Zhongshan Shenzhu Chi

Wen Shuyan had never seen anything so ferocious.

Its menacing aura dimmed the light of the sky, like dark clouds shrouding the sun, and its scales were as red as congealed blood.

With each inhale, a thick, viscous bloody aroma rushes into the nostrils and flows down the throat like water.

From my nasal cavity to my throat, it felt as if I had been scorched by fire. Under the golden and silver light, my limbs and bones were stiff and cold, and fear brought my thoughts to a near standstill.

"Whatever you want to know, I will answer!" Wen Shuyan held on to his collapsing will, spread his arms, and shouted at the top of his lungs, afraid that he would not be able to convey his obedience.

The giant snake lowered its head, its heterochromatic eyes falling on Wen Shuyan, before glancing at the old village chief who was prostrate on the ground, motionless for a long time.

"Old Zhong!"

"Zhong Yan!"

Wen Shuyan immediately understood, moved his knee which was throbbing from the impact, went to Zhong Yan's side, grabbed his clothes and tried to pull him up.

But the old man was determined to kneel, his face, hands, and legs as firmly rooted as an old tree, impossible to shake.

"The Mountain God is asking you a question, so quickly lift your face!" Wen Shuyan said angrily, punching Zhong Yan hard in the back.

Zhong Yan's ears twitched, and he immediately stood up.

My vision was instantly filled with a huge, crimson snake.

"You..." the old man said in surprise.

Compared to ten days ago, the snake has grown at least twice its original size, is nearly two meters thick, and its scales have changed color.

But the look in his eyes didn't change much; it just had an added, elusive quality.

It's a kind of charm.

The serpent god's son before him seemed like the mountain he was standing on.

All living beings who see it feel reverence...and fear, yet they cannot suppress the sense of belonging that wells up from the depths of their hearts, a feeling that fallen leaves should return to this place.

"I ask, you answer," the great serpent said in a deep voice, like thunder.

Zhong Yan's dazed and unfocused gaze was snapped back to reality, and he nodded repeatedly along with Wen Shuyan.

Why go up the mountain?

"The Black Serpent God appeared to me in a dream, instructing me to take Zhongyan up the mountain to offer sacrifices to the mountain god!" the scribe replied hastily.

"Who is the mountain god?"

"You! The statue that the Black Serpent God asked us to worship is in your likeness!" Zhong Yan crawled backward, pushed open the door, and showed the giant serpent the red serpent statue placed on the mountain god's altar.

Lifelike and vivid.

Huai Nian looked at it as if she were looking in a mirror, looking at herself in the mirror.

Mother is indeed grooming me to become the next mountain god...

"Mountain God, who is he?" the giant serpent asked, its voice accompanied by the sound of leaves falling in the wind.

"Of course..."

"The mountain god in the village should refer to you or the Black Serpent God," the scribe interrupted Zhong Yan's answer. "But in the city, the former mountain god was undoubtedly the Black Serpent God."

"But now, the title of the Mountain God of Xuan Snake Divine Bell Mountain has been taken by the Crimson Immortal Sect."

"They went door-to-door in the city collecting statues of the Black Serpent God and posted notices saying that the Black Serpent God had fallen into evil and was gathering monsters from Zhongshan to attack the city, slaughtering people to prolong his life with their blood and flesh!"

"Falling into depravity?" The serpent's voice suddenly exploded, booming like a mountain collapsing.

An unimaginable sense of oppression poured down the moment the red serpent raised its head.

Zhong Yan and Wen Shuyan simultaneously coughed up blood with a "poof," their bones creaking as if they would be crushed into powder in the next instant.

"—!" Seeing that the two humans were about to be crushed to death by his aura, Huai Nian quickly suppressed his anger.

The conflict between the human immortal sect and the mother seems to have reached an irreparable point.

Have they forgotten that it was Mother who ended the great drought three hundred years ago?

"Besides the Crimson Immortal Sect and the City Lord's Mansion, what is the attitude of the common people?" the giant snake asked, bowing its head.

"The city... the city lord's mansion hasn't... made any move..." Wen Shuyan answered, blood gushing from his mouth, while taking out pills from his pocket and giving them to Zhong Yan.

To answer more smoothly, Wen Shuyan regulated his breathing and calmed his qi and blood after swallowing the pill.

"We, along with many citizens of Xia'an City, initially didn't believe the Red Immortal Sect's explanation, since Zhongshan had never experienced a single monster attack in hundreds of years, but..."

The clerk, panting heavily, continued, "But the City Lord's Mansion has never come forward to refute the rumors. Over the past two years, a small number of people, including myself, have felt that the Black Serpent God is experiencing some health problems!"

"There has never been a single instance of a monster attacking the city?" Huai Nian pondered.

The reason why the monsters did not attack the city was because both Xia'an City and the mother were willing to take action for peace.

But now, even the City Lord's Mansion can only avoid the sharp edge of that so-called Crimson Immortal Sect... Peace will become very fragile, and can be broken with the slightest effort.

For example, they could incite monsters from other places to attack cities... or even cultivators could directly slaughter mountain villages and fake it as a monster massacre.

"What are the recorded Zhongshan monsters in Xia'an City?" the giant snake asked.

"Golden ape, mountain tiger, black bear, prison wolf, bloodhound... these are all I can remember!" the clerk replied hastily.

"You never leave Zhongshan, nor do you reveal your whereabouts. Even I..." Zhong Yan added, "I only learned that the Snake God had a son after you saved me during the Jingzhe Festival."

"What is the current relationship between the City Lord's Mansion and the Crimson Immortal Sect?"

"They are like oil and water!"

Wen Shuyan immediately replied, "Now, just a spark away from igniting, the Crimson Immortal Sect will launch a full-scale attack on the City Lord's residence!"

Upon hearing this, the giant snake lowered its head, its golden and silver eyes radiating divine light that pierced through the pupils and reached deep into Wen Shuyan's heart.

The fat businessman's heart leaped into his throat, pounding wildly, but his body remained rooted to the spot, unmoving. Even as his eyes stung with fear and tears streamed down his face, he neither closed them nor turned his head.

It only takes two or three blinks, yet it feels as long as a lifetime.

The giant snake looked up: "Go back and gather intelligence on the Crimson Immortal Sect. Report to Zhong Yan no later than once every ten days."

"Yes!" Wen Shuyan's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, suddenly fell. His vision went black, and his body collapsed weakly to the ground, as if he had rotted into a pile of fat.

Huai Nian turned her head, and a bird flew over, landing three spiritual fruits on the ground.

The fruity aroma was rich and full of vitality; just a whiff of it restored some of their strength.

"Now that you've rested, let's go back."

Regarding Xia Ancheng, I should stop at intelligence gathering for now to avoid disrupting my mother's plans.

At this critical moment, the most important thing is to restrain the monsters of Zhongshan.

The giant serpent pondered for a moment, then dripped two drops of crystal-clear liquid from its snout onto the spirit fruit before turning and disappearing into the forest.

Birds perched on the treetops sang melodious folk songs, the tunes continuing until the red snake left and then gradually dissipating.

They took flight, carrying sweet mountain spring water to feed the two humans who were paralyzed on the ground, unable to get up.

"Mountain God... truly a mountain god..." Wen Shuyan's mouth was full of sweetness, the taste he loved most when he was a child, but he had never tasted it again after growing up and immersing himself in the business world.

Zhong Yan, his mouth also full of sweetness, nodded in silent agreement.