I have Taoism and can understand other worlds

Chapter 573 Entering Black Mountain

The burly man stood beneath an ancient tree, his body as sturdy as a stone pillar.

His face held a hint of confusion before he slowly collapsed to the ground. Blood seeped from the back of his head, gradually forming a stream. The life fire within his body, before it could even blaze, instantly extinguished. No one could believe that a cultivator at the Dao Palace Realm could die so silently, without even having a chance to see who his opponent was.

The surrounding worshippers screamed in alarm, each trying to use magic to escape. But in the blink of an eye, the lush branches had bound everyone in the palace courtyard. The sprawling vines were as hard as iron, and no matter how the worshippers struggled, they could not break free.

Lu Shiming stood beside Jiang Wen, staring in astonishment at everything. What had just happened happened in the blink of an eye; even he hadn't recovered from the shock.

The bull-like monk from the Worshiping God Society, whom he feared, died so easily, without even being able to put up a fight.

Suddenly feeling parched, Lü Shiming glanced at Jiang Wen. He suddenly realized that if his uncle, Jue Jianzi, had fought with this Abbot Jiang, it would probably have been his uncle who died.

"Brother Jiang is a completely different person now," Lü Shiming exclaimed.

Back when they first met, Jiang Wen was merely a cultivator at the Life Fire Realm. Even when they joined forces to fight Chi Yao, it took them immense effort. Now, standing in the Imperial Palace, he defeated his opponent with a single move. There is no talent in the world more extraordinary than this.

Upon hearing this, Jiang smiled modestly at Lü Shiming and said, "It's just a magic weapon given to me by an elder; it's nothing more than my own skill."

That wasn't wrong; Jiang Wen hadn't expected the Heavenly Sword to be so powerful. A single strike had cost the Venerable of the Worshiping Gods Society his life. Even without directly fighting this brute, he could feel the sheer strength of its flesh and blood. The boiling blood energy was intensely hot, even from a distance. If this guy were to engage in close combat, Jiang Wen knew he would likely be no match for it without the support of his Dharma Body.

But even such a powerful body-refining cultivator was nothing more than a dead soul under the Heavenly Sword.

"The sect leader has indeed sent a fine gift." Jiang Wen flicked his sleeve and sheathed the Heavenly Strike Sword, lightly wiping the blade as he sighed inwardly.

Jiang Wen put it back into his storage bag and looked at the ancient tree.

The two landed in front of the tree, where the courtyard was now overgrown with flowers, grass, and trees. It was as lush as a field, as if no one had ever been there for thousands of years.

About a hundred members of the worship society were bound by branches and vines, and each of them had a lifeless and colorless face.

Lu Shiming looked these people over and asked Jiang Wen, "What's wrong with them?"

"I had Ziyun absorb their magical power to prevent them from interfering with us again," Jiang Wen said with a smile, then extended his palm.

A vine grew from the fingertips, gradually blossoming into a white flower. In the center of that blooming white flower stood a woman.

The woman nodded to Lü Shiming and then disappeared.

"Zi Yun? What a fine name. Brother Jiang is indeed very lucky." Lu Shiming couldn't help but admire the woman on the flower. Even someone with poor eyesight could see that this woman was extraordinary. It seemed that this woman was a demon subdued by Jiang Wen, which was why she was so obedient.

"It's just a coincidence," Jiang Wenwen said with a smile. It was Yan Gongli who helped him win over Ziyun.

The two chatted and laughed as they walked to the foot of an ancient tree.

"Brother Lü, do you know how to open this Black Mountain?" Jiang Wen looked around but couldn't find the entrance. So he asked Lü Shiming, hoping the heir of the Northern Ming King might have a solution.

Lü Shiming did not disappoint Jiang Wen. He nodded and walked to the big tree. He took out a jade token and placed it on the tree.

"Only the Black Mountain White Water Token can open the Black Mountain, and this token can only be possessed by descendants of the Li family."

As Lü Shiming spoke, the jade pendant emitted a dazzling green light.

Then the tree split open, revealing a green crack, like a deep cave.

