Chapter 31 Sacrificing to the Mountain God

The brewed rice wine can be drunk after two days.

That day, after delivering the goods in the early morning, Li Chang'an arrived at the sealing rune wall of Wolu Mountain with the offerings and the sword spirit.

"To worship the mountain god, in addition to the offerings you have prepared, you also need a mountain-opening talisman."

As soon as the sword spirit finished speaking, the golden particles from the basic manual floated up and formed a talisman in front of Li Chang'an, with a short inscription beside it.

“This talisman is not something an ordinary person can draw, but you don’t need to worry, just draw it.”

Li Chang'an nodded, somewhat nervously.

He tied red ribbons around the necks of the three pigs and took out the snake demon's head, grains, and two jugs of rice wine from his storage bag.

The snake demon's head was placed in the center, the grains on a plate were placed on the left, and two jugs of rice wine were placed on the right.

Three pigs were grunting and snorting at my feet, occasionally nudging the ground with their snouts.

Li Chang'an gave a little spiritual power to soothe it, then looked up at the rune wall that stretched as far as the eye could see.

He took a deep breath, raised his hand and formed a sword-like finger, and began to draw a talisman.

At the same time, golden light flickered in his eyes, and he muttered: "On the 30th day of the 7th month of the 6025th year of the Cangxuan New Calendar, with the offerings of five grains, fine wine, and fat pigs, I offer a devout sacrifice to the mountain god of Wolu Mountain."

As this sentence ended, the final stroke of the mountain-opening talisman slowly came to a close.

The sword spirit grabbed Li Chang'an by the collar and took two steps back.

Before the two, the runes on the seal flowed faster, and the golden light shone brightly. A long, sacred bell tolled from the distant snow-capped mountain.

Then came a series of announcements, seemingly representing some kind of notification or permission.

A sound, like the cry of a deer, came from the mountains.

As the bells rang, the runes on the sealing wall fell off one by one, turning into golden light, brilliant and dazzling.

The wall disappeared, and golden light, like a misty galaxy, flew towards the mountain behind.

The once gray and desolate mountains, after being bathed in golden light, revealed a beautiful blue-green hue.

The small hills that originally clustered around the central Wolu Mountain slowly gathered together and leaned against the front of Wolu Mountain.

The golden light continued forward, circling the main body of Mount Wolu, which pierced the clouds.

Suddenly, the mountain rose abruptly from the ground, accompanied by several small island-like hills, and soared into the sky.

"Chirp—" A bird's chirp rang out from the sky.

A flock of birds with blue wings flew down from the peak of Wolu Mountain and from the clouds, like a blue stream.

They chirped and mingled with the golden light as they flew around Mount Wolu.

Li Chang'an stared blankly.

Such beautiful scenery seems to only be seen in game CG and animation.

A flash of blue light appeared, and suddenly everything before his eyes was a white blur.

A tall figure slowly emerged from the depths of the white light. As it drew closer, Li Chang'an realized that it was a giant blue deer that was three stories high.

The giant deer's two antlers are almost as tall as a building, and the antlers are intertwined, like a small mountain.

Beside the giant deer were three piglets tied with red ribbons, the same three used for sacrifices, though they appeared much smaller in comparison to the giant deer.

The cyan giant deer walked up to Li Chang'an and slowly lowered its head.

Those kind and compassionate eyes looked at Li Chang'an, and the voice was like that of a kind old man: "Divine Lord..."

Li Chang'an came to his senses and guessed Julu's identity.

He clasped his hands in a gesture of respect and said, "Greetings, Mountain God."

Julu looked at him for a while, his eyes revealing understanding. "So you are the reincarnation of the God. What is your name?"

Li Chang'an smiled and said, "My name is Li Chang'an."

He had no memories of the Boundless God, and still identified himself as Li Chang'an. He was glad that the mountain god would not mistake him for the Boundless God.

“Li Chang’an…” Julu repeated, then chuckled softly.

"You are very capable to meet the requirements of the God."

Julu's voice was filled with satisfaction.

After He finished speaking, a stream of blue light surrounded Li Chang'an and lifted him onto His back.

"I'll take you to see my cave."

Li Chang'an nodded.

The giant deer turned around and carried him away.

A blinding white light flashed, and Li Chang'an opened his eyes again, finding himself in a mountain forest.

All around were towering trees, and the ground was covered with spiritual herbs that emitted a faint glow.

The towering trees blocked the sunlight, making the surrounding environment appear dark.

The giant deer walked forward, and with each step it took, bright little flowers would bloom beneath its feet, emitting a warm yellow light, but they would disappear after a short while.

Li Chang'an looked around curiously, and then heard the giant deer's voice: "This is my cave dwelling, located in the barrier at the top of Wolu Mountain. You cannot come up without permission."

"Every blade of grass and every tree here, including myself, survived the disaster caused by the loss of spiritual energy thanks to the protection of the gods."

Li Chang'an was slightly taken aback: "Are you the mountain god...?"

Will mountain gods also disappear due to the loss of spiritual energy?

"Hahaha." Giant Deer laughed. "Mountain gods and river gods are mostly spiritual beings from this place who have cultivated themselves and received imperial decree to become minor gods. They are different from divine beings."

"Throughout the millennia of the Cangxuan Realm, countless humans, spirits, and demons have ascended to become immortals, yet only one God-Emperor has emerged."

