Zhongshan Shenzhu Chi

Above Zhongshan Mountain, the sky is a clear, deep blue, with not a cloud in sight.

On the official road, beside the carriage, a drop of cold sweat seeped from the back of the scribe, hidden beneath his brocade robe. It slid down his spine along the fine hairs, its chill penetrating to his very bones.

"If the immortal has any instructions, he can simply send someone to summon you. How could we trouble you to come in person..." the fat merchant said with a forced smile.

"Boss Wen's business has been doing well lately. He's been running around outside the city all day and has stopped doing business in the city." The white-robed scholar on the left had a playful look in his eyes.

On the right, a burly man dressed in red, with thick eyebrows and a square face, held a knife and said in a loud voice, "We have some errands to run to the new village. Please forgive us, Boss Wen."

"No, no... It was I who asked the three immortals to condescend." Wen Shuyan quickly got out of the car and gave up his own vehicle.

In the center of the three was a woman dressed in green, with a slender figure and delicate features, like a fairy in a painting.

She nodded slightly and stepped onto the carriage.

The scholar in white and the burly man in red got into the carriage, followed by the remaining dozen or so cultivators from the Crimson Immortal Sect.

Wen Shuyan stood still, bowing and thanking the immortal for each dignified cultivator who passed by.

All four carriages were occupied, and even the drivers were forced off.

Wen Shuyan had no choice but to tell his servants to squeeze in and hurry up and get on the road.

After a brief period of chaos, the caravan of Wenshushan Haige set off again, with the Chixianmen carriages at the head and tail, like escorting prisoners.

"Senior Sister, the Wenshu Shanhai Pavilion's caravan this time is quite large." The white-robed scholar sat with the red-robed giant, facing the green-robed senior sister.

Huo Yufeng nodded to the burly man in red: "I've counted them; there are forty-eight in total, including the guards..."

"There are still over two hundred people in the new village, that should be enough," the white-robed scholar, Shen Yan, added.

Meng Heng remained silent, flicked his wrist across the jade bracelet, and took out a pale yellow scroll.

Unfold the scroll, and the scenery of Zhongshan Mountain comes to life on the paper.

A bright red spot of blood stopped at the border of Zhongshan Mountain, on the mountaintop that the new village faced.

"Looks like Bloodhound has made his choice." Shen Yan glanced at it, then snapped his folding fan shut. "What kind of snake god is this? He can't even control the demonic beasts under his command."

"Now the elder finally has a reason to come to Xia'an City."

"Mm." Huo Yufeng nodded in acknowledgment.

"In the end, it was a mistake." Meng Heng put away the scroll and sighed.

She was the one who approached the Bloodhound, and that monster visibly trusted the Zhongshan Serpent God. In addition, according to the records of Xia'an City, it had not suffered from beast tides for hundreds of years... The righteousness of the Serpent God's divinity was clearly visible.

If the Serpent God hadn't been suppressing that thing, the Four Dharma Gates wouldn't have acted so swiftly, cutting off the people's offerings to it from the root.

"If we can obtain that thing, the elder will be absolutely certain of breaking through to the next level. Then, we can truly hold our heads high in the Four Laws Alliance," the white-robed scholar said with longing.

"Let's focus on our task first, and see if we can take it down." Huo Yufeng interrupted, "Senior Sister, are you sure the Bloodhound isn't bait set by the Zhongshan Serpent God?"

"No matter what, the result is the same. The Zhongshan monsters slaughtered the village, and the Chixian Sect came to subdue the demons and eliminate evil on behalf of the people. Senior Sister, isn't that right?" Before Meng Heng could speak, Shen Yan spoke first.

"Hmm..." Meng Heng sighed again.

Seeing her nod, Huo Yufeng fell silent and closed his eyes to conserve his energy.

The carriage sped forward. The scholar in white wanted to say a few more words, but received no response. So he simply closed his eyes and focused his spiritual energy.

Time flows like water, slowly passing by. After two moons, the sun rises, and it is already noon.

The lush green scenery of Zhongshan Mountain is right before your eyes, and you can clearly see the wisps of smoke rising from the small village at the foot of the mountain.

The scholar in white robes climbed out of the carriage, opened his arms, and let out a long howl towards the green mountains and blue sky.

Wen Shuyan was startled and quickly jumped out of the car, scrambling to his feet to serve him.

"Alright, alright, I'm bored after days of driving, it's fine." Shen Yan's words were full of disdain.

"Senior sister, we're almost there, I can see the new village."

Upon hearing this, Huo Yufeng and Meng Heng stepped out of the carriage. The lush green mountains came into view, their tranquility captivating them.

"Senior Sister?" Shen Yan jumped onto the carriage and waved in front of Meng Heng.

