Mountain Madman Arrives

Xu Bai stared intently at the figure in white robes and a tall hat; the madness emanating from him was clearly influencing the will of others.

Xu Bai only breathed a sigh of relief after the man in white and a tall hat had walked away.

He hasn't become Thought Gods yet, but he's already flirting with madness on the edge. This man in white robes and a tall hat probably won't be long before he goes completely insane.

Fortunately, the man in white and the tall hat left, and the fight didn't happen. Xu Bai stood there for a long time, and decided to continue walking uphill.

"This place is too strange, even stranger than the Ghost Market."

He walked along, lost in thought.

The Ghost Market is an extremely eerie and terrifying place where all the supernatural beings do not tolerate anything different from them and will kill anyone they find.

But this place is different. In addition to its eerie and sinister atmosphere, it also has a chilling madness.

Perhaps one second they are having a pleasant conversation with you, and the next second they will turn into a mindless Thought Gods, impossible to guard against.

Xu Bai expanded his divine soul, moving very quickly. Under the influence of his divine soul, he could clearly see everything around him.

After walking for about half an hour, he finally saw a small house on the mountain road ahead.

However, nothing unusual appeared to his senses; there were no people in these houses, and not a single living thing.

It was empty inside, as if it had been abandoned.

The soul cannot lie; if there is no one, there is no one. Xu Bai breathed a slight sigh of relief and went to the door.

He discovered that the door was unlocked and the gate was wide open, allowing a clear view of the small courtyard bathed in moonlight.

A cool breeze blew by, and the trees in the corner of the courtyard swayed slightly, making a rustling sound.

Even the poorest families have a small courtyard. This is true both here and in the Great Chu Kingdom; the only difference is the size of the courtyard and whether it is dilapidated or not.

"Even for the poorest person, a courtyard would have been incredibly valuable in my past life, something they couldn't even dream of." Xu Bai thought for a moment, then stepped inside.

Since no one was around, he went inside to search.

After walking around, I scanned the room thoroughly and finally found unwashed dishes in one of the rooms.

Even with his divine sense alone, Xu Bai couldn't detect the progress bar. He turned around and closed the door, searching room by room, but after a long time, he still couldn't find a single progress bar.

He stood there for a while, thought about it, and finally walked out of the courtyard. He found a relatively secluded place, took out the Deity Summoning Heart Sutra from his pocket, and began to read it carefully.

Since someone had stayed here, they must have left. He planned to wait a day to see if anyone would come back.

Although the concept of time is weak here, you can rely on the progress bar in your hand as a reference.

Xu Bai could have left directly, but he felt it might be better to wait here.

Most importantly, it allows me to spare some free time to work on the Deity Summoning Heart Sutra. If I can finish it before encountering danger, I'll have another option.

As for the progress bar he had previously obtained from the tuna, he set it aside for the time being.

He glanced at the progress bar and realized it wasn't an ordinary item; it was very slow. So he chose the Deity Summoning Heart Sutra first, since he had already worked on a portion of it.

As the moonlight gradually fell, Xu Bai leaned against a tree, carefully monitoring the progress bar. While working on it, his spiritual energy was also expanding to prevent any unexpected events.

Time passed slowly, and after completing another part of the progress bar, Xu Bai put down the book in his hand and looked at the dilapidated courtyard.

Still no one was there; not a single person came. No one knew where the owner of the courtyard had gone.

Finding nothing, he didn't linger and headed up the mountain.

Since nothing was found, let's continue upwards and see if anything new appears.

Taking advantage of the moonlight, Xu Bai continued walking.

Gradually, his footprints covered the entire mountain.

During this time, he encountered many rooms and houses, but without exception, none of them were occupied.

He would stay in each house for a while, but no one returned to the house.

Although he didn't know what had happened, he had a feeling that something was getting stranger and stranger.

This feeling made him uneasy. He had a strange feeling that something huge and terrifying was brewing. Fortunately, although he hadn't found anyone in each house, he had stopped to work on each one for a while. He estimated that he had about ten days left and had completely finished working on the Deity Summoning Heart Sutra.

This cultivation method probably hasn't reached the Extraordinary Realm. Since he only studied it for a short period of time each night, it took him so long. However, obtaining a cultivation method is enough.

