The Lord of Du Mountain

"Lord Mountain Lord! You must do justice for us!"

"Yes, Lord Sanjun, you're the only one who can save us now!"

"Lord Mountain Lord, that vixen Qingnü has lost all conscience! You must teach her a lesson!"

Before a mountain god temple that, though weathered by time, still bears traces of its former glory.

At this moment, however, a group of animals gathered, which could be described as having unusual appearances, or to put it bluntly, a group of strangely shaped creatures.

These bizarre-looking beasts not only differ from ordinary animals in appearance, but also speak human language despite their animal bodies.

If local villagers come here, they will be surprised to find that the spirits and local deities they worship may also be among them.

At this moment, these local deities from different villages, even those with past grudges, have all come for one thing: to ask the master of Du Mountain, the mountain god Lord of Du Mountain, to help them.

"Hehe----It's only at times like this that you think of----cough cough, Mr. Benshan!"

As the immortals and local deities continued to plead, finally, a figure stepped out of the mountain god temple.

At first glance, the figure didn't seem very big, but as it stepped out of the mountain god's temple, it rapidly grew larger.

When they finally stopped, all the immortals and local deities could clearly see the physique of Lord of Du Mountain.

The creature addressed as "Lord Mountain Lord" by these celestial beings and local deities was actually a tiger the size of an elephant.

A tiger of average size is enough to terrify an ordinary person. This one, the size of an elephant, is enough to make an average person's legs go weak and they be unable to move.

What is most astonishing is that Lord of Du Mountain actually has two wings on his back, making him a true winged celestial tiger.

With graceful, cat-like steps, Lord of Du Mountain walked to the front of the various immortal land deities. A cold, almost human-like smile appeared on his lips, and his amber eyes revealed undisguised contempt.

In Lord of Du Mountain's eyes, the group of immortals and local deities before him seemed to be just ordinary little demons, rather than gods who had gained the necessary qualifications.

Indeed, unlike the group of lesser demons before him, this Lord of Du Mountain is not only a strange beast, but also Orthodox God who received an imperial decree two hundred years ago.

Naturally, they looked down on these wild gods who had wasted decades of effort but couldn't even get a title.

Sensing the undisguised contempt in Lord of Du Mountain's eyes, many immortals and local deities couldn't help but lower their heads and curse inwardly.

If they hadn't truly had no other choice, they wouldn't have wanted to suffer humiliation at Lord of Du Mountain.

Compared to Qingnü's ruthlessness in destroying temples and attacking gods at the drop of a hat, Lord of Du Mountain, though a bit annoying, at least has someone to talk to.

So, a local deity, shamelessly, spoke up, "Lord Mountain Lord, I was ignorant before—please help me! I will certainly offer you a generous gift in the future—"

"Yes, Lord Sanjun, I have one too—"

"Lord Shanjun, please forgive me, we're all from the same county, please be magnanimous and forgive my mistake—"

Once an opening is made, others will naturally follow to flatter it.

Hearing these flattering words, Lord of Du Mountain was not blinded by them. Instead, he looked at the immortals and said, "What good things could you possibly have? Do you really think I, Du Shanjun, am a greedy person who would only care about petty gains? The question now is, why should I, Du Shanjun, stand up for you?"

Because of these few words you said?

What do you have to do with me?! In the past, when I asked you to submit to me, you all paid lip service! When I asked you to send me fine clothes and delicacies—you always made excuses for ages before finally bringing them to me. Now that something's happened, you finally think of me?

What do you take Benshan for? Your henchman?

"Seriously, this is outrageous! I'm so angry!"

Finally, Lord of Du Mountain suddenly opened his mouth wide and let out a fierce roar at the assembled immortals and local deities.

The enormous roar, accompanied by a fierce wind, swept over all the immortals and local deities, causing their ears to ring and their vision to blur. Their bodies were also blown about by the gale.

Even the mountain god temple behind Lord of Du Mountain kept shaking off the dust.

Some of the more timid demons even closed their eyes and immediately fainted.

"Lord Mountain Lord, spare my life!"

"We know we were wrong----"

"Lord Mountain Lord, we—"

Knowing that Lord of Du Mountain was trying to take advantage of them, the immortals and local deities had no choice but to admit their mistakes and beg for forgiveness.

On one hand, it's a matter of life and death; on the other, it's something you hate. But if you're clear-headed, you know you should hold your nose and choose the one you hate.

Hearing the pleas for mercy from the immortals and local deities, Lord of Du Mountain nodded in satisfaction. "Of course, I am also magnanimous. You are all my neighbors after all. If you guarantee that you will sincerely submit to me in the future, I cannot let bygones be bygones—"

Upon hearing what Lord of Du Mountain meant, the assembled immortals and local deities immediately understood. Those with a bit of sense quickly knelt down and said, "Lord Du, we will follow your lead from now on. We beg you to save us this time!"

