"Are you the mountain god of this place?" Chongming frowned slightly, his gaze on the old man tinged with a hint of doubt.
Yaohua immediately looked at the old man warily. Today, she had been at the mercy of the villagers and had heard them mention the mountain god quite a bit. And since this old man had emerged from the broken statue, it was hard not to arouse her suspicion.
"I'm truly ashamed. I was sealed inside that clay and wooden statue by them. I'm unworthy of the title of mountain god," the old man said with glistening tears in his eyes. "The Dragon King is in great trouble. He's hiding in the cave of the Phoenix Ancestor. I beg the great god to save him!"
Chongming made a hand gesture and restored everything in the room to its original state. Then he led them out of the village head's house.
The mountain wind was a bit strong at night. Yaohua tightened her collar and stood behind her master.
"Don't worry about the Dragon King. What on earth has happened here? Why wasn't it reported to the heavens in time?"
Her master's tone was calm, but she could detect a hint of anger in it.
"For years, the people of Cangyan Mountain have been simple and honest, and there have never been any problems. But in recent years, because there have been no fresh fruits and vegetables, the villagers' teeth have been falling out constantly, and their legs have started to bend. I heard many prayers in the mountain god temple. Not long after I reported this to the heavens, a mysterious black - robed man appeared."
The mountain god's voice trembled. "I sensed that his aura was inauspicious, and he instigated the villagers to do immoral things. Thinking of the tragic incident caused by the demons in Lei Mengze before, I wanted to seek support from the upper realm. But before I could send out a signal, I was sealed inside the temple by that mysterious man."
He tremblingly took out a memorial from his bosom and handed it to Chongming.
Yaohua hesitated for a moment, then quickly took it from his hand and gave it to her master.
She tiptoed and leaned over to her master's hand, trying to see what was written on the memorial.
The more she read, the more shocked she became.
It turned out that in this village, except for the village head, no one had lived longer than thirty years!
The mysterious man, Zhao Wu, had blamed this on the punishment from the heavens.
The great apocalyptic disaster twelve years ago was also said by Zhao Wu to be the Heavenly Dao's dissatisfaction with the current gods in the heavens, so it was punishing the people who worshiped them!
And worshiping a new mountain god could exempt them from the punishment of the Heavenly Dao.
"What on earth do they want to do!" Yaohua blurted out, immediately recalling the chaos caused by Jinghe in Henan Prefecture.
Could it be that they still wanted to replace the heavens?
The ambitions of these demons were so great!
Chongming closed the memorial. "Since you were sealed in the temple, why did you appear in the village head's house?"
"A few days ago, the Dragon King came to Cangyan Mountain. When he found me trapped inside, he managed to rescue me. After he learned what had happened here, he told me that the mysterious man had an old grudge against him and wanted to take this opportunity to avenge himself." The mountain god wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes. "Who would have thought that the mysterious man's cultivation was so profound that he seriously injured the Dragon King and wanted to peel off his scales and pull out his tendons."
Yaohua felt cold all over, and the red mark on her forehead throbbed faintly.
Zhao Wu was so cruel!
He could even do such a thing!
"I had no choice but to send him into the cave where the Phoenix Ancestor once stayed. Unfortunately, I was a step too late. Before I could go in with him, I was caught by the mysterious man."
When Uncle Nanfeng woke up, they could verify the truth of this matter. Presumably, the mountain god had no reason to lie.
"What did Zhao Wu seal you in that pile of mud for?" This was what Yaohua couldn't understand the most. The clay statue had a smiling face on one side and an angry face on the other, and the core inside was the mountain god. It was really hard to think that the mountain god was a good person.
"I don't know the reason for this. After I was sealed inside, my spiritual power gradually weakened. Until today, I can only barely maintain my human form."
Only then did Yaohua notice that his hem fluttered unsteadily, and the position where his feet should have been had turned into the shape of tree roots.
The mountain god bowed to Chongming again. "I've failed the great expectations of the heavens. I deserve to die. But before I die, I hope the great god can let me return to the heavens."
Yaohua was suddenly shocked. Before she could say anything, the mountain god turned into a gentle ray of light and fell into her master's hand.
Her master looked at the seed in his hand with a complex expression and didn't say a word for a long time.
"Master, why did the mountain god turn into a seed?"
"The mountain god was originally an orange tree growing in the heavens. By chance, he was enlightened. At that time, Cangyan Mountain needed a mountain god. After going through many assessments, he was listed among the immortals and became the mountain god." Chongming put away the seed. "He wanted to return to the heavens, but he didn't know that things have changed. There's no suitable place for him in the heavens anymore."
"Then can we wait for the seed to germinate and grow, and then send it back to the heavens?"
"The mountain god has his own fate," Chongming shook his head. "This is not something we can decide."
Seeing that the master and disciple were each lost in thought, Rong Chu coughed lightly. "The mountain god didn't mention why the villagers don't come out after nightfall. There must be a hidden reason for this."
By now, it was getting late. Dark clouds covered the sky. In a short while, not a single speck of light could be seen.
Just then, Yaohua suddenly heard a rustling sound, like the rustling of leaves and a shower of rain.
She sniffed. "Master, do you smell the smell of soil?"
It was so strange. There was no wind or rain. How could there be such a smell?
Could it be that these villagers weren't resting at home but had gone out to dig the ground?
Although Rong Chu had been converted, he was still a spiritual being and naturally couldn't smell anything. He shook his head and pointed to a tree. "I'll go up there and take a look."
Chongming's gaze fell into the distance.
Following his line of sight, Yaohua vaguely saw a cemetery.
She shivered, and a terrifying guess suddenly occurred to her.
It was certain that the villagers hadn't left the village because when Yaohua led her master and the others into the village, she had heard their shallow breathing.
That meant that even if someone was digging the ground, it couldn't be the villagers.
Her master was a great god and well - informed. He couldn't be looking at the cemetery for no reason.
So...
The night was as black as spilled ink. Yaohua squinted her eyes and suddenly saw a shadow walking out of the cemetery.
No.
It wasn't just one shadow.
She suddenly opened her eyes wide. "M - Master, the corpses are rising!"
Chongming's expression remained unchanged, as if he had already expected it. "Don't panic. Let's see what they're going to do."
Yaohua suppressed her panicked emotions, quickly held her breath, and concealed her aura.
After a while, the shadows in the cemetery gathered. They swayed their heads and limbs and dragged their decaying bodies towards the village.
"There are still people in the village!" Yaohua lowered her voice but was still extremely nervous. Although those people hadn't been friendly to her, she couldn't bear to see these dirty things do evil.
"No one is in the village at night. They must have made preparations long ago," Chongming pursed his lips, and a thoughtful look flashed in his eyes.
The putrid wind swept across the land, as if blowing away the dark clouds in the sky.