Chicken Mountain

"That's outrageous..."

Is a bird really a meteorological weapon? Even if you say the drought forced this rare bird to forage in the human world, that doesn't seem right. Rice is only five coins a bushel, Li River is surging; where is the drought?

Or perhaps this bird carries some kind of destiny, like a manifestation of a great drought on earth, a symbolic warning or omen?

Li Fan couldn't tell for a moment whether it was superstition, a coincidence, or something real.

Now that Shenyong has been born, there's no point in chasing him back and killing him. Apart from reporting to the sect, the only option is to trace the culprit.

If there is no drought, all will be well, but if a disaster does occur, we must find the masterminds behind this and make them receive the punishment they deserve.

Based on the current evidence, it is precisely Xu Liang, a disciple of Real Person Huang, who might be suspected of colluding with that Chen Jinu...

"Zhang Shanshen." At this moment, Real Person Huang suddenly called out.

Zhang Mountain God immediately bowed and said, "Yes, sir."

"Go quickly to Ink Bamboo Mountain and reveal your divine power to report the birth of the Yong Bird."

"This humble deity obeys the decree." With a bang, Zhang Mountain God transformed into smoke and vanished.

Real Person Huang took out another yellow talisman and held it in his hand. It spontaneously combusted without fire. He looked at Li Fan and said, "I must guard Zhonggu and cannot leave without permission. You continue to patrol the Ten-thousand-mountains and inform the guards of the mountain lords about the matter of the Yong Bird. Between Yangjia and Lingqiu, there are great formations that seal Li Country."

If, as you say, this Chen Jinu harbors ill intentions, then he has likely corrupted more than just one aspect of one's Daoist foundation. Give this talisman to the Mountain Guardian Immortal and have them personally take you to verify it. If what you say is true, then ask your sect to bring Xu Liang back for questioning."

As soon as Real Person Huang finished speaking, the yellow talisman in his hand burned out, and with a bang, it turned into a letter after emitting a wisp of green smoke.

Li Fan accepted the letter and bowed, saying, "This disciple will go and report immediately."

Real Person Huang closed his eyes and remained silent.

Now that this has happened under his supervision, and his own disciple is clearly involved, it's already quite commendable that he's handling the matter impartially without resorting to murder to cover it up.

The fact that the mountain god, who was granted divine status, could directly manifest himself in the temple of Ink Bamboo Mountain to deliver the message is practically like teleportation. Perhaps Ink Bamboo Mountain could even intercept those Yong Bird earlier.

So Li Fan didn't rush to chase the bird. He took Real Person Huang's talisman, immediately summoned the Fagui Sword, and flew westward to Chicken Mountain.

Honestly, even for the main character, it's incredibly unlucky to run into this kind of awful thing every time he goes on a mission, isn't it? Is Li Fan's natal star a jinx...?

Fortunately, the journey to Chicken Mountain was peaceful. No black-clad masked men tried to ambush him, and he didn't encounter any demons. This was to be expected, Lingqiu Mountain was barren and unsuitable for spirit beasts, and Chicken Mountain was also a desolate and harsh place. However, there were some gold and stone veins on the mountain, which could be mined, so demons didn't live there. No wonder the Nangong Family gave up this vast territory of thousands of miles so easily.

A black river flows out from Chicken Mountain and empties into the South China Sea. The name literally means "dark and murky water," suggesting there might be coal deposits in the mountains.

The local Ink Bamboo Mountain temple was built on the site of a former Immortal Palace's mine. From the outside, it looks like a military camp. Inside, it connects to the mine in the mountain wall and has a workshop, or rather, a factory, with a towering Daoist pagoda.

From afar, you can see various mechanisms sorting and driving out cartloads of ore pulled from the mine. The mechanical flying boats of Ink Bamboo Mountain are moored next to the tower. Without even landing, the conveyor belts pour the mined coal into the cabins, and the flying boats circle around and fly back to Ink Bamboo Mountain.

This is actually a fully automated assembly line, holy crap...

Li Fan was stunned until the mountain god of Chicken Mountain cleared his throat with a cough, at which point he reacted and hurriedly lowered his Sword Light to pay his respects.

