Guxin Island.
Lin Heng skillfully found the place where the Confucian Sect disciples were stationed.
Although they belonged to different sects, the information about the training of the three righteous paths was mostly shared, especially now with the matter of the “Twelve Demon God Stakes.” A quarter of an hour later, Lin Heng came out of the station holding a token, looking seriously at Qin Ruoshui and Ji Yutang, he said solemnly, “Many of the Demon God Stakes have already shown signs, and the closest one to here is Wuqishan.”
“Then let’s go to Wuqishan,” Qin Ruoshui nodded upon hearing this and asked, “What’s the situation in Wuqishan?” Lin Heng replied, “Wuqishan has been in a severe drought for two years, with no harvests and widespread famine.
Originally, this was a matter for the court, but recently there have been some anomalies.
Anyone who enters Wuqishan to pray for rain has been drained of their essence, so the court suspects it’s the work of demons, which is why they passed the information to the righteous path.”
Qin Ruoshui angrily said, “It’s probably the work of demonic cultivators, these people are wicked and evil.” He wished to eradicate all demonic cultivators and restore peace to the world.
After learning about the situation in Wuqishan, the three of them flew towards Wuqishan.
They arrived at their destination a day later.
The place was filled with rising heat and intense fire energy, as if the world was a great furnace burning everything to ashes, even cultivators found it hard to endure.
Ji Yutang wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Besides the intense heat, she also sensed a surge of turbid evil energy.
Looking up, she saw scorched earth, cracked ground, and no vegetation.
What was initially a guess was now confirmed to be the work of Demon Sect cultivators.
“It’s truly hateful,” Lin Heng said, pursing his lips.
He looked ahead and saw a few people standing in the dry riverbed with clay pots in their hands.
They were emaciated, with sallow faces, hoping to squeeze some water from the remaining damp mud.
“I’ll try to make it rain.” This scene stirred Lin Heng, and alleviating the people’s suffering seemed more important than finding the evil cultivators.
He took a deep breath, and a scroll flew out from his sleeve.
He cultivated the intent of mountains and rivers; mountains gather earth, rivers carry water.
With the fluctuation of his mana, a stream of water was drawn from the scroll, pouring into the dry riverbed, trying to fill it.
But as the water entered the riverbed, a surge of turbid evil energy rose, turning into blazing flames that devoured the water.
Lin Heng’s mana was unable to suppress this ground evil flame.
“It seems we need to remove that surging turbid evil first,” Qin Ruoshui said with a frown.
Lin Heng looked at the people and felt a bit of compassion, “But those people—” His path had limitations, unable to directly draw water into their wells, but needed to harmonize with the mountains and rivers.
“I’ll try,” Ji Yutang suddenly said.
“Cloud and rain manipulation” is a divine ability of the dragon race, and she was now equivalent to a “Foundation Establishment” cultivator, naturally able to use this spell.
However—Ji Yutang thought for a moment and said, “There’s not enough moisture in the air, even if it rains, it won’t cover much area.” If only Li Jingyu were here, her Jewel of the Rising Tides could draw water from the four seas, making the “rainfall spell” powerful enough.
Lin Heng and Qin Ruoshui nodded, “We’ll protect you.” The information they gathered earlier indicated that any cultivator who used rain-praying spells here was drained of their essence, clearly attracting some unknown presence.
Now that Ji Yutang was using such a divine ability, it might also draw that “evil thing” over.
As the “rainfall spell” was cast, clouds gathered, and faint thunder and dragon shadows appeared in the sky.
A strong wind came from the horizon, stirring the heat here, and after a few breaths, large raindrops began to fall, covering only half a mile, which was Ji Yutang’s limit.
The people walking in the riverbed were first stunned, then filled with endless joy, using clay pots to catch the precious raindrops, cheering loudly in the wind and rain.
But at this moment, a surge of fiery energy suddenly rose from the south, and a vague image of a demon with disheveled hair appeared in the flames.
Its roar was like thunder, shaking the heavens and earth.
“Drought demon?” Qin Ruoshui saw the phantom and his expression changed suddenly.
Before the drought demon could act, he pinched a spell and unleashed countless sword lights, attacking the drought demon.
