Chapter 160: Kanling Town

Bakan Mountain, White Emperor Cave.

Since he was going to engage in a magical duel, he could not lower his guard. Therefore, Qingyuan returned to this place, retrieved the ancient mirror, and also collected He Qing's true spirit to prevent any unexpected changes.

Su Xiang waited outside, gazing at the landscape inhabited by an immortal.

At this moment, with a slight commotion, Qingyuan was seen walking over slowly.

Just as Su Xiang was about to speak, he saw Qingyuan raise his hand and make a gentle pressing motion toward him.

"Mr. Bai..."

Su Xiang's words paused; then his entire body felt heavy, sinking slightly before instantly turning exceedingly light. An expression of profound astonishment appeared on his face. Along the journey, he had felt remarkably heavy, but he had simply assumed it was due to the fatigue of fleeing for his life.

At this moment, however, a wisp of smoke curling around Mr. Bai's hand clearly implied a different meaning.

"That is..." Su Xiang exclaimed in shock, "What is that thing?"

Qingyuan said indifferently, "It is a trace left upon your body by a formidable being. To ordinary people, it is imperceptible, but as a scholar, your body is somewhat frail and already fatigued, which is why you felt heavy."

With that, Qingyuan dispersed the wisps of smoke and asked casually, "How did you manage to escape?"

Su Xiang was startled for a moment. After thinking about it, he said, "Because that evil entity demanded many young boys and girls again, the grand ceremony was interrupted once more. I was locked in a cage and guarded, but due to the disruptions in the ceremony, the scene became chaotic, and so..."

At this point, his expression became somewhat peculiar, as if filled with doubt and uncertainty.

Qingyuan smiled and asked, "Do you feel that your luck was simply too extraordinary, allowing you to escape by a fluke despite all the perils along the way?"

Su Xiang nodded with difficulty and swallowed hard.

Qingyuan smiled. "It was precisely because of this trace upon your body that you were granted so much luck."

Su Xiang stood frozen in place and asked, "Why would something like this be on my body?"

"Because..." Qingyuan smiled faintly and said, "The very reason you were able to escape was because you were meant to come find me."

Su Xiang's face was filled with utter confusion and astonishment.

"This thing can be considered a formal challenge."

Qingyuan smiled. "I truly wish to see what kind of tricks this exalted being can pull off..."

...

Kanling Town.

The place was right in the middle of a grand ceremony. Countless offering tables lined both banks of the river.

The offering tables varied; some were laden with melons and fruits, while others held incense burners. Thick forests of incense sticks and candles were thrust into the burners, emitting curling smoke that nearly blinded those standing close by, making their eyes sting and tears flow continuously.

Other offering tables displayed whole pigs and whole sheep.

Even the poorer families had borrowed money to buy a single pig leg to place upon their own offering tables.

At a glance, the figures on both banks were chaotic and bustling with clamor.

This grand ceremony was far more grand than any in the past.

Because this time, it was meant to appease the wrath of the Great Deity.

The two banks of the broad river were seventy or eighty feet apart. The river flowed continuously onward until it reached the mountains ahead—mountains shrouded in year-round mist, rumored to be the dwelling place of the Great Deity. The fog hung hazy and thick, and where the river flowed into it, it could no longer be seen clearly.

On both riverbanks, wooden rafts were moored, and many children, both boys and girls, sat upon them.

The children were young and ignorant; some were crying, while others were smiling.

Their parents stood on the banks, heads bowed as they wiped away tears, or huddled together in grief.

These children had been selected by the town and personally placed onto the wooden rafts by their own flesh and blood. Only in this way could Kanling Town be preserved.

"Today, twenty young boys and twenty young girls are offered as sacrifice to the deity."

"May the Great Deity appease its wrath, bless our Kanling Town with favorable weather, bountiful harvests, thriving descendants, and rising prosperity."

"The divine might is vast, and the mortal world pays homage."

A shamaness spoke, her voice full of breath and vigor, carrying across both riverbanks as she knelt and bowed at the head.

The common folk on both sides all fell to their knees, bowing and kowtowing toward the mountains where the river vanished.

"Sacrifice!"

Following the command, someone chopped the ropes and pushed the rafts away.

The wooden rafts drifted downstream.

The twenty young boys and twenty young girls aboard, terrified, suddenly burst into tears.

On the riverbanks, the weeping sounds of the children's parents grew even louder.

At the far end of the river, the mist hung hazy and obscure.

No one knew what the scene was like inside.

Yet everyone knew that once these children entered the mist, their tender lives would reach their end.

"Wait!"

A loud shout shook the entire scene.

Everyone turned their heads to look and saw a scholar standing on the riverbank upstream.

The scholar looked frail and weak, panting irregularly. With that previous shout, his face had flushed crimson.

"It's you?"

The shamaness and the others turned their heads to look, their expressions turning extremely ugly.

Previously, it was precisely this scholar who had disrupted the original grand ceremony, infuriating the Great Deity and forcing the ceremony to be held three consecutive times, wasting labor and wealth, and raising the number of sacrificial victims from six to forty.

"Seize him!"

"Send him onto the raft as well to be sacrificed to the Great Deity!"

A crowd surged toward Su Xiang, brimming with aggressive momentum and murderous intent.

Su Xiang showed no fear and shouted, "You foolish people! Where in this world is there..."

As he spoke, his voice abruptly paused. Ever since he met the Master of White Emperor Cave, he truly believed there were immortals in this world; it was simply that his previous worldview had not yet fully reversed itself.

Su Xiang took a deep breath before changing his words, "What kind of deity is that? It is merely an evil entity!"

"A true deity should protect the local people. This thing poses as a deity and demands human lives as sacrifice, threatening severe punishment and harming the common folk otherwise—it is an evil entity!"

"Even if it is a god, it is an evil god! It deserves no worship, but execution by all!"

Su Xiang shouted angrily, standing upright, radiating a faint sense of majesty and incorruptibility, bearing a striking resemblance to the temperament of He Hu.

These words left the people of Kanling Town looking at one another in dismay.

Previously, Su Xiang had uttered similar words, claiming there were no ghosts or gods in the world and that legends merely misled people. But since Kanling Town had worshipped them for generations, naturally they did not believe him. This time, however, Su Xiang acknowledged the existence of spirits, yet demoted it to an evil god.

Most importantly, these words matched the facts and made complete sense.

"Don't listen to his nonsense!"

The shamaness brandished her wooden staff and shouted loudly, "Kanling Town has enjoyed the protection of the Great Deity for generations, which is why we have favorable weather, bountiful harvests, thriving descendants, and abundant wealth—this is the generous bestowal of the Great Deity! Without the protection of the Great Deity, Kanling Town would surely suffer overflowing mountain torrents, complete crop failure, constant illness, and a life of poverty. Everything is granted by the Great Deity! How dare you question it?"

The crowd exchanged glances and then lunged forward, pressing Su Xiang to the ground.

Unable to break free, Su Xiang could only shout loudly, "I know you are merely terrified of that evil entity and dare not provoke it! But today, I am fortunate enough to have invited an immortal down to subdue this demon—just look!"

He shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice turning hoarse.

Following Su Xiang's cry, the crowd looked toward the river.

They saw the river suddenly freeze in place.

The wooden rafts steadied and stopped moving.

A figure was walking down from upstream.

Beneath his feet was the flowing water.

Yet he walked as if on flat ground.

"An... an immortal..."

Someone held their breath in awe.

The shamaness withdrew her staff, lowered her head, and remained silent.

Both banks of the river fell into a profound stillness.

(To be continued.)