Chapter 39: It Turns Out the Immortal Was by My Side All Along!

The terrified gazes of the many guards flickered violently between the damaged statue and the monster outside the temple. Fear, shock, confusion, and chaos—an array of emotions surged wildly within them. It was evident that many among them did not believe this broken idol could repel such a terrifying creature, yet they could not think of any other explanation. Caught in the turmoil, they were at a complete loss.

It was then that the monster recovered from the ground and caught the attention of the guards: "That thing is back on its feet!"

Everyone's focus was once again seized by the beast. Though they knew it was futile, they gripped their steel blades and stepped forward. Anything was better than nothing. As the demon wolf shook its mane and stood up, its joints crackled with a sickening, crisp sound. Its bowl-sized, eerie green pupils swept over the guards, who were armed with swords and crossbows, as if they were nothing more than inanimate objects.

After exhaling a cloud of hot steam from its nostrils, it struck the ground heavily with its front paws, instantly carving three-inch-deep furrows into the stone with its sharp claws. It was an incredibly terrifying sight, yet those eerie green vertical pupils remained locked onto the statue’s ruined face.

No one dared to move, and the demon wolf made no further advances. A strange standoff ensued inside and outside the ruined temple. The wolf arched its barbed back and shifted slowly sideways; with every step it took, the stone floor beneath its claws cracked like a spiderweb. If one looked closely, however, they would notice that the light-devouring darkness surrounding it had vanished after its first setback. It was flaunting its power to intimidate the mortals inside and to bolster its own courage; otherwise, it would not have acted this way before. This caused the hearts of the guards within the temple to tremble with every step it took.

But that was all. After it had paced back and forth a few times, it suddenly dug its front claws deep into the ground. As gravel sprayed, the crowd watched in horror as it leaped toward them once more!

"It's coming!" The people in the temple panicked, all scrambling backward.

But at that very moment, just as the monster was about to reach the temple gate, they caught a glimpse of golden light flashing from the statue behind them, manifesting momentarily as a wall of gold and jade outside the entrance. The beast's momentum did not slow in the slightest, yet its savage wolf head buckled backward as if it had struck an invisible iron wall. Its massive body, as large as an ox, curled into a contorted arc in mid-air, and it was sent flying backward amidst the sudden burst of golden light, trailing broken teeth and blood-flecked foam.

As it crashed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust, a genuine, profound terror emerged in its eerie green eyes. This was a powerful force beyond its comprehension.

"It’s true, the Mountain God has truly manifested!"
"A deity! I have seen a deity!"
"Thank goodness, we are saved!"

Seeing this, the guards no longer dared to dally; they turned and knelt, repeatedly kowtowing to the ruined statue. However, the noblewoman, who had already changed her clothes and rushed out with the help of her maid, was different from the frantic guards. She cast one look at the monster, which still lingered outside the temple gate, then turned to Du Yuan and bowed.

"Although we have been spared thanks to the protection of the Mountain God, that monster refuses to leave. I beg the Daoist priest to show us the way!"

The guards also reacted, their expressions changing. That was true—the demon might not be able to enter, but it was still lurking outside! And even if it did leave, were they truly safe? They couldn't stay in this ruined temple forever!

Du Yuan looked at the woman with curiosity and asked, "Why do you ask me?"

The woman bowed again and said, "The Daoist priest previously advised me to show reverence to the gods, yet I failed to offer incense due to my status. Since it was the priest who guided me then, I must now ask the priest how I may make amends."

The woman spoke in a hurried but clear manner, her attitude humble and sincere without being servile. These words caused Du Yuan to chuckle and point at her several times.

"My lady is indeed an extraordinary person. However, did I not say?" Du Yuan gestured toward the ruined statue. "A bit of incense for the road, and the mountain will guard you for the journey."

The woman felt a weight lift from her heart. After a long sigh of relief, she smoothed her skirt, knelt down gracefully, and held her hands together in a gesture of offering. "I beg the Daoist priest to grant me incense, so that this humble believer, the Han woman, may pay her respects to the High God!"

Du Yuan did not hesitate. He took three sticks of incense from his pack and said, "This incense serves as both an apology and a plea; it must be offered with the rite of the Three Treasures. I ask you to be sincere in your heart, for only then will the gods feel it."

"This believer understands."

The Han woman bowed her head and took the incense. Her fingertips brushed the warm sticks, yet she did not rise. She knelt and crept across the cold bricks until she reached the rusted bronze burner before the altar. Only then did she gently insert the incense. Though she had not yet lit them, curls of blue smoke began to rise instantly.

The monster outside the temple sensed that something was wrong and let out a mournful howl, turning to flee into the dense forest. But it was a step too late. The moment the incense was offered, the self-ignited smoke flowed from top to bottom in an instant. Du Yuan even heard a faint, deep sound of inhalation, as if it came from the high heavens or from within the altar itself.

It seems I was not wrong; this one is truly starved for incense...

While Du Yuan was deep in thought, he clearly saw a faint golden radiance—like a firefly—suddenly brighten within the ruined statue before vanishing into the cracks. In the blink of an eye, the three incense sticks in the burner turned to dust. The rising smoke gathered into an arrow and shot toward the fleeing monster.

This should have been a strike to shatter the beast's demonic core and kill it on the spot. However, as the arrow of smoke struck the monster, Du Yuan heard a sound of dissatisfaction from beside his ear: "Tsk!"

Immediately, a black token that had only just appeared beneath the wolf's neck shattered upon impact with the smoke arrow. Because of this, the arrow failed to take the beast's life.

It could only watch as the creature fled into the dense forest in a panic.

"It escaped?!"
"What was that thing that blocked it?"
"The fragments of that object are still on the ground!"

Amidst the exclamations, the shards of the black token were sizzling on the ground, emitting black smoke. Within moments, the fragments vanished completely, leaving behind a dozen foul-smelling, uneven pits.

Looking toward the dense forest and the now-vanished monster, everyone was at a loss. The monster had been driven off, but it was still alive. Was there truly no problem for the future?

Just as everyone was feeling helpless, they heard Du Yuan laugh aloud: "Do not panic, everyone! You still have me!"

As everyone looked on in bewildered suspicion, Du Yuan raised his hand and gestured: "Come!"

The horse lance that had been thrown away by the guard leader flew into Du Yuan's hand. Seeing this, everyone gasped in astonishment.

Du Yuan ignored them and placed the lance atop the first incense stick he had offered. Yes, even though it was the middle of the night and the incense offered by the others had long since burned out, the very first stick Du Yuan had lit remained unextinguished, yet it had not burned down. Even the noblewoman had not noticed this earlier, assuming someone else had lit another stick, never imagining it was the original one.

Du Yuan, who had long since discovered the divinity of the temple, had been watching it all along. Now, he borrowed the power of the incense, mimicking the method he had used to slay evil in Qing County. After circling the horse lance around the incense three times, Du Yuan gave a low shout: "Go!"

The lance moved on its own, shooting out like a bolt of lightning. In the night, it carved a long trail of fire across the air.

Within three or four breaths, the crowd watched as the lance, amidst a surge of flames, plunged into the distant mountains and forests. The next moment, a mournful howl of the dying monster echoed across the wilderness, lingering for a long time. Even without seeing it, everyone knew the monster had been slain.

Now, all that remained in the wilderness was a group of people in the ruined temple, staring at Du Yuan in stunned, foolish silence. Only then did they realize that in this ruined temple, the broken statue and the disheveled Daoist they had cared the least about were, in fact, the greatest of deities!