This Chicken Mountain mine is clearly a resource point that Ink Bamboo Mountain is vigorously developing, and there are many mountain gods on duty. As soon as Li Fan's Sword Light flew over, a Nascent Soul Stage general and twenty-four Golden Core soldiers appeared below to check it out.

"I am Qingyue, a disciple patrolling Ink Bamboo Mountain, here to pay my respects to the Guardian of Chicken Mountain, carrying the talisman of Real Person Huang."

Having Real Person Huang's talisman made things much easier. The Mountain God of Chicken Mountain nodded upon seeing the envelope and, without needing to report further, invited Li Fan to enter the temple with his divine soldiers.

Upon closer inspection inside, Li Fan was once again awestruck. The factory was filled with wooden oxen, flowing horses, and iron hawks—various mechanical beasts loaded with ore. Clearly, it wasn't just mechanical flying boats transporting precious jade; even the basic iron and coal mines were being transported by automated land-based mechanical beasts. If this were a railway, it would be unimaginable...

Of course, automated factories aren't truly fully automated and unmanned. The Daoist workshops in Chicken Mountain have many Foundation Establishment Perfection disciples residing there, clearly trained in mechanical arts under Du Gongshi, working as engineers repairing mechanical components. The overall style is very cyberpunk... or steampunk, no, mechanical punk?

"Master, this way please," the mountain god called out, bringing Li Fan back to his senses.

He then remembered that he had important matters to attend to and did not have time to be so fussy. He followed the mountain god to the workshop to pay his respects to the guardian.

This guardian Tai Gongshi doesn't look like a 'true person' like Lou Guan's school. He's probably a family heirloom of the Heavenly Craftsmen, no, it's a clear lineage of Heavenly Craftsmen.

"Yong has been born?"

The Tai Gongshi used two pincer-like mechanical arms to take the talisman from Real Person Huang and examine it. At the same time, his other six arms were still tirelessly assembling parts on the workbench, turning his four heads in turn to look at the letter, at Li Fan, and at the surrounding components.

Li Fan stared dumbfounded at the Tai Gongshi in front of him. To put it another way, he looked like a spider, a spider with four heads on its back.

Now Li Fan understood. The dummy body Du Gongshi used in the South China Sea was definitely not for combat, as it was meant to be conservative and not frightening. Of course, this giant spider-like prosthetic body in front of him was probably not a combat model either. Judging from its design, which allowed it to move forward, backward, left, and right, it was likely for easy movement in underground mines. Most of its body had been replaced with a spider-like eight-legged machine, and the eight arms of varying lengths, equipped with drills, pliers, hammers, and saws of different sizes, were clearly for creating mechanisms. Could mechanical engineering really reach such a level...?

Although it looks even scarier than a monster...

"I understand. Everything seems normal here at the mine, but if Yongdu has emerged, the seal on Chicken Mountain has probably been broken as well. Get on my back, and I'll take you to check it out."

"Huh? Oh, oh..." Li Fan finally came to his senses, scratched his head, and jumped onto the spider's back.

The Tai Gongshi's dummy head leaned closer, staring at Li Fan's face. "Oh, you've got some nerve. I just asked you to come up here as a courtesy, and you actually climbed up. Oh well... but this must be your first time seeing me, right? You didn't even scream."

Li Fan was sweating bullets. He was actually a little disappointed, but he just didn't read it aloud to reach the word count.

"Master Tai, are we going to the mine?"

The giant spider had already sped up with lightning speed, slid back and forth across the Dao Tower Workshop defying gravity, and occasionally leaped along the conveyor belt. Li Fan couldn't care less about his defeat; he had to grab onto Tai Gongshi's head to avoid being thrown off.

"Of course not. This vein was discovered later, and the key is sealed outside. Normally, no one guards it."

He nimbly scaled the cliffs and climbed haphazardly, descending directly from the southern cliffs to the foot of the mountain. He followed the black river into a natural cave, wandering through the deep stalactite tunnels. Sometimes he would even dive into the waterway, swim against the current, and then pop out again. Even though Li Fan had a photographic memory, he was still disoriented after being submerged in the charcoal-black, dirty water several times and had no idea where he had been taken.

"We're here, this is it."

