Chapter 262 - 289: Mountain Villager Chen Teng and the Bizarre Mountain God

Hundreds of miles away, the massive silhouette of the Prefecture City came into Chu An’s view.

He couldn’t make out any specific details, but he could sense an astonishing surge of qi coming from the direction of the city.

This qi was vast and majestic, seemingly concealing a profound Dao rhythm that made even his Heart Spirit tremble.

’Where did this expert come from?’

Chu An’s expression was extremely grave. The two Daoists behind him couldn’t sense anything, but seeing his solemn face, they were both surprised.

"Elder, what have you discovered?"

"Another great expert has arrived in the Prefecture City..."

Chu An withdrew his gaze, his eyes filled with wariness as he spoke in a low voice,

"From what I can tell of their aura, they seem to be a powerful expert from a Daoist Sect. I fear they have already broken through the bottleneck of Entering the Saint Realm in a certain Dao and reached the Dao Realm!"

"Within this Desolate Province, there are only so many powerful experts from Daoist Sects. Is it White Sun Mountain? Or Zhenyue Pavilion?"

"Or perhaps, it’s a visiting Loose Cultivator?"

Any expert who had stepped into the Dao Realm on a Martial Dao path, such as the Sword Dao, Fist Dao, or Blade Dao, was a world-shaking figure, each with an extraordinary background.

Even within an entire province, they would be considered a great expert.

What could their appearance at this critical moment signify?

...

After the breakthrough was complete, the night receded. The horizon whitened as the morning sun began to rise.

In the small courtyard, Su Bai slowly concealed his aura.

Then, he did a quick calculation of his current daily Experience Points gain and the amount needed to break through to the next Realm.

’Not bad. At this rate, it’ll only be a few more days before I can break through again.’

Su Bai was quite satisfied with his current speed of advancement.

"Senior, the food is ready!"

A moment later, the old Daoist Cui Yanliang called out to Su Bai, carrying plates of steaming hot food.

"WOOF WOOF!"

The Silver-White Dog Demon caught the scent of meat in the air and immediately started drooling, its tail wagging furiously. It looked like it wanted to pounce on the food at any second.

"Xiaobai, quiet down!"

The knife-wielding woman standing nearby tapped the Silver-White Dog Demon on its large head with her blade’s hilt, making it yelp and bare its teeth in pain.

It lowered its head and lay on the ground, whimpering softly.

Su Bai smiled upon seeing this and stood up to speak.

"Coming."

...

Celestial Origin Mountain was the tallest mountain range surrounding the Prefecture City. It was thick with peaks and lush with vegetation, but also crawling with Demon Beasts.

Furthermore, rumors of Demon Fiends and ghosts harming people surfaced from time to time, so it was sparsely populated, and few people would venture into the mountains willingly.

However, a major road to the Prefecture City passed through it, so many traveling merchants would choose to risk the danger.

Most of the tales about Demon Fiends and ghosts harming people came from these very merchants.

But some people believed the merchants had gotten a taste of the profits and were deliberately spreading these rumors to scare off competitors.

Otherwise, why would the Demon Fiends and ghosts always leave survivors?

At this moment, the sky was growing dim. A light breeze rustled through the vegetation, making a "SHH SHH" sound.

Chen Teng pulled his clothes tighter and scanned his surroundings. Seeing that it was almost dark, he finally found the right direction and continued walking briskly.

He was not a Hunter, nor was he a Medicine Gatherer. He had no choice but to enter the mountains this time.

His younger sister at home was gravely ill, and he had no money for a doctor. He was forced to come into the mountains to see if he could find any rare Spiritual Medicine to sell for cash.

The mountain village he came from, called Xiaoyang Village, was located twenty li outside Celestial Origin Mountain. It was a small village of only a few dozen households, most of whom were surnamed Yang and were relatives, near or distant.

His family was the only one with a different surname. Now that they had fallen on hard times, naturally, few people were willing to help him.

In this day and age, no one was wealthy, let alone the villagers. Why would they help an outsider?

Sickness comes like a landslide, and when it goes, it takes all your money with it.

How much did it cost for an ordinary villager to see a doctor?

To him, it was an astronomical sum.

"Sigh!"

Chen Teng sighed heavily. Stumbling and trudging, he climbed halfway up the mountain and walked into a dilapidated Mountain God Temple.

The temple before him was in terrible disrepair. It was drafty on all sides, and one of the walls had collapsed entirely.

The incense altar was covered in dust and cobwebs, with no trace of Incense having been burned. The divine statue had long been neglected, and was missing an arm and a leg.

However, from the clay-molded blade held in its right arm, one could still see a hint of its former might.

Chen Teng had heard of this Mountain God. He was said to have been a Military General in the Immortal Dynasty who was deified as a Mountain God for his merits in protecting the people. But that was too long ago. How many people today still remembered his deeds?

With no Incense and no one to maintain it, the Mountain God Temple had naturally fallen into ruin.

"Grandpa Mountain God! It’s getting dark! Please allow this young one to take shelter here for the night!"

Chen Teng kowtowed earnestly before the Mountain God statue a few times before rising and saying,

"I’ll tidy up a bit for you, as payment for my stay."

The Mountain God Temple wasn’t large, but it was ancient and in disrepair. He had only just tidied up a little when the sky turned completely dark. Fortunately, there was plenty of dry grass inside, so he didn’t need to go out to gather firewood.

