From the Carp that Brings Children to the Celestial Officials

Chapter 218 Destroying Mountains and Temples is a Meticulous Task

The tribe, having lost the protection of the White Bone Mother, was like a boat with a broken string, as if it had lost its beacon in the darkness and hunger.

This is a very dangerous thing.

In the temples of each tribe, a charcoal fire burns year-round, and the fire possesses a wisp of divinity, connected to the gods behind it.

The tribe offered sacrifices to the gods, and the gods in turn brought protection to the tribe.

But today, the few members of the White Bone Tribe guarding the temple watched in terror as the fire in front of them gradually went out.

Outside, the rain was pouring down, creating a misty haze. Combined with the pitch-black night, it looked as if a monster was slowly opening its jaws, about to swallow everyone whole.

In fact, once they lose the protection of the gods, they will soon be swallowed up by the omnipresent mountain nightmares in Yinshan.

These monsters have no physical form, resembling ghosts or shadows, yet they will silently devour you completely when darkness truly descends.

The extinguishing of the brazier signifies the coming of darkness.

The head shaman trembled as she lit a crude incense stick, chanting incessantly, before placing it into the brazier.

As someone who communicates with the gods, she also knows that the gods do not truly die; as long as the priests continue, they can be resurrected.

However, just as smoke began to rise from the incense stick, the entire brazier trembled, then a huge crack appeared, and the incense stick fell to the ground, breaking into several pieces.

The sorceress's face turned pale instantly.

If a deity cannot accept a response from faith, it means either complete death or being sealed away.

The others, unaware of what was happening, knew from witnessing this scene that something terrible was about to happen.

"Cough cough."

Suddenly, the sorceress began to cough violently, and her gasping coughs echoed throughout the entire temple.

Everyone who heard this voice felt a tickle in their throat, yet they were also worried about the shaman's health.

The sorceress's cough became more and more violent, and then black blood appeared at the corner of her mouth. The moment the black blood left her body, her spine snapped with a "crack," and her muscles atrophied rapidly.

In just a quarter of an hour, she went from an ordinary old woman to a dried-up corpse, as if all her life force had been drained in an instant.

The others in the temple suddenly collapsed to the ground like leaky bags, each shaking violently like a sieve.

They were originally strong men, seven or eight feet tall, but almost in the blink of an eye, their skin began to turn grayish-white and cracked, like old trees shedding their bark, with veins emerging like spider webs. Then, one by one, they lay on the ground, panting heavily, like thirsty fish, but their life force was being drained away little by little, and they could only close their eyes and wait for death.

These people are the "power givers" of the tribe.

Somewhat similar to the warriors in Shinto or Taoist immortality, they select the strongest men in the tribe and soak them in the "bone pool" in the temple of the White Bone Mother, after which their flesh and blood gradually undergo a transformation.

Some have bones and muscles as strong as iron, capable of breaking a rhinoceros; some have eyes as sharp as a cat's and keen senses; and some are even more powerful, able to cast simple spells.

They then relied on these "power-givers" to hunt and fight evil creatures in the mountains.

But now, the gods who gave them power have been destroyed, and the power within them has become a source without roots. As this power is extracted, it also devours their life force, leaving them with no choice but to close their eyes and wait for death.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

As the fire in the brazier died down, and the people in the temple struggled on, they seemed to hear an increasingly shrill sound, as if someone were crying out in anguish. The entire temple grew colder and colder.

As the temperature dropped, their struggles became increasingly difficult, until they could no longer move.

Meanwhile, the tribespeople who were in their homes were also feeling waves of cold air creeping over them.

Although it's only the beginning of spring, it shouldn't be this cold yet.

Some people who couldn't bear it any longer lit firewood at home or draped animal skins over themselves in an attempt to ward off the cold.

But it still didn't work. Even though they were bundled up in thick clothes, even though the flames were right in front of them, they still felt a chill that went deep into their bones.

Outside their dwellings, shadows twisted and contorted in a bizarre manner, transforming into figures with exaggerated smiles, baring their fangs and claws, seemingly trying to drag all living beings into darkness.

The Yinshan Mountains are home to countless monsters: mountain nightmares, ghosts, and strange shadows... Without the protection of the gods, humans are nothing more than food for these monsters.

After the White Bone Mother died, none of the people in this tribe survived a single night.

But just when everyone was in despair, a golden crack suddenly appeared in the sky above Yinshan.

A brilliant golden light, like the sun shining brightly, shone through the gaps in the dark clouds. Incense smoke wafted through the air, and divine power poured down from the void like waves, weaving a golden spiritual net across the Yinshan Mountains, enveloping the world and isolating all evil.

The various monsters that quietly emerged let out sharp screechs the moment they were enveloped by the forest net, and then turned into ashes.

While other gods can protect living beings, the protection from legitimate local deities is even more effective.

The gods of the human realm could not stand idly by and watch these tribal people die. If these mountain barbarians could be incorporated into the celestial court, they would become subjects of the celestial dynasty after a few generations, and would be able to offer incense and sacrifices.

"Youming and Hebo, you should mobilize all forces to besiege and exterminate all evil spirits in Yinshan. Make sure to clean up every dark place."

High above, in a place unseen by anyone, the City God was methodically conveying decrees.

You and Ming nodded, and then led their respective troops to explore in all directions, with the entire White Bone Tribe as the center.

This "breaking down mountains and felling temples" is a meticulous task.

The various local gods may not be very powerful, but the Yinshan Mountains have a complex environment where miasma and dark places often breed a large number of evil creatures.

If tribal people do not worship a foreign god, they often find it difficult to survive.

Therefore, during the "Destroying Mountains and Temples" campaign, it is not only necessary to slay the heretical gods, but also to clean up the surrounding areas that may harbor filth and evil, so that the place can become a habitable place in the future.

Achieving this step is not easy. Just like an ordinary person trying to cultivate a piece of wasteland, you have to carefully turn the soil and fertilize it many times before you can grow crops.

Many ghosts and mountain spirits, though lacking intelligence, possess an instinct to seek good fortune and avoid misfortune. Once they sense external interference, they instinctively hide in every nook and cranny, requiring you to be extremely careful to find their traces.

Otherwise, even with the power of a human dynasty, it wouldn't have needed to devise a strategy of gradual encroachment. It would have been through small-scale reclamation that barren land could be transformed into a fertile land where people could cultivate and live.

"Craftsmen's Office, Slave Management Office, Land Administration Office, heed my command: level the mountains and turn them into soil!"

While You Ming and his companions were sweeping away the evil spirits, the City God was not idle either. He directly dispatched the gods, underworld officials, and strongmen from various departments of the city government to level some nearby hills and turn them into land.

(End of this chapter)