Headless Immortal

Chapter 150 A Mischievous and Clever Child

There is a moon in the sky and frost on the ground.

Juying Mountain appears plain and simple in the still night.

Wang Er, who was rushing along, bumped into something and fell on his backside with a cry of pain.

This was no small matter; a sharp pain shot through my tailbone like needles. I opened my mouth to curse, but when I looked up, I froze. This time, it wasn't my buttocks that hurt, but my heart that trembled. I opened my mouth, and my Adam's apple bobbed.

He saw a pair of eyes that shone with a white light.

Its pupils and sclera were a single color, and it was a towering figure, standing at least seven feet tall. It wore black and white armor, and when it opened its mouth, fangs bared out, accompanied by a buzzing sound and the low growl of a ferocious beast: "Who dares to trespass on the main altar?" It raised its ghost-headed saber horizontally and slashed down without hesitation.

Wang Er was shocked and hurriedly said, "I have the strategist's order!" He held up a command token with both hands.

The sword raised by the silver-armored zombie was abruptly stopped; their joints seemed to be constructed so they could freeze at any moment.

The silver-armored commander glanced at him with his white eyes, nodded slightly, and the four iron-clad warriors behind him stood still, making way for the skinny Wang Er.

Wang Er licked his dry lips, lowered his head and walked quickly over. Strangely enough, each step he took seemed to leap three or four meters, and two steps created distance. But he dared not rush forward recklessly again.

The main altar is heavily guarded, making it difficult to go up or down the mountain. The armored corpses act without hesitation, and I heard that some brothers who went up the mountain on their own were found to be mummies in the morning.

Holding the military advisor's command arrow high, Wang Er moved with ease, ascending Juying Mountain smoothly. He knelt at the entrance of the main hall and shouted, "Wang Er, the Divine Traveler of the Army, requests an audience with the Master of the World."

As soon as he finished speaking, he prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed three times, not daring to get up.

Palace gate.

The fierce-looking iron-clad warriors guarded the entrance, while two nearly eight-foot-tall silver-armored corpses stood like door gods, one wielding a copper hammer and the other a large axe. Their fangs, barely concealed, tore through their lips and cheeks, making them look completely inhuman, which terrified Wang Er, causing him to tremble in fear.

Long.

The heavy bronze door slowly opened.

Just as Wang Er breathed a sigh of relief and was about to get up, the Xuanfu Token in his hand suddenly emitted light. Then, the scroll was suddenly torn open, revealing a winding path on the blank scroll. At the end of the path, a figure in a long robe slowly walked towards him, growing larger and larger as he approached, until he suddenly stepped out of the painting.

The figure in the painting raised his hand to close the scroll without taking the command token, and said indifferently, "This is none of your business. Go down the mountain."

Ignoring his surprise, Wang Er bowed his head and replied, "Yes."

The middle-aged man in the long robe stepped into the bronze hall, which was completely dark inside. Only when he landed did he light the oil lamps with their eerie blue flames on both sides. The man in the long robe quickly stepped forward and knelt down before the seat: "Li Gan, the chief priest of the Jingshi Society, pays his respects to the Jingshi Lang."

"Get up."

The voice was like the clanging of metal, or the whispering of a ferocious beast. It sounded like one person, yet it was layered upon layered, and finally it slowly flowed away in the hall, like the howling wind calming down.

The owner of the voice seemed to chuckle, and then said, "Why are you in such a hurry to go up the mountain, sir?"

Li Gan clasped his hands in a salute, his expression solemn, and said, "Reporting to Master Jing Shi, the Wan brothers have been killed, and Meng County has fallen."

"The imperial court has intervened?"

"The commander is General Sui Yanshi, the valiant cavalry commander."

Jing Shilang, standing in the darkness, said calmly, "He is indeed a good man."

"He wasn't the one who killed the Wan brothers."

"People from the Three Judicial Offices?"

"It's a monster."

Li Gan looked doubtful. He didn't know how to tell Jing Shilang. According to the intelligence, the monster was a red-eyed scholar who could transform into a monkey and a giant turtle. He had a nickname in the martial arts world, "Thousand Transformations God," but his exact name was unknown. Others called him Boss Lu, and he called himself the Water King of Jiangzhou.

