349: No.350

The ferocious ape gently held the old man with its two large, fan-like hands. Its monstrous eyes, which had looked scarlet and cruel, now gleamed with human-like caution, as if fearing to hurt the old man.

This scene made everyone, whose hearts had almost skipped a beat, widen their eyes in disbelief, thinking they were seeing things.

“This…”

The next moment, the ferocious ape, which reached the ceiling and had fangs protruding, suddenly turned and bowed its back, carrying the old man out of the Mountain God Temple.

Instantly,

“Oink!”

“Hiss!”

“Squeak!”

A group of Yao Beasts, which looked terrifying to the Hunters, swarmed around them.

Pythons, Mountain Pigs, Crows, Squirrels… stretching out heads of varying sizes, with eyes that were red, green, or black, stared at the old man carefully held by the Yao Ape, making all sorts of strange noises from their throats.

They seemed to be discussing something, which appeared very peculiar.

Soon, a Yao Python opened its large mouth, and a sky-blue, pearl-sized object flew out, gently floating above the old man’s body, releasing sky-blue ripples that enveloped his form.

At the same time, the little Yao Beasts also used their methods, channeling Qi into the old man’s body.

The old man’s body was thus enveloped in spiritual light, rising into the air.

Outside the Mountain God Temple, under the driving rain, snow, and strong wind, this scene appeared particularly eerie.

“They… seem to be saving him, oh my goodness.”

“Who exactly is this old man?”

Inside the Mountain God Temple, the group of Hunters, startled and retreated to the front of the clay Mountain God statue, watched all of this with shock and uncertainty, greatly impacted, and couldn't help but exclaim.

They instantly guessed that the old man Zhuang Lao Er had rescued from the mountains had an extraordinary identity.

Was it a demon?

Or a human?

Their eyes were fixed on the unconscious old man, but even under the multiple spiritual lights, the old man’s face remained pale, with no signs of waking up.

Just in this eerie calm, suddenly, a “squeak” sounded.

Among the group of little Yao Beasts, a Squirrel, like a fur ball, was breathing white mist at the old man, when it suddenly seemed to sense something. Its fur bristled as if it had been shocked, and it let out a strange squeak.

Then it turned its body, its black eyes staring at the dark night ahead, flickering with surprise.

And this cry startled the other Contracted Demons.

A Mountain Leopard, about ten feet long, arched its back, its streamlined Yao Beast body tensed, as it paced towards the direction the Little Squirrel had cried out, baring its fangs and emitting a low growl from its throat.

There was also a Mountain Pig and a Jackal, baring their teeth, slowly advancing in a triangular formation, their eerie green Yao Beast eyes fixed on the darkness ahead.

“Boom!”

Suddenly, a clap of thunder exploded.

A bolt of lightning tore through the night sky, instantly illuminating the mountain forest.

Startlingly, about ten zhang outside the Mountain God Temple, amidst the wind and rain, a figure was illuminated on the snow!

A pair of pale golden pupils slowly lifted their eyelids, carrying an indifferent divinity, falling upon the group of Yao Beasts, then pausing for a moment on the Little Squirrel, and finally settling on the unconscious old man protected in the middle of the Yao Beasts.

At this moment, those pale golden pupils suddenly flared, revealing astonishing coldness!

And when the group of Yao Beasts saw this figure, they reacted as if they had seen something extraordinary, erupting in a commotion. Then, the fierce light in their eyes seemed to be extinguished by rainwater, and the next second, they all prostrated themselves on the ground, trembling uncontrollably.

As demons of Langdang Mountain, almost no Yao Beast was unaware of this being’s existence.

And the figure, with a flicker of his foot, passed through the group of little Yao Beasts and came to the center, raising both hands.

Above his head, the old man’s figure slowly descended and was directly caught by the newcomer.

Immediately following, a golden vertical line suddenly opened between the newcomer’s eyebrows, and a golden light flew out, striking the old man’s chest.

Soon, a black mark the size of a fist was drawn out by the golden light, and it instantly vanished.

Suddenly, a Dragon roar sounded.

A green light swirled up from the newcomer’s Dantian, then with a roar, it directly rushed into the old man’s body.

The next second, the old man’s originally pale face began to regain its color at a visible speed.

Having done all this, the newcomer looked at the emaciated, frail old man in his arms, his eyelids lowered, then step by step, he directly entered the dilapidated Mountain God Temple.

“Ah!”

As the figure entered, the broken doors and windows, and the wind and rain blowing in, instantly calmed down.

Meanwhile, the Hunters inside the temple watched this figure make the Yao Beasts prostrate themselves, especially when the figure’s third eye appeared on his forehead. They felt as if they would die at any moment just by glancing at it, so terrified that they dared not look directly, uttering panicked cries. With nowhere else to retreat, they could only huddle together.

