novelTemple in the Mountains
| ← Ch.131 | Ch.133 → |
Lin Jin's question was nothing but straightforward as he stared at Shang'er.
Shang'er was evidently stunned by his bluntness. However, instead of attempting to hide from his question, she nodded, answering, "Since you've noticed it, Sir, Shang'er shall not keep it a secret from you. You are correct, we are all monsters."
Following that, Lin Jin struck up a conversation with Shang'er.
Xiao Huo managed to get along with the fox cubs so they were now playing in a corner. Goldy remained aloof as it always would, doing nothing but foraging for worms around the woods.
Lin Jin learned a number of things about monsters from Shang'er.
Although the number of monsters has declined sharply in modern times, they were still far from extinct.
The reason for this was simple. Monsters were originally a variant of beasts, hence, as long as beasts continued to exist, so too would monsters.
However, the birth of a monster was entirely up to chance.
"I've read in some books that plant organisms turn into fairies after cultivation while beasts who cultivate long enough can turn into monsters. Is this true?" Lin Jin asked.
Lin Jin's honest question would sound more like, 'How did you guys become monsters?'
Inside the museum, Shang'er's intelligence was stated to be 'higher than a human'.
In other words, she was smarter than the average folks you'd find in town. There was no way she could miss what Lin Jin was trying to ask.
"Fifteen years ago, I was young and ignorant just like Little Five and the others. We lived deep inside the mountains and there was a secluded temple nearby. One day, by chance, we heard human voices coming from the temple. At first, we couldn't understand it, but since it was interesting, we would listen to that voice every day. Slowly, four seasons passed and we began to understand what it was saying, bit by bit. Another four seasons went by and by then, we were able to understand half of it. It was only afterward that we realized it was talking about a cultivation method. I managed to understand the content on a deeper level so I improved quickly, and within three years, I transformed. However, one day, we suddenly stopped hearing the voice from the temple. We waited quite a while before gathering enough courage to venture inside, only to find that it was a deserted building. Our cultivation process was since cut off and Little Five and the others could only remain the way they are, unable to transform. Although I have successfully transformed, I couldn't teach them my experience. After that, we began searching everywhere for cultivation opportunities and we settled here several months ago..."
Lin Jin listened earnestly to her story.
Deep inside the mountains. A temple. Cultivation method that could help wild beasts cultivate into monsters.
It all sounded like a fairy tale.
However, Shang'er had no reason to lie; her story was most probably true.
A sudden thought came to Lin Jin.
A temple deep inside the mountains was enough of a mystery itself. An expert must've been living in seclusion up there.
While it was said that immortals have gone extinct, there's a chance that one of them was still around today.
What if there were exceptions? This might be it!
Lin Jin decided to set aside some time to visit the temple Shang'er mentioned. Maybe he could even find hints of immortal cultivation because honestly, who wouldn't want to cultivate immortality?
If such an opportunity ever arises, Lin Jin would try to seize it at all costs.
Shang'er was still telling her story.
She led the litter of fox cubs everywhere in search of new cultivation methods but their efforts were obviously fruitless. However, in the several months they spent here, they did encounter something else.
Little Five met a scholar and actually fell for him.
Besides Shang'er, Little Five had the highest cultivation level among this group of foxes. Shang'er was Rank 4 while Little Five was Rank 3. She was probably only one step away from being able to transform.
Moreover, Shang'er had mentioned that while Little Five couldn't transform, she knew quite a few skills, 'dream invasion' for instance.
Dream invasion, when invoked, allowed the individual to enter its target's dream, allowing the spell-caster to converse with the target.
Lin Jin now understood. Little Five must have used dream invasion to woo the little scholar. However, the scholar was then attacked in the wild where Little Five was fortunate enough to save his life in the nick of time. That was also the reason why she merged their vein system together to prolong his life, in spite of the risks involved.
This, in turn, led to village folks carrying the scholar and a battered-up Little Five to the Beast Appraisal Association in hopes of saving the young man's life.
Of course, Lin Jin knew what happened after that.
He had to admit, Little Five was quite a faithful fox demon.
"Little Five has told me about her situation. It's thanks to your help that she was saved. We weren't supposed to disturb you anymore, but it's just that Little Nine has fallen ill. So Little Five thought of you and went to request for your assistance once more, " Shang'er explained.
The mystery has finally cleared up.
Lin Jin never expected he would save a fox demon by chance, what more of having an enjoyable conversation with its family in their den.
This was an encounter he wouldn't have imagined to be remotely possible.
In addition, he learned quite a few secrets from Shang'er about the cultivation world. In particular, Lin Jin was extremely curious about the temple in the mountains.
"Shang'er, from what you've said, you guys have been listening to the temple's teachings for three years. Have you ever seen anyone on the inside?" Lin Jin asked incredulously.
Shang'er shook her head."No. There seemed to be an energy field around the temple so we didn't get too near to the building. We could only listen from the outside at a specific time every day. The temple would remain dead silent for the rest of the day. Even after the voices suddenly stopped one day, we still didn't dare to enter the temple recklessly. We waited for a few days before venturing inside."
Lin Jin nodded.
After some thought, he said, "Shang'er, there's something I'd like your help with."
"Please let me know how I can help, Sir!"
"If the opportunity ever arises in the future, could you take me to that temple?"
Shang'er was visibly reluctant when she heard Lin Jin's request.
As the temple was of great significance to Shang'e. Perhaps she even regarded it as a sacred place herself, and her reluctance to disclose the temple's location came as no surprise.
Lin Jin didn't press the question but asked her about the cultivation method she had heard instead. This time, Shang'er concealed nothing and simply recited one of the sentences she had learned.
However, Lin Jin's jaw dropped upon hearing it.
What he just heard sounded almost exactly the 'Beast Energy Formation'.
Could there really exist such a coincidence?
Shang'er merely recited one paragraph and left the rest unsaid. It was Lin Jin who continued where she left off.
And he recited it with even greater detail.
Shang'er's eyes immediately widened in disbelief.
Lin Jin could now confirm that the cultivation technique Shang'er had heard at the temple was the 'Beast Energy Formation'.
The tables have turned, with Shang'er asking various questions only to be met with silence from Lin Jin as he went into deep thought.
It wasn't that he was reluctant to share his knowledge. Lin Jin wanted to first understand the situation thoroughly.
It had been more than ten years since Shang'er's transformation and her cultivation process took three years. This meant that more than a decade ago, someone had been reciting the Beast Energy Formation in that temple.
As constructing a temple took time, perhaps tens of years ago, there were already people cultivating in there.
And who were these people?
Lin Jin felt a dire need to find out.
Shang'er's face was mere inches away from Lin Jin's. The impatience in her eyes reflected how much she wanted to know why Lin Jin knew the mantra of their cultivation.
Lin Jin answered her by saying someone else had taught it to him. However, he explained that it was a technique for pet beasts, not monsters to cultivate.
He called Xiao Huo over and had him perform the technique. As his beastmaster aura surged, the fox cubs scampered away to hide behind Shang'er.
Lin Jin realized another thing.
Shang'er and the others became monsters after cultivating the Beast Energy Formation. They could even transform into humans. Xiao Huo too had cultivated the same technique so why didn't he become a monster?
| ← Ch. 131 | Ch. 133 → |