The Immortal Master's Reward

Raindrops struck Yunzhi's head.

"This is bad!"

Sword in hand, Yunzhi had already engaged the pig demon in several fierce chases and battles through the mountains.

The demon's marvelous evasion technique allowed it to transform into black and white qi, an intimidating sight, but it was much like the Door God's black-smoke evasion technique: at the same speed and over the same distance, it consumed far more energy than an ordinary evasion technique. Unless one's cultivation was already extremely high, it was impractical.

But in the days of the Great Ming, spells were uncommon, so people learned whatever they could. There were also few demons and ghosts and few accomplished cultivators. Under those circumstances, intimidating spells became the most practical ones.

Yunzhi's Like a Dream was one such spell.

After all, you couldn't really possess an immortal's magical power, but you could pretend to, and enjoy the treatment an immortal received.

Thus, Yunzhi had caught up with it several times.

Despite the demon's profound cultivation and formidable magical power, it was in poor condition. When it offended the immortal master, it had taken several sword strikes head-on and sustained wounds all over its body. With the jade talisman and the treasured sword, Yunzhi could be said to have an overwhelming advantage against it.

Ever since she had become a spirit, she had never enjoyed such an exhilarating fight, especially against a great demon she would once have had to look up to.

Even when the demon later escaped the mountains and the jade talisman stopped working, she wasn't very afraid.

She had gained a preliminary understanding of Greater Earth Evasion and could burrow briefly into the earth. Though she couldn't move and could only stay there for a few breaths, she could still use it to avoid serious harm in an emergency.

Not long afterward, the demon seemed to discover the strand of spider silk she had been using to track it and severed it.

But Yunzhi had prepared for that too: after the silk was severed, its scent remained, and she could still follow it.

But rain would be trouble.

"Oh no, the rain seems to have already washed the scent away!

"And it's dark now!"

Was even Heaven stopping her from earning merit?

Yunzhi stopped beside a road and looked around in bewilderment.

Suddenly, she faintly heard a familiar sound, one she seemed to have heard many times on the news.

Yunzhi knew that people in this age couldn't go about carrying swords, so she immediately slung the treasured sword behind her back and retreated beneath a banana tree by the roadside, using the Night Wandering Palace Method.

Her figure gradually merged with the darkness.

A car with flashing lights drove past first, a person in uniform in the passenger seat. Then a vehicle carrying a large iron box roared past her amid a cloud of moisture.

A little pink car followed.

Only then did Yunzhi breathe a sigh of relief.

Though the immortal master had said that good-looking people like her were less likely to be checked, and that wearing ancient-style clothes and carrying a sword made people more likely to mistake her for something called "cos," she was still uneasy, afraid it would affect her ability to complete the task he had given her.

"Hm?"

Yunzhi had just been about to leave when she noticed something amiss.

Looking down, she saw a small bloodstain on the road. She bent down, touched it, and held it up for a closer look.

It was indeed blood.

"Yunzhi had already badly wounded the demon, leaving it barely able to use its evasion technique to escape. But after it fled outside the mountains for the last time, Heaven made things difficult for Yunzhi and sent rain. For a while, Yunzhi couldn't tell which direction it had fled in, so it got far away."

Yunzhi returned to the Daoist temple, her face full of shame:

"Later, after a large vehicle drove past, it actually left blood on the ground. That was very suspicious. Yunzhi was going to pursue it, but the vehicle was too fast, and Yunzhi's abilities were still insufficient. Besides, the blood didn't smell like wild boar, and there was a vehicle with flashing red and blue lights and a siren leading the way, the kind often seen on the news. Yunzhi had a sword in her hand and didn't dare give chase recklessly. I've failed to live up to the immortal master's treasured sword and jade talisman."

"Don't belittle yourself. That demon really was cunning, and it could use an evasion technique. With the rain on top of that, we can only say it was Heaven's will." Chen Du said this first, then asked, "Was it a police car?"

"I don't know."

"If it was as you described, someone may have been in a traffic accident," Chen Du reasoned. "But if the demon really did flee in a vehicle, there's no telling how far it's gone."

"It's all because Yunzhi is stupid. The immortal master bestowed Greater Earth Evasion on me, but I haven't mastered it."

"I only just gave it to you. How could you learn it so quickly?"

