Wang Baoshan stood stunned for a long while before saying with trembling lips, "Since... since the True Person is willing to help us escape this sea of suffering, then use these old bones of mine however you can."
"Good. In one shichen."
A cold gleam flashed through Li Mo's eyes.
He had already grasped the truth of the matter and had no intention of letting such easy profits slip through his fingers.
Cultivators had come to River God Village before. Perhaps wary of the Mountain Lord Bizarre Beast, they had chosen to use the corpse of a Pseudo Bizarre Beast to make up the numbers.
Yet Li Mo felt that he had some confidence in dealing with the Mountain Lord Bizarre Beast of River God Village.
In the brief moment the Waking Lion Dance had formed, he had already figured out the situation, thanks to the Ghost Tiger's ability to sense fellow bizarre beasts.
Li Mo's gaze fell on the banyan tree beside the Ancestral Hall. The reason the Red Rope could bind the Waking Lion Dance was not merely because of the Zombie Ghosts; the banyan tree itself contained the aura of the Mountain Lord Bizarre Beast.
The Dry Well in the east of the village, the Ruined Temple in the south, and the hillside by the entrance were the same.
Ignoring the lion dance, Li Mo stroked the banyan tree with his palm while focusing his consciousness on the Book of Fortune. After all, the Blank Pages could reveal Visceral Artifacts he had touched.
Then, a bloody and grotesquely malformed Tiger Head appeared on the Blank Pages.
Li Mo silently thought that it was indeed so. Counting the remnants at the Dry Well, Ruined Temple, and hillside, he had found every part of the Mountain Lord Bizarre Beast's body.
He strongly suspected that after the Mountain Lord Bizarre Beast had ravaged River God Village, it had been killed by cultivators.
The scattered corpse had fallen into the river. Yet it had died without stiffening, turning the villagers of River God Village into Zombie Ghosts and trapping them where they were.
There were still many doubtful points, but they did not hinder Li Mo from coveting the Bizarre Beast Corpse.
Even if he did not use it to nourish the Ghost Tiger Tattoo, selling the Bizarre Beast Corpse on the Black Market would fetch quite a few Spirit Stones.
Li Mo sat beneath the banyan tree in thought.
Meanwhile, the Ghost Tiger circled the Waking Lion Dance, constantly provoking its ferocity.
Wang Baoshan did not dare disturb the True Person. Together with the villagers, he began feverishly preparing the instruments and costumes needed for the temple fair.
It was as though he had returned to more than a decade ago. The god-inviting ceremony held once every five years had nearly required all of River God Village's manpower, a tradition that had endured for over a thousand years.
"Help the tiger commit atrocities, help the tiger commit atrocities..."
Wang Baoshan painfully shut his eyes, then forced himself to rouse his spirits and came outside the Ancestral Hall.
The appointed time with Li Mo had not yet arrived, but he had already begun beating the Lion Drum. At once, dull sounds reverberated through the water.
Without the slightest hesitation, the villagers followed Wang Baoshan in performing the lion dance.
"Clang-dong clang, clang-dong clang-dong clang-dong clang..."
The Waking Lion Dance grew increasingly frenzied. It was not solely because of the Ghost Tiger's provocation—the clanging of gongs and beating of drums also made it suffer unbearable agony.
"Roar!!!"
The Waking Lion Dance smashed its head against the banyan tree. Blood mixed with Brain Matter slowly flowed out, while the withered banyan tree unexpectedly sprouted traces of life.
An earthshaking tiger roar arose from nowhere within River God Village. Wang Baoshan struck even harder, as if he wished to pour his very life into the Drumstick in his hands.
The Waking Lion Dance bit into the banyan tree, sucking up the plasma-like liquid within the trunk.
Dense Flesh Tumors emerged, followed by the faces of five villagers, their expressions twisted in pain, along with more than a dozen arms bracing against the ground.
Crack, crack, crack...
Bones collided as a fissure suddenly split open along the Waking Lion Dance's spine. Some monster seemed to be passing through it, gradually breaking free from its restraints.
Li Mo hummed the lion dance tune as his magic finger flung out a Miasma Silk Thread. As the water surged, the Waking Lion Dance froze rigidly in place.
The Waking Lion Dance was at the critical point of advancement, about to transform into a Bizarre Beast of the Childhood Stage.
Li Mo's move seemed to have landed at precisely the right moment.
The Waking Lion Dance opened its blood-filled maw, only for a current of water to surge forth. Its head actually slid off from its neck, dyeing the surrounding waters dark red.
Whoosh!
The Miasma Silk Thread lashed out again.
