Chapter 539: Which Mountain God Are You Referring To?

The reward of ten thousand merit points surprised him a little, but it wasn't unexpected—killing bad people normally earns merit; he just didn't expect to gain ten thousand merit from Qi Wenshan, though he had earned ten thousand merit before, not for the first time, at most Qi Wenshan had done many bad deeds earlier.

Adding his cultivation, he could commit even greater evils, and the system judged him as an extremely dangerous bad person, which is why it instantly rewarded him with ten thousand merit.

What surprised him was the talent he gained: Slay Demons and Eliminate Devils!

It wasn't that killing enemies wouldn't earn such talent rewards; his surprise was that he had already slain monsters before this.

Why didn't he get the talent reward Slay Demons and Eliminate Devils back then, but only now, when he killed Qi Wenshan, does he receive that talent reward?

'Is the system bugged?'

Wang Ping'an couldn't help but a speculation arise in his mind, but this speculation didn't stay three seconds in his mind before he dispelled it himself—maybe he himself had a bug, the system wouldn't bug, he speculated:

'Could it be that to obtain this talent one must meet many conditions?'

Based on this speculation, Wang Ping'an couldn't help but one speculation after another surface in his mind, pondering:

'Slay Demons and Eliminate Devils, slay demons and eliminate devils—not only must one slay monsters, but also slay evil devils; I had slain monsters before, and now I have slain Qi Wenshan—perhaps Qi Wenshan is that evil devil, which is why the talent Slay Demons and Eliminate Devils is rewarded.'

Wang Ping'an found this speculation highly plausible, so he stopped pondering why killing Qi Wenshan earned the reward—Talent: Slay Demons and Eliminate Devils—and became more curious about what this talent does.

Could it be that when fighting demons and monsters, it increases attack power or intimidates them?

"Dad, dad, dad, are you okay?"

While Wang Ping'an was lost in endless curiosity, a cry rang out from outside the Mountain God Temple square; the voice was very familiar—it was his maternal uncle Zhang Chengyong's voice, who exclaimed in surprise: 'How did he come here?'

At this time, it was roughly the early morning; villagers who work at sunrise and rest at sunset were likely already asleep. Even if Zhang Chengyong had business, he couldn't possibly come this late. Suppressing his curiosity, he hid in an inconspicuous spot, watching Zhang Chengyong grip a long blade flashing with cold light, warily stepping in from outside the Mountain God Temple.

"This is……"

As soon as Zhang Chengyong entered the Mountain God Temple, he instantly saw a corpse in an inconspicuous spot; upon closer look, it was Qi Wenshan's corpse, with a horrifying blood hole in his chest, especially frightening—it was this wound that took his life, and he exclaimed in surprise:

"Master Qi, didn't you just return not long after the god‑ascension ceremony ended today? How could you be here, or have died a miserable death here—who dealt you this fatal blow?"

In that moment, myriad thoughts flashed through Zhang Chengyong's mind, but he paid no heed; the corpse of Qi Wenshan lay before him, his gaze wandering the surroundings—aside from Qi Wenshan's corpse, he saw nothing abnormal, and he hurriedly ran into the Mountain God Temple.

He instantly saw his father and Zhang Guilian held in his father's arms!

"How could she be here this late?"

Zhang Chengyong frowned slightly, but he had no time to wonder why Zhang Guilian was out so late; he sneaked out of the Zhang family estate, came to the Mountain God Temple, fainted on the ground, didn't rush to check his father's condition, but instead scanned the temple inside and out, finding nothing unusual, then walked over briskly.

With the aid of the Mountain God Token, his father already possessed a body like a human's, but far stronger—many times over.

Zhang Chengyong approached his father, knelt down, gave him a push, and shouted: "Dad, dad, dad, wake up, wake up!"

"Qi Wenshan, you promised me—I would yield the Lion Ridge Mountain God's position to you, I won't resist, you won't harm my younger sister and my family's lives…" Zhang Deben was shaken violently by Zhang Chengyong, his consciousness slowly emerging from endless darkness; he instinctively opened his lead‑heavy eyes, saw not Qi Wenshan but Zhang Chengyong, and panicked:

"Chengyong, how are you here? Didn't I tell your mother to take the whole family and flee?"

'So that's how it is!'

Wang Ping'an, hiding in the dark and observing, heard his uncle's words and immediately understood.

He understood why his maternal uncle had suddenly appeared outside the Mountain God Temple for no apparent reason, and realized his paternal uncle had fallen into Qi Wenshan's scheme; lacking the strength to resist, he would say those words to Qi Wenshan, offering non‑resistance as the price, allowing Qi Wenshan to seize his Lion Ridge Mountain God post and spare his family and Zhang Guilian's lives.

On the surface they pinned all hopes on Qi Wenshan keeping his word, while secretly they burdened his paternal grandmother, having her lead the family's escape.

They hadn't expected that his paternal grandmother would receive a dream‑message from his paternal uncle, and instead of fleeing with the family, she sent Zhang Chengyong to the Mountain God Temple to check the situation.

No wonder he felt something was off just now—his paternal uncle had dealt with all sorts of people his whole life; what kind of person is Qi Wenshan? His uncle surely saw through him, so why would he pin all his hopes on Qi Wenshan?

So his paternal uncle was……

"Building a plank road openly while sneaking through Chencang secretly!"

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"Dad, my mother just woke us up, saying you suddenly ran into your dream, shouting loudly, telling us to leave Lion Ridge; before she could ask what happened, you vanished from her dream!"

Having said that, Zhang Chengyong paused, looking at Zhang Deben and Zhang Guilian lying on the ground; he glanced around once more, still seeing nothing abnormal, and asked in bewilderment:

"Dad, what exactly happened that would make you have our whole family flee Lion Ridge!"

"You beast, and your mother too—why won't you listen to me? Are you trying to piss me off to death, just to make yourself happy?"

Zhang Deben cursed, and before he finished speaking, a cold laugh rang out: "Zhang Chengyong, you little bastard, perfect timing—stay here and bury yourself with your father!"

Zhang Chengyong's face darkened; he glared angrily at Zhang Guilian, who had somehow awakened and was struggling out of his father's embrace, and he snapped:

"Second Aunt, what do you mean by that?"

"Do you realize? Before long, your father's soul will scatter, and even his Lion Ridge Mountain God position belongs to the Mountain God…"

Zhang Guilian snorted coldly; before she finished speaking, her peripheral vision saw no trace of Qi Wenshan in the Mountain God Temple, and the smug look on her face instantly turned to panic as she said:

"Mountain God, Mountain God, where have you gone?"

(End of chapter)