Monster Chronicles: My Daoist Skill Comes from Mythology
Chapter 146 - 142 North Pole Demon Extermination Mansion, Spiritual Treasure Golden Jade Scroll

Chapter 146: Chapter 142 North Pole Demon Extermination Mansion, Spiritual Treasure Golden Jade Scroll

Countless branches surged out from beneath the ground.

The branches were harder than steel, piercing through the thousand-year centipede’s body before dragging it underground.

Boom!

Outside the city, the earth within hundreds of zhang exploded suddenly.

A massive tree burst out from the ground.

In an instant, dark clouds obscured the moon.

Pitch-black demonic qi danced like dragons and serpents, swirling around the edges of the towering giant tree.

The entire tree was jet black, its branches adorned with human skulls, and in the thick trunk was a human-like face.

Swish!

Roots extended from underground, bringing with them Tianwu’s corpse. The roots functioned like straws, relentlessly absorbing Tianwu’s flesh and blood.

In the blink of an eye, Tianwu had been reduced to a dried corpse.

"Ahhhh, I’ve finally recovered. You, boy, are quite tenacious!"

The face embedded in the tree trunk spoke in the ancient, gravelly voice of the Green Sheep Spirit. This remark was, of course, directed at Song Lin.

"Tree Spirit?"

Heluo, momentarily forgetting his feud with Song Lin, was stunned at the sight before him.

Song Lin recalled a legend.

A three-thousand-year-old Tree Spirit would transform into a Green Sheep, and a ten-thousand-year-old Tree Spirit into a Green Ox.

Although demons took longer to mature compared to humans—several centuries of cultivation only equated to decades for humans—a three-thousand-year-old demon was still an otherworldly existence.

The Green Sheep Spirit’s roots spread in all directions, creating a Tree Realm. The roots grew upward, transforming into towering giant trees that turned the surrounding area into an entire forest.

"Attack!!" In the face of imminent peril, Heluo could no longer care about personal grievances and was forced to collaborate with Song Lin.

Crash!

As Heluo’s words fell, his form shifted into a massive Netherworld White Snake.

Legends said the Netherworld White Snake was a mutant beast of the Netherworld, its body snow-white and its scales marked with celestial patterns. It cultivated Taiyin Gui Water.

The Netherworld White Snake soared on a cloud of shadowy mist, its enormous body barely visible amidst the layered scales.

Crash!

Dark clouds thickened, and black rain began to pour.

Wherever the rain landed, the ground transformed into a pitch-black flow of Gui Water.

The Gui Water spread further and further, cascading like a viral flood.

On the other side, Song Lin had gathered the group and arranged the Innate Eight Diagram Array for defense.

The Innate Eight Diagram Array could both defend and attack.

Anyone within the formation was protected, and breaking through required slaughtering at least sixty thousand Rampant Soldiers.

"Haha, I have to thank you for offering me the essence blood of tens of thousands of people."

The Green Sheep Spirit mocked the group with disdain.

The city wasn’t inhabited by Primordial Spirits but was instead controlled by tree roots parasitizing human bodies.

Only one young man had managed to realize the truth.

Tree trunks tainted by the Gui Water regenerated instantly. Meanwhile, the skulls hanging from the branches took flight, spitting green-flamed poison fire as they hurtled toward the group.

The sky became dense with floating human skulls, branches, and roots whipping from all directions.

The Gui Water rain did have an effect on these entities, but their numbers were overwhelming. Destroy one wave, and another surged forth.

Green-flamed poison fire licked at the body of the Netherworld White Snake, causing it to howl in agony.

"It hurts!!"

Deeply regretful now, Heluo berated himself for slaughtering so many people and unwittingly nurturing a formidable foe.

Retreat!

With that thought, Heluo whipped his tail, conjuring a shadowy mist of Taiyin Gui Water for protection, blasting the flying skulls away. In the midst of the chaos, he swiftly escaped while the Tree Realm had not yet sealed entirely.

Boom!

The towering trees around converged inward, forming a massive spherical prison made of tree trunks.

Now, Song Lin and his group were fully trapped within the Tree Realm.

"Everyone, make your move! Quick and decisive!!"

Inside the Innate Eight Diagram Array, Song Lin glanced at his companions.

As he spoke, the Coiled Dragon Jade shot out as a streak of light, burrowing underground.

The Coiled Dragon’s poison, Yimu Xuan Poison, was one of the world’s most potent toxins. However, it was ineffective against the Green Sheep Spirit, as the trees could sever affected parts at will, preventing the poison from ever reaching the main body.

With limited options, Song Lin had no choice but to create a distraction aboveground, leaving the Coiled Dragon to stealthily approach the Green Sheep Spirit’s core body.

