Longevity Strange Immortal-Chapter 29 Welcoming the River God

The depths of the water were silent, with only a few fish visible near the riverbank, yet none dared to approach the location of River God Village.

As the sun descended, the river remained as still and smooth as a mirror.

Li Mo sat in the ancestral hall with his eyes closed, focusing on Nourishing Spirit. Water Attribute Spiritual Energy entered his body through his breathing, most of it absorbed by the protective layers of his Multiple Dantians, and a small portion condensed into a Low Grade Spirit Stone in his chest.

He couldn’t help but feel a sense of helplessness—cultivation truly required picking the right place.

The Mist Fog Spiritual Energy of River God Village was pitifully scarce.

Even though Li Mo couldn’t fully grasp all the mysteries of River God Village, he had no intention of staying much longer.

After all, meditation and cultivation were almost futile here, achieving little more than slightly reinforcing the protective layers of his Dantian. Instead, he shifted his focus to Spirit Root Transformation within his internal organs.

Li Mo waited for a long time as the night deepened.

Moonlight filtered through the river’s surface and seeped into the window, enveloping the ancestral hall in a bluish hue, while a few wilted water lilies floated past him.

Whenever Li Mo failed to maintain focus, illusions from the environment distorted his perception, and River God Village would revert to looking like just another ordinary village.

Even during meditation, Li Mo wasn’t idle.

Tiny particles of dust floated along with the currents, dispersing throughout the river.

The strength of Mist Fog Spiritual Power lay in its versatility; even after leaving Li Mo’s body, it could persist for nearly two hours without dissipating.

Li Mo opened his eyes and murmured to himself: "It’s coming."

"Clang, dong, clang. Clang, dong, clang, dong, clang, dong..."

Simultaneously, the abrupt sounds of drums and gongs erupted underwater, as lanterns began emitting fiery red light.

Soon after, villagers started leaving their homes. Their faces were painted heavily, festive as though preparing to welcome the New Year.

The villagers danced as they moved toward the village entrance.

"Welcome the River God, welcome the River God!!!"

Wang Baoshan, wearing an awkward-looking oversized doll head, shook his body vigorously, stirring up murky waters around him.

"Huh?"

Li Mo’s expression became nuanced as he noticed five individuals dressed in lion dance costumes hurriedly leaving their homes to join the celebratory crowd.

Once the villagers bent over, their forms transformed into a majestic beast known as the "awakened lion," which, with heads held high and tails wagging, marched towards the ancestral hall amid the crowd’s adoration.

The awakened lion had a tiger-like appearance and wasn’t composed of the usual two people, but rather five.

The fiery red costumes with ruffled edges formed the lion’s legs, while the villager holding the lion’s head became the lion’s head, mimicking the movements of a wild beast.

Li Mo licked his lips.

He hadn’t expected that the Chang Ghosts could harness the power of the Mountain Lord Strange Beast.

Li Mo activated Hui Qingyi, as the Ghost Tiger emerged from the shadows of the ancestral hall. He mounted its back and rode it out of the hall through the window.

The lion dance continued.

Soon, it was Wang Baoshan’s turn to voice the ceremonial blessings.

Looking somber, as though heading to his death, Wang Baoshan tied a red rope around the awakened lion’s head. Then, shouting loudly, he declared:

"My brother asks what time it is. Divide the Kan hexagram as Jia Yin!"

"July, first autumn moon, twenty-fifth day, born between Zi and Chou two hours at Geng hour!"

"Brothers from the Five Directions have gathered!" freewёbnoνel.com

"Cheers!!"

The five individuals playing the awakened lion responded with guttural screams, their movements becoming more intense, as if pouring their very souls into the act.

Wang Baoshan, with bizarre pacing, walked toward the ancestral hall’s entrance.

In his daze, he glimpsed the temporary temple set up on the mountaintop: children watching in awe, elders gazing with nostalgic expressions.

"My brother asks me, where does this lion hail from?"

