The family estate

After fleeing down the mountain, Xu Xuan felt that something was wrong the more he thought about it.

Perhaps his brush with danger and subsequent escape had not been a coincidence.

"Most likely, the Monster occupying Black Mountain wanted blood and flesh to devour. After learning who I was, it sent its two young attendants to lure me in and frighten me, so I would willingly make offerings to it."

Looking at the great snake slung over his shoulder, Xu Xuan weighed the matter back and forth. Rather than carry it out of the mountains and parade it through the streets, he found a secluded spot and hid it before hurrying to the Ning Household.

It was not yet evening when he reached the foot of the mountain, and daylight still lingered. Someone spotted him and greeted him first. "Young Master Xuan, you're back."

Xu Xuan nodded. "I'm back. That mountain really was hard to endure."

The man smiled. "The immortal lords claimed all the good mountains. When I was little, I saw with my own eyes an immortal lord carry Black Mountain away and toss it down here. This trip of yours was like taking a stroll over an immortal's shoulder, Young Master Xuan. Your good fortune is still to come."

"Hahaha, thank you for those auspicious words, Uncle Liu. I've only just come down the mountain, and I've been longing desperately for your cooking. I imagine Father has too. I haven't any money on me today, so I'm sorry for the trouble, but please send what's left on your stall to the Ning Household."

The creases on Liu Jinshui's face deepened. He nodded repeatedly and told Xu Xuan to go on ahead; he would follow shortly.

Xu Xuan had not gone far when he forced down his excitement, resisting the urge to return to the estate immediately. Instead, he bought a few more of his usual favorites and asked the vendors to deliver them.

Once he returned to the Ning Household, he went straight to find his father, Xu Sansheng.

Xu Sansheng had always loved reading. Ever since Xu Xuan came of age and took charge of the household, he had stayed home, devoting himself entirely to books and styling himself "Master Mountain Study." Genuine scholars looked down on him, but unfortunately for them, even genuine scholars had to earn their living under him. Poems of flattery and praise arrived at his door every day.

Xu Xuan entered through a side gate and went straight to the study without having anyone announce him.

"Father."

"Come in."

Xu Sansheng was over fifty, with frost-white temples. Dressed in pale blue and white, he was lean in stature and mild in bearing. He sat reading at his desk. Seeing Xu Xuan's disheveled state, he glanced behind him and found no one following.

He rose, shut the door, led his son to a chair, and poured him a cup of cool tea. "Catch your breath. Take your time."

Xu Xuan drank three cups in succession before recounting what had happened on the mountain to Xu Sansheng.

Xu Sansheng said nothing for a long time.

Xu Xuan assumed his father was wary of the Immortal Cultivators on the northern mountains and dared not become involved with a demon. He tried to persuade him with stories he had heard from their elders. "Father, over two hundred years ago, Black Mountain ranked alongside the six mountains of Boyue, Jade Rooster, Shouyang, Jiuyi, Meihai, and Feihuang. Later, the immortal lords came south and moved those six mountains north to Youzhou Prefecture, naming them the Northern Wei Six Mountains. There are immortal sects on the mountains and aristocratic clans below them. Their people need neither serve in the army nor pay miscellaneous taxes. None of the mortals under their rule have the sallow faces of the hungry; they live in peace and contentment. Every few decades, some mortals even enter the immortal sects or aristocratic clans to cultivate immortality and attain the Dao. But what about us?"

"Because the immortal lords disliked Black Mountain, they moved it away, and their dislike extended to our ancestors. Unlike the villagers of those six mountains, we couldn't enter the immortal path or establish a minor cultivating clan. We could only live out mediocre lives, growing old and dying in the mountains. If not for your abilities, Father, we might still be trapped there today, unsure whether we would survive till evening..."

As Xu Xuan spoke, his eyes reddened, and his voice choked. "Father, oh, Father, I don't want to go on like this. You've raised the Three Black Mountain Villages to middling standing among ordinary mortals, but I'm not satisfied. Whether I cling to Immortal Cultivators or demons, all I want is to rise to the upper ranks."

Xu Sansheng fell silent for a moment. Looking at Xu Xuan, he sighed. "I truly misjudged you."

Hearing this, Xu Xuan knew Xu Sansheng meant that he had always been respectful and magnanimous, whereas today he had revealed his true nature. But his magnanimity was not inborn; he had simply had no choice.

Xu Sansheng had more than one son. How could this modest estate, confined to one mountain and three villages, ever be divided fairly?

If Xu Xuan lacked generosity and the bearing of an elder brother, how could he command everyone's respect?

Now a Monster capable of claiming a mountain stood before him. If a few offerings could win him a chance to transcend the mundane, who would not be tempted?

Xu Sansheng had killed a snake to avenge himself in his youth, then started a family and built an estate. Now his household had climbed as high as an ordinary farming family could go. Every step of the way had shown his resolve. That was why Xu Xuan dared to tell his father about this and lay bare his heart.

"You don't want this estate anymore either?"

Xu Sansheng suddenly asked.

Xu Xuan bowed heavily, striking his forehead against the floor. "Let my brothers contend for it. I, Xu Xuan, will contend for the upper ranks."

"Hahahaha! As expected of a son of Xu Sansheng!"

Xu Sansheng laughed three times, then said, "I've heard that a demon who occupies a mountain must be offered the Grand Sacrificial Four Beasts: one black ox, one dark sheep, and one black pig."

