These deities were merely ghosts drawn into the stone statues. Once they became deities, they remained muddleheaded, knowing only how to obey White-robed Nuo Immortal's simple commands, such as killing intruders and refining Myriad Spirit Pills.
They could not tell whether Xu Ying was one of their own, but White-robed Nuo Immortal was well-traveled and knowledgeable. He surely knew that Xu Ying, this Wuchang Ghost, was not one of his stone-statue deities.
Moreover, he had seen Xu Ying before and would inevitably notice the Wuchang Mask on Xu Ying's back. By then, Xu Ying would be walking straight into a trap and would die a most miserable death.
Yet with so many deities taller, stronger, and broader than him surrounding him on every side, Xu Ying had no chance to slip away even if he wanted to.
Xu Ying secretly groaned in misery. He stealthily took a Myriad Spirit Pill from his cloth sack and stuffed it into his mouth, thinking, If I die, none of you are getting out alive either. We'll all go down together. I'll eat all these Myriad Spirit Pills and see how you'll answer to Ghost Nuo Immortal!
He acted furtively, looking left and right. Whenever the deities were not paying attention, he swallowed one Myriad Spirit Pill after another, then secretly stuffed several stones into the cloth sack.
The deities charged recklessly onward, killing every deity they encountered and every person they saw. Xu Ying rode their coattails, swaggering under their protection. Truly, deities fled at the sight of him, and people fled at the sight of deities.
"This is quite the display of might!" Xu Ying thought, elated.
White-robed Nuo Immortal controlled the great temple, pursuing the experts who had entered the ruined-temple world, devouring their flesh and blood. At that moment, he was chasing Zhou Heng, the Governor of Yongzhou, intent on swallowing him whole.
As for Ling Tongpan, because he had been deified after death and had no true physical body, he had instead escaped this calamity.
Although Zhou Heng was fat and soft around the middle, he was, after all, the military governor from the Zhou Family entrusted with guarding an entire province. His abilities were extraordinarily formidable. Though he was no match for White-robed Nuo Immortal, he used the Thirty-Six Heavenly Dipper Hidden Scenery Technique, changing unpredictably as he fled for his life.
White-robed Nuo Immortal pursued him all the way toward the entrance of Shuikou Temple.
The five-large-three-coarse deities beside Xu Ying also rose into the air one after another. They leaped out of the immortal mountain, stepped on clouds of incense, and hurried toward the entrance of Shuikou Temple, intending to block it so that no one inside could escape.
They flew away, leaving Xu Ying standing where he was.
The youth was so overjoyed that tears sprang to his eyes. Suddenly, two deities descended from the sky. One seized his left arm, the other his right, and Xu Ying immediately felt as though he were soaring through the clouds, carried toward the great temple by the two deities.
"A Ying, after you die, if I find another youth to steal qi and blood from, that won't count as being disloyal, will it?"
Great Bell asked cautiously, then added at the last moment, "Don't worry, I won't forget you. I'll have that youth set up a memorial tablet for people to worship you. Though by then, most likely, your soul won't even exist anymore. Ghost Nuo Immortal will surely tear you limb from limb, and then scatter your soul to the winds."
Xu Ying snorted and ignored him, thinking, How strange. I've eaten so many Myriad Spirit Pills. Why haven't I felt anything unusual at all? Could it really be as Master Zhong said—that this Ghost Nuo Immortal is an ignoramus who refined the Myriad Spirit Pills incorrectly?
Before long, the two deities still failed to catch up with the great temple. Carrying White-robed Nuo Immortal, the great temple continued charging about wildly, trying to devour Governor Zhou Heng. A huge fat bird rose behind the portly governor, round and plump, flapping its wings as it flew. Its speed was so astonishing that even the great temple could not catch it.
"Strange. Ghost Nuo Immortal doesn't seem to possess an immortal's battle strength."
Great Bell muttered, "That shouldn't be. In theory, with Hidden Scenery added in, even if Ghost Nuo Immortal had only his human skin left, he should still have been able to wipe out that fat governor with ease. Yet Ghost Nuo Immortal has chased him for so long without managing to bring him down. That doesn't fit the title of Nuo Immortal."
