Chapter 89

Di Ting gave a curt nod and immediately struck at the surrounding disciples.

The believers who had just reached the mountainside were greeted by the sight of their usual "daozhang" reduced to a miserable heap, their prized natal swords snapped and cast aside like trash.

The beaten disciples groveled on the ground, groaning "aiyo, aiyo," too proud to help each other up, some even trying to slink away into the shadows. Even the most obtuse observer could guess the relationship among them from this scene.

Apprentices of the same sect, disunited, looking down on one another, unable to swallow their pride, and refusing to change even in crisis—this was the sorry state they'd landed in. For any sect, this was a cardinal sin.

Di Ting made no move against the onlookers. He lifted his head, a haughty air about him, and surveyed the fallen with disdain. Then he sat down, retracted his claws, and licked the blood from his fur with a crimson tongue—for a moment, he almost seemed docile.

This peaceful display lasted a while. Di Ting licked his forelegs clean. He showed no fierce expression and no malice toward the gathered believers, which emboldened them. They edged closer, and their murmurs carried clearly to the disciples.

At this point, internal squabbles and grudges mattered less than saving face. Di Ting hadn't delivered a killing blow, so the disciples quickly helped each other up and gathered their broken swords.

But once on their feet, a new problem emerged. They now understood the chasm between themselves and the divine beast. They couldn't block a single strike from Di Ting, their swords were destroyed, and behind them, believers had gathered, clamoring for a fight.

Fight or flee—neither was viable. They'd rather have stayed on the ground spitting blood than get up to face this.

Suddenly, someone's eyes lit up: "The Xianzun! The Xianzun is here!"

The crowd turned to look, and sure enough, two young men appeared in the long night, their spell-light arrays dazzling all. Of course, the current Xianzun didn't command such power—all this magic came from the Moon God at his side.

The Moon God and the Xianzun landed on the mountainside. The Xianzun wore a grave expression, but the Moon God was watching Lin Yu with keen interest.

Seeing his old enemy in distress, the Moon God could barely suppress a smile. He confirmed that Lin Yu was staring straight at him, so he mouthed: "Still alive, huh? Tough luck."

The Moon God's expression was plain for Lin Yu to see. She couldn't be bothered to respond and simply rolled her eyes.

The Moon God's face stiffened, but he didn't lash out. Instead, he made a show of questioning Di Ting. He squinted, giving Di Ting a once-over. "A divine beast? I've never seen one with such a fierce aura. No wonder you were sealed in the Underworld for ten thousand years."

Di Ting turned to the Moon God, his gaze sharp. This man truly had clear likes and dislikes—that was how he regarded anyone or anything he looked down on. Well, that made sense. He was used to strutting around with his nose in the air, so why bother hiding his feelings?

The Moon God moved his fingers, forming a spell seal. Moonlight poured down through the clouds, and the moment the cool light touched him, a water-blue sword materialized in his hand.

Then the sword pointed at Di Ting. "How dare you abduct the Divine Maiden? Are you tired of living?"

Lin Yu chose that moment to speak: "Now! Go!"

Di Ting didn't hesitate for a second. Following Lin Yu's command, he charged at the Moon God.

The Moon God hadn't expected Di Ting to dare attack him. His pupils widened in shock. As a massive beast bared its fangs and barreled toward him, instinct took over. The Moon God flickered away, landing on the branch of an ancient pine jutting from a cliff at the peak.

Standing on the branch, the Moon God turned to look at Di Ting lingering halfway up the mountain, but his gaze met Lin Yu's. He saw her smiling. A shiver ran through him—and in that moment, he realized he'd been tricked.

Moonlight surged down. Lin Yu quickly transmitted a message to the ghost emissaries nearby: "Go, tell them—this man uses moonlight as his magic, he's soaked in it. He is the Moon God!"

Though the ghost emissary didn't understand what Lin Yu meant or who the Moon God was, he obeyed and shouted at once: "This is the Moon God!"

"The magic he just used to fly was moonlight! Look at him! He's covered in moonlight, even his sword is made of moonlight! He is the Moon God!"

Someone caught on and joined in: "Right! The moment he appeared, the moon came out too! The Astronomy Bureau said the clouds were thick for the Spring Sacrifice, and during the day we only had a sliver of sun—there's no way there should be a full moon now!"

"Moon God! Moon God! It's him! He looks exactly like the statue in the temple! It's him!"

Gods may not appear before mortals except at their own temples or in dreams. These believers had never seen a god. As the crowd shouted, many began kowtowing to the man radiating cold light on the ancient pine.

The situation escalated. In a lifetime, seeing a lofty immortal was a rare fortune. Faces flushed with excitement and frenzy. They firmly believed that this thousand-person sacrifice had moved the heavens, and so the Moon God had appeared to accept their worship.

Bodies knelt and rose in waves. Some kowtowed so hard their foreheads split open, yet they refused to stop, bowing again and again. People shouted blessings and prayers, begging the god to hear their wishes.

