Getting Even

The Jade Toad Granny of Yaoguang Cave in Fanshui River, Fashuang Mountain—even a toad that has become a spirit can have such a long list of titles, truly showing a narrow-minded and arrogant view of the world. But it cannot be denied that this creature is indeed one of the most troublesome monsters in the Ten-thousand-mountains, causing Ink Bamboo Mountain the most headaches.

You might say she's powerful, but she's not that powerful. There are plenty of powerful demon kings in the Transformation Stage; which one of them can rival the mountain lord? Those who can live long lives are either skilled at rehearsing escape routes, or they are used by Ink Bamboo Mountain as the core of a grand formation to suppress its destiny.

Back then, Ink Bamboo Mountain made a bet with the southern demons about the ownership of the Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land, agreeing to hold a contest every few decades. In reality, those demon kings now hide far away, dominating their own mountain strongholds, and only unite to resist if Ink Bamboo Mountain launches a major offensive. As Ink Bamboo Mountain has grown stronger year by year, few demons have taken the initiative to provoke it in recent years.

In reality, Ink Bamboo Mountain rarely organizes groups to hunt monsters. Look at the vast area of Mozhu Mountain's five peaks; recently, only Li Fan's family has moved here to live. It's really pointless to fight so many mountain peaks...

But this toad spirit was particularly ungrateful. It knew it was no match for Ink Bamboo Mountain, but it just loved to annoy people. It would often use this bet as an excuse to sneak into the mountains and eat people.

Moreover, toads are extremely poisonous. Even a tiny bit of their venom could be fatal to a Golden Core Stage cultivator, often resulting in injury or death. This Jade Toad Granny, somehow possessing water and earth escape techniques and breath-holding skills, can conceal her demonic aura and move stealthily. She is also incredibly sensitive to opportunities. Several times, the True Person Lou Guan set traps to capture her, but the demon king would always escape by smelling her scent from afar. At the slightest disturbance, she would flee into the South China Sea via waterways. Ink Bamboo Mountain couldn't cross the border into the Nangong Family's territory to intercept her, making it impossible to catch her.

A year ago, before Li Fan had even joined the sect, this toad, employing the essence of guerrilla warfare, sneaked into the Ink Bamboo Mountain when no one was around to steal the food of a young boy who hadn't even completed his Golden Core stage. Even now, knowing that it was probably a task assigned to Jade Toad Granny by the anti-Ink Bamboo Mountain alliance from Taiping Temple to keep the mountain lord occupied, it's still outrageous that Divine Transformation demon king would so shamelessly ambush a junior who had barely reached the Golden Core stage. It's completely overstepping its bounds and going too far.

"Last time, it dared to sneak into the Ink Bamboo Mountain Grotto-Heaven to eat people, and was caught by the mountain lord. He tore off its body, but it was just the skin shed by a toad. After all, it is a great demon of thousands of years, and its means of escaping are superb. Although it abandoned its body and suffered great damage to its cultivation, it still managed to save its life."

I've received word that Jade Toad Granny is currently recuperating in the Lei Marsh Water Palace. Presumably, she was badly injured by the Mountain Lord and doesn't even dare return to her cave in Yaoguang Cave, fearing she'll be ambushed. She's actually risking everything to hide in Lei Marsh; she's truly cunning.

If Nascent Soul Stage cultivator goes in person, it will likely alert the old demon and cause him to flee to the South Sea. Therefore, only Golden Core cultivator can accompany him, as this is the only way to lure him out and ambush him."

While explaining the mission, Liu Qing took out a bunch of medicine bottles from his jade pendant and distributed them. "That toad has eaten countless poisons, making it extremely toxic. Almost every time a fellow disciple is injured by it, the symptoms are different. These antidotes are specially formulated to counteract its poison. They may not be able to completely cure all the poisoning injuries, but they should be of some help."

Li Fan nodded, memorizing the appearance of the pills, and couldn't help but ask, "If the Abbot and the Mountain Lord were to join forces..."

Liu Qing shook his head, "The abbot has a rule that things shouldn't happen more than three times. He already plotted against Jade Toad Granny three times a hundred years ago, but each time her fate wasn't exhausted and she escaped. Therefore, he can't take action again."

You guys always get bullied because you follow the rules so strictly...

"But with only the seven of us, isn't it still a bit dangerous?" The one who asked the question was the Daoist in hemp robes who had spoken with Liu Qing earlier, Ma Kui, Golden Core cultivator from Lou Guan.

Indeed, Jade Toad Granny has dominated the South Border for so many years, and she is at least a mid-level boss with some prestige. Even though this time she was just picking up scraps and beating up a severely injured and crippled old monster, the Transformation Stage is still not something that two Golden Core cultivators can handle.

