Chapter 683: Chapter 683

“Sir, you’re checking out?”

“Where will you be going this time?”

“South? Could it be that you're going to Xuzhou?” The shopkeeper, taking the key from Song You, froze in surprise.

“Surely you’re not planning to cross those hundreds of li of barren mountains?” The shopkeeper frowned.

“No need for you to worry.”

“You mustn’t go, sir! That road was abandoned by the authorities years ago, and has long since become the domain of monsters and ghosts. In the past, only a few bold merchants dared to take that route. But in recent years, monsters and spirits have grown more and more numerous, and even many merchants have stopped going that way. These days, the only people who venture in are those specifically seeking encounters with them!”

The shopkeeper paused for breath, his mouth dry from speaking too quickly, then went on anxiously, “In the old days, if you wanted to take that road, that would’ve been one thing. Few went that way, true, but it wasn’t often you heard of travelers being harmed in those mountains. Yet these past two days, something strange has happened. There’s thunder in winter, thunder on sunny days, thunder without rain. The townsfolk all say it’s a sign of a great event.

“And just yesterday, we heard that from those mountains to the south, hundreds of li away, all manner of beasts and flocks of birds have been fleeing, some of them even monsters. No one knows what’s happening in there. To be safe, even those who deliberately go to those mountains to meet monsters, or those traveling from Hezhou to visit the mountain gods, should avoid entering right now.”

Clutching the key, the shopkeeper stared at the Daoist, worry written plainly across his face, looking ready to grab him by the sleeve to stop him.

The Daoist only smiled. Seeing that smile, the shopkeeper thought he didn’t believe him, and became even more anxious.

But the Daoist merely said with a light laugh, “It seems your kindness surpasses even that of the old shopkeeper.”

“What?”  The shopkeeper was momentarily puzzled.

“We’ll be taking our leave,” the Daoist continued with a smile, bowing to him. “If you return to your hometown and see your esteemed father, please give him our regards. Tell him we have come back for another bowl of his soup noodles, and are not people who break our word.”

The shopkeeper stood there, stunned. By the time he came to his senses, the Daoist had already turned and gone.

From the satchel slung over his left side, there was a stir, and out popped a fuzzy head, its fur dappled in color, with eyes like glass or amber, staring straight at him.

The shopkeeper gaped.

A long moment later, he rushed out the door to look, but the street was already empty, the immortal nowhere to be seen.

The moment the Daoist stepped out of Southern Art County, the thunder overhead grew sharper and more intense, as if exploding right above him. The wind and clouds in the sky shifted, and vague silhouettes began to form.

As he walked, the Daoist waved his hand.

Fog rose naturally from the ground, wind came without warning from the sky. The mist rose into clouds, pulled along by the wind, becoming a lower layer of cloud that blotted out the sun, the higher clouds, and the prying gaze of the immortals above.

A god in the heavens blew wind in return, trying to disperse the clouds the Daoist had summoned.

From the clouds came flashes of gold and white light. Other gods were opening their eyes wide, using their divine sight to pierce the mist and glimpse what lay below.

The contest of magical skill had already begun.

The Daoist, unhurried, continued walking and patted the satchel at his waist.

“What is it? We’ve already left the city, do I still have to hide in the satchel, meow?”

“That’s not what I mean.”

“Because I’m about to enter the mountains to visit a mountain god, and may have to cross spells with other deities, causing chaos. As you heard from the shopkeeper, many monsters have been fleeing from the mountains ahead. I fear they might reach the city and cause trouble.” Song You’s tone was calm as he spoke, lowering his head to meet the cat’s gaze. She had her paws hooked over the satchel’s edge, her head tilted up toward him.

From those shining eyes, he caught a glimpse of something else, and paused for a heartbeat before adjusting his words, “First, Lady Calico, you’re still young. Though your talent is exceptional and your cultivation has advanced quickly, you cannot yet compare to those ancient gods of the Heavenly Palace, who have lived for thousands of years. If you were to come with me, even if they might not deliberately target you and the swallow, you could still be injured by accident. Second, I’d like you and the swallow to remain in the city and watch over the townsfolk, so that those monsters fleeing from the barren mountains don’t get the chance to cause trouble.”

He had added a few honest truths into his explanation.

Lady Calico tilted her head back to meet his gaze, her eyes flickering. Only after a long while did she shift about inside the satchel, find a foothold, and spring out in one bound, landing lightly on the ground.

She said nothing, simply fixed her eyes on him. In the past two or three years, this had more or less become her habit.

“I’ll have to trouble you two then, Lady Calico and Yan An.”

The Daoist set down the satchel in his hand, and also placed the brocade pouch on the ground, taking with him only the swallow’s Skybinder before heading onward.

The cat sat where she was, the swallow perched in the nearby tree, both watching the Daoist’s retreating back. Neither the feline face nor the avian face showed any expression.

If his figure was hidden by trees and shrubs, the cat would stand up like a human. If standing wasn’t enough, she would climb the tree. Only when she could no longer see him at all did she come down from the tree, her face solemn, and slip into the grass in the direction of Southern Art County.

At last, the wind in the heavens scattered the low clouds.

The eyes of several divine officers and heavenly generals shone like light and lightning, scouring the mountain paths below in search of the Daoist’s figure.

The Daoist no longer tried to block their sight.

