White Bone Demon Trail

Chapter 27 Qingyin
Skull Mountain is about ten miles away from the village. Along this road, there are many fields cultivated by the village and forests planted by the village. Human activity is not uncommon, so it is difficult for any spirits or monsters to arise.

With the deathly aura of the skeletons on the mountain, even the lesser demons and monsters nearby dared not approach. But these two children were indeed missing a soul, which seemed to be the work of a spirit.

Bai Wuxiang stood high above, looking down at the weeping and bowing crowd. He seemed to understand somewhat the ruthlessness of humans towards the gods.

Because in the vision seen through the towering statue of the deity, mortals are truly like ants.

But Bai Wuxiang still stood up from the White Bone Cave. The afterglow of the sky was gradually obscured by dark clouds. The light shone through the wide-open palace door and the light on the statue was gradually shrouded by dark clouds and turned into darkness.

Suddenly, a dark blue flame lit up on the lampstands on both sides of the statue. A cold wind blew in from outside the temple, and even though there were more than ten people inside, they all felt a chill run through their bodies.

Only Zhao Dawu and Erniu's family became even more agitated. Erniu's mother repeatedly banged her head against the stone slab on the ground, pleading loudly, "Lord Wuxiang! Lord Wuxiang! Please have mercy and save my child! Save my child!"

Zhao Dawu's parents also hurriedly spoke up to pray, kowtowing and chanting prayers repeatedly.

There was a commotion inside the hall, but outside it was completely silent; even the cicadas had stopped chirping.

"Fluttering~"

A sound of flapping wings rang out, and a black raven flew in from outside the hall, landing on the finger of the tall statue of the god, folding its wings and silently watching the crowd.

Looking at the black crow inside the hall, Zhao Lengxiang felt that it seemed different from ordinary crows, as if it were more spiritual.

Ah Liu, who was standing in front of the statue, suddenly trembled. He was stunned for a moment before speaking, "Alright, everyone, don't be in such a hurry. Lord Wuxiang already knows. Please stop making noise here, lest you displease the gods."

Lord Wuxiang has already agreed to help you, so please go back and wait.

Upon hearing this, everyone kneeling in the hall stopped crying, nodded in agreement, bowed to the statue of the deity, and then left with the unconscious child.

After everyone had left, Ah Liu, seeing that the crow on the statue was still there, dared not say anything. He could only walk into the courtyard and look at the mugwort sachets and other items that had fallen to the ground, and then he wanted to pick them up.

But at that moment, a clear, cold voice rang out from behind him.

"If you have nothing to do in the future, read more books. Spend less time on these mundane things. The temple doesn't need them."

Upon hearing this voice, Ah Liu immediately knelt down and respectfully replied, not daring to raise his head, "Yes! Yes! I will remember it!"

Light footsteps passed over his prostrate forehead, and Ah Liu, with his head buried in the ground, heard that cold voice say, "Ya'er, let's go."

Fluttering~
The black crow landed on Bai Wuxiang's shoulder. He slowly walked past the temple gate, and the mugwort and calamus on the ground beside him burst into flames of a ghostly blue.

Ah Liu waited for a long time, then raised his head from the ground and saw only the mugwort and calamus that had been reduced to ashes in front of the door.

He suddenly realized that Lord Wuxiang disliked these things. Hanging these talismans in front of the temple meant that Lord Wuxiang couldn't even suppress evil spirits and had to rely on worldly things for help. It was simply too shameful.

Based on his understanding of the gods, Ah Liu thought he understood the gods' will and hurriedly threw all the exorcising items out of the temple.

……

In the mountains and fields, the lush vegetation reaches waist-high, insects chirp incessantly, and some of the little frogs of spring have now grown into toads with swollen bellies, croaking all around.

The moonlight was gentle, just enough to illuminate the mountains and fields, yet the distant mountains were not clearly visible, all shrouded in a hazy night.

Bai Wuxiang arrived at this mountain wilderness. This place was originally a dense forest, but the people of Heishi Village cleared the land, cut down trees, and worked hard for many years to create this mountain field, a place that can feed the local people.

In the dead of night, the rice paddies are a delightful sight.

A dozen or so figures stood silently and obliquely in the field, motionless. They were there to scare away birds and wild animals.

There were many snakes and rats in the fields, and under the soft moonlight, one hunting scene after another unfolded.

Bai Wuxiang glanced around and saw that there were no traces of the two children's spirits in the field.

He frowned. He'd searched this area the whole way; if it wasn't here either, it could only have been eaten by a passing demon.

