City God Xue Lingfu was pinned beneath the willow tree. Seeing Xu Ying sprinting toward him while dragging the bronze bell, the City God sat bolt upright and laughed heartily. "The Nether Court enjoys boundless fortune! Today, Xu Ying falls into my hands!"
Moments ago, he and Zhou Yihang had struck at the same time to kill Xu Ying, only to hit the bronze bell by mistake. Rebounded by the bell, the golden body he had cultivated through five hundred years of bitter effort had nearly shattered, and the incense qi accumulated within his shrine had almost been reduced to dust!
Fortunately, the Earth God had just been in the temple enfeoffing Squire Huang Sanduo as a deity and had not yet departed. Seeing that Xue Lingfu was injured, this Earth God had scurried out from beside him, planted several sticks of incense into his shrine, and offered incense to him.
Only upon receiving this offering of incense did the City God catch his breath, gathering the dissipating incense qi and stabilizing his golden body.
With Xu Ying running straight this way now, the boy was practically throwing himself into the net. Shrewd and scheming as the City God was, even he could not help beaming with delight.
Before he could even stand, Xu Ying was already only twenty or thirty feet away, spinning around as he sprinted!
City God Xue Lingfu had just scrambled to his feet, the smile still blossoming across his face, when he saw a massive bronze bell sweeping straight at him!
"Block it, my Lord!" the Earth God cried in panic.
Unfazed in the face of danger, City God Xue Lingfu immediately mobilized his remaining incense qi, condensing it into a great shield beside him.
*Bang!*
The shield was pulverized by the bronze bell, which swept onward without losing momentum. City God Xue Lingfu ducked his head and hunched his shoulders, bracing to withstand the blow, while his left hand shot out toward Xu Ying.
With the shield having cushioned the impact, the strike left him dizzy and seeing stars, but otherwise unharmed.
Watching from the distance, Zhou Yihang cursed silently under his breath. *Trouble! Xue Lingfu has an Earth God offering him incense, so he recovers faster than I do! Xu Ying might fall into his clutches!*
Yet Xu Ying was like a spinning top spun wildly out of control, whirling crazily as he hurtled forward. City God Xue Lingfu had barely parried the bell's first collision when he saw the bronze bell make a frantic revolution and slam into him once more, moving so fast that his eyes could not keep up!
To be dazzled meant one could not even take it in with one's eyes.
And if his eyes could not keep up, how could his hands and feet?
City God Xue Lingfu took the second hit, but failed to block the third, fourth, and fifth. Struck until he tumbled and rolled, he was launched into the air!
The moment he was airborne, he was struck several more times in rapid succession by the bronze bell, accelerating even faster as he was hurled violently toward the temple!
The Earth God had originally hidden behind the City God. With Xue Lingfu sent flying, how could he fare any better? He was also swatted away by the bell, vanishing who knows where.
Seeing the City God hurtling his way, Zhou Yihang scrambled to dodge. With a deafening crash, the City God smashed through the temple wall.
Xu Ying came charging with the bell in tow. Before he even reached them, his body sprang horizontal. Lightly pressing a hand against the ground, he spun at high speed parallel to the earth!
The bronze bell swung along with him, howling as it whirled. With a massive *clang*, it smashed against the temple wall, crushing City God Xue Lingfu, wall and all, into the earth!
*Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!*
A rapid flurry of explosive chimes rang out. Half of City God Xue Lingfu's golden body was utterly smashed to pieces!
Zhou Yihang was mobilizing his Mud Pill secret depository, doing everything he could to mend his flesh, when suddenly Xu Ying flipped upside down like a windmill. The bronze bell whistled through the air and crashed straight into him!
*This old man has truly stumbled this time,* Zhou Yihang thought, his heart turning icy cold as the bronze bell slammed brutally into him, sending his upper body flying.
Having swatted Zhou Yihang away, Xu Ying immediately wheeled about, swinging the bronze bell at the City God without giving either of them a moment to catch their breath.