While the two deities stopped, Xu Ying immediately crept toward the entrance of Shuikou Temple and whispered, "Ghost Nuo Immortal has only a skin sack left. How much strength could he possibly have?"
" The highest realm of Nuo should be roughly equivalent to the highest realm of Qi Refiners," Great Bell said. "Otherwise, how could they replace Qi Refiners? If he were at the highest realm of Qi Refiners, then forget about having only human skin left—even a single strand of hair would be enough to kill that fat governor. From what I can see, Ghost Nuo Immortal probably doesn't even possess one percent of his strength at his peak!"
Xu Ying slipped to the temple entrance. His heart leaped, and he hurried outside, saying, "Forget about him. As long as we walk through this door, we'll be free! I never want to come back to this ruined temple again!"
Many deities stood guard at the temple entrance, murderous intent rolling off them. Yet anyone who fled there was captured alive by them without exception.
Xu Ying came among the deities, planted his hands on his hips, and stood with them. Once he had grown familiar with them, he would quietly edge outward. Then he could leave Shuikou Temple without anyone noticing.
Several tall stone-statue deities fondly rubbed his head. Another deity even tugged at his tongue.
That Ox-headed Deity was a little too strong. With a wet pop, it pulled the tongue from this well-behaved Wuchang Ghost's mouth.
The Ox-headed Deity froze. It saw that the skin of the Wuchang Ghost's face was still attached to the tongue.
The Ox-headed Deity cried out, thinking it had killed its little brother. But then that "little brother" rapidly shrank, turned around, and ran for his life, bursting out of Shuikou Temple.
The Ox-headed Deity was puzzled for a moment before suddenly realizing the truth. It roared, "Bo Yi Hu Lu (He's a swindler)!"
Yuan Qi waited outside the temple entrance, not daring to stand too close. Suddenly, he saw a figure rushing out of the entrance from a distance. He was both startled and delighted. "Brother Ying really is blessed by heaven... Huh!"
Behind Xu Ying, sixteen or seventeen deities came roaring after him, murderous intent surging.
Yuan Qi had originally planned to receive him, but upon seeing this, he immediately turned and fled, thinking, What crime did Brother Ying commit this time? Why are so many deities hunting him down?
Xu Ying sprinted ahead. Behind him, the group of deities gathered Incense Qi one after another, transforming it into swords several yards long. In an instant, the sky seemed to rain swords!
Brother Ying really seems to be hated by everyone. Judging by this, the crime he committed this time must not be minor, Yuan Qi thought.
Xu Ying raised the black, bloodstained cloth sack and met the incoming swords of incense. The deities cried out in alarm and hastily turned their swords aside, not daring to let them harm the black cloth sack in the slightest.
Xu Ying gave a loud shout and hurled the sack far away with all his strength.
The deities immediately rushed toward the sack. Xu Ying took the opportunity to flee for his life, while Yuan Qi hurried over and called, "A Ying, what did you do this time?"
"I stole several Myriad Spirit Pills," Xu Ying said. "There are no pills in the sack. They're all with me. Hurry!"
Roars of extreme fury came from behind. Yuan Qi glanced back and saw the rampaging deities pursuing them at even greater speed, their fury soaring to the heavens. Clearly, the sack contained none of the things they wanted.
It was already night, and the surroundings were shrouded in darkness. As long as they escaped far enough, it would not be easy for the ruined-temple deities to find them.
Just then, Ghost Fire began surging toward them in patches. Within the Ghost Fire, tall figures carried long whips, cracking them against the flames again and again!
The tall figures had human bodies and ox heads, towering several yards high as they stood amid a mass of dark wind. The whips in their hands were six or seven yards long. Each time a whip struck the Ghost Fire, it gave off a shriek of ghosts, pitiful and piercing!
