River of Oblivion Rerouting Incident

A heaven-shaking roar rolled up from the foot of the mountain. The waters of the River of Oblivion had already swallowed the mountain's base, churning higher and higher as they spread up the slopes, devouring everything in their path!

Xu Ying and the Snake Demon Yuan Qi rushed back to the ruined temple, one ahead of the other. Suddenly, the weather turned bitingly cold. The Snake Demon grew dazed, nearly falling into hibernation from the freezing cold.

"Yuan Qi, hurry and circulate your vitality! Don't freeze to death!" Xu Ying shouted a warning.

They circulated their vitality to warm themselves, but the chill seemed to bore straight into their marrow. Even their vitality struggled to drive it out.

Xu Ying shivered as he circulated Great Sun Body Tempering, and his body felt slightly warmer.

He brought his hands together heavily before his chest, then crossed them with a violent jerk. A flash of fire burst from his palms and ignited the dying campfire.

The human and snake came to the campfire and saw that its flames had turned a ghastly green. One elderly face after another would occasionally emerge from the green fire, rolling its white eyes and forming a silent scream. It was spine-chilling!

"No wonder this temple is so dilapidated. The feng shui here is terrible!" the Snake Demon Yuan Qi stammered in fright.

At the foot of the mountain, a man in a yellow robe led five strange figures swiftly up the slope.

"True Yang Vitality—evil yin cannot invade!"

The man in the yellow robe chanted as he ran. Suddenly, a dense True Yang aura burst from within him, forcing back the Yin Energy and Evil Energy brought by the River of Oblivion.

His True Yang Vitality was incomparably vigorous and domineering. The area around him was like a blazing furnace, unbearably hot, yet it carried a heavy Demonic Energy.

Under the disturbance of his Demonic Energy, the five strange figures beside him involuntarily revealed their true forms, transforming into enormous demons!

The man in the yellow robe was the Mountain God of this Stone Mountain, Huang Siping. He usually lived in the Mountain God Temple and was revered as the Stone Mountain God. The five strange figures under him were demons guarding the Stone Mountain God Temple—nothing more than a muntjac, a wild fox, a wild dog, and a mountain cat, along with similar creatures.

They guarded Stone Mountain and, under the City God's orders, searched everywhere for Xu Ying. They had planned to return to the Mountain God Temple at midnight, but then they heard the elephant cry that erupted when the Snake Demon Yuan Qi broke through, so they came looking.

They had just started up the mountain when the River of Oblivion surged over, cutting off their retreat. They had no choice but to keep fleeing desperately uphill!

The Stone Mountain God Huang Siping led the demons in a mad dash, but the River of Oblivion rose too quickly. Before long, it swallowed a fox demon!

The fox demon fell into the water. In the blink of an eye, its fur and flesh dissolved, leaving only a dry skeleton to be swept away by the waves.

The demons' scalps went numb, and they fled for their lives. Yet beneath the moonlight, they saw figures moving in the distance. The Stone Mountain God Huang Siping looked over and was startled. "The Grass Head Gods from the villages of Deng Family Store, Wu Family Ridge, Old Wharf, and the others? They came too!"

The deities of villages and towns were Grass Head Gods. They were virtuous people who, after death, had their souls enshrined as gods and moved into statues. Huang Siping, however, was a great demon who had cultivated the true path and reached the Seventh Level of Martial Arts. He had been conferred as a Mountain God—in other words, he had become a god through his physical body.

Although both absorbed the incense offerings of the common people and enjoyed their sacrifices, there was a fundamental difference between them.

The Grass Head Gods fled for their lives, one after another being swept into the waves of the River of Oblivion. Their divine statues shattered, and their souls were carried away by the river, vanishing without a trace.

The four demons beside the Stone Mountain God Huang Siping failed to escape either, being swallowed by the River of Oblivion one after another.

Huang Siping was about to charge into the ruined temple when he saw someone rushing over from the other side. It was a man dressed as an official, wearing black and red robes.