Whether it was Yunzhi or the Door God, by any measure, their performance today had thoroughly satisfied Chen Du and even exceeded his expectations, so for now he mainly offered words of comfort and reassurance.

"In any case, that demon is a great demon, and a fierce and cunning one at that. The longer it remains at large, the greater the danger it poses to the people below the mountain. I'm afraid that isn't something the immortal master wishes to see either."

Yunzhi continued to volunteer:

"So over the next few days, Yunzhi would still like to search the surrounding area, as I did when looking for the Door God, and see if I can find it. If I can't, it must have fled far away."

"Then thank you for your trouble."

"Not at all, not at all," Yunzhi said. "It's just that Yunzhi will have to leave for a few more days."

"That's fine. I just recruited a volunteer."

"?"

Yunzhi was taken aback.

Just then, the light came on in the guest room opposite them, and a young woman's silhouette could faintly be seen through the window.

"Her? Didn't she go down the mountain?"

"She came back and said she wanted to volunteer. We'll see what she has in mind," Chen Du said. "Although the jade talisman won't work outside the mountain, take it with you anyway, along with the treasured sword. She can handle the chores for the next few days and afterward. You can take things easier in the future too, and spend more time cultivating."

"Then Yunzhi can rest easy."

That was what Yunzhi said, but she felt a sense of crisis again.

She could have guarded the home and courtyard herself, but then the Door God had come and already snatched that job from her. Now a real volunteer had arrived, one who had read more books than she had and understood this age better. She couldn't help feeling nervous.

As she hesitated uneasily, she heard the immortal master say:

"Thank you for your hard work today. There are still a few spiritual fruits left from the tree. Take one to replenish your spiritual energy and cultivate."

A spiritual fruit was held out before her.

Some time had passed, but its radiance hadn't dimmed in the slightest. It sparkled like a little light bulb, immediately drawing her gaze.

"This..."

Yunzhi again began waving her hands repeatedly without thinking:

"How could I accept this? Being able to cultivate in such an immortal mountain paradise and receive the immortal master's instruction and teachings is already more than enough for Yunzhi. Serving the immortal master is only right..."

But the immortal master simply placed the spiritual fruit on the small wooden table and got up and went out, leaving her with two remarks:

"You've earned it.

"There have been far too many tourists coming to the mountain lately. It's not good for this to happen at a time like this. Tomorrow, write a notice and put it on the door saying the Daoist temple isn't receiving visitors for the time being."

"Yes!"

There was a note of delight in Yunzhi's voice again.

Chen Du walked back to the rear courtyard and came to the door of his meditation room.

"Door God."

"I am the Door God!"

Sure enough, once its range of activity had expanded from the temple's main gate to the entire temple, every door in the temple became both a dwelling place and part of the area it protected. It could emerge from any door it pleased, making it truly resemble a door god.

Chen Du had chosen this door because Jiang Xi wouldn't be able to see it from the guest room in the front courtyard.

"You protected me several times today and have earned merit. From now on, you can move about the entire temple, but don't go outside without my permission."

Chen Du took out another spiritual fruit and tossed it at the door.

"This is for you. Eating it will help you quickly recover your cultivation and magical power. You might even reach a higher level. You've earned this too."

A ring of black smoke immediately rippled across the door. A hideous spider face emerged from the smoke, opened its mouth, and swallowed the spiritual fruit whole.

"I am the Door God..."

Its voice was still clumsy and rough, but its tone had softened considerably.

Chen Du nodded.

Although the Door God had been captured and brought back quite some time ago, its cultivation and magical power still hadn't fully recovered. This spiritual fruit could at least restore it to its peak.

That demon was truly difficult to deal with. There was no telling whether Yunzhi could catch it quickly, much less whether it might turn back and strike again in the meantime. Helping the Door God quickly recover its cultivation, or even advance further, was also key to Chen Du's ability to fight the demon and keep the Daoist temple safe.

By the same token, giving Yunzhi a spiritual fruit to help her reach a higher level would also give her a little more confidence in searching for and even capturing the demon.

"Keep being the Door God. Yunzhi has gone down the mountain, so I'm entrusting the temple's safety to you."

"This Door Is Impassable!"

"Mm."

Chen Du easily pushed the door open and entered the room.