The old man looked at them and nodded: "I've seen them. They came here asking for directions."
The other Daoists in the village felt a chill of fear. The old man stood right before them, yet they couldn't see his face.
Even from such close distance, the old man's features were extremely blurred. Even using various celestial eyes, they couldn't see him clearly, as if he weren't a living person.
The Dutian Demon King also remained silent, not daring to speak.
This old man was an Underworld Messenger from the Netherworld, a deity under Tu Bo's command. Such messengers could be encountered in almost every world, each with different responsibilities—some went to the mortal realm to guide wandering souls, some escorted the dead, and some captured those great beings who tried to escape death.
The order between the Netherworld and the mortal realm's dead was maintained by them.
The Dutian World had once experienced a cataclysmic battle that nearly destroyed the world entirely. Corpses had littered the fields, bodies everywhere.
The sun of the Dutian World had been extinguished, plunging almost everywhere into darkness. But from the endless blackness, countless lights appeared—each light accompanied by such an old man, coming to guide wandering souls.
At that time, the Dutian Demon King had survived the great battle and become the ruler of Dutian. He was still young then, full of passion. Seeing these Underworld Messengers coming to guide the souls of his people, he immediately charged forward. The result was severe injury, nearly losing his soul as well.
Now, whenever the Dutian Demon King saw these Underworld Messengers, he still felt some fear and dared not speak much.
Qin Mu asked respectfully: "May I ask where they went?"
The old man raised his hand and pointed into the darkness: "Carefree Village. But they won't find it and will only be trapped. An Underworld Messenger is preparing to collect their souls."
Sounds of splashing water came from the riverbank. From the Yong River, men and women emerged from the water, soaked through, slowly walking toward the village with ashen faces and silent.
A paper boat flew out from the village. The men and women boarded the paper boat, which drifted slowly into the darkness.
The other Daoists in the village were greatly shaken. They quickly moved away from the old man. At this point, they noticed that two of their companions weren't moving—they sat stiffly in place.
And on the paper boat that had already entered the darkness, their silhouettes could vaguely be seen.
The remaining three Daoists were terrified. Long Jiaonan was also dressed as a Daoist, her legs trembling. She wanted to flee but didn't dare, because beyond the village was the darkness.
"Lower your heads! Don't look at that old man!"
One of the older Daoists suddenly realized, urgently saying: "He's an Underworld Messenger! If your eyes meet his, your soul will be taken!"
Long Jiaonan and the other young Daoist quickly lowered their heads, not daring to meet the old man's gaze.
Qin Mu's tone became even more respectful: "May I ask the Daoist brother for guidance—where exactly is Carefree Village?"
The old man continued pointing into the darkness, saying nothing.
Qin Mu frowned. The direction the old man pointed was toward the Realm of the Dead in the darkness—another underworld, where Fengdu was located.
That time, he and the Village Chief had broken into the Realm of the Dead and nearly didn't return alive!
"That's not Carefree Village. May I ask the Daoist brother—where is the true Carefree Village?"
The old man shook his head, still pointing into the darkness.
When Qin Mu asked again, the old man no longer spoke.
Qin Mu frowned deeply. He simply didn't have the strength to traverse the darkness. Moreover, besides the Village Chief, anyone else in the village would likely have difficulty crossing the darkness, unless they could carry the stone idol.
He fell silent. The village had no other sounds, only the snoring of the Dragon Qilin—he had fallen asleep.
After a long time, no more corpses emerged from the river. The old man stood up, boarded a small boat, and disappeared into the darkness.
Everything in the village returned to normal, no longer as cold as before. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Only three Daoists remained in the village, and on Qin Mu's side were the Dutian Demon King and the Dragon Qilin.
The worn stone idol emitted a faint glow, pushing back the surrounding darkness. Qin Mu sensed something and looked at the female Daoist, smiling slightly. He then said to the other two Daoists: "I don't recognize you two Daoists. Where are you from?"
