Chapter 125: The Qingwei Sorcerer

“Hehe, little fellow, you’ve got some skill!”

The voice from outside made Liu Dashao’s heart tighten. From its rough and hoarse tone, it was undoubtedly an old man.

He quickly stood up and shouted into the house, “Dad! Wake up! There’s a thief in the house!”

At this point, he could only call for help from his father, but no one responded despite his shouting.

“Hehe, little guy, you’ve got some skills!”

The voice from outside made Liu Dashao’s heart tighten. Judging by the tone, it was undoubtedly an old man.

He quickly stood up and shouted into the house, “Dad! Get up! There’s a thief in the house!”

Now, he could only turn to his father for help, but after shouting for a while, no one came out.

At that moment, a burst of wild laughter came from outside, “Hahaha, stop yelling! Little guy, I’ve cast a nightmare spell on the entire village. Even if you shout your lungs out, they won’t wake up!”

As soon as the voice faded, a figure leaped over the door and landed inside. Liu Dashao marveled at the man’s skill and secretly observed him.

He looked about the same age as Zhang Enpu, wearing a master’s hat and a black robe, with sharp eyes fixed on Liu Dashao.

“Hmph, I never expected my coffin technique to be seen through by a child. And you just destroyed the ghost I’ve been nurturing. Hmph, you’ve got some talent, kid!”

With that, he began walking toward Liu Dashao.

Liu Dashao retreated while thinking to himself, “So this old man is the one who tampered with Qian Qing’s father’s grave. You’re such an old man, yet you’re bullying a child!”

Though he spoke boldly, his mind was racing for a solution.

“You’re no ordinary child. To use Taoist techniques so skillfully, you must have put in a lot of effort. Hehe!” The old man didn’t stop his advance.

Liu Dashao quickly turned and dashed into the house, ran to the back room, opened the window, and jumped out, sprinting away.

He didn’t know where to go, only that he needed to buy some time. Liu Dashao ran until he was out of breath, bending over to catch his breath. He realized he had reached the edge of the village.

“Running away like this? How shameful!” Hearing the voice behind him, Liu Dashao knew his escape was in vain.

It seemed he had no choice but to fight. Liu Dashao gritted his teeth, didn’t look back, but crouched down, picked up a stone with his left hand, bit his left middle finger, and quickly drew a talisman on his right palm. He placed the stone on the talisman, formed a hand seal with his left hand, and whispered, “Borrow the power of Mount Tai, attack the essence, dispel the spirit. Stone General, strike!” He then hurled the stone at the old man.

The old man simply flicked his hand, deflecting the stone to the side. He smiled slightly and said, “Your Five Elements technique lacks power. Hmph, let this humble Taoist match your skills!”

Suddenly, his footwork shifted, and with a wave of his hand, a gust of wind surged toward Liu Dashao. Liu Dashao felt a pressure on his face and quickly crossed his hands, chanting a spell to deflect the attack. The gust of wind struck the ground beside him with a loud “bang,” raising a cloud of dust.

Before Liu Dashao could catch his breath, the old man didn’t give him a moment’s respite. He made several strange hand seals, stepped back with his right leg, and unleashed three consecutive palm strikes.

Liu Dashao closed his eyes to sense the energy. He saw three blades flying toward him. He quickly countered, using the same technique to deflect two of the blades. The third one he couldn’t block, so he lay back, feeling a gust of wind sweep over his head. He touched his head and realized the blade had cut off the hair on his forehead.

He thought to himself, “If I hadn’t dodged that, I’d be done for.” Liu Dashao got up and looked at the old man.

The old man seemed momentarily stunned and stammered, “Transfer… Transfer technique! Kid, you’re from the Celestial Master Sect!”

Hearing him mention the Celestial Master Sect, Liu Dashao’s mind raced. He said, “Hmph, that’s my master! I’m just the bait to lure you out. My master will destroy you! Hmph! Scared now?”

Then, Liu Dashao pretended to shout Zhang Enpu’s name several times, secretly observing the old man’s reaction.

The old man indeed seemed frightened, taking a few steps back. He looked around, then at Liu Dashao, as if unsure. He said, “Hmph, kid, don’t try to fool me. If my senior brother were really here, would he let me beat you like this?”

Liu Dashao smiled and sat up cross-legged on the ground, though he was internally shocked. This old man was Zhang Enpu’s junior brother? What was going on?

Liu Dashao closed his eyes, pretending to meditate, though he was far from calm. He could only buy time.

He slightly opened his eyes to look at the old man. Sure enough, the old man didn’t approach, pacing in the distance.

Then, the old man seemed to make up his mind. He muttered something and casually threw something toward Liu Dashao. A long sword flew toward Liu Dashao, aimed straight at his chest. Liu Dashao thought, “This is it!” and closed his eyes, preparing to take the blow.

But he only felt a gust of wind. When he opened his eyes, he saw someone standing in front of him, dressed in gray, looking familiar, though he couldn’t place who it was.

The person stood with his back to Liu Dashao, facing the old man. He grabbed the sword and with a “crack,” snapped it in half.

The old man laughed and said, “Oh! You’ve summoned a guardian spirit. Then, this humble Taoist must offend!”

Hearing this, Liu Dashao took a closer look at the person in front of him. Long hair, dressed in gray. Liu Dashao suddenly realized—this was the earth immortal Zhang Enpu worshipped!

Was this the guardian spirit manifesting?

At that moment, the old man suddenly closed his eyes, chanted for a while, and pointed both hands toward Liu Dashao. A blue light shot toward him. The guardian spirit in front of Liu Dashao moved, blocking the blue light, then crouched down and transformed into a long snake, slithering toward the old man.

Seeing the guardian spirit turn into a snake, the old man pulled out something resembling a paper cutout. He tossed it to the ground, and it transformed into a large bird, flapping its wings and swooping down to peck at the snake. The snake seemed frightened, twisted around, and disappeared.

The old man laughed heartily, “Hahaha! Now, even the gods can’t save you. Prepare to die!”

With a roar, the large bird flapped its wings and lunged at Liu Dashao. The bird was taller than Liu Dashao. If it pecked him, he’d be done for. He quickly covered his head and crawled backward, feeling the bird pecking at his clothes. The bird pinned him down, and he couldn’t move.

Suddenly, a loud roar echoed, as if from some wild beast.

Liu Dashao looked up and saw a tiger running toward him from the edge of the village, roaring as it came. There was something white on the tiger’s back. Liu Dashao looked closely—it was Huang Erye! The large bird seemed frightened and retreated from Liu Dashao.

By then, the tiger had reached Liu Dashao. Huang Erye jumped off the tiger’s back. Liu Dashao picked up Huang Erye and said happily, “Erye, you came to save me! That old monster over there was bullying me!” He pointed at the old man.

Huang Erye spun around in place, and the tiger pounced on the large bird, tearing it apart in a few moves. The bird turned into scraps of paper floating to the ground. The old man suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and staggered back, as if injured.

The tiger took advantage and pounced on the old man, pinning him to the ground and biting him for a while before stopping. Liu Dashao thought, “He’s either dead or crippled now.”

When the tiger moved aside, Liu Dashao walked over and looked down. There was only a hat and a black robe on the ground. The old man had vanished.

Liu Dashao was puzzled when he heard the old man’s voice from mid-air, “Kid, today you were lucky to have the century-old Huang Daxian protect you. Next time we meet, you won’t be so fortunate. Tell Zhang Enpu that Ma Chunyi of the Qingwei Sect has been here! Hahahaha!”

After a burst of wild laughter, the voice disappeared.

Liu Dashao sat down on the ground, exhausted from the ordeal. He looked at Huang Erye, who was standing and looking at him. Liu Dashao patted its small body and said, “Erye, thank you! If it weren’t for you, I’d have been killed by that old monster!”

Liu Dashao stroked Huang Erye’s small head, but it seemed like Huang Erye had something to say. It twisted its body and ran off.

Liu Dashao quickly got up and followed it. It was heading toward Zhang Enpu’s house.

At the door, it looked at Liu Dashao, then climbed up the wall a few times and jumped into the yard. Liu Dashao couldn’t climb up, so he waited outside.

After a while, Huang Erye climbed out and ran up to Liu Dashao, holding something in its mouth. Liu Dashao saw it was the purple bead he had left on the windowsill.

The sky was beginning to lighten, and the purple bead emitted a faint glow. Huang Erye bit the bead, flicked its head, and the bead “whooshed” through the air, smashing against the wall and shattering.

Liu Dashao exclaimed, “Ah! Erye, what are you doing?”

But Huang Erye ignored him, rummaging through the fragments for a while, then picking something up with its small paws and walking over to Liu Dashao.

Liu Dashao reached out and took it. It was a small, slightly transparent white pill. Huang Erye looked at Liu Dashao, who said, “This… Erye, are you telling me to eat this pill?”

Huang Erye spun around in place and wagged its tail, indicating that Liu Dashao was correct. Liu Dashao hesitated for a moment, then looked at Huang Erye and put the pill in his mouth, swallowing it.

As soon as the pill entered his mouth, it seemed to dissolve into water, which he swallowed.

After a while, Liu Dashao didn’t notice anything different.

Suddenly, a voice sounded in his ear, “Dashao…”

Liu Dashao looked around, but there was no one else except himself and Huang Erye on the ground. Had he misheard?

Just as he was puzzled, the voice sounded again, “Dashao…”

This time, Liu Dashao heard it clearly—it was a young man’s voice, and it seemed to be coming from around him.

Liu Dashao looked around again, but there was no one. He looked down, and only Huang Erye was staring at him. Who else could be calling him? Could it be…

“That’s right, it’s me, Dashao. I’m calling you.”

Liu Dashao said in surprise, “Huang Erye… you… you can talk?”

Huang Erye on the ground just looked at him, but its mouth didn’t move, yet the voice continued.

“It’s not that I can talk, but you can now hear me.”

Liu Dashao was both shocked and delighted, not knowing what to say.

Huang Erye continued, “What you just ate is the Xuanpin Pill. From now on, you’ll be able to understand the language of all living things. Anything with life, you’ll be able to understand what it’s saying. And you’ll also master the esoteric arts!”

Liu Dashao asked in confusion, “What are the esoteric arts?”

Huang Erye twisted its body and said, “We’ll talk about that later. Dashao, do you know who that old Taoist was?”

Liu Dashao thought for a moment and said, “From what the old monster said, he seemed to be some kind of junior brother of my master. But why did he want to harm me?”

Huang Erye turned its small body and said, “That old Taoist is a sorcerer from the Qingwei Sect. He cast a nightmare spell on your entire village. If it’s not broken, they’ll never wake up.”

Hearing this, Liu Dashao remembered that during the fight with the old monster, he had mentioned casting a nightmare spell on the village, which was why no one woke up no matter how much he shouted.

Liu Dashao asked nervously, “Huang Erye, what should we do? Is there no way to break it?”

Huang Erye said, “All spells can be broken. Don’t worry. Do as I say. There’s still some time before dawn. You need to go to the well at the edge of the village before the rooster crows. There’s a thousand-year-old turtle in the well. Stand by the well and shout, ‘Huang Erye is calling you up!’ Shout it several times.

If it comes up, tell it that if it doesn’t, you’ll drain the well. It’ll be scared and climb up. Once the turtle is out, quickly flip it over so its belly is facing up. That way, it can’t run away. Then, tap its belly shell three times, and a small rain will fall in the village. Once it rains, the villagers will wake up, and the nightmare spell will be broken!”

