Monster Chronicles: My Daoist Skill Comes from Mythology
Chapter 70: Heavenly Sect Leader, The Army of Eight Array Maps (Please Follow)

Chapter 70: Chapter 70: Heavenly Sect Leader, The Army of Eight Array Maps (Please Follow)

"Kill!!"

The bright moon was like a mirror, the sky as clear as a washed jade.

Song Lin raised his head to gaze at the sky. Was the moon in front of him the same one that once shone over the Moon Cultivation World?

If it were, perhaps going up there might allow him to see his old disciples again.

Back then, during the scramble for the undying medicine, he failed to make arrangements for their afterlife. However, cultivation was easier up there. Perhaps they had become new Moon Cultivators.

Standing beside Song Lin was Xi Fang. Ten zhang below their feet, tigers, leopards, wolves, and jackals were locked in fierce combat with the Rampant Soldiers.

Strangely enough, the tigers, leopards, wolves, and jackals seemed to form battle formations, just like human soldiers, as though someone was commanding them from the shadows.

The Rampant Soldiers numbered fewer, but thanks to their seamless cooperation, they could battle the beasts to a draw—though their losses were heavy.

"Altar Master, shouldn’t we go down to help?" Xi Fang asked, somewhat worried.

"No need. The bodies of these Rampant Soldiers are not truly here; give them some time, and they’ll recover." Song Lin replied.

These types of Rampant Soldiers were the most common Mountain Roaming Demon Soldiers seen in Taoist Temples. Their defining trait was mobility, ignoring all terrains, though their combat strength was somewhat lacking.

Of the Five Paths of Rampant Soldiers, there were hundreds of varieties. From Ziyuan, Song Lin had learned four: Mountain Roaming Demon Soldiers, Long-Haired Rampant Soldiers, Chicken-Sacrificing Blood Rampant Soldiers, and the ferocious Soul-Collecting Prohibition Soldiers.

"How many wild ghosts have you captured?"

"More than two hundred."

"That many?"

"Haha, the world is in chaos now, so wild ghosts are everywhere." Xi Fang seemed puzzled. Were there not always ghosts everywhere in this world?

"Indeed." Song Lin could understand.

In this world, there were no Taoist Schools or Taoists to regularly cleanse the wandering wild ghosts.

"Alright, let’s deal with the Stone Man first," Song Lin said.

The two flew one after another toward the depths of East Mountain.

"This East Mountain Stone Old Man has quite the history," Xi Fang suddenly remarked.

"Oh? Tell me about it."

"It’s said East Mountain Stone Old Man was a general of the former Tang Dynasty. East Mountain was once an ancient battlefield. The general fell in the sands of battle, his blood soaking the stone. Villagers at the mountain’s base revered the stone as a divine relic and specially built a temple to worship it."

"What happened next? Why did it end up on the mountain?"

"Ahem, on the consecration day, six children in the village drowned. The elders thought the object was ominous, so they abandoned it on the mountain to prevent the general’s spirit from seeking revenge. They even tied menstrual cloth to it as a deterrent."

"So that’s how it is!"

Xi Fang had come prepared this time.

"Altar Master, before we came here, I had the Rampant Soldiers collect a dozen pieces of menstrual cloth. This fiend won’t escape today!"

"Let’s hope so," Song Lin said, refraining from taking action himself to see how effective the tactic would be.

The two flew into the depths of the mountains.

"How dare you trespass on East Mountain!"

A black mist soared into the sky, coalescing into a towering figure—three zhang tall and composed entirely of black fog.

"Take this!!"

Clang!

Xi Fang waved his hand, scattering a dozen red cloth strips.

The cloth landed on East Mountain Stone Old Man, and like fire hitting wet hay, black smoke began to rise.

"You... despicable!!" East Mountain Stone Old Man’s expression shifted drastically, as if recognizing what the items were.

Could it really work?

(According to folklore, this object could even suppress Lord Lao Zi himself. Naturally, the story here won’t exaggerate to that extent.)

The creature’s combat power instantly dropped by at least fifty percent.

Swish!

The sky rained down beams of moonlight.

The moonlight formed a cage, encircling it tightly.

Then came a flying sword.

Boom!

Carrying flames, the sword pierced through its chest.

"Aaaah!!"

East Mountain Stone Old Man let out a painful cry and tried to escape as a wisp of black smoke.

The next moment, Song Lin seized it from midair and swallowed it whole.

In an instant, its soul body condensed once more, now resembling a living human being.

Simultaneously, a new Divine Skill appeared on his panel, and his Taoist Realm increased by seven years.

Name: Song Lin, East Mountain Hunting Lord.

Type: Ghost and God.

