Chapter 172: Maidong Returns East and Meets Long Sheng

Maidong walked and skipped along the way, her heart feeling as if it were about to take flight. This was her first time leaving the mountain gate; how could she not be incredibly excited?

"Just as I expected," Banxia said, reaching for Doukou's pulse.

When did this girl learn to take a pulse?

Just as Liu Xia was wondering this, he heard Banxia say again, "Fucang Elder once said that for someone recently recovered from a long illness, although the pulse is not as steady and strong as a normal person's, it will be slow and measured. I don't know much, but it looks like there is nothing to worry about."

Hearing her say this, Liu Xia was very surprised. This girl kept mentioning Fucang Elder at every turn; although Lingxiang was indeed excellent, it shouldn't be enough to make her so reverent...

"What did you mean just now when you said 'as you expected'?"

"I once heard Fucang Elder say that in order to help Long Qi enter the Qi Refining Realm sooner, she had him soak in spirit spring water daily, supplemented with many Spirit Plants, and even had him take a dose of Spirit Gathering Powder after each soak. When the pool was acting strangely just now, I was wondering if the blood in Long Qi's body might now be able to resist the Demon Poison."

Hearing this, Long Qi stood up at once, pointed at Banxia, and said sarcastically, "Oh~ they say the most poisonous heart is a woman's. You were only guessing, yet you wanted me to go into the water to fish someone out. If you had guessed wrong, wouldn't I have perished in there? You... you really are..."

Just as Long Qi was thinking about how to phrase his words, Xinyi recalled the previous incident at Youran Abode.

"Before, when you and Rendong encountered the rat demon at Youran Abode, you were both injured. Rendong was bedridden for several days due to the Demon Poison, but you were able to go out and run around immediately. Perhaps this is the reason."

Hearing Xinyi say this, Long Qi thought back, and it seemed to be true. At that time, he and Rendong had indeed been bitten by that rat demon with a Demon Core. He himself had only felt a burning pain in the wound, but it hadn't turned black like Rendong's. Thinking about it, this must be the reason!

He hadn't expected that Lingxiang had actually planned things out for him so early on.

Long Qi suddenly lost his temper; not only did he lose his temper, but he even felt a bit happy inside. Just as he was feeling happy, he suddenly remembered the matter of the mountain god and hurriedly turned to ask Luoli, "When we went up the mountain earlier, we met the mountain god of this place. I heard him say that you stole his head. Is that true?"

Luoli looked innocent upon hearing this: "To change the landscape, one must have the mountain god's nod, but he gave me his head voluntarily at the time; I didn't steal it."

Zhao Wuyang was shocked to hear this: "He gave his head to you himself? Is... is he tired of it being too heavy on his shoulders?"

Long Qi, however, pinched his chin and pondered for a long time before speaking: "That's really hard to say. That old monster looks crazy; he might really be capable of doing such a thing. But why would he give his head to you?"

Liu Xia and Xinyi were still in the illusion at the time, and Banxia was not present, so naturally, they did not know about the encounter between Long Qi, Zhao Wuyang, and the mountain god. Hearing what they said now, both were full of disbelief—

What kind of god is this, having nothing better to do than give his head to others? Is he using it as a ball to kick around?

"Then..." Xinyi asked Luoli cautiously, "Where is that ball... that head now?"

Hearing this, Luoli looked at the pool in a dilemma. Xinyi understood his meaning, but the water in the pool was now full of Demon Poison, so how could they retrieve it?

Everyone turned to look at Long Qi. Long Qi felt his face tighten under their gaze, and then, as if resigning himself to fate, he said, "I treat you all as brothers and friends, but you, on the other hand, treat me like a tool—using me whenever you please without any hesitation." As he spoke, he began to take off his robe.

Just as Banxia was blushing and about to turn around, there was suddenly a shake of the earth and mountains. They saw the pool water, which had been full of Demon Poison, slowly beginning to turn clear.

Everyone was astonished. At this moment, a light flew out from the bottom of the pool, trailing a long tail, and flew toward the path they had come from. Accompanying that white light was a long, lingering laugh, but this laugh...

Long Qi and Zhao Wuyang looked at each other, and the latter immediately understood Long Qi's meaning.

It seems all of this was the handiwork of the mountain god!

The mountains shook continuously, and the pool on the side was visibly shrinking, until it disappeared completely in a short while.

Now that the deep pool had vanished and Doukou's Demon Poison had been healed, Luoli had no reason to stay any longer, so he went down the mountain with Long Qi and the others.

