Yellow Skinned Taoist Master

Chapter 167: Chen Huangpi, You Know Again?

Returning to the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

As Chen Huangpi hurried back to the Pure Immortal Temple.

He pondered two matters along the way.

First, now that the sun and moon of the outside world were gone, would a new sun and moon appear.

Second, whether the Evil Daoist's words could be trusted. He said that the fishing rod was precisely in the place he feared the most. However, Chen Huangpi feared neither heaven nor earth; he only feared caterpillars. And there were far too many places with caterpillars inside the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

Before he could cultivate, Chen Huangpi went out every day to patrol the mountains and gather herbs.

Just in the vicinity of Mount Yuqiong alone, he knew of no fewer than several dozen places with caterpillars.

But none of those places possessed the stone stele the Evil Daoist mentioned.

Moreover, what Chen Huangpi feared was caterpillars.

Right now, the Life-reaping Ghost had returned inside the Soul-Hooking Manual to continue recuperating, and the Nine Nether God Lantern was still in a half-dead, half-alive evil spirit state.Therefore, the Fox Mountain God became the only one beside Chen Huangpi capable of conversing.

He informed the Fox Mountain God of the thoughts in his mind.

The Fox Mountain God pondered for a moment, saying: "The rotation of the sun and moon is a rule of heaven and earth. The sun and moon outside were dragged away by the Guanzhu's Daoist robe, so presumably, there should still be a new sun and moon appearing."

"I just don't know why the Guanzhu would bring the sun and moon into the Hundred Thousand Mountains."

"The Hundred Thousand Mountains clearly already has its own sun and moon."

Previously, although the Hundred Thousand Mountains and the outside world were not the same place.

They both had a sun and moon, and looking at them, there was no difference.

Even the times for sunrise and moonset were identical.

But now, the outside world had lost its sun and moon, turning pitch-black, whereas the scorching sun hung high in the sky inside the Hundred Thousand Mountains. It truly gave off an indescribable sense of fragmentation and disjunction.

Chen Huangpi said: "Master did it to vent my anger for me, but I still have one matter I don't understand."

"What is it?"

"Master said he couldn't leave the Hundred Thousand Mountains."

Chen Huangpi thought for a bit, continuing: "But once Master's Daoist robe went to the outside world, it displayed such inconceivable might. I feel... never mind, it's better not to mention it."

If they continued speaking about it, it would circle back round to the Evil Daoist again.

Chen Huangpi didn't want to drag the Evil Daoist into this again, so he asked the Fox Mountain God: "Although I grew up in the Hundred Thousand Mountains since childhood, I merely spun circles around the vicinity of Mount Yuqiong; the furthest place I ever went was the God-Burying Mound."

"Fox Mountain God, you should be more familiar with the Hundred Thousand Mountains than I am."

"Do you know if there's any place containing a stone stele, and moreover, with text engraved on it that you cannot read?"

"I don't..."

The Fox Mountain God shook his head, saying: "Since the Fourth Guanzhu... ah, since that Evil Daoist said so, that place is definitively vastly related to you. I am nothing more than a mere minor Mountain God; how could I possibly know of such profound secrets."

"However, logically speaking, you ought to know the place you fear the most."

"Could it possibly be talking about the Old Temple?"

"Would I fear the Old Temple?"

Chen Huangpi said with a bizarre expression: "The Old Temple is also mine, why would I fear it?"

Before Master went mad, he wouldn't let him go to the Old Temple.

After going inside, he would be strung up and beaten upon coming out.

But since when had he ever been afraid?

"Are you afraid of the God-Burying Mound?"

"Not afraid."

"What about the marketplace where evil spirits gather?"

"I'm not afraid of that either."

"Not afraid of this, not afraid of that, is there honestly nothing you are afraid of?"

"No."

Chen Huangpi also felt somewhat of a headache.

Exactly what place was the one he feared the most?

With his current strength, even leaving aside the Headless Yama's shadow, merely discussing his combat power, he could definitely clash against a common Misfortune.

A Misfortune like Song Yuzhang—who had merged as one with Xuzhou City and also devoured the paper figures—was merely spurred into existence by a fortuitous coincidence of timing and circumstance.

Even it was only capable of suppressing him by a single tier when inside the city.

"I am very strong now."

Chen Huangpi clenched his fists and said: "There are so many evil spirits in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, and I am unquestionably among the absolute strongest batch right now. For a place that even I would fear... I genuinely cannot think of it."

