Lin Feng's conjecture

After obtaining [Mountain God’s Power] and seeing what it was, Lin Feng finally began to understand its true nature.

The Mountain Gods of the Western Hunan Mountains were, in essence, spirits.

The Mountain God of Clear Spring Stockade was the essence of trees, a Wood Spirit.

To put it rudely, one could call it a collective of tree spirits.

That was also why, when Lin Feng used [Mountain God’s Power] to ask the Western Hunan Mountains for help, the tree spirits on the mountain's near slopes gifted him vitality, and the mountains accepted him.

Because his soul was outside his body, the Western Hunan Mountains sensed a familiar presence in it.

He was a Mountain God, one of their own.

Especially after entering "meditative stillness," he became a spirit body, communicating with the surrounding mountain forests. His aura was that of a Mountain God, so when he asked for help, his fellow woodland spirits naturally answered. Together with a Mountain God's innate authority, this allowed Lin Feng to receive the gifts of the Western Hunan Mountains. He was someone personally chosen by Clear Spring Stockade's Mountain God. His status might even be higher than he had imagined.

Lin Feng was very likely the successor to Clear Spring Stockade's Mountain God.

Under these circumstances, Lin Feng formed a bold conjecture.

And it was very likely true.

Mountain God’s Power was a power that could be taken away. It could be inherited, but it could also be forcibly stripped from its bearer.

It was called authority, but in reality, it was a kind of power. A Mountain God needed no official investiture, nor did it have a Mountain God seal. Being a Mountain God seemed to amount to possessing a certain power. With it, one gained a natural affinity with the mountains, could command the beasts, and could cultivate using the spiritual energy in the mountains, enjoying an innate advantage.

That was bad.

Because it would lead to a state of utter chaos and disorder.

As the saying went, the throne belonged to whoever had the strongest army.

Hsh cultivation: Mountain God Authority belonged to whoever seized it. Whoever had the biggest fist could obtain the Mountain God trait.

Viewed that way, everything he had encountered after leaving Clear Spring Stockade made sense.

Ghost Uncle, who had repeatedly blocked his path and seemed to be a Black Tiger turned demon, wanted to capture him and refine him into pills.

Presumably, she wanted to extract Mountain God’s Power for herself.

Ghost Uncle was already very powerful, but she was still a long way from commanding all beasts and having Affinity with All Things.

No matter how one looked at them, the Black Tiger Demon and the Clouded Leopard Demon were merely demons.

Though called evil gods, they had the title without the office. Even "Ghost Yamen" was merely a name outsiders used.

They were not gods.

And the Ironhead Viper his consciousness had just seen on Bull-Head Mountain was a false Mountain God in the midst of transforming.

That venomous snake was devouring Bull-Head Mountain's Mountain God statue.

Mountain God’s Power used the Mountain God statue as its vessel.

Everything became clear.

To the great demons of the wilderness, [Mountain God’s Power] was a precious elixir they could only dream of obtaining. Lin Feng had become that elixir, which was why he had been hunted all along the way.

"So I was the easy prey all along!"

Lin Feng muttered to himself.

It was a hot potato, but if anyone asked whether Lin Feng wanted it, his answer was yes.

Just like [Wild Fox Zen], the trait had two sides, good and bad. If anyone asked whether Lin Feng wanted it, his answer was yes.

If a thief wanted to eat, he had to be ready to take a beating. Lin Feng understood that perfectly well.

He was playing a game. He would not actually die. Passing this up would be far too cowardly.

Once something good was in his hands, why would he give it back?

Wasn't that how games were played?

How could anyone play a game without being greedy?

But one last flicker of unease crossed Lin Feng's mind. If every stockade worshipped a Mountain God statue as the deity that protected it, and Bull-Head Stockade's statue had been carried off by a venomous snake...

Did that mean something had happened to Bull-Head Stockade too?

Lin Feng gathered his thoughts, and the fifteen strands of qi in his lungs turned into a mass of mist.

Then Lin Feng's aura surged, climbing higher and higher.

From Qi Gathering to Qi Nurturing.

His aura faintly opposed that of the Blood God across from him, yet remained a notch below it.

He did not attack. He kept maneuvering.

Lin Feng realized that the longer he stalled, the more favorable things became for him.

The faces on the Blood God's body were still chanting without pause. To Lin Feng's ears, the sounds closely resembled the throat-singing-like voices in the background music at the start of the game.

Lin Feng ran his hand along his sword. The Dragon-Tiger Qi and Mountain God’s Wrath upon it were both stirring, ready to strike.

Judging by [Mountain God’s Wrath], this Mountain God did not seem to be a local.

The changes currently afflicting the Western Hunan Mountains might well have stemmed from this!

The Blood God was the disruptive force in the mountains!

