Celestial Taoist

Chapter 21 Black Mountain Demon

"Oh? Where is the token now?" Li Mofan had no interest in listening to him talk so much and went straight to the point.

Chen Hou shuddered, a hint of surprise flashing across his worried face. He leaned back slightly, his voice tight and tinged with helplessness, "To be honest, after the token was lost, we investigated for a long time before we learned that it had fallen into the hands of a powerful demon entrenched 800 miles away, with formidable strength."

At this point, Marquis Chen bowed again, his forehead almost touching the ground, his tone humble yet unwavering: "Your Majesty, I humbly beg you to take action, slay the demons, and save the people of my Chen Kingdom. If Your Majesty is willing to act, the entire Jianhe region is willing to treat you as an honored guest, and will devote all its resources to providing for your needs. In the future, if Your Majesty commands us, all of Jianhe will obey!"

Upon hearing this, Li Mofan slowly put down his wine cup. He had just formed his Dao Foundation and wanted to test its strength in actual combat. However, he figured that the monsters he would have to deal with in the level 5 mission would be nothing more than practice for him, who was already level 25.

Li Mofan spoke slowly, each word clear and forceful: "Get up." He raised his eyes and glanced at Chen Hou, his gaze calm, and added, "I can handle this matter. You must tell me in detail about the monster's background, strength, and the specific location it occupies, without concealing anything."

Chen Hou quickly straightened up, his back still slightly bent, and a smile plastered on his face: "Thank you for your mercy, sir! Thank you for saving my life!" He rubbed his hands together and said exaggeratedly, "That demon, though powerful and with dozens of minions under its command, able to roam freely in my Jianhe River, is certainly nothing before you, sir. You only need to flick your finger to kill it, without breaking a sweat!"

He rambled on, only knowing that the demon resided in Black Wind Valley, 800 li to the southeast of this place, but its true nature and strength were unclear. Finally, he bowed and said, "My lord, you are a highly accomplished person from the upper realm. If you were to descend upon Black Wind Valley, you would surely be able to subdue it in one fell swoop, retrieve the token, and save the people of Jianhe from their suffering!"

Li Mofan said no more. Before dawn the next day, he bid farewell to Marquis Chen, quickly memorized the map, and headed alone to Black Wind Valley. He circulated his Dao Foundation, his feet were covered with golden spiritual light, and his figure rose from the ground, shooting out like an arrow. The trees and mountains along the way rushed backward.

In just two hours, the 800-mile journey was over. Li Mofan landed slowly and looked ahead to see the entrance to Black Wind Valley. A chilling wind howled past the valley entrance, swirling with loose stones and withered grass. A strong, unpleasant stench filled the air. The cliffs on both sides were steep and precipitous, the rocks jet black and barren. The valley was dark and deep, its depths obscured.

Li Mofan's expression remained unchanged. With a thought, his golden Dao foundation began to glow faintly, and spiritual power spread throughout his body, indicating that he had already used a basic Dao technique. Stepping into Black Wind Valley, his steps were light and silent as he landed. His gaze swept over everything around him. Even though Chen Hou had not explained the details of the demon, he was not afraid at all.

Strangely enough, Li Mofan searched the entire valley but couldn't find a single demon. He wondered if the demons had all gone out to do bad things, so he found a secluded grove of trees outside the valley, sat down, and waited while practicing his breathing exercises.

The illusory image produced by that unknown technique now generates negligible amounts of omnipotent energy. Even if he devotes himself entirely to it, the amount of energy he produces is only as thin as a hair. If converted into spiritual power, it would be less efficient than the natural breathing and absorbing of spiritual energy after forming a Dao foundation.

He simply stopped trying to force the production of omnipotent energy and allowed his mind to sink into the cultivation of spiritual power, making his aura more and more restrained.

As the sun gradually set in the west, an evening breeze began to rise, rustling the branches and leaves of the trees. The shadows cast by the distant cliffs shrouded the entire Blackwind Valley in gloom.

