Chapter 11: The Place Where Malevolent Spirits Turn into Rabbits

Upon hearing the oracle relayed by the High Priest, Ling Xuzi was speechless: "How could this be? Even if we were outmatched, we shouldn’t have been defeated so swiftly."

A deity is called a god because it possesses wondrous and extraordinary powers—divine arts beyond the reach of mere cultivators.

Divine light especially suppresses evil spirits... Yet under the divine radiance, the Bear God was still no match for this malevolent entity?

Where did this paper figure even come from? Despite numerous attempts to enhance the sinister aura of the paper figure, he had persistently underestimated it.

The High Priest and the chieftain offered no response, only glaring at Ling Xuzi with fury and murderous intent.

If the paper figure were not still threatening, they would have surely slain Ling Xuzi by now.

Seeing this, Ling Xuzi reined in his thoughts and forced a faint, insincere smile.

He increasingly regretted coming to the Yin Mountains a million miles away... Had he remained in the provincial city, what evil spirit could have harmed anyone?

The provincial city was home to countless people and hundreds of gods gathered there. What evil spirit could not be exterminated?

But here...

After a brief silence, the High Priest spoke coldly, “As a subordinate of the provincial governor, do you have no other means? You’d better have a solution; otherwise, you won’t be leaving here alive!”

Ling Xuzi hesitated before replying, “There was a way. If my companions were still alive, with their help, we could have spent another fifteen minutes burning incense and bathing to summon a great god from the provincial city. But now...”

They were all dead—no backup remained.

The High Priest and the chieftain’s eyes darkened.

Seeing their reactions, Ling Xuzi whispered, “Following the usual course, in half an hour the paper figure will arrive, and the tribe will be doomed. Yet you two still have time to waste on idle talk with me... So, do you have other means?”

“Or perhaps, the Bear Tribe has more than just that one god?”

At the last words, Ling Xuzi’s eyes gleamed sharply.

What appeared to be a hopeless situation was not truly hopeless; otherwise, the chieftain and High Priest would not remain so calm, nor would the Bear Tribe’s elite stand at ease.

The chieftain gave Ling Xuzi a long look, then glanced around. “If something happens to me, who will carry on my legacy?”

The gathered warriors exchanged glances.

Soon, a hawk-nosed man stepped forward. “I will.”

The chieftain patted his shoulder. “Very well. If I don’t return, the tribe will be yours.”

The hawk-nosed man remained silent.

The chieftain exhaled slightly, then fixed a cold glare on Ling Xuzi. “Leave your reward here, then come with me. Whether we survive depends on fate.”

Ling Xuzi did not refuse or hesitate. With a wave of his hand, he produced three diamond-shaped crystals shimmering with multicolored light.

The High Priest reached out and took them.

These were precious treasures only cultivators could glimpse, and served as currency among them.

Incense Fire Crystals.

When people worship gods, if it were merely to pray, why would so many gods agree to protect mortals? And why would any god forever protect mortals without gain?

It was because worship generated the power of incense fire.

Seeking divine protection produced incense fire, which gods accepted in exchange for their blessings. It was a transaction.

Incense Fire Crystals were the condensed essence of this incense fire.

Ordinary cultivators had little use for them, but these crystals were the most stable form of currency... As long as gods existed, the value of these crystals would never fade.

Returning to the matter at hand.

Seeing the High Priest take the crystals, Ling Xuzi’s voice grew grave. “Since we’re risking everything, you ought to tell me the details. If I know nothing, I cannot cooperate. Don’t you agree?”

The chieftain looked toward the distance.

Following his gaze, Ling Xuzi saw nothing under the night sky.

Yet his heart tightened... that direction was toward the Zhao family’s domain.

The chieftain, unaware of Ling Xuzi’s thoughts, pointed afar. “About twelve hundred miles away lies a range of low mountains, each between a hundred and two hundred feet tall.”

“Calling it a mountain range is generous—it’s more like a series of low hills.”

“There’s a strange and special seal placed there.”

After speaking, the chieftain exhaled slowly. “Humans can enter without fear, but if an evil spirit approaches, it will transform into a rabbit.”

“A rabbit?” Ling Xuzi gasped.

His mind involuntarily recalled the rabbit that Zhao Yu had stewed before.

The chieftain nodded. “Exactly. No matter how powerful or sinister the evil spirit, once it crosses into that area, it becomes a rabbit—one that remembers everything, desperately trying to flee, but seemingly lost and forever unable to escape.”

The Bear Tribe settled here precisely because of this area—an ultimate weapon. When dealing with troublesome spirits that even the Bear God struggled to suppress, the Bear God would unleash divine power to protect the tribe. Then the tribe’s elite would venture forth to lure the evil spirit into that domain.

If not for concerns about recklessly abusing such power and ignorance of its source, they would have moved the tribe to that range of hills outright.

Ling Xuzi pondered for a moment, frowning. “It can’t be that powerful, can it?”

He didn’t know if the paper figure would turn into a rabbit, but he knew Zhao Yu had once gathered mushrooms in those hills without transforming.

He swore Zhao Yu was definitely an evil spirit!

The chieftain, unwilling to argue, urged, “No more delays! Once the Bear God’s power fades, everyone will perish.”

“Understood.” Ling Xuzi ceased questioning.

They exchanged a few whispered words, settled on a plan, and simultaneously fixed their gaze on the paper figure.

Then they charged out to confront it.

Their attacks could not harm the paper figure.

Without watching the outcome, they turned and fled.

The paper figure did not pursue—it hungered for the god even more. It tried to enter the tribe but could not.

So it turned to chase after Ling Xuzi and the chieftain... Denied the tastier prey, it would settle for the two who had just fled.

...

In the blink of an eye, dawn arrived.

In the study room.

“Already dawn?” Zhao Yu pushed open the study door and stepped into the courtyard, his face full of surprise.

He had intended to pass the time reading while waiting for his sister-in-law’s return, but he had become so engrossed that he read through the entire night.

The book said early to bed, early to rise is good for health! He must never stay up late again.

“My body is already weak. If I keep staying up late, who knows how much worse I’ll get,” he muttered as he strode toward his sister-in-law’s room.

Zhao Yu knocked on Xiao Wan’s door and called out, “Xiao Wan, it’s dawn. Time to get up.”

“Bang bang bang...”

To ensure she woke, he knocked harder and louder.

After a long while, there was still no response.

“You little lazybones...” Zhao Yu shook his head and stopped knocking, then pushed the door open.

Creak.

The door opened.

The door he had just been pounding on hadn’t opened because he was knocking, not turning the handle. Wasn’t that common sense?

Xiao Wan’s room was arranged like a young lady’s boudoir, though the temperature inside was somewhat chilly.

“Hee hee…”

Suddenly, from somewhere unknown, a strange laugh echoed.

A humanoid creature appeared in Xiao Wan’s room—its entire body covered in fleshy tumors, with eight arms protruding grotesquely.

...