"No, Contract Master. You are not among the strongest batch of evil spirits."

The Life-reaping Ghost suddenly interjected coldly/abruptly: "The Calamity Eye is actually very strong. Possessing the Guanzhu's sword shadow, it is actually stronger than a common Misfortune. If it weren't for Yi Qingzhou, you wouldn't have been able to defeat it."

"Moreover, the Guanzhu has not patrolled the mountains for far too long."

"There are absolutely evil spirits within the Hundred Thousand Mountains that are vastly stronger than you."

The Hundred Thousand Mountains was inherently the convergence point of the Yang Extreme and Yin Extreme, where the sun set the latest and the moon rose the earliest.

This place was very wicked, and also very bizarre.

Counting Chen Huangpi, the Life-reaping Ghost had four Contract Masters.

The previous Contract Master was that headless evil spirit. The one prior to that was over two thousand years ago; that Contract Master was a Disaster. And the one before that was similarly a Disaster, only it failed when metamorphosing into a Calamity, which was how the second Contract Master came to be.

These Contract Masters were all evil spirits, all roaming within the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

Excluding the vicinity of Mount Yuqiong, other parts of the Hundred Thousand Mountains couldn't be considered any sort of forbidden zones to evil spirits.

It was merely that evil spirits wouldn't indiscriminately run around without reason.

Most of the time, they were just roaming.

During the eras of its first and second Contract Masters, the Life-reaping Ghost had once seen terrifyingly scary evil spirits within the Hundred Thousand Mountains. Those were ghostly entities stronger than a Misfortune, merely that they inexplicably disappeared later on.

Listening to other evil spirits, it was said they were grabbed away by that existence who patrolled the mountains, namely the Guanzhu.

But that was something from a very, very long time ago.

The Guanzhu subsequently went mad and never patrolled the mountains again.

Over such a lengthy period of time, the Hundred Thousand Mountains definitely wouldn't lack these kinds of tyrannical evil spirits.

However, these ghostly entities stronger than a Misfortune were definitively all in hiding, because they weren't certain if the Guanzhu might suddenly patrol the mountains again. Even if they possessed heaven-defying capabilities, they were unwilling to behave too conspicuously and glaringly.

Chen Huangpi and the Life-reaping Ghost shared a telepathic connection.

He naturally knew the Life-reaping Ghost's thoughts.

Therefore, he said: "It's fine if those evil spirits don't show themselves, but if they dare to show themselves, it just so happens my Five Viscera Temple is still lacking three. When the time comes, I'll just pick three lucky ones to invite inside."

Before returning to the Hundred Thousand Mountains, Chen Huangpi's Liver Temple was already only lacking a single hairsbreadth from being completely forged.

And now, it had completely formed.

The great doors of that Liver Temple were tightly shut. Inside, it was pitch-black, with countless cyan-black Calamity Eyes writhing within.

If Chen Huangpi were to run into the Old Temple right now and open the great doors of the Liver Temple.

Chi Xie—who had his divine soul slain by Chen Huangpi, leaving only his origin fire seed—would unhesitatingly enter and take ownership of the Liver Temple.

However, Chen Huangpi did not intend to do this right now.

After fighting a battle with the Evil Daoist.

Chen Huangpi suddenly realized that if he invited Chi Xie into the Liver Temple right now and then started forging the Heart Temple, he would reversely be weakening his own power.

It wasn't that his strength decreased after refining a temple.

Rather, the period after an organ temple was successfully forged but before a deity was invited inside was an opportunity.

An opportunity for invincibility.

Even if Chen Huangpi was incredibly weak.

As long as the opposing party was an evil spirit, and as long as their five-element affiliation matched up, Chen Huangpi was invincible.

Once the temple doors opened, would these evil spirits even have a say in whether they entered or not?

"My Kidney Temple corresponds to Water. The evil spirits or deities I can invite inside are those corresponding to the attributes of Water and Wood."

"What I invited in was the Magic Tree."

"The Liver Temple corresponds to Wood. Both Wood and Fire attributes are acceptable, but I already possess the Magic Tree. The cycle of the five elements cannot be disrupted, so I can only choose a Fire-attribute evil spirit."

"Then is it possible to reverse the five elements?"

