: Sitting on the Mountain Watching Tigers Fight

Author: Gu Zhenren

Date: 2024-07-31

Atop Fire Persimmon Mountain, deep within the swirling clouds and mist.

Meng Kui, the current lord of Fire Persimmon Immortal City, sat cross-legged mid-air. Thick evening haze surrounded him, with clouds and mist churning tumultuously.

His fingers formed hand seals, and he silently recited incantations. His magical power surged like tides, merging with the surrounding world, echoing in harmony.

A faint cyan glow emanated from his entire body.

He had been practicing like this for almost eight or nine days.

Meng Kui slowly opened his eyes. With a thought, he retrieved a scroll from his storage belt.

The scroll floated in the air, unfurling with the wind to reveal its full image.

It was a frontal portrait of a man with a square jaw, clad in armor, with war banners strapped to his back. He looked imposing and fierce. On the mountain behind him, a robust, multicolored yellow tiger was painted, standing on the peak and roaring at the sky.

This man was Meng Hu, a body cultivator at the Nascent Soul level from Meng Kui's clan, one of the four famous generals of the Meng family.

The painter of this scroll was also extraordinary—Han Xiongfeng, a master of painting among the hundred arts of cultivation, renowned for depicting fierce generals on the battlefield.

Naturally, the scroll painted by Han Xiongfeng based on Meng Hu was exceptional. It contained part of Meng Hu's spirit, representing a portion of his innate talent and fate.

Meng Kui had specifically sought this painting because such a scroll was crucial and indispensable for his spellcasting.

Divine Ability—Sitting on the Mountain Watching!

In an instant, Meng Kui released the divine ability he had been brewing for days onto the scroll.

The scroll abruptly disintegrated. Meng Hu and the fierce tiger intertwined, breaking free from the scroll. The man and the tiger clashed, fighting fiercely back and forth.

Clouds and mist rolled as the man and tiger merged—sometimes the man turned into a tiger, sometimes the tiger became a man—making it impossible to distinguish who was who.

The two illusory figures of man and tiger clashed left and right within the clouds and mist, roaring continuously.

Sitting on the Mountain Watching—Tigers Fight!

The spell was complete.

In an instant, an invisible hurricane swept across the mountain peak, clearing away the thick clouds and evening haze.

The illusory figures of the man and tiger dispersed along with the clouds and mist, spreading to the Molten Rock Immortal Palace, Fire Persimmon Immortal City, and even the entire Fire Persimmon Mountain!

Meng Kui's face turned pale, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he spat out a small mouthful of blood.

A strand of hair at his forehead turned snow-white at a visible speed.

Meng Kui possessed the innate talent of "Gazing from a High Mountain," allowing him to suppress his own fate and observe the surrounding situation with clarity. Relying on this talent, he cultivated the divine ability "Sitting on the Mountain Watching."

Sitting on the mountain, one could watch the winds and clouds, the world, all living beings, and even the struggles of dragons and tigers vying for supremacy!

Using the man-and-tiger scroll, Meng Kui successfully cast the spell, creating a fate field of "Sitting on the Mountain Watching Tigers Fight."

This fate field covered the entire Fire Persimmon Mountain. All living beings within it would be influenced in their fate. Over the next period, they would fight each other for various reasons.

The so-called "tigers fighting" was no small skirmish—it was a life-and-death struggle!

Thus, those caught in the situation would see their fate plummet due to their conflicts. Meng Kui's fate remained unchanged, giving him a relative advantage and a significant edge in momentum.

He cast this spell not for himself but for his grandson, Meng Chong.

Meng Chong, being under his care, remained unaffected by the fate field.

"Chong'er has been training diligently these days, mastering multiple spells."

"Moreover, through rest and recuperation, his fate has truly recovered."

"With my spellcasting this time, even the Molten Rock Immortal Palace is affected. Thus, Chong'er will surely ride on the advantage of his fate, sailing smoothly and unimpeded!"

Lord Meng Kui, with his overarching view, deeply understood the changes in fate.

The current situation was becoming increasingly unfavorable for the City Lord's faction.

On one hand, the Zhou, Zheng, and Ning families were joining forces, pressing step by step. On the other hand, the repeated unrest in the Molten Rock Immortal Palace left Meng Kui baffled. Thirdly, Zhu Xuanji's premature arrival and the mysterious disappearance of the shadow demon cultivator.

All these made Meng Kui realize that he must take measures to change the situation.

"Sitting on the Mountain Watching Tigers Fight" was a spell he cast using his divine ability and the key painting. The drawback was significant—it shortened his lifespan—and could not be used frequently. But for the sake of seizing the Molten Rock Immortal Palace, for his beloved grandson, and for the overall situation of the Meng family, Meng Kui went all out.

Unaware of his grandfather's secret sacrifice, Meng Chong had been training hard in spells ever since waking up from his defeat by the Golden-Blooded War Ape, Da Sheng.

Superior Talent—Sprinting Thunder.

Spell—One Breath.

His breath accelerated, and his shooting speed skyrocketed, instantly turning into a sharp offensive spell.

Superior Talent—Sprinting Thunder.

Spell—Embrace Ice Technique!

Meng Chong embraced the cold air, which sprayed everywhere, covering his face with frost.

