resounded throughout the heavens and earth, making Pudu's eardrums buzz, and the black mist eased.

The golden light swept over them, pulling Anuo and the other women to Long Qinghuang's side.

Long Qinghuang said with a sarcastic expression, "The High Priest's methods are better suited for catching pigs first. With me here, the innocent will not be injured or killed, so don't worry."

Pudu was quite aggrieved, but still had to thank Long Qinghuang: "Thank you for your help, Your Majesty. Um, these women are..."

"It doesn't matter," Long Qinghuang said leisurely. "My palace is short of some laundry maids. I think these women are quite good-looking, so I'll take them with me for now."

"But they aren't..."

"If I want people, which clan dares to stop me?" Long Qinghuang waved his hand: "That's fine then. High Priest, please handle the affairs of the temple well. I'll go back now and discuss it with you in detail next time."

Originally, Long Qinghuang had wanted to discuss with Pudu the details of the attack on the Holy Mountain by the Ancient Realm, but now she had lost the mood. This Holy Mountain was completely different from the revered Holy Mountain in her mind. Long Qinghuang even had a thought: Why didn't Ye Tinglan burn you all down back then?
I'm too lazy to communicate with them anymore. Who knows what kind of mess it will get into if we leave the matter of reproduction to these people? I might as well go home.

If you have any questions, asking these women will usually yield results.

The golden dragon, dozens of feet long, soared into the sky once more, and a group of women sat on it trembling with fear, feeling as if they were about to die.

The victorious Lu Xingzhou and A Nuo sat side by side closer to the dragon head, with A Nuo even holding and playing with the little white pig.

Lu Xingzhou glanced at it and found the little white pig to be quite special. Despite the dirty and messy place, the little white pig was spotless and even smelled nice. No wonder Anuo held it so happily.

This reminded Lu Xingzhou of the pet pig he had raised when he was a child in his previous life. It was just like that, but that pet pig had a very short lifespan and died not long after.

I don't know what's wrong with this pig.

Long Qinghuang was in a bad mood, but seeing the master and disciple surrounding the pig, she didn't know if it was jealousy or what, but she finally spoke up: "This pig is a bit special. It probably can't be considered a demon, but rather a spiritual beast."

Ah Nuo said, "Is it the kind we eat in Tianshuang Kingdom? Uh..."

Ah Nuo covered her mouth and cautiously peeked at the pig in her arms. The little white pig was looking at her in terror as it struggled.

Ah Nuo stroked the little white pig's head: "If you're good, I won't eat you."

The little white pig's ears flapped.

Long Qinghuang said, "Normally, a demon must cultivate to reach the transformation stage before it can transform into a human. But if it doesn't cultivate and evolves on its own, it can at most become a spiritual beast like this. Well, dragons and phoenixes are an exception; we can transform without cultivation."

Lu Xingzhou thought of the divine beast Long Ao of the Tianyao Holy Land.

Those creatures probably can't transform into human form, which is why they're kept in a pond for so long. If they could transform, who would live like that?

So, the dragon-like creature isn't considered a demon?

Ah Nuo was very happy: "What Sister Long means is that this little pig is truly gifted, having awakened its spirit on its own without being corrupted by other things."

“Yes.” Long Qinghuang smiled. “It may never be able to take human form, but it will be your loyal companion. In ancient times, when humans tamed beasts and mounts, they chose this kind of animal… well, theoretically speaking, it has the highest talent among the pig race and unlimited potential.”

Ah Nuo was overjoyed and hugged the little pig, rubbing it all over.

The little pig struggled and refused, but it was no match for Ah Nuo's strength and was pressed onto the dragon scales, whimpering and struggling.

"It can also be used as a mount?" A'nuo jumped on and pointed forward: "Flying~"

The little pig flapped its ears twice and actually flew up, much to Anuo's delight.

Lu Xingzhou smiled, and even Long Qinghuang, who was feeling quite depressed, laughed.

“So…” Lu Xingzhou considered for a moment, “The purpose of the sacred mountain’s ley lines is to allow ordinary demons to take human form even without cultivation, or to awaken their spiritual power to the point where they can cultivate?”

“That’s right,” Long Qinghuang said. “One needs to cultivate to take human form, but most life forms simply don’t have the wisdom to cultivate. Wouldn’t that mean there’s no solution forever? That leads to two methods: either immortals can enlighten them to become spirits, or demonic energy can cleanse their bones and bones. The existence of the Holy Mountain provides this value, allowing the birth of demons to continue.”

Lu Xingzhou immediately spotted the blind spot: "So what you originally called the demonic veins were derived and evolved, not reproduced."

Long Qinghuang fell silent and didn't say a word.

"I knew it! What temple can control reproduction? It's all a hoax." Lu Xingzhou laughed in exasperation. "They don't care about reproduction at all, and they don't know how. Whenever someone comes to them, they just use aphrodisiacs and some medical procedures to help solve the problem. Their methods are so crude it's laughable... They also solve their own desire problems on the side... Wait, something's not right..."

Long Qinghuang had originally thought the same thing, but Lu Xingzhou's comment "That's not right" made her heart skip a beat: "What?"

“They deliberately took me to that aphrodisiac valley, just to make me see that kind of scene and form that conclusion.” Lu Xingzhou muttered to himself, “The reproduction of pure-blooded dragons is more difficult than before, there must be a reason for this. If they’ve done something to hide it from us… then they’d rather make themselves look bad, letting us think their methods are so crude, while actually concealing something deeper…”

Long Qinghuang fell completely silent.

It seems that she has run out of ideas about this matter, both from a medical and analytical perspective, and she is even struggling to keep up with Lu Xingzhou's train of thought.

The most troublesome thing is that there is no one I can trust to consult with. Even the prime minister is suspected of having problems. Who can I turn to?
It seems that there is no other way but to rely on land-based boats.

Even the current state of corruption and filth on the Holy Mountain was exposed by Lu Xingzhou and his disciples. To this day, Long Qinghuang still doesn't understand how they knew that there were as many as fifty-one women hiding in the backyard.

Long Qinghuang really didn't want to bow down to Lu Xingzhou, as that would be tantamount to declaring the defeat of this "war".

But it seems they've already lost.

Upon returning, who knows what kind of embarrassing conditions Lu Xingzhou will propose...

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

PS: Another 10,000 words are here! It's quick to get back to work, isn't it?

(End of this chapter)