Half a wall slid down, the crimson morning sun shining on Ren Qing.
He walked slowly out of the range of Morning Street; the ghost shadow returned to his feet, the suspended buildings falling like raindrops.
Pa pa pa pa...
Ren Qing stopped, the anomalies in Qingyan Town clearly noticing something unusual, and right in front of him was a deep pit.
He used a soul butterfly projection to notify Wuwei Monastery, letting the mountain gate prepare, while he also had hidden hands ready to provide support.
The ground suddenly trembled.
Inside the pit covered with spider silk, a gigantic creature seemed to be approaching rapidly.
Sunlight was immediately blocked by a large shadow; the anomaly crouched at the entrance, emanating terrifying demon qi as if solid.
It was a giant black spider over thirty meters long, its body covered in black insect shells, twelve blood-red eyes staring fixedly at Ren Qing.
Compared to it, the demon cultivators seemed like tiny ants.
The spider's abdomen was still continuously producing eggs, from which a shocking number of small spiders crawled out, weaving thick webs between the houses and the ground.
Ren Qing felt that the mountain spider seemed not very intelligent, but its ferocity far exceeded normal.
Seeing this, the anomalies in the town simultaneously chose to observe; at this time, they did not know that Ren Qing was not the Charging Wolf demon cultivator.
However, in the eyes of the demon cultivators, feelings were complex.
They relied on anomaly cultivation and had naturally become puppets. Even though each faction tried to find a way out, they had no clue for now.
"Hiss..."
The mountain spider condensed its demon qi, crawling toward Ren Qing at a speed disproportionate to its body size; many demon cultivators were ground into meat paste by accidental strikes from its joints.
Ren Qing lightly stepped on the ground, disappearing from the original spot in an instant.
He appeared above the spider's head, the double pupils in his eyes spinning, enabling him to perceive the spider's revealed weaknesses.
"Human... food..."
The twelve eyes of the spider were not for show; they quickly locked onto Ren Qing, spitting out webs covering dozens of meters.
Ren Qing calmly swung the Dragon-Snake Spine, but it struck the web like mud sinking into the sea; the strong force was absorbed by the web's toughness.
He could not help but feel surprised, flexibly sidestepping the web.
He had expected that as an artifact created by Blood Moon to manipulate the environment, the anomaly should have flaws, yet it truly resembled a living being.
It perfectly matched the description of a "mountain spider" in divine ghost tales, with no traces of being a mere artifact.
Ren Qing launched tentative attacks around the spider; the scratches left by his claws healed in a short time.
The mountain spider felt Ren Qing was like a large fly, spraying more silk that covered hundreds of meters.
Ren Qing no longer intended to dodge.
His right hand grabbed his own spine, unleashing incomparable sharpness.
Then he drew forth a dragon.
The Dragon-Snake Spine had completely grown flesh; though without limbs, it was covered in scales, its head clearly that of a young dragon.
Cold emanated from the Dragon-Snake Spine.
The web shattered into pieces, blinding one of the spider's eyes.
The spider's ferocity surged, speed increasing by a third; dozens of jointed limbs struck the ground in afterimages.
Ding ding ding ding...
Ren Qing held the Dragon-Snake Spine with both hands, deflecting attacks while moving.
"When anomalies act, the demon patterns circulate through the body. Truly interesting."
He muttered; endless ghost shadows flowed into his body like liquid, including the Heavenly Dao Worm turned ghost shadow.
Ren Qing's body began to swell again; the ghost wolf, unable to endure possession by the ghost shadow, voluntarily retreated into Eternal Prison Within the Abdomen.
The mountain spider had a momentary lapse.
It did not understand why prey that was weak moments ago suddenly became strong, giving it inexplicable unease.
Ren Qing maintained his sword grip but did not rush to strike.
He still dodged the spider's attacks, his eyes piercing the thick insect shells, seeing the pulsing flesh ball inside.
"Then..."
Ren Qing lightly landed on the spider's abdomen, thrusting the Dragon-Snake Spine forcefully; his natal artifact pierced through the insect shells.
Then his body merged with the ghost shadow, flowing like liquid into the spider's wound, targeting the flesh ball.
The spider sensed pain, but the wound healed almost instantly.
It could not find Ren Qing's aura, glancing left and right, soon overwhelmed by an uncontrollable drowsiness.
The spider simply lay down to rest.
The other anomalies assumed Ren Qing had been dealt with, growing cautious of the spider, paying no attention to Ren Qing.
The demon cultivators felt a tinge of grief.
Regardless, the Charging Wolf cultivator, though not displaying demonic aura, was clearly no anomaly; his strength surpassed Nascent Soul stage.
Yet he still could not contend with the anomalies—what utter despair...
On Qingqiu Mountain's peak, a dozen fox-immortal anomalies secretly observed Wuwei Monastery, the sweetness of blood and flesh making them restless.
"Pathetic humans, to resist Immortal might ends like this."