Lin Feng understood. Before the Blood God appeared, each of the Thirty-Six Stockades worshipped its own deity. Even evil gods like those of the Ghost Yamen could do nothing to stockades protected by Mountain God’s Blessing.

Much less attack the Mountain God themselves!

People had been living perfectly well.

But now, a disruptive force had appeared, and the Mountain God system of the Western Hunan Mountains seemed to have fallen into chaos.

He had personally witnessed the Mountain God that passed its power to him being devoured by the Blood God.

If his conjecture was correct, that Mountain God had already reached the end of its rope.

Even without meeting him, the Mountain God could not have held out much longer. It might have failed to suppress the corpse-transformed Grand Elder and ultimately been devoured anyway.

This was definitely not something that could be explained by trouble in Clear Spring Stockade alone.

The Mountain Gods were powerful.

This was a problem affecting the entire Western Hunan Mountains. Their whole Mountain God system had been weakened!

Something was wrong with the mountains themselves!

Otherwise, the Ghost Yamen would never have hunted a Mountain God Successor so brazenly.

Lin Feng felt he had begun to understand the Blood God's true nature.

The Blood God was a collective of those Bloodline Worms, a despicable outsider.

The final boss of [Western Hunan Blood God] might well be some mountain monster infected by those Bloodline Worms.

Like the venomous snake he had seen.

Just imagining the Bloodline Worms infecting that snake gave Lin Feng a headache.

That venomous snake was a textbook monster with high attack, a massive health pool, and top-tier defense.

But these mountains were vast. That snake was not the only one.

Who knew whether even more terrifying beasts lurked deep in the mountains!

His future enemies might be creatures like that.

And on top of that, without the restraints of the Mountain God system, the Western Hunan Mountains were beginning to revert to their most primitive, lawless state.

Motherfucker.

Just letting his thoughts wander a little made Lin Feng's scalp prickle.

If things really were as he imagined, he was in trouble. The game's difficulty would skyrocket!

Lin Feng's mind was exceptionally clear.

It seemed that growing stronger also increased his brain's processing power.

All his internal organs were being nourished by his lungs.

A chain of connections formed in his mind.

From his first entry into the mountains to everything he had encountered now, there seemed to be an underlying logic.

The local Tusi, the Grand Elder who wrote the letter, the blood dripping onto the map of Bull-Head Stockade, the Embroidered Uniform Guards continually being dispatched, the Yangtongzi serving the Tusi, and all the different people repeatedly entering the mountains.

What were they searching for in the mountains?

Had the Embroidered Uniform Guard come to seize Mountain God authority?

After all, obtaining Mountain God authority meant gaining power over this region. That would be enormously tempting to the Central Plains Dynasty.

In the mountains, aside from the Central Plains Dynasty's Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Celestial Master’s Mansion...

The Tusi's Yangtongzi.

The native forces of the Western Hunan Mountains—the Ghost Yamen and the Thirty-Six Stockades.

And the despicable outsider, the Blood God.

Were there other enemies too?

How many factions were there on the Blood God's side?

The Blood God did not consist of Bloodline Worms alone. They should have some helpers too, enemies hiding in the shadows.

For instance, in Clear Spring Stockade, the tampering with the Mountain God's guardian deity—the old Banyan Tree in the forbidden zone—definitely had not been done by Horsehair Worms.

How could worms draw incantations inside a Banyan Tree?

Could worms read too?

Did worms even have brains?

And the Thousand-Household Commander's [Five-Organs Incense] did not seem like the work of worms either. The commander had entered an empty stockade, seen a map lying on the ground, then sent a message down the mountain. Finally, he had headed uphill, where his entire force was wiped out in the [Clear Spring Stockade Forbidden Ground].

Clear Spring Stockade, Bull-Head Stockade... Lin Feng frowned. What exactly was the Embroidered Uniform Guard searching for in the mountains?

Lin Feng was numb.

This damned feudal society. An Embroidered Uniform Guard Hundred-Household Commander was already an important military official at the national level, yet you, Old Zhu, just tossed men into the mountains to die without telling them anything. Nothing but riddles.

Sure, a soft heart couldn't command an army.

But weren't you being a little too ruthless, Old Zhu?

And Mao Xiang, Regional Military Commissioner of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was it? Making me suffer out here? You'd better not sleep too soundly tonight.

Lin Feng did not hate clearing stages. He hated having to think.

Still, reaching Bull-Head Stockade should answer some of these questions.

At least once he reached Bull-Head Stockade...

Lin Feng would be able to find some clues in the next quest and deduce why the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Celestial Master’s Mansion had entered the mountains.

At that thought, the mist in Lin Feng's lungs condensed into liquid.

Seventh Rank!

The Blood God across from him began fighting too!

In that instant, the wind around Lin Feng gathered upon his sword.

Sword qi screamed across fifteen zhang, severing one of the Banyan Tree Blood God's legs in a single stroke!