Lord Huangshan

From Li Qi's Shaman perspective, it is clear that a thread connects the butterfly, constantly draining its vital energy.

Li Qi also knows this technique; it's a method for setting up a grand mountain and water formation.

Most Shaman are almost completely ignorant of Yin-Yang Numerology formations because they are too difficult, but they are very good at another type of mountain and water formation.

The so-called Mountain and Water Grand Formation is actually about leveraging the power of mountains and water, using individual mountain and water Earthly Deity as nodes, and mountain and water energy as the network, to construct a whole.

This kind of landscape formation lacks the magical mystery of the Yin-Yang Numerology formations of Daoism. After all, those things can reverse the universe and reverse Yin and Yang, and can do incredible things at a very low cost.

However, the advantage of the mountain and water formation is its unparalleled grandeur.

The formation, composed of one mountain and water deity after another and governed by Shaman, is not sophisticated but is vast. It can mobilize enormous power and is almost indestructible once it is formed. It can only be directly broken by a powerful being who can destroy the entire mountain range and water veins in the area.

Of course, you can also break down the connections between the individual nodes, but that would require a slow and meticulous approach.

But all of this has one prerequisite: that Shaman mediate and persuade these mountain and water deities, spirits from all sides, and even various forces to voluntarily contribute their strength.

"Someone made a deal with you? Your vital energy was clearly depleted before, and this person forcibly extracted it. What exactly happened!" Li Qi was somewhat agitated, and his tone became stern.

Hearing her benefactor's words, the little girl was terrified.

Butterflies are easily startled, and now, after being yelled at by their benefactor, they trembled even more, shaking as if they were naked.

Oh, he wasn't wearing any clothes to begin with; he was just wearing Li Qi's robe.

Old Ma glanced at him sideways.

Then he continued eating, head down.

Li Qi is always meddling in other people's business, and he's used to it. As long as it doesn't interfere with his meals and rest, that's fine.

Li Qi, upon seeing the little butterfly girl, took a deep breath, calmed himself, found a large rock to sit on, and patted the empty seat next to him. "Come, sit here, and tell me, what's been happening lately?"

"Um... my benefactor, are you... are you angry?" the butterfly asked cautiously. "I dare not sit with you, my benefactor. I will kneel here instead."

Upon hearing this, Li Qi couldn't help but roll his eyes, then stood up, picked her up, and placed her next to him.

Before the butterfly could react, he continued, "Stop with the nonsense. Didn't you notice? This thing on your body is draining your life essence. I didn't notice it before, but you just transformed from a pupa and your body was reshaped. It should have been perfectly round, but there was an extra thread, which is why I noticed it."

"A thread?" The little girl was a little confused. Her original tension was dispelled by Li Qi's question, and she began to recall things from the past.

After all, according to her age, although she is considered long-lived among butterflies, she has only lived for four or five years in reality, and her spiritual awakening time was only about four years. Her mind is not yet mature and she is still single-threaded for the time being.

She finds it difficult to balance thinking and being tense at the same time.

Li Qi bombarded her with questions, and as she began to think, she forgot that she was actually very scared.

"Yes, benefactor... Previously, the mountain king here summoned all the awakened demons and asked us to do him a favor. He asked us to give him a trace of our essence to forge a Law Treasure for him, and he gave us some spiritual fruits as a reward."

"Everyone was afraid he would turn on them, so they all did it. Is that what it is?" Butterfly asked.

"Mountain King? The mountain god of your mountain?" Li Qi asked again.

"Hmm... He calls himself Lord Huangshan, my benefactor. Did he steal my life essence?" Butterfly asked timidly.

"Perhaps. I'll help you remove it first, and you can lead the way for me." Li Qi reached out and slipped his hand inside the neck, touching his back.

The butterfly was only wearing one of Li Qi's robes, so it could easily reach the thread by slipping it through the gap at the back of the neck, with no other obstructions.

Li Qi was single-minded, and began to feel his way down from the shoulder blade, along the spine, until he reached the third vertebra.

The third vertebra, which is the cervical vertebra, is located exactly where air flows from the throat.

The back of the head is the Fengmen acupoint, and the third vertebra of the spine is the Feishu acupoint. Both have openings, making them susceptible to wind.

"Take a deep breath, relax, and focus on what you can't imagine. Don't let your eyes wander, and keep your mind at peace," Li Qi reminded him.

Then, he suddenly exerted force and struck with his Martial Dao Inner Qi.

Martial Dao Inner Qi is pure in nature and can devour and assimilate all different sources of energy, refining them into the same thing. Therefore, most martial artists do not have many Divine Ability, but their internal energy can break through most Technique Method.

