In the middle of Qingcheng Mountain.

    Chen Yun and Zhang Jiwen quickly crossed the mountains and rivers.

    The two gradually arrived at the back mountain, where there was a huge ravine.

    After arriving here, Zhang Jiwen's footsteps slowed down.

    Chen Yun took the opportunity to survey the surroundings and found that the peak range and rock soared up from here, while the valley was deep.

    Moreover, it was lush with all sorts of plants, such as azaleas, camellias, mountain cinnamon, and wild chrysanthemums, which adorned the area and made one feel as if they had arrived in a beautiful scenic spot.

    He followed Zhang Jiwen and asked, "Jiwen Daoist friend, where are we?"

    Zhang Jiwen did not look back, "Five Dragon Gorge."

    Five Dragon Gorge?

    Chen Yun had heard of this place. It was said that the Five Dragon Gorge was named after a legend that there were five divine dragons in ancient times, hidden within the gorge.

    Just as he was thinking, Zhang Jiwen said again, "We will go to the San Tan Mist Spring soon. There is a black tiger with double wings guarding it. I'm indeed not its opponent, so we must take it by surprise."

    Chen Yun thought to himself, "Now, at this time, you're still yapping nonsense to me?"

    If you really can't match even this half-step true person, why would Master Zhang and my teacher let me, a mere seventh-level cultivator, come here to die?

    The two chatted idly, and soon they arrived at a waterfall.

    The spring water poured down here with great momentum, creating an imposing atmosphere. As the water fell into the valley below, it splashed up into layers of mist, making the area shrouded in mist, resembling a fairyland.

    Zhang Jiwen suddenly stopped and pointed to the front, saying, "This is Three-Pool Mist Spring."

    Chen Yun looked ahead, sensing that the air here seemed much fresher, but had not seen the black tiger that Zhang Jiwen mentioned.

    Zhang Jiwen waved his hand, and a purple gold bowl the size of a palm appeared in his palm instantly. "My purple gold bowl can hold water from a river, comrade. When we get close to the spring, you scoop up a little water with this purple gold bowl, and then we leave immediately. The premise is that we can get near the spring."

    Chen Yun said, "I haven't seen a black tiger with double wings back there."

    Zhang Jiwen laughed and said, "Keep going and it will come out."

    As Chen Yun took the purple gold bowl, both he and Zhang Jiwen walked a few more steps forward.

    Just outside the gorge.

    Suddenly, a black tiger, as big as a cow, with double wings on its back and a fierce aura all over its body, slowly emerged from the back of the mountain wall.

    Zhang Jiwen reached out and said, "Stop, as long as we don't enter the gorge, it won't come out to harm us. Once we're inside, it's another story."

    "Is this the only entrance to the Three-Pool Mist Spring?"

    As Chen Yun asked this question, he activated his Observation of Qi Technique to see how strong this black tiger was.

    Zhang Jiwen shook his head and said, "No, there are multiple entrances from all directions, but this flying tiger can sense it and arrive in time."

    During Zhang Jiwen's speaking, Chen Yun had already seen the brightness of the black tiger clearly.

    The brightness of the black tiger was like a candle, and it seemed that it was not particularly powerful. At most, it should be equivalent to the mid-level of an eighth-grade mage.

    Chen Yun thought to himself, "It's so weak, and Zhang Jiwen still says there's no way to deal with it? That's obviously just nonsense."

    He confidently said, "Since it's like that, I'll force it to let us pass. Wait for me, Jiwen Daoist friend."

    Chen Yun said this as he continued to walk forward.

    Zhang Jiwen smiled sarcastically, "Comrade Chong Yong, I advise you not to make a fool of yourself."

    Chen Yun believed that he had seen through the black tiger's cultivation, and he was not willing to take this warning seriously.

    And then...

    Um, he was slapped by the black tiger with a palm, which sent him flying and heavily collided with the mountain wall, his bones almost shattering.

    Zhang Jiwen watched as Chen Yun "slipped" down from the mountain wall and stood there, blinking his eyes, saying, "Comrade Chong Yong, do you now believe my words?"

    Chen Yun felt as though his entire body was going to come apart after being hit by the black tiger, and he couldn't even muster the strength to speak. He lay on the ground, limp and weak.