No matter how much Li Fan boasts about his prowess, claiming to be invincible in the Golden Core Stage, capable of killing Nascent Soul Stage Divine Transformation without hesitation, and even evenly matched with Deity Transformation cultivators, it's impossible for people to believe everything he says, right?

Fortunately, Liu Qing was a leading figure in the Southern Faction and had extensive connections. This time, he was going to fight against Jade Toad Granny, a demon who had offended everyone in the sect. He immediately recruited five Golden Core cultivators with solid foundations.

The reason Liu Qing first asked Ma Xia was because his master was Master Qian, the guardian of the Maoshan South Valley Daoist Temple. The South Valley Daoist Temple was on the front line of the battle against the demons of Yaoguang Cave in Fashuang Mountain. Ma Xia was also familiar with the Jade Toad Granny's methods and had gone to catch toads with his master several times. Therefore, this time when the group was formed, this Daoist Ma naturally had to go and help.

The other four arrived shortly after. They had met Li Fan once before; they were the four rogue cultivators from Ink Bamboo Mountain who had returned to the mountain with resources earlier and almost fell into his poison trap. Later, they joined the Thunder Department to eliminate the lion demon.

It turns out that not long ago, due to the matter of the Demon God Palace, the human and demon races were at odds and a great war was about to break out. The disciples of Ink Bamboo Mountain entrusted the harvest they had previously gathered in Lei Marsh to the four of them to guard and send back to the mountain gate before returning to participate in the battle. Therefore, the combat power of the four of them was not damaged at all.

They were all rogue cultivators practicing near Seven Star Peak, with the Daoist names Tianren, Tianxing, Tianyao, and Tianku. Their magical treasures were a copper bell, a golden bell, a jade ruler, and an iron mirror, respectively.

These four individuals might be considered slightly less talented, lacking the opportunity to cultivate Lou Guandao's inner alchemy skills. Currently, they are affiliated with the Seven Star Temple, primarily refining magical artifacts and also practicing various other schools of Daoist arts. However, they are not considered direct disciples of the Seven Star Temple, and they don't wear the black and white checkered Daoist robes like Yu Hengzi. Instead, they are dressed in the linen clothes, brown fur coats, and straw sandals of Mozhu Mountain. Their skills are quite solid, and at first glance, they appear to be typical and common independent cultivators from the fourteen peaks of the Southern School of Mozhu Mountain.

Having witnessed the methods of the Sky Daoist before, Li Fan dared not underestimate these four who were also of the "Sky" generation.

Back then, the four of them were able to intimidate Nascent Soul Stage demon with their combined magical light. Their cultivation level probably cannot be explained by the common sense of ancient cultivation methods. Perhaps they also used some unorthodox methods behind the scenes. It wouldn't be surprising if they suddenly turned into a demon.

While Li Fan was observing the intelligence of his temporary teammates, Liu Qing said to Ma Kui, "Our trip is just a preliminary exploration. I've only heard rumors, and I don't know if they're true or not. But if it's true, we certainly can't let go of this golden opportunity to strike while the iron is hot!"

With so many rogue cultivators seeking opportunities in Lei Marsh, even if Jade Toad Granny shrewd, she wouldn't be scared away by a few Golden Core cultivators like us. Once we pinpoint its hiding place and get our hands on it, Instructor Yuhengzi and Senior Brother Yuan will come to help. Together, we'll set up an array to surround it!

Even if it senses something is wrong, as long as we can find its escape route and delay it for a moment, we will ask Yao the Supervisor and all the senior cultivators to take action and eliminate it. With the combined strength of our Ink Bamboo Mountain, I don't believe we can't catch this old monster!"

Seven people went ahead to scout, followed by a group to reinforce them. And they were fighting monsters they knew well; this was at least safer than the time with the demon from the Qingyang Sect. Besides, Li Fan's divine skills had greatly improved, and with the Profound Heaven Sword Intent following him, and various flying swords and Daoist robes protecting him, he was invincible! Lose? Impossible!

Profound Heaven Sword Intent also agreed, saying it was at least a 50/50 chance!

At this moment, Daoist Tian Shu also came in carrying a pile of Magic Treasure. "It's good that you go and investigate. I've gathered some Magic Treasure for your self-defense. If you really find any trace of that old toad, remember to send me a talisman. I won't be satisfied until I tear it to pieces."

Li Fan stared wide-eyed at the gifts Tian Shuzi had delivered—each person had received a talisman sword! The kind he had used when he was training the Mu Long, a deadly weapon that sealed the Sword Light of the Black Sword! Seven people, one for each of them—damn, I don't recall seeing you use this much during the previous battles!

