Chapter 218: A Mountain Suspended, A River Submerged (32)
While Yan Shixun stood frozen, lost in thoughts of Ye Li, the ground beneath his feet suddenly shifted, rising and falling in uneven waves.
Beneath the rain-soaked, muddy village road, the yellow-black earth began to churn. One by one, rotting arms burst through the soil. The decomposing limbs were smeared with clumps of wet mud, their grotesque forms ghastly and horrifying.
Flesh-bound hands, sticky with blood and sinew, clutched the mud tightly, dragging the buried corpses from beneath the earth with force.
A few seconds after his daze, Yan Shixun snapped back to reality and saw the scene unfolding before him.
Corpses, rotten and decayed, rose from the mud. The pouring rain washed the filth from their bodies, revealing tattered clothing and decayed, bluish flesh—some even exposed their pale skeletons underneath.
It wasn’t just the village road—no, the entire land beneath the village had become a mass grave, riddled with buried bodies.
From the remnants of clothing and faint patterns on the fabric, Yan Shixun realized with a jolt that these corpses had likely been villagers of Nan Village in life.
His eyes widened slightly at the realization.
If that were true, then Nan Tian might be the very last person left from Nan Village.
And now, these corpses were staggering toward Yan Shixun, their arms extending through the rain as if trying to grab hold of him.
At that moment, Yan Shixun suddenly felt something seize his leg from below.
He looked down and saw that, at some point, a cold, bluish-white, rigid hand had emerged from the mud beneath him and was gripping his leg tightly.
Beside him, Ritual Master remained calm and composed. Smiling as he looked at Yan Shixun, he asked gently, “You, a guest from outside the mountains, dressed in fine clothes and living a life of luxury—have you ever witnessed the suffering of the human world?”
“I have seen them. Every pitiful soul in this village, all the innocent lives that were sacrificed—they have seen it too.”
Ritual Master ’s expression was full of sorrow for the world. When he lowered his eyes, he resembled a deity carved from clay, solemn and revered, placed atop an altar.
“Look, guest. They all died in pain, crying out to the heavens, asking why they were treated so unjustly.”
He spoke softly, “Why is it that some get to live in wealth and abundance, while others must scrape by in misery and endure endless suffering?”
Raising his hand with a gentle motion, he brushed aside the damp, clinging strands of hair from the face of a corpse he held in his arms.
Though wary of Ritual Master, Yan Shixun chose not to interrupt him—he hadn’t yet discerned the man’s true intentions. Instead, he followed Ritual Master’s movements with his gaze.
The young pregnant woman had died in childbirth. Her face still bore the contorted agony of death. Her skin had turned a mottled pale blue, her eyes were wide open, refusing to shut even in death.
Though young, her body was terribly emaciated. Her limbs were thin and frail, in stark contrast to her unnaturally swollen belly. The sight was jarring and deeply disturbing.
The stench of blood rose as thick, foul-smelling blood flowed from her body, soaking Shigong’s long, silver-white robe.
Yet he seemed entirely unfazed. With tenderness, he continued tidying the strands of wet hair on her face, then extended a hand and gently swept his palm across her eyes.
He closed her eyes for her.
And in that moment, her expression finally softened.
A faint smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
With a sigh filled with sorrow, Ritual Master murmured, “Her mother-in-law wanted a boy. Every girl born was used as a sacrifice, praying the next would be male. But she… she had a different wish. So…”
He lifted his head and locked eyes with Yan Shixun, his voice quiet but clear. “So, I made a decision.”
“This world is too bitter. Someone has to do something for them. If the will of heaven turns a blind eye, then… I’m willing to try.”
As Yan Shixun stared into Ritual Master’s calm face, a sudden clarity struck him, like a divine revelation. Ritual Master’s words were the final piece of the puzzle, and suddenly, everything about what he had done all those years ago became clear.
Nan Village had its own traditions, its own customs—a form of ancient worship deeply connected to nature.
For instance… sacrificial offerings to the gods.
In order to fulfill the wishes of their fellow villagers, the people of the Nan Village would offer the corpses of their deceased relatives as sacrifices to their so-called “god,” hoping in return for wealth, safety—
—or to bear a son.
However, the people of the Nan Village didn’t know that true deities never accepted sacrifices from humans, regardless of whether it was before or after the fall of the Great Dao.
When the Great Dao began to collapse, all the gods had already sacrificed themselves to mend the Dao. From that moment on, there were no more gods in the mortal world.
Which meant that the Nan Village’s offerings could never reach any true deity.
Yet someone had taken advantage of this gap and claimed the sacrificial offerings that the villagers had meant for their “god.”