There were also many living people and strange beasts among the Ghost Fire. Judging by their clothing, some were villagers from nearby, some were demons, and some were Nuo Masters who had just escaped the ruined-temple world. Driven onward by the ox-headed monsters, they advanced in large herds!
They were like livestock, while the ox-headed monsters were shepherds herding them along!
Xu Ying and Yuan Qi rushed up. They saw a Nuo Master struck by one of the whips. Although there was no wound on the outside, he let out a piercing scream as if suffering unbearable pain, then was driven by the ox-headed monster to join the herd!
"There's Xue Chenghuang too!"
Xu Ying was stunned. The City God of Lingling City, Xue Lingfu, was actually among the mass of ghosts. He was beaten until he trembled, utterly terrified of the ox-headed monster and not daring to leave the herd!
When Xue Chenghuang saw Xu Ying, delight appeared on his face. Then a whip struck him, and he was in such pain that tears and mucus streamed down his face.
There was more than one of those human-bodied, ox-headed monsters. Every few dozen paces, an ox-headed monster stood with a whip, lashing the ghosts and living people.
"They're the Bull Demons, the ghosts and deities of the underworld! A Ying, be careful!"
Yuan Qi shouted, "The books say they were originally Ox Demons who cultivated into Demon Gods. They entered the underworld and became ghosts and deities, absorbing the incense and netherworld qi of all living beings until they grew extraordinarily powerful. The whips in their hands can strike the soul and are called Soul Striking Whips. If one hits you, it strikes directly at your soul, causing unbearable pain!"
Xu Ying hurriedly veered aside, running against the direction of the herd toward where it had come from. "Little Seven, take care of yourself!"
Like the Wuchang Ghosts, these Bull Demons were also extremely powerful ghosts and deities of the underworld. They struck anyone they saw. When they saw Xu Ying running along the herd, they raised their Soul Striking Whips one after another and lashed toward him.
Xu Ying's figure flickered as he dodged one long whip after another. The swords of incense flew in from behind, only to be struck by those whips and explode with a series of cracks.
Xu Ying's heart jolted. These underworld deities are astonishingly skilled. They can actually break the swords of incense! With so many underworld deities here, could the underworld have invaded again?
He looked around. The terrain nearby had changed dramatically. The mountains and rivers ran in entirely different directions, and many strange mountains had appeared, steep as if cut by knives and axes.
Xu Ying looked toward Mount Wu Wang, only to find that Mount Wu Wang was nowhere to be seen!
"A Ying, be careful!"
Yuan Qi's voice came from behind. A Soul Striking Whip whistled toward Xu Ying. He broke into a cold sweat and hurriedly leaped aside, but a second long whip cracked against his body!
When the whip struck him, he did not feel any bone-deep pain. It merely seemed as though a whip had lashed his soul, shaking it violently.
Xu Ying froze. He looked at the people who were being beaten into screams, bewilderment filling his eyes.
He had originally thought he would be beaten until his heart and soul were torn apart, screaming without end. He had not expected to feel almost nothing.
The Bull Demon that had struck Xu Ying was also quite puzzled. It lashed out again, and several other nearby Bull Demons swung their whips as well, cracking them against Xu Ying!
Only then did Xu Ying have time to examine the so-called Soul Striking Whip. He saw that the long whip was made from human spinal columns, joint after joint, white and stark.
At the tip of the whip was another section of neck bone. At its very front was a skull whose mouth opened and closed with clacking sounds, grinning with delight as if it were having great fun.
However, while this White Bone Soul Striking Whip was delighted when beating others, each of its skulls wore a sorrowful expression when beating Xu Ying, as if lashing him was not enjoyable at all.
Yuan Qi was frantic with worry. He charged forward to rescue Xu Ying, only to be struck by a whip. The pain immediately pierced his soul. His body twisted from the beating, and he screamed, his cry piercing and miserable.
The whip that had struck him began clacking with laughter.
Xu Ying was struck more than a dozen times in succession by several Bull Demons, yet still felt no pain. With the dozen or so ruined-temple deities closing in from behind, Xu Ying grew anxious and seized a White Bone Soul Striking Whip that was lashing toward him.
