Chapter 225: Hanging a Painting to Ward Off Evil
Fire clouds formed beneath the Dragon Qilin's feet as it soared into the air, charging out of the valley. The Green Fish Hermit sat up, raised his hand, and slapped forward. Instantly, thunder surged as countless bolts of lightning coiled like azure dragons, hurtling toward the Dragon Qilin.
Suddenly, the Green Fish Hermit spat out a mouthful of blood, his palm trembling. The palm thunder struck wide, blasting a gap in the mountain peak ahead of the Dragon Qilin.
Qin Mu was startled. Even though these Heavenly Realm beings were injured, their divine abilities were still terrifyingly powerful. If he were hit, he would undoubtedly die a gruesome death.
Lu Wenshu, the Goodness Arhat, and the others staggered to their feet, each unable to hold back from spitting blood. Their hearts were still pounding with lingering fear. They had underestimated the great bear demon god that Qin Mu had summoned. That demon god's single strike had severely wounded them. If the Withered Leaf Daoist hadn't interrupted Qin Mu's summoning once, the bear demon god that appeared would have been even stronger. In that case, even all of them combined wouldn't have been enough to kill that demon god!
"Should we still pursue him?" Lu Wenshu asked in a low voice.
Just then, the Withered Leaf Daoist sat cross-legged, his aura withered and failing. He laughed bitterly, "This old Daoist can no longer accompany you fellow cultivators in subduing demons and upholding the Dao. My life force was severed by that demon god. This stinking skin bag is useless now..."
The others felt a pang of sorrow.
The Withered Leaf Daoist softly intoned, "Life is but a withered leaf, falling into the Yellow Springs in due time. Fellow cultivators, you must surely slay that Heavenly Demon Sect Leader. I will await him on the road to the Yellow Springs. I go ahead now..." With that, he passed away peacefully.
Lu Wenshu wept loudly and bowed, saying, "Fellow Daoist, go slowly! We will surely send that demon lord to meet you!"
The Goodness Arhat sighed deeply, pressed his palms together in salute, and said solemnly, "This life is but a stinking skin bag; shedding it, one sees the Tathagata. Farewell, fellow Daoist."
"Farewell!" the Green Fish Hermit said, tears falling.
Luo Sanpo said, "That Dragon Qilin moves quickly. We must catch up as soon as possible, or else if he summons a second demon god, it will be disastrous!"
Lu Wenshu's killing intent was fierce: "He won't have that chance! There are beings stronger than us waiting ahead on the road for him to walk right into the trap!"
Despite his words, the group forcibly suppressed their injuries, took healing elixirs, and hurried in the direction Qin Mu had gone.
On the Dragon Qilin's back, Qin Mu took out a bone altar and tried to summon a second demon god. However, the Dragon Qilin's running was bumpy, making it easy for the talismans to misalign with the runes on the demon god's image. One wrong rune would ruin everything, so he had to give up.
Qin Mu checked himself and found no injuries. Fox Ling'er was also unharmed. The Dragon Qilin had thick skin and dragon scales for protection, so it too was unscathed. Only the Heavenly Demon King had been beaten somewhat out of shape.
Qin Mu used his Vermilion Bird primal energy to heat the demon king's body red-hot, then corrected his deformed limbs. The Heavenly Demon King was mortified and remained silent. Being looked down upon by the great bear demon god and trampled underfoot was a supreme humiliation.
Qin Mu identified their location, took out the Yan Kang geography map, and compared it to the surrounding mountains and rivers. He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "We're very close to the Great Ruins now. At the Dragon Qilin's speed, we should reach the border of the Great Ruins in about half a day. But going through the Dense Water Pass is out of the question."
Their route had been diverted by the constant pursuit, and they were now far from both the Dense Water Pass and the Yan Border Pass.
"For now, the only option is to take the smuggling route my sect left behind."
Qin Mu pondered for a moment. Between the Great Ruins and Yan Kang lay the God-Breaking Mountain Range, with Xuan Ji Crossbows mounted on each peak. Anyone crossing the border would be shot down by these crossbows.
The Xuan Ji Crossbows operated automatically, said to have been crafted according to divine decrees. Anyone passing through the God-Breaking Mountain Range—whether walking through the mountains or flying over them—would be shot dead.
The Heavenly Demon Sect had once run smuggling operations and had a passage through the God-Breaking Mountain Range, passing through the Withered Ridge Gorge, which allowed travel between the Great Ruins and Yan Kang. The two Xuan Ji Crossbows there had been destroyed by the sect, but the innkeeper in Inlaid Dragon City had said that route had been abandoned for many years.
