Starting Cultivation During a Trip

Chapter 340 - 184: The Daoist in Jue Miaoguan! An Old Friend in the Mountains

"Still can’t get through."

Qi Ji’s face turned a bit grim, perhaps Junior Brother and Junior Sister really went into the Deserted Mountain, it’s the only place where magnetic fields could be disrupted and signals would be poor.

"How about this, you guys search around the vicinity, I’ll head towards the mountain." Zhang Fan suggested.

He was highly skilled and thus had little fear.

Qi Ji and Jiang Hu exchanged a glance and could only nod.

Given their current cultivation, they naturally couldn’t match Zhang Fan’s abilities, and there was no need to act brave at times like this.

"I entrust them to you." Qi Ji solemnly grasped Zhang Fan’s hands.

They were his Junior Brother and Sister; he had brought them down from the mountain, and if any accident occurred, he wouldn’t have peace for the rest of his life.

"Don’t worry."

Zhang Fan took a step forward and followed the direction where Jifeng Pavilion and Mo Yun had just vanished.

He turned on his phone flashlight and kept an eye on his steps, but the visibility was really low.

A moment later, Zhang Fan found himself at the foot of the Deserted Mountain, and in the dim light, he saw broken twigs crushed underfoot.

"Did they really go into the mountain?"

Zhang Fan looked up; this was an untapped wilderness, there wasn’t even a path.

He hesitated briefly but ultimately stepped into the mountain.

The deserted mountain had no roads but hid secret paths, many of which were trampled by animals.

Yujing City, tiger crouched and dragon coiled, surrounded by mountains on three sides and winding water on the other; even in University City, some universities had wild boars roaming around. In such mountains, seeing a wild boar wasn’t unusual, though there wouldn’t be large animals like tigers or bears, but who’s to say.

Hiss... Hiss...

Just then, a strange sound came from afar.

By the eerie white moonlight, Zhang Fan saw a large black python, its body gleaming with slick oil shine, spitting thoughts towards the moon, making a faint but piercing sound.

In the mountain, spirit monsters often had the instinct to cultivate under the moon.

In the past, even in rural areas, some dogs or cats, even yellow-skinned rats, over the years would also instinctively gaze at the moon and absorb its essence.

This was perhaps a gift from heaven, allowing animals to instinctively cultivate; once they’d lived long enough, they would automatically awaken.

Even now in cities, there are many who see their pets—dogs and cats—occasionally look up at the moon, unmoving, staring for half a day.

If one encounters this situation, there’s no need to fear; a truly transformed animal has a distinct feature—look at its eyes...

If you can see the moon’s reflection in its eyes, then it’s just normally daydreaming; but if there’s no moon reflection, it’s transformed already.

Currently, the large black python had the moon’s reflection in its pupils, albeit extremely blurry, dispersed yet not, clearly just starting to grasp the right path, almost becoming a spirit monster.

Seeing this, Zhang Fan didn’t disturb it; the animals residing in the Deserted Mountain hadn’t harmed anyone, and after barely getting the chance to transform, he didn’t want to ruin their opportunity.

Zhang Fan swiftly moved past the area where the large black python was coiled and continued along the secret path.

"It’s foggy!?"

A moment later, a thick white fog rose in the mountain, making the deserted mountain appear even more eerie and dreamlike under the hazy moonlight, while insect chirrups and bird calls echoed around, accompanied by unknown low growls...

"Huh!?"

Just then, Zhang Fan’s eyes brightened, and he saw two figures not far ahead.

He took a step forward, rushed over, and indeed saw Jifeng Pavilion and Mo Yun lying upright at the base of a large tree.

Milk-white fog seemed to have a life of its own, entwining their limbs, gradually flowing toward their heads.

Zhang Fan waved his hand, a gust swept over, but couldn’t disperse this milky fog.

"Dead Man’s Mist!?" Zhang Fan’s gaze turned solemn.

He’d read about it in the Dao Secret Record.

The so-called Dead Man’s Mist was a bizarre fog formed when people died in the mountains over time; once inhaled, like eating a mushroom, it produced countless hallucinations, with the body gradually paralyzing, until one remained forever in the mountain, where the corpse became a breeding ground for the mist.

The more corpses it consumed, the stronger the fog became.

In ancient times, some Daoists would go into the mountains specifically to find Dead Man’s Mist for alchemy, while others with malicious intents would even breed the mist to guard mountain gates.

"The book says, if you encounter such mist, just grab a handful of dirt nearby and stuff it into your mouth." Zhang Fan began to look around.

Everything in nature has its counter; if there’s one strength, there’s a weakness.

Just like some people who accidentally eat toxic mushrooms in the forest, often there’s an antidote herb nearby.

With this thought, Zhang Fan walked to the side, grabbed two handfuls of soil, and stuffed them into Jifeng Pavilion and Mo Yun’s mouths.

Sure enough, as soon as the soil entered their mouths, the wriggling milky white fog began to shrink and retreat, while the two furrowed their brows, letting out a painful groan.

"Consider yourselves lucky." Zhang Fan breathed a sigh of relief.

He’d found the people, just waiting for them to awaken and escort them out of the mountain, enough to give Qi Ji an explanation.

"What the hell, how did they get in here."

Zhang Fan glanced at the two in a stupor, curiosity arising; only once they woke could he ask and understand.

"Tsk tsk, how intriguing, nowadays someone actually dares to enter the Deserted Mountain in the middle of the night."

Just then, a bizarre voice echoed in the mountain, reverberating through the dense fog.

This voice resembled the hoarse whisper of an old owl, raspy and piercing, scraping the heart and lung.

Zhang Fan looked up and saw a flicker of fire within the dense mist, which reflected a pair of glowing green eyes staring at him, initially looking like lanterns, giving off a "cackle cackle cackle" eerie laugh.

Indeed, the Hundred-year-old Owl became a wood sprite, laughter emerged in the green-framed nest.

Such an eerie atmosphere rushed in.

"Demon!?" Zhang Fan’s heart skipped a beat.

This aura was by no means ordinary spirit monsters, not even Shi Shougong or Su Shiyu’s kind of demon.

To cultivate into a demon in this Deserted Mountain, couldn’t be ordinary.

"Kid, you’ve got some insight, I was enlightened by the Observatory Master of the Perfect View..."

The chilling voice came from the jumping firelight, green eyes fixed on Zhang Fan, then abruptly stopped.

"Huh!? It’s you?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fan froze momentarily.

"You’ve seen me!?"

"Of course I’ve seen you, ten years ago, you came here... a man brought you into the mountain..."

With that, a figure swiftly emerged from the thick mist, revealed to be a glistening large black rat.