    As soon as he entered the canyon, before he had time to make any move, that black tiger, as if swatting a fly, casually waved in the air. Immediately, Chen Yun felt an invisible but powerful force coming from it, as though the air itself was compressed together by the black tiger's mid-air strike, and then he was knocked flying.

    Clearly, the strength of this black tiger is not as simple as it appears.

    Chen Yun took a while to recover and was quite shocked, "Even my Observation of Qi Technique cannot penetrate its strength. Could it be that it's as strong as a true person?"

    Zhang Jiwen said seriously, "It's stronger than the pinnacle of Earth gods and weaker than God of Destroying Space."

    Chen Yun: (...)

    "Nima!"

    Stronger than the pinnacle of Earth gods?

    What's the point of playing then?

    Chen Yun really couldn't understand. Why would my teacher and Zhang Tianjiao want me, a seventh-level cultivator, to face such a powerful creature with no hope of winning?

    At the moment, he had a feeling similar to that of "PengBanErBa" in Version 8.6 of "Journey to the West" when he heard "QiuTouChong" say, "Go and eliminate the Tang Monk and his disciples."

    "So, you see..." Zhang Jiwen drew out the tail of his sentence, "I said earlier that we needed to take it by cunning means. You wouldn't listen and had to go up there and get beaten up."

    Chen Yun was stunned, "Cunning means?"

    Zhang Jiwen's innocent face was filled with expressions that didn't match his age, "That's right, so Comrade Chong Yong you need to use your brain more. I'm a seventeen-eight-year-old yellow-haired kid who can't think of any useful ways."

    Cunning means?

    How can I capture it if I don't even know its specific information?

    Chen Yun sat there lost in thought, and for a moment, he really couldn't think of any way.

    Wait a minute!

    Not entirely without information.

    Chen Yun recalled that earlier at Ba Jing Palace, Zhang Jiwen had said that this black tiger has the bloodline of the ancient beast Qiongqi.

    Can this point be used as a strategy?

    He sat there without getting up, carefully recalling all the information about Qiongqi from the book he had read.

    The Qiongqi is known along with the chaos, Taowu, and Taotie as the "Four Great ferocious beasts" of antiquity. It is a descendant of the Western Emperor Shaohao and was exiled by Shun for its betrayal of faith and loyalty and its appreciation for evil words. It was moved to the four borders to subdue evil spirits.

    According to the "Beihai North Section" in "Shanhaijing": The appearance of Qiongqi is like a tiger, about the size of a cow, and it has a pair of wings.

    The legend says that Qiongqi is a ferocious beast, enjoys eating people, and is not loyal or honest. It doesn't listen to good advice from good people but only listens to bad words from others.

    If this black tiger truly has the bloodline of Qiongqi, would it inherit the characteristic of enjoying listening to others' bad words?

    Can we give it a try?

    Chen Yun stood up and walked towards the gorge direction again.

    Zhang Jiwen thought he was going to risk his life again, so he followed behind, crying and laughing, "Comrade Chong Yong, are you going to get beaten up again?"

    Chen Yun smiled playfully, "I'm afraid of pain, so I really don't want to get beaten up by it."

    Zhang Jiwen was puzzled and said, "But…"

    Chen Yun didn't explain anything; he simply stood at the edge of the canyon entrance and shouted to the black tiger, "Venerable Flying Tiger, can you understand human speech?"

    The black tiger seemed to be indifferent to him; it just licked its own paws.

    This time, Chen Yun was somewhat uncertain, but he had found a clue by chance and didn't dare to give up.

    He made up a story on the spot, "I have a friend named Chen Yun, who is extremely strange."

    Hm, he doesn't want to speak ill of others behind their backs, as long as he speaks for himself.

    At this point, the black tiger made no response.

    Zhang Jiwen stood there, also puzzled.

    Chen Yun continued, saying, "I taught him to practice the sword, but he insisted on practicing the sword. Instead of practicing the upper sword, he chose to practice the lower sword. Instead of practicing the gold sword, he chose to practice the silver sword. Instead of studying the Wang Sword, he studied instead the Fan Sword. Finally, he became a master of swords."

    Zhang Jiwen was quite naive and didn't understand the meaning of Chen Yun's words at all.

    However, the black tiger that had been ignoring Chen Yun suddenly raised its head, its eyes filled with curiosity, and spoke in human language: "Ha ha, is that really the worthless Chen Yun?"

