Three days passed in a flash.
【Cultivator consumed “Yellow Lingzhi,” Constitution +0.1】
【Cultivator consumed “Red Lingzhi,” Constitution +0.1】
【Cultivator consumed “Century-old Spirit Ginseng,” Constitution +0.5】
【Cultivator consumed “Century-old He Shou Wu,” Constitution +0.5】
【Cultivator consumed “Century-old Polygonatum,” Constitution +0.5】
……
【Cultivator consumed “Yellow Lingzhi,” Constitution +0.001】
【Cultivator consumed “Century-old Polygonatum,” Constitution +0.01】
【Current count of consumed spirit herbs has reached the maximum limit.】
“This game is pretty rigorous. You can’t just endlessly swallow medicine to boost all your stats. Still, permanently gaining fifty points of Constitution makes all my hard work eating grass for three days worthwhile.”
Inside the Mountain Lord’s cave, Nan Zhi sat cross-legged, holding half a crisp ginseng in her paw. As the spiritual pulse of Qingmeng Mountain gradually revived, the spirit herbs grew wonderfully in the mist. Realizing that the Mountain Lord disliked raw meat, the wild beasts in the mountain had begun intentionally searching for medicinal herbs to seek her protection.
Crunch, crunch.
She chewed down the remaining half of the fresh ginseng in a few bites. With a hint of slight bitterness, a warm current flowed from her throat into her dantian, eventually splitting into medicinal properties that slowly seeped into her body.
It was thanks to her cultivating two techniques simultaneously—the Moon-Worshiping Breathing Method and the Great Huanzhen Manual.
The former enhanced her constitution, tempering her physical body with moonlight, while the latter discarded the false to retain the true, purifying her dantian.
Thus, after reaching Foundation Establishment, not only was Nan Zhi’s sea of qi in her dantian larger than that of ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators, but her physical body was also exceptionally refined.
Otherwise, eating dozens of century-old spirit herbs like radishes would have forced any other Foundation Establishment cultivator’s meridians out of order, leading to a fatal deviation due to the overwhelming medicinal energy.
Nan Zhi opened her character status panel with satisfaction and couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow:
【Cultivator: Nan Zhi】
【Level: Level 40】
【Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Level 1】
【Constitution: 356 (+60)】
【Combat Power: 432 (+50-5)】
……
【Currently Equipped: Tiger Skin Painted Garment (Combat Power +50, Constitution +60, Human Faction Reputation -20, Demon Faction Reputation +20)】
【Skills: Divine Ability: Call Wind, Green Beetle Needles, Five Thunder Protection Curse, Mirage Pearl Escape, Water Shield Art, Flying Fire Art, Wood Binding Art, Earth Mud Art, Sharp Gold Curse...】
To properly play the role of the Mountain Lord, Nan Zhi currently equipped only a single piece of gear—the Tiger Skin Painted Garment. Yet even so, her baseline stats far exceeded her Qi Refinement days.
It was often said that the gap between major realms was as vast as a chasm. Only upon entering Foundation Establishment did one truly step onto the path of Dao, a truth Nan Zhi felt far more deeply now.
Over these three days, she had stayed inside the cave without stepping outside, simply waiting for Hu Ban'er to climb the mountain.
The identity of the Mountain Lord was half-true and half-false, but it absolutely must not have any connection to the Demon Suppression Division. It was best to position this persona in the opposing faction to “Ma Guniang,” or at least as a neutral party.
Nan Zhi intentionally used Hu Ban'er to convey a stance to the authorities. As long as there were no fools among the high-ups, they would not provoke her without cause.
As for whether someone might covet the Mountain Lord's inheritance and grow bold enough to test her strength—that would be even better.
If that happened, Qingmeng Mountain would become a grinding spot that automatically spawned red-named monsters, which couldn't be more ideal.
Hu Ban'er indeed climbed the mountain again.
Only this time, besides the ghost and monster records of the Southwest region, he also brought a mountain lease contract stamped with an official seal.
Party A was the Mountain Lord; Party B was the Great Xia Government. The leased area was 573.8 square kilometers, the lease amount was zero, and the lease duration column was left completely blank.
“Hehehe, Mountain Lord, you may not know, but times have changed down below. All land under heaven belongs to the state. This minor demon knows this mountain has been your sanctuary since ancient times, but with this document, it can shield you from a lot of trouble.”
