White Bone Demon Trail

Chapter 32 Autumn Sacrifice and Wasteland Reclamation

The green hills are faintly covered with water, and the grasses in the south of the Yangtze River are not withered in autumn.

As the mountains gradually turn into autumn colors, the vitality of summer is no longer so strong.

It was August, the autumn winds had begun to blow, and the sweltering heat had subsided somewhat, but the weather was still hot.

In the fields of Heishizhai, a group of mountain people are still working hard, sweating profusely. Rice cannot be planted in autumn and winter, but some winter wheat can be planted.

Once again, the land was plowed, sown, and fertilized. The wheat seeds that had been stored were taken out. The land was plowed and compacted time and time again. One by one, the men carried water buckets to irrigate the land. This land, which can be cultivated for a long time, was built by the hard work and sweat of the mountain people.

Meanwhile, in the distance, You Junzi led a group of men to set the mountain on fire!
Their goal was not to burn the mountains and kill people, but to reclaim wasteland!
What fields are there in the mountains?
These hundred acres of farmland were all reclaimed little by little by the people of Heishizhai.

In the crisp autumn air, the mountains and forests are extremely dry, and many places are flammable.

You Junzi wouldn't set fires blindly; he would only cordon off a section of the mountain, creating a protective barrier to prevent wildfires from spreading, and only burn the designated area.

Of course, before setting fire to the mountain to clear land, there was one more important ritual: worshipping the gods!
Countless creatures inhabit the mountains. Even burning just a few dozen acres of land could offend the mountain spirits and monsters, leading to the deaths of the villagers.

This kind of thing had happened many times in the past few years, so You Junzi would not clear the land unless she had no other choice.

However, more than thirty people have come to the village this year. It is already difficult to feed such a large group of people, and if we do not reclaim wasteland to increase the land, some people may starve to death next year.

Therefore, this autumn sacrifice was very grand. The chief, Li Yiguang, specially led people to hunt many wild animals in the deep mountains, removed their flesh and blood, and offered only their bones as offerings.

Among them are the skulls of a goat, a wild boar, and a leopard.

Li Yiguang's already poor health was further damaged in the process of hunting these wild animals, and he is now resting at home.

On the day of the Autumn Festival, almost all the villagers, except for the disabled who were unable to work in the fields, came to the festival.

A large crowd stood at the foot of the altar in front of the temple.

The sound of gongs and drums resounded through the heavens. On the altar, an incense table was set up, displaying three terrifying skulls: a pig, a sheep, and a leopard. The stirring drumbeats continued. Ah Liu was dressed in sacrificial robes, wearing a feathered crown on his head, and silver ornaments on his chest and waist. His face was also painted with strange patterns, giving him an eerie appearance.

On the altar, to the sound of gongs and heavy drums, he danced a strange dance while holding a divine jade staff.

At the same time, he was chanting some incantation under his breath. As the drums pounded loudly, he suddenly knelt down and shouted:
"In Yunze Mountain, the great formless god!"

Your people pray for your protection, that all seasons may bring peace and that all directions may be free from evil!

"Ah~"

Just as the villagers below found Ah Liu quite ridiculous, a crow suddenly cawed from the temple, followed by a massive flock of crows taking flight from the temple, obscuring the sky and plunging the area around the altar into darkness.

The cawing of countless crows and the flapping of their wings terrified the villagers, who knelt down and proclaimed, "Welcome, God of No Form!"

In the darkness, the mountain people vaguely saw the temple behind the altar, as if they had become a human figure, seemingly as tall as heaven and earth in the pitch black. The white figure had no face or features, but it was looking at them.

You Junzi was also shocked by this scene. The demon in front of him had completely put on the skin of a god. Even if someone said with certainty that Wuxiang was a demon, these mountain people would not believe it.

Having recovered from his frenzied state, Ah Liu once again devoutly bowed and said, "Respectfully bidding farewell to the God of No Form!"

"Wow~"

Countless black crows flew away, and light shone into the altar from all directions. The eyes of the crowd were once again filled with light, and they felt a sense of wonder as they looked at the temple.

"The autumn sacrifice is complete, and Lord Wuxiang has graciously granted permission to cultivate the wasteland!"

Ah Liu faced the crowd and shouted loudly.

"Thank you, Lord Wuxiang!"

"Thank you, High Priest!"

The crowd was filled with voices of thanks; some had already expressed their gratitude to him, the high priest.

Standing at the back of the crowd, You Junzi silently watched everything unfold before him, knowing that his power to make decisions had once again been shaken.

But You Junzi didn't fight for it. As long as these people could live a better life, it didn't matter who held the power.

