With virtue

This place is Dingyao, and it is surrounded by Quyang coalfields, so there is no shortage of coal. The coke oven is full of sulfur slag, charcoal, and saltpeter.

When fighting the Ghost General before, Zhao Yunshu threw gunpowder to confuse the Ghost General's eyes, allowing him to use his escape technique.

The same applies here.

If the sulfur content is increased to 70%, gunpowder can be used for explosive mining, but it is not suitable for propelling projectiles. If the charcoal content is increased, the gunpowder tends to burn more slowly.

This place doesn't have much saltpeter, but it has plenty of sulfur slag, which is just right for blasting!

So, what he carried down the mountain was actually this!

Moreover, in order to confirm that his move would work, Zhao Yunshu made a backup plan.

He opened the yellow book.

On the yellow book, the page about the monk has been written, and the visualization diagram has been drawn, still as lifelike as ever.

The monk in the portrait still has a face as dignified as the bright moon and as compassionate as a Bodhisattva, but you can also see two long snake tongues protruding from his mouth, and countless snake shadows writhing faintly under his robe.

The ink beside the painting is dripping wet, and lines of small characters are slowly emerging:

The Vengeful Serpent Monk.

The vengeful monk is neither human nor ghost, but a demon whose heart is filled with resentment and who coexists with snakes.

His predecessor was a monk of Anguo Temple. He was abandoned as a child and taken in by an old monk.

However, this temple was a den of filth and depravity. The old monk tormented his body night after night, penetrating his anus day after day, year after year. He harbored resentment but dared not express it, and endured humiliation but dared not speak of it. Over time, his resentment condensed into a form, transforming into a viper that burrowed into his abdomen through his anus, coiled around his internal organs, and coexisted with him.

When a snake enters a person's brain, half of the person's soul is lost; the snake controls the spirit, while the person retains their memories.

Therefore, his temperament changed drastically. He did not forget the past, but his mind was completely different. He could walk in the world with human speech and appearance, but in reality, he had been controlled by the snake demon.

It feeds on resentment and poison; the more resentful it is, the stronger it becomes. It can command swarms of snakes, calling them as easily as using its own arms and fingers. Its body is filled with resentment, making it indistinguishable from a living person. Unless it actively uses its magic, even ghosts and gods cannot distinguish it, and even those with the ability to observe it will find it difficult to see its true form.

Its true form is a viper inside its belly; if the viper dies, the person dies as well, but if the viper survives, the person can live.

It has two abilities.

Firstly, he can subdue snakes: the vengeful snake monk has a natural talent for subduing snakes, who are of a lower rank and therefore naturally obey his commands, allowing him to control a group of snakes.

Secondly, the art of water and fire: This was learned in his previous life. He can control water and fire. Water cannot be more than one side, and fire cannot be more than three feet long. He can blow on a bullet and extinguish it, and easily put it in his palm. However, prolonged use will cause headaches and is very mentally taxing.

In the portrait, Yuanmeng's eyes are still open, and the image is so lifelike that it seems as if one can hear him making a faint hissing sound, as if he is reciting an unfinished Buddhist chant, or as if he is cursing the human world that has never treated him kindly since he was five years old.

No wonder it's poisonous.

The first manifestation of resentment is verbal poison. When wronged, one may curse countless times in one's heart but dare not speak it aloud. The curses continue to accumulate, eventually brewing into verbal poison in the stomach, which then condenses into a viper.

That's why they are restrained by the upright and righteous words of the sages. The words of the sages are magnificent and upright, and they can dispel such selfish thoughts as if the sun were shining on a gutter.

Moreover, as long as the snakes live, he lives too. Coupled with his magical artifacts and water and fire techniques, if he were to summon a horde of snakes, they would be quite formidable.

Therefore, Zhao Yunshu decided to use gunpowder to kill both the snake and the people in one fell swoop, thus eliminating all problems.

The premise for making this decision was the reason why he had specifically asked the other party to look at the visualization diagram for fifteen minutes.

That's not something you can just show for free.

Because the other party is symbiotic with humans, if it does not reveal its aura, even the Yellow Book cannot absorb it, manifest it as an image, and its origin cannot be determined.

However, when viewing a visualization diagram, the other person must use the method and concentrate fully. At that moment, it is as if they are constantly leaking their aura.

After the other party left, Zhao Yunshu immediately confirmed his nature through the yellow book.

Only after checking the other party's background did Zhao Yunshu confirm it.

He estimated he wouldn't be a match for him in a direct confrontation.

Therefore, to prevent the opponent from revealing their immortality, you must kill both the person and the snake.

Without hesitation, because he was no longer human.

Indeed, the monk is pitiful, but the one alive now is no longer the handsome little monk who was bullied every day. It's better to just blow him up.

The young monk dared not hate the old monk, for the old monk was his master, his provider, and his only support.

He could only swallow his hatred, hiding it in his stomach, where it festered day after day until it turned into a snake. The snake burrowed into his brain, transforming him into a different person.

No wonder Anguo Temple later fell into such ruin. But as pitiful as he may be, the Yuanmeng who is alive now is no longer the bullied little monk he once was. The snake is the master of the spirit, and people retain the memory of the creature. He feeds on resentment and venom, and has killed more than just one or two people, not even sparing an honest and upright old craftsman like Zhou Cheng'an.

Zhao Yunshu squatted down and picked up the piece of red gold and the iron can. As for the manual and some of the more ornate magical artifacts, they were all blown to pieces.

Then, he broke off a tree branch, swept up the scattered dreams on the ground, piled them up with soil, and muttered, "May I be reborn into a better life next time, and never run into a bald monk again."

This can be considered as sending him off on his final journey.

I had just finished doing all that when I heard a sound from below.

"Taoist Master! Taoist Master!" Chen Wanchuan's voice came.

Zhao Yunshu took a breath and looked down, only to see Chen Wanchuan carrying things up.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out that he had several jars in his carrying pole, filled with things like dog blood and children's urine.

"I didn't know what I could do to help the Taoist priest, so I went to find a stray dog ​​nearby! It chased the children up to drink water!"

"Brother, you're too late. The matter has already been resolved!"

Upon hearing the shout, Chen Wanchuan stumbled and lost his balance.

He looked up and saw Zhao Yunshu standing perfectly fine at the cave entrance. Apart from a few holes in his Taoist robe and some soot on his face, he was all right, with no missing arms or legs, and was waving at him with a grin.

He was both surprised and delighted, rushing up the mountain in a few strides. Reaching Zhao Yunshu, he threw down his load, grabbed Zhao's shoulders, and looked him up and down several times, muttering, "Resolved? Where's that demonic monk? Daoist, are you alright? I saw a huge plume of black smoke rising from the mountain, and there was a thunderclap! It scared the crap out of me!"

"You're not injured, but what about you? Why are you back again?" Zhao Yunshu asked.

"I heard thunder up there, and I thought the battle must have ended, so I brought some weapons up here. I didn't expect the Taoist priest to be so skilled! Was that monk any better?" Chen Wanchuan asked immediately.

"He may be impressive, but he's still just a mortal." Zhao Yunshu said, pointing to his shoulder. "As for your injury, you need to wash it properly when you get back. The snake's fangs are poisonous. Although the male viper has dispersed the poison and the venom has weakened, you still can't be careless. You've been running up the mountain again and again; you're really not afraid of death."

"But, since he's already dead, it doesn't matter. Let's go downstairs; we still have things to do."

"What else?"

"Head Boss Sun," Zhao Yunshu said.