Yan Chixia sighed, his eyes sparkling with longing.
"If Brother Yan likes it, I'll give you one!"
Li Yao said calmly.
"really!"
Yan Chixia's eyes lit up, then dimmed again, "This magical artifact must be incredibly precious..."
Chapter 419 The Way of Humanity
Li Yao once again acted as a great philanthropist, giving Yan Chixia a storage ring.
Anyway, he still has many storage rings on hand.
These are all experimental samples that Xiao Huo obtained when he was refining spatial magic treasures.
In Li Yao's eyes, these experimental subjects were of little value whatsoever.
However, in Yan Chixia's eyes, it was a priceless supreme magical artifact.
He hadn't expected Li Yao to be so generous as to give him such a valuable magical artifact.
Therefore, he was extremely grateful to Li Yao.
In a moment of heightened revelry, fueled by the alcohol, he suddenly roared, leaped up, and, wielding a sword in one hand and a wine jar in the other, began to perform a sword dance in the courtyard, swaying unsteadily.
While practicing his swordplay, he also sang loudly, singing the majestic song "The Way of Humanity".
"The Way, the Way, the Way, the Way, the Way, the Way, the Way, the Way, the Way, the Way, the Way, the Way, the Way!"
"The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao!"
"The Way of Heaven, the Way of Earth, the Way of Humanity, the Way of the Sword, the Way of Black, the Way of White, the Way of Yellow, the Way of Red, the Way of Left, the Way of Right, the Way of Existence, the Way of Non-Existence—everyone says that this is the eternal Way!"
"Pah, pah, pah, pah, pah! Nonsense!"
"..."
Sword energy surged, a strong wind howled, and a free-spirited song resounded throughout the heavens.
Although Yan Chixia's voice was rough and his singing wasn't very pleasant, his bold and unrestrained spirit was something that most people could hardly possess.
However, although the song was bold and unrestrained, it was filled with a strong sense of indignation.
Li Yao knew that Yan Chixia was extremely disappointed with the world. While hating the rampant demons and monsters, he also deeply loathed the world where "morality is declining and people's hearts are no longer what they used to be."
Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen to live in seclusion at this desolate Lanruo Temple!
Filled with sorrow, Yan Chixia brandished his sword and danced wildly, as if he wanted to tear open a gap in the dark world and restore clarity to the land!
"Excellent swordsmanship, excellent swordsmanship..."
After Yan Chixia finished dancing, Li Yao clapped and praised her loudly.
"Hahaha... I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Brother Li. I'm just a rough man, I only showed off a few moves, please don't laugh at me."
Yan Chixia swayed and sat back down in his original position, his forehead dripping with sweat. He felt extremely refreshed, picked up the wine jar, and gulped it down.
He wiped the wine stains from the corner of his mouth, looked around a couple of times, then glanced at Nie Xiaoqian, before grinning and asking Li Yao, "Hey? Brother Li, would you like to have that pretty maidservant next to you?"
"She's already asleep!"
Li Yao naturally knew that Yan Chixia was asking about Xiaobai.
"Sigh, your maid is really incompetent. She's asleep before her master has even gone to sleep..."
Yan Chixia was really drunk; he actually started meddling in other people's business.
As soon as he finished speaking, he collapsed to the ground with a thud.
It seems he was indeed quite drunk.
...
For the next few days, Li Yao stayed at Lanruo Temple, waiting for the Black Mountain Demon to appear.
According to the original plot, Ning Caichen should have come to Lanruo Temple to stay overnight.
However, Ning Caichen has not appeared.
This is actually quite easy to explain.
In the original story, Ning Caichen stayed at Lanruo Temple because he wet the account book, making it impossible for him to collect the debt.
If we can't collect the money, we won't have any!
Penniless, he could not find a place to stay at an inn, so he had no choice but to seek shelter at the dilapidated Lanruo Temple.
Now, thanks to Li Yao's help, he was able to reach Guobei County smoothly and collect the debt.
With money, he could stay at an inn and wouldn't need to come to Lanruo Temple.
Three days have passed in the blink of an eye!
Today is the Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival.
Today is also the day that the Black Mountain Demon is marrying Nie Xiaoqian.
Originally, Li Yao did not want Yan Chixia to get involved in this matter.
However, Yan Chixia insisted on staying, claiming that he wanted to help Li Yao eliminate the Black Mountain Demon.
