It was evening, near the end of the shen hour.
The you hour was almost upon them, and Qingping Mountain was already shrouded in gloom.
Darkness always fell early in the mountains, all the more so in the depths of winter.
As Jiang Sheng watched Tian Ming'an finish his chores and come to take his leave, he suddenly said, "You heard why the county magistrate visited today. Evil cultivators and demonic practitioners are running rampant in Qingshan County Seat, murdering people and throwing the whole county into panic."
"Who knows how many families have lost their children, or how many have lost their husbands? All we know is that dozens of white mourning banners are already hanging throughout Qingshan County."
Tian Ming'an paused, then fell silent for a moment before saying, "Daoist, I don't understand many lofty principles. All I know is that we should do everything within our power and leave the rest to Heaven."
"The magistrate asked you to subdue the demon in the river, so that must take priority. You can't lose the greater prize over something smaller."
"If you acted rashly, you could certainly deal with those evil cultivators, but the demon would surely be alerted and make preparations."
"If you failed to vanquish it and the river demon flew into a rage, more than half of Qingshan County might be swallowed by the river. Even more ordinary people would die or be injured then."
"Every gain comes with a loss. Take me, for example. Even though I was born into a wealthy family, there are still things I want but cannot have."
"What in this world is ever perfect? These are hard times. Simply managing to live with a clear conscience is already no easy feat."
Jiang Sheng gave Tian Ming'an a surprised look, then finally let out a soft laugh. "These are hard times, and simply managing to live with a clear conscience is already no easy feat. Those words have quite a different flavor coming from your mouth."
"Remember, even the True Persons who roam the five continents and Four Seas dare not claim to see through the mortal world and human hearts. Stumbling apprentices like us have even less reason to trouble ourselves needlessly."
"Never mind. It's getting dark. Don't go home tonight. Stay at the temple."
After a moment's thought, Jiang Sheng beckoned, drawing a small flame from a candle on the incense altar. "The nights are dark. Take this candle flame to light your way."
Tian Ming'an reached out to accept it. The faint flame hovered above his hand, neither scorching nor painfully hot, yet bright enough to light his way and warm his body.
"Thank you for the flame, Daoist." Tian Ming'an cradled it with utmost care.
"Go on." Jiang Sheng waved him away, then resumed sitting cross-legged before the patriarch's portrait, closing his eyes to rest his mind.
Meanwhile, back at the county office, Zhang Qingyun recounted the outcome with considerable frustration.
After listening in silence for a moment, Zhang Qing said, "Daoist Jiang is said to be an accomplished Daoist from Penglai. He established his place of cultivation on Qingping Mountain merely to cultivate here for a time."
"And judging by what the people of Qingping Town have said, he clearly has no interest in worldly disturbances. He prefers peace, seclusion, and solitude."
"Father, you think you persuaded Daoist Jiang to act, but perhaps he already intended to eliminate the demon in the Taiping River."
Zhang Qingyun stared blankly for a while before asking, "What do you mean?"
Zhang Qing sighed. "Daoist Jiang might leave Qingshan County in three or five years. But Father, put yourself in his place. If a man-eating demon lived right beside your place of cultivation, could you still enter seclusion with peace of mind?"
"It's like another Wei Army suddenly setting up camp along Great Qi's frontier. Could His Majesty still sleep soundly? How could he allow someone else to snore beside his bed?"
Understanding dawned on Zhang Qingyun. "Then Daoist Jiang never considered whether the people of Qingshan County lived or died?"
Zhang Qing nodded, raising her pale hand as she gazed at the cold, clear moon above. "Most cultivators possess unwavering resolve and aspire to immortality. How many of them would care whether mortals like us live or die?"
"Didn't Daoist Jiang say himself that he only killed the spirit tiger on Qingping Mountain because it had occupied the place he had chosen for his cultivation?"
Zhang Qingyun suddenly sighed. "I thought Daoist Jiang was kindhearted. I never imagined..."
Zhang Qing rose with a smile. "Father, it doesn't matter what sort of person Daoist Jiang truly is. As long as he's willing to help us eliminate the demon in the Taiping River, that's enough."
Another night fell, and Qingping Mountain was swallowed completely by darkness.
At midnight, hazy snowflakes began drifting from the sky. Fine flecks of snow settled over the ground, concealing every trace.
Qingxuan Temple stood silent amid the snowfall. Jiang Sheng sat cross-legged before the patriarch's portrait, his breathing barely audible.
Outside Qingxuan Temple, however, seven or eight figures were closing in from the east and west.
The snow filling the sky concealed their tracks perfectly. Each stared intently at the lonely Daoist temple deep in the mountains, their eyes burning with greed.
"I hear that Daoist inside has quite a background, and a handsome fortune!"
"Exactly. Didn't the magistrate of Qingshan County make a great show of delivering a batch of Scarlet Blossom Fruit as a gift just recently? Those resources alone would let us brothers live it up for a good while."
"I'm more interested in finding out just how capable that Daoist is, with so many people singing his praises."
"Would his flesh and bones make better materials for refining magical artifacts?"
The men spoke over one another. They were a band of evil cultivators!
They called themselves the Eight Wolves of Dongjun, having slaughtered their way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
Their coordination was flawless. There was no telling how many people they had murdered to refine magical artifacts, or how many rogue cultivators they had killed to plunder their wealth.
