Linjiang Village, Shiqiao Village.
There was an ancient stone bridge in the village. It was only about ten meters long, but it had stood for ages—said to be nearly two hundred years old.
Gao Xian rode his donkey across the bridge, able to feel the weight of passing years in it. Water babbled beneath the bridge, while vast farmlands stretched into the distance. It truly deserved to be called the most prosperous place in Great Zhou.
On the country road in the distance followed an untold number of people. All the able-bodied young men of Linjiang Village had mobilized to drag the giant snake's corpse back from the riverbank.
Cart after cart, with horses pulling and men hauling, was needed to drag the enormous thing back from the river.
"The River Demon has been slain by an immortal!" The two burly men at the front ran while beating gongs.
"The River Demon has been slain by an immortal!"
"Everyone, come and see! The immortal has slain the shamaness and the River Demon! From now on, none of us in these surrounding villages will ever need to sacrifice to this River Demon again!"
Sun Tieshan, who held considerable prestige in Linjiang Village, shouted along with them.
"That's right! With immortals blessing us from now on, we no longer need to fear this River Demon!"
"From this day forward, Linjiang Village will never again have to send our own children for this River Demon to eat!"
"Everyone, come out and look!"
The people of Linjiang Village beat gongs and drums, looking even livelier and happier than during the New Year.
Hearing the sounds and seeing the commotion, every household came out to look. This drew even more people from farther away.
"Good heavens! Is this Lord River God?" Villagers stood on the ridges between the fields and stared over. At the sight of the giant snake, their calves trembled with fright.
"Oh my, Lord River God looks far too horrifying." A woman stepped closer and glanced at the snake's head, then staggered backward in terror.
"Pah! What Lord River God? This is nothing but a man-eating River Demon." A sturdy man covered in injuries spat fiercely onto the ground. He had been among those beaten most severely by the black-clothed brutes under the shamaness today.
Now that he was dragging the River Demon back, he felt strength coursing through his entire body, his head held high and his chest thrust out.
Year after year, they had sacrificed to the River God. Which household across these surrounding villages did not harbor resentment? In the past, they had been suppressed by the River God's prestige and the shamaness's power.
But now that the River Demon had been slain by an immortal and the shamaness was dead as well, as they looked upon the dead snake lying there like a heap of rotten flesh, everyone had lost every trace of reverence. Instead, they felt that their former selves had been foolish beyond measure, deceived by nothing more than a huge snake and that shamaness.
The news spread farther and farther. Everyone's fear of the River Demon faded away, and they began joining the procession, beating gongs and drums as they accompanied it.
All along the way, people packed the road three layers deep within and three layers without to see it. Some had even rushed over from other villages far away.
"This time, a true immortal has come to Linjiang Village! That is a real immortal. That River God and shamaness have harmed so many of us over these years."
"Immortals bless Linjiang Village!"
"That damned River Demon and shamaness died well."
At last, they delivered the giant snake to the square before the Ancestral Hall in Shiqiao Village. Only then did everyone stop, standing in crowds three layers deep within and three layers without around the Ancestral Hall, as though awaiting what would happen next.
Sure enough, a Daoist walked out from the Ancestral Hall, dressed in a Bagua Daoist robe patterned with cloud motifs.
"An immortal!"
"The immortal has come out!"
"He really is an immortal!" Seeing the Daoist's appearance, many people cried out softly. Without even considering anything else, how could an ordinary mortal possibly grow to look like that?
Some even lowered their heads at once, as though someone with such an immortal appearance was too sacred to look at directly, as if doing so would profane the divine.
After the Daoist emerged, he had three children behind him. He looked around, and several village elders hurried forward to bow.
The families of the three children also came forward to kowtow in thanks.
"Immortal Elder, we have brought the River Demon back."
The Daoist nodded. "Although this poor Daoist forced out the poison pills administered by that shamaness, some of the pill poison has already infiltrated these three children's bodies. This poison pill is exceedingly insidious. It forces out the body's primordial qi to feed the River Demon. That is also why the River Demon was able to grow so large over all these years."
"Their primordial qi has been lost. If it is not replenished, the three of them will likely not live past eighteen, and illness and pain will plague them without end."
As soon as the Daoist spoke, the families of the three children kneeling behind him looked as though they had been struck by lightning.