Liu Dashao memorized Huang Erye’s instructions and was about to leave when it told him to go to the small forest after finishing. Liu Dashao agreed and ran toward the edge of the village.

When he reached the well, Liu Dashao didn’t stop to catch his breath. He ran to the well and shouted into it, “Huang Erye is calling you up! Huang Erye is calling you up! Huang Erye is calling you up!”

He shouted three times, but there was no movement. The dark well only echoed his voice.

Seeing that the thousand-year-old turtle wasn’t coming up, Liu Dashao threatened it, “Huang Erye is calling you, and you dare not come up? Watch as Huang Erye drains your well and leaves you thirsty!”

But after a while, there was still no sign of the turtle, not even a sound. Liu Dashao had an idea. He picked up a large stone from nearby and placed it on the edge of the well. He shouted into the well, “You stubborn turtle! Huang Erye is calling you, and you still won’t come up? Huang Erye is casting a spell!”

With that, he pushed the large stone into the well. There was a loud “splash,” and some water splashed up. The stone had hit with considerable force. Then, a muffled cough came from the well.

An old man’s voice followed, “Oh! Erye, have mercy! I’m coming up!”

Liu Dashao felt a surge of joy and quickly said, “Hmph! It’s good you know your place. Hurry up!”

Then, there was a splashing sound from the water, as if someone was swimming. Liu Dashao stood by the well, trembling with excitement.

After a while, a small, gray head poked out of the well.

Liu Dashao saw it was the head of the thousand-year-old turtle. Its gray eyes looked around, and most of its body climbed out of the well. Its shell was huge, like a large basin, but it didn’t seem heavy at all. It crawled forward with surprising speed, its gray eyes looking around. It asked Liu Dashao, “Where’s Huang Erye?”

Liu Dashao said, “Huang Erye sent me to check on you.”

With that, he jumped next to the turtle.

The turtle seemed to realize it had been tricked and tried to crawl back, but Liu Dashao grabbed it firmly. The turtle’s strength was immense, and it almost pulled free, but Liu Dashao managed to flip it over.

The turtle lay on its back, unable to move, and pleaded with Liu Dashao, “Oh! Little immortal, let me go! Oh! I’ve done nothing to you!”

Liu Dashao said to the turtle, “Old turtle, I’m sorry, but I need to use your belly for a moment.”

With that, he tapped the turtle’s belly shell three times. As soon as he finished, he felt something fall from the sky and land on his face. He touched it—it was water. It was really raining.

Liu Dashao flipped the turtle back over, thanked it, and quickly ran back to the village.

Behind him, the old turtle said, “If you had just said you needed rain, you wouldn’t have scared me so much!”

Liu Dashao ran toward the village, welcoming the first spring rain—the rain he had summoned. He didn’t care that the rain soaked him completely. He was just happy—happy that he could wake up the villagers and happy that he could now understand the language of animals after eating the Xuanpin Pill.

When Liu Dashao reached the village, the rooster crowed. He didn’t go home but ran straight to the small forest, as Huang Erye had told him to go there after summoning the rain.

When he arrived at the small forest, Liu Dashao ran to the tree hollow, but Huang Erye wasn’t there. He shouted, “Huang Erye! Huang Erye! Come out! Dashao is here!”

After shouting for a while, he heard Huang Erye say, “You’re quick. Did you get the rain? Did you trouble the thousand-year-old turtle?”

Liu Dashao looked around and saw Huang Erye sitting on a large rock, smoking a pipe.

“Of course not! I thanked it after summoning the rain, and it went back into the well,” Liu Dashao replied.

Huang Erye jumped down from the rock and walked over to Liu Dashao. “Dashao, do you know why I asked you to come here?”

Liu Dashao said in confusion, “No, I don’t.”

Huang Erye spun around in place and said, “I’m a Huang Daxian who has been cultivating for over nine hundred years. That day, you saved my life. This was destined. What I’ve done isn’t just to thank you for saving me, but also to tell you what I know!”

Huang Erye paused, then continued, “When I was cultivating for over two hundred years, I saw two Taoists fighting in a mass grave. After watching for a while, I realized they were fighting over a book and a bead. That bead is the Xuanpin Pill you just ate.”

Liu Dashao was surprised and asked, “What… what was the book?”

Huang Erye looked at Liu Dashao and said, “The Art of the Emperor—the Esoteric Arts of the Eight Trigrams!”

As the laughter faded, a figure leaped over the door and landed inside. Liu Dashao marveled at the man’s agility and secretly observed him.

The figure appeared about the same age as Zhang Enpu, wearing an old man’s cap, dressed in a set of black long robes, and staring at him with sharp eyes.

“Hmph, never thought a child would figure out my coffin-shadow technique. And you destroyed the ghost I cultivated earlier. Hmph, you’re quite capable for a little brat!” The old man said, walking closer to Liu Dashao.

Liu Dashao backed away while thinking. He realized this old man must be the Taoist who had tampered with Qian Qing’s father’s grave: “You’re so old, yet you still bully the young!”

Though he spoke bravely, Liu Dashao’s mind raced for a plan.

“You’re no ordinary child. The way you use Taoist techniques so skillfully shows you’ve put in serious effort, hehe!” The old man didn’t stop advancing.

Liu Dashao quickly turned and dashed into the house, ran to the back room, opened the window, jumped out, and fled outside.

He didn’t know where to go, but he knew he had to stall for time. When he finally got tired and bent over to catch his breath, he realized he had run all the way to the village entrance.

“Was I really just going to run away like this? How embarrassing!” Hearing a voice from behind, Liu Dashao thought his running had been in vain.

“Hehe, little one, you’ve got some skills!”

The voice from outside the door made Liu Dashao’s heart tighten. Judging by the tone, it was undoubtedly an old man.

He quickly stood up and shouted into the house, “Dad! Get up! There’s a thief in the house!”

Now, he could only turn to his father for help, but after shouting for a while, no one came out.

At that moment, a burst of wild laughter came from outside: “Hahaha, stop yelling! Little one, I’ve cast a spell on the entire village. Even if you shout your lungs out, they won’t wake up!”

As soon as the voice faded, a figure leaped over the door and jumped inside. Liu Dashao marveled at the man’s skill and observed him secretly.

He looked about the same age as Zhang Enpu, wearing a master’s hat and a black robe, with sharp eyes fixed on Liu Dashao.

“Hmph, I never expected that my coffin technique would be seen through by a child. And you just destroyed the ghost I raised. Hmph, you’ve got some talent, kid!”

With that, he walked towards Liu Dashao.

Liu Dashao stepped back, thinking, “So this old man is the one who tampered with Qian Qing’s father’s grave.” He said aloud, “You’re so old, yet you’re bullying a child!”

While saying this, he was quickly thinking of a way out.

“You’re no ordinary child. To use Taoist techniques so skillfully, you must have put in a lot of effort, hehe!” The old man didn’t stop his advance.

Liu Dashao quickly turned and dashed into the house, ran to the back room, opened the window, and jumped out, running as fast as he could.

He didn’t know where to go, but he knew he had to buy some time. Liu Dashao ran until he was exhausted, bending over to catch his breath. He realized he had run all the way to the village entrance.

“Running away like this? How shameful!” Hearing the voice behind him, Liu Dashao thought his escape was in vain.

It seemed he had no choice but to fight. Liu Dashao gritted his teeth, didn’t look back, but crouched down, picked up a stone with his left hand, bit his left middle finger, and quickly drew a talisman on his right palm. He placed the stone on the talisman, formed a hand seal with his left hand, and whispered, “Borrow the strength of Mount Tai, attack the soul, Stone General, strike!” He then threw the stone at the old man.

The old man simply flicked the stone aside with his hand, then smiled and said, “Your Five Elements technique lacks power. Hmph, let me show you some real magic!”

Suddenly, he moved his feet, raised his hand, and sent a gust of wind towards Liu Dashao. Liu Dashao felt a pressure on his face and quickly crossed his hands, chanting a spell to deflect the attack. The gust hit the ground beside him with a loud “bang,” raising a cloud of dust.

Before Liu Dashao could catch his breath, the old man didn’t give him a chance. He made several strange hand seals, stepped back with his right leg, and struck three times.

Liu Dashao closed his eyes to sense the energy and saw three blades flying towards him. He quickly deflected two of them with his previous technique, but the third one he couldn’t block. He had to lie back, feeling a gust of wind sweep over his head. He touched his head and realized his bangs had been cut off.

He thought, “If I hadn’t dodged that, I’d be done for.” Liu Dashao got up and looked at the old man.

The old man seemed stunned and stammered, “Transfer… Transfer technique! Kid, you’re from the Celestial Master Sect!”

Hearing him mention the Celestial Master Sect, Liu Dashao quickly thought and said, “Hmph, that’s my master! I’m just the bait to lure you out, and my master will destroy you! Hmph! Scared now?”

Then, Liu Dashao pretended to call out Zhang Enpu’s name several times, secretly observing the old man’s reaction.

The old man seemed genuinely frightened, taking a few steps back, looking around, and then at Liu Dashao, as if unsure. He said, “Hmph, kid, don’t try to fool me. If my senior brother were really here, would he let me beat you like this?”

Liu Dashao smiled and sat cross-legged on the ground, though he was shocked inside. This old man was Zhang Enpu’s junior brother? What was going on?

Liu Dashao closed his eyes, pretending to meditate, though he was unsure. He could only buy time.

He slightly opened his eyes to see the old man pacing in the distance, no longer advancing.

Suddenly, the old man seemed to make up his mind, muttered something, and threw a long sword towards Liu Dashao. The sword flew straight to his chest. Liu Dashao thought, “This is it!” and closed his eyes, ready to take the hit.

But he only felt a gust of wind. When he opened his eyes, he saw someone standing in front of him, wearing gray clothes, looking familiar but he couldn’t recall who it was.

The person stood with his back to Liu Dashao, facing the old man, and grabbed the sword with a “snap,” breaking it in half.

The old man laughed, “Oh! You’ve summoned a guardian spirit. Then I’ll have to offend!”

Hearing this, Liu Dashao looked at the person in front of him—long hair, gray clothes. He suddenly realized, “Isn’t this the earth deity Zhang Enpu worships? Is the guardian spirit manifesting?”

At that moment, the old man closed his eyes, chanted for a while, and pointed at Liu Dashao. A blue light shot towards him. The guardian spirit in front of Liu Dashao moved, blocking the blue light, then transformed into a long snake and slithered towards the old man.

Seeing the guardian spirit turn into a snake, the old man took out something like a paper cutout, threw it on the ground, and it turned into a large bird, flapping its wings and pecking at the snake. The snake seemed scared, twisted, and disappeared.

The old man laughed, “Hahaha! Now even a deity can’t save you. Prepare to die!”

He shouted, and the large bird flapped towards Liu Dashao. The bird was taller than Liu Dashao. If it pecked him, he’d be done for. He quickly covered his head and crawled back, feeling the bird pecking at his clothes, pinning him down.

Suddenly, a loud roar was heard, like a wild beast.

Liu Dashao looked up and saw a tiger running towards him from the village entrance, roaring as it ran. There was something white on the tiger’s back. Liu Dashao looked closely and realized it was Huang Erye. The large bird seemed frightened and retreated from Liu Dashao.

