h. I dare not carry your backpack full of contraband. Going out at this late hour, I'm afraid of encountering the police checking for IDs..." I handed him the waist pouch filled with talismans and Fiv...When I was still a clueless novice, the two words "tantric Buddhism" left a rather large shadow in my mind.

But to be called the founder, they must have true talent and ability. Both their cultivation and character are exceptional among people.

But after it branches out, one doesn't know how many schools of thought or disciples it will eventually have.

Among these countless people, how many have attained enlightenment, and how many have fallen into demonism.

Perhaps this master is completely different from the Tibetan Buddhist masters I've met before. There are countless sects and families in this world, but hearing about him still makes me nervous.

When Jiang Qiyun saw that I wasn't charging ahead anymore, he nodded slightly and said, "You go see the courtyard across from us. I'll take the main hall."

"...Do you think the main hall is more dangerous" I asked.

"No, I just want to take a look. What kind of gods and demons are enshrined here Dare they clash with me" He chuckled softly and gestured for me to move aside with his hand.

I'm a little suspicious, did he really trust me to go investigate the courtyard across the way alone

Are you not wanting me to see something

I carefully walked a few steps, while keeping an eye out for anything lurking around me and frequently looking back at Jiang Qiyun.

All the buildings here are basically covered in roots and vines, with leaves blocking out the sun. But it's strange that there aren't many snakes or other creatures that like damp places.

Either special designs were made during construction, or some object enshrined here repels instinctively certain spiritual beings.

Jiang Qiyun walked down for a while, at the gloomy entrance of the main hall, he raised his hand and transformed it into a long sword.

Everything in the house was jolted, and the air around me rippled with sudden energy.

On the mottled walls around me, dust cascaded down. I reached out and braced myself against a nearby vine.

The vine seemed to "pulse," a cold, slimy sensation creeping up my fingers as if something powerful was writhing within it.

I happened to have a talisman in my hand, the Shen family's Lei Fu exorcising evil and suppressing wickedness. I slapped it onto the vines, like a nail, which stunned that wandering force.

This feeling... it's like I've grabbed a snake's tail.

"Hmph... hiss..." The entrance to the main hall, blocked by a door, resembled a giant mouth, spewing out a cloud of black mist.

Isn't this it The ominous feeling we saw at the peak.

This faint mist rose, dispersing in the darkness.

Jiang Qiyun's sword spun half a circle in his hand, carving out a chill aura. He said faintly, "I never expected...that the Mang Mountain Giant Serpent would actually have a dojo here. How long have you been lurking here"

"Hiss... North Tai... Emperor..." a faint, raspy voice came from the pitch-black entrance.

He can talk He actually talks!

"Now that you recognize me, things should be easier to discuss... Why cause harm here instead of staying in the proper demon realm" Jiang Qiyun asked with a furrowed brow.

He stared at the pitch-black door of the main hall, and for a moment I felt that the hall itself was the serpent's head and the door its mouth.

"Humph, that's for them to ask... what do these mortals want to do..."

A hoarse voice, laced with anger, rumbled low and guttural, as if rising from the depths of the earth.

"...So, it's not that you want to enter the world and make waves" Jiang Qiyun was slightly surprised.

That muffled voice came closer and farther away, and I caught a few words - this "giant serpent" ever since eight hundred years ago, after appearing in the world, absorbed the negative energy to nourish itself, has always been dormant in the Demon Realm. It neither wants to enter the world nor does it need to enter the world.

This tiny temple dedicated to a giant snake, the only one in the world, has long been forgotten by many. But recently, it was suddenly invaded and someone took away the small stone tablet where the snake spirit resided.

The world's dharma hall is where incense burns and genuine spiritual transmissions occur. A giant serpent in the Demon Realm sensed a change at its own dharma hall and wanted to manifest to investigate, but it was trapped by the "tree formation" here.

It was already gravely injured from its battle with the mirage dragon, and when it manifested its spirit, it was trapped and unable to return to the demon realm. Therefore, those giant eyes I saw in the demon realm's tree hole were its true form.

