Liaozhai: Immortality Begins with Becoming Yan Chixia's Apprentice

Chapter 55 Encountering the Demon General Again

Then Zhou Ning continued, "You said there's an eerie atmosphere at the east end of the town. I'll take you there to take a look. If it's there, I'll help you dispel it. If not..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear.

Xuanzhenzi's face flushed red and then turned pale. Finally, he flung his sleeves, jumped off the platform, squeezed through the crowd, and fled in panic.

A burst of laughter and curses erupted from the crowd.

"Liar, give us our money back!"

"Chase him! Don't let him get away!"

Several burly men chased after him, but Xuanzhenzi ran extremely fast and disappeared around the street corner in the blink of an eye.

Zhou Ning did not pursue. He stood on the high platform and cupped his hands in greeting to the crowd.

"Fellow villagers, that Taoist priest is a fraud. His magic is all an illusion; don't be fooled. In the future, when you encounter someone like this, be sure to keep your eyes open."

In the crowd, an old man stepped forward and bowed deeply to him.

"Thank you so much, sir. If it weren't for you, we would have all been scammed."

Zhou Ning helped the old man up, saying, "Sir, you're too kind. It was nothing."

The old man said, "Young man, you just said you are a disciple of Immortal Yan of Qingyun Mountain? We have all heard of Immortal Yan's great name. How is he?"

Zhou Ning said, "My master is in good health, thank you for your concern."

The old man nodded, took out a few taels of silver from his pocket, and handed it to Zhou Ning:

"Young man, this is just a small token of our appreciation. Please accept it."

Zhou Ning shook his head: "Old folks, I don't want any money. If you really want to thank me, please do me a favor."

The old man said, "Please speak, young man."

Zhou Ning said, "I'm looking for clues about the Black Mountain Demon. Have you heard that people from the Black Mountain have been spotted around here?"

The old man's expression changed.

He lowered his voice and said, "Brother, why are you asking about Black Mountain? That's a matter of life and death."

Zhou Ning said, "I have something important to discuss. If the old man knows anything, please tell me."

The old man hesitated for a moment and said:

"I heard that there's an abandoned mine fifty miles to the north. Men dressed in black often appear there, acting suspiciously, and I don't know what they're up to. Some people say it's a stronghold of the Black Mountain."

Zhou Ning's eyes lit up: "Thank you, sir."

He bowed to the old man, then turned and left.

Leaving Ping'an Town, Zhou Ning quickened his pace and headed north towards the mines.

He covered the fifty-mile distance in less than two hours.

The mine is located between two hills and has been abandoned for many years.

The mine entrance was boarded up, but there were fresh marks on the boards, indicating that it had been tampered with recently.

Zhou Ning quietly approached, hiding behind a large rock and observing his surroundings.

At the mine entrance stood two men in black robes; they were from Black Mountain.

They patrolled back and forth, with black tokens hanging from their waists and black spears in their hands.

"As expected, it's a stronghold of Black Mountain," Zhou Ning thought to himself.

He did not act rashly, but continued to observe.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a burly man in black robes emerged from the mine, exchanged a few words with the two men at the entrance, and then headed north.

Zhou Ning decided to follow him.

He affixed an invisibility talisman and quietly followed behind the man in black.

The man in black robes walked for about half an hour and arrived at a secluded valley.

In the valley, there is a building made of black stone that looks like a small fortress.

The man in black robes entered the fortress and disappeared through the door.

Zhou Ning did not follow them inside, but instead found a high place to observe from a distance.

The fortress was not large, but it was heavily guarded.

Several men in black robes stood on the wall, holding black flags in their hands.

In the courtyard, several iron cages could be vaguely seen, with people locked inside.

"Is someone being held here?" Zhou Ning frowned.

He decided to wait until dark before taking action.

Night falls.

Zhou Ning quietly approached the fortress and scaled the wall to enter.

Sure enough, there were several iron cages in the courtyard, with more than a dozen people locked inside.

There were men and women, old and young, all pale-faced and filled with fear.

Zhou Ning walked to the iron cage and used his Qingfeng sword to cut the chains.

"Don't make a sound, come with me."

Although the people were afraid, their survival instinct made them obediently follow behind Zhou Ning.

They had just reached the wall when suddenly, a sharp whistle rang out through the night sky.

"Someone has broken in!"

The men in black robes rushed out of the house and surrounded Zhou Ning.

Zhou Ning knew he could no longer hide, so he tore off the invisibility talisman, drew his Qingfeng sword, and stood in front of the people.

"Hurry, climb over the wall and get out."

The people panicked and scrambled to climb over the wall.

Zhou Ning gripped the Qingfeng Sword tightly, channeling his inner energy into it, causing the sword to glow with a blue light.

"Kid, you're asking for it."

A man in black robes grinned maliciously and raised his hand, shooting out a beam of black light.

Zhou Ning dodged the beam of light with a flash, and at the same time slashed out with his sword, the cyan sword energy knocking the black-robed man to the ground.

More men in black robes surrounded them.

Zhou Ning fought and retreated, constantly throwing out "evil-dispelling talismans" to clear away the approaching black-robed men.

But he was struggling to deal with more than a dozen men in black robes and protect the people all by himself, and he gradually found himself overwhelmed.

"roar!"

A deafening roar came from the depths of the fortress.

A tall demon general stepped out, his body emanating a thick black mist.

"It's you again."

The demon general recognized Zhou Ning:

"You destroyed my Black Wind Stronghold last time, and you still dare to come here to die?"

Zhou Ning gritted his teeth, concentrated his inner energy at the tip of his sword, and unleashed the "Demon-Slaying Slash".

A streak of cyan sword energy slashed out, heading straight for the demon general.

The demon general snorted coldly and raised his hand, sending a black beam of light to meet the attack.

"boom!"

The two forces collided, producing a deafening explosion.

Zhou Ning was forced back several steps, and a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

The demon general was also forced back a step, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

"He's got some skill. But..."

He formed a mudra with his hands and chanted incantations.

The ground began to shake, and countless black chains surged from underground, wrapping around Zhou Ning.

Zhou Ning tried to dodge, but the chains were too fast and instantly wrapped around his limbs.

"Oh no!"

The demon general walked up to him, looked down at him, and grinned maliciously:

"Kid, now that you've delivered yourself to my doorstep, you're not leaving."

Zhou Ning gritted his teeth, his mind racing.

He suddenly remembered the token that Judge Lu had given him, and quickly took it out of his pocket and threw it at the demon general.

The token lit up with a black light in the air, transforming into a giant ghostly hand that firmly grasped the demon general.

"What is this?" The demon general struggled in terror, but the ghostly hand remained motionless.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zhou Ning broke free of the chains, pulled out an "evil-repelling talisman" from his waist, and stuck it on the demon general's forehead.

"disease!"

The talisman glowed with golden light, and the demon general let out a miserable scream as his body burst into golden flames, quickly turning into a pile of ashes.

Upon seeing this, the other men in black robes scattered and fled in terror.

Zhou Ning did not give chase. Instead, he walked over to the people and escorted them to safety.

Then he turned around and burned down the demon general's fortress.

The raging fire reduced the evil lair to ashes.

This is truly gratifying.