Sword light flashed, and in an instant, the clouds parted and the rain cleared, like Light Piercing Clouds!
The River God saw only a faint glimmer, followed by a streak of azure light sweeping across his vision. Then a keen blade flashed before his eyes and vanished.
Click.
The sound of a sword returning to its sheath came from behind him.
Although he felt no pain, the River God could sense the power of incense offerings within him suddenly spilling out in a frenzy.
Only when he lowered his head did he discover a wound stretching from his chest all the way down to his lower abdomen.
Through the wound, the River God could even see the winter landscape of the Qingping Mountain Range behind him, its overlapping peaks blanketed in white snow.
His body had been pierced through by a single sword strike. What little incense power remained in his avatar rapidly dispersed, and his entire body began to collapse along with it.
Drawing on the last wisp of incense power lingering within his avatar, the River God forced himself to turn toward the handsome, radiant Daoist in azure robes and a jade crown. "What a swift sword..."
Then the River God's entire body exploded, crumbling into dust!
On the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month, in year 39,825 of the Shanhe Calendar, Jiang Sheng of Qingping Mountain defied the difference in realms as a Foundation Establishment cultivator and slew the Purple Mansion demon of the Taiping River with a single sword strike, emerging unscathed!
On Qingping Mountain, Zhang Qing, Zhang Qingyun, Xu Xiao, and Qiao Xuan stared at the sky. The River God, who had been majestic and insufferably arrogant just a moment before, had been slain instantly by a single sword strike. The four stood stunned for a long while, unable to recover.
Daoist Jiang had actually slain the River God, and he seemed completely unharmed?!
Had the truth not been right before their eyes, Xu Xiao and Qiao Xuan would have thought they were dreaming!
Meanwhile, the people at the foot of Qingping Mountain fell into silence.
That mighty River God, whose divine power had been overwhelming and unstoppable, had simply died?
The River God who had enjoyed their incense offerings for fifty years and demanded the sacrifice of countless children had simply died?
The River God who had been about to flood Qingping Mountain, calling wind and summoning rain to draw down a vast curtain of water just a moment ago, had simply died?
Whether a quarter of an hour or three had passed, no one could tell. Suddenly, cheers erupted from the crowd, and then thousands upon thousands began cheering and weeping.
The River God was dead. They had survived!
Countless people gazed at the figure hovering silently in the air and bowed deeply. "We thank Daoist Jiang for saving all the people from fire and flood!"
The cries of thousands scattered the dark clouds still lingering overhead, revealing the sun that had long been hidden behind them.
Warm sunlight shone upon Qingping Mountain, making the Daoist in the sky look even more like an immortal.
Zhang Qingyun watched Jiang Sheng receive the kneeling homage of the people, his expression conflicted, unsure whether he felt joy or worry. "Qingxuan Temple will never lack incense offerings again."
"Everyone, the demon has been slain, and the floodwaters have receded. Please return home as soon as you can." Jiang Sheng's clear, calm voice rang out in the air.
The people bowed once more before setting off for home in small groups with their neighbors.
When Jiang Sheng returned to the entrance of Qingxuan Temple, Zhang Qingyun again brought Zhang Qing forward to bow. "I thank you, Daoist Jiang, for ridding Qingshan County of this great scourge."
Xu Xiao and Qiao Xuan also offered Jiang Sheng their congratulations. His ability to defy the difference in realms and slay a Purple Mansion foe while at Foundation Establishment filled them with admiration. If not for the disparity in their standing, they would likely have already taken the initiative to befriend him.
Jiang Sheng nodded slightly, then said, "We merely each obtained what we needed. As it happens, my task is complete, but you still have much to attend to, Magistrate."
Zhang Qingyun nodded. He understood Jiang Sheng's meaning: now that the River God of the Taiping River was gone, he ought to return to Qingshan County to handle the aftermath. Put plainly, it was time for him to leave.
Xu Xiao then asked, "Daoist Jiang, now that the demon of the Taiping River has been slain, why don't we explore his abode?"
