Chapter 109: Dragon God Mountain-King of All Arts(Daoist of the Third Month)

Dragon God Mountain, also known as Shennong Mountain, is steeped in legend. It is said that long ago, a woman passing by the mountain suddenly suffered severe abdominal pain and sought refuge in a cave to examine herself.

At that moment, a brilliant red light suddenly filled the cave, and astonishingly, the woman gave birth to a child.

Terrified and bewildered, the woman, having had no relations with anyone from other tribes, could not fathom how she could have borne a child.

Without hesitation, she abandoned the baby and left.

Remarkably, the child’s body was transparent, its internal structure visible at a glance.

As the child grew into adulthood, he developed a keen interest in herbs and plants.

Because of his unique physical makeup, he often experimented personally by tasting various herbs to determine which were poisonous and which were not. Through his studies, he developed medical knowledge and authored the "Shennong Materia Medica."

From that time forth, the world gained the art of healing through herbal medicine.

Yet one fateful day, while sampling a herb called the Heartbreak Grass, this child tragically succumbed to its poison.

In honor of this great pioneer of medicine, later generations revered him as Shennong and built a sacred dragon shrine deep within Dragon God Mountain to commemorate the man who sacrificed himself for herbal knowledge.

This is why he is remembered as Shennong, the Divine Farmer who tasted a hundred herbs.

Returning to the present, Fang You arrived at Dragon God Mountain according to the meeting place previously agreed upon with Bai Ling and the Tufuzi.

There, Tufuzi Gao Changyi, Bai Ling, and several other Tufuzi awaited him.

Seeing Fang You arrive, Gao Changyi was the first to approach. "Why are you only just coming? We thought you would stand us up too."

"Watch your words!" Bai Ling stepped forward as well. "Mr. Fang, we've all been waiting for you. Let's enter the mountain together now."

Fang You nodded. "In these past few days, I’ve familiarized myself somewhat with the conditions of Dragon God Mountain."

"Legend has it that hidden within this mountain lies a path to the immortal realm. Passing through Dragon God Mountain, one can find the way to achieve transcendence, and somewhere along the route is also hidden the Earth-Repelling Pearl."

"But a legend is just a legend. How could mortals so easily become immortals?"

"Still, we won’t know unless we try," Gao Changyi’s eyes shone with hope. Perhaps this journey would finally shed light on the mystery of his ancestors’ disappearance, and maybe even uncover the treasured Earth-Repelling Pearl of the Tufuzi clan.

And so, Fang You, Bai Ling, Gao Changyi, and their companions gradually ventured deeper into the mountain.

As dusk fell, the night cast an unusual stillness over Dragon God Mountain. Fang You, Gao Changyi, and the others found a place to rest.

The Tufuzi, accustomed to a harsh life—sleeping on the ground as if it were a bed—were no strangers to hardship and danger. This lifestyle had long become second nature to them.

Bai Ling slipped into her sleeping bag. As a girl living this tomb-robbing life, she constantly carried blades—not to fend off ghosts or dangers of the tombs—but to guard against betrayal from those around her. Indeed, the threat of betrayal by companions was far deadlier than any demon or spirit.

Fang You climbed into the branches of a tree to rest—his usual habit. This kept him safe from snakes and insects crawling on the ground at night, as well as from wild beasts.

As night deepened and darkness enveloped their surroundings, all fell into deep slumber, punctuated by waves of snoring.

In the haze, a young Tufuzi with braided hair rose from the ground, yawning as he walked to a secluded spot to relieve himself.

Suddenly, his body trembled. Ahead, he saw many people playing cards.

The braided Tufuzi was puzzled—why would anyone be playing cards at such an hour?

But driven by an irresistible urge, he walked closer. The crowd naturally made space for him.

He sat down and looked at the table. "Who’s the dealer? Who’s the player?"

On the table was a game of "Big and Small Points," known among the folk as "Pai Gow." Each player was dealt a pair of Pai Gow tiles, each tile numbered from one to ten—one point for one, three points for three, and so on. The gameplay was simple and clear.

The robust man sitting opposite the braided Tufuzi declared, "I’ll deal."

He shuffled the Pai Gow tiles and began distributing them to the players.

Faces expressed varying emotions as the tiles were dealt, until finally, the braided Tufuzi received his tiles.

Nervously, he examined his pair. They totaled nineteen points—nine being the highest.

A joyous smile spread across his face. "I bet five hundred!"

The three men opposite exchanged glances.

"I bet twenty thousand."

"I bet thirty thousand."

"I bet sixty thousand."

"Playing this big is like gambling with your life!" The braided Tufuzi felt a chill at their lavish wagers.

"If you’re not afraid, you can bet your life too!" the three gamblers laughed heartily.

"Betting my life, huh? That sounds like a challenge. Seems my life is worth quite a bit!" The braided Tufuzi matched their bet without hesitation. After all, with the highest hand and a life lived on the edge, why not risk it?

"Show your hands."

One by one, the three flipped their tiles.

"Eight points!"

Strangely, all three revealed hands worth eight points—remarkably uniform.

The braided Tufuzi laughed triumphantly, "Over a hundred thousand in winnings! My life has truly paid off—nine points!"

He began collecting the money on the table.

But in the next moment, the others burst out laughing. "Take another look at your points!"

The braided Tufuzi glanced down again. His tile he had just thrown now showed one point.

"This is the lowest hand, yet you claimed it was the highest? You’re cheating!" they mocked.

"Don’t try to fool me. I clearly had nine points!" The braided Tufuzi’s hand twitched around his long knife.

But when he looked up, the men had vanished without a trace.

Realizing he had encountered something sinister, the money on the table transformed into joss paper—ritual offerings.

Terrified, the braided Tufuzi stepped back. "Boss! Boss Gao!"

He tried to find Gao Changyi but was suddenly surrounded by dozens of ferocious, vengeful spirits.

"Your life is already lost to us. Hand it over! Hahaha!" they jeered.