Lin Heng also recognized the monster and quickly cast a spell.
The two forces collided, making a loud noise, and the drought demon in the flames shrank back, slowly retreating.
“If it’s a drought demon, the drought is secondary, the more terrifying thing is the corpse poison,” Lin Heng said solemnly.
A drought demon is a zombie, a corpse that doesn’t decay after death, gaining spirituality and cultivating to become a corpse king, able to control corpses, leaving desolation wherever it goes.
Ji Yutang’s eyelid twitched, “Then the villages near Wuqishan—” Qin Ruoshui said, “Let’s go and ask.” The people they saw walking in the riverbed were alive, but there weren’t many of them.
Wuqishan used to be a blessed land with many villages, are only these people left? The three of them quickly walked towards the village, and when they reached the outskirts, they found a small area marked with talismans, while the rest was already desolate and uninhabited.
While Ji Yutang and the others were gathering information, several figures appeared a few miles away.
Beside them sat a disheveled-haired cultivator in red clothes, with a stiff blue face and terrifying fangs, clearly the drought demon that appeared earlier.
“Senior Brother Gao, those Immortal Sect cultivators have come again.”
The one called “Senior Brother Gao” was Gao Cang.
The Twelve Demon God Stakes were originally assigned to twelve Demon Sect cultivators to manage, and this area was originally Zhao Yannan’s responsibility, but he unfortunately died outside.
Gao Cang fought hard to seize this task from his fellow disciples, and if he succeeded, he could receive many rewards.
Then his yin fire would rise to another level, refining the Three Yin Poison Fire, and he could achieve the Dao fruit of a human immortal.
“They came, so let them come, it’s just right to strengthen the drought demon,” Gao Cang laughed indifferently.
Several waves of cultivators had come before, and they all ended up as nourishment for the drought demon.
The Demon God Stake here was different from other places, it was a dual form, one as “Later Earth,” and the other as the drought demon.
Later Earth was bound by the land and couldn’t move, only when the drought demon was fully cultivated and returned to the spiritual cave could they merge and truly become a Demon God.
“But the north sea failed because of the Immortal Sect cultivators, we should be more cautious,” the demonic cultivator said again.
Gao Cang laughed at this, he and Zhang Ren were competitors, and in his view, Zhang Ren’s death was good.
Only Zhang Ren’s failure highlighted his value.
“They might have magical artifacts, unable to directly absorb essence, wait until night, control the corpse army, and use corpse poison to taint their pure light mana!”
Small village.
Upon inquiry, it was discovered that there were less than thirty survivors here, and they were the sum of the villages near Wuqishan.
As for the others, they had long died for various reasons.
The talismans here were left by a cultivator who came to pray for rain, but he himself perished in a battle with the drought demon.
Lin Heng felt a chill in his heart after hearing this and asked, “Why didn’t you leave Wuqishan?” The battle between the righteous and demonic paths should not involve ordinary people, but those demonic cultivators repeatedly broke past rules, committing all sorts of evil.
The old man who answered laughed bitterly, looking miserable, and shook his head, “We can’t leave.” Who wouldn’t cherish their life? But when the drought struck, their souls seemed bound to this land, and all villagers who stepped out of Wuqishan’s boundary mysteriously died.
Qin Ruoshui said, “It must be the Demon God Stake, the ground evil energy is stirring, altering the spiritual mechanism of this area.”
The old man gave a bitter smile, “The immortals are righteous, and I remember it in my heart, but the past immortals couldn’t relieve our plight, it seems to be fate.
Immortals should leave on their own, don’t be dragged down by us who deserve to die.”
Lin Heng shook his head, his face serious, and said, “We are heroes who uphold justice, slaying demons and monsters.
How can we retreat?” The old man sighed, extending his withered hand like dead wood to light the oil lamp in the room.
He said, “At night, monsters will appear.
The talisman left by the previous immortal, who knows how long it can last.”
Lin Heng said, “Don’t worry, old man.
Since the three of us have come here, we will definitely help Wuqishan resolve this disaster.”
The old man did not respond, his eyes filled with a grayish despair, clearly not holding much hope.
As night fell, darkness descended like a ferocious beast, swallowing the small village whole.