That is the Boundless God.

Speaking of him, Julu's tone couldn't help but carry a hint of longing and admiration.

"The depletion of spiritual energy is an irreversible future. We cannot resist the torrent of the changing times, and disappearing into it is our destiny."

"But thanks to the seal left by the God, we have been able to persist for thousands of years."

The sword spirit also said that the seal could help prevent the loss of spiritual energy.

"Did the God foresee this day and leave the seal?" Li Chang'an asked.

“Yes,” Giant Deer replied, “The God is as old as heaven and earth, and his power is like an endless sea. The distant future is but a blink of an eye in his eyes. He understands that a great calamity is coming to the Cangxuan Realm, so he made a pact with us, leaving a seal so that we can wait patiently.”

"But we don't know what we are guarding or who we are guarding."

"Until these long six thousand years have passed, today the bells have finally rung, and I see that you have completed the sacrifice and met the requirements of the gods."

"Then I understood that the one the God had asked us to guard was you."

As they spoke, it seemed they had reached the exit at the very bottom of the cave, where Li Chang'an saw the dazzling sunlight.

Stepping from the darkness into the light, you are first greeted by a white light, and then the scenery outside comes into view.

It was a sea of ​​clouds, and blue birds and golden streaks of light flew up from beneath the clouds. When the streaks of light disappeared, the blue birds flew overhead to a giant tree on the summit of Mount Wolu.

The birds disappeared once they landed in the top of the giant tree. No one knew how the tree could grow so large to hide so many birds.

“These are spirit kites, which can travel a thousand miles a day. You may wonder, since each of them is half the size of a crane, how can one tree be enough for them to stand on? But in fact, each leaf of this spirit kite tree is a barrier, and they all live in those leaf barriers.”

Just as I was wondering, Julu provided the answer.

Li Chang'an smiled sheepishly.

Julu added, "Of course, some leaves might house a family."

As soon as He finished speaking, the leaves trembled and a chirping sound came out.

"Alright, alright, I didn't say anything bad about you." Julu chuckled.

The leaves then fell silent.

Julu chuckled helplessly a few more times.

“The Spirit Kite Bird feeds on Immortal-grade grains, which means you have to work hard to grow Immortal-grade grains.”

Li Chang'an was shocked, "Immortal-grade?!"

Above the Spirit grade, there are even Immortal grade crops?!

“Crops of the Celestial grade are rare and cannot be eaten by mortals. Six thousand years ago, I would occasionally grow some to feed the small animals in the mountains. However… the soil on Mount Wolu is now all inferior spiritual soil, far from being qualified to grow crops of the Celestial grade.”

After saying that, Julu sighed.

Li Chang'an fell into deep thought.

Inferior spiritual soil is transformed from ordinary soil after absorbing spiritual energy. Therefore, if there is enough spiritual energy, perhaps even inferior spiritual soil can improve its quality.

However, it will definitely require more spiritual energy.

The sword spirit said that his destiny was bound to the Xuanling Immortal Mountain, and the deeper his cultivation, the more spiritual energy would be restored in the Xuanling Immortal Mountain.

Perhaps he still needs to work harder in his training.

As he pondered, the giant deer's slightly satisfied voice came: "Alright, I've finished looking at my mountain."

Li Chang'an came to his senses.

He looked down and realized that from the platform at the cave exit, he could see the entire Wolu Mountain.

The clusters of low hills formed a gentle foothill that seemed to reach straight into the clouds, like a slope, reminding Li Chang'an of several famous terraced field scenic spots in the southwest region of Xia Kingdom.

And this foothills are even flatter and more open than those terraced field scenic areas.

Then, at the foot of the mountain, there are steep forests that stretch all the way to the clouds, and above that is the mountain peak.

A stream flows from the cave, cascading down from this platform, passing through the mountains and forests, and finally merging into the tranquil Ningjing River.

Before Li Chang'an could finish reading, a stream of azure light suddenly surrounded him, bringing him to the giant deer.

The giant deer knelt down on its forelegs, lowered its head slightly, and touched Li Chang'an's head with its forehead.

Then, His enormous body slowly transformed into azure light and gradually disappeared.

Li Chang'an suddenly opened his eyes wide and stretched out his hand: "Mountain..."

The benevolent voice of the giant deer rang out, interrupting his attempt to persuade him to stay: "We should have perished six thousand years ago, but we made a pact with the God and were protected by him, which is why we have survived until today."

"As agreed, I will bestow upon you the blessing of the mountain god: abundant harvests and plentiful produce."

After Julu finished speaking, a stream of azure light, enveloped in golden light, flew into Li Chang'an's brow.

The giant deer's figure vanished completely in azure light, leaving only its last words in the air: "Li Chang'an, there is no need for regret. This is our mission. The mountain god has fallen, but will transform into the wind to bless the creatures of this mountain."

"From now on, I will have to entrust the care of these creatures in the mountains to you."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Chang'an suddenly lost consciousness and fell backward.

Behind them stretched a vast sea of ​​clouds.

A hand rested on his shoulder from behind.

The sword spirit's cold and authoritative voice rang out: "Li Chang'an, concentrate."

Li Chang'an suddenly opened his eyes and found himself standing at the foot of Wolu Mountain, at the very spot where the sacrifice had just taken place.

However, the offerings that had been placed there were no longer there.