Chapter 44: Heaven Demon Patriarch

The villagers of Zhangzhuang Fort gathered around. One of them quickly said, "A night watchman has died!"

The elder pondered for a moment and then asked, "Has the watchman's body been buried? He was likely a demon, and might reanimate."

Startled, the villagers of Zhangzhuang Fort quickly led the two individuals to the watchman's grave. "He was buried yesterday, masters..." they said.

The elder pointed, and the earthen grave split open. A thin-walled coffin slowly rose from the pit, floating before everyone.

*Tap, tap, tap—* The coffin nails automatically detached, the lid lifted, and the coffin landed. The watchman's body, however, remained suspended in the air, his face obscured by a white banner.

The elder and the youth took the white banner and examined it. They exchanged glances and nodded silently. The elder muttered an incantation, then pointed, and the watchman's corpse immediately burst into flames, turning to ash in moments.

Numerous villagers quickly bowed in gratitude and offered gold and silver as compensation. The youth hastily waved his hand, but the elder said, "One who does no work receives no reward, but one who does work must. Take it."

Only then did the youth accept the reward. The elder asked, "Where does the youth who slew the great serpent live? Who is with him?"

"He's from Disabled Elder Village. He has the Blind Man and Grandma Si with him. It's about forty li upstream along the river from here."

The elder thanked them, and the elder and youth left Zhangzhuang Fort, heading upstream along the river.

After walking a few li, the elder sighed. "When a person dies, their light goes out. Hall Master Mo's light has gone out. That night watchman was Hall Master Mo of our Sacred Cult. His Free Innate Skill went astray, and he cultivated using infants. Though his death was deserved, he was still a Hall Master of our Sacred Cult. The one who killed him is suspected to be the God of Spears, who nailed his soul and body together. There were sword marks on the white banner, meaning Hall Master Mo encountered her, the Cult Master's wife, before meeting the God of Spears."

The youth listened silently.

The elder continued, "The Cult Master's wife has always been elusive, hiding away. Our Sacred Cult's experts have entered the Great Ruins to search for her whereabouts, but have found nothing until now. We didn't expect Hall Master Mo to encounter her here. Grandmaster, our efforts on this journey have not been in vain."

The youth spoke, his voice extremely ancient and resonant: "After the Cult Master's wife killed the Cult Master, she stole our cult's sacred text, the Grand Creation Demonic Scripture. She vanished forty years ago, and we have been searching for her for forty years. We have finally found her."

In Disabled Elder Village, early that morning after breakfast, the Apothecary moved the Village Chief to the village entrance. He set up a small stove, boiled a pot of water, and brewed a pot of tea. Then, the cry of the Chicken-Dragon echoed from within the village.

"The chickens have laid eggs, Mu'er. Go pick them up from the coop."

Grandma Si urged Qin Mu to collect the eggs. As soon as Qin Mu ventured into the chicken coop, the Chicken-Dragon attacked him, sending him scrambling wildly and pecking his head and face until they bled.

This Chicken-Dragon was incredibly fierce. It spat out a fiery serpent over a zhang long, its feathers were as sharp as swords, and its claws could crush iron blocks into mud. Qin Mu fought this hen for a few rounds, realized he was no match, and immediately fled.

"Mu'er, do you not even have the strength to tie a chicken?" the Butcher laughed heartily, watching Qin Mu run wildly through the village, chased by the Chicken-Dragon.

Grandma Si seized the opportunity to collect the eggs. Unable to catch Qin Mu, the Chicken-Dragon strutted back to the coop, only to discover its eggs were gone. Enraged once more, it resumed its relentless chase after the youth.

After the commotion, Qin Mu invigorated his spirit, shaking off the dejection of being defeated by the Chicken-Dragon. He slung his pig-slaughtering knife behind his back, donned his sword satchel, then a large iron hammer, tucked several Solidification Pills into his robe, and, carrying the Shifting Sands Staff, excitedly left the village.

Today was his first time going hunting alone. Qin Mu had long looked forward to this day, but being attacked by the Chicken-Dragon had dampened his spirits somewhat.

As he stepped out of the village, he saw an elder and a youth approaching Disabled Elder Village, resembling two itinerant Daoists.

The elder and youth stopped at the village entrance, observed the Village Chief and the Apothecary who were drinking tea, and then greeted them. "May we beg a cup of tea?" they asked.

The Village Chief's eyebrow twitched slightly. "When guests come from afar, how dare we be rude?" he said.

The Apothecary poured tea for the elder and youth. The two sat down; the youth sat opposite the Village Chief, while the elder stood to the side.

"Is this the youth who slew the serpent?" the elder, with kind eyes, looked at Qin Mu and asked with a smile.

Qin Mu was about to speak when the Village Chief said nonchalantly, "Mu'er, this doesn't concern you. Go about your own business."

Qin Mu nodded and walked into the forest.

Once he was far away, the youth opposite the Village Chief spoke, his voice incredibly ancient. "We've met before, haven't we?"

The Village Chief nodded. "We have."

The youth smiled. "Few from our generation are still alive. It's rare to encounter you; I'm very happy."

"Me too," the Village Chief replied indifferently.

The youth chuckled. "I've come to see Grandma Si. Our cult hasn't had a Cult Master for forty years, and Grandma Si owes us an explanation."

The Village Chief shook his head. "Once you enter this village, you are unrelated to the outside world."

The youth's eyes flickered. "Then I won't go in. You can ask her to come out; I have something to ask her."

The Village Chief shook his head. "She's out."