A rustling sound emerged, first like the brushing of leaves, then becoming noisy and sharp, like the wailing of a strangled baby, eerily terrifying.
Ji Yutang and the others stood at the village entrance, looking at the stiff, rotting corpses moving in groups ahead, their expressions tense.
Qin Ruoshui spoke, “These zombies are polluting the talismans with their evil aura, I’m afraid they won’t hold.” He channeled his power, and a brilliant sword pill cut through the night, slashing forward.
As the sword pill soared, it scattered beams of clear light, but there were too many zombies.
After a quarter of an hour, the sword pill was tainted with foul energy and disintegrated in mid-air.
“These evil creatures can contaminate the pure light of our power,” Qin Ruoshui said calmly, his expression unchanged.
A swift light flew from his sleeve, another sword pill.
He was a sword cultivator, and as long as he didn’t use his life-bound sword, he wasn’t afraid of his power being tainted.
But Lin Heng was different; his scroll was his life-bound artifact, and the spirits of mountains and rivers within were connected to his mind.
Realizing he couldn’t sustain it, he withdrew the spirits from the scroll.
Ji Yutang practiced strength cultivation, borrowing the Primordial Qi of heaven and earth, so she wasn’t afraid of the bloodthirsty aura.
But charging into the zombie horde was beyond her.
With a thought, the Falling Moon Bow on her back fell into her hand, and she drew the bowstring, forming an arrow shimmering with spiritual light.
The True Dragon Transformation Scripture contained a divine skill of archery called “Heavenly Dragon’s Wrath.” She had learned this skill while at the Dragon Palace.
Now, the arrow shot into the zombie horde, manifesting a majestic true dragon in mid-air.
The dragon’s roar drowned out the wailing of the zombies, and as it charged into the horde, it exploded a large area of writhing flesh.
Ji Yutang frowned, “These things are troublesome, endless, I don’t know how to eradicate them.” The divine skill consumed her divine will, but her will was ultimately limited.
Lin Heng pondered for a moment and said, “I’ve heard that Three Light Divine Water, formed from the light of the sun, moon, and stars, can purify some evil aura.”
“Three Light Divine Water?” Ji Yutang raised an eyebrow, “Where can we find it?” Qin Ruoshui was silent for a moment before saying, “The Taiyuan Dao Palace has it.” He paused, “Let’s get through tonight first.”
It was a fierce battle that lasted until the early hours of the next day.
Sunlight shone on the village outskirts, where decaying limbs lay everywhere, disgusting and terrifying.
Finally, Qin Ruoshui couldn’t stand it and used a talisman to burn them to ashes.
“They actually survived the night?” Gao Cang, who had been watching the village, was a bit surprised, but he wasn’t in a hurry.
If one night didn’t work, then two nights.
The zombies weren’t very powerful and couldn’t exert their strength under the sun, only moving freely at night.
Two days later, the zombie horde still hadn’t breached the small village, and Gao Cang finally felt a bit anxious and restless.
Just as he was about to act, he suddenly received a flying letter from Huoxin Palace, and his expression changed! The Taiyuan Dao Palace decided to use Three Light Divine Water against the drought demon? If the item really arrived here, it would be troublesome.
He had heard of Three Light Divine Water, but never thought the Taiyuan Dao Palace had it.
His eyes darkened, and he immediately instructed his fellow disciples to intercept the Three Light Divine Water on the way.
East of Wuqishan.
Li Jingyu hid in the shadows, patiently waiting for the Demon Sect cultivators to appear.
As she had guessed, Ran Guzhu couldn’t resist sending out information.
After intercepting Ran Guzhu’s divine will, she sent a letter to the Ran Family in her name, inquiring about the “Three Light Divine Water.” Wang Shenyu, unsuspecting, revealed its whereabouts and even mentioned the Wuqishan situation, hoping she would go there.
If the Three Light Divine Water had remained in the Taiyuan Dao Palace, retrieving it would have been difficult, but the Wuqishan situation suited her plans.
Zhao Hechen was ordered by his sect to deliver the “Three Light Divine Water” to Qin Ruoshui—now, she needed to take it from Zhao Hechen.
