439: Chapter 340 439: Chapter 340 This particular mountain was different from others; there were not many animals, and the underbrush was very small.
The trees planted on the mountain were some kind of peach trees, and they were in fact Spirit Peaches.
The scenery of this beautiful mountain was enhanced by peach trees laden with fruit, yet during the day, they had not greedily plucked any of the peaches.
Jiang Tang actually wanted to plant these peach trees in his own space.
They were different from the ones he had in his space: the fruits were larger and very red.
It reminded him of the fairy tales from his previous life about the Immortals in the heavens, the Heavenly Mother’s orchard and the fruit Sun Wukong stole, which only bloomed and bore fruit every three thousand years.
Thinking of this, Jiang Tang used his Divine Sense to explore and found it strange that the mountain, so full of peach trees and fruit in daylight,
now appeared bald in the night’s exploration, devoid of any vegetation.
There was no sign of the peach trees and their fruits, as if what he saw in the daytime was merely an illusion.
Jiang Tang felt he couldn’t have been mistaken, and there must be something odd about this place.
“Jiang Tang, isn’t this really strange?”
During the day, they saw such delicious-looking peaches.
Not just the nine women wanted to taste them, but the Dugu brothers were also tempted to try.
However, Jiang Tang had stopped them, saying there was something peculiar and abnormal going on.
As soon as he spoke up, the nine women who were blocked from hearing the sounds also noticed.
They couldn’t hear the terrifying sounds, but their Divine Senses could still explore.
They also started discussing among themselves, feeling fortunate they had listened to Jiang Tang during the day and had not picked the fruits to eat.
What would have happened if they had picked and eaten the fruits during the day?
Jiang Tang noticed that the bald mountain, where he could occasionally still see weeds during the daytime, now only revealed some stones.
He felt that all the sounds seemed to be coming from beneath this great mountain.
Could this be the dwelling place of souls?
Jiang Tang found it strange and was keen to explore, wanting to know what secrets lay beneath the bald mountain of stones.
The villagers had been passing by for generations; thus, the legend had been around for a very long time.
This suggested that the strangeness was not just a recent occurrence and was yet to be noticed by people for its oddity.
Perhaps a passing cultivator would see this mountain and think it was too ordinary during the day, maybe even come to pick the fruit.
But no one knew if anything strange happened during the day, and at night, those who went up the mountain and did not return home seemed to disappear without a trace.
Was there any other danger besides the terrifying screams?
After all, ordinary villagers didn’t dare to venture deep into the mountains; only those who had suffered misfortune knew what really happened.
And why would the cultivators from the Cultivation World care about the perils encountered by the Mortal World in the mountains?
Perhaps some villagers would inform the authorities, but officials would only advise against going into the deep forest, as they lacked the power to eliminate the dangers.
Not everyone could request help from the great powers of the Cultivation World.
Those nearby with a Spiritual Root were either Loose Cultivators or had already entered some Immortal Sect to cultivate.
If Jiang Tang wasn’t observing and exploring this place as a potential base this time, he wouldn’t have led so many people into the sky at night, able to clearly explore hundreds of meters below the mountain.
Indeed, he had explored hundreds of meters below the mountain and discovered in a cave an oppressed shadow, howling continuously.
From the looks of it, this shadow seemed to resemble a human but also not quite so, around 1.6 meters tall, skinny, with a sharp mouth and narrow forehead, being pressed down, and its hands flailing constantly,
Its hands looked like human claws, but not quite; they somewhat resembled a monkey transformed into human form.
Seeing this shadow, Jiang Tang couldn’t help but recall a fairy tale from his previous life about the Monkey King who was suppressed under Mount Five Fingers by Buddha Tathagata.
However, what was pressing down here was not an actual monkey-like being but an incomplete ghostly apparition.
No wonder there were screams only at night; this must have been a monkey demon suppressed by some powerful deity.
Its soul had been sealed for so long that the monkey had absorbed the Essence of the Sun and Moon along with its innate spells to produce fruits.
With its monkey kin serving it, the seal drove it to madness and was gradually weakening.
