These deities were nothing more than ghosts sucked into the bodies of statues, becoming crude gods. Befuddled and muddled, they knew only to obey the simplest commands of the white-robed Nuo immortal, such as slaying intruders and refining Myriad Spirits Pills.
They could not tell whether Xu Ying was one of their own, but the white-robed Nuo immortal was experienced and worldly; he would surely recognize that this impermanence ghost was no stone idol of his.
Moreover, having seen Xu Ying before, he would inevitably spot the impermanence mask strapped to Xu Ying's back. When that happened, Xu Ying would be walking right into a trap, doomed to a wretched end.
Yet, surrounded on all sides by deities taller, sturdier, and broader than himself, Xu Ying had no chance to slip away.
Secretly groaning in dismay, Xu Ying slipped a Myriad Spirits Pill from the cloth pouch into his mouth, thinking, *If I'm going to die, none of you get to live either! We're all going down together. I'll eat every last one of these Myriad Spirits Pills and see how you answer to that ghost Nuo immortal!*
Acting furtive and darting shifty glances around, he popped a Myriad Spirits Pill into his mouth every time the deities looked away, slipping a few pebbles into the pouch to replace them.
The gods rampaged along the way, slaying any deity or mortal in their path. Xu Ying tagged along, borrowing their terror to strut like a tiger; truly, gods cowered and mortals fled wherever they passed.
*This is actually quite grand!* Xu Ying felt thoroughly delighted.
Controlling the grand temple, the white-robed Nuo immortal hunted down the experts who had entered the ruined temple's realm, devouring human flesh and blood. At this moment, he was in relentless pursuit of Regional Inspector Zhou Heng, intent on consuming him.
As for Vice Prefect Ling, because he had been canonized as a deity after death and lacked a physical body of flesh and blood, he managed to escape the slaughter instead.
Though corpulent and gluttonous, Zhou Heng was after all the Zhou clan's military governor tasked with guarding an entire province. His martial prowess was exceptionally formidable. Even though outmatched, he unleashed the myriad transformations of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits Hidden Scenery Technique, fleeing for his life in desperation.
The white-robed Nuo immortal chased him all the way toward the entrance of Shuikou Temple.
The burly deities flanking Xu Ying also leaped into the air one after another, vaulting off the immortal mountain and treading atop clouds of incense smoke. They rushed toward the gates of Shuikou Temple, aiming to seal the exit so no one inside could escape.
As they flew off, only Xu Ying remained standing where he was.
The youth nearly wept with joy, when suddenly two deities descended from the sky. One grabbed his left arm and the other his right. Xu Ying immediately felt as though he were soaring through mists and clouds, whisked through the air toward the grand temple by the two deities.
"Ah Ying, after you die, would it be considered disloyal if I find another youth to siphon vitality and blood from?"
The bronze bell asked gingerly, adding at the end, "Don't worry, I won't forget you. I'll make that youth erect an ancestral archway in your honor so people can worship you. Though by then, your soul will probably be gone anyway. That ghost Nuo immortal will definitely tear you into ten thousand pieces and scatter your soul to the winds."
Xu Ying grunted coldly and paid it no mind, musing, *How bizarre. I've swallowed so many Myriad Spirits Pills, so why haven't I felt anything out of the ordinary? Could it be just as Lord Bell said—that this ghost Nuo immortal is an incompetent fraud who botched the refinement of the Myriad Spirits Pills?*
Before long, the two deities still failed to catch up to the grand temple. Carrying the white-robed Nuo immortal, the temple continued to barrel forward in an attempt to devour Regional Inspector Zhou. Behind the plump regional inspector, a massive, round bird hovered, chubby and plump, flapping its wings as it flew. It moved so fast that even the grand temple could not keep up.
