Since Liuzhou's rise to prominence, South Mountain has always been a place accessible only to the upper class. Its beautiful scenery has always been sought after by the wealthy. However, many in the know understand that this was a deliberate creation by the government. They hired professional gardeners to meticulously prune the South Mountain, making it appear magnificent, but in reality, it was an artificially created mountain landscape.
Master Feng rarely came here. He knew in his heart that all the gardens here were built intentionally by the government to attract those who wanted to appear cultured. To be honest, the older he got, the less interested he became.
If it's man-made, wouldn't the view in your own backyard be unpleasant?
But coming back now, I have a very novel feeling!
"This is... South Mountain?"
Many of the scholars who used to live on South Street were somewhat stunned. They hadn't been here for a month, and the place seemed quite different from what they remembered!
In the afterglow of dusk, the entire mountain forest looked as if it had been washed clean; the grass and trees were lush and green, and the air was incredibly sweet. Just one breath made you feel indescribably comfortable, as if you had been cleansed.
The trees in the mountains are scattered and disorderly, lacking the neat beauty of previous pruning. But it is precisely because of this that the natural beauty is even more apparent. Occasionally, a white deer will leap out, adding to the lively atmosphere.
In an instant, the scholars were filled with poetic inspiration, countless beautiful sentences popped into their minds, and they just wanted to quickly write down this hard-won inspiration!
Ordinary people don't have the pretentious sentiments of these literati; they simply feel that the scenery before them is beautiful and the air feels refreshing.
But those hidden sorcerers were the most astonished!
They could clearly feel that the air here had a great calming effect on their minds. As sorcerers, their minds were most easily fatigued, and often, due to the spiritual power of their own spells, they had to spend a long time at night to enter a meditative state.
But the air here calmed them down instantly, and they all vaguely felt that if they meditated at this moment, they could enter a meditative state in an instant!
This South Mountain in Liuzhou... is it really such a treasure trove?
"The Prefect of Liuzhou requests an audience with the Mountain God!"
Chen Qing stood up and bowed slightly. The next second, the entire mountain forest seemed to come alive, and there was a faint tremor.
Everyone looked around in surprise, as if they could feel something scrutinizing them.
It's an indescribable feeling, like the trees, the rocks, the white deer, and the spirit birds, all seeming to have human-like qualities, observing everyone.
"You're too kind, sir..."
A gentle, flowing female voice rang out, a flash of blue light appeared in the sky, and then a giant phantom of a spirit bird, always shrouded in blue light, appeared out of thin air.
Such a beautiful bird! Even the most learned scholars would be unable to find the words to describe its beauty.
"I Feng Haonian, a mere mortal, pay my respects to the Mountain God!"
Whether they were moved by something in their hearts or overwhelmed by the aura of the Mountain God, several extremely sentimental teachers took the lead in bowing deeply. Seeing that these usually arrogant teachers were doing this, all the merchants who were watching the spectacle dared not stand any longer and followed suit in worship.
Looking at the result, Chen Qing smiled with satisfaction.
The Mountain God can Fusion with the heaven and earth of the mountains, displaying the beauty and spirit of the mountains, which is most likely to resonate with these literati. It is said that Confucian scholars do not believe in ghosts and gods, but in this world, Confucian scholars are the most awkward existence.
They know about demons and ghosts, but only superficially. Unlike sorcerers who know many secrets, they know more than ordinary people, and these are often the easiest to fool.
With them taking the lead, the remaining ordinary merchants will naturally follow blindly. As for those who are still standing...
Chen Qing glanced over, his eyes deep and unsettling. Chen Ying was one thing; she was sent by the provincial education commissioner to assist him, and nominally an official in Liuzhou. But the rest... where did they come from?
The three Shen Family sorcerers, who had been hiding in the crowd, frowned. They were unwilling to kneel and worship like these ordinary people, but they were quite displeased at being exposed so easily.
"What brings you here, sir?"
The song of the bird is like a spring, soothing and comforting, giving one an indescribable sense of ease.
Chen Qing stood with his hands behind his back. "My people have been ravaged by demons; I beg the Mountain God to save them!"
Upon hearing this, Bluebird nodded slightly and looked at the merchants kneeling at the front. "They're just some insect eggs, nothing serious."
Upon hearing this, the merchants burst into tears, kowtowing and pleading, "Please, Mountain God, save us! We will build a Mountain God and erect an image for you, and pray to you daily!"
"Foolish!" Master Feng immediately rebuked, "How can you use your vulgar gold and silver to blaspheme the Mountain God?"
Chen Qing and Bluebird's eyelids both twitched slightly...
"It's alright..." The Bluebird flew down and stood before the group, its gentle gaze fixed on the weeping people. "Do you know that once a vow is made to the gods, it cannot be broken, or you will surely suffer retribution?"
The group of men, who had been blushing with shame after being reprimanded by Master Feng, felt they deserved to die for using vulgar gold and silver to bribe the Mountain God. But upon hearing what he said, they were all stunned.
The next second, they immediately realized what was happening and knelt down, shouting, "We will never go back on our word!!"