Back in the county, day-and-night Merit Officers and Fire Cloud were flying toward them.

"What’s the origin of this thousand-year-old Tree Spirit?" Fire Cloud inquired.

"It hails from across the seas. There’s a place called Ascension Island over there. It’s said that immortals have been encountered on the island. The news attracted countless people searching for ascension. Some even soared on rainbow clouds before the public eye."

"Such successive ascensions caught the attention of Taoist sects. Later, Spirit Treasure Sect sent people to investigate, only to discover it was a Core Formation Stage Great Demon using illusion techniques to devour humans."

"The demon was eventually driven away and vanished. It only reappeared during the Dragon Abyss Conference to cause trouble."

"Core Formation Stage?"

"Don’t judge it by its Core Formation cultivation. This demon is cunning beyond measure." Yun Xiao summoned a gold-inlaid jade scroll, with the character ’Mountain’ written prominently at its center.

"Spirit Treasure Celestial Master’s Gold Jade Scroll? You are?" Fire Cloud instinctively addressed her with respect, no longer underestimating the Core Formation female cultivator before him.

The Gold Jade Scroll was an artifact sealing the Heavenly Master’s Taoist Skills.

"A direct disciple of the Heavenly Master," Yun Xiao said plainly, lacking any trace of pride in her identity.

"My apologies for any offense!"

The group continued their flight.

They soon spotted the Netherworld White Snake fleeing and a towering black tree amidst the ominous shroud.

Upon seeing the massive tree, Yun Xiao’s face darkened. Her figure turned ethereal, then transformed into radiant white light that spanned a hundred zhang in an instant.

Several Divine Officials and Generals exchanged glances and likewise disappeared in flashes of white light.

These Divine Officials were at Divine Establishment, so naturally, they struggled to keep up with Yun Xiao’s pace.

"Such Divine Skills! She truly lives up to being a Spirit Treasure Celestial Master’s direct disciple!"

Fire Cloud couldn’t help but marvel. The white light, known as Yang Escape, leveraged the world’s Yang energy as an Escape Technique, theoretically traversing a thousand miles in an instant.

Even though his cultivation was a tier higher, Fire Cloud barely managed to catch up to Yun Xiao.

When the two stood suspended in mid-air, the demonic energy below surged skyward.

Yun Xiao held the jade scroll aloft, which began to emit a golden radiance. The character ’Mountain’ rose into the air and transformed into a towering White Gold Mountain.

This was the Eight-Sided Exquisite White Gold Mountain, manifested from the ancient character ’Mountain.’

The character’s origin traced back to Cangjie and symbolized the unyielding power of suppression.

The mountain grew larger by the second.

Yun Xiao gazed at the boundless sea of trees below, her face turning solemn.

Even with her strength, she dared not confront its ferocity casually.

The Taoist talents belonging to the temple below were still shallow in their skills; only Fire Cloud seemed capable of holding his own.

As she pondered, a radiant thunderclap illuminated dozens of li.

The energy churned violently, and the aura of thunder was oppressive.

The lightning incinerated the forest, followed by the inexplicable withering of all surrounding vegetation.

"Arghhhh!" Screams, sharp and echoing, pierced the heavens.

The Tree Realm collapsed, revealing a graceful young Taoist holding a sword gesture, arcs of lightning still flickering around him.

The sight left Yun Xiao stunned. Were the Taoists below really this strong?

She had never encountered thunder energy of this purity before.

"Song Linzhen has mastered the Five Thunders True Method?" Both Yun Xiao and Fire Cloud, along with the fleeing Heluo, were dumbfounded.

"Taoist friend, step aside!"

Yun Xiao was the first to recover. Upon noticing the thousand-year Tree Spirit wasn’t completely vanquished, she urgently called out to Song Lin to move away. The White Gold Mountain descended with a thunderous crash.

With a resounding explosion and a flash of white light, the ground below was reduced to a hundred-zhang crater. The Gold Jade Scroll reappeared in Yun Xiao’s hand, with a faint tree-like pattern emerging beneath the ’Mountain’ character.

Song Lin attended to the Taoists from the temple before ascending into the air alone.

"Greetings, Daozhu. This individual is?"

"Day-and-Night Merit Officer Messenger Yun Xiao," Yun Xiao introduced herself proactively. "Your Thunder Skill is remarkable, Taoist friend."

"It was mere luck."

The key to destroying the Tree Realm had been the Coiled Dragon. Without its poison reaching the Tree Spirit’s core, victory might have been impossible.

"Taoist friend, with your expertise in Thunder Skill, why not join the North Pole Demon Extermination Mansion? Joining the Demon Extermination Institute would grant you access to better resources and more opportunities to meet the Heavenly Master."

"North Pole Demon Extermination Mansion?"

