[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-at-the-summit-of-the-old-gods":3,"chapter-at-the-summit-of-the-old-gods-at-the-summit-of-the-old-gods-chapter-974":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","At the Summit of the Old Gods",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2363102,4618,"Chapter 974: The Mountain That Overflowed with Wealth!","at-the-summit-of-the-old-gods-chapter-974",974,"\u003Cp>Thirty kilometers away, a figure shot rapidly through a U-shaped river valley nestled between two mountains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ziz~ ziz~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid flashes of electric light, a figure sprinted into a hidden cave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Gulps.” Fang Lingfeng gasped heavily, then swallowed hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was a vast sea-level cultivator—yet to flee in such panic, so visibly shaken, was utterly beneath her dignity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who exactly is that person?” Fang Lingfeng’s face was grim.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though she had run far, every time she recalled the hammer that had swept past her body, she felt a chill crawl up her spine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Waves of dread clung to her heart, refusing to fade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had almost died!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just barely!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was it even a hammer? Unclear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ironically, Fang Lingfeng had never dared to turn around—she didn’t know what weapon the attacker used, nor whether the assailant was male or female, or what they looked like!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that brutal aura—likely from the furious Lie Tian Sect!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No. No, that’s not right!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Lingfeng frowned tightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If this were truly a Lie Tian Sect disciple, how could they appear so mysteriously, suddenly behind her head?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Either they could vanish from sight, like those treacherous wolf pups, or they could teleport, like Qiang Xiu disciples.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Teleport?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment that word crossed her mind, Fang Lingfeng’s face darkened further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it truly was teleportation, and the enemy was this powerful—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could this person, and this mysterious cloak-wearing organization, be the ones who destroyed Tian Tu Mountain?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone on Jing Ting Mountain knew Luo Tiantu had clashed with a Dog Worshipper!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To ensure his safety, Luo Tiantu personally visited Jing Ting Sect and hired two bodyguards from here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone envied those two bodyguards—they’d landed a job that yielded exceptional resources.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one expected the terrible news months later: Tian Tu Mountain had been wiped out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mountain’s leader, Luo Tiantu, peak sea realm, died in battle!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kong Lady, also a sea realm cultivator, died in battle!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every single member of Tian Tu Mountain—including the two bodyguards who got involved—perished without survivors!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Utterly slaughtered!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the entire Tian Tu Mountain was reduced to ashes by a single fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no doubt: Tian Tu Mountain had angered someone they should never have provoked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ruthless, cruel, exterminated to the last root.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Gulps.” Fang Lingfeng swallowed again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, was the destruction of Tian Tu Mountain the work of this mysterious organization?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the southeastern-central region of Sheng Ling Mountain, only a few factions were active. Luo Tiantu was on good terms with the Jing Ting Sect’s leader; ordinary factions would give him at least some leeway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if a conflict had erupted, Tian Tu Mountain shouldn’t have been annihilated—let alone its entire mountain burned to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What kind of hatred was this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially that final fire—it was clearly an act of vengeance!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That fire seemed to reveal the identity of the perpetrator.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The culprit was almost certainly a demonic disciple with a deep grudge against Luo Tiantu—the Dog Worshipper!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was that mysterious, near-fatal figure who just appeared before me also that Dog Worshipper?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Lingfeng reached this conclusion for one reason alone:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the region dominated by Jing Ting Mountain, no one, no faction, would dare treat a Jing Ting disciple this way!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After announcing her identity, she received no fear, no respectful smiles—only silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cloak-wearers didn’t care a whit for Jing Ting Sect!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Lingfeng truly felt she had encountered the same fate as Tian Tu Mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The same group of people!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm?” Fang Lingfeng’s thoughts were chaotic when she suddenly heard a crackle of electricity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She whirled around—only to see a man sprinting in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tangzhu!” The man spotted Fang Lingfeng inside the cave, his face lighting up as if he’d found his anchor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Lingfeng’s expression hardened, regaining her stern demeanor, and snapped:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What kind of panicked mess are you making?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Y-yes!” The man shuddered, bowing his head, voice trembling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This river valley cave was the temporary outpost of Fang Lingfeng’s Tang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whenever the team split up or someone got separated, members returned here to regroup.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Lingfeng, now with her troops gathered, demanded fiercely:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Only you escaped?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, I don’t know.” The man’s face flushed with shame; he dropped to his knees before his Tangzhu. “In the sandstorm, I couldn’t see a thing—the Liusha River nearly swallowed me whole.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I—I, Tangzhu, I tried to find you, called out—but I never saw your trace.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Fang Lingfeng’s eyes narrowed slightly, a surge of killing intent rising within her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“T-Tangzhu! I—I didn’t mean to! The battlefield was too chaotic, the enemy too strong—” The man’s words cut off with a muffled groan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Crack!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the man bowed his head, Fang Lingfeng drove her Fangtian Huaji downward with brutal force, piercing his water-armor effortlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sharp spearhead instantly skewered the back of his skull!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His frantic nodding froze mid-motion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Lingfeng’s eyes brimmed with murderous intent!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She yanked out the Fangtian Huaji, then stabbed down again—another brutal thrust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ssssh!