Spirit Platform's Strange Incident, the Eerie Skull

Some people had hoped to get lucky, wanting to snatch a cheap advantage here, thinking that something rare and precious had floated up from beneath the river.

There was no treasure. Instead, they dredged up an enormous Blood Skull.

Fresh blood gushed forth, and the stench of blood soared to the heavens.

That very day, those fishermen died of illness for no apparent reason.

By the time the strange events began, several days had already passed.

The Blood Skull stained the riverwater near the shore red.

A strange white mist also rose across the river's surface. The fog appeared harmless, but when several cultivators quickly went in to probe it, they discovered that they seemingly could not get out.

Every boat that departed each day would circle and circle before returning to the riverbank, as though it had run into a Ghost Wall.

Yet stranger still, even when several Foundation Establishment Lineages sent people over, they were unable to resolve it.

As the days passed, goods piled up here without moving, while those who entered the mist and returned would die at night.

The cause of death was drowning.

This examination result left many cultivator coroners utterly baffled.

Some boats no longer dared to set out, afraid that disaster would befall them at any moment.

A dark cloud hung over the heads of countless people in Spirit Terrace County.

"What do we do? What the hell are these things?"

"It seems unaffected by spiritual energy attacks."

At the foot of Spirit Terrace Mountain.

"When did this piece of bone appear?"

"My lord, my lord, it was discovered a few days ago by an old man selling fish..."

After hearing the plea for help and understanding the situation, the green-robed youth appeared before Bai Shoucai.

Lu Qing frowned slightly. No ominous situation had appeared in his mind, which meant this place clearly posed no lethal danger to him.

Yet he could not say whether it was because his cultivation had risen and these things were useless against him, or for some other reason.

But allowing the river to remain blocked like this was no solution either.

More than half of Spirit Terrace County's prosperity depended on this waterborne trade route.

The place might have been somewhat remote, but branches of certain trading houses, auction houses, and firms still existed here.

With even several Lineages unable to solve the matter, they could only grit their teeth and come to the mountain foot to request an audience.

Lu Qing was also stationed here. He had thought he would be able to cultivate in peace, yet instead of a beast tide, this bizarre incident had appeared.

Lu Qing turned into wind and shadow. With a sweep of his sleeve, he swiftly brought the entire group to the city gate.

Standing atop the city wall, he gazed toward the mist and blood-red river not far away.

"What results did you get from your attempts?"

he asked.

Bai Shoucai hurriedly replied from beside him, "Reporting to Immortal Master, we sent people into this mist, but after those people came out, they all said they had merely been circling in place. After making one round, they somehow returned."

"And the blood river—the disturbance was caused by that Blood Skull. But our strength is meager. We gathered all the Foundation Establishment cultivators in the city and attacked it, yet that Blood Skull did not move at all. With no other option, we came to seek Immortal Master's aid."

"Blood Skull, mist over the great river..." Lu Qing felt as though he was about to grasp a flash of familiarity in his mind.

"Hey, what the hell is going on? It can't be that an Eerie has appeared, can it?"

A few people watching the spectacle in the crowd muttered quietly.

They believed their voices were very low, but Lu Qing still heard them clearly.

"Eerie?"

A trace of thought flickered through his eyes.

If it truly was an Eerie, that explained why no ominous situation had appeared.

An Eerie's power was thin, possessing only some inexplicable obsession.

"Over these years in Spirit Terrace County, what was the greatest incident you can remember happening here?"

The expressions of several people shifted slightly.

"This thing is an Eerie. Only by resolving its root cause can it be saved."

The mist blocked the lifeblood of those Lineages, but for Lu Qing, it was not a certain death situation.

"My lord, hiss, this..."

"An incident from the past several hundred years that could turn into an Eerie..."

"I can't remember. This river occasionally saw vendettas and killings too..."

After hearing them out one by one, Lu Qing suddenly thought of something. He looked at the bone, at its obvious skull-like shape.

But with his sharp gaze sweeping over it, he saw protrusions on both sides of the skull.

This thing did not look much like a human cultivator.

A thought turned in Lu Qing's mind. "This river was not ruled by cultivators before?"

"Hiss, Immortal Master Lu, I think I remember now. I heard my great-grandfather say that this river was not called the Spirit Terrace River in the past, but the Dragon King River. It was said that ten thousand years ago, a Dragon King once lived here. Countless tributaries, rivers, and lakes upstream and downstream all fell under that Dragon King's jurisdiction. But later, for some unknown reason, no one heard any more news of that Dragon King..."