By then, the tiger had reached Liu Dashao. Huang Erye jumped off the tiger’s back. Liu Dashao picked up Huang Erye and said happily, “Erye, you came to save me! That old monster over there bullied me!” He pointed at the old man.

Huang Erye circled around, and the tiger pounced on the large bird, tearing it apart in a few moves. The bird turned into pieces of paper floating to the ground. The old man suddenly spat blood and stepped back, seemingly injured.

The tiger took the opportunity to pounce on the old man, pinning him down and biting him for a while before stopping. Liu Dashao thought, “He’s either dead or crippled now.”

When the tiger moved aside, Liu Dashao walked over and looked. There was only a hat and a black robe on the ground. The old man was gone.

Liu Dashao was puzzled when he heard the old man’s voice from mid-air, “Kid, today you’re lucky to have the hundred-year-old Huang Daxian protect you. Next time we meet, you won’t be so lucky. Tell Zhang Enpu that Ma Chunyi of the Qingwei Sect was here! Hahahaha!”

After a burst of wild laughter, the voice disappeared.

Liu Dashao sat on the ground, exhausted from the ordeal. He looked at Huang Erye, who was standing and looking at him. Liu Dashao patted its small body and said, “Erye, thank you. If it weren’t for you, I’d have been killed by that old monster!”

Liu Dashao touched Huang Erye’s small head, but it seemed like Huang Erye had something to say. It twisted its body and ran back.

Liu Dashao quickly got up and followed it. It was running towards Zhang Enpu’s house.

At the door, it looked at Liu Dashao, then climbed the wall a few times and jumped into the yard. Liu Dashao couldn’t climb up, so he waited outside.

After a while, Huang Erye came out and ran to Liu Dashao, holding something in its mouth. Liu Dashao saw it was the purple bead he had left on the windowsill.

The sky was getting light, and the purple bead emitted a faint purple light. Huang Erye bit the bead, shook its head, and the bead flew and shattered against the wall.

Liu Dashao said regretfully, “Oh! Erye, what are you doing?”

But it didn’t respond. It rummaged through the fragments for a while, then seemed to find something, picked it up with its small claws, and walked to Liu Dashao.

Liu Dashao reached out and took it. It was a small, slightly transparent white pill. Huang Erye looked at Liu Dashao, who said, “This… Erye, are you telling me to eat this pill?”

Huang Erye circled around and wagged its tail, indicating that Liu Dashao was correct. Liu Dashao hesitated, looked at Huang Erye, then put the pill in his mouth and swallowed it.

The pill melted in his mouth, turning into water, which he swallowed.

After a while, Liu Dashao didn’t notice anything different.

Suddenly, a voice sounded in his ear, “Dashao…”

Liu Dashao looked around, but besides himself and Huang Erye on the ground, there was no one else. Had he misheard?

Just as he was puzzled, the voice sounded again, “Dashao…”

This time, Liu Dashao heard it clearly. It was a young man’s voice, and it seemed to be around him.

He looked around again, but there was no one. Looking down, only Huang Erye was staring at him. Who else could be calling him? Could it be…

“That’s right, it’s me, Dashao, I’m calling you.”

Liu Dashao said in surprise, “Huang Erye… you… you can talk?”

Huang Erye on the ground just looked at him, but its mouth didn’t move. Yet the voice continued.

“It’s not that I can talk, but you can hear me now.”

Liu Dashao was both shocked and delighted, not knowing what to say.

Huang Erye continued, “What you just ate was the Xuanpin Pill. From now on, you can understand the language of all living things. You’ll also master the Qimen arts!”

Liu Dashao asked, puzzled, “What are the Qimen arts?”

Huang Erye twisted its body and said, “We’ll talk about that later. Dashao, do you know who that old Taoist was?”

Liu Dashao thought for a moment and said, “From what he said, he seems to be some kind of junior brother of my master. But why did he try to harm me?”

Huang Erye turned its small body and said, “That old Taoist is a Qingwei Sect sorcerer. He cast a spell on your entire village. If it’s not broken, they’ll never wake up.”

Hearing this, Liu Dashao remembered that during the fight, the old Taoist had mentioned casting a spell on the village, which was why no one woke up no matter how much he shouted.

Liu Dashao asked nervously, “Huang Erye, what should we do? Is there no way to break it?”

Huang Erye said, “All spells can be broken. Don’t worry. Do as I say. There’s still some time before dawn. You need to go to the well at the village entrance before the rooster crows. There’s a thousand-year-old turtle in the well. Shout into the well, ‘Huang Erye is calling you up!’ Shout several times.

If it comes up, tell it that if it doesn’t, you’ll drain the well. It’ll be scared and come up. Once the turtle is out, quickly flip it over so its belly is up. That way, it can’t run away. Then tap its belly shell three times, and it will rain in the village. Once it rains, the villagers will wake up, and the spell will be broken!”

Liu Dashao memorized Huang Erye’s instructions and was about to leave when it told him to go to the small woods after completing the task. Liu Dashao agreed and ran towards the village entrance.

When he reached the well, Liu Dashao didn’t stop to catch his breath. He ran to the well and shouted into it, “Huang Erye is calling you up! Huang Erye is calling you up! Huang Erye is calling you up!”

He shouted three times, but there was no movement. The dark well only echoed his voice.

Seeing that the turtle wasn’t coming up, Liu Dashao threatened, “Huang Erye is calling you, and you dare not come up? Watch as Huang Erye drains your well and leaves you thirsty!”

But after a while, there was still no sign of the turtle. Liu Dashao had an idea and brought a large stone to the well’s edge. He shouted into the well, “You stubborn turtle, Huang Erye is calling you, and you still won’t come up? Huang Erye is casting a spell!”

With that, he pushed the large stone into the well. There was a loud “splash,” and some water splashed up. The stone had quite an impact. Then, a muffled cough came from the well.

An old man’s voice said, “Oh! Erye, have mercy! I’m coming up!”

Liu Dashao was delighted and said, “Hmph! You’d better hurry up!”

Then, there was a splashing sound in the water, as if someone was swimming. Liu Dashao stood by the well, trembling with excitement.

After a while, a small gray head poked out of the well.

Liu Dashao saw it was the turtle’s head. Its gray eyes looked around, and most of its body crawled out of the well. Its shell was huge, like a large basin, but it didn’t seem heavy because it moved quickly. It looked around with its gray eyes and asked Liu Dashao, “Where’s Huang Erye?”

Liu Dashao said, “Huang Erye sent me to check on you.”

With that, he jumped beside the turtle.

The turtle seemed to realize it had been tricked and tried to crawl back, but Liu Dashao grabbed it firmly. The turtle’s strength was immense, and it almost broke free, but Liu Dashao managed to flip it over.

The turtle lay on its back, unable to move, and pleaded, “Oh! Little immortal, let me go! I’ve done nothing to you!”

Liu Dashao said to the turtle, “Old turtle, I’m sorry, but I need to use your belly.”

With that, he tapped the turtle’s belly shell three times. As soon as he finished, he felt something fall from the sky onto his face. He touched it—it was water. It was really raining.

Liu Dashao flipped the turtle back, thanked it, and ran towards the village.

Behind him, the old turtle said, “If you had just said you wanted rain, you wouldn’t have scared me so much!”

Liu Dashao ran towards the village, welcoming the first spring rain, which he had summoned. He didn’t mind getting soaked. He was happy—not only because he had saved the villagers but also because he could now understand animal speech after eating the Xuanpin Pill.

When Liu Dashao reached the village, the rooster crowed. He didn’t go home but ran straight to the small woods, as Huang Erye had told him to go there after summoning the rain.

When he reached the woods, Liu Dashao ran to the tree hollow but didn’t see Huang Erye. He shouted, “Huang Erye! Huang Erye! Come out! Dashao is here!”

After shouting for a while, he heard Huang Erye say, “You’re quick. Did you get the rain? Did you trouble the old turtle?”

Liu Dashao looked around and saw Huang Erye sitting on a large rock, smoking a pipe.

“Of course not! I thanked it after summoning the rain, and it went back into the well,” Liu Dashao replied.

Huang Erye jumped down from the rock and walked to Liu Dashao. “Dashao, do you know why I asked you to come here?”

Liu Dashao said, puzzled, “No, I don’t.”

Huang Erye circled around and said, “I am a nine-hundred-year-old Huang Daxian. That day, you saved my life. This was destined. What I’ve done is not only to thank you for saving me but also to tell you what I know.”

Huang Erye paused, then continued, “When I was two hundred years old, I saw two Taoists fighting in a mass grave. After watching for a while, I realized they were fighting over a book and a bead. That bead was the Xuanpin Pill you ate.”

Liu Dashao was surprised and asked, “What… what was the book?”

Huang Erye looked at him and said, “The art of emperors—Qimen Dunjia!”

“Hehe, little one, you’ve got some skills!”

The voice from outside the door made Liu Dashao’s heart tighten. Judging by the tone, it was undoubtedly an old man.

He quickly stood up and shouted into the house, “Dad! Get up! There’s a thief in the house!”

Now, he could only turn to his father for help, but after shouting for a while, no one came out.

At that moment, a burst of wild laughter came from outside, “Hahaha, stop yelling! Little one, I’ve cast a spell on the entire village. Even if you shout your lungs out, they won’t wake up!”

As soon as the voice faded, a figure leaped over the door and into the room. Liu Dashao marveled at the man’s skill and observed him closely.

The man looked about the same age as Zhang Enpu, wearing a master’s hat and a black robe, with sharp eyes fixed on Liu Dashao.

“Hmph, I never expected my coffin technique to be seen through by a child. And you just destroyed the ghost I raised. Hmph, you’ve got some talent, kid!”

With that, he began to approach Liu Dashao.

Liu Dashao stepped back, thinking to himself that this old man must be the one who tampered with Qian Qing’s father’s grave. “You’re an old man, yet you’re bullying a child!”

Though he spoke boldly, his mind was racing for a solution.

“You’re no ordinary child. To use Taoist techniques so skillfully, you must have put in a lot of effort, hehe!” The old man didn’t stop his advance.

Liu Dashao quickly turned and dashed into the house, running to the back room, opening the window, and jumping out to escape.

He didn’t know where to go, only that he needed to buy time. Exhausted, he bent over to catch his breath, realizing he had run all the way to the edge of the village.

“Running away? How shameful!” Hearing the voice behind him, Liu Dashao knew his escape was in vain.

It seemed he had no choice but to fight. Gritting his teeth, he didn’t turn around but instead crouched down, picked up a stone with his left hand, bit his left middle finger, and quickly drew a talisman on his right palm. Placing the stone on the talisman, he formed a hand seal with his left hand and muttered, “Borrow the strength of Mount Tai, attack the essence, dispel the spirit, Stone General, strike!” He then hurled the stone at the old man.

The old man simply flicked the stone aside with his hand and smiled, saying, “Your Five Elements technique lacks power. Hmph, let this humble Taoist match your skills!”

Suddenly, his footwork shifted, and with a wave of his hand, a gust of wind struck Liu Dashao. Feeling the pressure on his face, Liu Dashao quickly crossed his hands and recited an incantation, deflecting the attack to the side. A loud “bang” erupted as dust was kicked up from the ground.

Before Liu Dashao could catch his breath, the old man made several strange hand seals, stepped back with his right leg, and unleashed three more palm strikes.

