Chapter 122: Magic Energy Only

Although the boy's soul was quite special and incredibly fast, Gong Muhua, as the "Mountain God" who was connected to the local terrain and ley lines, had little difficulty catching a child's soul on his own territory. This was a matter of specialized skill.

Inside the Mountain God Temple, Ji Yuan and the martial artists waited for about the time it takes to steep a cup of tea when a swirling mist rose from the temple floor. It was the Mountain God of Banana Leaf Mountain.

While the other martial artists were limited by their mortal vision and saw nothing else, Ji Yuan could clearly see the Mountain God of Banana Leaf Mountain holding a terrified, struggling child in his hand.

The "Mountain God's" expression was clearly not good when he first appeared, but it immediately changed the moment he faced Ji Yuan.

"Ahem, reporting to Immortal Master, this humble god has fortunately fulfilled his duty and brought the child's soul back!"

At this point, the child suddenly saw what was happening in the temple. Not only did he see the "monster" reporting to a man in white robes with a jade hairpin in his topknot, but he also saw Mo Tong and the others. His fear immediately lessened considerably, and he stopped struggling.

"Yes, thank you for your trouble, Mountain God Gong!"

Ji Yuan cupped his hands towards the Mountain God, then addressed the child's soul:

"Go, return to your body. It's not good to be outside it for too long."

Upon hearing this, the Mountain God quickly released his grip, though he remained prepared, seemingly afraid the child might try to escape again.

The child looked at Ji Yuan, and as he moved towards his physical body, he suddenly remembered who Ji Yuan was, asking quietly:

"You're the great master from the teahouse that Mo Tong drove away, aren't you?"

Ji Yuan smiled.

"He didn't drive me away; I left on my own. Now go!"

After speaking, Ji Yuan waved his sleeve, and the child's soul, as if carried by the wind, flew swiftly towards the body lying on the prayer mat and merged into it.

The child, who had been unconscious and twitching his eyelids, occasionally frowning, now looked serene, as if in a deep sleep.

Even if Mo Tong, the two women, and the other individuals couldn't see their young master's soul, they understood what had happened from the words of the Mountain God and Ji Yuan, combined with their young master's reaction. They excitedly thanked Ji Yuan and Mountain God Gong Muhua repeatedly.

"Thank you, Immortal Master, for your aid, and thank you, esteemed Mountain God, for saving our young master of the Mo family!"

"Thank you, Immortal Master and esteemed Mountain God!"

While they offered profuse thanks, Ji Yuan merely nodded, then gestured to the Mountain God to join him outside the temple, leaving the others inside to check on their young master.

The Mountain God followed closely, not daring to leave. Once outside under the temple eaves, seeing his demeanor, Ji Yuan said with a slightly apologetic tone:

"This time, thanks to your great assistance, Mountain God Gong. Mountain and water deities are indeed more adept at finding souls in these mountains. If you continue to accumulate virtue and perform good deeds as you did today, I believe more and more villagers will come to revere you, which will also help you achieve your true divine status sooner."

"Your Immortal Master's teachings shall certainly be remembered, certainly remembered!"

Gong Muhua, who resembled a spirit more than a true mountain god, simply nodded profusely in agreement. However, he dared not leave without Ji Yuan's consent, as he rarely encountered cultivators and felt he had truly hit the jackpot this time.

Gong Muhua was inexperienced and didn't understand what "divine summoning" entailed, but that didn't mean he couldn't perceive the wonder and power of such an extraordinary art.

He had been cultivating underground when he suddenly felt his body become uncontrollable. His divine powers, linked to the mountain ranges and ley lines, activated on their own, and he was forcibly drawn towards the Mountain God Temple. At the same time, a clear command appeared in his mind, telling him that someone was summoning the Mountain God.

What kind of magic was this? What kind of divine power? It was utterly beyond Gong Muhua's comprehension!

At that moment, he felt nothing but fear, dreading that some immortal master might disapprove of his illicit shrines and sacrifices and swiftly end his life with a sword.

And when he arrived at the Mountain God Temple, the immortal master indeed carried a sword — a true immortal sword…

Fortunately, it ultimately proved to be a false alarm.

Ji Yuan saw that the Mountain God was clearly terrified by him and felt even more apologetic. However, at Gong Muhua's current stage, giving him ordinary decrees would not be very effective.

Furthermore, this "Mountain God's" cultivation was indeed quite shallow. If a complete divine decree were issued, it would not only consume a lot of mystic yellow energy but might also not be beneficial for his cultivation, as this spirit belonged to the lineage of orthodox mountain and water deities, whose foundation lay in their own cultivation. However, merely offering a stick of incense and a bow seemed even less appropriate.

"Mountain God Gong, I have no suitable way to repay your favor this time. How about this: as long as you do not neglect your own cultivation, uphold your responsibilities as a Mountain God, and continue to perform good deeds to accumulate virtue, I, Ji, will grant you a great fortune one day!"

