Killing Dao Fruit

Unbeknownst to him, Wang Yuan and Mr. One-Eyed had already settled on an appointment for their alliance.

Although the sky remained overcast, the mood on both sides was exceptionally bright.

Mountain Lord Wang declared in a bold and forthright manner:

"When you return, tell your master that since he has come to Beimang Mountain, White Mountain Lord is no different from my blood-related brethren.

How I treat them is naturally how I will treat White Mountain Lord."

Mr. One-Eyed, ignorant of the treacherous human heart, also had no idea of the real relationship between Wang Yuan and those kin-like uncles and brothers, and thought he was speaking sincerely.

They were all deeply moved and kept thanking him effusively.

"Mountain Lord Wang is truly our timely rain!"

"Having been away from home for so long, today I finally feel the warmth of home once more under the Mountain Lord's care."

"Upon our future success, we shall never forget the kindness Mountain Lord Wang has shown us today."

Wang Yuan's judgment was not wrong; after transforming into ghosts, they were disdainful and had a high opinion of themselves, both greedy and pretentious yet inwardly timid.

At first,

The Five Ghosts felt that it was somewhat unreal to have such an incredible gift as the "Blessed Land of Beimang Mountain" fall into their laps so soon after arriving.

While their greed made it hard to resist, they naturally harbored suspicion, doubting if Mountain Lord Wang's sharing such benefits with them was part of some scheme.

Not until Wang Yuan explained.

That his elders had tilled this mountain for two hundred years and had already discovered the clues to the Blessed Land of Beimang Mountain but had been powerless to claim it due to limited strength.

Now, they only needed to find two more people to unlock it.

After the deed was done, the land would be divided and assigned.

This oddly familiar feeling, however, easily convinced them—who had never been through the baptism of fraud—to believe Wang Yuan's words.

They thought they had seen through Wang Yuan's calculations, assuming he likely lacked power and wanted to employ their help to gain more.

While inwardly mocking him for inviting the wolf into the house, their faces bloomed with smiles:

"Rest assured, Mountain Lord, White Mountain Lord will surely come for the alliance tomorrow night."

"Please return, please return, no need to see us off, Mountain Lord is being too kind to us, your humble servants."

After bidding Wang Yuan farewell repeatedly, the Five Ghosts did not re-enter the forest.

Instead, they formed their column, arms over each other's shoulders, into a circle, and the five green-skinned little ghosts began to run rapidly.

Whooo...

A cold wind started to howl through the woods.

A winding narrow path appeared beneath their feet.

The Five Ghosts stepped onto the Yin Road and in a blink of an eye, they were gone far away.

When they had completely disappeared, Wang Yuan's expression suddenly changed drastically.

"Walking the Yin Road? Not all ghostly beings have the ability to enter and exit the Netherworld. It must be a kind of Taoist skill similar to 'Five Ghosts Moving Mountains' or 'Little Ghosts Carrying Sedan'.

Luckily, I didn't use force, I didn't expect these five odd ones to have such abilities."

When Wang Yuan himself had entered "Wangren Town" before, although he also took the Yin Road, in the end, it was relying on the residual power of his Grandma to lead him.

But the Five Ghosts could clearly open the Yin Road as they pleased, shortening the distance between two places in the Yang World, and shuttle back and forth at will.

With these Five Ghosts accompanying him, that White Mountain Lord would be able to move freely and fight all around, and if there wasn't a person with higher Taoist skill in pursuit, he would certainly be unstoppable.

No wonder there were limited places for 'Soul Capturing and Spiritual Communication,' but they still kept these five hard-to-look-at, flawed beings.

"Although I would like to learn this, I know you definitely can't teach me.

Let's leave it for now; I'll take it myself tomorrow.

Mountain Lord has reserved the Blessed Land, Five Ghosts have reserved the position of Divine Official, and I have reserved you all; we all have a bright future ahead!"

...

On the following day, in the afternoon,

the densely wooded and rarely-tread surroundings of "Wangren Town".

Whoosh!

Two figures, one brown and one black, chased after each other, streaking swiftly through the undergrowth.

Suddenly, the brown-grey figure ahead dove into a hidden burrow, while the black one, unable to dodge in time, crashed through flowers and leaves, tumbling awkwardly down the hillside.

It took a while for the black figure to climb back up from the ground, whimpering weakly, shaking its head to remove a skull that had fallen over its head.

This was actually the big black dog that had cooperated with Wild Dog Taoist in acting earlier.