"How could this happen?"
"Why are these three children so ill-fated?"
"They were only just saved, and now..."
The children all came from ordinary fishing and farming families. They immediately fell into chaos, knowing only how to weep.
Several village elders, who appeared to have received some schooling, immediately said,
"Immortal, you possess great divine abilities. Please think of a way. In the future, our village will surely build a temple and shrine for you, offering worship year after year."
The Daoist's brows stirred slightly. If people truly offered him worship and faith, would his Incense and Fire Divine Diagram be able to gather Incense and Fire Power faster?
Yet the Daoist did not respond, as though he did not care about such matters in the slightest. His heart was set only on slaying demons and exterminating devils, on saving the common people.
As for whether they built him a temple, that depended entirely on their sincerity.
He turned his gaze toward the giant snake laid out before the Ancestral Hall square.
"This River Demon itself was raised by devouring people and swallowing their primordial qi. This poor Daoist had long anticipated this matter, which is why I had you bring the River Demon back."
"In a while, this poor Daoist will light the furnace and refine pills, using this River Demon's Blood Qi to replenish these three children's primordial qi. In the future, not only will their primordial qi be abundant, but they will also be wiser than ordinary people. Whether practicing martial arts or studying, they will be able to rise above the crowd."
"However, pill refinement requires a bronze cauldron or furnace. There are also some herbs that we do not currently have."
Gao Xian had tried refining pills several times on the road. Besides refining several more batches of Life-Reviving Pills for treating injuries as reserves, he had also studied the Rejuvenation Pill.
However, the Depraved Flower Immortal Scripture urged utmost caution regarding this pill.
This Spirit Pill was one of the few pills that required the blood of exotic beasts to refine. It stated that only Blood Qi could be extracted, not the spirituality within a savage beast's blood. The spirit of such fierce and exotic creatures would instead contaminate the pill's spiritual charm.
Then, supplemented by the spiritual charm of medicinal herbs, once it was refined, it could strengthen one's foundation, cultivate one's essence, and increase one's cultivation.
When martial artists consumed it alongside Breathing and Qi Circulation Techniques, it could improve their physical foundation and send their progress soaring by leaps and bounds.
When ordinary people consumed it, it would strengthen their foundation and cultivate their essence, leaving them brimming with vital energy. Seven times in one night would no longer be a dream.
That was why Gao Xian had brought the giant snake's corpse back. With such a massive exotic snake, he could probably refine quite a few Rejuvenation Pills.
Originally, Gao Xian had been worrying over the other requirements for pill refinement. But with the villagers from all the surrounding villages now present, everything was resolved. He merely needed to take out three pills later to save the children.
The village elders were stunned, then overjoyed. Their village had encountered a true immortal, one who could even refine immortal pills.
Although the benefits went to the three children, villages at this time were all bound by clans and kinship. If three outstanding seedlings emerged, they would lead their entire clan to rise with them.
Several village elders immediately said, "An immortal has descended upon our village. First, you removed the River Demon from our surrounding villages; now, you are refining immortal pills for the children of our village. This old man and everyone in our village are grateful beyond measure. How could we trouble an immortal further?"
"Immortal, please rest assured. Everything you require will be delivered before nightfall."
Only after the village elders left did the children's families step forward to kowtow in thanks. Gao Xian helped them up once more.
"No need to thank me. This poor Daoist descended the mountain this time precisely to slay demons and exterminate devils, accumulating merit—not for anything else."
The other villagers looked at those three households with envy and jealousy.
What had originally been a calamity had unexpectedly turned into a blessing in disguise. They had even gained three immortal pills from an immortal for nothing.
The immortal had said it himself: after consuming the immortal pills, the children would no longer be ordinary people. Whether studying or practicing martial arts, they would be able to become people above others.
How could that not make people jealous?
The people who had come from all the surrounding villages stared fervently at the immortal sitting cross-legged in meditation. They found his bearing even more extraordinary, possessing the true bones and spirit of an immortal.
Then they thought of the shamaness and the River Demon from before. One had known only how to tyrannize the villages, demand offerings of gold, and devour people in blood sacrifices.
The other was wholeheartedly saving others without asking for anything in return.
They were simply incomparable, like heaven and earth.
"He truly is a Living Immortal in this world!" everyone could not help but sigh.
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