The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 39 It turns out the immortals were right beside us!

The guards' terrified gazes trembled violently between the wrecked statue and the monster outside the temple.

Surprise, shock, confusion, and a whole host of other emotions surged forth.

It was clear that many of them did not believe that the damaged statue could repel such a terrifying monster.

But for the time being, they couldn't think of any other reason.

They could only be at a loss amidst the chaos.

It was at this moment that the monster recovered from its descent and came into the sight of the many guards:
"That thing has recovered!"

Everyone's attention was drawn to it again. Although they knew it was useless, they still gripped their steel knives and stepped forward.

Something is better than nothing.

As the demon wolf stood up, its mane swishing, the bones scraped together with a numbing, crackling sound. Its large, bowl-sized, emerald-green pupils swept angrily over the numerous guards holding swords and crossbows, yet it treated them as nothing.

After exhaling a burst of hot air from its nostrils, it slammed its front paws heavily on the ground, easily carving out three furrows about an inch deep in the blink of an eye. It was incredibly terrifying, but its pair of eerie green vertical pupils remained fixed on the statue's mutilated face.

No one dared to move, and the demon wolf made no further plans.

A strange standoff ensued between the inside and outside of the dilapidated temple.

The wolf arched its barbed back and slowly moved sideways, cracking the ground beneath its claws with each step.

However, if you look closely, you'll notice that the light-devouring darkness around it seems to have disappeared after its first setback.

It demonstrates its power to instill fear in the mortals inside, and also to bolster its own morale.

Otherwise, it wouldn't have been like this before.

This made the many guards in the temple tremble with every swipe of its claws.

But that's all.

After it moved back and forth two or three times, it suddenly dug its front paws deep into the ground. In the instant that gravel and dirt flew everywhere, everyone was horrified to see it leap up and attack them again!
"coming!"

The people inside the temple were immediately thrown into a panic and all retreated backward.

But just as the monster was about to reach the temple gate, everyone glimpsed a golden light flashing behind them, transforming into a golden and jade wall that appeared outside the temple gate for a fleeting moment.

The beast's forward momentum did not diminish in the slightest, but its ferocious wolf head snapped as if it had crashed into an invisible iron wall. Its massive, ox-like body curled into a twisted arc in mid-air, and then, amidst a flash of golden light, it was sent flying backward, covered in blood and gore from broken teeth.

As it crashed to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust, a genuine fear surfaced for the first time in its eerie green eyes.

This is a powerful force that it cannot comprehend.

"It really is! It's truly the Mountain God appearing!"

"I've seen a god! I've seen a god!"

"Great, it's saved!"

Faced with such a scene, the guards dared not be negligent and turned around to kowtow and worship the broken statue.

However, unlike the guards who were frantically worshipping the gods, the woman had already changed her clothes with the help of her maids and hurriedly came out.

But after glancing at the monster that remained stubbornly outside the temple gate, he turned and bowed to Du Yuan, asking:

"Although we were saved from disaster thanks to the protection of the mountain god, that demon still refuses to leave. Please, Taoist priest, show us the way!"

The guards immediately reacted with a change in expression.

Yes, although the monsters can't get in, they still guard outside the temple!
Moreover, even if the monster leaves, are they really safe?
They can't stay in this dilapidated temple forever!
Du Yuan looked at the woman strangely and said:

Why are you asking me?

The woman bowed again and said:
"The Taoist priest had previously reminded me to pay homage to the deities. However, I was unable to offer incense due to my status."

"Since it was you, Daoist Master, who gave me guidance earlier, I should naturally ask you for advice on how to remedy this situation!"

The woman spoke hurriedly yet clearly, and her attitude was humble and sincere without being obsequious.

These words made Du Yuan smile and point at her several times.

"Madam's abilities are indeed extraordinary. However, didn't I already say so?"

Du Yuan pointed to the broken statue and said:

"In the end, we respect the road with incense and protect the mountain for a while!"

