Chapter 40
The shadows screamed madly, and the surrounding darkness was filled with distortion and chaos.
Nian Qing stared intently at everything in front of him. The green smoke and the fox tail kept changing, and he vowed not to let the only two remaining lamps be swallowed up.
Suddenly, the person behind him relaxed.
Nian Qing looked back and saw Gu Luoyan had closed her eyes, her body tilted, and she fell on her arms.
She was stunned for a moment, and then her heart began to beat fast. She wanted to hug her, wanted to call her out, but if she moved a step, the overwhelming darkness would rush over her.
What to do! What to do!
Nian Qing's pupils turned black, and she activated her mind-destroying technique. She shouted into the darkness around her, "Back off! Disperse! I will return to reality from the shadows!"
For a brief moment, everything around seemed to stop flowing.
The mind-destroying spell seemed to work, but soon the rustling shadows began to twist again.
There was a white dot of light appearing in the distance in the shadows.
Then it began to spread, and Nian Qing heard a voice from it:
"Your spiritual wisdom will be sealed and you will be transformed back into a fox."
“It happens immediately.”
A dizzying noise washed over me. In the white light, everything began to fade away.
Nian Qing began to lean forward uncontrollably, and the hair under his skin began to appear.
The darkness waited for an opportunity, and began to extend like a vine, wrapping around it.
The two lamps on the carriage had been lit for a long time, and the candles in the wicks were swaying, and the flames were getting smaller and smaller.
Part of Nian Qing had been swallowed by the darkness, and her eyes began to become dull. Her body shrank, and she was about to transform.
At this time, the person sleeping beside her moved, and Gu Luoyan opened her eyes.
Almost subconsciously, Gu Luoyan reached out and put her arm around Nian Qing's waist. Her composure quickly recovered, and she stared directly at the star-like white light, warning, "Don't!"
——
The clouds in the sky quietly dispersed. The rain continued to fall, but the sound gradually faded.
In the night, seven stars light up, forming a line and illuminating the entire earth.
——
In the shadow world, the spiritual words transmitted into Nian Qing's mind turned into blue light and flowed out from her ears. A bat flew out from the darkness and was hit by the halo of the spiritual words.
Coincidences began to happen, and the shadows around disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Gu Luoyan hugged Nianqing and fell to the ground. Still in a daze, the surroundings were quiet, and the mountains, forests, roads, and moonlight reappeared.
The rain had stopped, and there were no other vehicles on the road. The carriage carrying them had disappeared along with the horses. Only two lamps remained, hanging on a door frame, proving that everything was not an illusion.
·
Deep in the Ming Palace, a scream came from the mouth of a maid. The empress was being served and sat in front of a bronze mirror to wash and comb her hair, but her veil was torn to pieces, revealing a half-human, half-beast face.
Blood was constantly oozing from her eyes, staining the snow-white fur on her face red and flowing down.
The frightened maid tried to escape in panic, but was glanced at by the empress and immediately shattered into pieces.
The blood flowed down and was quickly absorbed by a mouth sticking out from the ground, along with the remains of the body.
Liu Rujian slowly raised his hand to catch the blood that was sliding down his eyes.
She was a little confused and stunned, then frowned and looked back at the bronze mirror in front of her.
The word spirit is ineffective?
——
In Mingjing, in the prince's residence, the man knelt on the ground.
For some unknown reason, the spiritual power that was supposed to be exerted on the fox demon horribly rebounded onto him.
His body became deformed, the brilliance in his blood-red eyes faded, and it turned into the head of a fox.
Membranous wings extended, and a fox's tail grew on its misshapen black body.
The man's head and tail resembled a fox, while the rest of his body resembled a bat. He had become a monster. A monster made of a giant bat and a fox!
The monster roared and gradually became silent.
Liu Rujian's words still echoed in his mind:
"Your spiritual wisdom will be sealed and you will be transformed back into a fox."
·
There is no one on the mountain road at night.
Everything she had just experienced was too unreal. Gu Luoyan's breathing was still a little rapid. She hugged Nian Qing, breathing heavily, and let her heart find a moment of peace.
