He became the True Lord of Ten Thousand Laws starting from Liaozhai.

The night was as dark as ink, and the withered branches of the trees intertwined into a net.

Scattered moonlight filtered through the netting and fell onto the decaying leaves on the ground.

moo~

The green ox carried the Taoist priest through the woods and across the stream, where they were stopped on a small path.

"Wu Housheng, where are you going?"

The newcomer identified himself as Huang Sanlang. He had a high-pitched voice, wore ill-fitting old clothes with a crooked collar, narrow and hunched shoulders, and a forward-leaning head.

His nose twitched constantly as he spoke, his eyes darted around, and he exuded a sly and cunning aura, radiating a thieving air.

Xu Yi shook his head and said slowly:

"I have heard that the mountain lord is celebrating his birthday and is hosting a banquet for guests from all directions. I am going there to broaden my horizons."

Huang Sanlang carefully examined the Taoist priest.

His blue Taoist robe was neatly starched, and his long hair was securely tied with a wooden hairpin. He looked very handsome and carried a sword on his back. His outfit was truly enviable.

If he hadn't sensed the demonic aura emanating from the Taoist priest, which was almost impossible to conceal, he might have truly mistaken Xu Yi for a 'human'.

"Young man, you go empty-handed; how can the mountain king allow you to sit at the table?"

Huang Sanlang stared intently at the sword behind Xu Yi, his eyes practically overflowing with greed.

Xu Yi smiled, showing his teeth, and bowed, saying, "Please enlighten me, Brother Huang."

Huang Sanlang inwardly scorned the young man, scoffing at his ignorance of demonic ways, but noting that he was at least sensible. He then pulled a stone from his robes, cast a spell to transform it into a gold nugget, and tricked him, saying:

"The mountain lord loves gold and silver; trade your sword and this outfit for it."

After saying that, Huang Sanlang was already imagining himself wearing a Taoist robe, riding backwards on a green ox, showing off in front of all the monsters, enjoying unparalleled glory.

Xu Yi suddenly realized what was going on, drew his sword, revealed his gleaming white teeth, and smiled, "Thank you for telling me. Please continue on your way."

The sword gleamed with a chilling aura, which struck Huang Sanlang's face, instantly turning him pale.

Only then did he realize that the demonic energy on the sword was so intense that it masked the human scent. How many demons had it killed?!

Just as he was about to beg for mercy, Huang Sanlang suddenly felt dizzy and his head rolled seven or eight times before finally stopping when he hit a rock.

Huang Sanlang stared wide-eyed, but there was no longer any Taoist riding an ox; only a headless corpse dressed in old clothes lay not far away.

Oh, it turns out I'm the one who died.

......

Under the moonlight.

Xu Yi sat back on the blue ox, took out a blank book from his robes, and casually flipped to a page. Several lines of text blurred and appeared on the paper:

The Record of Ten Thousand Demons states: Huang Sanlang.

Its true form is a yellow weasel, and it has cultivated its Taoist skills for 57 years.

He obtained a scroll of the magic technique "Illusion Technique".

Below the text, ink spreads out again, and a weasel with a pointed snout and small eyes leaps onto the paper.

Then, a secret technique for creating illusions, composed of golden characters, appeared in Xu Yi's Niwan Palace.

A sudden inspiration struck Xu Yi, who pulled a piece of white paper from his sleeve and deftly folded it into the shape of a gold ingot.

With a gentle tap of his right index finger, he gathered magical power and caused the gold ingot to slowly swell up as if being inflated, its surface flashing with golden light.

He took a big bite, and a tooth mark was left on the gold ingot.

The Taoist priest was overjoyed and clapped his hands, laughing, "Excellent! Excellent! Hahaha..."

......

The heart of Jingyang Mountain.

The ox carried the Taoist priest, and on its back was a vermilion-lacquered wooden box, which was tied very securely.

After walking along a dark path and passing through a thicket of bushes.

Suddenly, a large courtyard with two red lanterns hanging in the shadows came into view.

