Chapter Fifty-Seven: Suspicions of the Old Fiend of the Floating River

Moonlight gathered into a single beam, casting its glow upon the newcomer.

Long hair floated in the breeze, and her robes were pure white.

Bathed in gentle light, the woman in white walked through the moonbeams, surrounded by three clusters of blue-green flames. She seemed less ethereal and more foreboding.

Zhong Ming stared at her, seeing the likeness of his mother.

Yet something felt off—an indefinable awkwardness that made Zhong Ming sense this was not his mother.

He recalled the old mountain monkey who liked to take his mother's form. Perhaps the old creature, unable to watch him face such peril, had come to his rescue.

Before Zhong Ming could speak, the woman in white stepped quietly before him, her chanting ceasing abruptly.

"Zhong Ming, take your friend and leave. Leave this to me."

The moment she spoke, Zhong Ming knew she was not his mother, but the old mountain monkey wearing her guise.

But why did the old monkey keep helping him, even after being wounded by Zhong Ming—returning good for evil?

Zhong Ming pondered this as the woman in white swept her sleeve, sending the Yanluo Blade back to its sheath, returning it to Zhong Ming's back. He and Zhang Nianchen were gently lifted by a soft white light, carried away to the shadowed side of the wild hills.

In but a moment, Zhong Ming vanished.

From start to finish, Li Que never moved rashly; his violet eyes were locked on the woman in white.

Even as Zhong Ming was rescued, Li Que made no attempt to stop it. The oppressive aura emanating from the newcomer was overwhelming.

The immortals had their own cultivation methods, different from the martial heroes who sought qi and layered force. Immortal cultivation prized enlightenment and required passing through stages of gathering qi and condensing power to reach Li Que's current Pill Fusion stage.

To step into Pill Fusion is like a dragon leaping from the depths, a transformation of body and soul.

Pill Fusion means forming a golden immortal pill within oneself, a threshold for many cultivators, marking entry into the halls of the immortals—a stage ordinary people cannot hope to match.

Yet this woman in white exerted tremendous pressure; her presence was unlike any mortal.

She was, at minimum, Pill Fusion level.

Staring for a while, Li Que finally bowed deeply, his voice solemn: "May I ask which celestial palace you hail from? I am Li Que, personal disciple of the Jade Capital’s Tiger Immortal Sect."

Uncertain, Li Que dared not act recklessly.

The woman in white scoffed, "Cultivation is cultivation—why claim to be an immortal? Aren’t you afraid your peers will laugh at you?"

"Mind your words!" Li Que’s face darkened, for the Jade Capital had always held high status and would not tolerate slander.

"And you won’t let anyone speak? The Jade Capital is indeed overbearing," the woman mocked, pointing at Li Que. "Little Daoist, if you swear never to trouble Zhong Ming again, I’ll let you go. If not..."

The implication was clear: if Li Que refused to swear, she would act.

A heart oath is not a casual promise—it is an oath made by cultivators with their innermost spirit, a lifelong taboo once spoken. None would make such vows unless facing life and death.

"You go too far! Forcing me to swear—let’s see if you truly have the strength!"

Li Que, enraged, swung his sleeves. Behind him, the rabbit-headed, human-bodied statue raised its arms, and icy winds howled, crashing toward the woman in white.

She only sneered, "Overestimating yourself!"

Without any visible movement, her body suddenly expanded, in the blink of an eye growing to five or six times human height, towering two or three times larger than the rabbit statue.

The giant woman abruptly transformed into a black-furred, monkey-faced monster, letting out a wild cry and swinging her palm down on the crystalline statue.

Her giant, fur-covered hand crushed the rabbit-headed statue; the ice shattered on contact, showing the immense force.

Seeing the black-furred creature, Li Que shrieked, "You’re a mountain spirit who has taken human form!"

"Now you know—too late!"

---

The moonbeam in the night sky grew brighter, and the black-furred monster’s body continued to swell, its giant palm pressing down.

Li Que struggled desperately, unable to prevent the collapse of his rabbit statue.

"Senior, spare me! I am willing to swear!"

Seeing he could not hold on, Li Que’s face twisted, his whole body trembling from the runaway immortal energy. Suddenly, he cried out for mercy.

The black-furred monster sneered, exposing jagged teeth, "Now you beg? Too late!"

Its arm swelled, and with a single blow, Li Que’s monstrous form shattered.

With a scream, Li Que was crushed into a mess of flesh.

When the monster lifted its hand, the elegant robes on the ground were soaked with blood and gore. A faint blue light floated above the remains, drifting away slowly.

It was Li Que’s spirit, trying to escape.

The monster snatched both flesh and soul, stuffed them in its mouth, chewed twice, and swallowed.

It burped deeply, shrinking back to human size, using sharp nails to pick its teeth, muttering to itself, "They say these new celestial mansions are all so arrogant. If I didn’t kill him today, he’d surely come seeking revenge someday. Now he’s dead, and that’s the end of it!"

Another burp, and soft white light flashed as it transformed once more into the woman in white, heading off in pursuit of Zhong Ming.

The moonlight in the sky returned to normal, corpse-qi gathered again, shrouding the heavens.

---

On the Immortal Stone, the father and daughter were still watching.

Feifei’s little hand stopped nibbling seeds; she blinked her big eyes in surprise, "Daddy, that monster killed the Jade Capital’s young master, even devoured his soul. So cruel!"