The Withered Ridge Gorge was his only way into the Great Ruins.
"The pursuers probably don't know about this passage."
Qin Mu perked up, then suddenly laughed at himself: "Going home for the New Year is really hard! It's like fighting through an army of thousands!"
Having learned martial arts from the villagers, he had also inherited their optimism. Despite countless ambushes along the way, he maintained a cheerful attitude. His mood infected the Dragon Qilin and Fox Ling'er, who also relaxed considerably.
Unnoticed, the sky darkened, and the surroundings grew increasingly desolate. They traveled for a long time without seeing a single village.
"Entering the Great Ruins at night is definitely suicidal. We have to wait until daytime."
They were getting closer and closer to the Great Ruins, and they could already see the towering black silhouette of the God-Breaking Mountain Range, like a wall spanning heaven and earth blocking their path.
This mountain range, stretching for tens of thousands of miles, was not only covered with Xuan Ji Crossbows but would be extremely difficult to cross even without them.
Qin Mu was thinking about finding a place to rest when he suddenly saw lights below. It was a village, with oil lamps lit as night fell.
"Master, be careful—it might be a trap," Fox Ling'er said nervously.
The Heavenly Demon King sneered, "For a thousand miles around, there's not a single village, yet one pops up here. Of course it's a trap."
Qin Mu said, "Fatty Dragon, keep going. Don't pay it any attention."
The Dragon Qilin stepped on fire clouds and continued toward the God-Breaking Mountain Range. After traveling another few dozen miles, they saw lights below again. It was a border village, with dim lamplight and a dozen or so houses.
The layout of the houses and the positions of the oil lamps were almost identical to the previous village!
"Keep going," Qin Mu said, his pupils contracting.
The Dragon Qilin pressed on. After another few dozen miles, they saw the same village again. The houses, the lights—everything was exactly the same as the previous two villages, without any change!
The Dragon Qilin also sensed something was wrong. It ran with all its might for several hundred miles, encountering over a dozen such villages along the way, all identically arranged!
And the God-Breaking Mountain Range ahead still seemed just as far away. They had run for several hundred miles, and by all rights, they should have reached the foot of the mountains, but the distance between them and the range seemed never to change!
"This person's skill is extraordinary. He has folded space."
The Heavenly Demon King was utterly disheartened. He shook his head and said, "Brat, you can't escape."
"Let's go into the village!" Qin Mu said fiercely.
The Dragon Qilin and Fox Ling'er were startled. Qin Mu was angry, lowering his voice: "Whoever dares to block me from going home for the New Year, I'll kill them! Into the village!"
The Dragon Qilin descended, shrinking back to its normal size. Qin Mu jumped off its back, while Fox Ling'er coiled around his neck like a fox-fur scarf. The Heavenly Demon King followed behind him, his four faces looking around warily.
Qin Mu walked toward the village entrance. The village looked ordinary, with a flagpole at the entrance, a dismounting stone, and hitching posts. The village was very quiet, with a dog barking fiercely at them, baring its teeth.
The fox around Qin Mu's neck quietly opened its eyes, startling the dog. A wooden door creaked open, and an old man holding an oil lamp stepped out from behind it. The dog quickly ran behind the old man, regaining its courage and continuing to bark at Qin Mu.
Qin Mu's expression was gentle. He bowed and said, "A traveler passing through this precious land finds the sky dark with no place to rest. By heaven's mercy, I have met you, elder. Could you be so kind as to offer a place to stay?"
"You're too polite, Heavenly Demon Sect Leader."
The old man had narrow, long eyebrows that drooped white. He said, "The village is small, but most of the guest rooms are empty. If you don't mind, Sect Leader, you can find a room and rest."
The fur on Fox Ling'er, coiled around Qin Mu's neck, stood on end, and she trembled.
The Heavenly Demon King and the Dragon Qilin also felt a chill. This white-browed old man made no attempt to hide it, directly addressing Qin Mu as the Heavenly Demon Sect Leader. He clearly had no intention of concealing his purpose and didn't even bother to pretend.
And the fact that they had been going in circles was probably this old man's doing!
Qin Mu thanked him and asked, "Elder, how many people are in this village?"
The white-browed old man replied, "At the moment, only one person and one dog. But I've hung lamps in every room. Soon, the villagers will arrive. Then there will be a grand celebration, probably quite noisy. I hope the Heavenly Demon Sect Leader won't mind. We are all laborers, people who work hard for a living, and we don't know much about etiquette. If we offend you in any way, please forgive us, Sect Leader."
