The Second Refining Talisman

Chapter 20: The Second Talisman Refinement

Several days later, at Manfeng Mountain in Wangyue Prefecture.

Various iron-clad troops were stationed here, arranged in small squads. The front rank consisted of shield bearers, the middle rank of spearmen, and the rear rank of crossbowmen, with each squad numbering at least a hundred men.

Surrounding these soldiers was a strange ink. The ink spread thinly, like a uniform, fine "black brick and tile" laid on the ground. Anyone who walked on the ground would inevitably leave a mark on this ink.

Each squad operated on a two-shift system, with one half resting while the other half stood guard.

They could not withdraw, as their mission had only just begun.

They had been here for a full four days and nights.

They didn't know how much longer they would have to wait.

But as long as the General above did not give the order, they would have to keep waiting.

Soon, night fell.

The bright moon in the sky cast dense shadows of fallen leaves onto the ground.

Numerous torches and braziers were lit from the ground, their blazing flames casting a red glow upon the sky.

Suddenly, martial artists dressed in sturdy clothing arrived from afar. Upon their arrival, they skillfully joined the various iron-clad units, guarding the dimmer areas on the periphery, forming a complementary joint defense.

The General of this force also emerged from the rear ranks, clad in armor.

Among the martial artists, a Yellow Robe Daoist, accompanied by two Daoist Boys, stepped forward.

"General Zhang."

"True Person Han."

After a brief greeting, the two stood together, neither speaking further, the atmosphere somewhat oppressive.

Soon, more people arrived from afar. All of them were renowned experts from Wangyue County and surrounding counties, and they all carried their own special weapons.

A moment later, two more Yellow Robe Daoists appeared. Including the one who had arrived first, there were now three in total.

These three, along with General Zhang, began to converse more openly.

"Is the Celestial Master truly coming?"

"The army here was dispatched by the Celestial Master. Of course, the Celestial Master is coming. Not only is he coming, but he is also planning a formal assault on this Manfeng Mountain."

"We have already lost too many people here. There are at least three types of Yao here."

"Fortunately, the Bear Demon of Old Mountain in Star River County was eliminated by you, True Person Han."

As the words fell, the Yellow Robe Daoist who had previously coiled a golden snake around a bear on Old Mountain repeatedly waved his hands and then shook his head gravely.

He had not revealed the true situation of "Old Mountain" to the outside world, as the Celestial Master did not wish to cause further panic.

If General Zhang was the leader of the soldiers in Wangyue Prefecture, then the Celestial Master was their leader.

The remaining two Daoists looked thoughtful upon seeing his reaction.

One Daoist asked, "In any case, it was eliminated, right?"

This time, the Yellow Robe Daoist did not deny it and replied, "Yes."

The Daoist nodded slightly, "Fortunately, it was eliminated. Otherwise, there would be at least four types of Yao here."

Another Daoist sighed softly, "The Celestial Master had previously left Manfeng Mountain untouched, merely sealing off the surroundings and designating it as a forbidden area. Now that the army has been mobilized and we are here to encircle and suppress it, it seems we are taking a further step. I wonder how many will survive after this encirclement and suppression."

Everyone fell silent.

Instantly, a tragic and heroic atmosphere rose from the place.

Everyone was prepared to die.

In this Prefecture City, they were the first to encounter the truth, and also the first to encounter despair.

Just then, a large expanse of golden light surged from the ground amidst the red and black night. Two figures emerged from it. The red light from the braziers cast their slender shadows darkly onto the ground.

Both wore bronze ghost masks. The difference was that one wore a purple Daoist robe, appearing transcendent, while the other was clad in Daoist Boy robes and carried an exaggeratedly long Beast Slaying Saber on his back.

The Daoists looked at the Daoist Boy in surprise. In their impression, the Celestial Master always borrowed Daoist Boys because he dealt with quite powerful Yao. They wondered where this one had been borrowed from this time.