    Zhang Jiwen only now understood what he was saying, and suddenly looked at Chen Yun, looking quite speechless and thinking, "Comrade Chong Yong is really mean, calling himself worthless..."

    "Why not?" Chen Yun squatted there and continued to speak ill of himself, "He not only practices the sword poorly but is also an idiot. That's why I never argue with him."

    "Why?" the black tiger asked curiously.

    Chen Yun spoke slowly, "Because he would lower my IQ to the same level as his and then use his vast experience to defeat me."

    Zhang Jiwen: (...)

    However, the black tiger seemed even more pleased, "Interesting! Interesting! I've never heard anyone say bad things about others in hundreds of years, kid. What else do you have to say?"

    "Of course, I do." Chen Yun said in a sigh, "Most people who are not good looking are simply called ugly men. But my friend Chen Yun's ugliness is much more than just being called ugly."

    At this point, not only the black tiger, even Zhang Jiwen couldn't help but show a surprised expression, "What level of ugliness is he? Could it be as terrifying as the ancient demon like Nuwo?"

    “Why not?” Chen Yun said in a soft voice, "His portrait hanging on the wall can ward off evil spirits, and placing it by the bed can prevent conception!"

    "Puff!"

    "Ha ha ha!"

    Zhang Jiwen and the black tiger both laughed.

    They seemed surprised that Chen Yun's words were so amusing. After all, he was speaking ill of someone behind their back, but the level of humor was as engaging as that of a story-teller.

    Yes, these insults, in fact, were popular in Chen Yun's previous life on the internet for a short time. However, with the passage of time, they have been eliminated. Generally speaking, most people won't have much reaction to them when they hear them. But people in this world have not experienced information explosion and are relatively civilized. When they first hear someone being described in such a witty and derogatory manner from behind their back, naturally they find it very interesting.

    Chen Yun looked like he could see the results and worked even harder "stealing" some of the insults from the internet in his previous life.

    Next, he spoke for half an hour without repeating anything, actually turning Zhang Jiwen and the black tiger into a laughing stock.

    Of course, after half an hour of backhanded compliments, Chen Yun gradually ran out of words.

    He looked like he had made enough friends with the black tiger, so he said in a timely manner: "Venerable Flying Tiger, since we're so familiar with each other now, can I please take some of the lingquan and go with me?"

    Who would have thought that the black tiger, who had been belly laughing just a moment ago, would suddenly turn its face and say, "No! If you dare to come in, I will kill you!"

    Chen Yun couldn't help but show a faintly sad expression. Well, after all that time of bashing himself, he still couldn't get his hands on the lingquan.

    It shouldn't be like that. Since the black tiger is a "intelligent creature" and is willing to listen to oneself talk bad about others, it should be considered that they have established a relationship. It should be reasonable for it to give some lingquan. Why is it so unfeeling?

    Could it be because he didn't hit the nail on the head with his speech?

    But what kind of words does this black tiger want to hear to be satisfied?

    Chen Yun thought for a moment again.

    Zhang Jiwen, on the other hand, showed an inexplicably playful smile on his face.

    Suddenly, Chen Yun seemed to have an idea. He looked up and said with a smile, "Venerable Black Tiger, if I can say some bad things that please you later, can I take some lingquan then?"

    The black tiger yawned lazily and said, "Only talk about it if it pleases me."

    Chen Yun looked up at the sky and said with a smile, "It will surely satisfy you."

    Zhang Jiwen looked curious, wondering where Chen Yun got such confidence. He was eager to hear what Chen Yun would say to make the flying tiger satisfied.

    Chen Yun said, "Okay, let's talk about Master Zhang Tianshi's bad things."

    The black tiger lifted its head suddenly.

    Zhang Jiwen looked at Chen Yun with wide, nearly black eyes, utterly stunned.

    Not only the black tiger and Zhang Jiwen, but also Qing Li and Master Zhang Tianshi, who were watching the "live" in the fairyland, both looked at each other, all showing a look of helplessness mixed with laughter.

    None of them had expected that Chen Yun, with such a bold character, would dare to speak ill of Master Zhang Tianshi behind his back.

    Zhong Liqun and Zhang Tianshi originally wanted to test Chen Yun's "intelligence," but Chen Yun was just thinking, only that he was thinking a bit crooked...

    (End of this chapter)