Became a salted fish pretend heiress and handed over the system
Chapter 40: The Mountain God

Chapter 40: Chapter 40: The Mountain God

Yan Mo did as told, gathering another light orb and throwing it over.

The monster fell painfully to the ground, clutching itself and screaming. Blackness seeped from its body, disappearing into the air.

Xia Yue rushed to Yan Mo’s side, and together they watched the monster.

They watched as the strange things covering its body gradually disappeared and its moans of pain subsided.

After a good half an hour, a woman wearing a green dress, her hair bound with vines and adorned with leaves and flowers appeared.

Her face was turned downwards, so they couldn’t see what she looked like yet.

"Is it over?" Xia Yue asked.

"I’m not sure. Everything appears to be normal, and that foul smell seems to have disappeared." Yan Mo wasn’t entirely clear either.

"[Everything is alright, the evil entity contaminating her has been eliminated.]" The system reassured them.

"We did this?" Xia Yue asked in astonishment. They’d barely lifted a finger to defeat the being.

"[Not quite. Your abilities just happened to counter it effectively, and the mountain deity it had contaminated also helped, preventing the evil entity from fully exerting its power. This made it a lot easier for you to defeat it. The situation would be much more difficult if you encounter something else, or if the entity managed to fully consume the mountain deity.]" The system put a damper on Xia Yue’s optimism.

"Huh." Xia Yue nodded, anticipating such a response.

"So, what is this valuable thing? It’s not the mountain deity, is it?" Xia Yue suddenly asked.

"[Yes, indeed it is. She is a thousand-year-old vine that gained spiritual wisdom by a miraculous coincidence. This, coupled with the faith from the people who later resided here, gradually turned her into the mountain deity of this place. She can assist with cultivation. If you were to plant fruit trees here, for example, she could help with that too, saving you a whole lot of human and material resources.]" The system explained the benefits to Xia Yue.

As they were talking, the mountain deity on the ground moved. Yan Mo initiated a cautious retreat with Xia Yue.

In no time, the mountain deity sat up. She lifted her head, and while she wasn’t strikingly beautiful, she had a refreshing charm about her. Her skin was porcelain white, her eyes a soothing emerald green.

The mountain deity stood upon seeing them and asked, "Who are you? Were you the ones who removed the evil Qi from me?" She gazed towards them, their half-human, half-beast appearances perplexing her.

Xia Yue briefly explained their background, and using their spiritual power, they reverted back to their fully human forms.

"Thank you. I am Xue Teng, the mountain deity of this place. Decades ago, an evil consciousness attached itself to my essence from somewhere I still don’t know. By the time I noticed, it had taken control, using my abilities to harm the villagers at the foot of the mountain and accumulating an abundance of power. I was on the verge of complete control but fortunately, the people from the village moved away in recent years. This slowed the growth of its power, but it was still increasing. If not for your arrival today, I would have been fully consumed in a few more decades. The evil consciousness would have become an evil deity, creating havoc everywhere." Xue Teng explained the situation.

"I see. Luckily we arrived in time to dissipate the evil consciousness. You’re okay now, aren’t you?" Xia Yue nodded and asked with concern.

"My strength is but a fraction of what it used to be, I’ll need some time to recover." Xue Teng replied.

"Ah, okay. You should rest up then. Also, I now own this area. There’s a possibility we’ll be doing some development work on the mountain forest, planting some fruit trees, and the like. We won’t be disturbing you, would we?" Xia Yue asked.