The sky darkened, the earth dimmed, and rain poured in torrents.
Lightning flashed violently!
The earth shook. Wind and thunder howled, as though a thousand troops and ten thousand horses were galloping across the grasslands, iron hooves kicking up dust as banners snapped and blotted out the sky.
It was rising!
The ground was rising!
The fire-scorched black walls collapsed. Prayer Wheels smashed into cracks in the earth, and countless brown splashes compressed and collided, spraying out from the cross-sections.
"Mahakala! Mahakala!"
The dazed, exhausted serfs cried out in terror. Their feet slipped, sending them tumbling into the mud, limbs flailing wildly.
They crawled on all fours, desperately trying to flee. Some curled up in panic, clutching their heads.
"What are they shouting? What is Mahakala?" Long Yanrui turned back and asked.
"Reporting to my lord. Mahakala is Daheitian, a Dharma Protector. His wrathful form can intimidate Sa Pa, the Earth Demon that causes earthquakes. The serfs of Great Snow Mountain believe earthquakes occur because the dragon clan has been enraged by karma. As a protector, Mahakala can suppress the evil spirits within the earth veins!"
Long Yanrui did not understand. "We clearly saved them. Do they still believe such things?"
Long Binglin pointed at the serfs frozen into ice sculptures.
"Yanrui! What people believe and what they do has never been decided by themselves, but by their environment. My lord saved them once—does that mean illiterate slaves can break free from generations upon generations of indoctrination?"
"Then what should we do?"
There was no answer.
Long Binglin could not answer either.
"Let's go back and ask the Elder!"
A gold necklace fell to the ground, splashing up muddy water.
Fan Zixuan and Kou Zhuang held golden vessels in their hands, unconsciously assuming Stance Training as their feet rooted firmly