The wind and snow on the mountain had not stopped, and snowflakes were swirling all over the sky as if they were free. But in this corner at the foot of the mountain, it was as if the pause button had been pressed. The wind and snow stopped, and even the temperature seemed to have risen a lot.
Xu Milu sat by the newly rebuilt campfire, calmly pulling out a few charred roasted sweet potatoes from the fire.
Sitting next to him was a young Taoist boy who looked only thirteen or fourteen years old. His hair was tied up in a bun, and he was wearing a gray-blue Taoist robe and a pair of cloth shoes with deep round toes.
This boy has delicate features and exudes a cleverness from head to toe. His round, chubby face makes him instantly likable.
The young Taoist watched eagerly as Xu Milu divided the sweet potatoes. Once he held the charcoal-like sweet potato in his hand, he imitated Xu Milu, breaking it open and stuffing it into his mouth without a care if it was too hot.
"Hoo...hoo...what kind of fruit is this? It's so delicious! It's sweet and warm in my mouth, like melted honey...hoo...no wonder this beast would rather be whipped than not eat this. Fellow Daoist, you have excellent skills!"
The strange beast that had just caused trouble was now lying obediently on the ground, its wings flapping occasionally from its ribs, its long snake tail coiled around the Taoist boy's feet, and its round, bulging bull eyes filled with greed.
"liuniu! liuniu!"
Its call wasn't loud, but the tone was strange, sounding like it was calling for "keep the cow! Keep the cow!" It seemed to have tasted the sweet potato's sweetness, and turned to kowtow to Xu Milu, its cow-like face full of fawning.
“liuliu! liuniu!”
"Get out of here! I haven't even settled accounts with you yet, and you have the nerve to ask this fellow Daoist for food? You're such a fool who never learns from his mistakes! You've eaten it all, what am I supposed to eat?"
The Taoist boy cursed twice and then lightly kicked the beast's rear end, but not with much force. Instead, he fed it the leftover sweet potato peels he had in his hand.
The beast didn't mind, opening its mouth wide to chew, making crunching sounds like a calf chewing its cud from time to time, and its head swayed along with it, showing great joy.
"Is this a Lu beast? I've heard that Lu beasts mostly live on barren mountains, with snake tails and wings, two feathers growing from their ribs, dying in winter and being reborn in summer, and eating them will prevent swelling and disease. Your Lu beast is quite rare, not only can it move swiftly in the snow, but it also seems to have some human-like qualities."
Xu Milu recognized the strange beast earlier, but she had never seen such a large creature that could also use earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of magical technique), so she was still a little hesitant to recognize it.
Yes!
The young Taoist priest stuffed the last bite of sweet potato into his mouth, glanced longingly at the fire, and then licked his lips, as if savoring the memory.
"It is indeed a Lu. This Lu beast was originally an animal used for testing medicines in the master's garden. Later, somehow it gradually became human-like and gained intelligence, so I begged the master to keep it. But I didn't expect it to become more and more greedy. It would ignore the tender grass and instead love the snow-covered pine tree tips on the mountain—"
Then, the young Taoist introduced himself:
"My name is Qingfeng. I used to follow my master, the Great Immortal Zhenyuan, in the Wuzhuang Temple on Longevity Mountain. May I ask where you are, my friend? Did you come to Longevity Mountain to enter the Wuzhuang Temple?"
"How did you know, fellow immortal, that I came here specifically to seek out Wuzhuang Temple?"
The young Taoist priest was young, but his speech and behavior were not like those of a real child, so Xu Milu did not hide her purpose and openly admitted it:
"To be honest, Fellow Immortal Qingfeng, I came from the direction of Chang'an. I heard that your temple has a precious furnace that can refine mountains and stars. I would like to borrow your temple's precious furnace for use. I guess I came here specifically to seek an audience with the World-Sharing Ruler. However, the snow in the mountains is too heavy, and I have not been able to find the right opportunity. That's why I have been wandering around these mountains like a headless fly for several days. I wonder if you could introduce me to someone?"
"Fellow Daoist from Chang'an, who wishes to borrow the treasure furnace..."
Qingfeng's eyes widened, then he blinked repeatedly, as if to confirm something, and looked Xu Milu up and down before hesitatingly asking, "You wouldn't happen to be... surnamed Xu?"
Now it was Xu Milu's turn to be surprised: "How did you know my surname is Xu?"
"Oh dear! This is like the flood washing away the Dragon King's temple; the family doesn't even recognize each other anymore!"
Qingfeng slapped his thigh, his round face full of sudden realization, and laughed loudly:
"Half a month ago, before the master ascended to heaven, he left a message saying that a junior sister Xu from Chang'an wanted to come to the temple to borrow the weapon-refining furnace this month. He asked Mingyue and me to take good care of her. Who would have thought that junior sister Mingyue waited on the mountain for a long time but did not see any trace of junior sister Xu. She was worried that something might have happened to her, but unexpectedly you got lost in the mountains!"
How could they even calculate that?!
Xu Milu's understanding of these powerful deities was refreshed once again. She had only thought of it and set off in the last few days, but Zhenyuan Daxian had actually foreseen it half a month ago and even left special instructions for Erdaotong to entertain him.
It is said that those with profound cultivation can calculate the heavens and the earth, and move all things in the world at will. Xu Milu has witnessed this today.
—However, even Zhenyuan Daxian probably didn't expect that she would get lost at the foot of the mountain for three days.
...
...
With the gentle breeze leading the way, Wuzhuang Temple no longer "ran away." It stood upright on the mountaintop, nestled behind a thousand-meter-long stone staircase, truly a place of abundant gold and jade, exquisite and radiant.
“Junior Sister Xu, this unnamed stone staircase has a total of 3,333 steps. Those who enter the temple must not use their magic power and must honestly walk this entire path before they can enter.”
After learning Xu Milu's identity, Qingfeng's tone became more intimate, and he led the way, guiding the steed.
"Let alone flying, even using the Shrinking Earth Technique won't work. Even if you exhaust all your magic power and die from exhaustion, you still can't get in!"
"Thank you for your guidance, senior brother. Now I understand."
Xu Milu was both amused and exasperated.
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