The Bull Demon flew into a rage and wrestled with him over the whip. But how astonishing was Xu Ying's strength? After cultivating the Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist, ordinary deities were utterly incapable of matching his power. Now that he had broken through to the Gate Knocking Stage, his vital qi had surged, and his strength had risen in a straight line!
He swung the Bull Demon and its whip together into the air. The Bull Demon stared blankly, helpless. Then, with a crack, he swung both the long whip and the Bull Demon into several other Bull Demons.
"Moo—!"
The Bull Demons cried out in pain, tears bursting from their eyes. Even the whip's owner was beaten until its soul hurt terribly and could not help releasing its grip.
Xu Ying raised the long whip and lashed down over their heads, beating the several Bull Demons until they rolled all over the ground.
Behind them, the Ox-headed Deity that had torn off Xu Ying's Wuchang Mask came chasing after him. It roared and leaped into the air, pouncing at Xu Ying. Without thinking, Xu Ying swung the whip and lashed out.
"Crack!"
The whip cracked loudly as it struck the Ox-headed Deity. The Ox-headed Deity immediately felt excruciating pain, as if its soul were being torn apart and its physical body were about to split into pieces as well. The agony was worse than being torn apart by five horses. It screamed and fell from the air.
Xu Ying was both startled and delighted. He swung the whip again. Even though the Ox-headed Deity possessed an immensely rich supply of Incense Qi, the blow caused unbearable pain in its soul. It could not help screaming, its fingers twisting, its body convulsing, its face contorted by agony.
The pain caused by a torn soul was simply too intense. It made it impossible for the Ox-headed Deity to gather its mind, much less concentrate its Magic Power to kill Xu Ying.
The several Bull Demons Xu Ying had just beaten into rolling across the ground took the chance to scramble up, each grabbing a whip.
Xu Ying's heart tightened. Unexpectedly, those Bull Demons stood alongside him instead, raising their whips and lashing down at the Ox-headed Deity without a word!
"Crack! Crack! Crack!"
The whips cracked loudly, and the Ox-headed Deity let out continuous, drawn-out howls.
Xu Ying lashed out again, beating the Ox-headed Deity until it rolled across the ground. The Bull Demons swung their whips with every rise and fall of their arms. The Ox-headed Deity's cries shook the heavens. It struggled without pause, yet had no power to resist Xu Ying and the group of Bull Demons.
Yuan Qi, watching from the side, was dumbfounded. "A Ying always manages to hit it off with others in no time... If only I had a whip too, then I could join them."
The dozen or so ruined-temple deities came charging from behind. Seeing them, Xu Ying hurriedly lashed out with his whip and left.
The Bull Demons also hastily withdrew their whips and hurried after Xu Ying, traveling against the direction of the herd.
Yuan Qi was astonished beyond words. Yet the Bull Demons did not continue beating him or Xu Ying, as if they considered the two of them their own people.
More ruined-temple deities came after them. Xu Ying and the Bull Demons struck together, dropping one deity with a single lash and beating it until it rolled across the ground. Strangely enough, after Xu Ying had beaten these Bull Demons once, they seemed to have accepted him. Whoever Xu Ying lashed, they lashed as well!
Yuan Qi snatched a White Bone Soul Striking Whip from one of the Bull Demons and wrapped it around his tail. He viciously lashed the unfortunate deity on the ground, finally getting a taste of the pleasure himself.
"This place is no longer safe. Move!" Xu Ying shouted.
Only then did Yuan Qi reluctantly stop lashing and hurried after him.
Xu Ying and Yuan Qi led the group of Bull Demons onward for twenty or thirty li, yet still did not see Mount Wu Wang. Just as Xu Ying was growing anxious, he saw a willow tree ahead beside the River of Oblivion's Edge, with a Green Lamp hanging from it.
Beneath the lamp sat one person, with one table, two chairs, a pot of tea, two teacups, and a Green Paper Umbrella.
Before you continue