White Bone Demon Trail

Chapter 24 Secrets Within the Village

In the misty, rain-shrouded mountains, the villagers of Heishizhai begin their day's work at dawn.

Although the village was called a bandit village by outsiders, they actually considered themselves law-abiding citizens. After all, apart from occasionally robbing passing caravans, they spent most of the year hunting and farming.

The surrounding hills and fields are mostly planted with farmland. Most of the people here are from the Central Plains, and the traditional farming mindset is deeply ingrained in their hearts.

Sanwen and He Erzhu, the burly man who had patrolled the mountain that day, walked together with their farm tools toward the back village.

The early birds chirped and twittered on the branches. The mist after the mountain rain, blown by the wind, fell like a light drizzle onto Sanwen's face. He took a deep breath, feeling refreshed, and asked:
"Erzhu, what do you think we should do with those people that the second and third leaders led us to pick up last night?"

"Handling it down? That's a headache for the three leaders. Why are you meddling in this?" He Erzhu said with a laugh.

"You blockhead!" Sanwen glared at him, looked around to make sure no one was watching, and then said, "There are quite a few women among these people. There are more men than women in our village, and many of us are still single!"
They'll definitely allocate some to us women!

"What? Wife?" He Erzhu was immediately taken aback upon hearing this. "Really? How do you know?"

"You brainless idiot," Sanwen said irritably. "Our leader comes from a military background, so he's naturally upright. Most of these people have no homes, and we're not landlords keeping them idle. They'll definitely get married if they want to, and go back to farming if they want to!"
I'm planning to talk to the head of the household about it when I get back tonight, and ask him to find me a nice girl!

"I want one too! I want a wife too!" He Erzhu exclaimed anxiously.

"Keep your voice down!" Sanwen glared at him and said, "I'm loyal to you, so of course I'll speak up for you. But you can't tell anyone!"

"Hahaha, I know, I know! We've been together for so many years, when have we ever not listened to you?" He Erzhu said with a hopeful smile.

He was laughing when he suddenly stopped, his eyes widened, and he plopped down on the ground, exclaiming in horror, "My goodness!"

"What's wrong?" Sanwen was taken aback by his appearance. Seeing that he was pointing and couldn't even finish his sentence, she looked in the direction he was pointing.

But amidst the misty green mountain peaks, one mountaintop was covered in pure white, as if it had been covered in snow.

Looking closely through the gaps in the clouds, it wasn't snow at all; it was clearly a mountain full of bones!
At the foot of that mountain stood the entirely black temple that their village had built.

Behind the ancient temple where the villagers worship, there are mountains of human bones!
When the villagers frantically found You Junzi and explained the situation to him, he calmly explained to them:

"Don't panic! These corpses belong to those from Wulong Village. In order to convert the vengeful spirits of these dead and prevent them from giving birth to harmful ghosts, Lord Wuxiang specially transported these remains to the back of the mountain and suppressed them with his own divine power."

"Lord Wuxiang possesses great supernatural powers; he can even convert these thousands of undead spirits. We can rest assured."

After he had appeased the villagers, You Junzi sat down on a chair in front of the house, his gaze passing over the clouds and mist in the sky, looking towards the direction of Skull Mountain.

During the heavy rain last night, as he stood at the foot of the mountain and watched countless skeletons pouring up the mountain from all directions, Yu Junzi inevitably felt fear and submission.

For the first time, he felt his own power was so insignificant, and he knew he had truly summoned a powerful demon!
Perhaps, one day in the future, a few years later, or decades later, this demon will become a colossal demon that overturns the world, bringing calamity to humanity, and I will become a sinner for all time!

But it was too late to turn back. His only hope was that there truly were immortals in the world who would intervene and subdue Wuxiang when it wreaked havoc on heaven and earth in the future!
You Junzi sat for a long time, then got up and went back to his house. He closed the doors and windows, wrote a secret letter in his room, and then summoned Zhao Lengxiang.

"Third Sister, I trouble you to personally deliver this letter to the manager of Lianjintang in Jiuyun City at the foot of the mountain without revealing your identity," You Junzi said to her with a solemn expression.

"Alright, I will definitely deliver this letter." Zhao Lengxiang saw the patterned mark on the envelope and understood the importance of the matter. "But Second Brother, Eldest Brother's health seems to be not as good as before. Is he really better?"

Upon hearing this, You Junzi sighed, "How can a broken bone be repaired? Even if it heals, half of my brother's martial arts skills will be lost."

