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Strange Stories

Chapter 112: The Demon King and the Emperor

Chapter 112 The Demon King and the Emperor Lin Jue turned his head and looked at the three Taoists coming down. It was a bit surprising that the Taoist friend from Qiyun Mountain came to visit at this time, but it also seemed natural. Just calculating the time, from September last year to March now, a full six months has passed. Just as I was thinking about it, the third senior brother had already come to meet me. "Fellow Daoist Qingxuan, Fellow Daoist Jiang, and Fellow Daoist Ma, why didn't you tell us in advance that you were coming? The mountain road is difficult to find, so we can come down the mountain to meet you!" "Excuse me, excuse me..." "Come, come, come! Sit down! Drink, drink!" The third brother was dizzy after a few glasses of wine, and was very enthusiastic. "The flowers are in bloom, and there are snacks made by my junior brother, and wine brewed by me. Drink the peach blossom wine today, and you and I will both be peach blossom fairies!" The fox had already returned to Lin Jue. It looked at him, lowered its head and licked a few sips of pine needle water, then let him scratch its head for fun. "You have done a great job again..." Lin Jue touched the fur on its head and found it very soft, even softer than the cats in the temple.

Then he also stood up and greeted him. "Greetings to Taoist Master Yunhe and fellow Taoists. It is really rude of you to come and visit me without permission." "Hehe, that's not the case..." "Master, please sit down." "You sit down too. Sit down too." The Taoists from Fuqiu Temple had originally gathered in a circle, so they moved a little further to the side to make room for them. The three people from Qiyun Mountain sat down. The three of them are acquaintances of Lin Jue, the third senior brother and the younger junior sister. Taoist Qingxuan is naturally the most familiar with them. The female Taoist surnamed Jiang has also been seen more than once or twice, and the young Taoist surnamed Ma has also been seen twice. At this moment, the three of them couldn't help but look up and down. The mist on the top of the mountain became thinner, and overhead was blue sky and white clouds with outstretched peach branches. Birds flew by from time to time. Below, the Taoists spread a piece of light-colored coarse cloth covered with azalea petals, and placed food on it. There were brown sugar steamed cakes, osmanthus rice cakes, pancakes fried with lard, steamed dumplings, and fragrant braised meat. Peach blossom wine and pine needle sparkling water were also served. Each person also had a small bowl filled with green turtledove tofu cut into pieces. The green cubes contrasted with the golden osmanthus, and the colors were bright and looked very delicate. The three of them could recognize some, but not some. At this moment, everyone couldn't help but be stunned. These Taoists live in such a remote place, yet they manage to live such a good and carefree life? The Taoist priests from Fuqiu Temple were so enthusiastic that before the three of them could react, the cups were in their hands. The green cube was also being prepared in the hands of the junior sister. After being sprinkled with honey and osmanthus, it was handed over. "Thank you very much..." "We are all cultivators. We value being free and easy. Don't worry about etiquette. Just eat and drink as much as you want." Taoist Yunhe said with a smile. "know." The three of them looked at each other.

