The fierce wind and heavy rain continued until midnight.
Fortunately, Liu Hechu was now properly enthroned as a mountain deity, capable of channeling divine power to control the wind and water currents, preventing the gales and floods from causing disasters that would harm the people downstream.
Because the storm was too violent, Li Wangyi, Guo Hengbei, and the others stayed overnight in the temple after the wandering deities' banquet.
In the dead of night, after the wine's warmth had faded, Li Wangyi read his books by the light of the Peach Blossom Goddess's lamp.
The sound of the wind, the sound of the rain, the sound of reading aloud.
On a stormy night, a quiet and warm temple was just right for reading.
Ever since leaving the academy, Li Wangyi had persisted in his reading. However, because they had to travel by day, he could only read for a while at night and during rest stops along the way, making his reading progress slower than it had been at the academy.
Over these past few days, he had only finished five volumes.
The innate vast-flowing righteousness within his body had only increased to nine thousand eight hundred and five wisps.
Earlier in the day, when he attempted to request the Heaven and Earth Conferment, in order to make every single character of the memorial spiritualized and capable of communicating with heaven and earth, he had infused the vast-flowing righteousness into the words—one character for every wisp of righteousness, consuming a total of three hundred and eighty-four wisps.
Those three hundred and eighty-four wisps of vast-flowing righteousness did not need to be fussed over; just like the physical strength of a mortal, they would simply recover by the next day after a good night's sleep.
To read ten thousand books and travel ten thousand miles—there were still thousands of miles to go before reaching Donghua Mountain, and he was still one hundred and ninety-five volumes short of finishing his goal of ten thousand books, which would require some time yet.
Great matters cannot be rushed.
While Li Wangyi was reading, Guo Hengbei, Guo Nanjun, and Wei Lun were also cultivating in the adjacent guest rooms.
Guo Hengbei was comprehending the Demon-Slaying Blade Intent.
Guo Nanjun had begun practicing the Supreme Qing Six Jia Secret Arts.
Wei Lun was studying the Divine Blade-Finishing Technique.
The few items that Liu Hechu had found within the boundaries of Xiufeng Mountain—though it was unknown in what year or by whom they had been left behind—were all a remarkably good match for each of them.
Once Guo Hengbei successfully comprehended the Demon-Slaying Blade Intent, not only would he quickly advance to the Fifth Realm, but he would also become the posthumous disciple of the Blade Emperor.
If Guo Nanjun mastered the Supreme Qing Six Jia Secret Arts, she would transform from a female martial artist into a cultivator, enabling her to walk further and higher on the path of seeking the Dao.
As for Wei Lun, if he could master the Divine Blade-Finishing Technique, his combat power would double explosively, making him the most dangerous blade in the Demon-Slaying Team.
The young Peach Blossom Goddess had truly put a lot of thought into this.
The Demon-Slaying Team was consequently renamed.
...
Early the next morning, the clouds dispersed and the rain cleared.
Li Wangyi, a sobered Little Qianjun, and the Demon-Slaying Team bid farewell together.
Knowing they all had important matters to attend to, Liu Hechu did not try to keep them. He gifted each party ten jars of three-hundred-year-old peach blossom brew and invited them to visit the temple again whenever they had free time.
The horse trail that originally ran from east to west via the mountain ridge now appeared halfway up the slope.
Li Wangyi, Little Qianjun, and the Demon-Slaying Team descended the mountain together heading east.
The three members of the Demon-Slaying Team were going to return Feng Gu's ashes, along with the money he had earned over the years from slaying demons and devils, back to his hometown.
Feng Gu's hometown was near the capital in the north, and he still had elderly parents and a young sister at home.
They had been missing Feng Gu all these years and desperately needed the money.
The Demon-Slaying Team would travel fifty miles alongside Li Wangyi and Little Qianjun, and once they reached the main road fifty miles to the east, they would spur their horses and head north.
When descending the mountain, they gave Feng Gu's yellow-maned horse to Li Wangyi.
The horse trail after the rain was somewhat muddy, and coupled with the fact that the mountain path had been neglected for years and was riddled with damage, it was extremely difficult to walk.
Even though the three members of the Demon-Slaying Team and Li Wangyi were no ordinary people, to avoid exhausting the horses, they had to walk on foot rather than ride.
As the figures of the group walked further and further away, eventually disappearing around the bend at the foot of the mountain...
The Divine Lord of Donghua Mountain, who had been lingering above the clouds all along, fluttered her divine robes, descended upon Xiufeng Mountain, and appeared inside the Peach Blossom Temple.
An hour later, she returned to her divine chariot and departed.
At the same time, she quietly made off with fifty jars of three-hundred-year-old aged peach blossom brew.
...
Around noon, the Demon-Slaying Team, Li Wangyi, and Little Qianjun appeared outside a small town.
