Journey to the West Creation Technique

Nanming Guardian.

A small courtyard house.

Not big.

A major thoroughfare located between villages.

This is where the village protection team usually rests and recuperates.

Several cultivators inside the courtyard were making the most of their time to meditate and practice, drawing qi into their bodies.

Suddenly, the jade pendant on the waist of the leading cultivator, Shen Yifeng, lit up.

He took off the jade pendant, held it to his ear, listened intently for a moment, and then his expression darkened.

"Stop cultivating, something's happened." Shen Yifeng said in a deep voice, "A child in Fence Village got into trouble and went out of the village without permission. The resident cultivators have already set off to find him."

Upon hearing this, a cultivator nearby said with a hint of schadenfreude, "If they can't find it and some villagers are lost, his job as a village resident will be ruined."

A female cultivator nearby immediately frowned: "Stop making sarcastic remarks, let's hurry over there too."

The last person couldn't help but complain in a low voice, "Patrolling at night is one thing, but during the day I finally manage to squeeze out some time to cultivate, and yet I'm always bogged down by so many miscellaneous matters."

"Stop talking! Let's go!" Shen Yifeng led everyone out the door.

……

Fence Village.

Yunniang stumbled and staggered through a wooden door.

Inside the house, a man is chopping wood with a sharp axe.

Yunniang's face was deathly pale, her lips trembling as she said, "My husband... Little Stone is missing! The Immortal Master said... he said... he might have run away on his own..."

Upon hearing this, the man was both anxious and furious: "That bastard! I told you he couldn't leave the village! This time I'm going to break his legs!"

"Ah Huang!" the man called out.

A yellow-furred mongrel came running at the sound.

"Quick, take me to Little Stone! I'll beat him to death!"

"Woof!" The yellow dog barked softly and darted out of the courtyard gate like an arrow. The man, carrying an axe, quickly chased after it.

……

Outside the fence village.

In the dense forest...

Lu Chengjun looked back and could still vaguely see Nanming Guards through the gaps in the leaves.

A five- or six-year-old child could not possibly travel very far on his own in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

This position should be the limit!

This is not only the limit a child can reach, but also almost the safe limit as determined by Lu Chengjun.

"Amiya, still no trace?"

The tabby cat flicked its tail impatiently: "Meow! I'm not a hunting dog."

Lu Chengjun gripped his hoe, cautiously surveying his surroundings. He said in a low voice, "The patrol team just left not long ago. There shouldn't be any monsters in this area. We can search slowly; there won't be any danger."

The tabby cat glanced at him sideways: "If there's no danger, then why don't you dare continue forward?"

Lu Chengjun took a deep breath, his heart pounding like a drum.

Since being disfigured twice in the indigenous tribe, he truly understood how difficult it is to remain calm even when the sky falls.

Staying in a safe place, anyone can remain calm and composed; but if you really face danger, especially in this desolate and dense forest, where dangers abound, only someone with a screw loose could remain unfazed even if the sky were to fall.

To truly remain calm even when the sky falls, one must either possess overwhelming power or have a trump card that can save one's life in any danger.

Now he doesn't touch either of them.

Putting aside the other demonic beasts, even if the weakest feathered dragon were to run out, he would have no ability to resist.

He wouldn't have dared to leave the village if he hadn't been thinking about the hunting party that had just left.

If it weren't for the fact that Xiao Shitou was Yunniang's only child, he would never have wanted to come out no matter what.

As the saying goes, a wise man does not stand under a crumbling wall...

"The children in the village have been repeatedly warned that they must never leave the village without permission. Little Stone must have been lured out of the village by something..." Lu Chengjun analyzed rationally, holding a hoe.

Meow--!

Amiya suddenly let out a soft cry, leaped to a small earthen mound, and peered inside: "There's an aardvark cave here."

"What is an aardvark? Does it eat children?"

"They eat grass roots."

As soon as she finished speaking, Amiya leaped into the hole.

Be careful.

