Chapter 71: Mountain Lord Banquet And Treasure Appreciation Gathering
Fang Shu rubbed the object in his hand.
This thing seemed to be made of wood, shaped like half a deer antler, as long as his forearm, as thick as a baby’s fist, but relatively straight, with grooves and protrusions carved on it, segmented in sections, its appearance quite strange.
He tried infusing a bit of qi and blood into it, and immediately felt the object in his hand tremble slightly and become scorching hot, as if it could catch fire, but aside from that, he noticed nothing unusual.
“It seems it’s truly just a collection-grade ancient treasure?” Fang Shu glanced at it distractedly, and seeing he couldn’t figure out its use for the moment, he temporarily suppressed his thoughts.
Speaking of which, he had now come back to his senses and realized that he probably hadn’t luckily opened an ancient treasure, but rather an “evil treasure.”
It was just that with the Dao talisman present, the evil energy in the object had been taken away along with the Dao talisman, which was equivalent to the evil energy being completely dispersed, turning it into an ancient treasure in the eyes of the world.
Realizing the function of the Dao talisman, Fang Shu’s gaze flickered.
His attention also fell once more on the dragon qi within the Dao talisman:
“What exactly is this dragon qi? Earth qi, baleful qi? Or perhaps like dragon saliva incense, the qi exhaled by a flood dragon or even a true dragon?”
Unfortunately, the Dao talisman was still in the midst of changing and didn’t know when it would complete the change.
Even if it had already washed out “pure dragon qi,” Fang Shu still didn’t know its wonderful uses for the time being.
For a moment.
Fang Shu held that straight section of deer antler, sighing in his heart: “Creations from ancient times are truly all quite magical.”
Shortly after.
After tidying up a bit, joy in his heart, his expression calm, he walked out of the shed.
However, Fang Shu did not appear again in the eyes of the gambling house crowd, but quietly slipped away from behind the shed.
Behind the shed, there were several small monkeys dressed in clothes and hats, looking like waiters, waiting for guests.
Seeing Fang Shu come out, still holding something in his hand, the small monkey waiters’ eyes immediately lit up.
After examining it for a while, they immediately let out strange monkey calls, then clapped their hands, hopping ahead to guide Fang Shu toward the depths of the monster market.
Fang Shu cupped his hands, following slowly behind the small monkeys.
At the same time, clang clang clang!
A burst of gong and drum sounds suddenly rang out in the gambling house, probably the waiters in the gambling house hearing the call, knowing that Fang Shu had also opened something good.
“He got something! He got something!” the waiters shouted loudly.
Hearing the copper gong sound, Fang Shu felt slightly relieved and quickened his pace a bit.
And in the gambling house, the onlookers who had been staring without seeing Fang Shu come out immediately burst into an uproar:
“They’re beating the gong! Good grief, did he really open a treasure?”
“Tsk tsk tsk, looks like that guy really picked up a bargain.”
Among them, the leopard-headed monster who had sold the pillow stone, its eyes immediately went dull, its body stiffening in place for a moment.
Even when the immortal cultivator monsters nearby bumped into it, the leopard-headed monster still hadn’t come back to its senses.
When it finally came back to its senses with difficulty, the fellow was agitated, clutching Fang Shu’s five spirit stones, wishing he could rush into the shed and swap back the pillow stone.
But the monster waiters in the gambling house had long guarded against it, two burly ox demons stepping forward, directly using their head horns to pin the leopard-headed monster and fork him out of the gambling house.
Seeing this, the immortal cultivator monsters around tsked in envy while also mocking and teasing the leopard-headed monster:
“Tch! Another guy who can’t afford to gamble and can’t afford to lose.”
“Haha, serves you right!”
The onlookers stared at the shed a few more times, seeing no one else come out, knowing Fang Shu wasn’t planning to show off his wealth, and only then withdrew their gazes, muttering nonstop.
Because two things had been opened in a row in the gambling house, two rounds of copper gongs had been beaten.
This place even more attracted the attention of monster market guests, the popularity and demonic energy in the venue being fueled once again, becoming bustling and boisterous!