The two men came face-to-face. Both were startled and assumed guarded stances.

"So it's Lord Wei, the Prison Warden." The yellow fur on the Stone Mountain God Huang Siping's face trembled slightly.

The official in black and red was the man who had rescued Ding Quan. His name was Wei Chu, and he was one of the eight Prison Wardens of Lingling County. During the day, he had led two other Prison Wardens in pursuit of Xu Ying and rescued Ding Quan. Yet despite pursuing him the entire way, they had never managed to find Xu Ying.

He too had heard the elephant cry released when the Snake Demon Yuan Qi broke through and had hurried over. He had only just reached the mountain when the River of Oblivion changed course, and its waves swallowed his two comrades!

The deaths of two Nu Masters in succession left Wei Chu deeply shaken.

"So it's the Stone Mountain God." The corner of Wei Chu's eye twitched as he answered with a smile that did not reach his eyes.

The City God and County Magistrate Zhou Yang were at odds. Both wanted control of Lingling and had engaged in open and covert struggles for many years. As a result, the officials of Lingling and the gods under the City God were somewhat hostile toward each other.

This was especially true after Xu Ying's god-slaying case, which had left both sides poised for violence. Each had issued kill orders targeting the other's forces!

Wei Chu feared no Grass Head God, but the Stone Mountain God Huang Siping had been deified by a Demon King. His strength was formidable, making him a powerful rival!

The Stone Mountain God Huang Siping carried a ten-foot-long Hundred Refinements Horse-Slaying Saber on his back. He drew it into his hand to bolster his courage and said, "The River of Oblivion has changed course. We're all facing an annihilation-level disaster. Lord Wei, if we fight, both sides will suffer. If we join forces to cross this crisis, there may still be a way to live. What do you think?"

Wei Chu frowned and looked behind Huang Siping. The River of Oblivion was still rising and was about to swallow this place. The only high ground on Stone Mountain was the ruined temple before them.

If they fought, they could fall into the water at any moment and die without a burial place.

Wei Chu nodded. "With disaster at our door, we truly ought to help each other. Let bygones be bygones."

The two entered the ruined temple and saw a youth and a huge snake huddled around the campfire. The fire was a slick, oily green, and Ghost Souls kept rising from within it.

"Prisoner Xu Ying, do you recognize this official?" Wei Chu asked in a lofty, stern voice, exuding overwhelming official authority.

Xu Ying hurriedly gripped the silver in his sleeve and said warily, "Master Wei, I don't have any money to give you."

He had seen officials extort money before. Commoners had to plaster smiles across their faces and present the money with both hands. The officials would pretend not to look at it, holding themselves aloof, while quietly pocketing the cash. Then they would still say something like, "Don't do this again."

Xu Ying had been penniless in the past. Now that he had finally obtained a few pieces of broken silver, he planned to save it for when he fled elsewhere and use it as a bride-price to marry a wife. He did not want to give it away.

"Rebellious commoner! What's in your sleeve?" Wei Chu sneered. "This official has cultivated Fiery Golden Eyes. I can tell at a glance whether you have silver on you! But this official cannot accept your money. Your crime is far too serious; I cannot pardon you. The County Magistrate has ordered your death."

Xu Ying let out a breath of relief and said happily, "It's fine as long as he wants my life and not my money. If he wants my life, I'll beat him to death. If he wants my money, I really don't want to give it."

Wei Chu snorted and glanced at Huang Siping. "Does the Stone Mountain God want his life or his money?"

"I want both his money and his life!" Huang Siping's expression was indifferent. "The City God ordered his death. I work for the City God, so naturally I can't ask for money. But after killing him, I can search his corpse for cash. I can't work for nothing!"

Wei Chu narrowed his eyes and slowly slipped a hand into his sleeve. He smiled. "The violent commoner Xu Ying killed Steward Jiang. That is a case under the jurisdiction of the Mortal Realm."