The Fox Mountain God couldn't resist shooting its mouth off: "The five elements mutually generate and mutually overcome each other. Metal overcomes Wood; Metal definitely works too."

When it spoke up to here, it looked toward the Nine Nether God Lantern.

And then shifted its gaze to the Void-Piercing Sword upon Chen Huangpi's back.

Chen Huangpi said: "Reverse-refining the five elements ought to be possible, but if I do so, I'd have to scrap the Magic Tree and invite another Earth-attribute deity to take ownership of the Kidney Temple. But the Magic Tree is currently on the verge of becoming a Misfortune, and it's very obedient right now; I don't wish to do that."

The Five Viscera Spirit Refining Art was very bizarre and wondrous.

The normal cultivation method was to invite the corresponding deity inside according to the corresponding attribute of the Five Viscera Temple.

The path Chen Huangpi chose was the cultivation method of the mutual generation of the five elements, and the deities he invited in followed suit.

The Kidney Temple corresponded to Water, the deity to Wood.

The Liver Temple corresponded to Wood, the deity to Fire.

The Heart Temple corresponded to Fire, the deity to Earth.

The Spleen Temple corresponded to Earth, the deity to Metal.

The Lung Temple corresponded to Metal, the deity to Water.

Conversely, that would be the reversal of the five elements.

Thus, the Five Viscera Spirit Refining Art had three cultivation methods.

But just the cultivation method of the mutual generation of the five elements alone already made things somewhat strenuous for Chen Huangpi, because the deities invited inside would be disobedient. He either had to reason with them or apply fists and kicks; otherwise, he couldn't direct them as easily as moving his own arm and fingers.

Let alone reversing the five elements.

When the time came, it would definitely be even thornier and more troublesome.

Right at this moment.

Chen Huangpi also arrived at Huanghu Village at the foot of Mount Yuqiong.

The remnant commoners were congregating together, led by Granny Tang, carrying hoes on their shoulders as if they were going out to the fields to work.

"Little Master, you've returned."

"Granny Tang, are you all heading to the fields?"

Hearing this, Granny Tang chuckled and said: "We are going to dig a well. Winter is approaching. Previously, we relied on the stream at the foot of the mountain for drinking water. Now that the farming matters are finished, it is the perfect time to go find a location with a water source, otherwise we'll have no water to drink."

"Is that so..."

Chen Huangpi tilted his head and stated: "There is a spring eye in that mountain to the east. A little further east, there is another mountain, and between the two mountains, there is a river. You all need to head over in that direction."

"That's exactly where we intend to go and look."

"Oh, then you may go."

Chen Huangpi waved to Granny Tang and the others, and then ascended Mount Yuqiong with a pensive expression.

After walking past the mountain gate and arriving inside the Pure Immortal Temple.

Chen Huangpi suddenly spoke: "A Gui, Fox Mountain God, I think I know what place I fear the most now."

"You know again?"

"I'm afraid of water..."

Chen Huangpi said earnestly: "From my childhood, Master never let me go to the riverside, so I cannot swim. I only occasionally went into the river to catch some fish and shrimp to eat when the river's flow was cut off."

"Master said water overcomes me, and if I fell into the water, I would drown."

"The Guanzhu was definitely just scaring you."

The Fox Mountain God said without even thinking: "You were still young at that time and couldn't cultivate. But you are inherently extraordinary; how could you possibly drown?"

However, the Life-reaping Ghost frowned and said: "Contract Master, when you were in the Underworld Yellow Spring, you refused to be touched by even a drop of water. But that was the water of the Yellow Spring. Could it be that the water of the Hundred Thousand Mountains is also out of the ordinary?"

Chen Huangpi said: "That isn't true. When cooking and making meals normally, how could I not touch water? That water is just very ordinary water; it won't hurt me."

"What the Evil Daoist meant must be a specific river."

"A fishing rod, fish in the river, and Master not letting me bathe in the river—it must definitely be the river."

When he spoke up to here.

Chen Huangpi's eyes grew increasingly bright. He felt his current train of thought was correct.

Therefore, he excitedly ran to the main hall.

However, there was no trace of Master in the main hall.

"Could he be in the alchemy room?"

Chen Huangpi ran to the alchemy room again, but there was still no figure of Master in the alchemy room.

Conversely, that Nine Dragons Refining Heaven Furnace suddenly made a noise.

Clang, clang, clang...

It sounded like something was ramming outward from inside the alchemy furnace.