Chapter 237: Demon Shadow
On the fifth day of May, in the lunar calendar known as midsummer, the scorching sun was blinding.
The fifth line of the Qian Gua in the Book of Changes (I Ching) states, "The dragon soars in the sky." This is a symbol of very auspicious and prosperous circumstances.
As Lu Heng, who was shrouded by the ominous black clouds of heavenly punishment, sensed something, he slowly opened his eyes.
Since he understood the Tao Scripture and unlocked the heavenly door, he has been in seclusion and meditation for five years now.
Hanyu Mountain has also been quiet for five years.
In the first year of cultivation, there were often cultivators from all over the place who came to the mountain seeking advice. There were even young boys and girls kneeling outside the mountain gate, hoping to become disciples, creating a lively atmosphere.
After news spread that Lu Heng had defeated his enemies with the Heavenly Thunder Sword in the South Sea, he gained some reputation in the world of cultivation and attracted many curious visitors from all over the place.
However, in the end, Xiao Ai sent all these people away one by one.
Lu Heng has never appeared in person.
Starting from the second year, the number of visitors gradually decreased.
By the third year, as Lu Heng no longer traveled outside, rumors about him gradually faded away.
Now, after five years have passed, most people have almost forgotten the Wolf God who rose to fame in the South Sea five years ago.
The world of cultivation is ever-changing, and there is never a shortage of fresh legendary stories that attract attention.
Whether it is the ferocious beasts of the Northern Icefield, the walking corpses in the Eastern Wilderness, or the battles between the Fire Pass Country's witches and the demons in the Green Hell Cave... These legendary stories are more attractive than the Wolf God, who had disappeared for five years.
Therefore, Lu Heng also enjoyed five years of peace without being disturbed by the outside world.
Nowadays, he has long left the underground divine palace and directly entered the void with his divine sense, sitting cross-legged within the black clouds in the sky.
In the center of the vortex, within the lightning-filled eye of the storm, Lu Heng in white closed his eyes and absorbed the power of heavenly thunder, no longer needing to attract lightning to strike his body.
Such cultivation doesn't disturb the people with thunder, and it is more convenient to directly absorb the power of calamity within the black clouds.
However, today he was awakened by a certain breath from outside the mountain.
In Shuisheng Village, amidst the bustling crowd and the rituals of prayer and sacrifice, there was a faint scent of wish power wafting through the void.
But this wish power was not directed towards Lu Heng, instead it dissipated into the void, heading towards an unknown destination.
May 5th...
Lu Heng looked at the huge dragon head constructed with bamboo and wood at the head of the village, and suddenly realized something.
Is it already Dragon Boat Festival again...
Every year during the Dragon Boat Festival, almost all the creatures in this world would worship the Dragon Ancestor, regardless of their beliefs.
Lu Heng is not sure about the existence of the Dragon Ancestor, but one thing is certain - there are many dragons in this world who control the winds and rain.
Otherwise, on such a vast land, if only relying on water vapor to rise, move, and precipitate to produce rainfall, the inland areas far away from the coast would not receive rain, and would turn into scorching deserts with no sight of rain.
However, dragons have always been elusive and difficult to find, with minimal contact with all living beings in this world. Even for cultivators, the group of dragons who control the winds and rain are an incredibly mysterious tribe.
And every year, the villagers' worship of the Dragon Ancestor, with its elusive spiritual power and incense, would always wake Lu Heng from his cultivation.
Now awakened again, Lu Heng stopped his cultivation. With a thought, he left the dark clouds and came to the peach blossom garden in the back mountain.
Five years have passed, and now the peach blossom garden has completely changed its appearance.
Originally, the peach trees in the garden, with their green peaches, gradually changed the direction of their root growth and actually began to move towards the cracked peach wood staff buried in the center of the garden after Lu Heng infused it with new life energy.
Two years ago, all the peach trees in the peach blossom garden moved to the center and crowded together, forming a dense cluster.
In the soil, the intricate roots densely wrapped around Elder Tao's peach staff, drawing the life energy from it.
Since last year, these tightly packed peach trees have started to grow towards each other, showing a trend of merging together.
And now, after Lu Heng appeared, he found that all the densely packed peach trees in the center of the peach blossom garden had disappeared. In their place was an extremely thick and tall sky-reaching tree.
Standing under this giant tree that could be hugged by ten people, Lu Heng was speechless.
All the peach trees in this garden are merged together?
Moreover, looking up, the number of peach fruits on the crown of the sky-reaching tree was much less than before.
But each one was plump and large, with a delicate and bright red skin. They had already begun to ripen.
However, the price was the peach wood staff, which was tightly entwined by the roots of the tree underground. Now it was full of cracks and the vitality inside it had been absorbed almost entirely.
It seems that Lu Heng's speculation was correct. This peach wood staff can indeed hasten the ripening of the peaches in the peach orchard.
But all the peach trees in the garden have grown into this sky-reaching tree... Has it transformed from a Peach Garden into a Ginseng Fruit Tree?
Looking at the fat bird that was meditating with closed eyes on the treetop, Lu Heng spoke up.
"Fei Yi, inform Xiao Ai later that several peaches have ripened. Ask her to distribute the ripe ones among everyone, which can help you in cultivating."
Lu Heng's voice suddenly sounded. The fat bird on the treetop opened its eyes and looked down, but saw nothing but an empty space under the tree, with no sign of Lu Heng's figure.
The fat bird became a little confused.
- Could it be an illusion?
But it still flew towards the outside of the peach forest to find the little girl with silver-haired beast ears.
For cultivators, it's impossible to have illusions. This voice must be the command of the Wolf God.
The fat bird flapped its wings and flew away, while Lu Heng, at this moment, returned to the black clouds and began to cultivate.
For some reason, in the past year, although everything in Hanyu Mountain has been so calm, Lu Heng's heart has inexplicably added a sense of urgency and restlessness.
It seems that something extremely bad is about to happen.
Therefore, Lu Heng has never dared to stop cultivating.
And just as Lu Heng returned to cultivate in the black clouds, thousands of miles away in the barren mountains of Hanyu Mountain, the thin old monk had just sat down and drank two sips of the mountain stream water with his hands when he sensed something.
The action of holding the water paused slightly.
Then, the old monk put down the water he had just picked up and turned around to look behind him.
Calm and serene gaze.
"Who? Why not show yourself?"
Jiu Mie's words made the wind in the mountain quiet down a bit.
Afterwards, there was a hoarse and strange laughter echoing in the forest.
"Ha ha ha... It's no wonder that you are the legendary old monk Jiu Mie, you can detect my presence."
"At the peak of immortality, I am unmatched in the world. If I am there, then there is heaven... someone who can boast like this must have some skill, not just a swindler."
In the hoarse and strange laughter, a strange figure emerged from the woods not far away.
The figure was dark and dim, even though it was under the scorching sun, its face and appearance could not be discerned clearly.
Only the thick aura of evil, unrestrained between heaven and earth, caused a slight wrinkle in Jiu Mie's eyebrows.
What a strong demon...
Jiu Mie straightened his body and looked at the strange dark shadow in front of him, saying,
"Do you have any business?"
Note 1: Volume 10 (https://amzn.to/3Dodqiq) has been published on Amazon. The translation of the entire novel has been completed. If you have an Amazon account, please give the ebook a free vote on Amazon.
Note 2: I once considered dropping this novel (stopped its translation for nearly a month), but I finally managed to finish its translation. I can take a rest now!
