Chapter 7

Before his words had faded, a foul wind suddenly rose outside the temple. In an instant, a Demon General with wings on his back, crimson hair, and a sharp beak led a group of Lesser Demons to surround the Mountain God Temple. It was none other than Piyiluo, a Earth Immortal Realm cultivator.

"Surround them!" After issuing the order, Piyiluo personally led several demons into the temple.

As their gazes met, Piyiluo first caught sight of Zhuang Yan, shrouded in divine light, then noticed the limp Lan Caihe. He immediately burst into laughter. "I came to capture the Mountain God, but who knew there would be such an unexpected delight? Perfect. I'll present them both to the king."

He immediately ordered the Lesser Demons to seize Lan Caihe while he himself brandished the Three Treasures Silver Pestle and charged straight at Zhuang Yan.

The prepared Zhuang Yan's figure flickered, and Piyiluo pounced on empty air. The Earth Immortal Demon General froze in astonishment—how could a mere Mountain God at Spirit Refinement and Return to Void evade his capture?

Refusing to accept it, Piyiluo formed a hand seal and cast a spell. The binding force of a spirit-binding technique surged toward Zhuang Yan from every direction. Yet Zhuang Yan flickered again and somehow broke free of the restraints.

"Strange!" Alarmed, Piyiluo raised his treasure pestle. Three-colored immortal light enveloped Zhuang Yan as the silver pestle came crashing down with the force of wind and thunder. "Let's see where you run this time!"

The instant the silver pestle descended, Zhuang Yan vanished from within the immortal light once again.

With a thunderous boom, the Three Treasures Silver Pestle shattered the offering table, sending wooden splinters flying everywhere. Piyiluo was still stunned when Zhuang Yan's furious roar came from behind him. "My offering table!"

The silver pestle flew back into Zhuang Yan's hand at once. Golden light radiated around his body as he gripped the pestle in both hands and swung down fiercely. Piyiluo hastily spread his wings to evade, but an invisible force dragged him back to where he had stood. The pestle struck him squarely in the face. Blood burst forth, and Piyiluo smashed through the temple wall like a kite with its string cut.

Terrified, the Lesser Demons dropped Lan Caihe and scattered in all directions. Zhuang Yan sprinted after them, his silver pestle whirling as he killed every last demon. Lan Caihe clapped his hands and praised, "What impressive skill!"

Outside the temple, the setting sun was red as blood. Supported by Lesser Demons, Piyiluo staggered to his feet, half his face already caved in and distorted. Enduring the agonizing pain, he hissed, "I act on the orders of king Garuda..."

"Garuda?!" Lan Caihe cried out in shock. "Isn't that a Bodhisattva's mount?"

But Zhuang Yan stared at the ruined offering table, consumed by rage. "Evil creature! You dare destroy the foundation of my incense offerings!" He pointed the silver pestle at Piyiluo. "Today, I'll make sure you never leave Spirit Platform Mountain!"

Piyiluo hurriedly ordered the demons to block him while he spread his wings to flee. Suddenly, he was tripped by a lesser demon's sneak attack and stumbled forward. Zhuang Yan's sharp shout rang in his ears as the silver pestle smashed down with wind-and-thunder force.

Lan Caihe saw only pestle shadows flashing as blood, flesh, and mud sprayed everywhere. When the dust settled, only half a headless corpse remained on the ground, red and white matter still dripping from the end of the silver pestle.

After calming his anger, Zhuang Yan held the Three Treasures Silver Pestle and turned his gaze toward Lan Caihe, only to find him staring at him in terror.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Zhuang Yan asked in confusion.

Lan Caihe came back to his senses and hurriedly waved his hands. "I was merely a little startled. Let me catch my breath."

Zhuang Yan fell silent.

Leaning against the doorway of the ruined Mountain God Temple, Lan Caihe panted as he said to Zhuang Yan, "Since they were able to find this place, the Earth God at the foot of the mountain must have fallen into Garuda's hands."

Zhuang Yan walked over and placed a hand on Lan Caihe's shoulder. Lan Caihe looked puzzled. "What are you doing?"

"Healing you." Before Zhuang Yan finished speaking, a Self-Healing spell had already entered Lan Caihe's body, its effect lasting for one hour.

Every spell he cast on others had a time limit. Only the enhancements on himself lasted forever.

"What kind of spell..." Lan Caihe suddenly felt a warm current flowing through his body. The wound on his chest stopped bleeding and scabbed over, while his breathing gradually steadied. His eyes widened in amazement. "You possess such divine abilities?"

Thinking of Zhuang Yan's earlier seizure of the treasure, evasions, and subjugation of an Earth Immortal, Lan Caihe could not help asking, "Your abilities rival those of a True Immortal. Why are you still an eighth-rank Mountain God?"

