Journey to the West: Starting with becoming an apprentice of the Nine Heavens Demon-Subduing Patriar

Lu Shanjun squinted and mentally reviewed the entire passage.

When they descended the mountain, which path they took, and which line the old Taoist priest guarded... the details are clear, and the priorities are distinct.

Even crucial details like "the corpse was placed with its head facing up the mountain" were not missed.

Who is it for? It's for the people on the mountain to see.

This is hardly a reconnaissance mission.

This is a military intelligence report.

Huang San glanced at the expression on Tiger Lord's face above him. Seeing that he was not angry, but rather seemed thoughtful, Huang San regained his courage a little and whispered another sentence.

"Tiger Master... if I may say something, this time, we're probably going to suffer a huge loss on the mountain."

"Oh?" Lu Shanjun raised his eyelids slightly.

Huang San perked up and started counting on his fingers:

"Listen to my calculations. A little demon, once he opens his mind, would need to eat wild food and drink the mountain winds for at least thirty to fifty years before he could go down the mountain to do his job and achieve this much."

"Three lives were lost at Wushao Ridge this time, and two at the main peak. Five lives, the reserves that this mountain has nurtured for over two hundred years, were all used to feed that peach wood sword overnight."

"This is the loss of capital. And the loss of profit..."

"After this ordeal, who will dare to descend these three paths from now on? If they dare not descend, they will be unable to capture any living people. If they cannot capture any living people, the blood offerings of the Great King of the Main Peak will cease."

"But the offerings from each mountain stronghold to the King, a pound of meat and a piece of skin, are indispensable."

"Income has ceased, but expenditure continues as before."

"Tiger, if this business continues like this, within a year, everyone in Huangfeng Ridge will be starving."

"And then..."

"The killing at the foot of the mountain spread like wildfire among the scattered demons and monsters. The timid ones packed their belongings and fled north to Black Pine Ridge overnight. With the demons gone, the mountain's power weakened. And with the mountain's power weakened..."

It didn't dare to continue, but quickly glanced with its triangular eyes towards the main peak.

This time, even Tiger Two could taste the flavor, scratching his head and inhaling deeply.

Lu Shanjun stared at the weasel on the ground for a full ten breaths.

Good guy.

Losses, losses, the spread of evil spirits, and the decline of the mountain's power...

Each and every single point was calculated clearly.

The mountain is full of demons, some are fierce, some are ruthless, and there are plenty of them that can bite.

He had never met someone who could keep accounts before.

"Huang San".

"Little one is here!"

"What position did you hold at Wushaoling?"

"Reporting to Tiger Lord, patrolling. That is... keeping watch."

"Too much of a waste of talent."

Lu Shanjun said slowly, "From today onwards, you don't need to go back. Stay in my Yellow Wind Cave and be my strategist."

Huang San: "...Huh?"

The entire demon was completely dumbfounded.

I was both surprised and frightened.

Living in the jaws of a tiger, what good things fall from the sky? Could it be that they'll first give you a high-ranking position, fatten you up, and save you for winter?

and also.

Strategist... a strategist is someone who comes up with ideas. If the idea is right, great; if it's wrong, you might have to pay with your head?

When the third thought popped into its head, it was ashamed of itself.

The strategist, huh?

Huang San, a sentry on Wushao Ridge, a weasel who would bow and scrape even to a water snake, rose to become the strategist in front of Tiger Lord!

When we go out and about in the future, how should we address the demons?

Military Advisor Huang! Mr. Huang!

Three thoughts swirled in his mind, one moment startled, the next fearful, then delighted, creating a fascinating array of emotions on his face.

Finally, with a loud "thump," he knelt down, making a resounding thud.

"Military Advisor Huang San kowtows to Tiger Lord to thank him for his promotion. Tiger Lord, please give me any orders, and I, your humble servant... will go through fire and water for you!"

Tiger Two, standing nearby, curled his lip, feeling a pang of jealousy, and muttered under his breath, "Why wasn't he so imposing when he was running around like that, his belly scraping the ground?"

Huang San pretended not to hear.

……

"Oh, right."