Li lowered his head, looking ashamed: "The medicinal ingredient is lost."

He noticed the appearance of the Red-Eyed Scholar when the Twelve Drought Monsters locked the water source. At that time, he didn't pay much attention and sent two generals and fifteen strongmen to meet him. Unexpectedly, the Red-Eyed Scholar was quite powerful and did such a big thing in Meng County, even forcing the White Sect's Holy Maiden to retreat, which led to the loss of the medicinal ingredient.

When he finished speaking, the hall fell silent.

The ghostly blue lantern swayed gently.

A foot stepped out into the vast darkness, its pale blue sole landing with a hiss, leaving a dark footprint on the brickwork as if all moisture had evaporated and the stone had been weathered dry. The toes of the foot were all sharp, purplish-black, like a demon, while the white hair danced wildly, emitting an eerie red light, as if soaked in blood.

He wore only a robe of cloud-patterned golden silkworm silk, and a huge Nuo mask on his face. Only his open eyes could be seen in the empty space, with deep black whites and scarlet pupils. He raised his palm, with blue veins running through his azure skin, and his rough black fingernails were slightly twisted before he slowly patted Li Gan's shoulder.

Li Gan bent down to kneel, but his body was lifted up. Then Jing Shilang released his hand and smoothed the wrinkles on Li Gan's shoulder.

Jing Shilang's voice rang out as usual: "It's alright. The effect is better with the medicinal catalyst, and it's just a little worse without it. A person with a thousand plans would never associate himself with a little girl if he wanted to achieve great things. If the great thing is cut short because of the loss of the medicinal catalyst, it would mean that we are not cut out for success."

Do you know where you are now?

Li Gan said, “I know. According to our informants in Meng County, that white-faced monster and the General of the Valiant Cavalry have turned against each other and led a few lesser monsters away from the group. I think that since he joined forces first, he must have wanted to hide in the army. Now that he has been driven away, he is still not giving up and may gather the monsters of Zhangzhou. Meanwhile, the Marquis of Shoushan has sent out invitations to discuss drought relief.”

Jing Shilang nodded and sighed, "Once they become spirits, they know how to collude. Big demons trap little demons. Now, with the earth's fiery energy causing a severe drought across three hundred miles of Zhangzhou, it's common for demons to band together to find a way to survive. I will send people to search. Narrow the scope of our forces and stop selecting. Grant all those with potential the Dao blood and transform them into warriors."

Li exclaimed in surprise, "I'm afraid it will worsen your injury..."

"It's nothing serious, the old rat only left minor injuries." Jing Shilang handed a blood-stained horn to the strategist.

Li Gan received the imperial decree, took the treasures, and left.

The bronze palace doors slammed shut, the oil lamps went out abruptly, and darkness returned to the palace, broken only by the clattering and hissing of footsteps.

The scholar, dressed in a golden silk robe, walked into the depths. With one step, the world became bright, and white smoke rose from the ground. Beneath his feet was crimson lava, and even his flesh sizzled, with a meaty aroma wafting through the air.

The surging magma flowed slowly, and iron chains as thick as an average person's arm were heated red by the molten fire, as if this place was no longer the human world, but the Earth's core.

Inside the fiery cave, a large cauldron bubbled and steamed. Jing Shilang opened his blood-red maw and let out a long roar that shook the cave, the terrifying dragon's cry echoing throughout.

……

night.

Shoushan City.

The Alliance Wine is a fine wine, a genuine fruit-based brew, aged at least ten years, brimming with spiritual energy. One sip and its sweetness flows into the dantian, transforming into wisps of magical power; its mellow aroma permeates the lungs from the throat. Even Lu Xun, who has little interest in food and drink, couldn't help but want another cup.

Lu Xun resisted his craving and turned the wine glass upside down on the table. He was there to do serious business and couldn't get drunk.

After downing a cup of wine, the demons felt lightheaded, the heat gone, and they enjoyed the cool moonlight in the courtyard. Some, impatient and greedy for wine, couldn't wait for the maids to serve them and snatched the wine pots to drink. After gulping down a pot, some of their less powerful cultivation couldn't withstand the alcohol and their faces turned red. They could no longer maintain their human form and melted away, revealing their true forms.