On the other side.
Guided by the small monkey waiters, Fang Shu gradually ascended, the valley mist in his view also gradually thinning.
A strange sight appeared in his eyes.
In the mountain forest, everywhere grew spiritual mushrooms the size of faces, basins, grindstones, either on rocks or on trees. The steps Fang Shu trod on while ascending were also formed by spiritual mushrooms, step by step, distinctly arranged.
Not long after, he arrived at the mountaintop.
This place had no more trees, only clusters of short fungal plants like grasses and woods, each emitting fluorescence, quite delicate and cute.
They swayed with the wind, spouting faint mist, under the moonlight even more a silver expanse.
Such a strange and beautiful scene truly made Fang Shu feel visually delighted and quite amazed.
Stepping on the carpet-like mushrooms, he walked all the way to the end, seeing a high platform, broad in shape, about eight or nine zhang in radius, jutting out abruptly, vaguely in the form of the nine palaces and eight trigrams.
But looking closely, this thing was clearly also an enormous spiritual mushroom canopy.
At this moment on the Lingzhi Platform, there were figures large and small sitting cross-legged, swaying as they gathered together, the air also wafting with the rich fragrance of fine wine.
As Fang Shu approached, a heralding voice happened to ring out on the Lingzhi Platform:
“The God of Little West Mountain, Lord Golden Fur arrives!”
But that heralding voice was not welcoming Fang Shu, but welcoming someone else.
Fang Shu even saw the two small monkey waiters who had guided him gesturing repeatedly for him to stop.
In mid-air, laughter came with the wind:
“Forgive me, Mountain Lord, this humble one arrived late.”
Looking toward the sound, in mid-air there was a sedan chair, carrying a scholar with human body and rat features, riding the wind, spiraling down to land on the Lingzhi Platform.
After apologizing, he lifted his robe hem and familiarly blended into the drinking figures on the platform.
“You’re late, you’re late, you should be penalized with wine!”
The other three or five figures on the platform immediately jeered.
Fang Shu looked more closely and saw that the drinkers were either crowned jackals, armored crab generals, or colorful bird demons, all of them tipsy, clearly having drunk for a long time.
What surprised him even more was that as this group of monsters drank, the moonlight from the sky gathered into form, like a ribbon, continuously falling, dropping into their wine cups, taken as they drank.
This scene of ingesting moonlight was in no way inferior to the occasion when he had encountered the Weasel Daoist granting magic, and here it was even more casual and abundant, moonlight flowing endlessly.
“Qi refining monsters!” Fang Shu realized in his heart.
Immediately after, he also heard the wine guests on the Lingzhi Platform saying to each other:
“You fellow, after a bit of wine, how is your shell red like it’s been steamed? What a waste that you’re still a river god.”
“Come come, Brother Golden Fur, I hear you’ve gotten another assignment from the immortal sect, now also serving as upstream god, free to roam all eight directions and four lakes, a toast to you!”
These wine guests called each other “mountain god,” “river god,” “roaming god,” and the like, just like local deities holding a wine banquet, only each lacked immortal or divine aura, having only demonic energy and wine aura.
Fang Shu silently took in the scene on the platform, increasingly confirming that these attending monsters were at least qi refining spiritual immortals.
Because he remembered the rumors that immortal sects mostly issued deity edicts near their sect gates to constrain the surrounding mountains, rivers, lakes, spirits, and ghosts.
In practice, this meant recruiting a batch of immortal cultivator monsters to fill positions like mountain gods and river gods, to conveniently manage the mountains and rivers.
These monsters calling each other “some god” should be those who had answered the immortal sect’s deity edicts in Mount Lu.
Fang Shu looked around, taking in the crowd of mountain gods and river gods, but his heart stirred as he thought darkly: “The owner of this monster market, that Mountain Lord, hasn’t come yet?”
Soon, he knew where this place’s Mountain Lord was.
Right under his feet!
The two small monkey waiters respectfully walked to the middle of the Lingzhi Platform, banging their heads several times on the platform.
