"Already turned into bones, yet still alive?"
Chen Shi's heart skipped a beat. He struggled to pry open the bony fingers of the tall skeleton clutching the bronze lamp and started swimming upwards with it.
The bronze lamp seemed small in the skeleton's hand, but in Chen Shi's, it was almost as tall as he was, shockingly large and heavy.
Looking back, he saw the tall skeleton fully awaken, seemingly furious. It crouched on the riverbed and leaped, trying to chase after Chen Shi!
A cracking sound echoed as one of the skeleton's thigh bones snapped, causing it to veer off course and fall to the side.
Chen Shi was both terrified and amused.
The skeleton's bones were covered in scars, some from sharp weapons, others from blunt force, and even traces of magical burns.
It couldn't exert much force; if it did, the damaged bones would break.
Moreover, Chen Shi noticed a few ribs were missing, scattered who knows where.
Now, with a broken leg, it moved like a three-legged frog, a comical sight.
Yet, despite its funny appearance, it still moved faster than Chen Shi!
Chen Shi dared not slow down, using all his strength to swim to the river's surface, his mind racing with thoughts.
"The tall skeleton is still alive because, like me, it traveled from the Yang Realm to the Underworld, causing its flesh to dissolve, leaving only bones.
"This bronze lamp is likely not Granny Sha's treasure but his!
"Granny Sha wanted this bronze lamp, so it must be extraordinary. But why was she sure it would end up in the River of Forgetfulness? It must be because this person was fatally wounded and fell into the river with the lamp!
"Granny Sha wasn't sure if this person died, so she waited nine years. In that time, he must have succumbed to his injuries, so she sent me to find the lamp.
"But she didn't expect that entering the River of Forgetfulness would dissolve his flesh, leaving only bones, removing his fatal wounds. However, he couldn't leave the river and could only sleep at the bottom."
Just then, he saw boats weaving across the river from all directions.
On each boat stood a powerful figure, the tall, strange men!
Chen Shi was startled. If he surfaced now, he might be caught and eaten by these creatures!
He was about to turn back when he saw the tall skeleton closing in.
Chen Shi, holding the bronze lamp with both hands, kicked hard to avoid the skeleton, but it was getting closer!
Above, a green stone path extended from the Yang Realm to the River of Forgetfulness. At the end, Granny Sha's small figure stood tall on the altar.
The sight of the boats made her tense.
"Trouble. These old foes arrived so quickly!"
She knew if these Underworld Messengers blocked the path, Chen Shi would have a hard time getting through and might be caught and eaten before even surfacing. Resolutely, she stepped onto the green stone path.
"The Heavenly Emperor gave me life, Heaven nurtures me, the sun and moon shine on me, the Big Dipper guides me, mountains and rivers lead me, the gods serve me, yin and yang connect me, the Wind Lord sends me, the Heavenly Kitchen provides for me, purple clouds cover me, divine medicine heals me!"
The old lady's clothes fluttered as a grand voice echoed around.
"Endlessly coming and going, entering the sea leads to the heavenly gate, entering the river leads to the earthly door! The Life Officer lifts me, what can't be achieved, what can't be understood!"
Around her, divine light shone, forming the image of the Big Dipper circling her, the sun and moon hanging brightly, yin and yang connecting, purple clouds forming a canopy, divine light behind her condensing into divine medicine, and runes weaving into the shape of an Eight Trigrams Furnace.
The so-called Supreme Eight Trigrams Protection Talisman was actually a simplified version of her Supreme Eight Trigrams Protective Technique!
Granny Sha faced the incoming boats.
"Little Shi, follow my drumbeats back!"
Thunder roared, and suddenly intense lightning illuminated the river, making the bottom of the River of Forgetfulness clear.
Chen Shi, struggling to dodge the skeleton's pursuit, glanced up to see what seemed like an imperial woman enveloped in golden light on the river surface, her body towering, moving mountains and seas, battling the monstrous boatmen!
The drumbeats shook, accompanied by rustling sounds, becoming more and more rapid!
The drumbeats came from the Yang Realm, guiding and urging Chen Shi to hurry back.
"Buzz—"
A massive Eight Trigrams symbol vibrated, a long and two short lines, cutting through the River of Forgetfulness, stirring the water, making Chen Shi and the skeleton unsteady.
The Eight Trigrams symbol suddenly transformed into a mountain, rising from the water, pressing down on one of the monstrous boatmen.
Granny Sha's voice echoed from the river: "Come on! Nine years ago, I ventured into the Underworld alone, stealing that child's soul. I wasn't afraid of you then, and I'm not afraid today!"
"Whoosh—"
Suddenly, another symbol from the Eight Trigrams, the Thunder Trigram, entered the water, transforming into lightning as it leaped out, striking the river with massive bolts, causing chaos!
The Fire Trigram turned into flames, the Wind Trigram into roaring black winds, the Earth Trigram into heavy yellow soil, the Heaven Trigram into the blue sky, turning the river into a battlefield!
The river's violent currents swept Chen Shi and the skeleton, making it hard to stay steady.
Without flesh, relying on bones to swim was already difficult, and the water's impact made it worse.
