This Lord is the River God of Shunling River, bow to this Lord immediately!

Rolling thunder echoed throughout the entire Cangmu Town.

Every citizen of Cangmu Town was stunned into speechlessness.

Many could not even believe their own ears.

What had they just heard?

Someone had come to slay the River Lord of the Shunling River?

Acting under the divine decree of the Orthodox Land God?

The Temple Keeper of Four Seas Village?

There were no such things as true gods in this world!

If there were truly righteous gods—

Would the world be overrun by demons and plagued by evil spirits everywhere?

No one believed it at all.

"It's over!"

"He's going to provoke the River Lord!"

"When the River Lord is enraged, he won't be appeased until he has devoured hundreds of people!"

"That so-called Temple Keeper of Four Seas Village deserves to die! Why did he have to come and provoke the River Lord?"

"If he wants to slay demons, can't he go somewhere else?"

"Five years ago, someone else came to slay the River Lord, and what happened? Not only was he eaten, but his anger caused the River Lord to sweep away hundreds of people, including my own son!"

"What a sin, what a sin! I only pray the River Lord does not get angry! This has nothing to do with us in Cangmu Town!"

"I beg the River Lord not to be angry!"

"Please, River Lord, calm your wrath!"

A large number of Cangmu Town residents knelt on the ground with pale faces, kowtowing incessantly toward the direction of the Shunling River.

They were filled with immense terror and fear.

The River Lord was monstrously terrifying.

It was impossible for anyone to slay the River Lord!

Their human race was too weak.

They were completely incomparable to demons.

Moreover, whenever the River Lord was enraged, he would devour many people!

They were terrified that their wives, children, and loved ones would be eaten by the River Lord.

Previously—

The River Lord only ate three people a month.

With so many people in the town, the odds of it being their turn were slim.

But if the River Lord were enraged, he would snatch away hundreds of people at once, meaning their wives, children, and kin could all be consumed!

The entire town.

Plunged into panic following the cold, booming shout of Li Youming.

Even the Wei Clan, the most powerful family in town, was trembling.

Let alone the rest of the townsfolk?

Li Youming stood quietly on the bank of the Shunling River, perched atop a willow tree.

He glanced back at the town, now mired in panic and fear, and sighed in his heart.

This was the current state of their human race.

Humanity was in decline, while demons were rampant.

When someone came to slay demons, it only caused the entire town to feel terror, and even resentment toward his arrival.

"I cannot blame them."

"The demon of the Shunling River has occupied this place for decades, long ago establishing deep-rooted authority in the hearts of the people of Cangmu Town."

"Time and again, people have come to slay the demon."

"Time and again, they have been eaten by the Shunling River demon instead."

"Every time the demon is provoked by a slayer, he massacres the townspeople."

"How pathetic!"

"How can our human race be so pathetic!"

A surge of anger welled up in his heart.

The Angry Demon General treated the human race as mere blood-food.

However, this surge of anger quickly transformed into gratitude toward Lord Zhangyue.

If not for Lord Zhangyue descending into this world to protect their Four Seas Village, their four villages would still be nothing more than blood-food for the wolf demons of Thousand Wolf Mountain today.

How could they even speak of slaying demons and eliminating devils?

Whoosh—

The Shunling River suddenly surged violently.

A massive vortex appeared on the surface of the water.

The entire Shunling River was neither particularly large nor small.

It spanned forty to fifty zhang in width, and at this moment, the vortex occupied nearly half the river, with billowing black mist erupting from within.

A dense, profound demonic aura permeated the air.

A giant snake, thicker than a water vat, lunged out from the vortex!

Its massive, pitch-black body coiled slightly, resembling a mountain of flesh suspended above the Shunling River.

Each scale reflected a cold light, as if carved from metal, making one feel they were indestructible at a single glance.

Its cold, slit pupils were filled with cruelty and bloodlust as it looked down upon Li Youming:

"An Orthodox God?"

"This Lord is the River Lord of the Shunling River; my divine rank is far higher than that so-called Orthodox Land God behind you."

"Tell that Orthodox God behind you to come and pay respects to this Lord immediately!"

