Heaven’s Shadow

The black dog, Ah Tu, happily ran through the forest.

In the Kunlun Mountains, there were almost no powerful monsters. The forest was full of harmless birds and small animals, while the slightly larger and more dangerous beasts stayed hidden in the deep mountains and rarely came out.

The only rulers here were humans, specifically the cultivators of the Kunlun Sect.

Ah Tu certainly didn’t understand the concept of “bullying under the protection of a powerful person” or the idea of “taking advantage of another’s influence.” However, these days, it had been having a great time playing in the forest near Shipan Mountain of the Kunlun Sect, often returning only at dusk, earning scoldings from Lu Chen multiple times, who said it had become wild from playing too much.

Ah Tu would always listen to Lu Chen’s reprimands with its ears down but resolutely would not change. It seemed to have a deep, innate love for the forest, enjoying the hills, streams, and woods. During these times, Ah Tu felt a rush of excitement, and even its lame leg didn’t seem like a hindrance anymore.

Sometimes, it couldn’t help but stand on a hill and let out a long, piercing howl towards the endless mountains and clear sky.

Like a wolf under a full moon.

Well, sort of. Its howl wasn’t powerful enough, its energy was insufficient, and most importantly, Ah Tu never ventured out at night. When night fell, it would obediently return home to stay with Lu Chen in their simple and cramped room.

One day, Lu Chen went up the mountain, and Ah Tu went off to play alone again. It ran through forests, crossed rivers, and traversed hills and streams, eventually encountering a peculiar mountain peak.

The peak was hidden among the Kunlun Mountains, not particularly high or large. Looking up from its base, Ah Tu thought the mountain looked strange, twisted, and steep, somehow familiar.

After staring for a while, a light bulb seemed to go off in its head, and it found the answer.

The peak resembled a dog’s head!

A dog-head-shaped mountain.

Gou-Tuo Mountain!

Ah Tu became excited and barked joyfully, rushing towards the peak. But at the mountain’s base, it suddenly stopped, noticing a nAh Turally formed slope covering one side of Gou-Tuo Mountain, extending upwards.

The slope was layered, with huge rocks and large trees marking nAh Tural divisions, forming a massive staircase ascending from the bottom.

A herd of wild boars, a few goats, occasional birds, and large groups of deer passed in front of it. 

Ah Tu cautiously avoided the tall animals, looked around, and continued up the mountain. Upon reaching the second level of the invisible, giant staircase, it saw a massive striped tiger lazily sleeping under a tree.

Ah Tu’s legs went weak.

Fortunately, the tiger didn’t notice it, and Ah Tu quickly fled, running off to the side and unknowingly climbing another level. As it moved higher, it instinctively sensed something and looked around. Indeed, as it ascended, each level of the staircase harbored different kinds of exotic beasts.

There was a giant crocodile ten feet long, a pure white unicorn rhino, a black golden eagle soaring across the sky, and even a graceful spiritual crane resembling a celestial beast…

Each level seemed to have an invisible line, ensuring the beasts coexisted peacefully. Strangely, they never attacked other animals, at most growling to scare Ah Tu, sending it scrambling and tumbling away.

Though frightened, Ah Tu felt an inexplicable urge pushing it forward, making it constantly look towards the peak.

Vaguely, there seemed to be a massive figure there.

Ah Tu slowly approached.

Reaching the top, the black dog was trembling, barely able to stand, but soon it saw what it had been looking for.

At the peak of Gou-Tuo Mountain lay a massive figure. When those huge eyes slowly turned towards it, Ah Tu barked joyfully and rushed over, wagging its tail vigorously.

It was like seeing a long-missed, deeply cherished friend it wanted to please.

It was a green ox, dominating the mountain’s peak, at the top of all the auspicious beasts in the Kunlun Mountains.

The green ox glanced at Ah Tu, who barked happily, but the ox remained unresponsive. After a while, it suddenly flicked its tail, which wrapped around Ah Tu like a legendary binding rope, throwing it into the air, sending it flying far away.

“Woof…”

A sorrowful cry echoed as all the exotic beasts on Gou-Tuo Mountain looked up. They saw a black shadow flying down the mountain, flipping several times in mid-air before crashing into a dense forest at the foot of the mountain with a thud, lying still for a long time.

The mountain above and below was silent. After a while, everything suddenly returned to normal. The numerous exotic beasts and immortal birds continued eating, sleeping, or walking around as usual. None of them even glanced at the seemingly lifeless black dog.