By doing so, that person grew stronger—and eventually became the so-called “god” of the Nanming Mountains.
That person—or rather, that “god”—was Ritual Master.
This was exactly why Yan Shixun had previously witnessed the corpses sent to the three-way crossroads being caught by Ritual Master.
But now, hearing what Ritual Master said, Yan Shixun realized with a chill that after receiving the power of those sacrifices, Ritual Master had likely turned that very power against the Nan Village.
The way Yan Shixun looked at Ritual Master was cold enough to send shivers down one’s spine.
At the same time, the incantation that he had been silently chanting in his heart, never ceasing, finally began to take effect—albeit barely—under Ritual Masterr’s restraints. It pried open a narrow crack through which he was able to regain limited control over his own body.
Clenching his teeth, Yan Shixun opened his mouth and asked Ritual Master, “What exactly did you do?”
The moment he spoke, Ritual Master froze in surprise. He hadn’t expected Yan Shixun to manage this much under such a disadvantageous situation.
For a brief moment, Ritual Master looked at Yan Shixun with a hint of admiration in his eyes. He no longer looked down on him from a superior height, but rather regarded him as an equal—as one of his kind.
Only then did Yan Shixun realize just how hoarse his voice had become.
He knew the reason: the thought that had taken root in his heart was far too cruel. Even just imagining it brought him unbearable sorrow.
Longevity Village was located downstream of the Nanming Mountain, yet even the upstream village bore the same name—and the way one entered it was unusually peculiar. The villagers’ conditions were also deeply bizarre.
Yan Shixun had examined them carefully. The elderly in the downstream Longevity Village brimmed with vitality. Their appearances were full of life and good fortune, showing no signs of looming danger.
Moreover, if it hadn’t been for that petal of chrysanthemum he had casually taken from the old woman’s garden while in the village, his memory would have kept malfunctioning. He would have forgotten everything that warranted caution or concern, and remained in a state of simple, carefree joy.
This abnormal state, combined with Ritual Master’s words about wishing for a life without pain, led Yan Shixun to only one conclusion.
The tampered memories—were Ritual Master’s doing.
But the more terrifying issue lay in the upstream Longevity Village.
The fragmented notes left behind by the leader of the hiking team who had struggled desperately to document something, along with all the records Yan Shixun could find in the small wooden cottages, pointed to the same truth.
Those who claimed to have settled in Longevity Village would die downstream, and then appear in the village through the passage of death—receiving what was called their “new life.”
However, not everyone was truly reborn.
Many were taken away by someone named Liu Ming and were never seen again. Yet others, like Liu Ming—who had gone through similar experiences—continued to live normally in the village.
Some villagers shared the same state as Liu Ming.
Although Yan Shixun hadn’t found a chance to investigate their homes, he could discern the same pattern in the faces of certain people he encountered by chance.
In their fates, there were no signs of death or danger.
It was as if their lives had become the embodiment of all those auspicious blessings and well-wishes—
Brimming with exuberant vitality—so much so that it felt unnatural.
Because of this, it only emphasized how abnormal they truly were.
What kind of plant would never wither or suffer from pests?
Artificial flowers.
Forever lush and green, eternally beautiful. Their time and state frozen at a single moment.
That was Liu Ming and the others—beautiful, like artificial flowers.
On his way back to the village chief’s house, Yan Shixun had also seen those villagers carrying white lanterns.
At that time, although he had felt puzzled, the lack of information made it impossible for him to form any conclusions. He had no choice but to keep the question tucked away in his heart.
But now, all the fragments had finally connected. The scattered pieces of thought gradually pieced together the complete truth.
Yan Shixun realized that all the villagers he had found strange were like that because of their overflowing vitality.
Even so, there were still differences between the villagers. The feelings they gave him varied subtly.
To put it simply—those like Liu Ming were finished products. Meanwhile, some among the lantern-carrying villagers were still half-complete.
Their happiness and tranquility were only superficial. Beneath their flesh and skin still lay the wailing and pleading of their trapped souls.
The souls instinctively sensed that something was wrong. So even when only the last shred of strength remained, they still desperately tried to send out signals for help, pleading with any passing ghost deity to save them, begging anyone to carry their spirits away.
Beneath the stiff and dull appearances of those villagers, the souls wept tears of blood.
Yan Shixun’s heart trembled. The final conclusion drawn from his theory was too tragic. If his guess was right, it meant that hundreds, maybe thousands of lives had been cruelly slaughtered, with even their souls annihilated.
