Chapter 200 An Old Friend

The lead bo beast raised its head, looking towards the mountain.

It stopped, and all the strange beasts halted.

This particular bo had lived for thousands of years. Its strength was no longer at its peak, but its wisdom had accumulated. Yet, even after experiencing various trials and tribulations and encountering one powerful enemy after another, it felt a moment of palpitations upon hearing that voice.

The beasts were all uneasy.

The bo glanced at the mountain of the human race and the city beneath it. It had brought the ferocious beasts from the area of Mount Zhongqu here to warn the human race not to casually use a name they had found in the classics and to break the fear in the hearts of the beasts.

The inexplicable palpitations came and went quickly, failing to suppress the bo beast's purpose for this trip, nor could it quell the anger of the various ferocious beasts of Mount Zhongqu. The more embarrassed they had been when the Yin Shang warriors shouted that name, the more intense their anger was now.

The bo beast let out a low roar.

Thus, the beast tide continued to advance.

…………………

On the mountain, the surviving people of Yin Shang seemed to finally regain their senses after a long time.

They couldn't help but take a half-step forward, cautiously asking, "Are you the Divine Emperor?"

Wei Yuan raised his eyes, smiling as he replied, "No, I am not."

He swept over the momentary dim and regretful gazes in the eyes of those Yin Shang people, paused, and said, "For now, I can be considered the Lord of this mountain."

"Considered a Mountain God."

The Divine Emperor was the ancestor whom the surviving people of Yin Shang had been worshiping for thousands of years. Wei Yuan did not intend to shamelessly occupy this title and the pious faith of the Yin Shang people. All he needed was the spiritual vein neglected in the Yin Shang ghost and god sacrifices.

To take what others do not use and repay with what they need.

He saw clearly that this should be an equal exchange from the beginning.

To steal the offerings of others' ancestors, sit triumphantly in the divine seat, receiving the sacrifices and prayers of their descendants, and say to the world, "Ha, I am a god, how great," was nothing more than the tricks of thieves and robbers.

A stone statue adorned with gold powder was still just a stone.

A young man who looked only sixteen or seventeen years old lowered his head, murmuring with some disappointment, "So, it's not the Divine Emperor..." The middle-aged man next to him quickly pulled him, telling him to say less. Seeing the atmosphere suddenly stiffen, Wei Yuan brushed off the dust, spread his hands, and said in a relaxed tone, "Of course not, I am just an ordinary mountain spirit now."

"Thank you for your sacrifices, which allowed me to have a physical body."

Wu Yu didn't know what to say. Wei Yuan's physical body had just been created. So, they saw the young Daoist priest sit cross-legged in the place of sacrifice, moving his fingers. He truly lacked the majesty and greatness of the legendary Divine Emperor. Wu Yu gritted his teeth, stepped forward, placed his hand on his chest, and asked respectfully, "Mountain God, can you preside over the sacrifices?"

Wei Yuan replied, "Of course."

He paused slightly, extended a finger, and smiled, "One sacrifice can be exchanged for a need equivalent to the sacrifice."

"Of course, blood sacrifices are forbidden."

If there were no requirements, he might be arbitrarily exploited. Wei Yuan did not intend to encroach upon the interests and benefits of others, but he was not selfless enough to sell himself out. It was better for everyone to follow this simple contract.

Of course, he also remembered that one of his goals was to prevent the recurrence of live sacrifices and human sacrifices.

Fei Yu was silent.

Wu Yu revealed a delighted expression, saying, "Can the flesh and blood of the beasts from the *Shan Hai Jing* (Classic of Mountains and Seas) be used?"

The young Daoist priest thought for a moment and replied, "I don't really like these flesh and blood."

After all, the bloodlines and flavors were a bit too mixed and impure.

He paused and added, "However, I am quite interested in the experiences of Chaoge City over the past three thousand years. Of course, I am also very interested in any novel and interesting things found in this *Shan Hai* realm, especially things not recorded in the *Shan Hai Jing*."

Wu Yu and Fei Yu both breathed a sigh of relief.

If this Mountain God who responded to Chaoge City did not require the blood of those powerful ferocious beasts as sacrifices, then the warriors of the tribe would not need to risk going out to hunt, and many, many fewer people could be sacrificed each year.