At present, what he lacks most is True Yuan Power; otherwise, just operating the Undying Demon Soul Buddha Body and the Blade Sword Three Absolutes would be too much for him.

Looking at the pale blue smoke in front of him, Xu Bai stopped and focused his spiritual energy around him, patiently waiting.

The pale blue smoke curled up and drifted, gradually gathering in mid-air to form a new line of text.

[You observe and comprehend the methods of Deity Summoning Heart Sutra Deity Summoning Heart Sutra.]

Xu Bai estimated that this line of text would merge with his original Myriad Aspects Heavenly Attraction Art, and he was patiently waiting. But unexpectedly, the next second, something unusual happened.

The smoke at the very bottom of this line of light blue text suddenly separated and formed a new line of light blue text.

He had experienced this once before, when he was comprehending the Nameless Saber Scripture. That was when he not only had the mental cultivation method, but also the skills.

Sure enough, as soon as Xu Bai thought this, the new text gradually became clear and appeared before his eyes.

[You observe the Deity Summoning Heart Sutra and comprehend the Mountain Sect Deity Summoning Method.]

"I actually managed to learn a skill," Xu Bai thought speechlessly.

He originally didn't want to learn this skill; he only needed the mental cultivation method.

To be honest, he still remembers the taboos about invoking the gods that Rising Dusk King had discussed with him.

This profession has become extinct, and no one even knows how it became extinct. Moreover, the gods they invoked are still unclear, even to this day, even within their profession.

It's such a sinister thing that ordinary people wouldn't dare touch it. Xu Bai was only able to do so because he had a progress bar.

Now that he has the skills and the mental techniques, he is also a little worried.

"Forget it, things will work themselves out. Let's see how it goes first. If it doesn't work, we can just not use this skill."

Thinking this, the pale blue smoke in front of me quickly dissipated and then coalesced into a new line of smoke.

Integration has occurred.

[Mergeable options found, currently in progress.]

[The Myriad Aspects Heavenly Attraction Art + The Deity Summoning Heart Sutra = The Myriad Aspects Heavenly Attraction Divine Art]

[Merger successful!]

This time, the pale blue smoke finally disappeared completely, transforming into streams of information that entered Xu Bai's mind.

Xu Bai closed his eyes and chewed slowly.

When he opened his eyes again, he had already grasped everything.

The latest attribute panel appears before my eyes.

[Name: Xu Bai]

[Realm Level: Rank 6, Transcendent Immortal]

[The Blade Sword Three Absolutes (Transcendent Tier 9): Max Level.]

[Myriad Aspects Heavenly Attraction Divine Art (Transcendent Stage 6): Max Level.]

[Returning Wind Flowing Snow (Tier 5): Max Level.]

[Nine Revolutions of Action and Ruin (Rank 9): Max Level.]

[Moving Stars and Changing Constellations (Tier 9): Max Level.]

[Undying Demon Soul Buddha Body (Transcendent Tier 1): Max Level.]

[Strengthening Kidney Gathering Art (Transcendent Stage 1): Max Level.]

[Poison Compendium (Tier 9): Max Level.]

[Mechanism Puppet True Explanation (Tier 9): Max Level.]

[Water Adaptation Method (Tier 5): Max Level]

[Feng Shui Arithmetic (Level 9): Max Level.]

[Thousand Faces Method (Tier 9): Max Level.]

[Yin Yang Coexistence (Transcendent Stage 1): Max Level.]

[Mountain Sect Deity Summoning Method (Transcendent Stage 6): Max Level.]

[Comprehension: Max level.]

These two skills are now playing a decisive role for him. First, his cultivation technique has been directly upgraded by three grades, reaching the sixth grade of the Transcendent Realm. Compared to before, his True Yuan Power has been greatly improved.

This tremendous improvement can be summed up in just two words.

—Endurance! He's become longer, so he can last even longer in a prolonged battle.

Although it's not yet at the point where it can unleash the Undying Demon Soul Buddha Body and the Blade Sword Three Absolutes without restraint, it's at least much better than before.

Secondly, and most importantly, the Mountain Sect Deity Summoning Method Technique seems to be different from the others for him.

