Three li west of the city, a belt of willows grew along the river, stretching continuously for several li.
It was midsummer, and thousands of willows trailed their silken fronds.
As Qin Xuan reached this place, the intermittent hum of cicadas among the branches harmonized with the warbling of orioles hidden beneath the leaves, adding a quiet charm to the stroll.
Lord Gutless, held in the mesh net, was in no mood to appreciate the scenery.
Though panic seized his heart, he showed no fear on his face. As Qin Xuan and the two elders continued escorting him westward, the crab demon's stalked eyes darted from side to side, rolling several times.
He was secretly searching for a way to escape.
He had clashed with elders from Yuansong Temple a few times before, but those had all been Foundation Building cultivators.
The two before him now, however, were both at the Core Formation realm, with fiendish qi refined into their bodies!
At this thought, his crab face could not help stiffening.
As the foremost power in Pingyuan Commandery, what made Yuansong Temple most terrifying was precisely this hidden foundation.
Backed by Guanjiang Mountain with an unbroken heritage, they always had aged Qi Refining cultivators who secluded themselves in deep cultivation, seeking breakthroughs in cultivation and extensions of their lifespans.
Unless a major crisis arose, they would never make a move.
Who could have known that this Qin Xuan wielded such tremendous clout and acted with such ruthless thoroughness, mobilizing two ascetic cultivators in a single breath?
One of them had even refined the One Origin Heavy Water Fiend, which specifically countered water magic. Against such fiendish qi, even with Lord Gutless's magic power, using a water escape in the depths of the river would be futile.
Evidently, they had calculated his moves down to a dead end.
What perplexed the crab even more was...
Lord Gutless stared at Qin Xuan, full of questions.
Why? How had he pinpointed my exact hiding place?!
Suddenly, he recalled the carp demon's words.
The Luo River aquatic clans had been asking around about him, and soon after, Qin Xuan had come knocking.
Could it be that he could mobilize the Luo River aquatic clans?
Impossible!
The Luo River aquatic clans were a loose, disorganized assortment of factions. The riverbed connected to the subterranean Extreme Abyss Subterranean River, lying very close to the Netherworld.
The wicked monsters from surrounding commanderies who were hunted by sects and noble clans or wanted by Yingyang Prefecture mostly hid there.
If their enemies came looking for them, they would plunge into the Extreme Abyss Subterranean River to hide. It was a notoriously chaotic borderland.
When General Manager Black Catfish had previously concealed his identity and placed a bounty of a precious weapon on Qin Xuan's head, he had posted it at the Luo River underground demon market.
Yuansong Temple had long been on bad terms with many factions in the Luo River; their word carried even less weight there than General Manager Black Catfish's. How could the aquatic clans possibly do their bidding?
While Lord Gutless was pondering, he suddenly noticed the fiendish qi on the net weaken slightly.
The Core Formation elder holding the dip net had eased his force. Able to speak without impediment now, the crab demon cried out in hurried fury:
"You three, I carry a command talisman from the Yishui River God's Mansion that proves my identity. If you seize me without cause, aren't you provoking conflict between two great factions?"
"My divine tablet is enshrined in Lan River Water Palace, and it will soon be presented to Guangling Water Palace. My roots are tied directly to the Clear Water Flood Dragon King! You had better think this through!"
His words were half-true and half-false, deliberately invoking the dragon king's banner.
Lan River Water Palace would not scare Yuansong Temple, but the name of the Clear Water Flood Dragon King was surely weighty enough.
The two elders of Yuansong Temple said nothing, their expressions remaining completely unchanged, as if none of this concerned them.
Qin Xuan gazed toward Hawk's Beak Mountain as he answered, "Weren't you the one who wanted to kill me first?"
"It's a misunderstanding!"
Lord Gutless said, "Young Master Qin, I have only ever invited you to attend a banquet at our water palace. If I harbored ill intent, I would have kicked you while you were down back at Lianyun Manor."
Qin Xuan knew he was sophistically making excuses, but did not expose him.
