162: The top three ranks? Within reach!
Currently, the Northern Territory of Dagan is engulfed in the flames of war, and with the year suffering from a severe drought, the common people have no grain, naturally leading them to flee and become refugees.
A significant portion of them arrived in the prefectures and counties near Region.
Some time ago, Xu Qing performed Summoning Wind and Rain, relieving the drought around Region. Many common people witnessed the miracle with their own eyes, and through word of mouth, the newly arrived refugees also began to worship the Taihang Mountain God.
Although the government authorities discovered this early on and attempted to control the trend of the Mountain God legend spreading.
However, the refugees had fled here, and having finally caught hold of a 'divinity' that manifested, how could they easily give it up?
Almost overnight, the name of the Taihang Mountain God spread throughout most of Yunzhou.
The more living beings chanted the Mountain God's name, the more Incense Offerings were naturally produced.
Xu Qing turned his head to look in the direction outside the great mountains, a gleam of light appearing in his eyes, as he saw wisps of faint cyan Qi continuously surging toward this place from outside the mountains.
Most of the cyan Qi flowed into the jade bottles, while another portion merged directly into the body of the Taihang Mountains!
The great mountains became increasingly towering; even if the height was not the absolute Peak, viewing them from afar gave a sense of being transcendent and holy.
These changes held no harm for Xu Qing.
The great mountains were miraculous, and as the Mountain God of this place, he gained many benefits.
Every matter has its pros and cons.
Seeing that more and more common people began to worship the Mountain God, the government also considered entering the mountains to exterminate the demons.
However, the entire Fengyang City God had been wiped out, and the high-level Cultivator of the prefecture-level Fengxian Division was at the border front dealing with Northern Barbarians sorcerers, completely unable to spare any manpower to handle this matter.
Matters like being loyal to the country were ultimately just words; no one was foolish enough to want to take risks.
However, the Fengyang City God was killed, and this matter certainly could not be easily covered up.
After several days of discussion, the Fengxian Division began posting notices all over Yunzhou, offering a bounty for the demon Cultivator of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.
It did not explicitly state that they wanted to eliminate the Taihang snake demon, but the words were full of implications.
Since the war at the border began, Cultivators from all over the Northern Territory of Dagan had come to the three border prefectures, and among them were many capable and extraordinary individuals.
Most of them came from major Schools, possessed strong power, and claimed to be of the Righteous Path, so they were naturally very keen on the matter of slaying demons and devils.
The news spread quickly, and immediately, many Cultivators were tempted.
For a time, many Cultivators rushed to the region of Region.
"Want to come and kill me?"
Xu Qing stood at the Peak of the high mountain, gazing into the distance outside the great mountains. The corners of his mouth curled slightly into a smile, but his face was filled with coldness.
Since he began cultivation, he rarely took the initiative to provoke other Cultivators.
However, trouble always found him.
Take the Demon Slaying Division and the Fengxian Division for example.
Back when he had just gained some Cultivation Level, that City God sensed an anomaly and directly ordered the Martial Cultivator of the Demon Slaying Division to enter the mountains to cause trouble for him.
If it were not for his possession of various Spells and his solid strength, he would have long been skinned and deboned to be taken back for credit.
His grudge with the Fengxian Division was something the Fengxian Division had initiated from the very beginning.
Even though Xu Qing was a human in his past life, now he couldn't be bothered to care about the issue of the stance between humans and demons.
Now he only looked at one thing: whether there was a threat to himself.
If there was, whether it was a human, ghost, demon, or Devil Head, he would just kill them all.
He would even have to crush their bones and scatter the ashes, destroy their Divine Soul, and eliminate them from the root to be satisfied!
Thinking of this, sharp killing intent rippled across the mountain Peak, and an icy, bone-chilling aura swept out.
"They truly do not know how to live or die."
Xu Qing sighed softly, then summoned a golden eagle circling in the air, ordering it to pass a message to Golden Tripod.
The golden eagle sped away.
Not long after, Golden Tripod flew over at the fastest speed, transformed into human form in mid-air, and knelt directly in front of Xu Qing.
"In the last few days, Human Race Cultivators might enter the great mountains. You go to the edge of the Taihang Mountains and keep an eye on things."
"Human Race Cultivators!?" Golden Tripod was shocked, instinctively saying, "What are those guys doing entering the mountains?"
