Zhongshan Shenzhu Chi

Xia'an City, the city lord's residence.

Compared to the bustling crowds and constant flow of carriages in the past, the city lord's mansion is now noticeably quiet, with very few merchants and officials coming and going.

"My lord," an official whispered in a side hall of the city lord's mansion, "of the Wen family's Wenshu Shanhaige, only the main store in the South City is still open for business; the other branches have closed down one after another."

"According to an inside report, the managers of the various branches and the clerk had a secret meeting for a day and a night, and finally decided to leave the city and go to the countryside to do business."

The official paused, then added, "Currently, the Wen family is recruiting guards in the city."

City Lord Li Zhengming, upon hearing this, did not even raise his head, but held a black piece in his hand, intently staring at the chessboard in front of him.

"Wenshu Shanhaige, a 250-year-old establishment in Xia'an City, is already a well-known name." The white-robed scholar, who was playing chess with the city lord, placed a piece, leaned back, and opened his folding fan to cover his mouth. "You'd better step in to protect it."

"Arrange for people to guard the south city."

Seeing that the fate of his black dragon being devoured was sealed, the city lord threw down the chess piece and turned to his subordinate, saying:

"Don't let the face that the Wen family left for our City Lord's Mansion be lost at the hands of the Crimson Immortal Sect."

"Understood, sir." The official nodded and turned to leave.

In this small side hall, only the city lord and the white-robed scholar remained seated facing each other.

"You didn't even know how to let me win." Li Zhengming picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "It's been seven days, and I haven't won a single game."

"The city lord's mind is not on the game, so naturally he will lose." The scholar in white raised his hand and picked up the chess pieces one by one, putting them back into the box.

"Hmm..." Li Zhengming breathed a sigh of relief.

"When does the City Lord plan to make contact with the Crimson Immortal Sect...?" the white-robed scholar inquired.

"Our Heaven has already given up on Xia'an City, and even Yongning Prefecture." Li Zhengming put down his teacup, his tone relieved. "Since those big shots in Yongning's main city are still thinking of struggling a bit more, let's wait for their news."

"Anyway, Xia Ancheng definitely won't make the first move."

"Then you shall let the Crimson Immortal Sect go..." The white-robed scholar's words ended there.

"They're just some merchants. As long as we can protect our few old businesses in the city, that's fine."

"If the Four Immortal Sects truly want to seize the position of the Righteous God of Mountains and Rivers in Yongning Continent, they will certainly not allow the Crimson Immortal Sect to act recklessly."

"Unless their elders and sect leader no longer want the immortal destiny of Yongning Continent."

After finishing his sentence in one breath, Li Zhengming picked up the teacup again, stirred the steam, and took a full sip:

"By the way, how is the Zhongshan Serpent God doing now?"

"The Crimson Immortal Sect's methods were very successful. Despite being a deity of Zhongshan bestowed by human authority, no one worships him..."

The scholar in white waved his hand, and the tea in front of him swayed in the wind, condensing into a black serpent statue in the air.

"She is very weak now and no longer has the strength to suppress the Xuan Shi Tribulation."

"Sigh..." Li Zhengming looked at the Xuan Snake God statue, which was much blurrier than before, and felt a sense of loss.

Three hundred years ago, Yongningzhou suffered a severe drought.

To save the common people, this deity was granted a title by the humane decree of the Great Zhou Dynasty. He was to sacrifice himself to the position of the Mountain and Water God who was about to achieve his goal, and to undergo the Heavenly Punishment of the Mysterious Stone Tribulation to eliminate the drought.

Now, the Great Zhou Dynasty is in turmoil, and the dynasty's fortunes are declining.

Originally, there was still a chance to become a god again with the incense offerings of the people of this dynasty, but now the Four Dharma Gates have emerged, starting from the main city of Yongning Prefecture, and extinguishing the incense offerings to the snake god in all the cities along the way...

"Eh?" the white-robed scholar suddenly spoke up.

His usual composure was now replaced by surprise: "Lord City Lord, why has your tea turned red? Did you poison me?"

"Turns red?" Li Zhengming frowned upon hearing this and quickly turned his head.