Once one person started this trend, the other deities and local deities naturally had no more psychological barriers and followed suit.

For a time, it did indeed appear as if followers had gathered in great numbers.

Lord of Du Mountain seemed quite pleased with this, his cat-like steps becoming unsteady, and his thick, stick-like tail swaying behind him.

It walked straight into the group of celestial land spirits, pressing and pinching this one and that one with its huge, fleshy paws. Its tail, in its excitement, lashed out at the other celestial land spirits, leaving red marks.

Even after discovering this situation, Lord of Du Mountain not only did not restrain himself, but also deliberately acted maliciously, using his tail to whip those old guys who had offended him the most.

For a time, Lord of Du Mountain treated these immortal land spirits like toys, having a great time playing with them.

In response, the assembled immortals and local deities could only force a smile and tolerate Lord of Du Mountain's behavior.

Seeing the docile demeanor of these immortals and local deities, which he had never seen before, Lord of Du Mountain felt somewhat grateful to the fox spirit he had never met before.

If it weren't for that fox spirit named Qingnü, these immortals with the Land God Divinity wouldn't have been able to submit to her so easily.

Over the past two hundred years, Lord of Du Mountain has tried to make the surrounding immortals and local deities obey him.

However, each time, they returned empty-handed.

Although they held an absolute advantage, actually killing a minor demon with the Land God Divinity was not so easy.

With the Earth Vein Power present, he can be guaranteed to escape underground. Even if Lord of Du Mountain were to have the strength to uproot mountains and the power to overwhelm the world, it would be useless.

If he can't truly threaten the opponent, then no matter how strong Lord of Du Mountain is, it's meaningless.

If they were to use underhanded methods, it wouldn't be impossible to succeed, but then Lord of Du Mountain's reputation would be ruined!

As a mythical beast and Orthodox God, Lord of Du Mountain has high standards for himself.

Having to resort to tricks to deal with these minor demons only makes Lord of Du Mountain seem even more useless!

Therefore, apart from threatening these minor demons and local deities every now and then, the Mountain Lord really doesn't have any good way to subdue them.

Especially in the last few decades, Lord of Du Mountain has grown tired of this game and has given up the idea of making these immortals and local deities his underlings.

Unexpectedly, the flowers you carefully planted didn't bloom, while the willows you planted unintentionally thrived.

Today, however, has become a golden opportunity.

After all, once you agree to submit to an Orthodox God like Lord of Du Mountain, it's not so easy to go back on your word.

However, Lord of Du Mountain was unaware that these immortals and local deities were secretly cursing him.

"That's exactly why I don't want to be your underling!"

"So what if they're a little better than us! Why do they look down on us—you stinky cat—"

"This stupid cat—I'll tolerate it—"

After having a good time playing, Lord of Du Mountain suddenly remembered something and became suspicious.

What exactly did Qingnü do to terrify these little demons so much?

I was so focused on taking the opportunity to recruit followers that I forgot to ask.

However, it's not too late to ask now. Lord of Du Mountain immediately said, "By the way, you should tell me what evil deeds Qingnü has committed. That way, I can use this crime to hold her accountable!"

"That Qingnü is utterly depraved! These past few days, she's been vandalizing temples and attacking gods along the way!"

"I've heard that the Qingnü always blocks people's temples, demanding their submission. If they submit, they might have a chance to live, but they'll have to serve her like a slave! If they don't submit, they'll die and vanish without a trace, not even their bones will remain!"

"No! I secretly went to see it before! That Qingnü destroyed temples and killed gods without asking any questions! First, she demolished the temples of other land deities, then used a flag to capture them! Finally, she wrapped them in that flag, and in no time at all, they turned to dust!"

"Hiss----No way----"

Hearing the lesser demons' accusations, Lord of Du Mountain gasped.

The worst thing Lord of Du Mountain ever did was kick a little demon like a ball for miles.

After being enfeoffed as the Mountain Lord, he rarely even ate raw meat anymore.

Qingnü, this fox spirit, is strong or not is another matter, but her methods are ruthless enough. No wonder she could scare these immortals and local deities into coming to beg her for help.

However, Lord of Du Mountain was even more puzzled. "Then why would she do that? What benefit would it bring her?"

This is also the point that puzzles Lord of Du Mountain the most.

After all, if it really came down to killing, as long as the opportunity was right, killing one or two local deities would be a simple matter for Lord of Du Mountain.

The problem is, it's completely meaningless.

After all, killing the local deity would only restore the land to its former state of being unclaimed. Not only would it bring no benefit, but it would also damage Lord of Du Mountain's reputation and even force the local deities of the immortals to unite, making it a lose-lose situation.

