Journey to the West: I have Nine Golden Crows Inside Me
Chapter 271 - 271 Zhang Ling 260

271: Zhang Ling 260 271: Zhang Ling 260 The terrain here was unusual.

The tiger and dragon intertwined atop the mountains, while fire and water cooperated down below.

Inside, there was a birth of two distinct spiritual veins, one of fire, another of water.

The environment was mysteriously formed and naturally shaped into a formidable magic formation that balanced the elements of heaven, earth, water, and fire.

The coverage of this grand formation was extremely vast, at least tens of thousands of miles in every direction.

Besides the mountain peak that could be seen from one’s vantage point, it also included a valley spanning a million miles – a locale perfectly suited for human habitation.

This formation was mysterious, its power extraordinary.

Once activated, it could borrow the force of heaven and earth for support.

Even three or five Taiyi Golden Immortals couldn’t breach its defenses easily.

Thus, when some cultivators discovered this place, they situated the rescued people of the Shu Region in the valley, relying on the protection of the formation.

Sun Wukong, along with his troupe of demon-suppressing heavenly soldiers, found this place while searching for survivors in the Shu Region.

Consequently, they met up with the cultivators already here, joined together, and began firmly standing their ground against the escalating Evil Ghost Calamity.

……

After listening to Sun Wukong’s account, Jiang Chen carefully observed the Innate Dragon and Tiger Qi suspended in the air.

Then he made a new discovery.

The Innate Dragon and Tiger Qi played a vital role in maintaining the grand formation of heaven, earth, fire, and water below.

Should it be extracted and refined, not only would the grand formation potentially break apart and collapse, but its power would also weaken significantly.

What a hassle.

With this thought in mind, Jiang Chen asked Sun Wukong: “Monkey, excluding the cultivators, how many people live here?”

After a moment of thought, Sun Wukong replied: “There should be several millions, though I myself haven’t bothered to count them.”

Upon hearing this number – several millions – Jiang Chen couldn’t help but shake his head.

He couldn’t move the Dragon and Tiger Qi, at least for now.

At least until the Evil Ghost Calamity in the Shu region has settled down, this Innate Dragon and Tiger Qi couldn’t be disrupted.

The livelihoods of the millions of people below relied on it for protection.

If the disturbance of the Dragon and Tiger Qi led to harm befalling the civilians below, that would be a sin Jiang Chen couldn’t bear to carry.

Withdrawing his gaze from the Dragon and Tiger Qi, Jiang Chen turned to Sun Wokong: “Let’s go and take a look down there.”

There was no need to be disappointed.

Although he couldn’t move the Dragon and Tiger Qi for now, Jiang Chen had secretly tweaked it just a moment ago to ensure that no one else could take it away.

This mass of Dragon and Tiger Qi would eventually end up in Jiang Chen’s possession.

…

When they arrived at the base of the mountain and entered the magic formation, what came into view were rows of small bamboo huts, arranged side by side and seeming to stretch indefinitely in every direction.

By their appearance, it was clear these were hastily constructed, extremely rudimentary.

Sweeping his gaze around, Jiang Chen commented: “The immortals of the Shu Region certainly have capable people among them.”

The millions of refugees all resided in this one location, and yet no disorder had broken out.

On the contrary, they were living very stable lives, showing none of the telltale signs of disaster-stricken people.

It goes without saying, there must be a capable person managing this place, someone who has created harmony here.

Such a person, if given a position in the court, would surely be an exceptional minister, one whose name will be remembered in history.

Sun Wukong nodded and took a say: “There is indeed a Daoist here, and he is quite extraordinary.”

“Oh?

Who might that be?” Jiang Chen, who was just casually expressing his admiration for the Daoist, now genuinely felt curious.

Sun Wukong was someone who looked down on others with a supremely arrogant air.

For someone to receive the descriptor “extraordinary” from him, that Daoist must truly be talented.