Zhou Yihang hit the ground spitting blood. Seeing Xu Ying charging back toward him, he shouted, "City God Xue, only by joining hands can we survive!"
Half of City God Xue Lingfu's golden body was shattered, and the other half was in tatters. His incense qi was in the midst of scattering, pushing him to his absolute limit. Hearing Zhou Yihang's shout, he immediately knew his old rival was likewise at the end of his tether.
*If we don't join forces, this junior is truly going to beat us to death right here in Huangtianpu Town!*
With this realization, he gathered his remaining magic power. His incense qi condensed into a giant hand over ten feet long, reaching deep into the temple.
The newly appointed temple deity Huang Sanduo had been hiding in the temple watching the battle unfold, only to see the City God's colossal hand sweep in and seize him in its grip.
Huang Sanduo cried in panic, "City God Xue, do you remember? I even gave you gifts!"
"I know. That's why I'm borrowing your life!"
With all his might, City God Xue Lingfu hurled the idol toward Xu Ying!
Xu Ying was in the middle of swinging the bell at Zhou Yihang when he caught sight of the two-faced, six-armed divine statue flying at him. He hastily spun around, bringing the bronze bell to meet Huang Sanduo.
The bronze bell collided with the divine statue, shattering it instantly to pieces. Huang Sanduo was merely a newly minted deity who had barely enjoyed a sliver of incense. His divine body disintegrated, his soul turned to ash, and a single trace of his indestructible true spirit drifted off toward the underworld.
Yet with this brief reprieve, Zhou Yihang caught his breath. Mobilizing his remaining magic power, he activated the Dongjun Heaven-Leveling Seal and slammed a palm onto the bronze bell.
*Clang!*
The bell released an earth-shattering reverberation. Thrown into the air by the terrifying power of the Dongjun Heaven-Leveling Seal, it rolled and tumbled skyward.
Xu Ying had not been struck directly by the Dongjun Heaven-Leveling Seal, yet he felt an irresistible force sweep over him, lifting him off his feet and spinning him helplessly through the air in dozens of rotations.
*Trouble! I can swing the bell through all kinds of motions, but the bell can drag me along with its motions too,* the boy realized.
The bronze bell plummeted to the ground, bouncing and skidding along the street for dozens of paces before rolling over a hundred feet.
Xu Ying fell right with it, bouncing, landing, and tumbling for dozens of paces.
Zhou Yihang and City God Xue Lingfu were stunned for a moment, then an epiphany struck them: *That's how to deal with him!*
Xu Ying pushed off the ground with both hands and stood up, warily eyeing the two of them.
Zhou Yihang and Xue Lingfu struggled to their feet, but neither stepped forward. Even though they were the foremost experts in Lingling, they were now completely drained. While they had discovered the trick to countering Xu Ying, rushing forward without coordination from the other would likely end with Xu Ying bludgeoning them with the bell once more.
Having suffered a setback and feeling the wound on his shoulder tear open, Xu Ying knew the situation was turning grim. Keeping his eyes fixed on the two, he backed away slowly.
He retreated into the medicine shop.
The shop assistant had already bundled the herbs into a large burlap sack and was standing outside with the shopkeeper, watching the commotion. Seeing Xu Ying approach, they scurried back inside.
Xu Ying grabbed the burlap sack, threw it onto his shoulder, and carefully backed out to avoid demolishing the shop with the bronze bell when he turned around.
Once clear of the medicine shop, he turned and dashed toward the outskirts of town.
*Clang-clatter-clatter!* The bronze bell trailed behind him, smoking continuously. The clatter sounded as if a whole troupe of people were marching right behind him, gleefully banging gongs and beating drums.
Zhou Yihang and Xue Lingfu suppressed their injuries and did not pursue him, letting Xu Ying escape.
"If you walk along the river often enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet," Zhou Yihang said with a wry smile, pushing the vitality of his Mud Pill secret depository to its utmost to repair his physical trauma. "Only this time, my shoes didn't just get wet—I was nearly dragged into the water and drowned by that little brat Xu Ying."
