Chapter 441: The Cat and the Swallow Battle the Mountain God

“Huh?” The Anle God suddenly retracted its long neck. However, its head did not revert to that of a human—it remained as massive as a millstone, round and grotesque, with rows of razor-sharp teeth packed tightly like steel blades.

Its wide, bulging eyes locked onto the little girl perched on the deity statue. In that instant, it sensed something was off. A flicker of realization crossed its face, and it turned to glance at the swallow hovering just outside the temple doors.

It spoke, its voice wary. “Who are you?”

“I am Lady Calico, companion of a Daoist priest from Lingquan County, Yizhou! Once, I was the Cat God of the roadside in Jinyang Road!” The little girl tilted her head, eyes fixed on the point where its monstrous head connected to its neck.

“I’m an Anqing swallow, the descendant of Swallow Immortal. My name is Yan An.”

“Swallow Immortal’s heir...” The Mountain God muttered, then its massive, bell-sized eyes gleamed with recognition. “So the Daoist sent you here to exterminate me?”

“Yes!”

“Yes and no,” the swallow interjected. “My master is likely not the same Daoist you’re thinking of.”

“Who cares which Daoist it is?! Do you think I’m so easy to bully?! A mere Changyuanzi begged for my service, and I toiled diligently, never slacking off. Yet in the end, he sent men to exterminate me! That monk is dead, and now, another Daoist has come for my head?“

The Mountain God growled, muttering through clenched teeth, but its voice grew increasingly unhinged. By the time it finished speaking, it was practically raving.

“A cat and a bird? Hah! You dare to act unruly on my mountain?! Fine! You’ll stay here forever—just like that monk! You’ll all be buried with him!”

The moment its words fell, its body shifted.

“

Whoosh...

!”

A sinister wind howled through the temple. The Mountain God then revealed its true form.

It was a creature beyond description.

Its body was shaped like a thin, malnourished child, ribs protruding from its sunken torso. Its bony limbs stuck out unnaturally, yet it stood as tall as a full-grown adult. Atop its emaciated frame remained that same grotesquely massive, gourd-like head, filled with rows of chilling teeth. Its long, twig-like neck only made it look more unnatural, as if it had been stitched together from mismatched parts.

Most disturbingly, its stomach appeared semi-transparent. A bright flame burned inside it.

Whether its flesh was truly that thin or if the fire within simply glowed too brightly, casting its heat through the creature’s fragile skin, was unclear.

This was not a beast nor a plant. It was something born of the mountain and shaped by the land itself. A being of spiritual resonance.

Meanwhile, the little girl reached into her pouch and pulled out a small flag.

“Come down here!”

“

Whoosh

!”

The Mountain God extended its neck once more. This time, it was even faster than before, striking like lightning. Its massive head, with its gaping maw and rows of steel-like fangs, lunged straight at the cat atop the deity statue.

Yet, just as before, the little girl reacted in an instant. She was just as fast. In a flash, she leaped again.

“

Boom

!”

The Mountain God's enormous head crashed into the deity statue, shattering it. At the same moment, while still in mid-air, the little girl swung her flag.

“Tiger, come out!”

“

Poof...

!”

A burst of black smoke exploded in the air, and when it settled, two ferocious tigers had materialized on the ground.

But the Mountain God did not stop attacking just because Lady Calico had jumped away. Instead, its head continued to extend upward, chasing after her.

Lady Calico, however, was well-prepared. This leap had been executed with full force—ordinarily, it would have sent her crashing into the ceiling. But mid-air, she twisted her body, and just as she reached the rafters, she kicked off from them, shifting her trajectory and launching herself in another direction.

Her movements remained lightning-fast, impossibly agile.

No matter how long the Mountain God's neck was, it still failed to catch her. It bit down on empty air.

Just as it prepared to lunge again—

“

ROAR

!”

A deafening tiger’s roar filled the temple.

The two summoned tigers had already leaped—one from the left, one from the right—pouncing toward the Mountain God!