The banyan tree's bark split apart, revealing a polymer of bones and flesh within. It was the Mountain Lord Bizarre Beast's head.
When the Tiger Head was exposed, the remaining parts of its body also became active.
For a time, tiger roars rang out without end.
Li Mo's actions were like poking a hornet's nest. River God Village, which had originally maintained a delicate balance, plunged into an uncontrollable riot.
The Tiger Head merged and separated, barely piecing itself together into a complete head.
Wang Baoshan's consciousness gradually sank away. He continued beating the Lion Drum only by instinctively forcing himself onward.
Just then, Wang Baoshan heard Li Mo shout, "My sworn brother asked me what hour it was, and the Kan hexagram says it is jia yin."
"On the twenty-fifth day of early autumn in the seventh month, I was born between the hours of Zi and Chou, geng shen a few moments short."
Wang Baoshan abruptly woke and cried himself hoarse, "Welcome the River God!!!"
"Wuuu, wuuu, wuuu..."
The Ghost Tiger could no longer hold itself back. Its body, over two meters long, lunged at the Tiger Head and swallowed the Bizarre Beast's remnant in a single bite, its momentum boiling over.
The Tiger Head churned rivers and seas within the Ghost Tiger's body. Before it could suppress it, the other Bizarre Beast remnants in the village all burst out of the ground.
The remnants moved toward one another, seeking to piece themselves back into a whole.
"Fox."
Li Mo's flesh and blood withered somewhat as the Crimson Fox burrowed out of his left arm. Wrapped in river water, it seemed slightly uncomfortable as it coiled around the tiger leg.
Li Mo himself used the Miasma Silk Thread to block the tiger tail.
Thud, thud, thud...
Wang Baoshan stared dazedly at the Ghost Tiger. His memories were filled with scenes of lion dancing, and against the accompaniment of gongs and drums, the Ghost Tiger grew braver with every battle.
Li Mo glanced at the villagers. Weakness appeared in their bodies almost simultaneously.
He continued to perform Paint Green Clothes. His entire body rapidly grew thin and gaunt before the naked eye, while the Ghost Tiger swelled to just over five meters. At the same time, sharp blades resembling Bone Spikes extended from its joints.
"Roar!!!"
Wang Baoshan felt his life slipping away. "My sworn brother asks me, where does the lion come from?"
"The lion comes from River God Village, nine layers of stone slabs, nine layers of mountains."
The Ghost Tiger brutally tore apart the tiger's body. Its tail instantly pierced through its own flesh, completely suppressing the struggling Tiger Head within.
Li Mo flung the tiger leg toward the Ghost Tiger and shook his head as he watched its rising momentum.
The Ghost Tiger made short work of the tiger leg, while the Crimson Fox pinned the tiger tail beneath its paw. The Mountain Lord Bizarre Beast had been divided and conquered.
Wang Baoshan gratefully nodded at Li Mo.
He raised both thumbs, brought the two fingers close together, and made the salute of a wandering street performer. Muttering, he said, "True Person, your name shall be immortalized through the ages."
As soon as the words fell, the villagers vanished along with the houses beneath the water. The music of the lion dance seemed to still echo beside Li Mo's ears.
Li Mo withdrew most of his Flesh and Blood Spiritual Power. The Ghost Tiger returned to two meters in size, then spat out the Tiger Head, whose features could no longer be made out.
"You wasted a tenth of my Flesh and Blood Spiritual Power."
Li Mo gave the Ghost Tiger a hard slap. It lowered its head in grievance, while the Crimson Fox proudly scampered about beside it.
After the Bizarre Beast died, all the strange phenomena in River God Village vanished without a trace.
Even Li Mo, a humanoid mine, could not help revealing a burning gaze at the value of the Bizarre Beast Corpse pieces left behind.
"Come to think of it..."
"The Bizarre Beast was deliberately sealed within River God Village, wasn't it? Could they have been experimenting to see whether Zombie Ghosts could restrain the Mountain Lord Bizarre Beast?"
Li Mo stored the Bizarre Beast remnants in his Storage Bag, then swam toward the riverbank. A sudden feeling that something was wrong rose in his heart.
When he surfaced, only a helpless bitter smile remained on his face.
Li Mo's heart skipped a beat. The Spirit Tablet in his robes stirred, and he nervously pressed it against his forehead. A message from Steward Hu poured into his mind.
"Hm?"
Li Mo held the Spirit Tablet in silence for a long while. He hesitated for ages before finally informing Steward Hu of the details concerning River God Village.
Steward Hu did not reply either. This matter was probably left unresolved.
Before you continue