Chapter 16

Hearing this, the Mountain God was overjoyed. As long as Lin Yu's Ascension tribulation descended again, he could seize the opportunity to kill her, steal her tribulation, and take the heavenly thunder for himself—then he would ascend in her place!

At that moment, he would no longer be a tree demon desperately concealing his identity, but a true Mountain God, ranked among the immortals!

He had a thousand years of cultivation; achieving enlightenment and becoming an immortal was his destined fate! And this little girl before him, barely over twenty, what was she? She had suffered nothing, had little cultivation—how could she deserve to ascend?

No matter how you counted it, the one who should ascend was him!

The Mountain God smiled ingratiatingly. He stepped forward to grab Lin Yu, but she casually shook him off.

Lin Yu took out the leaf that sealed her soul and offered it to the Mountain God. "Then I need to see your sincerity first. After all, facing the heavenly thunder is practically a near-death experience. Even with the Xianzun's guarantee, what if my soul affects this Ascension? Don't you think?"

The Mountain God's smile grew even wider. "You jest. You're the Divine Maiden of the Yu Kingdom, sole disciple of the Yu Kingdom's Xianzun—how could you fail?"

On the surface, he said this, but in his heart, he was disgusted. Of course this Ascension would fail! If Lin Yu didn't die, how could he steal her tribulation? Only when Lin Yu failed would he succeed!

The Mountain God's face betrayed nothing. Mana flowed from his palm, enveloping the seal as he chanted obscure incantations. Soon, the divine tree leaf burst with a bang, splitting into pieces, and a soul radiating a cyan-green glow appeared.

The cyan-green floating light sensed Lin Yu right before it and quickly flew toward her, sinking into her brow. Lin Yu felt a warm current surge into her forehead.

At last, her lost soul and spirit returned to her body. She sensed her mana and memories restoring at an astonishing speed!

It was the mana and memories of the Divine Maiden A Si.

At the same time, along with A Si's memories, Lin Yu's own memories recovered—the true memories from outside the illusion.

Recollections trickled into her mind like fragmented droplets. Amid the chaotic thoughts, the first thing she recalled was the first time she had witnessed a living sacrifice, many years ago.

There seemed to be nothing joyful in Lin Yu's memories. All she could see was the departure of loved ones, dried blood weaving into the cracks of bricks, and a blazing altar with a solid-gold idol upon it.

And... the Moon God and the Crimson God who had trapped her in this illusion—Zhang Dian and Xiao Wen!

Sure enough, she had guessed right. This entire illusion world was crafted for Zhang Dian.

Lin Yu's face revealed nothing. Her expression was calm, as still as dead water.

The Mountain God rambled on, "Now then, let's discuss the tribulation. There's a war outside—go save a few people, earn some merit, and hasten the tribulation's descent..."

Lin Yu smiled sweetly. She quietly followed behind the Mountain God, keeping a step's distance. He walked ahead without a care, unaware that, where he couldn't see, Lin Yu was unobtrusively using magic to retrieve Qingxian!

Sword in hand, she held it behind her back, walking step by step.

"Also, our alliance must not be known to a third person!"

The Mountain God kept walking ahead, never once glancing back.

Lin Yu nodded obediently with a smile. "Okay—"

The Mountain God grew even more pleased, his steps light and carefree, even humming a tune. Now!

Lin Yu drew out her trailing note, then shifted her tone, "Okay—okay, my ass!"

In a flash of lightning, Lin Yu swung her sword at the back of the Mountain God's head!

Her eyes curved into crescents. "Now there's no second person who knows either."

The Mountain God didn't even have time to turn around before his neck was severed! His head tilted, then fell with a dull thud, instantly separating from his body. His torso crumpled to the ground, and his head rolled down the slope!

His body writhed on the ground—headless, without eyes or mouth, he could neither see nor speak. It rolled around, barely scrambling up only to stumble blindly due to lost balance.

The tree spirit was undying; his body, like a tree, lived forever.

Lin Yu watched as his body raised its hands, groping around to find its way—a grotesque sight. Silently, she walked up to him, pressed a hand on his shoulder, and shoved hard. His body tumbled down the slope!

Lin Yu dusted off her hands. The eyesore was gone, and she finally smiled in satisfaction.

She picked up Qingxian and returned to the mountaintop. It would take a while for the Mountain God to find his head and reattach it. All she had to do was chop down the tree spirit within that time.

Lin Yu channeled mana into Qingxian and struck the trunk with all her might!

A crack sounded as Qingxian bit into the tree, nearly splitting the trunk in half. As Lin Yu swung again, Qingxian suddenly went wild, as if losing control—it wrenched free of her grip and flew into the air, then circled a few times before darting toward the forest, seemingly drawn by something!

Someone stepped out from the dense woods, and Qingxian hovered beside them. It was he who had wrested control of the sword with his mana.

Lin Yu furrowed her brow at the newcomer. His face slowly merged with the fierce, menacing visage in her memory.

In those memories, the man had hurled a fireball at Lin Yu, intent on killing her.

The Crimson God snorted contemptuously. "Didn't expect a mortal like you to be so tenacious. But not just anyone is worthy of wielding a divine artifact."

He casually leaned against a nearby tree, flicked his sleeve, and a streak of crimson mana shot toward Lin Yu. The suspended Qingxian followed that mana, lunging at her!

Lin Yu neither retreated nor attacked. She stood still, and just as Qingxian's blade was an inch from her, it halted!

A smile curved at her lips. Qingxian reversed direction instantly, and Lin Yu grabbed its hilt, leaping toward the Crimson God to strike!

"Not anyone can use a divine artifact—but what if I've long since forged a blood pact with it?"

The Crimson God's expression shifted at her words.