Luckily, Chen Shi was a skeleton and didn't need to breathe, or he'd have drowned by now.
"Is Granny really this strong?"
Chen Shi was astonished. Granny Sha seemed like a simple village old lady, skilled in soul summoning to make a living, yet her power was so formidable!
A green stone path connecting the two realms, even stepping onto it to fight in the Underworld's River of Forgetfulness to save him!
Could a village old lady really do this?
"Grandpa said when I was hurt, she ran everywhere, trying to summon my soul."
Chen Shi suddenly thought, if Granny Sha used all her power to summon souls, how grand would the scene be?
But he remembered nothing.
Everything from two years ago was a blank, like a dream.
Chen Shi tried to swim to the green stone path but was repeatedly overturned by the current.
The water was getting faster, especially near the surface, and the monstrous boatmen were formidable, with more and more arriving!
More boats sped from afar, each carrying a tall, strange man, joining the battle, surrounding Granny Sha!
Even with the powerful Supreme Eight Trigrams Protective Technique, Granny Sha struggled.
Chen Shi looked up from below, seeing the green stone path's stones flying up and shattering, making the path connecting the two realms shorter!
With so many monstrous boatmen, Granny Sha wouldn't hold out much longer!
The drumbeats quickened, showing Granny Sha's urgency.
Chen Shi grew anxious as the skeleton in the current got closer, soon able to grab him.
Suddenly, Chen Shi saw a long bony fish in the current, the Great Gun Fish, and had an idea. He stopped fighting the current and swam toward it.
The Great Gun Fish charged against the current. Though it was also skeletal, its spines and fins kept their fish shape, moving much faster than Chen Shi and the skeleton.
As it approached, Chen Shi grabbed a fin with one hand, holding the bronze lamp with the other. He felt a strong pull and violent shaking as the fish sped through the water!
Chen Shi was both surprised and delighted. Suddenly, the fish slowed, and looking back, he saw the skeleton grabbing its tail, climbing up with its hands.
"Persistent spirit!"
Chen Shi gritted his teeth, threading his arms through the lamp's horns, strapping it to his back, and climbing forward with both hands.
The skeleton moved faster, and the fish was only about ten yards long, so it wouldn't take long for it to catch him.
Chen Shi climbed forward, the fish's bones large and slippery. He clung to them, nearly falling off, but kept climbing to the spine, using hands and feet to reach the gills.
The skeleton's large bony hand reached for his leg.
Chen Shi quickly pulled his leg away, finally reaching the gills and crawling inside.
The skeleton reached the gills but was too large to fit, stretching its long arm inside to grab.
Chen Shi hid in the fish's mouth, avoiding the bony hand.
The hand's bone tips were sharp, and a touch would easily sever his bones!
Suddenly, Chen Shi's eyes fell on a fishhook in the Great Gun Fish's throat, attached to a chain. It was the same one he saw when entering the River of Forgetfulness.
Chen Shi quickly removed the fishhook, tying the chain to his thin right arm bone, and swung it at the skeleton's hand.
The hand had many deep wounds; if he could break it, he'd be much safer.
But as soon as his chain-wrapped fist touched the arm bone, he felt his bones nearly fall apart from the shock.
The hand sensed the touch and turned to grab Chen Shi.
At the same time, the Great Gun Fish swam faster, and suddenly a deep blue light engulfed Chen Shi, the skeleton, and the fish!
Meanwhile, Granny Sha's green stone path collapsed, and she sighed helplessly, pulled back to the Yang Realm by an invisible force.
"Buzz!"
Next to the Virtue River, the altar shook violently, and Granny Sha appeared on it, her energy quickly fading.
The shockwave from the spatial disturbance sent the Five Ghost Kings stumbling back, unable to stand, and the altar crumbled under the pressure!
Granny Sha stared ahead, trembling with tears.
She still couldn't save the child.
Just like before.
Suddenly, the river split open, and a large fish emitting a blue-black light leaped out, opening its toothy mouth and spitting out a shadow.
The shadow unfurled in mid-air, revealing Chen Shi, with the bronze lamp strapped to his back, still glowing with a faint light.
Chen Shi stretched out in mid-air, falling toward the shore, holding an iron chain ending in a large fishhook.
It seemed the hook had lodged in the fish's throat, preventing it from swallowing him, so it spat him out.
On the fish's gills clung a horse-headed creature, tall and thin, three to five times the size of a person, covered in blood and wounds, with a broken leg.
This horse-headed creature was the skeleton chasing Chen Shi, an Underworld Messenger, forced to hide in the River of Forgetfulness due to severe injuries. Now, with the bronze lamp stolen, it followed the fish to the Yang Realm.
Like Chen Shi and the fish, it regained flesh upon crossing over.
Its injuries were worse than nine years ago!
The horse-headed creature couldn't allow the bronze lamp to be stolen and leaped on one leg toward Chen Shi.
Granny Sha was stunned, not understanding the situation.
With a thud, Chen Shi landed steadily on his knees.
Behind him, the Great Gun Fish leaped from the water again, opening its huge mouth and swallowing the horse-headed creature, then plunged back into the water with a splash.