Chapter 856.4: Who Exactly Did This

Chapter 856.4: Who Exactly Did This

…

“Great Immortal, are you coming back to eat?”

Zhang Yibai stared at the statue in silence.

Their fear of the unknown immortal deity instantly lessened by more than half.

However, the statue moved again, only the face regaining color and liveliness.

The Stone Pine “Great Immortal” piped up in a sharp voice, “This Immortal cannot deal with that Wu E, but by the rules, the incense offerings cannot be eaten for nothing, and Kunlun’s Leader cannot refuse to help. So this Immortal will show great mercy and find you an immortal who can handle this matter. Make sure you prepare the incense properly, and do not treat that one sloppily!”

After saying that, the statue went quiet once more.

Zhang Yibai pointed at the statue, then turned to Gu Changsheng and grinned, “Oh ho, quite principled after all.”

“Ancestor, please don’t talk about principles……” Gu Changsheng lowered his voice, “We should be careful what we say. If those immortals think we’re disrespectful…”

He wasn’t afraid or awed by these immortals. Even if they were immortals of the Cangyun Realm, his respect was at most for the strong.

But now, under someone else’s roof, he had to keep his head down. He worried that if Zhang Yibai said the wrong thing, some immortal from the Earth Star might take offense and smite him with a slap.

“No big deal.” Zhang Yibai steadied a statue with one hand, about to say something, when the statue moved.

The two hurriedly stepped back.

Soon, another dirty stone statue clad in rock armor and with a pine stuck atop its head “came to life.”

It was clear this immortal was of higher rank than the Stone Pine Great Immortal; the aura was denser, and a jade token hung at its waist with the characters “Kunlun” inscribed.

If Zhang Yibai’s guess was right, this must be the mountain god of Mount Kunlun.

Even in the Cangyun Realm, a mountain god is only a minor deity; the difference lies in the mountain’s fame and the incense received. Famous mountains enjoy more offerings, and their mountain gods could perhaps contend with a Demon Immortal.

But the mountain god before them was likely… precarious.

Still, this was probably the strongest being Stone Pine could contact.

“I am Shiqing, the Mountain God of Kunlun! I heard Kunlun’s Leader is in trouble, and I come to help!”

The newly awakened immortal announced himself immediately.

Compared to the previous Great Immortal, the mountain god finally had the solemnity and dignity of a true deity, though a gray aura shrouded him, making him look somewhat sinister.

Zhang Yibai immediately determined—this fellow might not be a match for the Demon Immortal, but rescuing Hua Jin the True One from Wu E should be doable.

“Since you want my help, hand over the incense first.”

Just as Zhang Yibai thought this, the mountain god extended his palm and opened it before Zhang Yibai and Gu Changsheng.

His expression remained solemn, but the greed in his eyes could not be hidden.

Zhang Yibai and Gu Changsheng noticed a familiar scent of incense on Shiqing, the very incense they had burned for the Stone Pine Great Immortal earlier. That meant Stone Pine had likely given his offerings to the mountain god.

What a layered exploitation.

Zhang Yibai then lit the remaining incense and placed it in Shiqing’s censer. Pale smoke curled upward, but with Shiqing’s breaths it swerved in the sky and entered his nose and mouth.

Shiqing squinted and inhaled deeply, face full of enjoyment, like an addict getting his fix.

Once he absorbed all the incense, the mountain god finally seemed satisfied. The gray haze around him turned into a faint golden incense glow.

“Not bad! The aroma of high-grade Celestial Essence is pure!” Shiqing praised, giving a thumbs-up. “Taking people’s incense while protecting people’s safety! You two juniors, follow me!”

Before his words finished, a strange phenomenon arose across the Kunlun range.

Boom—!

The earth trembled, peaks rocked.

The rock layer under Shiqing’s feet rolled like a tide, and his figure rose from the trembling ground—what had been a little over three meters tall as a statue now became a towering giant. The rock armor showed rugged patterns in the light, the pine atop his head fanned like a canopy.

He reached down with a palm as broad as a fan, mountain mist swirling around his fingertips, and gently scooped Zhang Yibai, Gu Changsheng, and Wang Shouyi into his hand, placing them carefully into a rocky recess on his shoulder.

Wind roared in their ears.

The mountains beneath shrank rapidly…

In an instant they rose above the sea of clouds.