“You dare destroy my statue?!”

“Ahhh!!” The Mountain God gritted its teeth, seething with rage.

Suddenly, the firelight in its semi-transparent stomach flared intensely. Then, with a sharp

huff

—

A thick, gray smoke burst from its limbs and body. The smoke rolled out in heavy waves, suffocating and dense, instantly spreading around it like an impenetrable fog.

“

Roar...

!”

The two tigers charged into the gray mist. But in the next instant, they leaped back out on either side. They had not touched the Mountain God at all.

The twin beasts hesitated for a brief second. Then, baring their fangs, their primal instincts ignited. With a ferocious snarl, they wasted no time and pounced at the Mountain God's body once again!

“

Whoosh...

”

The force of the tigers’ pounce stirred the air, sending gusts through the thick gray smoke.

Yet—

Both tigers missed their mark again.

“Hahaha...” The Mountain God let out a chilling laugh, completely ignoring the two fierce tigers.

Its eyes remained locked onto the little girl, who had already landed nearby. Both of its arms suddenly stretched outward, growing longer in an instant. Its fingers curled like golden hooks, sharp and deadly.

At the same time, its neck extended once more, its maw opening wide—rows upon rows of steel-like fangs gleaming ominously.

It was unclear whether it wanted to tear her apart or chew her into pulp.

“

Whoosh

!”

Its left claw swiped forward—

The air itself seemed to shred, letting out a ghostly, agonized wail. The little girl leaped to the right.

It missed!

“

Whoosh

!”

Its right claw immediately followed. The little girl jumped backward. Another miss!

“

Swish

!”

The millstone-sized head lunged from above. However, the little girl flashed left in an instant.

“

BANG

!”

The monstrous head slammed into the ground with full force.

Seizing the opportunity, the little girl swung her flag. A thick cloud of black smoke burst forth, transforming into several massive wolves, which immediately leaped in to intercept the Mountain God's attacks.

But, these wolves were not as agile as her. Plus, the Mountain God's claws and fangs were simply too sharp.

With one swipe, it ripped a wolf apart. With one bite, it crushed another in half. The wolves quickly dissolved back into black smoke, retreating into the flag.

The little girl felt a pang of heartache watching her summoned wolves being torn apart. She decided not to call for more, instead summoning the two tigers back to assist her in fending off the Mountain God’s attacks.

“Lady Calico, use True Fire!” the swallow’s voice called out from outside the temple.

She had already been preparing to do so, but hearing his words only made her act without hesitation.

She took a deep breath, then exhaled.

“

Whoooosh

!”

A pillar of fire erupted from her mouth, sweeping across the air as she turned her head, guiding the flames.

“

AAAH

!!”

The Mountain God howled in pain.

Its hands and head were seared by the True Fire, and at once, it felt an unbearable scorching heat, as if it were melting. Immediately, it recoiled, shrinking back into the cover of the gray smoke.

“Burn the smoke!” the swallow’s voice rang out again.

Lady Calico took another deep breath. Her chest puffed up, her eyes locked onto her target, and then she exhaled again.

“

BOOOOM

!”

A blinding burst of fire erupted—

The flames filled half the temple, illuminating the night so brightly that it could likely be seen all the way down the mountain.

As soon as the fire touched the gray smoke, the smoke vanished.

“

Aaaagh

!” The Mountain God let out another dry, rasping scream, rolling to the side and using the altar as cover to avoid the fire’s scorching heat.

Now that the thick smoke had dissipated, the scene became much clearer. The Mountain God's neck and arms, which had been caught in the fire earlier, were now glowing red-hot, as if wood or steel had partially melted from the heat. Visible burns marred its skin, glowing with a dim, ember-like light.

“Fire! Fire! Fire!” the Mountain God muttered manically, as though in a trance.

It clenched its teeth, staring daggers at the little girl, its mind racing with thoughts unknown.