But then, the newcomer entered the temple and came to the bonfire. Golden light spots flew from the vertical eye between his eyebrows, like fireflies, flying around the entire Mountain God Temple and spreading outwards.

In an instant, with him as the center, a nearly imperceptible fluctuation quickly enveloped the area within a li radius around the Mountain God Temple.

Then, the third eye between the newcomer’s eyebrows, which had been glowing intensely, closed. His pale golden pupils swept over the Hunters huddled in the corner, and he spoke, his voice muffled.

“Who among you bandaged Old Wu’s wounds?”

The newcomer was Chen Yuan.

He had inadvertently cultivated the third Heavenly Stellar Divine Ability, Embryonic Transformation, transforming into a ferocious Ten Fiends, which greatly increased his speed. In half a day, he traversed five thousand li and arrived at Langdang Mountain.

And because of the past karma he had sown, he discovered this Mountain God Temple and encountered Old Wu, who was being protected and healed by the group of Yao Beasts.

He wanted to know the full story.

Although he maintained a calm expression, his heart was filled with an uncontrollable killing intent. He had sealed off the area in advance because he had found a mark left by Wu Zang in Old Wu’s body.

As for why he asked that question, it was because he saw the deer skin jacket on Old Wu and the bandaged wounds on his body.

It seemed these people were responsible.

At these words, the Hunters from Zhuangjia Village immediately looked at each other, then towards one of the Hunters standing at the very front.

“It was me!”

Zhuang Lao Er said in a muffled voice, stepping forward.

“I found this old man unconscious in the ice and snow while hunting in the mountains, so I brought him back. After all, it was a human life.”

“That’s right, Zhuang Lao Er delayed his descent from the mountain to save this old man, and even threw away all the game he had caught,” the village’s Uncle Cripple quickly chimed in, emboldened.

Anyone with eyes could see that this old man’s identity was special, and he seemed very important to the young man in front of them.

And this young man could make the demons outside prostrate themselves on the ground, which was terrifying. Even speaking to him required courage.

Chen Yuan listened, looked at Zhuang Lao Er, and slowly spoke,

“You saved Old Wu’s life today. One day, you may ask Chen for a favor.”

Having said that, Chen Yuan turned his head and pondered towards the entrance.

“How did you two fellows end up here?”

“Come in! And explain to me.”

As soon as he spoke, the next second, there were two squeaks from the entrance, and two figures rushed in with a whoosh.

A Squirrel and a white fox darted in.

The white fox came to Chen Yuan’s feet and obediently prostrated itself on the ground.

And the Little Squirrel also acted appropriately, though its eyes were constantly darting around.

Little White and Little Flower.

These were the names Chen Yuan casually thought of for this pair of troublemakers when he signed the contract.

Back in Qingshan County, this pair caused a lot of fun and also a lot of trouble, because the Little Squirrel was previously a Yao Beast raised by Fang Qingzhu. Later, when Fang Qingzhu parted ways with him at Tianxiong Pass, the Little Squirrel was taken away, while the white fox was given as a package deal.

Chen Yuan didn’t care about this. The two little Yao Beasts, who couldn’t be tamed, were given away as a favor, as he had only intended them for amusement at the time.

And Chen Yuan appeared here precisely because of these two little fellows.

He suddenly sensed the pull of the contract eight hundred li away, indicating that his Contracted Demons had appeared.

But he knew clearly that all his Contracted Demons had been taken with him when he left Qingshan County.

The sudden disturbance made him suspicious, and that’s what led to this situation, where he met the unconscious Old Wu here!

With the two little fellows appearing, had Fang Qingzhu also returned to Qingshan County?

“Little White, you speak!”

Chen Yuan spoke.

The white fox immediately stood up obediently and let out “Ying ying ying” fox cries.

Chen Yuan listened, and his eyebrows quickly rose, a fierce glint appearing in his eyes.

The Fang Family had entered Qingshan County to search for treasure.

Traces of a human demon had appeared in Qingshan County.

Just then, Chen Yuan’s ear twitched, and he vaguely heard a sound of breaking air approaching from afar, gradually becoming clearer.

It was coming from the direction of Qingshan County.

And the Qi was familiar!

But soon, his brow furrowed, sensing another hidden fluctuation two li behind, following along.

Chen Yuan’s eyes suddenly narrowed, revealing a fierce glint, then his lips curled, moving a few times.

Soon outside, the group of Yao Beasts prostrating in the wind and rain, having received the message, all stood up and retreated into the darkness.

Then, inside the Mountain God Temple, the Hunters who had just been huddled in the corner each returned to their previous appearance, sitting around the bonfire, sleeping soundly. Only one figure remained, bent over, caring for an unconscious old man.

Thus, this bustling Mountain God Temple quickly became quiet and still.

After about less than half a stick of incense, from the Southwest, amidst the rain and snow, a red-clad figure swiftly broke through the air, then landed on the top of a large tree.

