hotmtlnovel Chapter 173 The Legend of the Blood God, Current Situation of Zeshan
Chapter 173 The Legend of the Blood God, Current Situation of Zeshan
Chapter 173 The Legend of the Blood God, Current Situation of Zeshan
Since he wasn't the one who decomposed the corpse, Modi simply stopped thinking about the decomposer.
What does what Styx did have to do with him, Modi?
The entire canyon, with its tens of thousands of abandoned corpses, all ended up in the River Styx.
This move provided Modi with a large amount of Styx death energy, as well as consumables.
After clearing the canyon, the two flew through the miasma on their swords. Mo Di then used the method of controlling the four elements to manipulate the energy of the canyon and absorb all the miasma in order to prevent it from suddenly erupting one day.
After finishing all that, they headed to Dazeshan.
Long before Tianyong City was destroyed, the Su family members were transferred there on Mo Di's advice.
Although the two Su sisters had many complaints about this, they had nothing to say due to Su Youli's prestige.
When news of the Battle of Tianyong City spread, they probably felt fortunate instead.
In just two hours of flying on their swords, the two covered the distance that would have taken a carriage more than ten days to travel, and the outline of Mount Daze was already in their sight.
The mountain is steep and towering into the clouds, its outer ring enveloped by a thick layer of clouds, while all around that layer of clouds, the sky is clear and blue.
Only Daze Mountain was shrouded in clouds and mist, hazy and indistinct, making it difficult to see clearly.
"A Four-Element Cyclic Array?" Su Youli raised an eyebrow. "And it covers the entire mountain and its surrounding area. Such a large-scale project, you must have done it, right?"
She also had some knowledge of the four elements, and upon seeing the clouds and mist, she could immediately discern their power.
"Not bad, it was my first work in this area. Looking at it now, it has many flaws. I wasn't very skilled back then."
Modi said this quite seriously, which earned him an eye roll from her.
The two landed on a mountain path, sheathed their swords, and planned to walk up the mountain. Mo Di took the opportunity to introduce his base to Su Youli along the way.
They hadn't taken more than a few steps when they were surrounded.
The leader was a mountain dweller he had never seen before.
Chen Quan was an honest hunter who had lived half his life.
He should have spent most of his life like his father, hunting and driving away wild beasts for the village, until he grew old and could no longer draw his bow, or died in the jaws of a wild beast—if the Golden Wolf Royal Court had not invaded.
The invasion of the Golden Wolf Royal Court was extremely cruel. They massacred cities, humiliated women, and carried out the wheel-wielding executions, destroying the lives of countless people.
The government's inaction exacerbated the situation, forcing the people of the three prefectures to flee with their families.
Chen Quan was just one of them. Whether it was lucky or unlucky, his parents died early and he never married. He drifted along alone and escaped the massacre of a masked man in black. When he was about to starve to death, he fled to Daze Mountain.
Just as he was about to faint from hunger, the patrol team from Zeshan Village found him, gave him water and food, took him up the mountain, and gave him a place to stay.
Such a great favor almost made him kneel down before the man named Fan Jin. However, the man stopped him and said that he was not the master of the stronghold, but the Daoist Minghe was.
Then, Fan Jin told him about the many great achievements of the Styx Taoist, as well as his benevolence, tolerance, and hatred of evil.
His appearance was just like the preaching monks he had seen before.
Chen Quan couldn't help but ask, "Is that Daoist Styx some kind of deity or bodhisattva?"
Fan Jin simply smiled, opened the book in his hand called "Mo Zi," and told him about the origins of the Styx Daoist.
"The Styx Daoist is a primordial deity born in the ancient wilderness, born in the endless sea of blood, sitting on the red lotus of karmic fire, holding the Yuan Tu and A Bi swords, watching the changes of the world."
"All the filth of the world flows into the sea of blood, but I remain untainted by the mud, extremely upright, a symbol of strength."
"Courage, killing, and the innate holiness of battle."
"Because he was born from the Sea of Blood, he is known to the world as the 'Blood God.' He despises the wicked and cowards, and admires the upright, brave, and diligent. Those who are looked upon by him will gain great power and be able to ascend to the Sea of Blood to serve beneath the Lotus Throne of Karmic Fire."
"Because the Blood Sea contains all the filth of the world, the Blood God has to sit on his lotus throne to suppress the filth within the Blood Sea. He usually only sends his incarnations to walk in the world, which are the saints that you and I can see."
"Once the Blood God leaves the lotus throne, the filth within the Sea of Blood will detach itself and enter reality, turning the entire world into a lawless hell..."
These words gave Chen Quan a headache, but he still roughly understood their meaning.
"So, I'm going to sculpt a statue for that noble Blood God, just like those monks sculpt Buddha statues?" he asked.
Fan Jin shook his head. "No, the Blood God doesn't need your faith. He only needs you to do practical things, such as..."
He handed Chen Quan a sickle and said, "Perfect timing! A batch of crops in the field is ripe, and we're a bit short-handed. Could you help harvest them?"
Chen Quan instinctively took the sickle, blinked, and asked, "That's it?"
