Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – Arrogance Part 3

Meanwhile, Lan Sizhui and the others had already moved on to the Heavenly Maiden Shrine in search of clues after finding nothing at the ancient grave mounds.

In Dafan Mountain, besides the ancestral tombs of the townspeople of Fozu Town, there was also the Heavenly Maiden Shrine. The deity enshrined there was neither Buddha nor Guanyin, but a "Dancing Heavenly Maiden."

Hundreds of years ago, a hunter from Fozu Town discovered a strange stone in a deep mountain cave. It was nearly ten feet high, naturally formed, and remarkably resembled a human figure with limbs complete and posed as if dancing. Even more miraculous was that the facial features of the stone's head were vaguely discernible, resembling a smiling woman.

The townspeople of Fozu Town were greatly amazed by this. They believed it to be a divine stone imbued with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and created numerous legends around it. Some said a celestial lord was infatuated with a heavenly maiden and carved a stone statue in her image to ease his longing. When the heavenly maiden discovered this, she was furious, leaving the unfinished statue as it was. Others claimed that the Jade Emperor had a beloved daughter who died young, and his longing for her condensed into this statue. These varied and astonishing tales led the townspeople to believe in them so much that they converted the cave into a shrine, the stone pedestal into a divine seat, and revered the stone statue as the "Heavenly Maiden," offering incense and worship regularly.

The interior of the cave was as spacious as a two-section temple, with the statue of the heavenly maiden standing in the center. At first glance, it looked remarkably human, with a graceful waist. But upon closer inspection, the roughness became apparent, yet the fact that a natural formation could resemble a human to such a degree was enough to amaze anyone.

Lan Jingyi raised and lowered the wind-evil compass, but the needle remained unmoved. On the offering table were disordered remnants of candles and a thick layer of incense ash, while the offering dishes emitted a rotting sweet smell. The people of the Gusu Lan Family had varying degrees of mild obsessive-compulsive tendencies, and Lan Jingyi fanned the air in front of his nose, saying, "I heard from the locals that wishes made at this Heavenly Maiden Shrine are very effective. How did it become so dilapidated? They couldn't spare a few people to clean it?"

Lan Sizhui said, "Seven people have already lost their souls in succession. There are rumors that the fierce evil was awakened from the ancestral tombs of Fozu Town by a heavenly lightning strike, so who would dare to come up the mountain? With the incense offerings stopped, there's no one to clean it."

A disdainful voice sounded from outside the cave, "A broken stone, sealed as a deity by someone unknown, dares to receive incense and worship here!"

Jin Ling entered with his hands behind his back. The speech-sealing spell had worn off, and his mouth was free again. However, as soon as he opened his mouth, he had nothing good to say. Looking at the statue of the heavenly maiden, he sneered, "These villagers, instead of taking action, waste their time burning incense and praying to gods and buddhas. There are countless people in the world, and the gods and buddhas can't possibly take care of them all! Especially a wild deity without a name or status. If it's so effective, I'll make a wish now—let the thing in Dafan Mountain that devours souls appear before me. Can it do that?"

A group of cultivators from smaller clans followed him in, laughing loudly in agreement. The previously silent shrine became noisy and cramped with the influx of people. Lan Sizhui shook his head slightly, and as he turned, he caught a glimpse of the heavenly maiden's face. The faintly visible features seemed to form a compassionate smile.

Yet, there was an indescribable sense of familiarity about this smile, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

Where had he seen it?

Lan Sizhui felt this must be something important and involuntarily moved closer to the divine platform to examine the heavenly maiden's face more closely. Just then, someone bumped into him.

A cultivator who had been standing behind him suddenly collapsed silently. Everyone was startled and immediately on guard. Jin Ling cautiously asked, "What's wrong with him?"

Lan Sizhui knelt down with his sword, examining the cultivator. His breathing was normal, as if he had just fallen asleep, but no matter how much they called or shook him, he wouldn't wake up. Standing up, Lan Sizhui said, "It's like..."

Before he could finish, the once-dark cave erupted in a crimson glow, as if a waterfall of blood was pouring down the four walls. The candles and incense in the corners of the cave began to burn spontaneously.

Clanging sounds were heard as swords were drawn, and talismans were held up. Just then, someone rushed in from outside the shrine, throwing a bottle of medicinal wine over the heavenly maiden statue, filling the cave with a strong, pungent smell of alcohol. He then drew a talisman in the air, threw it onto the statue, and instantly a raging fire erupted on the offering platform, illuminating the cave as brightly as day.

