The object floated in midair, turning gently and radiating a faint spiritual glow. It was the Dream Spirit Body Lin Rouniang had left behind, containing her mind and will.
Zuo Zhongliang was a mortal, after all, and his knowledge was limited. He had told Li Ling that these Nightmare-Suppression Arts were nothing worth mentioning because most practitioners he had encountered were half-trained lackeys of the Demonic Path.
In reality, however, once the balance of strength was clear, the party whose weakness had been seized would grow weaker and weaker, until there was no turning back.
That was a truly terrifying prospect.
Yet when Li Ling settled his mind and searched for Lin Rouniang again, he found that she had vanished from his senses.
It was like a flower whose petals were gone, leaving only their lingering fragrance on his hand. Only a tenuous thread of connection remained.
Had she actually woken up?
Li Ling immediately invoked his divine authority to travel to the corresponding location in the real world.
What he had not anticipated, however, was that not only Lin Rouniang herself, but the whole of Sourcewater Township had severed its connection to this domain. For the moment, he could not reach it through the Divine Kingdom's domain.
Lin Rouniang had used the divine authority in her possession to cut off that connection herself.
Whatever the case, this had indirectly freed the place from disaster. Human effort could still contend with ordinary flooding.
Undiscouraged, Li Ling soon found a nearby place to descend, then traveled through the real world in his Spirit Body to Lin Rouniang's hiding place.
In Sourcewater Township, the Demonic Path's stronghold stood deserted.
Everything had happened only a short while ago. Frequently hunted by the Unusual Events Bureau, they already had ample experience relocating.
Li Ling traveled farther and farther, following the scent of Lin Rouniang he could detect.
Just under an hour later, he reached a wood on the outskirts of Sourcewater Township, far from the river, and spotted Lin Rouniang resting on a rock.
Li Ling found the sight rather odd. Her expression was far too composed.
Since Lin Rouniang possessed the means to sense him, she should have noticed his approach already, so Li Ling simply observed her openly.
But he immediately discovered a problem.
She doesn't seem able to sense me. Is she pretending not to notice, or is something wrong?
Li Ling shaped Gang and baleful intent into a sword, concentrated his Divine Sense into a single strike, and attacked with all his strength. In an instant, it pierced Lin Rouniang's body.
The ease of his success startled even him.
Lin Rouniang froze, then lowered her head to look at the wound in her body, a hint of surprise appearing on her face.
"So you really can find me!"
Her expression instantly turned cold as frost. She quickly stood, took a fire starter from her sleeve, and set herself alight.
Li Ling stopped and watched as this Lin Rouniang gradually turned into a lifelike paper figure. Flames rose over its body and swallowed it completely.
Ash scattered on the breeze like fluttering black butterflies.
Li Ling stood there watching for a long while before slowly saying, "This is a forest, you know. Have you no sense of public responsibility?"
His Divine Sense crushed the remaining embers. After extinguishing the paper ash, he quietly departed.
It seemed she had already gone far away. Finding her again would not be easy anytime soon.
Li Ling truly had not expected her to possess a secret art involving paper figures.
The thing had perfectly imitated her bodily aura, deceiving even him before he realized it.
Fortunately, he still had her Dream Spirit. Until that anchor vanished completely, he still had some chance.
Returning to Barren Mountain in the northern outskirts, Li Ling carefully inspected the cultivation methods Lin Rouniang had given him. Fortunately, there was nothing wrong with those.
Most of Li Ling's current foundation in the soul path came from the Divine Soul Jade Scroll the Old Ancestor had given him. It contained the personal insights and experiences of many great cultivators, along with soul-path knowledge delivered from a commanding height. Assessing these materials posed no problem.
Clearly, Lin Rouniang had considered herself the weaker party from the outset and had never intended to provoke Li Ling.
But his sudden attack had made her resolve to cut her losses decisively and escape his control however she could.
She had even vaguely guessed that Li Ling possessed some means of tracking her. She simply did not know he relied on scent, assuming instead that it was closely connected to the Divine Kingdom's domain.
Using that paper-figure secret art had, by a lucky fluke, hit the mark.
Thinking about it now, he might have noticed something amiss if he had distinguished the scent more carefully. But he had never seen anything like it before, and so he had been deceived.
After some thought, Li Ling simply went to the Unusual Events Bureau and secretly delivered a warning under the guise of a mysterious expert.
Naturally, this left the Unusual Events Bureau deeply alarmed. They imposed a lockdown for most of the night, jumping at every whisper of wind and cry of a crane.
Li Ling knew it was not good to unsettle them like this. But he hoped they could draw up a proper plan to obstruct the Demonic Path's activities and save more ordinary lives, so he could not concern himself with much else.
