White Bone Demon Trail

Chapter 35 The Formless Sacrifice

Standing atop the hill, Bai Wuxiang watched as flocks of birds near Cangyun Village took flight one after another, migrating into the distance without looking back.

Most of them were eagles and birds of prey. Rows of birds had to leave this mountain where they had lived for generations, sensing the presence of other powerful members of their kind, and seek refuge elsewhere.

Without the protection of the great demon Cang Shen, the bird spirits of Cangyun Village will be unable to survive in Yunze Mountain, where demons roam freely.

Similarly, there are also... hundreds of villagers in Cangyun Village.

One by one, the elderly villagers knelt on the ground and wept bitterly, while the younger villagers were mostly at a loss. Their village had lost its protective deity, and if there was no new village god, then all the demons in the mountains would be watching the people of Cangyun Village.

Bai Wuxiang reached out and caught a huge eagle bone in the night; it was Cang's remains.

"Azure God, since you are no longer in this world, please lend me your remains."

With a flick of his wrist, the bone eagle flew down to Skull Mountain, landing on its north side and gazing at the distant mountains.

Bai Wuxiang walked down the mountain and stood in front of the temple built by the villagers for Cang.

The Cangshen Temple was far more magnificent than his Wuxiang Temple, with gold and silver decorations on the temple beams and various colorful paintings and carvings. The walls were painted with scenes of flocks of birds and eagles soaring above the mountains, as well as images of people kneeling in worship.

The temple gate opened to the wind, and several birds flew out in alarm, followed by a series of uneasy cries.

Inside the temple, more than a dozen children were hiding in a dark corner. When they heard the temple door open, they couldn't help but curl up.

Bai Wuxiang said softly, "Come out, all of you. I won't hurt you."

Upon hearing the gentle voice, one by one, the young children toddled out.

Looking at the group of children before him, he frowned and asked, "Are you all blind?"

"Reporting to...Reporting to Your Excellency, we are the divine servants of the Azure God. We were used by Your Excellency for cultivation." A boy who looked about twelve or thirteen years old was quite bold and answered his question.

"Cultivation..."

Bai Wuxiang thought of the Cang Shen's incredibly sharp demonic eyes, which had seen through several layers of his illusions when he first encountered them. It turned out that the Cang Shen had cultivated his powers by stealing the eyes of a young child.

He ignored the blind children and went into the temple. After searching around, he found only some useless mortal items. It seemed that the mountain demons and monsters were truly pitifully poor because they had no lineage or tradition.

Even a great village god like Cang didn't have any particularly valuable treasures to offer.

Bai Wuxiang shook his head listlessly and turned to leave.

As he walked past the group of blind children, one of them suddenly knelt down and cried out, "Please, sir, save us!"

"Puff~"

More than ten young children knelt down and begged for mercy.

"Please, sir, save us!"

Bai Wuxiang ignored the voice and continued walking away.

But the kneeling boy hurriedly shouted, "We are willing to serve you, my lord!"

Bai Wuxiang stopped in his tracks, but he didn't turn around. He just said softly, "What would I do with a bunch of blind, useless people?"

"We...we...are useful!"

The boy quickly spoke up, "I am knowledgeable in music and can compose music for you, sir."

"Oh? How do you, a blind person, know these things?"

Bai Wuxiang chuckled softly and slowly turned around to look at the young man who had spoken. Even though his clothes were tattered and his figure was thin, a resolute look shone through his brows.

"I am the son of a musician from the foot of the mountain. I learned the five tones and seven notes from a young age and am good at composing music. Later, I was captured by the Azure God and brought back to the mountain. I lost my eyesight, but my perception of music became even more acute."

"Sir, you have been living in the mountains for a long time, and you must be lonely. We can be your musicians to relieve your boredom," the young man replied respectfully.

"Hehe, you do have some intelligence."

Bai Wuxiang glanced at the group of youths behind him, stretched out his hand, and a black crow in the sky landed on his hand, cawing once.

“If you can follow me, this crow, back to Black Stone Village, then you may stay.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Bai Wuxiang transformed into a gust of yin wind and disappeared.

The black crow let out a strange cry before flapping its wings and slowly flying away.

A group of blind children followed the cawing of crows in the darkness, walking and stopping intermittently.

Along the way, some people fell down, and some bumped their heads and bled. They didn't know the mountain path or what lay ahead. The only thing they could rely on was the cawing of crows in the darkness.

Around Cangyun Village, in the darkness, elven monsters swarmed, greedily eyeing the people within the village.

Once they saw the black crow leave, the mountain spirits and wild monsters, who had been holding back for so long, could no longer wait and rushed into the village.

The killings continued into the darkness.

