In Deer Tail Town, there were quite a few cultivators from the countryside. The town had private schools and many scholarly cultivators who came to the streets to witness this rare event.
Under the bell tower of Deer Tail Town, the grey-clad rat spirits surrounded the tower completely. A large flower-decorated sedan chair stopped about ten yards in front of it.
On the bell tower, a young Daoist stood beneath the bell. Several white-bearded old rat spirits approached, and behind their heads appeared divine altars, each housing a divine fetus, looking quite human-like.
Apart from their appearance, they didn't differ much from human cultivators.
"Please leave Granny's domain!" one of the white-bearded old rat spirits called out.
The young Daoist snorted, not looking at them but instead at the black statue inside the sedan chair. He said, "Black Mountain Granny, last time I went to your domain, you had the advantage and defeated me. But this time, you're in my territory, and the outcome is uncertain."
The people of Deer Tail Town watched from a distance, only able to hear the young Daoist's voice, not seeing who their revered godmother really was.
However, seeing their godmother being driven away made them angry and uneasy. Ordinary people could only accept such things, unable to resist.
An elderly cultivator told a nearby youth, "This is a conflict between godmothers, and ordinary people shouldn't interfere. Even cultivators rarely get involved. We should just watch."
Other cultivators shared the same thought, observing without intervening.
The elderly cultivator continued, "This practice of attacking mountains and temples originated in the True King era, where righteous cultivators would eradicate evil spirits and destroy temples and hills worshipping them, uprooting their foundations. But now, it's evolved into battles between godmothers for control of domains. Times have changed."
Such events often happened in the countryside, with godmothers from two villages fighting, their divine forms battling to the death, capturing the villagers of the defeated to become their own.
For example, the young Daoist of Deer Tail Town attacking Black Mountain Granny's temple was an attempt to destroy her true form.
Black Mountain Granny crossing the line to harm his people was a taboo.
As the godmother of Deer Tail Town, he had to seek justice for his people, not just because Chen Shi provoked him into attacking.
"Master, who is Black Mountain Granny?" the young man asked.
The elderly cultivator replied, "She's the godmother of the Black Mountain area in the neighboring county. Some call her an evil spirit. Anyone passing by must offer incense at her temple, or they risk danger."
As he spoke, the young Daoist on the bell tower raised his hand. The thousand-pound copper bell hanging there fell from its hook, spinning and crashing towards the sedan chair.
The strike was grand, earning silent praise from the watching cultivators: "No wonder he's the godmother of Deer Tail Town, his power is immense."
At that moment, the white-bearded old rat spirits stepped forward, each divine fetus in their altars opening their mouths, spitting out golden pills that spun rapidly.
The pills, filled with intense demonic and evil energy, caused the ground to crack and even the bell tower to collapse under their pressure.
The golden pills collided with the copper bell, turning it red-hot, with hundreds of characters faintly appearing on its surface.
The bell's sound reverberated, causing the old rat spirits to grunt, but they managed to stop the bell.
Suddenly, the young Daoist leaped forward, placing a palm on the bell. The hundreds of characters on the bell glowed, forming a golden text around the bell, like a piece of writing.
The old rat spirits stumbled back, their golden pills knocked away.
This bell, having survived thousands of years and gained a spirit through village worship, was indeed extraordinary.
The young Daoist shouted, charging towards the sedan chair.
His power was formidable. These old rat spirits had learned human cultivation methods, absorbing moonlight to become evil spirits and refining evil pills.
Despite their strength, they couldn't match him.
The bell spun, the text around it forming a bell-shaped structure outside, crashing towards the sedan chair with great force.
The scene left the city cultivators in awe.
"There's really good stuff in the countryside," the old cultivator exclaimed. "This bell is definitely an ancient treasure, still powerful after all these years. It's a pity it's been awakened by these ignorant villagers."
Other cultivators noticed the same.
The copper bell's ability to repel the old rat spirits wasn't just due to the villagers' worship; its own power was extraordinary.
If it hadn't formed a spirit, it would have been a remarkable treasure, no wonder they envied it.
Behind the rat spirits, the curtain of the sedan chair was lifted by the bell's force, revealing the true form of the black statue inside.
The statue was of a woman, seemingly a kind old lady, smiling gently, holding a flower.
But in the next moment, the statue's face caved inwards like a black hole, deep and unfathomable.
Around the edge of the black hole were layers of teeth, tiny as grains of rice, spiraling into the depths.
As the bell approached the statue, it shrank, along with the young Daoist, being sucked into the black hole on the statue's face.
The black statue in the sedan chair swallowed the young Daoist and the bell, its teeth protruding, then its face returned to normal, still a kind old lady.
The cultivators of Deer Tail Town were stunned, their scalps tingling, feeling a chill down their spines.
Black Mountain Granny was incredibly powerful.
The grey-clad rat spirits set down the sedan chair, and one called out, "Everyone, listen up! From today, work day and night to build a palace for Granny."
Many grey-clad rat spirits wielded whips, driving the people to build a temple.
A grey-clad rat spirit bowed before the sedan chair, saying, "Granny, we've sent a message to that kid named Chen Shi, telling him to come tomorrow."