The woman felt a sense of relief settle in her heart. After letting out a long sigh, she pressed down her skirt, gracefully knelt down, and then offered her hands in a gesture of respect, saying:

"Please, Taoist priest, bestow incense so that the believer, Han, may worship the supreme deity!"

Du Yuan didn't delay and took out three incense sticks from her bundle, saying, "These incense sticks are both an apology and a plea, and should be offered with the respect due to the Three Treasures. Please be sincere, woman, so that you may move the gods."

"The faithful woman understands."

Han bowed her head and accepted the incense, her fingertips touching the warm incense stick, but she did not get up.

She crawled on her knees on the cold bricks. Only when she reached the rusty bronze incense burner in front of the altar did she gently insert the incense into the burner with her fingertips. Even though it hadn't been lit yet, wisps of blue smoke rose up instantly.

The demon outside the temple realized something was wrong and let out a wail, turning to flee into the dense forest.

But it was still a step too slow; the moment the incense was offered, the wisps of smoke from the fire instantly descended from top to bottom.

Du Yuan even heard a very light and deep inhalation sound, as if it came from the high heavens or from the altar.

It seems I wasn't wrong; this person really needs more descendants.
While Du Yuan was still pondering, she clearly saw a faint golden light suddenly appear like a firefly in the broken statue, then disappear into the crack in an instant. Only the three pieces of incense sticks remaining in the incense burner turned into dust in the blink of an eye.

The rising smoke, under the watchful eyes of everyone, coalesced into sharp arrows and shot towards the demon that was trying to escape.

This should have been a blow that shattered the demon core of that monstrous beast, causing it to die on the spot.

But just as the fireworks and arrows struck the monster, Du Yuan heard a disgruntled voice beside her: "Tsk!"

Immediately, a black token that had only just appeared under the wolf's neck shattered when the fire arrow struck the wolf.

Thus, the arrow formed from the smoke and fire naturally failed to take the life of this beast.

All they could do was watch helplessly as the beast fled into the dense forest in a panic.

"It escaped?!"

What was blocking the way just now?

"The fragments of that thing are still on the ground!"

Amidst the gasps of the crowd, fragments of the black token sizzled and emitted plumes of black smoke as they burned the ground.

In just a moment, the fragments disappeared completely, leaving behind a dozen or so foul-smelling pits of varying sizes.

Looking at the dense forest and the completely vanished monster, everyone was at a loss for what to do.

The demon was driven away, but it is still alive.

Is there really no problem with this going forward?

Just when everyone was at a loss.

But then Du Yuan laughed loudly:

"Don't panic, everyone, I'm still here!"

Amidst the astonishment and uncertainty of the crowd, Du Yuan raised her hand and beckoned:

"Come!"

The lance that the guard leader had hurled flew into Du Yuan's hands.

Upon seeing this, everyone gasped in astonishment.

Du Yuan ignored the crowd and placed the lance on the first incense stick she offered.

Yes, it was already past midnight, and even the incense that the two of them offered later had long since burned out, but the first incense stick that Du Yuan offered was clearly still burning, yet it never actually burned out.

Even the woman who was offering incense hadn't noticed this scene, assuming that someone had offered another stick of incense later, not realizing that it was the very first stick of incense.

Du Yuan, who had long noticed the temple's mysterious nature, kept a close watch on it.

Now, they are borrowing the fireworks to imitate the method of exorcising evil in Qing County back then.

After circling the incense burner three times with his spear, Du Yuan gave a low shout:

"go with!"

The lance, seemingly without any support, shot off on its own, leaving a long trail of fire in the night light.

In just three or four breaths, everyone watched as the spear fell into the distant forest amidst the raging flames.

The next moment, the agonizing screams of the demon dying echoed throughout the mountains and fields.

Even without seeing it, everyone knew that the demon had been killed.

Now, all that's left of this mountain wilderness is a group of them, staring dumbfounded at Du Yuan in the dilapidated temple.

Only now did they realize that the dilapidated statues and filthy Taoist priests they had paid the least attention to in this run-down temple were actually the greatest deities!

(End of this chapter)