Eavesdropping

  Rebuilding the management system of the Mountain God Temple requires a lot of time, which is exactly what Lin Xu lacks the most right now.

  Those hidden enemies in the dark will not watch with open eyes as Xinshan's divine wings are full and then take action to clean them up. The reason why these guys have been holding back is absolutely not because they are kind, but simply because they have not completed their war preparations.

  The tree wants to be still but the wind will not stop! Tragically, as a low-ranking mountain god, Lin Xu can only refer to himself as Huo Mountain God to outsiders. He is not yet qualified to use a higher honorific title.

  The tiger demon Huo Shan Jun, who had publicly issued a challenge to Lin Xu, was actually the new title of the mountain god after being promoted from the rank of earth spirit. From this, it can be seen that this guy is clearly aiming for the position of mountain god.

  If he abandoned his duty to guard this territory, Lin Xue's current body made purely of divine power would likely disappear in an instant, and at that time, he wouldn't even have a ghost left, directly scattering into nothingness. Precisely because of this, Lin Xue's choice was extremely clear: fighting with all his might was a gamble between life and death, but not fighting meant certain death. Knowing it was impossible to reach a compromise with an opponent like Huo Shanjun, Lin Xue immediately regarded the ambitious tiger demon as a mortal enemy.

  If it's said that people with fate come together from thousands of miles away, then Lin Xu didn't just come from a thousand miles away. He and Huo Shan Jun can be considered to have fate, but unfortunately, this is a fateful calamity!

  It's not just Hoshan Jun, this openly ambitious man on the surface, but perhaps there are more challengers lurking in the shadows, eyeing Lin Xu's every move, ready to pounce and tear him apart at any moment. Next, it remains to be seen who will make the first move to prepare for this war.

  After being alone in the quiet room for a long time, Lin Xuan successfully completed his psychological reconstruction work and lifted his spirits, saying loudly:

  "Wang Liang, prepare the carriages and horses, I am going on an inspection tour."

  Maintaining a state of stealth, Lin Xu led a team of hidden soldiers and deputy general Wang Liang, the group rode horses driven by the clear wind, strolling and patrolling in the mountains.

  In the human world, the mountain god is mainly responsible for maintaining the environmental and natural balance of the mountains and forests, striving to avoid environmental damage caused by various reasons.

  For example, humans' uncontrolled and excessive logging of forests, or landslides triggered by natural mountain floods, or the invasion of alien species leading to large-scale extinction of local organisms, as well as massive forest fires that could destroy entire virgin forests in an instant. It can be said that as long as there is a mountain god, it is unlikely that such irreparable and severe destructive events will occur in the mountains. To ensure that all kinds of disasters are detected at the earliest possible moment, in theory, the mountain god should dispatch avatars or incarnations to patrol its territory every day, even if it means being lazy at home no less than once every three days, this is a duty that a mountain god should fulfill.

  "The great king sent me to patrol the mountain!"

  "Halt!"

  Just as An sat in the driver's seat, Lin Xu slightly closed his eyes to enjoy this rare moment of peace. He heard a sound by his ear and carefully distinguished that it sounded like someone was singing a mountain song. After being stunned for a moment, Lin Xu immediately remembered that there were no villagers in Huo Mountain anymore. He immediately ordered the patrol team to stop in their tracks.

  Deputy general Wang Liang looked at his superior with a puzzled expression, not knowing what Lin Xu's sudden order to stop the car was for. As for this, Lin Xu did not make any explanation, but simply waved his hand and said:

  "Take it easy, come with me, and let them all stay here."

  Lin Xu and Wang Liang followed the direction of the mountain song, bypassing several clusters of trees, and indeed found that in front of them were a few small monsters who had not yet transformed into human form, holding knives, guns, swords, and halberds. At this time, they were sitting around a bonfire roasting a musk deer.

  "The king rewarded you with a human leg yesterday, what good luck! It's been a long time since we've had human flesh to eat, just thinking about that delicious taste is making me drool."

  At this time, the one who spoke was a wolf demon with a human body and a wolf head. The guy he was talking to was covered in dark green scales all over his body, and he kept sticking out his tongue, apparently a snake demon. The snake demon proudly said:

  "Where's my good luck? It's when I found a cave abode, that's when I got the reward. Do you guys understand?"

  When the snake demon heard this, he proudly boasted of his own merits. The other little demons present also asked one after another:

  "Hey, you can say it too. Right! It's nothing to talk about, we're all family here, are you afraid of leaking the news?"

  "This...the Grand King doesn't allow me to spread it outside."

  It was as if they had been beaten before and were not allowed to spread the word outside, the snake demon looked extremely unwilling, and the group of little demons around them did not dare to do anything, accusingly saying:

  "Don't talk nonsense, this poor mountain village doesn't even have a single bird, only us brothers are here, where's the outsider? Are we outsiders?"

  Humans can't resist the temptation of vanity, they like to show off and brag about their advantages and achievements in front of others, the demon that opens spiritual intelligence is not much stronger than humans in this regard.

  They had achieved a remarkable feat that was worth boasting about, but it was not known to others. This kind of thing would make anyone feel uncomfortable in their heart. The snake demon pretended to be mysterious and dragged out the suspense for a while before finally revealing the truth, also allowing Lin Xu and Wang Liang, who were eavesdropping on the side, to understand the whole story.