Liu Dashao closed his eyes to sense the energy and saw three blades flying toward him. He quickly deflected two of them with his previous technique, but the third one he couldn’t block. He had to lie back, feeling a gust of wind sweep over his head. When he touched his head, he realized the blade had cut off the hair on his forehead.

He thought to himself that if he hadn’t dodged, he would have been finished. He got up and looked at the old man again.

The old man seemed stunned and stammered, “Transfer… transfer technique! Kid, you’re from the Celestial Master Sect!”

Hearing him mention the Celestial Master Sect, Liu Dashao’s mind raced, and he said, “Hmph, that’s my master! I’m just the bait to lure you out, and then my master will destroy you! Hmph! Scared now?”

He then pretended to call out Zhang Enpu’s name several times, secretly observing the old man’s reaction.

The old man indeed seemed frightened, taking a few steps back. He looked around, then at Liu Dashao, as if unsure, and said, “Hmph, kid, don’t try to fool me. If my senior brother were really here, would he let me beat you like this?”

Liu Dashao smiled and sat up, crossing his legs on the ground, though he was inwardly shocked. This old man was Zhang Enpu’s junior brother? What was going on?

Liu Dashao closed his eyes and pretended to meditate, though he was far from calm. He could only buy time.

He slightly opened his eyes to look at the old man, who was indeed no longer approaching but pacing in the distance.

Suddenly, the old man seemed to make up his mind, muttering something and then throwing a long sword toward Liu Dashao. The sword flew straight to his chest, and Liu Dashao thought, “This is it!” He closed his eyes, ready to take the blow.

But he only felt a gust of wind. When he opened his eyes, he saw someone standing in front of him, dressed in gray, looking familiar but he couldn’t place who it was.

The person stood with his back to Liu Dashao, facing the old man, and grabbed the sword, snapping it in half with a “crack.”

The old man laughed and said, “Oh! So you’ve summoned a guardian spirit. Then this humble Taoist must apologize!”

Hearing this, Liu Dashao took a closer look at the person in front of him—long hair, gray clothes. He suddenly realized—this was the earth deity that Zhang Enpu worshipped!

Was this the guardian spirit manifesting?

At that moment, the old man closed his eyes, chanted something, and pointed his hands toward Liu Dashao. A blue light shot out, but the guardian spirit in front of Liu Dashao moved, blocking the light. Then it transformed into a long snake and slithered toward the old man.

Seeing the guardian spirit turn into a snake, the old man pulled out something like a paper cutout and threw it to the ground. The paper suddenly turned into a large bird, flapping its wings and swooping down to peck at the snake. The snake seemed frightened, twisted around, and disappeared.

The old man laughed heartily, “Hahaha! Now even the gods can’t save you. Prepare to die!”

With a roar, the large bird flapped its wings and lunged at Liu Dashao. The bird was taller than Liu Dashao, and if it pecked him, he’d be done for. He quickly covered his head and crawled backward, feeling the bird pecking at his clothes, pinning him down.

Suddenly, a loud roar echoed, like that of a wild beast.

Liu Dashao looked up and saw a tiger running toward him from the edge of the village, roaring as it came. There was something white on the tiger’s back. Liu Dashao looked closer and realized it was Huang Erye. The large bird seemed to fear the tiger and retreated from Liu Dashao.

By then, the tiger had reached Liu Dashao. Huang Erye jumped off the tiger’s back, and Liu Dashao picked him up, saying happily, “Erye, you’ve come to save me! That old monster over there was bullying me!” He pointed at the old man.

Huang Erye spun around in place, and the tiger pounced on the large bird, tearing it apart in a few moves. The bird turned into pieces of paper that fluttered to the ground. The old man suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and staggered back, seemingly injured.

The tiger took advantage of the moment and pounced on the old man, pinning him to the ground and biting him fiercely. After a while, it finally stopped. Liu Dashao thought to himself that the old man would either be dead or crippled.

When the tiger moved aside, Liu Dashao walked over and looked down. All that remained on the ground was a hat and a black robe. The old man had vanished.

Liu Dashao was puzzled when he heard the old man’s voice from mid-air, “Kid, today you’re lucky to have the hundred-year-old Huang Daxian protecting you. Next time we meet, you won’t be so fortunate. Tell Zhang Enpu that Ma Chunyi of the Qingwei Sect has been here! Hahahaha!”

After a burst of wild laughter, the voice disappeared.

Liu Dashao sat down on the ground, exhausted from the ordeal. He looked at Huang Erye, who was standing and staring at him. Liu Dashao patted its small body and said, “Erye, thank you. If it weren’t for you, I’d have been killed by that old monster!”

As Liu Dashao stroked Huang Erye’s little head, it seemed like it had something to say. It twisted its body and ran off.

Liu Dashao quickly got up and followed it. It was heading toward Zhang Enpu’s house.

At the door, it looked at Liu Dashao, then climbed the wall a few times and jumped into the yard. Liu Dashao couldn’t climb up, so he waited outside.

After a while, Huang Erye crawled out and ran up to Liu Dashao, holding something in its mouth. Liu Dashao saw it was the purple bead he had left on the windowsill.

The sky was beginning to lighten, and the purple bead emitted a faint glow. Huang Erye bit the bead, flicked its head, and the bead flew into the wall, shattering.

Liu Dashao exclaimed, “Ah! What are you doing, Erye?”

But it ignored him, rummaging through the fragments for a while, then picked something up with its tiny claws and brought it to Liu Dashao.

Liu Dashao reached out and took it. It was a small, slightly transparent white pill. Huang Erye looked at Liu Dashao, who said, “This… Erye, are you telling me to eat this pill?”

Huang Erye spun around in place and wagged its tail, confirming Liu Dashao’s guess. Liu Dashao hesitated for a moment, then looked at Huang Erye again and put the pill in his mouth, swallowing it.

The pill seemed to dissolve instantly, turning into water that he swallowed.

After a while, Liu Dashao didn’t notice anything different.

Suddenly, a voice sounded in his ear, “Dashao…”

Liu Dashao looked around, but besides himself and Huang Erye on the ground, there was no one else. Had he misheard?

Just as he was puzzled, the voice came again, “Dashao…”

This time, Liu Dashao heard it clearly—a young man’s voice, and it seemed to be all around him.

He looked around again, but there was no one. Looking down, only Huang Erye was staring at him. Who else could be calling him? Could it be…

“That’s right, it’s me, Dashao. I’m calling you.”

Liu Dashao said in surprise, “Huang Erye… you… you can talk?”

Huang Erye on the ground just looked at him, its mouth unmoving, but the voice continued.

“It’s not that I can talk, but you can now hear me.”

Liu Dashao was both shocked and delighted, not knowing what to say.

Huang Erye continued, “What you just ate was the Xuanpin Pill. From now on, you’ll be able to understand the language of all living things. And you’ll master the art of Qimen!”

Liu Dashao asked in confusion, “What’s Qimen?”

Huang Erye twisted its body and said, “We’ll talk about that later. Dashao, do you know who that old Taoist was?”

Liu Dashao thought for a moment and said, “From what he said, he seemed to be some kind of junior brother of my master. But why did he want to harm me?”

Huang Erye turned its small body and said, “That old Taoist is a sorcerer from the Qingwei Sect. He cast a spell on your entire village. If it’s not broken, they’ll never wake up.”

Hearing this, Liu Dashao remembered that during the fight, the old Taoist had mentioned casting a spell on the village, which was why no one woke up no matter how much he shouted.

Liu Dashao asked nervously, “Huang Erye, what should we do? Is there no way to break it?”

Huang Erye said, “All spells can be broken. Don’t worry. Do as I say. There’s still some time before dawn. You need to go to the well at the edge of the village before the rooster crows. There’s a thousand-year-old turtle in the well. Stand by the well and shout, ‘Huang Erye is calling you up!’ Shout several times.

If it comes up, tell it that if it doesn’t, you’ll drain the well. It’ll be scared and climb up. Once it’s out, quickly flip it over so its belly is facing up. That way, it can’t escape. Then tap its belly shell three times, and a small rain will fall in the village. Once it rains, the villagers will wake up, and the spell will be broken!”

Liu Dashao memorized Huang Erye’s instructions and was about to leave when it told him to go to the small woods after completing the task. Liu Dashao agreed and ran toward the edge of the village.

When he reached the well, he didn’t stop to catch his breath but immediately ran to the edge and shouted into the well, “Huang Erye is calling you up! Huang Erye is calling you up! Huang Erye is calling you up!”

He shouted three times, but there was no response. The dark well only echoed his voice.

Seeing that the thousand-year-old turtle wasn’t coming up, Liu Dashao threatened, “Huang Erye is calling you, and you dare not come up? Watch as Huang Erye drains your well and leaves you thirsty!”

But after a while, there was still no sign of the turtle, not even a sound. Liu Dashao had an idea and picked up a large stone from nearby, placing it on the edge of the well. He shouted into the well, “You stubborn turtle! Huang Erye is calling you, and you still won’t come up? Huang Erye is casting a spell!”

With that, he pushed the large stone into the well. There was a loud “splash,” and water from the well splashed up, showing the force of the stone. Then, a muffled cough came from the well.

An old man’s voice followed, “Oh! Erye, have mercy! I’m coming up!”

Liu Dashao felt a surge of joy and quickly said, “Hmph! You’ve finally come to your senses. Hurry up!”

The sound of splashing water filled the well, as if someone were swimming. Liu Dashao stood by the well, trembling with excitement.

After a while, a small, gray head poked out of the well.

Liu Dashao saw it was the head of the thousand-year-old turtle, its gray eyes looking around. Most of its body climbed out of the well. Its shell was huge, like a large basin, but it didn’t seem heavy because it moved quickly. It looked around with its gray eyes and asked Liu Dashao, “Where’s Huang Erye?”

Liu Dashao said, “Huang Erye sent me to check on you.”

With that, he jumped and landed beside the turtle.

The turtle seemed to realize it had been tricked and tried to crawl back, but Liu Dashao grabbed it firmly. The turtle’s strength was immense, almost breaking free, but Liu Dashao managed to flip it over.

Lying on its back, the turtle couldn’t move and pleaded, “Oh! Little immortal, let me go! I’ve done nothing to you!”

Liu Dashao said to the turtle, “Old turtle, I’m sorry, but I need to use your belly for a moment.”

With that, he tapped the turtle’s belly shell three times. As soon as he finished, he felt something fall from the sky onto his face. He touched it—it was water. It was really raining.

Liu Dashao flipped the turtle back over, thanked it, and ran toward the village.

Behind him, the old turtle said, “If you’d just said you wanted rain, you wouldn’t have scared me so much!”

Liu Dashao ran through the village, welcoming the first spring rain—a rain he had summoned. He didn’t mind getting soaked; he was just happy. Happy that he could wake up the villagers, and happy that after eating the Xuanpin Pill, he could now understand the language of animals.

When he reached the village, the rooster’s crow sounded. He didn’t go home but ran straight to the small woods because Huang Erye had told him to go there after summoning the rain.

When he arrived at the woods, he ran to the tree hollow, but Huang Erye wasn’t there. Liu Dashao shouted, “Huang Erye! Huang Erye! Come out! Dashao is here!”

After shouting for a while, he heard Huang Erye’s voice, “You’re quick. Did you summon the rain? Did you give the old turtle a hard time?”