They were delighted in their hearts, but everyone subconsciously ignored the significance of the phrase "not recorded in the *Shan Hai Jing*."

At this moment, Wei Yuan felt another disturbance coming from beside the spiritual vein of this mountain.

Low hissing, roaring, and growling.

Like some kind of powerful beast.

Moreover, it was very close to the spiritual vein. That consciousness even harbored a natural hostility towards Wei Yuan. Wei Yuan frowned. He thought for a moment, placed his palm on the mountain, and his own consciousness sank down, slowly approaching the location of that consciousness near the spiritual vein.

Wei Yuan's consciousness traveled through the mountain extremely easily and naturally.

He passed through thick rock walls and entered a large, naturally formed cavern next to the spiritual vein. Under the iridescent stone walls, large chunks of bronze were embedded as steps and supports, with embossed taotie patterns on them.

It was wonderful, almost like an ancient and solemn altar.

And in the darkness, a vast and weak consciousness seemed to be still asleep, but Wei Yuan could feel that, perhaps because of the sacrifice, perhaps because of the combination of the spiritual vein and his own decree, spiritual energy was overflowing, and this consciousness was also slowly awakening.

Wei Yuan frowned slightly.

This situation was somewhat beyond his expectations, giving him a bit of a headache.

He also hadn't expected that there wouldn't be a problem when the decree was integrated.

Only after he came here personally did the clues emerge.

If it were in another place, he would be too lazy to care, but this time it was actually next to the spiritual vein. Now the decree and the spiritual vein were only initially integrated, and it would be troublesome if something went wrong.

Wei Yuan's consciousness gathered into a phantom in the mountain, standing in front of the rock wall, reaching out to touch the rock. Darkness meant nothing to the soul. Wei Yuan saw that the first stone slab had a simple-style mural on it, depicting a magnificent altar. At the bottom of the altar were kneeling people, densely packed.

And the steps stretched upwards, the highest point directly breaking through the clouds, as if in the sky. In the upper part of the mural, which had already been peeled off in sections, he could only see a throne sitting high in the clouds. A warrior wearing armor and holding a bronze ge (halberd-axe) was pulling a string of men bound by ropes towards the high place.

Was it a mural describing ancient sacrifices?

Was this an abandoned altar of Yin Shang?

Wei Yuan was thoughtful, one doubt after another appearing in his mind. He planned to continue watching to solve the problem here, but he heard the low roaring sound coming with the wind. The sound was continuous. After the first roar, like a dragon and a tiger, there were hundreds and thousands of roars responding.

Moreover, the leading voice always sounded somewhat familiar.

Wei Yuan glanced at this place that seemed to be an abandoned altar, and had to temporarily suppress his doubts. His consciousness returned to his body outside Chaoge City. He opened his eyes and heard hurried whispers and roars. Wei Yuan looked out from a high place and saw trees breaking, with beasts gathering into groups and running, vast and majestic.

Wu Yu's hands and feet were cold.

Chaoge City could withstand a beast swarm of this size, but even so, it would definitely mean a tragic slaughter and sacrifice that he couldn't bear to recall. The tribe, which was already constantly weakening, would probably be completely ruined. It wasn't that he lacked courage, he was just afraid of how many more of the tribe would be sacrificed after he died in battle.

He suddenly had a flash of inspiration, turned around, facing away from the beast tide, and bowed to the young Daoist priest whose expression remained calm and unchanged, kowtowing heavily, "Mountain God, you said that one sacrifice can be exchanged for one promise from you, is that right?"

"I beg you, lead these ferocious beasts away."

"The current Chaoge City can no longer withstand this kind of impact."

As if awakened, one by one the surviving people of Yin Shang bowed down. And Wei Yuan, who had just withdrawn all his consciousness from the mountain's belly, looked as if he had pondered for a moment, or rather, had been waiting for Wu Yu to say these words, before nodding in agreement, "Of course."

"Then, the contract is made."

Wei Yuan felt that when these surviving people of Yin Shang prayed, there was a strong sense of struggle in the consciousness in the mountain's belly, but when Wei Yuan himself agreed, that sense of struggle eased somewhat. Wei Yuan had some guesses in his heart about that demon-like consciousness.