"Strange. That ghost Nuo immortal doesn't seem to possess the combat strength of an immortal,"
the bronze bell muttered. "That shouldn't be. Logically speaking, a ghost Nuo immortal backed by a Hidden Scenery, even if reduced to just a human skin, should easily be able to annihilate that fat regional inspector. Yet he has chased him for so long without taking him down. It hardly matches the title of a Nuo immortal."
Taking advantage of the moment the two deities paused, Xu Ying immediately stole toward the gates of Shuikou Temple, whispering, "The ghost Nuo immortal is left with nothing but an empty skin. How much power could he possibly have?"
The bronze bell said, "The highest realm of Nuo ought to be roughly comparable to the peak realm of Qi Refiners; otherwise, how could it have supplanted them? If this were the peak realm of a Qi Refiner, never mind a human skin, even a single strand of hair would suffice to slay that fat regional inspector. The way I see it, this ghost Nuo immortal doesn't even have a hundredth of his peak strength!"
Xu Ying slipped to the temple entrance, elated. Hurrying outward, he said, "Forget about him! As long as we walk out this gate, we're free! I never want to set foot in this ruined temple again!"
Near the gate stood many deities on guard, radiating murderous aura. Anyone who fled here was captured alive without exception.
Xu Ying walked in among the deities, resting his hands on his hips and standing alongside them. Once he blended in with them, he would edge outward step by step and slip out of Shuikou Temple unnoticed.
Several towering stone deities affectionately patted his head, and one even gave his tongue a tug.
That ox-headed deity possessed a bit too much strength. With a loud *pop*, he pulled the tongue right off this obedient little impermanence ghost.
The ox-headed deity froze in bewilderment. Attached to the tongue was the impermanence ghost's very face.
The ox-headed deity let out a startled cry, thinking he had pulled his little brother to death. But then he saw that "little brother" rapidly shrink in size, spin on his heels, and sprint for dear life right out of Shuikou Temple.
The ox-headed deity blinked in confusion before abruptly coming to his senses. With a furious roar, he bellowed, "*Boyi hulu!* (He's an impostor!)"
Yuan Qi had been waiting outside the temple gate, not daring to get too close. Suddenly spotting a figure dashing out of the gate from afar, he was overwhelmed with surprise and delight. "Brother Ying truly has heaven's favor—*eek!*"
Behind Xu Ying, sixteen or seventeen deities came howling in pursuit, billowing with murderous intent.
Yuan Qi had originally intended to back him up, but seeing this, he promptly spun around and fled, thinking, *What kind of trouble has Brother Ying stirred up this time? Why are so many deities hunting him down?!*
Xu Ying sprinted forward. Behind him, the deities gathered their incense vapor, condensing it into flying swords several yards long. The sky instantly turned into a downpour of swords!
*Brother Ying seems exceptionally good at drawing hatred,* Yuan Qi thought. *Looks like whatever trouble he caused this time is no small matter.*
Xu Ying raised the bloodstained black cloth pouch high, thrusting it toward the incoming incense swords. The deities gasped in alarm and frantically steered their flying swords aside, not daring to harm the black pouch in the slightest.
Xu Ying bellowed and hurled the pouch with all his might, throwing it far into the distance.
The deities immediately lunged straight for the pouch. Xu Ying seized the chance to run for his life. Yuan Qi rushed over in panic, shouting, "Ah Ying, what did you do this time?"
"I stole a few Myriad Spirits Pills,"
Xu Ying said. "There aren't any pills in that pouch—they're all on me. Run!"
Furious howls echoed from behind. Yuan Qi looked back to see the enraged deities pursuing them even faster, burning with fury. Clearly, the pouch lacked what they were looking for.
Night had already fallen, shrouding the surroundings in pitch darkness. As long as they put enough distance between them, finding them would not be easy for these ruined temple deities.
Right at that moment, vast swathes of ghostly fire surged toward them. Amid the ghostly flames, towering figures held long whips, lashing into the ghostly fires with loud *cracks*!
