Pure Yang!

Chapter 275: Liu Hai plays with the golden toad! Ranger in the night (5k chapter)

Walking deep in the empty mountains, the sounds of nature are silent, and the forest is filled with tree shadows in the bright moon.

A little starlight fell on the mountain, and there were only two lines of human figures walking along the narrow mountain road.

"I suddenly remembered a text I learned in junior high school." Zhang Fan suddenly said.

"What?" Qi Delong asked subconsciously.

"There are no roads in this world. When more people walk on it, it becomes a road." Zhang Fan sighed.

Chanbao Mountain has never been developed. It is rocky and muddy and difficult to walk on. Where is the road?
This place is visited occasionally by climbers on weekdays. Apart from that, only nearby rangers come here once or twice a month.

"The road I took last time was much more dangerous than this." Qi Delong said in a deep voice.

"We are on the back of a toad now, and those bumps are moving."

The shape of Chanbao Mountain is a lying toad, and the hills and rocks in the mountain are like the lumps of flesh on the toad's back.

What Qi Delong meant by "moving" was that once people arrived here, it would be easy to get lost. Even if their souls were awakened, they would be affected by the Feng Shui pattern. After all, human power could not defeat the terrain. The path they had walked last time might not be the path they would walk this time, just like these lumps of flesh would move.

On the contrary, only people like Qin Ergou, who are extremely familiar with every tree and blade of grass in Chanbao Mountain, can travel in the mountains without getting lost easily.

"What did you find the last time you went into the mountains?" Zhang Fan asked.

"I can only say that this tomb in the mountains is extraordinary, and that Taoist priest is not an ordinary person..." Qi Delong said in a deep voice.

The Taoist priest he was referring to should be the one that Qin Ergou said passed down the art of catching toads from his ancestors.

At that time, the Taoist saw that this mountain was extraordinary and that there was a golden toad containing a pearl, so he turned it into a large tomb as a place for him to rest in peace after his death.

"I met a grave-guarding beast in these mountains."

"Tomb-guarding beast?" Zhang Fan's eyes narrowed slightly.

Li Yishan studied folklore when he was in college, and he got along well with the group of people next door who studied archaeology. He had heard from Li Yishan that those people had encountered many strange things when they were digging tombs.

One year, three senior students studying archaeology followed their professor to a Han tomb. When they entered the main tomb chamber, as soon as the door was opened, a gray rat as big as a jackal jumped out and bit two of them to death on the spot.

That Han tomb had never been visited by anyone, and the main tomb chamber was completely sealed. It was hard to imagine what the gray rat was and why it could survive in it for so long.

Li Yishan said that the thing was a tomb-guarding beast, which only the great nobles could enjoy in ancient times. The method of training and raising tomb-guarding beasts was passed down from the alchemists of the pre-Qin period.

The matter was suppressed by the school, and the surviving senior student was directly admitted to graduate school.

However, Li Yishan said that if he were that person, he would never do this job even if he was beaten to death.

"I met a stone lion outside that big tomb. It was so powerful that I almost lost an arm." Qi Delong said in a deep voice.

The tomb-guarding beast he met was not even a living creature, but a stone lion, which was even more bizarre and terrifying than any living creature.

"What kind of method is this?" Zhang Fanqi asked.

That stone lion is definitely not some puppet mechanism or something like that.

"I don't know." Qi Delong shook his head.

Up to now, many Taoist traditions have been lost in the long river of time, especially many earth-shaking and mysterious methods.

He heard that in ancient times there was a kind of Taoist method that could cultivate a kind of strange creature that was like a god but not a god, like a devil but not a devil, like a monster but not a monster. It was called the Yellow Turban Warrior and was often used to guard the mountain gate and sit in the position of guardian.

Unfortunately, this kind of method has long been lost.

The stone lion was probably also created using a similar method.

"You almost got killed. It seems that the stone lion is very ferocious." Zhang Fan said in a serious tone.

The brothers Qi Delong and Qi Dongqiang were both masters at the great bodhisattva level, but even they almost lost an arm, which shows how ferocious the stone lion was.

"It's a burial place. The Taoist priest must have put all his fortune in that tomb. Isn't it amazing?" Qi Delong said in a deep voice.

Thanks to meeting the Taoist priests in Zhongnan Mountain, Qi Delong was able to avoid trouble. However, that group of people were not so lucky. They lost two [Yellow Feather Magic Weapons] before they escaped.

"That's really good stuff." Zhang Fan narrowed his eyes slightly.

It would be really impressive if we could get that stone lion and use it to guard the gate.

"and many more!"

At this moment, Qi Delong grabbed Zhang Fan. The latter was slightly startled. He looked up and saw moonlight splashing and sparkling not far away. It turned out to be a pool of water in the mountains, but there was a ray of golden light in the water.