He looked down from a high place at Chaoge City, struggling to be reborn amidst the ruins.

He patted the dust off his clothes, stood up, and his Daoist robe fluttered slightly.

"It's time for me to fulfill the next part."

He said, then took a step forward,

And fell.

?!!

Wu Yu almost subconsciously took a step, wanting to reach out and pull him.

Suddenly, a vast and mighty wind rose from below, the strong wind stirring, causing Wu Yu and Fei Yu's black hair to be blown, their eyes to sting, and they almost subconsciously took a step back, then a second step, a third step.

Have you ever seen a real wind, a wanton wind that cuts through the sea of clouds like a blade?

They strained to widen their eyes, and then, accompanied by the magnificent mountain wind, they saw clouds and mist sweeping up into the sky, saw the bright sun.

They saw the wind running through the mountains, whistling over the peaks of the forests.

They saw eagles flapping their wings in the wind.

They saw the young Daoist priest, who called himself a mere mountain spirit, walking away with his hands behind his back.

Isolating himself from the clouds, bearing the sky on his back.

………………

Many fierce *Shan Hai* beasts gathered in front of Chaoge City.

The bo beast walked at the front. The warriors of Yin Shang City, even if they knew they weren't of much use, still held their weapons, standing at the very front, tightly gripping their weapons. Then, the old and young of this border city silently walked out of their homes, taking up arms.

Staring fixedly at those ferocious beasts.

At this juncture, humans often burst forth with the purest courage.

The bo beast took a step uneasily for some reason. It opened its mouth and said, "I do not intend to slaughter you."

"However, you have violated our taboo."

Seeing that the bo beast could speak human language, an old man on the human side said, "What taboo?!"

The bo beast's eyes were deep, indifferently saying, "A name."

The old man's heart thumped, and he forced himself to say, "What name?"

The bo dragon said, "That name, you have used before, you know it."

"We are all creatures living in the *Shan Hai* realm. Being enemies and fighting each other is normal, but you should never have mentioned that forbidden name. You have angered the tribes of the *Shan Hai*."

"Hand over the person who spread that name, and also those who have used this name, otherwise you will pay an even greater price."

The old man was silent. There were young people behind him who wanted to go out, but they were stopped.

He gripped his weapon tightly and said, "We don't have the habit of throwing our own people out to survive."

"We live and die together."

But at this moment, someone jumped down from the city wall. The people of this border city didn't have time to pull him back, and they also realized that he was a stranger, and still a young man. The old man's eyes were about to burst, and he wanted to jump down without thinking, but he was pulled down by the wind.

The young man stood on the ground, raised his hand, and smiled, "Ah, that name, I spread it."

The beasts were angry, but the lead bo suddenly felt his hair stand on end.

A snake with wings on its back said, "Who are you?!"

"Don't you know that that person is a taboo?!"

"I really don't know."

The young Daoist priest took two steps forward, and when he raised his eyes, the illusion was activated, or perhaps this body was originally transformed from the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and the earth energy of the mountains, so when he raised his eyes, his black hair seemed to turn white, his eyes were deep and serene, his face had wrinkles, and his tone turned calm and old, imitating the tone of that previous life, "I still don't know when my name became a taboo."

"What, who can tell me? I'm listening."

The beasts were instantly silent.

The bo dragon sniffed the dissipating scent of the soul, stared at those deep eyes, and almost returned to his experience when he was young. He only felt his scalp tingle, suddenly neighed, turned his head and ran, stepping on clouds. All the beasts also subconsciously turned their heads and left.

Knowledge passed down through generations of souls can preserve the picture.

Now that the ancient human directly appeared in front of their eyes, even the smell of the soul was exactly the same. The shock was so great that they almost lost their ability to think. The choice was almost instinctive. The surviving people of Yin Shang were overjoyed. The great joy and great sorrow made the expression on their faces almost tearful, but they saw Wei Yuan, who had transformed into an old appearance, raised his eyelids and said in an old voice, "Stop."

He slowly said, "Did I let you leave?"

The beasts suddenly stopped.

ps: Today's first update..., three thousand eight hundred words, thank Tang Ying for two thousand eight thousand starting coins, thank you~

Finally wrote to two hundred chapters~