When Li Ling woke the next morning, he could not help pausing in surprise.
"Is it raining today?"
Still lying in bed, he heard the patter and rush of rain outside the window. Droplets struck the roof tiles, playing a tune without rhythm.
The maid on night duty said, "Yes, Prince Consort. Such heavy rain, it's difficult even to go outside."
Draping a brocade fur robe around himself, Li Ling stepped down from the ivory bed. The thick wool carpet felt pleasant beneath his bare feet. A specially built eave sheltered the window, keeping even half a drop of rain from blowing inside.
But from where he stood, heaven and earth were one vast blur. Torrential rain poured down like pearls from a broken string.
Merely looking at the scene gave one the oppressive sensation of breathing in mist, brought on by the moisture in the air.
Li Ling sighed. "It really is heavy."
The Prince Consort's Residence had favorable terrain and good drainage, so no water had pooled on the grounds. But one glance at the rain told Li Ling that the slums outside the city were probably already flooded.
And this had taken only two to four hours, from late night to morning.
"Husband, why are you up so early?"
Not long afterward, the Ninth Princess woke as well. She was somewhat surprised to see Li Ling sitting by the window in his brocade fur robe, staring into space.
She got out of bed in her silk nightdress embroidered in court style. Against the scarlet brocade, her fair skin looked even finer. Coming to Li Ling's side, she glanced outside and was surprised too. "Such heavy rain first thing in the morning."
Li Ling looked at her and pointed to the small stool beside the window, inviting her to sit and talk.
The Ninth Princess sat down and summoned a maid to comb her hair. "There wasn't any sign of a change in the weather last night. How did it turn like this by morning?"
"Hmm? Doesn't something seem wrong?"
Li Ling asked, "What's wrong?"
The Ninth Princess knitted her brows slightly and hesitantly sensed her surroundings for a while before saying, "I can't quite put it into words."
Li Ling understood. It's controlled by divine might, but all this rain comes from nature itself. Of course you can't put your finger on it.
He said nothing more, however, merely pretending not to know.
Several more days quickly passed. Li Ling kept a close watch on the Unusual Events Bureau's movements and discovered that the headquarters' personnel had long since been dispatched in every direction, busy beyond measure.
The second matter was indeed confirmed as well. Demons, monsters, ghosts, and fiends were appearing in greater numbers everywhere, reveling wildly as disaster approached.
Even the Mystic Xin Kingdom's official gazette began dropping hints to the nobility that Demonic Path activity had grown frequent of late, advising them to stay home whenever possible.
That day, Li Ling was still making Returning Soul Incense in the Fragrant Incense Pavilion when the Ninth Princess hurried over to tell him some news she had just received.
"There really is something wrong with the rain these past few days. The Immortal Sects just sent word that someone is using the Great Lin River God's authority to wreak havoc. This downpour was summoned with divine power!"
"The local government offices have also sent reports. They've had several consecutive days of heavy rain too, and rivers and reservoirs everywhere are reaching critical levels."
Li Ling stopped and asked, "The Demonic Path caused this through Divine Abilities? Since the Immortal Sects know about it, have they taken any measures?"
Thinking Li Ling was worried about their household, the Ninth Princess reassured him. "Don't worry, husband. We've stockpiled enough grain and supplies of every kind. Failing that, we can borrow a storage treasure from the Old Ancestor. There are plenty of ways to deal with a flood."
"If nothing else works, we'll simply take refuge in a Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land. The Immortal Sects will make preparations to receive us."
Li Ling shook his head. "That's not what I'm asking."
"Then what are you asking?" said the Ninth Princess.
"It's true that we can take refuge in a Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land, but what about the common people? If this isn't handled properly, I'm afraid the man-made calamity will surpass the natural one."
"There's nothing to be done about that," the Ninth Princess said. "The immortal masters won't enter the fray and entangle themselves in such karma. Besides, strictly speaking, the common people are neither kin nor friends of ours. Why concern ourselves with them?"
At her words, Li Ling understood.
Lin Rouniang considered herself kindhearted. She had never harmed any cultivators. Mortals did not count, nor did those she had indirectly doomed.
His own wife, the Ninth Princess, said such things too... why concern themselves with the common people?
Whether righteous or evil, these cultivators had a worldview utterly different from that of mortals.
Feudal nobles like the Ninth Princess would not concern themselves with whether the common people lived or died. The immortal masters were even less likely to trouble themselves.
Of course, those on the Demonic Path knew this too. They likewise needed to reap a few harvests every several decades, making them even less likely to sever the common people's roots.
If someone truly became that vicious and ruthless, never mind the righteous path-the Demonic Path itself would kill them first.
That being so, what was there to worry about?