Liu Dashao looked around and saw Huang Erye sitting on a large rock, smoking a pipe.

“Of course not. I thanked it after summoning the rain, and it went back into the well,” Liu Dashao replied.

Huang Erye jumped down from the rock and walked up to Liu Dashao, “Dashao, do you know why I asked you to come here?”

Liu Dashao said in confusion, “No, I don’t.”

Huang Erye spun around in place and said, “I’m a nine-hundred-year-old Huang Daxian. That day, you saved my life. This was destined to happen. What I’ve done isn’t just to thank you for saving me, but also to share what I know with you!”

Huang Erye paused, then continued, “When I was two hundred years into my cultivation, I saw two Taoists fighting in a mass grave. After watching for a while, I realized they were fighting over a book and a bead. That bead was the Xuanpin Pill you just ate.”

Liu Dashao was surprised and asked, “What… what was the book?”

Huang Erye looked at Liu Dashao and said, “The Art of the Emperor—Qimen Dunjia!”

Suddenly, the old man moved his feet and swung his hand, sending a powerful palm strike toward Liu Dashao. Liu Dashao felt a strong pressure on his face and quickly crossed his hands, reciting an incantation, deflecting the palm strike sideways. A loud “bang” erupted from the ground beside him, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Before Liu Dashao could catch his breath from that strike, the old man didn’t give him any respite. He suddenly made several strange hand signs, stepped back with his right leg, and launched three palm strikes in succession.

Liu Dashao closed his eyes and focused his energy. He saw three blades flying toward him. He quickly moved left and right, using the same technique to deflect two of the blade energies. For the third one, he had no hand free to block, so he quickly lay backward. He felt a gust of wind sweep over his head. He touched his head and found that his bangs had been cut off.

He thought to himself that if he hadn’t dodged in time, he would have been finished right there. Liu Dashao stood up and looked at the old man again.

To his surprise, the old man seemed a bit stunned and stammered, “Transfer… soul… technique. Little brat! You’re from the Celestial Master Sect!”

When Liu Dashao heard him mention the Celestial Master Sect, he quickly thought and replied, “Hmph! That’s my master! I’m just bait to lure you out, and then my master will eliminate you! Hmph! Scared, aren’t you!”

Then Liu Dashao loudly called Zhang Enpu’s name several times, secretly watching the old man’s reaction.

Indeed, the old man seemed genuinely frightened, taking a few steps back, looking around, and then looking at Liu Dashao, as if unsure what to do. He said, “Hmph, little brat, don’t try to trick me. If my senior brother were really here, would he let you get beaten up by me like this?”

Liu Dashao smiled and sat cross-legged on the ground, pretending to be calm while secretly panicking inside. He could only stall for time.

Liu Dashao slightly opened his eyes and looked at the old man. Sure enough, the old man didn’t advance further but paced back and forth at a distance.

Suddenly, the old man seemed to make a decision. Muttering something, he casually threw something toward Liu Dashao. A long sword flew straight at Liu Dashao’s chest. Liu Dashao inwardly cried “I’m done!” and closed his eyes, preparing to take the blow.

But he only felt a gust of wind, and when he opened his eyes, there stood a person in gray robes, very familiar, though he couldn’t immediately recall who it was.

The person stood with their back to Liu Dashao, facing the old man. With one hand, they grabbed the sword and with a “crack,” broke it in half.

The old man laughed, “Oh! You’ve summoned a household guardian deity. Then I’ll have to take offense!”

Hearing the old man’s words, Liu Dashao looked at the person again. Long hair, gray robes. Liu Dashao suddenly realized—it was the earth deity enshrined by Zhang Enpu!

Could it be the household guardian deity had manifested?

Suddenly, the old man tightly closed his eyes, chanting for a while, then pointed both hands toward Liu Dashao. A blue beam shot forth. The household guardian deity in front of Liu Dashao moved slightly and blocked the beam. Then it crouched down, transforming into a long, large snake crawling toward the old man.

Seeing the guardian deity turn into a snake, the old man took out something resembling paper cutouts from his robe. He threw the paper cutout onto the ground, and it transformed into a large bird, flapping its big wings, rushing to peck at the snake transformed from the guardian deity. However, the snake seemed frightened, turned around, and vanished.

“Hehe, little one, you’ve got some skills!”

The voice from outside the door made Liu Dashao’s heart tighten. Judging by the tone, it was undoubtedly an old man.

He quickly stood up and shouted into the house, “Dad! Get up! There’s a thief in the house!”

Now, he could only turn to his father for help, but after shouting for a while, no one came out.

At that moment, a burst of wild laughter came from outside, “Hahaha, stop yelling! Little one, I’ve cast a spell on the entire village. Even if you shout your throat hoarse, they won’t wake up!”

As soon as the voice faded, a figure leaped over the door and jumped into the house. Liu Dashao marveled at the person’s skill and secretly observed him.

He looked about the same age as Zhang Enpu, wearing a master’s hat and a set of black robes, with sharp eyes fixed on Liu Dashao.

“Hmph, I never expected that my Yin Coffin technique would be seen through by a child. And you just destroyed the ghost I raised. Hmph, you’ve got some talent, kid!”

With that, he walked towards Liu Dashao.

Liu Dashao retreated while thinking, “So this old man is the one who tampered with Qian Qing’s father’s grave. You’re so old, yet you still bully the young!”

He said this out loud, but his mind was racing for a solution.

“You’re no ordinary child. To use Taoist techniques so skillfully, you must have put in a lot of effort, hehe!” The old man didn’t stop his advance.

Liu Dashao quickly turned and ran into the house, opened the back window, jumped out, and fled.

He didn’t know where to go, only that he needed to buy some time. Liu Dashao ran until he was exhausted, bending over to catch his breath. He realized he had reached the edge of the village.

“Running away like this? How shameful!” Liu Dashao heard the voice behind him and thought his escape was in vain.

It seemed he had no choice but to fight. Liu Dashao gritted his teeth, didn’t look back, but crouched down, picked up a stone with his left hand, bit his left middle finger, quickly drew a talisman on his right palm, placed the stone on the talisman, made a hand gesture with his left hand, and whispered, “Borrow the strength of Mount Tai, attack the essence and dispel the spirit, Stone General, strike!” He then threw the stone at the old man.

The old man simply brushed the stone aside with his hand, then smiled and said, “Your Five Elements technique still lacks power. Hmph, let this poor Taoist match your skills!”

Suddenly, he moved his feet, raised his hand, and sent a gust of wind towards Liu Dashao. Liu Dashao felt a pressure on his face, quickly crossed his hands, recited a spell, and deflected the gust to the side. A loud “bang” was heard as the ground beside him was struck, raising a cloud of dust.

Just as he deflected the attack, the old man didn’t give Liu Dashao a chance to catch his breath. He made several strange hand gestures, stepped back with his right leg, and struck three times in a row.

Liu Dashao closed his eyes to sense the energy. He saw three blades flying towards him. He quickly deflected two of them with his previous technique, but had no hands left to block the third. He had to lie back, feeling a gust of wind sweep over his head. He touched his head and found that the hair on his forehead had been cut off.

He thought to himself, “If I hadn’t dodged that, I would have been done for.” Liu Dashao got up and looked at the old man again.

The old man seemed stunned and stammered, “Transfer… transfer technique! Kid, you’re from the Celestial Master Sect!”

Liu Dashao, hearing him mention the Celestial Master Sect, quickly thought and said, “Hmph, that’s my master! I’m just the bait to lure you out, and then my master will destroy you. Hmph! Scared now?”

Then Liu Dashao pretended to call out Zhang Enpu’s name several times, secretly observing the old man’s reaction.

The old man indeed seemed a bit scared, taking a few steps back, looking around, then at Liu Dashao, as if unsure. He said, “Hmph, kid, don’t try to fool me. If my senior brother were really here, would he let me beat you like this?”

Liu Dashao smiled and sat up, crossing his legs on the ground, but he was extremely shocked inside. “This old man is Zhang Enpu’s junior brother? What’s going on?”

Liu Dashao closed his eyes to meditate, pretending to be calm, but he was actually very uncertain. He could only buy some time.

Liu Dashao slightly opened his eyes to look at the old man. Sure enough, the old man didn’t come forward but paced in the distance.

Then, the old man seemed to make up his mind, muttered something, and casually threw something towards Liu Dashao. A long sword flew towards Liu Dashao, aimed directly at his chest. Liu Dashao thought, “This is it!” and closed his eyes, preparing to take the hit.

But he only felt a gust of wind sweep past him. When he opened his eyes, he saw someone standing in front of him, wearing gray clothes, very familiar, but he couldn’t remember who it was for the moment.

The person stood with his back to Liu Dashao, facing the old man, and grabbed the sword with a “crack,” breaking it in half.

The old man laughed and said, “Oh! So you’ve summoned a guardian spirit. This poor Taoist will have to offend!”

Hearing the old man’s words, Liu Dashao looked at the person in front of him again. Long hair, gray clothes. Liu Dashao was shocked. Wasn’t this the earth deity that Zhang Enpu worshipped?

Was this the guardian spirit manifesting?

At that moment, the old man suddenly closed his eyes, chanted for a while, and pointed his hands towards Liu Dashao. A blue light shot over. The guardian spirit in front of Liu Dashao moved, blocked the blue light, then crouched down and turned into a long snake, crawling towards the old man.

Seeing the guardian spirit turn into a snake and crawl towards him, the old man took out something like a paper cutout from his body. He threw the paper cutout on the ground, and it suddenly turned into a large bird, flapping its wings and trying to peck at the snake. The snake seemed scared, twisted around, and disappeared.

The old man laughed heartily, “Hahaha! Now even the gods can’t save you. Prepare to die!”

The old man shouted, and the big bird flapped its wings and lunged at Liu Dashao. The bird was taller than Liu Dashao. If it pecked him, he would be done for. He quickly covered his head with his hands and crawled back, feeling the bird pecking at his clothes. Liu Dashao was pinned down and couldn’t move.

Then, he heard a loud roar, as if some beast was howling.

Liu Dashao looked up and saw a tiger running towards him from the edge of the village, roaring as it ran. There was something white on the tiger’s back. Liu Dashao looked closely and saw that it was Huang Erye. The big bird seemed scared and retreated from Liu Dashao.

By then, the tiger had reached Liu Dashao. Huang Erye jumped off the tiger’s back. Liu Dashao picked up Huang Erye and said happily, “Erye, you came to save me! I was bullied by that old monster over there!” He pointed at the old man.

Huang Erye turned around in place, and the tiger pounced on the big bird, tearing it apart in a few moves. The big bird turned into pieces of paper and floated to the ground. The old man suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and staggered back as if injured.

The tiger took advantage of the situation, pounced on the old man, and started biting him. After a while, it stopped. Liu Dashao thought, “Now he’s either dead or crippled.”

When the tiger moved aside, Liu Dashao walked over and looked down. There was only a hat and a black robe on the ground. The old man was nowhere to be seen.

Liu Dashao was puzzled when he heard the old man’s voice from mid-air, “Kid, today you were lucky to have the hundred-year-old Huang Daxian protect you. Next time we meet, you won’t be so lucky. Tell Zhang Enpu that Ma Chunyi of the Qingwei Sect has been here! Hahahaha!”

After a burst of wild laughter, the voice disappeared.