The main gate of the mansion was wide open, and the outer courtyard was brightly lit.

The courtyard was filled with tables and chairs, where guests were toasting and playing drinking games, and children were chasing, laughing and playing.

moo~

Moo moo~~

Xu Yi rode the blue ox backwards, wobbling as he stumbled into the lively banquet.

The aromas of wine, food, and the sweetness of fruits, along with countless pungent odors, all wafted into Xu Yi's nostrils.

The Taoist priest walked and looked around.

On the left table was a soup pot, with rotten meat and broken bones mixed together.

A shirtless, burly man fished a large intestine out of the soup pot and devoured it, his mouth bulging, yellowish-green broth dripping from the corners of his lips. He mumbled incoherently, "Mmm...delicious...but it has that gamey smell..."

There was a grill on the right, with a lean lamb roasted until crispy on a skewer.

A group of people huddled around the grill, their throats churning and swallowing hard.

The blue ox passed through the banquet and carried the Taoist priest to the entrance of the inner courtyard.

An accountant was setting up a table there, marking up the gift list, while a boy stood by, nodding and dozing.

When the accountant saw someone arrive, he put down his pen and approached them obsequiously, saying, "Honored guest."

Xu Yi flipped off the green ox, landed steadily, and patted the wooden box.

The accountant understood immediately and laboriously carried the box down.

The box had a dark sheen from its vermilion lacquer, thick brass corner guards on all four corners, and a gilded brass lock that gleamed.

*Click*

The copper lock opened, revealing rows of neatly stacked gold ingots, dazzling with golden light!

The fox tail on the accountant's backside was sticking up.

"Distinguished guest, may I ask your name?"

"Barbarian."

The accountant carefully noted down the gifts on the gift list and recorded under the name: three thousand taels of gold.

The old fox had been an accountant for decades, and when he moved boxes, he knew exactly how much each thing weighed.

Why not check if the gold is real or fake? The Mountain Lord's fame has shaken Jingyang Mountain for a hundred years. What demon would dare to play such a joke on the Mountain Lord's birthday?

The accountant, crouching low, stomped on the dozing boy's foot as he passed by, hissing, "Call the names! Call the names!"

The boy wiped his nose, glanced at the gift list on tiptoe, and ran all the way to the inner courtyard, shouting at the top of his lungs:

"Wild Taoist, congratulations on receiving three thousand taels of gold ingots!"

After doing all this, the accountant approached Xu Yi with a beaming smile and said obsequiously, "Taoist, please take a seat as an honored guest."

Not far away, a seductive woman approached with quick, light steps and said softly, "Taoist, the Mountain Lord invites you."

Xu Yi mounted the blue ox again, followed the alluring woman, stepped through the inner courtyard gate, passed the pond and rockery, walked along the round stone path, and passed through a dark bamboo forest.

A stone platform appeared before them, surrounded by bone lamps made from mandrill skulls, their eerie flames flickering like ghosts.

On the rocky platform was a lectern, where a thin old man in a gray cloth robe sat cross-legged, his eyelids slightly lowered, as if he were dozing off.

There was a screen behind the podium, but it was unclear what it was hiding.

Below the podium were two rows of small tables, each laden with fruits and delicacies, a pot of fruit wine, and several plates of stir-fried heart, liver, spleen, and lungs.

Xu Yi glanced around and saw that there wasn't a single person among the guests.

There are black bears, white snakes, fox spirits, wolves, pigs...

The demons mingled and toasted each other, calling each other brothers.

The fox-woman led Xu Yi to an empty seat and ordered the servants to bring him wine and dishes.

Before he could even settle in, two monsters surrounded him and started chatting.

The white snake demon on the left flicked its tongue and spoke in human language: "Taoist, aren't you feeling suffocated covered in human skin?"

Xu Yi shook his head and did not answer.

The dog-headed monster on the right leaned over and advised, "Brother, everyone is showing their true forms, but you're being a bit insincere."

As he spoke, the dog-headed monster moved closer and sniffed Xu Yi intensely.

Huh? It's a person?!