One divination a day, a trainee celestial master

"After the sun sets tonight, I will lead my nephew into the mountains to continue searching for this red-clothed ghost."

After speaking, Li Xuanqing glanced at Jiang Shou but did not extend an invitation. After all, capturing the red-clothed fiend was extremely dangerous, and Master Jiang was young and the only disciple of the sect; there was no reason to drag him into it.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shou paused slightly in his teacup.

A fierce internal struggle instantly began in his mind.

On one hand, he instinctively wanted to refuse. This red-clad vengeful ghost was no joke; last night it almost ripped his heart out with a single claw. Although he currently had a wisp of true energy in his dantian, his offensive methods were lacking. If he encountered another ferocious creature in a rage, and Fatty Tiger wasn't around, wouldn't he be sending himself to his death? Wasn't it better to stay in the Taoist temple, peacefully drawing talismans and making money?

But on the other hand...

The "Suihan Token" in Jiang Shou's pocket seemed to be radiating some kind of extremely alluring magnetic force.

The hexagram text for the Cold Winter season reads: "[To quell resentment, one can accumulate great merit]!"

The three words "great merit" are like a top-quality treasure chest hanging right in front of you.

Moreover, tonight's situation is completely different from last night's. Last night, he was fighting alone. But tonight, he has two regular fighters from Longhu Mountain, true masters, holding the line!

"Master Li's cultivation is unfathomable, and that Zhang Lingqiu looks like a tough opponent too. With them tanking and dealing damage in front, I can just follow behind, doing some support and maybe even find an opportunity to use the [Resentment-Breaking Talisman] to get an assist. The danger level drops dramatically!"

Jiang Shou quickly calculated the return on investment for this "great deed" in his mind.

He pondered for a long time.

Jiang Shou put down his teacup, raised his head, and his eyes revealed a look of compassion and a righteous indignation.

"Master Li," Jiang Shou said sincerely, "this red-clothed ghost has fled to the Cuiwei Mountain area of ​​my Qiyun County. As the local lord of Shouyi Temple, I naturally cannot stand idly by. Tonight, I request to join the search of the mountain and do my part."

Upon hearing that Jiang Shou had volunteered,

A hint of undisguised admiration flashed in Li Xuanqing's eyes. He had been worried that the young abbot might be afraid because of the danger he had encountered the previous night, but he hadn't expected him to be so responsible.

"Master Jiang is truly virtuous!" Li Xuanqing cupped his hands slightly. "With the assistance of a local fellow practitioner like you, who is familiar with the terrain, tonight's mission will surely be twice as successful with half the effort."

Even Zhang Lingqiu, who was standing next to him, showed a hint of emotion on his usually cold face when he heard Jiang Shou's words.

He stood up and once again bowed solemnly to Jiang Shou, his tone now filled with genuine admiration: "Master Jiang is fearless of evil spirits and has the well-being of all people in his heart. I admire you greatly."

Jiang Shou sat in the main seat, smiling, "Stop praising me, stop praising me. If you keep praising me, I'll start to feel like I'm some kind of savior who's ready to die for his cause..."

The three chatted briefly in the side hall and finalized the meeting time for that evening.

"Master Jiang, then we will first return to the town at the foot of the mountain to prepare the necessary ritual implements. We will return to Shouyi Temple to meet you before sunset this evening."

Li Xuanqing stood up and took his leave with Zhang Lingqiu.

Jiang Shou escorted the two to the gate of Shouyi Temple, watching the two Taoist priests, one old and one young, walk down the bluestone steps to the halfway pavilion.

The door closed.

Jiang Shou's righteous indignation vanished instantly, and he rushed back to his room in three quick steps.

"Since we're going to be doing team battles tonight to rack up merit points, we need to max out our gear first!"

Jiang Shouyi pulled open the drawer, took out high-grade yellow paper, a mixed-hair brush, and cinnabar, and took a deep breath.

"Tonight, I'll have to concoct a few more powerful talismans for self-defense! If those two strong guys can't hold out, I absolutely can't be slower than them when I run away!"

……

Inside the room, Jiang Shou carefully put away the last [Resentment-Breaking Talisman] he had drawn, and let out a long breath.

With a few talismans on him, he finally felt much more at ease.

Drawing talismans repeatedly had greatly depleted his true energy and mental strength. He rubbed his slightly swollen temples, stood up, and pushed open the door to the room.

"There are dangers everywhere in these deep mountains and forests, so it would be more reassuring to have a bodyguard with me."