Wei Wuxian, having used up everything in the Qiankun Bag he found, threw it away and shouted, "Everyone, get out! Beware of the soul-devouring Heavenly Maiden inside!"

Someone exclaimed, "The posture of the heavenly maiden has changed!"

Just moments ago, the statue had clearly had its arms raised, one finger pointing to the sky, one foot lifted in a graceful pose. Now, in the yellowish-red flames, its arms and legs had lowered. It was unmistakable; it wasn't an illusion!

The next moment, the statue lifted a foot—stepping out of the flames!

Wei Wuxian shouted, "Run, run, run! Don't cut at it! It's no use!"

Most of the cultivators ignored him. After searching for so long, the soul-devouring monster had finally appeared, and they weren't about to let it go! However, as all attacks failed to stop it, nothing could prevent the statue from advancing. Nearly ten feet tall, it moved like a giant, exuding a sense of oppression. It grabbed two cultivators, lifting them to its face. The stone mouth seemed to open and close, and the swords in the cultivators' hands clattered to the ground as their heads drooped—their souls having been drained away.

As all attacks failed to stop it, the others finally heeded Wei Wuxian's words and fled, scattering in all directions. In the chaos, Wei Wuxian, desperate to find Jin Ling, dashed into a bamboo grove. As he turned back, he bumped into the younger members of the Lan family catching up to him. Wei Wuxian called out to them, "Kids!"

Lan Jingyi said, "Who are you calling kids? Do you even know which family we're from? Do you think washing your face makes you an elder?!"

Wei Wuxian said, "Alright, alright, brothers. Send a signal to call your family's... that Han Guang-Jun up here!"

The younger ones nodded continuously, flipping over the talismans as they ran. After a moment, Lan Sizhui said, "The signal flares... we used them all up the night at the Mo family estate."

Wei Wuxian exclaimed, "You didn't replenish them?!"

The signal flares were rarely used, and Lan Sizhui shamefacedly admitted, "We forgot."

Wei Wuxian teased, "This is something you can forget? If your Hanguang-jun finds out, he’ll make you pay!"

Lan Jingyi’s face was pale as a ghost. "We’re done for this time. We’re going to be punished to death by Hanguang-jun…"

Wei Wuxian said, "You deserve to be punished! If you don’t get punished, you won’t learn."

Lan Sizhui asked, "Mr. Mo, Mr. Mo! How did you know that the one devouring souls wasn’t the Soul-Eating Fiend or the Soul-Eating Beast, but the Heavenly Maiden statue?"

Wei Wuxian, while running to search for Jin Ling, replied, "How did I know? I saw it."

Lan Jingyi caught up and ran alongside him, flanking Wei Wuxian. "Saw what? We saw a lot too."

"What else could be around it? Just dead souls."

"Exactly, wandering spirits. So, it definitely isn’t the Soul-Eating Beast or the Soul-Eating Fiend. It’s pretty obvious, right? If it were either of those, with so many wandering spirits floating around, wouldn’t it have eaten them already?"

This time, more than one person asked, "Why?"

Wei Wuxian shook his head. "I really have to say this about you Gusu Lan Family… Teach less of those tedious cultivation etiquette and family history that you have to memorize, and more practical things, alright? It’s not that hard to understand. Wandering spirits are much easier to absorb than living ones. A living person’s body is a barrier. To eat a living soul, you’d need to break through that barrier. It’s like..." he glanced at the spotted donkey that was panting and rolling its eyes, "like having an apple in front of you and another apple locked in a box. Which one would you choose to eat? Obviously the one in front of you. This thing only eats living souls, and it knows how to pick them. It’s very picky, but also very powerful."

Lan Jingyi exclaimed, "Is that so? It makes a lot of sense! Wait, so you’re actually not crazy?!"

Lan Sizhui, still running, explained, "We all thought that the landslide and the Heavenly Thunder splitting the coffin released the soul-devouring incident, so naturally, we assumed it was the Soul-Eating Fiend."

Wei Wuxian said, "Wrong."

"What’s wrong?"

"The sequence is wrong, the cause and effect are wrong. Let me ask you, which came first, the landslide or the soul-devouring event? What is the cause and what is the effect?"

Lan Sizhui answered without hesitation, "The landslide came first, and the soul-devouring came after. The landslide is the cause, and the soul-devouring is the effect."

Wei Wuxian shook his head. "Completely wrong. The soul-devouring came first, and the landslide came after. The soul-devouring is the cause, and the landslide is the effect! On the night of the landslide, there was a sudden downpour, with thunder and lightning, and it split open a coffin. Remember this. The first person who lost his soul, that lazy bum, was trapped in the mountains for a night, and a few days later, he got married."