However, she still needed to use “Ran Guzhu’s” identity, so she planned to exploit Gao Cang.
Once Zhao Hechen and the Demon Sect cultivators were both weakened, she would appear to take over Zhao Hechen’s task of delivering the “Three Light Divine Water.”
Li Jingyu’s plan was sound.
On the way, Zhao Hechen was indeed intercepted by demon cultivators.
Fearing that the group of incompetents couldn’t handle Zhao Hechen, Li Jingyu also sent disciples from Huoxin Palace to deal with Gao Cang.
Although Zhao Hechen was a top disciple of Taiyuan Palace, she couldn’t fight off so many opponents alone and soon showed signs of defeat.
Li Jingyu appeared at just the right moment.
“Sister Zhao,” Li Jingyu frowned slightly, showing a hint of concern.
“Junior Sister Ran, you came just in time!” Zhao Hechen’s eyes lit up with joy upon seeing Li Jingyu.
She quickly flew to Li Jingyu, stuffing the “Three Light Divine Water” into her arms without asking how she got there, and said, “Go to Wuqishan and find Brother Qin!”
“What about you, Sister Zhao?” Li Jingyu asked, puzzled.
Zhao Hechen didn’t intend to explain, directly sending her out of the battle circle.
Her power surged like a tide, intending to hold off all the demon cultivators alone.
Li Jingyu hesitated for a moment, then said to Zhao Hechen, “Sister, I’ll find someone to save you!” With that, she turned into a stream of light and headed towards Wuqishan.
But before reaching Wuqishan, Li Jingyu stopped.
She took out the Three Light Divine Water, her power fluctuating, and her eyes turned cold.
This item couldn’t be directly refined; it was sealed with a “Taiyuan Clear Talisman” that only Taiyuan Dao Palace disciples could unlock.
It seemed she still needed to find Qin Ruoshui! Li Jingyu sneered, put away the Three Light Divine Water, glanced ahead expressionlessly, changed her attire, and flew forward.
In the village.
Qin Ruoshui had already received Zhao Hechen’s message, but as Zhao Hechen hadn’t arrived, he was growing anxious and worried.
Just as he was about to go meet her, a familiar aura approached from afar, manifesting as a white-clad figure before him.
“Junior Sister Ran?” Qin Ruoshui raised an eyebrow in surprise.
He was a bit dazed; compared to the yellow-clad “Junior Sister Ran” from before, her current attire was much more pleasing.
Ji Yutang also saw Li Jingyu, but upon glancing at her, her brows furrowed tightly.
White as snow, with clear and cold eyes, this was the image that matched her past impression completely.
Her fists clenched in her sleeves, she abruptly looked away, no longer looking at Li Jingyu.
Li Jingyu met Qin Ruoshui’s gaze, smiled slightly, and said warmly, “Sister Zhao was ambushed by demon cultivators on the way.
She asked me to deliver the Three Light Divine Water here.”
“Alright.” Qin Ruoshui nodded and added, “Let’s go rescue Sister Zhao first.”
Li Jingyu had anticipated Qin Ruoshui’s response and immediately stopped him, saying, “Sister Zhao said we should deal with the drought demon first.
She has her own way to escape.”
Qin Ruoshui was taken aback but didn’t doubt Li Jingyu’s words.
It was indeed something Sister Zhao would say.
Li Jingyu continued, “Where is the drought demon?” Lin Heng replied, “In Wuqishan.” Their recent battles with the zombies hadn’t been in vain, as they had gathered a lot of information.
“But we don’t know what kind of setup is in Wuqishan, so it might be better to lure it out.
We’ve tried it before; once it rains, it will emerge.”
“Rain?” Li Jingyu’s eyes sparkled, and she smiled, “Do you mean to use Three Light Divine Water?”
“Three Light Divine Water can’t be wasted like that,” Lin Heng shook his head, then suddenly brightened up, “Junior Sister Ran, I saw you use water techniques before.
It seems you’ve also studied this path.
Perhaps if you team up with Daoist Friend Ji, the impact could be greater.
Daoist Friend Ji, what do you think?” Lin Heng turned to Ji Yutang.
