UGB Chapter 15 The Wonders of Controlling Objects
Chapter 15 The Wonders of Controlling Objects
The mandrill is dead.
Zhou Ning stood before the huge withered tree, the wooden sword in his hand still dripping green sap.
That's mandrill blood.
He was panting, his body covered in mud and blood, and a tear in the sleeve of his left arm revealed bruises underneath.
The battle proved far more difficult than he had anticipated.
Although the mountain demon's shoulder was injured by his "evil-repelling talisman," it did not back down; instead, it became even more frenzied.
She commanded countless withered bones and vines to attack Zhou Ning from all sides.
If he hadn't prepared enough talismans before leaving and hadn't managed to withstand several fatal attacks with his protective aura, he probably would have died on the spot.
In the end, it was the jade talisman containing his master's sword energy that saved him.
When the mandrill was driven to the brink, it used a bizarre illusion to drag Zhou Ning into an incredibly realistic nightmare.
In that nightmare, he saw Yan Chixia lying in a pool of blood, and saw the world turned into scorched earth...
The despair and fear nearly drove him to the brink of collapse.
But the "Purifying Talisman" saved him.
The cool aura brought him back to his senses at the last moment, causing him to plunge the wooden sword in his hand into the mandrill's chest.
"call……"
Zhou Ning exhaled a long breath and pulled the wooden sword from the mandrill's corpse.
The body dressed in a red wedding gown, like a withered tree weathered for a thousand years, turned into a pile of ashes the moment the sword was drawn, and scattered in the wind.
Only a black bead the size of a thumb remained, which rolled a few times on the ground and came to rest at his feet.
Zhou Ning bent down and picked up the bead. It was icy cold to the touch, and he could vaguely sense a chilling energy contained within it.
"Inner alchemy?"
He had read in ancient books that when demons cultivate to a certain level, an inner core will condense within their bodies, which is the essence of their entire being.
This bead must be the inner core of that mandrill.
Although it was only a hundred-year-old spirit and the quality of its inner core was not high, it was still a rare treasure for a beginner like Zhou Ning.
He carefully put away the inner elixir, intending to take it back to the mountain to show it to his master.
He then searched the hollow of the dead tree.
Besides bones and rotting clothes, there were also some "loot" collected by the mandrill.
Several rusty farm tools, a string of copper coins, a worn-out bronze mirror, and a palm-sized jade plaque engraved with ancient patterns.
The jade pendant feels warm and smooth to the touch, and faintly emits a subtle spiritual light.
Zhou Ning couldn't discern its origin, but his intuition told him that it was no ordinary object.
He also put the jade pendant away.
After cleaning up the scene, Zhou Ning carved the character "镇" (zhen, meaning "to suppress") on the dead tree and pasted a "镇宅符" (zhenzhai fu, a talisman for warding off evil spirits) on the trunk to purify the remaining demonic energy in the area.
Then, dragging his tired body, he slowly descended the mountain path.
-
When we returned to Lijia Village, it was past noon.
Master Wang and several elders were anxiously looking around at the village entrance when they saw Zhou Ning and cheered.
"Brother Zhou is back! Brother Zhou is back!"
The villagers rushed out and surrounded Zhou Ning.
They looked at Zhou Ning's body covered in wounds and blood, their eyes filled with awe and gratitude.
"Brother Zhou, that monster..." Li Lizheng asked in a trembling voice.
Zhou Ning smiled slightly:
"It's been eliminated. You can all rest assured."
As soon as he finished speaking, the villagers erupted in thunderous cheers.
Some people knelt down and kowtowed, some cried loudly, and some ran around spreading the news.
The fear that had been suppressed for half a year was finally released at this moment.
Master Wang held Zhou Ning's hand, his eyes brimming with tears:
"Brother Zhou, you are a great benefactor of our Li Family Village. Please accept my bow."
As he spoke, he was about to kneel down.
Zhou Ning quickly helped him up:
"Master Wang, there's no need for that. Exorcising demons and monsters is simply our duty."
Although he said that, a sense of satisfaction he had never felt before welled up inside him.
After months of cultivation, he used his power for the first time to truly protect innocent people.
This feeling was even better than he had imagined.
-
That evening, a grand celebration banquet was held in Lijia Village.
The villagers slaughtered chickens and sheep, and brought out their treasured wine to entertain Zhou Ning.
Zhou Ning couldn't refuse, so he sat down and drank a few cups.
After several rounds of drinks, Li Lizheng stood up shakily, holding a bowl of wine, and bowed deeply to Zhou Ning:
"Brother Zhou, on behalf of the entire village, young and old, I would like to offer you a toast."
Zhou Ning quickly stood up and took the wine bowl with both hands:
"You're too kind, sir."
The two clinked glasses and drank it all in one gulp.
Li Lizheng wiped his eyes and sighed:
"I've lived for seventy years and seen many Taoist priests and monks, as well as a few people who claim to be cultivators. But I've never met anyone like Brother Zhou, who is so young yet possesses such abilities and is willing to stand up for the people."
He paused, then said:
"I have a favor to ask, I wonder if Young Master Zhou would be willing to grant it?"
Zhou Ning said, "Please speak, sir."
Li Lizheng said, "I would like to ask Brother Zhou to stay in the village for a few more days and help us see if there are any other monsters in these mountains. Also, I would like to ask you to teach us a few self-defense techniques."
Zhou Ning thought for a moment and nodded:
"Alright. I was going to train around here anyway, so staying a few more days won't hurt. As for self-defense methods..."
He took out several "exorcism talismans" from his sleeve and handed them to Li Lizheng:
"These talismans, when pasted at the village entrance and the door of each house, can ward off ordinary evil spirits."
"In addition, I will teach you a simple purification method. Burn incense and pray at the village entrance every morning to ensure peace in the area."
Li Lizheng was extremely grateful and accepted the talisman as if it were a priceless treasure.
-
Zhou Ning stayed in Lijia Village for five days.
During those five days, he spent his days helping the villagers inspect the mountains and forests and clear away any remaining demonic energy.
In the evenings, they continue to cultivate their inner energy and talismans.
His injuries healed quickly, thanks to the nourishment of his internal energy; the superficial wounds scabbed over and fell off in just three days.
The bruises on my left arm had mostly disappeared by the fifth day.
More importantly, after his life-or-death battle with the mountain demon, his understanding of "Innate Qi" deepened.
Previously, he only knew that Qi could be used to protect the body and to infuse the sword, but he did not know that it could also be used to sense the surrounding environment and predict enemy attacks.
On several occasions when fighting the mandrill, he narrowly escaped a fatal blow by relying on his keen perception of changes in the air.
This feeling is hard to describe in words.
It was as if... everything around him had some kind of subtle connection with him.
He could feel the wind, the rustling of leaves, and the crawling of insects in the soil.
They could even vaguely sense the presence of wild beasts in the distant mountains and forests.
This may be the prototype of the "interaction between heaven and man" that Master mentioned.
-
On the morning of the sixth day, Zhou Ning bid farewell to the villagers of Lijia Village and embarked on his journey back to Lanruo Temple.
Master Wang sent two servants with a mule to take him up the mountain.
The mule was loaded with gifts collected by the villagers: several bolts of coarse cloth, a bag of rice, a jug of wine, and some mountain produce.
Zhou Ning didn't want to accept it, but he couldn't resist the villagers' enthusiasm, so he had no choice but to accept it.