Chapter 450: Rainy Night Mud House

General Hong continued, "Strictly speaking, there are only two celestial god skeletons here – the ones with legs. All the others are from servant races."

General Nanke asked, puzzled, "Servant races?"

"They were attendants and soldiers of the celestial gods. Their sole purpose was to serve the deities."

General Hong casually broke off a finger bone, cut it open, and examined the cross-section. He Lingchuan observed that the bone material inside was still faintly reddish.

After three thousand years, while the bones of mortals wouldn't even leave ash, the divine remains still retained their vitality. It was truly impressive.

General Hong nodded with satisfaction. "These few probably fell into water and weren't exposed to direct sunlight. Later, as the landscape changed, the water receded, and they were buried deep underground, allowing their vitality to be preserved until now."

He Lingchuan seized the opportunity to ask, "Are divine remains also afraid of sunlight?"

"They certainly aren't afraid of it in the short term, but the true power of solar fire lies in its persistence," General Hong replied. "These divine remains were fundamentally out of sync with this world. After centuries of exposure to wind and sun, their vitality would be gradually eroded."

She added, "But this only applies to lesser deities. As for the most powerful high gods, they are very difficult to diminish."

General Nanke voiced everyone's unspoken question: "Just how many deities are there from outside this world?"

A single Beicheng ruin had yielded so many divine remains.

"Five thousand years ago, there were fewer than a hundred thousand. The World-Ending War reduced them by at least half. Now, at most, there are still fewer than one hundred forty or one hundred fifty thousand."

"Only a hundred thousand celestial gods have been born in the three thousand years since the great catastrophe?" General Nanke shook his head. "That's too few, far too few."

A hundred thousand celestial gods might sound like a lot, but over a period of three thousand years, it meant only a little over thirty celestial gods were born annually.

If human birth rates were this ridiculously low, they would be close to extinction, wouldn't they?

The soldiers all laughed.

General Hong seemed to smile too. "In these three thousand years, how many humans have multiplied in the world?"

"Uh..."

"Not as many as one might imagine, right?"

But that was due to wars, plagues, and other natural disasters. Humanity's reproductive capacity had never been in doubt.

Before General Nanke could retort, General Hong continued, "Celestial gods have long lifespans, and consequently, it's very difficult for them to procreate. They require astonishing life force and energy, unlike humans who can reproduce with ease whenever they wish. A hundred thousand celestial gods in three thousand years? Heh, that's largely thanks to contributions from the mortal realm."

He Lingchuan detected a strong note of sarcasm in her last remark.

Just then, a craftsman reported:

"The tree roots and the bones have grown together."

The roots of the old pagoda tree were intertwined with the divine remains; some were even embedded within the bones, making them hard to distinguish.

Those fine rootlets looked... very much like capillaries.

Through the roots, the coiled divine remains were tightly connected to the ancient 'Dragon Claw' pagoda tree growing above.

General Hong didn't order them to forcefully separate them. Instead, she gently stroked the roots and murmured, "Interesting. The pagoda tree is actually drawing nutrients from the divine remains."

"Divine power was originally impossible for creatures of this realm to utilize, until the appearance of demonic energy, which broke through that barrier..." She smiled. "This tree spirit thinks it's gained a great advantage, but in fact, it's being subtly controlled by the divine remains. In seventy or eighty years at most, this pagoda tree will become the second body of the divine remains. If Xiji's dynasty lasts until then, it will be in for trouble."

"Is there still consciousness remaining in the divine remains?"

"Years after a celestial god dies, a new consciousness can potentially be reborn within their shell," General Hong explained. "This used to only happen with the most powerful divine remains. But now, with how much time has passed, who can say?"

"Dig out all the divine remains and take them away. As for this tree —" She jumped up and tapped the trunk. "Leave half the stump buried in the soil; cut down and take the rest."

The craftsmen looked troubled. "General, our tools aren't strong enough."

The old tree was too hard; tools snapped instantly.

General Hong pointed to the roots at the bottom of the pit. "Sever the main roots, then try again."

He Lingchuan severed two main roots. When the craftsmen tried again, the tree was indeed much easier to cut.

The pagoda tree, possessing spiritual awareness, no longer dared to resist General Hong.

While everyone worked with fervent energy, General Nanke quietly asked General Hong, "What are these for, once we take them back?"

"To refine a treasure, a truly deadly treasure," General Hong said with a smile. "Even the pagoda wood will be useful; this is truly an unexpected bonus."

He Lingchuan and his companions glanced at her while felling the tree.

Had General Hong and Zhong Shengguang plotted the attack on Xiji not only to deal with the treacherous challenges posed by Beijia, but also for these divine remains?

What did she intend to do with these divine remains?

Since it involved such a large mobilization of forces, a long-distance military raid, and a devastating war to acquire the divine remains, the "treasure" General Hong intended to refine must be no ordinary item.

He could feel that, as time went on, the entanglement between Panlong City, the deities, and Beijia was growing deeper.

***

Rainy night, narrow valley.

The mountain forest had been empty and silent all night. Wild grass was drenched with rain, and snails with retracted heads and tails clung to their roots. Suddenly, over a dozen people rushed into the valley, bringing with them mud-caked feet.

