Chapter 579: Sworn Brothers
Daojun had introduced all six of his disciples in the hieroglyphic so Lin Jin knew that his disciples were a mix of humans and monsters.
There were two monsters among the Six Beast Taoists, one being Tiger Taoist, and the other being Crane Taoist.
Lin Jin’s earlier statement was not made up. Daojun’s strongest disciple was Dragon Taoist, due to his profound cultivation. Unfortunately, he pa.s.sed away at a young age. Even so, the disciple Daojun was most fond of was Tiger Taoist.
Many have heard of Curator visiting Heavenly Spiral City to read Daojun’s Hieroglyphic, so Lin Jin found it unnecessary to hide this fact. After brief consideration, he told Tiger Taoist, “My master, Curator, has read Daojun’s Hieroglyphic and from there, he learned about you Six Beast Taoists.”
Tiger Taoist’s hostility faded away, and he reverted back to his normal size before approaching Lin Jin.
If friends.h.i.+p was possible, don’t make enemies. Tiger Taoist agreed with that maxim.
What came next was a long discussion.
At first, both sides were cautious of the other. After all, they couldn’t afford to take each other’s words at face value. However, as their conversation went on, they were surprised to learn that they enjoyed each other’s company. From time to time, they would start laughing as they traded information with each other.
In a distance, Huang Qi and Ominous Wind were staring wide-eyed, wondering what was going on.
Why did those two, who were so intent on killing each other earlier, suddenly strike up a conversation as if they were old pals?
The treacherous banner masters stood there, dumbfounded. Despite this, it was still better than a fight breaking out between Lin Jin and the cave master.
Lin Jin was a carefree lad and Tiger Taoist was the same. It was only after the initial skirmish that they started to get to know each other. At this point, they were merely clearing up any misunderstandings.
Tiger Taoist hadn’t been proactively gathering monsters to wreak havoc at all. It was due to the heavy injuries he sustained from an ambush many years ago, that he sought refuge in Arid Continent.
Thanks to its spa.r.s.e population and harsh living conditions, Arid Continent was the perfect spot for laying low.
Back then, Tiger Taoist was merely looking for a place to recuperate his strength, but he did not expect the cave to be already occupied by a few monsters. However, even in his severely wounded state, he wasn’t someone the little monsters could defeat. Without much effort, he dominated Dark Wind Cave.
The other monsters came to fear him and labeled him as their king. Subsequently, Tiger Taoist spent most of his time in seclusion to recuperate and hide his presence. As time went on, the monster population in Dark Wind Cave expanded, as more came to join their ranks. Funnily enough, Tiger Taoist had never eaten any humans. Daojun had already taught him proper cultivation methods, and a technique to absorb the spiritual energy of this world. In other words, there was no need for Tiger Taoist to hunt humans. It was actually the other monsters of the cave who were consuming the humans.
Tiger Taoist knew it too but he was lenient with them.
Lin Jin straightened up and said, “Let’s not talk about the past anymore. I am here to guide the monsters of Dark Wind Cave down the right path. I’ll teach them proper cultivation so their race can prosper from now on.”
To his surprise, Tiger Taoist nodded in agreement. “To be honest, I had the same idea. Back then, when Master was teaching me, he had mentioned this grand ambition of his but wasn’t able to fulfill it. I’ve spent for too long in seclusion in order to heal my wounds that I overlooked this matter.”
Then, he added, “Mr. Lin, since your master can understand the words in the hieroglyphic, he must have gained my master’s inheritance. With this, you and I are considered students of the same teaching. It’s such a beautiful day today and since we get along so well, why don’t we become sworn brothers? We’ll also be able to look out for each other from now on.”
Lin Jin was stunned.
He mused, ‘This Tiger Taoist is really good. His ability to socialize beats the other Taoists by a landslide.’
There was no denying it. Their conversation was enjoyable, and they both felt regret that they hadn’t met earlier. When Lin Jin mentioned Corpse Taoist and Ghost Taoist, Tiger Taoist revealed that he also had a grudge against them.
“In the past, I’ve never been on good terms with Corpse Taoist and Ghost Taoist. They may be humans but their characters are awful. Master mentioned it too but he was a benevolent man and wanted to give them a chance to redeem themselves. Who knew that both of them got worse over the years,” said Tiger Taoist furiously.
When he learned that Corpse Taoist had turned Dragon Taoist’s pet beast into a zombie dragon, Tiger Taoist flew into a fit of rage.
According to Tiger Taoist, he and Dragon Taoist were such close friends that they went everywhere together. It was a shame that Dragon Taoist pa.s.sed away for unknown reasons. Now, it seemed clear that his death had something to do with Corpse Taoist.
This fact alone made him stand with Lin Jin.
Tiger Taoist had a straightforward personality and Lin Jin didn’t like beating around the bush either.
They would be sworn brothers from now on! What’s more, Tiger Taoist was a prominent character in terms of ident.i.ty and strength. After a brief interaction, Lin Jin had come to like his personality — he was the type to do and speak his mind freely without lacing his words with hidden meanings.
Their conversation continued, and before they even realized it, dusk had already arrived.
“Brother Lin, the climate of Arid Continent is terrible and it gets very cold and windy at night. Come, let’s continue speaking inside the cave.” Tiger Taoist, who seemed unsatiated, pulled Lin Jin along to his cave.
Huang Qi and the others could only tag along. They felt embarra.s.sed when they met the other monsters again.
Here in Dark Wind Cave, the stronger monsters were already able to stand on their feet. Although some were still unconscious, they were mostly fine now. More than half of the monsters were still lying on the floor.
After dragging Lin Jin inside, Tiger Taoist studied the situation before asking, “Brother Lin, how did you do it? It’s such an overbearing technique that when I had even one whiff of this strange miasma, I felt my head spin.”
Now that Lin Jin had a new friend, he didn’t answer Tiger Taoist immediately but used his needles to cure the monsters. He fired more than a hundred at once.
In mere seconds, the monsters on the ground were able to stand up again, albeit in a dazed state.
“They’re just little tricks that aren’t worth mentioning.” Lin Jin flashed a dry smile at Tiger Taoist, who asked no more. After issuing instructions to his subordinates, he led Lin Jin into his personal cave.
Once inside, Lin Jin nodded in approval.
Tiger Taoist’s cave was commendable as he had enhanced it with divine secret arts and he had even set up a spirit gathering formation. This was proof of his authentic cultivation knowledge.
Tiger Taoist fetched some aged wine to share with Lin Jin.
Perhaps Tiger Taoist rarely chatted with the monsters. Perhaps he had never talked to them at all, but he was now talking non-stop with Lin Jin.
Lin Jin didn’t find it boring at all, as Tiger Taoist’s stories were very fascinating. The subject went on to Daojun. When the alcohol finally caught up to Tiger Taoist, he started wailing as he described his experience with Daojun.
“When I was a cub at North Mountain, I almost died in the jaws of a ferocious beast. It was Master who saved me, nurtured me, taught me the way of Dao, helped me refine my hyoid bone, and taught me how to take on a human form. He left me before I could even repay him. Oh heavens, why do you have to be so cruel?!”
Having said that, he poured another bowl of wine down his gullet.