The elder could no longer restrain himself and was about to speak, but the youth raised a hand and chuckled, "We've waited forty years; there's no need to rush. Enforcement Elder, since the Cult Master's wife isn't in the village, summon the strongmen to build an estate here. We'll stay the night."

The elder bowed in assent. A demonic aura shot up from his head, forming a giant 'Command' character in mid-air.

The youth slowly sipped his tea. An hour later, the villagers of Disabled Elder Village put down their work, walked out of the village, and looked up.

In the mountains and forests, massive giants with grotesque, muscular bodies walked among the trees, felling them as they passed. These giants, four of them working together, carried a stone statue. There were four such statues in total, and the giants approached, panting. Where their feet stepped, the mountain rocks were crushed like mud, oozing out from between their toes!

The sixteen giants' faces were flushed, clearly indicating the statues were immensely heavy, almost unbearable even for strongmen like them.

The sixteen giants carefully set down the statues, positioning them at the four cardinal points, right beside Disabled Elder Village.

Not long after, another multi-story ship arrived and docked by the river. About a hundred carpenters disembarked and began felling timber near Disabled Elder Village to construct houses. Half an hour later, wooden buildings were completed, fully furnished. These carpenters returned to the ship, brought down gold and silver vessels, pots, bowls, and ladles, then boarded the ship, which sailed away from the riverside.

Next, another multi-story ship arrived, from which painters disembarked to apply lacquer to the furniture and wooden buildings. After finishing their work, they also boarded the ship and departed.

Subsequently, a ship full of stonemasons arrived. They quarried mountain stone, carved statues, and polished flagstones to pave the estate's ground. After completing their tasks, they also departed by ship.

A moment later, a burly, bearded man, covered in dust, rushed over and bowed. "Grandmaster! Enforcement Senior Brother."

The elder said, "Left Emissary, the estate is built. Find a room for yourself."

The burly, bearded man entered the newly constructed estate next to Disabled Elder Village, found a room, sat down cross-legged, and remained silent.

A moment later, a ragged old woman approached, greeted the youth and the elder, and also entered the estate to find an empty room. Then, a fisherman arrived in a small skiff, which he moored by the river. The fisherman, carrying his fish basket and fishing rod, entered the estate to stay.

Soon after, more strange people arrived. Some looked like wealthy landowners, others like merchants, and still others like private tutors, scholars on their way to exams, and young women from brothels. All walks of life were represented.

Grandpa Ma's expression was solemn. He whispered, "The Demonic Cult's three hundred and sixty professions, three hundred and sixty halls, and three hundred and sixty hall masters were once spread throughout the world, extremely mysterious. I didn't expect that for the past forty years, all three hundred and sixty hall masters have entered the Great Ruins, searching for their Cult Master's wife. I fear they will all come here and settle next door to us!"

The Cripple's smile deepened. He chuckled, "Where is old Grandma Si? All these people are here for her!"

The Deaf Man said, "I saw Grandma transform into a roe deer and leave the village before Mu'er. I imagine she was worried about Mu'er going hunting alone and his safety, so she went to protect him secretly. I fear she doesn't know yet that the Demonic Cult has found this place. The Demonic Cult has practically moved its entire sect next door to us!"

Qin Mu walked towards the deep mountains and old forests. After a while, a roe deer trotted over with light steps, looking around. When it couldn't find Qin Mu's tracks, the roe deer was puzzled. Suddenly, Qin Mu jumped down from a tree and chuckled, "Grandma, since I'm hunting alone, please go back. I can take care of myself."

The roe deer huffed angrily, "You brat, be careful you don't die out here!" With that, it flicked its short tail and ran off.

Qin Mu continued walking. Soon after, he saw a mammoth drinking by a pond and chuckled, "Grandma, I truly can take care of myself; you don't need to follow."

The mammoth became enraged, stomping its four hooves, and charged at him. Qin Mu's vital energy flowed, his pig-slaughtering knife clanged out of its sheath, and he declared menacingly, "If it's not Grandma, then I'll kill it!"

The mammoth turned and fled, speaking in human tongue, "You'd even kill Grandma? When we get back to the village, I'll spank your bottom!"

Qin Mu shook his head. After walking another six or seven li, he looked up at a large bird in the sky and said helplessly, "Grandma, you really don't need to follow me."

The large bird tilted its head, looked at him, remained unmoved, and continued to circle.

Qin Mu's eyes gleamed. He scooped up a handful of pebbles from the ground and flicked them consecutively. Each pebble cut through the air, but at varying heights. After shooting more than ten pebbles, Qin Mu immediately leaped, stepping onto the first pebble, then pushing off to the second, repeating this until he was in mid-air, beside the large bird.

The large bird suddenly spoke in human tongue, exclaiming, "Alright, alright, I won't follow you then!" With that, it flapped its wings and flew away.

Qin Mu fell from mid-air, landing with a thud on the ground, his feet sinking about a foot deep into the mud. The youth looked up; the bird in the sky was gone.

"Grandma will probably still follow," he thought.

Qin Mu paid attention to his surroundings but found nothing unusual. After walking a few more li, he came across a waterfall ahead. The mountains and water were beautiful. Next to the waterfall was a thatched hut, and surprisingly, outside the hut stood a stone statue, half-buried in the ground and half-exposed, leaning crookedly.

Smoke rose from the thatched hut, indicating that someone lived there.

"Why would anyone live in such a wild, desolate mountain? Could it be some senior master living in seclusion here?"

Just as he thought this, he saw a white fox emerge from the thatched hut, pick up a bamboo tube, and then return inside.