Ultimately, all Technique Method and Divine Ability are simply the utilization of the infinite "qi" between heaven and earth.

The internal energy severed that wire.

The area that was originally filled with that line now has a small hole, revealing a flaw in the butterfly's tiny human world.

The intrusion of external air made her feel dizzy and lightheaded.

When external pathogens enter the brain, it causes blurred vision and a heavy head, indicating excessive Yang energy.

Li Qi his fingers to block the flaw, then channeled his vital energy to heal it.

"Alright, this thing won't drain your essence anymore. So where is Lord Huangshan?" Li Qi asked.

After Li Qi pulled the thread off Little Butterfly's body, she felt refreshed and relaxed after a moment of dizziness.

She immediately realized that this man had helped her three times in just fifteen minutes.

Upon realizing this, the butterfly immediately rose and knelt down, saying, "I will lead the way for my benefactor!"

Li Qi was also somewhat anxious. Although he had learned about the existence of the Mountain and Water Formation from Wang Baiyan, he was now seeing it with his own eyes, so he was eager to confirm it.

"Old Ma, keep eating. I'll come find you later. If I'm not here in a Chen, you can continue resting," Li Qi said to Old Ma.

The Old Ma neighed, indicating that it had heard.

Seeing this, Li Qi followed the little butterfly and walked into the mountains.

The little butterfly, barefoot and wearing Li Qi's robe, led the way for Li Qi in the mountains.

However, she always seemed a little hesitant on the way, and would turn her head to look at Li Qi from time to time.

"Are you worried about the consequences? Don't worry, I won't let them implicate you." Li Qi saw her hesitant look and assumed she was worried about retaliation, so he reassured her.

But the little butterfly shook its head and considered for a moment. "That's not it, it's just... I don't have a name yet, and I would like to ask my benefactor to bestow one upon me."

"A name, oh, I see." Li Qi then remembered that the butterfly had previously asked him to give it a name.

"I can't accept the title of 'Bestow', but I can help you with a name." Li Qi walked along the mountain path and began to ponder.

After walking for a while, he looked around and had an inspiration. He smiled and said, "Butterflies love fragrant grass, which shows that dancing butterflies and flying flowers are in harmony. Because of their fragrance, bees and butterflies are happy. Therefore, a virtuous person does not do bad things and associates with pure and fragrant people. With a pure and harmonious Primal Qi and without showing any sharp edges, one can live a peaceful life in the world. Things will go smoothly and there will be no trouble. It is like the full moon and a bowl of water being round together."

"So I'll use this as a metaphor to name you Zhu Fang, hoping that you will avoid filth and pursue fragrance, and not become a swarm of flies and gnats, but continue to be a dancing butterfly."

"Thank you so much, benefactor! May I ask your name?" The butterfly was overjoyed and bowed repeatedly.

Li Qi quickly helped her up. "My name is Li Qi. Also, don't kneel down all the time!"

"I understand, Zhu Fang. From now on, I will be called Li Zhufang!" Li Zhufang said happily.

"Huh? You want to take my surname?" Li Qi frowned upon hearing this after helping him up.

Taking someone else's surname is no ordinary matter; it can affect one's entire life, as a name is something that accompanies you for a lifetime.

"Zhu Fang is just a wild butterfly, naturally nameless and without a surname. I was able to survive this time entirely thanks to my benefactor's help. I was able to take Form Transformation thanks to your kind words and guidance. Even the removal of the external afflictions on my body was also thanks to your help. I have no way to repay such a great kindness, and I can only remember it in my heart! I hope to have the opportunity to repay it in the future!" Li Zhufang said immediately.

The little girl's confident expression gave Li Qi a headache.

The main problem is that the butterflies are too young when Form Transformation, only twelve or thirteen years old, just as they are growing out.

Li Qi is not good at dealing with children.

So he simply put on a stern face. "Don't think too much about it. Helping you is just a small favor for me. You don't need to repay me. Just lead the way and help me find Lord Huangshan."

"Yes!" Li Zhufang readily agreed and continued to lead the way for Li Qi.

Along the way, the mountain road was narrow and hundreds of people held up dangerous positions to block their way, but Li Qi was already used to walking on mountain roads, and Li Zhufang, as a butterfly spirit, could fly, so they did not encounter any special obstacles.

Along the way, like most places in Baiyue, the scenery was beautiful and the trees were lush, but some places began to turn yellow, which was not normal.

"Has the Mountain and Water Formation started drawing away the mountain energy, causing the trees to wither?" Li Qi wondered to himself upon seeing the shape.

After rounding another bend, a deep pool appeared, its waters clear and blue. A giant fish, twelve feet long, swam listlessly in the water, seemingly exhausted.

