Then several streams of black mist flew out from the chaotic black fog, wrapping around Shen Luo like vines, but he dodged them all with seemingly dangerous footwork.
Horse Face Demon was already glowing red, urging his protective white mist in an attempt to break free from his restraints.
Just as Shen Luo was about to reach his side, the chaotic black mist churned and dispersed, and the true form of the River-Quelling Water Beast reappeared behind Horse Face. It suddenly opened its blood-red maw, and a black vortex appeared in the middle, as if it wanted to swallow him whole.
Shen Luo thought to himself, "This is bad," and immediately raised his hand and waved it. A water arrow shot out from his sleeve, with three or four Minor Thunder Talisman stuck to its tip. With a "whoosh," it hit the top of the water beast's head.
A thunderous boom!
Several streaks of snow-white lightning flashed across the night sky once more, striking the River-Quelling Water Beast directly.
"Roar..."
It suddenly let out a roar, and its swallowing motion froze.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Shen Luo flashed to Horse Face's side and handed him the Iron Soul-Snatching Brush.
At this moment, the red light on Horse Face's body had reached its peak. As soon as the Soul-Snatching Brush landed in his hand, a powerful aura exploded from his body.
Shen Luo was thrown backward by the force, and only managed to regain his balance after a somersault using the Slanting Moon Step.
He quickly looked in that direction and saw that Horse Face had completely escaped, one hand forming a hand seal and the other holding a brush, beginning to write in the void.
"Since you didn't bring the Fiend-Subduing Flask, then you're unlucky. I'll just have to kill you!" the Soul-Snatching Horse-Face roared angrily.
His hands moved faster and faster, and a dense text was quickly written. In mid-air, it transformed into a blood-red chapter, which, like Heavenly Net, surrounded the River-Quelling Water Beast from all directions.
Under the red light, the blood-red chapter began to shrink rapidly, and the mist on the River-Quelling Water Beast was continuously drawn back into its body, allowing its original true form to reappear.
" Soul-Luring Spirit-Seizing, Hundred-Fiend Suppression!" Horse Face sprang up and shouted.
The runes on the Soul-Snatching Brush in his hand suddenly lit up, and the brush body grew ten times larger, like a long spear thrusting straight out, piercing directly through the water beast's forehead, with the tip of the brush emerging from the back of its head.
"Ouch..."
The River-Quelling Water Beast let out a heart-wrenching roar, its body churning violently with mist, which was completely absorbed by the Soul-Snatching Brush, gradually revealing its flesh and bones.
However, the white bones and flesh soon decayed into ash and eventually scattered.
Just then, from the ashes of the River-Quelling Water Beast that had seemingly vanished, a breath suddenly rose, transforming into a dense black mist that shot into the sky and hurtled towards the west of the city.
The Soul-Snatching Horse-Face had clearly not noticed anything amiss beforehand. By the time it tried to stop them, it was too late. After taking two steps, it suddenly stumbled and almost fell to the ground, so it had no choice but to give up.
Shen Luo initially wanted to step forward to inspect, but after a slight hesitation, he remained where he was and did not immediately go forward.
At this moment, the Soul-Snatching Horse-Face stood up straight again and turned to look at him.
Shen Luo clasped his hands in a fist salute from afar and bowed to him.
After a moment of hesitation, Horse Face suddenly flicked his sleeve, and a flash of light appeared on his body, transforming him back into the appearance of a pale-faced scholar.
"Come with me." He strode past Shen Luo and said this.
After a moment's thought, Shen Luo immediately followed.
The two walked one after the other across the badly damaged Zhenhuai Bridge, and their figures disappeared at the end of the street.
About an Daoist Bai Shui, who had been unconscious for a long time, was awakened. He looked around blankly and realized that there were three or four figures surrounding him.
"Third Elder!" He focused his gaze and immediately recognized one of the faces, calling out.
The man was short, with a thin face and some gray hair, but his eyes were very sharp; it was none other than Bai Jiangfeng.
The three people beside him were an old man with a short beard, an old woman with purple eyebrows, and a hunchback. They were all elders of several prominent cultivation families in Jianye City, and their seniority was not low.
"Fellow Daoist Baishui, what exactly happened here?" The short-bearded old man in brocade robes asked first.
His name was Lin Shanguo, and he was an elder of the main branch of the Lin Family in Jianye. Although the family's strength was slightly inferior to that of the Bai Family, his own cultivation was no less than that of Bai Jiangfeng.
The old woman with purple eyebrows and the hunchbacked man were elders of the Du Family and Wang Family in the city, respectively. When Lin Shanguo asked this question, they exchanged glances and focused their attention on Daoist Bai Shui.
Daoist Bai Shui was about to speak when he suddenly paused, glanced at Bai Jiangfeng, and then said, "There are indeed evil spirits in the city. Just now, I saw something strange in the backyard, and when I went out to check, I was ambushed by Water Ghost and fainted..."
"That's it?" Lin Shanguo was clearly dissatisfied with this simple answer.
"If it's not like that, then what could it be?" Before Daoist Bai Shui could speak, Bai Jiangfeng frowned and asked in return.
"Please explain in as much detail as possible, Fellow Baishui Shui, this is for the good of our Jianye City," said the Purple-Eyebrowed Old Woman.
"Fellow Daoist Du is right. In these turbulent times, we should all work together. If we discover anything, we should not keep it to ourselves," the hunchbacked man said in a hoarse voice.
After a slight hesitation, Bai Jiangfeng slowly said, "Please elaborate, it's alright."
Upon hearing this, Daoist Bai Shui recounted in detail what he had seen and experienced before he lost consciousness.
However, he had fainted too early and knew very little to begin with. After hearing his story, the others were quite disappointed. They all secretly guessed the identity of the pale-faced scholar, but to no avail.
On the other side, Shen Luo had already followed Horse Face to a secluded pavilion.
After the two sat down facing each other, the pale-faced scholar stared at him for a long time before finally asking:
"Young man, why do you recognize me?"
Shen Luo sighed inwardly, realizing that his earlier shout of " Soul-Snatching Horse-Face " had been far too abrupt.
Their encounter in the dream took place a thousand years in the future, so it's clear that the current Horse Face doesn't recognize him.
However, Shen Luo still had some doubts. He remembered that when they first met at the Netherworld Altar, it was Horse Face who called out his name first, and at that time he was just as confused as Horse Face was now.
"My name is Shen Luo. I've heard some legends about you before, but I never imagined I'd actually meet you today," Shen Luo said, hastily making up an excuse.
Upon hearing this, the Soul-Snatching Horse-Face seemed to believe it to some extent, and said, "Regardless, if it weren't for your help earlier, defeating this Water Baleful Energy today would have taken a lot of effort."
As he spoke, he took out a black, oily gourd from his sleeve. He seemed to remember that he had carelessly forgotten to bring the Fiend-Subduing Flask, and a hint of embarrassment flashed across his face.
"I wonder what kind of Water Baleful Energy you mentioned, senior?" Shen Luo asked in confusion.
"The evil spirits and malevolent energy in the water accumulate over the years, forming a chilling and malevolent aura with a certain degree of sentience—this is Water Baleful Energy. However, it is not easy for such a thing to take shape; it is often conceived in rivers of blood where corpses float and stray stones drift." The Soul-Snatching Horse-Face took a sip of wine before slowly explaining.