When they were going down the mountain, Liu Xia asked them if they had thought about their future plans, since they could no longer return to the sea. Luoli just smiled, looked at Doukou in his arms, and said lightly, "The world is vast; the four seas are my home."

Hearing him say this, Banxia pondered for a moment, then took a token from her bosom and handed it to Luoli: "There is a dojo at Jiuque Mountain in Guyang called Yuanqing. Take this token and go pay a visit; I believe they will surely accept the two of you."

Seeing her do this, everyone was shocked. This was a Mysterious Iron Tablet that Yuanqing Disciples used to prove their identity! She was just giving it away like that?

Luoli stared at the black tablet in Banxia's hand, lost in thought, hesitating whether to take it. As a husband, he naturally wanted to provide a stable home for his wife and their unborn child, but he was an outsider—how could he gain the acceptance of others...

Just as Luoli hesitated, Banxia thrust the tablet into Doukou's hand. She seemed to have seen through Luoli's worries, and holding Doukou's hand, she said, "Although the Elders of the Yuanqing Sect have somewhat strange temperaments, they all have excellent hearts. You can rest assured and go; they will certainly accept you."

Looking at the small tablet in her hand that felt as heavy as a stone, although it radiated waves of chill, Doukou felt incredibly warm. She bowed to Banxia and was about to thank her, but was supported by Banxia.

"When I left the mountain, my master told me that as long as one does not commit evil, one can act according to one's heart. Since I am down the mountain for training, everything I encounter is fate; I am merely following my heart, so there is no need to be so polite."

No sooner had Banxia finished speaking than a burst of laughter came from all around. Accompanied by the laughter, a light descended, and then an old man leaning on a long staff appeared.

He was no more than three feet tall, leaning on a wooden staff. That wooden staff looked very familiar—it was actually the one the mountain god had held. Only, the person holding the staff no longer had an owl's head, but instead had white hair and a white beard, looking somewhat dusty and disheveled.

Knowing from the voice that it was the mountain god, Long Qi immediately drew the Seven-Star Longyuan from his back and prepared to strike. The mountain god retreated repeatedly, waving his hands and saying, "Young man, don't be so irritable. Let's talk things over; why resort to violence!"

Long Qi sneered upon hearing this: "You old rascal, you actually have the nerve to show your face. It's clear that you were the one playing tricks behind our backs all along, and now you want me to talk things over? Let me hack you today to relieve the hatred in my heart!"

As Long Qi spoke, he made a move to strike, but Xinyi and Liu Xia hurriedly held him back.

Although they didn't know the mountain god's purpose, he was, after all, a great god of the mountain. Not to mention whether Long Qi could beat him, even if he could, would he really want to bear the crime of killing a god? That would bring down divine retribution!

Seeing Long Qi being held back, the mountain god seemed to heave a sigh of relief and said to Long Qi, "Young man, don't be impatient. Listen to what this old man has to say first."

Long Qi lowered the Seven-Star Longyuan he had raised, but did not sheath it, and gave a heavy snort toward the mountain god: "I'd like to hear what kind of flower you can sprout."

It turned out that the lightning had come from the mountain god's hand. At that time, he was on his way to visit a friend and happened to see Luoli and Doukou being driven into a dead end, so he saved them on a whim. It was just that as a mountain god, it was not appropriate for him to show himself, as that would break the rules of the Divine Realm. It was fortunate that he had foreseen the arrival of Long Qi and the others, which was why he had resorted to this desperate measure.

"So, you were actually doing a good deed?" Long Qi said, sheathing his sword.

The mountain god rubbed his hands with a fawning smile: "It's nothing, nothing, just a small effort."

But Banxia gave a light snort: "What kind of good deed is this? To save two people, you made the commoners at the foot of the mountain suffer. Can that be called a good deed?"

The mountain god looked embarrassed upon hearing this: "This old man didn't think much at the time; I was just in a hurry to save people. Who would have expected this fellow to suck up all the water in the vicinity?"

Hearing this, Luoli immediately bowed to the mountain god, thanking him and apologizing, saying only that he had been reckless and was willing to accept punishment. The mountain god didn't mind, saying it was all in the past, and helped him up.

Zhao Wuyang suddenly remembered something and hurriedly asked, "I once heard the villagers say that someone had come to the mountain to explore earlier but could never return. Was that also the handiwork of the mountain god?"

The mountain god scratched his head and laughed: "The commotion caused by the Merfolk's deep pool was too great, making it visible from far away. If those people had known of his existence, it's hard to say if they wouldn't have driven him away. I was afraid of complications, so I set up a Maze Array. Now that the array has been lifted, those people naturally returned to where they came from."