The wild grass was trampled, and the snail was crushed with a *splat*. But this small sound was easily drowned out by the pattering rain and the labored breaths of the group, who gasped like oxen.

They ran in the darkness, but the valley was full of scattered rocks, making the ground uneven. One unlucky person yelled "Ah!" and twisted an ankle.

"Hurry, hurry! The monsters are catching up!"

"How did we end up in the mountains?"

"Fools! The mountains are better!" cursed the last person. "Quickly, find a cave to hide in."

However, their luck was truly terrible. They searched many nooks and crannies, but couldn't find a single cave, not even a small hollow in the mountain.

The person with the twisted ankle panicked. "Oh, for heaven's sake! This is Ox Head Mountain. There's only one small hollow halfway up, nowhere to hide! What do we do?"

The others supporting him said nothing, exchanging glances.

What else could they do? If the monsters caught up, they'd just abandon the limping man and run themselves.

That way, they might gain a little more time.

Just then, a companion pointed ahead and shouted, "Hey, hey! There's light up there, light!"

Everyone focused their gaze. It was true.

In the distance, there were two points of orange-red light, positioned high up, probably halfway up the mountain, swaying with the wind and rain.

They stood out remarkably in the deep, ink-like darkness of the night.

Light usually meant human habitation.

The limping man wondered, "I've been to Ox Head Mountain many times. How could there be people living there?"

"Quick, go there!" the men exclaimed with joy, no longer listening to him. "It's at least a hundred — no, two hundred *zhang* away!"

The mountain path was difficult, and they still had to climb higher.

Most importantly, they were still carrying a burden.

With an unspoken understanding, everyone simultaneously abandoned their injured companion and strode quickly towards the light.

"Don't leave me!" the unfortunate man shouted. Seeing that no one paid attention, he threw out a bait, "I still have two hundred taels of silver! I'll give it to whoever helps me get there!"

Two hundred taels? One man hesitated, his steps faltering slightly, but his companions were running without looking back.

"Oh right, who'd believe this fool has two hundred taels? He wouldn't even add meat to his steamed buns at lunch." He spat and rushed forward after the others.

"Run!" Everyone worried that the injured man's cries would attract the monsters. Several of them stumbled but dared not delay, getting up and continuing to run.

The cries for help from the unfortunate man behind them grew fainter and fainter, soon completely swallowed by the sound of the wind and rain.

It was an obstacle course. Over a dozen people desperately traversed the jagged rock formations in the dark, clambering hand over foot up to the mountainside.

Finally, they found the light source.

It was an outward-jutting 'Eagle Beak' rock, beneath which lay a large, deep cave, about ten *zhang* in diameter. The ground rose higher further inside, and the depths were pitch black, impossible to see into.

The two orange lights they had seen were clearly windproof lanterns, mounted on long bamboo poles outside the cave.

The poles were very long, swaying with the wind, making the lights appear quite unsteady from a distance.

These dozen desperate individuals had no time to wonder why the lanterns were placed there, because roars were coming from behind them.

They looked back and saw several dark figures moving through the scattered rocks.

The monsters were catching up!

"Quick, get in!" They rushed frantically into the cave.

Inside the cave were several small huts, all lit, with human figures moving about within.

The outer walls of the huts were thickly plastered with mud.

The group immediately rushed up and pounded on a door. "Open up! Help!"

After two knocks, the door opened.

The group peered inside. "Huh, no one?"

Where had the figures reflected in the window just now gone?

But there was no time to think now. Everyone rushed inside, bolted the door, and then blew out the lamp on the table.

The walls felt extremely solid, as if compacted with *sanhe* soil. The door panel also had a thick layer of mud, and once closed, it was almost impossible to tell where the door was.

Soon, scratching and shuffling sounds came from outside the door – the monsters pawing at the ground.

Everyone held their breath.

Then the monsters started clawing at the door with a *sish-la-la* sound.

Suddenly, with a *snap*, the lamp on the table lit up.

Everyone jumped in fright, but when they turned, they saw no one by the table.

The lamp had lit itself!

The monsters outside the door paused for a moment, then were immediately attracted by the light, gathering to push hard on the door.

The group rushed over and forcefully blocked the door.

As for the windows, they were too small; the monsters shouldn't be able to get in.

However, they couldn't hold on for long. An irresistible force pushed against the door, and with a creak—

The door opened.

There was no longer any barrier between the monsters and the humans.

Immediately afterward, the sounds of angry roars, screams, and howls, along with objects crashing and toppling, erupted from inside the hut.

Blood splattered onto the window paper.

The door silently closed again, unnoticed by the creatures inside.

Soon, gnawing sounds came from inside the hut.

The mountain wind grew stronger, making the two long bamboo poles outside the cave sway violently.

The valley returned to its former quietude.

Since there were no other visitors, the lanterns beneath the rock automatically extinguished before the next strong gust of wind.

Heaven and earth were silent; everything was contained within the sound of the rain.

***

Chiyan Kingdom, Shuangyi City.

He Lingchuan arrived here while it was still early morning. He observed that the city only had two main streets, and its prosperity was clearly inferior to that within the territory of the Baoshu King.