So he couldn't help but ask Ma Kui beside him, "Why does Daoist Tian Shu have a grudge against that monster?"

Ma Kui, whose own Ruyi scepter was still unrepaired, strapped the magic sword to his back and borrowed a Copper Coin Sword and a Thunder Talisman copper seal from the Seven Stars Sect. Hearing Li Fan's inquiries, he whispered, "Most likely. Among the demon kings of the Ten-thousand-mountains, it is the most ferocious. It often comes to devour our sect's members. Seven Star Peak was also ravaged by it before, resulting in many deaths and injuries."

What's wrong with this monster? Instead of running away from human cultivators, it's actively provoking them! Even lions and wolves aren't as fierce as this toad... And even the mountain lord and the abbot couldn't subdue it. This monster must be something else... Wait a minute! Is this Jade Toad Granny really a monster?

Could it also be a human, transformed using demonic magic?

There were too many chaotic Daoist practices on Ink Bamboo Mountain, which made Li Fan a little suspicious. However, judging from the way the rogue cultivators were plotting, their hatred for that Jade Toad Granny was indeed genuine and not feigned.

That makes sense, though. Whether it's human or demon, the hatred that the entire Ink Bamboo Mountain harbors for that toad is probably no less than their hatred for the Nangong Family. Whether it was born of a human mother or a demon mother, it's doomed this time!

Without further ado, the seven made preparations and boarded a flying shuttle to search the eastern part of Lei Marsh.

Because of the Demon God Palace incident, they had lingered too long in Lei Marsh. By the time they finished cleaning up the battlefield, the rainy season in Lei Marsh Swamp would soon begin again. The short gathering season would also be over, and the window of opportunity to hunt down the old hag would be very short. Li Fan then obeyed Liu Qing's command, and the seven cultivators dispersed, disguised as rogue cultivators seeking opportunities, to search for the Demon King's whereabouts.

However, Li Fan did not expect that after the operations were split up, Liu Qing would take the initiative to come to him and confront him.

"I wonder how much Junior Brother Li knows?"

Li Fan didn't hide anything from her, "The one in the gas bag told me everything she had to say, but it's not good to only hear one side of the story."

Liu Qing thought for a moment, "Junior Brother Li, you want to hear about the inside story of Ink Bamboo Mountain, but I don't know much about it either."

But to avoid the toad demon's wicked words misleading you during the fight, I'll tell you some unspeakable secrets from our sect beforehand. You can judge for yourself who is right and who is wrong.

"... Actually, that Jade Toad Granny was originally a disciple of my Ink Bamboo Mountain."

Li Fan was somewhat surprised by Liu Qing's frankness, but having been mentally prepared, he wasn't entirely taken aback and nodded to let her continue.

"Miss should have told you that the Forty-Nine Transformations of Tai Su from Mo Shan can only be practiced after reaching the Nascent Soul."

In fact, after the False Moon in the sky, most of the independent cultivators of our Ink Bamboo Mountain, especially those who were not qualified enough to join the Lou Guan, initially learned the Moshan lineage. After all, under such circumstances, the fastest way to cultivate was still the Tai Su Transformation Dao.

However, the Tai Su transformation is extremely dangerous and difficult to comprehend, and most disciples cannot understand it. Moreover, many disciples cannot control their Dao heart and transform into Devil Embryo and evil spirits. Therefore, the forty-nine transformations can only be taught to Nascent Soul Stage True Persons or Dao Seed with exceptionally high comprehension and a firm Dao heart.

Unfortunately, my Ink Bamboo Mountain is located on the border of the Central Plains, where even those with mid-grade aptitude are rare, let alone those with top-grade Dao Seed. Most of my disciples don't even have the destiny to survive the Golden Core Tribulation, let alone hope to achieve the Nascent Soul Stage.

Therefore, the lineage of the Mountain Lord at that time received the help of a master, and based on the Great Dao of Tai Su Transformation, they deduced the <Ninety-Nine Methods of Tai Chi Transformation>.

These <Ninety-Nine Methods of Tai Chi Transformation> do not transform into the form of the primordial, Non-Thing, but rather into the beings that originally existed in the Taiji Realm, the Demon Race and beast bodies.

These ninety-nine transformations serve two purposes: firstly, they are suitable for ordinary people like us to cultivate; secondly, they serve as a precaution against the Three Great Sects discovering our sect's Cultivation Method and being exterminated, allowing us to feign a demonic form for refuge.

