Chapter 64 The Demon Girl Climbs the Mountain, and the Gifted Dao Cultivator Goes down the Mountain

A teenage girl who liked wearing black clothes finally came to a small town at the foot of the famous Daoism mountain, Chenxie Mountain before the Daoist assembly in Liangxi started. Before the hotel in the town was fully occupied, the girl booked a room with a good view, but after she settled down, she met two unreasonable Dao cultivators that night. When the man and woman knew that the guest in this room was a teenage girl, they had the intention to make this girl give out the room, but as there was Liangxi Dao Temple on the mountain, they didn’t go too far. They just advised this girl “with kindness” and wanted to switch the room with her. In fact, the room these two cultivators had booked was the lowest-level in the hotel, with no window, not to mention watching the scenery on the mountain.

In fact, this requirement was too much.

The girl who came to Liangxi from Yanling was bad-tempered all the time. After she saw these two cultivators, she was unwilling to say more but just kicked one of them out of the hotel, and she didn’t even look at the woman, so the latter turned pale with fear and then ran out in frustration.

The girl didn’t take it seriously, but next morning, the two cultivators who were still at the first stage, the Triplex Unity Stage, brought a group of people, saying that they needed an explanation. However, after Qing Huai walked out of the room and saw that none of that group of more than twenty cultivators had entered the Fundamental Stage, she didn’t have the interest in taking actions. But those people didn’t give up, so Qing Huai threw all of them out of the hotel. The other party finally knew that they had offended somebody that they couldn’t afford to offend, and they didn’t dare to provoke her anymore. In fact, although they were afraid of a cultivator at the Fundamental Stage, they wouldn’t fear her so much. They just thought about this girl’s age and the force behind her. After all, not to mention the ordinary Taoist temples, even Chenxie Mountain would probably support such a person who could enter the Fundamental Stage at this age. That gifted Dao cultivator was called a rare genius, and she was just at the Fundamental Stage, too. Even if her stage as they said was not true, it was more or less. With such a talent, all of them were favored by the elders in their families, except few self-taught cultivators. If such a girl with a talent was bullied outside, perhaps the next day an old guy would come to the offender’s home and reason with him. The cultivators in Liangxi were different from those in Yanling, and none of them had read books like scholars. The old Dao cultivators didn’t like to reason but were skilled in killing people.

After this, there was an uproar in the hotel, and even all people in the small town knew that a weird girl was staying in this hotel. The Daoist assembly in Liangxi was near at hand, and nobody wanted to make a fuss under the eyes of the Dao Temple on the mountain, so even if they were curious, nobody would test her, which made Qing Huai at leisure these days.

But as the Daoist assembly was approaching, more and more cultivators showed up in this town. Most of the famous cultivators in the world were invited to the mountain by the Taoists in Liangxi Dao Temple, so the rest cultivators staying in the town were not so powerful. As a result, the girl in black who attracted people’s attention in the town the other day was naturally thought as a girl not from an honorable family. So some people had the intention to provoke her, but Qing Huai ignored them. She seldom went out all day long and just waited for the assembly.

In fact, since she came to Chenxie Mountain, she suddenly felt that she was not so stubborn as before and wasn’t even so determined to challenge the gifted Dao cultivator.

This girl who was regarded as the bright moon all the time on the demonic land started to think that this journey was pointless. She just wanted to beat Ye Shengge as soon as possible and then return to the demonic land. If she had the chance in the future, she might come to the human world again. But at that time, she wouldn’t come to prove that she was more powerful than somebody. She only wanted to see if that guy had learnt swordsmanship hard.

Before the Daoist assembly in Liangxi began, Qing Huai saw an acquaintance in the hotel at the foot of the mountain, the swordsman Chen Sheng who was travel-worn and weary. Nobody knew where this middle-aged man had been. After he reached Liangxi, he didn’t climb the mountain in a hurry but settled down in the small town, and he happened to choose this hotel. As soon as he saw Qing Huai, he asked about Li Fuyao. “Did my stupid disciple walk to Sword Mountain?”

