The Mountain God Abandons His Temple and Leaves

"This bit of essence had been compressed from the Crow Demon's entire essence, energy, and spirit with Divine Power, refined into blood, then extracted. It had cost a full half of a Divine Power Star! Still, it was worth it. This monster's physique was formidable; an ordinary adult compared to him was like an infant. Though the essence refined from it retained only one or two parts out of ten of that physique, a single drop was enough to strengthen this current body."

As Qiu Yan thought this, the light in the statue's eyes flickered and stirred lightly, shaking off the two phantoms winding around the drop of blood. Then white light swept over them, wrapping them up and dragging them into the statue.

"These two phantoms reek of demonic aura. If I absorb them as well, they may leave behind hidden troubles. A perfectly good person might gradually become demonized, ending up neither human nor monster. Once the phantoms are stripped away, this drop of essence is pure. Still, the phantoms contain strange power. It may be related to the Life Cultivation that demon mentioned. I'll keep them for future study; perhaps I'll gain something from it."

With that thought, Qiu Yan wasted no more time. The Mortal Avatar opened its mouth and swallowed the drop of blood.

Hot!

The instant the blood drop entered his mouth, it gave off scorching heat, as though he had a burning flame in his mouth. After he swallowed it, the heat spread at once. In the blink of an eye, surging warmth filled every part of Qiu Yan's body, like boiling water pouring over him, yet it did him no harm.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Streams of pale white vapor burst from every pore on Qiu Yan's body. White mist immediately filled the space around him, and as he sat cross-legged within it, he took on an ethereal, otherworldly air.

Creak! Creak!

Tightening sounds came from Qiu Yan's body, as though flesh were drawing taut and bones contracting. Tiny black droplets seeped from his pores, foul-smelling and filthy, but the moment they emerged, the scorching white vapor scattered them. They drifted away with the mist, leaving not a trace behind.

Amid the rising vapor, Qiu Yan's body gradually became enveloped in white mist. Within the hazy fog, his brows furrowed slightly.

"This is my first time absorbing Blood Essence. I hadn't expected this body to be so frail. I must proceed step by step, or it won't be able to endure it, and I'll be delayed in the temple for now. But if I don't strengthen this body, with mountains high and waters far away, I may exhaust my strength before even leaving the forest. This step cannot be avoided."

As his thoughts turned, Qiu Yan's body was completely concealed by the mist.

The fog rolled and spread in every direction, gradually filling the entire temple. Only the area around the clay statue remained calm. Any mist that approached the statue automatically veered away, leaving an empty space around it.

Rise!

The statue suddenly rose from the ground, tracing an arc through the air before landing back upon the altar. Fine strands of thought seeped from it, passing through its connection with the stone platform and into the earth. They spread rapidly, covering more than half of Mingyuan Mountain in an instant.

Divine Hearing!

At that moment, nothing that stirred upon the more than six-mile-long Mingyuan Mountain could escape the investigation of the statue's true self.

The ordinarily quiet mountain forest now held scattered figures, coming and going, weaving through the woods, gathering and dispersing unpredictably across the mountain and below it.

"Oh? Quite a lineup. Nearly twenty monsters have entered the mountain. My Mingyuan Mountain is merely a small mountain—on Earth, it would at most count as a hill. It is a branch of Nine Spirits Mountain, with thin spiritual energy. Not a single monster has gained sentience here in decades, and even passing demons have been unwilling to settle down. Otherwise, I would have long since tricked some cultivation information out of them, or simply escaped my predicament."

As time passed, streams of information came to him, while the mist inside the temple gradually dispersed.

Among the mountain woods, figures flashed past one after another. Following traces and scents, they slowly converged upon the little temple. Yet Qiu Yan's heart instead became calm.

"These monsters have no one directing them. Each acts on its own; they neither exchange information nor cooperate with one another..."

As that thought fell, the white mist filling the temple completely vanished. Qiu Yan's figure appeared once more. His complexion was much rosier and his skin somewhat fairer, but aside from that, there were no other changes.

"Monsterkind seems to have flaws in its thinking." A thoughtful look appeared on Qiu Yan's face. "That makes sense. Even if they have human forms, they were once birds and beasts. It is only natural that their way of thinking is not meticulous enough."

He slowly rose to his feet.

"Monsters know nothing of worldly affairs, yet when they eat people, they do not hesitate in the slightest. They care nothing for interpersonal relations or conversational strategies. That Crow Demon revealed plenty of information in just a few words, and even after falling into my hands, he remained wild and arrogant, his words overbearing. He was practically sick of living."

As he thought this, a cold gleam flashed in Qiu Yan's eyes. With a light jump that looked effortless, he leaped a full three feet into the air!

The saying "one jump three feet high" referred to a person being so happy that heart and body became one, stirring up their potential and allowing them to perform beyond the ordinary. But Qiu Yan had not even gathered strength. With a simple jump, he had reached such a height.

"Light as a swallow."

After landing, Qiu Yan let out a long breath and nodded in satisfaction.