……

At dawn, before the withered wasteland, You Junzi led the group to the reclaimed land. He first had someone burn incense and pray, then he took out a string of copper bells, gently shook them, and muttered:

"Mountain spirits and local demons, our Black Stone Village has requested the order of Lord Wuxiang to come and clear the wasteland! At noon today, let the raging fire burn the mountain!"
I urge everyone to leave quickly to avoid harming innocent people and to prevent creating enmity!

He repeated it nine times in a row, and walked through several places in the mountains before stopping.

When He Erzhu saw the second-in-command return, he asked in a low voice, "Second-in-command, will this work?"

"If I were just an ordinary person, I probably wouldn't listen to these things."

But now that we have Lord Wuxiang in our village, they should be able to listen to us.”

A dozen or so people waited quietly in front of the mountain. Before long, they saw movement in the grass on the mountain, and vaguely visible were mountain rats, cats, rabbits, foxes, wolves, insects, and birds running around incessantly.

A group of men watched with curiosity, and one of them asked, "Second-in-command, with so much prey, why don't we take this opportunity to catch a big batch?"

"Don't act recklessly." You Junzi solemnly stopped them, "All things have spirits. We have destroyed their caves by clearing the land and burning it. If it weren't for Lord Wuxiang's sake, they would definitely not be so accommodating."

Have you forgotten the few people who died tragically in the village a few years ago?
Let them go and find another way to survive. One shouldn't be so ruthless; hunters shouldn't harm their young.

Upon hearing this, the men seemed to remember something, and a chill ran through them. They dared not mention catching anything more.

So the group watched helplessly as the animals migrated away. By noon, the mountain was eerily quiet, and even the chirping of insects could not be heard.

You Junzi glanced at the sun in the sky and said, "Alright, let's light the fire."

So the men picked up tinderboxes and placed them on the piles of dry grass, lighting the withered grass.

Wisps of thick smoke rose slowly, and the small flames gradually transformed into a sky-devouring blaze. The fire burned everything in the mountains, turning this former home of wild animals into ashes.

On a hilltop not far away, Bai Wuxiang spread his hands, and an enormous skeleton phantom rose into the air.

The wind and clouds surged between heaven and earth, and thick smoke obscured the sky and the sun, also concealing the eerie and enormous shadow of the skeleton.

The shadow of a skeleton lingered on the smoke-filled mountaintop, opening its massive maw to inhale a torrent of deathly energy.

On Skull Mountain, Bai Wuxiang saw that there was no more air to breathe on the mountaintop, so he withdrew the shadow of the skull.

This skeletal shadow is something that evolved from his innate divine power. In addition to sensing death energy, it can also absorb the death energy of various living beings in the world to strengthen itself.

Of course, this "strengthening oneself" refers to the skeletal phantom, not the demonic power within Bai Wuxiang's body.

The wild beasts and spirits in those mountains had long been intimidated by him; if they didn't migrate, they would perish in the sea of ​​fire. Spirits and monsters don't care who you are, human or ghost; their obedience stems from fear.

Compared to the subtle, unspoken law of the jungle in the human world, everything applies here in the mountains.

Under the peach tree, Qingyin, holding several fox cubs, gazed into the thick black fog in the distance. Through the fog, she could see the shadow of a giant skeleton.

She was astonished, never expecting that Yunze Mountain was a place where hidden talents resided, and that there was even a demon capable of using such extraordinary demonic magic.

In their Great Qiuze Kingdom, only Shangguan possesses such sorcery.

"Come quickly, I saw some peach trees here the day before yesterday, and there were many peaches on the trees."

A voice interrupted Qingyin's thoughts, and she realized that five teenagers were running towards her fox den.

The children climbed up the tree, picked several fruits, happily rubbed the peaches with their coarse cloth clothes, and then took bites of them.

"Mmm, delicious!"

"Really, it's not sour at all! Brother Wang, you're amazing, finding us such sweet fruit!"

"Haha, I wasn't lying to you guys. I only found out about this place after I chased a fox here last time."

Qing Yin stared at the children in front of her, her mouth watering involuntarily. She found that the people of Black Stone Village were much more delicious than those of other villages, both in terms of their blood and spirit.

Even though these people look thin and their taste is probably not good, their qi and blood are much better for cultivation than the chaotic qi and blood in other villages.

She vaguely remembered her teacher saying that educated beings are three times stronger than wild creatures in the mountains, both in wisdom and spirit. Perhaps this is the reason?
Qingyin wiped the drool from the fox's mouth again; these children were more attractive to her than delicious food.

In an instant, the greed in her heart began to swell, and the fox tail behind her swayed and trembled, beating like her fox heart.

