The rain continued to fall, the atmosphere tinged with awkwardness.
Li Mo remained in his original posture, yet nothing happened.
The Fat Priest hastily picked up the bronze staff from the ground and pointed it at Li Mo, his voice fierce but hollow:
"Impostor! You’ve been exposed!"
What would Ice Block do in this situation?
Hmm, probably nothing—just ignore it outright.
Thus, the Heavenly Venerable paid him no mind, not even a flicker of expression. The effect was striking.
It only made the Fat Priest’s frantic hopping around seem all the more clownish.
Could it be that with a mere wave of his hand, he would move the mountain blocking their town?
The Old Town Chief stood in the heavy rain, his eyes gleaming with hope. Even with the so-called blessings of the "Spirit of the Witch," they had always been forced to take long detours to reach the outside world.
If the mountain ahead vanished, wouldn’t their path be clear from now on?
At least one direction would no longer be obstructed!
This hope rose in his heart, but reason told him such a thing was impossible...
But at that very moment.
A faint tremor shook the ground.
Then came an earth-shaking roar!
The Old Town Chief and the townsfolk staggered, falling to the ground, but their eyes remained fixed on the distance.
"The mountain moved! The eastern mountain moved!"
"From now on, we won’t have to take the long way east!"
"We won’t need divine protection to leave these mountains anymore!"
"Heavenly Venerable!"
The gates to the outside world slowly opened for Sanshan Town.
A ray of dawn light fell upon the figure of the composed young man, casting a glow of hope over every inch of him.
In that moment, countless townspeople widened their eyes, the shadows in their gaze dispelled by that silhouette.
The Fat Priest collapsed onto the ground, his face drained of color:
"I’m the fake one now."
The other might not even be real.
As a disciple of the Demon Summoning Sect, he had spent enough time in the southern border to recognize some things about the demon races. He had realized—this was likely a high-ranking demon.
Otherwise, how could they command wind and rain or move mountains?
This was clearly a premeditated act!
Unless the main sect sent experts, there was no way to contend with them.
He thought to slip away unnoticed while the others were still stunned.
"Hmph~ Trying to run~~~?"
A voice crackling with electricity suddenly rang out from behind. Manbo rubbed his palms together, summoning an arc of lightning that shot toward the Fat Priest.
The electric serpent danced wildly, too fast for the naked eye to follow, striking him squarely in the backside.
Manbo was a Great Demon, two realms above the Observation Divine Realm.
The Fat Priest convulsed instantly, his body jerking and blackening under the current. Even if he recovered, he’d likely be left drooling for life.
Li Mo, seeing this, gave Manbo an appreciative nod.
Senior Manbo knew how to adapt on the fly—definitely deserving of extra credit.
He hadn’t wanted the Fat Priest to escape either, but subduing him instantly would’ve required pulling out the hammer.
And if he did that, all the buildup would’ve been for nothing—the Heavenly Venerable’s mystique would’ve crumbled.
"Heavenly Venerable!"
The Old Town Chief cried out, leading the townsfolk as they knelt before the altar.
The people now regarded Li Mo with absolute reverence, prostrating themselves en masse.
Li Mo’s lips twitched, but this time, he didn’t utter the words "Do not kneel."
To the townsfolk, one had merely offered them some protection while traversing the wilderness.
But in their eyes, he had moved a mountain. Who was real, who was fake—it was obvious.
Yet none of them ever considered.
In this world, there were no gods.
Li Mo raised his hands slightly.
"My task here is done. I shall take my leave."
The Old Town Chief jerked his head up but didn’t dare stand.
"Are you displeased that we worshipped a false god? I’ll gather the elders at once to topple that imposter’s idol and erect yours in its place!"
He gritted his teeth. "The offerings... they’ll be richer than ever!"
With the mountain gone, traveling east would be ten times easier.
They could scrape together more offerings if they had to.
Li Mo looked down at the trembling townsfolk, their fear palpable—afraid he would never return. His gaze was complex.
"Do you truly wish to worship me?"
"But I don’t want the usual offerings—livestock, fruits, grains. Such things mean nothing to me."
"No ordinary offerings..."
The Old Town Chief’s face paled, his body shaking.
Was he... demanding human sacrifices?
In the past, the town held a grand ceremony once a year, drawing lots among families with children to select a boy and girl.
Sanshan Town’s population was already dwindling...
But other villages had divine protection. Whether real or fake, they at least had something. If the Heavenly Venerable left, what would become of their town?
His mind waged war with itself, but just as he steeled himself to agree—
A voice drifted down from above:
"I want stones from the mountains. A great many of them."
The crowd was baffled.
Li Mo remained expressionless.
"Including the mountain I just moved, these three peaks have absorbed the essence of sun and moon for countless eons. Your mortal eyes simply cannot perceive their spiritual nature."
"You claim sincerity?"
"Then hollow out the remaining two mountains as offerings to me."
"But... how could we possibly hollow out two mountains..."
The Old Town Chief’s face twisted in distress. They lacked the means for such a task.
"If you cannot do it in your lifetime, let your sons and grandsons continue the work."
"Fill this temple with stones every year, and only then will I believe your devotion."
That didn’t seem excessive, but it would take generations.
The young men of the town eyed the temple’s size, silently calculating.
"Chief, we can do it!"
"Yeah, we’ve got nothing but strength to spare!"
"At least getting food from the east will be easier now. Digging stones beats starving."
Hearing their voices, the Old Town Chief nodded firmly.
He turned to inform the Heavenly Venerable of their decision—but a white cloud had already risen high into the sky.
All that remained were two booklets.
Curious, the Old Town Chief picked them up and called over the village’s literate schoolteacher.
"One is called 'Mountain-Splitting Hammer Art'! The other... 'The Second Set of Radio Calisthenics'?"
"These seem to be martial arts manuals, marked as 'advanced.' They must be extraordinary!"
"The Heavenly Venerable’s meaning must be for us to train our strongest youths to quarry more stones for him!"
"Yes, that must be it!"
"And what’s written at the end?"
"Those who help themselves shall be helped by Heaven."
"So... if we work hard, the Heavenly Venerable will continue to aid us?"
On the white cloud above.
Shang Qinqing gazed at the celebrating townsfolk below, deep in thought.
"Those two martial arts—did you create them yourself?"
He didn’t spend any martial insights on hammer techniques, but he did use some elements from calisthenics to refine a basic martial art.
Truly worthy of the title "Divine Hammer Little Tyrant!"
Ling Yuangou grinned, his teeth bared: "Tsk tsk, giving away martial arts in exchange for stones—what kind of deity does something ?"
"It’s a new era. Who still acts like a traditional god these days?"
"But don’t you need vast amounts of mortal faith? Aren’t you afraid they’ll learn martial arts, dig through the mountains, and stop revering you as a deity?"
"That would be perfect."
Li Mo relaxed his icy, aloof expression and touched the scorching Emptiness Myriad Colors Tower.
"Playing the lofty immortal is exhausting. Let someone else take on that role if they want it."