Now, all eight of them were in the Foundation Establishment Realm!
They were notorious evil cultivators throughout Dongjun and even Qing Province. Ruthless and fearless in the face of death, they dared to trade wound for wound or stake their very lives. For resources, they would trail a cultivator for hundreds or thousands of miles, waiting for a chance to ambush and kill them.
They were also skilled at tracking and laying ambushes. Like a wolf pack on the hunt, they surrounded and devoured their prey. Their vicious methods and devious schemes made countless cultivators tremble at the mere mention of them.
After slipping into Qingshan County, they had not acted rashly. They watched their fellow evil cultivators kill people and practice their dark arts in the county seat while gathering information about the county.
Eventually, they reached a conclusion: the wealthiest place in Qingshan County was not the county office, but Qingxuan Temple on Qingping Mountain!
The master of Qingxuan Temple was supposedly a Daoist from Penglai!
And supposedly, he lived alone on Qingping Mountain. No matter how powerful he was, how much of that ability could he bring to bear against an entire group?
So they crept all the way to Qingping Mountain and confirmed that, apart from Jiang Sheng, there was only one adolescent boy in the temple.
Then they watched Jiang Sheng keep Tian Ming'an at the temple overnight.
Even though the temple held only one Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator and one frail adolescent boy, they still did not act recklessly.
Instead, they waited patiently until late at night. Only when snow began falling and blanketed the mountain did they make their move.
Now that they had finally confirmed their information, they began their hunt for Jiang Sheng.
They already had a basic estimate of his strength.
After all, they had encountered cultivators who had achieved Earthly Foundation Establishment before. Though such cultivators possessed greater reserves of spiritual power, several rounds of attacks from all eight of them would exhaust those reserves, leaving their victim a lamb awaiting slaughter.
Besides, Jiang Sheng had a mortal beside him. With that mortal weighing him down, could he unleash his full strength, however capable he might be?
Their minds made up, the eight began working in silent coordination. Without revealing themselves, they spread out in every direction and closed in on Qingxuan Temple's front hall.
Inside the front hall, Jiang Sheng abruptly opened his eyes in the midst of his cultivation. A sharp gleam flashed through his star-like gaze.
"Heavy snow at midnight, and all of you have come calling at such a late hour. What brings you here?"
Jiang Sheng's clear voice rang through the snowy night, seeming to explode beside the Eight Wolves of Dongjun's ears and giving them a violent start!
We've been exposed!
"Surround him!" the leader of the Eight Wolves of Dongjun barked.
Since they had been exposed, they would surround and kill him head-on!
The other seven sprang into action with savage grins. Blood-red chains shot through the snowy night toward Jiang Sheng, who sat cross-legged in the front hall, their sharp spearheads aimed straight at his back!
These crimson chains were magical artifacts the Eight Wolves of Dongjun had forged through murder. They could corrupt a cultivator's spiritual power and damage their meridians, preventing them from circulating their power or casting spells. They could also imprison a cultivator's dantian and restrict their movements.
With these crimson chains aiding them, the Eight Wolves of Dongjun had never failed!
This time, someone whose name they did not know had funded them to run wild in Qingshan County, giving them a great quantity of resources.
They had used all those resources to strengthen their cultivation and enhance their crimson chains. The Eight Wolves of Dongjun were now stronger and more vicious than ever!
The crimson chains tore through the air, scattering the falling snow.
The sinister, corrupting aura of these artifacts, designed specifically to harm cultivators, made Jiang Sheng narrow his eyes. "Such foul artifacts. Evil methods indeed."
"We've long heard that an accomplished Daoist from Penglai resides on Qingping Mountain. We brothers have come expressly to experience your skills! We hope you won't hold back!" the leader declared smugly. His spiritual power surged as he scattered a shower of poisoned needles capable of corrupting a cultivator's body.
By now, the commotion in the front hall had awakened Tian Ming'an.
He hurried out of his room and saw several indistinct figures in the air near the front hall, along with chains that filled him with a deep sense of unease. They seemed to be surrounding and attacking Daoist Jiang!
The sight filled Tian Ming'an with dread. Anyone sneaking in to attack Daoist Jiang in the dead of night had to be an evil cultivator!
He was worried, too. There were so many evil cultivators, and every one of them looked terrifying. Could Daoist Jiang handle them?
One of the Eight Wolves of Dongjun spotted Tian Ming'an. With a vicious grin, he immediately redirected his chain artifact toward the boy.
Carrying its foul aura, the crimson chain lunged at Tian Ming'an like a venomous snake.
Tian Ming'an heard a rapid whistle through the snow-filled air, then saw a sinister, blood-red chain hurtling toward him!
His mind buzzed, every hair on his body stood on end, and he froze where he stood.
Jiang Sheng had been about to counterattack, but when he saw a chain suddenly shoot toward the temple's rear courtyard, his brow furrowed. He put away the patriarch's portrait from the incense altar, rose, and darted toward the courtyard.
"Ha! He really does care about that mortal boy!"
"Here's our chance!"
The Eight Wolves of Dongjun grew as excited as hyenas catching the scent of blood. Controlling their chain artifacts, they swarmed forward.
"Daoist Jiang, be good and hand over your entire fortune—and your life!"
Here's the second update! Gentlemen, please bookmark and recommend the story to give Lin Yuan some encouragement!
(The end of this chapter.)
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