※※※

Five days later, Baicao Hall officially announced the list of disciples selected for spiritual power cultivation that year. There were fifty names, and Lu Chen’s name was among them.

Yi Xin was very happy and ran to celebrate with Lu Chen, but Lu Chen dampened the mood by telling her that from now on, they were even and she no longer owed him any favors. This made Yi Xin roll her eyes in exasperation.

However, that wasn’t the main concern. When Yi Xin saw the black dog Ah Tu lying in the room, covered in dust and dirt with several bandages wrapped around it, she was horrified and quickly questioned Lu Chen.

Lu Chen didn’t know much either. He only said that a few days ago, this dumb dog had crawled back from the mountains, looking very miserable. It seemed like it had accidentally fallen while playing in the forest and broke several bones. Lu Chen had a hard time setting them back in place.

Yi Xin was heartbroken, hugging Ah Tu and crying while softly comforting it for a long time. She then went out and bought a big bag of its favorite meat bones to help it recover.

Strangely, although Ah Tu was seriously injured, it didn’t seem to be emotionally affected. It ate and slept as usual. When Yi Xin came, it would stick out its tongue and lick her hand affectionately, but that was about it.

In the end, Yi Xin could only assume that Ah Tu had injured itself accidentally. She gave it a long lecture, which made Ah Tu look dazed and yawn repeatedly before finally falling asleep in her arms.

Compared to Yi Xin’s tenderness, Lu Chen was much more straightforward. After setting Ah Tu’s bones, changing its medicine, and bandaging it, he kicked it into a corner of the room. According to him, this stupid dog was useless and always caused trouble. He said it would be better to cook it and eat dog meat one day.

Yi Xin was furious and wanted to take Ah Tu away. But Ah Tu, despite being affectionate with her, became uncooperative when it was time to leave. It clung to the table and chairs, struggling desperately and refusing to leave the room. In the end, it even hid behind Lu Chen and wouldn’t come out no matter how much Yi Xin coaxed it.

What kind of dog is this?

Yi Xin was nearly at her wit’s end with this strange and rebellious black dog, feeling a sense of impending breakdown.

※※※

Regardless, Ah Tu was just an insignificant episode. Lu Chen’s days in the Kunlun Sect continued as usual.

Having been selected for spiritual power cultivation, he could now leave behind the spiritual fields. Under Baicao Hall’s arrangements, Lu Chen and the other fifty disciples who showed potential in spiritual power were taken to another place called “Luxiang Garden.”

Luxiang Garden was a large herb garden that cultivated important spiritual herbs. However, Lu Chen and the other disciples were only allowed to work in the outermost area called “Maple Garden.”

The spiritual herbs planted in Luxiang Garden were at least of the second rank, with their quality increasing the deeper one went. The area was filled with a pleasant fragrance and spiritual energy, giving it the name “Luxiang.”

The disciples’ task was to use their spiritual power to adjust the five elemental energies in the soil around the spiritual plants, helping these precious herbs grow better.

This was a very tedious and meticulous job. Any mistake could damage the fragile roots of the spiritual herbs and cause them harm. However, if done properly, the herbs would grow better and become more potent in their spiritual and medicinal properties.

Lu Chen was doing just that.

While working, he looked just like everyone else—somewhat comical. The disciples would squat in the fields with their hands in the soil, some even sticking their buttocks out, carefully manipulating the spiritual energy in the ground. By the end of the day, they would be covered in dirt, looking rather dirty.

They resembled the most ordinary farmers in the mortal world.

That day, Lu Chen was squatting in the field, busy with his work.

Many Kunlun disciples came and went in Luxiang Garden. Some were there to get herbs, others to buy spiritual pills from Baicao Hall, and some even spent spirit stones to have Baicao Hall cultivate rare spiritual herbs for them.

When these high-ranking Kunlun disciples passed by, most wouldn’t even glance at the lowly servant disciples who looked like farmers. Occasionally, curious young disciples would make remarks like, “They look like frogs…” while laughing.

Lu Chen heard some of these comments, but his expression remained calm, showing no sign of emotion. However, that evening, when he finally finished his work and stood up, sore and aching, he suddenly saw a graceful figure in the distance, walking towards the deeper part of Luxiang Garden with her back to him.

In the sunset, her red feather cloak on her shoulders looked like the burning clouds in the sky. (To be continued.)

Gou-Tuo – Dog-Head

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