He merely said, "At Lianyun Manor, was your ill intent not obvious enough? You held back only because you wanted to borrow someone else's hand and feared provoking my Guanjiang Mountain lineage. I heard that Lord Gutless runs rampant without fear across the surrounding waters—so why are you afraid to speak a single word of truth right now?"
This taunt stoked the crab demon's fury.
Yet the odds were stacked against him, so he could only swallow his anger. "Young Master Qin, my main purpose in coming to the commandery city was to deliver messages on the general manager's behalf to our friends along the Divine Way, and casually bring you an invitation from the water palace along the way.
"The general manager has invited great demons from three rivers—the Luo River, the Lan River, and the Ling River—to a banquet at the palace to converse with you. He even prepared many rare treasures and precious natural ingredients as gifts to clear up the past misunderstanding on the Lan River."
Lord Gutless wore an expression full of sincere earnestness, as though every word were the honest truth.
Yet Qin Xuan, who knew the truth behind the scenes, found it ridiculous.
Playing along with the crab demon's words, he asked, "You mentioned delivering messages—to which friends of the Divine Way were you delivering them?"
Lord Gutless rejoiced inwardly, seeing a way out. "One of them is the Mountain God of Hawk's Beak Mountain! If you don't believe me, Young Master Qin, we can go to the mountain god temple together. Mountain God Tan will explain everything!"
Qin Xuan replied, "The protector deity of the mountain god temple died at Lianyun Manor, and Mountain God Tan took out his anger on me. What are your intentions, asking me to go to his temple grounds?"
The crab eyes swept the surroundings. "If that is so, let Mountain God Tan come here!"
Having said that, he looked anxiously at Qin Xuan.
As long as Qin Xuan agreed, once Mountain God Tan arrived, he would be saved!
Qin Xuan neither refused nor agreed, appearing to mull it over in silence.
Receiving a glance from Qin Xuan, the elder holding the dip net spoke up: "There is no harm in agreeing. If Mountain God Tan Gang cannot explain things clearly, it will not be too late to kill him then."
"Precisely!" Hearing this cold-faced elder speak of killing him, Lord Gutless was seized with terror and hurriedly chimed in.
The other elder holding the fishing rod also spoke: "Qin Xuan, do as he says."
"Very well."
Qin Xuan looked coldly at the crab. "Do you have a way to summon Mountain God Tan here?"
"Naturally!"
"Good. I will wait here for Mountain God Tan."
The elder with the dip net loosened his grip, and Lord Gutless briefly regained his freedom.
Countless thoughts raced through his mind; he desperately wanted to flee, but facing two Core Formation elders from Yuansong Temple, he had not the slightest chance of escape.
'This Qin is cunning and vicious. Even if Mountain God Tan comes, he might not be able to talk him down.'
'I must call more hands to be safe!'
With his life on the line, Lord Gutless produced a transmission talisman swirling with eerie demonic qi.
This sort of transmission talisman was far inferior to a Talisman of Conferment and could not track a moving target, but since Lord Gutless had long established a connection with the mountain god temple, luring the mountain god here was no problem at all.
Before releasing the talisman, weighing the stakes of his survival, he did not hesitate to expend demon power to condense an excited voice transmission onto it:
"Mountain God Tan! People from my Yishui River God's Mansion are right here. Please bring plenty of hands and extra voices so that we may clear up the misunderstanding with Young Master Qin of Yuansong Temple!"
The talisman transformed into a streak of light and shot through the air.
Seeing that none of the three moved to stop it, Lord Gutless was overjoyed, thinking he was mostly safe now!
However...
He turned his head only to see Qin Xuan smiling at him as he brought out a palm-length bamboo sword. "Master, Mountain God Tan is about to depart. Make haste to the mountain god temple."
This bamboo sword had been given by the Black Bear Monster; the speed at which it flew was several times faster than Lord Gutless's transmission talisman.
Master?!
Hearing that word, Lord Gutless felt his head explode, instantly realizing that someone from Xiniuhezhou was helping Qin Xuan!