Liu Dashao sat down on the ground, exhausted from all the commotion. He looked at Huang Erye, who was standing and looking at him. Liu Dashao patted its little body and said, “Erye, thank you. If it weren’t for you, I would have been killed by that old monster!”

Liu Dashao stroked Huang Erye’s little head, but it seemed like Huang Erye had something to say. It twisted its body and ran back.

Liu Dashao quickly got up and followed it. It was heading towards Zhang Enpu’s house.

At the door, it looked at Liu Dashao, then climbed the wall a few times and jumped into the yard. Liu Dashao couldn’t climb up, so he had to wait outside.

After a while, Huang Erye climbed out and ran to Liu Dashao, holding something in its mouth. Liu Dashao saw that it was the purple bead he had left on the windowsill.

The sky was just beginning to light up, and the purple bead emitted a faint purple light. Huang Erye bit the bead, flicked its head, and the bead “whooshed” and shattered against the wall.

Liu Dashao exclaimed, “Ah! Erye, what are you doing?”

But Huang Erye ignored him and rummaged through the fragments for a while. It seemed to find something, picked it up with its two little paws, and walked over to Liu Dashao.

Liu Dashao reached out and took it. It was a small, slightly transparent white pill. Huang Erye looked at Liu Dashao, who said, “This… Erye, are you telling me to eat this pill?”

Huang Erye turned around in place and wagged its tail, indicating that Liu Dashao was correct. Liu Dashao hesitated for a moment, looked at Huang Erye, then put the pill in his mouth and swallowed it.

As soon as the pill entered his mouth, it seemed to dissolve into water, which Liu Dashao swallowed.

After a while, Liu Dashao didn’t notice anything different.

Then, a voice suddenly sounded in his ear, “Dashao…”

Liu Dashao looked around, but apart from himself and Huang Erye on the ground, there was no one else. Had he misheard?

Just as Liu Dashao was puzzled, the voice sounded again, “Dashao…”

This time, Liu Dashao heard it clearly. It was a young man’s voice, and it seemed to be coming from around him.

Liu Dashao looked around again, but there was no one. He looked down, and only Huang Erye was staring at him. Who else could be calling him? Could it be…

“That’s right, it’s me, Dashao. I’m calling you.”

Liu Dashao said in surprise, “Huang Erye… you… you can talk?”

Huang Erye on the ground just looked at him without moving its mouth, but the voice sounded again.

“It’s not that I can talk, but you can hear me now.”

Liu Dashao was both shocked and delighted, not knowing what to say.

Huang Erye continued, “What you just ate was the Xuanpin Pill. From now on, you can understand the language of all living things. You will also master the art of Qimen!”

Liu Dashao asked in confusion, “What is Qimen?”

Huang Erye twisted its body and said, “We’ll talk about that later. Dashao, do you know who that old Taoist was?”

Liu Dashao thought for a moment and said, “From what the old monster said, he seems to be some kind of junior brother of my master. But why did he want to harm me?”

Huang Erye turned its little body and said, “That old Taoist is a practitioner of the Qingwei Sect. He cast a spell on your entire village. If it’s not broken, they will never wake up.”

Hearing this, Liu Dashao remembered that during the fight with the old monster, he had mentioned casting a spell on the whole village, which was why no one woke up no matter how much he shouted.

Liu Dashao asked nervously, “Huang Erye, what should we do? Is there no way to break the spell?”

Huang Erye said, “All spells can be broken. Don’t worry. Do as I say. There’s still some time before dawn. You need to go to the well at the edge of the village before the rooster crows. There’s a thousand-year-old turtle in the well. Stand by the well and shout, ‘Huang Erye is calling you up!’ Shout several times.

If it comes up, tell it that if it doesn’t come up, you’ll drain the well. It will be scared and come up. Once the turtle is out, quickly flip it over so its belly is facing up. That way, it can’t run away. Then, tap its belly shell three times, and a small rain will fall in the village. As soon as the rain falls, the villagers will wake up, and the spell will be broken!”

Liu Dashao memorized Huang Erye’s instructions and was about to leave when it told him to go to the small forest after completing the task. Liu Dashao agreed and ran towards the edge of the village.

When he reached the well, Liu Dashao didn’t even stop to catch his breath. He ran to the well and shouted inside, “Huang Erye is calling you up! Huang Erye is calling you up! Huang Erye is calling you up!”

Liu Dashao shouted three times, but there was no movement. The dark well only echoed his voice.

Seeing that the thousand-year-old turtle really wasn’t coming up, Liu Dashao threatened, “Huang Erye is calling you, and you dare not come up? Watch as Huang Erye drains your well and leaves you to die of thirst!”

But after a while, there was still no sign of the turtle, not even a sound. Liu Dashao had an idea and moved a large stone to the edge of the well. He shouted into the well, “You stubborn turtle, Huang Erye is calling you, and you still won’t come up? Huang Erye is casting a spell!”

With that, he pushed the large stone into the well. There was a loud “splash,” and some water splashed up. The stone must have had quite an impact. Then, a muffled cough came from the well.

Then, an old man’s voice said, “Oh! Erye, have mercy! I’m coming up!”

Liu Dashao was delighted and quickly said, “Hmph! You finally understand. Hurry up and come out!”

Then, there was a splashing sound in the water, as if someone was swimming. Liu Dashao stood by the well, trembling with excitement.

After a while, a small gray head poked out of the well.

Liu Dashao saw that it was the head of the thousand-year-old turtle. Its gray eyes looked out of the well, and most of its body climbed out. Its shell was huge, like a large basin, but it didn’t seem heavy at all because it moved forward quite quickly. It looked around with its gray eyes and asked Liu Dashao, “Where’s Huang Erye?”

Liu Dashao said, “Huang Erye sent me to check on you.”

With that, he jumped and landed beside the turtle.

The turtle seemed to realize it had been tricked and tried to crawl back, but Liu Dashao had already grabbed it firmly. The turtle’s strength was immense, and it almost broke free, but Liu Dashao managed to flip it over.

The turtle lay on the ground, unable to move, and begged Liu Dashao, “Oh! Little immortal, let me go! Oh! I have no grudge against you!”

Liu Dashao said to the turtle, “Old turtle, I apologize, but I need to use your belly.”

With that, he tapped the turtle’s belly shell three times. As soon as he finished, he felt something fall from the sky and land on his face. He touched it and found it was water. It was really raining.

Liu Dashao flipped the turtle back over, thanked it, and quickly ran back to the village.

Behind him, the old turtle said, “If you had just said you wanted rain, you wouldn’t have scared me so much!”

Liu Dashao ran towards the village, welcoming the first spring rain, which he had summoned himself. He didn’t mind that the rain soaked him completely. He was just happy—happy that he could wake up the villagers and happy that after eating the Xuanpin Pill, he could understand the language of animals.

When Liu Dashao reached the village, the rooster’s crow sounded. He didn’t go home but ran straight to the small forest because Huang Erye had told him to go there after summoning the rain.

When he reached the small forest, Liu Dashao ran to the tree hollow, but Huang Erye wasn’t there. Liu Dashao shouted, “Huang Erye! Huang Erye! Come out! Dashao is here!”

After shouting for a while, he heard Huang Erye say, “You’re quick. Did you get the rain? Did you trouble the thousand-year-old turtle?”

Liu Dashao looked around and saw Huang Erye sitting on a large rock, smoking a pipe.

“Of course not. I thanked it after summoning the rain, and it went back into the well,” Liu Dashao replied.

Huang Erye jumped down from the rock and walked over to Liu Dashao, “Dashao, do you know why I asked you to come here?”

Liu Dashao said in confusion, “No, I don’t.”

Huang Erye turned around in place and said, “I am a nine-hundred-year-old Huang Daxian. That day, you saved my life. This was our destined fate. What I’ve done is not just to thank you for saving my life but also to tell you what I know!”

Huang Erye paused and continued, “When I was two hundred years old, I saw two Taoists fighting in a mass grave. After watching for a while, I realized they were fighting over a book and a bead. That bead is the Xuanpin Pill you just ate.”

Liu Dashao was surprised and asked, “What… what was the book?”

Huang Erye looked at Liu Dashao and said, “The art of emperors, Qimen Dunjia!”

With a loud roar, the old man commanded the bird to attack Liu Dashao. The bird was even taller than Liu Dashao. If it pecked him, he’d be finished. He quickly covered his head with his hands and crawled backward, feeling the bird pecking at his clothes. Liu Dashao was pinned down, unable to move.

At that moment, a loud roar echoed, like a wild beast’s cry.

Liu Dashao looked up and saw a tiger running toward him from the village entrance, roaring as it ran. There was a white figure on the tiger’s back. Liu Dashao looked closely and recognized it as Huang Er Ye. The bird on Liu Dashao seemed to fear the tiger and retreated.

The tiger had already reached Liu Dashao when Huang Er Ye jumped off its back. Liu Dashao hugged Huang Er Ye joyfully, saying, “Er Ye, you’ve come to save Dashao! Dashao was bullied by a bad guy—the old monster over there!” He pointed at the old man.

Huang Er Ye circled on the spot, and the tiger pounced on the bird, tearing it apart in a few moves. The bird turned into several pieces of paper floating on the ground. At that moment, the old man suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, staggered backward, and seemed injured.

Then the tiger pounced again, knocking the old man to the ground and biting him repeatedly. After a while, it stopped. Liu Dashao thought to himself that the old man must be either dead or severely injured.

When the tiger moved aside, Liu Dashao walked over and looked down. Only a hat and a black robe remained on the ground—the old man had vanished.

As Liu Dashao was puzzled, a voice suddenly came from midair, “Little brat, today you were fortunate to have the hundred-year-old Huang Daxian protecting you. But next time you won’t be so lucky. Tell Zhang Enpu that Ma Chunyi of the Qingwei Sect has paid a visit! Hahahahaha!”

“Hehe, little one, you’ve got some skills!”

The voice from outside the door made Liu Dashao’s heart tighten. Judging by the tone, it was undoubtedly an old man.

He quickly stood up and shouted into the house, “Dad! Get up! There’s a thief in the house!”

Now, he could only turn to his father for help, but after shouting for a while, no one came out.

At that moment, a burst of wild laughter came from outside, “Hahaha, stop yelling! Little one, I’ve cast a nightmare spell on the entire village. Even if you scream your lungs out, they won’t wake up!”

As soon as the voice faded, a figure leaped over the door and into the room. Liu Dashao marveled at the man’s skill and observed him carefully.

The man looked about the same age as Zhang Enpu, wearing a master’s hat and a black robe, with sharp eyes fixed on him.

“Hmph, I never expected that my Yin Coffin technique would be seen through by a child. And you just destroyed the ghost I’ve been nurturing. Hmph, you’ve got some talent, kid!”

With that, the old man walked toward Liu Dashao.

Liu Dashao retreated while thinking, “So this old man is the one who tampered with Qian Qing’s father’s grave. You’re so old, yet you’re bullying a child!”

Though he spoke boldly, his mind was racing for a solution.

“You’re no ordinary child. To use Taoist techniques so skillfully, you must have put in a lot of effort, hehe!” The old man didn’t stop his advance.

Liu Dashao quickly turned and dashed into the house, ran to the back room, opened the window, and jumped out, running as fast as he could.

He didn’t know where to go, but he knew he had to buy time. Liu Dashao ran until he was out of breath, only to realize he had reached the edge of the village.