"That's it." He closed the book and said calmly, "We follow the teachings of Mozi—that is, the sage—to earn our own living. Except for those who are truly unable to work, those who do not work will not eat."
Having said that, he pointed to a field not far away, "See that? That's the 'Four Qi Black Soil' that the Sage led us to cultivate before he left. Even the Sage participated in it."
Following the direction he pointed, Chen Quan indeed saw a patch of black farmland with thriving crops on it.
He was slightly moved, as if he sensed that this place was different from other places.
After hesitating for a moment, he asked a question that sounded like a self-evident truth:
"Then, how much of the crops you grow should be offered to the Blood God?"
"No need. The Blood God doesn't need these mortal sacrifices. Perhaps, a resounding victory, piling the heads of the enemy villains into a mound of skulls, would be the best sacrifice."
Chen Quan seemed to understand, but he nodded and walked towards the farmland with a hoe.
That evening, after a long-awaited full meal, he was about to go to bed early when Fan Jin pulled him to a brightly lit square.
On the stage, the man wearing a blood-stained red coin on his head and also dressed in coarse linen clothes waved his arm, and Chen Quan was surprised to find that his body, which had been working all day, was not so tired, and his mind was much clearer.
The person wearing a blood-stained red turban stepped off the stage looking somewhat tired. A short while later, another person walked onto the stage, cleared his throat, and began teaching the audience to read and do arithmetic.
Fan Jin stood at the edge of the square and spoke quietly with Du Yuanping:
"Luckily, we have the demons left behind by the Taoist priest, and their alchemical creations; otherwise, we wouldn't have had these resources at all, let alone enough paper and charcoal pencils..."
"Yeah, I don't know what happened. Those alchemical creations that couldn't be activated before suddenly work. The demons said something like... they've connected to the internet and installed a patch?"
"I don't really understand what they mean, and they look weird."
Throughout their conversation, Chen Quan listened attentively to what the person on stage was saying.
He knew full well that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Families without a certain background simply cannot access such things. Even those from so-called poor families may have had wealthy ancestors for three generations, which is beyond their reach.
In truly ordinary families, without opportunity, there may be no chance to study or learn.
He listened very attentively that night.
The next day, he took some time to inquire and learned that this was also an arrangement made by Daoist Styx before he left, and it was a fixed activity that took place every night.
Chen Quan finally developed curiosity and a degree of reverence for this saint.
Before long, he adapted to life in the mountains. With the idea of making use of his hunting skills, he took the initiative to apply to join the patrol team and was soon approved by the Dazeshan Management Committee.
Although the mountain is protected by a formation left by a saint, patrol teams are still necessary, not only to guide refugees up the mountain, but also to hunt down any wild beasts that wander in.
Today marks the fifteenth day since Chen Quan joined the patrol team.
Not long after they came down the mountain, he and his companion spotted two people who appeared out of nowhere.
"stop!"
Without a second thought, he led the charge out, his face fierce, practically ready to declare, "This road is mine!"
Mo Di and Su Youli exchanged a glance and asked directly, "I remember, weren't all the bandits of Daze Mountain dead? What happened to you?"
Upon hearing this, the people blocking the way flew into a rage, and Chen Quan, the leader, retorted:
"Who are you calling a bandit?" He took a deep breath. "Who are you calling a bandit?!"
"You're not bandits? Then you're... newcomers?" Modi retrieved his memories and quickly reviewed them, confirming that he hadn't seen these people among the hundreds of refugees before.
Chen Quan frowned, feeling that the red-robed Taoist in front of him was familiar, and that his attire was also somewhat familiar.
"Who are you? How did you get here through the Four Qi Cycle Formation?"
"us?"
Modi glanced at Su Youli, who immediately understood and sneered, "Standing before you is the Lord of Winter's Throat, the Dragon Slayer, the uncrowned king destined for the Frozen Throne, the commander of the demon legion, the Blood Sea Styx Daoist."
"And his faithful partner."
"Wow, so many people?!"
In the crowd, someone gasped and nervously looked around, trying to spot the others who were hiding.
Chen Quan's focus, however, was not on that; he noticed one of the titles.
"The Blood Sea Styx Daoist, isn't that...?"
Instantly, cold sweat streamed down his forehead.
He froze, his expression contorted, his mind blank, and instinctively blurted out, "How are you going to prove it?"
"The person who can prove my identity has arrived."
Modi nodded slightly and looked at the person who had come.
The moment he entered Daze Mountain, the Four Qi Circulation Formation transmitted the message to the administrator, and Du Yuanping rushed over immediately upon receiving the message.
"Master, you're finally back." Du Yuanping breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that no conflict had broken out, and clasped his hands in a fist salute to him.
"I went to Tianyong City for a stroll, but there's not much to see there." Mo Di helped him up. "A lot must have happened here while I was gone, right?"
"Yes, I'll tell you all about the journey up the mountain."
"By the way," Mo Di patted the dazed Chen Quan, "this kid is not bad. He doesn't seem to have any martial arts skills. I just got some new techniques from a kind person, and I will pass them on to him later."
Du Yuanping nodded, showing no jealousy whatsoever.
As he climbed the mountain, he recounted the recent developments.