Chapter 516: Third Third Shixiong, I will protect you

"Has the Mountain God explained it to Emperor Yu Jian?"

"Naturally, I went to report it!" The Mountain God said, "But Emperor Yu Jian doesn't care either!"

"I see..."

Lin Jue knew—

Although the war in the mortal realm had not yet been settled, and King Yue was still putting up a desperate struggle, Emperor Yu Jian had already bowed his head to Emperor Zi Xu, and divine beings from both sides of the human war were no longer participating.

This was not because Emperor Yu Jian had no backbone, but because there were differences between the struggle of divine beings and the struggle of humans. Divine beings would not engage in meaningless struggles to add to the casualties of divine beings and the disasters of humans. Moreover, if King Yue lost, his whole clan wouldn't be left, but if divine beings lost, they wouldn't be liquidated.

However, even after Zi Di ascended the throne and entered the Nine Heavens, the west, north, and south were still the incense territories of the other three emperors. Although every palace and temple had to worship Zi Di, and most palaces and temples had to place Zi Di's statue in the middle, the three emperors still had great decision-making power in their own incense territories.

Ordinarily, even if Emperor Yu Jian failed, as long as he wasn't liquidated, he had the right to decide on the appointment and dismissal of a small Mountain God in his own incense territory.

It was clearly because he had just failed and didn't want to touch Zi Di's bad luck in such matters.

Coupled with the fact that Zi Di was always heard to be strong and domineering, it was not impossible that he wanted to take some divine beings in the south as a breakthrough, both to promote his own tendencies and to show his dignity in the south.

"I heard that Zi Di started by subduing demons and exorcising ghosts, so the Mountain God must be careful." Lin Jue said.

"I'm not afraid." The Mountain God was still rugged, stuffing the immortal fruit into his bosom, and found a wooden stake on Langtou Mountain, where the grass was like silk, and sat down casually. "Although I am a yaoguai, I am definitely not a demon. And after all, I was once a Mountain God. Even if it was a Mountain God recognized by the previous dynasty's government and Tianweng, I at least had a name in the Nine Heavens' divine register. As long as I am honest and dutiful from now on, and don't get caught with any handles, they have no reason to attack me, hum hum."

The incense offerings of the human world were truly extraordinary.

Besides changing the appearance of this Mountain God, making him lean toward the original statue in the temple at the foot of the mountain, his conversation and behavior were also very different from before.

Thinking of the Mountain Lord on Langtou Mountain who had exchanged a large amount of wealth with the Daoists of Qiyun Mountain for a common "Yin-Yang Sutra" and couldn't understand it, thinking of the Mountain Lord who was entrusted with a heavy responsibility by Jun Niangniang Yao Hua but made a mistake in confusion, and then looking at this one now, Lin Jue, like him, sighed with emotion.

However, Lin Jue agreed with the Mountain God's words.

No matter how domineering Emperor Zi Xu was, he was still a divine being.

This Mountain God was a yaoguai, but he had once been a god.

Dismissing him still required a reason. If he were erased for no reason, it would not only be exorcising yaoguai, but would also hurt the face and dignity of divine beings.

And this Mountain God's Daoist practice and ability were just right—

Neither weak to the point of having no power to resist, nor strong to the point of catching Zi Di's eye.

Lin Jue said to him: "The Mountain God has such a large stretch of green mountains, so many yaoguai and ghosts who respect you, and so many macaques and small yaoguai to serve you. If you ask me, not being a Mountain God, being a Mountain Lord again is also fine!"

"Hahahaha!"

These words clearly touched the Mountain Lord's heart.

Only hearing him laugh loudly, even clapping his hands:

"Exactly! Exactly! Not being a Mountain God, I have fewer worries and less meddling in idle affairs, and I am very free. Besides having less incense, there are no other disadvantages!"

The Mountain Lord had always been optimistic; in ordinary times, he comforted himself exactly like this.

He even wanted to treat Lin Jue as a confidant.

