Monster Chronicles: My Daoist Skill Comes from Mythology
Chapter 244 - 222: The Dragon Exorcist, Gathering Dark Fate to Rival the Demon Lord

Chapter 244: Chapter 222: The Dragon Exorcist, Gathering Dark Fate to Rival the Demon Lord

Before Song Lin left the story’s world, he had sent two individuals to the outside world to gather intelligence, particularly about Lishan and the tales of Yuann Tiangang and his disciple.

Years passed, and there was no news of their return.

When they finally came back, they brought news of the ancient hidden immortals.

"Ancient hidden immortals? Quickly, bring them in."

Soon, the Upper Pure Pearl ushered in an old man with a white beard.

This old man looked aged, yet his aura was otherworldly, like that of an immortal.

Behind him followed a peculiar-looking individual whose hair and eyebrows were both purple in color.

Purple, known as the most regal of colors, appeared unusually eerie upon this person.

On the other side stood a hunched-backed elder with skin like dried bark.

Additionally, there was a middle-aged scholar with long, slender fingers, donning a Confucian crown.

"Which one of you is the one who slew Li Chunfeng?" the elder inquired.

"Zhai Qianyou? Wang Jiao?"

Xing Hepu instantly unveiled the true identities of the elder and the middle-aged scholar.

Zhai Qianyou?

Song Lin gave the elder a scrutinizing look.

So, this was the legendary Zhai Qianyou, the Heavenly Master?

This man was renowned as the Dragon Exorcist, adept in the Summoning Technique.

Summoning, as its name implies, involves interrogation and invocation of ghosts and gods.

It was a common exorcism skill, used to summon or expel ghosts and gods, or even command them to accomplish specific tasks.

Zhai Qianyou’s skill was unparalleled. It was said that he managed to summon fifteen dragons within the Ba Shu region.

Though many Taoists were proficient in the Summoning Technique, conjuring dragons? That feat was uniquely his.

Wang Jiao, on the other hand, was known as a Divination Master from the Golden Age of Tang. During the Tianbao Era, over a drink with friends, Wang Jiao foretold impending chaos in the world—a prediction that reached the Emperor, resulting in a decree for his execution. Yet, after the Anshi Rebellion subsided, Wang Jiao appeared alive and well at a friend’s residence.

As for the other two...

"And you two are?"

Song Lin asked hesitantly.

"I am the Divine Servant," the hunched elder stated succinctly.

The hunchbacked elder was no ordinary entity; he claimed to be an immortal exiled from the Immortal Realm for his transgressions.

This man excelled in refining all things.

Except for lacquered chopsticks and human hair, he could dissolve and reshape virtually any substance using alchemical techniques—turning stones into gold, clay into nourishment, and so on.

"My name is Feng Ying."

The purple-haired individual spoke up.

"Feng Ying? You... are the legendary Feng Ying?"

Xing Hepu exclaimed in astonishment.

Feng Ying was infamously known as a Demon Thief. It was said that he once followed a group of dozens of yellow butterflies, which led him to a tree under which he discovered a forbidden magic skill.

This man had once uttered bold threats proclaiming that one day he would attack Guizhou, declaring, "If there is Purple Qi, I shall prevail."

And indeed, when the day arrived, sheets of purple mist draped over Guizhou’s city gates, and eerie, purple demon fog swept through the city for miles. Inside, copper figurines of Buddha the size of millet grains rained down upon the populace. The next day, the governor was found dead.

Xing Hepu hadn’t expected that such a notorious Demon Thief would visit them.

"What brings you all here?"

Song Lin inquired.

"To slay demons!" Feng Ying’s purple pupils gleamed with killing intent. "Yuann Tiangang has gone too far, coveting the extinction of all worlds and intending for us to perish alongside them."

Though Feng Ying was a Demon Thief, he had no desire to rule over a deserted world, nor did he wish to see Yuann Tiangang and his disciple dominate everything.

"My dragons were slain,"

Zhai Qianyou said with a bitter smile.

He was notably superior to Luo Gongyuan and Ye Fashan in this regard—his sharp senses allowed him to detect Yuann Tiangang’s conspiracy and narrowly escape unscathed.

The cost, however, was the complete massacre of the fifteen dragons he had summoned.

Most of Zhai Qianyou’s Taoist Realm resided within those dragons, and with their destruction, his strength took a significant hit.

The Divine Servant did not divulge his reasons; he merely mentioned that his training task in the mortal world remained unfulfilled.

