Chapter 40: The Gentleman Hides His Tools in His Body

Qi Wu and the others watched the scene before them in disbelief: the clay mountain god statue had come alive, wielding a sword to slay the demon!

"The mountain god has revealed himself!" A-Yue said, stunned.

Qi Wu reacted the quickest. "No, someone is hidden inside the mountain god statue!"

Indeed, this was the case. As the sword-wielding mountain god fought the tiger demon, clumps of clay fell to the ground, revealing the true appearance of the person hidden inside.

It was Lu Yang.

"Damn it, I've waited five days, and you're finally here! My five days of pretending to be a statue weren't in vain. Take this sword!" Lu Yang said viciously, kicking out a foot.

For a quick-witted person like him who loved to travel and couldn't sit still, spending five days motionless inside the statue to avoid being discovered by the tiger demon was truly an unbearable ordeal.

Before anyone could react, the statues of the Civil and Martial Mountain Gods also came to life. "Lu Yang, we two will lend you a hand!"

Meng Jingzhou and Mang Gu broke free from the clay, each displaying their unique abilities to eliminate the tiger demon.

...

Five days earlier, the mountain god temple had welcomed three uninvited guests. They consumed Bigu Pills, hollowed out the mountain god statues, and climbed inside themselves.

The mountain god statues were several times larger than an average person, providing more than enough space for a person.

"Are you sure this method will work?" Meng Jingzhou and Mang Gu asked, looking suspiciously at Lu Yang.

"Based on the intelligence provided by Brother Mang Gu," Lu Yang replied, "we can only wait for the tiger demon to come here to feed. Let's get in first."

Mang Gu pondered, "Could this be what the books meant by 'a gentleman hides his strength'?"

"Yes, yes, that must be it," Mang Gu exclaimed, overjoyed. "It truly is 'better to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books'!" He had never understood the meaning of this phrase when he read it before, but now, after just one mission with Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, he had gained such insight.

His master was right: to truly learn, one must first find a good mentor!

The three chose their respective statues. After entering, they maintained the same posture as the statues, leaving only their eyes visible.

"Hey, hey, hey, can you hear me?" Lu Yang communicated mentally using his divine sense technique.

The divine sense technique was a spell the three had just learned on their journey. At very close range, it allowed communication through thought alone, without needing spiritual energy. It was easy to pick up and could be used with a little mental practice.

"We can hear you," Meng Jingzhou and Mang Gu replied.

"Is the carriage alright?" Meng Jingzhou worried about his carriage and old horse.

To avoid their tracks being noticed by the tiger demon, they had entrusted their carriage to an inn in Yanjiang County.

"We know too little about this tiger demon," Lu Yang continued. "What we can confirm at the moment is that its cultivation level is between the early Foundation Establishment stage and the early Golden Core stage. It is cunning and cautious by nature, fearing that harming cultivators would attract trouble, so it only preys on mortals, not cultivators. If cultivators search the mountain, it hides somewhere no one can find it."

The tiger demon had been able to remain in Songshan for so long without being discovered by cultivators precisely because it avoided conflict and refrained from struggle.

"Therefore, we need to hide in advance," Lu Yang concluded, "and wait for the tiger demon to come, then eliminate it in one go!"

"Tiger demons are particularly sensitive to spiritual energy," Lu Yang warned. "So we must not use any spiritual energy while we wait."

It was for this very reason that they chose the divine sense technique, which did not require spiritual energy to activate.

Five days later.

"Well, after all these days of waiting, someone has finally arrived."

"They look like traveling merchants?"

"Wait, why is there an old hunter? Didn't they say all the hunters had left Songshan because of the tiger demon?"

They had thoroughly investigated Songshan, and the locals all said the hunters on the mountain had left, and it had been a long time since anyone heard of a hunter coming down to sell hides.

A tiger ghoul!

The three communicated mentally, instantly arriving at the same conclusion: this was not an old hunter leading the way at all, but a tiger ghoul luring people here!