Instead of answering Jiang Chen’s question, Sun Wukong just angled his head upwards and signaled towards the front: “He’s here.”

Jiang Chen turned his head in the direction that Sun Wukong indicated and saw more than a dozen people approaching them.

All of these individuals were wearing Daoist uniforms, clearly disciples of Taoism.

The leading individual stood nearly ten feet tall, sporting thick eyebrows, broad facial features, red on top, green eyes, and a high, distinguished nose.

He had long arms that hung down past his knees, was heavily bearded.

His stride was confident and robust, akin to the majesty of a striding dragon or a stomping tiger.

Presumably, this Daoist person was the one Sun Wukong was talking about.

Deep down, Jiang Chen directed his Sun and Moon Divine Pupils to closely observe the man.

Whoosh…

The Sun-Moon Wheel in his eyes transformed into a dazzling burst of divine light, wielding the power to pierce through yin and yang as it fell upon the Daoist.

The next moment, a blindingly brilliant golden light erupted in front of Jiang Chen, causing a wave of pain to sear through his eyes.

He reflexively shut them tight.

While his eyes ached, the surprise he felt in his heart couldn’t be concealed.

Because he recognized the source of the golden light—it was the Emperor Qi.

Not the mundane Emperor Qi, but the celestial Emperor Qi from the heavens — the Emperor Qi of the Jade Emperor.

Who exactly is this Daoist, and why is he enveloped by the presence of the Jade Emperor’s Qi?

Puzzled, Jiang Chen suppressed his discomfort and opened his eyes again, intending to scrutinize the Daoist further.

However, without waiting for Jiang Chen to speak, as the Daoist approached and saw Jiang Chen’s face up close, he suddenly became excited.

An incredible intensity gleamed in his eyes, and anyone could make out the excitement in them.

Observing the Daoist’s demeanor, Jiang Chen became even more doubtful.

Did he know this man?

Just as Jiang Chen was about to speak, the Daoist made an astonishing move.

Amid the surprised and unreadable looks of the spectators, he suddenly knelt on the ground and bowed to Jiang Chen, saying, “Disciple Zhang Ling pays respects to my savior!”

“After nearly a century, I had given up on any hope of seeing my savior again in this life.

Yet unexpectedly, amidst the chaos in the Shu Region, I get to see you again.

This is undoubtedly a great joy in life.”

“Please accept my humble bow, my savior!”

Having said this, the Daoist once again paid a deep respect to Jiang Chen.

Zhang Ling!

The Daoist’s name was Zhang Ling!

As he knelt, the Innate Eight Diagrams in Jiang Chen’s Sea of Consciousness automatically started functioning, and in an instant, rang out his origins.

During the time when Sun Wukong wreaked havoc in the Underworld, Jiang Chen happened to explore the Netherworld and rescued a Zhang village on his journey.

When he left, he passed on the secrets from Liu Jia Qimen regarding the art of demon exorcism and controlling lightning to a young boy in the village.

That young boy was none other than Zhang Ling who stood in front of him at this very moment.

At that time, Jiang Chen thought that the boy had a good eye for things, so he passed on these divine abilities to him.

After imparting the secrets, he didn’t think much of it and soon forgot about everything.

What he didn’t expect was, after almost a century, they would meet again.

And now, Zhang Ling was no longer an ordinary mortal, but an immortal of the Mysterious Immortal tier.

This was slightly exaggerated.

In less than a hundred years, he had progressed from an average person to a Mysterious Immortal.

This level of talent couldn’t be described as merely exaggerated.

This was the path of cultivation, not martial training.

The progress was too swift.

Remembering the Emperor Qi that surrounded Zhang Ling, Jiang Chen had some comprehension in his heart.

Back then, he had misunderstood the situation.

The Zhang village was actually the descendants of the Zhang Family which descended from the bloodline of the Jade Emperor.

Zhang Ling should have awakened this bloodline, hence the explanation for his extraordinariness.

Only this explanation could justify everything about Zhang Ling.