Chapter 98

The fox is cunning, a truth everyone knows from childhood. However, it was only now that Li Mang truly felt it, as they had fallen into the nine-tailed fox's trap and entered Jitail Mountain.

The Shanhaijing space is different from the real world; it is a magical land with its own mysterious rules. In some mountains, there are rulers called mountain gods. According to records, the first mountain in the Southern Mountains has a peculiar mountain god. It has the body of a bird but the head of a dragon, and it is aptly named the Bird-Body Dragon-Head God. Li Mang had previously overlooked this, and unexpectedly, they were led into the mountain god's territory by the nine-tailed fox. Although this mountain god is not a true deity, it controls certain rules and can exhibit abilities that seem divine.

As Li Mang pondered, he braved the pressure and approached the Crystal Dragon, pulling it out of the ground and asking, "Crystal Dragon, are you okay?"

"Awooo!"

The Crystal Dragon shook its head, dazed from the fall, but indicated it was fine. A sense of gratitude welled up in its heart. This master could have safely left Jitail Mountain, but instead, he risked his life to return and save it. Previously, the Crystal Dragon obeyed Li Mang because its life essence was controlled, but now, a significant change had occurred. Although it wasn't completely devoted, it had at least accepted Li Mang in its heart.

"Boom!"

A loud explosion came from ahead, and a monster appeared from the void, stomping on the ground with a thunderous crash, causing sand and rocks to fly. Its entrance was quite impressive.

This was a large bird, about five to six meters tall, with a head similar to a dragon. The combination was bizarre and its appearance was truly ugly. It had many bald spots, and the broken feathers swayed in the wind.

"Is this a god?" Li Mang was immediately disoriented, feeling as if his worldview had been shattered. Although it was just a mountain god, it was incredibly ugly!

"Roar!"

Seemingly sensing Li Mang's thoughts, the Bird-Body Dragon-Head God roared, causing the surrounding rocks to rumble and fly into the air, heading straight for Li Mang and the Crystal Dragon.

"Roar!" The Crystal Dragon responded with a roar, sweeping its tail to knock away the rocks. With a loud vibration, a large amount of rock was shattered, and dust flew, obscuring the view.

"Clang!" Standing on the other side of the Crystal Dragon, Li Mang naturally couldn't dodge. He drew his sword and quickly slashed at the incoming rocks. Although he didn't have the Crystal Dragon's advantage, he managed to shatter the rocks on his side with his speed and the yellow-grade longsword.

"Ooo..."

The Bird-Body Dragon-Head God let out a cry, transforming into a blur and charging at Li Mang with a speed close to teleportation, far exceeding Li Mang's abilities.

"Awo!" Seeing Li Mang about to be hit, the Crystal Dragon roared and charged at the Bird-Body Dragon-Head God with its body.

"Bang!"

Both were thrown back, but the Crystal Dragon was more severely injured. Its crystal armor body crashed into the stone mountain behind, causing the ground to tremble. In contrast, the Bird-Body Dragon-Head God, despite being thrown back, was supported by a force from behind and, with a flap of its spotty wings, steadily hovered in the air, its lantern-like eyes angrily staring at the Crystal Dragon.

In terms of strength, the Bird-Body Dragon-Head God might not be stronger than the Crystal Dragon, but as a mountain god, it had some peculiar abilities, seemingly able to utilize the mountain's rule energy.

"Whoosh..."

With a flap of its wings, sand and rocks flew into the air, forcing Li Mang to close his eyes. However, he couldn't fully close them, as he saw the monster raising its claws to strike him.

"Ugly bird!" Li Mang gritted his teeth, gripped the yellow-grade longsword, and, without waiting for the monster to strike, stepped on the ground and shot forward.

"Clang!!!"

However, the monster's defense was astonishing. The yellow-grade longsword touched its claws but did not cause any damage, only producing a burst of sparks. Not only did Li Mang fail to injure it, but he was also hit by an unknown force, silently falling backward. Fortunately, the Crystal Dragon caught him with its body, preventing him from crashing into the hillside.

"Crystal Dragon, quickly shrink!" Seeing that they couldn't defeat the opponent, Li Mang hurriedly instructed the Crystal Dragon to shrink. At the same time, he took out the Shanhaijing from his heart, grabbed the now smaller Crystal Dragon, and exited the Shanhaijing.