He paused.

"And an Unenvied Sheep."

Not a trace of struggle or hesitation showed on Xu Xuan's face. "I'll find a way to take care of the Unenvied Sheep."

Xu Sansheng nodded, settled back into his chair, and smiled. "Then go and do it."

With his father's support, Xu Xuan was now brimming with confidence. He respectfully kowtowed three times, rose, and left to make preparations.

The sky gradually darkened, and the room grew dim. Xu Sansheng remained silent for a long time.

Meanwhile, on Black Mountain.

Huaqing and Hua Hong were attacking a striped tiger together.

Huaqing supported him with the Twin Golden Swords while Hua Hong struck it with the Steel Whip. In less than half a day, they wore the fierce striped tiger down and killed it.

Huaqing cut off the tiger's penis, then looked at Hua Hong, who stood calmly nearby. With a scoff, she tossed it to him. "Take it."

Hua Hong raised a hand to catch it, his slit pupils narrowing slightly. "What do you mean by this?" he asked coldly.

Huaqing arched an eyebrow and put away the Golden Sword. "You and that Li Fuchan are family as well as dear brothers. Such tender affection, such earnest loyalty—truly moving. I could never compare. This counts as a contribution, after all. Since we once worked together, take it and curry favor with him. No need to thank me."

Hua Hong's brows knotted. The sharp snake scale between them curled up and trembled before he suppressed it. He retorted, "And how are you any better? Back in Flying Earthworm Cave, you obeyed in public and defied in secret, trying to hoodwink everyone and seize the pill. You failed to steal the chicken and lost a handful of rice besides. Where's your pill now? Having somewhere to settle and survive is already good fortune for the both of us. But I'm not like you, you stupid woman—your heart reaches higher than heaven, yet your fate is thinner than paper. You spend all day debasing yourself, unable to tell good from bad."

Hua Hong snorted coldly and left with the still-warm tiger penis.

Huaqing was not angered. Instead, she sank into thought.

"Was the Old Flood Dragon's Infant Pill really never completed? Could Li Fuchan's present bearing be the result of seizing the Old Flood Dragon's Infant Pill?"

"If he took the pill, and his current body is only a qi-form molded with Mirage Pavilion, I might still have a chance..."

Still pondering, Huaqing dragged her serpentine body after him.

Only when she saw that solid, upright figure below Black Mountain did she set aside her thoughts.

Li Fuchan's appearance yesterday had truly startled her. Only after examining him carefully had she dared conclude that this was a false Qi-Form False Body molded with Mirage Pavilion. Compared with hers, his was in the heavens and hers was on the ground.

Someone who had never even read the Myriad Transformations at Will Talisman Register had actually molded a qi-form—and from the dense qi of mountain stone, which was so difficult to gather and shape. How could she not be shocked? How could she not be suspicious?

By her reckoning, to reach the realm of "Glimpse a Spot, Know the Whole Leopard," his Treasure Light would have to be at least as powerful as her Illuminating Light before he had even a slim chance. Yet she had only tempered her Illuminating Light to that level by destroying her own foundation, feeding all her golden light and Treasure Light into it. What gave Li Fuchan that ability? Had he likewise used his Treasure Light to swallow both his golden light and Illuminating Light?

It was simply beyond belief.

Compared with Li Fuchan's ability to kill them at any moment, these eerie, unfathomable methods were what had truly cowed Huaqing.

Grinning, Hua Hong handed the tiger penis to Li Fuchan. "Junior Brother, I have fulfilled my mission."

Li Fuchan accepted it and nodded. "Thank you, Senior Brother. Please wait a moment. I have another opportunity to give you."

Hua Hong hurriedly bowed again and again. "Thank you, Junior Brother! Thank you!"

The two exchanged smiles, and Li Fuchan turned toward the mountain wall. An opening appeared in it at the same time, and Li Fuchan stepped inside.

But this was merely a Concealment Spell. In truth, he had instantly dispersed the false qi-form body molded from mountain-stone qi, leaving only a transparent spirit talisman that darted inside.

He looked at the tiger penis he had brought in.

His treasure light flickered, instantly extracting its blood qi and yang essence and merging them into the network of blood vessels extending from the enormous thing within the treasure light.

"Humans are the most spiritually gifted of all beings. If I could swallow the Blood Qi and yang essence of a few people, it would probably be even better."

The thought had barely arisen before Li Fuchan immediately extinguished it with his Illuminating Light.

"Utter purity, utter purity. The further I cultivate, the less human I become, regarding everything beneath me as beasts and livestock. These immortals really are wicked. I must diligently cultivate my Illuminating Light and keep stamping out thoughts of eating people."

Li Fuchan gave a self-mocking chuckle. He was about to gather qi and mold a form again when his Illuminating Light suddenly stirred. Deep within his consciousness, the chaos abruptly cleared from the three visions of death, revealing the present scene of the Three Lights drifting and blood vessels spreading. "Hiss, why have the three visions of death suddenly changed like this?"

"Hss... Why did the three visions of death suddenly change like this?"

Three identical visions meant that three different deadly calamities would arrive together. Hiding like this or simply waiting was the most foolish choice. Only by not fearing an increase in deadly calamities, actively entering the fray, guiding those calamities, deducing the future, and turning from guest to host could he survive.

"That saves me the trouble of choosing."

Without hesitation, Li Fuchan plunged into one of the visions.