Seeing this, Li Qi knew that the giant fish must have also had its essence extracted, just like Li Zhufang.

But Li Zhufang is a butterfly, inherently fragile, and the extraction of some of her essence nearly cost her her life.

Although the giant fish's cultivation level was similar to Li Zhufang's before, both having already awakened their spiritual awareness and were almost at the stage of Form Transformation, its body was full of Qi and Blood. Even after being drained so much, it was only tired and not fundamentally damaged.

Seeing this, Li Qi didn't pay much attention and continued on his way to find Lord Huangshan.

After walking three miles, we reached a high peak to the west. There, we saw a steep cliff that stretched out on its own, with a gorge forming inside. We crossed the ridge and went down a little, following the steep cliff. The mountain opened up again, so we climbed the slope and entered.

Upon entering this mountain, it seems as if a wind tunnel has formed, with the wind howling incessantly and the clouds opening and closing unpredictably.

Having reached this point, Li Zhufang stopped and said, "My benefactor, Lord Huangshan is located below Tiger Roar Cliff... but I dare not go down."

"Tiger Roar Cliff, that's a fitting name." Li Qi looked down and heard the wind howling.

The wind howled and rumbled, like the roar of a tiger in the forest, terrifying to the soul.

But occasionally, Li Qi could hear a real tiger's roar, filled with ferocity and rage, echoing along with the wind.

The roar of the tiger and the howl of the wind mingled together, their power shaking the mountains and forests, as if they were about to soar into the sea.

"This mountain god... a ninth-rank tiger demon? He's gone down the path of the gods." Li Qi observed for a moment and came to this conclusion.

Then he said to Li Zhufang, "You wait here. I'll go down for a bit and be right back."

After speaking, Li Qi grabbed the cliff face and carefully climbed down.

He also wanted to take a cool leap, but unfortunately, he couldn't fly.

Tiger Roar Cliff is a hundred feet high. If you jump off, you might not die from the fall, but breaking your leg is almost certain.

Let's just stick to rock climbing.

Following the protrusions on the rock face, Li Qi quickly arrived at the bottom of the cliff.

Even before he arrived, he sensed a murderous aura emanating from the shadows below.

A crimson gaze came from the nest below, carried by the mountain wind.

But then a giant tiger came galloping out from below, wagging its tail and shaking its head, stretching its back and arms, its mouth like a blood basin, broad shoulders, steel waist, golden claws, and iron tail, staring menacingly at Li Qi, roaring loudly, and speaking in human language, "Who are you, brat! How dare you disturb your peace, great god?!"

After listening, Li Qi estimated the distance and saw that there were still about twenty zhang below. He figured he shouldn't break his leg, so he simply jumped down and landed hard on the ground, standing three zhang away from the tiger.

"Lord Huangshan? Is that so?" Li Qi asked, glancing around at the same time.

The entire area was filled with a fierce and deathly aura. Many skeletons, both human and animal, were scattered around, probably left behind by the Lord Huangshan after he finished eating them.

Li Qi didn't feel any ill will towards the tiger for eating people. After all, it was a tiger that ate not only people but also other animals. You can't forbid tigers from eating meat.

However, the placement of these bones...

Li Qi frowned. "Who taught you this? The way these bones are arranged... You didn't have Chasing Ghost around you, so you smashed them all and mixed them into the bones? Using the essence of the hundred demons in this mountain as a guide, plus the Chasing Ghost you've accumulated in the past, and nurturing them with the power of this mountain and water formation, are you trying to give birth to Bone Demon? Moreover, the intelligence of this Bone Demon is nurtured by your Chasing Ghost's soul, so it will naturally obey your commands. This ruthless method... is not something ordinary gods would know. This is clearly Witchcraft and Poison Arts."

Yes, ruthless methods, this kind of setup, will sacrifice the natural energy of the mountains and rivers, and at the same time, will kill countless lesser demons like Li Zhufang. All of this is to cultivate a ninth-rank Bone Demon as his attendant.

Most importantly, this method is a technique used by the witchcraft lineage.

Unlike orthodox Shaman, the sorcerer lineage is skilled at refining gu insects and cultivating evil demons as attendants for protection. They are also adept at casting Curse. Like Ghost Shaman, they are a branch of the Shaman Path, and their methods are quite insidious.

This Bone Demon is one of the attendants that the witchcraft lineage can refine.

Li Qi sighed inwardly.

So, it was Guangyang City's doing after all?

There's just one problem.

The Mountain and Water Grand Formation does not actually require Blood Sacrifice.

So, what are they doing holding this Blood Sacrifice? Or is the Blood Sacrifice a lie Wang Baiyan is using to provoke her?