Undying Spring God

After the first day of familiarizing themselves.

Over the next few days, Li Boyang and Xiluo greatly improved their killing efficiency.

Under the pair's targeted attacks, nearly all the slightly stronger corrupted creatures were successfully killed.

As a result, even the expansion of the black mist as a whole successfully slowed.

Although the black mist was still spreading outward.

At least it was no longer as frenzied as it had been at first, and the number of corrupted creatures entering and leaving it had greatly decreased.

During this time, Li Boyang also saw other spirits and mountain folk migrating.

Just as Xiluo had said, spirits who chose to resist like Panhu were ultimately in the minority.

Whether they were spirits living in the mountains or mountain folk who had sensed the danger, their first reaction was to get away from this dangerous place.

In fact, never mind the spirits and mountain folk-even the vast majority of mountain gods and river gods chose to steer clear.

Instead, Xiluo, who traveled about with a flying sword, became a subject of discussion among many mountain gods and river gods during this time.

They could hardly be blamed for making such a fuss.

Li Boyang's killing efficiency was simply too high.

With its extreme speed and ability to cut through anything, almost no normal creature could withstand the flying sword's thrusts and slashes.

As for the very few spirits and gods qualified to exchange a few moves with the flying sword?

It went without saying that, with their strength, there was no way the black mist could erode and corrupt them.

What was more, Li Boyang was not fighting alone.

Even if someone noticed that the flying sword lacked staying power, there was still Xiluo, who followed close beside it at all times.

In most people's eyes, this mountain spirit who had lived for nearly a thousand years was the truly dangerous one.

Over those thousand years, whenever Xiluo encountered some troublesome problem.

She would always produce some wondrous treasure at the critical moment.

Then she would easily resolve the crisis in a way ordinary people could scarcely imagine.

To those in the know, that extraordinarily efficient flying sword was merely another treasure Xiluo had brought out to deal with this crisis at Black Cloud Marsh.

"That witch from back then... she really did spoil this wildcat!"

Deep within the Hundred Lands Mountain Range, an aged face appeared on the surface of an unimaginably enormous banyan tree.

For gods whose lives were anchored in the earth veins and water veins.

In theory, as long as they were not killed, they possessed endless lifespans.

But in a real world, "not dying" was always far harder than "living forever."

And this great banyan tree was a god who had lived for over ten thousand years and would continue to live on.

Having existed for so long, he had long since surpassed what the usual definitions of mountain god or water god could encompass.

Thus, the gods and spirits living in the Hundred Lands Mountain Range respectfully called him the "Spring God."

-Spring returned to the earth, and all things revived.

Within the Hundred Lands Mountain Range, the great banyan known as the "Undying Spring God" might not have been omniscient, but there was little he did not know.

That included the witch who had brought her tribe from the Huai River into the mountains a thousand years ago.

The same held true for the subsequent unrest and calamities caused by that "fire raining from the heavens" not long ago.

"Fire raining from the heavens, earth vein Sha Qi, and that Nine Nether Yin God..."

"All that thing lacks now is a body of pure Yang, isn't it?"

The enormous banyan slowly swayed his branches, and a small kingfisher alighted on a treetop.

"Go tell that little thing she can bring out what her elder sister left behind."

"If she can bear to part with it..."

Five double-hours later, when the sun was well up.

"Little Brother! What's this? Why does it look so ugly?"

"Are you burying it because it's too ugly?"

On a field ridge not far from the village entrance, Big Girl dug a hole while still finding time to examine the ugly wildcat statue beside her.

"Ya!"

Li Boyang smacked the carrying basket in considerable annoyance, immediately drawing a burst of laughter from Big Girl.

"Haha! But it really is ugly!"

"If you hadn't said it was a wildcat, I wouldn't have been able to tell at all."

Wriggling her bottom with a grin, Big Girl paid no heed to Li Boyang's protest.

At her tender age, Big Girl had no idea what flattery was.

Naturally, she was even less likely to go against her conscience and call the thing pretty just because Li Boyang had carved it.

"Little Brother, I'll make you a wildcat out of mud later. I promise it'll be prettier than yours!"

Gathering up the dirt she had dug out beside her, Big Girl also took the opportunity to smear a handful across her face.

"Ya!"

Seeing that Big Girl had once again turned her face into a patchwork of smudges, Li Boyang immediately smacked the carrying basket in alarm.

He could practically picture the furious expression on his mother's face when Big Girl went home later with all that mud on her face.

The trouble was, that woman liked taking her anger out on others!

The thought that his bottom would soon take a few slaps over something like this filled Li Boyang with an inexplicable sadness.

"Hehe, see? I told you I wasn't the only one who thought that thing was ugly!"

Just then, a red wildcat slipped silently out of the nearby grass.

"Huh?"

"Talking kitty, you're back?"

Looking at Xiluo in delighted surprise, Big Girl was just about to reach out and pet her, only for Xiluo to dodge with a nimble leap.

"Are human cubs these days all this bold?"

Xiluo glanced at Big Girl with a frown, her face full of distaste.

At the thought of those mud-covered hands nearly smearing mud all over her, Xiluo warily took another few steps back.

"Ya!"

At this, Li Boyang immediately waved his hands from inside the carrying basket in denial.

A recklessly bold temperament like Big Girl's was definitely rare among humans.

She had plainly been full of wariness when she first met Xiluo, yet now she wanted to rush up and pet her the moment they met.

"Speaking of which, what are you doing?"

Fortunately, Xiluo did not dwell on Big Girl's offense, instead looking suspiciously at the large hole beside them.

"Are you planning to bury this statue in there?"

At her question, Big Girl first nodded.

Then she glanced at Li Boyang, who was babbling beside her, before continuing.

"Yes. Little Brother said this would drive away the wild beasts trying to approach the village."

Blinking, Xiluo recalled the traps and obstacles she had seen along the way, and a trace of understanding crossed her face.

"Looks like your village is already prepared for the coming beast tide..."

After a slight pause, Xiluo continued with a curious expression.

"But there's something I don't understand. Why do you want to bury this statue in the ground?"

"Don't tell me you think it's too ugly to show its face, so you don't want anyone else seeing it?"

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