The information swirled in Xu Bai's mind, and he carefully sorted it out. After a while, he finally understood it.

"It wasn't someone who was invited to possess him," Xu Bai muttered to himself.

According to the descriptions in the Mountain Sect Deity Summoning Method, the profession of invoking deities is extremely broad in its classification.

But generally speaking, there are two main categories.

One type involves inviting a deity to possess one's body and enhance one's combat power, while the second type involves inviting a deity to one's side as an ally.

The skill he is learning now is of the second type.

"It doesn't seem like inviting a god, but more like summoning. But who can I invite?" Xu Bai wondered.

His analogy isn't wrong; it does resemble a summoning, but it's unclear who it can summon.

More importantly, even if he mastered this skill completely, he still wouldn't know what a god was.

There was no description above; it simply said that a god is a god, who can be summoned and sent away.

"What a strange profession. I wonder why it became extinct. This is the first time I've seen such a vague explanation for this skill." Xu Bai shook his head, temporarily suppressing the idea of using the skill.

Unless it's absolutely necessary, don't even think about using something like this.

Who knows what kind of thing they might invite? What if they invite something extremely dangerous? In the end, it's themselves who will be in danger.

Having finished grinding all the skills, Xu Bai didn't continue grinding for the remaining book. When he looked up, he realized he was already quite close to the summit.

"We've encountered empty houses all along the way, and they all show signs of having been lived in, but no one has come back. We don't know where these guys have gone."

Xu Bai thought that perhaps when he reached the top of the mountain, everything would naturally become clear.

Thinking of this, he didn't linger any longer and started walking towards the top of the mountain.

He was not far from the mountaintop.

But the higher you go, the steeper the mountain path becomes.

Sometimes when you encounter a place that you can't get through, an ordinary person might sigh and turn back.

Fortunately, Xu Bai was no ordinary person; even the steepest mountain paths were like flat ground to him.

The soul continues to expand, sensing everything around it, wary of any unexpected events.

After Xu Bai had walked for nearly half an incense stick's time, he suddenly stopped. His soul sensed something unusual, and it was a familiar kind of unusual.

On the distant mountaintop, there was nothing but emptiness and sparse trees. The once lush forest had vanished, and moonlight shone on the dark mountaintop, shrouding it in a white veil.

Within the white veil, a man in white robes and a tall hat was kneeling on the ground, with more than a dozen corpses in front of him.

"I've run into this guy again. Didn't he say he'd be able to rest for a long time after finishing that job? Why is he out here collecting corpses again?" Xu Bai thought to himself.

Apart from that, his soul didn't sense anything else; everything seemed normal.

Xu Bai thought for a moment, then continued walking forward until he reached the top of the mountain. Only after seeing the man in white robes and a tall hat did he stop a short distance away.

The man in white and a tall hat also heard the voice, turned to look at Xu Bai, and said in a hoarse voice, "You've come..."

The sound was like broken glass rubbing against the throat, extremely unpleasant to the ears. Compared to the previous sound, it was like comparing heaven and earth.

Xu Bai frowned and asked, "What happened? Why are there so many corpses here?"

It was only when the man in white was speaking that he noticed the tear tracks on the man's face and the intense sorrow in his eyes.

"They're all dead, all dead. They made a pact to die together here?" the man in white and a tall hat sighed.

Upon hearing this, Xu Bai paused slightly, his gaze shifting to the dozen or so corpses.

There were no signs of fighting, nor any extra wounds. These dozen or so corpses seemed to have died suddenly here.

"Were you so worried that you couldn't control yourself?" Xu Bai asked.

He didn't mention the Thought Gods, nor did he say anything about going mad. He simply asked the question in words that the man in the white robe and tall hat could understand, as concisely as possible.

The man in white robes and a tall hat slowly nodded. He stood up, pointed to the corpses, and began to speak...

"This woman was a genius and a powerful ruler before she was depleted, but after she was depleted, she actually created a method of self-reproduction and kept devouring the children she gave birth to."

"And this one, in order to survive, he blinded himself, cut off his ears, nose and tongue, and chopped off his hands and feet, all to minimize the consumption of resources."

