Zhao Meng rode on the public transport in the city and looked at the various people and demons on the roadside.
A ripple appeared in his heart. In this world, most were ordinary people, and most of the demons were ordinary demons.
On the streets, there were workers who were shouting to attract customers, and strong demons who were coolies.
There were also humans and demons dressed up as comical characters in a pavilion, acting out some kind of opera.
In Two-World Pass City, humans and demons achieved a strange balance.
Every ordinary person and every ordinary demon was a survivor in this prosperous city. At least here, as the bottom class, they seemed to be no different.
At this moment, the cat demon, which was used as a public transport, suddenly stopped.
The inertia caused by the sudden brake almost threw Zhao Meng out.
"What's wrong? Could it be that we've already arrived?"
Before Zhao Meng could react, the surrounding people exclaimed, "It's someone from the Demon Subduing Temple!"
Following the exclamation, the people and demons on the street instantly scattered.
Even the other passengers who were on the "vehicle" with Zhao Meng jumped off and left, leaving Zhao Meng in a daze on the public transport.
"Is the reputation of the Demon Subduing Temple that terrifying?"
"Suppressing this Two-World Pass City, we have committed countless evils. They are naturally afraid!"
Zhao Meng, who was at a loss, turned his head when he heard the familiar voice. He saw a Taoist standing at the head of the cat vehicle.
With the appearance of the Taoist, Zhao Meng could sense that the big cat was trembling and was very afraid of this person.
When Zhao Meng saw who it was, not only was he not afraid, he even revealed a pleasantly surprised expression.
"Priest Qing Xuan!"
"I didn't expect you to still be alive!" Qing Xuan sized up Zhao Meng with a probing look in his eyes.
"Follow me!"
Qing Xuan looked around and did not say anything to Zhao Meng. He just waved his sleeve.
Zhao Meng felt the world spin. When he regained consciousness, he realized that he was already in a Taoist temple.
"Sigh! They still went!"
Zhao Meng, who had just regained consciousness, heard Qing Xuan sigh.
"Forget it! Even if I can stop them today, I can't stop them tomorrow!"
Qing Xuan shook his head and looked at Zhao Meng.
At this moment, Zhao Meng was still sizing up his surroundings.
He had a vague sense of familiarity with this ancient and quiet Taoist temple.
"Wait, isn't this the Demon Subduing Temple on Two-World Mountain?"
In the memories of his predecessor, when he was imprisoned in Two-World Mountain, he had once entered the Demon Subduing Temple on the Two-World Mountain. Therefore, he still had some impression of that place.
Seeing that Zhao Meng saw something, Qing Xuan nodded and said, "This is the Demon Subduing Temple on Two-World Mountain. It was teleported here 18 years ago!"
"Eighteen years ago!"
Hearing Qing Xuan mention this, Zhao Meng could not help but ask, "Priest, what exactly happened eighteen years ago?"
"Eighteen years ago…" Qing Xuan looked dazed. Then, he shook his head.
"Let's talk about the past later.
"Come! Let me take a look at your physical condition first."
As he spoke, Qing Xuan instructed Zhao Meng to sit down cross-legged. Then, he began to examine Zhao Meng's condition.
"Back then, when your Yang energy was depleted, I gave you the Turtle-Breath Pill and the Fasting Pill. Then, I threw you into the Yangxi Spring of the Two-World Mountain in the hope that you would recover.
"But not long after, the demonic realm in the west suddenly fell into chaos.
"Countless demons came to the Two-World Mountain that we were guarding. They wanted to dig up the mountain to find someone!
"Although our strength had reached the peak of the human race, we were still outnumbered in the end. Sigh…
"Alright, let's talk about your condition!
"You're indeed a mortal. There's nothing wrong with your body." After the examination, Qing Xuan looked at Zhao Meng strangely.
"Do you still remember why you lost your Yang energy?"
Upon hearing this question, Zhao Meng shook his head gently and said, "I don't remember either!"
Qing Xuan stared at Zhao Meng for a while and guessed.
"At that time, a great demon had infiltrated Two-World Mountain in advance. You didn't have time to react to that kind of great demon.
"But why did they dig up the Two-World Mountain?"
After saying that, Qing Xuan fell silent. Zhao Meng did not know what to say.
Just like that, the two of them, who were originally chatting, became very quiet.
The atmosphere became a little strange.
Zhao Meng was about to interrupt the atmosphere when he heard Qing Xuan's voice.
"What do you plan to do next?
"Are you going back to Zhao?"
"The State of Zhao!"
Upon hearing this familiar yet unfamiliar country, Zhao Meng asked, "Is Emperor Zhao still alive?"
"Yes!" Qing Xuan nodded.
"Taoist Priest, you know my situation!"
"In that case, why don't you stay in Two-World Pass City? It just so happens that my Demon Subduing Temple is short of people!"
"Isn't Two-World Pass City under the State of Zhao's jurisdiction?"
Qing Xuan shook his head.
"If I stay in the Demon Subduing Temple, can I enter and leave freely?"
"Of course!"
"However! Our Demon Subduing Temple suppresses this Two-World Pass City and has many enemies. You should try your best to avoid going out!"
"Since it's dangerous, can you teach me some self-protection cultivation techniques?"
Qing Xuan hesitated for a moment and nodded.
"After you disappeared back then, the Zhao imperial family had already removed you from the list. There were no longer any of the restrictions of the past.
"However, your Yang energy has already lost its innate nature. The technique of my Demon Subduing Temple is no longer suitable for you.
"There are some miscellaneous techniques in the library. If you're interested, you can look for opportunities from them. If you can find them, I'll guide you!"
Then, Qing Xuan exchanged a few more words with Zhao Meng.
Taoist Qing Xuan seemed to have something to do, so he did not interrogate Zhao Meng. Instead, he handed him to a young Taoist boy and left in a hurry, as if he was pursuing someone.
…
"This is where you stay.
"For the canteen, just turn left after leaving the courtyard. If you need anything else, come and find me…"
"Thank you!"
"Oh right! My name is Bai Geng!"
Zhao Meng sent away the Taoist kid named Bai Geng and closed the door. He looked at the clean room in front of him and recalled his conversation with Qing Xuan. He sighed silently.
"Qing Xuan still suspects me!"
Zhao Meng could understand this.
After all, the time when he disappeared was too coincidental. Not long after he disappeared, those demons came looking for him. It was easy to associate them with something.
Fortunately, he was just a mortal and had no magic power at all.
Under such circumstances, Qing Xuan could not find anything amiss no matter how hard he searched.
"But he still allowed me to stay in the Demon Subduing Temple!
"I have nowhere to go now. It's not a big deal to stay here."
At this moment, Zhao Meng took out a jade token from his pocket.
He was excited. Qing Xuan had finally agreed to let him cultivate.
With this token, he could go to the library to borrow manuals on cultivation techniques.
In his previous life, he had fantasized about becoming an immortal and obtaining magic power. If his fantasy really had the possibility of being realized, how could he not be happy?
However, Qing Xuan's words before he left made him worried.
"The loss of the innate Yang energy seems to affect cultivation."
"That's right! Speaking of cultivation, I have another technique here!"
Zhao Meng thought of something and took out a scroll of animal skin from his pocket to check.