Qing Huai looked peaceful. “He just reached the border. Who knows if he can walk to the foot of Sword Mountain?”

Chen Sheng laughed loudly and didn’t care. “It doesn’t matter. It’s not far away from Sword Mountain, and that guy can surely walk to the foot of the mountain, but it is uncertain if he can climb it. I hear that Chao Qingqiu left a wisp of sword Qi on Menchen Mountain in front of Sword Mountain, except two wisps of remanent soul of Sword Immortal on the mountain path. Is this guy determined to make sure that there is no new comer on Sword Mountain in the future?”

Qing Huai didn’t know what happened on Sword Mountain and just responded calmly, “If he can’t climb Sword Mountain, it doesn’t matter. Nobody said that the swordsmen who don’t climb Sword Mountain are incapable.”

Chen Sheng was unable to reply. After a while, this swordsman murmured, “Sword Mountain is not worth staying, but six thousand years have passed in this way. Can we not climb the mountain at will?”

Qing Huai kept silent.

Chen Sheng sighed and then continued without worry, “If he can’t climb it, it’s fine. Would my disciple be unable to become a Sword Immortal if he can’t climb Sword Mountain?”

Qing Huai shook her head regretfully this time. This guy was not capable, but he talked big.

Chen Sheng changed the subject. “Little demon, are you climbing the mountain to fight against that gifted Dao cultivator till death?”

Qing Huai sneered. “Do you think I am an idiot? On this Chenxie Mountain, not to mention anybody else, would the temple owner who is close to the Ocean Stage stand by and watch me beat Ye Shengge to death on this mountain? Then I will die before she dies.”

Chen Sheng was speechless. This demon girl was clearer about the gains and losses than him.

“In fact, I might not be able to defeat her. To be honest, she has a greater chance of winning. If she has finished the Fundamental Stage and entered the Sanctification Stage, I won’t say anything but turn to go down the mountain.”

Chen Sheng smiled. “Then I will fight against her to protect you.”

Qing Huai turned her head and looked at this swordsman who was travelling around the world, asking in confusion, “Did you come to Liangxi purposely?”

Chen Sheng looked serious and answered peacefully, “No. I naturally want to have a look at this Daoist assembly which is held once in ten years and check if I can defeat the old Dao cultivators on the mountain. In the past, when Chao Qingqiu waved his sword on Sword Mountain, he just wanted to let others know that there are swordsmen in the world, but this Sword Immortal is weird and unwilling to embarrass somebody in person. I am a member of the young generation, so I have no choice but to do something insignificant to tell all the cultivators in the human world that swordsmen still exist and we are admirable.”

Qing Huai wanted to ask Chen Sheng why it was admirable to embarrass somebody, but looking at this guy’s expression, she subconsciously thought that she should consider somebody’s dignity, so she didn’t ask.

At last, Qing Huai just looked up at the mountain and stated in a low voice, “No matter what others on the demonic land think about, anyway I know that if I die here, my father would surely come.”

Chen Sheng sighed with emotion. “You have a good father.”

There were many people in the small town at the foot of the mountain, but less than one tenth of them qualified to climb Chenxie Mountain. Liangxi Dao Temple represented Daoism in the human world and led this religious sect. Moreover, the temple owner was regarded as the top one except the twelve sages, and he was at a high stage with excellent Taoist skills, close to the Ocean Stage. In the past hundreds of years, with this temple owner’s leadership, there was no turbulence in Liangxi, and even the small uproar would be suppressed soon. In fact, different from Yanling where there were many academies and schools, almost all the Dao cultivators in Liangxi were under the leadership of Liangxi Dao Temple. Although there were self-taught cultivators occasionally, there was a small number, so it showed that this Dao temple was in a high position, and the temple owner was regarded as the Taoist leader who was just inferior to the sages. The temple owner might not show up to host the Daoist assembly which was held once in ten years, but since the people in Liangxi Dao Temple hosted it, it was a grand occasion of Daoism, and there must be many people coming.

The Daoist assembly was about to start, but something difficult happened on the mountain.