Ultimately, it was only victory or defeat on a chessboard. Decades of storms, decades of strife-all for the hope of feeding fat on a few harvests, accumulating enough merit, resources, and opportunities for advancement.
"The common people suffer!" Li Ling sighed softly.
The Ninth Princess was puzzled. "Husband, you're not one of the common people."
Li Ling shook his head and said no more.
The Ninth Princess continued reassuring him. "I'll take care of everything here and at your parents' place. We might have fewer fresh vegetables when the time comes, and the seasonal fruits you like will probably be difficult to supply. But however difficult it is, we'll find a way. I refuse to believe this flood can submerge the entire Mystic Xin Kingdom."
Li Ling was speechless as he listened. Yet his wife treated him with complete sincerity, so he could hardly lecture her. He merely murmured a few replies.
After coming to inform and reassure Li Ling, the Ninth Princess went off to make preparations herself.
With her there, Li Ling did not have to worry about any of these trifling matters. A few words from her, and everything really was arranged.
In that respect, her conduct was beyond reproach.
The Immortal Sects had plenty of problems too, but he himself stood on the righteous path. There was little he could accuse them of or demand from them.
The only thing he seemed able to do now was cultivate, grow stronger, and slay demons and fiends.
Speaking of slaying demons and fiends...
Li Ling sat at the large table and closed his eyes as though dozing. In truth, he was using the cover of the torrential rain to perform Soul Projection.
It was daytime, however. The moment he emerged, he felt the world around him turn clear and bright. Boundless, blazing white light shone through the building, making his soul feel as though it had been thrust into a terrifying furnace. Within moments, he could scarcely endure it.
This power was far too fierce. Unlike the solar power contained in Crow-Blood Oil, it could not be used to temper his soul.
Fortunately, incense and fire prayer power lingered nearby. A strange protective film, formed from evil-repelling incense mingled with the incense essence of prayer power, resisted the blazing heat within the sun's essence and sheltered him as he entered the Divine Kingdom's Divine Domain.
Dense mist seemed to fill this place, finally screening out that terrifying sunlight.
False Day Wandering!
Li Ling had developed this after taking inspiration from the Demonic Path practitioner who wielded divine authority to play god in Duckbill Township.
Unlike that practitioner, however, he had projected his entire Spirit Body through Soul Departure, rather than merely a wisp of his mind.
Standing still and listening quietly for a long while, Li Ling seemed to sense something. In an instant, he crossed layer upon layer of space and arrived somewhere far away.
A scene of driving wind and rain appeared before him. Dozens of villagers had gathered, carrying three sacrificial animals and a living person tightly bound with rope. Stumbling through the mud, they followed a middle-aged man who looked like a shaman toward the river to prepare a sacrifice.
The shaman said, "This man slandered the River God and must suffer heaven's punishment. Everyone, if you don't want disaster to befall you, kill him..."
Without another word, Li Ling unleashed Sword Qi, cleaving down from the void.
Whoosh!
In an instant when the unreal and real intersected, the Gang and baleful intent formed from his Divine Sense pierced the man's body.
The shaman clutched his chest and collapsed.
"I have never accepted human sacrifices. Any who dare offer me such profane worship shall be killed without mercy!"
The majestic voice descended like rolling thunder, frightening the villagers so badly they nearly soiled themselves. They knelt and begged, "Forgive us, Grandfather River God! Forgive us, Grandfather River God!"
"All of you, rise. A flood is coming. Warn the nearby villagers, your relatives, and your friends to move away as soon as possible, or their lives will be in danger."
Watching the villagers prostrate themselves, Li Ling inwardly shook his head.
He could not reason with these people. Even if he could get through to them, it would cost time and effort. Playing god like this, on the other hand, produced immediate results.
That night, Li Ling performed Soul Projection and entered villagers' dreams across the region, delivering warnings everywhere.
This method effectively spurred the villagers into action. Gradually, people everywhere learned that disaster was approaching.
But he also understood that this was like drinking poisoned wine to quench one's thirst. It was no sound solution.
Once these people were saved, they would inevitably worship the Great Lin River God with redoubled devotion, planting the seeds of a lasting calamity.
Moreover, food was finite. People would still die if there was not enough to eat. It might even turn out worse than if a large number had died at the outset!
No wonder the immortal masters refuse to enter the fray. Staying free of karma really is best. One careless move, and saving people turns into killing them instead. My sins would be grave indeed.
But to hell with karma!
Cultivators concern themselves with karma. I'm merely a mortal. All I ask is a clear conscience!
Li Ling did not know whether what he was doing was right or wrong. Even so, he continued watching over the Divine Kingdom, searching for other openings through which Demonic Path practitioners communicated and prayed.
Sneaking in an extra update... It's a new week-please show your support!