Shuiyun Village, a fishing village.
Amidst the restless roaring of the Yangchun River, the villagers, holding torches, illuminated the ink-dark night.
Firelight interwove with shadows.
Their faces flickered uncertainly, silently staring ahead, pupils reflecting the dancing flames with a hint of frenzy.
A group of strong men armed with fishing spears pressed the sharp ends against the chests of several grievously injured Demon-suppression Marshals.
Liu Xiujie and Li Xiaoer lay on the ground, gasping for air, their gazes scattered, consciousness already muddled.
Ma Tao had it worse; known for his close-quarters grappling, his body was now a broken mess, his long shirt soaked in thick, coagulated blood, his breath as feeble as a thread.
They couldn't understand what kind of temptation could make a River God, who had painstakingly accumulated centuries of reputation and washed away its demonic name, suddenly rebel and violently attack the Demon-suppression Marshals.
the River God had earned the deep respect of the people. Having stayed here for so long, one could even say that Shuiyun Village was "territory" the Demon-suppression Bureau tacitly allowed it to hold.
In exchange, even if it wasn't the River God that acted, any mishap in this area could be brought to its account by the Imperial Court.
This was also why Li Mujin, upon arriving here, went straight to the temple to wait, even though she found the River Demon hard to stomach. It barely qualified as "one of their own."
For such behavior, unless it hid under the water for the rest of its life, it would have a slim chance of surviving!
Four hundred years of patience ruined in an instant, all to kill a few Marshals who came to observe the ritual?
There was no reason...
"Ah ha! That'll teach you dog-skin-wearing bastards to be arrogant!"
Meng Xian breathed heavily with excitement, his foot stomping on the shoulder of Li Xinhan, embroidered with a gold-threaded ferocious wolf.
At that moment, this Third-Rank Tribune of the Jade Liquid Boundary had already passed out from the severe pain, his arm twisted into a corkscrew shape by some monstrous strength, the stark white of broken bones protruding from his flesh — a horrific sight.
Yet not long before, he had been dispersing the crowd, summoning his energy to resist the raging river that surged towards them.
Seeing Meng Xian's action,
The hands of the other villagers gripping the fishing spears trembled slightly.
Although they had been blessed by the River God since childhood, they still held a semblance of awe for the Imperial Court.
Not liking the Demon-suppression Marshals didn't mean they dared to insult them, and their hearts felt it unnecessary. Discover stories with empire
They looked up together.
Outside the River God Temple,
Li Mujin stood there, looking somewhat weary.
Her brows were slightly furrowed, and her normally lazy and charming face was now a sickly pale. After a long time, she spoke softly, "Hey, are you almost done for? If you can't hold on, just give up, alright?"
Opposite her, a woman in a blue dress had a short sword jutting out of her abdomen.
The River God lowered her eyes, expressionlessly watching her belly, then lifted the corners of her lips into a smile.
She reached out a hand, her fair fingers gripping the hilt of the sword, and then steadily pulled it out.
A wince of discomfort crossed her face as the blade slid out from the writhing intestines. As she let go, the short sword fell to the ground.
The River God's voice was incredibly soft, "I'm waiting for him to return. What are you waiting for?"
Hearing this, Li Mujin also thought of the black wind from before.
She pondered for a moment, then replied candidly, "It's too much of a difference."
The River Demon seemed to have suffered some injury, its Essence Yuan depleted, unable to exert half of its strength.
But the substantial foundation of the late-stage Jade Liquid Boundary was just too profound, to inflict even the slightest damage had already been the limit of what she could achieve.
"Stop shaking, damn it!"
Meng Xian slapped a villager beside him and snatched the fishing spear from his hand.
Ferocity surged on his face, and he was so agitated that his brain seemed to tremble. With a hoarse cry, he shouted, "For the River Goddess, let's kill this dog lackey of the Demon-suppression Bureau!"
As he roared, he strode towards the woman.
The village chief had been standing quietly at the side, a faint sneer on his lips as if he was watching a good show.
Seeing this, the old man suddenly became a bit unsettled.
"This damn kid, even a demon-suppression marshal engaging with the River God is not something you, a mere mortal, should meddle in!"
"Even if that Li woman is gravely wounded, standing there motionless, a single little finger could crush you to death!"
He hurriedly leaned on his crutch and went to stop him.
Alas, he didn't make it there in time.
Li Mujin turned her head back, watching Meng Xian screaming as he thrust his harpoon at her.
She slightly lowered her head, her messy long hair brushing slightly, "Annoying to death."
With those words, her tall and voluptuous body collapsed like a kite with its string cut.
Compared to the River Demon, she was the one who had long since run out of oil, barely pushing through on her last breath.
In her field of vision, Meng Xian's hideous face was covered with a beast-like frenzy, his screams grew even louder with zeal; he was about to prove himself before the River God.
His facial expression froze in an instant, harpoon raised high, and from his wide-open mouth, a straight black blade quietly protruded.
Blood plasma surged out from his throat, filling his entire mouth, and then was entirely absorbed by the blade.
Li Mujin lay on the ground, a familiar figure appearing in her blurry vision.
Her breath was weak; she couldn't utter a word.
She could only watch as that tall figure casually pulled the long blade from Meng Xian's skull.
The handsome face was smeared with blood; his dark red ink-robe fluttered.
The other party walked slowly, stepping over Meng Xian's corpse and then across her own body.
The River God hung her hands down, staring blankly at Shen Yi.
Her face, once full of grace and nobility, was rapidly replaced by anxiety, "Why is it you who has returned, where is he?"
She frantically looked behind him, only to see the path lit by torches was empty, "I have gathered the precious medicines for him, where is he?"
In her desperate search, the River God suddenly caught a whiff of an extremely familiar scent.
Her gaze slowly dropped to Shen Yi, to the part of his clothing where the Demon Core was stored, and with an intake of breath, her face surged with rage, "You're courting death!"
Shen Yi suddenly stepped forward, and his Ceremonial Blade was forcefully slashed down!
The fully mastered Greed Wolf Banishes Evil was unleashed with full power.
The blade swept through the air, like a soul-reaping scythe in the pitch-black night.
Under the River God's furious anger, she didn't even attempt to avoid it; the moment she raised her palms, two crystal-clear streams of water emerged from nowhere, turning into chains that wrapped around the blade.
The once invincible Black Blade was actually halted by those gentle streams, and the bloodstain flowing on the blade was also washed away.
Already greatly weakened, she now held nothing back.
With another clench of her five fingers, she turned another stream of water into a long whip, viciously lashing towards the young man!
"I will skin you and strip your bones to sacrifice to the spirit of my Dragon Lord!"
The sound of the wind breaking through the air was like thunder exploding; the water whip slashed fiercely, like a snake exiting its lair, wanting to carve off a layer of flesh from the young man's body.
Shen Yi let go of the blade he was holding, allowing it to dangle in the air, as his figure suddenly became elusive.
He stepped in the White Ape Serpent Play technique, and his five fingers clenched violently.
He swooped down within a foot of the woman in the green robe, his eyes cold as ice.
The dense network of veins on the woman's body was clearly visible before his eyes.
Blocking veins, capturing the dragon!
His fist, as if made of White Jade, brutally smashed into the River God's exquisitely featured face.
The next moment, without the disguise of demonic power, greasy fat burst open from her face.
Four hundred years of flesh nourishment, coupled with the Demon-suppression Bureau's indulgence, had long turned the once kind-hearted River God into an actual hog.