Calabash Fairy

The summit of Qingfeng Mountain.

Fang Yan watched the white crane soar into the clouds, then shook his head with a strange expression and said:

"In such a short time, all five evil spirits that fled to the Hundred Thousand Mountains have perished."

"These aren't five evil spirits, they're five unlucky ghosts."

The white crane just now brought news from Fellow Daoist Shuyu, saying that he had dealt with a Hundred-Eyed Demon that had run into the territory of Wuyou Mountain, and that he should keep a close eye on the surrounding area in the near future.

Fang Yan had planned to search the surrounding area in the coming days to prevent the Hundred-Eyed Demon from becoming a threat, but he never expected that the Hundred-Eyed Demon would be dealt with before the Four Demons.

There are actually no powerful monsters on the outskirts of the Ten Thousand Mountains. Although the area is vast, the spiritual energy is far inferior to that of the spiritual lands and caves inside.

This almost guarantees that powerful monsters won't appear here. A thousand-year-old demon is enough to dominate a region, just like the Crimson Blood Wolf Pack in its prime. If they came to the outer perimeter, they would be true overlords.

These five evil spirits were quite powerful, especially the White-Faced Ghost, who could practically roam freely outside the Ten Thousand Mountains. However, they happened to encounter him and Shu Yu, two variables that could not be judged by ordinary standards.

but...

After a moment's thought, Fang Yan slowly walked to the edge of the mountaintop and looked down. He saw a group of little demons pushing a wooden cart full of stone jars in the silvery-white forest, heading excitedly towards the White Tiger Cave.

Previously, the wild boar demon had told him everything that happened after encountering the painted-skin ghost, and at that time Fang Yan inexplicably felt that something was wrong.

"Although it seems flawless and everything is going smoothly, it also seems too coincidental..."

Throughout his cultivation journey, Fang Yan has occasionally had moments of inspiration, and they have always been remarkably accurate.

He also remembered that one of the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiend Techniques was called Mengtou.

This nascent inheritance can continuously expand a cultivator's spontaneous abilities. In the later stages of cultivation, one can even foresee some future events related to oneself.

Although Fang Yan had not yet studied this inheritance, it gave him reason to believe that this sudden idea was not unfounded.

However, he had no clue what to do at the moment, and simply kept the matter to himself.

.......................................

The underworld.

In a secluded corner of the underworld, a figure dressed in a dark official robe was holding a pen in one hand and a book in the other, constantly tracing names on the black book.

Among them, the names of a host of evil spirits, such as the White-Faced Ghost and the Painted Skin Ghost, were also prominently listed, but they had all been crossed out with a vermilion pen.

Not long after, when all 146 names on the page had been crossed out, the figure put down the vermilion pen and looked at the huge, dark well opening on the ground in front of him.

At this moment, broken, jet-black rune chains still dangled into the well from its edge.

"All 146 evil spirits that escaped this time have now been subdued and killed."

"Fang, Hu, and sixteen other underworld officials failed to properly supervise the evil spirits, allowing them to escape and wreak havoc on the human world. They are hereby dismissed from their posts, and their crimes will be investigated and further punishments will be imposed."

"Those in the human realm who have contributed to the slaying of evil spirits will receive merit to fulfill the law of cause and effect."

Soon, this majestic voice resounded throughout the underworld...

.........................................................

At the foot of Qingfeng Mountain, another Spring Festival has arrived, and every household is filled with joy.

This winter, the six villages were well-prepared and had a bumper harvest, which was much better than expected. This gave the villagers hope, and everyone looked forward to the arrival of the new year.

"The Great Dao of Cause and Effect?"

In the bamboo-fenced courtyard, Fang Yan looked at Fairy Yunhua across the wooden table with some surprise.

"Indeed," Fairy Yunhua nodded with a smile, personally handing the full white jade wine cup in her hand to Fang Yan. "It is said that there is a judge in the underworld who is in charge of life and death, investigates cases, formulates the laws of the underworld, and can also see the cause and effect of one's previous life, rewarding good and punishing evil."

"In this case, many treasures are related to cause and effect. This time, perhaps one of the four judges was angered and personally intervened, stirring up the cause and effect on these evil spirits, causing them to seek their own death."

"But rest assured, fellow Daoist, it must be because the judges have a list of evil spirits that this was accomplished. Moreover, those four judges are always fair in their rewards and punishments, and this killing of the evil spirit is truly an aid to the underworld. I think you will receive your reward soon."

Fang Yan nodded thoughtfully upon hearing this.

Whether this matter has been resolved can be found out when the two underworld messengers come to guide the departed souls again in the future, and they can be summoned and questioned.

Just then, Fairy Yunhua placed a jade slip on the table, looked at Fang Yan opposite her, and chuckled:

"Fellow Daoist, news has come from my sect that my senior sister has emerged from seclusion and found a precious elixir that can cure the Black Crow King's primordial spirit poison. Therefore, I plan to leave the Ten Thousand Mountains tomorrow and return to my sect. Please keep this item safe, fellow Daoist."

"This jade slip contains a map of part of the Southern Region outside the Ten Thousand Mountains, as well as my observations and experiences from my travels in the Southern Region over the years. I believe there should be some information that will be useful to you, fellow Daoist."

Fang Yan looked at Fairy Yunhua with some surprise, smiled, and sincerely congratulated and thanked her.

Ordinary elixirs are completely ineffective against the primordial spirit poison refined by a ten-thousand-year-old demon king like the Black Crow King. In fact, they may even have some adverse effects. Only by using unique precious pills or gradually wearing it down can it be completely neutralized.

Although his alchemy skills had progressed rapidly, he was still quite far from being able to refine precious pills. He was willing but unable to do so. Unexpectedly, the other party's senior sister found a precious pill for him as soon as she came out of seclusion, which also interrupted Fairy Yunhua's plan to live in Xiahe Village for three years.

"Fellow Daoist Fang, Xueyi and Qiu'er will remain in Xiahe Village. After fulfilling their filial duties, they will return to their sect on their own. This jade slip is also a token. If you wish to travel to the outside world in the future, you can come to the Ni Chang Immortal Sect to find me."

"If I ever travel in the future, I will definitely visit the Rainbow Robe Immortal Sect to reminisce with the fairy."

.......................................

Fairy Yunhua acted swiftly. After bidding farewell to Fang Yan, she quietly left Qingfeng Mountain the next morning with several jars of Phoenix Spirit Wine given to her by Fang Yan.

Fang Yan stood on the mountain, gazing into the distance, bidding them farewell from afar.

Life is unpredictable. Fairy Yunhua never expected that her senior sister would find the precious pill so quickly. Fortunately, she had already taught Su Xueyi all the daily lessons and spells.

After a year of interaction, she witnessed firsthand what kind of mountain god Fang Yan was, and was able to leave her disciples and grand-disciples here with peace of mind before leaving.

After a while, Fang Yan looked down at the white jade slip in his hand.

Fairy Yunhua knew exactly what he needed and lacked most right now, which was why she left this jade slip behind. Fang Yan studied it for a long time last night, and the knowledge inside was enough to fill the gaps in his understanding of many basic common sense about the cultivation world.

"What a profound sentiment..."

Fang Yan carefully put away the jade slip with a sigh, then turned and walked back into the mountain god temple.