  The day before yesterday, the snake demon under Huo Shan's command accidentally discovered a spot on the mountain wall that was flashing with a faint light. It curiously climbed up the rock wall to investigate the source of the light and found a hidden entrance behind thick wisteria and moss, which had been artificially excavated.

  This python demon was overjoyed and immediately ran to report the news to its leader, Huo Shanjun, so it was rewarded with a salted human leg.

  Lin Xue has basically adapted to the reality of this world, even if he hears a group of demons discussing the taste of human flesh and how to cook it more deliciously at close range, he doesn't have any discomfort. In this world, demons eating humans is a matter of course, probably no different from humans eating animals. The law of nature itself is cruel, and as a weakling, if you can't run fast enough or hide well enough, being eaten is also a matter of course.

  King Wang suddenly seemed to remember something, his face turned white in an instant, and he hurriedly leaned close to Lin Xu's ear, saying in a low voice:

  "Something's wrong! Master, that cave dwelling might have been the residence of a Qi practitioner who opened it up over a thousand years ago. I heard from my seniors that the Qi practitioner later achieved enlightenment and ascended to the 32nd Heaven, but... but many of his magical artifacts are probably still left in that cave."

  Upon hearing this, Lin Xu immediately furrowed his brow. If the enemy gained benefits, it would be equivalent to their own side suffering losses. This logic didn't need others to teach him, he also knew that the situation was developing unfavorably.

  After careful consideration of the pros and cons, Lin Xu remembered some common sense and said:

  "Qigong practitioners' Dantian, shouldn't there be some taboos?"

  "As for restrictions, of course there are some, but as time goes by, it's hard to say that they won't..."

  After finishing speaking, Wang Liang, who looked like a kind and benevolent old man, shook his head, apparently not too optimistic about their own side having some extraordinary luck.

  One cannot rely on the assumption that the enemy will be sufficiently unfortunate as a basis for one's own safety, and people who think this way are somewhat too brain-dead, probably only second to the late Qing officials who tried to use the "horse bucket formation" to render foreign cannons ineffective.

  Upon hearing this, Lin Xu's expression turned serious and he nodded in agreement. Deputy General Wang Liang had spoken very reasonably, and Lin Xu was not one of those rigid and degenerate officials from the decadent royal court at the end of the world. He said:

  "Alright, you lead the way in front, let's go take a look at the situation first."

  "I will obey your orders!"

  The two deputy generals had been in Mount Huo for hundreds of years, and it can be said that every grass and tree in the mountain did not escape their eyes. Leading the way was no big deal. Soon, under Wang Liang's leadership, Lin Xu drove up a gust of clear wind with a team of yin soldiers following him, and they all arrived near the suspected Qigong practitioner's cave mansion.

  "It seems they've succeeded."

  Looking far away at the little demon coming in and out of the cave entrance, Lin Xu's face quickly turned gloomy, immediately changing from overcast to thunderstorm.

  At this time, Wang Liang's assistant, however, was not as pessimistic as before and immediately responded:

  "I report to the great master, according to what I know, those cultivators are very careful and detest others touching their things. The seal on the cave entrance is probably just a minor restriction, there must be more restrictions in place where the treasure is hidden, that tiger demon won't get it easily."

  Hearing this, Lin Xu also felt that there was such a possibility and opened his mouth to say:

  "Alright, you all stay here, Wang Liang will come with me."

  As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Xu raised his hand and pulled up the hem of his robe to wrap around Wang Liang. In an instant, they transformed into a formless and colorless gentle breeze, mixed with a whistling mountain wind, quietly heading towards the cave mansion of the Qi-refining cultivator.

  The greatest advantage of being a deity is that as long as it is within the scope of one's own duties, even if the user was previously ignorant, after obtaining the divine position, it will immediately become an instinctive behavior like a fish swimming. Although Lin Xu had not put in much effort in the art of concealment before, within the range of Huo Mountain, all his abilities would be amplified to a considerable extent, which is one of the benefits of being the master of the land, even if it was an art he was not proficient in, he could still use it with ease.

  As he approached the entrance of the cave, Lin Xuan deliberately slowed down his movement and quietly slipped past the little demon guarding the gate.

  The emergence of the profession of Qigong practitioners was later than that of Fangshi who were skilled in alchemy and magic, but most Qigong practitioners were versatile masters who had no partiality. They not only cultivated internal elixir, but also had a strong interest in refining external elixirs and instruments. Moreover, as by-products of burning external elixirs, various strange daily necessities and decorative objects produced by Qigong practitioners were far beyond the imagination of outsiders.

  As he ventured deeper into the long-sealed cave, Lin Xu couldn't help but marvel at the various strange and exotic items that appeared before his eyes, and all of this only strengthened his determination to not let Huo Shanjun get his hands on it.

  The ancient inheritance system of alchemy, from the simple stage of refining external elixirs, transitioned to a stage dominated by internal elixirs. This was accompanied by the lingering aftermath of the Honghuang world's fragmentation, as well as the gradual loss of this realm's heavenly and earthly primordial energy into the endless void, a long and painful transformation process.

  Facing the drastic changes in the external environment, practitioners also have to make difficult adjustments to adapt to new changes. Therefore, cultivators will not easily let go of any opportunity or possibility. Some powerful people in this turbulent era tried to combine traditional alchemy and mechanical arts, array methods, yin-yang techniques, and other skills, resulting in countless research achievements. Although most of them are not worth mentioning, the remaining few works are enough to make one sigh with amazement.

  PS: Three days over the weekend, three updates a day, everyone please come and vote!