Meng Heng snapped out of his daze and suddenly felt his heart pounding wildly, and the circulation of his magical energy throughout his body also accelerated.

This feeling... she had almost never experienced before.

"fine."

"Immortal, let's go into the village and set up our stalls first..." Wen Shuyan stepped forward again, cupping his hands and smiling apologetically.

"Go." Huo Yufeng's eyes were icy.

The clerk felt as if he had been granted a pardon and hurriedly told his assistants to move the goods. The guards carried two boxes of important goods, and even the fat merchant carried them along as they quickly walked towards the new village.

Before long, only the eighteen members of the Crimson Immortal Sect remained in the caravan.

"Scatter and surround the new village. Don't let a single stranger escape." After watching the merchant walk away, Huo Yufeng turned to the disciples of the Crimson Immortal Sect and said.

As Meng Heng stepped out of the car, his heart raced again the moment his shoes touched the ground.

She frowned and looked around, but found nothing unusual.

"Could there be something in the new village... waiting for us?" Meng Heng took out the scroll again, and the location of the scarlet bloodstains on the mountain remained unchanged.

Looking in the direction of the bloodhound, atop the mountain facing the new village, a blood-red light, similar to that in the painting, was shimmering.

"It's really here... That makes things easier." Shen Yan closed his folding fan. "Senior sister, senior brother, let's go into the village too. If we can't see anything, that demon dog probably won't come down the mountain."

"Mm." Huo Yufeng nodded.

Meng Heng took a deep breath to calm his racing heart.

The three cultivators, who were at the Foundation Establishment stage and had already cultivated their life fields, were waiting for an opportunity to forge their cores. They arrived at the village entrance in the blink of an eye.

Meng Heng pulled out the silk scarf wrapped around her waist and tossed it into the air. The scarf fluttered and instantly transformed into specks of light, swirling and rising around the new village.

Ignoring the village chief Zhong Yan and Wen Shuyan who were waiting for them at the village entrance, the three of them arrived at the only mountain road leading to the new village.

The bloodhound slowly descended to the foot of the mountain. The two sides faced each other, so close yet so distinct, one in the human world, the other still in the mountains.

"Bloodhound, here is what you wanted: the golden statue offered by the 30,000 people of Yunxi Continent." The white-robed scholar took out a small golden statue from his sleeve.

Judging from its appearance, every detail of its body, even every single hair, is lifelike, like a mirror image of a bloodhound.

"..." Seeing the incense power swirling around the golden body, the bloodhound lowered its eyes.

It vomited out the pure white jade bead from its belly, placed it under its front paw, and remained motionless for a long time.

Time passed slowly, and the three humans and the beast remained silent.

Even as dawn broke, the bloodhound still hadn't crushed the jade bead.

The scholar in white, losing his patience, shouted, "Since you won't kill them, then we'll kill them for you!"

"All you need to do is go down the mountain, enter the new village, and leave behind a single hair!"

After saying that, he ignored Meng Heng's obstruction and took a step forward, stepping onto the bluestone steps.

He had just raised his hand to throw out the incense and golden statue—

A fierce wind emerged from the depths of the mountains, surging in.

The wind was fierce, blowing the soil upside down and shaking the forest, as if the mountains were crying out in the wind.

Down the mountain, Huo Yufeng and Meng Heng both wore solemn expressions.

Shen Yan was standing right in front of them, but their divine senses found the area to be completely empty.

It was as if the person before me was merely a flower in a mirror, or the moon's reflection in water.

A sense of foreboding washed over Huo Yufeng, and he abruptly drew his sword, unleashing a burst of crimson flames.

This is the pure yang fire passed down through generations of the Crimson Immortal Sect, capable of scorching the air and burning away the soul.

But at this moment, the pure yang fire was swept away by the gale as soon as it rose, like a rootless duckweed being blown away by the wind and rain.

"Senior sister...!" Shen Yan turned around and cried out for help, but as soon as he opened his mouth, a raindrop violently entered his throat.

The biting coldness traveled from my throat straight to my tailbone.

The rain poured down without any warning.

The endless curtain of iron-gray rain covered all the colors of the green mountains, leaving only himself in the vast天地 (heaven and earth).

Just one step away, Shen Yan was separated from the mortal world.

My agitated, wildly beating heart was suddenly gripped by a pair of eyes.

"Bloodhound...?" Shen Yan felt a chill run down his spine, and fear surged through his heart like a tidal wave.

He turned his head shakily, but saw no sign of the bloodhound.

Only a pair of golden and silver suns and moons slowly rose under the iron-gray rain curtain.

"Offending Zhongshan..."

"boom--!"

The serpent's voice was synchronized with the thunder.

"die."