In the dark wind and rain about a li away, there was a speck of firelight, which was the Mountain God Temple.

Through the broken window, a group of people dressed like mountain Hunters were sleeping inside.

An old man lay in front of the bonfire, unconscious, being held by the head by someone who was feeding him soup. The firelight illuminated the old man’s face.

And at this moment, in the surrounding darkness, her Contracted Demons were waiting, seemingly because they hadn’t received her command and feared disturbing these Hunters.

“Old Wu!”

When Lian Nishang saw the old man’s face, she didn’t think about anything else. She immediately flew down without hesitation, rushing straight towards the Mountain God Temple, her red robes flapping loudly.

Just as she arrived at the dilapidated entrance of the Mountain God Temple and was about to rush in, a voice of indifference suddenly came from the sky,

“Still!”

As this sound fell.

It was as if words became law.

Around the small Mountain God Temple, the wind and snow suddenly stopped, frozen in mid-air.

Inside the Mountain God Temple, the crackling, flickering flames and rising sparks were also frozen. The figure bent over feeding soup to the old man also suddenly stopped, the rough, cracked pottery bowl held motionless at the old man’s mouth, as if time itself had been frozen.

And at the entrance, the red-clad figure who had rushed over impetuously, just about to step one foot into the temple, suddenly stiffened, the Void Realm around her body seeming to be confined by an invisible force.

Her body could not move.

“Buzz!”

A sharp Sword Qi sound rose.

The three-foot green peak on her back emitted a Sword Qi, constantly vibrating, Sword Qi overflowing, trying to break free from its sheath.

“Who?”

Lian Nishang’s beautiful eyes trembled in shock, and she cried out.

She felt a chilling malice and killing intent, and thought of the human demon Fang Qingzhu had mentioned, hidden in Qingshan County, which likely involved Wu Zang.

At this moment, a light laugh suddenly sounded in her ear.

“Patrolling Mountain Commandant, you shouldn’t have come looking for this old fellow!”

“He is someone close to Chen, and he is doomed to die.”

As the words fell, a white mist surged out from the clay statue inside the temple, and then a figure materialized.

And as this figure condensed, a person appeared with an ink-jade hairpin in his hair and dark black hair.

In his hand, he was still holding a ball of gray ghost shadow.

“It seems this is your Contracted Demon. It was this fellow who discovered the old man’s tracks and informed you.”

Li Boya chuckled lightly, then squeezed his hand, and the ball of ghost shadow let out a piercing shriek before being crushed like a balloon by the other party.

Facing him, Lian Nishang’s pupils constricted as she sensed the vast Qi of the person opposite her.

The rumored Wu Zang!

In the face of danger, she remained neither humble nor arrogant,

“What grudge or enmity does Your Excellency have with my brother?”

“If anything happens to Old Wu, my brother will certainly be enraged and seek retribution. Your Excellency is so sneaky, I fear you dare not face him directly, so you resort to such despicable methods!”

Her words were sharp and resolute.

At this, Li Boya, who had a smile on his face, slowly turned cold, and cold light shot from his eyes.

“What a sharp-tongued girl!”

“Retribution? Hmph, this Chen has offended who knows how many people now. If there’s retribution, it’ll be others seeking it from him.”

Speaking of this, Li Boya, the Li family’s Wu Zang, seemed to recall something, and a sinister smile appeared on his face,

“Heh heh, I fear you, girl, don’t know that your so-called brother is probably having a hard time now. The imperial court is suppressing him, and those he previously forced will soon turn against him. At that time, he will have no peace, and your Qingshan County will also be implicated.”

“It’s truly satisfying to think about!”

As he said this, his gaze fell on the bonfire to the side, and the old man being supported, he smiled,

“Today, I’ll collect some interest first.”

As he spoke, Li Boya’s hand suddenly elongated and reached out towards the unconscious Old Wu.

“Stop!” Lian Nishang’s pretty face changed drastically, her eyes turning red.

And just in this flash of lightning, the figure who was supporting Old Wu, with his head bowed, suddenly moved at this moment.

The figure suddenly turned around, an outstretched hand bringing with it astonishing explosive sounds, and it firmly grasped Li Boya’s outstretched hand.

Then, with a crackling sound like firecrackers, a tremendous force suddenly pulled the opponent, followed by a golden, dazzling fist, like a blazing sun, fiercely smashing towards him.

Li Boya’s expression changed drastically, and he cried out, “Who are you?!”

Then, a crystal armor appeared on the surface of his body.

The next second.

“Boom!”

A loud bang.

The Li family’s Wu Zang grunted and flew backward, directly smashed out of the Mountain God Temple.

Inside the temple, the firelight flickered again, and the figure raised his head, straightened his body, revealing Chen Yuan’s face! (End of Chapter)