A gentle, kind voice came from the temple, "A godmother must keep her word. If I said he would die tomorrow, then he must die tomorrow. After midnight tonight, I'll go kill him."
Chen Shi returned to Yellow Slope Village late at night.
Heiguo had already eaten. When Chen Shi arrived home, he saw Heiguo washing dishes, with a fire still burning under the pot.
Chen Shi was used to it and said, "Heiguo, leave it there. I'll wash them later; I still need to brew medicine."
Heiguo came over, looking serious, and barked, "Woof woof woof."
Chen Shi put down his book, went to wash the pot and dishes, and said, "You cooked? Three dishes... Of course, I'm confident. I've already refined a golden pill. If Black Mountain Granny dares to come, she'll regret it."
Heiguo barked, "Woof..."
"Don't worry, I won't underestimate her."
"Woof..."
"Alright, alright, you're more like my grandpa than my grandpa."
That night.
The night was deep and quiet.
Unnoticed, midnight had passed.
Under the moonlight, darkness crept in, soon reaching the outskirts of Yellow Slope Village.
In the village center, a young girl in her late teens suddenly became alert.
Without hesitation, she urged the ancient tree's branches to strike at the darkness.
Suddenly, the branches withered rapidly, and in a blink, all the branches of the ancient tree dried up and fell.
The girl was shocked, looking at her hands, which also withered and snapped off at the shoulders.
She quickly jumped down from the tree, rushing into Chen Shi's house to hide.
It was a habit.
For a long time, Chen Shi's house had been a mysterious place to her, her power unable to penetrate it. Now, in danger, she instinctively sought refuge there.
Heiguo lay in the corner, avoiding the moonlight, quietly watching the girl enter Chen Shi's room.
Chen Shi was still asleep when the girl slipped into his bed.
Heiguo wagged his tail, pretending not to see.
At that moment, the door latch broke with an invisible force, the courtyard door swung open, and a pitch-black figure slowly entered the courtyard, darkness trailing like a long skirt.
The figure glanced at the sleeping dog in the shadow, then continued towards Chen Shi's room.
Heiguo secretly raised his head, but the figure suddenly turned back.
The dog continued to sleep in the shadow.
The figure turned again, like formless darkness, flowing into Chen Shi's room.
Chen Shi was in a deep sleep, dreaming sweetly.
In his dream, his grandfather Chen Yin had come back to life, saying the King of Hell told him his time wasn't up, so he returned to take care of his grandson.
He passed the provincial exam, returned to the village, and Granny Yuzhu and Old Lady Wuzhu were so frightened they knelt before him.
Old Lady Wuzhu even offered him watermelons.
Yuzhu had grown up, looking as big as Jin Hongying, shyly snuggling into his arms, saying, "Master Scholar, you killed my dear grandson, it's past midnight, you must pay with your life."
Chen Shi's sweet dream suddenly turned dark, finding himself in a bright spot surrounded by darkness.
In the darkness were tiny glowing things, like grains of rice.
"Black Mountain Granny?"
Chen Shi was startled, shouting, "Black Mountain Granny, your rat spirits caused trouble, so I killed them. It's not my fault. You've entered my dream, but once I wake up, you can't do anything to me."
"You won't wake up!"
In the darkness, the rice-like glowing points trembled as if laughing.
They were rice-sized teeth, surrounding Chen Shi.
Black Mountain Granny's voice was triumphant, laughing, "You're in my mouth now, thinking you can wake up..."
"What's this? What's in your dream?"
Her voice turned terrified, as if encountering something terrifying. Moments ago, she was a proud demon, now she seemed like a frightened girl.
"What did you hide in your dream? Save me, save me..."
She screamed, and the darkness in Chen Shi's dream quickly retreated. He saw a figure being dragged into the darkness, a long red tongue wrapped around its neck.
"Save me!"
A shrill scream came from the darkness, skeletal black hands reaching out, grabbing wildly.
Chen Shi woke up from the nightmare, drenched in sweat.
He panted heavily, sensing something was off. He quickly lifted the blanket and looked down, finding a girl hiding in his bed, lying against him, motionless.
Seeing him, the girl blinked her bright eyes, but she had no arms, clearly the village's godmother.
"Why are you in my bed?" Chen Shi asked, puzzled.
"Why do you sleep without clothes?" the girl asked.
"I always sleep without clothes or underwear. Wait, why are you in my bed? Get out, get out."
Chen Shi shooed the girl away, sitting by the window, still pondering the dream, thinking, "Could it be that I was thinking about Black Mountain Granny too much, so I dreamt about her?"
Outside Yellow Slope Village, Granny Sha held a ram-horned lantern, looking towards Chen Shi's house in the village center.
A green sheep walked out from behind her, shaking its head, saying, "Old lady, it's useless. Black Mountain Granny is just a weak evil spirit, unable to gauge Chen Shi's level."
A burly man with curly hair approached from the other side, saying, "Black Mountain Granny is already the strongest spirit around. What level is the spirit inside Chen Shi?"
End of Chapter.