"This is similar; he used the same method..."

As the man in the white coat and tall hat spoke, he revealed the identity of each person and their methods for coping with resource depletion.

When the last person was mentioned, the man in white and a tall hat turned around, his eyes filled with even deeper sorrow.

"Some of them are good people, some are bad people, and some do everything they can to survive."

"Now, none of them want to go crazy. After all, they were all powerful rulers before, and no one wants to go crazy. It's a matter of dignity."

"So they all came to this place before reaching the extreme and died together."

Xu Bai said, "You're here to collect their bodies?"

The man in the white robe and tall hat nodded. "They are all people we know. We can't let them die without a proper burial. Whether they were good or bad when they were alive, once they're dead, it's all over."

Xu Bai didn't answer again. He looked at the dozen or so corpses beside him and suddenly said, "How much longer can you hold on?"

As soon as he finished speaking, all around fell silent. The wind blew through the trees, making strange noises that contrasted with the surrounding stillness, creating a peculiar feeling.

The man in white and a tall hat understood what Xu Bai was talking about and said, "It probably won't be long, but before we reach the peak, I have something to do."

"What is it?" Xu Bai asked.

"You forgot what I said before, there's a madman in the woods, on this mountain." The man in white and the top hat shrugged, seemingly unconcerned. "I have to get rid of him, otherwise leaving a madman is a menace. This world doesn't need a powerful madman."

madman?

No.

To be precise, it's about Thought Gods.

Xu Bai's gaze became somewhat complicated.

Only he knew that the so-called world was just a Ruins, and that none of them, including the man in white and the man in the tall hat, were truly alive.

But saying such things is, to the person in white coats and tall hats, an invisible cruelty.

What do you mean? Are you suggesting we tell them that we're just part of the Ruins?

never mind.

Since the man in white and tall hat doesn't know any of that, let's pretend we don't know. At least let him have a good dream before he completely becomes Thought Gods.

"Take care." Xu Bai thought for a long time before finally saying only these two words.

The man in white and a tall hat waved his hand, seemingly unconcerned. "I will reach that extreme sooner or later. I will kill him and then take my own life here. It's a pity that no one will collect my body."

At this point, he seemed to suddenly remember something, slapped his forehead, and made a gesture of sudden realization.

In Xu Bai's gaze, the man in white and a tall hat unbuttoned his outer garment, revealing the skin on his chest. On his skin was a beautiful pattern, which was actually composed of characters printed on it, making it look both beautiful and strange.

In addition, a golden progress bar appears.

"Brother, can you do me a favor?" The man in white and a tall hat scratched his head, looking as if he was reluctant to speak.

Xu Bai looked away from the golden progress bar and asked, "What is it?"

The man in white and a tall hat raised his right hand, grabbed a corner of his skin, and with a tearing sound, ripped the skin off his chest. Sweat beaded on his forehead, clearly indicating that he was in great pain.

But after a while, the skin on his chest repaired itself, and the pain on his face disappeared.

A human skin covered in progress bars and blood was delivered by a man in white robes and a tall hat.

"Not many people in our lineage are willing to do this job, since it's all dirty and tiring work."

"Compared to those Paper Figure Maker, we Corpse Collector are becoming increasingly marginalized, especially now that resources are dwindling."

"Brother, you haven't reached that extreme yet. Could you help me keep this? If it meets a destined person, it can be passed down."

"Of course, if you had reached that extreme point before this, then it would have been my bad luck, and this lineage should have been wiped out."

The man in white and a tall hat spoke slowly.

Xu Bai took it without hesitation, and after a moment, said, "I agree."

The man in white and a tall hat waved happily and expressed his gratitude.

He turned around, cremated the dozen or so corpses in front of him, and prepared to leave, saying he was going to settle accounts with that madman.

"How confident are you?" Xu Bai asked.

The man in white and a tall hat had already taken several steps when he heard Xu Bai's words. He stiffened, his back to Xu Bai, and did not turn around, but his tone was full of desolation.

"That madman is very strong. I'm not very confident, but I'll do my best. Even if it costs me my life, I will take him away."

"And even if I win, I won't live."

"The world has become like this." Xu Bai took two steps forward, put his hands behind his back, and said calmly, "Is it worth it?"