Lu Qing's eyelid twitched. What the hell? He had only held a faint suspicion in his heart. He had never imagined that this Eerie thing would be connected to some Dragon King.

Since ancient times, what existence associated with the word dragon had ever been simple?

Lu Qing suddenly felt a chill run down his back. He even wanted to decisively enter seclusion from this day onward and refuse to emerge for less than a year.

But no skill had appeared in his mind, which somewhat steadied his nerves.

This thing clearly did not appear to be human, but saying it was that Dragon King from ten thousand years ago was absolutely impossible as well.

The Profound Heaven Dao Academy's records concerning this place had been compiled by generations of stationed cultivators.

At the mention of it, Lu Qing quickly recalled those thick records of stationed cultivators.

One entry said: An Immortal abode was once suspected to have emerged, yet it proved to be a Floating Light illusion.

"Could it really be that Dragon King?"

"Heavens, the Dragon King's cultivation was heaven-reaching. Can our Spirit Terrace County withstand it?"

Some people were deeply worried.

The people from several Lineages did not look well either.

Naturally, Lu Qing could sense their state of mind.

But he did not speak now. Instead, he focused all his attention on that blood-red bone upon the river's surface.

With a movement of his hand, an invisible breeze brushed over everyone's faces. Several guards defending the city shuddered. "Why does it suddenly feel colder?"

They did not know that a killing formation had just flown over their heads.

Lu Qing controlled it with his thoughts. "Have your people return."

He gave the order.

The people beside him froze, then swiftly realized that Lu Qing was about to act.

There were still many cultivators on the riverbank, along with some Rogue Cultivators who did not fear death and had gathered there to watch the excitement.

"Come back quickly!"

"Return to the city! Return immediately!"

Lu Qing controlled the formation.

Though it was called waiting, it took no more than a few breaths.

They were all cultivators. Seeing the familiar important figures atop the city wall, as well as the green-robed Immortal Master standing at the front, how could they not know that he was about to act?

In an instant, countless figures rapidly retreated into the city.

Lu Qing ignored the voices around him. His expression changed slightly, though nothing showed on his face.

Lu Qing's eyes flickered, because after the cultivators left, the Calamity Avoidance talent appeared in his mind once again.

He had originally believed that the opportunity he obtained last time had already offset the previous hexagram. It was not strange for a new hexagram to appear here now.

What was strange was why it had appeared at precisely this moment.

Could the connection behind this thing truly be that old Dragon King from ten thousand years ago?

Yet the hexagrams in his mind were rather unexpected.

[Slightly Ominous Hexagram: Remove the Eerie affliction, leave behind the Blood Skull, and then disturbances arise. Hidden dangers lurk, karma and causality become entangled, and escape is impossible. Slightly ominous.]

[Calming Hexagram: Remove the Eerie affliction, seal the Blood Skull, and sink it beneath the river's underwater palace. Disturbances arise later, with minor entanglements. Calming.]

[Calming Hexagram: Remove the Eerie affliction, destroy the Blood Skull. No entanglements, no disturbances. Calming.]

In that brief instant, Lu Qing immediately made his choice.

There was definitely something wrong with this Blood Skull—something seriously wrong.

The karma behind it was not something Lu Qing could withstand right now.

He flung out the formation in his hand, then struck toward the riverbank with his palm. It was Thousandfold Waves.

It was perfect for this place.

The river's surface had been calm as water, but suddenly the palm wind became layer upon layer of surging waves, each wave higher than the last. In the end, the overlapping waves rose high and instantly engulfed every wisp of mist.

Rumble—crack—

The Gale Formation began operating.

Eerie sounds of devouring and destruction rang out without end.

One should not cultivate beneath a crumbling wall.

Holding to this principle, Lu Qing controlled things from afar. To ensure that the Blood Skull died completely and cleanly, after striking with his palm, he also condensed several water arrows from spiritual energy in midair.

Screech—!

Endless water arrows transformed into a rain of arrows, piercing through the target in a single volley.

This string of actions sounded complicated, but it took only the span of a thought.

With such an enormous commotion, the river immediately erupted with rumble, rumble—

It was as though countless river waves had transformed into savage flood dragons, howling and roaring!

The shock made even the ground within the city tremble for several moments.

When Lu Qing did not act, he was still. But once he acted, his killing intent was chilling, wind and thunder roaring together. Many cultivators clamped their hands over their ears, their eardrums aching from the crashing waves.