"Once we enter, we'll reach Black Mountain. Brother Jiang, are you ready?" Lü Shiming asked.

"Let's go." Jiang Wen strode away, his figure disappearing into the gap in an instant.

Lu Shiming, who was behind him, shook his head with a wry smile and couldn't help but sigh, "He is truly a hero, completely oblivious to the dangers involved."

Having said that, he stepped into the Black Mountain. The sky darkened, and the world turned upside down.

Jiang Wen felt as if the world had turned upside down, and his whole body was rolling around.

When everything stopped and he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a completely different world.

The ancient tree stands tall like a skeleton, its bark cracked into grayish-white scales resembling snake molts, with dark green sap seeping from the cracks, forming a spiderweb-like fluorescent vein on the trunk surface.

The tree canopy is layered like dark clouds pressing down overhead, and the gnarled branches form a cage-like dome. The vines hanging down at the ends resemble gallows, dripping putrid sap when they sway gently in the cold wind.

Crimson mist rises from the humus layer, weaving a seven-fold twisted rainbow across the forest.

The rainbow wasn't formed by the refraction of sunlight; rather, it resembled countless tangled blood vessels, with cystic, translucent membranes floating on its surface, from which the faint shadows of curled-up embryos could be seen. The rainbow's light reflected on the pale, bone-dust-like stream, staining the water's surface like congealed blood.

The starless sky hung low like an iron coffin lid, but it was not pure black—a murky color, somewhere between bluish-gray and ochre-brown, permeated the clouds, and the edges of the cloud wisps were tinged with a purplish tinge like corpse spots.

As the mist rainbow passed through the dead branches, it made a sticky, sludge-like sound, and wherever it went, the lichens curled up into charred, insect-like corpses.

Occasionally, phosphorescent flames would drift out from the cracks in the tree roots. The moment the flames touched the rainbow, the entire rainbow bridge would suddenly contract into pulsating veins, engulfing the phosphorescent flames and then bursting out with a shrill cry like that of an infant.

The scattered animal bones among the decaying soil trembled, their jaws opening and closing as if in response, and scarlet mycelium sprouted from the hollow eye sockets, creeping and spreading towards the misty rainbow like living things.

Fear, horror. No law, no order. The spiritual energy here was chaotic, and the stench was unbearable. Jiang Wen took a small breath of spiritual energy and frowned involuntarily.

The spiritual energy is poisonous.

He took out a talisman and held it in his hand. He made the Laozi hand seal and softly chanted the incantation to dispel miasma.

The yellow talisman burned and then fell to the ground.

The surrounding scarlet mist slowly faded, forming a mist within three zhang around Jiang Wen.

After expelling the poisonous spiritual energy, Jiang Wen finally breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at the strange place, he now understood a little better what the Black Mountain that everyone had been talking about was.

This is Montenegro.

With a sigh, the next moment Lu Shiming appeared beside him.

"Is this Black Mountain?" Lu Shiming asked in astonishment as he looked at the scenery of Black Mountain.

"If we haven't come to the wrong place, this should be Black Mountain," Jiang Wen said calmly.

He folded a yellow talisman and handed it to Lü Shiming.

"The spiritual energy here contains poisonous miasma; ingesting too much can easily lead to demonic possession. Wearing this item will ensure your safety here."

Lu Shiming accepted the yellow talisman without ceremony and carefully placed it on his person. He bowed to Jiang Wen and thanked him, saying, "Thank you very much, Brother Jiang. I will never forget this kindness."

"Let's wait until we get out of here. I can sense that this is definitely not a good place." Jiang Wen's mood was somewhat heavy. He felt that this Black Mountain was no ordinary place. Compared to Mingzhou in the Crimson Land, and Black Cloud Mountain in Yunmeng Marsh, this place was obviously much worse.

"In this place, A'meng and Princess Shenyun are likely in grave danger. We must find them quickly." Lu Shiming was somewhat anxious, and he rushed towards the Black Mountain with his head down.

Jiang Wen watched his figure, about to take flight. But as if sensing something, he decisively abandoned his attempt.

"Flying is not allowed here."

(End of this chapter)