Lan Jingyi frowned. "Something’s not right."

Wei Wuxian continued, "Everything’s not right! A good-for-nothing tramp with no money—how could a lazy bum afford to have a grand wedding? It doesn’t add up."

The boys were speechless. It was no wonder, coming from the Gusu Lan Family, a cultivation family that never had to worry about wealth. Wei Wuxian continued, "All the wandering spirits on Dafan Mountain, have you all seen them? There was an old man who was killed by a falling object. His funeral clothes were made of fine materials. Wearing such luxurious funeral clothes, his coffin couldn’t have been empty. There must have been some burial objects inside. The coffin that was split open by the lightning was probably his, and the people who collected the remains later didn’t find the burial objects. They must have been taken by the lazy man, which explains his sudden wealth. That lazy man suddenly became rich and married right after the landslide. Something unusual must have happened that night. On that rainy night, while he was taking shelter in the mountains—what places could offer shelter on Dafan Mountain? The Heavenly Maiden Shrine. And if an ordinary person were to enter a shrine, there’s one thing they would likely do."

Lan Sizhui asked, "Make a wish?"

"Exactly. For example, to strike it rich, get married, and have money. The Heavenly Maiden granted his wish, sent down the Heavenly Thunder, split open the grave, and let him see the treasure inside the coffin. But as a price for his wish being granted, the Heavenly Maiden appeared on his wedding night and took his soul!"

Lan Jingyi asked, "Are you just guessing?"

Wei Wuxian smirked. "I am guessing. But if you follow this guess, everything can be explained."

Lan Sizhui questioned, "How do you explain Miss A Yuan?"

Wei Wuxian nodded. "Good question. A Yuan had just become engaged around that time. And for any newly engaged girl, there’s always one particular wish."

Lan Jingyi, still confused, asked, "What wish?"

Wei Wuxian replied, "Something like, ‘I hope my husband will love and cherish me forever, and only me,’ that kind of thing."

The younger cultivators were dumbfounded. "Can a wish like that really come true?"

"It's simple," Wei Wuxian said, spreading his hands. "As long as the husband's 'lifetime' ends immediately, doesn't that count as him 'loving only one person his whole life'?"

Lan Jingyi suddenly realized, exclaiming excitedly, "Oh, oh! S-s-so, right after Miss A Yuan got engaged, her husband was killed by wolves in the mountains the next day, probably because she had gone to the Heavenly Maiden Shrine to make a wish the day before!"

Wei Wuxian pressed on, "Whether it was wolves or something else that killed him is hard to say. There's also something unique about A Yuan: why did only her soul come back? What makes her different from the others? The difference is that she had a relative who lost their soul. Or, to put it another way, there was a relative who took her place! Zheng the blacksmith is A Yuan's father. As a doting father, when he saw his daughter had lost her soul and medicine was useless, he was helpless. All he could do was place his last hope in the heavens."

Lan Sizhui quickly picked up, "He could only hope that his daughter A Yuan's soul would be returned! So he also went to the Heavenly Maiden Shrine to make a wish, wishing for his daughter's soul to come back!"

Wei Wuxian praised, "That's why only A Yuan's soul returned, and it's also why the third person to lose their soul, Zheng the blacksmith, did so. Although A Yuan's soul was returned, it was inevitably damaged. After her soul was restored, she began to involuntarily mimic the dance and even the smile of the Heavenly Maiden statue."

The commonality among these soul-loss victims was that most of them—around eight out of ten—had made a wish in front of the Heavenly Maiden statue. The price of having their wish come true was their soul.

This stone statue of the Heavenly Maiden was originally just an ordinary stone that happened to look like a person. After receiving centuries of offerings, it gained magical powers. But its greed led it astray, and it tried to accelerate its power growth by absorbing souls. The souls it took in exchange for granted wishes were voluntarily offered, a fair trade, seemingly righteous. That's why the wind evil compass didn't move, the Zhaoyin Flags couldn't summon anything, and neither swords nor talismans worked. It wasn't a demon or monster in Dafan Mountain—it was a god! A wild god nurtured by centuries of incense and offerings. Using methods meant for banishing evil spirits and monstrous beasts was like trying to put out a fire with more fire!

Lan Jingyi exclaimed, "Wait! But just now in the shrine, someone's soul was taken, and we didn't hear them make a wish!"

Wei Wuxian's heart skipped a beat, halting his steps. "Someone's soul was taken in the shrine? Tell me exactly what happened, word for word."