City God Xue's face was grim. Half of his golden body crackled and popped, occasionally spitting out glittering golden fragments that turned into real gold the moment they hit the ground.
The Earth God scrambled out from who knew where, knelt at City God Xue's feet, and kowtowed while offering incense, muttering prayers under his breath.
City God Xue's dispersed incense qi gradually reassembled, and the shattered pieces of gold on the ground hopped and bounded as if they had grown legs, leaping back onto his body one after another.
"Xu Ying caught us off guard and injured us with a defensive treasure. Once prepared, handling that battered bell of his won't be difficult," City God Xue said coolly. "However, Master Zhou likely won't be able to capture Xu Ying in person—because Master Zhou will soon be heading to the Yellow Springs."
The moment his words fell, demonic qi billowed at the entrance of the town as a demon god stepped into Huangtianpu Town.
City God Xue said, "I have the Earth God, who can travel underground to summon reinforcements from every mountain and lake. The Earth God can also track Xu Ying's movements. Master Zhou, wounded as you are, I doubt you can resist the demon god under my command."
Zhou Yihang sighed, then chuckled softly. "You can call for reinforcements, but I cannot? Does City God Xue not know that my Zhou clan's Nuo art can make trees and grass into soldiers? Calling a few juniors to back me up is hardly a difficult task for me."
At the other end of Huangtianpu Town, officials from Lingling County—including the Bureau of Merit, Bureau of Granaries, and Bureau of Households—arrived one after another.
Meanwhile, gods from various villages and towns, along with demon gods from all quarters, arrived at Huangtianpu Town. Seeing the wounded City God, they were astonished and rushed to prostrate themselves, offer incense, and inquire after his well-being.
On the other side stood dozens of officials from Lingling County—including the Assistants of Merit, Granaries, Households, Military, Justice, Public Works, and the Prison Wardens. Though fewer in number than the deities, they were all Nuo masters nurtured by the Zhou clan, with skills far exceeding ordinary straw-headed deities.
Both sides lined up in confrontation, murderous intent thick in the air.
Ever since the passing of Emperor Zhidao Dasheng Mingxiao, the rift between divine authority and imperial power had become common knowledge.
In Yongzhou, this division was even starker.
In other regions, a facade of harmony could still be maintained. But in Yongzhou—especially Lingling, where the mountains were high and the emperor was far away—even imperial power struggled to reach below the county level, let alone divine authority.
Here, the Zhou clan was the local despot, holding dominion over the area. In their struggle against the divine authority of the Nether Court, they had long been like water and fire.
Zhou Yihang resumed his previous guise of a refined elder. Struggling to the front of his ranks, he smiled and said, "City God, this matter was originally a misunderstanding, wasn't it?"
Having received incense from the village and town gods, City God Xue Lingfu had also barely stabilized his injuries. Stepping forward from the crowd, he said solemnly, "Indeed, this matter was always a misunderstanding."
Zhou Yihang smiled. "Since it is a misunderstanding, and the fugitive Xu Ying is on the run, it is truly unfit for our two sides to bicker. If that Xu Ying escapes Lingling, wouldn't we become a laughingstock?"
City God Xue Lingfu assumed a look of remorse and said, "Master Zhou speaks the truth. The fugitive Xu Ying is exceedingly dangerous and has violated heavenly law. He must be brought to justice without delay. Let the misunderstanding between our two houses be set aside for now and addressed another day."
Zhou Yihang said solemnly, "That is my thought as well."
The two gave orders to their respective subordinates, dispatching the county officials and the various deities of the villages, towns, mountains, and rivers to track and encircle Xu Ying, while they stayed behind their lines to nurse their injuries.
City God Xue ordered an Earth God to light incense, instructing, "The matter of Xu Ying is of utmost importance. Go invite the divine dragon of the Ningyuan Temple of Confucius to assist us."