He was a god—the god they'd worshipped for years, the god who had officiated a hundred sacrifices, the god who carried their hopes and dreams. Now, no longer confined to a cold statue, he had become real, appearing clearly before them, accepting their prostration, hearing their pleas. What an honor for the believers below.

They were too busy kowtowing to notice that, because of their prayers, the moonlight grew denser, wrapping around the Moon God, cool pale light flowing over him.

A cold sheen coated the Moon God's face. At first glance, he looked compassionate, the ideal of a god from mortal imagination. But in truth, the man enveloped in moonlight was livid. He gripped his sword hilt, barely restraining the urge to kill.

A god's power came from mortal prayers and wishes. When people placed their hopes in a god, that god became divine. As the crowd's fervent wishes intensified, the moonlight unconsciously bathed the Moon God.

The believers at the Spring Sacrifice weren't necessarily all Moon God followers—there were plenty of gods under heaven—but as long as they believed in some deity, they could come and pray together. Everyone below, regardless of their former allegiances, was now, without exception, a follower of the Moon God.

Were this any other time, reaping so many mortal wishes might have pleased the Moon God. But right now, he only wanted to kill them.

A pack of greedy ants.

The Moon God paid no attention to the believers' cries. His gaze remained fixed on Lin Yu the entire time. He knew she had started this.

Lin Yu raised an eyebrow. Looking at the Moon God, she patted Di Ting beside her. "Now it's your turn."

"What?"

"Go for the believers. Target the major donors. Strike to kill."

Di Ting was taken aback. "Didn't you say no harming innocent people? Besides, there are my ghost emissaries among the believers."

"Of course, no one will be harmed," Lin Yu said, twisting her hands to work at the knots of her bindings and beginning to untie herself. "Isn't their most beloved god right here?"

She spoke word by word, a look of barely concealed glee on her face. "The compassionate Moon God will save his followers, won't he?"

Di Ting slapped his forehead in sudden realization. "Right! Why didn't I think of that!"

Kill his followers right in front of the god. If the Moon God stood by and did nothing, then no one would ever believe in him again. If he stepped in to save them, well, with this many people, could he really save them all?

People were a selfish species. Save them, and they might not be grateful. Fail to save them, and they will certainly resent you. Save half and fail to be their savior for everyone, and they'll attack you with the most venomous words. Save them all, and they'll just think it was your duty.

And Lin Yu and Di Ting knew perfectly well that the Moon God didn't care about these people's lives. He wasn't the benevolent god people praised. He was a selfish, out-and-out villain.

He might put on a show for the sake of public opinion, but the moment he realized he couldn't save everyone, he would surely abandon them and leave. Mortals weren't the only selfish ones—gods were equally selfish. The Moon God never did anything pointless.

Just like that, the Moon God was roasted over the fire. No matter what choice he made, he would lose a large portion of his followers.

Without lingering any further, Di Ting slammed a claw down at the dozen or so major donors nearest to him!

The ghost emissaries mixed in the crowd were savvy enough to start screaming for help: "Moon God, save us! Save us! The divine beast has gone mad and is trying to kill us! God, save me, I—I don't want to die! Aah!"

The ghost emissary's cries were piercing, with tremendous carrying power, nearly splitting the sky. In truth, Di Ting was at least a few hundred meters away and couldn't have touched a single hair on his head, but he put on a fervent performance, dragging others along to beg for help.

The Moon God cursed under his breath, but he had no choice. His identity was exposed; everyone knew who he was. A god could not stand by and do nothing.

A water-blue cold light slashed down, landing squarely in front of an elderly major donor!

Before the believer could even catch his breath, the Moon God shoved him out without ceremony. The man rolled several times across the ground before he was beyond Di Ting's fangs. He scrambled to his feet and turned to flee!

Seeing its prey escaping, Di Ting immediately gave chase but was quickly blocked by the Moon God, unable to advance. Di Ting let out a roar and stamped the ground. A spell array shot out, spreading into the earth!

The array swept around the Moon God's feet and surged toward the scattering believers. Within moments, everyone was caught by the array, sent tumbling to the ground, unable to move!

The Moon God turned to see the scene behind him and frowned. "You're asking for death!"

Here he was, a mighty god, and a mere divine beast had gotten one over on him—and right in front of his face, it had floored all his believers while he'd failed to block its attack or spare his followers this disaster.

This was plainly a slap in his face. He was standing right in front of Di Ting, and the beast had still managed to bypass him and hit the believers behind him. What were the believers supposed to think of that?

The icy sword shifted in the Moon God's hand. It drew in moonlight and abruptly transformed, and in the blink of an eye it morphed into a long spear!

By now, Lin Yu had undone her knots. She surveyed the situation with a composed expression, and when she saw the spear, whose form was disturbingly familiar, she understood. The Moon God had made up his mind to kill. It was within expectation—no one stayed calm when their interests were being harmed.

She remembered that before the Moon God had Ascended, when he was still a general, the weapon he excelled at most was the spear.

Lin Yu sent a voice transmission to Di Ting, her clear words ringing in his ear: "Never mind him. Go for the major donors behind him. These people die tonight."