"Come, come! I have brewed a few new jars of wine. Although I haven't gathered enough Yin-Yang essence and it's not time for a wine banquet, we can still have a drink!" The Mountain God enthusiastically greeted Lin Jue, bowed to the white fox beside him, and pointed to a relatively flat stone in the grass. "I also invite Jun Niangniang Fuyao to take the seat of honor. Hum, seat of honor, seat of honor, two fellow Daoists, please take the seat of honor too."

"I wouldn't dare."

"Children, quickly go lift the wine and prepare some good food for humans and foxes!"

Many macaques heard this and left, looking back every step of the way.

Lin Jue didn't take the seat of honor and sat cross-legged on the ground.

This place was full of green grass, like silk, all blown by the wind to the same side, gentle and green, pleasing to the eye and calming the heart, and sitting on it was extremely soft.

The Xiao Xiao Shimei sat beside him.

The fox jumped lightly onto the stone and sat down.

"Why did Fellow Daoist suddenly run all the way back here to visit relatives? Did someone in your family pass away?"

"Not so."

Lin Jue told him about his return.

While talking, many macaques also carried the Thousand-Day Wine, using bamboo tubes and some kind of rolled trumpet-shaped plant as wine cups, and used banana leaves to spread on the grass as a table, placing wild fruits of spring on it, as well as some dried fruits and nuts saved from last year, and caught a few fish to roast.

The Mountain Lord's life was very nourishing.

But when this Mountain Lord finished listening to what Lin Jue said, he was stunned.

His eyes flickered, and it took a long time for his brain to organize the key points from the Daoist's calm words.

"So Fellow Daoist, as an immortal, while the Northern Imperial army is launching a massive expedition to the south, you brought down thunder and struck dead a great general of the Imperial court?"

"More or less."

"This is a great cause and effect! It not only delays the Imperial court's unification of the world but also delays Zi Di's spread of incense!"

"I don't eat incense, so I don't fear cause and effect." Lin Jue said calmly, raising his cup to drink, savoring the fruity aroma of the wine, "Moreover, how could such things not be done?"

"It's not that simple..."

Now it was the Mountain Lord's turn to worry for Lin Jue.

After a few cups of fine wine, his head turned back into a wild boar's head. He sat on the stone with his chest open, aiming his small eyes at the carefree fox beside Lin Jue who was lowering its head to add wine. This seemingly silly and careless Mountain Lord clearly considered more.

He knew the identity of this Highness.

Because it was he who, under the order of Jun Niangniang Yao Hua, sent Fuyao to Lin Jue's side.

A general indulging his subordinates in looting and killing, being struck dead by a virtuous immortal, was indeed hard to pick faults with. If an immortal didn't enter the Nine Heavens to be a god and only sought to be carefree, it was indeed possible to act as one pleased. Even if Zi Di was as domineering as he was, he wouldn't necessarily find trouble with him because of this.

However, this immortal in front of him had a special feature, which was that he was related to Jun Niangniang Yao Hua, a great power among yaoguai rarely seen in the world.

And that Zi Di started by subduing demons and exorcising ghosts.

But the Mountain Lord's eyeballs turned and turned, and he didn't know what to say.

"Zi Di is domineering!" The Mountain Lord thought for a while, and only tactfully reminded, "Fellow Daoist and Jun Niangniang are together. Now that Zi Di has entered the Nine Heavens, you should be more low-key and careful than me!"

"What is called low-key?"

"I have heard of those immortals; they cultivate in the mountains all day, drink wine in the clouds, don't ask about world disputes, don't care about changing the world, and their names have long disappeared from the human world..."

"I know what the Mountain Lord means, and other friends have also reminded me about Fuyao. Mountain Lord doesn't know, but before this, I had already been cultivating in the mountains for several years." Lin Jue said, "Still the same sentence, it's really impossible not to come, and impossible not to do."

"Has Fellow Daoist ever gone to visit Jun Niangniang Yao Hua?"