Seeing that the golden-eyed white tiger seemed on the verge of anger, Hu Ban'er hurriedly explained:
“Mountain Lord, although our Demon race is currently at a low point, this minor demon believes that as long as our clan possesses a great demon with profound cultivation like you, the Demon race will surely flourish within a thousand years!
In my humble opinion, since the human race has the heart to flatter you, Mountain Lord, why not grant them some face and accept this document? Let them know that Qingmeng Mountain will not make things difficult for the human race.
That way, as the grand trend unfolds, the humans down the mountain will fear you and naturally exercise restraint over their own kind. Meanwhile, the other members of our clan in Qingmeng Mountain can safely pass through their period of ignorance, gain intelligence sooner, and strengthen the forces of the Demon race.”
These words were spoken with utmost sincerity, but when Nan Zhi looked at the old fox, an odd expression involuntarily crossed her eyes.
He started off calling himself a “minor demon,” then referred to “our clan” every other sentence, and finally went straight to saying “our Qingmeng Mountain.”
Hu Ban'er's knack for seizing every opportunity to climb higher was truly masterclass.
Nan Zhi took one look at the lease contract and knew the official stance toward the Mountain Lord. She suppressed the matter without further mention and turned to have Hu Ban'er read the list he had brought:
“Giant salamander in the well of Yangshubazi Village.
Man-eating yaksha in Nanyun Songhe Cemetery.
Disappearance case in Guofu Jiayuan on Dongyue Road.
……
Ghost Ma Guniang of the Qianli City Demon Suppression Division.”
There were over a dozen items on the list, clearly pre-filtered by the authorities. Upon hearing the last entry, Nan Zhi's eyes flickered slightly. When she raised her gaze again, it flared with rage:
“The human race indeed harbors ill intentions and cannot be trusted! This Lord's cultivation technique requires slaying evil demons, yet they dare send a list containing a demon suppressor!
They surely intend to secretly incite a fight to the death between This Lord and the demon suppressor, so the human race can reap the benefits of a third party!
Who doesn't know that although Ma Jiu is a ghost, she acts as an itinerant emissary under the Southwest Circuit Demon Suppression Commissioner and often considers herself a demon suppressor? Now that heaven and earth have suddenly shifted, who's to say that Demon Suppression Commissioner hasn't revived as well? Is the human race trying to send This Lord to her death?!
Their hearts deserve death! Their hearts deserve death!”
The giant white tiger suddenly stood up, her towering form casting a shadow like a small mountain—
“Mountain Lord, spare my life! This minor demon truly did not know who this Ma Jiu was! I only heard that she once appeared in the Southwest region, claiming to belong to some Demon Suppression Division. A Taoist disciple had a brief encounter with her, saying she was thoroughly cloaked in sinister malevolence, resembling an Asura evil ghost!”
Hu Ban'er hadn't expected a simple probe to provoke such fury from the white tiger. He collapsed to the ground, his fox fur puffing out wildly, and threw himself prostrate without a second thought to beg for mercy:
“Those public officials are mere mortals who cannot distinguish good from bad, so they could only present the list as it was. They had no intention of inciting anything! This minor demon possesses limited knowledge and has never heard of any 'Ma Guniang' either—
I wonder what kind of figure this Ma Guniang is, that even you, Mountain Lord, have heard of her name?”
“From what you say, there are no longer any demon suppressors among the public officials today? No wonder nobody knows the name of Ma Jiu. That's right—the Demon Suppression Division acted imperiously and used tyrannical methods. It is only natural for them to disappear along with the change of dynasties.
Forget it. You're just a minor demon who has lived for merely a few hundred years, without receiving an inheritance or awakening innate wisdom. It's no surprise you don't know about demon suppressors.”
Nan Zhi finally lifted her eyelids, sat back down lazily, and set to work fleshing out the background story for her alt identity:
“This Lord does not fear Ma Jiu. Ma Jiu is merely a nobody, an old ghost from the Song Dynasty who relies on a bit of Taoist sorcery to be somewhat formidable.
What This Lord fears is that Ma Jiu's master, like This Lord, might have received an inheritance and awakened innate wisdom—”
Rate on N.U.