Jiang Sheng glanced at Xu Xiao, then at Qiao Xuan. "Fellow Daoist Xu and Fellow Daoist Qiao, you have both exhausted yourselves today. That demon may well have left formations and traps in his abode. Why not rest and recover today, then set out tomorrow?"
Qiao Xuan agreed with the suggestion. "Daoist Jiang has a point. Both Fairy Xu and I suffered significant injuries while holding off that demon. We do need time to recuperate properly."
Thus, the three agreed to meet outside East River Town at noon the next day and explore the demon's abode together.
Xu Xiao then summoned her brocade handkerchief artifact and left with Zhang Qingyun and Zhang Qing. Before departing, she clearly had something she wished to say to Jiang Sheng, but she took Zhang Qingyun and Zhang Qing back to the county town first.
After those three had gone, Qiao Xuan exchanged a few more words with Jiang Sheng before taking his leave as well. He still had to find his disciple.
Once everyone had dispersed, Qingxuan Temple grew quiet again.
Exhaling a deep breath of stale air, Jiang Sheng opened his hand and studied the faintly glowing grain in his palm, which looked somewhere between stone and metal.
After the River God had been slain, his remains had crumbled to dust, leaving only this tiny thing behind.
Jiang Sheng frowned deeply at this remnant of the River God, finding it somehow familiar yet strange. "How peculiar..."
"Master." Tian Ming'an emerged from the temple and bowed respectfully.
Jiang Sheng put away the sole remaining fragment of the River God's remains and glanced at Tian Ming'an. "Have you thought it through?"
Tian Ming'an nodded. "I have, Master."
"If you've thought it through, why are you still standing here? Go do your lessons." Jiang Sheng lightly tapped Tian Ming'an on the head, then stepped into the temple.
He was not nearly as unscathed as he appeared. In truth, that sword strike had taken a great deal out of him.
Leaving aside the spiritual power he had expended, his sword-wielding right arm was still trembling slightly.
Only because Jiang Sheng had kept his hand hidden in his sleeve and held his hands behind his back had nothing seemed amiss. Otherwise, Xu Xiao and Qiao Xuan would certainly have noticed that he was already a spent arrow at the end of its flight.
Fortunately, that breathtaking sword strike had awed them. Neither Qiao Xuan nor Xu Xiao had imagined that the seemingly effortless Jiang Sheng had already exhausted his strength.
He had been holding himself together through sheer will.
He could not reveal anything amiss before an old hand like Qiao Xuan, nor could he show weakness before Zhang Qingyun, the local power.
Besides, who knew whether some hidden evil cultivator or rogue cultivator nearby was waiting to play the oriole behind the mantis stalking the cicada?
One could never dispense with caution toward others, so Jiang Sheng had remained composed throughout, as though slaying a Purple Mansion cultivator were nothing worth boasting about.
Even before his own disciple, Jiang Sheng remained poised and at ease. Not even Tian Ming'an noticed anything wrong.
Walking leisurely into the temple, Jiang Sheng sat cross-legged before the ancestral master's portrait in the front hall and began meditating as usual.
Late that night, as Jiang Sheng drew upon moonlight to cultivate, he reflected on the day's battle. The River God's final behavior kept leaving him with a strange feeling.
Yet Jiang Sheng could not explain why, so he could only set that doubt aside for now.
Young Master Kongxu is dead. I'll leave his possessions aside for now. My sword strike today clearly didn't flow smoothly. Although that was partly because I forced myself to execute the sword move, my body does still have weaknesses. It seems I can't keep that tiger demon's body in my storage pouch any longer.
Jiang Sheng had originally intended to save the tiger demon's body for later use, but now it seemed he needed to refine it into a batch of second-tier pills to strengthen his physique.
There were no cultivator gathering places near Qingshan County, much less any spiritual herbs.
To purchase spiritual herbs, he would have to go at least as far as the prefectural city of Dongjun, but that was simply too distant.
Thinking about it now, I can only hope there's something useful in that River God's abode. Jiang Sheng pondered this as he quietly began circulating his energy through a full cycle to restore his body.