One of the two Daoists, slightly older, replied: "The Cult Master of the Heavenly Demon Cult honors us with his inquiry. We dare not hide the truth. This humble one and my disciple come from the Starry Sky Net Gate. I am Daoist Red Cloud, and this is my disciple Shao Yuan. The two just now were also my disciples, but unfortunately their luck was poor—they met the Underworld Messenger's gaze and had their souls taken."
Qin Mu showed respect: "So you're experts from the Starry Sky Net Gate. The gate master of the Starry Sky Net Gate—is his name Luo Xinghe, Master Luo?"
"Master Luo was my teacher. He has passed away."
Daoist Red Cloud said sadly: "That day, when the Heavenly Demon Cult transmitted the city away from Daxiang City, my master died at the hands of the State Preceptor of Yankang."
"I see." Qin Mu nodded.
In the darkness outside the village, cold winds howled, whistling. The people in the village fell silent again, not saying a word. Two Daoists took down the sword cases from their backs, carefully wiping them. Long Jiaonan smiled gently, lightly touching the earring hanging from her earlobe.
Qin Mu reached into the Glutton's Bag, but his hand didn't come out. A smile still hung on his face.
A few crystal snowflakes drifted across the sky, landing among the crowd.
This night was somewhat restless. Unknowingly, it had started snowing.
The Dutian Demon King noticed something was wrong with the atmosphere and quietly kicked the Dragon Qilin. The Dragon Qilin woke up, looked around, saw nothing unusual, and buried his head to sleep again.
The Dutian Demon King was furious: "This lazy thing—why keep him around?"
The snow grew heavier, and soon everyone was covered with a layer of white snow.
At that moment, a Buddhist chant suddenly came from the darkness. Everyone felt a chill. The chant came from the darkness. Qin Mu's hand withdrew from the Glutton's Bag, Long Jiaonan also lowered her hand from her earring, and the two Daoists set down their sword cases.
A light emerged from the darkness. A large-headed, big-eared monk walked out from the blackness, looked around, and clasped his hands: "Benefactors, I apologize for disturbing you."
Qin Mu didn't dare be negligent. He quickly stood up: "We are also passersby. No disturbance at all."
Behind this big monk, a sturdy man emerged, covered in black fur, with knobby muscles, standing ten feet tall, exuding intense demonic energy like a humanoid raging ape. He held a Khakkhara staff in his hand and exclaimed in surprise: "Little one!"
Qin Mu was also greatly surprised. He looked at the staff, recognized it as the Khakkhara he had given to the Demon Ape, and blurted out: "Big guy! How are you here? Have you taken human form?"
This demonic, powerful ape was both surprised and delighted. He stepped forward to greet Qin Mu, pointing at the large, fat monk: "Bald, small!"
The Demon Ape then pointed at himself, saying in a deep, gruff voice: "Big, bald, taught. Bald, small, small!"
Qin Mu was confused and试探道: "Are you saying this big monk is from the Small Thunderclap Monastery? A monk from the Great Thunderclap Monastery found you and taught you skills, then this monk from the Small Thunderclap Monastery found you, told you he was from the Small Thunderclap Monastery, and brought you back to the Small Thunderclap Monastery?"
The Demon Ape nodded repeatedly.
Everyone in the village was bewildered. The Dutian Demon King murmured: "How did you understand what he was saying..."
Qin Mu felt a chill in his heart. If this big-headed, big-eared monk could walk through the darkness with the Demon Ape, he was likely a being on the level of the old Tathagata or the old Village Chief!
A god-like existence.
Long Jiaonan, Daoist Red Cloud, and Daoist Shao Yuan felt fear and quietly retreated. But if they retreated further, they'd be outside the village in the darkness.
The three silently cursed their luck. The Underworld Messenger just now, and now the Small Tathagata from the Small Thunderclap Monastery—they were all people Qin Mu knew. One word from Qin Mu could send them to their deaths!