Taoist Qingxuan was naturally the first to take action. He scooped up a piece of turtledove tofu and put it in his mouth. He tasted it was icy and sweet, with the fragrance of osmanthus and peach blossoms. He felt it was unfamiliar and surprised, and praised it highly. The female Taoist priest surnamed Jiang lowered her head to take a bite, and her eyes lit up. Junior Brother Ma is the youngest and cannot resist this temptation. "What's this called?" Taoist Qingxuan couldn't help but ask. "Turtledove tofu." The third brother said proudly, "It was made by my junior brother. He only used wild grass in the mountains to make it." He looked as if he was also involved. The junior sister couldn't help but glance at him secretly. Taoist Qingxuan was greatly surprised. "Mountain grass?" "It's just the wild grass that can be found everywhere in the mountains. Just crush it and add some wood ash." "That's really amazing." Taoist Qingxuan couldn't help but say, "If the poor people living in the mountains knew about this method, they would probably be amazed and think it was a god." "Who says it's not?" "It's a pity that our temple doesn't have the magic to turn water into ice, and it's too early now. The wild fruits in the mountains haven't come out yet. Otherwise, it would taste better if we chilled it and added some chopped fruits." Lin Jue said, "But we can use nitrate to make ice. We can try it when summer comes." Taoist Yunhe couldn't help but say, "It seems that the several Taoist temples we know in the mountains don't have this kind of magic. This seems to be a kind of drama. Otherwise, we can use a drama to communicate with each other." Upon hearing this, several fellow brothers looked at him with a smile. Magic has always been rare and precious. It can make one's own master have such an idea. It seems that his junior brother has indeed tasted the sweetness after going up the mountain. But that’s how things should be— A spell that can be used to defeat the enemy is a good spell, a spell that can be used to please yourself is a good spell, and a spell that can be used to improve your life is naturally also a good spell. "Fellow Daoist, try this cake." "We don't know what this sweet water is. It seems that it was made by my junior brothers and sisters." “Try the braised pork too.” The three men could not resist the enthusiasm of these Taoists, so they had to thank them repeatedly and taste the food one by one. I just felt that the water tasted strange, as if it turned into air and bubbles when it entered my mouth, and it also had the fragrance and sweetness of pine needles. The meat had an even more strange fragrance, and I couldn't help but ask the secret, and then I knew that it was a medicine and food from the same source. This Taoist temple deep in the mountains is even more prosperous than the Xuantian Temple, which has hundreds of disciples and a special kitchen boy. Taoist Qingxuan felt the gaze from his junior fellow apprentice—— It was as if he was asking him what he said on the way. Taoist Qingxuan glared at him.

Before they knew it, they had eaten and drunk enough. Taoist Yunhe leaned against the tree trunk behind him, stroking his beard with his hand, and then asked them, "My fellow Taoists have come from afar, but is there anything going on down the mountain?" "oh oh……" Taoist Qingxuan glanced at Taoist Jiang Ning, then put down the cup, bowed and said: "It was last autumn. Three Taoist friends from your temple came back from the Mingzhao Mountain Grand Ceremony. They encountered something strange and came to inform us of Xuantian Temple. We reported it to the True Lord, and the True Lord ordered his two generals, Thunder and Fire, to investigate for half a year, and finally found some clues. “This matter was reminded by a fellow Taoist of your temple, so naturally I have to come and inform you personally. "Alas, but speaking of this, our Xuantian Temple and Fuqiu Temple have a long history. Not to mention the distant past, even the incident in Yishan City last time, if we hadn't been incompetent and injured, we should have come to your door long ago." Taoist Qingxuan can speak. No wonder he was the one who spoke. Lin Jue glanced at the woman whose whiteness was glistening in the sunlight. From their brief exchange in Qiyun Mountain, he knew that she would definitely not be able to say such words. Taoist Yunhe laughed when he heard this: "Now that you have found out, what is the matter?" "It's really hard to believe: in my Huizhou, right under the Emperor's nose, there is a big demon who secretly practices evil ways and becomes a demon king." Taoist Qingxuan sat up straight and said seriously, "The reason why this demon king's Taoism can grow so fast is said to be a demon ghost created by the ancient alchemy. I have never heard of the name of this demon ghost before, and it is also the reason why this demon king secretly collects silver!" After saying this, he glanced at everyone, as if he was keeping everyone in suspense. "Is it a silver-eating ghost?" The drunken third brother couldn't help but speak. "Huh?" Taoist Qingxuan was very surprised, "How did you know that?" "We guessed it a long time ago." "This……" Taoist Qingxuan was stunned again, and could only bow and compliment: "It is worthy of being the Fuqiu Temple that inherits the orthodox spiritual law. I thought that not many people knew about this kind of ghost now." "My second brother is practicing alchemy." The third brother put his hand on the second brother's shoulder, and was beaten down again. "Go on." The eldest brother said, "We have found out, what next?" "I think all of you Taoist friends know that this ghost swallows silver and spits out elixirs, which increase one's Taoism. This demon king probably learned about it by chance, and with the help of this ghost and the way of the world, he has grown from an ordinary demon to a demon king lurking in the dark in a state in just 20 to 30 years. If he is not eradicated early, when troubled times come, he will probably enclose the land as his own country and bring chaos to the area." Taoist Qingxuan paused: "The Emperor has issued an order and reported it to the Heavenly Weng. They must be eradicated! The deadline for the True Lords is within this year!" "Within this year?" "Exactly!" Everyone looked at each other again. The demon king lurking in a state has deep roots. If it were a mortal world, the imperial court would have to eliminate such a big scourge. From reorganizing the troops and horses, allocating food and grass, to marching out the army, and then to fighting. No matter how quickly it is done, it would probably not be possible to complete it within a year. Of course, the affairs of gods, demons and ghosts are definitely different from those in the mortal world, but there are still more than nine months left in this year, and everyone is a little unsure. As expected, Taoist Qingxuan also sighed. "I and my fellow Taoists all have true teachings, so there is no need to say anything else. I am sure you all know that with the chaos in the world and the disagreements among the gods, this matter may not be that easy. All I can say is that the three gods will definitely do their best and will never let it get to the point where it becomes a trend."

