153: All elements of the wild temple in the deserted mountain are alive (asking for monthly tickets)

Night.

Heavy rain.

A dilapidated, mottled temple.

The tattered windows rattled in the wind and rain, as the slanting wind and fine rain poured inside.

Faint sounds came from within.

"Wuwu"

"Hengchi"

"......."

Rustling, like the muffled sounds of something being torn and swallowed.

Inside the dilapidated temple, firelight flickered, crackling.

Looking through the tattered window, on the half-wall illuminated by the firelight, one could clearly see clusters of ferocious silhouettes, their maws wide open, sharp teeth pointed, with sticky threads pulling between them.

There were pig heads with pointed ears, heads with two horns, and long, pointed tongues...

It was clearly visible that around the bonfire, various demons with different physiques were seated, tearing at golden chunks of meat with large bites.

There was a Black Bear, about two zhang tall, with black fur, sitting on its backside, its head touching the broken tiles, holding something in both hands;

There was a Cat Demon with pointed ears, a human body, and a cat face, slowly holding a piece of meat with both hands, chewing and meowing as it ate.

There was also a creature with a human face, a pig body, covered in hard, spiky black bristles, with two fangs protruding from its mouth, tearing at the golden meat chunks while grunting.

There were also chubby beavers and green birds.

The twelve demons, at this moment, seemed as if they had been hungry for a long time, with only the sound of their mouths tearing meat.

In the center, on the bonfire, a huge piece of meat, weighing several hundred jin, was roasting, its golden fat sizzling, emitting an enticing luster, and a rich aroma permeated the dilapidated temple.

A figure sat atop a tall gray bear behind him, one leg crossed, the other supporting him on the ground, holding a piece of meat weighing over ten jin, eating heartily, even faster than the demons.

This person was Chen Yuan, who had left Tianxiong Pass!

After leaving Tianxiang Pavilion, he traveled towards Jinguancheng. During the night, he encountered heavy rain and the agitation of the Contracted Demons within his Pot Heaven Sleeve, which reminded him that since departing Baidi City, these fellows had been kept in his Pot Heaven Sleeve and had not been released.

Coincidentally, he was tired from a day of travel, so he roasted a piece of Heavenly Gate Devil flesh and blood to reward the little fellows who had followed him all the way.

And so, with the flesh and blood of a Heavenly Gate Devil, these fellows ate joyfully. The amount they could consume was significantly more than Human Race martial arts practitioners of the same Realm, as they were demons themselves and could absorb the essence of flesh and blood better and faster.

While eating, Chen Yuan slowly reviewed his gains and losses at Tianxiong Pass.

His Dao soldiers entered the extreme Domain during the rebellion, he cultivated the Four Transformations of the Demon, his Physical Body condensed into Golden Scale Armor, and he gained a large amount of resources.

Currently, Chen Yuan's resources could quickly assemble an army of ten thousand soldiers.

Those were the gains. As for the losses, Chen Yuan recalled that last night he had a friendly conversation with Princess Loulan, asking her to help him gather intelligence.

Mainly from two families!

The Northern Liang Prefecture and the Li Family of the Central Plains.

Chen Yuan suppressed three families, two of which were related to the retainers of the Northern Liang Prefecture and the Li Family of the Central Plains.

Both were behemoths; one concerned the Northern Liang Royal Mansion, and the other was a third-rank Sima Family.

Especially the Li Family of the Central Plains; as a branch of the Li Family of the Central Plains, Chen Yuan personally led his troops to flatten their three clans and even killed their dispatched retainers.

In short, caution was paramount; he had to be on guard.

Chen Yuan retracted his thoughts, then his ears twitched, and the shattered golden light in his eyes flickered slightly as he looked to the left.

His gaze passed over the temple wall, through the wind and rain and the forest, and in the dark, dense woods, about a li away, a massive shadow rapidly flew from afar, then stopped on a large tree branch. A pair of eerie green eyes stared intently in the direction of the dilapidated temple, its nose constantly twitching, and saliva drooling from its ferocious fangs.

It was clearly a Leopard Demon, about four zhang long, with yellow fur and black spots, a streamlined body, and a Qi Perfection cultivation.

From its appearance, it had been attracted by the rich aroma of the Heavenly Gate Devil's flesh and blood.

Even though there was a torrential downpour, the rich aroma of the flesh and blood could still drift far away.

However, in the Leopard Demon's eerie green eyes, a human-like astonishment flickered, and a low growl came from its throat, but it remained observant.

From that direction came an aroma that made its bones crave, but also a sense of danger stemming from a beast's intuition.

Chen Yuan took all of this in, preparing to signal his little fellows to deal with it casually, but the next moment, he raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but look to the right.

He saw several carriages on the mountain road two li away, heading towards them.

Under the pouring rain, on the rugged, wet mountain road, the horses' hooves occasionally slipped, letting out whinnies. At this moment, human voices could be heard.

"There's firelight!"

Then, the carriages headed towards the dilapidated temple.

Chen Yuan withdrew his gaze.

Perfect!

Forest, heavy rain, wild temple, evil spirits, living people—all the elements of a strange mountain tale were present.

He noticed that the Leopard Demon also noticed the living people, but it made no move.

Chen Yuan gave a call, swept his sleeve, and all the demons and flesh and blood were instantly collected into his sleeve.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, horse neighs came from outside the dilapidated temple, followed by the creaking of wagon wheels.

"Creak"

"Creak"

The sound was getting closer!

Then came the sounds of people.

"Master, steady him!"

"Young Miss, slowly!"

"Young Master Yun, you—"

"Get out of the way, I'll scout ahead!"

Only an impatient voice was heard, and then the already crumbling door was blown open by a gust of wind.

Next, a man dressed in black, with white ropes wrapped around his hands, and a long saber hanging from his waist, walked in.

The man had almond-shaped eyes, was twenty-three or twenty-four years old. After entering, he saw Chen Yuan sitting in the dilapidated temple, leaning against the altar, with his eyes closed. He sized him up, but couldn't discern anything.

"Come in."

Then, a dozen or so people filed in from outside.

Leading the way were two burly men, who immediately stood beside the black-clad man and called out,

"Young Master!"

Behind them, a group of people successively walked in.

The first to catch the eye was a middle-aged man in a green official's robe, coughing into his hand, with slightly graying temples, a hint of wrinkles around his eyes, and a pale, beardless face.

Beside him, a young woman in a light pink gauze dress, with cherry lips, phoenix eyes, and willow eyebrows, exuded a gentle and serene aura.

Behind them, five or six people, who seemed to be servants, immediately busied themselves with making a fire after entering.

The middle-aged man with graying temples, unlike the black-clad man just now, coughed when he saw someone inside after entering.

"The heavy rain delayed our journey. We will stay here in this temple for the night. We apologize for disturbing you, young sir!"

"No matter. A wild temple in the mountains is unowned land. Make yourselves at home!"

Chen Yuan did not open his eyes, answering casually.