The chirping of insects began to rise from the rain-soaked grass on both sides of the road. In the night, there were stars and a gentle breeze. Fireflies took flight during the break in the rain, creating a dazzling display. It was a rare sight.
But the two of them obviously had no time to appreciate it. Gu Luoyan waited for a long time before she saw the person next to her move and wake up.
"Gu Luoyan..." When Nian Qing saw her, his first reaction was to rush over and hug her.
"We should be out of trouble." Gu Luoyan closed his eyes tiredly, hugged Nian Qing back, and let out a breath.
"Gu Luoyan, you saved me, right?"
Gu Luoyan smiled. Although she had some feeling in her heart, she still didn't understand. "I don't quite understand..."
"That was a close call, that was a close call." Nian Qing stopped talking and hugged Gu Luoyan's neck tightly, as if she was still scared.
"Nianqing, what did we just encounter?" asked Gu Luoyan.
Nian Qing opened his eyes, a look of fear on his face, "Demon."
"And more than one."
"Are these the two demons that the Taoist priests talked about?" Gu Luoyan looked nervous.
"I don't quite understand why they attacked us." The fox rested its head on Gu Luoyan's shoulder and looked at the stars in the night sky. As it pondered, it looked confused.
Gu Luoyan remained silent, then released Nian Qing and said seriously, "I just heard a woman's voice in the dark."
Nian Qing's expression grew serious: "I heard it too."
"She said she wanted the Ziwei Star in my body to fall... What does that mean?"
"I understand." Nian Qing clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, saying, "You came here for us. In other words, you came here specifically for you."
Nian Qing's eyes flashed with murderous intent: "Literally, I want to strip the Ziwei luck from you, Gu Luoyan."
"Your presence is blocking their way."
"Me?" Gu Luoyan was puzzled and even more surprised.
"Yes." Nian Qing nodded and said to her, "Even if they are demons, they are afraid of the gods and Buddhas in heaven. Ziwei Xingyun is not a human thing. Its power is more extraordinary than you can imagine."
Nian Qing held Gu Luoyan's hand, his expression tense as he spoke to her word by word, "Gu Luoyan, you must promise me that from now on you will never go anywhere alone. I must accompany you."
"You have been targeted by the demon in the dark. You must be more careful from now on."
Gu Luoyan frowned after hearing this. Then she thought of Rong Ti, who had entrusted Ziwei's destiny to her.
It is impossible to tell whether it is a blessing or a curse at the moment.
All she can do is move forward, keep moving forward, and never give up until she reaches her goal.
Gu Luoyan's hand, which was held by Nian Qing, moved, and his five fingers passed through the gaps between the other party's five fingers and interlocked with Nian Qing's five fingers.
She looked at her with a complicated expression, then nodded firmly.
This calm did not last long. A gust of wind blew and the fireflies all around fled and flew away.
In the woods beside the road, there was a rustling sound of leaves rubbing against each other, one after another, as if some huge monster was coming this way.
Nian Qing became alert and blocked Gu Luoyan behind him. He supported himself on the ground with his hands, revealing his fox ears and tail, and let out a low growl.
Only then did Gu Luoyan notice the abnormality of Nian Qing's tail.
One line became three. Before she could investigate the reason, the forest suddenly opened up, revealing the giant beast within.
A tiger strode out steadily, no, not a mountain tiger.
Gu Luoyan frowned.
It was just a thing with the body of a tiger.
The furry head was covered with eyes and a human mouth.
Its body was several times larger than that of an ordinary beast. It walked out of the forest and came to the path where Nian Qing and Gu Luoyan were.
There was already a blue glow in Nian Qing's eyes, and the eyes on that face all looked at him, making Nian Qing feel oppressed.
Then the monster looked at Gu Luoyan behind Nian Qing. Some of his pupils widened and the tiger stripes on his body began to flow.
He turned around, as if he was going back into the forest.
But Nian Qing stopped him: "Who the hell are you? Why are you here?"
The man under the several pairs of eyes pursed his lips, turned his tiger body around, and faced Nian Qing again.
The black lips opened, and a voice came from the earth, from the surrounding mountains and rivers: "I am a mountain ghost, not something you little demon said."
The tiger stripes on its body flowed and turned into pythons.