Although I can't defeat you, you can't protect your followers all the time!

If things really come to a head, these unofficial, wild gods wouldn't hesitate to harm their followers.

Therefore, although these lesser demons had been outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant, Lord of Du Mountain never took any action to destroy the temple or attack the god.

I'm afraid they might become desperate and resort to desperate measures, resulting in our mutual destruction.

When the other side really gets desperate, Lord of Du Mountain will find himself in a real predicament. Unable to be in two places at once, Lord of Du Mountain will either have to stay in his territory or risk being raided if he ventures out.

With the Earth Vein Power as the foundation for survival, once Lord of Du Mountain is determined to protect himself, it would be difficult for him to truly kill a celestial earth deity.

Therefore, the benefits and costs involved are completely disproportionate.

Lord of Du Mountain was also very curious: how did Qingnü break this deadlock where she couldn't be in two places at once?

If it hadn't been tried and failed, these celestial beings and local deities wouldn't have come looking for it.

However, these immortals and local deities were not entirely clear about Lord of Du Mountain's question.

One of them thought for a moment and whispered, "It seems that the Qingnü is using the flesh and blood of us gods to forge her banner!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Soon, other celestial beings chimed in, "I've heard from other celestial beings that Qingnü's flag was originally just a piece of white cloth about a foot in size! But now it's grown into a black flag four feet in size!"

"I know that too. I think that flag is called the Demon-Summoning Banner— "

With everyone talking at once, the immortals summarized what they knew and managed to give a fairly comprehensive account of the situation regarding the Demon-Summoning Banner.

"Ha, what arrogance! Demon-Summoning Banner? Commanding all demons under heaven? You really don't take me seriously!" After hearing about the Demon-Summoning Banner, Lord of Du Mountain sneered, "You're just a lowly fox demon, yet you have such a Demon-Summoning Banner. It's truly laughable—"

"Ah!" Just then, a local deity cried out in agony, pleading for help. "Lord Mountain Lord, that fox spirit has reached my temple! She... she's destroyed my temple—"

Before he could finish speaking, the celestial land deity was involuntarily pulled by a force, and his entire body was sent flying backward in one direction.

"It, it's right beside me! The Qingnü is here—Lord Mountain Lord—"

"This... this is the power of the Demon-Summoning Banner... truly terrifying..."

"Lord Mountain Lord, what should we do?!"

Upon seeing this, all the immortals and local deities were thrown into chaos.

"What a bold fox! How dare she bully my people! I'm furious!" Lord of Du Mountain was enraged upon seeing this. "You wait here, I'll go and capture that fox and make her kneel down and apologize to you!"

No sooner had Qingnü finished speaking than she made a fool of herself, and one of her men was captured by her.

The speed at which this was slapped in the face was so fast that even Lord of Du Mountain couldn't keep his composure.

After saying these words, Lord of Du Mountain flapped his wings and chased after the little demon that had flown backward.

However, this slight delay in saying those two extra words made Lord of Du Mountain a step too late.

They could only watch helplessly as the celestial land deity was swept into that black flag.

"Qingnü, show mercy!"

Lord of Du Mountain roared, the sound waves mixed with a gale, rushing towards the black flag.

If this flag can be torn apart, then the immortal land will still have a glimmer of hope.

However, this attack was somewhat hasty.

Lord of Du Mountain saw that the fox demon holding the flagpole raised its hand and created a gust of wind mixed with snowflakes, which collided with Lord of Du Mountain's gust of wind.

The next moment, the two colliding gusts of wind vanished without a trace, leaving only some snowflakes that shot into the sky and then drifted down.

It was at this moment that Lord of Du Mountain saw Yin Yunze's profile.

That exquisitely beautiful profile, that pure white and smooth tail, and those drifting snowflakes—it was as if a fairy had descended to earth.

For a moment, Lord of Du Mountain was so captivated by the sight that he forgot to continue his attack.

At the level of Lord of Du Mountain, one will naturally also know the method of Transformation.

Once they can Transformation human form, as monsters, their aesthetic sense naturally extends beyond that of their own kind.

Not to mention Yin Yunze's current half-human, half-fox form, even if he were to reveal his true form as Nine-Tailed White Fox, Lord of Du Mountain would still appreciate it.

Taking advantage of Lord of Du Mountain's momentary daze, Yin Yunze unhesitatingly rolled up the Demon-Summoning Banner, turning the little demon into nourishment for the Demon-Summoning Banner as well.

After shaking the remains of the little demon to the ground and secretly connecting with the Earth Vein Power, Yin Yunze then focused his attention on the winged tiger.

After searching his mind, Yin Yunze quickly found its information in the data presented by the fox demon based on its peculiar appearance.

Frowning slightly, Yin Yunze asked softly, "Lord of Du Mountain?"