He shivered from the cold.

Although he managed to cast the Embrace Ice Technique, it didn't harmonize well with his immortal talent. If used in actual combat, it might harm him instead of the enemy, which would be laughable.

A servant nearby advised, "Young Master Meng Chong, it's time for a break."

Meng Chong nodded. "Alright, I understand."

He temporarily set aside his special training and went off the field to rest.

In the past, he would never have done this, charging ahead single-mindedly, eager for immediate results.

But now, he understood the principle of balancing work and rest. Taking a break now was to charge forward better later!

The hardships and setbacks he had endured not only honed his abilities but also tempered his character, making him more mature and resilient.

As the servant treated Meng Chong, he comforted him, "Young Master, you've already achieved great success."

"Just splitting water-element法力 from the five-element法力 to cast the Embrace Ice Technique is quite troublesome."

"And you’re also enhancing it with your immortal talent, making the casting time extremely short. It requires high proficiency to separate the water-element法力 and then cast the Embrace Ice Technique."

"This difficulty is at least a hundred times harder than simply casting the Embrace Ice Technique!"

Meng Chong grinned, showing his white teeth. "Even if it were a thousand times harder, I could overcome it and break through it."

"In this world, there’s no challenge I can’t surpass!"

Meng Chong was full of fighting spirit and confidence!

Ning Ze's Residence.

Ning Zhuo set down the jade slip, lost in thought.

Ning Xiaoren had sent several jade slips, all related to spirituality.

But most contained common knowledge, not grand theories like "On Spirituality," let alone secret manuals or treasured texts.

In doing so, Ning Xiaoren hadn’t exactly broken his promise.

Since his personal visit to console Ning Zhuo, he had never returned, as if afraid Ning Zhuo would make more demands.

Two examples in the jade slips left the deepest impression on Ning Zhuo.

One was the Four Seasons Natural Zither.

This was the sect-protecting spiritual treasure of the Heavenly Sound Sect.

The Heavenly Sound Sect was a super-grade sect, its influence spanning several cultivation nations.

The selection of the zither's master was one of the most important matters for the Heavenly Sound Sect. Spiritual treasures of this level were often the most critical component of a cultivation force's foundation and strength.

A mistaken selection could weaken the sect's power and cause turmoil.

To become the new master of the Natural Zither, competitors had to compose and perform four different pieces using the zither.

These four pieces had to correspond to the four seasons—spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Competitors needed profound cultivation to pluck the zither's strings. The performed pieces had to fuse genuine emotion and align with the essence of the seasons to gain the zither's recognition and ultimately become its new master.

Due to the immense power of spiritual treasures, sect cultivators who became zither masters often ascended to greatness overnight.

The second story was from long ago.

It was one of the anecdotes about the great forging master, Lü Duan.

Legend has it that while traveling the world, Lü Duan discovered a small country struggling to resist the rampage of an evil god.

The cultivation nation was small, and the evil god was immensely powerful. But the king was benevolent and brave, deeply supported by the people. United, they barely maintained a balance.

Pitying the innocent lives, Lü Duan stepped in, designing a plan with the king and others. They successfully trapped the evil god.

Lü Duan then forged the Shepherd Wind Whip, temporarily sealing the god.

He gave the Shepherd Wind Whip to the king, telling him: The whip isn’t fully forged yet! Only a fully forged Shepherd Wind Whip could completely seal the god and, over prolonged use, gradually transform the god into the whip's spirituality!

The king asked Lü Duan how to truly forge the Shepherd Wind Whip.

Lü Duan said: Now is the critical period. You need to do things that align with the spirituality, allowing the treasure to gradually control it. For example, creating hurricanes or tornadoes.

The king tried using the Shepherd Wind Whip to create various winds and storms.

At first, it worked well, but later the effectiveness dropped sharply. There wasn’t enough time to fully forge the whip before the god was about to break free.

Lü Duan had already left. The king privately discovered that causing wind disasters to destroy the people’s homes would best align with the spirituality.

The king hesitated greatly, but time was running out.

He made a painful decision: sacrifice the current citizens for the future happiness and prosperity of the nation.

So he secretly wielded the whip, causing wind disasters that killed many citizens and left countless homeless.

In the end, the king succeeded in refining the Shepherd Wind Whip, but his actions were discovered. Enraged citizens imprisoned him, and the whip’s whereabouts became unknown.

Finally, the small country perished.

"Although these jade slips don’t state it explicitly, the principle should be similar."

"Summarizing, it’s about acting in accordance with spirituality to make it acknowledge a master or be refined."

"Applied to mechanical constructs, if I want to deepen my control over Yuan Dasheng, I need to do what it desires."

"So, what would that be?"

Ning Zhuo felt a hint of anxiety.

According to "On Spirituality," spirituality grows, passing through stages: spiritual infancy, spiritual activity, and spiritual sensitivity.

"If I miss this period of spiritual activity, will I lose the only good opportunity to fully control Yuan Dasheng?"

Ning Zhuo mainly referenced the Shepherd Wind Whip.

Refining the Shepherd Wind Whip required aligning with the evil god’s spirituality.

This matter had a time limit.

Yuan Dasheng was likely the same!

(End of )