Several children ate a few peaches under the tree and then felt sleepy. Since the adults were busy in the fields not far away, they leaned against the tree and fell asleep.

Inside the tree hollow, Qingyin silently climbed up the peach tree. Looking at the smooth skin of the children and their alluring souls, she couldn't help but stick out her tongue and lick her lips.

The fox spirit leaped to the ground, climbed onto a child's shoulder, and its fox mouth gradually approached the child's neck. It couldn't help but open its mouth, wanting to bite off the child's fragile neck.

Just then, a soft bell-like sound came from somewhere in the distance.

"Ding Dong~"

Qingyin was so startled that she shrank back into the fox den, and the children were also awakened by the noise.

They were completely unaware of the danger in their sleep, and happily picked a few more peaches to take back.

After they left, a cold wind blew under the peach tree, and Bai Wuxiang appeared in the same spot.

Upon seeing this figure, Qing Yin was so frightened that he knelt on the ground and spoke in human language, "Greetings, Lord Wuxiang!"

"What, you're already craving something?" Bai Wuxiang asked calmly.

"This little demon wouldn't dare! This little demon wouldn't dare!" Qing Yin hurriedly denied.

“Since you are cultivating in my territory, you must abide by my rules.” Bai Wuxiang slowly squatted down, looking at her and said, “Have you forgotten what I told you before?”

"No, no. Please forgive me, Your Excellency! I was just momentarily confused and indulged in my gluttony." Qingyin trembled, not daring to look up.

"Considering you're the first offender, I won't hold it against you," Bai Wuxiang said emotionlessly. "If there's a next time, I think winter will be here soon."

I still need a warm coat; fox fur should be warm enough.

"My lord, spare me! My lord, spare me! This little demon will never dare to do it again! Never again!" Qing Yin was so frightened that her face turned pale, and she hurriedly begged for mercy.

Bai Wuxiang ignored her, only turning his head to look at the few fox cubs in the cave, which looked as pitiful as kittens.

He stretched out his hand, and a small, snow-white fox crawled over and was picked up.

Seeing this, Qingyin was terrified and couldn't help but muster her courage to say, "My lord, it was my fault. I beg you to forgive these brats."

"Hehe, I can see that it's not easy for you to raise these children all by yourself, all alone."

The little white fox was quite cute, so I took it with me and kept it as a pet.

Having said that, Bai Wuxiang stood up, ignoring Qing Yin's cries, and his figure vanished in a gust of yin wind.

Back in the White Bone Cave, Bai Wuxiang put down the little white fox in his hand. The reason he was able to stop Qing Yin from indulging in greed was because his innate divine power sensed the death aura.

If Bai Wuxiang ignores the situation, the child will die in no time. He doesn't care about the death of mortals. But now, many "people" have come to Yunze Mountain, and they are not ordinary people.

This evil spirit who slaughtered hundreds of mortals needs to properly disguise himself as a "god," otherwise, he'll be in trouble.

Moreover, the people of Black Stone Village are the source of his faith and divine power. He had already told Qing Yin that he could not interfere with cannibalism or murder, but he could not harm the people of Black Stone Village.

This is the rule, the rule set by the gods of the area within dozens of miles of Black Stone Village!
"Woo~"

The little white fox on the ground left its mother's company and came to this gloomy cave. It curled up in a corner and began to cry softly.

Bai Wuxiang frowned upon hearing the voice. The fox clan was indeed exceptionally intelligent; even a young fox knew how to use its weakness to gain the pity of the strong in order to survive.

"fox…

Fox demon…

He pondered for a moment, then suddenly a smile appeared on his lips. This white fox was the most intelligent of all the fox cubs in that litter.

In a chaotic world full of demons, how could there be no fox demon who brings disaster to the country and its people?
Bai Wuxiang smiled and hugged the white fox, then reached out and sent a wisp of demonic power into its brow.

The white fox let out a weak whimper and then fainted.

This already extremely intelligent little fox will have its soul and intelligence greatly enhanced after Bai Wuxiang uses his demonic power to open its Heavenly Spirit Bone.

With his guidance, a demon who has lived two lives, he will surely surpass his mother's vulgar and seductive tricks in the future.

Holding the little fox in his arms, Bai Wuxiang specially built a fox den for it under the locust tree outside the cave. Then he put it in the den and asked the black crows in the tree to watch over it.

The black crow landed and curiously examined the little fox in its den, even nudging it with its wing.

Bai Wuxiang looked at it with great interest and said with a smile, "Now that it has been awakened and gained intelligence, it should have a name."

From now on, your name will be Bai Yuetang.

(End of this chapter)