The So-Called Mountain God

The sudden turn of events instantly silenced the uproar at the scene.

The newcomer was none other than Yuan Tianzong, who had recently been warmly received by Dorje and had returned after pursuing the golden mist.

He stood beside the bloody scene, his robes fluttering slightly, a grave and imposing aura surrounding him as he seized everyone's attention.

The follower carrying Wada saw his companion's gruesome death and was scared out of his wits. He fled desperately like a startled rabbit, moving incredibly fast.

Dorje's eyes were bloodshot as he roared and chased after him with all his strength, but his legs could not match the mad desperation of a man running for his life.

"Put her down."

Yuan Tianzong's gaze remained calm. He slowly raised one hand and made a grasping motion toward the ground.

At once, the surrounding grass seemed to be seized by an invisible force, snapping cleanly as it flew into his palm like fireflies amid bits of grass. Then, with a slight dip of his wrist, he flung it out.

Whoosh—!

The once fragile grass transformed into terrifying green arrows, taut as tempered steel as they shot forth with a shrill tearing sound, splitting the air with a faint buzz!

The arrowheads were terrifyingly precise, instantly piercing the follower's knee and wrist. Hot blood sprayed from the wounds, glaringly red against the grass.

The green arrows did not lose any momentum. Trailing faint afterimages, they shot straight toward the priest on the altar!

Boom—!

A deep drumbeat suddenly rang out, making the altar tremble faintly.

Visible rings of soundwave true energy rapidly spread from the priest like surging tides, pushing outward in layer after layer as they desperately blocked the bloodstained blades of grass.

The grass blades trembled violently, yet they could not break free of the soundwaves' restraint. Only after their momentum was spent did they fall weakly to the ground.

Yuan Tianzong's expression remained unchanged, his breathing as steady as ever.

Plucking grass and firing it like arrows was nothing more than a casual gesture to him.

In contrast, heavy breathing came from beneath the Mountain God's priest's mask as he struggled to suppress it.

"Impudent! The Mountain God's spirit has descended into the priest's body. How dare a mere mortal martial artist offend him? Kneel and repent at once!" The female attendant had not yet grasped the situation and glared angrily at Yuan Tianzong.

She was the Mountain God's most devout believer and firmly believed that the priest atop the altar housed the Mountain God's spirit.

With a god at her back, what did she have to fear from a mere mortal martial artist?

"Mountain God?"

Yuan Tianzong patted Dorje on the head, signaling him to take Wada back. He himself stared at the priest on the altar, who had supposedly summoned the Mountain God, and casually stepped onto the follower whose limbs had been crippled.

"Ah—"

It looked like there was little force behind the step, but it weighed as heavily as ten thousand pounds.

The follower's crushed hand cracked repeatedly. Bone and flesh split apart together, turning into a bloody pulp.

Yuan Tianzong stood on him like that, listening to his pig-like screams. There was not the slightest trace of reverence in the eyes reflecting the priest's figure.

The woman snapped, "Mortal! Do not bring ruin upon yourself. Kneel now, and perhaps you may still—"

Mid-sentence, the woman suddenly twisted her head stiffly toward the priest on the altar.

She could only make choking noises, unable to utter a clear word. A bloody hole in her neck gushed blood that could not be stopped no matter how she pressed it. Within moments, she collapsed into shock. Without a miracle, she would bleed to death.

"Woman, you talk too much."

The surrounding believers were all horrified, their bodies turning cold.

This outsider possessed extraordinary martial prowess, and his methods were even more vicious. He killed at the flick of a hand.

Yet amid their terror, they all looked toward the priest who had invited the god into his body, and their hearts settled.

Look at how steady Lord Priest was!

What was there to fear?

The Mountain God was protecting them!

"Mountain God? God?"

Yuan Tianzong's raised foot came down, and the screams ceased.

"If a god cannot protect me, then it is no god!"

"Those who obey me are gods; those who defy me are demons!"

"Come, let me see whether the thing beneath that mask is human or demon!"

As he barked the challenge, Yuan Tianzong strode forward. True energy surged beneath his feet, faintly taking the form of a dragon!

With the domineering yet mysterious Dragon Step technique, he left streaks of afterimages in everyone's sight. In an instant, he reached the altar, thrust one hand forward, and as a dragon's roar erupted, his true energy surged—Dragon Seizing Hand!

Only when the terrifying true-energy dragon claw came crashing down overhead did the priest, who had stood motionless while maintaining the god-invocation state, finally move!

