Stone Fairy!

Daozhen headed towards the direction where the sun was rising.

The Taoist temple behind us grew farther and farther away, first becoming the size of a palm, then the size of a fingertip, and finally turning into an indistinct black dot, disappearing among the layered mountain ridges.

Daozhen glanced back, and the black dot disappeared.

Daozhen walked and stopped along the way, seeing many things he had never seen before.

There was a forest of trees with silvery-white trunks, but leaves that were as red as blood.

When the wind blows, the whole forest rustles.

Another valley was filled with flowers, their petals densely covering the ground, looking like a purple mist from afar.

There was another beast that resembled a deer, but had three tails, was entirely white, and had a tuft of golden hair on its forehead.

.....

Daozhen walked, observed, and took notes.

Upon closer inspection, Daozhen has been gone for more than three years.

Thanks to Dao Zhen's transformation from a nine-aperture stone embryo, he is a naturally born spiritual body. He only needs to eat the morning dew and rinse his mouth daily, absorbing the essence of the rising sun and the moonlight, to maintain his form.

this day,

Daozhen walked to a mountainside and looked into the distance.

The sun was setting, and the red sun hung above the western mountains, its afterglow spreading out and dyeing half the sky golden red.

The clouds were edged with rings of varying shades of orange, from near to far, from golden yellow to crimson, and then to a faint purple hue on the distant horizon.

The originally cold and hard mountain ridgeline was tinted with a warm color, the mist in the valley was dyed pale gold, and even the rugged rocks appeared much softer.

Daozhen's robes fluttered in the evening breeze.

suddenly,

A tiger's roar exploded from the forest, the sound waves rolling and shaking the branches and leaves to the ground.

Daozhen turned around and looked back.

A large, striped tiger slowly emerged from the dense forest. It was nearly twice the size of an ordinary tiger, with high shoulders and back, and bulging muscles. Every step it took carried a heavy sense of oppression.

The tiger's fur was mottled and rusty, and its eyes, which slanted upwards and were inserted into its temples, had dim yellow pupils like murky lamps. It stared straight at Daozhen with a fierce look in its eyes, and saliva dripped from its fangs.

Daozhen's gaze passed over the tiger and landed beside it.

Three faint figures floated indistinctly like smoke and mist, their faces blurred, except for one pair of eyes with deep-set sockets that exuded a strong sense of resentment.

That's a vengeful spirit.

This tiger has already eaten people and developed a demonic nature.

Dao Zhen was not afraid. Not to mention that he had entered the Daoist sect and been taught magic, even just based on his own cultivation in human form, he was far superior to this tiger demon.

Daozhen raised his hand, and the tips of his fingers gleamed slightly in his sleeve.

Just as Daozhen was about to make his move,

"You, step back!"

A sharp shout rang out, clear and crisp, without any hesitation.

"call out!"

With a whooshing sound, a long spear with a red tassel flew out of the forest. The tip of the spear flashed with cold light and plunged straight into Dao Zhen's body a foot in front of him. The spear trembled and hummed, and the red tassel fluttered in the evening wind.

A figure followed closely behind, leaping down from the treetop and landing steadily on the gun handle with a light touch of the toes.

She was a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl, dressed in a red, fitted outfit with narrow sleeves and a waist-cinching design, the cuffs of which were tightly bound with dark leather cords.

The girl's black hair was tied into a ponytail, hanging down her back. A few stray strands of hair were blown across her forehead by the wind, revealing a face with distinct features. Her eyebrows were slightly raised, her eyes were as black as lacquer, her nose was straight, and the corners of her mouth were slightly pursed, giving her an air of dashing spirit.

A gourd hung from her waist, swaying gently with her movements.

With his back to Daozhen, Xie Ning fixed his gaze on the striped tiger and said calmly, "This tiger has already developed demonic nature, so you'd better step aside."

Daozhen sensed the spiritual energy flowing within the girl's body, indicating that she was also a cultivator.

Daozhen then withdrew his hand from his sleeve and took a few steps back.

Xie Ning then moved.

She bent down and drew her gun with fluid movements, the spear drawing an arc in the air before its tip touched the ground, kicking up a small cloud of dust.

The striped tiger let out a low growl, pawed at the ground, and arched its body to gather strength. The three vengeful spirits flitted around it, emitting faint whimpers.

"With a vengeful spirit by your side, it seems you've taken many lives in these mountains."

Xie Ning's voice turned cold.

"I cannot keep you here."

The striped tiger suddenly pounced, its claws whistling through the air, aiming straight for the girl's face.

Instead of retreating, Xie Ning advanced, lowered his body, slid down under the tiger's belly, reversed his spear, and slammed the end of the spear heavily onto the tiger's leg.

With a crisp crack, the tiger let out a miserable howl, its front legs buckled, and its entire body tilted to one side.

The spotted tiger, in pain, suddenly turned around, its tail sweeping out like a steel whip, creating a whooshing sound.

Xie Ning stepped back to avoid it, and the tail swept away a tree as thick as a bowl with a loud bang.

White breath escaped from the tiger's mouth and nostrils, its fierce gaze fixed on the girl before it.

"Roar!" A tiger's roar shook the mountains and forests.

The three ghouls on the spotted tiger lunged at Xie Ning, bringing with them gusts of evil wind.

Xie Ning chanted incantations, her body radiating golden light. Then, she carried a long spear on her back with one hand and pointed the other finger in front of her, her beautiful hair flying in the air.

"Fire!"

Xie Ning spat out a burst of raging fire, which flew towards the three vengeful spirits.

Seeing this, the three vengeful spirits could not withstand the scorching heat of the yang fire, and most of their bodies were burned away.

The spotted tiger can only summon three cougars; any further and it will be burned to ashes.

Xie Ning snorted coldly and charged forward again with his gun.

The spotted tiger was no match for Xie Ning and was constantly injured. Xie Ning seized the opportunity and struck with his spear, forcing the tiger to retreat.

Before the striped tiger could regain its footing, Xie Ning had already flipped over and leaped up, stepping on the tiger's back with his toes to propel himself into the air, raising his spear high above his head with the tip pointing downwards.

"puff!"

A spear pierced the tiger's skull, entering through the top of the skull, exiting through the lower jaw, and embedding itself in the soil.

The spotted tiger twitched a few times, kicked its limbs a few times, and then stopped moving.

The three ghostly figures, having lost their anchor, gradually faded into the twilight, leaving only a few faint sighs that drifted away with the wind.

Xie Ning drew her spear, the tip stained with blood. She wiped it on the tiger skin before turning to look at Dao Zhen.

She was about to speak, but suddenly paused.

As dusk settled,

Daozhen was dressed in a white Daoist robe, spotless and possessing an indescribable spirituality, like a white stone in a mountain stream, washed clean by flowing water for thousands of years, pure and serene.

What's most striking about him are his eyes.

Those eyes were as black as ink, yet crystal clear, like an extremely deep ancient well, the water reflecting the sunlight, yet the bottom could not be seen.

It was as if everything in the world was just a thin layer of dust in front of those eyes, which could be blown away with a gentle breeze.

Xie Ning realized his lapse in composure, turned his head away, coughed lightly, and asked with feigned calmness, "That person, why are you alone in this Old Yin Mountain?"

"Don't you know that monsters often appear around here?"

Daozhen looked up at her, then at the dead spotted tiger, and nodded slightly.

"I really didn't know before." After a pause, Daozhen added.

"Now I understand."