At noon the following day, three figures flew toward the outskirts of East River Town from three different directions.
After the floodwaters receded, East River Town remained a scene of deathly silence and devastation. The drowned bodies of chickens, ducks, cattle, sheep, and people lay everywhere, swollen and pale from soaking in the water. Vast stretches of buildings had been destroyed and collapsed, leaving only broken walls.
After Jiang Sheng, Xu Xiao, and Qiao Xuan met, they wasted little time and plunged straight into the water, heading toward the bottom of the Taiping River.
The Taiping River here was no more than a hundred zhang deep, and the three soon discovered the towering Taiping River Palace on its bed.
They studied the river palace beneath the crushing weight of the waters. Large gilded characters adorned the plaque above its gate, and the entire residence was grand and imposing. Its layout resembled a county or prefectural government compound, lending it an air of dignity and authority.
A curtain of light flowed around the residence, unmistakably a water-repelling formation.
Xu Xiao volunteered to step forward. After studying it for a while, she tentatively injected a stream of spiritual power, then smiled. "This is a third-tier Flowing Light Jadewater Formation. It isn't particularly difficult to unravel."
Qiao Xuan looked rather surprised. "Fairy Xu, are you proficient in formations?"
"I wouldn't call myself proficient. I've merely made some modest progress." Smiling, Xu Xiao took a Tracking Array Disk from her storage pouch, then infused it with spiritual power and began using it to manipulate the formation.
"If its master were controlling this formation, my attempt to break it would certainly provoke its attacks and backlash."
"But now that the demon is dead, the formation has no master. All that remains is its basic defensive function."
"As long as we're careful, we won't trigger a counterattack."
As Xu Xiao explained, her hands never stopped moving. Strands of icy-blue spiritual power flowed into the Tracking Array Disk. With a continuous series of hand seals guiding them, she located a weak point in the formation.
"Daoist Jiang, attack here!" Xu Xiao waved her hand, marking the spot with a glimmer of spiritual light.
Without hesitation, Jiang Sheng drew his sword and slashed at the point indicated by Xu Xiao's light.
The next instant, the flowing radiance at that spot briefly stalled, then a small breach appeared.
"Quickly, the formation will repair itself soon." As she spoke, Xu Xiao led the charge into the formation, with Jiang Sheng and Qiao Xuan close behind.
Less than two breaths after the three entered, the damaged light curtain repaired itself, and the entire formation returned to normal.
Qiao Xuan surveyed the imposing residence. Thinking of the legacy left by a Purple Mansion being, a gleam of eagerness flashed through his eyes. "Daoist Jiang, Fairy Xu, shall we split up to explore, then regroup here?"
Jiang Sheng nodded. "That will work. Finishing our exploration of this residence as quickly as possible is no bad thing."
With their plan settled, the three split up.
Jiang Sheng headed straight for the main hall. Neither Qiao Xuan nor Xu Xiao objected. After all, Jiang Sheng had slain the River God, so naturally he would receive the lion's share of the valuables.
That was also why Jiang Sheng had chosen the main hall. Logically, it should contain the fine items the abode's master used most often.
Yet when Jiang Sheng entered the main hall, all he saw was a formation embedded within it and rows of burning red candles, each half a person's height.
The formation looked grand and radiant, yet something sinister seeped faintly from it.
Upon closer inspection, Jiang Sheng discovered that those red candles were actually children, all younger than six!
The next instant, a three-foot blade was already in Jiang Sheng's hand. "I wondered why that demon demanded six pairs of boys and girls every year. So it was to sustain this evil formation!"
Gentlemen, there's a reason today's update was late. Lin Yuan had diarrhea, three bouts in one day. It was miserable. After waking from a nap, Lin Yuan felt dizzy, with an upset stomach and nausea. It feels like it was something unclean that Lin Yuan ate.
Lin Yuan only eats twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening, noodles both times...
Boo-hoo, poor Lin Yuan, getting an upset stomach from eating noodles.
(End of chapter)
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