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Lingfeng lowered her head, staring at the corpse pinned to the ground, speaking slowly, deliberately: “My Tang’s forces were ambushed by enemies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The enemy was too strong—every soldier under my command died in battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only I, Fang Lingfeng, fought to the last breath, refusing to surrender—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only by carving a bloody path out could I return to Jing Ting Mountain to report the truth, so my brothers wouldn’t die in vain.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Lingfeng murmured, then stomped on the man’s skull, wrenching the Fangtian Huaji free.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, the sea realm cultivator finally deigned to kneel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She reached for the man’s neck, plucking off his divine power bead necklace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Lingfeng wiped the blood from the beads with her fingers, then fastened them around her own neck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ziz~ ziz~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, the electric crackle returned—drawing nearer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two voices followed, filled with relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tangzhu! You’re really here!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tangzhu, this… this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two Tang members, seeing the scene inside the cave, paled instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Lingfeng’s eyes flickered; she slowly turned to face the two battered, barely alive members of her Tang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A bone-chilling wave of killing intent spread through the cave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, dozens of kilometers away, in a dense forest, a group marched in disciplined order.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nineteen sea realm cultivators, over one hundred eighty river realm elites,” Lu Ran muttered under his breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This intelligence came from captured prisoners.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More astonishing still: within Jing Ting Mountain, roughly two hundred Dong Ting disciples had nearly four hundred slaves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s two slaves per Dong Ting disciple on average?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No wonder this is the main base of Dong Ting Sect,” Lu Ran sighed. “Truly, masters abound here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Yunyan rarely spoke up, but now added: “Stronger than Tianhuang Mountain!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More river realm disciples, and far more slaves—several times over Tianhuang’s numbers.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Ran nodded. “The geography explains it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jing Ting Mountain’s location was excellent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Wu Jifeng was the center of Sheng Ling Continent, then Jing Ting Mountain sat in the southeastern-central region.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Here, you encounter far more weak divine worshippers than in the northwestern Wàn Rèn Mountains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Naturally, Dong Ting Sect captured far more slaves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why did He Qifeng place the Forbidden City thirty kilometers south of Wu Jifeng?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One reason: shelter beneath a great tree. The other: the central region draws massive foot traffic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is your Thunder Mountain’s Lord Lu a Sea Realm peak?” Jiang Ruyi asked suddenly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, Lord Lu is Sea Realm Fifth Stage—rumor says he’s been at Sea Realm Fifth Stage for many years!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The prisoner answered hastily, terrified of delaying even a moment and being burned again by soul fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ruyi murmured, “Most powerful cultivators hide their true cultivation level. How can you be so certain Lord Lu is at Sea Realm peak?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What she feared most was that Lord Lu was hiding his true power—that he was already a Heaven Realm powerhouse!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If that were true, Lu Ran and the others getting involved would surely be annihilated without a trace!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the conduct of any organization naturally flows from the top down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the only thing that could reassure Jiang Ruyi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, if Lord Lu were truly a Heaven Realm cultivator, the Thousand Boats Alliance would have been crushed long ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lord Lu’s character would never stoop to lying,” the prisoner replied tremblingly. “The Master never conceals his strength.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Listening to the prisoner’s words, Lu Ran already imagined Lord Lu strutting about in arrogance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The prisoner had spoken wisely:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most disciples of East Thunder are haughty by nature—they wouldn’t bother lying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ruyi nodded slightly and asked again, “Your Master has ruled Thunder Mountain for years and amassed many slaves. Surely he has no shortage of weapons and treasures?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The prisoner answered truthfully: “Lord Lu owns one divine weapon spear and one divine weapon sword—the Fangtian Huayue Spear has unlocked its divine weapon domain!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His four concubines each possess divine weapons too, but none have unlocked domains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The First Lady has a magical artifact bracelet; the Third Lady has a magical artifact incense pouch. Oh! Recently, Lord Lu acquired a magical artifact ring.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone: “...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What kind of Thunder Mountain is this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is a mountain dripping with wealth!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hmm... now that you mention it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even a tiny Heaven Disciple Mountain like Qixue has four treasures: the Crying Blood Waist Knife, the Jade Hairpin, and the Twin Swords of Heaven Trace and Earth Trace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could Thunder Mountain, a major sect, lack treasures?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ruyi’s expression grew grave. “Describe in detail the functions of the divine weapon domain and the effects of the magical artifacts.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord, Lord Lu’s divine weapon spear—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm?” Lu Ran suddenly murmured in doubt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Far to the west, a soul was drifting upward into the sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since Lu Ran had previously used the floating soul spirits of the Sword Lotus believers to locate battlefield positions, he had occasionally activated his Soul Realm Eye during travel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This area was still near the Thousand Boats Alliance—if there was still fighting, he had no objection to lending a hand and eliminating Thunder Mountain’s active forces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And now he’d actually seen something?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What is it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There’s fighting over west!” Lu Ran stared at the male soul, estimating uncertainly. “At least twenty to thirty kilometers from here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s go see!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1699,"2026-06-21T06:13:01.220Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","bbddb51a98c2ebb2cf38837c3d28b426b1c12120fa2e4bf5a4f4b187d00292f3","at-the-summit-of-the-old-gods-chapter-975","at-the-summit-of-the-old-gods-chapter-973",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fat-the-summit-of-the-old-gods-cover.jpg"]