Chapter 165 Erecting a Monument
As they reached the banks of the Wojiang River, swarms of poisonous insects crawled out from the desolate wilderness of the Green River, chirping merrily as they rushed toward the mountain in groups.
They fought and devoured each other while surrounding Shan Wu completely.
Ji Rong sat back on the tiger's back and called out, "Uncle, stop! They mean no harm."
Shan Wuyi stopped and watched with Ji Rong the unique, feast-like slaughter of the Zerg.
Soon, a multi-armed centipede emerged from the swarm of insects, followed by a snake and an insect. The multi-armed centipede immediately rushed forward, killed and devoured them, and then looked at Ji Rong with longing, hissing piercingly and wanting to follow her.
Ji Rong nodded to Shan Wu, who immediately erected an isolation barrier. Ji Rong then displayed the golden leaf branded with the Great Witch's fin towards the insect and said, "He is long dead. You should stay here and guard his legacy. This place is different from other places. As long as you hide well, even if you become a king or a saint here, no one will bother you."
The centipede stared intently at her, then hissed into the air—a faint but extremely piercing sound. Soon after, a dense swarm of insects appeared from all directions, carrying something gleaming with golden light.
Upon closer inspection, Ji Rong realized that the bones were just like those inside the insect monster in his dream. These insects had piled the bones of varying sizes around Ji Rong's feet. Remembering the words of the Great Witch Qi in his dream, Ji Rong solemnly asked, "Uncle, have you ever collected bones before?"
Shan Wu immediately raised his head with immense confidence and said, "Of course, I taught the brothers how to eat bones. I even taught them how to scrape big bones to sharpen their teeth."
Seeing Shan Wu's unreliable behavior, Ji Rong immediately abandoned the idea of having him arrange the bones, fearing that he might accidentally pull out a piece of the great witch's golden bone to pick his teeth.
So Ji Rong gestured with his wings and said, "Uncle, dig a big hole here and then go and move three big stones."
Shan Wuli instantly transformed into the body of a Dharma Tiger, quickly dug a large hole, then stood upright and casually moved three large stones to the riverbed.
Ji Rong then instructed Shan Wuyong to use his claws to smooth out the three stones, making them square.
She instructed Shan Wu to hollow out a stone and smooth it out, which Shan Wu did. Then, Ji Rong instructed Shan Wu to put the hollowed-out stone into the pit.
She murmured the eulogy for the deceased from the "witchcraft" and pieced together the golden bones that the insects had brought into the stone coffin.
Some of the bones were very fragmented, and Ji Rong had to spend a long time identifying them before she could put them in the correct positions.
After piecing it together, Ji Rong carefully checked it three more times, then displayed the gold leaf branded with the Great Witch's Fur again, placing it over the golden bone for a long time.
She calmed her mind, sensing how the shattered phantom perfectly aligned with the reconstructed skeleton. She allowed the phantom to merge into the bone before putting away the leaf, letting Shan Wu cover it with another thin stone slab, and then covering it with soil.
Shan Wu placed the last stone slab on the mound. Ji Rong, standing beside him, layered the stones Shan Wu had shaved off while repairing the large stone onto the mound. Then, on the standing stone, she inscribed the three characters "Great Witch Qi" in the language of celestial beings, the language of gods, and the common language of demons.
Then, she lowered her head and spoke to the centipede in the common language of the demon race, the language of the celestial beings, and the language of the gods, saying, "If you wish to guard him, then guard this place."
The centipede understood, and after it cried out to the sky, countless insects swarmed over and disappeared into the pile of stones along with it.
Amidst these green hills and clear waters, a stone mound with a monument stands tall.
Ji Rong looked at Shan Wudao with satisfaction: "This scenery is a perfect match for His remains."
Ji Rong placed some spiritual fruits and grains, along with a cup of immortal spring water, on the pile of stones, and then said to Shan Wudao, "Now that this matter is settled, let's go."
As Shan Wubian ran, he turned back and asked, "Niece, why should we go through the trouble of burying a few bones?"
Ji Rong wrapped her winged claws around Shan Wu's neck and whispered in his ear, "That's the bone of the Great Witch's fin that appeared in my dream. I think what it cared about most wasn't failing to become a true god, but that under its leadership, the Witch Clan had completely turned against the Heavenly Palace and headed towards an irreversible decline."
He spent his life painstakingly collecting the lost authority and calculating the position of a god, but he failed to gather and integrate the authority before his death. Therefore, his divine consciousness remained, unable to find peace or liberation.
We helped him collect his remains and erected a monument to honor his name. His last wish should now be fulfilled. Perhaps this area of Mangshen Mountain will no longer be overrun with poisonous insects. He can finally rest in peace.”
Shan Wu smacked his lips and said, "Witches are all scheming. They've already lost and died, what's the point of keeping their reputation?"
Ji Rong suddenly felt that Uncle Shan Wu had a lot of the way of the strong in his mind, but not every life can be so carefree. Those who are poor are weak. If you can't be carefree, you are weak.
After burying the remains of the Great Witch, there were no more poisonous insects or wild beasts to hinder them on the road to Mangshen Mountain. Shan Wu and Ji Rong both felt that things were going very smoothly, and the further they went, the less poisonous fog there was.
Upon reaching the confluence of the Wojiang River and the Pan River of Liangzhou, Ji Rong pointed to the city of Dadan, which was situated along the Pan River, and patted his wings, which were adorned with two storage rings. He said, "Uncle, in all my years, I've spent the most time wandering and running around, followed by the time I've spent cultivating. The least time I've spent is traveling. Let's go to this city and broaden our horizons."
Shan Wu immediately nodded and said, "That's good, but niece, do you have any more treasure?"
They stayed safely in the Mangshen Mountains, which were full of poison, for more than ten days, but they survived entirely thanks to the spirit crystals in Ji Rong's storage rings. Shan Wu couldn't even count how many spirit crystals they used.
Ji Rong proudly flapped her wings and said, "Uncle, don't worry, let's go shopping. I'm a bird of great wealth now, as long as it's not too expensive, I can afford it."
Upon entering Liangzhou, the spiritual energy in the air plummeted, so Shan Wu slowed down and walked quickly along the mountain path. Neither of them had ever been to Liangzhou before, and they were looking around at the scenery with great curiosity.
Liangzhou, just like its name suggests, is quite desolate. Of course, it also has mountains and trees.
But whether it's due to constant warfare or simply the nature of the area, the mountains here look as if they've suffered a defeat. A patch of green trees is followed by a patch of bare, yellowish earth, and rocks and sand constantly tumble down from the mountains.
After walking for a few days, Ji Rong and Shan Wu discovered that most of the lower-level cultivators here practiced blood magic. Their minds were somewhere between half-awake and half-asleep. Often, cultivators would greet each other in the forest and then pounce on each other and start biting each other.
Even when one is living in wealth and luxury, one's heart remains in poverty and lowliness.
Ji Rong slapped her forehead and laughed. Now that they were just wealthy hermits passing through, why were they taking this kind of mountain path?
She pointed to a main road that ran through Da Dan City and led to Zhongzhou, and said to Shan Wu, "Uncle, let's take the main road."
Da Dan City was a major military city of the Heavenly Palace in Liangzhou. Pills, food supplies, and prisoners of war were all transferred through Da Dan City. Therefore, it was quite reasonable for Ji Rong to choose it as a transit point to go to Yu Xu Palace.
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