Chapter Sixteen: The Silent Patriarch

  A warm and humid sea breeze from the southeastern coast of the Holy Symbol Empire landed in Fuhai City, carrying with it the salty smell and fishy taste of the Qishan Islands. It swept across the narrow strip of land between the Nanjiang and Beijiang rivers, and then plunged into the endless fields, taking away a large amount of grassy fragrance. By the time it reached Pangshan, it had become sluggish, like a drunkard who couldn't tell directions, circling around in the layered mountains. When it finally passed through the dense forest to the north of the mountain, it had already lost its initial vigor. As soon as it clashed with the icy and snowy land of the demonic realm, it was defeated.

  Zuo Liu Ying stood at the edge of Pengshan Old Ancestor Peak, slowly inhaling a bit of air and distinguishing fifty-three kinds of scents from it. Among them was the unique fragrance of glutinous rice cake from a small town on the north bank of Nanjiang River, which he had visited thirty-six years ago and still remembered vividly.

  For him, the thirty-six years of memory was too short, it seemed like yesterday, with a little effort, he could even recall his fetal movements in his mother's womb, which was a cramped and narrow place to live, but at that time, he would rather stay inside forever.

  Zuo Liu Ying remembered every single thing he had experienced. He was already different from others before he was born - his fetal movement was like a Taoist practice, which made his parents panic and ask for help from dozens of respected seniors in the nine major Taoist sects. Each person's conclusion was the same: this is a natural-born genius who can cultivate Taoism while still in his mother's womb.

  At birth, Zuo Liu didn't cry out loud like ordinary children. Instead, he sat in a lotus position with his left hand pressing against the nostril on the left and his right hand pinching the sword finger towards the sky, looking at his overjoyed parents with a serious face. He directly passed through the initial stages of opening the seven apertures and communicating with the heavenly gate, even completing the method of absorbing air, reaching the realm of eating clouds.

  A genius's path to cultivation was smooth sailing, and after many years, he became one of the top ten peaks of Mount Pong, in charge of the Forbidden Sciences Department, leading his disciples to explore the most mysterious and vast unknown fields of Taoist techniques.

  "The first seat has moved, the master is already at the ancestral hall." A female servant came forward and said.

  Zuo Liu Ying turned around, led by two female attendants, and walked past a tall pagoda tree that seemed to reach the clouds. They crossed a bridge made entirely of jade, turned several corners, and descended dozens of steps before arriving at the location where Master Pong Shan and the other senior monks held their meetings - Wu Zu Tang.

  A young Qilin stumbled and ran over, didn't stand firm, and suddenly sat on the back of Liufeng's foot.

  A female attendant turned around to move the small beast away, but Liuliu shook her head and stood still.

  The young Qilin had not yet grown its scales, and the horns on its head were just two small protrusions that felt soft to the touch. Its belly rose and fell like a bellows as it let out two loud cries, struggled five times, and finally managed to get back up and continued to stumble and stagger towards the other end of the courtyard.

  He loves rare and exotic beasts, willing to spend some time with them, just as he dislikes the noise of ordinary people and does not want to deal with them.

  He had only a few experiences of going down the mountain, during which he left behind good memories like the sweet rice cakes in the small town, but more were endless noise and quarrels, which almost became his nightmare, and after many years, he still needed to spend some effort to suppress it.

  So he felt redundant on today's top agenda item.

  A group of children from a border town, due to the invasion of the demon race, inexplicably produced Tao roots. How should they be dealt with? Of course, it's best to get rid of them as soon as possible and kill them all.

  Zuo Liu Ying couldn't understand why the sect master was hesitating, things were clear-cut, this was a plot laid by the demon kind, that group of children would sooner or later become demons and enemies of the Taoist school, if it were him, he would have taken action back in the small town.

  But he won't go down to the town, Zuo Liu Ying remembers it clearly, thirty-six years ago he made a vow, as long as Pang Shan is still there, he will never take another step down the mountain.

  Zuo Liu's dissatisfaction with Zong Shi Ning Qi Wei grew a little more.

  The young man from the small town, Lao Liu's mind immediately conjured up a group of dirty-faced, tattered-clothed, and weirdly-shouting wild children. This was the part of the mundane world that he detested the most, second only to those terrifying women who wore makeup.

  His two female attendants were all dressed in plain long dresses, with a simple jade hairpin on their heads, and no other decorations.

  Zuo Liuying was the last to arrive at Wuzong Hall, a privilege reserved for him. As the senior of both Pong Mountain Sect and all other departments, he could occasionally show off his arrogance and express his views in this way without saying a word.