"What? Does my brother know about this? If he does, I'm afraid he'll find it hard to accept," Zhao Lengxiang exclaimed in surprise.

“Of course I don’t know.” You Junzi shook his head. “In the future, I should tell my elder brother to fight less. The injuries he suffered in the army back then have accumulated into many hidden wounds. After this ordeal, even if my elder brother listens to me, I’m afraid he won’t live to be fifty.”

"How about we ask Lord Wuxiang for help?" Zhao Lengxiang couldn't help but say. "Second brother, you can speak with Lord Wuxiang. Since he has such great magic, if he is willing to help, eldest brother can live a few more years."

"I..." You Junzi's words caught in his throat, and he could only suppress his emotions. "Third sister, don't forget our duties."

Zhao Lengxiang fell silent for a moment before saying, "Then I'll go down the mountain."

You Junzi turned around and only gave a faint reply.

He stared absently at the black crow that had flown away from the village.

The black crow flew back to the White Bone Cave, landed on Bai Wuxiang's shoulder, and cawed softly twice.

Bai Wuxiang sighed softly, "I understand."

Xuan Ya understood his thoughts and knew that he was wary of You Junzi, so he would often secretly monitor this somewhat mysterious mortal.

Bai Wuxiang could also sense what secrets this mortal was hiding, and the unsettling aura emanating from the house indicated that this mortal posed a threat to him.

However, he was not a demon with strong curiosity. Once his cave was completed and the energy field of Skull Mountain changed, Bai Wuxiang would no longer be afraid of the feng shui formations and techniques of mortals.

Perhaps, if he followed Zhao Lengxiang down the mountain and hijacked that letter, he could learn something.

But once he descends the mountain and enters the mortal world, he fears he will be entangled in numerous karmic entanglements, from which he will be unable to escape. Before his own cultivation reaches the next level, Bai Wuxiang has no intention of descending the mountain.

Because he didn't know much about the path of cultivation, he didn't even know what realms existed.

However, his perception of his own body made Bai Wuxiang vaguely realize that when the demonic power within him spread throughout his 206 bones, then it would be time for him to break through to a higher realm.

Demonic beasts often transform into human form during cultivation. But he was a skeleton spirit, so whether or not he could transform was uncertain. After all, he had never seen any other skeleton spirits.

He absorbed a lot of death energy into his body last night, which will allow his demonic power to grow very rapidly in the near future.

Currently, the demonic power within him only covers eight or nine bones in his head. If he were to refine all the death energy within him, he estimated that it would grow to more than twenty bones. He divided the process of the demonic power covering his entire body into three stages: the initial, intermediate, and final stages of this realm, and tentatively called his current realm: the Spirit Building Realm.

Refining the energy of heaven and earth into demonic power to build the foundation for cultivation is the path of cultivation for this White Bone Demon.

Bai Wuxiang is only at the initial stage of the Spirit Building Realm. If we disregard the spells cast by the Vengeful Spirit Pearl within his body, he is actually probably not even as good as the tiger spirit he encountered when he saved the people of Black Stone Village.

Therefore, Bai Wuxiang chose to spend some time in the deep mountains to reflect on his life. As for lifespan, he actually didn't know if he had any. Logically speaking, he was a spirit who had died once, and while he might have a lifespan in the underworld, there was no limit to his lifespan in the mortal world.

Only when one is killed by other unnatural forces, such as by a demon hunter, or dies under a heavenly tribulation, can one be considered truly dead, with one's soul scattered and one's spirit dispersed!
Therefore, Bai Wuxiang was eager to increase his strength to protect himself.

Increasing one's strength always requires long and arduous cultivation. However, the existence of the Vengeful Spirit Pearl gives him the possibility of gaining even greater power.

As long as there is a continuous source of resentment, the Resentment Pearl can bring a surge in his strength, thereby ensuring his safety.

However, the power of resentment is extremely difficult for ordinary wild beasts and spirits to generate; it still requires the help of humans and ghosts!

Therefore, he needs to let the mortals outside the mountains, who are filled with resentment, know that there is such a "god" in the mountains who is willing to avenge them and fulfill their wishes!
The most effective means is to spread faith and establish a religion, but this approach is too conspicuous and even involves competing with the gods and spirits of the human world for faith and divine power, as well as infringing on the interests of those who cultivate the Tao.

