[Essence Soul], Obtain Innate Ability (Tuesday PK, Seeking Follow-up Reads)

The Duan Gong snatched up the peach wood swords and rusted command blades at their feet, charging at Luo Bin with bloodshot eyes.

The lead old Duan Gong's wrinkled face flushed a livid "pig liver," his raspy voice cracking as he roared: "You city-born murderous scourge! You dare destroy the River God's spirit shrine—you're dragging the dozens of households in Dagang Village down to die with you!"

The other younger Duan Gong joined in with howls, their command blades whipping through the air with fierce momentum. From the look of it, they meant to hack Luo Bin to death right there before the shrine, as an apology to their so-called "River God."

Luo Bin stood before the shattered clay statue, not moving an inch.

He lowered his gaze slightly, sweeping a look over the broken pieces on the ground.

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Inside that pitch-black clay, there was not a trace of the gentle divinity a true god statue should hold. What it contained was nothing but blackened human bones, tangled clumps of hair, and yellow talismans stained with dried blood.

A chill, foul Turbid Qi seeped out from the fragments in wisps, somewhat similar to the aura of the Strange Specter in the cheongsam at Moon Veil Nightclub, only more rank, more murky, carrying the stench of decay from deep in the river.

Seeing the Duan Gong about to reach him, Luo Bin let out a cold snort through his nose. The Primordial Stance silently activated, and a pale golden surge of Pure Yang Qi and Blood erupted from his dantian, blasting outward like a wave of heat.

The two young Duan Gong at the front felt a fierce, unmatched hot wind slam into them. Their chests seemed to take a heavy blow from a boulder, and they flew backward, tumbling three or four times in the muddy ground.

Their command blades flew far off, and they spat out mouthfuls of sour water, unable to get up for a long while.

The lead old Duan Gong's steps ground to a halt, the hand gripping his peach wood sword trembling slightly.

He had lived his whole life, traveling north and south, cheating and swindling his way through this trade, but this was the first time he had seen someone send people flying with nothing but the force of their own aura.

Only then did he realize that the youth before him, who looked no more than sixteen or seventeen, was no ordinary rich city kid—he was a genuine expert.

But the arrow had left the bow; the shrine was already shattered. If the one in the water truly grew angry, the first to die would be him, the presiding Duan Gong.

The old Duan Gong ground his molars, turned his head, and screamed hoarsely at the villagers gathering around:

"Fellow villagers! This scourge has destroyed the River God's spirit shrine! The River God will soon unleash his wrath!

This year, the Ying River will surely flood, and our whole village will drown! If we don't sacrifice them and that girl to the River God, none of us will survive!"

These words were like pouring cold water into boiling oil, instantly igniting the emotions of the watching villagers.

Those who had only been watching from a distance now grabbed their hoes, sickles, and carrying poles, surging forward in a dark mass.

Men and women, old and young—every face bore the terror and venom of those pushed to the brink. Their eyes fixed on Luo Bin as if he were an unforgivable sinner.

"Get out! City-born scourge!"

"You destroyed the River God's shrine—can you afford to pay for that?!"

"Kill him! Throw him in the river as a sacrifice! Don't let him doom our whole village!"

Curses rose and fell like waves. Stones and clods of dirt rained down on Luo Bin.

Not far away, Chen Jing's eyes went red. He pulled out the silver revolver at his waist and fired a shot into the air. The deafening gunshot silenced the clamorous riverbank in an instant.

"Who dares take another step! Who dares move! I'll blow their head off!"

Chen Jing stood in front of Chen Mansheng, the usual smirk gone from the young man's face, replaced by a fierce glare. "Are you all blind? These old bastards are feeding your children to a monster, and you're still counting their money for them!"

"Monster? That's the River God!" the old Duan Gong shrieked, hopping on his feet. "Last year, if the Li Family girl hadn't run away from the sacrifice, would Dagang Village have lost several more households for no reason?

Have you all forgotten?!"