Suddenly, the divine statue condensed by the white-robed scholar using the Qi-observation technique shrank in size and turned a faint red.

All the already blurred texture details remain blurred.

Only the snake god's eyes had changed.

"How could a snake have eyes that are gold and silver?" Li Zhengming frowned deeply. "Could it be that the Snake God... has come up with another plan?"

"Snake God, is your body red?" The white-robed scholar stroked his chin and looked up to ask.

"Black Serpent, Black Serpent. Only those that are entirely black can be called the Black Serpent God." Li Zhengming stared intently at the statue in front of him, countless thoughts falling like raindrops in his mind.

Although he had never seen this Xuan Snake God, according to the historical records in Xia'an City.

Since the Serpent God took control of Zhongshan, for hundreds of years, the monsters of Zhongshan have never attacked the city. In the grand scheme of things, there is room for negotiation between humans and monsters on all matters.

At that time, humans and nature lived in harmony.

Now that the Great Zhou Dynasty is in decline, it is no longer able to control Yongning Continent.

The Four Immortal Sects' behavior is obvious to anyone with discerning eyes. Their current emergence is solely for the purpose of achieving a position of supreme authority.

Once they achieve their high positions, why would they care about the lives of the millions of people in Xia'an City?

Between two evils, choose the lesser; between two benefits, choose the one that has the longer-term benefit.

If the serpent god can truly live a second life...

Then one can only believe that it is willing to protect the people of Xia'an City in the coming chaos.

"Zhao Qingyan!" The city lord made a decisive decision.

"Yes." The scholar in white stood up and bowed to receive the order.

"Immediately organize a group of people to infiltrate the Wen family's business and leave the city with them to find out about the Snake God."

"Then, investigate, investigate which mountain villages are around Zhongshan, and whether they still worship the mountain god."

After saying that, Li Zhengming leaned close to Zhao Qingyan and whispered, "Remember to keep this a secret. Don't let the Crimson Immortal Sect find out."

"clear."

Zhao Qingyan nodded and turned to leave.

Li Zhengming suddenly said, "Keep this statue for me."

"Understood." Zhao Qingyan nodded, then flicked her sleeve, and spiritual energy dissipated.

The tea condensed, and the reddish serpent god statue was instantly frozen, all details frozen in that one moment.

The scholar in white departed, and the city lord's mansion closed its doors to visitors.

*

*

*

Zhongshan is a place of mountains, waters, and caves.

The sky was clear and the sun was shining brightly; the weather was cool.

The once azure five-petaled lotus flower, now protected by the crimson snakes, has begun to develop lotus seeds at its stamen.

Judging from its appearance, there are at least five lotus seeds, four blue and one red.

The red snake smelled the fragrance, woke up, and looked down at the lotus.

"It smells very good, but... I don't actually have much of an appetite for it?"

Huai Nian took another deep breath of the floral fragrance.

It's like receiving a bouquet of flowers, beautifully shaped and fragrant.

But no matter what, I have no desire to devour a flower; instead, I just want to take good care of it and let it continue to bloom.

"The medium that could ignite a bloody battle among the demons of Zhongshan is now, to me, merely... a dispensable spectacle?"

If Huai Nian had eyebrows, they would definitely be all furrowed up now.

The giant snake was completely baffled.

"There's something wrong... there's definitely something wrong. My mother must have done something, and it's closely related to me."

A shout called out, bringing Huai Nian back to her senses.

The red snake raised its head.

The prison wolf, mountain lord, black bear, golden ape, and even weaker monsters like black crow and golden roc, had already gathered at the foot of the mountain.

The Golden Ape King was the first to ascend the mountain, stopping a hundred meters away from the Red Serpent. He shouted, "The medium is ready. How do you plan to divide it?"

Although it was beaten down, it was still unconvinced, and its tone of voice sounded full of resentment to Huai Nian.

"Hmm..." the large snake murmured.

It hesitated for a moment, about to reply, when a voice suddenly echoed in its mind.

The red snake couldn't understand the words, but it could roughly grasp the meaning.

It seems to be a medium, or perhaps something else entirely.

He said.

just.