Ji Yutang’s mind was unsettled, her calm thoughts disrupted by Li Jingyu, and her mind was filled with past events, so she hadn’t heard what Lin Heng was saying.
She looked up, confused, and said, “Huh?”
Lin Heng smiled, “Among the four of us, only you two have studied water and thunder techniques.
You could try a rain spell together.”
Ji Yutang shook her head, “No need.
My power doesn’t blend with hers.”
This was just an excuse, and Li Jingyu could see right through it.
She deliberately moved closer to Ji Yutang, and sure enough, Ji Yutang took a step back, looking more distant and troubled than before.
“Haven’t seen you in a few days, and you have a new prejudice against me?” Li Jingyu leaned closer to Ji Yutang, asking softly.
Ji Yutang took another step back, glaring at Li Jingyu angrily, and remained silent.
When Qin Ruoshui wasn’t paying attention to their interaction, he pondered for a moment and said, “If we infuse Three Light Divine Water into the water technique, it might be effective against those zombies.
We can try it when they come at night.”
Li Jingyu turned to Qin Ruoshui and said, “Senior Brother, do you want to study water techniques?” Qin Ruoshui shook his head, “It’s not suitable for me.
I only practice pure swordsmanship.
Junior Sister, you study multiple techniques and contemplate the starlight of the Big Dipper, one of the three lights, so you should be more compatible with Three Light Divine Water.”
Li Jingyu’s smile grew wider at his words.
She handed the Three Light Divine Water to Qin Ruoshui, feigning confusion, “But I’m afraid my skills aren’t enough to practice it.”
“They are.” Qin Ruoshui replied succinctly.
He took the Three Light Divine Water and casually wiped off the Taiyuan Clear Talisman on it.
In that instant, he suddenly sensed a strange residual aura.
“Yin energy?” Qin Ruoshui thought to himself, his eyelid twitching.
Could it be that Sister Zhao got contaminated while fighting with the demon cultivators? But no one in the Tianhai Demon Sect practices this path, right? His eyelid twitched slightly, and he originally intended to hand the Three Light Divine Water to Li Jingyu, but as he extended it, he couldn’t help but pull it back into his sleeve.
He couldn’t quite explain the strange feeling in his heart.
Li Jingyu noticed Qin Ruoshui’s actions but remained expressionless.
She turned her head and whispered to Ji Yutang, seemingly unconcerned about the previous matter.
Lin Heng looked at Li Jingyu and Qin Ruoshui, feeling that the atmosphere was a bit strange.
He furrowed his brows and asked softly, “What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” Qin Ruoshui shook his head.
He just suddenly felt that Junior Sister Ran was a bit strange, but he couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong.
He furrowed his brows, recalling their previous interactions, but the more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.
“Junior Sister Ran—” Qin Ruoshui couldn’t help but call out her name.
Li Jingyu raised an eyebrow and looked at Qin Ruoshui, puzzled, “Senior Brother, what’s wrong?” Qin Ruoshui steadied himself and said, “Come with me.”
Li Jingyu didn’t hesitate and followed Qin Ruoshui’s steps.
Lin Heng scratched his head, puzzled, “Those two are acting a bit strange.”
Ji Yutang responded with a hum, her expression suddenly turning cold, and her resentment and annoyance towards Ran Guzhu increased.
“Junior Sister Ran.” When Qin Ruoshui spoke those words again, his emotions had calmed down.
He looked down at the picturesque Li Jingyu, his mind turning, and asked, “What’s going on between you and Daoist Friend Ji? You swore an oath before entering our Taiyuan Dao Palace, to focus solely on the path and break free from worldly constraints, yet now you’re getting close to her.
Is it a family requirement?” After speaking, Qin Ruoshui looked steadily at Li Jingyu, waiting for her answer.
Li Jingyu slowly replied, “We’re all fellow cultivators, so getting a bit closer shouldn’t be a problem, right?” Qin Ruoshui said, “But Junior Sister Ran, you said your path is to strive for the top and only walk alongside the strong.”
Li Jingyu’s eyelid twitched, knowing that Qin Ruoshui might have some suspicions, but she wasn’t nervous.
She calmly said, “Ji Yutang was once a cripple, but now she can approach the great path.
Isn’t she considered strong?”