Bai Wuxiang found a spot on a field ridge and sat down cross-legged. He usually stayed in the cave at night to cultivate and rarely came out to walk around.

Although he couldn't bask in the sun, basking in the moonlight was just as good for him.

A gentle night breeze, a pale moon, the tranquility of the mountains and forests, and the chirping of insects in the grass are the best ways to soothe a restless heart.

Until the moon reached its zenith and the sixth day of the fifth lunar month arrived, the suppression of Yang energy during the Dragon Boat Festival finally disappeared completely.

Deep in the mountains, roars that could not be heard by humans echoed.

Many suppressed demons and evil creatures roared and howled excitedly at night, seeking blood and food to soothe their frenzied emotions.

Unlike these spirits and monsters, Bai Wuxiang is intelligent and aware of the changing seasons, so he is not driven by the instinctive desires of his body like those monsters with low intelligence.

He looked up at the moon in the sky, stood in the field, raised his hands, closed his eyes, and a black crow took flight on his shoulder, while the heavy yin energy from all directions turned into mist.

Bai Wuxiang sensed the Yin energy of the earth in all directions and finally noticed something unusual.

His figure was like a ghost, leaving double images in place, and in a few breaths he arrived under a mountain peach tree.

"Woo~"

His arrival startled a den of foxes under the tree.

Several newborn fox cubs huddled together in a burrow near the tree roots. Their large, watery eyes stared at the "monster" before them with fear and unease, and they made low moaning noises.

"Whoosh~"

Suddenly, a large fox leaped out of the grass. It was neither white nor black, but a very rare blue fox. It landed in front of Bai Wuxiang and glanced at him. Its fox eyes revealed a human-like look of fear.

Clearly, this fox is quite intelligent and has already discerned that the "demon" before it is extremely powerful.

Its two front legs buckled, and it knelt down in front of Bai Wuxiang. A wisp of smoke rose, and the figure of the green fox disappeared. In its place, a beautiful and charming woman appeared!

The woman lay naked on the ground, her skin especially white under the moonlight, her long black hair cascading down her back, her slender figure slightly swaying, and her beautiful, alluring face staring straight up at him.

The fox spirit's slender, jade-like fingers slowly climbed up Bai Wuxiang's leg, and her alluring voice rang out: "This humble servant greets Your Excellency. I, the little fox Qingyin, have only recently arrived here and had no idea that there was such a senior with profound cultivation as Your Excellency."

We beg you, Your Excellency, to have mercy on us and give our child and me a place to stay.

Faced with such an alluring scene, even the most self-controlled man would find it impossible to resist such a beauty seducing and tempting him in the desolate wilderness.

Unfortunately, Bai Wuxiang was no longer human; he had even lost the ability to feel desire and was completely unmoved by the scene before him.

This was the first time Bai Wuxiang had ever seen such a fox spirit illusion technique; the transformations were incredibly lifelike and realistic. He couldn't help but ask curiously, "Your illusion technique is quite interesting. Where did you learn it?"

Qing Yin tried her best to show off her charm, even going so far as to puff out her chest and shake her "thing" which had grown a bit more due to being nurtured. Looking at the handsome demon in front of her, she thought it must be well-versed in the yin and yang intercourse of humans.

Even a virtuous person would find it hard to resist his own perfect and alluring body, let alone these monsters with low intelligence.
But just when she thought she had successfully seduced him, the man in front of her asked her about the illusion.

Qing Yin was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but grab the man's clothes and shake them, gently scolding, "My lord!"
Have you not heard the saying that a moment of spring night is worth a thousand pieces of gold?
"This humble servant is willing to spend the night with you, my lord."

"Oh?"

Bai Wuxiang asked in confusion without expression, then reached out and grabbed the woman's tailbone. The woman let out a weak gasp, then her body flickered and she uncontrollably reverted to her original form, being lifted into the air by his tail.

This change terrified Qingyin, who cried out in panic, "My lord, spare me! My lord, spare me! This little demon will never dare to do it again! I will never dare to use illusion magic on you again!"

Bai Wuxiang sized up the fox demon. Its demonic power was shallow, even weaker than his own, yet it could use such realistic illusions that even he himself couldn't see its true form for a moment.

So he loosened his grip, and the blue fox cried out and fell to the ground.

Before Qing Yin could say anything flattering, she heard the cold voice from above say again, "Change back."

"Ah, this..."

Qingyin thought to herself with dissatisfaction, "You're not human, why are you pretending? If you want to see, just say so. Why tease the fox like this?"

Her body twisted, and she transformed back into that alluring young woman. This time, she was careful not to completely transform into a human, only calling out in a soft, coquettish voice, "My lord... would you like me to serve you..."