Master Feng and the others were dumbfounded. Could it be... that the joke about money having divine power was actually true?
"Alright!" The Bluebird nodded, and in the next instant, the entire mountain forest trembled slightly. Then, wisps of white steam rose from the flowing mountain spring, turning into a few drops of blue water that floated in front of them.
As soon as that thing appeared, all the warlocks, including Chen Ying, couldn't resist their instinctive urge and took a few steps closer!
They could clearly feel that the dew had a very strong nourishing effect on their bodies!
Sorcerer families all have their own secret elixirs used to improve physical condition and soothe the mind, but even the best elixirs in the family are not as effective as this one, which makes the body crave it so much just by looking at it!
"Presumptuous!"
Chen Qing stepped forward, blocking their path, and glared coldly at all the sorcerers. "Step back!!"
"My lord!" The men dared not attack the official in public. Suppressing their desires, they bowed and said, "We are from the Shen Family of Jiangnan. Please, my lord..."
"Step back!!"
Chen Qing repeated himself, his tone icy and leaving no room for negotiation!
The three sorcerers' faces darkened upon seeing this. How dare a mere prefect be so shameless? Did he even know the status of the Shen Family in Jiangnan?
Even when the emperor of the new dynasty came to the Shen Family to ask the elders to come out of seclusion and assist them, they were all very polite!
I wasn't planning on taking action, but it seems I should teach them a lesson!
Upon realizing this, the three of them activated their magic wheel, and a chilling aura instantly surged towards Chen Qing.
They didn't intend to do anything drastic; they just wanted to use their spiritual power to teach this arrogant new prefect a lesson.
But once this idea was conceived, the consequences were severe...
As soon as that cold spiritual energy left its body, the entire mountain forest suddenly became restless. The originally gentle atmosphere became extremely heavy, carrying boundless rage!
The three of them felt a sudden tightness in their heads, their faces turned ashen, and they coughed up a mouthful of black blood, staggering backward!
Chen Qing almost burst out laughing at the sight, and secretly gestured to the Ghost Child in the distance not to make a move.
These three are such clowns...
Gods govern the laws of their respective realms, and their power is immense. Apart from a few terrifying beings, no single spiritual force can withstand them. However, it is difficult for lower-level gods to mobilize this power. The newly appointed Azure Sparrow can only mobilize less than one ten-thousandth of the spiritual power of South Mountain.
If a fight were to break out, I'm afraid we might not even be able to defeat a Ninth Rank sorcerer.
But if you dare to let your soul leave your body, that's a completely different matter!
In the world of the divine soul, gods are true gods. The difference in their power compared to the divine souls of ordinary people is like the difference between a firefly and the bright moon. Let alone these minor sorcerers who are at most Fifth Rank, even if a Above First Rank sorcerer like Duke of Song, who is about to transform into a spirit, came here, he would be severely beaten if he dared to leave his body!
Chen Qing could roughly understand the other party's motives. Back in the early days of the closed beta, before the Divine Path Style existed, many warlock players would use their spirits to project their bodies to test the opponent's level. High-level warlocks, in particular, would directly use their spirits to suppress low-level warlocks, which gave them a sense of crushing satisfaction.
That was arguably the happiest version for warlocks. High-level warlocks could leave their bodies for dozens of miles, overlooking the capital, toying with warriors, and spying on various NPCs bathing—they were capable of any evil.
However, since the Divine Path Style update, countless warlock players have encountered setbacks. Some have been suppressed by Mountain God, others have been detained by the Underworld, and they often have to spend large sums of money to ask for help in the world chat...
These three NPCs clearly haven't been through the rough patch of previous versions!
Suppressing a laugh, Chen Qing tried his best to appear dignified, and said in a heavy voice, "How dare you lay a hand on me! Seize him!!"
The officers were bewildered, but when they heard their superiors order them to arrest the sorcerers, they didn't hesitate. They stepped forward and beat the sorcerers, who had suffered mental injuries, before dislocating their arms and arresting them.
Several young sorcerers from the Shen Family, pampered since childhood, had never suffered such a brutal beating. They screamed like pigs being slaughtered, cursing and even declaring that the Shen Family would never let them off the hook...
Chen Ying, who was standing to the side, was dumbfounded and didn't even realize what was going on.
She had intended to stop those sorcerers from leaving their bodies the moment their souls left, but just as their souls were about to depart, she felt an extremely terrifying pressure and instinctively shrank back!
Seeing the miserable state of those Shen Family sorcerers, he secretly rejoiced that he hadn't acted impulsively earlier; otherwise... their souls would have been damaged, and their very foundations might have been shaken...
Still shaken, she looked at Chen Qing with even more bewilderment. This scholar's spiritual power was clearly extremely weak, yet he could suppress three sorcerers without even moving a finger. She had just observed these three sorcerers, and each of them possessed abundant spiritual power, at least at the Fifth Rank rank. They were clearly direct descendants of the Shen Family.
Without using any spells, he could instantly injure its spirit; this ability is something even his master might not possess...
How old does this prefect look? At most, in his early twenties, right?
What exactly is this guy's background?