"If this Lord is in a good mood, I might spare your life."

Its voice was low and hoarse; even just hearing it made one's heart turn cold.

Above its head, there were two faint, small protrusions, giving the impression that it was about to grow horns.

If it were to grow horns—

It could transform from a snake into a jiao, becoming a flood dragon.

In Cangmu Town.

The forty-something-year-old shamaness saw the giant snake lunge out and hover above the Shunling River, and she immediately knelt on the ground, shouting loudly:

"The River Lord has manifested!"

"We humans have offended the River Lord; we deserve to die a thousand deaths!"

"Why haven't you all knelt to beg for the River Lord's forgiveness and ask him to quell his anger!"

Her last sentence was sharp and severe, roared at the townspeople who were emerging from their homes one after another to kneel on the ground.

Instantly—

A large number of townspeople kowtowed repeatedly, their faces pale and filled with terror as they begged the River Lord to quell his anger.

A look of smugness appeared on the shamaness's face.

In Cangmu Town, she was the most powerful human!

Here, she was the local empress.

Whoever she disliked, she would offer to the River Lord the following month.

No one in the town did not fear her.

Even the most powerful Wei Clan had to kneel at her feet.

Thinking of how she was merely the lowliest slave in a brothel twenty years ago, and now she was the most powerful local empress in the town, she felt immensely satisfied.

In this Cangmu Town, she had everything she desired!

With the River Lord backing her, she feared no one!

"You still dare to come and bring trouble to the River Lord?"

"I want to see how the River Lord swallows you in one bite!"

She sneered, looking at the figure standing atop the willow tree.

Humans should submit to the feet of the River Lord and become his blood-food!

Resisting?

All humans who resist should be eaten by the River Lord!

"Presumptuous!"

"You lowly demon, how dare you show disrespect to an Orthodox God?"

"I, Li Youming, walk the mortal world on behalf of Lord Zhangyue; today, I shall slay you right here!"

Li Youming roared in anger.

He pinched a seal with his hands, and the surging 'Qi' within his body suddenly boiled over!

It was 'Qi' far exceeding that of the mid-second rank!

Both in quality and quantity!

BOOM—!

A massive golden blade, a zhang in length, manifested out of thin air, carrying terrifying golden light as it slashed fiercely toward the giant black snake!

The golden blade cleaved through the air, emitting a sharp, whistling sound!

"Hmm?!"

The giant black snake's cold, slit-like pupils shifted.

It roared, opening its maw to spew out a vast expanse of frigid mist.

Wherever the cold mist passed, the air itself was frozen, turning into ice shards that rained down.

It was, in fact, an ice-attribute demon!

Yet, the golden blade seemed capable of cutting through anything; the cold mist failed to freeze it at all before being severed by the blade!

Pfft—!

The golden blade struck the black snake with force. Those cold, reflective scales, which seemed indestructible, proved useless as icy snake blood sprayed out!

This single strike nearly severed the giant snake in two!

"ROAR—!"

The giant snake let out a howl of immense agony.

With its cold, slit-like pupils glaring viciously at Li Youming, its massive body suddenly dove toward the Shunling River!

It was afraid!

This human's methods were bizarre; he had wounded it in a single blow, and his strength was actually at the mid-third rank.

A whole level higher than itself!

But as long as it returned to the water, even a mid-third rank cultivator would be killed if they dared to pursue it!

The river was its domain!

"Trying to escape?"

Li Youming's expression was cold as he suddenly flicked his sleeve.

The surging 'Qi' within his body rushed out, condensing into a layer of clouds and mist over the surface of the Shunling River!

The spell he had previously acquired was the Lesser Cloud and Mist Protection Technique.

But after receiving the blessing from Lord Zhangyue this time, he discovered that the Lesser Cloud and Mist Protection Technique had evolved into the Cloud and Mist Method!

Its applications were infinite!

BANG—!

The giant black snake slammed into the clouds and mist, as if crashing into a mountain range; it was completely unable to pass through the undulating mist to enter the Shunling River.

A look of shock and fury appeared in its cold, slit-like pupils.

How could this be!