Taoist Qingxuan said, bowing to them: "According to our speculation, this demon king has already secretly gathered demon soldiers and generals here. When the Lord of Heaven and his heavenly soldiers and generals come to eliminate the demon, the nearby demon soldiers and generals will certainly rush to help, while those far away may cause trouble on the spot to distract the gods. At that time, I hope that all Taoist friends can protect the nearby area." "It's natural." Taoist Yunhe stroked his beard and agreed. There is no point in saying this. No matter what the situation is, if demons are wreaking havoc on the world, it is the Taoist's job to go down the mountain and put the situation down. "I heard that there are several Taoist temples with authentic teachings in Yishan. Taking advantage of the good weather today, we would like to visit another one." said the Taoist priest named Jiang Ning. "Yes, thank you for your hospitality, fellow Taoist." Taoist Qingxuan also quickly stood up and saluted. "The Xianyuan Temple is close to here. The roads in Yishan are difficult to navigate and find. Ask Lin Jue and Qingyao to take you there." Taoist Yunhe said. They both stood up. Taoist Qingxuan wanted to be polite, but when he saw that it was them, he smiled and said with a cupped hand: "It's troublesome." "No trouble." Then they said goodbye to the others, and Lin Jue and his junior sister took them around the mountain to Xianyuan Temple. The fox also trotted after him. As they said, the weather was very good today, and the mountain flowers were in full bloom. Even if there was nothing else to do, it would be great to go for a walk in the mountains and enjoy the mountain flowers. It would not only help to make one happy physically and mentally, but also be beneficial to one's spiritual practice. Besides, the two of them had not been to Xianyuan Temple for some time. The junior sister is fine, but Lin Jue has been away for even longer. The road is still full of rhododendrons. The group enjoyed the scenery and chatted as they walked. Taoist Qingxuan put it mildly, saying it was a disagreement, but in fact it should be called a conflict. Lin Jue knows something about it—— Among the five main emperors in the heaven, Miaoming and Qinghua have become less famous in recent years, and their popularity seems to be gradually declining. It is estimated that they have no intention of fighting for power. The ones that are most popular and have widespread believers today are the Central Tianweng God, who is in charge of the Three Realms and Nine Heavens; the Southern Jade Mirror Emperor, whose temples are mainly in the south of the Yangtze River and its surrounding areas; and the Northern Zixu Emperor, whose temple is further north. Regardless of whether the three parties stand on the side of the current imperial court in this chaotic world, there will inevitably be conflicts with each other. I am afraid that other emperors will not easily provide help to Emperor Yujian. If the two emperors Yujian and Zixu want to go further, they must at least pass through the position of Tianweng God. In this case, how could Tianweng God issue an order to help protect the Taoist temple of Emperor Yujian? Not to mention mobilizing the eight heavenly soldiers and generals to the human world to eliminate the monster, I'm afraid even the heavenly soldiers and generals under the command of Emperor Yujian cannot be fully utilized in this matter. While thinking, I walked deep into the mountain flowers. (End of this chapter)