Granny Fox Immortal's hoarse voice sounded, accompanied by surging demon qi.
The demon qi pressed toward Wuwei Monastery.
The monastery disciples were expected to be terrified, but instead, a resounding bell sounded, like the light of dawn.
"All disciples, obey orders!"
"Yes!!"
"Form formation, slay demons and eliminate monsters!!!"
This time was unlike past times; the monastery disciples in the Immortal Market had gained considerable benefits, no longer defenseless.
Numerous simple flying sword artifacts shot through the air, disciples stepping on them.
Though merely circling the mountain gate, their coordination showed long preparation.
Granny Fox Immortal grew angry; the mountain shook, all half-human, half-fox demon cultivators fell to their knees.
"Kill them!!!"
After a few silent breaths, the demon cultivators, influenced by the anomaly demon qi, went mad, echoing: "Yes, Granny Fox Immortal."
They transformed into beast forms, attacking Wuwei Monastery in groups.
With the Immortal Market, Wuwei Monastery had the foundation and strength to match, aided by Earthly Immortals, enough to stall.
Yet Wu Liangzi picked up a broken wooden sword, preparing to leave the mountain gate.
Qingsongzi quickly grabbed him, asking in puzzlement: "Senior Brother, according to the Earthly Immortal, defending from the mountain gate would prevent casualties."
Wu Liangzi's expression was neutral: "Junior Brother, what makes us different from the demon cultivators?"
Qingsongzi was stunned: "What?"
"These past days I've been thinking, if such a flourishing Wuwei Monastery can fall, why wouldn't we repeat the same fate?"
Qingsongzi forced a smile: "We have the protection of Earthly Immortals, in a hundred years..."
"No hundred years left, Junior Brother."
Wu Liangzi took a translucent jade sword from his chest, directly inserting it into his lower dantian; his aura surged again.
"Have you not heard what the Earthly Immortals said? This is a great era now."
Qingsongzi's eyes widened, trying to stop him: "Senior Brother, using the soldier-death technique, do you wish to die?!!"
He knew that previous headmasters mastered this technique, which destroys the soul and body, preventing secrets from leaking.
Wu Liangzi smiled: "We have no hundred years to accumulate; if we do not strengthen ourselves, we become vassals of demon cultivators."
While speaking, he inserted a second jade sword into the middle dantian, breaking the limits of Netherworld Heavenly Insect Method, reaching Nascent Soul stage.
"Senior Brother, why..."
"I will use myself as fuel, to ignite the fire in the Dao Heart of Wu Wei, to let all become Immortals..."
Wu Liangzi's eyes glimmered; with lingering gaze he looked at Qingsongzi: "Junior Brother, you once wanted to be headmaster; now I leave it to you."
"I..."
"We could survive as merchants, but Wuwei Monastery should not be like this."
Wu Liangzi inserted the final jade sword into his forehead, then patted Qingsongzi's shoulder: "Observe this great era for me."
As his words fell, he stepped through void, white robe billowing, rushing toward Qingqiu Mountain.
"I am Wu Liangzi, the 103rd Headmaster of Wuwei Monastery."
"Qingqiu Mountain, fight!!"
His voice echoed to the clouds; everyone in Qingyan Town froze, as if seeing the flourishing Immortal Sect centuries ago.
Qingsongzi bowed, shouting: "Farewell, Headmaster Senior Brother."
"Dao births Dao, Wu Wei Dao..."
"Dao births Dao, Wu Wei Dao..."
At first, only Qingsongzi chanted, soon surrounding disciples followed, eventually even the civilians joined.
Wu Liangzi released the wooden sword, the broken artifact once a core disciple's weapon.
"Go!!"
The wooden sword slashed toward Qingqiu Mountain.
Granny Fox Immortal's fur bore a bone-deep scar.
"Pathetic demons, nothing more."
Wu Liangzi's momentum surged, shattering the mountain, entangling with the fox-immortal anomalies; trees toppled, rivers overflowed.
The demon cultivators also charged into the mountain gate; monastery disciples rode flying swords to attack.
The soul butterfly projection glowed brightly, seeming to contain some technique, but eventually dimmed.
This battle concerned not only Restraint Officers' Hall, but also whether Wuwei Monastery would retain its existence after joining it.
Meanwhile, in Qingyan Town.
A gaunt old groom, under the stunned gaze of the crowd, broke the neck of his horse.
He slit open the horse's belly, retrieving a rusted iron sword.
The old groom ignored the crowd, running toward Wuwei Monastery, emitting waves of true essence.
Another, a beggar covered in sores, usually idle, now used standing water to clean his face.
Even the old man deemed worthless by his family searched his house with one arm, finding the artifact he discarded when leaving the mountains.
Brothels, gambling houses, marketplaces...
The lower-class areas had more Wuwei Monastery disciples.
They gathered like water droplets forming a river, using novice techniques to battle the blocking demon cultivators.
Only blood can ignite fuel.
And sparks of fire can ignite the plains.