Hearing this, Long Qi stepped forward and grabbed the mountain god's robe, saying viciously, "Didn't you say earlier that the array wasn't set up by you? You were full of lies to trick me!"

The mountain god patted Long Qi's hand with a fawning smile: "Hey~ young man, don't be so angry. Let's talk things over. If you let this old man go, I still have things to tell you."

Long Qi snorted and released the mountain god. He saw the mountain god calmly straighten his clothes, and then, with a 'whoosh', he vanished without a trace.

This actually made Xinyi and Liu Xia laugh; this mountain god was truly somewhat unreliable.

Long Qi, however, was incredibly annoyed and roared at the surroundings: "You cursed old man, you're playing tricks again! Don't let me catch you; if I meet you, I'll beat you every time I see you!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a burst of laughter came from all around, and then the mountain god's voice was heard: "Being so violent at a young age will inevitably lead to suffering later. You had better get on your way now; there are people in the southeast waiting for you to save them!" After saying this, he laughed heartily for a while, and then no more sound came.

Everyone was puzzled upon hearing this. People waiting to be saved in the southeast? What kind of people? And where is the southeast?

Just as everyone was at a loss, Long Qi frowned in deep thought. Seeing this, Xinyi suddenly remembered that Nanhua seemed to be in their southeast direction now. Could the mountain god's implication be that something had happened there?

The well in Fengwu Village suddenly began to produce water again overnight, and the water tasted even sweeter than before. Even more magically, some elderly people who were on the verge of death were able to get out of bed and work the next day after drinking the water from the well.

The able-bodied men who had gone into the mountains to investigate earlier had also returned to the village; when asked where they had been all these days, they could not give a clear answer, only saying that it felt as if they had had a dream, as if they had simply gone into the mountains to take a nap.

The land, which had originally been parched, had miraculously sprouted crops overnight, and the paddy fields were a lush, vibrant green, a truly delightful sight to behold.

Seeing Long Qi and his group return, the villagers assumed it was all because of them and bowed to the ground one by one, calling them "living immortals" with every breath, which made Long Qi feel very embarrassed.

To thank them, the villagers specially prepared a banquet, though it was somewhat meager due to the lack of harvests in the village for so long; however, the group did not mind at all, eating the simple food and drinking the mellow rice wine, enjoying a scene of harmony and joy.

Yet, Long Qi kept the Mountain God's words in his heart, always feeling that he should hurry on his way. Thus, the group quietly left the village the next day before dawn.

Because Luoli was of the Merfolk and could not stay away from water for too long, and because Jiuque Mountain was to the northeast of Fengwu Village, they parted ways with Long Qi shortly after leaving the village.

Before leaving, Long Qi gave Luoli a bottle of Pill, which Lingxiang had stuffed into his bag before he went down the mountain to gain experience; it was a bottle of Yangling Pill.

Although this Yangling Pill was a Pill, it was a gentle, nourishing medicine, and even mortals without cultivation could take it.

Doukou's Demon Poison had now been dispelled, but her body was still very weak, and furthermore, she was pregnant and should be resting. However, Luoli's Merfolk identity was too conspicuous; if discovered by those with ill intentions, given human greed, she would inevitably be imprisoned. To avoid complications, they had to hurry, but this way, Doukou's body might not be able to bear it.

Not long after the two parties separated, the group headed straight toward Nanhua.

Along the way, Xin Yi felt a sense of unease; the events he experienced while trapped in the Mountain God's Spirit-Bewitching Array were still vivid in his mind.

As for what he had experienced, it concerned Maidong.

In the illusion, Maidong was in danger, and he risked his life to save her, only to fail at the very last moment; yet, once it ended, it would start all over again, repeating in a cycle.

And the one who caused Maidong to fall into danger was, in fact...

It was his own mother...

When the Mountain God appeared earlier, he had stared at him from time to time, as if he had something to say to him; could it be that the Mountain God was giving him a hint at that time?

Liu Xia had not expected that Banxia would come along with them; in her words, she was following the guidance of the Eight Trigrams Plate, but he looked at that Eight Trigrams Plate and found it extremely ordinary, unable to see any mystery in it at all.

Banxia naturally had her own questions; when the Mountain God was leaving, she had heard some strange words in her ear, and after descending the mountain, she discovered a strange floral pattern on her arm that would not wash off no matter how hard she scrubbed.

Ajin was now perched on Zhao Wuyang's shoulder, but Zhao Wuyang was no longer as excited as when he had first come out; he did not know what he was thinking, and the liveliness of the past was completely gone throughout the journey.

The group set off on the road, each harboring their own thoughts, and what lay ahead remained a complete mystery.