An Unexpected Turn

Even the mountain was helping Lin Feng.

Anyone who gained the Mountain God's authority also gained the mountain's recognition.

Everyone in the front mountains of Western Hunan is on my side. What makes you think you can fight me?

That was what Lin Feng was thinking at that moment.

Slipping into the mountain forest was like a drop of water falling into the sea.

Ghost Uncle could not find any trace of Lin Feng. Lin Feng refused to meet her at all. Wind mingled with rain, forming a thin layer of Sword Qi that scoured her body.

He did not expect the Sword Qi to kill her.

He just had to wear her down!

Kite her until she died!

As long as Ghost Uncle was still flesh and blood, she would die if he kept her bleeding!

With excessive blood loss and a downpour from the heavens, even a wild elephant would collapse and die!

Ghost Uncle immediately realized what Lin Feng intended. After taking several volleys of Sword Qi head-on, she turned to flee.

Vines sprouted from the ground and wrapped around her ankles.

The instant she tore free, several more streaks of Sword Qi stabbed into her, leaving wounds deep enough to expose bone!

Red blood fell to the ground and washed away in the heavy rain, while her flesh turned pale.

In pain, she unleashed her innate divine ability again: Tiger Roar!

Her roar swept over the surrounding Terracotta Figures.

The Terracotta Figures shattered on the spot, and the mountain villagers died along with them.

The Terracotta Figures' blood was green.

It was highly corrosive.

The mountain villagers' blood was red.

Like the Thousand-Household Commander, those with green blood had been corrupted by [Five-Organs Incense].

At the same time, a faint fragrance rose from the Terracotta Figures after they died.

It was also [Five-Organs Incense].

Yet the scent of this Five-Organs Incense was far too faint.

It was nothing like the intensely lethal smell inside the Thousand-Household Commander's chest.

Nor was it like the fairly pungent smell he had encountered when entering the mountains.

The smell on these Terracotta Figures was almost negligible.

Not to mention that, with heavy rain pouring through the forest, the scent could hardly spread anywhere else.

Within the tiger's roar, he could also faintly hear the sounds of an Exorcism Nuo Dance—another form of divine ability attack.

Lin Feng was among the trees now. He heard it but felt nothing.

The tiger's roar crashed into the woods and blasted several large trees apart.

Unfortunately, Lin Feng had long since left that spot.

Ghost Uncle felt the malice of the entire mountain forest.

Furious, Ghost Uncle turned her head and charged into the woods. She extended her enormous claws and swept twice at the trees, snapping their trunks in half.

But at the same moment, a mass of Sword Qi shot out from hiding and pierced one of her eyes, blinding it.

Lin Feng brought the sinister, treacherous side of swordsmanship into full play.

Even the broken wooden splinters on the ground shot toward her vulnerable spots.

A tiger's roar rang out, steeped in pain that reached deep into the marrow.

Lin Feng had already spotted her weakness. The trees were densely packed. After the Head-Taker reverted to her true form as an enormous black tiger, her size offered no advantage here.

She was only the size of a pickup truck, not a semitrailer. In a forest this dense, she could not simply bulldoze her way through.

Instead, entering the woods severely restricted her movements.

Lin Feng hid in the shadows, slipping through the trees like a gust of wind as he coldly watched the black tiger outside.

The advantage of passive skills was that as one's strength increased,

the passive skills grew stronger as well.

For example, [Precise Vision] and [Sword Heart Clarity], compounded by the fact that he was now in the mountain forest, at one with it.

"Bufuna, left foot."

"Right foot."

"No, front paw."

"Eye."

"Belly."

With the Tree Spirit's help, Lin Feng's voice gave no hint of direction or distance.

Then there was the rolling thunder.

Psychological warfare, combined with the Mountain God's authority.

Ghost Uncle immediately lost the will to continue their battle of divine abilities.

Blind in one eye and gripped by panic, the Head-Taker realized she could not win. She suddenly prostrated herself and spoke in a human voice.

She did it without the slightest hesitation.

"Lord Mountain God, spare my life! I am willing to become your mount!"

Unable to flee or win, the Head-Taker, Black Tiger Demon, Ghost Uncle, Bufuna—the culprit who had killed Lin Feng twice—promptly humbled herself, begged for mercy, and admitted her guilt.

She changed her tune even faster and more smoothly than Lin Feng had imagined.

There was not a trace of Ghost Uncle's "pride."

He had misjudged that. He did not fully understand the weight the title of Mountain God carried.

The Mountain God was the ruler of the mountain forest.

Although this lucky little wretch, whoever he was, possessed only an incomplete portion of the Mountain God's power, their battle just now had made one thing clear.

She was no match for him.

As far as she was concerned, she really had done nothing to this new Lord Mountain God.

Once she realized that the new Mountain God had reached the Seventh Rank and could wield the Mountain God's power adeptly, she abandoned any plans to kill him and seize his treasures.

It was this new Lord Mountain God who had come attacking her home—an unwelcome aggressor who killed her offerings, slaughtered her subordinates, and ruined her plans.

She was the victim!

Now that she had humbled herself, by the usual rules, she should not have to die.

It was not as though this had never happened before.

A Lord Mountain God subduing a guardian deity.

Whoever had the bigger fist was in the right.

Hadn't the original banyan tree demon been subdued by the Lord Mountain God and made Clear Spring Stockade's guardian, protecting it for several sixty-year cycles?

Perhaps this new Lord Mountain God wanted her as his mount this time?

Such things were common in the great mountains of Western Hunan. She had captured the Clouded Leopard Demon herself and made him a servant to run errands for her.

She captured the clouded leopard, and the new Lord Mountain God captured her. The Black Tiger Demon saw nothing wrong with that.

A mount, then. So be it.

There was no shame in it.

She took it in stride, lying flat on the ground without daring to move. Lin Feng remained hidden in the mountain forest and did not approach.

He could not tell whether Ghost Uncle was truly surrendering or trying to lure him out.

Mostly, he had become keenly aware that he and these demons might think in very different ways.

But that did not stop him from asking a few questions.

His first question was whether the Ghost Yamen was inside the tomb passage he had seen.

Hearing the Lord Mountain God's question, Ghost Uncle immediately understood. He had found her new home!

She told him honestly that the Ghost Yamen had not been there before. "Heavy rain a month ago washed out many treasures, so this servant went over to take a look."

The Terracotta Figures, the incantations, and the strange fragrance that could aid her cultivation were all benefits that had emerged from that tomb.

At first, she had entered the tomb passage herself. It was so dark that she could not see her hand in front of her face, and none of the methods she tried could produce any light. Cautious as she was, she had not ventured farther in herself.

She captured some mountain villagers, but after entering, they all fell silent. Afraid of danger, she did not dare go in. Instead, she cultivated in front of the tomb passage, breathing in the scent that wafted out. It helped her cultivation somewhat. For mountain spirits and demons like them, cultivation depended on finding a lucky opportunity.

She believed this was hers.

But who could have known that things would take a turn on the very night she drove the mountain villagers inside?

While she was cultivating outside, several Terracotta Figures walked out of the tomb passage.

They were the very Terracotta Figures that carried her sedan chair.

Things had taken a turn.

Lin Feng's heart tightened.

Hearing Ghost Uncle's account, Lin Feng thought of something horrifying.

A blood sacrifice!