"Brother Li, the town ahead is called Linggui Town. It is a cultivation town, and only cultivators are allowed to enter. Ordinary people cannot even see the shadow of the town, let alone go inside," Guo Hengbei introduced, sitting astride his horse.
At Li Wangyi's request, the three members of the Demon-Slaying Team had changed their address for him from Mr. Li to Brother Li last night.
And he no longer called them Hero Guo, Hero Wei, or Heroine Guo, as it felt too distant.
After all, having fought human demons together, they could be considered companions who had shared life and death.
As for this Linggui Town before them, Li Wangyi had actually read about it in books.
Any town restricted to the coming and going of cultivators would set up formations to prevent mundane people from approaching.
This was both for concealment and as a form of protection for ordinary folk.
Arriving at the town entrance, there were no guards, only an unimaginably huge stone turtle lying across the path.
The entrance was the stone turtle's mouth.
Every person who arrived was required to pay one Great Dao copper coin before being permitted to enter the town.
Guo Hengbei, Guo Nanjun, and Wei Lun each paid a Spring Plowing Coin, while Li Wangyi paid a Summer Planting Coin.
As for Little Qianjun, she was considered Li Wangyi's senior companion and minor sprite; since she was so small and compact, no coin was needed.
When the four Great Dao copper coins were tossed toward the stone turtle's lips, the huge stone mouth opened wide, forming a passageway.
The three members of the Demon-Slaying Team led their horses through first.
Li Wangyi followed closely behind with Little Qianjun.
Emerging from the passageway, Wei Lun muttered, "Every time I go in and out, I wonder if this stone turtle is actually alive. It always feels a bit weird."
Li Wangyi wanted to tell him the answer, but thought better of it, lest the future Grandmaster of the Divine Blade-Finishing Technique, Wei Lun, get weak in the knees.
Upon exiting the passageway, they entered the town.
This cultivation town looked no different from an ordinary town, except that the goods sold by the vendors were somewhat different—they were no longer mundane food, fabrics, or jewelry, but various spiritual items and magical treasures related to cultivation, and there were even merchants selling demonic beasts and spirits.
"Eldest Senior Brother, that young lady is so pitiful!"
Sitting on Li Wangyi's shoulder, Little Qianjun looked at a rabbit-shaped minor sprite inside a cage with deep sympathy.
That rabbit-shaped sprite was only slightly bigger than Little Qianjun herself, but it was bone-thin, looking as though it hadn't eaten in a very long time.
The vendor was a lean, wiry man. Hearing Little Qianjun's words, he immediately greeted them warmly, "This young master, one can tell at a glance that you are a kind-hearted person from a prominent family. This little rabbit sprite is a unique breed native to Wupeng Mountain, and it shares a karmic affinity with your accompanying minor sprite. Just give me whatever loose change you have and buy it, so it can keep your little sprite company."
Li Wangyi looked at the man, then at the little rabbit sprite in the cage.
The little rabbit sprite looked at him with watery eyes, looking pitiful and silently filled with entreaty.
Little Qianjun found it increasingly hard to bear and tugged at Li Wangyi's collar. "Eldest Senior Brother..."
The lean vendor chimed in at the right moment: "It only costs five Great Dao copper coins."
Li Wangyi shook his head. "No thanks."
"Swish!"
The moment Li Wangyi shook his head, the little rabbit sprite abruptly burst out of the cage, transformed into a winged demonic rabbit, opened its bloody maw, and lunged at them.
Little Qianjun was startled. "Ah, you..."
Fortunately, Li Wangyi was well-prepared. A wisp of vast-flowing righteousness instantly transformed into a layer of protective divine light, blocking his front.
The lunging winged demonic rabbit was bounced away, landing right on top of the lean vendor's head.
Then it planted its paws on its hips, glared at Li Wangyi and Little Qianjun, and cursed up a storm: "If you're not gonna buy it, why the fuck are you staring at it? You're wasting this lady's acting!"
"Do you have any idea how hard it is for this lady to scam a few Great Dao copper coins and some food and drink on the side? I had barely been acting for half a quarter-hour before you two assholes ruined my routine!"
"I'll fucking..."
Little Qianjun: "..."
Li Wangyi directly used ten wisps of vast-flowing righteousness to form a Great Silence Spell, forcing the demonic rabbit to shut its mouth and rendering it unable to speak for a whole month.
Muttering incoherently and realizing it had run into an expert it couldn't afford to offend, the demonic rabbit slapped the lean vendor's head, and the demon and human scrambled away in utter terror, leaving even their stall equipment behind.
Little Qianjun was even more dumbfounded.
Guo Nanjun patted her head and explained, "Little Qianjun, all sorts of things happen in this world. In a town like this selling spiritual treasures and demonic beasts, nobody knows who the real owner is and who is actually the one being sold. You need a pair of discerning eyes to tell them apart carefully."
Little Qianjun blinked. "Is that how it is?"
"Mm. The great chiliocosm is bizarre, kaleidoscopic, and full of wonders."