Sending this master to the mountain god temple, and while Mountain God Tan was away!
And if Mountain God Tan went out, it was entirely because of the talisman he had just sent!
Chilled to the bone, he realized he was being used. In an instant, violent demonic qi erupted from his six legs and two pincers as he attempted to burst away and flee.
Yet with a wave of the elder's hand, the One Origin Heavy Water Fiend wrapped completely around him.
Crack, crack, crack!
The crab demon's surging demon power shattered instantly. His water magic broken, the ground caved in with a roar. The dip net swept down in stride, trapping Lord Gutless once more and hoisting him from a crater over ten feet across.
"Qin... Qin Xuan, what are you trying to do?!"
"What am I doing?"
Qin Xuan no longer hid anything. "The black catfish placed a bounty on my head in the demon market, and you plotted with the spider demon to kill me. Are you permitted to scheme against me while the demon sects stir up chaos, but I am not permitted to settle scores with you?"
Lord Gutless could not believe it. Qin Xuan knew everything.
"How... how did you know my hiding place?!" He blurted out the greatest puzzle in his mind.
"Someone from Guangling Water Palace told me. The flood dragon king's private advisor knowing your location—is that so strange?"
"Im... impossible!"
The crab demon refused to believe it. "Guanjiang Mountain is on the upper reaches of the spiritual vein and offended the flood dragon king over the division of resources. Why would any of the demon clans help a branch temple of Guanjiang Mountain? Are they seeking death?!"
"It's just business. Don't make it sound so unpleasant."
"Business? Who would dare betray the flood dragon king?!"
Taking advantage of the crab demon's shaken state of mind, Qin Xuan asked, "I have answered your question. In return, you should tell me: why didn't the Mountain God of Hawk's Beak Mountain sit back and watch the tigers fight from the hilltop, but instead chose to personally step into the arena? What benefits did you promise him that made him so bold?"
Despair gripping his heart, fire raged in Lord Gutless's eyes. "You... you offended someone! Of course they want to kill you! What reason do they need?!"
"It seems you don't know either."
Seeing that Qin Xuan seemed intent on dealing a fatal blow, Lord Gutless roared in horror, "Qin Xuan, it's not too late to stop! I belong to the flood dragon king's court! You will bring down catastrophe upon yourself!"
This trick of puffing up one's status was an old game Qin Xuan had long seen through.
Qin Xuan paid him no mind at all.
The two elders, whether clumsy with words or simply men of few words and ruthless deeds, asked, "Kill him?"
"May I trouble the elder to cripple his magic power first."
Without giving Lord Gutless another chance to speak, the elder with the dip net directly blasted One Origin Heavy Water Fiend into his sea of qi, shattering the nearly formed demon core.
The washbasin-sized crab instantly shrank a great deal and passed out cold.
Then, the two elders flashed out of sight and hid, leaving only Qin Xuan behind.
Beneath the great willow tree on the riverbank, he found a boulder, sat cross-legged in meditation, and waited for the people from the mountain god temple to arrive...
Black Wind Ridge, Heart-Cleansing Chan Cave.
"Amitabha! Benefactor Qin is truly benevolent!"
A burly monk in a yellow monastic robe walked out with a smile on his face, his palms pressed together.
The Black Bear Monster looked toward the Hawk's Beak Mountain God Temple and mimicked the tone of the Western Religion: "Precious cassock, you are fated to be mine."
Fearing any delay, he no longer concealed his aura.
Riding a bank of mist, he hurtled toward the mountain god temple like lightning.
...
Thirty li from the commandery city on the western slopes of Hawk's Beak Mountain stood a five-bay mountain god temple with blue bricks and dark tiles, exceptionally neat and orderly.
Along the Yudai River beside the temple lay a dozen large, densely populated villages.
Mountain ghosts and demonic apparitions often stirred up trouble in the villages, and the villagers relied entirely on the protection of the temple's deities.
Thus, the temple enjoyed a tremendous abundance of incense offerings.
