In the fishing village of Shuiyun Township, the restless roar of the Yangchun River echoed through the night.
Villagers held torches, their flickering light illuminating the dark.
Shadows danced as the flames intertwined with the darkness.
Their faces flickered in the firelight, their eyes reflecting the jumping flames, a hint of fanaticism in their gazes.
A group of young men, armed with fishing spears, pressed the sharp tips against the chests of several severely injured Demon-Suppression Division officers.
Liu Xiujie and Li Xiaoer lay on the ground, gasping for breath, their eyes unfocused, their minds barely coherent.
Ma Tao was in even worse shape.
Once skilled in close combat, his bones were now shattered, his long robe soaked in blood, his breath faint.
They couldn’t understand what kind of temptation could drive the River God, who had painstakingly built a reputation over centuries and shed its demonic name, to suddenly turn violent and attack the Demon-Suppression Division officers.
Unlike other demons, the River God was deeply revered by the people.
It had stayed in this place for so long that Shuiyun Township could be considered its "territory," tacitly allowed by the Demon-Suppression Division.
In exchange, even if it didn’t act directly, the court could hold it accountable if anything went wrong here.
This was why Li Muyin, upon arriving, had immediately gone to the temple to wait.
Though she disliked this river demon, it was, in a way, half an "ally."
For it to commit such an act, unless it planned to hide underwater forever, it was signing its own death warrant! Four hundred years of patience, all for nothing, just to kill a few officers who had come to observe the ritual? It made no sense...
"Haha! Let’s see you arrogant dogs strut around now!" Meng Xian’s breathing was heavy with excitement as he stomped on Li Xinhuan’s shoulder, where the golden thread of a fierce wolf was embroidered.
The Jade Liquid Realm officer, with three stripes on his uniform, had already passed out from the immense pain.
His arm was twisted into a grotesque shape, white bone protruding from the flesh, a horrifying sight.
Not long ago, he had been dispersing the crowd and using his aura to hold back the surging river.
Seeing Meng Xian’s actions, the other fishermen’s hands trembled slightly as they gripped their spears.
Though they had grown up under the River God’s protection, they still held a sliver of reverence for the court.
Disliking the Demon-Suppression Division officers didn’t mean they dared to insult them, and they felt it wasn’t necessary.
Besides...
They all looked up.
Outside the River God Temple, Li Muyin stood, looking exhausted.
Her brows were slightly furrowed, and her once lazy, charming face now bore a sickly pallor.
After a long moment, she spoke softly, "Hey, are you about to collapse? If you are, just stop holding on, okay?"
Opposite her, a woman in a green robe had a short sword embedded in her abdomen.
The River God lowered her gaze, expressionless as she looked at the wound, then a faint smile curled her lips.
She reached out, her pale fingers gripping the hilt, and slowly pulled the sword out.
A slight discomfort crossed her face as the blade slid out of her writhing intestines.
She let go, and the short sword clattered to the ground.
The River God’s voice was gentle, "I’m waiting for him to return. What are you waiting for?"
Hearing this, Li Muyin recalled the black wind from earlier.
After a moment of thought, she replied honestly, "It’s too much of a gap."
The river demon seemed to have suffered some injury, its essence depleted, unable to unleash even half of its strength.
But the foundation of its late Jade Liquid Realm was too vast.
To have injured it even slightly was already the limit of what she could do.
"You’re shaking for no reason!" Meng Xian slapped the person next to him, snatching the fishing spear from their hands.
His face twisted with ferocity, his excitement making his brain tremble.
He shouted at the top of his lungs, "Kill this Demon-Suppression Division lackey for the River Goddess!"
As he roared, he charged toward the woman with large strides.
The village chief, who had been standing silently to the side with a faint sneer on his lips, as if watching a good show, suddenly lost his composure.
This brat, how could an ordinary person like him meddle in a fight between the Demon-Suppression Division officers and the River God? Even if that woman surnamed Li was severely injured, standing there motionless, she could crush him with a single finger!
He hurriedly hobbled forward with his cane to stop him.
But before he could reach them, Li Muyin turned her head, watching as Meng Xian screamed and thrust the spear toward her.
She lowered her head slightly, her disheveled hair swaying, "How annoying."
With those words, her tall, voluptuous body toppled over like a kite with its string cut.
Compared to the river demon, she was the one who had long been drained, barely holding on by sheer will.
In her blurry vision, Meng Xian’s ugly face was filled with beast-like frenzy, his screams growing louder, filled with fanaticism.
He was about to prove himself before the River God with his own hands.
Thud!
His facial expression froze instantly.
As he raised the spear high, a straight black blade silently emerged from his wide-open mouth.
Blood gushed from his throat, filling his mouth, only to be completely absorbed by the blade.
"..."
Li Muyin lay on the ground, her hazy vision catching a familiar figure.
She was too weak to speak, only able to watch as the tall figure casually pulled the long blade from Meng Xian’s skull.
His handsome face was stained with blood, his dark red robe swaying.
He walked slowly, stepping over Meng Xian’s corpse, then over her.
"..."
The River God hung her hands limply, staring blankly at Shen Yi.
The grace and dignity on her face were quickly replaced by tension, "Why is it you who returned? Where is he?"
She frantically looked behind him, but the path illuminated by the torches was empty.
"I’ve gathered all the precious herbs for him. Where is he?"
In her desperate search, the River God suddenly caught a whiff of an extremely familiar scent.
Her gaze slowly fell on Shen Yi, lingering on the part of his robe where he stored his demon core.
With a breath, her face contorted with rage, "You’re seeking death!"
Swoosh!
Shen Yi suddenly stepped forward, his ceremonial blade slashing down with immense force! The perfected Greedy Wolf Demon-Slaying technique was unleashed to its fullest.
The blade cut through the air like a soul-reaping scythe in the dark night.
In her fury, the River God didn’t dodge at all.
As she raised her hands, two crystal-clear streams of water materialized out of thin air, forming chains that wrapped around the blade.
The once unstoppable black blade came to a halt in the gentle flow of water, the blood streaks on its edge washed away.
Already heavily drained, she held nothing back now.
With another grasp, she formed a whip of water and lashed it viciously toward the young man!
"I’ll skin you alive and offer your bones to my Dragon Lord’s spirit!"
The sound of the whip cutting through the air was like thunder, the water whip striking down with ferocity, like a serpent lunging out of its den, aiming to strip a layer of flesh from the young man’s body.
Shen Yi released his grip on the blade, letting it be bound in mid-air, his figure suddenly becoming elusive.
He stepped with the White Ape Playing with the Python technique, his fingers clenching tightly.
He bent down, coming within a foot of the woman in the green robe, his eyes cold and piercing.
The intricate network of meridians on her body was laid bare before his eyes.
Meridian Severing, Dragon Seizing!
His jade-like fist slammed into the River God’s exquisitely beautiful face.
In the next moment, stripped of her demonic power, greasy fat burst from her face.
Four hundred years of flesh and blood offerings, combined with the Demon-Suppression Division’s leniency, had turned the once benevolent River Goddess into nothing more than a bloated pig.
(End of Chapter)