Looking up revealed rolling, ancient cloud waves; looking down, Kunlun Immortal Palace lay like a bright pearl amid the peaks, Lingxiao Hall’s glazed tiles glinting through breaks in the mists.

Indeed, standing on the summit, one looks down on all smaller peaks.

Fortunately, this was Shiqing’s true body, not the mountain itself being uprooted—if that had happened, the Earth Veins would be damaged and Kunlun Immortal Palace likely couldn’t withstand such strain.

“You juniors, why are you standing dumbly? Point me the way!”

Shiqing’s thunderous voice snapped the stunned Zhang Yibai and Gu Changsheng awake.

He chuckled, “Were you frightened by my dignified true form?

Heh heh! Don’t panic. Since you gave me incense, I will solve your trouble. A mere Demon Immortal…

This Immortal, cough cough, can easily carry your Kunlun Leader away!”

Zhang Yibai & Gu Changsheng: “……”

Saying the most cowardly thing in the most dignified tone…

Still, the mountain god seemed at least relatively sane.

Not overtly evil, just with a strange aura.

Zhang Yibai relaxed and directed Shiqing.

“Great Immortal, just head north. If you see four pillars of spiritual energy shooting into the sky, you’ll have arrived. You should be able to hear Hua Jin the True One fighting Wu E.”

Four pillars of spiritual energy?

Shiqing narrowed his eyes, an ominous premonition stirring in his chest.

…

As the Mountain God of Kunlun, Shiqing had divine means within the range of the mountain.

He did not trudge along with heavy steps. Instead he trod on mountain mists, his form linked to the earth’s qi. Each shift felt like a slight pulse along the horizon, but his speed was astonishing.

The sea of clouds whizzed by; the terrain below blurred into color blocks.

Soon a ravaged landscape came into view.

Once undulating peaks were brutally leveled; dense ancient forests turned to scorched earth.

A bottomless chasm, hundreds of zhang wide, ripped the ground open like a massive wound.

The air filled with raging demonic power, sharp sword qi, and the nauseating stench of burning.

These mixed auras revealed how ferocious the recent battle had been.

Zhang Yibai and Gu Changsheng’s hearts sank.

The battlefield’s devastation meant Hua Jin the True One’s condition was likely dire.

“It’s just ahead!” Zhang Yibai pointed to an intact highland at the edge of the chasm.

Shiqing reduced his size to about three zhang and gently set the three of them down on the highland.

There Hua Jin the True One sat cross-legged on a green stone.

Her face was pale, breath weak, with faint spiritual energy swirling around her as if she were healing.

“Her Eminence!” Wang Shouyi, who had come with Gu Changsheng and Zhang Yibai, cried out and moved forward.

Zhang Yibai grabbed him and frowned.

He noticed Hua Jin’s injuries, while present, hadn’t hit the fundamentals. Her aura was subtly refining, more like a breakthrough than mere healing. Beside her lay Chen Niu’s corpse, reduced to a pitiless skeleton.

The Demon Immortal Wu E, who should have been occupying this place and swaggering about, was nowhere to be seen.

But the sword qi left behind felt familiar, as if it were… Chen Huaian’s?

Could it be that Wu E was driven off by Chen Huaian?

“Don’t go up yet.” Zhang Yibai patted Wang Shouyi’s shoulder. “Her Eminence is at a critical point in her breakthrough. If you go now you might disturb her.”

Wang Shouyi nodded, though his gaze remained glued to Hua Jin, as if he wanted to swallow her whole with his eyes.

Meanwhile…

Zhang Yibai frowned.

Shiqing had been here for a while—why hadn’t he made a move?

He turned to look.

Shiqing stood in front of the Demon Sealing Pagoda, face dark.

The four Demon Sealing Pagodas leaned crookedly; two were even severed in the middle, the broken surfaces smooth like mirrors, as if a terrifying force had sliced them instantly.

The columns’ spiritual light had completely dimmed, runes shattered.

The central area those towers used to seal now showed unstable spatial distortions, with chaotic strands of demonic energy and turbulent spatial currents seeping out.

What happened to the Demon Sealing Pagodas?

Zhang Yibai wondered.

The next moment, the mountain god’s body trembled uncontrollably.

He slowly raised his rock-clad arm,

whether suppressing fear or fury, he stammered and pointed at the four tilted pagodas,

and let out a heart-rending, throat-tearing roar, “Who!? Who on earth did this??”

…

His throat felt like it was being torn by a blade