27: Mountain God! New Rules for Hunters! Two Thousand Years of Taoist Practice!
Lead-gray clouds covered the sky, and the entire mountain forest darkened.
The heavy snow hadn't stopped since half a month ago.
Thick layers of snow accumulated, seemingly ready to bury the entire Taihang Mountain Range.
"Why is the snow falling heavier and heavier?"
Xu Qing, moving through the forest, couldn't help but feel puzzled.
If this continues, won't the ordinary creatures of the Taihang Mountains all perish?
Thinking of his thousands of descendants still in this mountain forest, Xu Qing immediately paid close attention to the situation.
Even if snakes can hibernate, excessively low temperatures might freeze them to death directly.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't interfere with deaths caused by natural aging, sickness, or mortality.
But the current situation looked likely to wipe out all of his mortal descendants.
He was counting on these descendants to multiply, gathering incremental rewards from the System.
If they all froze to death, the loss would be immense.
With this thought.
Xu Qing patrolled the mountain forest, simultaneously searching for his ordinary descendants and helping them clear the surrounding snow.
In the mountain forest, a dazzling blaze of fire would occasionally light up.
Scorching flames erupted, instantly evaporating the snow within a hundred zhang radius.
Flames capable of incinerating demons and evil spirits were more than sufficient for clearing snow.
Xu Qing carefully controlled the size and power of the flames, afraid that a moment of inattention might burn a section of the forest to ashes.
As he continuously used Spitting Flame, he found his control over this Earthly Fiend Divine Ability becoming deeper and more proficient.
This piqued Xu Qing's interest, and he began deliberately practicing this Divine Ability... Chen Chuan, a native of Dongshu Village, came from a long line of hunters.
A few days ago, he had just had a son, but recently the weather had changed drastically, and his wife caught a cold with a persistent high fever.
The heavy snow blocked the roads, and there was no doctor nearby.
Chen Chuan was burning with anxiety when he remembered an old folk remedy.
In the winter forest, there was an herb called Purple Snake Vine, which grew in cold, shadowy places but had miraculous effects against colds.
To save his wife, and also to find some game to nourish her body.
He found several hunters from the same village and ventured into the Taihang Mountains together.
With the mountains sealed by snow, even the most experienced hunters were bound to run into trouble.
Chen Chuan and his companions went deep into the forest, finally finding the Purple Snake Vine after great hardship, but just as they started back, they encountered an avalanche, and several people were buried directly under the thick snow!
He braced his body, trying to crawl out.
But this only caused more snow to fall, burying the small space he had left.
He dared not move recklessly anymore, striving to remain calm.
He put one hand inside his clothes, touching the life-saving herb, and grew increasingly anxious.
Encountering an avalanche deep in the mountains was a situation of certain death!
If his companions hadn't been buried, perhaps they could have rescued him.
But just now, he had personally watched his other companions being swept under the heavy snow!
It's over!
An icy chill spread throughout his body; it began to go numb, and then slowly stiffened.
Images of his frail wife lying in bed and his son still in swaddling clothes appeared in his mind.
Chen Chuan sank into the deepest despair.
As time passed.
His consciousness gradually blurred.
Just as the flame of his life was about to be extinguished, Chen Chuan, whose consciousness had almost vanished, uttered the most devout plea of his life!
"Mountain God... Mountain God... If you can let me bring this herb home... the Chen family is willing to worship the Mountain God for generations..."
The murmur was barely audible, yet it seemed to truly elicit a response from the Mountain God!
"Whoosh!"
From afar, a sound like wind seemed to approach.
The shadow belonging to the Mountain God silently appeared in the valley.
The next moment.
A roar, as if the heavens and earth were overturning, sounded!
Crimson, scorching, blazing firelight suddenly descended!
High temperatures enveloped the valley; the snow instantly melted into water, which then immediately vaporized into misty steam!
An irresistible warmth emerged in the severely cold mountain forest!
This warmth swept through the valley, pulling the nest of dying young snakes and Chen Chuan and his companions, who were buried in the snow, back from the gates of hell!
Feeling the warmth spreading over his body, Chen Chuan subconsciously raised his head to look.
Within the hazy steam, a shadow that nearly filled the valley exit was moving, and a pair of golden eyes, like candlelight, surveyed everything in the valley.
Sensing Chen Chuan's gaze.
That pair of cold and indifferent golden eyes glanced at him.
Chen Chuan felt as if he had been struck by lightning; his recently warmed body went numb again, and immense shock spread through his heart.
By the time he reacted, the shadow in the pervasive steam had already vanished.
"Just now... what was that!?"
At that moment, a trembling voice came from nearby.
His companions had also seen the shadow in the steam.
Immediately, they murmured in unison.
"...It was the Mountain God!"
With a "thump."
Chen Chuan knelt down, facing the direction where the Mountain God had departed, bowing and performing a kowtow, his expression utterly devout.
The hunters beside him also knelt down, praying devoutly together.
As they knelt, wisps of extremely pure blue Qi drifted out from their bodies, slowly flying toward a certain direction in the forest!
When Chen Chuan and the others stood up, they discovered the snake nest in the valley.
The hunters did not harm them; instead, they properly bowed before helping each other leave.
Although they hadn't seen clearly, the Mountain God's form vaguely resembled a snake.
Starting from this day, the hunters of Dongshu Village at the foot of the Taihang Mountains adopted two new rules.
First, they must sincerely offer tribute to the Mountain God before entering the mountains!
Second, if they encounter any snakes in the mountains, they absolutely must not harm them; they should simply bow and leave, or great misfortune will befall them!
...Xu Qing was searching for the next lair when he sensed a few wisps of Incense Offerings appear.
Activating Spirit Gaze, he looked back and saw Incense Offerings of quality far exceeding previous ones.
"Was that from those hunters just now?"
Originally, he was only saving his descendants under the snow, and those few hunters were extremely lucky to have escaped death.
Who would have thought there would be an unexpected gain?
Incense Offerings were always welcome, and Xu Qing naturally wouldn't refuse them, immediately storing them inside a Jade Bottle.
Even though Xu Qing's Cultivation Level was now approaching two thousand years, it still took him a considerable amount of time to find all of his mortal descendants.
It wasn't until night fell that he finally finished the task.
Xu Qing hurried back to Taihang and discovered that another descendant had been born.
"Your 3200th descendant has been born. Born with Demon Transformation, its aptitude is average. You have gained twenty years of Cultivation Level!"
With the birth of this descendant, his number of Demon Transformation descendants reached forty.
The System once again rewarded him with a bottle of Three-Essence Blood Tempering Pill.
Xu Qing immediately brought up the System panel.
Following that, his eyes immediately fell upon the location of his Cultivation Level.
[Name: Xu Qing]
[Identity: Snake God of Mount Taihang]
[Bloodline: Ancient Return (600/1000)]
[Length: 69 meters]
[Cultivation Level: 2010 years]
[Descendant Count: 3200]
[Earthly Fiend Techniques: Swallowing Soldiers, Spirit Expulsion, Wind Borrowing, Light Generation, Soul Seizing, Spitting Flame, Guiding]
[Spells: Breath Concealment Art, Five Thunders Incantation, Spirit Gaze, Divine Movement Technique]
Two thousand and ten years of Cultivation Level!
Without realizing it, his Cultivation Level had already surpassed two thousand years!
In the span of one day, his cultivation surged by nearly a thousand years!