"This is..." Zhang Fan's eyes condensed into a line, revealing a strange look.

"Golden Toad!?"

Although this mountain fits the bill of "Golden Toad Holding a Pearl", it is not the same as the real "Golden Toad" in the legend.

“It is said that the golden toad is a dragon seed. One of the five northern ancestors of Quanzhen Taoism, Master Liu Haichan, attained enlightenment through this.” Qi Delong said in a serious tone.

Liu Haichan is the founder of Quanzhen Taoism and one of the famous Nine Wealth Gods. During the Five Dynasties, he served as prime minister to Liu Shouguang, Lord of Yan. Later, he was enlightened by Zhengyangzi, also known as the famous Zhongli Quan. Later, he was taught alchemy by Lu Zu and finally attained enlightenment and became an immortal in Mount Zhongnan, one of the ancestral homes of Taoism in the world.

There is another version about Liu Zu's becoming an immortal, which is the widely circulated story "Liu Hai Playing with the Golden Toad" among the people.

"The golden toad is a dragon species. It came out of the West Sea and hid in a well. It spewed white light from its mouth and soared into the sky. A person with the Tao could ascend to heaven by riding on this white light..."

"Liu Zu was fishing for a golden toad. When the golden toad appeared, Liu Zu rode on its back and ascended to heaven in broad daylight, attaining enlightenment and becoming an immortal."

From then on, Liu Hai playing with the golden toad became a legend.

"I see, this toad has a golden back..." Qi Delong said in a serious tone.

Chang'an is the dragon cave of one of the three major dragon veins derived from Kunlun Mountain. Chanbao Mountain must have been contaminated with the dragon energy of the ancestral dragon vein. It not only formed a "pearl-containing" pattern, but also gave birth to a "golden back", which is a genuine dragon species golden toad.

“If there was such a precious land in ancient times, whoever buried his ancestors here would at least become a king or a prince.” Qi Delong sighed.

Although people with the Golden Toad Fate cannot attain the status of a king, they can at least be rich and powerful.

"Not necessarily. Don't forget, this toad is the Pearl-Bearing Toad. It has contained all the dragon energy and precious light of the entire mountain in its mouth..."

Zhang Fan's eyes narrowed: "If this is true, maybe just as you guessed, a spirit fetus was born in this mountain."

At this point, Qi Delong's breathing became heavy.

Being born with a divine mind and unparalleled fortune has been extremely rare since ancient times.

Especially after the great catastrophe in Taoism, Baihe Temple was the only one in the world that still enshrined a natural spirit fetus.

"This thing is a killer."

"Have you notified your Laojun Mountain?" Zhang Fan asked in a deep voice.

"I've notified them." Qi Dongqiang blurted out.

"Zhang Fan, don't look at me like that... If a spiritual fetus is really born, what kind of disaster will it be? The two of us... the three of us can't handle it." Qi Delong hurriedly explained.

"Maybe you'll have to leave your life behind then."

"Forget it..." Zhang Fan pondered for a moment and looked towards the deep pool.

"Get that treasure first."

"That's dragon toad oil." Qi Delong's eyes narrowed into slits.

The golden light in the pool of water was the fat of the "toad" in the mountain, which was tainted with dragon energy.

This is the legendary treasure from heaven and earth, rare treasures from mountains and seas.

It is even recorded in the [Taoist Secret Records] that Zhang Fan has read. It is said that a drop of [Dragon Toad Oil] can burn for half a year. If it is used to worship ancestors, it can bless the family with wealth. If the oil is not exhausted, the wealth will not end. This is also the wonderful use of the golden toad to attract wealth and treasure.

In addition, this thing is also a treasure for refining external elixirs, especially in the hands of an external elixir master like Lin Jianyue, who can use it to refine many elixirs.

Because of this, [Dragon Toad Oil] is of extraordinary value. On the black market, just one drop would cost at least fifty or sixty thousand.

"I just happen to be short of money." Zhang Fan's eyes were fiery.

Now he still has more than 500,000 yuan left in his card, which is a huge sum of money for ordinary people.

But for him, it was not enough.

Especially when he reached this level, cultivation was extremely expensive. Apart from other things, last time at Fangya Mountain, his [Mighty Spiritual Demon-Suppressing Golden Seal] was damaged by Qiyun Mountain's [Magic Mirror]. After returning to Yujing City, he made some inquiries and found out that the cost of repair alone would cost seven figures.

Wow…

Walking to the edge of the pond, the clear water ripples layer by layer, breaking the bright moon in the water.