"Of course, they are..." Xu Qing smiled, calmly saying, "Coming to kill this King."
"Bastards!" Upon hearing this, Golden Tripod was immediately furious, his eyebrows standing on end, and the fierce Evil Qi unique to a demon Cultivator erupted.
The killing intent of a great demon was like a breeze brushing against Xu Qing's face, and he waved his hand lightly, completely unconcerned.
Golden Tripod, however, was anxious.
As a demon Cultivator in the mountains, he naturally had a sense of hatred toward the Human Race, and he was even more aware of the ruthlessness and cruelty of Human Race Cultivators.
"My King! This matter is of great importance and must not be ignored. I will call Six Liang and the others over right now to set up defenses in the Taihang Mountains!" Golden Tripod said urgently.
Xu Qing shook his head and said, "No need for that; they are, after all, just a rabble."
He thought about it again; those who wanted to enter the mountains to exterminate demons were all Cultivators from different parts of the Northern Territory of Dagan, belonging to different Schools and factions, so their methods would naturally not be the same.
And since Golden Tripod and the others were unconventional demon Cultivators from the great mountains, they were lacking in terms of methods; this was the perfect opportunity for them to train.
Xu Qing pondered for a moment, then gave the order, commanding the great demons from various places to take turns coming to the Taihang Mountains to be responsible for intercepting those Human Race Cultivators entering the mountains.
If they won, they would be heavily rewarded; if they lost, then it was a matter of life and death.
Golden Tripod's expression became stern, he nodded heavily, and flew off to convey Xu Qing's order.
This news naturally could not be hidden from Bai Ling and the others.
Not only them, but even the East River Dragon King and his daughter received the news and rushed over.
Seeing Xu Qing again, the Dragon Girl was still a bit shy and hesitant, and thinking about how she had been tricked by Xu Qing into coming to the great mountains before, she felt even more embarrassed and annoyed.
Fortunately, there were Bai Ling and the others; after the sisters met, the awkward atmosphere was immediately relieved. The Dragon Girl smiled, and several stunningly beautiful female demons gathered together, whispering about something.
"virtuous son-in-law, the matter you caused last time was too big. You have forged a deadly feud with the Fengxian Division; the trouble is huge!"
The East River Dragon King walked over, carrying a unique fragrant breeze on his body.
This old man, after entering the mountains, had not forgotten to enjoy himself in the slightest. When the Dragon Girl emptied the Dragon Palace, those seductive female demons naturally followed.
The old man would not make things hard for himself; wherever he went, he never forgot his hobby of listening to music, watching female demons dance every day.
One would imagine that before hearing the news, the old Dragon King was embracing beauties and enjoying himself.
His life was more comfortable than Xu Qing, the King.
"Ahem..." The East River Dragon King leaned close to Xu Qing, coughed twice, and whispered, "virtuous son-in-law, can I discuss something with you?"
Xu Qing was a bit curious and asked, "What is it?"
The East River Dragon King said, "If you can't hold out, and I take Xue'er and run away, you won't blame me, right?"
Xu Qing was almost laughed to anger by the old Dragon King.
Nothing had even happened yet, and the old guy was already planning on running away.
"Impossible." Xu Qing waved his hand.
Without waiting for the East River Dragon King to speak, he continued, "How could those stinking fish and rotten shrimp possibly breach the great mountains?"
"You kid, so arrogant? That is the Fengxian Division! There are a few guys with very strong power, all of them are Fourth-Rank Cultivators, not to mention there are even stronger Upper Third-Rank Cultivators!" The East River Dragon King widened his eyes.
Xu Qing naturally knew this, but he was not afraid.
Even if those Directors of the Fengxian Division were Fourth-Rank, so what?
Now his Cultivation Level was approaching six thousand years, with the strength of a Fifth-Rank Peak, and possessing various great Divine Ability Spells, even if he faced a Fourth-Rank Cultivator now, he would not fall behind.
Wanting to kill him, Fourth-Rank was still far off!
As for Upper Three Ranks...
Xu Qing thought of his new wives and concubines who had just become pregnant, Bai Ling who was about to give birth, and those wives like Jade Moon who had not yet married in, and couldn't help but smile faintly.
Upper Three Ranks? It was just within reach.