The yellow fur on Huang Siping's face trembled as his hand tightened around the Hundred Refinements Horse-Slaying Saber. "The Jiang Family God was a god conferred by the Yin Court. Xu Ying's god-slaying therefore violated the laws of the Underworld."

Wei Chu smiled without warmth and pulled his hand from his sleeve. "The River of Oblivion is crossing over. If we unite, both sides benefit; if we fight, both sides suffer. Stone Mountain God, let's each take one step back and settle this after the river has passed. How about it?"

Huang Siping nodded silently.

Wei Chu sat beside the campfire and glanced at Xu Ying. "As a Snake Catcher, you clearly have some ability. Why become a bandit?"

Xu Ying gazed at the Ghost Souls being burned into silent shrieks within the fire. The corner of his mouth twitched. "The god lords and official lords left me no road to live. This commoner had no choice but to kill the god lords and official lords and carve out a path to survive."

Huang Siping sat opposite Wei Chu and, unusually, revealed the faintest smile. "Great Benevolent Man Xu, you were born with the makings of someone destined to be beheaded."

Wei Chu laughed. "That's your Demonic Nature. Xu Ying, your Demonic Nature is hard to tame. Even if you hadn't committed a crime today, you would have done so sooner or later. Look at the Stone Mountain God—he was tamed very well."

Huang Siping said flatly, "Lord Wei, you're a dog for the Zhou Family, while I'm a dog for the Yin Court. We're birds of a feather. Why put on airs and criticize each other?"

Wei Chu smiled and did not take offense.

Xu Ying rose and looked outside the temple. The flood roared and continued to rise, already reaching the entrance. Its rise had gradually slowed, but it would still inundate the ruined temple before long!

He looked around. Apart from the ruined temple, there was nowhere higher to escape the River of Oblivion.

"Do either of you know what exactly caused the River of Oblivion to change course?" Xu Ying asked as he turned around.

Huang Siping and Wei Chu sat before the constantly haunted campfire, warming themselves. Their faces were both reflected in a lush, eerie green.

Wei Chu's smile appeared somewhat sinister. "According to ancient tradition, there is a river in the Underworld called the River of Oblivion. It carries the souls of the dead. That long river follows its own rules in the Underworld and does not change course easily. Only one thing can make the River of Oblivion change course."

Xu Ying asked, "What thing?"

The campfire cast a green glow into Wei Chu's eyes as he smiled. "A large-scale death event in the Mortal Realm."

Xu Ying was puzzled. "Why would a large-scale death event cause the river to change course?"

Wei Chu did not answer.

"The River of Oblivion is a long river that receives the souls of the dead," Huang Siping said. "Originally, branches of the River of Oblivion flowed through every region of the Mortal Realm. The number of people who died each day was fixed, so the branches could receive them in an orderly fashion. But if large numbers of people died, far exceeding the original number, the branches would be unable to receive them all. The main river would therefore change course!"

He paused before adding, "In other words, a large-scale death event occurred in the direction toward which the River of Oblivion is flowing."

Xu Ying looked toward the direction in which the River of Oblivion flowed. It was west.

"What happened west of Lingling? Why did the Underworld's River of Oblivion come to the Mortal Realm?"

Xu Ying continued asking, "Aren't yin and yang supposed to follow an orderly pattern? The Underworld is the Underworld, and the Mortal Realm is the Mortal Realm, each with its own laws of operation. Why did the River of Oblivion invade the Mortal Realm?"

"An excellent question!" Wei Chu praised him, but did not answer, because he did not know either.

Huang Siping fell silent as well.

Unable to hold back, Yuan Qi said, "The Underworld invaded the Mortal Realm a long time ago. The River of Oblivion has changed course many times too. Eight hundred years ago, the River of Oblivion changed course once, and the Underworld invaded the Mortal Realm. Later, in the fourteenth year of Tianbao, the river changed course again."