Those towering figures had human bodies and ox heads, standing tens of feet tall within swirling gales of yin wind. The whips in their hands measured sixty to seventy feet long. Every time a whip struck the ghostly flames, a shrill, piercing wail arose from the fire!
Amid the ghost flames were many living mortals and strange beasts. Judging by their attire, some were nearby villagers, some were demons, and others were Nuo masters who had just fled the ruined temple realm. Herded by the ox-headed monsters, they marched forward in droves!
They were driven like livestock, with the ox-headed monsters serving as herdsmen driving them along!
As Xu Ying and Yuan Qi dashed near, they saw a Nuo master struck by a whip. Though unharmed on the outside, he let out a bloodcurdling scream of agony and was herded into the flock by the ox-headed monster!
"Even City God Xue is there!"
Xu Ying was stunned. Lingling City's City God, Xue Lingfu, was actually among the herd of ghosts, trembling from the lashings and terrified of the ox-headed monster, not daring to leave the flock!
Spotting Xu Ying, City God Xue's face lit up with joy, only to immediately receive another lash, weeping tears and snot from the pain.
There was more than one ox-headed monster; every few dozen paces stood another, brandishing a whip to scourge the ghosts and living mortals alike.
"Those are bull demons, ghosts and deities of the Netherworld! Ah Ying, be careful!"
Yuan Qi shouted, "Books say they were originally ox demons that attained godhood, who then entered the Netherworld to become ghost-deities. Absorbing the incense and nether vapors of living beings, they grew extraordinarily powerful! The whips in their hands can strike the soul, called soul-thrashing whips. If you get hit, the blow strikes directly at your soul, causing excruciating pain!"
Xu Ying hastily changed direction, sprinting against the flow of the herd toward where it had come from. "Seven, watch out for yourself!"
Like impermanence ghosts, these bull demons were formidable ghost-deities of the Netherworld who struck anyone in sight. Seeing Xu Ying sprinting alongside the herd, they raised their soul-thrashing whips and lashed toward him.
Xu Ying's figure flickered as he dodged the incoming whips. From behind, flying swords of incense vapor shot forward, only to collide with the cracking whips and explode into bursts of light.
Xu Ying's heart skipped a beat. *These Netherworld deities are remarkably powerful—they can even shatter flying swords of incense! With so many Netherworld deities gathered here, has the Netherworld invaded again?*
He surveyed his surroundings, only to find the local geography drastically altered. The contours of the mountains and rivers were completely different, replaced by numerous strange, precipitous peaks sheared as if by knives and axes.
Xu Ying looked toward Mount Wuwang, but Mount Wuwang was nowhere to be found!
"Ah Ying, watch out!"
Yuan Qi's voice rang out as a soul-thrashing whip came whistling down. Cold sweat broke out across Xu Ying's back as he leaped aside to evade it, but a second whip cracked sharply against his body!
Yet when the lash landed, he felt no bone-deep agony. He merely felt a whip brushing against his soul, causing it to tremble slightly.
Xu Ying froze, glancing at the people screaming in torment, feeling somewhat bewildered.
He had expected to be wracked with heart-wrenching pain and scream uncontrollably, yet he felt next to nothing.
The bull demon that had struck Xu Ying looked equally perplexed. It cracked its whip again, and several nearby bull demons joined in, lashing at Xu Ying with loud *cracks*!
Only now did Xu Ying have the chance to examine the so-called soul-thrashing whips. They were composed of human spinal columns, joint by joint, pale and bone-white.
At the tip of each whip was a section of neck vertebrae, topped by a human skull whose jaws clicked open and shut in a broad, beaming grin, appearing thoroughly delighted.
Curiously, while these bone soul-thrashing whips looked jubilant when striking others, they wore miserable, scowling grimaces when striking Xu Ying, as if whipping him were no fun at all.
In a panic, Yuan Qi rushed forward to rescue Xu Ying, only to take a lash to the body. Agony instantly tore through his soul, twisting his form as he shrieked piteously.
The whip that struck him resumed its clacking laughter.