They had been skeptical about the tiger demon's existence, but seeing a tiger ghoul now confirmed there was indeed a tiger demon on this mountain!

"Did you hear what the old hunter said?" Lu Yang asked. "He lives with several other hunters, and the merchant leader found him there. It shouldn't be a lie."

"It's highly likely those other hunters are also tiger ghouls," Meng Jingzhou replied, "pretending to be normal people to deceive travelers together. This makes it more convincing and prevents anyone from suspecting them of being ghouls!"

"Should we deal with the tiger ghoul now?" Meng Jingzhou asked, eager to act.

Lu Yang told Meng Jingzhou to hold back, analyzing, "Don't alert the enemy. Didn't you hear that Qi Wu said he was going to seek help from the Five Great Immortal Sects? Given the tiger demon's cautious nature, it will definitely come to deal with them. We'll wait quietly. Once the tiger demon appears, I'll make my move, and you'll cover me while getting these merchants away from here."

"Alright."

"Hmm, did you hear footsteps outside the temple? It shouldn't be the tiger demon."

Hearing Qi Wu and the old hunter intending to send away the young woman in green, Mang Gu couldn't help but mutter, "How foolish. With this female cultivator here, the tiger demon wouldn't come to kill anyone. The tiger demon would be worried about its existence being known; if it killed her, her sect would come looking; if it didn't kill her, she would bring her sect here. Either way, it's a dead end. The only way is to send her away."

"See, I was right. The tiger ghoul sent her away."

Lu Yang, calmer, said, "Think about it the other way: if the female cultivator stays, the tiger demon won't appear. How long will we have to wait then?"

Meng Jingzhou let out a soft exclamation. "Did you notice the jade pendant on the young woman in green's waist?"

"What's wrong with the jade pendant?" Lu Yang and Mang Gu asked. They knew that many jade pendants were symbols of status, but they weren't very familiar with the specifics of how they functioned as such.

"That's a jade tablet from the Moon Laurel Immortal Palace."

The Moon Laurel Immortal Palace, one of the Five Great Immortal Sects.

Between the Central Continent and the Far North lies a continuous snow-capped mountain range stretching from east to west. It's covered in snow year-round, with few clear days. These snowy mountains are reputed to be the highest peaks in the Central Continent, closest to the moon.

Within these snowy mountains, a magnificent immortal palace stands: the Moon Laurel Immortal Palace.

"She should be in the Foundation Establishment stage," Meng Jingzhou explained. "Later, when we fight the tiger demon, let's try to make a lot of noise so she notices us. Then we'll see if she's willing to offer assistance."

She is definitely not in the Golden Core stage. A Golden Core cultivator from an immortal sect would see through the old hunter being a tiger ghoul at a glance, not like now, being easily tricked and led away.

After some more time passed, the three watched Qi Wu and the others fall into a deep, sweet sleep. It made them want to sleep too.

Mang Gu recited a sage's saying, using willpower to dispel his drowsiness: "'A sage said, I examine myself three times a day: Are you sleepy? I'm not. Are you sleepy? I'm not. Are you sleepy? I'm not...'"

"Stop chanting, I wasn't sleepy, but you're making me sleepy," Meng Jingzhou said, telling Mang Gu to chant silently, as he couldn't help but yawn.

"But I am chanting silently now," Mang Gu replied using his divine sense technique.

"Listen carefully!" Lu Yang ignored the two fools' conversation, forcing himself to stay focused and constantly observe the movements outside.

"There's something stepping on the grass..." Lu Yang whispered. "The tiger demon is here!"

Hearing Lu Yang's warning, Meng Jingzhou and Mang Gu stopped bickering, immediately sharpened their senses, and prepared for battle.

"We finally waited for this beast!"

Lu Yang no longer concealed his aura. His body tensed, shattering the mountain god statue. He held his Qingfeng sword, its radiant blade illuminating the entire temple.