Evidently, it had failed in its hunt of both humans and now rabbits.

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As the Wild Dog Taoist led his pack of wild dogs crashing into "Wangren Town," only to be annihilated, this all-black big dog became the sole survivor.

Immediately, a daunting challenge lay before it—survival.

The dog's face, once as majestic as a wild wolf's, was filled with melancholy, and its green eyes twinkled with an intelligence that most common animals could not reach.

It even sighed lightly, like a human:

'In the past, I was just a watchdog. I never had to hunt for myself.'

'I'm so hungry.'

Just then, a bumpy toad hopped by its feet. Driven by hunger to the point of hallucination, the big black dog couldn't help but stick out its tongue to give it a lick.

Instantly, it shuddered as if an electric current had shot from the tip of its tongue to the tip of its tail.

'Hiss, this thing's potent.'

The neurotoxins secreted by the toad could cause animals to hallucinate, much like cats on catnip or people chewing leaves, sending the big dog into a blissful reverie.

Unfortunately, licking too much could lead to poisoning...

Slurp! With the second lick, the feeling of hunger dissipated significantly.

Slurp! With the third lick, it felt lighter by a couple of ounces.

Slurp! After the fourth lick, in the hazy view before it, the image of the old woman who had once fed it but had passed away appeared, gesturing for it to follow her.

The smell of delicious food seemed to waft up to its nose as well, as if it had returned to those wonderful days of having everything provided for it.

The big black dog swore that if anyone could give it a bite of food now, it would be their most faithful and loyal dog!

Hmm?

Its moist snout twitched, and this time, the scent of food was no illusion. The big black dog abruptly opened its eyes.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the forest.

Wang Yuan set up a large pot and threw in offerings he'd collected from various graves in the mountains.

He stirred continuously with a wooden stick.

Every now and then, he burnt a few "Beast Food Talismans" drawn by the Wild Dog Taoist himself and threw them into the pot, releasing a strange aroma as the mishmash of ingredients turned increasingly white and thick.

This was a method of creating food recorded in the Wild Dog Taoist's book, a minor Mixed Skill from the "Peach God Tao," with no ranking to speak of.

The "Peach God Tao" worshiped the "West King Holy Mother" as its Sect Venerable God, who was said to preside over the Undying Elixir, Meat Body, Mortal Rebirth, and the Flat Peach Banquet among others.

Although the "Food Creation Method" was of low rank, it could open up the appetite of wild beasts, nourish their intelligence, and increase their affection for their master, perfectly complementing the "Gathering Beast and Taming Bird Skill."

However, Wang Yuan didn't just stop at creating food.

He also poured in several jars of strong liquor and numerous large bottles of a familiar white powder.

Hanging on a tree next to him, a mirror reflected the image of a young girl in bright red wedding clothes. She shook her small fan and said:

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, this man just deceived ghosts, and now he's going after birds and beasts as well.

Wang Xiaoyuan, I don't feel very safe around you.

As a girl who stays at home all day, completely clueless about the ways of the world, falling into the hands of someone like you, I might end up being sold by you, and even helped you count the money."

Efficiently scooping the enriched Beast Food into several clay bowls, Wang Yuan responded without turning around:

"How could that be, Little Huang Wu? I won't allow you to belittle yourself like that.

In my eyes, you're like a kettle of boiling water, always making noises of loneliness in your mouth, but in your heart, you're always rolling... with passion."

"Wang Xiaoyuan, you're dead to me, I swear!"

"Hiss!"

While his health bar was instantly reduced by half, Wang Yuan still provoked the girl without tiring:

"And your short arms can't even reach out, so even if you wanted to count money, you couldn't. Hiss!"

"Stop talking nonsense here.

Have you figured out how to deal with White Mountain Lord? What about the 'Five Ghosts' that you said could take detours on the Yin Road and carry away tigers anytime?

I can't even step out of the mirror, don't count on me to fight for you."

"True, I've just managed to perfect the 'Fake Tiger' during the early hours of this Yin Day. It can only intimidate, not harm. If only I could get some Black Dog Blood or something.

Besides, once the Talismans left by the Wild Dog Taoist run out, I'll have to practice myself. I'll also need Black Dog Blood to grind with Vermillion."

No sooner had he spoken.

"There it is," whispered Little Huang Wu, pointing elegantly with her delicate white hand.

Amidst the sloshing sounds...

An apparently not-so-bright big black dog that seemed to have been starving for a long time was blissfully gobbling up the contents of a clay bowl that had had quite some extra ingredients added to it.

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