The man in white and a tall hat shook his head, still with his back to him, raised his head, looked up at the full moon in the sky, and said, "From the moment I entered this profession, my purpose has been to ensure that the dead have a proper place to rest."

"The living have a place to come from, and the dead have a place to return to. This is a saying my teacher often repeated."

"Our lineage does good deeds and accumulates great virtue, but we cannot do things that harm our karma."

Even if they die, they will be remembered by future generations.

As he spoke, the man in white and a tall hat lifted his foot, preparing to leave.

"What's your name?" Xu Bai asked.

The man in white and a tall hat walked away without turning his head, saying, "Gao Guan."

As darkness gradually faded, the figure of the man in white clothes and a tall hat disappeared into the dense forest.

Xu Bai watched the man in white and a tall hat walk away before turning his gaze away.

For some reason, he felt that the white-clad, tall-hatted man's back view, besides its loneliness, also conveyed a sense of relief.

Perhaps in this world of dwindling resources, death is a more liberating escape.

"Corpse Collector is really a pretty good job," Xu Bai muttered to himself, then turned around and prepared to leave.

There was nothing else to find in this mountain, so he prepared to descend and leave.

He came slowly but left quickly, choosing to descend on the other side of the mountain.

To avoid missing anything, he still did not fly, his spirit still shrouding the surroundings, searching for any omissions.

Unfortunately, they didn't find anything along the way until they were almost at the foot of the mountain when Xu Bai saw a monument on the other side of the mountain.

The surroundings were empty, with nothing in sight, but there stood a monument. Xu Bai, slightly curious, slowly walked up to it.

There were no words on the stele, but there was a picture painted on it.

The painting depicted a massive mountain peak, and Xu Bai observed that its shape resembled the mountain he was in.

Three Lives Mountain.

That's the name of the mountain.

The mountain depicted in the design has an arrow pointing down to the area below it.

To be precise, it doesn't refer to the foot of the mountain, but rather to the bottom of the mountain.

At the end of the arrow, there is a huge treasure chest.

"What does this mean? Could it be that there is treasure at the bottom of this mountain?" Xu Bai wondered to himself.

The painting clearly points to the bottom of the mountain, meaning there's something there.

The treasure chest was drawn very realistically; it was clearly a treasure.

With this discovery, Xu Bai suddenly didn't want to leave. He thought he might as well stay here and continue to explore, perhaps discovering other things as well.

After all, he came all this way and only got one book, which wasn't a very good deal. What if that treasure had many progress bars? Wouldn't he be rich? He had to go. Anyway, there were hardly any people left on this mountain, and he was practically safe now. What reason did he have not to go and take a look?

If you leave this mountain to explore the outside world, the probability of obtaining anything is very small, since everything is unknown.

If you go to the bottom of the mountain while you're in the mountains, the chances of success might be slightly higher, since there are instructions on this monument.

Just as he was thinking this and making up his mind, Xu Bai suddenly felt a cold wind blowing from behind him.

The gust of cold wind was extremely strange. Even Xu Bai's divine sense couldn't detect it. When the wind blew onto his body, he got goosebumps.

The fact that this yin wind could give him goosebumps despite his current strength, and that it came and went without a trace, without even his soul sensing it, meant that this yin wind was something special.

Almost subconsciously, Xu Bai circulated his True Yuan Power, and beautiful patterns appeared all over his body, now covered by the Undying Demon Soul Buddha Body.

"Who!"

He turned around abruptly and saw a figure slowly walking towards him from the darkness behind him.

As the figure approached, Xu Bai heard the voice it made.

"That monument was left by me, hehe... it's more than just a treasure."

"Those are the best things I found on those dead people; they are all the secrets they learned in their lifetime."

"There are dozens of them. I originally planned to use them as bargaining chips, which might allow me to live a little longer."

"Oh, right, and the truth, my guess about resource depletion."

"But... oh dear, my head hurts so much! It's eating my head! I don't want to be eaten! Can you save me?"

The sound grew louder as it approached, and the figure also grew louder until it became clearly visible to Xu Bai.

When Xu Bai saw who it was, his brows furrowed slightly.