The Tai Gongshi finally stopped and led Li Fan directly to a Spirit Pool in a cave.

At first glance, one sees a huge stalactite cave filled with abundant Dark Underworld spiritual energy. Numerous springs emerge from the earth, gushing out of the rocks and seeping into the rock tunnels, clearly indicating the source of the Blackwater River.

There really was no one guarding it. Once you get in, you can't get out. Heaven knows how they found it in the first place.

"This is the Black Water Spring Eye. Look in the Spirit Pool for any broken fish eggs."

Fish eggs? With so many ponds, how am I supposed to find the fish...? Oh...

Li Fan took out Si Nan compass and turned it around. Following the direction of the spoon, he immediately found a large pool. He didn't even need to go into the water. The water from the spring was crystal clear and free of coal dust. He immediately saw a large area in the pool filled with many glass marble-like fish eggs, many of which had already hatched.

It looks like a hairy crucian carp, I don't know if it's moldy... but there are only a few in the pond, which doesn't match the number of egg cases, so many have probably already swum away with the black water.

"This is Gui Fish, which looks like a crucian carp but has boar hair. Its sound is like that of a pig. Its appearance foretells a great drought," said the Tai Gongshi as he crawled over.

"Why is there another severe drought? Are these Divine Beast deliberately targeting this drought...?" Li Fan frowned deeply.

"The drought is due to both the weather and the water system," Tai Gongshi explained after glancing at the large pile of hatched fish eggs. "The Gui Fish and the Yong Bird were originally a pair, born in response to the same calamity. Now that so many have been born, it seems that there will be decades of weather changes, with no rain and rivers drying up, leading to a severe famine."

Li Fan hurriedly asked, "Then how can we avert this disaster? Would killing these fish and birds be helpful?"

Tai Gongshi sneered, "Whether it rains or not, whether it's a drought or not, makes no difference to the natural world; it's just a matter of whether it's convenient or inconvenient for people."

These fish and birds are merely signs of being born in accordance with the will of heaven and earth, and of sensing the changes in the great Dao. To think that killing them can reverse fate is a gross oversimplification. Look up."

Following Tai Gongshi's guidance, Li Fan looked up and noticed that a hole had been punched through the ceiling between the stalactites above the Spiritual Spring, and a metal pipe was extending down from it. Drops of spiritual liquid were dripping from the metal pipe into the Spiritual Spring beside it.

Upon closer inspection, it appears that the nearby Spiritual Spring emanates a pale blue-green light.

"That is Immortal Spirit Jade Marrow, a supreme treasure of heaven and earth secretly refined by the Ink Bamboo Mountain sect. Just one drop can cleanse the meridians and marrow, transforming the mortal body and flesh into unparalleled immortal qualities. It is also the best tonic for living creatures such as spirit beasts and demon pets."

These Gui Fish were sealed away by Ink Bamboo Mountain because they were greedy for jade marrow and had been reluctant to hatch for many years. But unexpectedly, despite the strict security measures within the mine, someone managed to sneak in and move the eggs from under the Spiritual Spring to another pool..."

That damned eunuch's efficiency is off the charts! How did he even find his way through such a complex maze of secret passages? But the chalcedony...

"Immortal Spirit Jade Marrow..." Li Fan felt like he had heard it somewhere before.

Tai Gongshi's face was contorted with rage, clearly annoyed that someone had dared to act so brazenly right under his nose. "Hmph! Refining Immortal Spirit Jade Marrow requires superior alchemy and countless rare Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. The Abbot even neglected his cultivation to prepare for these. And the methods my sect has secretly arranged to suppress the calamity for the Li Country go far beyond this!"

Every year, we offer these rare Heavenly Treasure to these beasts without a single complaint. Yet some fools, for their own selfish gain or in their foolish power struggles, disregard the calamities and create these troubles. With only a superficial understanding, they try to ruin our sect's destiny. Little do they know that all these years, we have actually been giving back to them! Ha! Cutting off their own path to survival—how absurd and laughable!

"... Well, this is fate. It seems that all these years of defying destiny by Ink Bamboo Mountain have gone too far and have violated the laws of heaven. I'm afraid the Li Country cannot be saved."

