Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Demon Suppression Mountain is the location of the Demon Suppression Daoist Temple.
The temple is divided into the Main Hall and the Auxiliary Temple. The Main Hall is situated at the peak of Demon Suppression Mountain and serves as the residence for the highest-ranking administrators, such as the Successive Masters, who live in the Main Hall. The Scripture Repository and Treasure Pavilion of the Demon Suppression Daoist Temple are also located in the Main Hall. Besides the Successive Masters, even Azure Vine cannot enter without the permission of the sect leader.
The Auxiliary Temple is located halfway up the mountain and serves not only as a place for disciples to practice but also plays a protective role. Whenever there are invasions by demonic beasts or attacks from Demon Cultivation factions, it is naturally the disciples residing in the Auxiliary Temple who bear the brunt. Additionally, what worries the disciples is the Demon Cave located behind the Auxiliary Temple.
It is said that before taking their position, Successive Masters must descend the mountain to subdue a ghost or demonic beast. The subdued ghost or beast is then imprisoned in this Demon Cave.
Every night, wails of demons can be heard coming from the Demon Cave, causing some who cannot withstand it to be so frightened that they lose control of themselves. However, disciples who have stayed here for a long time know that the Demon Cave is sealed by spells from the Ancestor Master; unless the cave collapses, those demons will neither escape nor be able to cultivate, so their powers will not progress.
The final test for departing disciples is to break out of the Demon Cave. If someone can safely emerge from it, they can successfully graduate. Otherwise, they will continue to remain here for further cultivation.
Lingfeng has had the fortune to reside in the Main Hall thanks to Azure Vine's light.
There are also Five Peaks, named according to the five elements: Golden Peak, Wood Peak, Water Peak, Fire Peak, and Earth Peak. Each peak is overseen by a Peak Master: Gold Wheel for Golden Peak, Mu Qiu for Wood Peak, Water Demon for Water Peak, Fire Serpent for Fire Peak, and Earth Spirit for Earth Peak. Of course, these names are not their original names but are titles that all successive Peak Masters must use.
Each of the Five Peaks has its own unique skills and techniques. Demon Suppression Mountain stretches for dozens of miles, with each of the Five Peaks occupying one of the highest summits. The Five Peaks answer to the sect leader and are responsible for both accepting apprentices and ensuring the safety of the Demon Suppression Daoist Temple.
New disciples are arranged for study based on their level of knowledge; however, Yuanbo will be assigned to one of the Five Peaks based on their physical constitution to learn about cultivation methods and skills. Disciples who cannot read must undergo three years of education before being assigned.
In the evening, a Short Taoist Priest comes to bring meals to Azure Vine and Lingfeng.
"Shixu, brother, I've come to bring you food!" The Short Taoist Priest has a sly grin on his face as if he is making amends.
Lingfeng narrows his eyes and snorts disdainfully like a victorious bull calf, saying unhappily, "What brother? Do you know that I refer to you as Shixu? By rights, what should you call me?"
The Short Taoist Priest is taken aback and looks at Azure Vine in confusion. However, Azure Vine ignores him and continues sipping tea.
The Short Taoist Priest understands quickly and hurriedly nods and bows, "Shixu, Shixu! I was blind not to recognize Mount Tai; please forgive me!"
Lingfeng stood up and walked in front of the Short Taoist Priest, suddenly feeling much taller, as if he were an elder giving advice. "Nephew, it's not that Shixu is scolding you. Do you know that our Demon Suppression Sect is a prestigious righteous sect? The purpose of the Demon Suppression Sect is to subdue demons and eliminate harm for the people. Yet you, instead of promoting our sect's mission, are relying on your connections and peering through the door at others. This kind of behavior needs to change!" After saying this, he patted the Short Taoist Priest on the head.
Azure Vine secretly glanced at Lingfeng and couldn't help but laugh inwardly, nearly doubling over with amusement. However, with a Disciple present, he couldn't lose his dignity.
"Yes, yes, yes, Shixu is right; I was wrong!" the Short Taoist Priest repeatedly apologized.
Lingfeng chuckled quietly and turned away with his hands behind his back. "Alright, you can leave now!"
With a loud creak, the door slammed shut, and Azure Vine and Lingfeng could no longer contain themselves, clutching their stomachs and laughing heartily.
Azure Vine's serious expression vanished as he returned to his usual self. He placed his teacup on the table and mimicked Lingfeng's mannerism, saying, "Well then, you can go now!" After imitating him, he burst into laughter again.
"Brother, how do you think we present ourselves? Do we have the demeanor of elders?" After a moment, Lingfeng asked.
Azure Vine nodded with bright eyes. "Our demeanor is good, but unfortunately it's superficial."
Hearing Azure Vine's words, Lingfeng's expression dimmed as he softly asked, "Brother, when can I learn Spell?"
Realizing his words were too heavy, Azure Vine quickly put his arm around Lingfeng's shoulder to comfort him. "You're very smart; you have the potential for cultivation. However, cultivating immortality isn't that easy; it's not something you can just decide to do. It's like building a house; you need to lay a foundation first. Similarly in cultivation, we need a solid base. So if you want to learn Spell, you need to establish your foundation first!"
"How many years will that take?" Lingfeng didn't want to wait too long.
Azure Vine stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Given your current aptitude, it will take at most three years to reach the Foundation Establishment stage." Azure Vine was confident.