The stout man sighed, "That little Daoist brought it on himself."

"Aren’t we cultivators supposed to vanquish monsters and demons? Daddy, that creature harms people—shouldn’t we do something?" Feifei asked, puzzled.

He shook his head, "Feifei, remember, since our celestial manor descended to the mortal realm, things are no longer as before. Don’t make enemies lightly.

Besides, good and evil shouldn’t be divided by type. The sages taught that there should be no discrimination; not all monsters are evil."

Feifei nodded, half understanding, frowning in thought for a while before returning to her seeds, watching the surging tide of corpses, apparently unconcerned.

The stout man had no such leisure. He looked north, murmuring, "It’s time to go. Trouble will find us if we linger."

"We’re not watching anymore?" Feifei protested.

He smiled, coaxing, "We’ll watch next time. For now, Daddy has important business."

With that, he floated down, stood beneath the Immortal Stone, gazing at its split surface in contemplation.

After a while, he raised his hand and traced characters in the air, sending stone chips flying from the stone.

Once finished, he summoned a jade pipa, which grew in the wind. He stepped upon it, soared into the sky, and flew south.

Beside the words "Immortal Stone," he had inscribed:

"Retreat ten miles, Penglai does not contest. Advance one more step, the East Sea waves rise a thousand fathoms, waves swallow New Tang, waters drown Jade Capital.

Penglai Palace, left by Feng Ning."

---

Atop the shattered city wall, Tian Xingjian watched the distant surge of corpses with a smile, fanning himself and reciting, "Ten thousand corpses roar and seize life, perhaps the old demon of Floating River. To know how high the tide rises, all mountains drown in the waves."

The tide of corpses surged mightily, leaving nothing alive in its wake; refugees outside the city scattered before it.

It was a scene of true chaos, and to Tian Xingjian, it was as grand as a tidal wave swallowing a town.

The petty officers beside him had long since collapsed in terror; Tian Xingjian kicked one who was stupefied, "Go report at once—tell them it’s the demon’s doing, the tide of corpses attacks the city again. Oh, and make sure the night watch sounds the alarm, so innocent citizens don’t die in their sleep."

Having said this, Tian Xingjian laughed heartily, his temperament one of delight in disorder.

---

The officers scrambled into the city, none daring to stand watch atop the wall.

Suddenly, Tian Xingjian’s laughter ceased. He frowned, looking toward the wild hills, then drew a dull stone from his robe, his brows knitting tighter.

After a moment, Tian Xingjian gazed anxiously toward Western Hill, "Something’s happened to Li Que?"

Meanwhile, several hundred miles north of the border, a hundred beams of radiant light shot skyward from a wild forest, streaking toward the border city.

The beams, like meteors, pierced the tranquility of the night sky.

All mortals who saw them knelt, shouting, "Immortals descend!"

---

Beneath Western Hill, most of the corpse tide had faded, leaving only a few dozen broken corpses crawling out.

Old Daoist Zhang Daozhen sat cross-legged among the weeds at the foot of the mountain, two mysterious pills orbiting him, growing ever brighter.

His tattered Taoist robe was even more ragged, torn wide open, his hair disheveled.

Yet the old Daoist seemed unharmed, his complexion growing rosier as he formed hand seals, golden energy flowing from him, illuminating his face.

A few corpses nearby still tried to bite him, but each time they approached, the two pills knocked them flying.

As Zhang Daozhen’s color improved, it would only be a matter of time before he awoke.

---

The villagers of Yuni Village were in chaos, huddled together in Old Sun’s courtyard, none daring to light a lamp, clutching each other under the starlight and trembling.

Outside, footsteps thundered as things crashed against the Seven-Star Array, making strange noises.

Li Guangling, who had volunteered, was nearly scared out of his wits, baring his teeth and tightly closing his eyes.

Just a foot away, ferocious corpses raced past, some pressed up against the array, and whenever they touched the red line on the ground, red light flared up, blocking them.

Shaking, Li Guangling kept his eyes shut, reciting poems loudly to bolster his courage.

"Born with purpose, fortune will return... Do you not see, the bright mirror mourns white hair, morning black as silk, evening as snow... Drunken on the battlefield, do not laugh, how many return from war..."

Others did likewise; Toothless had already wet his pants, holding the lamp to his face for comfort.

Fei Dacheng hugged his lamp, muttering, "Heavenly Lord, Daoist Lord, King of Hell, Immortal Grandpa, Brother Ming, Brother Hei, all gods, protect this little fat boy from losing a limb! Protect, protect, South House Amitabha, urgent as law demands..."

Though they were ragged, none threw down their copper lamps and fled; the array still held.

But Liang Yu’s situation was dire. Everyone else’s copper lamps burned bright red, but his lamp flickered with a yellow flame, threatening to go out at any moment.

The corpses before Liang Yu were strange, twitching around the red powder, refusing to leave, clawing at the earth.

Liang Yu wielded lamp in one hand, knife in the other, hacking wildly and cursing, "Damn that old Daoist for tricking me!"

His frantic movements caused the lamp to go out.

Darkness fell, and Liang Yu’s shouts ceased.

Moments later, the red powder blazed with light, and all the corpses outside the line began frenziedly smashing the array.

Liang Yu roared and slashed, but his lamp was tossed aside, and hundreds of corpses broke through the red light, swarming him!

The Seven-Star Hidden Array of Yuni Village—was broken!