Realm: Tun Position Yin Officer.

Taoist Realm: Fourteen years.

Divine Skills: Dreaming, Bamboo Divination, Cold Disease Skill, Soldier Formation Map Skill.

The Soldier Formation Map?

Song Lin’s thoughts stirred.

A pitch-black misty sand table appeared before him, displaying the terrain where the Square and Round Soldiers were stationed.

He could freely arrange formations and relay commands to anyone.

"No wonder the tigers, leopards, and wolves were so well-organized. It was thanks to this spell."

The Rampant Soldiers of Xuanke Temple relied on Command Flags for orders, which often caused delays. On a battlefield where conditions changed rapidly, this sand table spell allowed for swift control of the situation.

"This spell is indeed superior to Xuanke Temple’s method." Song Lin thought.

Most importantly, as a spell, it could be cultivated back in the real world.

After handling everything, Song Lin instructed Xi Fang, "I’m going into seclusion for a while. You focus on integrating all the villages at the foot of East Mountain. No other forces are allowed to interfere."

"Understood!"

The first year of the altar’s founding (counting from resurrection).

Song Lin entered seclusion to refine Rampant Soldier Techniques, while the entire Xi family pledged allegiance. With the help of literate members, doctrines and rules were established.

The second year of the altar.

Twelve villages at East Mountain’s base, with a total population of over seven thousand, were brought under the faith’s fold. Song Lin’s army training reached a critical stage, while Xi Fang led Rampant Soldiers to frantically hunt down wandering wild ghosts.

The third year of the altar.

The Hunting Lord’s Temple remained stable, but rebel Huang Cao led the Cannibal Army to capture Chang’an City in the Chen Dynasty. The city endured three days of slaughter, staining the land with blood.

For a time, vassals rose across the land.

The fourth year of the altar.

Adopting the strategy of building high walls and stockpiling ample supplies, Song Lin refrained from expansion, instead amassing troops to the maximum his Tun Position could sustain.

The fifth year of the altar.

Huang Cao, with the Emperor in his grip, used royal authority to command the vassals. Declaring himself King of Wei, he razed Peng City to the ground in sacrifice to the Heavenly Sect Leader. Not even chickens or dogs survived. The rivers ceased to flow with water and now ran with blood. He named the Heavenly Sect Leader as the Spirit Saint King, unifying the faith of the Heavenly Ancient Sect across the Northwest.

Each vassal faction, supported by their respective faiths, began their campaigns.

By the end of the year, at East Mountain Hunting Lord’s Temple.

The temple had been entirely refurbished, its headquarters now situated halfway up the mountain.

Within the temple’s Yin Soil.

Beside Song Lin stood the Great Judge, Xi Fang, along with strangely-shaped Rampant Soldier commanders and a towering nine-foot-tall White Ape.

In front of them stood an army of 1,800 Rampant Soldiers.

The largest contingent consisted of 800 Mountain Roaming Demon Soldiers, nine feet tall, with green faces and disheveled hair, led by the Mountain Spirit Ghost—none other than the colossal White Ape discovered deep within East Mountain, now sworn to his command.

Additionally, there were 100 pairs—200 in total—of Soul-Collecting Prohibition Soldiers, clad in black and white, armed with wolf fang clubs and iron chains.

Four hundred were Long-Haired Rampant Soldiers, as large as cattle, standing a zhang tall, essentially enlarged Mountain Roaming Soldiers.

Another four hundred were Chicken-Sacrificing Blood Rampant Soldiers, smaller in stature, dressed in Taoist robes, their faces painted in fresh blood, with crimson hair.

Their evil qi reached the clouds, and divine armor blocked out the sun.

Song Lin surveyed the fruits of his nearly five years of effort with satisfaction.

Though there had been failures along the way, everything had generally gone smoothly. The General Temple was filled to capacity with Soldier and Horse Altars, marking the limits of what the Hunting Lord’s Temple could support.

"Congratulations to the Altar Master for amassing a heroic army!" Xi Fang said jubilantly, sharing in the glory.

Who would’ve thought his lord truly had the capability to conquer all of East Mountain County?

"Altar Master, why don’t we place our bets on a mortal warlord as well? At the very least, we could secure the position of a regional vassal in the underworld."

"Not so fast! Let’s wait and see; the situation remains unclear," Song Lin replied before addressing the others. "I will enter seclusion for some time."

In reality, the Flood Control Grand Ceremony in the real world was fast approaching.

Five years passed in the story’s world, equivalent to ten days in the real world at a 1:2.5 ratio.

Only five days remained until the Rain Stopping Ceremony.

He had to make the most of this time to refine his real-world Taoist Soldiers.

With that thought, Song Lin returned to reality.