Surely... back then it couldn't be deployed at will, could it

The giant tree was a prison, and a prison is cold and full of malice no matter where it is. It just there, nurturing itself.

Although the environment here is not as good as the Demon Realm, if you look closely, it's actually trying its best to imitate the structure of the Demon Realm.

“Who invaded here” Jiang Qiyun asked.

"I don't know... when I sensed it, the offering stone tablet had already been taken." The giant snake replied: "I don't know how many devotees have sworn oaths with blood over these hundreds of years. That stone tablet gathered too much spiritual energy from the devotees and was always suppressed by my statue... Now that it's been taken away, the spiritual energy has also left..." The giant snake's voice carried a hint of anger.

"That stone tablet offering... it must be very important to you, right So you took advantage of this time of great upheaval and calamity in the human world, when negative energy was rampant, to come down and take a look. As a result, one spirit was trapped by the tree formation." Jiang Qiyun smiled faintly.

“Yes! This tree formation was laid by someone unknown. Over the years, its roots have become intertwined, completely encasing my statue and blocking out the moonlight.” The giant serpent growled with irritation, “Human hearts are deceitful; I wonder which ‘devotee’ set this trap.”

Hmm Could it be... that my and Jiang Qiyun's guess just now was wrong

Though it's not within the boundaries of Qingyu Dao Guan, it's not very far.

We speculate that an ancestor of the Qingyu Dao Guan master practiced demonic arts, which allowed this secluded temple to remain in existence.

Now it seems that perhaps this viewer is a "mole" planted among the believers!

Knowing that he couldn't eliminate the hidden dangers, he simply decided to "grow trees for ten years and cultivate people for a hundred years". He set up a defense system while also preparing a statement to pass on to the next Guardian.

Let generation after generation of visitors believe this place is abandoned, and still uphold the mentality of "respecting fellow practitioners" to patrol the perimeter.

The Taoist priests who live in the Daoist temple are all ordained practitioners, dedicated to seeking the Tao and diligently following their master's instructions. They rarely venture out for adventures when they have nothing to do.

After all, ascension is the most important thing, haha.

"Where did that couple go just now" Jiang Qiyun asked.

"Done." The giant serpent hissed with laughter, and several more plumes of black mist spewed from the mouth of the main hall.

"You ate it!" I was shocked — that's it

The hiss of a giant serpent drew closer, its voice echoing in my direction: “ … I’ve seen you, woman… why are you here from the Demon Realm… are you my devotee…”

"No no no! Not at all!" I quickly waved my hand.

"She is my wife," Jiang Qiyun said coldly.

"Inner wife…" The giant snake's voice was filled with confusion: "…Why would the Immortal Empress of the Underworld appear in the Demon Realm! I've seen you—why are you unharmed, crossing boundaries—"

"I..." I don't know either, whether it was Jiang Qiyun who fished me back.

"Hiss… Your soul, a rare sight—" The snake's aura suddenly surged forward, like a breath of wind on my face.

With a soft *bang*, more dust fell from the surroundings. Jiang Qiyun's sword was plunged into the threshold of the main hall.

The blade pierced through the layers of vines, sinking into the blue bricks below.

He coldly said: "Don't have any ideas about Xia Qiao, even Yin Su Bai knows to keep his distance. You, a low-level demon god, dare to provoke her You don't want your spirit anymore"

"...Phew..." The icy gas dissipated, and the giant serpent spoke in a low voice, "I have never done evil to humans... yet this is how they treat me. Northern Tai Emperor, as a deity, why do you protect a mortal..."

"Never done any evil in your life Just now you said you ate two people..." I asked softly.

The giant serpent hissed twice upon hearing this, and from the entrance of the black hall, it spat out a dim grayish mass —d our eyes on the wrong person.Shi Fatzi said, “I see that Madam Mu really likes tender bamboo shoots with cured pork. Our Xiangxi cured pork is famous, not to mention it's marinated with a secret rec...