“Running like this? How shameful!” Hearing the voice behind him, Liu Dashao knew his escape was futile.

It seemed he had no choice but to fight. Gritting his teeth, Liu Dashao didn’t look back. Instead, he crouched down, picked up a stone with his left hand, bit his left middle finger, and quickly drew a talisman on his right palm. Placing the stone on the talisman, he formed a hand seal with his left hand and whispered, “Borrow the strength of Mount Tai, attack the essence, dispel the soul, Stone General, strike!” He then hurled the stone at the old man.

The old man simply waved his hand, deflecting the stone to the side. He smiled and said, “Your Five Elements technique lacks power. Hmph, let this humble Taoist match your skills!”

Suddenly, the old man’s footwork shifted, and with a wave of his hand, a gust of wind struck Liu Dashao. Feeling the pressure on his face, Liu Dashao crossed his hands, recited a mantra, and deflected the attack to the side. A loud “bang” echoed as the ground beside him was struck, raising a cloud of dust.

Before Liu Dashao could catch his breath, the old man didn’t give him a moment’s respite. He made several strange hand seals, stepped back with his right leg, and unleashed three consecutive palm strikes.

Liu Dashao closed his eyes to sense the energy. He saw three blades flying toward him. Quickly, he used his earlier technique to deflect two of them, but the third one was unavoidable. He had to lie back, feeling a gust of wind sweep over his head. When he touched his head, he realized his bangs had been cut off.

He thought, “If I hadn’t dodged that, I’d be done for.” Liu Dashao got up and looked at the old man again.

The old man seemed momentarily stunned and stammered, “Transfer… Transfer technique! Kid, you’re from the Celestial Master Sect!”

Hearing him mention the Celestial Master Sect, Liu Dashao’s mind raced. He said, “Hmph, that’s my master! I’m just the bait to lure you out, and then my master will destroy you. Hmph! Scared now?”

After that, Liu Dashao theatrically shouted Zhang Enpu’s name several times, secretly observing the old man’s reaction.

The old man indeed seemed a bit frightened, taking a few steps back. He looked around, then at Liu Dashao, as if unsure. He said, “Hmph, kid, don’t try to fool me. If my senior brother were really here, would he let me beat you like this?”

Liu Dashao smiled and sat up cross-legged on the ground, though he was internally shocked. This old man was Zhang Enpu’s junior brother? What was going on?

Liu Dashao closed his eyes, pretending to meditate, though he was far from calm. He could only buy time.

He slightly opened his eyes to observe the old man. Sure enough, the old man didn’t approach further, pacing in the distance.

Then, the old man seemed to make up his mind. He muttered something and threw something toward Liu Dashao. A long sword flew toward him, aimed straight at his chest. Liu Dashao thought, “This is it!” and closed his eyes, ready to take the blow.

But he only felt a gust of wind. When he opened his eyes, he saw someone standing in front of him, dressed in gray, looking familiar, though he couldn’t immediately place who it was.

The person stood with his back to Liu Dashao, facing the old man. He grabbed the sword and with a “crack,” snapped it in half.

The old man laughed and said, “Oh! So you’ve summoned a guardian spirit. Then this humble Taoist must offend!”

Hearing this, Liu Dashao took a closer look at the person in front of him. Long hair, gray clothes—it suddenly hit him. Wasn’t this the earth deity that Zhang Enpu worshipped?

Was this the guardian spirit manifesting?

At that moment, the old man suddenly closed his eyes, chanted for a while, and pointed his hands toward Liu Dashao. A blue light shot out. The guardian spirit in front of Liu Dashao moved, blocking the blue light, then crouched down and transformed into a long snake, slithering toward the old man.

Seeing the guardian spirit turn into a snake, the old man pulled out something like a paper cutout. He threw it to the ground, and it transformed into a large bird, flapping its wings and swooping down to peck at the snake. The snake seemed frightened, twisted around, and disappeared.

The old man laughed heartily, “Hahaha! Now even the gods can’t save you. Prepare to die!”

With a roar, the large bird flapped its wings and lunged at Liu Dashao. The bird was taller than Liu Dashao, and if it pecked him, he’d be done for. He quickly covered his head and crawled backward, feeling the bird pecking at his clothes. Liu Dashao was pinned down, unable to move.

Suddenly, a loud roar echoed, sounding like a wild beast.

Liu Dashao looked up and saw a tiger running toward him from the edge of the village, roaring as it came. On the tiger’s back was something white. Liu Dashao looked closely—it was Huang Erye. The large bird seemed to fear the tiger and retreated from Liu Dashao.

By then, the tiger had reached Liu Dashao. Huang Erye jumped off the tiger’s back. Liu Dashao picked up Huang Erye and said happily, “Erye, you came to save me! That old monster over there was bullying me!” He pointed at the old man.

Huang Erye circled around, and the tiger pounced on the large bird, tearing it apart in a few moves. The bird turned into scraps of paper floating to the ground. The old man suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and staggered back, as if injured.

The tiger took advantage and pounced on the old man, pinning him to the ground and biting him fiercely. After a while, it stopped. Liu Dashao thought, “Even if he’s not dead, he’s crippled.”

When the tiger moved aside, Liu Dashao walked over and looked down. On the ground was only a hat and a black robe. The old man had vanished.

Liu Dashao was puzzled when he heard the old man’s voice from mid-air, “Kid, today you’re lucky to have the century-old Huang Daxian protecting you. Next time we meet, you won’t be so fortunate. Tell Zhang Enpu that Ma Chunyi of the Qingwei Sect has been here! Hahahaha!”

After a burst of wild laughter, the voice disappeared.

Liu Dashao sat down on the ground, exhausted from the ordeal. He looked at Huang Erye, who was standing and staring at him. Liu Dashao patted its small body and said, “Erye, thank you. If it weren’t for you, I’d have been killed by that old monster!”

Liu Dashao rubbed Huang Erye’s little head, but it seemed like Huang Erye had something to say. It twisted its body and ran off.

Liu Dashao quickly got up and followed it. It was heading toward Zhang Enpu’s house.

At the door, it glanced at Liu Dashao, then jumped a few times on the wall and flipped into the yard. Liu Dashao couldn’t climb up, so he waited outside.

After a while, Huang Erye crawled out and ran to Liu Dashao, holding something in its mouth. Liu Dashao saw it was the purple bead he had left on the windowsill.

The sky was beginning to lighten, and the purple bead emitted a faint glow. Huang Erye bit the bead, flicked its head, and the bead “whooshed” against the wall, shattering.

Liu Dashao exclaimed, “Ah! Erye, what are you doing?”

But Huang Erye ignored him, rummaging through the fragments for a while. It seemed to find something, picked it up with its little paws, and walked over to Liu Dashao.

Liu Dashao reached out and took it. It was a small, white, slightly transparent pill-like object. Huang Erye looked at Liu Dashao, who said, “This… Erye, are you telling me to eat this pill?”

Huang Erye spun around in circles and wagged its tail, indicating that Liu Dashao was correct. Liu Dashao hesitated for a moment, then looked at Huang Erye again and put the pill in his mouth, swallowing it.

As soon as the pill entered his mouth, it seemed to dissolve into water, which he swallowed.

After a while, Liu Dashao didn’t notice anything different.

Suddenly, a voice sounded in his ear, “Dashao…”

Liu Dashao looked around, but apart from himself and Huang Erye on the ground, there was no one else. Had he misheard?

Just as he was puzzled, the voice came again, “Dashao…”

This time, Liu Dashao heard it clearly—a young man’s voice, and it seemed to be all around him.

He looked around again, but there was no one. Looking down, only Huang Erye was staring at him. Who else could be calling him? Could it be…

“That’s right, it’s me, Dashao. I’m calling you.”

Liu Dashao said in surprise, “Huang Erye… you… you can talk?”

Huang Erye on the ground just stared at him, its mouth not moving, yet the voice continued.

“It’s not that I can talk, but you can now hear me.”

Liu Dashao was both shocked and delighted, not knowing what to say.

Huang Erye continued, “What you just ate is the Xuanpin Pill. From now on, you’ll be able to understand the language of all living things. Anything with life, you’ll be able to understand what it says. Moreover, you’ll master the mysteries of the Qimen!”

Liu Dashao asked in confusion, “What’s Qimen?”

Huang Erye twisted its body and said, “We’ll talk about that later. Dashao, do you know who that old Taoist was?”

Liu Dashao thought for a moment and said, “From what he said, he seemed to be some kind of junior brother of my master. But why did he want to harm me?”

Huang Erye turned its small body and said, “That old Taoist is a practitioner of the Qingwei Sect. He cast a nightmare spell on your entire village. If it’s not broken, they’ll never wake up.”

Hearing this, Liu Dashao remembered that during the fight, the old man had mentioned casting a nightmare spell on the village, which was why no one woke up no matter how much he shouted.

Liu Dashao asked anxiously, “Huang Erye, what should we do? Is there no way to break it?”

Huang Erye said, “All spells can be broken. Don’t worry. Do as I say. There’s still some time before dawn. You need to go to the well at the edge of the village before the rooster crows. In the well, there’s a thousand-year-old turtle. Stand by the well and shout, ‘Huang Erye is calling you up!’ Shout several times.

If it comes up, tell it that if it doesn’t, you’ll drain the well. It’ll be scared and come up. Once the turtle is out, quickly flip it over so its belly is facing up. That way, it can’t run away. Then, tap its belly shell three times, and a small rain will fall in the village. Once it rains, the villagers will wake up, and the nightmare spell will be broken!”

Liu Dashao memorized Huang Erye’s instructions and was about to leave when it told him to go to the small forest after completing the task. Liu Dashao agreed and ran toward the edge of the village.

When he reached the well, Liu Dashao didn’t stop to catch his breath. He ran to the well and shouted inside, “Huang Erye is calling you up! Huang Erye is calling you up! Huang Erye is calling you up!”

Liu Dashao shouted three times, but there was no response. The dark well only echoed his voice.

Seeing that the turtle wasn’t coming up, Liu Dashao threatened, “Huang Erye is calling you, and you dare not come up? Watch as Huang Erye drains this well and leaves you to die of thirst!”

But after a while, there was still no sign of the turtle, not even a sound. Liu Dashao had an idea. He picked up a large stone from nearby, placed it on the edge of the well, and shouted into the well, “You stubborn turtle! Huang Erye is calling you, and you still won’t come up? Huang Erye is casting a spell!”

With that, he pushed the large stone into the well. There was a loud “splash,” and water from the well splashed up. The stone must have hit hard because a muffled cough came from the well.

Then, an old man’s voice said, “Oh! Erye, have mercy! I’m coming up!”

Liu Dashao felt a surge of joy and quickly said, “Hmph! It’s good you know your place. Hurry up!”

Soon, there was a splashing sound in the water, as if someone was swimming. Liu Dashao stood by the well, trembling with excitement.

After a while, a small, gray head poked out of the well.

Liu Dashao saw it was the head of the thousand-year-old turtle. Its gray eyes looked around, and most of its body emerged from the well. Its shell was huge, like a large basin, but it didn’t seem heavy because it crawled out quickly. It looked around with its gray eyes and asked Liu Dashao, “Where’s Huang Erye?”

Liu Dashao said, “Huang Erye sent me to check on you.”

With that, he jumped and landed beside the turtle.