Song Lin appeared puzzled.

"You’re unfamiliar?" Yun Xiao was slightly surprised.

"I really don’t know." Song Lin’s rapid rise—from a Taoist disciple to the temple’s master in just a few years—meant there were still many common matters he had yet to understand.

"It’s an institution under Zhouu Jueyin Heavenly Palace, led by the Holy Might Heavenly Master of your Holy Might Taoist School. It is responsible for eradicating demons and evils across the land. Every so often, the Holy Might Heavenly Master lectures there."

Yun Xiao was also stationed within Zhouu Jueyin Heavenly Palace, though she worked for the Sun, Moon, Five Star Mansion rather than the North Pole Demon Extermination Mansion.

After some thought, Song Lin declined Yun Xiao’s invitation.

He had no choice—his responsibilities were simply too heavy.

Having just taken over the role of temple master, he had found himself thrust into a major conflict. He had yet to make progress in refining soldiers, not to mention the recruitment and training of personnel, and ensuring the temple’s sustainability.

"Very well. If you ever reconsider, you’re welcome to contact me." Yun Xiao handed a thousand paper crane to Song Lin.

At this moment, the Hall Master flew in from a distance, glaring at Song Lin with hostility. "Daozhu, this man killed Tianwu!"

Heluo recounted the events in full detail, determined to see Song Lin brought to justice.

Tianwu had been his trusted ally, responsible for handling dirty and thankless tasks. Even the people Heluo consumed had been supplied by Tianwu.

"Is what he says true?" Fire Cloud turned to Song Lin, while Yun Xiao frowned slightly.

"Tianwu wasn’t killed by me. I only had a small conflict with him, after which he was ambushed by the Tree Spirit," Song Lin fabricated without hesitation. After all, the corpse had turned to ash, and unless Tianwu rose from the dead, there was no way to prove otherwise.

Moreover, amidst the blinding flashes of light during the battle, Song Lin was confident the others hadn’t clearly seen how Tianwu had perished.

"Nonsense! I clearly saw you making contact with Tianwu, and immediately after, he collapsed dead. If not you, then who?"

"Hall Master, you overestimate me. I’m merely at Divine Establishment—there’s no way I could instantly kill a Core Formation expert," Song Lin countered, calmly explaining the sequence of events and placing the blame squarely on Tianwu. He concealed nothing of significance.

The two listeners found his statement credible.

It was indeed unthinkable for someone at Divine Establishment to assassinate a Core Formation cultivator in seconds.

Still, that didn’t mean Song Lin would come out unscathed.

After all, a conflict had undeniably transpired between the two.

As a Daozhu, Fire Cloud could not tarnish his reputation.

He wanted to delegate the matter for the Hall Master to handle personally but hesitated, wary of appearing biased in Yun Xiao’s eyes.

Then, glancing at Yun Xiao, Fire Cloud’s eyes lit up. "How about this: you’ll assist Yun Xiao on a mission, without compensation or yin merit. Yun Xiao, do you find this satisfactory?"

Shrewdly, he tossed the trouble over to Yun Xiao.

"Me? I have no objections," Yun Xiao responded.

"I agree," Song Lin said, quietly letting out a sigh of relief.

The heaviest punishments in the sect involved total obliteration, followed by being stripped of one’s cultivation and imprisoned.

For instances of infighting during critical moments, the offender would face at least three to five years of solitary confinement within the Yin Wind Cave.

The Yin Wind Cave was no refuge for closed cultivation—it was utterly devoid of essence or qi, its harsh Yin Wind draining to the body and soul alike.

Forget stories of fortuitous breakthroughs during imprisonment; three years in the cave was enough to drive most people insane.

"Very well. I’ll temporarily assign you the role of Spirit Official. Handle the temple’s affairs, and use this jade talisman to contact me if needed."

Yun Xiao, an understanding figure, handed a jade talisman to Song Lin before departing with her group.

"It’s late. Tomorrow, I’ll send the Archivist to record your yin merits." With that, Fire Cloud also took his leave.

"Lucky for you. But just wait—you’ll suffer soon enough," Heluo sneered before slinking away.

Their feud was now sealed beyond reconciliation.

"I’ll be glad to indulge you." Song Lin responded with biting sarcasm.

As night fell, Song Lin instructed everyone to rest while he returned to his private chamber.

Tomorrow, he would arrange newer tasks. But for now, he planned to focus on gradually developing the temple’s strength through low-profile cultivation and organization.

In his private chamber, the Coiled Dragon reverted to its true form, its mouth puffed as if containing something.

Plop!

Its dragon jaws opened to reveal two round, glossy beads falling to the floor.

"Hmm? So they were with you!"

...

(Bit of writer’s block tonight. Feel free to recommend some intriguing mythology.)