  The first seat of the Secret Department was occupied by Pu Tuan, who sat on the right hand of the Master, with Liang Sheng sitting on top. Two female attendants stood behind him, and he was also the only one to bring attendants into the Hall of Ancestors. It wasn't until now that he looked at today's little guest with a straight eye.

  A twelve-year-old boy, with a slightly dark complexion, wearing a ridiculous straw hat, his body still carrying the scent of forest grass and mud mixed together, as well as the stench of a recently deceased monster.

  Like all uncouth and impolite wild kids, the young man stood there straight as a ramrod, seemingly fearless, but actually his heart was full of fear. However, this young man had something different from others, he had just gone through many things, yet he didn't look sorrowful at all, instead, his eyes showed a stubbornness that refused to yield to any gaze.

  Zuo Liu Ying took one glance and was certain that this was a mortal youth who loved to stir up trouble.

  The Sect Master is the leader of the Daoist sect, so he naturally spoke first. Ning Qiwei stood up and bowed his head to the ten First Seats, "I think all the First Seats have already heard about what happened, I'll just give a brief introduction. Thirty-four days ago, Li Yuechi, a Five Elements Master from our mountain, discovered a snake demon invaded by the Demon Species on the north slope of Mount Pang. He then tracked it down and arrived at the Wild Forest Town in the southeast five days ago. At the same time, fifteen days ago, a large number of Demon Species suddenly appeared in the Ancient Magic Wasteland, splitting into seven paths to escape, one of which rushed straight towards Mount Pang."

  Ning Qiwei paused for a moment, "The demon kind stirs once every hundred years, this time it's a few years ahead of schedule, but it's not a big deal. The Nine Great Dao and the Shengfu Imperial Court have joined forces to basically wipe out all the demon kinds. However, something unexpected happened in Ye Lin Town. Firstly, the Five Elements Master Li Yuechi encountered misfortune. He was careless for a moment, thinking that there was only one demon kind inside the snake demon's body..."

  "So he died as he should have." A female attendant behind Zuo Liu Ying suddenly interjected.

  Apart from the foreign youth, no one thought this was an impolite behavior. Especially Master Ning Qiwei nodded in agreement with Zuo Liuqing's view behind him, "The art is not refined, and it's true that a Wu Xing master shouldn't be careless about such things."

  Xiao Qiu glared angrily at the female servant who had interrupted, wanting to speak up for Li Yuechi, but before going up the mountain he had been given a clear warning not to speak out of turn in front of the masters and first seats, so he forcibly held back.

  "Li Yuechi killed himself to resist the invasion of the demon species. In an extraordinary situation, he handed over his internal elixir to a child and entrusted him to deliver it to me."

  Ning Qiwei lowered his head and looked at Xiao Qiu, his explanation was more for the young man from Ye Lin Town than for the ten First Seats. "The harm of the demon breed is boundless, those who encounter it will either be destroyed in a short time or after dozens of years, all will fall under its control. Li Yuechi doesn't want to take risks on this matter, this is a necessary preparation as a Five Elements Master."

  "Hmm." Xiao Qiu responded vaguely, he didn't want to casually respond and then accidentally be persuaded to commit suicide.

  Ning Qiwei raised his head, "Li Yuechi didn't know that a large number of demons were heading towards Ye Lin Town, so he couldn't think that a demon king had taken a fancy to his inner elixir. The demon king absorbed the demonic energy and transformed into blue flowers, entering this child's body, infecting nine people in total."

  "I heard that the Demon King appeared at the residence of a Rakushinzan disciple." It was still that female servant, who seemed to be arrogant and disregarded the authority of the sect master.

  The wind was gloomy, the Demon King was guarding her residence nearby, intercepting these young men. Ning Qiwei knew that he would have to go through this pass sooner or later, so when he said this name, he did not change his tone.

  The masters conferred with each other in whispers, and finally it was the female attendant of Zuo Liuqing who spoke up, "I hope that when Master makes a decision, he won't be influenced by Feng Ruohuai."

  Xiao Qiu felt even more disgusted with the female servant, although Ning Qiwei wanted to get rid of the demon boy once and for all, but he didn't take action after all, and brought them to Pangshan. Moreover, Xiao Qiu respected Feng Popo, and when she heard that her name was Feng Ruhui for the first time, she didn't like the servant girl's sarcastic attitude.

  Ning Qiwei did not disappoint Xiao Qiu, he was the master of Pong Mountain, the leader of the Taoist sect, and sat at the top seat. "This is not what we are discussing today," he said, sternly staring at Zuo Liu Ying, reminding him that his attitude today was a bit excessive.