A powerful immortal master like Ji Yuan wouldn't need to talk if he truly wanted to deal with him, and righteous cultivators always honor their promises. Therefore, Gong Muhua understood that this was likely true and bowed repeatedly in thanks.

"This humble god will certainly not forget your teachings, and will surely do his best!"

However, the prospect of fortune was secondary; Gong Muhua felt extremely uneasy, as if a thorn was in his back, and simply wished to leave quickly.

The "pawn" Ji Yuan had hoped for did not materialize. Seeing that while the spirit-like Mountain God responded eagerly, he probably just wanted to quickly send away this "bringer of misfortune," Ji Yuan sighed inwardly.

In the end, this "Mountain God" was simply too shallow and ignorant in his cultivation, and hadn't yet experienced the hardships of a bottleneck. He didn't understand how to cherish fateful opportunities. If it had been the old turtle from Chunmu River from back then, his reaction would have been completely different.

Ji Yuan lost some interest, and his tone became flat.

"Well, if there's nothing else, Mountain God Gong, you may return to your cultivation. I am finished here."

"Yes, yes, this humble god takes his leave!"

With that, the Mountain God transformed into a light mist and drifted into the rain, vanishing in a flash against the mountain wall.

Ji Yuan turned to look back inside the temple. Having sent the Mountain God away, there was still a "captive" he had taken. He turned and walked back into the temple, where the child had surprisingly woken up and was excitedly chattering to the people beside him about how he had escaped in the mountains.

As Ji Yuan entered, the temple immediately fell silent.

Ji Yuan saw Mo Tong and another male martial artist holding their knives, continuously maintaining vigilance towards the direction of the demonic being. Their gazes were also very curiously fixed on the swirling lines of water.

A quarter of an hour later, the group was all seated around a lit iron basin. The fire, naturally, had been started by Ji Yuan.

Ever since the alchemical furnace had been replaced with Samadhi True Fire, although Ji Yuan only knew minor fire-controlling techniques, he was now able to conjure bright flames from thin air. This was certainly not Samadhi True Fire itself; at best, it could be considered "wildfire," but it was more than enough for lighting kindling and building a strong fire.

And since so much had happened that night, Ji Yuan simply waved his hand, removing the moisture from everyone's clothes and making them dry again.

Ji Yuan was now seated by the fire basin, listening to the group's narrative for quite some time.

"So, if I understand correctly, you've been protecting Young Master Mo in Juntian Prefecture for quite some time because you noticed someone lurking suspiciously outside the residence, appearing and disappearing without a trace. Reporting it to the authorities yielded no results, and Young Master Mo even started having frequent nightmares. Given the urgency, you decided to leave Juntian Prefecture and return home?"

"Precisely!"

Mo Tong quickly replied.

Ji Yuan pondered for a moment before continuing his questions.

"Since a cultivator once wished to take Young Master Mo as a disciple, even casting a spell to help him conceal his spiritual aura and instructing him to remain in Juntian Prefecture to await his return, then that cultivator must have made some assessments regarding Young Master Mo."

As Ji Yuan spoke, he noticed the child staring at him, listening intently, so he smiled at him.

"It's also possible that your 'convenient' master had already discerned your issue earlier and had you hide in Juntian Prefecture, using the city's human aura to conceal yourself, while he had to leave temporarily for his own matters. He simply didn't expect you to nearly fall into the demon's clutches."

The young boy, named Mo Yu, asked curiously:

"Mr. Ji, why did they want to capture me? Did my master provoke them?"

Hearing Mo Yu's question, Ji Yuan glanced at the corpses on the other side. After failing to extract any information, he had tried using his sword-finger with the Left Family's Void Son, which indeed absorbed the demonic energy, transforming it into a "Void-Black Son."

Because the four possessed martial artists had poor temperament and weak resolve, and their souls had been tainted by demonic energy for a long time, they had already assimilated into demons. When the demonic energy dispersed, their souls vanished, and their physical bodies immediately lost their vitality.

"More precisely, it's 'it,' not 'them.' Although the four demonized individuals acted and thought independently, at their core, they were merely corrupted by a wisp of demonic energy imbued with a demonic will. The thinking was still done by the original martial artists' souls, so they could, at best, be considered manifestations of a single demon."

"I, Ji, have never before encountered someone with such a unique spiritual aura as Young Master Mo, who can even spontaneously shed his soul and escape without any cultivation—a phenomenon rarer than animals gaining sentience. It's not surprising for evil forces to covet your body and soul, whether to absorb it or to seize it like a cuckoo in a magpie's nest. As for any other objectives... I and others would not know."

If Ji Yuan himself was unclear about such matters, then the others certainly had no idea, and a brief silence fell around the fire basin.

"Mr. Ji, are you more capable, or is my future master more capable?"

Seeing the child's expectant face, Ji Yuan chuckled without any reservation.

"Presumably, your master is a bit more capable…"