"Absorbing Blood Essence strengthened my flesh and sinews, while expelling some toxins and impurities from within my body. My constitution has improved three or fourfold. I may still be far inferior to monsters, but among humans, I should count as physically robust. Crossing the forest will not be difficult. Hmm? A monster has already entered this ravine. It is only a little over two hundred zhang from here."

With that thought, he composed himself and glanced at the bird corpse on the ground.

Though its essence had been extracted by Divine Power, the headless bird had not disappeared. It had merely shriveled and withered somewhat.

"Gods, ghosts, demons, and devils lie beyond imagination. Though I have come to this world seventy or eighty years ago, I have been trapped in one corner and know little of ghosts and monsters. I cannot afford the slightest carelessness. Leaving this corpse behind may bring trouble. Better to destroy it."

As that thought fell, white light swept over it, and the bird corpse vanished without a trace.

Having removed a possible hidden danger, Qiu Yan still frowned.

"The Mountain-Passing Great King mentioned by the Crow Demon seems extremely powerful. Since they dared lay hands on the villagers, they must have something to rely on. It is best not to make contact too soon. Still, there is no need to fear. From Qiu Yan's memories, this is still a human world, with humans as its main current. Demons, devils, ghosts, and monsters are not the mainstream. Besides, since I bear the Karma of this body, there are things I must do. I cannot leave Yuanning Prefecture."

Using a Mystic Hair as a guide, he had obtained this incarnation, and the memories originally belonging to the body had also been absorbed. Within Qiu Yan's memories was information about this region.

The Zuoqu Village where Qiu Yan had lived fell under Qingchang County. Above the county was a prefecture, and above the prefecture was a circuit. Qingchang County was under the jurisdiction of Yuanning Prefecture, while Yuanning Prefecture itself was one of the prefectures under Jiannan Circuit.

"This is a world resembling ancient China. Its mountains, rivers, and geography are quite similar. Jiannan Circuit, for instance, roughly lies in the Shu Region."

As Qiu Yan thought, he began to loosen his clothes.

"The Great Rui Dynasty rules the Eight Directions and Six Realms. The dynasty maintains household registration records. Blindly fleeing is fine enough in the wilderness, but once I enter cities or pass through prefectures, trouble will come if I have no travel permit and my registration cannot be found. 'Once one's registered birthplace is fixed, one must not recklessly move or alter it. Violators shall be punished and returned to their original place of registration.' Not only would I be punished, I would also be escorted back to my registered birthplace. There would be no escaping it."

He took off his green robe, baring his upper body. Though he looked thin and weak, faintly defined muscles could be seen beneath his skin. Half the garment was tattered, and he raised a hand to tear it away, spreading what remained upon the ground.

"Qiu Yan had read quite a few books. He could quote them at his fingertips, and had even dabbled in the Penal Code and its commentaries."

That thought flashed through his mind. Qiu Yan stopped moving and looked up at the statue. "All right. This place has already been exposed. To avoid future trouble, I can only abandon this foundation. Escaping with my life is more important."

Though he said so, not the slightest dejection showed on Qiu Yan's face. He had become this mountain god in a muddleheaded fashion, trapped in the temple for decades without anyone offering worship or even paying him notice.

Worship gods, worship gods—if no one worshipped one, how could one be called a god?

Light flashed, and a glowing white figure emerged from the clay statue. It was hazy and indistinct, its brows, eyes, and features impossible to make out. Its left hand held a square seal with a mountain carved upon its back. Within its chest, a strange talisman slowly revolved. Five tiny stars circled the talisman, one of which had already dimmed, much smaller than the other four.

Below the talisman, a small black hole appeared out of thin air, leading to nowhere known.

Looking at the white humanoid figure, Qiu Yan sighed softly. "To be a god in such a state as mine is truly helpless. But this departure is only the beginning. If I venture deep into the world, I should learn how the Divine Path ought to be walked."

As his voice fell, the white figure turned and descended onto the garment spread upon the ground.

Ripples spread like waves upon water. The garment trembled once, and a figure appeared upon it: a man holding a seal. He was not particularly handsome, but there was a refined air between his brows. He had the same face as Qiu Yan, wore a green robe, and possessed a scholarly elegance and composed bearing.

"It worked!" Looking at the man on the garment, Qiu Yan nodded in satisfaction. "The divine true self will remain on this and leave with me."

With those words, he turned and walked outside.

Behind him, the pile of clothing shed by the Crow Demon glowed white and slowly faded away. The footprints on the ground were gradually covered by dust as well.

Once outside the temple, Qiu Yan's figure swiftly vanished into the dense forest.

Smack!

Inside the temple, a crack appeared on the clay statue. The crack spread rapidly, covering the entire statue in the blink of an eye.

Crash...

The clay statue collapsed, scattering into a pile of mud chunks.

Crack!

Behind the temple, the sound of a branch snapping beneath someone's foot rang out. A figure slowly approached.

Sniff.

This person lay prone on the ground and crawled forward slowly.

"This is the place. The scent of that mortal and the Crow converged in this temple!"