Thirdly, the climate and environment of the Ten-thousand-mountains in the south are really unsuitable for human habitation. However, if I transform into a demon, I can continue to expand the mountain gate and dojo to the south, and the poisonous miasma forest will no longer be a problem. My Ink Bamboo Mountain lineage can continue to develop and grow stronger.

Therefore, most of the Inner Sect disciples of the fourteen peaks of Ink Bamboo Mountain, especially those of the nine peaks of Bamboo Mountain, begin cultivating the Taiji Transformation Method from the Foundation Establishment."

"The Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'Heh, as expected, these are just a bunch of rogue cultivators who don't know the true path and only choose shortcuts. They haven't even secured their Foundation Establishment stage human bodies and Dao hearts yet, and they've already started turning into ghosts. How could they not run into trouble? That Jade Toad Granny has been a toad for too long, has she forgotten that she was once human?'"

However, there are indeed masters on Ink Bamboo Mountain. The Tai Su transformation was already outrageous enough, but to actually develop a systematic method for demonic transformation...

What are you talking about? That expert is most likely Senior Brother Yan! In the end, isn't this just the lingering aftermath of the troubles you and your master have been causing each other?

Liu Qing indeed said, "But then the Jade Toad Granny incident happened."

In her time, our Ink Bamboo Mountain was expanding southward and fighting against the Demon Race. Therefore, disciples often used their demonic forms to infiltrate Demon Race demon race to gather intelligence and act as inside agents for our sect to break through formations and destroy mountains.

But that Jade Toad Granny actually fell in love with Demon Race, and the seeds of her evil were sown that she turned against her and joined the Demon Race. Later, the demon she loved was probably killed by our sect, and she became an enemy of our sect. She even managed to transform into human form and often infiltrated our sect to cause trouble. Her actions were completely like those of a demon, and she was no longer human at heart.

Therefore, whether it is the "Ninety-Nine Tai Chi Transformations" or the "Forty-Nine Tai Su Transformations," Ink Bamboo Mountain teaches them with utmost care. He even goes so far as to kill the person if they cannot retract their true form before dawn.

Now, only Golden Core Stage disciples who have achieved mastery and are loyal to their sect will be taught the method of transformation.

Fuling is currently cultivating the <Ninety-Nine Tai Chi Transformations Method>. Gurong cannot truly suppress her Dao heart; she can only be given a fragrant pill pouch with a very unique scent, which can help her remember people's thoughts and regain her senses by smelling it. However, since she is just beginning to learn the Tai Chi Transformations, she is very prone to losing control and transforming into a demon. It would be best for her junior brother not to disturb her meditation for the time being.

"After all, you two haven't been cultivating for long enough. If either of you loses control, someone will die."

"...Alright," Li Fan nodded, but couldn't help frowning as he asked, "Could those three monsters also be...?"

Liu Qing wore a wary expression, as if to say, "So you were hiding in the shadows after all," but still replied, "Those three are indeed demons, but they are the latest demon beast protectors trained and tamed by my Ink Bamboo Mountain. They have been given enlightenment pills by the abbot and have been given intelligence. They can be used as demon soldiers."

Since the incident with Jade Toad Granny, our sect has forbidden our disciples from using their demonic forms for extended periods of infiltration. The Demon God Egg is a means to increase their lifespan; after all, they are going to infiltrate the Kun Country, and if their lives aren't strong enough, they might not survive the impending calamity."

Li Fan understood, but still had doubts, and asked, "Why do you have such a deep prejudice against me, Senior Sister Liu Qing?"

Liu Qing glanced at him. "I don't know what the person in the pocket told you, but back then, the Mountain Lord's lineage deduced the Tai Chi transformations, and the Abbot's lineage, along with the Nangong Family, deduced the method of transformation and dissolution, all to find a way out for the disciples of Ink Bamboo Mountain. Each person only has three chances."

Li Fan nodded. "I understand. Could this body also be a reincarnation of a disciple of Ink Bamboo Mountain?"

So Liu Qing spoke up calmly, "You know I won't say more. Since the Mountain Lord and the Abbot have accepted you as a disciple, it's not my place to say anything. But junior brother, remember, your body Li Yi, the reincarnation of a fellow disciple of my Ink Bamboo Mountain. And the twenty children who came with you back then were all fellow disciples of my Ink Bamboo Mountain."

Whether by a twist of fate or by sheer chance, you owe Ink Bamboo Mountain twenty-one lives. One life for another, so please save the disciples of Ink Bamboo Mountain twenty-one times and remember to repay this debt."

Li Fan paused for a moment, then nodded seriously and bowed, saying, "Qingyue will remember."