A moment later, the tabby cat emerged again, a small stick dangling from its mouth.

Lu Chengjun looked closely and saw that it was the handle of a rattle drum that children play with.

"That's right, that's it!"

He immediately gripped the hoe tightly and dug hard into the soil, sending dirt flying.

In no time, they dug out a fleshy thing.

This thing looks like a round, chubby ground squirrel. Its claws are quite large, seemingly used for digging in the dirt. Its round eyes are timid, tucked into a ball, and judging from its gaze alone, it has absolutely no aggression.

Lu Chengjun picked up the little aardvark and examined it carefully.

Such a soft and adorable little thing...

Children would definitely like it, so they chased after it all the way here.

Then they lured and killed the child?

Just as Lu Chengjun was pondering, the earth shook violently, and a giant claw burst forth from the ground!

……

Fence Village.

An old locust tree stands behind the village.

A big yellow dog barked wildly at the old locust tree.

The man parted the weeds in front of the old locust tree and saw his son, Xiao Shitou, sleeping soundly in the tree hole, with half a piece of cornbread still in his arms.

"Phew..." The man let out a long sigh.

Not long after...

Five village-protecting monks arrived.

Yunniang and her husband pulled the bewildered Xiaoshitou along and explained to Shen Yifeng and his group.

Shen Yifeng smiled and said, "Since everything is safe and sound, let's call it a day."

A female cultivator beside her looked at the dark, dense forest outside the village and asked with some concern, "That senior brother stationed in the village has rushed out alone. Should we send someone to meet him?"

Shen Yifeng shook his head: "There are no monsters outside. Let's ignore them and go back."

……

Outside the fence village.

In the dense forest.

A giant claw tore open the ground, and a powerful underground monster emerged from the earth.

Jet-black fur, enormous claws, and a single-minded look in its eyes.

Lu Chengjun swung his hoe and smashed it.

They smashed it violently.

The defense is unbreakable!

This monster is quite resilient.

It has thick fur and is covered in fat.

Unfortunately, the beast was very slow, and no matter how it fought back, Lu Chengjun could easily dodge its attacks.

High defense on one side, high evasion on the other.

Unable to break through each other's defenses, they had no choice but to give up and begin negotiations.

This is an adult aardvark, about the size of a black bear.

Aardvarks live underground year-round, and although they have huge eyes, their eyesight is not very good.

Its claws are big and thick, but they're not sharp at all.

At this moment, the adult aardvark pointed with its large paw at the little creature that Lu Chengjun was holding.

Her eyes were brimming with tears.

Lu Chengjun held the little guy up and waved it in front of it: "Want to take the cub back?"

The adult aardvark nodded, clasped its two large paws together, and bowed repeatedly with its plump body.

This is called bowing.

"No!" Lu Chengjun shook his head: "Hand over the lost child, and I'll give your son back to you."

"Exchange, do you understand?"

The adult aardvark couldn't understand anything.

Lu Chengjun took out the small rattle stick from his body.

A series of gestures.

The aardvark seemed to finally understand, and it lowered its head and began to paw at its belly.

Lu Chengjun then noticed that the monster actually had a pouch naturally growing on its belly.

The giant aardvark rummaged around for a while and pulled out a pile of tattered items from its pocket.

Roots, half a chopstick, and a green stone.

"I said I wanted a child, so I'll trade you a child!" Lu Chengjun said with a dissatisfied look.

The giant aardvark panicked and plunged into the ground. After a short while, it emerged again and pulled out small stones of various colors from its belly.

And you know what? These little stones are full of spiritual energy.

"Could this be a spirit stone?" Lu Chengjun was a little uncertain.

The two sides couldn't communicate in the same language, and it was like talking to a brick wall.

Amiya, who was standing nearby, couldn't bear to watch any longer and advised, "Don't make things difficult for it. Aardvarks are vegetarians and would never prey on human children. Just let them go."

"No!"

Amiya rolled her eyes: "Meow, then let me do it."