In ancient times, they secretly became gods in the deep mountains.

Chapter 17 Demons Go Up the Mountain to Absorb Spiritual Energy

"what is this?"

"Look at her absorbing the essence of the sun, could she be a thousand-year-old demon? No, there is no demonic aura around her, but rather abundant spiritual energy."

The Monkey King, along with his monkey followers, arrived in front of the demons.

He saw the mysterious woman ahead, who seemed to be absorbing the sun's essence like a giant mountain, and frowned, saying, "Huh? Seven Luminaries Mountain has already been occupied?"

But why is there no demonic aura around?

No matter how powerful a demon's cultivation is, their demonic energy will inevitably leak out during cultivation; it's impossible for them to remain completely undisturbed.

A little monkey excitedly pointed ahead and chattered, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, look, look! The flowers, grass, and trees around us have all come back to life!"

"Wow, is this the pure spiritual energy of the sun? It's no less than the spiritual energy before the drought." A fox demon nearby had already begun meditating and cultivating, and after a few breaths, she exclaimed in amazement.

"What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and call the monkeys and their offspring to come and absorb spiritual energy for cultivation. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!" The Monkey King quickly sent two little monkeys to fetch the monkeys and their offspring from the cliff cave.

"Ouch~~"

The wolf demon stood on high and let out a long howl, calling to its pack.

"Roar~~" The bear demon let out a roar that shook the mountains and forests, as it summoned its family in the cave.

"Chi chi chi~"

"Zhizhizhi~~"

A group of drab rat demons arrived later and cleverly claimed a spot to cultivate.

"Hmph~" Wild boars arrived at Qihuang Mountain in groups.

"Wow!"

The enormous golden eagle arrived as quickly as possible.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, tens of thousands of minor demons and countless weak animals had gathered three zhang away from Shenque.

Food and predators appear together, creating an eerie atmosphere of harmony among them.

This is clearly an unbelievable scene.

The roars of giant animals were deafening, while the squeaking and chattering of small animals filled the air.

The system looked at them and thought to itself, "If the host is truly a great demon, none of them here will survive."

The greatest fear of a thousand-year-old demon is that a weaker demon would compete with them for resources.

These demons are truly naive. They aren't afraid that their opponent is a powerful, thousand-year-old demon who slaughtered them without leaving a trace. No wonder those who can transform into human form go to roam the human world. Not only can they not transform, but they haven't even learned the rules of the human world.

Gu Yuexi had already noticed the commotion around her; she knew that the evil spirits from the depths of the mountains had come down.

This was also her purpose in exchanging the puppet with Zero One.

The puppets can protect the villagers below the mountain.

As for protecting her?

She absorbs the essence of the sun, and the temperature around her is no less than that of the sun in the sky. Any demon that gets close to her will be melted into mist.

However, the essence of the sun was indeed pure, and she could perfectly absorb the spiritual energy transformed from the heat without having to break down the impurities too much.

[Host, can you still hold on?]

The system asks a question every now and then.

"Don't worry, I can handle this amount of heat." Gu Yuexi fused and refined the pure heat of the sun with her body.

She said confidently, "I can hold on for at least three more days!"

Down the mountain, the villagers trudged on to Peach Blossom Village.

A group of people were panting heavily.

"Oh dear, Mount Qihuang is too far away. If only we could worship the goddess in Peach Blossom Village."

"Didn't the goddess say she would solve the drought for us? Then we can grow crops, have food and drink, and even trade them. We can use the money we earn to build a statue for the goddess, and then we can worship her in front of the statue."

The villagers have begun to envision a bright future.

"Rumble--"

Thunder rumbled, and dark clouds loomed overhead.

Suddenly, a strong wind blew across the villagers, and an unprecedented coolness surprised and delighted them.

How long has it been? How long has it been since they felt this comfortable?

"Is...is it going to rain?" someone asked their family member tremblingly.

"Hu~~"

A strong wind swept across the villagers' faces. "Boom!"