"Of course, of course."
Qin Mu took his leave from the white-browed old man and walked to the center of the village. He chose the largest courtyard and said, "Elder, please return. We'll stay here."
The white-browed old man said with a smile, "Have a good sleep, Heavenly Demon Sect Leader."
"Thank you for your kind words."
Qin Mu pushed open the door and went inside. His smile immediately vanished, and he said rapidly, "Don't speak. Go into the main hall, lie down, and don't open your eyes!"
The Dragon Qilin and Fox Ling'er didn't understand, but the Heavenly Demon King said, "That old bastard has ill intentions..."
Qin Mu flicked his hand, and the Heavenly Demon King was immobilized. Qin Mu opened the main hall door, threw the demon king to the ground, and closed all twelve of his eyelids.
The Dragon Qilin squeezed in, cracking the door frame and knocking both wooden doors to the ground.
The Dragon Qilin was about to speak, but Qin Mu made a shushing gesture, signaling it to close its eyes. Fox Ling'er slipped down from Qin Mu's neck, crawled onto the Dragon Qilin's back, and closed her eyes.
Qin Mu opened his gluttonous bag and took out a scroll. With his eyes closed, he used nails to hang the painting on the wall directly opposite the main hall door.
"Grandpa Cripple said this painting was an early work by Grandpa Deaf, a portrait of the village chief, and it can ward off evil. Let's see if Grandpa Cripple was lying to me."
He lay down on his side, facing the door, staring wide-eyed without moving.
Silence reigned all around.
After a while, chaotic footsteps came from outside. A somewhat familiar voice, like Lu Wenshu's, said, "Senior Qingshan, you lit the lamps at night and summoned us here. Have you found the Heavenly Demon Sect Leader?"
A woman's voice, like the Green Fish Hermit's, said, "To our shame, we pursued and ambushed him all the way but couldn't kill him. Instead, Withered Leaf Daoist fell victim to his schemes, killed by the demon god he summoned."
The white-browed old man's voice came, saying, "The Heavenly Demon Sect Leader is already asleep in the village."
"As expected of Senior Qingshan's skill! I'll go kill him right now!"
"No hurry. Let's wait for the other fellow cultivators to arrive before taking his life and celebrating this great victory!"
...
After another moment, the footsteps of over a dozen people could be heard. When they learned that the Heavenly Demon Sect Leader was in the village, they all couldn't help but laugh and talk joyfully, each feeling a weight lifted from their hearts.
Outside, there was the sound of drinking, and the lamps were bright. Clearly, these powerful cultivators were celebrating.
"The Heavenly Demon Sect Leader's cultivation isn't high, but his methods are many and truly troublesome. To our shame, several of us were injured and nearly killed by the demon god he summoned."
"Today, eliminating this pest will restore justice to the world. Come, let's drink to this!"
"Senior Feng Qiwu has arrived? Come quickly, join the demon-eliminating assembly!"
...
Outside, the lamps were bright, casting mottled shadows on the window lattice of Qin Mu's courtyard. The shadows swayed incessantly. The weather was cold and chilly. Qin Mu saw Fox Ling'er shivering and reached out to cover her little belly.
Fox Ling'er turned her head, and Qin Mu quickly used two fingers to cover her eyelids.
Outside, one by one, the experts who had been pursuing Qin Mu arrived from all directions. Their laughter grew louder and louder as they clinked glasses and celebrated. After a long time, the white-browed old man laughed and said, "Everyone, it's getting late. It's time to send the Heavenly Demon Sect Leader on his way."
Fox Ling'er trembled. She heard the courtyard door being opened, creaking, but she didn't dare open her eyes.
Lu Wenshu was the first to step into the courtyard, laughing, "The Heavenly Demon Sect Leader is actually asleep, sleeping soundly..."
Suddenly, his head silently slid off his neck, and his body fell to the ground. A Heavenly Realm grandmaster had died so inexplicably.
"There's an expert in the courtyard! Brother Lu has fallen victim!"
Uproar erupted outside the courtyard. With a thunderous crash, a group of powerful cultivators shattered the courtyard walls and burst in. Their bodies blazed with light, and behind them stood the phantom shadows of gods, their aura overwhelming!
But the moment they landed, their heads silently slid off their necks one by one. No matter how great their abilities, they died inexplicably.
It was as if an invisible god in the courtyard wielded an invisible sword, severing the heads of anyone who dared to enter!