Under One Person: The Seeker of the Dao in the Lü Family

Chapter 172 Mountain Demon? The Land God and the Mountain Spirit

Lu Qian turned to look at the dark and deep cave, his eyes blazing with golden-red flames. He reached behind him and slapped the peach wood sword that was on his back. The sword flew through the air and landed in his hand.

"In all my years of cultivation, I have never seen what a mandrill looks like."

As soon as he finished speaking, two beams of light suddenly shone in the cave, dim and bright like lanterns.

"roar--"

A roar, accompanied by a foul stench, echoed from inside the cave. Immediately afterward, a dark shadow flashed within the cave, and a figure rushed swiftly towards Lü Qian from within.

"when!"

The peach wood sword in Lü Qian's hand emitted a fierce golden light, and the dazzling light danced in the void, directly forcing back the attacking black shadow.

He gripped the sword hilt and twisted his wrist, sending a sharp sword aura sweeping across the ground, leaving a furrow about an inch deep.

"This appearance is indeed just as described in the scriptures."

Under the sunlight, the appearance of the dark figure was revealed. It was shaped like a child, with one leg pointing backward, a human face and long arms, baring its teeth at Lü Qian who was holding a sword. Fear flashed in its scarlet pupils, but it was quickly obscured by madness.

The Classic of Mountains and Seas, Volume on the Seas Within, states: "In the south there is a giant from Gan, with a human face, long arms, a black body covered in hair, and backward-facing heels. When he sees people laughing, he laughs too, covering his face with his lips, and then he flees."

This description refers to the [mountain demon].

Lu Qian's golden-red eyes scrutinized the mountain demon not far away. Suddenly, he raised an eyebrow. "No, you're not just a simple mountain spirit or monster. You're a ley line spirit that cultivates by harnessing resentment."

Since ancient times, there have been two divine roles in the land and the mountain.

Many novelists have described these two divine roles, some saying they are good people appointed by Heaven, others saying they are mountain spirits who have gained recognition...

In reality, the terms "land god" and "mountain god" are a combination of these two concepts.

After a person dies, if they are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to cultivate, their soul will transform into a spirit. If the opportunity is sufficient, they can even cultivate in the form of a ghost and become one of the mountain spirits.

Earth veins are actually related to feng shui.

In the eyes of cultivators, the Qi in the universe flows and evolves according to certain channels, and the most prominent of these channels are mountains, rivers and streams.

Mountain spirits usually hide in deep forests, rivers, lakes and seas, cultivating themselves by drawing upon the Qi of heaven and earth flowing through the mountains and rivers.

Among them, there are always those with extraordinary destiny who grasp that sliver of opportunity from the rhythm of the earth's veins and become what are known as earth spirits, that is, the [land] and [mountain god] who are in harmony with the earth's energy.

These ley line spirits are not all benevolent; some protect the area, while others, relying on their bestial nature, harm the local inhabitants.

But the spirits of the earth veins usually cultivate at a rapid pace, far surpassing ordinary mountain spirits and monsters. Why would they want to be tainted by resentment and evil energy?

Lu Qian used his "Fiery Eyes" to observe the mountain demon and found that its body was in harmony with the earth's energy, but it was surrounded by a pitch-black aura of resentment, clearly indicating that the resentment had seeped into its very bones.

Thinking this, Lü Qian looked around the cave, where the rotting corpses showed obvious signs of being eaten.

"I see, it was the villagers themselves who incurred this debt."

Lu Qian nodded; he understood the strange occurrences of the [Mountain Demon] here.

【Mandrills】They live by feeding on flesh and blood. They are incredibly strong and agile, capable of tearing apart tigers and leopards with their bare hands. They are the overlords of the mountains.

It is not hard to tell from the remains of the corpses in this place that the mandrill has been feeding on the innocent people who were tricked and killed here for a long time.

It's even possible that the mandrill originally didn't live in this cave, but as the corpses piled up, it became a buffet in the mandrill's eyes.

So the mandrill settled down there, feeding on the passersby whom the villagers tricked and killed.

Humans are the most intelligent of all beings, and are a great source of nourishment for mountain spirits and wild monsters.

But those who die unjustly always accumulate resentment. Over time, the mountain goblin feeds on this resentment and naturally develops a mad state.

When resentment accumulates to too much, the mandrill will go mad, and the villagers below the mountain will naturally become its food.

In truth, all of this stems from the karmic debts sown by the villagers themselves.

"So you've taken a fancy to this humble Taoist priest?"

As Lü Qian watched the mandrill's eyes gradually turn blood red, its crazed state becoming increasingly apparent, it opened its blood-red maw and lunged at Lü Qian.

"Whoosh—"

Lu Qian brandished his golden sword, and a sharp sword light leaped from the blade, slashing fiercely towards the mountain demon.

"roar--"

The mandrill's body was enveloped in black energy, blending subtly with the surrounding mountains, forests, and land. It opened its mouth and bit down at the sword light.

The sharp sword light was caught by it and thrown aside. Black and reddish blood flowed from its mouth, but it didn't care about its injuries and charged towards Lü Qian.

"You mandrill are quite fortunate, you can even manipulate some feng shui to enhance your abilities. You are very intelligent, it's just a pity that you ate something you shouldn't have."

Lu Qian nimbly dodged the mountain demon's attack, then swung his golden sword, its sharp edge slashing towards the mountain demon's belly.

"Whoosh—"

The sharp golden light ripped open the mandrill's belly, and black energy, along with its stomach and intestines, poured out.

"roar--"

The intense pain of being disemboweled drove the already crazed mandrill even more mad. After landing, it flipped its single leg upside down and swung its two long arms fiercely at Lü Qian.

"I'm always the one hitting others, never the other way around."

Lu Qian looked at the two slaps coming toward his head, laughed angrily, and twirled his whisk, the wooden handle striking the mountain demon's face.

After wielding his sword once, he twisted his waist and swung his sword again. The sharp sword light rose from below, slicing off both of the mountain demon's long arms.

"Bang!"

"Snap!"

The wooden handle of the whisk slammed hard against the mandrill's forehead, and a crisp cracking sound followed.

"Thump!"

With its skull shattered, the mandrill stared with a pair of scarlet, crazed eyes, then collapsed in front of Lü Qian with its one leg buckling.

"If there is a next life, remember not to eat indiscriminately."

Lu Qian, carrying the wooden sword, twirled it in his hand and then put it back on his arm. With a flick of his sleeve, a flame appeared out of thin air and ignited the mountain demon's corpse.

He waved his whisk again, and the flames, guided by the flames, burned towards the remaining corpses beside him.

"The path of humanity is insignificant, the path of immortals is boundless, while the path of ghosts is joyful! At the gate of life, the path of immortals values ​​life, while the path of ghosts values ​​death..."

"I only wish to attain immortality, not to be impoverished in the human realm. In the Northern Capital's Quanqu Mansion, dwell ten thousand ghosts..."

The raging flames shot into the air in the blink of an eye, yet they did not harm Lü Qian in the slightest. He slung the wooden sword behind his back and chanted the "Lingbao Tianzun Duren Jing" (Scripture of the Heavenly Venerable of the Spiritual Treasure for Saving People) in a leisurely manner.

A clear and melodious Taoist chant emanated from the flames, spreading in all directions with the rolling heat waves.

Lu Qian stepped through the flames, passing through the inferno, and continued walking forward. After a moment, he stopped again.

"Hey, you big white cat over there, your butt's showing."

"What's wrong with this mountain? There are so many mountain spirits and monsters..."