Back when Lin Yu had slain the wolf pack, the mana from the Xuan Yang Mirror had already been spent. The icy wind cut across her face, neck, and wrists, while the wolves' low howls surrounded her.

The pack drew closer—either break through or die here. She was at the end of her rope.

But so what? She still held a divine artifact. As long as she had a card to play, Lin Yu wouldn't lose.

Without a second thought, she slashed her palm, and blood gushed into the sword hilt. Qingxian flashed with cyan-green light, drank her blood, merged with her will, and carried her through the carnage.

The Crimson God rolled aside to dodge her strike, eyes wide. Qingxian was a heirloom artifact of the Yu royal family, following only its successive emperors—how could she... Lin Yu? How could Qingxian recognize her? Impossible!

His eyes flashed with viciousness. He realized Lin Yu would be trouble someday—she couldn't be allowed to live. She had to die!

Lin Yu's blow missed, failing to strike the Crimson God, and she lost her only chance to catch him off guard. Now she was at a disadvantage. Even with the Divine Maiden's mana, she couldn't truly contend with a god.

Her gaze swept to the hollow below, where the Mountain God's body still writhed—he'd found his head and was trying to reattach it. Then she looked up at the mountaintop tree spirit, half-split, still standing tall in the wind and snow.

Too late!

The Crimson God gathered flames in his palm and hurled them at Lin Yu's fleeing back. She dodged each one deftly, sprinting away from the fire while tracing patterns in the air with Qingxian.

The Crimson God felt provoked; he was hot-tempered by nature, and Lin Yu's taunts stoked his fury. Just then, Lin Yu stopped at a certain spot—heaven was helping him! A fireball formed in his palm and launched at her!

This time, luck wasn't with Lin Yu. The flame struck her square in the back, and she collapsed into the snow!

Pleased, the Crimson God gathered a larger fireball, certain this blow would reduce her to ashes!

He hurled it at the Lin Yu lying in the snow!

"Boom!" The snow around Lin Yu exploded outward, flames melting the snow to reveal the bare earth beneath.

The Crimson God laughed heartily—until he climbed the slope and saw the mountaintop clearly. His grin froze. The fireball hadn't hit Lin Yu at all—it had struck the tree spirit behind her!

The tree spirit was burned by his own blunder!

"You dare trick me?!" The slope was steep, and his position had been lower than Lin Yu's. He hadn't seen the divine tree behind her. She had used his own hand to burn down the tree spirit and eliminate the Mountain God!

"Die! You—"

Almost instantly, the tree spirit's consciousness began to dissipate. The headless old man in the hollow stopped moving. At the same time, countless pitch-black vengeful spirits floated out from the Mountain God's body!

They were the passersby swallowed by the earth's crevices, the common folk sacrificed to the Mountain God—their wronged souls!

Seemingly afraid of these ghosts, the Crimson God didn't press the fight. He only shot Lin Yu a deep glare before leaving, as if terrified of being entangled by them.

The vengeful spirits, the moment they burst from the Mountain God's body, seemed purified, gradually bleached white by the vast snow. His body nearly turned to black mud. Then, a thousand purified spirits surged toward Lin Yu!

She heard their chattering chorus: "Merit fulfilled! Merit fulfilled! Ascend to immortality! Ascend to immortality!"

Lin Yu had done nothing earth-shattering—killing the Mountain God and freeing the spirits hardly counted as complete merit. It was A Si whose merit was fulfilled...

The countless spirits transformed into warm mana and cultivation, pouring into Lin Yu's sea of consciousness!

The divine tree's consciousness dissipated completely, and the scene around her vanished. Lin Yu was back in the cave. The divine tree was gone, leaving only the common folk who had been swallowed inside, huddled together.

Through blurred vision, Lin Yu saw a vast whiteness. She blinked, and finally it came into focus—before her stood the white-haired old woman, who rushed over the moment she saw Lin Yu emerge.

Her voice trembled with tears. "Young lady, you're finally back..."

Lin Yu was about to reply when a rumble of collapsing earth came from above—an ominous sign. If they didn't evacuate quickly, everyone would be buried alive.

Lin Yu's expression turned grim. "Move! Quickly! Wake those who are unconscious. The tree spirit is dead; this place will collapse soon. Go!"

She slashed upward with her sword, opening a gash in the earthen ceiling. Dirt and debris fell, and a hole appeared above everyone's heads.

The people lying everywhere scrambled to their feet, racing to climb out.

Lin Yu directed the crowd, using mana to form a barrier overhead. "The elderly, weak, women, and children first! Quick, those behind, push! No shoving!"

It was then, as light streamed in, that Lin Yu realized nearly everyone here was elderly women. The cave walls were loose soil; the old women were afraid mid-climb, and their bodies couldn't support the effort to ascend.

They were about a dozen feet from the surface. Lin Yu vaulted to the ground and reached down, but couldn't grab the few stuck halfway—neither up nor down.

She leaned halfway in, stretching to pull them, yet still fell short. A burly man with a beard grew desperate and shouted, "I'll be a human cushion down here, just go!"

Someone else chimed in, "Granny, please go ahead—step on my shoulders!"

One by one—one, two, three—the old women were pulled up, collapsing on the ground, gasping for air.

Just as the last person crawled out, the cave collapsed with a roar! The bearded man, the last out, clutched his chest and drew a sharp breath. His back was smeared with mud—he'd nearly been buried. Everyone was relishing their narrow escape.

As they finally saw the sky and smiles crept onto their faces, the clear sky suddenly darkened.

In an instant, clouds gathered thick!

Then a gale howled like wailing ghosts, bending the forest trees as if snapping their backs.

Next, a thunderbolt lit up the whole sky, and in the following moment, heavenly thunder descended upon the crowd!