The man was an elderly man with white hair, dressed plainly, and the wrinkles on his face resembled ravines in the mountains; when they were tangled together, they gave off a sense of dread.

Moreover, and most importantly, Xu Bai saw the old man's expression.

If you split this white-haired old man's head in half and put it on the ground...

Then you'll find that it's half madness and half lucidity, clearly distinct yet not conflicting.

When madness and lucidity coexist on a face, a bizarre feeling washes over you, making your hair stand on end.

None of these things are important. The most important thing is that Xu Bai saw a head being held in the old man's right hand.

The head no longer had the tall white hat, but Xu Bai recognized the face.

—A man in white clothes and a tall hat.

The skull's face was calm, but it bore many scars, clearly indicating that it had survived a major battle.

Therefore, it is clear that the identity of the old man in front of us is quite obvious.

—That madman! To be precise, Xu Bai sensed that the old man was resisting the impact of the Thought Gods. Perhaps there was madness involved, but it was a conscious madness.

I'm not afraid of others' complete madness, but I'm afraid of this kind of lucid madness, because his lucidity makes the things he does even more terrifying.

Xu Bai looked at the head in the old man's hand and sighed.

He died in the end.

He had already guessed that the man in white and the tall hat might not return, but he didn't expect that when he actually saw him, he would still feel a little emotional.

When the world's resources are depleted and everything descends into madness.

Such a person is able to maintain inner peace, do what he should do, and not resort to methods that go against his conscience.

To be honest, Xu Bai did have some admiration for him.

But... he died.

"Was it painful when you died?" Xu Bai asked slowly.

The white-haired old man shook his head, a strange smile appearing on his face, which was half lucid and half insane. "Hehehe, it cut right off in one stroke, it didn't hurt at all..."

"Before he died, he said he wanted to find himself a good grave."

"He said that since he buried so many corpses, he wanted to find a blessed burial site so that he could have a proper resting place after death."

"I satisfied him."

As he spoke, the white-haired old man raised his head and opened his mouth.

The creaking sound echoed in the darkness, sending chills down one's spine.

Patting his belly, the white-haired old man smiled eerily and said, "This place is a treasure trove of good feng shui."

"Are you crazy or not?" Xu Bai asked.

Upon hearing these words, the white-haired old man's half-mad face trembled.

He clutched his head, screaming incessantly, seemingly struggling because of Xu Bai's words.

But this struggle lasted only a moment before he lowered his hand and looked at Xu Bai again.

"It'll be soon, it'll be soon. As long as I eat you, I can prolong my life for a while..." The white-haired old man said slowly, "If it weren't for the first person I killed, who didn't want to be eaten by me and poisoned himself, I wouldn't be in this state now."

The very first person?

Xu Bai quickly recalled that when he first met the man in white and a tall hat, the man had invited him to bury a corpse.

At that moment, the man in white and a tall hat happened to receive a corpse.

No wonder the corpse was left behind; it turned out that it had poisoned itself to avoid being eaten by the white-haired old man.

"Hehehehe..." The white-haired old man lifted his foot and slowly walked towards Xu Bai, his tone filled with madness.

"Young man, give me a bite, just one bite and I'll make you die very quickly."

"There's no pain at all. Since you're already suffering in this world anyway, why don't you let me take care of it?"

"Come on, like Gao Guan, he looked relieved when I ate him."

Gao Guan refers to a man in white robes and a tall hat.

Upon hearing this, Xu Bai's expression turned cold, and he took a deep breath.

Gold and grayish-white hues swirled around, creating a terrifying chaos that enveloped the entire mountaintop.

The darkness was illuminated by the gold and gray, making the chaos seem endless.

Xu Bai slowly raised his right hand, his face gradually turning cold, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes.

A gust of wind blew, causing his clothes to flutter.

As the white-haired old man approached, Xu Bai slowly spoke...

"I have always believed that what makes us human is that we still retain our human nature."

"Gao Guan was a good man, but he's dead. I admired him."

"You say death is a relief, so I'll send you down to join him."

"It's also a way of avenging him."

As soon as he finished speaking, the dazzling blade light suddenly surged.

The Ruins will be revealed in the next chapter.