Nian Qing suppressed his fear and exaggeratedly spread his three tails to give himself courage.
She shouted, "Then why are you here?"
When the several eyes on the tiger's face looked at her, Nian Qing couldn't help wanting to escape.
"I smell the devil's presence and come to take a look. After all, this land is under my control."
"No demon, I will leave." After he answered, he turned around again, and glanced at Gu Luoyan with his eyes, but only for a moment, then he retracted his eyes, and heard Gu Luoyan say:
"You said you were a mountain ghost, but are you the local mountain god?"
Before the tiger could put down its huge paw pads to leave, it saw the black lips on its face curled up into a smile.
Shan Gui turned around again and looked at Gu Luoyan with satisfaction: "Young lady, you are indeed very knowledgeable."
The countless eyes on his face began to glow, and the fur patterns on his body began to rotate and move. The earth around him began to shake, and the mountains and forests bloomed in an instant and withered in the next.
His voice blended into the mountains, rivers, and forests, as if coming from an endless horizon:
"I am a mountain ghost, and also a mountain god. You little demon, you are seeing a god, and you don't kneel down to worship me!"
Nian Qing couldn't help but want to kneel down. She dug her hands into the ground, holding on tightly, not allowing herself to succumb to the pressure of this mountain ghost.
This was her first time meeting the mountain god.
The power of God is like the mountains and seas, and no monster can compare to it.
The mountain ghost looked at her, a smile appearing in his solemnity. But behind Nian Qing, Gu Luoyan's voice rose again:
"Lord Mountain God, why did you ask her to kneel but not me?" Gu Luoyan walked towards this side. She asked that question, firstly because she was puzzled, and secondly because she had seen through the mountain god in front of her. What he was doing now probably had no other meaning, just to pretend to be a god and show off his power.
Gu Luoyan didn't indulge him, nor did she like him. So she walked up to the mountain god and helped Nian Qing up.
"Uh..." The mountain ghost's face fell, and guilt appeared in the countless eyes on his face.
Finally, he stopped talking, turned around again, and went into the forest beside the road.
Nian Qing was helped up by Gu Luoyan, who mocked him behind his back: "You left again, how many times has this happened?"
The mountain ghost was startled, and the majestic voice turned and said again:
"I'm really leaving this time."
"You are a mountain god, but you have the temper of a child." Nian Qing muttered softly and hummed.
After hearing Nian Qing's words, the python that appeared from his body hissed at the mountain ghost's tiger body.
The mountain ghost pouted unhappily again, and this time he refused to move. Instead, he turned sideways and lay down on the ground.
He still had that deep and unfathomable tone, and his voice echoed from all directions:
"You are truly fortunate to see me today. I am the mountain god, and since I am teasing you, I will grant you one wish."
When he said this, he completely ignored Nian Qing and looked at Gu Luoyan.
Nian Qing was furious. She raised her hands and tried to cover Gu Luoyan's face to block that strange gaze.
She spoke first, "Then we want a fortune of gold, silver, and treasures, and thousands of delicacies. We need you to bless us to live together forever..."
"Tsk." The mountain ghost showed obvious disgust and dissatisfaction on his face.
Gu Luoyan also looked at Nian Qing and couldn't help laughing out loud.
"Okay, I won't tease you anymore." Gu Luoyan took Nian Qing's hand and said to the mountain ghost, "We were suddenly attacked and can't go any further. Please ask the mountain god to send us to Fenlong City in the north."
Nian Qing turned his head to look at Gu Luoyan. "Fenlong City is the farthest from the border, about a thousand miles away." Then he looked up and down at the unreliable mountain god, his face full of disdain. "Rely on him? Can it work?"
The black lips above the tiger mask were pursed and drooped, showing displeasure again.
He stood up on all fours and walked towards Gu Luoyan and Nian Qing.
The voice poured into their ears from the vast distance:
"Little monster, I am the mountain god. A thousand miles? But only a moment!"
The huge paw pad was lowered, and the surrounding mountains and rivers moved.
They stood there, but for a breath—
At the foot of the mountain, there is Fenlong City, a city on the northern border.
The mountain ghost took one last look at Gu Luoyan, and his figure merged into the earth and disappeared.
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