He shook his hand drum, sending a wave of true-energy soundwaves toward the Dragon Seizing Hand while swiftly retreating with a movement technique.

"Trying to run?"

The true-energy soundwaves were no match for the Dragon Seizing Hand and were effortlessly shattered.

Then Yuan Tianzong changed his hand gesture. The true-energy Dragon Seizing Hand immediately generated a suction force, causing grass and leaves to whirl through the air as the retreating priest was forcibly dragged back.

The mask exploded apart, revealing a frightened, aged face.

"God?"

The vicious-looking old man suddenly roared, "Outsider, the Mountain God is beneath your feet! Your time to die has come!"

My time to die?

Yuan Tianzong laughed. He had long sensed the thing lurking underground.

He raised his foot and gathered strength.

"Get out here!"

With that stomp, the ground shook for hundreds of yards.

A stream of true energy had already plunged underground. Wherever it passed, the grass-covered earth exploded open, sending turf flying everywhere.

In the blink of an eye, the ground dozens of yards away rapidly bulged. True energy burst up from below like force transmitted through a mountain, blasting out a golden-scaled beast.

The Mountain God?

It turned out to be a pangolin!

Clearly, this pangolin had undergone a considerable transformation. Its body was far larger than that of an ordinary pangolin, as large as a yellow ox. Its claws and fangs had changed, while the edges of its dark golden scales were sharp. Though heavy and thick, they radiated powerful aggression.

Ancient records stated that when wild beasts cultivated into demons, they naturally gained supernatural abilities and exceptional intelligence.

This pangolin Yuan Tianzong had blasted out from underground had already become extraordinary. Demonic energy lingered around it, and its eyes revealed a range of emotions.

"A Jin, kill him!"

The priest roared. Unable to break free from Yuan Tianzong's one-handed restraint no matter what he did, he could only place his hopes on that powerful transformed beast!

He had raised that pangolin since childhood. Years ago, by a stroke of fortune, it had swallowed an unknown spirit herb and transformed. When it curled into a ball, even a Five Elements Realm martial artist would have to exert tremendous effort to break through its defenses!

Over the years, he had relied on it to escape countless dangers.

After landing, the pangolin dug its claws into the earth. Its dark golden scales stood upright with metallic clangs, like an armored warrior drawing his blade, its aura fierce and brutal.

It could sense the dangerous aura emanating from Yuan Tianzong, yet it could not abandon the master who had accompanied it for so many years and flee alone.

Hiss!!

The pangolin let out an angry growl, its demonic energy gathering around it like a faint mist.

Its body abruptly curled into a disk and began spinning at high speed. Its golden armor boomed like thunder as it charged straight at Yuan Tianzong.

Seeing this, the priest was delighted. His eyes widened as he waited to see how Yuan Tianzong would be defeated by A Jin's supernatural ability!

A Jin's scales were incomparably hard, and their edges were sharp as blades. Using that as its foundation, it had honed this technique, which was like a cutting machine and extremely formidable.

Buzz! Buzz!

The golden blur closed in within an instant.

Even the air seemed to be sliced open, lines of disturbed air spreading outward.

"Boy, if you know what's good for you, release me now!"

Yuan Tianzong glanced at him, curled his lips, and swung his arm. With extreme malice, he threw him directly into the path of the attack that could slice through diamond.

"Ah! Stop, A Jin! Stop!"

The Mountain God's priest was utterly terrified in midair.

At the crucial moment, the pangolin stopped spinning in time.

Seeing this, the Mountain God's priest let out a long breath of relief.

"A Jin, good job!"

"Chirp chirp~"

"Still chirping? I'll take you in!"

An afterimage appeared behind the pangolin and rapidly solidified!

A tremendous crash erupted!

The Mountain God's priest's pupils trembled as he watched Yuan Tianzong's Heavy Punch slam into the back of the pangolin he had raised since childhood!

To him, that brief moment stretched infinitely. He had no idea how much force was contained in that terrifying punch, but the pangolin's body, hard as diamond, could not withstand even a fraction of it. Its body caved in, swelled, and finally exploded!

He saw the entire process with absolute clarity, frame by frame.

The scalp-numbing shock was beyond words.

One punch?

How could one punch shatter A Jin's body, which could bore through mountains and pierce metal?!

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Dark golden scales exploded outward like bullets, riddling the nearby Mountain God's priest with holes. By the time he hit the ground, there was no longer any chance of survival. Blood flowed from the countless wounds, gathering into a pool in the blink of an eye.