177: Golden Wings Descend Heavenly Punishment
Huangni Village.
The sun slanted westward, the setting sun like blood.
The bloodstains in front of the Mountain God Temple appeared particularly glaring.
The One-Eyed Strongman stepped on the broken Mountain God tablet, grinding his heel into it with force.
"Beg? Keep begging then!"
A mocking smile appeared on his face: "A bunch of idiots. In this world today, even the gods and buddhas in the sky can barely protect themselves, let alone these wicked beasts and wild gods hiding in mountain gullies!"
Before his voice had even faded.
Whoosh—
A gust of violent wind howled from the depths of the mountains without warning.
This wind came extremely abruptly; it was not an ordinary mountain breeze.
The violent wind whipped up sand, stones, and fallen leaves from the ground, forming a turbid wall of wind that slammed fiercely into the several Cultivators.
"Ouch!"
Caught off guard, the group was blown staggering by this strange wind, and one was even flipped over, rolling away in a wretched state for several turns.
"What's going on? Where did this demonic wind come from?!"
The One-Eyed Strongman steadied himself and had to raise his hand to shield his eyes to avoid getting blinded by the sand and wind, cursing all the while.
Before he could finish cursing, a sharp, high-pitched cry filled with killing intent suddenly exploded from above the clouds!
"Skreeeee!!!"
The sound pierced metal and cracked stone, as if it could puncture one's eardrums and reach deep into the Soul.
Everyone present, whether Cultivator or Mortal, felt their hearts constrict violently at that moment, and a fear stemming from biological instinct surged through their entire bodies.
The previously bright sky suddenly darkened.
It was not dark clouds obscuring the sun, but a massive shadow falling from high altitude at an astonishing speed, instantly enveloping the entire Huangni Village.
The One-Eyed Strongman and the others looked up, their pupils constricting sharply.
High above, a magnificent golden giant eagle was diving down.
Its wingspan was nearly a hundred zhang wide, and every feather seemed to be cast from gold, shimmering with a cold and sharp metallic luster under the setting sun. In its sharp eagle eyes, there was not a trace of emotional fluctuation, only the indifference one has when looking at the dead.
"A demon... and a great demon at that!"
One person was so scared that his legs went weak, and he collapsed onto the ground.
Although they had some Cultivation Level, it wasn't particularly profound, otherwise they wouldn't have lacked the qualifications to even enter the Border Army encampments.
Golden Tripod's current Cultivation Level was already quite accomplished, and the oppressive feeling brought by its Demonic Qi was quite strong.
"What are you panicking for!"
The One-Eyed Strongman was the leader after all, and he forced himself to hold his ground, shouting loudly: "This is the Dagan territory! Although it is close to the big mountains, causing trouble here will surely lead to being hunted down by the experts of the Demon Slaying Division! As long as the great demons in the mountains aren't stupid, they wouldn't dare come out to hurt people easily. It must just be passing by..."
As he spoke, he tried to manifest his Magical Artifact for defense, wanting to use it to embolden himself.
Before he could finish his sentence, his voice came to an abrupt halt.
Because that golden giant eagle didn't look like it was passing by at all; it looked like it had a clear target, charging directly toward them, without the slightest hint of restraint.
In the process of diving, it flapped its wings violently.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Several visible cyan-gold gale winds instantly shot out from between its wings.
The gale winds were condensed to the extreme, tearing through the air and emitting a teeth-gritting screech.
The speed was too fast!
It was so fast that the One-Eyed Strongman's Magical Artifact had only just begun to glow, so fast that the tail end of his voice was still swirling in his throat.
Puchi!
The sound of sharp blades entering flesh rang out clearly.
The expression on the One-Eyed Strongman's face froze instantly, and a thin line of blood extended from his forehead all the way to his crotch.
Immediately after.
His body, along with the Magical Artifact long blade in his hand, was neatly split in two from the middle.
Fresh blood gushed out, and internal organs scattered all over the ground.
As for the other Cultivators, their fates were no better.
Those several gale winds swept across their bodies instantly, as if cutting through tofu.
Some people's heads flew high into the air, with expressions of terror still lingering on their faces; some were cut in half at the waist, their upper bodies still crawling on the ground while emitting shrill screams; others were simply shredded into minced meat by the violent gale winds.
In just a single encounter.
This group of Cultivators, who appeared like demons in the eyes of the villagers, was completely wiped out like ants, with no power to resist.
"Boom!"
Only at this moment did Golden Tripod's massive body barely skim over the village.
It did not land; its massive talons were tucked under its belly, and it just coldly glanced at the tragic scene below.
After confirming there were no survivors, it flapped its wings, whipped up a gust of wind, rose straight up, and submerged back into the sea of clouds.
From appearance to departure, it took no more than a few seconds.
The entire Huangni Village fell into a deathly silence.
The villagers all had their mouths wide open, staring blankly at the body fragments on the ground, their minds blank, completely unable to react to what had happened.
The moment before, they were facing the tragedy of broken homes and lost lives.
The next moment, those arrogant immortal masters had turned into minced meat on the ground.
"Dead... dead? They're all dead?"
After a long while, the old village chief shakily climbed to his feet.
He looked at the One-Eyed Strongman's corpse, split into two halves on the ground, and muttered to himself.
Subsequently, he suddenly raised his head, and an unprecedented light burst forth from his cloudy, aged eyes.
"The god has manifested! Grandfather Mountain God has manifested!"
The old village chief threw away his cane, fell to his knees with a thud, and kowtowed heavily in the direction of the Taihang Mountains, the sound of his forehead striking the ground ringing out: "That was a divine eagle sent by Grandfather Mountain God! Grandfather Mountain God has not abandoned us! He is watching over us!"
"The Mountain God has manifested!"
"Many thanks to Grandfather Mountain God for saving our lives!"
"Wuwuwu..."
The villagers awoke as if from a dream, kneeling on the ground one after another, sobbing with excitement.
Whether it was the joy of surviving a disaster or the excitement of having a great vengeance avenged, at this moment, it all transformed into the most devout faith.
Wisps of invisible Qi drifted out from the center of every villager's forehead, converging into a torrent that surged toward the mountains.