Then, it began shaking its head violently. Its frail body, with its massive, oversized head, swayed left and right in a bizarre, unnatural motion.

The sight was so strange that Lady Calico found herself feeling almost concerned for it. What if its skinny little neck couldn’t support such a huge head? What if it just... snapped off?

“That’d be great... That’d definitely be fun!”

The little girl stared at him, thinking exactly that.

But at that moment, the Mountain God did something eerily similar to what she had done earlier. It opened its massive mouth wide and took a deep breath.

“

Hiss...

”

Its belly suddenly swelled. The flames inside it blazed wildly, surging with intensity, as if it were about to explode.

But before its stomach could rupture, its head—which had been shaking wildly—began to blur, creating what looked like afterimages. No—not afterimages! They were real.

It was actually growing more heads! And they kept multiplying!

Each of these new heads was identical to the one atop its shoulders—

Millstone-sized, round, grotesque, with bulging bell-like eyes and rows of jagged, steel-like teeth.

Yet, they were no longer attached to its body. They floated freely in the air. With each new floating head that appeared, the fire inside its stomach dimmed slightly. With each extra head, its original head shrank.

In the blink of an eye, the fire inside the Mountain God’s belly had dimmed so much that it was now barely brighter than a single candle flame, only slightly more luminous than the tiny oil lamps flickering in the temple.

Meanwhile, its true head had shrunk. It was so small that it was now no bigger than a fist! Before, it had been grotesquely oversized, an unbalanced monstrosity. Now, it was grotesquely undersized, just as mismatched as before—only in reverse.

And with this transformation, it seemed to have drained much of its strength, its form noticeably weakened.

In exchange, the temple hall was now filled with floating heads—more than twenty of them, drifting eerily in the air.

They hovered at varying heights, but all of them were facing the same direction. All of them were staring straight at Lady Calico.

“

Whoosh

!”

All the heads lunged toward her at once! Their bloody maws gaped open, revealing rows of sharp fangs.

Only then did she see that each head was hollow inside, with a blazing fire burning within.

“

Urk

!” The little girl dodged instantly, simultaneously breathing out True Fire!

At the same time, the two tigers charged forward.

Although the tigers' bodies were far larger than the Mountain God’s heads, their own heads were smaller than these monstrous floating skulls. Their teeth were not as long, nor as densely packed.

The fierce tigers rose up on their hind legs, swinging their front paws. They managed to swat away one or two heads, but they couldn’t fend them all off. As two or three heads bit into them and tore at their bodies, the tigers had no choice but to dissolve into black smoke and retreat back into the banner.

“Lady Calico! I’ll help you!” From outside the temple, the swallow's voice rang out, immediately followed by the rapid flapping of wings.

“

Flap, flap, flap

...”

A swarm of swallows—formed entirely from smoke—burst into the temple, flying in from outside. Each one was fearless, unafraid of death, and they all dove directly toward the floating heads.

The moment the massive heads opened their bloody maws, the swallows rushed in voluntarily.

Every time a swallow was swallowed—or rather, every time a swallow flew inside one of the monstrous heads—the flames within those heads dimmed. With just three to five swallows, the fire inside a head would shrink to the size of a tiny flickering flame, barely holding on.

And once the fire had weakened, the floating heads could no longer stay airborne. One after another, they crashed to the ground, completely motionless.

“Lady Calico! Wolves!”

“

Poof

!” With a flick of the flag, a pack of wolves materialized.

“Drag them out!”

The little girl no longer needed the swallow’s guidance.

As soon as the wolves landed, three to five of them pounced at each fallen giant head, clamping down with their powerful jaws. Muscles tensed, they pulled. And then, in perfect unison, they dragged the monstrous heads out of the temple.

Each group of wolves took a different head and ran off in separate directions, disappearing into the thick darkness of the night.

Meanwhile, outside the temple—

The tethered cattle, sheep, horses, and dogs were terrified, struggling madly against their restraints in a panic.