263: Chapter 262 Chicken Mountain Dao Shadow 263: Chapter 262 Chicken Mountain Dao Shadow In fact, the second case mentioned by Zhi Sun Daoist was not exactly a case per se, but more about their rights as the presiding cultivators of Xionger Town to inquire into cultivators staying in the area.
Passersby were certainly beyond their control, but for those settling temporarily, it was essential to have at least a rough understanding.
In other places, such as when he was in Yinling, there was no need for concern about the visiting cultivators exploring and adventuring because it was under the jurisdiction of the Quanzhen Sect, where authority was clear and nobody dared to cause trouble.
Here it was different, jointly managed by three parties, which meant that authority was not clearly delegated, making it easy for people to exploit loopholes, especially since they were still in the period of reviewing old cases, and needed clear control over the cultivational dynamics of the entire Xionger Town.
This was not a leaderless land, and temporary settlers needed to announce their stay, which was especially true in more remote areas.
“I’ve been feeling quite anxious lately with overwhelming pressure.
How about I take it easy and check out what sort of background the new friend at Chicken Mountain has?
Master Tideng can handle the case of the ancient well corpse?
Your Buddhist Sect has great skills and numerous methods, I am surely no match.”
Tideng Monk was at a loss for words.
“So, when you want to laze around, I become a master?
Don’t you usually call me ‘monk’ smoothly?
I’m already grateful you haven’t called me ‘baldy’.
I’ll go; it’s not a big deal, but you’ve been anxious for a while now.
How come this anxiety never ends?
Is it an excuse not to work?”
Hou Niao sighed, “Anxiety, well, it seems everyone has a bit.
Speaking of realms, it’s false to say we’re not anxious; it’s hard for our state of mind to remain unaffected by realms.
Speaking of which, how do you all relieve stress?”
Zhi Sun Daoist simply stated, “Drinking.”
Tideng Monk, alternatively, “Spending Spirit Stones.”
Hou Niao chuckles, “That’s a rather unique way to de-stress, who taught you that?”
Tideng Monk thought for a moment, “It seems a senior mentioned it when I first entered, saying that spending Spirit Stones can effectively reduce stress.
Once I tried it, it really worked.”
“Where do the Spirit Stones come from?”
“He didn’t say that part.”
Hou Niao chose this task at Chicken Mountain also for other reasons; a few days ago, Xiang Zhiwen sent a letter saying he wanted to come to Chicken Mountain to seek an opportunity and invited him to join, and he couldn’t refuse.
He was not keen on seeking opportunities, and wouldn’t reject them if they occurred naturally, but deliberately searching seemed too forceful.
Could it still be called an opportunity if it was found that way?
But being the landlord of Xionger, it was only right to accompany his senior brother who rarely visited; coincidentally, the task assigned to Zhi Sun Daoist also concerned Chicken Mountain, so it made sense to handle it concurrently.
There were unfamiliar cultivators appearing on Chicken Mountain, and with Xiang Zhiwen intentionally coming to search, he couldn’t judge if there was a connection, but he had to investigate.
It was his place to defend and, out of both emotion and reason, he could not ignore it.
With several days left until the appointed time with Xiang Zhiwen, he planned to set off now, understand the background of that unfamiliar cultivator, and then meet up with his senior brother, which seemed appropriate.
After the meeting, the three went their separate ways, Zhi Sun Daoist continued to confirm the nature and background of those cases, while Tideng Monk perhaps could randomly perform a ritual while touching stones in the well.
With clear division of responsibilities and no interference with each other, this arrangement was the most efficient for them.
Months had passed since the Demon Fox incident, and the review of past cases was gradually reaching its conclusion.
Following Hou Niao’s suggestion, the public opinion environment in Xionger Town was evolving positively—his goal was not to focus on the justice of individual cases but rather to mend the gradually fragmenting relationship between mortals and the Cultivation World.
This reflected his rudimentary understanding of Heavenly Dao.
In his view, Heaven likely didn’t have time to concern itself with isolated incidents, focusing more on trends.
Unable to influence the trends of Jinxiu Continent at present, he could only start from a small place like Xionger Town.
Walking on foot, he did not want to appear too astonishing.
A day later, he arrived at the foot of Chicken Mountain, the scenery here catching his eye instantly.
…It was like entering Chicken Mountain, sparse clouds in the ravine.
Climbing pines to reach green rocks, resting on mossy stones.
Reaching the clear expanse of the sky, the woodland garden closes in joy.
Former travels with sword and attire, bright hopes likened to Yun Platform’s brilliance.
The name ‘Chicken Mountain’ came from a dubious mythological tale.
During a great disaster in Xionger, a rooster emerged, saving the people from fire and flood—roughly , in one way or another; numerous similar folk tales led to all kinds of peculiar place names.
It wasn’t majestic, but it possessed a rarity of peril in this region, with clouds and mist twisting vaguely around.
Nearby villagers reported the presence of a strange cultivator.
It seemed that the wildlife on Chicken Mountain also had become different from usual; this was a very dubious description, essentially void of actionable information.
Hence, his first task was to find this unknown cultivator.
This task could have been optional, but with the current major environment of scrutinizing old cases and consolidating public sentiment, he couldn’t afford to be too perfunctory.
It was his own doing, and he couldn’t blame others.
He sighed, noting it was still early, not even noon, and thus he headed directly into the mountain to see if he could uncover any traces of cultivation.
As he began climbing, he finally realized how aptly Xinye Buddha Country was named—as Yun Platform.
Upon entering the mountains, it felt like stepping into a steamer.
Within a distance of about thirty feet, visibility remained relatively clear, blurring slightly within ninety feet, and beyond that, it seemed like another world.
Searching for traces of a cultivator in such a place, especially for someone like him without Divine Sense, was a disaster; no wonder the Tideng monk had agreed so eagerly—the monk had likely known of the geographical conditions of Chicken Mountain and preferred searching the well bottom rather than fumbling around here like a blind man.
The monk had played him.
In this era, the mountains had no stone steps or dirt paths; there were only the faint trails of woodcutters, medicine farmers, and hunters—vague and barely discernible to those unfamiliar with the terrain.
The only thing that gave him confidence to investigate further was that Chicken Mountain wasn’t very large or high, a solitary peak that, compared to the real vast mountains, might only be a molehill.
The peak was less than 500 meters high, and with a limited range of mountains, a slow walk was still feasible to conduct a rough survey, but a detailed search was unlikely; he didn’t plan to do so, as seeing the place and fulfilling his task were sufficient.
After all, it was merely a precaution, not because something had actually happened here, or that any fierce monsters were present.
He had three days to search, which should be enough for this mountain.
Following the rough directions from locals, Hou Niao entered Chicken Mountain without a guide—if there was any conversation between cultivators, it would be inconvenient in the presence of mortals.
It wasn’t for fear that the strange cultivator might harm mortals, but rather to avoid letting ordinary mortals see a possible moment of vulnerability from a prestigious Quanzhen Upper Envoy.
He did not wish to fight in such harsh conditions, especially when his opponent might be a renowned Tongxuan Upper Cultivator.
Learning to admit defeat was a basic skill for safe development.