Suddenly, there was a series of knocks at the door.
"Who is it?" Azure Vine was annoyed at being interrupted while teaching Lingfeng.
"Oh, Shixu, the Sect Leader is asking for you to come over!" It turned out to be the Short Taoist Priest.
Lingfeng looked at Azure Vine, unsure if he should go.
Azure Vine nodded without hesitation and whispered in Lingfeng's ear, "I don't have any manuals related to the early stages of foundation building here. This person is quite good; if you flatter him well, you might be able to get a lot of good things back!"
Lingfeng chuckled lightly and turned to leave.
Lingfeng followed the Disciple to Xuanyuan Pavilion, which was the residence of the Sect Leader.
Xuanyuan Pavilion was still lit, with the dim yellow light of candles. Upon arriving here, Lingfeng felt everything was quite nice. The only thing that was a bit unpleasant was the lack of electricity. Of course, it wasn't just about the absence of electricity; without it, many forms of entertainment were also gone. For example, radios, televisions, or the neon lights on the streets.
"Shixu, you may go in; the Sect Leader is inside!" The Disciple bowed to Lingfeng and then left.
Lingfeng gently pushed open the door, and the Sect Leader was sitting cross-legged facing the door. On a table lay a book next to an oil lamp, which flickered due to Lingfeng opening the door.
"You've come!" Qing Sect Leader smiled at Lingfeng.
Lingfeng nodded; he wasn't yet accustomed to the ancient customs and etiquette, then boldly sat down across from Qing.
Qing didn't mind and softly asked, "Can you read?"
"I know a few characters; I'm currently in third grade!" Lingfeng answered honestly.
Qing nodded and turned the book in front of him so that it faced Lingfeng. "Read this!"
"Oh!" Lingfeng was puzzled; did he call him here just to read for him? However, things were not as simple as Lingfeng thought. In fact, not only were the people and thoughts of this place and era ancient, but even the books had become antiquated. He saw that on the yellowed pages, every character was written in true cursive script, making Lingfeng feel dizzy as he tried to read.
"Master, I don't recognize these characters!" After a while, Lingfeng finally relaxed his brows, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Qing was taken aback for a moment, then seemed to understand, "Oh, you don't recognize the cursive script. No worries, I'll arrange for you to learn tomorrow. Take your time!"
Lingfeng was still somewhat confused; arranging classes and learning should be handled by the senior brothers or Ziren. His status couldn't be so significant that the Master had to personally arrange it.
"Master, may I ask why you called me here?" Lingfeng shifted the topic directly to the main point.
"Oh, it's nothing serious," Qing's tone was light, but he didn't seem to dislike Lingfeng. "You should know about the friction between me and my junior brother."
In truth, Lingfeng didn't understand the situation between Azure Vine and Qing; Azure Vine hadn't mentioned it to him, so he shook his head in confusion.
Qing seemed a bit surprised and continued, "That's fine. By the way, how did you come to know my junior brother, and why do you call each other brothers?" The way he referred to his junior brother was quite affectionate, almost like a real older brother speaking to a younger sibling.
Lingfeng chuckled innocently; it wasn't anything shameful. "Oh, five years ago, Brother took me in. As for calling each other brothers, that's purely my own sentiment; Brother has never called me younger brother. In fact, in his heart, I should be his disciple."
Qing merely nodded lightly. "I think he must have had his reasons for taking you in! Your personality reminds me of how my junior brother used to be—free-spirited and intelligent." At this point, Qing even smiled as if reminiscing about something beautiful.
Lingfeng remained silent; he couldn't believe they were actually brothers. They looked more like father and son.
"Have you learned any spells?"
Lingfeng thought for a moment; he wasn't sure if there were any taboos in this sect against privately passing on their unique skills. So he replied, "No, I've only learned some simple methods for strengthening my body!"
As the oil in the lamp gradually burned out, Lingfeng began to feel his legs getting numb. He slightly shifted his position to stretch his legs.
"You can go back now. Tomorrow someone will bring you your robe, and there will be others to discuss related matters with you!" Qing finally showed intent to see him off after saying a lot of unnecessary things that left Lingfeng puzzled.
Lingfeng felt as if he had been granted a pardon and hurried to get up, but he stood up too quickly, causing his legs to suddenly go numb. He limped out.
"Wait a moment!" Qing called out to Lingfeng.
"Is there anything else, Master?" Lingfeng stopped and turned to ask.
Qing had no words, but the book on the table floated into the air and slowly landed in Lingfeng's arms.
"Is this what Spell is?" Lingfeng was speechless with surprise; this was his first thought—too Magical.
"This book is the essential first step to learning our sect's Spell. You need to memorize the knowledge here and master it. Otherwise, you will not be able to learn our sect's cultivation methods!" Qing said with his eyes closed, his voice long and profound.
Lingfeng was half-convinced but still tucked the book into his arms, imitating the two Disciples, and respectfully bowed.
On the way, Lingfeng pondered Qing's words. He felt that there was something ambiguous in those words, some concern that didn't feel like a father's care for his child or the concern between brothers. Although his words were calm, the urgency in his heart could not be concealed.
"Could it be that the Master is gay?" Lingfeng thought, then laughed at his own idea.
"Shixu, wait for me!"
Comment 0 Comment Count