If an ordinary person were here, and his soul had not yet awakened, he would naturally not be able to see the golden light at the bottom of the pool. However, if he observed with his soul, he would be able to see the golden light gathering together and sinking to the bottom of the water.

"Ordinary oil will float on the water, but dragon toad oil is extremely heavy." Qi Dongqiang said in a deep voice.

"I'm afraid this thing is not easy to hold." Qi Delong hesitated for a moment and said in a serious tone.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Fan turned around and looked.

"For any rare treasure, there must be danger within ten steps..." Qi Delong said in a deep voice: "Look at the layer of black water below. I heard from the elders in the sect that this is called the Soul-Falling Water, which is specially designed to destroy the Yuanshen."

"If a cultivator's soul awakens and he goes down, he will most likely be in trouble."

"Let me try."

Zhang Fan hesitated for a moment and took off his coat.

"You?" Qi Delong hesitated.

"How about this, I'll tie a rope around you, and if anything changes, I'll pull you up."

As he spoke, Qi Delong took out a bundle of ropes and a gourd from his backpack. "If you succeed, use this to pack it."

"what is this?"

"This is a treasure-raising gourd." Qi Delong said in a deep voice.

In Taoism, even gourds have many types, all of which are cultivated with special roots, enlightened by elixirs and stones, and practiced with secret methods.

This [Treasure Gourd] is specially designed to hold rare treasures from the mountains and seas, and great medicines from heaven and earth, so that their spirituality will not be lost.

In addition, there is also a [Sword-raising Gourd]. It is said that in ancient times, there was a kind of Taoist called sword-refining immortals who specialized in practicing one breath and kept it in a gourd on weekdays. Once it was opened, the sword energy would be rampant and they could kill people from a distance, which was extremely amazing.

"What a good stuff! Now that we have obtained the treasure, we can split it in half." Zhang Fan took the gourd.

"Just take one gourd, don't take all of them." Qi Delong reminded.

If all the natural treasures were taken, it would definitely cause sudden changes in the mountains, and earthquakes and landslides would also be very likely.

"understood."

Zhang Fan nodded, held his breath, and jumped into the deep pool. The biting coldness rushed over him.

It is only early spring now, and the winter chill has not yet subsided. However, Zhang Fan is a cultivator, and the true yang in his body is like fire, spreading into his limbs and bones like a constant temperature central air conditioner, so he is not afraid.

As he went deeper and deeper, the pressure around him became stronger and stronger, and the golden light came closer and closer.

"Brother, he will enter the black water layer." Qi Dongqiang said in a deep voice.

"Don't talk." Qi Delong frowned.

He had seen the horror of this [Soul-Falling Water] in many Taoist books on Laojun Mountain. The more awakened the soul was, the greater the damage would be.

Wow…

At this moment, Zhang Fan finally entered the black water layer.

In an instant, the eyes of Qi Delong and Qi Dongqiang trembled violently, and they saw a fire rising from the black water. The red light was blazing, and the black gas was spreading all over the place. It actually penetrated Zhang Fan's spiritual platform and burned his soul.

"This thing is really dangerous." Qi Delong's face suddenly changed. He tightened the rope in his hand and was about to pull Zhang Fan back.

"Brother, look..."

At this moment, Qi Delong's eyes suddenly focused, and he saw that Zhang Fan seemed to be unaffected. His body moved even faster, and he "whoosh" through the black water layer like a swimming fish.

"His soul is not affected at all?" Qi Delong's face trembled slightly and he showed an incredible look.

“The Holy Fetus of Gods and Demons… It is indeed the Holy Fetus of Gods and Demons…”

At this moment, Qi Delong finally recalled the scene when Zhang Fan and Li Changgeng fought at the Prison Immortal Temple that day.

"Brother, there's something strange about his soul. Hasn't the fusion of the two spirits been successful yet?" Qi Dongqiang muttered in a low voice.

"I don't know either." Qi Delong frowned, his eyes showing deep thought.

At this time, Zhang Fan had reached the bottom of the pool. The golden light was quite dazzling, and the golden oil appeared in drops, like marbles, separating from the surrounding pool water.

Zhang Fan picked up the [Treasure Raising Gourd] and put it up. The golden oil entered into the gourd and automatically pressed out the water inside.

Without further ado, the gourd was filled.

Zhang Fan took a glance and saw that there was only a little bit of dragon toad oil left.

He knew that it would take at least hundreds of years to accumulate this small amount.

Qi Delong was right. The gifts from heaven and earth cannot be fully taken. If you exhaust all the resources, there will be a catastrophe.

Thinking of this, Zhang Fan took the gourd and pulled the rope.

"Let's go."