Moreover, Xiao Bai learned that Li Yao was going to eliminate a demon today.
Suddenly, her curiosity was piqued, and she insisted on coming out to see what was going on.
Having no other choice, Li Yao had to satisfy her curiosity.
Actually, with Xiaobai around, Li Yao could focus on dealing with the Black Mountain Demon.
Although Li Yao was not afraid of the Black Mountain Demon, the Black Mountain Demon had countless ghost soldiers and generals under his command.
If all these ghost soldiers and generals swarmed him, he would really be too busy to take care of Nie Xiaoqian.
He had promised Nie Xiaoqian that once the Black Mountain Demon was dead, he would help her pass on to a better future.
Therefore, before the Black Mountain Demon dies, he still needs to protect Nie Xiaoqian.
With Xiaobai here, he will definitely be able to handle this task.
With Xiaobai's cultivation spanning thousands of years, he should have no rivals in this world.
The Ghost Festival is a day when the gates of the underworld are wide open.
On this day, the yin energy between heaven and earth will reach its peak.
Therefore, on Ghost Festival, those ghosts who have not yet been reincarnated can take the opportunity to return to the human world to see their loved ones one last time.
As for those lonely ghosts without relatives, they wander around, and if people in the mortal world accidentally encounter them, it will be dangerous.
The weather was gloomy today. The sun had long been obscured by a thick fog that had risen inexplicably, and a sinister and terrifying atmosphere permeated the air.
A sudden gust of cold wind rose from the ground, its origin unknown.
In the hazy, indistinct air, many unburnt joss paper and paper money floated, making the scene even more eerie and terrifying.
Li Yao and Yan Chixia sat cross-legged on a high building in Lanruo Temple, silently waiting for the Black Mountain Demon to appear.
Li Yao's five senses were extremely sharp, and he could clearly see that in the distant, misty wilderness, there were groups of lonely ghosts wandering around, creating a lively scene.
At this moment, Nie Xiaoqian, who was standing next to Li Yao, kept pacing back and forth, her face filled with deep worry.
Although she knew that Li Yao possessed great magical power, she also knew that the Black Mountain Demon's magical power was unfathomable.
Even the Tree Demon Granny was timid and hesitant in front of the Black Mountain Demon, not daring to utter a single breath.
Moreover, she knew that the Black Mountain Demon had countless ghost soldiers and generals under his command.
Most of these ghost soldiers and generals are vengeful spirits who died unjustly in the City of the Wrongfully Dead, and they are extremely powerful.
Therefore, Nie Xiaoqian was worried that Li Yao was no match for the Black Mountain Demon.
"Miss Xiaoqian, are you very nervous?"
Seeing Nie Xiaoqian walking back and forth, Xiaobai smiled and asked.
These past two days, she and Nie Xiaoqian have gotten along well and become close friends who can talk about anything.
"Sister Xiaobai, you don't know, that Black Mountain Demon has extremely high magical power."
"Please persuade Brother Li not to go against the Black Mountain Demon. I would rather be captured by the Black Mountain Demon than see Brother Li in danger."
Nie Xiaoqian said with a worried expression.
"It seems you care quite a bit about my young master!"
Xiao Bai smiled slyly, then leaned closer to Nie Xiaoqian and whispered teasingly, "Have you taken a fancy to my young master?"
Chapter 420 The Black Mountain Demon's Wedding
Nie Xiaoqian immediately lowered her head in embarrassment at Xiaobai's teasing.
If she weren't a female ghost, her ears would probably be blushing with embarrassment.
"Sister Xiaobai, please don't misunderstand, I... I just... I just..."
Nie Xiaoqian's voice grew softer and softer until it was barely audible.
Just then, the sound of gongs and drums suddenly rang out.
The suona horns resounded, playing festive music to welcome the bride, creating a lively atmosphere.
Soon, a long queue slowly appeared in the thick white fog.
Leading the way were a group of ghost musicians, dressed in white, holding paper-made suonas, and playing them while swaying their heads.
Behind them, there was a group of distinctive-looking female ghosts, each holding a paper flower basket in one hand and occasionally grabbing a handful of ghost money from it with the other, scattering it into the air like celestial maidens scattering flowers. The ghost money danced in the air, creating an eerie atmosphere.
Behind the female ghost were four tall and burly malevolent spirits, each holding a flag that read 'Black Mountain King'.