Zhou Yihang secretly dispatched someone to summon County Magistrate Zhou Yang. When Zhou Yang arrived at Huangtianpu Town and saw Zhou Yihang covered in injuries, he was taken aback.
"Yang'er, Xu Ying is on the run. Pull back those officials with lower cultivation; they are no match for the criminal. Take some elite experts and capture him yourself. I will hold the rear to watch out for Xue Lingfu," Zhou Yihang instructed. "Also, report Xu Ying's matter to the Regional Inspector and request that he mobilize the Zhou clan's top experts to hunt Xu Ying down."
County Magistrate Zhou Yang was startled. "The boy is merely a peasant from the countryside. Is it really necessary to trouble the Regional Inspector?"
The Regional Inspector of Yongzhou was named Zhou Heng. Appointed by the imperial court to oversee Yongzhou, he held military authority and commanded countless formidable masters. Although Zhou Yang was also a member of the Zhou clan, he was not in the clan's core circle of power.
Only a handful of people could enter the inner circle of this great clan, and Regional Inspector Zhou Heng was one of them.
Zhou Yang found it rather baffling. Reporting Xu Ying's matter to Regional Inspector Zhou Heng was handing him the credit on a silver platter—why not keep all the merit for themselves?
Zhou Yihang said, "The criminal Xu Ying has cultivated demonic techniques to the level of a demon king. Even among demons, few ever reach such heights. Our Zhou clan will under no circumstances permit him to fall into the hands of the Nether Court!"
Zhou Yang hesitated for a moment, then plucked up his courage and asked, "Father, the Old Ancestor's cultivation reaches to the heavens and penetrates the earth. He has completely unlocked the power of secret depositories; scarcely anyone in the world, whether ghost or god, can surpass him. Why would he be so interested in demonic techniques?"
Zhou Yihang's eyes turned deep and brooding. "Yang'er, your standing is not yet sufficient to touch upon these secrets. But since you are curious, I shall tell you what little I know."
He fell silent for a moment before speaking. "Twenty years ago, I accompanied the clan elders to Mount Doujiao in Beiliu County, Lingnan. There, our clan's Nuo masters discovered an ancient grottos-heaven. The clan elders scoured imperial ancient texts and surmised that it was the cultivation grounds of Granny Tuo, an ancient Qi Refiner, likely one of the few relatively well-preserved grottos-heavens in the Divine Continent. Back then, with three clan elders taking charge, two hundred core Zhou clan scions, and a thousand Nuo masters, we set out in great force to explore that grottos-heaven. We encountered many strange occurrences."
Terror surfaced in his eyes, and it took him a while to compose himself. "Bizarre things that neither Nuo techniques nor the sorcery of ghosts and gods could explain! Things that could only be explained as immortal arts and divine immortal methods! We Nuo masters—including the three clan elders—could not even comprehend them! We could not understand them at all, do you hear me?"
The terror in his eyes turned to despair.
The Zhou clan's deep excavation of the Mount Doujiao grottos-heaven had resulted in disastrous casualties: all one thousand Nuo masters were wiped out, more than half of the core Zhou scions were killed or wounded, and one of the three clan elders perished.
In the end, at an agonizing cost, they managed to retrieve several items from that ancient grottos-heaven, among which were jade slips left behind by the ancient Qi Refiner Granny Tuo.
The slip was one chi and two cun long, verdant as tender bamboo, and inscribed with golden characters that no one could decipher.
Besides the jade slip, there was a handwritten ancient tome—evidently the written notes Granny Tuo had left behind while deciphering the jade slip.
This ancient book contained an incantation, convoluted, jarring, and profoundly obscure.
"In that grottos-heaven, we also saw a mural depicting someone transcending tribulation and ascending to immortality. Because of that, an elder surmised that the ancient Qi Refiner Granny Tuo had witnessed someone ascending as an immortal. What she deciphered was none other than an immortal's cultivation method!"
