Chapter 267 The Gods Return to the People

If it were a demon-suppressing golden mace, the Mountain Lord would definitely not accept it, as that item no longer belonged to the old gods of the pond.

Of course, the child wouldn't lend it either.

But if it was just the Jinjia Collection…

The Mountain Lord needed to use a certain amount of mental effort to suppress the slight tremor in his heart. Then, with a solemn expression, he nodded to the little red pagoda on the incense table, assuring it that he would return it. Only then did he gently wave his sleeve and receive the scroll.

His fingers gently caressed the golden pages, as if reminiscing about something.

After a long while, he finally raised his head. Within the billowing incense smoke, the blurred figure seemed to possess tangible eyes. He then gently raised his hand, supporting the scroll of the Jinjia Collection.

The pages rustled, turning one after another. The rolling incense smoke gathered around the Mountain Lord suddenly surged towards the Jinjia Collection in a mighty torrent.

At this moment, before Old Yin Mountain, the tall, imposing, and heavy golden-armored warriors all raised their heads.

In their golden, yet empty eye sockets, a spark of sentience seemed to ignite. The golden light on their bodies surged, reaching its peak in an instant, illuminating the entirety of Old Yin Mountain.

"Hoo!"

Following the golden-armored warriors' movement, the giant white lanterns in front of the mountain suddenly swayed, as if carrying a restless intent.

Behind the white lanterns, the tall and imposing figures of the Prefecture Lords had a look of gloom in their eyes.

Their humanity was far greater than that of the Pond God, so they could sense the things within Old Yin Mountain that made them uncomfortable, and even more so, the things that made them covet.

They had all been appointed by Du Yi, with extremely high status. However, when Du Yi first sat upon the throne, he had to feign piety in order to appease the people, offering incense to the ancestral altar and worshiping the ancient Hall Gods.

An appointment and a worship meant that the status of the Prefecture Gods was naturally lower than that of the Hall Gods.

Of course, status was just status. For over two hundred years, they had been sharing the incense, and the Hall Gods had long had their golden bodies destroyed. Usually, these Prefecture Lords wouldn't even look at them. But now, the incense of half the world was pouring into Old Yin Mountain.

They usually only enjoyed the incense of a state or prefecture, and with the world in chaos and people's hearts fickle, this incense was of little value.

Now that they saw such incense, how could they not be tempted?

Especially when the incense in Old Yin Mountain was surging towards the Jinjia Collection, and even appearing on the golden-armored warriors in front of them, some of the Prefecture Lords in the front couldn't restrain themselves and eagerly came forward.

In an instant, the leading golden-armored warrior suddenly drew his saber and held his halberd. One halberd pierced through his chest, and another swung his saber and chopped off his head.

Within Old Yin Mountain, a voice thundered, "Those whose virtue does not match their position, who betray the world, deserve to die!"

With just these words, the golden-armored warriors suddenly attacked. Rolling golden light surged into the lantern-filled night.

So resolute and cold that even these Prefecture Lords had not anticipated it, and were unwilling to be slaughtered.

However, the Mountain Lord possessed status, the people sent incense, and Hu Ma sent golden-armored warriors. This caused an unexpected crushing force to erupt on the edge of Old Yin Mountain.

Rolling golden armor, wielding halberds, advanced forward. Sabers fell, and golden light surged, suppressing the countless tall figures, leaving them with no power to resist.

The gods who occupied the prefectural lands and enjoyed endless incense were now trapped within, like civil officials meeting generals, being cut down like vegetables.

"It feels strange, doesn't it?"

Just as he sensed the billowing dark clouds and daylight turning to night on the edge of Old Yin Mountain, and the sounds of slaughter within, Eldest Brother Bu Shi Niu, who had led the Eight Gates senior brothers to the edge of Old Yin Mountain, smiled and said:

"The former Hall Gods, or rather, the Pond Gods, had their foundations destroyed, their claws and teeth lost. They were deliberately erased, the people did not know their names, and the incense did not return to their rightful place."

"But at this moment, half the world worships Yin Mountain, and incense rolls in. Weapons are in hand. Although this mountain worship is only for half a day, and cannot be compared to the heavy history of a clan spanning thousands of years, it is enough to shake the heavens and earth at this moment."

"..."

The Eight Gates eldest disciple exclaimed, "Eldest brother, if Teacher has such ability, why didn't he do it before?"

"Why didn't we do it?"

"..."

Eldest Brother Bu Shi Niu sighed softly and said, "Returning the gods to the people, the difficulty lies in the fact that those who have the ability will not do it, and those who don't have the ability cannot do it."

"This is also what I think is rare about Teacher. He casually pushed this step, which is worth twenty years of my Bu Shi Niu's efforts. He truly deserves to be our teacher…"

"Of course, just doing this is not enough. Something is still missing…"

"..."

The Eight Gates eldest disciple was both surprised and delighted, "What?"

Eldest Brother Bu Shi Niu slowly said, "Since the gods are returned to the people, they should always be made known!"

"It is useless for people in the martial world, people in the court, grass-roots kings, or the Ten Surnames to know about this."

"We have to let those who have forgotten remember, only then can it be considered done!"

"..."

As if confirming his words, following the golden armor rolling towards the Prefecture Lords, the world's fortune changed accordingly.