Qi Delong had been waiting for Zhang Fan's signal. As soon as the rope moved, he exerted force suddenly, and the terrifying force directly pulled Zhang Fan out of the water from the bottom of the pool.

Huge waves splashed out, and Zhang Fan fell onto the shore like a big fish.

"Hehe, this gourd is really heavy." Zhang Fan shook the treasure-raising gourd in his hand.

The density of dragon toad oil is extremely high. A gourd of it weighs at least 15 kilograms, and the value of a hundred drops is conservatively estimated to be several million.

"You are really awesome." Qi Delong looked at Zhang Fan deeply and said sincerely.

"We'll split the treasures in here in half each." Zhang Fan grinned. In the blink of an eye, he had earned seven figures. At least the money for repairing the [Weiling Demon-Suppressing Golden Seal] was paid for, and he would have a lot left over for more than that.

"We brothers didn't contribute much, so we give it all to you." Qi Delong shook his head, unwilling to take advantage of Zhang Fan.

"How can that be possible?" Zhang Fan asked in a serious tone.

"You told me the place, and the gourd is yours too..."

Although Zhang Fan wanted to make money, he was unwilling to give people less than a cent.

"How about this, you leave us twenty drops of dragon toad oil, and that'll be our profit sharing." Qi Delong pondered for a moment and then said.

Twenty drops of dragon toad oil are worth about one million yuan, which is estimated to account for only about 20% of this gourd.

"Okay." Zhang Fan was in a good mood and nodded.

"Who is so desperate to come to the mountains at night?"

At this moment, a shout suddenly came, accompanied by a beam of dazzling light.

Zhang Fan turned around and saw a man standing in the distance. He was about forty years old, with an unshaven beard and a faint scar on his face. He was wearing a ranger's uniform and holding a flashlight. He was looking at Zhang Fan and Qi Delong suspiciously.

“Are you hikers crazy? You’re running around in a mountain that’s not open to the public. If you get lost or get hypothermia, you could die.” The ranger walked over swearing.

“Don’t you know that you can’t go into the mountains at night?” The ranger came closer and waved the flashlight in his hand.

"We..." Qi Delong curled his lips, hesitating to speak.

"You are lucky to have met me. I usually only come here once every two months." The ranger glanced at Zhang Fan and said, "You will get hypothermia if you keep doing this. Come with me..."

"The forest ranger station is not far ahead."

Generally, there are forest ranger stations in the mountains for rangers to rest and replenish supplies.

"Okay, let's take a break and change clothes first." Qi Delong nodded.

"alright."

Zhang Fan slowly stood up and followed.

After a while, the group arrived at the dilapidated forest ranger station, where people would only come every two or three months.

The heater was turned on in the not-so-spacious cabin. Zhang Fan sat next to it and felt a little warm. The water vapor on his body was also evaporating.

"Uncle, what's your name?" Zhang Fan asked.

"My last name is Nian, the same as Nian Gengyao. Everyone calls me Lao Nian."

As he spoke, the old man took out a bottle of Erguotou from his arms and placed it in front of Zhang Fan.

"Take a few sips to warm yourself up."

He squinted his eyes and his face was red, obviously he had drunk more than two sips.

"Uncle Nian, how long have you been a ranger?" Zhang Fan asked casually.

"I can't remember. I have been wandering around these mountains since I started working. I have seen more mountains than people." The old man took the Erguotou and took a big gulp.

"I've seen many people like you who don't care about their lives. In previous years, there were always some hikers who died in the mountains. When their families came to look for them, they cried so loudly... I'm numb to it..." the old man sighed to himself.

Zhang Fan and Qi Delong looked at each other but said nothing.

This man is somewhat similar to Qin Ergou, and his fate throughout his life is closely related to the mountains."

"But sometimes you can come across interesting things..."

As he spoke, the old man blushed, squinted his eyes, and looked obsessed.

"What's interesting?" Zhang Fan asked casually.

"A couple of years ago, mountain climbing girls were all the rage for a while. I've never seen such a scene before in my life..."

As he spoke, the old man grinned and chuckled: "Boy, have you ever seen anyone wearing yoga pants climbing a mountain?"

"..."

Zhang Fan had a strange look on his face, why did these words sound so familiar?

This person is exactly the same as Li Yishan.

"I haven't seen you for the past two years..." The old man came back to his senses from his reminiscence, the look of loss in his eyes unable to be concealed.

"But I did meet a beautiful lady last year. She was really beautiful... and her name was unique..."

The old man drank his wine and talked to himself, as if he was the only one left in the room.

"My name is...what's it called...my last name is Li...my name is...Li Ling...Li Ling..."

"Li Ling?"

"No, her name is Li Linglong!" The old man slapped his forehead and suddenly remembered.

(End of this chapter)