"To tell you the truth, I have never seen Jun Niangniang Yao Hua's true face." Lin Jue said, "If the Mountain Lord knows where she is, I am willing to take Fuyao to visit her."

"I... how would I know?"

"You don't know either?"

"I... I am just a small yaoguai. How could we small yaoguai know or ask about Jun Niangniang's whereabouts?"

Speaking of Jun Niangniang Yao Hua, this Mountain Lord lost his dignity.

That was the divine being they yaoguai originally worshipped, the great power in their hearts.

Besides the gap in status, there was also the reverence in their hearts, which led him to be significantly more respectful when speaking of Jun Niangniang Yao Hua than of Zi Di or the previous Tianweng.

"However, Jun Niangniang has great miraculous powers and knows everything. We are talking about her here, mentioning her old lady's name; perhaps her old lady already knows." The Mountain Lord said, "If her old lady has the heart to come and see Fellow Daoist, Fellow Daoist will naturally see her."

"So that's how it is."

Lin Jue sat cross-legged in the mountains, blowing the clear breeze, with white clouds overhead, and fell into thought.

Fellow Daoist Jiang had reminded him once before, and now the Mountain Lord reminded him again; he naturally had already attached importance to it.

Jun Niangniang Yao Hua was a yaoguai, and a great sage among yaoguai.

It was said that the previous Tianweng—no, it should be the one before the previous Tianweng—couldn't tolerate her, and personally issued an edict. The Nine Heavens Ji Xianren Realm, one hundred thousand celestial soldiers, and the four great emperors worked together, and who knows how many True Persons and spiritual officials descended together, forcing Jun Niangniang Yao Hua to abandon her incense and Daoist field, and she had been missing ever since.

Even Emperor Yu Jian had taken action.

It was just unknown whether Emperor Zi Xu had also taken action at that time.

Fuyao was Jun Niangniang Yao Hua's descendant.

Zi Di started by subduing demons and exorcising ghosts and was tough on yaoguai. It was unknown whether he would think that Fuyao following him to the center of the world's stage was a sign that Jun Niangniang Yao Hua wanted to make a comeback, thereby finding trouble with Jun Niangniang Yao Hua, and it was unknown whether Jun Niangniang Yao Hua herself had this idea.

And this was just a conflict between a domineering Heavenly Emperor who was tough on yaoguai and a great power among yaoguai.

Lin Jue didn't know whether Jun Niangniang Yao Hua had other conflicts with him, and whether it would implicate him and Fuyao.

But if he blamed Jun Niangniang Yao Hua for this, Lin Jue couldn't bring himself to do it.

For one thing, Fuyao had long been intimate with him, inseparable. If there were no Fuyao back then, he didn't know how lonely the journey would have been. Without Fuyao, before achieving the truth, there were so many yaoguai and ghosts, and Lin Jue didn't necessarily see that he could have walked through it so smoothly. For another, without Jun Niangniang Yao Hua's help, he didn't necessarily see that he could have reached where he was now.

He could only try his best to deal with it.

Beside him, the Xiao Xiao Shimei was also drinking wine, secretly smacking her lips, listening to their idle chat, not interrupting, but it seemed she also saw her Third Third Shixiong's thoughts.

"Pa..."

Reaching out and patting her Third Third Shixiong's knee, the Xiao Xiao Shimei had a bit of wine intent:

"Third Third Shixiong, don't worry, wait for me to achieve the truth and protect you."

That was what she said casually when she was young.

Lin Jue smiled slightly, clinking glasses and drinking with her, thinking in his heart about her dragon whiskers and phoenix feathers, and also thinking that he was already an immortal, perhaps he should also seek Jun Niangniang Yao Hua and go visit her old lady once.

Drinking enough fine wine with the spring light, sleeping a nap between the blue sky, white clouds, and silky green grass, and taking a jar of fine wine, he bid farewell to the Mountain Lord and went down the mountain.