In the main hall of the temple grounds, atop a raised platform of more than ten tiers, stood an enshrined clay statue of the mountain god. Brown-faced with a long beard and eyes like brass bells, he sat upright in imposing majesty.
Below him stood the three spirit officials of mountain ghosts: one holding mountain fruits, one carrying wisteria vines, and one cradling rock marrow.
Further down were numerous protector deities holding incense, candles, and precious maces.
Among the deities of the Divine Way in Pingyuan Commandery, Mountain God Tan Gang's cultivation was second only to Lord City God's. Having enjoyed three hundred years of spirit lifespan, he was a deity revered and feared by the surrounding commanderies and counties.
Thirty or forty years ago, Mountain God Tan lived in seclusion, simply enjoying the incense offerings in his temple.
In recent years, however, ambition had stirred within him; he frequently left the temple to manifest miracles, quelling disturbances caused by yin spirits and slaying villains of the martial world, earning a stellar reputation across the region.
Behind the incense hall of the shrine, past a flowering grove, stood a lavishly built compound.
Inside the courtyard stood a remarkably tall man wearing a green brocade robe, his double chin distinctly prominent.
Mountain God Tan Gang appeared no older than forty or fifty, yet more than half the beard on his jaw was already white.
Beside Mountain God Tan stood a glamorous woman, her face caked with thick powder, her thin garments clinging damply with water stains—exuding seductive allure. She was none other than the scorpion demon of Hawk's Beak Mountain, Lady Soul Snatcher.
"Master Tan, you have lorded over Hawk's Beak Mountain for centuries. Who would have thought you would be troubled by a mere junior?"
"Hmph. A mere junior is nothing to fear; the trouble lies in who stands behind him."
Mountain God Tan glanced at Lady Soul Snatcher. "Didn't you hear what Sheng Hu said? Someone from the Western Religion is helping him, and the spirit official under my command saw with his own eyes that this Qin Xuan associates with people from Xiniuhezhou. We can anticipate the movements of Yuansong Temple, but I fear an elder from the Western Religion might meddle again."
At this moment, upon a giant spiderweb in the corner of the wall crouched a multicolored, pot-lid-sized human-faced spider, busily mending her damaged precious web.
Her face filled with dread, the human-faced spider spoke in a shrill, raspy female voice: "Those were Buddhist runes manifested from the Great Treasure Raft Chan. I refined this precious web for over a hundred years; it could withstand ordinary evil qi, yet it was pierced in an instant by that Buddhist light.
"If I am not mistaken, that Buddhist light contains 'Mohana,' one of the Twelve Fire Methods of the Western Religion. It is a flame of merit and calamity quelling, mostly originating from Falao Temple at the foot of Mount Ling. One can well imagine how terrifying their background is."
Mountain God Tan and Lady Soul Snatcher looked toward Sheng Hu. Indeed, the victim's precious web showed scorch marks.
The bewilderment in Mountain God Tan's eyes was even deeper than that of Sheng Hu and Lady Soul Snatcher.
Just as he was about to speak further...
Suddenly, a talisman flew above the temple. Upon sensing it, Tan Gang knew it carried the brand of the mountain god temple; it was one he had bestowed himself.
With a wave of his hand, the talisman flew over.
Then, Lord Gutless's voice transmission rang out:
"Mountain God Tan! People from my Yishui River God's Mansion are right here. Please bring plenty of hands and extra voices so that we may clear up the misunderstanding with Young Master Qin of Yuansong Temple!"
Mountain God Tan listened to it once more, distinguishing the excited emotion in Lord Gutless's transmission even more clearly!
In order to eliminate Qin Xuan, this thorn in his side, General Manager Black Catfish had even brought out a precious weapon he had refined himself.
From the sound of Lord Gutless's words, could it be that success was within reach?
Lady Soul Snatcher asked, "Are we going?"
"Let's go!"
Tan Gang had always been decisive. In an instant, clouds of incense billowed above the mountain god temple, carrying an entourage of deities straight toward the direction from which the talisman had flown...
Chapter 66