Yet no real emotion showed on his handsome face. His gaze toward Ritual Master remained sharp and resolute as he quietly waited for a response.
Ritual Master couldn’t see through what Yan Shixun was thinking.
Even so, just the fact that Yan Shixun had successfully resisted him in this moment already earned his silent admiration.
With a smile, Ritual Master asked Yan Shixun, “When the guest saw through the problem with the river water and still had the courage to step into it willingly, I knew then that you were different from all those others who’ve come to Longevity Village seeking long life and happiness.”
“But even then, I didn’t expect…”
Ritual Master looked Yan Shixun up and down carefully, from head to toe. That gaze made Yan Shixun feel like a commodity being priced, and he frowned in displeasure.
At the same time, suspicion stirred in Yan Shixun’s heart.
Why hadn’t he felt this same sense of nausea when Ye Li looked at him? Was it because Ye Li was a ghost deity?
If not for the fact that Yan Shixun couldn’t move at the moment, and his rational mind kept telling him not to act recklessly and alert the enemy—
Otherwise, the fury boiling in his chest would’ve already driven him to rush over and gouge out Ritual Master’s eyes.
But in the next second, Ritual Master’s voice snapped his attention back.
“Perhaps even the Heavenly Dao agrees with what I’ve done. It’s actually tilted fortune in my favor.”
There was excitement in Ritual Master’s tone, even to the point of his voice cracking, tearing away the previous illusion of compassion and revealing the falsehood and greed underneath.
It pulled him down from the lofty divine pedestal into the dust of the mortal world.
Delighted, Ritual Master exclaimed, “I never imagined it would be an Evil Spirit Bone Transformation!”
His face was filled with undisguised joy as he sighed, “I’ve spent decades, sacrificed thousands of offerings, and crossed between yin and yang countless times—only to barely grasp hold of the Heavenly Dao at the chaotic boundary between realms.”
“Yet I never imagined the Heavenly Dao would favor me so deeply. Just as I’m on the verge of achieving great success, it delivered an Evil Spirit Bone Transformation right to my doorstep—something I never even dared to dream of.”
He had only ever heard legends of the naturally born Evil Spirit Bone Transformation but had never once seen a real one.
That led him to believe that perhaps the Evil Spirit Bone Transformation was just the wistful fantasy of the predecessors—a fleeting miracle, but not something meant to exist in this world.
An Evil Spirit Bone Transformation, yin and yang blended into a single vessel, the cycle of yin and yang coexisting, tied to the source of the great Dao itself, existing in harmony with the Dao from the moment of birth…
No matter how astonishing it sounded, there was always a fundamental problem.
—Could a human body truly withstand the cold and eerie aura of ghosts?
Even if an Evil Spirit Bone Transformation was successfully born into the world, the ghost aura around it would constantly invade its body. It would be nearly impossible for such a fragile baby to survive, let alone grow into an adult.
So even though Ritual Master was deeply interested in anything related to the Evil Spirit Bone Transformation—even just a single piece of bone, or a corpse—knowing that having such remains in hand would greatly accelerate the completion of his plans, he had still reluctantly given up on the idea.
It just didn’t seem possible. Let alone the idea of seeing a living, successfully grown Evil Spirit Bone Transformationt.
That was why, when he first saw Yan Shixun, Ritual Master hadn’t recognized his bone structure, simply assuming he was an exorcist from beyond the mountains with some modest skills.
Only when Yan Shixun found himself trapped within the world completely controlled by Ritual Master and still managed to claw out a sliver of hope from disadvantage—only then, in astonishment, did the master take a closer, more careful look at Yan Shixun and discover…
Under the great Dao, a miracle truly occurred!
Ritual Master smiled at Yan Shixun and said, “Although our methods of inheritance and cultivation are not exactly the same, the end result is the same. Our goal has always been one and the same.”
“Don’t you want to stop those people from enduring suffering, to allow them to live in eternal happiness? People have always sought longevity, and now, I have achieved it. I have enabled the villagers of Longevity Village to live in harmony with the great Dao of heaven and earth, and they will no longer experience suffering in their lives.”
“And now, as long as you join me…”
Ritual Master ’s eyes gleamed with light, as if he had already seen his goal being realized. “I will control the world of Nanming Mountain. You will be united with the great Dao, and together, the power we each possess… the entire world will be ours.”
“By then, not just the villagers of Nanming Mountain, but all people across a broader land, all of them!”
Ritual Master’s voice trembled with emotion, his excitement barely contained. “All life will no longer suffer. No one will have to endure the pain of life and death, or sickness. They will live in happiness forever, forever…”
However, in stark contrast to Ritual Master’s excited expression was Yan Shixun’s cold, even disgusted expression.