"Roar!" Watching the human and dragon escape, the Bird-Body Dragon-Head God angrily stomped on the spot where they disappeared, causing the stone mountain behind to rumble and move, but it could not find Li Mang and the Crystal Dragon. Its anger unquenched, it could only attack the surrounding rocks, its massive claws tearing the boulders to dust.

At the boundary between Jitail Mountain and Qingqiu Mountain, a small fox watched the scene with a grimace, seemingly dissatisfied with the outcome.

By this time, Li Mang had already returned to Qingzhu Garden with the Crystal Dragon and then entered Zhaoyao Mountain. The subsequent mountains were increasingly far from Zhaoyao Mountain. Even with his current speed, it took a considerable amount of time to travel between them. However, if he first exited to the outside world and then directly entered Zhaoyao Mountain, it would save a lot of time.

This method was originally used by Li Mang to save time, but this time he used it to escape. It was the first time, but... it seemed quite practical. In the future, if he encountered ancient beasts in the Shanhaijing space that he couldn't defeat, he could simply exit the Shanhaijing to escape. Although it might seem cowardly, at least he wouldn't have to continue suffering inside.

"The original Shanhaijing says that sacrificial rites can pacify the mountain god, in other words, to calm it down... We might be able to use this method to deal with it." Li Mang began to recall the contents of the Xuanlou Shanhaijing.

The Shanhaijing is a record, or a collection of records, of travels. Although the original records are more detailed and authentic, they do not necessarily mean everything is clear. For the Bird-Body Dragon-Head God, the records are somewhat vague, only mentioning sacrificial rites, which allow passage through the mountain after the ritual.

However, what Li Mang needed now was not just to pass through but to defeat it and cook it... Thinking of the ugly bird, Li Mang felt a strong urge to do so.

"Zhaoyao Mountain's Bamboo Chicken, Lijishui's Monster Fish, Tangting Mountain's White Ape, Yuanyi Mountain's Poisonous Snake, Niuyang Mountain's Deer and Black Turtle, Zhi Mountain's Fish, Dan'ai Mountain's Fragrant Goat, Jishan's Bear, and Qingqiu Mountain's Nine-Tailed Fox, along with gold, jade, and wild fruits, can be used to set up a sacrificial altar..."

Recalling the sacrificial method, Li Mang frowned slightly. The other items were easy to obtain, but the White Ape from Tangting Mountain and the Nine-Tailed Fox from Qingqiu Mountain were problematic.

The White Ape from Tangting Mountain had already become close to Li Mang. Killing them might worsen their relationship. Even if the Crystal Dragon could do it secretly, Li Mang would feel uneasy. As for the Nine-Tailed Fox from Qingqiu Mountain, they are naturally cautious and might not be easily caught.

"...The White Ape can be replaced with the body of a dead one, not necessarily a live one. As for the Nine-Tailed Fox from Qingqiu Mountain, there are not just one, so we can try to find another!" Having thought this through, Li Mang immediately took action, and he and the Crystal Dragon divided the tasks to prepare the necessary materials.

Coincidentally, a White Ape had died of old age on Tangting Mountain the day before. Upon learning that Li Mang needed its body, the White Ape King immediately agreed without hesitation. After all, they are not human; they simply place the dead in a corner to decompose naturally, without burial.

The last item was the Nine-Tailed Fox. To be cautious, Li Mang and the Crystal Dragon decided to act together and made detailed plans before starting.

Upon returning to Qingqiu Mountain, Li Mang wandered alone, casually looking around, like a tourist. To the foxes, he was a typical fat sheep.

Qingqiu Mountain was unusually quiet, and only Li Mang's movements occasionally produced some sounds. Even the small birds and wild chickens that were previously seen were nowhere to be found, making it eerily quiet. However, Li Mang did not wait long for the Nine-Tailed Fox's ambush. Indeed, he used himself as bait, while the Crystal Dragon was hidden and circling overhead.

Li Mang knew the Nine-Tailed Fox was there; otherwise, Qingqiu Mountain would not be so quiet. It was just being cautious and had not yet appeared.