The Hundred-Year-Old Marquis did not stop him, but smiled and said, "The world is tough. Famous mountains and great rivers are mostly owned by kings, and rivers and lakes are inhabited by great kings. If you guard your small plot of land, you can at least find some food to eat. But if it doesn't rain, crops won't grow, and droughts will dry up streams and change their course. Without food or water, if you leave your own territory, you will be chased by other monsters. You will either have to join the ranks of other demon kings and start from scratch, or you will become homeless and become stray dogs. It's tough being a demon, it's tough being a monster. Stealing will get you arrested by the imperial court, and eating people will attract the attention of the officers of the Three Judicial Offices. They are all ruthless and will kill even the cubs in their dens who haven't even opened their eyes yet."

His heartfelt words moved the monster.

It is said that monsters live a carefree life, but that is only because they have seen eating meat and never being beaten. Before little monsters develop intelligence, they are wild birds and beasts in the mountains. If they are not careful, they will be killed by hunters. After they become spirits, they have to worry about being captured by sorcerers and being besieged by the imperial court.

They finally managed to get a small piece of land, but other monsters were envious and wanted to take it over.

Lacking resources and cultivation methods, some old monsters, whose cultivation levels have increased rapidly over the years, are unable to utilize their abilities and cannot even defeat ordinary martial artists who have cultivated true qi. Before they can enjoy a few good days, natural disasters are followed by man-made calamities.

Lu Xun glanced sideways at the captain. The captain smiled but didn't cry; he wouldn't do things like confiscating property or exterminating entire clans, and even when dealing with demons, he would investigate thoroughly.

Perhaps because there were many monster colleagues in the local government office, not to mention the gyrfalcon, there were also the spies, intelligence agents, and eagle guards from various places, so there was no deep prejudice against them.

The centenarian sighed, “At the foot of the mountain, I saw a little monster digging in the mud for water, but all it dug out was murky mud soup. It broke my heart.”

"Zhangzhou is our home. What will we do if it falls into trouble?"

The monsters' eyes reddened; some sobbed softly, some raised their heads in anger, and others had their eyes bulging out of their sockets...

There were sobs and howls, roars rolling low in their throats, and fire burning in their heaving chests. Wild beasts have a deeper attachment to their territory, and those who wanted to leave had already left.

The centenarian shouted, "Of course we should resist!"

"We all have one shoulder and one head, so who has more eggs than whom?"

"Many demons have great power. Even if we don't go out of the mountains, as long as there are enough of them, we can withstand the drought."

"However, a group of dragons cannot be without a leader."

"A demon cannot be without a king!"

One sentence completely ignited the already tense atmosphere.

The monkey spirit, whimpering and scratching its head, searched for a weapon; the fox, covering its mouth and giggling, had its eyes darting around; the bleating goat stroked its beard; the bear roared, the leopard howled, the wolf howled, the tiger roared, and all sorts of strange cries clamored, rubbing their fists together, seemingly waiting for Shoushan Gong to continue speaking, for a bloody battle to ensue.

Suddenly, a deer-like monster stepped out from among the demons and said loudly, "I think that in terms of cultivation, benevolence, righteousness, and care for us and the little demons, Lord Shoushan is undoubtedly the best choice. Shoushan is easy to defend and difficult to attack, backed by mountains and near water, and we have no worries about food and drink. I suggest that you, Lord Hou, become the Demon King of Zhangzhou."

As soon as he finished speaking, a sharp voice burst out from the seats: "You spotted deer, just because you don't have testicles doesn't mean we don't. The Demon King is earned through fighting, killing, and contention, not by you making us kneel and kowtow to you as 'Great King' with just a few words. If you have the guts, come at me with your real teeth and claws!"

The spotted deer turned around in a rage and went to find the monster who had spoken.

The monster stood up; it was a gray-furred rat, dressed in a long robe, arms crossed, its rat-like eyes giving a dismissive glance.

Before the roe deer could speak, the centenarian, seated above, smiled and said, “The roe deer is too kind to me. What Mr. Trap Earth said is true. We monsters have always acted openly and honestly. If we have any skills, we will fight to the death to determine the winner.”

The originally restless monsters were all calmed down.

The centenarian continued, "However..."