The turtle seemed to realize it had been tricked and tried to crawl back, but Liu Dashao grabbed it firmly. The turtle’s strength was immense, and it almost broke free, but Liu Dashao managed to flip it over.

As it lay on the ground, unable to move, it pleaded, “Oh! Little immortal, let me go! I’ve done nothing to you!”

Liu Dashao said to the turtle, “Old turtle, I’m sorry, but I need to use your belly for a moment.”

With that, he tapped the turtle’s belly shell three times. As soon as he finished, he felt something fall from the sky onto his face. He touched it—it was water. It was really raining.

Liu Dashao flipped the turtle back over, thanked it, and quickly ran back to the village.

Behind him, the old turtle said, “If you’d just said you wanted rain, you wouldn’t have scared me so much!”

Liu Dashao ran into the village, welcoming the first spring rain—the rain he had summoned. He didn’t mind the rain soaking him; he was just happy. Happy that he had saved the village, and happy that after eating the Xuanpin Pill, he could now understand the language of animals.

When Liu Dashao reached the village, the rooster crowed. He didn’t go home but ran straight to the small forest, as Huang Erye had told him to go there after summoning the rain.

When he reached the forest, Liu Dashao ran to the tree hollow, but Huang Erye wasn’t there. He shouted, “Huang Erye! Huang Erye! Come out! Dashao is here!”

After shouting for a while, he heard Huang Erye say, “You’re quick. Did you summon the rain? Did you give the old turtle a hard time?”

Liu Dashao looked around and saw Huang Erye sitting on a large rock, smoking a pipe.

“Of course not. I thanked it after summoning the rain, and it went back into the well,” Liu Dashao replied.

Huang Erye jumped down from the rock and walked over to Liu Dashao. “Dashao, do you know why I asked you to come here?”

Liu Dashao said, puzzled, “No, I don’t.”

Huang Erye spun around in circles and said, “I’m a Huang Daxian who has been cultivating for over nine hundred years. That day, you saved my life. It was fate. What I’ve done isn’t just to thank you for saving me, but also to share what I know with you!”

Huang Erye paused, then continued, “When I was cultivating for over two hundred years, I saw two Taoists fighting in a mass grave. After watching for a while, I realized they were fighting over a book and a bead. That bead is the Xuanpin Pill you just ate.”

Liu Dashao was surprised and asked, “What… what was the book?”

Huang Erye looked at him and said, “The art of emperors—Qimen Dunjia!”

After hearing this, Liu Dashao sat on the ground, exhausted from the long struggle. Looking at Huang Er Ye, it stood upright, looking at him. Liu Dashao patted its little body and said, “Er Ye, thank you! If you hadn’t come to save Dashao, Dashao would have been killed by that old monster!”

As Liu Dashao petted Huang Er Ye’s head, he noticed Huang Er Ye seemed to want to say something. It twisted its body and ran off.

Liu Dashao quickly got up and followed. It was heading toward Zhang Enpu’s house.

When they arrived at the door, Huang Er Ye looked at Liu Dashao, then climbed up the wall and jumped into the courtyard. Liu Dashao couldn’t climb up, so he had to wait outside.

After a while, Huang Er Ye came out, running toward Liu Dashao with something in its mouth. Liu Dashao looked closely and recognized it as the purple bead he had left on the windowsill.

The sky was beginning to brighten. The purple bead slightly emitted purple light. Huang Er Ye bit the bead, shook its little head hard, and the bead “swooshed” and hit the wall, shattering.

Liu Dashao sighed, “Oh no! What was Huang Er Ye doing?”

But Huang Er Ye didn’t respond to Liu Dashao. It searched around the fragments for a while, then seemed to find something. Using its two little paws, it picked it up and walked to Liu Dashao.

Liu Dashao reached out and took it. It was a small white, slightly transparent pill-like ball. Huang Er Ye looked at Liu Dashao. Liu Dashao asked, “This… Er Ye wants me to eat this little pill?”

Huang Er Ye circled on the spot a few times and wagged its tail. That meant Liu Dashao was right. Liu Dashao hesitated for a moment, looked at Huang Er Ye again, then put the little pill in his mouth and swallowed it.

As soon as the pill touched his tongue, it dissolved like water, and Liu Dashao swallowed it.

After a while, Liu Dashao didn’t notice anything unusual.

Suddenly, a voice came from his ear, “Dashao…”

Liu Dashao looked around. Except for himself and Huang Er Ye on the ground, there was no one else. Could he have misheard?

When Liu Dashao was puzzled, another voice came, “Dashao…”

This time Liu Dashao clearly heard it. It was a young man’s voice, and it was right around him.

Liu Dashao looked around again. There was no one. Looking down, only Huang Er Ye was staring at him. Who else could be calling him? Could it be…

“Right, it’s Dashao. Dashao is calling you.”

Liu Dashao exclaimed in surprise, “Huang Er Ye… you… you can talk now?”

Huang Er Ye on the ground just looked at Liu Dashao without moving its mouth, yet the voice came again.

“It’s not that I can talk now, it’s that you can hear me.”

Liu Dashao was both surprised and delighted, not knowing what to say.

Then Huang Er Ye continued, “You just ate the Xuanpin Pill. From now on, you’ll be able to understand the language of all living things. As long as it has life, you’ll understand what it’s saying. Moreover, you’ll master all kinds of arcane skills!”

Liu Dashao asked in confusion, “What are arcane skills?”

Huang Er Ye twisted its little body and said, “Let’s put that aside for now. Dashao, do you know who that old Taoist was?”

Liu Dashao thought for a moment and said, “From what that old monster said, he seemed to be some sort of junior apprentice of my master. But why would he try to kill me?”

Huang Er Ye turned its little body and said, “That old Taoist is a practitioner from the Qingwei Sect. Everyone in your village has fallen under his spell. If it’s not broken, they’ll never wake up.”

Hearing this, Liu Dashao suddenly remembered what the old Taoist had said during their fight—that he had cast a spell on the entire village, which was why no one woke up no matter how loudly he called.

Liu Dashao asked anxiously, “Huang Er Ye, what should we do? Is there no way to break the spell?”

Huang Er Ye said, “All spells can be broken. Don’t worry. Do exactly as I say. There’s still some time before dawn. You must get to the well at the village entrance before the rooster crows. There’s a millennium-old turtle in the well. Stand by the well and shout into it: ‘Huang Er Ye wants you to come up!’ Shout it several times.

If it comes up, tell it to come up. If it doesn’t, threaten to drain the well. When it gets scared, it’ll come up. As soon as the millennium turtle comes up, quickly flip it over so its belly faces up. That way, it can’t run away. Then knock three times on the shell on its belly. A small rain will fall in the village. As soon as it rains, the villagers will wake up, and the spell will be broken!”

Liu Dashao memorized Huang Er Ye’s instructions. Just as he was about to leave, Huang Er Ye told him to find it in the small forest afterward. Liu Dashao agreed and ran toward the village entrance.

When he arrived at the well at the village entrance, Liu Dashao didn’t even take a breath. He quickly ran to the well and shouted into it, “Huang Er Ye wants you to come up! Huang Er Ye wants you to come up! Huang Er Ye wants you to come up!”

Liu Dashao shouted three times, but nothing happened. Only his echo came back from the dark well.

Seeing that the millennium turtle still didn’t come up, Liu Dashao threatened it, “Huang Er Ye wants you to come up, and you dare not come up! Watch Huang Er Ye use magic to drain this well! Thirst will kill you!”

But after a long time, the millennium turtle still didn’t come out, not even a sound. Liu Dashao, in a flash of inspiration, moved a large stone from the side to the well’s edge and shouted into the well, “You millennium turtle, Huang Er Ye wants you to come up, and you still won’t come up! Huang Er Ye is using magic!”

With that, he pushed the big stone into the well. With a “plop,” the water splashed upward, showing the stone’s force. At that moment, a muffled cough came from the well.

Then a voice from an old man said, “Oh no! Second Master, have mercy! I’ll come up now!”

Liu Dashao felt secretly delighted and quickly continued, “Hmph! Good that you know your place. Hurry up and come up!”

Then splashing sounds came from the well, like someone swimming underwater. Liu Dashao stood by the well, excited and trembling.

After a while, a gray little head appeared at the well’s edge.

Liu Dashao looked closely and saw it was indeed the millennium turtle’s head. With two gray eyes looking out, most of its body climbed out of the well. Its shell was really big, like a large basin, but it didn’t seem clumsy at all because it crawled out quickly. With its gray eyes, it looked left and right, then asked Liu Dashao, “Where is Second Master Huang?”

Liu Dashao said, “Second Master Huang sent me to check on you.”

With that, he jumped and rushed to the millennium turtle’s side.

The millennium turtle seemed to realize it had been tricked and quickly tried to crawl back. But Liu Dashao had already firmly grabbed it. The turtle was incredibly strong, almost pulling Liu Dashao off balance. Liu Dashao took advantage of the situation and flipped it over.

As it lay there unable to move, it began to plead with Liu Dashao, “Oh no! Little immortal, please let me go! Oh no! I have no grudge against you!”

Liu Dashao spoke to the millennium turtle, “Old turtle, I’m sorry, but I just need to use your belly for a moment.”

With that, Liu Dashao knocked three times on the shell of its belly. As soon as he finished knocking, he felt something fall from the sky, landing on his face. He reached out and touched it—it was water. It was really raining.

Liu Dashao flipped the millennium turtle back over, thanked it, and quickly ran toward the village.

Behind him, the old turtle said, “If you had just said you wanted rain, you wouldn’t have scared me so much, old turtle!”

Liu Dashao ran toward the village, facing the first spring rain—the spring rain he had requested. Not caring that the rain soaked him completely, Liu Dashao felt only happiness inside—not only happy that he could save the villagers, but also happy about his newfound ability to understand animal speech after eating the Xuanpin Pill.

When Liu Dashao reached the village, the rooster crowed exactly at that moment. He didn’t go home but directly ran to the small forest because Huang Er Ye had told him to go there after making it rain.

When he arrived at the small forest, Liu Dashao ran to the tree hollow but couldn’t find Huang Er Ye. He shouted loudly, “Huang Er Ye! Huang Er Ye! Come out quickly! Dashao is here!”

After shouting for a while, he heard Huang Er Ye’s voice, “You’re really fast! Did you get the rain? Didn’t you cause any trouble for the millennium turtle?”

Liu Dashao looked around and saw that Huang Er Ye was actually sitting on a big rock, smoking a pipe.

“Of course not! After I made it rain, I thanked it, and it went back into the well,” Liu Dashao replied.

Huang Er Ye jumped down from the rock and walked to Liu Dashao, “Dashao, do you know why I asked you to come here?”

Liu Dashao asked in confusion, “I don’t know!”

Huang Er Ye circled on the spot a few times and said, “I was originally a yellow immortal who had been cultivating for over nine hundred years. That day you saved my life. This was our destined fate. What I did wasn’t just to thank you for saving me, but also to tell you what I know!”

Huang Er Ye paused and continued, “When I had been cultivating for over two hundred years, I saw two Taoists fighting in a mass grave. After watching for a long time, I realized they were fighting over a book and a bead. That bead… was the one you just ate—the Pinyin Pill.”

Liu Dashao was somewhat shocked and asked, “Then… what was that book?”

Huang Er Ye looked at Liu Dashao and said, “The Emperor’s Art—the Art of the Eight Trigrams and the Secret Door!”