Pausing here, Zhou Yihang steadied his nerves. "Ever since then, I have never seen that ancient text again. But I still remember the look on those elders' faces when they flipped through it. Their expressions were bizarre—bizarre as if they had just swallowed swill that had soured for three days! They said..."
He paused, then whispered, "They said the opening of the immortal method Granny Tuo deciphered was identical to demonic techniques."
County Magistrate Zhou Yang's eyes widened, a tempest churning in his heart.
Among the wilderness of Lingling, demons were plentiful. While they did not overrun every inch of the land, one could easily bump into one or two by chance.
Some brought calamity to the countryside, some lived in seclusion deep within primeval forests, and others grew bold enough to claim mountains as their own. But most who cultivated to become demon kings were won over by the Nether Court and enfeoffed as mountain gods or river gods, managing the peaks, waterways, and lakes on behalf of the Nether Court.
Zhou Yang looked down on demons. Their techniques were eccentric and varied, but all were confined to the Qi Harvesting stage. Once cultivated to the peak of the Qi Harvesting stage, the road ended, leaving no way to advance further.
Demonic cultivators were inferior to Nuo masters. Once Nuo masters opened their secret depositories, they harvested the depositories' power to forge Hidden Sceneries. Their cultivation grew higher and higher, capable of reaching the heavens and shaking the earth, their abilities transcending the mundane into the sacred!
The Zhou clan's Old Ancestor was a figure standing at the very pinnacle of this world—even the reigning emperor had to treat him with deep respect!
Yet demonic cultivators were not even equal to gods enfeoffed through incense!
For those enfeoffed by incense, as long as their divine seat remained, they could continually absorb incense qi. With their magic power deepening by the day, they too could reach exceptionally formidable heights!
Only demonic cultivators were stuck at the Qi Harvesting stage. At best, they became a demon king or were enfeoffed as a demon god, ruling over nothing more than a single mountain.
As for demonic techniques, they were so lacking in merit that almost nobody bothered to study them.
Yet now, Zhou Yihang was claiming that the opening of an immortal method was identical to demonic techniques. How could Zhou Yang not be shocked?
"Though the records left by the ancient Qi Refiner Granny Tuo were deciphered immortal methods, they were far too obscure and tortuous, requiring further decoding," Zhou Yihang said, closing his eyes to rest. "Merely deciphering that text wore several geniuses of our Zhou clan to death. Many dazzling figures among our kin worried themselves until their hair turned white over it. It was simply too difficult to comprehend."
He sighed, tears slipping from the corners of his eyes.
Zhou Yang's eyes glinted. "Which is why Xu Ying, who can decipher demonic techniques, is extraordinarily valuable."
"And if our Zhou clan cannot possess him, he must be destroyed. We cannot let another faction reap the benefits!" Zhou Yihang's expression grew sinister. He waved a hand and said, "Go, Yang'er. Remember, you must notify the Regional Inspector."
County Magistrate Zhou Yang acknowledged the command, bowed, and departed.
Inside a cave on Mount Xiao in Lingling, Xu Ying stood peering out. The sky was densely blanketed with dark clouds, thunder and rain crashing down together. The rain fell with torrential force, a sheer downpour dragged and whipped into swirling sheets by the wild gale.
Dusk was settling into darkness.
This sudden downpour had held back their pursuers.
Xu Ying withdrew his gaze. A large pot hung over the bonfire in the cave, boiling herbs.
The snake demon Yuan Qi lay curled by the fire to warm himself, looking sickly and frail as he waited for the medicine to finish simmering.
In a corner of the cave, a black bear shrank back timidly, shivering as it watched Xu Ying. This had been its cave, but now Xu Ying and Yuan Qi had moved in and made it their own.
"Xiong Qianli, don't be afraid. We'll leave as soon as the rain stops," Xu Ying consoled the bear demon with a gentle look.
The black bear spoke in human words, saying, "Great Benefactor Xu, are you trying to swindle me? Last time you took my scripture, you said you'd return it as soon as you finished reading it, but you still haven't returned it to this day!"
Chapter 15