He built a fire right there.

Staring at the blazing red flames before him, Chen Teng let out a deep sigh.

"Sigh!"

The night grew thicker, as deep and dark as ink, and the sound of the wind around him grew louder.

In the flickering firelight, Chen Teng’s face grew ever more sorrowful.

Sighing again, he tended to the fire, added some more weeds, then crawled into his small bed of dry grass. He dozed off and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

He was exhausted from trekking over the mountains all day.

WHOOSH!

A night breeze blew in, and the dancing firelight cast flickering shadows across the Mountain God’s face.

"Chen Teng! Chen Teng!"

In his sleep, he seemed to hear someone calling his name.

In a daze...

He thought he saw a one-armed, armored Divine Being flickering before his eyes. From its appearance, it seemed to be the Mountain God.

"Are you... the Mountain God?"

Chen Teng was groggy.

"Go! Leave this place! Run east as soon as you leave the Mountain God Temple, and remember, don’t look back! Whatever you do, don’t look back..."

The ethereal voice echoed in his mind, and Chen Teng suddenly snapped awake.

The fire beside him had long since gone out. There was no moon tonight, making it exceptionally dark. The trees and grass howled with the fierce wind, creating a sinister and terrifying atmosphere.

"Grandpa Mountain God?"

Chen Teng scrambled to his feet and looked at the Mountain God statue, his heart pounding with fear.

’Who was that talking?’

The shock brought all the rumors he had heard about the Demon Fiends and ghosts of Celestial Origin Mountain flooding back into his mind, filling his heart with a bone-chilling cold.

Recalling the memory from his dream, Chen Teng gritted his teeth, grabbed his bundle, and ran out of the Mountain God Temple into the eastern darkness.

It was better to believe it and be wrong, than to not believe it and be sorry.

WHOOSH—

In the darkness, the wind howled. Chen Teng stumbled along, tripping over plants every now and then, but he never stopped running. He remembered the Mountain God’s words and didn’t dare to look back.

But the farther he ran, the more frightened he became. It felt as if all the swaying plants around him were roaring ghosts.

The cold wind at his back felt like venomous snakes licking his neck and limbs, terrifying him to his core.

Faintly, he thought he heard someone calling his name again.

His fear reached its peak. He let out a cry and scrambled forward, cold sweat pouring down his back.

’I can’t look back!’

’I absolutely cannot look back!’

The wind shrieked and dark shadows loomed everywhere. Chen Teng repeated the words over and over in his mind.

If not for the Mountain God’s warning, he probably would have looked back long ago.

"Chen Teng!"

Suddenly, he heard the Mountain God’s voice again.

"There’s a cliff ahead! Turn back quickly! An Evil Ghost was messing with your mind before! Hurry, turn back! Go back to the Mountain God Temple!"

Hearing this, Chen Teng froze in place.

’That’s right!’

’If the Mountain God is real, he should be protecting me. Why would he make me run outside all alone?’

This thought sent a chill through Chen Teng as if he had been plunged into an icy cavern. Listening to the sinister wind howl around him, he gritted his teeth and ran back toward the Mountain God Temple.

But the moment he turned around, his heart trembled.

There in the night, the shadow of a ferocious, one-armed figure was stretched long in the dim light—a terrifying sight!

"M-Mountain God!"

Chen Teng’s legs gave out, and he collapsed to his knees.

He knew now. There was no Mountain God. He had been tricked by this ghost!

"JIE JIE!"

Amidst a bloodcurdling shriek, the ghostly figure in the distance lunged toward him.

"Tidying up the temple isn’t enough! Offer your body to this Mountain God!"

"AHH!"

Chen Teng screamed and could only squeeze his eyes shut, waiting for death.

Suddenly, he heard a dog bark.

WOOF!

The bark seemed to come from all directions, sounding like that of an unweaned puppy.

But with just that single sound, Chen Teng felt the sinister, cold air around him dissipate considerably.

Opening his eyes, he saw that the ghost had retreated dozens of feet away and was staring fearfully at something behind him.

No, it wasn’t just fear.

It was terror!

"HUFF! HUFF!"

Chen Teng gasped for breath and turned around.

There, in the dim night, amidst the grass swaying in the breeze, a young man in a white robe was walking toward him.

And the one who had made the sound was the large, silver-white dog by the man’s side.

The young man didn’t look very old, about the same age as him, but his aura was as heavy and solid as a mountain.

The man simply came to his side and stood there calmly, and the howling, sinister wind all around seemed to instantly grow still.

And the fear in his heart had vanished.

"You were once an ever-victorious Military General with a powerful Cultivation. You killed bandits and slayed Great Demons, ultimately dying to protect the common people."

"After death, you accepted the Power of Incense and served as a ghost-god for a thousand years. But now, you seek to snatch the body of a believer..."

Su Bai looked at the ghost-god before him and spoke indifferently,

"What a pity."

Hearing Su Bai’s words, the one-armed Demon Fiend’s terror seemed to vanish, replaced by a sharp, furious roar!

"In life, I protected the masses! In death, I guarded this mountain! I was diligent and never once failed in my duty! But just because I wouldn’t grant their greedy wishes, they abandoned me! My Incense was cut off, and I became a lonely Evil Ghost!"

"Even the Immortal Dynasty stripped me of my Divine Position and cast me aside!"

"Hate! I hate it!"

"I hate all of it!"