Lu Shanjun suddenly remembered something. "You just said that the old Taoist priest swept the floor in a dilapidated temple at the foot of the mountain during the day. Which temple?"

"That one by the official road."

Huang San answered readily, "It's been abandoned for at least several decades. More than half of the roof has collapsed, and the yard is overgrown with weeds that are taller than monsters. I used to patrol the area and passed by several times, but I couldn't smell even a trace of incense."

"Who is enshrined in the temple?"

"This little one actually took a closer look..."

Huang Sanyi rallied his spirits and danced with joy.

There's only one stone statue inside.

"His hair was disheveled, he was barefoot, one hand forming a hand seal, the other pressing against his mouth sword. The strangest thing was that under his feet, there was a giant tortoise on one side and a long snake on the other, and the snake was wrestling with the tortoise..."

"Oh, by the way, there's still half a plaque hanging on the temple gate. The characters are all weathered, but you can still recognize two of them."

"One word: 'wandering,' and one word: 'demon.'"

Huang San continued speaking, but Lu Shanjun could no longer hear a single word.

Disheveled hair. Barefoot. Wielding a sword.

Stepping on a tortoise and snake.

Vanquishing demons.

Throughout the entire world, only one person is worthy of this divine image...

The North Pole Guardian, the True Martial Mysterious Heavenly Emperor, the Demon-Subduing Heavenly Venerable.

Lu Shanjun sat upright on the bluestone, his heart skipped a beat.

What kind of cultivation method do you use to nourish your dantian every day, every hour, every year, and every month?

The Lesser True Martial Qi-Inducing Technique.

The two characters "Zhenwu" were branded on the book cover.

That day in the cave, the Taoist priest walked away naturally, and the little green book "fell" down, which was very strange.

He had long suspected that the fall was intentional.

It's a test, a guide, or simply, a fishing expedition.

Now, only a few days after the fish swallowed the bait, anglers have already built fishing platforms at the foot of the mountain.

It just so happens to be built inside the temple of the True Martial Ancestor.

There are many Taoists in the world, and many old men with peach wood swords.

But no sooner had a True Martial Arts manual been left in his cave than a True Martial Temple at the foot of the mountain moved in. Such a coincidence is hardly a coincidence at all.

The hairs on the back of Lu Shanjun's neck stood up one by one.

Does he know I switched majors?

These past few days, I've been dispersing my energy, condensing my elixir, and subduing the tiger. I've managed to keep my movements hidden from all the eyes and ears in the mountain... But could I possibly hide them from those half-open, half-closed eyes?

Was he guarding the three paths at the foot of the mountain, or... me?

Thoughts jumped around wildly in my mind.

"It's not the arising of thoughts that's scary, but the slowness of awareness."

Lu Shanjun silently recited a mantra, and with a swirling of his inner energy, a wisp of cool true energy poured down upon him, gradually extinguishing the flames.

Panic is useless.

Huang San's intelligence unfolded in his mind once again.

The more they laid it out, the more they realized that something was wrong.

wrong.

That's not right.

If that Taoist priest was indeed a member of the Demon-Slaying lineage, then the one thing that this lineage could not tolerate the most was a speck of dust.

The word "荡" (dàng) signifies eradicating evil completely, cutting off its roots, and never showing any mercy.

Where does the greatest evil lie on Huangfeng Ridge?

At the main peak.

That old wolf, over three hundred years old, had been eating living people for decades.

At the foot of the mountain, in Wangjia Village, Luoyan'ao, and Qingshipu, every household has an empty kang (heated brick bed) and a lamp that is left burning all night, which they dare not light.

In terms of karmic debts and blood debts, one Yinhao is worth a hundred lesser demons on the mountain.

If you truly want to vanquish the demons, one sword strike to the main peak, behead the wolf, and the demons will scatter, ending the cycle once and for all.

But the old Taoist priest didn't.

He simply nailed three talismans at the foot of the mountain and guarded three paths.

The little demons came down the mountain to capture and kill people.

He neither went down the mountain nor crossed the line; he didn't even take a single step behind the talisman.

They kill the chicken, but deliberately leave the monkey, which deserves to be killed the most, untouched.

Why?