A master of comedy!

Chapter 109 The Mountain Spirit Leads the Way
Beneath the sword's edge was a face that resembled neither human nor inhuman.

It was a strange creature with a human face and a monkey's body. It was short in stature and had only one leg, but it was extremely thick and strong, with its heel pointing forward and its toes pointing backward.

As if sensing the sharpness of the Demon-Slaying Sword, the monster's fur bristled, and it leaped backward on its single leg, flying more than ten feet into the air before landing silently.

It was even more agile than a tiger or leopard, its eyes glaring at Zhou Sheng with a mixture of fear and ferocity.

At the same time, it slapped the pine tree beside it, snapping the tree, which was as thick as a person, in half and holding it in its hand like a stick.

The atmosphere instantly became tense, like gunpowder ready to ignite at any moment.

But at that moment, Zhou Sheng decisively sheathed his sword, quietly gazing at the strange creature not far away. His eyes flashed, and after confirming it was indeed the creature, he finally spoke, "So it's the Mountain God. My apologies for my rudeness."

Upon hearing the words "mountain god," the monster was startled, and the ferocity in its eyes diminished considerably in an instant.

There was even a barely suppressed smirk at the corner of his mouth.

Seeing this, Zhou Sheng felt relieved, knowing that his guess was correct.

With a human face and a monkey's body, and a single leg with its heel turned backward, this is a special creature mentioned in many ancient books of strange tales. It is called a mountain demon, also known as a mountain spirit, mountain ghost, or one-legged ghost.

Legend has it that although the mandrill appears small, it has the ability to command all the beasts in the mountains and marshes, and is incredibly strong, capable of tearing tigers and leopards apart.

In some places, it is even referred to as the god of mountains and marshes.

As expected, following the mandrill's calls, the sound of running quickly rose from the thick fog, and fierce auras surrounded Zhou Sheng.

There were wild boars with tusks, cheetahs climbing trees, venomous snakes slithering through the grass, and even a magnificent tiger with stripes...

It was as if all the wild beasts of Mount Lu had come running at the sound of those calls.

Zhou Sheng's gaze sharpened, but he remained calm and smiled, "Master Shan is truly skilled, his reputation is well-deserved."

Another "mountain god" sounded, causing the mountain demon to smile slightly, and its hostility towards Zhou Sheng lessened once again.

“I am Zhou Sheng. I have come to the territory of the Mountain God and I am not familiar with the rules. I may have offended you. I offer these copper coins to the Mountain God and hope you will forgive me.”

As Zhou Sheng spoke, he took out a few coins and threw them over.

The mandrill moved with lightning speed, quickly grabbing the incense money. After taking a quick sniff, its eyes lit up.

It cried out a few more times, and the wild beasts quickly scattered.

Boom!

The mandrill threw down the tree trunk it was holding, then jumped toward Zhou Sheng, patted him on the shoulder in a human-like manner, grinned to reveal its fangs, and although it was smiling, it was still terrifying.

Zhou Sheng smiled, knowing that a major battle had been avoided, and that the mandrill would become his ally in Mount Lu.

According to ancient records, the mandrill is a creature with considerable intelligence and the ability to communicate.

If someone who has wandered into the mountains sees a male mandrill (called "mountain god") and a female mandrill (called "mountain girl"), they will generally not only be safe but will also receive help.

Mountain men like copper coins, and mountain women like rouge. If you prepare gifts in advance and give them to them when you meet, you may even receive a gift in return, which is often a rare treasure from the mountains.

In some places, mandrills have even learned to farm. Every year, they go down the mountain to borrow seeds and land from people to cultivate. When the grain is ripe, they share the harvest equally with people, taking not a single grain less, but not a single grain more.

The reason Zhou Sheng stopped his sword strike was because he remembered these records.

With his current cultivation level, killing a mountain demon wouldn't be too difficult, but the misty clouds of Mount Lu were making him dizzy and disoriented. He might as well keep the demon and see if he could make it his guide.