As night fell completely, the waning moon was obscured by thick, dark clouds, plunging the world into pitch blackness. Only the eerie wind at the entrance of Black Wind Valley continued to howl, whipping up pebbles that crashed against the cliff face with a crackling sound.

In the eerie wind at the valley entrance, a pitch-black figure emerged. The figure was exceptionally tall, several meters high, with rough textures faintly visible within the black mist. It seemed as if the entire valley was trying to transform into a human. It had a pair of eyes that glowed with eerie green flames, which were particularly glaring in the darkness. It exuded a dense black mist around its body. In just a moment, it had transformed into a complete human form, its green eyes fixed on Li Mofan, who was sitting quietly in the bushes, but it deliberately concealed most of its aura.

Although Li Mofan was cultivating, his mind was not completely immersed. He vaguely sensed something amiss and was about to open his eyes to investigate when the figure moved. The figure flickered and darted out like a ghost. His several-foot-tall body made no sound. The black aura around him suddenly surged, transforming into a huge, pitch-black hand, which silently slapped towards the bushes where Li Mofan was.

Only now did Li Mofan fully realize what was happening, and he was secretly shocked. This demon was so cunning, launching a sneak attack so silently! He had no time to think, and the golden Dao Foundation within his body shot out instantly.

"Boom—!" The enormous black hand slammed down on the golden ball, instantly knocking it back. Black energy scattered and splashed, making a sizzling corrosive sound. The black figure groaned and trembled slightly, clearly not expecting Li Mofan to have such formidable strength.

Taking advantage of the gap in the Dao Foundation's defense, Li Mofan retreated rapidly, landing steadily with a surge of spiritual light around him.

"Heh...woo!" The monster's voice was hoarse and violent, and the black energy around it transformed into countless blades of energy.

Li Mofan's expression hardened, and the golden sphere swelled again, transforming into a massive shield of light. Clangs rang out continuously as the energy blades struck the shield and instantly dissipated. The monster's attacks grew increasingly ferocious, and countless phantom images of lesser demons faintly appeared within the black mist, roaring and charging forward.

Just then, his Dao Foundation suddenly trembled violently, and a strange fluctuation emanated from it, flowing through the spiritual energy and connecting with Li Mofan's consciousness. He clearly felt a violent and murderous intent in his mind, a raging emotion mixed with greed and anger.

Li Mofan's heart stirred, and he tried to activate that strange fluctuation, sending it along the spiritual power towards the huge monster. It was a subconscious action, but unexpectedly, the monster in the distance suddenly froze, the black aura around it instantly stopped, the eerie green ghost fire dimmed a bit, and the killing intent in its eyes gradually faded, replaced by a trace of bewilderment.

"This is..." Li Mofan was startled, then realized that this was actually the ability of his Dao Foundation.

The monster shook its enormous body, the eerie green flames flickering erratically, and let out a low growl, as if resisting something, "Woo...woo-woo-woo!" It tried to activate the black energy again, but the demonic power around it became chaotic, and even its attacks became much slower.

"So that's how it is..." Li Mofan understood, a cold smile curving his lips. He hadn't expected the Dao Foundation's ability to be so strange, capable of directly interfering with a demon's mind and controlling its emotions. Without further hesitation, his spiritual power surged forth, the golden sphere transforming into a sharp blade of light. Taking advantage of the demon's momentary daze, it shot out like an arrow, aiming straight for its brow.

Only when the blade of light approached its brow did the demon fully react. A hint of terror flashed in its eyes as it tried to activate its black energy defense, but the fluctuations controlled by Li Mofan's Dao Foundation rendered it powerless, its demonic power chaotic, and it was unable to condense an effective defense. "Hiss!" With a shrill scream, the blade of light pierced the demon's brow, golden spiritual light erupted, and its entire head instantly exploded.

Its enormous body trembled violently, and the black aura around it dissipated wildly, turning into scattered pebbles.