"No, you didn't hide your tail well," Bai Wuxiang pointed out, pointing out the wriggling fox tail.

"My lord, you..." Qing Yin paused, wondering if this great demon had been beaten senseless by the demon hunter. What a waste of such a handsome human appearance, he doesn't even know a little bit of humor.

"Could it turn into other objects?" Bai Wuxiang asked curiously.

"This... I haven't learned that yet; I can only transform into human form," Qing Yin replied honestly.

"Did you encounter any wandering spirits in this area yesterday?" Bai Wuxiang asked, getting down to business.

Qingyin transformed back into her fox form and spoke in human language: "This...this little demon did not..."

"Really? I'll ask again," Bai Wuxiang said in a low voice, his face expressionless.

Suddenly, a ghostly blue flame rose from the ground around Qingyin Fox, enveloping it.

The icy chill seeped into Qingyin's fox brain, bringing her back to her senses. She cried out, "My lord, spare me! My lord, spare me! I know, I know!"

"explain."

Bai Wuxiang showed no intention of dispelling the ghostly blue flames. He stood with one hand behind his back, his gaze calm yet terrifying.

"In a glass bottle buried under the peach tree roots."

Qing Yin sensed the difference in strength between herself and the other party at this moment, and dared not hide it, so she had no choice but to tell them.

The black crows descended from the sky, rummaged around under the peach wood, and indeed found a glass bottle.

So, it flew over with the bottle in its mouth and placed it in Bai Wuxiang's hand.

Unexpectedly, the moment the bottle was in hand, the glass patterns on its surface came to life, and a golden light flashed, piercing through Bai Wuxiang's palm.

"Clap~"

This glass bottle is broken!
Two dim and lifeless human souls floated in the air; they were the lost souls of Zhao Dawu and Erniu.

Humans have three souls and seven spirits residing in their bodies, which is why they experience joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, worry, fear, and anxiety. Even losing one soul would render one unable to be a normal person.

Even if mountain spirits and wild monsters cultivate for decades to awaken their intelligence, they only have one soul. This is where humans have an advantage over other demons and spirits.

Bai Wuxiang reached out and raised his sleeve, taking the two human souls into his wide sleeve. His gorgeous robe had been eroded by the earth's yin energy for many years, and with the obsessions of the two ghosts, it could be considered a yin spirit object, which was just right to contain human souls.

After doing all this, he looked up at the broken glass bottle and asked, "Where did this bottle come from?"

Qing Yin looked terrified and hurriedly explained, "My lord, this item was stolen by a lowly demon from Yuanjue Temple at the foot of the mountain. I never expected it to harm you, my lord. Please forgive me!"

"Yuanjue Temple? It seems there are highly accomplished monks at the foot of the mountain who are well-versed in Buddhism." Bai Wuxiang muttered to himself as his palm was gradually restored to a complete human hand by the earth's yin energy filling it.

"If you want to stay in this Black Stone Village territory, then you must obey my orders."

Furthermore, I must not lay a hand on the people of Black Stone Village, otherwise, as the village god, I will find it difficult to gain the faith of the mortals in this village.

Whether you cultivate by absorbing the essence of others or by diligently cultivating and absorbing the moon's radiance, it's the path you chose, and you will have to bear the consequences yourself.

After Bai Wuxiang finished speaking, he turned around and took a few steps, his figure blurring and disappearing into the night.

The eerie blue flames surrounding Qing Yin also vanished.

The fox demon suppressed all her facial expressions, went to her fox cubs' side, and gently rubbed her forehead against them to comfort them, but in her heart she was thinking:

This eerie spirit is a village god who doesn't accept tribute. Although it seems a bit strange, it's at least a place to stay. I'll stay for now and make further plans. As long as those damned demon hunters don't find me, I'll be lucky.

Thinking of this, Qingyin's eyes showed resentment. Her male fox was captured by those demon hunters down the mountain, skinned and gutted, and then eaten by them.

She will definitely avenge this!

But for now, she still needs to raise her fox cubs to adulthood, and take this opportunity to cultivate properly so that she can avenge this great grudge in the future.

……

Back in the cave, Bai Wuxiang gathered his sleeves, but did not immediately return the two children's souls; he wanted to wait a few more days.

Most people are afraid of authority but not of virtue.

If it were that easy to get divine intervention, who in the village would want to work hard? All they would have to do is cry in front of the temple and the gods would solve their problems.

Bai Wuxiang had seen too many people, and he knew that people's hearts could not withstand the test!
A god who is too kind will not have a good ending!

(End of this chapter)