On Fangcun Peak of Chenxie Mountain, many Taoists dressed in yellow and purple robes gathered in front of a bamboo cottage, with complicated expressions. The Taoists on the mountain with different ranks wore robes in different colors, and the ones dressed in grey robes were at the bottom, while the ones wearing yellow and purple robes were the top ones. It was a great event that many old Taoists who had the qualification to wear yellow and purple robes gathered in front of the bamboo cottage.

One of the old Taoists with a horsetail whisk in his hand kept silent all the time and looked peaceful, greatly different from the other Taoists who were badly battered.

The old Taoist was named Mo Dao and had been cultivating for more than four hundred years on Chenxie Mountain. He was at a high stage with superb Taoist skills and more powerful than most of the people on the mountain, but he was absorbed in cultivating all the time over the years, so not many people knew that this old Taoist almost became the owner of this temple that year. However, later he could still wear a yellow and purple robe, so nobody dared to belittle him. But even Mo Dao didn’t dare to say that he could solve the problem today.

In the past, the Daoist assembly attached importance to discussing Taoist skills at the end of the process, and at that time all the Dao cultivators from Liangxi would sit on Fangcun Peak and talk about Taoist skills. Everybody could go to the stage and the one who could stay on the stage till end would certainly be the winner. In the past, most of the time, the Taoists on Chenxie Mountain would win this game, but there were exceptions. For example, at the Daoist assembly one year, an unrestrained young Taoist talked alone for three days and nights, and even nobody went to the stage and talked with him in the end, so he naturally became the winner that year. However, what confused everybody was that this young Taoist winner gave up the chance to visit the Sky Building with three thousand books about Daoism in it and left immediately. When somebody saw him last time, he was on the west Buddhist land. It was said that this Taoist wanted to ask a sage on the Buddhist land about the future world and this life. All people in the world knew that one of the Buddhist sages, Huichou, had a lantern which could show a person’s previous life and this life, so the young Taoist wanted to have a look.

However, the Daoist assembly this year had a different focal point from before. This time, most of the people who climbed the mountain didn’t come for the discussion in the end but paid attention to that gifted Dao cultivator. According to the procedure of the Daoist assembly, after it started, the young disciples from the Taoist sect would fight to learn from each other, which was the Taoist competition.

Earlier Liangxi Dao Temple released the news that the gifted Dao cultivator Ye Shengge would attend the Taoist competition.

Therefore, the Taoist competition became the best part of this assembly. After all, Ye Shengge was a rare genius in Liangxi since a hundred years ago and an inborn gifted Dao cultivator with immeasurable potential. Almost all people on the mountain were optimistic and thought Ye Shengge could become another Taoist sage in several hundred years. Then with Ye Shengge added to the six Taoist sages, Daoism would have more influence in the human world, not to mention anything else. With the current situation of Confucianism, Daoism might expand its influential range and cross Dayu, coming to Yanling.

In the human world, Buddhism never competed with them and couldn’t win. Daoism and Confucianism had fought with each other for the title of the number one in the world for about six thousand years. If the sages got involved in the fight, the victory or defeat could have been decided earlier. Now if one party had a new sage, it would be enough to change the situation.

But the situation on the mountain was beyond their expectations. This matter had been decided by several Taoists dressed in yellow and purple robes jointly, and Ye Shengge stayed secluded at that time, so she didn’t know it. But after she came out some time ago, she didn’t care about this matter and made it clear that she wouldn’t join the Taoist competition.

This decision soon made the Taoists on the mountain in a difficult position.

If another disciple dared to do that, he would be punished according to the sect rules, but who was Ye Shengge? She was a gifted Dao cultivator and the temple owner’s own disciple. Not to mention if they had the relationship as the rumors, even her identity as the temple owner’s disciple was enough to make others at a loss what to do. The temple owner stayed secluded all year round. Who else on the mountain would Ye Shengge listen to?