Without the protection of the village god, mortals are prey in these deep mountains.

A bat with wingspans nearly half a meter swooped into the village and landed on a man's face, splattering blood. The man howled miserably, collapsing to the ground and struggling, but his strength gradually waned as he was drained of all his blood.

A huge black python crawled into the room through the window, letting out a mournful howl, but it quickly fell silent, and only the bloated python crawled out.

A mandrill chuckled eerily in the darkness, crouching to ambush fleeing travelers; a cat demon with gleaming green eyes searched for its prey in the haystacks; and a terrifying centipede, half a meter long, lurked in the grass…

Qingyin wriggled her fox tail and slowly walked towards a large house. She peeked into the house through the window, where a tall, imposing man with wide, angry eyes held a large, gleaming sword. He was protecting a child and staring intently at the blocked door. His aura was quite yang, which kept the spirits away.

Her fox-like eyes flickered, and a wisp of green smoke dissipated, transforming into a beautiful woman with tattered clothes. She cried out and pushed open the window, her beautiful hair cascading over her forehead. She looked up and saw the man, exclaiming, "Hero, please save me!"

When the man wielding the large knife saw such a delicate and beautiful young woman pleading for his help, his heart softened, and he stepped forward to support her.

But the moment his hand touched the woman, the soft, delicate touch stirred a warmth in the man's heart. He couldn't help but squeeze her slender waist tightly, startling Qing Yin into a soft gasp. She half-buried herself in the man's arms, whispering in his ear, "Thank you... thank you so much, my benefactor..."

The man was captivated by the fragrant aroma, put down his broadsword, and swept the woman into his arms, pulling her into the house.

The moment he put down his broadsword, the child behind him was horrified to discover that the beautiful woman's face actually had a fox's face.

"what!"

"Help!"

"Please, gods of the mountains, save us!"

In the village, there were elderly people desperately seeking help. The spirits were drawn to those with vibrant life force. These frail old people had almost exhausted their life force and were about to die. Their energy was still pure, and some spirits dared not approach them.

The ancient calls echoed deep into the mountains, stirring the hearts of many demons who had cultivated for decades, but most of them held back.

Even if they could be revered as village gods and receive numerous benefits simply by protecting Cangyun Village at this moment, they fear their own inadequacy. They worry that a single misstep could cost them their lives and prevent them from protecting the village, which would be far too costly.

As night deepened, a strange floral fragrance wafted from the deep mountains, dispelling the rampaging demons.

A figure descended upon Cangyun Village, transforming into a beautiful woman dressed in colorful robes. She calmly spoke, "Mortals of Cangyun Village, I am a spirit among myriad flowers. Would you be willing to offer me worship?"

The village was littered with corpses. Dozens of people hiding in the shadows knelt down excitedly, chanting, "We are willing! We pay our respects to the village god! We pay our respects to the village god!"

Seeing everyone bowing to her, the woman in colorful clothes raised her hand and gently blew, causing a pale yellow light to emanate, which fell around Cangyun Village and transformed into flower seeds that surrounded the village.

"From now on, this village will be named Hundred Flowers Village. I am the Flower Goddess. You must plant and pick flowers in all four seasons and use them as offerings."

"When you have finished building the temple, I, the god, will show myself!"

After saying that, the woman disappeared.

On a hilltop, four people looked at the horrific scene in the village. The man carrying the basket on his back couldn't help but clench his fist and say, "These monsters are truly utterly depraved!"

"Senior sister, let's go wipe them out!"

“No.” Xiao Qianli, dressed in a plain long dress, shook her head and said, “If you kill these demon spirits, do you intend to stay here and cultivate forever?”

"Senior sister, what do you mean by that?" the man asked, puzzled.

“Every place has its own way of survival. It must have been that fellow cultivator from Kongtong Cave who destroyed the demon spirits in the village. But because of that, more than two hundred people in this village perished in the demon's mouth tonight.” Xiao Qianli shook his head and said coldly, “I dislike people like this who only know how to kill demons the most.”

"Senior sister, when it comes to slaying demons, how many young Taoists in the world have killed more than you?" the boy with the jade pendant asked earnestly.

“The demons I killed were all to save people.” Xiao Qianli interrupted him. “There are thousands upon thousands of demons in Yunze Mountain. If these mortals do not have the protection of powerful demons, this is the only outcome they will suffer.”

Since Yunze Mountain has maintained its customs for hundreds of years, we don't need to forcibly change them.

"But this new demon doesn't seem like a good one. What if she kills people again?" the man carrying the bamboo basket worried.

"Then why don't you stay here and cultivate instead of going back to the mountain, and spend your life protecting them?" Xiao Qianli looked at him and asked with a smile, "What do you think, Junior Brother Nan?"