Jiang Shou wandered around the yard, even going to the kitchen and the old well in the backyard to check, calling out softly, "Fat Tiger? Fat Tiger Senior? Little Orange? Are you there? Come out and eat some dried fish!"

He originally wanted to drag this "tsundere grandma" with her amazing figure and fighting skills along with him to fight the monster, but after searching the entire Taoist temple, he couldn't find even a single orange cat hair.

"That little glutton, he always disappears at the crucial moment." Jiang Shou sighed helplessly. "Looks like we can only rely on those two big shots from Longhu Mountain tonight."

……

As evening approached, the sun began to set.

Li Xuanqing, accompanied by his junior apprentice Zhang Lingqiu, visited again as promised. The three of them exchanged few pleasantries, prepared their magical implements, and, taking advantage of the last rays of the sunset, set off directly from the back gate of Shouyi Temple, plunging into the depths of Cuiwei Mountain.

Qiyun County is naturally mountainous and forested, and the Cuiwei Mountain in its western suburbs is even more continuous, extending further into the region and directly connecting to the ancient mountain range that stretches across several provinces. This is the outer spur of what the locals call the "Ten Thousand Mountains." The mountains are filled with towering ancient trees that block out the sun, and the terrain is extremely steep and complex. Apart from the occasional experienced herb gatherer, it is rarely visited by humans.

Jiang Shou wasn't unfamiliar with this terrain. Back when he had just received the true essence baptism from the Suihan Order, he and the cat had engaged in a fierce parkour chase in this forest in order to forcefully pet Fatty Tiger. It was during that time that he was hit by Fatty Tiger's "air shield" that appeared out of thin air, which caused him to be thrown back and limped back to the Taoist temple.

The three of them trekked through the rugged mountain forest for more than half an hour.

The woods ahead suddenly opened up, revealing a steep and precipitous cliff in front of the three.

Standing on the edge of the cliff and looking down, one sees a bottomless, enormous ravine below. The ravine is filled with jagged rocks, its terrain resembling a vast natural basin, shrouded in a thick, impenetrable gray-white night mist.

"This is it."

Li Xuanqing stopped and pointed to the mountain stream below, saying solemnly, "Since that wedding dress ghost can fly through the air, this deep, dark, and easily accumulating Yin energy basin valley is the perfect place for her to hide and nurture her evil energy."

Jiang Shou peered down and saw that the cliff had a vertical drop of at least seventy or eighty meters, and the rock face was covered with slippery moss, with not even a vine to put his foot down.

"Master Li, it's bottomless down here. How are we going to get down? Are we going to climb down with our bare hands?" Jiang Shou swallowed hard.

Li Xuanqing smiled slightly and took out three talisman papers with strange light blue runes drawn on them from his wide sleeves.

"This is the secret [Floating Talisman] of my Longhu Mountain Celestial Master's Mansion." Li Xuanqing handed one talisman to Jiang Shou and explained, "When you stick it on your body and activate it with Dao Yuan, it makes you as light as a swallow. When you jump from a height, you will float down slowly like a parachute. Not only is it safe, but you can also use the wind to slightly control the direction of your landing."

Jiang Shou's eyes lit up instantly.

"Holy crap, there's something this good?!" Jiang Shou took the talisman with both hands, absolutely delighted. "Isn't this just a portable, unpowered hang glider? The technology in the cultivation world is truly advanced!"

Seeing Jiang Shou's naive and unsophisticated demeanor, Zhang Lingqiu's cool face flashed with a barely perceptible hint of pride. He was the first to stick the talisman to his chest and make a hand seal with two fingers.

"Buzz~~" The talisman glowed faintly, and Zhang Lingqiu leaped off the cliff.

Jiang Shou quickly peered over. He saw Zhang Lingqiu's body seemingly weightless in mid-air, his entire being like a feather lifted by a gentle breeze, gliding lightly and gracefully into the thick fog below. His Taoist robe fluttered in the wind, truly giving him the air of an immortal returning to heaven on the wind.

"Awesome!" Jiang Shou thought to himself, then followed suit and slapped the talisman on his chest. He channeled his inner energy and jumped down with Li Xuanqing.

The wind whistled in his ears, but his body felt as if it were being lifted up by a soft cloud. This novel experience of being unbound by gravity made Jiang Shou exclaim with delight.

In less than two minutes, the three of them were firmly planted on a patch of gravel at the bottom of the valley.