"Wow~~"

Heavy rain has arrived.

"It's raining, it's raining, hahahahaha!!!"

Even the villagers of Peach Blossom Village couldn't remain calm now.

Just like last time, I was filled with surprise and delight.

Peach Blossom Village is a collection of people from eight villages. Although each village has a small population, the total number of people gathered together is quite considerable.

There were over a hundred people!
The villagers burst into tears, trembling with emotion. Some elderly women fainted and were carried to the thatched shed. Young women and children ran wildly in the rain, feeling the nourishment of the rain.

As Grandma Zhou followed her daughter to fetch water, she tilted her head back high, letting the rain wash over her dry, chapped face.

She cried sadly, but the corners of her mouth were turned up in a smile: "It's raining, it's raining, boohoo!"

The villagers walked barefoot on the ground, and the originally dry, scorching soil gradually softened. They revelled in the soft mud.

"Village chief, there really are gods! There really are gods!" Some villagers seemed to only begin to realize at this moment that there really were gods!

"We thank the Golden Saintess for saving us from suffering. We will never forget her kindness for generations to come!"

On Wednesday, Grandpa Zhou knelt down with his stiff body and devoutly kowtowed in the direction of the Golden Saint Divine Gate of Qihuang Mountain.

The villagers followed suit and also began to kowtow.

Hundreds of people knelt on the ground and kowtowed to the gods, creating a grand spectacle.

Gou Sheng knelt at the very back. As a child, he was naturally more agile than his peers. As soon as his peers bowed down, he had already stood up. Suddenly, he noticed a faint light emanating from the depths of Qihuang Mountain.

"Look, Qihuang Mountain is glowing!" Gousheng shouted, and the villagers looked up.

Grandpa Zhou wiped the rain off his face and looked around: "Oh my, could it be that the Golden Saintess saw us bowing to her and is responding to us?"

Zhang Youhe chimed in, "That's possible!"

The Empress is compassionate and will surely respond to them.

"Divine light! Divine light! Everyone, quickly offer your prayers!"

Bang bang bang!
The entire Peach Blossom Village was filled with the sound of kowtowing.

However, in the mountains, the spiritual energy within a three-zhang radius around Gu Yuexi surged, and vortexes of energy swirled and circulated around her.

Animals and monsters within three zhang (approximately 10 meters) were all affected by the spiritual energy.

The Monkey King exclaimed in amazement, "Such powerful spiritual energy! Absorb it quickly!"

It used its clever mind to think it over and finally determined that this was no ordinary thousand-year-old demon.

If it were a thousand-year-old demon, it would be impossible for it not to reveal any demonic energy at all. Moreover, a thousand-year-old demon would not have the ability to absorb the essence of the sun for such a long time. Most importantly, a thousand-year-old demon would not be so kind as to let these little demons compete with it for cultivation resources.

"Is it a legendary deity?"

The Monkey King murmured.

[Host, stop]

The system has suspended Gu Yuexi.

As it wished, Gu Yuexi stopped absorbing spiritual energy.

She can't absorb any more now. Her powerful meridians are full of spiritual energy, and there is still some that she hasn't had time to refine. It's like a person who has eaten too much; if she eats any more, she'll be disemboweled.

The system breathed a sigh of relief.

"She stopped!" The monsters noticed this in time and immediately scattered and fled.

The Monkey King was secretly leading his monkeys away when he suddenly felt himself trapped by a mysterious and invisible force.

Also trapped were several fox demons, bear demons, wolf demons, fire demons, snow demons, willow tree spirits, and rabbit demons, all with cultivation levels of three to five hundred years.

A total of eight monsters were forcibly detained.

The Monkey King knelt down and begged for mercy: "Spare us! My lord, spare us! We didn't mean to steal your spiritual energy, please spare us!"

The monsters were terrified.

"Spare us!" They knelt down and begged for mercy, just like the Monkey King.

The most timid rabbit demon burst into tears.

"Waaaaah~ Waaaaah~"

(End of this chapter)