Chapter 78

The long wait made the Mountain-Seeking Dog sit on the ground in boredom; its massive size made it look like a crouching calf.

Liang Qu squatted down, and the Mountain-Seeking Dog obediently exposed its belly. He widened his eyes: "Is this dog not afraid of strangers at all?"

"It's afraid, but it's smarter—smart enough to recognize our relationship. Don't treat it like an ordinary dog; Master feeds it beef every day and a Blood Qi Pill every three days. Ordinary tigers and leopards are no match for it."

Liang Qu gasped; it turns out the dog eats better than people.

"What's its name?"

"Black Tooth."

Hearing its name, Black Tooth lifted one ear, its eyes drifting upward.

Liang Qu reached out to touch the dog's head; the fur was smooth and soft, extremely well-kept.

Seeing this, Lu Gang simply gave the dog leash to Liang Qu to hold.

Liang Qu pulled the leash with great interest, but just after scratching the dog's head twice, Blackie stood up and faced the fork in the road.

A moment later, the unique sound of wheels rolling over a mud road came, approaching from afar.

A caravan of five carriages appeared in sight.

Xu Zishuai jumped off the carriage and moved the mountain bandits off "in bundles."

The caravan took the money and left quickly.

"Twenty-three in total, mission accomplished!"

Lu Gang asked: "How's your state?"

"We slept on the carriage, not bad."

"Alright, then let's go up the mountain! Liang Shidi Liang and Liang Shidi Xiang, walk in the middle."

Lu Gang led the way, Hu Qi second, Liang Qu third, Xiang Zhangsong fourth, and Xu Zishuai brought up the rear.

The mountain bandits, jolted along the way and mentally shattered, were dragged by ropes, trailing in a long line at the very back. At this moment, they still didn't know what they were about to face.

Liang Qu shouldered his long spear, held Blackie's leash, and climbed Fahua Temple with his four senior brothers.

Just as they reached the mountainside, Blackie suddenly barked.

Lu Gang looked back and shushed it, and Blackie stopped barking.

Everyone looked at each other, exchanging glances.

Liang Qu roughly understood what Blackie meant and asked in a low voice: "Is there really a Mountain Ghost?"

"High probability, or it could be that the aura left by the Mountain Ghost hasn't dissipated yet. In any case, don't let your guard down."

Reaching the summit, Xu Zishuai was puzzled: "This temple hasn't collapsed yet? It's been fifty or sixty years, right?"

The sun had completely set, and the entire ruined temple was exceptionally eerie; the mountain wind howled, shrill and chilling.

The mountain bandits were dazed, feeling an inexplicable fear in their hearts. They all shivered, unable to tell if it was from the cold or fear.

But they dared not resist at all; Xu Zishuai had broken through the entire stronghold with just a single giant log, appearing like a celestial being.

Xu Zishuai gave a tug, and the mountain bandits were dragged stumbling into the temple, kneeling in a row.

"If you can't stand it, you don't have to watch," Hu Qi said to Liang Qu.

Liang Qu shook his head, indicating he could accept it.

They were all damned villains, more evil than even Scar-faced Zhang; what was there to be afraid of?

If he were afraid of this, he might as well go back and raise pigs early.

Xu Zishuai's movements were extremely fast; in an instant, the smell of blood soared into the sky.

To make the bloody smell even stronger, he broke all five of their limbs, and as their hearts pumped, they sprayed large amounts of blood.

Alright, it was a bit disgusting; with over twenty people, the smell was too intense.

Liang Qu wrinkled his nose.

The smell of blood was so intense that A-Wei on his hand showed signs of agitation.

The Mountain-Seeking Dog squatting to the side turned its head, but saw Liang Qu lower his head and quietly make a "shush" gesture. It tilted its head and turned back.

Good dog!

Liang Qu praised in his heart, happily rubbed the dog's head, and secretly suppressed A-Wei's agitation.

The mountain where Fahua Temple was located wasn't high; in the north, it would be a dirt slope, only about three hundred meters, but near Pingyang Town, it already counted as a "mountain." There was no cover all around, and one could see the bustling Pingyang Town at a glance.

Without cover, the river wind was naturally vast, and the intense bloody smell continuously spread to the entire low mountain.