The Heavenly Palace had many capable beings, not fools, each with their own strengths and specializations. The Daoist’s learning was far too broad; even with deep cultivation, it was difficult to match them in these particular skills.

It was early morning.

Not far beyond Southern Art County, the road grew ever more remote, the villages and dwellings along it fewer and fewer. When there were any, they were only a few scattered thatched huts tucked into the hills. An overgrown old road stretched ahead, leading into a vast, unending sea of mountains.

Leaning on his bamboo staff, the Daoist stepped alone into the mountains.

Thunder boomed overhead like war drums, as though to shake the heart apart.

He had only just crossed a hilltop and left the road below, barely entering the bounds of this great mountain range when the dense altocumulus clouds overhead parted, revealing a tiny black speck.

At first, high above the vault of the sky, it was so small it made the clouds beside it seem no bigger than a fingernail, nearly invisible. But in just a few breaths, it grew larger and larger, gradually blotting out the clouds, blotting out the sun, casting vast shadows upon the earth.

Looking up, he saw it was a large, perfectly square seal. On it, in ancient script, were written the words: Press down the heavens and earth; subdue all ages past and present.

The Daoist vaguely recalled that the archives of Hidden Dragon Temple had mentioned this seal; it was the treasured possession of an ancient god, the Western Origin Saint, one of the Four Saints of the Four Directions.

But the Daoist did not hurry.

This massive seal was far too large, and far too high up. Heaven and earth had their distance, and it could not fall to the ground in just a moment.

When it drew closer and closer, its astonishing spiritual power and crushing pressure already clear to the senses, the mountains below suddenly rumbled, spiritual energy boiling over.

Stone pillars shot upward, surging against gravity, soaring into the sky.

Within the mountain range, the land to the southeast, southwest, northwest, and northeast suddenly heaved upward, forming four precipitous peaks like the sky-supporting pillars of myth, that rammed straight into the base of the seal. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ Novᴇl_Fire(.)net

By now, the seal hung only a few hundred zhang above the ground, nearly blotting out the sun. If it weren’t for the light it radiated itself, even the characters carved on its base would have been hard to make out. It was almost impossible to imagine how heavy it truly was, or how great its might.

When the two forces collided, the sound shook heaven and earth.

The peaks that touched the seal’s base cracked apart almost instantly, boulders flying like falling stars. Faint fissures began to appear along their slopes.

Even so, the four mountains stood like four colossal pillars, holding the great seal firmly in place.

“Gods of the Heavenly Palace, Four Saints of the Four Directions, why have you come to shatter my mountain domain?”

A deep, muffled voice rumbled from somewhere among the mountains. It was impossible to tell which peak it came from, or if all four spoke at once.

“Hmph!” a cold snort came from above.

Scarlet light flared from the seal, dyeing the mountains below a blood-red hue. Its weight increased yet again, pressing downward.

Cracks split through the four sky-supporting pillars.

Between the mountains, the stone rose again, this time forming an enormous hand that pushed upward. The seal was held fast once more.

Moments later, it shrank in size and soared back into the sky. Sunlight poured down again.

In the heavens now stood a host of divine beings.

The Four Saints of the Four Directions: the Eastern Sun Saint, the Southern Gold Saint, the Western Origin Saint, and the Northern Combat Saint, each accompanied by disciples and followers, each occupying a cardinal position.

Two unfamiliar Buddhas sat cross-legged upon lotus thrones, slightly farther back, with Bodhisattvas, Arhats, and disciples behind them.

There were also heavenly officers and generals: two of the Nine Star Lords, one of the Four Marshals, and a small portion of the Twenty-Eight Constellations, arrayed toward the center.

For a moment, divine radiance shimmered and treasures blazed with dazzling light.

“I have long heard the story of an inherent mountain god in the mortal realm, one of great power, who refuses to submit to the Heavenly Palace’s rule. This is the perfect chance to wipe him out in one stroke!”

It was the voice of the Western Origin Saint that rang out from above.

She was the only woman among the Four Saints of the Four Directions.

Though her voice was feminine, it was icy cold, and there was not the slightest trace of small talk with the Mountain God of Pingzhou. Since the Heavenly Palace had long intended to eradicate him, and they already knew of his alliance with Song You, she was unwilling to utter even a single courteous phrase or word of persuasion. The haughtiness of the ancient deities was plain to see.

The Mountain God of Pingzhou, hearing this, made no reply.

But in the next instant, without sound or warning, heaven and earth changed.

These hundreds of li of mountains were the cradle that had nurtured the Mountain God of Pingzhou. The Mountain God was the mountains, and the mountains were the Mountain God, this was his domain.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth visibly turned away from the sky above, gathering instead around the Daoist and into the earth itself. Even the incense-fueled power of mortal vows drifting in from all sides was hindered. This domain was rejecting the gods.

The earth shook. The vast mountain ranges, stretching for hundreds of li, seemed to come alive. Ridges shifted like great dragons and serpents, and the Four Saints of the Four Directions revealed their true forms.

In an instant, divine light and magical treasures rained down from the heavens, not at the Daoist, but striking the mountains below, aiming first to shatter the Mountain God’s domain.

All around, the land split and crumbled. “The gods dwell in the heavens, while we stand upon the ground. Such a battleground is truly unfair to the Mountain God, let us invite them down.”

As the Daoist spoke, he drew out a feather fan and waved it once before him.

The gods above, caught off guard, immediately plummeted from the sky like dumplings dropping into a pot.