In this way, the risk of spreading information through external means such as picture books and hobbies is actually lower.

That's why he met that painter from the mortal world last night. A famous painting can naturally convey many things.

Such a masterpiece could not possibly be painted by ordinary people or objects.

That's why he gifted Yao Zhengze a magic pen.

……

Outside Black Stone Village, Yao Zhengze, carrying a basket of books, squinted at the three characters "Black Stone Village" written on the village wall and exclaimed, "I never thought there would be such a skilled calligrapher in such a remote mountain village."

He stood not far outside the village and announced, "I am a humble painter, entrusted by someone to come and visit the temple in the village."

On the watchtower of the village, one of the two men, upon hearing this, asked in bewilderment, "How dare such a young boy come to our bandit stronghold?"

“He’s a scholar, the second-in-command is a scholar, so he’s definitely different from us big shots.”

"Hmph, that's not necessarily true! I once robbed a scholar, and when he heard that I was going to kill him, he was so scared that his pants got wet."

"Then go scare this kid!"

The village gate slowly opened, and a fierce-looking man shouted, "Where did this brat come from? Daring to shout in front of our village? And what are you saying, spouting such flowery language?"

Yao Zhengze was not afraid. He just smiled and said, "Last night I was asked to paint a picture for a temple, the Wuxiang Temple behind your village."

"The Wuxiang Temple?" The man was immediately startled. "Could it be that the Second Master invited them? You wait here, let me go and ask!"

After the man finished speaking, he jogged all the way to the main house in the village. As soon as he entered, he saw the second-in-command and the temple keeper talking.

"Second Master, if that painter comes soon, be sure to treat him well and don't neglect him!" Ah Liu was speaking of the divine message that Wuxiang had given him in a dream last night.

"I understand, I'll keep it in mind." You Junzi nodded in agreement, then looked at the sweaty man who had rushed over and smiled, "Old Ding, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Second Master, a man claiming to be a painter has actually come from outside the village!" Old Ding said with some surprise.

"Haha, it seems the time is just right. I'll go meet him now." You Junzi stood up and looked at A-Liu, "Would you like to come with me?"

"No need, I need to go back to the temple first. I haven't done the things that Master Wuxiang specifically instructed me to do yet." Ah Liu smiled and got up as well, preparing to return to the temple.

He watched You Junzi leave with his men, and his eyes darkened as he looked at the empty house. This was the meeting place of the entire Black Stone Village, where all matters, big and small, were decided.

But he, a person enlightened by the gods, was actually being forced to listen to these mortals, and even had no standing in the village. Ah Liu pondered for a moment, then turned and left.

……

Outside the village, You Junzi personally received the painter and led him to the Wuxiang Temple.

It was afternoon, and the mountain mist had dissipated, revealing the mountain behind the temple covered in skulls to Yao Zhengze. He exclaimed in astonishment, "A mountain full of bones... what kind of atrocities did they commit? Could it be that your village..."

You Junzi waved his hand and laughed, "No, these skeletons were gathered by Lord Wuxiang from Wulong Village."

Wulongzhai is a mountain village that specializes in eating people and sheep, and has accumulated so many human bones over the past hundred years.

The merciful God of Formlessness summoned these spirits to redeem them. That is why this scene exists.

"So that's how it is!" Yao Zhengze said excitedly, "Then, I suppose the one I encountered that night was the God of No Form?"

"I suppose so." You Junzi nodded in agreement, but in his heart he wondered what Wuxiang was up to this time.
"Bones form mountains, spirits dwell in temples. Such a wondrous and beautiful scene deserves my heartfelt painting!" Yao Zhengze couldn't help but laugh loudly, "I'm afraid I'll have to trouble your village for a while, as I intend to stay here for some time to create this 'Ten Thousand Bones Crossing the Formless Spirits' painting!"
If I were to actually recreate this painting, it would surely become a masterpiece!

You Junzi hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said, "Honorable guest, our village will do its best to entertain you. Just focus on your painting!"

"I dare not accept the title of master!" Yao Zhengze waved his hand and laughed, "My skills are limited, so I must have put in my utmost effort to create such a masterpiece!"

"The person who can create this picture deserves to be called a master!" You Junzi complimented with a smile. At the same time, he was thinking that it was a good thing that Wuxiang was known to people outside the mountain. At the very least, it would attract the attention of those demon hunters and demon catchers.

He also hopes that this painting will become as famous as possible!
(End of this chapter)