The trapped rat clasped his hands slightly and said, "Please speak, my lord."

"If we fight, we will inevitably suffer casualties. How can we preserve our strength to fight against the great disaster?"

The mouse nodded: "That's true."

"How about we have a proxy fight?"

What is an agent?

The centenarian explained with a smile, "We each send out a general, so even if someone is injured or ill, it won't weaken our strength."

He continued, "To put it bluntly, any one of the three demons of Zhangzhou could be a demon king, even though Brother Huang Feng is seriously injured and cannot be easily approached."

"It is unfair for us to fight alongside you all."

Once these words were spoken, all thoughts and calculations in my mind ceased.

These leading demons were indeed aware of the differences in their cultivation levels. However, in a battle, it wasn't just about who had the higher cultivation level. One also needed martial arts skills, magical abilities, treasures, and guardian deities; a combination of these multiple factors constituted true combat power.

They could simply wait for the three demons to fight each other, take advantage of the situation, or better yet, have all three perish together, and then compete among them for the title.

But the old tree is very cunning. First, it gets the weak ones drunk with fruit wine, and then it uses reason to shut down the strong ones.

Who knows if the spotted deer and the burrowing rat were working together? In any case, the situation had completely fallen into Shoushan Gong's hands, and even if they wanted to make a quick decision, they were powerless to do so.

Xiong Shanjun frowned, secretly annoyed, realizing he had fallen for the old man's trick.

He was certain that if he voiced his objection, the old man would agree to a one-on-one duel. He was indeed remarkable, but when it came to actually challenging Master Shoushan, he was somewhat uncertain and could only keep his thoughts to himself.

The man-faced goblin rolled its eyes and chuckled, "If Lady Green Mountain agrees, then I agree too."

He automatically ignored Shu Er, having already heard that the Yellow Wind Mountain Master of Juying Mountain had been defeated and forced to flee by the Corpse King of Jingshi, and now only had a great name, but his strength was nothing to speak of.

If you were to ask Shu Er, he would certainly agree, because he was seriously injured and desperately wanted to stay out of trouble, perhaps even relying on his demon generals to win the first round.

Tiger Tai Sui cast an admiring glance at the old mountain demon. These demons were neither small nor large; they still had to survive between the larger demons. If they wanted to maximize their profits, they had to hope that the larger demons would fight each other.

"That's right, that's what I think too. What does Lady Qingshan think?"

Seemingly having found a way to break the deadlock, Du Laifeng, He Yunke, Hei Tianniu, Mao Jingang, Mengmo, Wuchang Gongzi, and Fenshui Li all turned their attention to the second-place Qingshan Niangniang.

Lady Qingshan stretched out her slender hand, picked up a pastry from the table, smelled it, gently parted her lips and took a bite. After chewing it slightly, she raised her head and drank a cup of fruit wine, saying calmly, "As Lord Shoushan says."

Amidst wails and sighs, they had no choice but to comply and begin selecting generals.

Wu Tong Lu Xun got up, stretched his arms a little. He didn't need to fight against Bai Sui Hou and Qing Shan Niang Niang. He could easily defeat these little monsters. As he thought this, he stepped out from behind the table.

He was about to observe his opponent.

Suddenly.

A harsh voice rang out.

"He's wrong!"

The gazes of all the monsters followed the finger and came from all directions.

Lu Xun frowned slightly. He considered himself a genuine demon, so why was this gray-robed rat pointing at him and saying something was wrong? He didn't quite know what the rat knew. His golden demonic eyes flew over.

The black-armored and white-skinned figures stood facing each other behind Lu Xun. Shu Er coldly looked at the monsters in the hall. Gong Li leaned closer to Shu Er, while the Mud Bodhisattva lowered his head and looked obedient.

The captain with the black tiger head squinted, took half a step forward, and chose a better stance to exert force.

The trapped rat cried out, "He's not a demon general. I heard those people call him 'Great King' with my own ears. Does that mean he's impersonating someone else?"

Wu Tonglu grinded his sharp teeth, the cold air making his teeth ache.

"Your Majesty, let me come."

A black tiger demon general, standing seven feet tall, stepped out from the group and bowed with his hands clasped.

He was indeed a captain.

The captain blinked.

"it is good."

(End of this chapter)