After Transmigrating into an Evil God - Chapter 30

The guardian deity looked at the Earth God in surprise and asked in confusion, “High God…”

“That demon is far from ordinary, and has already hidden itself within the town. I observe that Chi Zhenzi does not have confidence in controlling it. If we push it into desperation…” The Earth God closed his eyes and said, “Letting it escape is better than letting it harm the lives of the townspeople.”

……

Several days passed, and Chi Zhenzi still had not tracked down the Dream-Eating Tapir’s whereabouts. The Earth God and the deities responsible for patrol likewise gained nothing. If not for the continued appearance of patients whose vital essence and spirits had been damaged proving that the Dream-Eating Tapir was still hiding in the town, the Earth God would almost truly believe it had already escaped.

In these past few days, the number of townspeople falling ill due to vital essence and spirits damage had greatly decreased. Although Wangyue’s medicine pouches could not completely stop the Dream-Eating Tapir, they had slowed its speed of recovering from injuries by feeding on mortal’s vital essence and spirits.

Even so, if this Dream-Eating Tapir continued hiding and slowly recovering by absorbing mortal’s vital essence and spirits, with Chi Zhenzi unable to find it, there wasn’t much he could do about it.

But the Dream-Eating Tapir would not plan to do this.

It was still safe for now only because it had fled too quickly and urgently. Besides Chi Zhenzi, no one had caught up yet. If it stayed in Shuigu Town for too long, once the deities from the Divine Court who specialized in dream realm techniques caught up, it would have no chance of escape ever again.

Chi Zhenzi understood this point deeply, which made him even more vigilant and cautious. Even a cornered beast will fight, much less this Dream-Eating Tapir with its cunning and vicious nature. Its current docile hiding was definitely not giving up in despair—it surely had some scheme in reserve.

The closer the time came for the deities dispatched by the Divine Court to catch up, the less time the Dream-Eating Tapir had, and the greater the possibility of its desperate counterattack.

They could not drag this out any longer.

But what other methods were there?

Chi Zhenzi’s thoughts stirred slightly, and he suddenly thought of a figure in white robes with black hair and a pure, clear aura.

If it were that cultivator… Such a powerful cultivator, even if not specialized in dream-related techniques, would surely be able to provide tremendous help.

But he did not know this cultivator’s identity, and thus had no way to search for him. However, as the Earth God governed this region, he might know of his whereabouts.

Chi Zhenzi thus visited the Earth God’s temple again, inquiring about the identity of the cultivator who had passed by at the city gate that day.

“…A scholar in white robes?” The Earth God frowned in confusion.

Chi Zhenzi nodded. “The aura on his body was clear and pure, rarely seen in the world. Moreover, his concealment technique was particularly exquisite. Unless he wished it, I absolutely could not detect his presence.”

That white-robed scholar’s appearance might have been just a temporary illusion, so Chi Zhenzi placed emphasis on that uniquely clear aura.

However, after pondering for a long time, the Earth God still had no impression. If that cultivator truly was as outstanding as Chi Zhenzi described, he would definitely remember him, unless that cultivator had deliberately concealed his aura every time he came to Shuigu Town.

Chi Zhenzi left helplessly. That cultivator might just be a hermit cultivator from nearby. In that case, finding him would be even more difficult. Although the Earth God promised to investigate, Chi Zhenzi held little hope.

After Chi Zhenzi departed, the Earth God went to a certain place.

If that cultivator’s aura concealment technique was so exquisite that even he could not detect it, then in all of Shuigu Town, only one person might be able to detect his presence.

That was a venerable deity far more ancient and far more powerful than himself.

……

Within the bamboo forest, beside the Shuigu Well.

By the well, qin music flowed leisurely; within the well, water sounds murmured faintly.

The two sounds harmonized, free and natural.

The water sounds within the well suddenly stopped. Meng Huai snorted and said, “Someone annoying has come.”

Yu Jian stopped playing the qin and turned his head to look outside.

Along the bamboo forest path, the Earth God slowly walked in.

The Earth God was not deliberately dragging his steps, but he truly found the Huai River Divine Lord imprisoned in the well rather tricky and difficult to deal with.

Since two thousand four hundred years ago when the Huai River Divine Lord was imprisoned in the Shuigu Well, besides his own duties, the Earth God had gained an additional task—serving as the Huai River Divine Lord’s keeper.

This task originally had nothing particularly difficult about it. The seal on the Shuigu Well contained the power of the Great Celestial Venerable, and ordinary people simply could not break it. If someone capable of breaking the seal came and released the Huai River Divine Lord, that was not something he, a mere minor Earth God, could prevent, nor would he be held accountable for it.

What the Earth God had to do was simply, in the event the Huai River Divine Lord escaped, to discover it promptly and report it.