The Mountain Lord had not enjoyed incense for a long time, and the old Yin Mountain Ponds were all new gods. Every wisp of incense was extremely difficult to obtain. Moreover, although this mountain worship was grand in scale, it was only a hearty meal, not enough to make one fat.

Therefore, if it were other Prefecture Lords, now would be the time to accumulate incense. However, the Mountain Lord in Old Yin Mountain and those new gods in the ponds did not seem to have such awareness…

The moment the Jinjia Collection was flipped, it was not only the Yin God Hall Prefecture Lords who were being slaughtered.

Now, ghost walkers everywhere were fighting against those who came to make trouble. Since they were going to fight, they naturally had to invite ghosts onto the altar to borrow their magic power. However, because the ghost walking sect started late, although their skills had greatly increased, many were at a disadvantage against fierce Negative Spirits.

But at the moment when the golden light soared in Old Yin Mountain, golden light also flashed in the altars of these ghost walkers.

Welcoming the golden light, the evil ghosts on the backs of these Negative Spirits struggled in pain, even dissolving.

And on the altars of some ghost walkers with high magic power, one could even vaguely see golden-armored warriors charging out, with mighty divine power, slaying Yin demons.

A hundred and eight golden armors, one turning into two, two turning into four, splitting into thousands. A wisp of golden light descended onto the altar was enough to subdue demons and exorcise ghosts.

And even more crucial were those common people who were persuaded, coaxed, or even tricked into offering incense by the ghost walkers and Bu Shi Niu's disciples.

Originally, they did not believe in this kind of headless worship. After all, they had worshiped countless gods, but they were still hungry. If they wanted to worship someone effective, they had to prepare offerings, go to the Prefecture Lord's temple, and kowtow earnestly in exchange for a little mercy.

Worship like this often only gathered popularity, and they had never seen it work.

But this moment was different. They all saw the golden light flashing on the altar, and the miserable howls of the Yin demons who came to make trouble.

They were stunned on the spot, "It's really… working?"

It was impossible to describe the shock this spiritual light had on the hearts of the people in this world, and it was also difficult to describe its significance.

So, there really were gods who were not held up by blood sacrifices, or supported by incense burners, or funded by aristocratic families and turned into clan protectors. There really was a kind of god who was omnipresent, did not value offerings, and responded to sincere prayers.

There really were gods in this world?

This world was not just full of Yin ghosts and evil spirits?

If they had known that worshiping gods was effective, then who would kowtow to ghosts?

...

...

"Not good!"

The sudden shock alarmed not only the people of the world, but also the four surname heads who were hiding in the lotus flowers drinking wine to avoid suspicion, as well as others among the Ten Surnames who originally did not want to get involved in these matters. They were all shocked, abandoned their awning boats, jumped back onto the shore, and their expressions were extremely grave.

"What exactly does that Hu family kid want to do?"

"Borrowing the world's incense to nourish the ponds is fine, but he even dares to invite gods onto the altar?"

At first, they were really worried that something would happen to the Hu family's bloodline, so they came forward to mediate. But later, they realized that the Hu family's young master was not so easy to die, and their hearts were relieved. As long as the Stone Pavilion Agreement was guaranteed, other things were not important.

Who told the Meng family to go crazy and insist on fighting the Hu family to the death? Suffering losses was normal!

But until this moment, they suddenly realized that the truly crazy ones were the Hu family. That guy was both ruthless and crazy!

In addition to the shock, everyone was moved. Like huge monsters, they all turned their attention to the direction of Old Yin Mountain. The golden light there was too dazzling, making everywhere else in the world dim.

"The Meng family, they overestimated themselves."

At this time, in Old Yin Mountain, Hu Ma slowly leaned down, looking at Cui Magu, almost touching her face.

Because some things were not convenient for others to hear, he could only get closer.

Facing this woman who had the determination to die in order to exchange a chance of survival for the Meng family, Hu Ma said in a low voice, "This time, it's not actually a life-and-death gamble between the Hu family and the Meng family. The Meng family was never an opponent from beginning to end, and didn't have the qualifications to gamble."

"The Meng family is just a pig, just seeing who can cut off a bigger piece…"

"..."

He spoke in a low voice, slowly raised his hand, and pressed it on Cui Magu's head.

It was a pity for such a non-surname expert, who knew too many secrets, so she could not be spared.

"Everyone, it's very lively everywhere, but we don't need to participate in the Hu-Meng dispute!"

"There will always be excitement, no need to regret, no need to feel sorry…"

After Miss Red Wine heard Hu Ma talk about returning to Old Yin Mountain to worship the mountain, she had already prepared, just waiting for this moment.

And this was the first time that so many Transcenders stayed in their natal spirit temples during the daytime, waiting for her news, "Brother Old White Liquor really kept his word. Now they are fighting fiercely, and it is also the time when the people of the world pay the least attention to us."

"So, the opportunity has come."

"I would like to ask you to remember the kindness of Brother Old White Liquor, and don't waste the opportunity he created for us!"

"After today, Transcenders will not have to be so careful of the Ten Surnames, and will have the power to protect themselves for the first time!"

"Prepare to seize the Meng family's bridge!"

(End of this chapter)