"Master Shan, I am on my way to Mount Lu to find the Mountain God Temple, but the fog is so thick that I have lost my way. I wonder if you could guide me?"

After giving the gift, Zhou Sheng made his request.

Although the mandrill cannot speak, it can easily understand human language. Without any hesitation, it patted its chest and then wrote a line of words on the ground with its finger.

"Generous person... come with me..."

Zhou Sheng's eyes lit up; he hadn't expected it could actually write.

The next moment, the mandrill squatted on one leg, its leg muscles bulging explosively, with veins like coiled dragons, containing terrifying power.

Whoosh! !

Its figure soared up like a cannonball, darting forward. Though it couldn't fly, it was as agile as an ape and as nimble as a cheetah, leaving trails of afterimages in the clouds. At first, it seemed worried that Zhou Sheng couldn't keep up, but after looking back several times, it realized that no matter how fast it sped up, Zhou Sheng kept up steadily behind, handling the situation with ease.

The mandrill then ran wildly, occasionally letting out a howl like a monkey.

Amazingly, every time it travels a certain distance, various small animals appear and offer it something.

For example, macaques offer wild fruits, rabbits offer carrots, goats offer herbs, and pangolins offer some kind of shiny mineral...

Zhou Sheng was greatly impressed.

About fifteen minutes later, when the two arrived at a temple, the mandrill was already carrying a large pile of rare treasures.

There are fruits, herbs, minerals, and precious medicinal materials such as snake gallbladders, deer antlers, and ginseng.

It pointed with its chin to the temple in the distance, indicating that it was the mountain god temple, and then with a whoosh, it put everything in its arms at Zhou Sheng's feet and wrote on the ground with its black and sharp fingernails.

"Here you go... don't be shy..."

A strange light flashed in Zhou Sheng's eyes. Although these things were not very precious, there were quite a lot of them. With the offering of a hundred beasts, they could be sold for a lot of money when taken down the mountain.

It is clear that those few coins of incense money truly touched the heart of the mandrill.

Master said that incense money is not only circulated in the ghost market, but is a currency used by all ghosts and gods, which can buy many treasures that mortals cannot access.

"Thank you, Master Shan."

Zhou Sheng expressed his gratitude, then temporarily put the miscellaneous items into the opera box before heading to the mountain god temple.

Suddenly, the mandrill grabbed his sleeve and began writing with its finger again.

"The mountain god... seems to be... dying..."

"You...be careful..."

When Zhou Sheng saw the words it had written, a thought struck him, and he quickly asked, "What happened to the mountain god?"

The mandrill hesitated for a moment, as if recalling some terrible memory, and then wrote another line.

"An immortal...playing chess..."

"Chess...it's terrifying..."

As it spoke, it made a gesture of rolling its eyes and foaming at the mouth, leaving Zhou Sheng completely baffled.

After writing this, the mandrill cried out a few more times, then turned and jumped into the vast sea of ​​fog, quickly disappearing from sight.

Zhou Sheng was left completely bewildered.

A moment later, he wiped the writing off the ground with his foot, then carried his opera box toward the mountain god temple not far away.

Is the mountain god about to die?
With these questions in mind, he finally arrived at the mountain god temple.

All around were overgrown weeds and spider webs, and the temple gate was covered with moss. Even before stepping inside, a rotten and damp smell wafted over.

Zhou Sheng couldn't help but frown.

His master had clearly told him that the mountain god of Mount Lu was gentle and powerful, and that the temple was always filled with incense offerings. Some people even drove hundreds of miles to come and worship.

But none of the things that were actually said by my master did match up with what I was seeing.

In an instant, the mandrill's words resurfaced in his mind.

The mountain god seems to be dying...

Immortals playing chess... Immortals...

Fairy Cave?
Suddenly, a startling thought popped into his head, making him slow his breathing.

Could it be that Lü Zu... is still in this mountain?

(End of this chapter)