"Ah? This...this...My master is getting old, and I need to take care of him. If I can't go back to Sanqing Mountain, who will take care of him?" The man carrying the basket hurriedly shook his head.

"Then let's not meddle in other people's business." Xiao Qianli turned around and said, "Let's go, let's go to Wulong Village and see if there really is a real dragon appearing in the world."

……

On Skull Mountain, Bai Wuxiang watched the group of blind children approaching from afar; three or four had already lost their way.

A blind man got lost deep in the mountains, and his only fate was death.

Bai Wuxiang never wanted to get involved in the mess at Cangyun Village. To the north of this village was Tiger King Village, and that mountain lord was no ordinary old demon. He didn't want to be neighbors with such a powerful demon.

As long as he doesn't interfere with Cangyun Village, there are plenty of demon spirits in Yunze Mountain who want to become village gods, and they will take over the village on their own.

As for the life and death of these mortals, in Bai Wuxiang's eyes they were no different from wild beasts, demons and spirits in the mountains; they were all living beings.

Yunze Mountain cannot support too many people. If there are too many people, there will be too few beasts, and if there are too many beasts, there will be too few people.

Moreover, Bai Wuxiang is not a benevolent god, nor is he the god of Yunze Mountain. The fact that he did not take action against the mortals of Cangyun Village to collect their death energy is already a form of mercy.

After all, he was a mischievous and cunning person.

Most importantly, the village god was merely a disguise, a facade for his peaceful life in the cave. He didn't truly aspire to be a revered deity with followers all over the world.

Even from a human perspective, Bai Wuxiang would never accept the people of Cangyun Village. And if he did, the people of Heishi Village would be unwilling.

Because the mountains cannot support too many people.

Where will the grain come from? Where will the food come from? Bai Wuxiang is not a god of the land who can fill the granaries and plant rice paddies.

The return of more than thirty people from Wulong Village had already caused a food shortage in Heishi Village.

In such a world, no one would blame Bai Wuxiang for his indifference. The only one to blame is the unbearable conditions of life below the mountain, and the only one to complain about is the greedy people there. Landlords and nobles possess thousands of acres of fertile land, the rich have mountains of grain, while the poor live in abject poverty.

At least, people can survive in the mountains.

He took in these blind children not out of pity for their weakness, but because they were indeed of some use.

As his demonic power grew stronger, he also gained a deeper understanding of his own illusions and demonic arts.

Illusion is not only about changing form, but also about changing sound.

He wants to learn sound magic and comprehend demonic arts.

These blind people, lacking sight, actually have more sensitive hearing and are more adept at music than sighted people.

The night in the deep mountains was longer than usual for the blind children. They took countless wrong turns and finally arrived at Black Stone Village before dawn.

Before the Temple of No Form, the black crow flew away, leaving only eight children lying dead in front of the gate.

Ah Liu came out of the temple and led them inside.

The children knelt before the statue, worshipping it devoutly and chanting "The God Without Form."

Ah Liu said to them, "From now on, you will be Lord Wuxiang's servants. Black Stone Village will support you, but you will also have to do things for Lord Wuxiang."

You need to compose a piece called "The Ritual of No Form"!
If Lord Wuxiang is satisfied, he might even intervene and restore your sight!

The eight children were overjoyed to hear this.

They were not born blind, but people who once had eyes but lost their sight. Having witnessed the light, how could they be willing to live in darkness forever?

When Yu Junzi learned that the temple would have to support eight more children, she frowned but still agreed.

After all, there are only eight children, not eighty. If we save one or two, the people in the village can still survive.

Bai Wuxiang had A-Liu make bone flutes, bone zithers, and other musical instruments for the children. It was because they had seen all things in the world and lost their sight that they could only distinguish things by sound, which enabled them to create this Wuxiang Sacrifice.

Everything in the world has a form, yet even the formless and formless have the form of sentient beings.

Bai Wuxiang is not a human form, so naturally he cannot cultivate using only the human form; he must also cultivate using the forms of all things.

From the demon hunter in the Kongtong Cave, he learned about the major realms of cultivators: the Great Transformation Realm and the Primordial Truth Realm.

It is conceivable that the Taoist of Kongtong Cave, who could transmit his divine powers over thousands of miles, must be at the Yuanzhen realm, which is above the Great Transformation Yuan realm.

As for himself, Cang Shen, and that young Taoist priest, they should all be in the same realm of Transformation Yuan.

However, the difference in strength and demonic power has not yet become significant.

He had no teacher or companion, and had to figure everything out and understand on his own. Although the road ahead would be more difficult, he was still a trailblazer!
(End of this chapter)