"Bullshit!" Chen Mansheng couldn't hold back either. Her usually delicate face was twisted with fury, her voice trembling.

"Last year's flood was from heavy rains upstream! What does that have to do with sacrificing children? You took a five-year-old child to feed a creature in the water—do you have any humanity left?!"

But these words fell on deaf ears for the villagers, whose spirits had been ground down to nothing.

To them, the River God Festival was a tradition passed down through generations—the only straw they could grasp in this chaotic world to beg for a way to live.

Even if that straw hung over a bottomless abyss, they would rather believe than wake up.

The crowd stirred again. At the front, several burly men raised their hoes and charged at the Chen siblings.

Zhang Huai and Hu Junzhi immediately stepped forward, each kicking two men to the ground. They had guns and overwhelming physical strength, but they couldn't just kill all the villagers closing in...

Otherwise, what difference would they be from the blood-drinking, flesh-eating monsters?

"Brother Luo! What do we do?!" Chen Jing shouted in panic. He instinctively raised his gun, but facing these deluded commoners, he couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger.

Luo Bin let out a cold laugh. He strode back to the fallen shrine and, under everyone's gaze, gently placed his foot on the clay head that had rolled out.

His sole twisted, as if grinding dust, crushing the so-called "River God statue" bit by bit into powder.

At the same time, his voice dripped with utter contempt and mockery: "River God? This filthy trash—how is it worthy of being called a god?"

Luo Bin picked up a piece of the statue fragment stained with black blood and tossed it into the river. His body's Pure Yang Qi and Blood blazed fiercely, and another roar rolled across the riverbank:

"Today, I want to ask—you thing in the river, what kind of god are you? A bit of stolen 'Turbid Qi,' a filthy cultivation built on how many human lives, and you dare call yourself a god?"

The villagers surrounding Chen Jing and the others now turned their attention to Luo Bin, a chorus of condemnation rising. Meanwhile, Hu Junzhi had already rescued the unconscious boy tied to the altar.

Luo Bin stared at the river's surface in silence for a few breaths, then waved toward the mound where the jeep was parked.

At that moment, bubbles began to rise from the river with a "gurgle, gurgle," and then with a "plop," a vicious creature leaped out. It had a deep blue, ghastly face covered in furrowed wrinkles, three vertical lines embedded in its forehead, and an overall appearance like an old ape.

It stood about one and a half meters tall, not giving Luo Bin much of a sense of pressure...

But it had no fur. Its entire body was covered in dark, greenish-black fish scales, and its claws were webbed with membranes between them.

Chen Jing gasped. "It's a Water Mountain Ghoul—I've read about this monster in the Anlan Water Records my eldest brother brought back! Roughly late-stage Golden Skin Pass strength."

Luo Bin looked at the Water Mountain Ghoul and waved his hand again. On a distant mound, a heavy Maxim was already in position, and two Chen Family guards opened fire without hesitation.

"Da-da-da-da-da-da—"

Bullets poured down like a curtain of rain.

Luo Bin leaped back to Chen Mansheng and Chen Jing's side. "So it's just a Demon Specter. I thought it'd be something troublesome..."

Chen Mansheng couldn't help but smile, her heart suddenly much lighter. "Times have changed. If it were an incorporeal Strange Specter, that'd be different, but for low-level Demon Specters like this, guns and explosives are still very useful..."

The Water Mountain Ghoul had barely climbed up when it was raked by a burst of bullets. With only roughly late-stage Golden Skin Pass strength, it collapsed to the ground, gasping its last...

Luo Bin snatched the Command Blade from the Duan Gong's hand and jumped onto the Water Mountain Ghoul's back.

Pfft—

Black-red blood instantly soaked the surrounding mud...

A golden opportunity to earn modification points—couldn't waste it. Luo Bin pressed harder and finished the thing off with one stroke.

[Modification Points +5]

[Obtained Water Mountain Ghoul Essence Soul—Phantom. Talent ability can be unlocked.]