For an ox to eat grass is always a natural thing, even if that ox was no longer an ordinary black ox and the grass it consumed was not ordinary grass either.
The middle-aged daoist glanced at the mountain path and asked calmly, "Are the spirit herbs here better than those in the herb garden?"
The black ox who was currently nibbling on a herb, made a vague sound and replied, "In the past, certainly not. But things are different now. These medicinal herbs have been here for who knows how many years. How can they still be ordinary medicinal herbs?"
The middle-aged daoist said indifferently, "No matter how good they are, they can't compare to what's in the herb garden either.
Hearing this, the black ox had a look of sudden realization and nodded repeatedly. "Daoist Master, you have profound insight! Indeed, these medicinal herbs by the roadside can't compare to the things properly cultivated in the herb garden."
The middle-aged daoist did not pay much attention to the errors in the ox's words. Instead, he pointed to the mountaintop and asked, "Is that the grand hall of this Rongshan Sect?"
The black ox shook its head and said with a soft sight, "I don't know either, Daoist Master. As you know, demonic beasts like me, we don't have any status. I've never been to that grand hall. But you, Daoist Master, have incisive judgment. You'll definitely figure out what it is."
The middle-aged daoist furrowed his brow slightly. Thinking for a moment, he said, "Head to that herb garden."
He did not want to waste any more time here. His priority was to find the herb garden.
If there were immortal herbs there, that would be the most important place.
The black ox agreed with a grunt and began to trot. Instead of heading toward the grand hall, they followed the distant mountain path, circling around the mountainside to reach the other side.
Soon, the two of them passed through a dense forest and entered a sea of flowers.
"Daoist Master, the herb garden is an important place. To prevent ordinary cultivators from causing trouble there, there used to be an array. Of course, after so many years, that array formation might no longer exist. But if it's still there... I believe someone with your cultivation realm wouldn't care about it. After all, why would someone like you care about these..."
The black ox smiled in a fawning manner and strolled through the colorful sea of flowers. It sighed, "I wonder what's going on. After all these years, this flower sea hasn't changed much."
The middle-aged daoist's expression was calm, completely ignoring these words. He just looked at the end of the flower sea.
This sea of flowers seemed to stretch endlessly, and there was no telling when they would reach its end.
The black ox continued to move forward leisurely, feeling somewhat relaxed.
After an unknown amount of time, the middle-aged daoist finally raised his head and slowly said, "Can we reach the end?"
Hearing this, the black ox nervously raised its head and asked, "Daoist Master, what are you saying?"
The middle-aged daoist's eyes showed no emotion, he just lifted his head and looked somewhere, saying, "This grand formation seems rather simple and crude."
The black ox tensed its body and questioned with puzzlement, "Daoist Master, are you saying there's a grand formation here?"
Ignoring the ox, the middle-aged daoist just threw out a purple talisman. He watched as the talisman drifted away like a leaf in the wind, never falling but drifting steadily towards the distance. After an unknown amount of it, it disappeared within the sea of flowers.
"What kind of technique is this, Daoist Master?"
The black ox asked rather curiously.
The middle-aged daoist said calmly, "A small trick. However, if you still want to play any tricks, I'll not hesitate to kill you and bury you, along with this long-forgotten Rongshan Sect, to the dust of history."
The black ox fell into a long silence after hearing this. Eventually, it stopped and dug a small pit with its hooves on the ground before slowly saying, "Daoist Master, after you enter this place, can you still kill people?"
Its voice was very light, but the content was extremely heavy. After it spoke, the flowers in the sea seemed to fall silent.
The middle-aged daoist continued to sit cross-legged on the ox's back, as if he had not heard these words at all, maintaining his composure.
The black ox suddenly let out an impatient grunt. It kicked its hind legs forcefully and began to run through the sea of flowers. Many fresh blossoms were crushed beneath its hooves, making it look extremely tragic as the ground was strewn with trampled petals.
However, the middle-aged daoist sitting on its back remained composed, except for his robe fluttering in the wind.
He was very calm, without any reaction.
After an unknown period of time, the black ox finally stopped, panting heavily.
The middle-aged daoist remained on its back, but it had lost its strength.
"Daoist Master... you're indeed very shameless."
It recalled some memories and looked at its own nose ring.
The middle-aged daoist said, "I don't want to kill you. If you don't want to return to the daoist temple with me, that's fine. But here and now, you have to take me to where I need to go. Don't even think about killing me. You're just a beast, why bother thinking so much? Is the human heart something that you can plot against?"
The black ox felt somewhat wronged but chose to lie down on the ground, no longer moving.
"Daoist Master, you might as well kill me."
The black ox stuck out its tongue, looking like a dog.
The middle-aged daoist said, "The spirit medicines don't tempt you?"
The black ox remained silent.
The middle-aged daoist said calmly, "You're just an ox, why do you care so much about friendship?"
The black ox sighed and said, "Daoist Master, you can't put it that way. That monk was pretty good to me. Even though I'm just an ox, I'm still a good ox."
The middle-aged daoist shook his head, threw out the demon-suppressing staff he had found earlier, and then dismounted from the black ox. He stood amidst the sea of flowers. This daoist with a profound cultivation realm said calmly, "Think it over again. I'll give you another fifteen minutes. I don't appreciate your so-called friendship. I only want an outcome."
Looking at the broken demon-suppressing staff, the black ox remembered the monk. The black ox fell into silence for a long time. Then, it swallowed the staff with one gulp.
"Daoist Master... You're actually a good person."
The middle-aged daoist paid no attention to him and walked forward.
"Daoist Master, I can't decipher the array formation here either. I don't know where the formation's core is either. It's really not my fault. Back then, I had no status in the mountains. They all treated me like an ox."
"You were originally just an ox."
"Daoist Master, can't I be a demon?"
"A demon ox."
"Daoist Master, with the way you talk, you don't have any friends, right?"
"I don't need friends."
"Daoist Master, it's really all thanks to your strength that you could live until now."
……