  None of the disciples dared to really question their master, and the female servant even less so. She lowered her head, thought for a moment, and said: "That's right, what we're discussing today is him, an ordinary child who was invaded by the Demon King, why did he appear on Mount Pongshan Laozu instead of disappearing like Li Yuanchi?"

  Xiao Qiu almost couldn't help but ask the rude waitress, but Ning Qiwei walked over and blocked him. "Those who are invaded by the demon species either die or change, and the latter is even more terrifying. Li Yuechi didn't want to transform into a monster, so he'd rather kill himself. But this child, as well as eight other children, were different. The Demon King left no mark on their bodies, but instead gave birth to a Dao bone."

  "Everyone?" the chief asked in surprise.

  "Nine children, eight boys and one girl, all of them had a Dao root. Just the moment before they were ordinary kids, in the blink of an eye, they became extraordinary, such things - as far as I know have never happened before."

  The two leaders leaned in again, their eyes fixed on Xia Qiu with a hint of curiosity. Two of the leaders even stood up and walked to Xia Qiu's side, reaching out to pinch him repeatedly, as if he were some kind of exotic beast that had just been delivered. "Indeed, there is a Dao root, and it has only recently appeared. His body is undergoing changes." The leader who spoke shook his head repeatedly, which was the most excited expression for someone with such deep Dao cultivation.

  Xiao Qiu was unaware of the changes in his body, but he could tell that this change was a great thing, so he revealed a happy smile. He wouldn't hide the emotions in his heart.

  "Nine people!" Another head of the station stood up, "A small town has produced nine people with Tao roots, more than some vassal states' capitals have sent Taoist disciples. This is simply a miracle. Do other Taoist sects know about this?"

  "There was no one else from the Taoist sect present at that time." Ning Qiwei said, knowing he had already grasped the situation. "However, a talisman master of the Longbin Society discovered the truth and intended to seize them, so I must take the nine children back to Pong Mountain immediately."

  Each of the leaders looked at each other, nodded one after another, indicating their agreement with Zong Shi's choice. Only one person was an exception, and that female attendant spoke up again, "This is also likely to be a kind of 'magic change'. The Demon King is skilled in using sinister plots and tricks. It may be trying to use this method to infiltrate the Nine Great Paths with internal spies. Unfortunately, the one who fell for it was Pang Shan."

  "But he doesn't have the devil's seed in his body, even if he were the Devil King, he wouldn't have this kind of ability to hide the devil's seed without a trace." One of the leaders said, he had already firmly stood on the side of the Sect Master.

  "We're not traitors!" Xia Qiu also couldn't help but speak out, poking her head out from behind Ning Qi's back and glaring furiously at the female servant. "I don't even know you, why do you always speak ill of us?"

  The waitress was questioned and became bewildered, tongue-tied, and couldn't utter a word.

  "You can go down the mountain now." Ning Qiwei gave a cold command without standing on Xia Qiu's side.

  Xiao Qiu turned around and walked out, he really didn't understand why he was called up the mountain but wasn't allowed to speak, what was the point of it all.

  The patriarchs and the first seats were crystal clear: the Wu Zu Hall was filled with all kinds of ritual instruments, clearly indicating that this child who had been directly invaded by the Demon King did not have any demon species in his body.

  This is a prerequisite for all things, even if there is only a hint of demonic aura, the genius is not worth preserving.

  On the way down the mountain, Xiao Qiu was still fuming and asked the little Taoist priest who saw him off: "What's the background of that woman?"

  "What woman? Oh, you're referring to the maid of the Forbidden Chamber?"

  "Is that so? She stands behind a white-faced kid and speaks to the sect master without courtesy, as if she would be delighted to kill us immediately."

  "Huh." The little Taoist priest looked strange and said in a low voice: "'White-faced kid' is the first seat of the forbidden secret."

  "So young?" Xia Qiu clearly remembered that person's face was handsome and looked only seventeen or eighteen years old.

  "The first left stream of Ying is a rare talent that even the great Mount Pong has only encountered once in a thousand years, with a foundation rooted in the Tao from birth. He's at least three or four hundred years old this year, and still young?"

  "But can he let the servant speak casually?"

  "Geniuses always pay the price." The little Taoist looked back before continuing to spread the gossip, "The head of the Forbidden Secret is a mute and can only speak to others through his servant."

  Xiao Qiu let out a long "oh" sound, no wonder the female servant had an awkward expression at that time, it turned out that his anger was misdirected.

  The little Taoist's voice was even lower, solemnly reminding: "You are in trouble, the head of the Forbidden Secret is the most vigilant person in Pong Mountain against demons, being stared at by him... you should be careful from now on."

  (Collection needed, recommendation needed)