Lan Sizhui quickly recounted the scene. When Jin Ling said, "If it's really that effective, I wish for whatever's in Dafan Mountain that's eating people's souls to appear before me right now. Can it do that?" Wei Wuxian interrupted, "That's a wish! He's making a wish!"

The others echoed Jin Ling's sentiment, implying they had all made the same wish. The Heavenly Maiden was already before them, so the wish had been granted. Now, the price must be paid!

Suddenly, the spotted donkey stopped and ran in the opposite direction. Wei Wuxian was caught off guard and thrown off again. Grabbing the rope with all his might, he heard a "crunch crunch" and "snuffle snuffle" coming from the bushes ahead. A gigantic figure crouched in the bushes, its huge head moving over a person's abdomen on the ground. Upon hearing the noise, it looked up abruptly, meeting their gaze.

The Heavenly Maiden, originally vague in appearance, had distinct facial features after consuming the souls of several cultivators. Her once-blurry face now had distinct features, a smiling woman's visage with blood dripping from her mouth as she chewed on a torn-off arm, feasting on her victim.

Everyone immediately fled in the opposite direction, following the donkey.

Lan Sizhui broke down, "This isn't right! The Yiling Patriarch said high-level beings consume souls, while low-level ones eat flesh!"

Wei Wuxian sighed, "Why are you so fixated on what he says? He's messed up plenty of things himself! No rule is set in stone. Think of it like a baby—it can only drink soup when it has no teeth, but once it grows, it wants to eat meat. Now that her powers have greatly increased, she probably wants to try something fresh!"

The Heavenly Maiden stood up, towering and using both hands and feet, dancing wildly in joy. Suddenly, an arrow whistled through the air, striking her forehead, and piercing through the back of her head.

Wei Wuxian turned toward the sound of the bowstring. Jin Ling, standing on a nearby slope, had already nocked a second arrow. He drew the bowstring fully, releasing another arrow that pierced her skull, causing her to stagger backward.

Lan Sizhui shouted, "Young Master Jin! Send out your signal flare!"

Jin Ling ignored him, determined to take down the monster. His face grim, he nocked three arrows this time. Despite being hit in the head twice, the Heavenly Maiden remained smiling and charged toward Jin Ling. Though she danced as she moved, her speed was terrifyingly fast, closing half the distance in an instant. Several cultivators engaged her, slowing her down. Jin Ling's arrows hit their mark, step by step, but all the cultivation family artifacts were useless against her!

Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji were waiting in Fozu Town, unaware of the situation. When would they realize and come to help? When you need to put out a fire, you use water. Since the cultivation artifacts were useless, they'd have to rely on something more sinister!

Wei Wuxian drew Lan Sizhui's sword and cut a thin bamboo piece, quickly fashioning it into a flute. He brought it to his lips, taking a deep breath. The sharp flute sound pierced the night like an arrow.

He shouldn't have resorted to this unless absolutely necessary. But now, no matter what was summoned, as long as it had enough ferocious and malevolent energy to tear the Heavenly Maiden apart, it would do!

Lan Sizhui was utterly shocked, but Lan Jingyi covered his ears, grumbling, "At a time like this, you're playing a flute? It sounds terrible!"

Several cultivators fighting the Heavenly Maiden had their souls taken. Jin Ling drew his sword, now less than two yards from the Heavenly Maiden, his heart pounding. "If my sword doesn't cut off her head, I'll die here—so be it!"

At that moment, a clang, clang, clink, clink sound began to rise from the Dafan Mountain forest.

The sound echoed through the silent forest, like the clashing of chains and the dragging of iron. It grew closer and louder.

The sound sent a wave of dread through everyone, even causing the Heavenly Maiden to pause, raising her arms and staring blankly toward the source of the sound.

Wei Wuxian put away the flute, watching intently.

Though a growing sense of foreboding weighed on him, if it responded to his summons, at least it was something that would listen to him.

The sound abruptly cut off, and a figure materialized from the shadows.

The faces of the cultivators contorted in horror as they recognized the figure and the face.

Even when confronted by the heavenly maiden statue, which could drain their souls at any moment, these cultivators had not retreated, nor had they shown any fear. However, at this moment, their cries were laced with undeniable fear.

"… It's the Ghost General, it's Wen Ning!"

The title of 'Ghost General,' like that of the Yiling Patriarch, was infamous and widely feared, often appearing side by side.

This title belonged to one person alone. It was the undead warrior under the command of the Yiling Patriarch, Wei Ying, notorious for aiding in Wei Ying's malevolent deeds, sowing chaos, and spreading terror. Wen Ning, who should have been obliterated long ago.