Li Fan felt a pang of loss. "But if it really is a change in the natural order, and a severe drought does occur, it will still be the common people who suffer..."

The Tai Gongshi shook his head. "We've changed the celestial order for them for so many years and protected them from so many calamities. We've done more than enough."

Of the Twelve Countries, do you really think those guardians of the Immortal Palace care about the lives of mortals? Only the Li Country, relying on the protection of Ink Bamboo Mountain, has enjoyed hundreds of years of peace. When disaster strikes, they'll probably drag others down with them. Now that things have turned out like this, you expect us to save them? Is there really such a good thing?

Moreover, I also feel that the abbot has gone a bit too far. He has schemed and plotted to push fate to its limit, which is not a sustainable path. If he doesn't get some retribution in these few decades, I'm afraid even greater calamities will befall him.

Moreover, I've heard that things have been quite turbulent in Changsi City lately, and I'm afraid the abbot's position as national preceptor won't last much longer. If we lose this noble title, no matter what arrangements we make, they will be useless.

The Liqiu Palace is full of short-sighted worms and pigs. They probably think that with their accumulated wealth over hundreds of years, they can kick aside Ink Bamboo Mountain, return to the Immortal Palace's banner, and even fantasize about a three-way balance of power, leaving all cultivators aside. They're so blinded by greed; they won't give up until they hit a brick wall."

"But if we try to explain it to them..." Li Fan stopped himself. In this world, the least likely thing to succeed is trying to reason with them. Stupid—if people were willing to reason, what use would they be for constables?

Besides, would those guys even believe it? The kind of scum who has committed countless evil deeds, even slaughtering the families of Ink Bamboo Mountain disciples in the mortal realm? Even if the Abbot wanted to help this time, the Ink Bamboo Mountain disciples wouldn't agree, would they?

Ink Bamboo Mountain and Li Country are already on the verge of falling apart and a complete break is imminent.

Well, given the upbringing of the disciples of Ink Bamboo Mountain, they probably wouldn't stand idly by and watch ordinary people die. But it's clearly impossible to defy the world and change their fate time and time again. All we can do is try our best for what comes next.

"Kid, go and collect some Immortal Spirit Jade Marrow." Tai Gongshi pointed to a talisman and suddenly said, "These things can't be wasted. I've already stopped the supply of liquid from above. There's still a little left in the pipes, so there's no need to waste it on these fish monsters. Consider it a small stroke of luck for you to deliver this message. Take it."

"You've already reached the Golden Core stage, so a sip is enough to moisten your throat. If you have any Dao pets or anything like that, you can take them back and feed them some."

Li Fan realized what was happening, so he bowed to Tai Gongshi to express his gratitude, then leaped up and dipped a bit of the chalcedony on the stalactite to taste it.

Hmm... It has a strong smoky flavor, is exceptionally smooth and creamy, and has a stimulating texture. It blends caramel, vanilla, and toasted oak very well, with a slight fruity note... Ugh! I'm getting carried away; it's basically just a peaty taste!

However, setting aside the peaty taste, the flavor did remind Li Fan of something; it seemed to be the same wine the mountain lord had given him. But that one was clearly clearer and of higher quality, with many other spices added. This one, after all, was meant to feed fish... Right, take some for the Kun to try... and those two too...

So Li Fan Fankun filled a wine pot, then took out a goldfish bowl from his sleeve and filled it with a lot of the black and white yin-yang double carp. It only fell down after all the immortal essence in the tube had flowed out.

However, upon looking at the two fish in the bowl, Li Fan noticed that their scales and eyes were actually glowing. His heart pounded, "Real person, can this thing really not kill fish?"

"It's alright, it's alright. It would be strange if you tasted a little and were unharmed. Could it be that your master had already given it to you? You're really rich..." Tai Gongshi also glanced curiously at the Yang Fish in Li Fan's bowl. "The first bite of Immortal Spirit Jade Marrow is the best. These two fish of yours are still practicing Qi and yet they've already undergone tendon and marrow cleansing. You've obtained an immense opportunity that even the Li Country couldn't resist! They might even become spirits!"

Li Fan curled his lip. He didn't doubt that. So what if they were sentient? These two fish were probably much more skilled at scheming and manipulating people while playing cards...