Jiang Tang discovered that this monkey was absorbing the Essence of the Sun and Moon, and he had created a small hole beneath a large mountain; this hole directly connected to the mountaintop, resembling a mouse hole, allowing certain animals to breathe.
It looked like a mouse hole, but it was much larger, large enough for a person to pass through.
From the mountaintop to where this shadow was suppressed, there was a very thick rope—on closer inspection, it was actually a thick vine whip.
This vine whip wasn’t a natural plant, but rather had been deliberately cultivated in this cave, growing all the way to the mountaintop.
Upon exploring this far, Jiang Tang didn’t want to jump down the hole himself, as he was unsure of the dangers that might lurk below.
So he thought of Eryao.
He didn’t send an avatar or go down himself, thinking that it might be easier for animals to chat and explore with each other.
The shadow trapped like a monkey seemed to possess strong power; only Eryao could be sent to meet it.
Eryao had just eaten and was about to sleep when his master assigned him to do some work.
He glanced at Green Ox, who was still lying on the space underground, wanting to sleep.
“Master, how can this lazy ox eat its fill and not do any work?
If we have to do work, it must come with me!”
Jiang Tang looked at Green Ox, whose body had already grown quite large.
Unless the entire mountain was dug up, how could such a large-bodied ox go down through that hole on the mountaintop?
Eryao could barely pass through with his skinny human body.
“Eryao, can Green Ox go down?”
Eryao disdainfully glanced at Green Ox and said, “Even a snail can burrow through the ground.
If it can’t even do a simple task like this, Master, you might as well kill it and eat it.”
“Moo”—”Master, Green Ox has become a bit stronger and developed a new ability, it can make its body smaller, as small as a newborn calf.”
Jiang Tang could already understand the ox language of Green Ox, and as a Divine Beast, Eryao could naturally understand it as well.
“Then why the heck are you talking so much nonsense?
Alright, you dead cow, you’ve probably been hiding some of your skills to get out of little chores, huh?
Just wait and see how I deal with you after this!”
“Moo”—”Eryao, it’s not like I deliberately hid it.
You never asked me, and besides, you’re so powerful, and so is the master, you don’t need me!
“Flattery won’t work with me.
Are you a blockhead?
If I don’t ask, can’t you tell me?
You’re always so dumb, speaking only when questioned, with no cleverness at all.”
As Eryao kept chattering away, Green Ox felt a sweat break out on his forehead.
He didn’t bother to argue anymore, and before the articulate Eryao, he could only suffer scolding and beating.
It was better to say less and avoid more mistakes, so he didn’t dare speak further and made his body smaller, even smaller than when he was first born in the space, looking like a malnourished newborn calf.
Eryao jumped onto the back of such a small, frail ox, and his original youthful body instantly reverted to its original form.
A downsized dragon, though small in stature, looked no different from other dragons, except for its color.
Its whole body was white, and the dragon scales on its body were silver.
Unlike some other dragons, it wasn’t the kind of golden that shimmered.
That was the special characteristic of the Ancient Divine Beast Snow Dragon.
When not active, it was like a small bird, but as its power grew and its size increased, it could transform into a silver Flood Dragon much like the Flood Dragon itself.
Jiang Tang released these two pets from his space.
They could fly, and all people saw was a shadow flying by, their eyes dazzled, almost unable to discern the shape of the flying object.
Upon a clearer look, they saw a tiny green ox with a very small silver dragon on its back.
“Look, what’s that?”
The girls pointed at the two Demonic Beasts in surprise, their gazes involuntarily turning towards Jiang Tang.
“What you see are my pets, nothing to be curious about.
I let them go explore to see what’s under the mountain,” Jiang Tang said.
Previously, no one had seen the other pet, and they all thought the dragon-like creature was a spell conjured by Jiang Tang.
It turned out Jiang Tang was telling the truth, not deceiving them.
The vast amount of food he had been cooking all this time was for these two pets.
But what had Jiang Tang used to contain these two pets?
Could it be the Magical Treasure he had previously shown?