Vajra

"The Mountain God has arrived!"

"Mountain God, quell your anger! Mountain God, quell your anger! Mountain God, quell your anger!"

The herdsmen, who had been furious just moments ago, lost all courage. They knelt again and kowtowed, their foreheads striking the ground with bang, bang sounds. Regretting their previous disrespect toward the deity, they could only express their remorse this way and beg for forgiveness.

"Foolish mortals!"

Jiege trembled all over and looked up to see that the priest was no longer shaking. He stood silently, and the only visible eyes behind his mask had turned completely white, his entire body emanating an indescribably eerie aura.

The Mountain God had descended!

"Bold fool! How dare you look directly at the Mountain God!"

A woman serving the Mountain God beneath the altar suddenly rebuked him. Jiege's heart raced as he quickly lowered his head, cold sweat breaking out all over his body.

"Mountain God! This humble one was ignorant just now. We are willing to offer one hundred cattle and one hundred sheep each. Please quell your anger, Mountain God!" the old herdsman hurriedly said.

The priest—or rather, the spirit practitioner possessed by the Mountain God.

He did not say a word. Silent as a mountain, his presence weighed so heavily on the herdsmen that they could scarcely breathe.

Jiege kept kowtowing, his body trembling violently.

He did not dare look at the Mountain God's priest on the altar again, but he could feel the other's gaze fixed upon his head, colder than a winter blade.

He realized that he had angered the Mountain God, and panic filled him as he wondered what punishment awaited him.

"Jiege, do you know your sin?"

Jiege pressed his forehead to the ground and prostrated himself. "I know my sin. Jiege knows his sin. Please punish me, Mountain God!"

"Seeing that you sincerely repent, I shall give you one chance. Send your daughter Dawa to the sacred land. From this day onward, she shall serve me."

What?!

Jiege's pupils shrank as if struck by lightning.

His mind blank, he instinctively raised his head and looked up at the Mountain God's priest.

Before he could speak, a powerful palm wind slammed into his body. Caught off guard, he tumbled backward, hit the ground, and coughed up blood.

Ignoring his own pain, Jiege quickly crawled back up and knelt, kowtowing. "Mountain God! Please withdraw your decree! Dawa is still young. She cannot endure the wind and snow on the mountain!"

"With me here, the wind and snow shall treat her as their own child. They shall not bring her cold, but warmth like a spring breeze. Be at ease." The Mountain God's priest ignored Jiege's plea and replied coldly.

"Mountain God! Please withdraw this blessing! This humble one is willing to offer all his cattle and sheep!"

The Mountain God's priest said, "My decision is final. If you do not offer Dawa to serve at my side, you shall no longer be allowed to graze upon this land. You shall lose the promised land I granted to your ancestors."

Jiege kowtowed like a madman, blood spilling from his mouth. The miserable sight tore at the herdsmen's hearts, but none of them dared utter another word that might offend the Mountain God. They did not even dare raise their heads or breathe too loudly.

"Mountain God, quell your anger! Mountain God, quell your anger! Mountain God, quell your anger! Mountain God, quell your anger!"

"Foolish mortals. It is Dawa's blessing to serve at the Mountain God's side."

Two Mountain God devotees dressed in ceremonial robes stepped out from the crowd. Solemn yet arrogant, they headed straight for the black tent where Dawa was.

Jiege's fingertips dug desperately into the ground. The terror of losing Dawa swallowed him like a tide.

He wanted to rise and resist, but it was as though the Mountain God had stripped his limbs of strength. He could not muster even a trace of power.

He regretted it beyond measure.

Why!

Why had he angered the Mountain God!

Dawa, I'm sorry!

I am a useless father...

Outside the tent, the Tibetan mastiffs that had once fiercely guarded their master now lay on the ground like docile lambs, their tails clamped tightly between their legs. They trembled all over, not daring to make even a whimper.

They watched helplessly as the two devotees passed before them and approached their little master in the tent step by step, yet they did not have the courage to move.

One devotee raised a hand and lifted the tent flap.

The sight before them made both men pause slightly.

