Chapter 36 Seven Steps Mountain

"Hero? That is merely a tool I use to profit. However, since you have heard so much from me today, little Daoist priest, you certainly cannot leave this place alive!"

As soon as the words fell, Lin Chen drew his long spear and thrust it fiercely straight at Jiang Chen!

A look of regret appeared on Lin Chen's face. Even if this little Daoist priest had some strange Dao magic, he was confident that under this unexpected spear strike, he would make the little Daoist priest die on the spot.

It was just a pity. This little Daoist priest didn't have to die; who told him to have such excessive curiosity.

But the next moment, the expression on his face froze.

Jiang Chen's face was devoid of sorrow or joy. He merely reached out, his index and little fingers held upright, his thumb tightly gripping his middle and ring fingers, and lightly tapped toward the Void Realm, as if he had predicted the trajectory of the spear tip.

Then, the spear tip indeed collided with the tip of Jiang Chen's index finger exactly as he had predicted.

However, at this moment, the scene of blood splattering on the spot, as Lin Chen had expected, did not occur.

Instead, an incomparably immense force traveled from the spear shaft, as if the long spear had struck an incredibly solid wall. The huge recoil force made Lin Chen nearly vomit blood.

"How is this possible!"

This little Daoist priest actually used just one finger to block his long-charged spear strike!

I've run into a tough opponent!

This was Lin Chen's next thought, and also his last thought.

Then Lin Chen saw a brilliant, blinding golden light emerge from the little Daoist priest's palm.

Swoosh!

This golden light suddenly shot into Lin Chen's body, and with its arrival, Lin Chen's consciousness began to rapidly fade away.

Bang!

His body collapsed to the ground. A generation of Martial Forest master, Shadowless Spear, died on this desolate mountain path.

It was not until two days later that a passerby discovered Lin Chen's body.

This caused another great uproar in the Jianghu, but this no longer had anything to do with Jiang Chen.

At this moment, Jiang Chen had already passed through Yangzhou and was nearing Sizhou.

Although he had been traveling on mountain roads for several days, he showed no signs of weariness. He remained as handsome and refined as ever, without a speck of dust on him.

"Daoist priest, you cannot go any further ahead!" Passing by a mountain peak shrouded in clouds and mist, where one could barely see one's own fingers, someone saw Jiang Chen about to walk inside without hesitation and warned him.

Jiang Chen stopped and looked back.

It was a group of traveling merchants who had hired two Jianghu wandering knights to protect their safety.

The goods of these traveling merchants were valuable; if they did not hire protection, they would likely be robbed halfway.

However, facing such a natural barrier, they were also somewhat helpless and could only choose to take a detour.

"Oh? Why can't one go up here? Is there anything miraculous about it?" Jiang Chen asked curiously.

One of the traveling merchants explained: "This mountain is called Qibu Mountain. It is not because there are many seven-step snakes inside, but because there is a type of Essence Spirit inside that looks like a young child. It will come out when the fog is thick and pull your hand. If it pulls you to its side, it will take away your Three Ethereal Souls and Seven Corporeal Spirits."

"Therefore, in this mountain, there is a legend about dying within seven steps!"

Jiang Chen asked curiously: "Then why must one follow it? Can't one just pull that Essence Spirit over?"

Hearing this, several traveling merchants and wandering knights looked at each other and then laughed.

"Daoist, I think you have recited too many scriptures and are spouting nonsense. It's laughable to think about."

"Since it is a Essence Spirit, its strength must be beyond that of ordinary people. In the past, some people didn't believe in evil and gathered a dozen or so people to enter the mountain, but none of them ever came out."

"Later, someone found their white bones in the mountain, which was chilling!"

Expressions of fear gathered on the faces of these people; clearly, they all firmly believed in the strange legends of this mountain.

And Jiang Chen, based on their description, found the corresponding monster.

mountain goblin!

Recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, this is a monster that resembles a human child and lures others to hold its hand.

Then, after holding hands, it will take the person away from their original spot. Once the person is taken away from their original spot, their Three Ethereal Souls and Seven Corporeal Spirits will be devoured by it.

Avoiding danger is very simple; one just needs to avoid being held by the mountain goblin.

However, the mountain goblin will transform into various things to lure you into holding its hand, which is very difficult for ordinary people to avoid.

However, the mountain goblin also has a weakness: after holding hands, they cannot leave their original spot either. Therefore, as long as the person holding its hand pulls it away from the original spot, the mountain goblin will die immediately.

When Jiang Chen first saw the description of the mountain goblin, he was still lamenting how there could be such a strange Essence Spirit in the world.

He did not expect to encounter one so soon.

"Sigh, it's just that this mountain road can't be taken, and taking a detour will add several hundred miles... Hey, little Daoist, where are you going?"

As these people were talking, they suddenly saw Jiang Chen lift his feet and walk up the mountain, and hurriedly shouted to stop him.

"Little Daoist, are you really not afraid of death? We already told you, there are man-eating monsters on that mountain!" the traveling merchant asked in surprise.

Jiang Chen smiled slightly: "This poor Daoist can reason with it. I believe these Essence Spirits are not unreasonable monsters."

Several people looked at Jiang Chen as if he were an idiot.

"Have you read so many scriptures that you've gone stupid? If a monster could reason with you, I would stand on my head and eat sh*t!"

Jiang Chen merely shook the magic sword in his hand: "Reason is not just in the mouth, but also on my three-foot blade."

After speaking, Jiang Chen walked straight up the mountain, and his figure was soon swallowed by the thick fog.

Several people stared blankly as Jiang Chen went up the mountain, not knowing what to say for a moment.

After a long time, someone sighed.

"Sigh, it's hard to persuade a ghost who is destined to die with kind words."

...

As soon as Jiang Chen walked into Qibu Mountain, the thick fog instantly swallowed him.

This thick fog seemed to have the effect of cutting off spiritual perception.

If it were an ordinary person, they would already be unable to see things beyond a zhang, but this was not a big problem for Jiang Chen.

His vision was powerful, and even with the thick fog blocking, he could easily see the scene ten zhang away.

However, in his view, this Qibu Mountain seemed like a barren mountain. From what he could see, apart from trees, he could not see any signs of life.

It was clearly an August summer day, yet there was not a single bird chirping or beast calling in the mountain.

Jiang Chen acted as if he had not noticed these strange phenomena and continued to walk along the mountain road.

This mountain road seemed to be overgrown with vegetation because too few people traveled it, and there were waist-high bushes in the middle of the mountain path.

Jiang Chen bypassed the bushes and continued to walk inside. Just at this moment, he felt an strange sensation of being watched.

It was as if something in the dark was sizing him up.

Jiang Chen pretended not to notice their existence and continued inside.

These creatures were also very patient; before figuring out Jiang Chen's background, they could refrain from making a move.

Click!

Jiang Chen stepped on a protruding stone on the ground, his body stumbled, and he almost fell.

And just at this moment, the existence in the dark finally moved.

A hand, the size of a young child's hand but grayish-white in color, stretched out from the darkness, wanting to 'support' Jiang Chen.

But after this hand approached Jiang Chen, it seemed to perceive something and hurriedly retracted.

However, it was already too late.

Jiang Chen's hand, who knows when, had already lightly gripped this grayish-white hand.

No matter how hard it tried, it could not pull his arm even an inch.