Chapter 133: The Fear of Wild Imagination

What is that thing? As a dignified City God, why should I fear such a thing?

But upon seeing Mu Qingcao's expression, he changed his mind and decided to take shelter with her first.

Given that she knew he was a City God, the fact that Mu Qingcao still appeared so terrified—a fear from the bottom of her heart—indicated that the thing was likely no simple matter and must be very dangerous.

With the strength of the enemy and himself unknown, it was clearly unwise to rashly court danger.

Mu Qingcao sprinted ahead, while Su Yuanshan followed at a steady pace, but because he used the minor technique of Shrinking the Earth to an Inch, he was much less exhausted than Mu Qingcao.

On both sides, trees and rocks flew backward rapidly; as the fog grew thicker, Su Yuanshan could even feel that something was approaching them quickly.

A bizarre bell sound suddenly rang out behind them, and it was getting closer.

Mu Qingcao seemed even more terrified and urged him anxiously.

"Faster, Prefecture Lord! It has discovered us, it's about to catch up!"

Su Yuanshan let out a cold snort, ignoring everything else; he reached out and grabbed Mu Qingcao's wrist, then channeled his divine power. With a 'whoosh', he soared into the air, leaping a hundred zhang, and in the blink of an eye, he left the bizarre bell sound behind. After a few leaps, he arrived before Mu Qingcao's small Shennikan.

Only then did Mu Qingcao heave a sigh of relief. Her slender fingers formed a seal, and she muttered an incantation. A white light emerged from her fair fingertips, which she flicked into the Shennikan.

As a cloud of mist rose, a blurry residence appeared before their eyes, though it was somewhat crude.

Mu Qingcao pushed open the door directly and said to Su Yuanshan.

"Prefecture Lord, come in quickly!"

Suddenly, the bizarre bell sound appeared again, seemingly right at their doorstep; the two of them had not expected it to be so fast!

From within the thick fog, an ugly hand, resembling a chicken claw, suddenly reached out, appearing as if it were about to grab Su Yuanshan's back.

At that moment, Mu Qingcao pulled Su Yuanshan inside the door and slammed it shut with a 'bang'.

That monster hand grabbed at nothing and gradually retreated back into the thick fog.

At that moment, Mu Qingcao's heart felt as if it were about to jump out of her chest, though she had no heart, it was just a sensation.

She listened carefully and cautiously to the movement outside until the bell sound grew more and more distant, and only then did she heave a sigh of relief.

Su Yuanshan had been observing her every move until this moment, when he asked.

"Miss Qingcao, what is that thing? Why are you so afraid of it?"

Mu Qingcao shook her head, her face full of lingering fear.

"This humble one does not know what it is either, but every time after an Earth Rumble, it appears.

However, the timing is never the same!

Back in our West Spirit Dynasty, we all used the term 'Earth Mother's Demon-Slaying Ghost' to refer to it.

But no one knows what it is; they only know it is terrifying, and once caught by it, one can never return!

I think the Mountain God might know its background; you might as well ask them."

Su Yuanshan nodded slightly.

"Is that so? It seems I must properly ask the Mountain God another day."

Su Yuanshan guessed that those two Mountain Gods must know some secrets, otherwise why would they run so fast upon seeing that thing?

What were they afraid of?

Two Mountain Gods were actually afraid of an unknown creature; what kind of sacred being was this creature, exactly?

Why were they afraid? Had they fought it before?

And that Earth Mother, I have never heard of such a deity? Perhaps she is not a god at all? Or she could be a god. She could also be something else, who knows? But that it is very dangerous should be an indisputable fact.

As for whether this Earth Mother and the Demon-Slaying Ghost are in league—who knows?

Su Yuanshan felt a headache coming on just thinking about these things, coupled with the events that had occurred previously, such as the discovery and execution of reincarnators; who could guarantee that all reincarnators were teammates, living in harmony and united against outsiders? That they wouldn't kill each other?

He had originally thought he was the only lucky one, the only reincarnator, the chosen one, but after discovering two other reincarnators, Su Yuanshan's sense of superiority plummeted.

The two he encountered—one was trapped and begged him for help, while the other was killed outright—showed that their strength was nothing to write home about, which meant there were more reincarnators than just himself, and likely more than just two.

It also showed that in this bizarre world, a reincarnator is not some chosen son of heaven, but rather quite fragile! There is no advantage to speak of; being cautious, seeking stability, seeking to survive, and seeking to lie flat might be the best strategy, at least for him. As long as he keeps an eye on the lamp oil of his Life-Bound Divine Lamp, after all, he doesn't need to worry about his own lifespan at all.

However, for some reason, he faintly felt that an invisible hand seemed to be manipulating all of this!

When this crazy thought first arose in his heart, he was startled by his own wild imagination. Yet, slowly, he felt it was unlikely, because this idea was too crazy; he was a god of this world!

What else could be above a deity? Manipulating a deity? Ridiculous!

Seeing Su Yuanshan silent and staring at her, Mu Qingcao felt a bit flushed and embarrassed, but how could she know that Su Yuanshan was currently deducing his wild imagination in his heart, causing him to stare blankly at one spot, which led to the misunderstanding.

"Prefecture Lord, Prefecture Lord..." Mu Qingcao called out twice, and only then did Su Yuanshan return to his senses and ask.

"Miss, what is it?"

Mu Qingcao asked doubtfully.

"Did your spirit beast not follow you in?"

At her words, Su Yuanshan realized that the little white fox was missing. His heart skipped a beat, and just as he was about to push the door open to search, he was stopped by Mu Qingcao.

"Prefecture Lord, you had better wait a moment; that Demon-Slaying Ghost hasn't gone far yet. If you go out rashly, I fear..."

However, Su Yuanshan channeled a wisp of divine power to protect her body, then handed the City God's Demon-Slaying Sword to her and said.

"That is no ordinary spirit beast; it is my subordinate deity!

I must go find it. I leave this sword to you to repair, but you must trust me; I will not let your soul scatter."

Saying this, he pushed the door open and left, disappearing into the fog covering the mountains and plains in the blink of an eye.

He had originally planned to repair the City God's Demon-Slaying Sword and, after finding the whereabouts of Baie Hou, completely eradicate this scourge. Su Yuanshan would naturally not be merciful to his enemies, but he had not expected so many complications to arise now.

He sighed, thinking to himself, is it true that I am destined to toil for a lifetime?

Suddenly appearing outside the small Shennikan, Su Yuanshan discovered that although the fog outside seemed to have dissipated quite a bit, visibility was still not very high.

Su Yuanshan summoned the Water Spirit Pearl, drawing in nearby stream water to form a water shield to protect his body, then took out the Huanying Shenxing Lü and put them on his feet, and finally took out the spirit-grade long sword and the Baoqi Long Sword, suspending them behind his shoulders.

He then took out the Yellow Dao Purple Gold Bell, the Immortal-Shaking Mirror, and a random teleportation talisman, channeling several strands of divine power to control these magical treasures and talismans, like an invisible octopus. It could be said that he had pushed the concept of 'seeking stability' to the extreme. Only then did he heave a sigh of relief and walk toward the foggy forest, while simultaneously using his divine sense to search the entire mountain, attempting to find the whereabouts of the little white fox, yet he found nothing.