In a corner of the tent, the adorable Dawa hid timidly behind Dorje, her eyes full of resistance toward the newcomers.

As for Dorje—

He bit his lip hard, his trembling body revealing the fear in his heart.

Though he was terrified beyond measure, so frightened that he could barely control his body, he still gripped his curved blade tightly. Like a young wolf driven into a hopeless corner, he let out a roar that held no real threat. "You are not taking Dawa away! You are not!"

The two devotees exchanged glances and smiled easily.

"Oh, there's even a little wolf cub baring its teeth."

"Little one, your sister is fortunate to be able to serve the great Mountain God."

As they drew nearer, Dorje grew more agitated and tense. Gritting his teeth, he repeated, "You are not taking Dawa away!"

"The great Mountain God's decision cannot be questioned!"

"Ah! I'll kill you!"

With nowhere left to retreat, Dorje let out a low roar. His love for his sister overcame his reverence for the divine. His legs tensed, and he lunged fiercely at the two men, swinging his curved blade with all his strength, its trail faintly flashing through the air.

Bang! Bang.

Clang.

Though Dorje was ferocious, he was no match for the two devotees. He was knocked down in an instant, and his curved blade fell to the ground.

One devotee howled.

Even while restrained, Dorje's ferocity did not diminish. He opened his mouth and bit down on the man's arm.

The devotee grimaced in pain and anger, then smashed a fist into Dorje's back. The crisp crack of breaking bones echoed out. Dorje spat blood and was flung away by brute force, tearing through the tent before crashing down in full view of everyone.

"Dorje!"

Jiege anxiously crawled to Dorje's side and helped him up.

"Dorje! Dorje! How are you, Dorje?!"

"Dad! Brother! Brother!"

Dawa's frightened sobs rang out. Another devotee had already slung her over his shoulder and was carrying her toward the altar.

Seeing his sister like that, the weakened Dorje widened his eyes and tried to crawl up. "Let go of Dawa! Let go of Dawa!"

"Worry about yourself first!"

A shadow loomed over him. The devotee Dorje had bitten was still burning with rage. In a flash, he blocked Dorje's path. His heavy punch shot out like a cannonball, clearly intending to cripple his opponent with one blow—even if it did not kill him, it would leave him maimed.

A dull impact rang out, and true energy scattered chaotically.

The more powerful devotee bared his teeth in a vicious grin as he stared at Jiege's twisted right arm.

"Didn't you admit your mistake? And yet you still dare defy the Mountain God?"

"Then you must suffer an even more painful punishment!"

The devotee glanced back at the priest on the altar. After receiving silent approval, he strode forward, true energy swirling around his body. That powerful aura made Jiege's pale face turn even uglier.

Meridian Channeling Realm!

"Brother!!"

As Dawa was carried farther and farther away, Dorje felt as though his head were exploding. His thoughts went blank, and scorching hot blood surged to the crown of his head!

Dorje, you must protect Dawa and the family like Vajra!

The vow he had secretly made in his heart when he was young drove Dorje forward at this moment, raising his blade against a god!

"You are not taking my Dawa away! You are not!!!"

With a furious roar, Dorje charged at the devotee like a madman.

"I told you, worry about yourself first!"

The devotee behind him grinned viciously and lunged toward Dorje in a single stride.

Just as that eagle-claw-like hand was about to seize Dorje by the back of the neck, a bone-piercing chill suddenly rose from deep within his heart!

"Perhaps you should worry about yourself first."

The devotee's pupils abruptly shrank as he sensed a pair of icy, blade-sharp eyes appearing behind his ear.

Acting on instinct, the devotee erupted with all his strength. His muscles bulged, his true energy circulated at its limit, and his right arm, hardened into an iron whip, swung back with a blast that split the air!

However...

Crack!

A series of bone-shattering cracks rang out, louder and denser than when he had broken Dorje's back!

The pain in his back instantly robbed him of every means of resistance, and he opened his mouth in a miserable scream.

Crack! Crack!

The scream came quickly—and ended even faster!

Before everyone's horrified, trembling eyes, the devotee's spine was violently pulled out by someone who had entered without anyone noticing!