Wei Chu and Huang Siping turned toward him in unison, their eyes filled with doubt.

The rebellion of the Prince of Dongping in the fourteenth year of Tianbao had killed many people, which could indeed have caused the River of Oblivion to change course. But what had happened eight hundred years ago? Even an old demon like Huang Siping did not know.

How could a little Snake Demon like Yuan Qi know so clearly?

"My family has many books, and I enjoy reading," Yuan Qi said with refined elegance. "Three generations of my family have loved reading. We've collected countless books over the past three hundred years. My family has a profound scholarly heritage—we're a family of scholars..."

Wei Chu cut him off. "What good is reading? Can it make you an official?"

Yuan Qi looked somewhat aggrieved and fell silent.

The River of Oblivion continued to rise, finally surging into the ruined temple. Xu Ying and the others immediately rose and leaped onto the temple roof.

However, they all knew that if the river rose any further, it would inevitably submerge the ruined temple, and its waters would dissolve their flesh and blood!

Wei Chu's eyes flickered as he glanced at Xu Ying, Huang Siping, and the Snake Demon Yuan Qi. He thought, Although the River of Oblivion devours flesh and blood, it seems unable to dissolve bones. If the water rises any further, I'll have no choice but to kill them and use their bones as stepping-stones!

He suddenly noticed Huang Siping's flickering gaze as the other man secretly sized him up. His heart turned cold. The Stone Mountain God must be thinking the same thing!

The waters continued to rise, gradually invading the ruined temple's Great Hall of Heroes. River water also surged in from the rear courtyard, and the flood was about to reach the well beneath the bell in the pavilion.

Wei Chu was about to strike and kill someone to use the corpse as a foothold when the ruined temple suddenly erupted with a radiance that soared into the heavens, shining so brightly that everyone could barely open their eyes!

The dazzling divine light shot into midair and suddenly exploded!

"Clang—"

An incomparably sonorous bell rang out. The burst of light transformed into a gigantic bell-shaped halo that inverted itself over the ruined temple. As the bell reverberated, it forced back the River of Oblivion surrounding them!

On the roof of the ruined temple, Xu Ying and the others were aghast. Looking around, they saw that the Great Bell encircling the ruined temple had taken on physical form—a thick wall of light!

All sorts of strange patterns surfaced on the wall of light, flashing and vanishing as they formed different images.

Beyond the luminous bell, the River of Oblivion surged higher and higher. Under the assault of the flood, countless savage Ghost Souls repeatedly slammed into the bell wall, only to be shaken apart by the great bell and transformed into wisps of green smoke!

Xu Ying and the others felt the weather grow warm again, no longer as cold as before.

"It's the bell in the rear courtyard pavilion!"

Xu Ying realized the truth and looked toward the pavilion. Brilliant light shone from beneath the surface of the rust-covered bronze bell.

Everyone climbed down from the roof and came to the edge of the pavilion. Wei Chu said doubtfully, "I never expected such a ruined temple to contain a treasure of this caliber. But why would such a treasure be hung here without anyone taking it away?"

Suddenly, the Stone Mountain beneath their feet shook violently. The earth trembled and the mountains swayed!

Xu Ying and the other two hurriedly reached out to hold the pavilion's pillars, only then managing to steady themselves. Each wore an expression of alarm and uncertainty.

The light from the Great Bronze Bell hanging in the pavilion grew even more dazzling. Its radiance shone into the well, illuminating the darkness at the bottom. Xu Ying suddenly caught sight of enormous black iron scales sliding below!

They belonged to the body of a colossal creature!

He leaned over the well and looked carefully.

Suddenly, the black iron scales stopped moving and withdrew to either side.

In the pitch-black well, a blue eye with a vertical pupil rose up, filling the entire bottom of the well as it gazed at him eerily.

Countless whispering voices filled Xu Ying's mind, causing thousands upon thousands of thoughts to burst into his consciousness in an instant.