And judging by the mask, this Daoist Boy did not wish to reveal his identity, which added a touch of mystery.

Ugly Slave scanned his surroundings and then said to Ning Xuan, "Qingfeng, on the way here, I've already told you most of the situation. We'll rest tonight and ascend the mountain first thing tomorrow morning."

Ning Xuan nodded.

Immediately, Ugly Slave was ushered into a hastily erected tent.

The Celestial Master's constitution was very poor. If he were to take action the next day, he would need to rest well the day before.

As for Ning Xuan, the Daoist Boy, he sat by the campfire outside the tent, closing his eyes to meditate while also keeping watch over the tent behind him.

The Celestial Master sleeps, the Daoist Boy stands guard.

This was the life of a Daoist Boy.

If it were anyone else, Ning Xuan would surely have been unhappy.

But thinking of how miserable his elder brother had been, disfigured, his name hidden, unable to acknowledge his family, while he himself enjoyed everything in his brother's stead...

This way, he felt there was nothing to it.

What's more, with his current physique, standing guard for a night was nothing.

Ning Xuan sat cross-legged by the brazier in front of the tent. During this time, people tried to approach him to curry favor, but he ignored them all and didn't respond. Gradually, no one came near him anymore.

He inhaled the night wind, a mixture of grass juice and a fishy smell, and looked at the dark, imposing mountains in the distance.

Big Brother said there were three types of Yao in these mountains.

One, a monkey.

One, a bull.

One, a sheep.

Currently, there were these three.

But they were still trying to invite more Yao here.

For what?

Most people guessed the Yao wanted to form an alliance.

But Big Brother told him, "Not necessarily."

The entire Wangyue Prefecture, including its nine counties and twenty-eight townships, as well as passing travelers, had a considerable number of missing people. The places where these people disappeared were not fixed.

In the eyes of the Daoists, disappearance meant death.

These people had all entered the bellies of monsters and become food.

But Big Brother told him, "No."

Because Big Brother had once accidentally heard human cries in the depths of Manfeng Mountain. Those voices drifted from various places on the wind, the most frequent being "Help."

Big Brother thus drew a simple conclusion: the missing people were not likely eaten, but were being held captive.

Why would Yao and Mo hold people?

And why invite other Yao and Mo?

Big Brother arrived at a terrifying conclusion: a banquet.

The Yao and Mo wanted to host a banquet, so they captured people, but they endured their hunger and didn't eat them immediately. Instead, they kept them captive, waiting for the banquet to proceed.

But who would a banquet be held for?

And what kind of person could make Yao and Mo endure without eating them?

Big Brother dared not imagine.

In recent days, more and more people had gone missing. Big Brother finally couldn't hold back and wanted to take action. Coupled with his own realm advancing further, and the addition of Ning Xuan, a capable Daoist Boy.

The day was set for tomorrow.

Tomorrow, Big Brother would first take him to investigate.

Once they had investigated as clearly as possible, they would launch a full-scale attack.

His mission was to protect Big Brother and buy him some time to "cast spells."

The bonfire crackled and burned.

The firelight danced in his eyes.

He casually threw a few cold branches into the fire and then closed his eyes to rest.

He didn't want to get married and go to Hanzhou Ranch, so... this mission had to be completed.

The night... deepened.

As time passed, Ning Xuan vaguely felt that it should be close to dawn.

His senses were very sharp, and he had his own judgment on the flow of time.

Then, he felt that dawn had definitely arrived.

He opened his eyes.

He looked and saw that it was still dark.

The sky.

Was still dark.

Why?

The sky hadn't brightened at all.

Except for the black moon hanging high above his head.

The moonlight formed a strange halo, illuminating the area around the bright moon with a pale white light. The black moon was like a black pupil looking down from above, staring directly at him.

Ning Xuan was very sure that he had not used the essence blood of the "Ghost Monkey" to refine the talisman, so there was only one possibility left.

A Heavenly Demon was about to arrive here.