Yan Shixun looked at Ritual Master’as if he were watching a clown leaping about.
What Ritual Master’ said didn’t move Yan Shixun in the slightest. In fact, after a moment of shock, he only found it more absurd and laughable.
Ritual Master’ claimed he would bring happiness to all life, yet his actions had turned those people into grotesque, neither-human-nor-ghost monsters, neither living nor dead. Even their remaining souls were trapped within their dead bodies, unable to leave.
Furthermore, the source of Ritual Master’s power initially came from the corpses of those who had been forced to die in the village.
This so-called happiness, built on death, was nothing but false compassion stained with blood.
Yan Shixun furrowed his brow and looked at Ritual Master with contempt.
“What if I say no?”
Yan Shixun sneered, “To me, your so-called goal is utterly laughable, something even a dog would turn its nose up at. You want me to join?”
He curled his lips into a disdainful smile. “Heh.”
Yan Shixun’s words immediately stopped Ritual Master’s excitement.
Ritual Master’s face darkened, his previously compassionate demeanor fading like a false mask, and his true expression finally emerged.
But soon, Ritual Master smiled again.
“It doesn’t matter.”
Ritual Master said softly, “As long as it’s an Evil Spirit Bone Transformation, even a corpse still serves the same purpose.”
“I’ve been determined for decades. From the very beginning, I never expected to see a living Evil Spirit Bone Transformation.”
A strange smile appeared on Ritual Master’s face. “You don’t want to? No matter. Your body will.”
Before the words had even left his mouth, the hands that had emerged from the muddy ground suddenly tightened their grip on Yan Shixun’s arms, surging upward with even greater speed, like vines wrapping around a tree, attempting to steal the tree’s nutrients and sunlight, strangling the tree in between the vines.
And above the dead tree, only then did the vines begin to bloom.
Just as Ritual Master had always done.
One pair of hands, caked in dirt, grabbed tightly onto Yan Shixun’s calves, and gradually moved upward, toward his thighs, his waist…
On the rain-soaked clothes, there were several incomplete handprints, mixed with dark red blood and dirt, giving off a strange and grotesque appearance.
Decaying corpses burst from the earth, almost surrounding Yan Shixun entirely. The corpses on the village road were now only inches away from him, and Yan Shixun could even feel the cold, eerie chill emanating from their bodies.
It was the unmistakable chill of death, the kind that made the living shudder just by touching it, as if the fear of the soul itself could be felt.
However, Yan Shixun was completely unaffected. Not even a glance did he spare the terrifying corpses; instead, he had already prepared, swiftly removing his coat and spinning it in his hands. He used the coat to cover the decaying corpses rushing toward him.
The cashmere coat, now soaked with rain, had become incredibly heavy.
In Yan Shixun’s hands, it turned into the most powerful weapon, trapping the corpses in an unexpected attack. The weight of the coat made it difficult for the sluggish corpses to break free, creating a vacuum around Yan Shixun. The corpses were no longer a threat.
At almost the same moment, the talismans Yan Shixun had been silently chanting took effect. The tear in his body, which had been torn open earlier, widened. Finally, he was able to completely break free from Ritual Master’s oppressive force, and his movements returned to normal.
With a sharp kick, his Martin boots mercilessly crushed a decaying corpse’s skull. The bloated face of the corpse exploded like a balloon being popped, emitting a loud “bang” as blood and flesh splattered all over the place, drenching the other corpses underfoot.
Taking advantage of the momentum, Yan Shixun shot forward like an arrow from a bow, moving at an incredible speed. He even blew the rain around him away, creating a loud whooshing sound as he broke through the air.
His eyes were sharp and bright, like blades of cold light. His wet hair revealed sharp, indomitable eyebrows, making him look unstoppable.
His gaze was locked tightly on Ritual Master ahead of him, his palms coming together like a blade, aiming directly at Ritual Master’s throat.
“…With my divine method, I will collect and banish misfortune.”
The final few words of the incantation floated softly through the air.
Golden light wrapped around Yan Shixun’s hands, radiating a righteous aura in the dark, rainy atmosphere, so powerful that even the unconscious corpses around him instinctively scattered in fear.
Ritual Master slowly widened his eyes, looking at Yan Shixun in disbelief.
He hadn’t expected the Evil Spirit Bone Transformation to be so overwhelmingly strong and powerful!
But despite his shock, Ritual Master’s face began to show signs of excitement, trembling with eagerness. He looked at Yan Shixun with determination and extended his own hand.
“Thud!”
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