After taking a dozen lashes in succession from the bull demons without feeling any pain, Xu Ying grew anxious as the ruined temple deities closed in from behind. Reaching out, he snatched hold of a bone soul-thrashing whip descending toward him.
The bull demon was enraged and wrestled with him for the whip. But how monstrous was Xu Ying's strength? Ever since mastering the Elephant-Strength Bull Demon Fist, ordinary deities could not match his raw power, and having recently broken through to the Pass-Breaching stage, his vital qi had surged, sending his strength skyrocketing!
With a heave, he swung both the bull demon and its whip into midair. The bull demon's eyes went blank with shock. Before it could react, a loud *crack* echoed as the whip, along with the bull demon itself, slammed squarely into the other bull demons.
"*Moo—!*"
The bull demons bellowed in agony, tears bursting from their eyes. Even the whip's owner was struck with soul-piercing pain, involuntarily letting go.
Xu Ying brandished the whip, raining lashes down indiscriminately and sending the bull demons rolling across the ground.
From behind, the ox-headed deity that had torn off Xu Ying's impermanence mask caught up. Roaring in fury, it leaped forward to pounce on Xu Ying. Without hesitation, Xu Ying swung the whip.
*Crack!*
The whip cracked crisply against the ox-headed deity. A soul-tearing agony tore through it, feeling as though its physical form were being ripped to shreds—far worse than being drawn and quartered. Letting out a bloodcurdling shriek, it plummeted from the air.
Surprised and thrilled, Xu Ying struck again. Even with the deity's profound reserves of incense vapor, the searing torment to its soul made it shriek uncontrollably, its fingers clawing wildly, its body convulsing, and its face contorting in pain.
The agony of a lacerated soul was far too intense, making it impossible to focus its spirit, let alone muster dharmic power to attack Xu Ying.
The bull demons that Xu Ying had previously sent rolling across the ground scrambled to their feet, grabbing their whips.
Xu Ying tensed, only to see the bull demons step up beside him, raising their whips and lashing down upon the ox-headed deity without a word!
*Crack! Crack! Crack!*
The whips snapped resoundingly, reducing the ox-headed deity to endless howls.
Xu Ying delivered another strike, sending the ox-headed deity tumbling across the ground. The bull demons brought their whips down in rhythm, and the ox-headed deity's wails shook the air as it writhed helplessly, unable to fight back against Xu Ying and the pack of bull demons.
Watching from the side, Yuan Qi was dumbfounded. *Brother Ying really has a way of hitting it off with everyone in no time... If I had a whip, I could join in too.*
Seeing the remaining dozen or so deities from the ruined temple closing in, Xu Ying quickly retrieved his whip and turned to leave.
The bull demons hurriedly reeled in their whips as well, briskly following behind Xu Ying as they pushed against the flow of the herd.
Yuan Qi was astounded to see that the bull demons made no move to strike him or Xu Ying, seemingly treating them as their own.
When another deity from the ruined temple caught up, Xu Ying and the bull demons struck together, felling it with a single whip crack and leaving it rolling in agony. Strangely enough, ever since Xu Ying had thrashed them, these bull demons seemed to have acknowledged him; whoever Xu Ying whipped, they whipped too!
Yuan Qi snatched a bone soul-thrashing whip from one of the bull demons, wrapped his tail around it, and vigorously lashed the unfortunate deity on the ground, thoroughly enjoying himself.
"We shouldn't linger here. Move!" Xu Ying shouted.
Only then did Yuan Qi reluctantly stop whipping and hurry after him.
Leading the pack of bull demons, Xu Ying and Yuan Qi ran for twenty or thirty li without catching sight of Mount Wuwang. Just as anxiety began to mount, they spotted a willow tree beside the Nai River ahead, from which hung a green lantern.
Beneath the lantern sat a person, a table, two chairs, a pot of tea, two teacups, and a green paper umbrella.
Chapter 39