They couldn’t find one, so these Taoists prepared to reason with Ye Shengge, but since a few days ago, the gifted Dao cultivator didn’t come out of the bamboo cottage till now. No matter how noisy it was outside, this girl still remained unmoved, which made Mo Dao and the other Taoists dressed in yellow and purple robes angry, and they had the plan to break in. However, the temple owner had left a forbidden rule in the bamboo cottage and anybody who was below the Ascending Stage couldn’t break it. The old guys on the mountain didn’t have time to think about such a trifle, so it became like this.

They tried to reason with her, but the gifted Dao cultivator didn’t listen.

If they didn’t reason with her, who could give an explanation to the temple owner behind the gifted cultivator?

Such a situation made people exhausted mentally and physically.

On the mountain, several Taoists in yellow and purple gathered in front of the bamboo cottage and waited for Ye Shengge to come out, but none of the Taoists in high positions noticed that a girl wearing a white dress had gone down the mountain earlier. A young Taoist in childhood was the only one who saw that and wanted to report to his master, but after the girl in white turned around and glanced at him, he covered his head and squatted immediately, saying with fear, “Master Ye, I don’t dare to say anything.”

The girl in white looked very beautiful with a slender figure, but her face was expressionless, and nobody wanted to get close to her. In fact this girl had stayed on the mountain for more than ten years, but she didn’t have a friend. The main reason was that she was too quiet and distant, and she stayed secluded most of the time. As a result, she was like this. The girl went down along the mountain path and didn’t give the young Taoist another glance.

She had watched the scenery on the mountain for more than ten years and had been fed up with it. Now she was going down the mountain to enjoy the view somewhere else. Anywhere was okay. No matter it was the Buddhist land or the demonic land or Sword Mountain where the stupid swordsmen gathered, she could go.

She was just unwilling to stay on this mountain.

If she went down the mountain, nobody except her nominal master dared to stop her. But she would just go down at will and wouldn’t intentionally choose a time when she was the foreground of public attention. And she wouldn’t go down the mountain in secret. There was no other reason, but it was merely because she was Ye Shengge.

She was the unique Ye Shengge in the world.

She wouldn’t join the Taoist competition if she didn’t want to. She didn’t care if it would influence the temple’s fame. If the young people wanted to challenge her, just let them be, but what did it have to do with her?

Why would she care about others’ thoughts?

She just wanted to go down the mountain, and nobody could stop her.

She wanted to do it and then did it, but nobody could stop her.

Somebody went down the mountain, and some people started to climb the mountain.

So the two people met each other.

When the genius girl in black from the demonic land saw a girl wearing a white dress on the mountain path, the two seemed to think alike and stopped at the same time.

They had never seen each other before and it couldn’t be said that they were like old friends as soon as they met, but somehow, after they met, Qing Huai thought this girl should be Ye Shengge, that gifted Dao cultivator.

In fact, Ye Shengge stopped just because Qing Huai blocked her way.

Qing Huai stayed silent for a moment and then called, “Ye Shengge.”

She didn’t ask but said it.

She was sure that the girl in white in front of her was Ye Shengge.

Ye Shengge didn’t say anything but glanced at Chen Sheng behind Qing Huai not far away. She mainly looked at the sword on his waist.

Chen Sheng stood in the distance and looked this gifted Dao cultivator up and down.

For a moment, he even wanted to check if he could kill this gifted Dao cultivator with his sword. Although this thought was too crazy and shameless, he had it in mind.

But at last, Chen Sheng didn’t do anything because this mountain represented Daoism and he was unwilling to cope with a young girl who had been cultivating for only more than ten years.

This was his pride. Even though it was stupid, he was proud.

Ye Shengge turned to Qing Huai. “What do you want?”

She didn’t even ask Qing Huai about her name but just asked about her purpose.

Qing Huai took a deep breath. “I prepared to challenge you at the Daoist assembly, but since we meet now, just have a fight here.”

Ye Shengge frowned. “Why?”

Qing Huai just felt annoyed, especially when she saw Ye Shengge’s poker face.

But what Ye Shengge said next was more hurtful.

She talked to Qing Huai, “Please make way for me.”