In the beginning, the Earth God and the Huai River Divine Lord got along quite well. The Huai River Divine Lord was a great deity controlling the Huai River, with the entire riverside basin as his domain—far beyond what he, a town’s Earth God, could compare to. Though the Divine Lord was imprisoned, he would not take out his anger on this minor keeper.

Shortly after the Huai River Divine Lord was first imprisoned here, the Earth God often came to visit. Once they gradually became familiar with each other, he tentatively consulted the Divine Lord on cultivation matters. The Huai River Divine Lord, long confined and bored, was also happy to occasionally have someone come chat with him and did not stint in answering the Earth God’s questions.

Because of this, although the Huai River Divine Lord did not acknowledge it, in his heart the Earth God regarded him as half a teacher.

However, later, after Yu Jian achieved ghost-god status, he also came here.

The Earth God bore no ill will toward Yu Jian, but Yu Jian was determined to free the Huai River Divine Lord. In these two thousand-plus years, he had tried every method and written countless petitions hoping to submit them to change the Huai River Divine Lord’s judgment.

The Earth God had not helped him submit a single one.

This matter could not be blamed on the Earth God. Yu Jian was a ghost-god transformed from a human, his thinking still at the mortal stage. The petitions he wrote, though earnest and sincere with deep reasoning, were fundamentally flawed in their basic approach—how could they be effective? Even if the Earth God helped submit them, it would only invite ridicule.

The Huai River Divine Lord also knew this. They had already argued many times over Yu Jian neglecting his cultivation because of this matter.

Yu Jian never listened to him.

The Huai River Divine Lord, imprisoned in the well, could do nothing about Yu Jian and could only helplessly watch as he kept pressing the Earth God.

Earth God: ...Your request is beyond this minor deity’s ability!

The Huai River Divine Lord, having no way to deal with Yu Jian, also pressed the Earth God, hoping he could persuade Yu Jian.

Earth God: …This minor deity truly cannot do it!

Yu Jian was terrifyingly stubborn about finding ways to reduce the Huai River Divine Lord’s sentence. Though he was merely a weak ghost-god, he was the Huai River Divine Lord’s closest friend. The Earth God had no way to deal with him and, caught between the two, was thoroughly tormented. In the end, the only thing he could do was avoid Yu Jian.

As a result, over these two thousand-plus years, the Huai River Divine Lord found him useless and looked upon him with increasing displeasure. The Earth God, helpless, could only appear before the Huai River Divine Lord as little as possible, especially every time Yu Jian came to Shuigu Town.

A while ago, Yu Jian had come to Shuigu Town again, so the Earth God had deliberately avoided the area near the Shuigu Well these past days. Now that so many days had passed, Yu Jian should have already left.

He could only hope that these days would put the Huai River Divine Lord in a slightly better mood.

The Earth God walked slowly into the bamboo forest, just pondering how to broach his inquiry with the Huai River Divine Lord, when he suddenly saw an unexpected figure.

“Why are you here?” The Earth God blurted out.

“Why can he not be here?” The well interrogated unhappily.

“This minor deity didn’t mean that…” The Earth God couldn’t help but feel awkward.

Just as he was about to explain, Yu Jian had already stood up and bowed to him. “Previously, Jian had obsessions in his heart and acted stubbornly, troubling the Venerable God. I apologize.”

The Earth God hurriedly said, “Fellow Daoist and the Divine Lord share deep friendship and generous loyalty, which is admirable. How could it be considered trouble? This minor deity is of humble position and meager power, unable to provide any help, which truly fills me with shame.”

From within the well came a satisfied light snort.

Though the Earth God was curious why Yu Jian was able to stay here so long this time, he did not ask further. He had more important matters to inquire about.

Taking advantage of the Huai River Divine Lord’s good mood, the Earth God quickly described what Chi Zhenzi had said in full and inquired. “…I wonder if the Divine Lord has sensed such a cultivator?”

After listening, the well fell silent, and Yu Jian’s expression held a hint of peculiarity.

The Earth God did not understand and was about to ask further when the well laughed. “Weren’t you curious why Yu Jian can remain here?”

The Earth God listened intently.

“It is precisely thanks to the assistance of the cultivator you described.” The Huai River Divine Lord said, “That is a deity even I cannot see through. If you can request his assistance, then the minor demon that has plagued the town these past days would be caught with ease.”

Hearing this, the Earth God couldn’t help but feel delighted and asked, “Does the Divine Lord know how to find this deity?”

“I don’t know. Each time, he comes here seeking me. For this matter of yours, you’ll still have to think of your own solution. Don’t count too much on finding him.” The Huai River Divine Lord said.

The Earth God couldn’t help but feel disappointed. “Is there no other method?”