The Lingzhi Platform shook, and a drunk person’s groan came:
“Mmm… what is it, what is it?”
And this voice came precisely from within the huge Lingzhi Platform.
This platform was clearly the so-called Mountain Lord, or rather, mountain fungus!
The small monkeys chattered.
The Mountain Lord’s voice was surprised:
“Someone opened an ancient treasure?”
In an instant, the drinking monster deities also paused, all glancing toward Fang Shu, curiously examining the object in his hand.
Fang Shu slightly cupped his hands, consciously holding the deer antler ancient treasure for them to see more clearly.
He also suddenly felt streams of spiritual sense whizzing past him, startling him.
Fortunately, the Mountain Lord’s voice was mild, and a majestic spiritual sense descended, protecting Fang Shu, with a wisp of moonlight mist drifting over to lift the ancient treasure, caressing and examining it like a tentacle.
After a long while, tsk tsk sounds arose:
“What a sturdy ancient treasure, a top-notch collection!”
Hearing the Mountain Lord’s voice, the other attending monsters examined it closely, immediately showing strange expressions and praising:
“Indeed a top-notch collection.”
Another monster slurred drunkenly:
“Ancient human language: with food and warmth comes lust… Today with full belly from wine and food, paired with appreciating this thing, it indeed matches the word ‘lust.'”
“Wonderful, wonderful! Let me have a look.”
That deer antler treasure was taken by a monster, infused with true qi, making the ancient treasure glow red, swelling with fury, buzzing nonstop.
Bang!
Among them, the armored crab general was even struck loudly by some wine guest wielding the deer antler ancient treasure. Its face flushed with rage and extreme shame, bubbles gurgling from its mouthparts.
Fang Shu, hearing these words, didn’t understand for the moment.
But immediately after, the Mountain Lord seemed to see he didn’t understand and directly transmitted three words to him.
Hearing them, Fang Shu’s face went stunned for a moment.
Looking at the object being played with by the monsters, he even had the thought of throwing it away.
“Hahaha!”
A burst of laughter rang from the Lingzhi Platform, the entire platform also shaking slightly.
Only hearing the Mountain Lord say:
“To open an item like ‘Mr. Horn,’ this lord has lived so many years and sees it for the first time.
Looks like the Daoists of ancient times were not as fearsome as rumored, but more vulgar than we imagined.”
It spoke, as if conversing with Fang Shu, yet also with the wine guests.
The monsters immediately burst into boisterous laughter, only the crab general struck by Mr. Horn still harbored resentment.
Finally, the monster market Mountain Lord said to Fang Shu:
“Little Daoist child, since you are a man, this thing may be useless to you? Would you be willing to part with it? This lord wants to collect it. Rest assured, I do business openly and never force anyone.”
The other’s tone was mild, seemingly very respectful of Fang Shu’s opinion.
But since the other had said it was useless to men, how could Fang Shu say the words “it’s useful.”
What’s more, the other was willing to take it, which suited Fang Shu’s intentions perfectly.
He immediately said: “Yes.”
“Good.”
The monster market Mountain Lord slurred again: “Little Daoist child, what do you need? This lord has talisman money, also spirit stones, some precious medicine, magic tools, jewels, magic, for you to choose.”
Ding ding dang dang!
As the other’s words fell, the Lingzhi Platform trembled slightly.
Right in the center of the platform, a large crack immediately opened, with stairs leading inside, streams of spiritual energy and treasure light surging out, momentarily outshining even the white moon in the sky.
The drinking monster deities around, seeing this, couldn’t help stretching their necks to peer into the treasure vault, expressions varied.
Fang Shu, hearing the term precious medicine and seeing the treasure light in the platform, had eyes even more bright.
Coincidentally! He just needed precious medicine to boost his cultivation and pass tribulation to break through!
But Fang Shu glanced at the drunk guests on the Lingzhi Platform, his heart stirring.
He took a breath, then solemnly cupped his hands and said:
“This junior is bold, willing to offer this treasure to the Mountain Lord in exchange for a few cups of wine to drink.”