"You should ask the Jade Emperor about that." Zhuang Yan answered calmly, then asked with concern, "Are you feeling better?"

Feeling his wound gradually heal, Lan Caihe nodded. "I am indeed recovering."

"Then lead the way," Zhuang Yan ordered.

Lan Caihe was stunned. "Lead the way?"

Zhuang Yan's gaze turned sharp. "The demons and monsters dared attack today. Garuda will surely come in person tomorrow. Until this threat is eliminated, I cannot rest easy."

Lan Caihe hurriedly tried to persuade him. "Garuda possesses the body of a Celestial Immortal and unmatched martial skill. Though your magic is formidable, you have not yet entered the immortal path. You are no match for him."

"I have my own plans. Just show me the way." Zhuang Yan left no room for argument. He activated the Thousand Light Cloud Talisman and rose into the sky with Lan Caihe.

"Which direction?" Zhuang Yan asked in a low voice.

Seeing that his mind was made up, Lan Caihe pointed westward. "Dacang Mountain lies seventeen hundred li away."

Cloudlight erupted, transforming into a blue rainbow that streaked across the sky. After traveling at full speed for a day and night, the two arrived at Dacang Mountain at dawn. As the rising sun cast thousands of golden rays, a beam of morning light fell upon a deep, dark cave entrance.

Lan Caihe suddenly pointed down at Dark Gold Cave and shouted, "Look! They really were captured!"

Zhuang Yan looked down and saw two Earth Gods hanging from each of the stone cliffs flanking Dark Gold Cave. One was the Earth God of Xiaotian Village, who had gone to the Mountain God Temple for help two days earlier. They were bound by demon vines and suspended above the cliffside, their bodies covered in vicious whip marks.

Zhuang Yan turned and patted Lan Caihe's shoulder. "Wait here. I'll go down first."

Lan Caihe suggested, "Do you need my help?"

"Do you still have the strength to fight?" Zhuang Yan asked in return.

Lan Caihe smiled. "How about I beat the drums and cheer you on?"

Zhuang Yan teased, "Why not put on rouge and powder, dress as a woman, and sing and dance for me?"

Lan Caihe glared and shouted angrily.

Zhuang Yan leaped from the clouds. A Qingfeng beneath his feet carried him to the entrance of Dark Gold Cave in an instant. The Lesser Demons guarding the entrance immediately charged over with weapons in hand and shouted, "Who goes there? State your name!"

Zhuang Yan called out loudly, "Your grandpa, the Mountain God of Spirit Platform Mountain, has arrived!"

"What?!" The two demons turned pale in fright. "The Mountain God of Spirit Platform Mountain?!"

Before they finished speaking, Zhuang Yan flashed forward, and the Three Treasures Silver Pestle swept through the air. Two dull thuds sounded, and the Lesser Demons were instantly reduced to piles of flesh.

The four Earth Gods on the cliff awoke at the commotion. The Earth God of Xiaotian Village was overjoyed. "Mountain God of Spirit Platform Mountain! Have you come to save us?"

The other three deities chimed in, "We have long heard of your great name!"

Zhuang Yan clasped his fists with a smile. "A pleasure, a pleasure. Are you all enjoying a swing?"

The Earth God of Xiaotian Village smiled bitterly. "Mountain Lord, please do not mock us. Save us quickly."

Zhuang Yan rode the wind upward. The silver pestle flashed with a streak of light, and the demon vines shattered at once. After the four Earth Gods landed, they repeatedly thanked him. Suddenly, tremors came from inside the cave. The Earth Gods went pale and grabbed Zhuang Yan urgently. "Mountain God, run! The demons have awakened!"

Zhuang Yan replied calmly, "I came for him. You should leave first." The four deities exchanged glances, then turned into green smoke and escaped underground.

Deep within Dark Gold Cave, Garuda woke while patting his belly. A Demon General immediately presented him with bloody food. He chewed chunks of flesh and drank human blood before asking in satisfaction, "Piyiluo still hasn't returned?"

The Demon Generals on either side exchanged looks. The one on the left cautiously reported, "My king, the Lesser Demons who went out with Piyiluo this morning reported... General Piyiluo had his treasure taken by the Mountain God of Spirit Platform Mountain... and died on the spot."

"How outrageous!" Garuda slammed the table and rose to his feet, crushing the armrest of his throne in his grip. "Piyiluo carried the Three Treasures Silver Pestle personally bestowed by me. Even a Profound Immortal would have to contend with it. How could he fall to some insignificant Mountain God?"

The Demon General on the left clasped his fists and reported, "My king, the Mountain God of Spirit Platform Mountain not only killed General Piyiluo, but also took the Three Treasures Silver Pestle."