“Even if you find him, what do you have that could move him to act on your behalf?” The Huai River Divine Lord asked.

The Earth God fell silent. If that deity was truly as the Huai River Divine Lord described, he indeed had nothing that could move the other party.

As for talk of saving lives and such, there was even less need to mention it. The Earth God understood clearly that a deity of this kind, in the cold aspects of their temperament, would not be moved by mortal lives.

In the eyes of such deities, all beings are equal. Mortals and the livestock they raise and slaughter, demons, ghosts, and righteous cultivators—in the eyes of such deities, there is no real difference.

That was a breadth of mind so vast as to border on indifference, a magnanimity so lofty as to seem almost heartless. Like the sun and moon shining equally on all beings, falling equally on every living creature. But even if all these creatures perished completely, would it make any difference to the movements of the sun and moon?

Never mind such unreachably high deities—just looking at this Huai River Divine Lord before him, had he ever taken the lives of the forty thousand people in Yong City to heart?

For a dragon lord with an ancient lifespan, how was his view of mortals any different from mortals viewing mayflies that are born at dawn and die at dusk?

“That he was willing to act to help me was probably just a whim while roaming the mortal realm. You need not be disappointed—just act as if you never knew.” The Huai River Divine Lord said.

The Earth God smiled bitterly. The Divine Lord neither accepted incense offerings nor concerned himself with the mortal world, so naturally he could let go easily. But he himself received the incense offerings and support of the people of this region—how could he simply ignore them?

Holding onto a thread of hope, the Earth God asked one last time. “That demon is cruel and vicious. Does the Divine Lord have anything to teach me?”

“I am imprisoned here—what methods could I have?” The well said indifferently.

The Earth God sighed inwardly, collected his composure, and bade them farewell. “I have disturbed the Divine Lord. Thank you for clearing up my confusion.”

After the Earth God left, Yu Jian asked, “Is there truly no other method?”

From below the well came the sound of water rippling. Meng Huai said, “Chi Zhenzi’s strength is not weak. If he can find that demon, eliminating it would be as easy as flipping his hand. What they lack is not power, but a way to locate that demon. The Earth God has the most thorough control over this area. If even he cannot find it, then few others could.”

What he didn’t say was that if one truly wanted to find that demon, it wouldn’t be difficult—there were plenty of methods to force it to either reveal itself or have nowhere to hide. But such methods would inevitably drive the demon into a frenzy, and by then casualties among the town’s people would be unavoidable. The Earth God was not unaware of such methods, but he would not use them. What he wanted was a way to directly find the demon and eliminate it before it could react or harm others.

“I know you are soft-hearted, but this matter is dangerous. Do not get involved.” Meng Huai said.

Yu Jian sighed.

Yu Jian nodded. He naturally knew this. Although he was a ghost-god of over two thousand years, he had always neglected his cultivation and was far inferior even to the Earth God—how could he handle a problem that even troubled the Earth God?

Unless that High God happened to have free time and came to town these days, he might be able to request the High God’s assistance. But whether he could persuade the High God, Yu Jian had no confidence. Moreover, they had no way of contacting that deity at all.

If they knew the other party’s divine name, they could still burn incense and pray, hoping the deity would hear their prayers. But thinking carefully, Yu Jian realized that in their several meetings, that deity had never actually left his name.

Was it because his own karmic connection was insufficient? Yu Jian sighed inwardly. That he could receive the High God’s assistance and be able to remain here cultivating was already fortunate. He did not know what kind of person would be able to obtain such an opportunity…

……

Liquan Village.

Standing before Li Chi’s immortal spirit tablet, Tongdou, who was no more than three feet tall, earnestly bowed three times.

After placing the incense, Tongdou said in a childish voice. “Deity, I’m going with Second Brother to pick wood for you. Second Brother said he wants to repair the railings for you, but he didn’t want to bring me!”

“He said I can’t get up early in the morning, but today I specially got up really early, and he had no choice but to agree to bring me. My Second Brother is great at woodworking, but his eye is a bit lacking. The wood he picks is sturdy but not very pretty. Don’t worry, the wood I pick for you will definitely be both beautiful and sturdy!”

Tongdou chattered on and on for quite a while when Zheng Shu’s voice called from outside. “Keep dawdling and it’ll be dark!”

Tongdou quickly said, “Second Brother is lying—the sun just came up! But I have to go. Goodbye, deity!”

After speaking, he bowed once more and pattered out.

“Second Brother, Second Brother, when will we get to Shuigu Town?”

“Before nightfall, I suppose.”

The voices, one large and one small, gradually faded into the distance.

In the Li Manor, Li Chi, who had been sitting cross-legged on the blue stone, suddenly opened both eyes.