Chapter 28: The Malevolent Spirit Attacks

While Tie Shi was lost in confusion and distress, the High Priest hurried over. "Well... Chieftain, Brother Zhao, the Bear God has just sent down an oracle. He says Brother Zhao’s cultivation is unparalleled, and since He is not a supreme deity, He is unworthy of your worship."

Tie Shi suddenly understood. So, the Bear God was unwilling to accept offerings from Zhao Yu? But why? Though puzzled, Tie Shi immediately tried to smooth things over. "Brother Zhao, shall we go and have something to eat first?"

"Although I don't quite understand what your High Priest is saying, getting something to eat sounds good," Zhao Yu readily agreed. Whether he offered incense or not, he didn't care at all, did he?

Tie Shi and Zhao Yu departed. Only then did the High Priest look toward the statue, asking blankly, "My God, what just happened?" He only knew that the Bear God had urged him with great urgency to get Zhao Yu to leave quickly.

There was no response. The High Priest spoke again, "My God?" Still, there was no answer. The other cultivators could not help but exchange glances. They wanted to say something, but out of respect for the sanctity of the Bear God’s temple, they found it inconvenient to speak.

...

At Tie Shi's home, Zhao Yu was eating with him. Tie Shi softened his tone as much as possible. "Brother Zhao, I have a question. I’m not sure if I should ask..."

Zhao Yu looked up, feeling utterly speechless. If he weren't currently eating Tie Shi’s food, he would have loved to say that if he wasn't sure whether to ask, then he shouldn't ask at all. Really, some people just had no grasp of social nuances. Glancing down at his meal, Zhao Yu relented, "Go ahead, Brother Tie. If it’s something I can talk about, I’ll certainly answer." As long as it wasn't common knowledge, he would just say he didn't know—hmph!

Tie Shi asked out of curiosity, "When I visited your house before, I didn't seem to see a shrine. I didn't even see a room dedicated to a statue?" When he had visited, his mind was entirely focused on finding the specific location for the tribe's migration, so he hadn't paid attention to such things. But after the trip to the temple, the thought suddenly occurred to him.

Zhao Yu answered casually, "I don't worship gods in my house." Why would he? Gods didn't help him catch rabbits, nor did they help him cook or chop wood.

"You don't worship gods?" Tie Shi was stunned.

Zhao Yu was surprised as well. "Is that so hard to understand?"

Tie Shi immediately shook his head. "I forgot, Brother Zhao has peerless cultivation, and your younger sister’s strength is also unmatched. If any evil spirits were to come calling, they would surely be no match for you."

Zhao Yu didn't quite understand. Why did everyone think he had peerless cultivation when he was just an ordinary mortal? But after correcting them so many times, he couldn't be bothered anymore and simply kept his head down, eating in silence.

However, fate had other plans.

"Rumble..." A tremor shook the ground outside the tribe.

Tie Shi, who was accompanying him, turned pale. "Evil entities are attacking the formation..." He transformed into a gust of wind and vanished instantly.

Zhao Yu wasn't surprised. He muttered, "I knew the buildings in this place weren't up to code. They don't even have a 'face'—how are they supposed to keep evil spirits out?" At home, he had never seen any man-eating creatures attack his door, all because his courtyard was a solid, well-constructed building.

"Rumble..." The sounds of explosions outside grew louder.

Tie Shi appeared in mid-air, shouting sharply, "Everyone, move toward the temple immediately!"

The members of the Youxiong Tribe, who hadn't taken much notice before, changed their expressions and hurried toward the temple. Zhao Yu was quite sharp; after a moment of thought, he realized, "So, they can't win?" It seemed he would have to take refuge in the temple too. Although he hated to leave his delicious meal behind, his life was more important. He took off running toward the temple.

The temple began to glow with divine light. Seeing this, Zhao Yu couldn't help himself. He pulled out his wood-chopping knife and whispered, "Knife, oh knife, tell me, how exactly does that temple glow?"

Glowing equals powerful. Once he figured out the principle, he would make his own courtyard glow as well.

The wood-chopping knife couldn't help but retort, "Don't bother. Your house will never glow like that."

"Are you trying to goad me?" Zhao Yu was immediately intrigued. Since the knife said that, he was determined to make his house shine with that kind of seven-colored divine light.

The knife was even more speechless. "That is the serene divine light unique to gods. Does your house have a god? No! If there’s no god, how can there be divine light?"

Zhao Yu had an epiphany. "So it's that simple." If he got the chance, he would definitely catch a god and bring it home; then his house could glow every day. Of course, being a clever little rascal, Zhao Yu realized he probably couldn't defeat a god that could glow yet. He had to keep a low profile; otherwise, if a god found out about his plans, he might get a beating.

"Brother Zhao, I was wondering where you went. So you're here." A bearded man suddenly appeared beside him.

Zhao Yu, who was just about to join the crowd to seek refuge, blinked. Who was this? He knew it was someone from the Youxiong Tribe, but he had no idea who.

"I am Tie Hu." After a pause, the bearded man said urgently, "Dozens of evil entities have suddenly appeared outside the tribe. The High Priest says that for some reason, the God's physical manifestation is damaged and needs time to reconsolidate its divine power. Since it must also protect the people of the tribe, the Bear God cannot act for the moment. I ask you, Brother, to lend the Youxiong Tribe a hand."

Before Zhao Yu could even answer, he was grabbed and dragged toward the entrance.

"N-no, I'm just an ordinary mortal..." Before Zhao Yu could finish his stammering, he had already been dragged to the entrance.

Tie Shi, who was guarding the entrance, felt a wave of relief. "The Brother is here; my heart is much more at ease." After all, this was the same Zhao Yu who had instantly scared away that evil paper doll before.

Zhao Yu didn't speak. He just looked out toward the entrance; he wanted to see what kind of monsters had arrived before deciding whether he should just run for it.

Outside, it was quite lively. A skull was floating in mid-air, its eye sockets burning with crimson flames as it stared straight at the entrance. Besides that, there was a wolf covered in corpse spots and a tiger with only half a body. They didn't look like much.

However, what worried Zhao Yu was a humanoid figure in the distance; the thing had a mouth full of tiny, sharp teeth and nine distinct eyes on its forehead. With so many eyes, its vision must be quite good, right? If he tried to run, he probably wouldn't be able to escape.

After observing for a while, Zhao Yu felt a little more relaxed. There were no creatures with tentacles out there, so it wasn't dangerous. With so many people on his side—at least several dozen hands—they certainly wouldn't lose.

Tie Shi said in a deep voice, "Everyone, although we have Brother Zhao's assistance, we must not be careless. According to my senses, there are at least twenty-seven evil spirits outside. If any one of them slips through the formation, it will be a catastrophe for our people."

Twenty-seven? Zhao Yu became nervous again, his eyes widening as he looked outside. There weren't that many; no matter how he looked, he only saw the nine-eyed monster, the skull, and that wolf and tiger.

Suddenly, a pitiful, plaintive voice rang out.

"It’s so scary out here... could you... could you please let me in..."

Zhao Yu looked closely and saw a young girl standing outside, wearing a green dress, her eyes brimming with tears.