"Useless trash!" Garuda raged, kicking over a gilded table. Fine wine and crimson blood splashed across the floor.

He shouted sternly, "Assemble the troops at once! I will personally go to Spirit Platform Mountain and demand an explanation. He dared kill my general and take my treasure. Let's see whether that Mountain God's head is tough enough to survive the blade!"

The two Demon Generals were about to accept the order and muster the troops when a heaven-shaking blast came from outside the cave, making all of Dark Gold Cave tremble. A bat lesser demon stumbled into the cave, crying in a trembling voice, "My king, disaster! A fiend calling himself the Mountain God of Spirit Platform Mountain smashed the cave gate and declared... declared..."

"Speak!" Fire blazed in Garuda's golden eyes.

The lesser demon shrank his neck and said, "He told you to come outside... and receive death."

"Bold indeed!" Garuda laughed in extreme rage, the golden wings behind him rustling. "I was just about to seek you out and punish you, yet you delivered yourself to my door to die!"

"Even if you possess abilities that reach the heavens, today I will grind your bones and flesh into mud!"

Before his words faded, the Heavenly King Golden Halberd was already in his hand. His golden wings beat once, and he became a streak of light as he shot out of the cave mansion.

Zhuang Yan swung the Three Treasures Silver Pestle in a full arc and smashed down the cave gate. Suddenly, golden light tore through the air toward him. His body instantly became an afterimage, while his true body had already teleported ten zhang away—his spiritual evasion had activated on its own.

The golden light landed and condensed into humanoid form. Behold: golden wings hung like clouds, obscuring sun and sky; a towering body was wrapped in Sangharama. A black hooked beak gleamed coldly, and a golden battle halberd shone with soul-stealing light.

Zhuang Yan pointed his pestle at the newcomer. "Evil creature, do you recognize this Mountain God?"

Garuda looked down at him, his gaze fixed on the silver pestle as he sneered. "I meditate with Akashagarbha Bodhisattva, and the ones I meet are Golden Immortals and Arhats. Why would I know some wild minor deity like you?"

"What a fine Buddhist demon king." Zhuang Yan clapped mockingly. "You are quite skilled at sneak attacks and ambushes. Did the Bodhisattva teach you to wound people from behind?"

Three feet of cold radiance burst from the tip of Garuda's halberd. "That was merely a warm-up. Now I'll let you taste the agony of having your soul drawn out and refined!"

His golden wings spread abruptly, and the demon king's body suddenly blurred. Wind rose beneath Zhuang Yan's feet as he evaded again, and the spot where he had stood was blasted into a deep crater by the Golden Halberd.

"Take this!" A clear shout rang out from behind him. Garuda hurriedly summoned demon wind to flee, but an invisible force dragged him back into place. A dull thud sounded, and the demon king staggered forward before immediately beating his wings and shooting into the sky.

Garuda steadied himself, pain flaring across his back. He circulated his magic power and swiftly healed the injury.

Zhuang Yan observed from below, thinking, The Three Treasures Silver Pestle is not powerful enough. Even a critical strike failed to severely injure Garuda.

Garuda secretly grew wary. He had clearly avoided the attack just now, yet an invisible force had dragged him back to his original position. Noticing that Zhuang Yan wielded the Three Treasures Silver Pestle like an ordinary weapon, he guessed that his opponent was not skilled in using magical treasures.

Garuda put away the Heavenly King Golden Halberd, formed hand seals with both hands, and spewed blue-violet flames from his mouth. Purple lightning crackled within the fire, scorching the air with terrifying force.

Lan Caihe's voice reached Zhuang Yan's ears. "Careful, that is Aerial Fire."

A glint flashed in Zhuang Yan's eyes. He gave a soft shout. "Capture!" Using One Thought Capture, he turned the blue-violet flames into a single ball that fell into his palm in an instant.

Garuda's expression changed drastically. "Such powerful capture magic!"

Zhuang Yan immediately activated Instantaneous Refinement, turning the Aerial Fire to his own use before hurling it back at Garuda. "Return it to its owner!"

The raging flames roared toward him. Garuda beat his wings and whipped up a violent gale, scattering every last flame. He continued flapping his wings, stirring dark clouds into countless violent tornadoes that swept toward Zhuang Yan from all directions.

Wherever the fierce winds passed, even gold and stone shattered into dust. Zhuang Yan's body flickered, leaving behind afterimages as he dodged the attacks.

Garuda sneered and brought out the Heavenly King Golden Halberd. His divine sense locked onto the thousand-zhang area around Zhuang Yan, predicting more than a hundred of his future evasive paths. He formed a hand seal and shouted, "Divide!"

The Heavenly King Golden Halberd split into more than a hundred golden halberd shadows, shooting down at every possible place Zhuang Yan could land.