The crowd suddenly realized that Li Xiaofei was far stronger than they had initially assumed. Of course it was. The young man had calmly protected both the mute girl and the black dog throughout their journey. That composure alone said plenty.
Among them, Song Yu and the old Chancellor were the most shocked. After all, Li Xiaofei’s cultivation level had been about the same as theirs when they had first set out. But how long had it been? Yet he was already this far ahead of them.
“Many thanks, Brother Li,” the old Chancellor said, cupping his hands with a slightly embarrassed expression. A few strands of black water grass were still tangled in his hair.
Luo Ge circulated her cultivation technique to stop the bleeding. But she couldn’t regenerate her lost arm. There was a strange energy lingering in the wound, making it impossible to heal.
Li Xiaofei stepped forward, placed his palm over the stump, and channeled the energy of the Flame Saber. He purified the foreign energy until it was completely expelled. Only then did Luo Ge’s severed arm begin to regenerate.
Her face was pale, and a trace of fear lingered in her eyes. After all, watching her arm get devoured by that giant octopus-like water beast was a scene she would never forget.
“Thank you,” She said gratefully.
Li Xiaofei didn’t respond, but turned toward the old Chancellor and asked, “What’s our next move?”
The old Chancellor looked embarrassed and replied, “Let me think for a moment.”
He stared at the river, falling into a deep silence as if pondering something serious. At that moment, a strange change occurred in the Heavenly River. The injured water beast began to thrash about violently. It seemed that its blood had attracted something far more terrifying.
A dozen or so tentacles reached out from the water, gripping the riverbank tightly as if trying to escape from the depths below.
But in the end, the creature was forcefully dragged back into the depths of the river by an even more terrifying power. All of its dozen or so tentacles were torn off. Each tentacle was as thick as the combined arms of four or five grown men as it writhed and flopped across the riverbank.
Xia Zi, who had remained silent until now, stepped forward and released a burst of silver light from his palm, sweeping up all the severed tentacles. The silver light condensed into a white handkerchief, which floated gently back into his hand.
He turned his head to look at Li Xiaofei and asked, “Do you want any?”
“Huh?” Li Xiaofei blinked, not quite understanding.
Xia Zi explained, “You wounded the water beast. So technically, half of the tentacles are yours. If you want them, I’ll share. They’re highly potent, and useful for refining several types of healing pills or crafting puppet warriors.”
Li Xiaofei responded, “I’ll take them.”
Xia Zi nodded, and the handkerchief in his palm suddenly split into two. One half floated toward Li Xiaofei, who caught it and stored it away. Xia Zi kept the other half and turned his gaze back toward the Heavenly River.
Both Husi and Chu Xiang had expressions of envy on their faces. Everyone knew the tentacles were valuable, but unfortunately, they had no excuse to ask for a share.
The Heavenly River seemed to have returned to its former calm. The waters churned slowly, waves rising and falling in an endless rhythm. But after what had just happened, no one dared approach the river again.
Suddenly, Chu Xiang suggested, “We can follow the riverbank. If we can’t go through the water, we can at least move along the shore.”
Both Husi and Fei Lun’s eyes lit up at the idea.
Why do we have to cross the river?
However, the old Chancellor shook his head. “The waters of the Heavenly River encircle—”
He nearly let slip the word Heaven. He swiftly caught himself, continuing, “The waters of the Heavenly River form a ring, like a moat. Only by crossing can we leave this place. Otherwise, we’ll be trapped on the riverbank forever, unable to find a new path.” Thɪs chapter is updated by novelꞁire.net
Everyone’s expressions darkened.
Does that mean all their earlier efforts had been in vain?
The old Chancellor remained silent, still deep in thought.
Time ticked by, second after second. Someone tugged lightly at Li Xiaofei’s sleeve. He turned to look. It was the mute girl. She pointed toward the Heavenly River and made a few hand gestures, clearly trying to convey something. But Li Xiaofei couldn’t understand her.
“Woof, woof woof woof!” Black Emperor barked up at him, taking it upon himself to serve as a translator.
Li Xiaofei immediately understood. But the others were completely lost. They couldn’t interpret the girl’s gestures, and they certainly couldn’t make sense of Black Emperor’s ‘words.’
All eyes turned to Li Xiaofei for an explanation. He gently stroked Black Emperor’s head, then casually pulled out one of the water beast’s tentacles and fed it to the dog.
The mute girl had wanted to convey something simple: Brother Dog was on the other side of the Heavenly River. He had ended up there because they found a boat near the shore and used it to cross the river when they had first arrived. They had also used that same boat when they made their escape.
“What’s going on?” Song Yu stared at Li Xiaofei warily, her tone sharp with suspicion.
The others also turned their gazes toward Li Xiaofei. After a brief moment of thought, Li Xiaofei shared the information.
“A boat?” Husi’s face lit up with hope. He said, “That makes perfect sense. Where there’s a river, there must be boats. If they really did row across back then, maybe we can just circle the Heavenly River and find the boat somewhere else.”
The old Chancellor had said the Heavenly River was circular. So Husi’s suggestion seemed logical. The group quickly set out.
They followed the river’s edge for the next ten days. Thanks to solid ground, their pace was swift. But by the tenth day, their spirits had plummeted. After comparing the markers they had left along the way, they realized they had come full circle, right back to where they started.
Li Xiaofei couldn’t help but sing, “Back to where we first began, standing dumbly by the Heavenly River’s edge...”
The group’s mood visibly darkened. Irritation was thick in the air.
Song Yu finally snapped and turned toward Li Xiaofei. She said, “Why don’t you scout ahead?”
Li Xiaofei frowned and asked, “Why me?”
Just because he had managed to save the old Chancellor from the river didn’t mean he could safely cross the Heavenly River again.
Song Yu’s face turned cold as she said, “Because I want you to. Don’t forget, your family is still in my hands.”
Li Xiaofei’s expression chilled instantly. He opened his mouth to retort.
“Woof woof woof!” Suddenly, Black Emperor barked at the Heavenly River, loud and urgent.
Everyone instinctively turned to look. In the distance, amid the churning waters of the river, a small flat boat bobbed up and down with the waves. It looked as though it could capsize at any moment, yet it steadily made its way toward the shore.
Joy surged through the group.
It truly was like the old saying, ‘sought with iron shoes to no avail, only to find it with no effort at all’.
Everyone eagerly waited for the small boat to drift closer. It was a white boat that emitted a faint glow as it rocked through the tumultuous waves. There was a small cabin, crudely covered with some kind of white material. But what caught them off guard was the figure standing at the stern.
That person also glowed faintly white, wearing a conical white hat and holding a long white pole, using it in a strange, deliberate manner to steer the boat toward the shore.
Li Xiaofei glanced back at the mute girl.
She shook her head. Clearly, the last time they came across the river, there had only been the boat, no boatman. Li Xiaofei’s brows furrowed slightly. The rest of the group tensed up as well, each of them on guard, ready for battle at a moment’s notice. No one dared let their guard down.
Moments later, the boat reached the shore and everyone finally got a clear look at both the vessel and the boatman. They collectively sucked in a cold breath.
What the hell is that?
They felt like they’d just seen a ghost.