A moment later, Blackie stood up, its cheek muscles bulging, and a low growl emanated from its throat.

Everyone became vigilant.

The Ze Ding in Liang Qu's mind suddenly shone brightly at this moment.

【Mountain-Searching and Demon-Subduing triggered...】

【Current progress: None】

【Achieve Mountain-Searching and Demon-Subduing to receive the favor of the River Lord Emperor. For every layer of Martial Path Divine Power gained, martial arts talent doubles, and damage to water-attribute spirit monsters increases by 10%.】

Liang Qu never expected the Ze Ding to have such a mutation.

River Lord Emperor?

Mountain-Searching and Demon-Subduing?

Both names were quite obscure, but combined, Liang Qu suddenly thought of someone—Erlang Shen!

Was the god general holding a spear on the tripod truly the Manifested Sage True Lord?

That's it: "Capturing dragons at Guankou, leveling waters at Lidui, don't ask about achievements surpassing the ancients!"

Erlang True Lord was originally a water-governing celestial god!

But how was Mountain-Searching and Demon-Subduing triggered?

Liang Qu looked at the long spear in his hand, then looked down at the black dog that reached his waist, and then looked at the eerie, wind-swept Fahua Temple atop the mountain.

He understood everything.

Role-playing method, right?

Lu Gang whispered: "They're here!"

The moonlight was hidden in the vine leaves on the corner of the Fahua Temple roof, but a human silhouette was crouching on the tree.

Mountain Ghost!

What a huge Mountain Ghost!

The Mountain Ghost before his eyes was much, much larger than the one he encountered at the River God Festival!

The one at the River God Festival only reached Liang Qu's neck, about 1.6 meters, but this one was nearly two meters tall!

Blackie's low growl became increasingly intense.

No, there's more!

The ground vibrated slightly; under the moonlight, one Mountain Ghost after another appeared on the temple roof, some crouching or standing, some lying or grabbing.

A terrifying sense of oppression pressed down from the front like a wall, making one's scalp tingle!

Liang Qu looked at the moon hanging alone in the sky and took a deep breath.

No wonder it required Mountain-Searching and Demon-Subduing; there were at least thirty Mountain Ghosts in front, and more were still surging up from behind!

Lu Gang's expression became serious.

It wasn't that he felt it was tricky; the stronger the one who laid the egg sac, the stronger the hatched Mountain Ghost, but there was a limit. The strongest Mountain Ghost was only at the initial Galloping Horse Realm, far from being a level that made him feel tricky.

He felt it was troublesome because of the information revealed by so many Mountain Ghosts.

The opponent in the dark had laid out a very large stall!

Dozens of Mountain Ghosts—how long had they been raising them? They hadn't discovered it at all!

The Mountain Ghosts were extremely covetous of the beauty of flesh and blood, but the two men standing in the field made them feel a lethal threat, and they dared not act for a long time.

"Liang Shidi Xu and Liang Shidi Hu, help Xiao Ba and Xiao Jiu guard the flanks!"

"Alright."

Lu Gang charged out first; the ground cracked, and he instantly arrived in front of the two-meter-tall Mountain Ghost.

With a straight punch, the Mountain Ghost's entire head exploded!

Liang Qu: "???"

The standoff was broken. The Mountain Ghosts didn't care about the death of their kind; instead, they were provoked into anger and could no longer suppress their craving for blood, jumping off the roof one after another.

Xu Zishuai walked in front of Liang Qu unhurriedly. With a breeze, several attacking Mountain Ghosts had their limbs shattered and scattered on the ground, leaving only the smallest one running toward him.

Come at me!

Liang Qu gave a low shout, Qi and blood circulated in his body, and the long spear swept across a huge semicircle.

The black-gold spear blade drew a beautiful arc, accurately and flawlessly hacking into the Mountain Ghost's head. A sense of stagnation, almost like hacking into iron, came from the spear body.

Liang Qu's arm muscles bulged, he twisted his waist and hips, sending all his strength out. The spear blade broke through the stagnation, sliced across the head, and brought out a smear of scarlet under the moonlight.

Half of the Mountain Ghost's head slid off slowly, and blood sprayed out.

【Mountain-Searching and Demon-Subduing progress: 1】