Wang Jiao gazed at Song Lin and said, "You are the first to unravel Yuann Tiangang’s Secret Technique, and I believe you can uncover their conspiracy. The world cannot descend further into chaos."

Should Yuann Tiangang extract Huaxia’s Dragon Energy, the consequences would be unimaginable.

In the past, regardless of battles and the ruin of dynasties, the Dragon Energy would only disperse and never vanish, allowing new dynasties to gradually rebuild it and reach peak prosperity once again.

If the Dragon Energy were to disappear entirely, civilization would wane over time, eventually falling prey to foreign conquest and assimilation.

The remaining cultivators in this world would also fade away as the world deteriorated, losing their Essence and Qi, making it impossible to practice their ultimate arts.

Perhaps after millennia, the survivors of future generations might hear of their deeds, yet dismiss them as mere Jianghu frauds.

Song Lin scrutinized the crowd, uninterested in the elaborate praise from these crafty old schemers.

This was an exceptionally perilous undertaking.

Yuann Tiangang and Li Chunfeng were suspected to possess cultivation of the Purple Mansion.

Zhai Qianyou, though seemingly stronger, likely possessed cultivation of the Sixth Realm.

However, with his dragons destroyed, his capabilities were significantly diminished.

The other three individuals had cultivation on par with Song Lin himself, though their combat prowess fell short in his estimation.

In that regard, Song Lin was truly confident.

"May I ask where the esteemed guest hails from?" Zhai Qianyou suddenly asked.

He couldn’t seem to fathom the depths of the man before him.

"I am a Pre-Qin Qi Cultivator, a disciple of the Ghost Valley Master. You may not have heard of me," Song Lin replied, deliberately shifting the topic. "Since fate has brought us together, why not settle here and collaborate on how to confront Yuann Tiangang?"

At the mention of "Ghost Valley Master," the Divine Servant’s expression shifted momentarily but soon reverted to one of indifference to worldly matters.

"Very well!"

Song Lin arranged for everyone to rest within the main hall.

"Li Zhan, Li Ang, thank you for your efforts. Soon, seek out Li Chen, who will teach you a new Magic Skill."

Song Lin then entered the main hall.

"What have Yuann Tiangang and his disciple been planning these years?" Song Lin asked.

Zhai Qianyou, having previously secluded himself in Jade Village for cultivation, had observed numerous mortal tragedies and demonic chaos during his travels before emerging once again.

"Chaos! Huang Chao’s rebellion has left the people destitute, now ongoing for four years."

"Certain this is the work of Yuann Tiangang and his disciple?" Song Lin pressed.

"Definitely. Huang Chao commands an army of ten thousand demons—beasts with heads like animals but bodies like men, ruthless beyond imagination, even capable of resurrecting after death."

Huang Chao relied on this Demon Army to rise from Caozhou and wage war across the land.

Everywhere his forces reached was left soaked in blood, merely to satiate the appetites of the Demon Army.

With these ever-replenishing, resurrected troops, Huang Chao now stood at Tong Pass, poised to strike Chang’an. The Great Tang teetered on the verge of collapse, its regime on the brink of replacement.

"What can possibly be done now?"

Song Lin furrowed his brows in deep thought.

It wasn’t that he held sentiment for the Li Tang dynasty—the death of courtiers mattered little to him.

If the world were stable and civilians prosperous, who would seek rebellion?

Instead, he worried about the loss of Dragon Energy leading to total chaos.

"It’s simple: just as you shattered the Dragon Slaying Array, you must now dismantle the Lifeless Tribulation Demon Lord Formation." Wang Jiao suggested.

Mere slaughter of Huang Chao was meaningless; the Demon Army would continue regenerating, and directly combating them would only fall into Yuann Tiangang’s trap.

What made Yuann Tiangang and Li Chunfeng formidable was their mystery, manipulating the world through arrays and formations.

Now unmasked, their fangs threatened to plunge the world into an even greater calamity.

"Is there a map to the Demon Array?" Xing Hepu inquired.

"Indeed, it’s precisely why I’ve come."

With those words, Wang Jiao presented a map that detailed the terrain of Caozhou spanning hundreds of miles.

The terrain, when interconnected, faintly resembled a colossal altar.

Using the landscape of earth, mountains, and rivers to create formations—a technique unmatched by ordinary expertise—Xing Hepu felt inexplicably inadequate.

While others dealt with men, Yuann Tiangang had begun dueling with heaven and earth itself.

"Give me some time."

Song Lin returned to his secluded place of cultivation.

A thought crossed his mind, and he returned to the Real World, rushing toward Mingxing Peak.