Little did they know, Qin Mu was also extremely nervous. The Small Tathagata of the Small Thunderclap Monastery was a demon cultivator, a great demon king who had defected from the Great Thunderclap Monastery!
His understanding of Buddhist teachings had gone to extremes. He had once used a bronze Buddha to suppress Xian Qing'er, the Centipede Immortal, in the central island of the Yong River. But that bronze Buddha had been toppled by Qin Mu using the power of the ice tide, freeing Xian Qing'er!
The large-headed, big-eared Small Tathagata had a very Buddha-like appearance, like a living Buddha, with a solemn and majestic presence. He glanced at Qin Mu: "So it's the young benefactor. You ruined my merit. Do you remember?"
Long Jiaonan and Daoist Red Cloud's eyes lit up, a glimmer of hope rising in their hearts.
Qin Mu said: "I remember."
The Demon Ape stepped in front of Qin Mu and shouted: "Bald, younger brother!"
The Small Tathagata looked at him and shook his head: "Rest assured. I have an enemy coming, so I won't kill him. My enemy has arrived. You stay here while I go to meet him."
As soon as he finished speaking, a laugh came from the darkness: "Small Tathagata, arranging a fight in the dead of night—you do have some taste."
On this snowy night, an old man wearing a conical hat walked through the heavy snow from the darkness into this dilapidated village. Qin Mu was slightly startled and blurted out: "Daoist Lingjing!"
The conical-hatted old man raised his hat, his gaze falling on Qin Mu, and smiled: "So it's the disciple of the old Sword God. You still owe me two Fengdu coins. Do you have money to pay back now?"
Qin Mu felt embarrassed and said honestly: "Those two Fengdu coins have already been spent."
Long Jiaonan, Daoist Red Cloud, and Daoist Shao Yuan's faces stiffened. Another supreme powerhouse who could walk through the darkness had arrived—and he was also an acquaintance of Qin Mu, the Cult Master of the Heavenly Demon Cult!
How many god-like beings did this Cult Master know?
"You can pay me back when you have money later."
Daoist Lingjing took off his conical hat and propped it against the wall. He looked at the Small Tathagata and said leisurely: "Heavy snow, dark night—perfect season for killing. Small Tathagata, let's go fight somewhere far away."
"Good."
The two supreme powers walked one after another into the darkness. The village fell silent once again. Qin Mu looked at Long Jiaonan and the others across from him. Long Jiaonan and the others also looked at him. No one moved.
The Demon Ape was puzzled. From the distance came waves of terrifying fluctuations. Then the snow in the sky turned into a drizzle, pattering down—it was the divine powers of Daoist Lingjing and the Small Tathagata melting the heavy snow in the dark night, turning snow into rain.
Sometimes snowflakes fell from the sky, sometimes it turned into a drizzle. After an unknown amount of time, suddenly a rooster's crow came from the darkness. The darkness surged rapidly westward. At that moment, Qin Mu, Long Jiaonan, the Dutian Demon King, and others suddenly burst into action, attacking each other almost simultaneously, striking with deadly force!
The Dragon Qilin roared, shook his body to reveal his true form, surrounded by raging flames. He raised his front paw and pressed down on the red snake's head that lunged at him, smashing the serpent's head into the ground. Qin Mu instantly rushed to Daoist Red Cloud's side. The countless flying swords of Daoist Red Cloud were all blocked by the Dutian Demon King standing behind Qin Mu.
The Demon Ape leaped up from behind the Dutian Demon King, the Khakkhara smashing hard onto Daoist Red Cloud's forehead.
Shhh—
A sword light pierced through Daoist Red Cloud's chest. Qin Mu flicked his finger, and the sword light sliced horizontally across the neck of Daoist Shao Yuan, who hadn't yet recovered.
Long Jiaonan grabbed the red snake's tail. The snake shrank. The woman soared into the air and vanished in an instant.