The villager holding the awakened lion’s head answered shakily, "The lion hails from River God Village, nine layers of stone slabs, nine layers of mountains, immortalized for eternity."

His voice grew increasingly faint, his hands trembling uncontrollably. The lion’s head, though made of cloth, began sprouting countless veins of flesh and blood.

The fleshy strands pierced into the villager’s neck, activating the lion’s head. Its hollow eyes turned feral, teeth emerged from its mouth, and its tongue grew spines tipped with hooks.

With a cry full of grief, Wang Baoshan shouted, "Farewell, brothers from the Five Directions!!!"

Screams filled the air.

The awakened lion fully activated, transforming into a Mountain Lord with green eyes and red stripes. With unearthly movements, it prowled the riverbed in an eerie, alien manner.

It attempted to break free from the bindings of the red rope, but Wang Baoshan remained unwavering.

Wang Baoshan tugged sharply on the rope, causing the awakened lion to curl up in agony. After several attempts to resist, it dared not bare its fangs anymore.

"Midnight has arrived, midnight has arrived..."

Wang Baoshan, despondent and broken, dragged the awakened lion and tied it to a withered tree outside the ancestral hall. In an instant, he seemed to age decades.

The villagers’ drum and gong performance continued, but now it served as a farewell to their companion.

The awakened lion exhaled bubbles, fixing the villagers with a hateful glare. Its limbs struggled to break free of the red rope—alas, to no avail.

"True People, the strange beast has been delivered to you."

Wang Baoshan opened the ancestral hall’s doors, only to find it empty.

He fell into a brief stupor, mumbling to himself, unsure whether to laugh or cry, as he recited the ceremonial blessings once again.

The music abruptly ceased, and the villagers stood idly and bewildered.

"Elder Wang, was it necessary to go this far?"

Li Mo’s voice echoed from a corner behind the ancestral hall, audible but unseen.

He rode the Ghost Tiger in circles around River God Village, having already unraveled the truth behind it.

Like a man clinging to his last shred of hope, Wang Baoshan dropped to his knees and pleaded, "True People, the demon has been delivered. You only need to take its head to fulfill your task."

"What of its true form?"

Wang Baoshan’s face turned ashen, and he hastily explained, "True People, our bodies and ordinary mortal forms are trapped here because of the demon. If not for catching fish in the river, we wouldn’t have lasted this long."

"But once the demon is unleashed, we mortals are nothing before it—River God Village itself would perish entirely."

Li Mo sighed. "Elder Wang, how long have you been trapped here?"

"It’s... been two years now, I believe."

Li Mo simply shook his head. Based on the remains he had examined, it wasn’t mere years—the villagers had been Chang Ghosts for nearly a decade.

"So to deceive any visiting True People, you summon the Mountain Lord’s demon doppelgänger, letting them return to the Government Office with something to report?"

"I’m guilty, unforgivably guilty..."

Wang Baoshan tried to bow his head to repent, but his body was held aloft by the Mist Fog Spiritual Power.

"It’s alright, Elder Wang. You’ve simply endured too much."

Li Mo stepped out from the shadows, holding a tuft of tiger hair in his hand. In a calm voice, he remarked, "Elder Wang, have you heard of Chang Ghosts?"

"Of course, they are said to be souls turned by the Mountain Lord’s harm..."

Wang Baoshan muttered to himself in disbelief, "Chang Ghosts."

He grasped Li Mo’s meaning and collapsed to the ground with trembling legs.

Forgotten memories flooded back into his mind—his realization that River God Village had perished nearly ten years ago in the Mountain Lord’s demonic attack.

Wang Baoshan found his persistent defense of the village laughable; it was nothing but the Chang Ghosts’ stubborn refusal to accept their deaths.

With a tone of resignation, he said, "True People, we..."

Li Mo interrupted him with a smile. "I was born in Niu Village. I’ve heard you perform lion dances at the morning market every five years during Spring Festival. May I have the honor of witnessing it?"