Chapter Ninety-Five: Three Salutations to Slay Demons and Evil Spirits!

“Not human? Hah…”

Xu Boqing did not even spare him a glance. Raising the incense once more, he continued the chant: “Second offering... to the River God of Qianling, blessing the people for ten thousand generations!”

With a heaven-shaking roar, a thunderbolt descended from the nine heavens and struck the main hall of the River God Shrine, bringing down walls and sending beams, bricks, and tiles scattering in all directions.

The River God statue, already covered in cracks, shattered bit by bit beneath the lightning.

The old man with the scabby head and hunched back split his eyes with rage. As the statue collapsed, he coughed up a mouthful of blood mist and was hurled backward from the hall’s entrance, crashing into the courtyard.

His body kept swelling and shrinking...

When it swelled, pale, poisonous tumors and pustules bulged across his skin, as though his demon form were about to emerge.

When it shrank, it seemed to forcibly suppress that change, though faint light flickered at the center of his brow, as if something were trying to burst out through the crown of his head...

Xu Boqing stood amid the ruins of the River God Shrine’s main hall. Within a radius of half a zhang around him, nothing had been touched.

Seeing that the shrine and statue had both been destroyed, he gave a cold snort, turned around, and chanted toward the Qianling River not far away: “Third offering... to the true god of the Qianling River!”

The instant the words fell, the surging river seemed to come to a halt, and the sky flashed with lightning and thunder.

Water vapor gathered in the air into beads, and rain poured down like a deluge. In that curtain of rain, a bolt of celestial lightning split the heavens and struck straight at the hunched old man in the courtyard!

“Ah!”

With a piercing scream, a streak of radiant light shot out from the crown of the old man’s head. Within that light was a crystal-clear jade talisman edict.

The moment the Water God Edict left his body, the divinity and faith-power within him were stripped away as well. His charred body transformed into a gigantic golden toad, several zhang tall, with scarlet eyes!

It could only stare as the Water God Edict, nurtured for centuries, flew toward that man. Yet there was not the slightest trace of fury in its eyes—only endless terror.

It could feel its own weakness, like a dog with a broken spine, even unable to control the trembling of its demon body.

That was fear it had never known in all its centuries of cultivation.

It was afraid.

Glancing toward the Qianling River in the distance, it seemed to regain its senses. With a kick of its toad legs, it rode a gust of demonic wind and fled toward the river.

The three tall sticks of incense in Xu Boqing’s hand had already burned out. Standing in the rain, there seemed to be an invisible umbrella above his head; before the falling raindrops could touch him, they slid aside overhead and fell elsewhere.

Seeing the crystal-clear streak of light whirl before him, he reached out and gently stroked the talisman edict within it, then said softly, “I have my own path to walk. I am not your proper match.”

The Water God Edict in the light trembled slightly, and like a forsaken little wife, it seemed to convey a sorrowful sense of loss...

“However, rest assured.”

Xu Boqing smiled faintly.

“Since I have taken on your cause and effect, I should find you a suitable successor.”

The Water God Edict quivered once more, and with remarkable intelligence, it immediately transformed into a streak of light and darted into his hand.

“You have suffered these years.”

As he spoke, Xu Boqing turned to look at the toad spirit fleeing on a gust of demonic wind into the Qianling River. He casually picked up a jar of wine beside him, and with a voice as cold as frost said, “I’ll take you... to exterminate evil!”

With that, he stepped forward. When his foot landed on the rainwater, his figure vanished all at once as though melting into the rain curtain, then appeared directly by the banks of the Qianling River.

Like a banished immortal descended beside the river, he walked upon the water and strode toward the river’s center...

Once his heavenly eye saw the toad spirit fleeing beneath the river, his aura surged, so fierce that even the falling rain seemed to roll backward.

Extending his sword fingers, he slashed toward the toad spirit’s position with a hundred-zhang blade of mighty force at his fingertips!

“Split the river!”

As if spoken law became law, the swift waters of the Qianling River suddenly stilled at his soft command. The current parted cleanly down the middle!

The two halves of the river were separated by several zhang, and one could even see fish, shells, and silt on the exposed cross-section of the riverbed.

The toad spirit, fleeing below, landed in the mud at the bottom of the river. Looking up, it saw a hundred-zhang blade of force piercing straight down through its forehead.

It froze in place...

Its scarlet eyes were filled with bewilderment and terror. Then the light in those eyes vanished, blood gushed from the center of its brow, and its enormous demon body split cleanly in two down the middle...

It was dead without a trace of breath remaining.

“Considering that you also once did a few things for the common people along the banks of the Qianling River, I specifically brought you a jar of wine.”

Xu Boqing casually peeled away the mud seal on the jar, but instead of pouring it onto the toad spirit’s corpse at the bottom of the river, he tilted his head back and drank it all in one long swallow.

Fire qi rose within the furnace of his body, and he seemed to be stung by the liquor as well, his cheeks flushing faintly red...

Then he spat the wine from his mouth toward the corpse below. Yet the spray of liquor seemed to carry fire qi with it, igniting into a fierce blaze the moment it met the wind!

Born from the furnace, spat from the mouth, and kindled by wine, the flames had become a heaven-burning, river-boiling inferno by the time they reached the riverbed.

The toad spirit’s body, already split in two, was reduced to a handful of flying ash within that great fire, disappearing without a trace...

When the flames beneath the river faded, the two halves of the Qianling River slowly drew together again. The halted waters resumed their flow as if nothing had happened at all...

The great demon was dead.

Standing upon the river’s surface, Xu Boqing frowned slightly and looked up at the sky, then turned and stepped back into the rain curtain...

High among the clouds...

The City God of Jiangling Prefecture and several wandering spirits stared below with faces full of astonishment.

And the woman known as the Dragon King was also tightly furrowing her brows.

Earlier, after she had divined the karmic entanglement between herself and the toad spirit, she had intended to intervene and settle that cause and effect.

But when she saw what the incense-bearing man was doing, she changed her mind and decided to watch from the side...

When she saw those three offerings of incense strip the toad spirit not only of its Water God Edict but also of most of its life, she was filled with astonishment. What divine art was this?

What came later, the severing of the river and the slaying of the demon, might still be explained as the power of the Water God Edict. But what about the wine turned to fire? What manner of power was that?

She had cultivated for many years and encountered countless immortals and demon cultivators, yet she had truly never seen such an immortal cultivator—one who looked like an ordinary mortal, but whose means reached the heavens.

Her curiosity only deepened...

Soon, with a slight frown, she looked toward the City God’s yin-body beside her and asked, “Lord City God, is this person an immortal cultivator from within Jiangling Prefecture?”

“This person is not from Jiangling Prefecture.”

Ji Guanglin shook his head and explained, “This humble god has served as City God of Jiangling Prefecture for several hundred years. The immortal cultivators in this prefecture could be counted on one hand, and this person is not among them.”

The Dragon King nodded thoughtfully. Since the man was not from Jiangling Prefecture, she also lost the interest to continue chatting with them.

“As for this River God Shrine, it is also involved with me in certain karmic ties. I must trouble Lord City God to return and help convey a dream to those concerned, so the original reason can be made clear.”

“As it should be, as it should be...”

“Mm...”

The Dragon King gave a slight nod, cast a glance at the Qianling River in the night, and seeing that the man had slipped into a small boat and vanished without a trace, she too turned and stepped into the clouds, disappearing from view...

Not long after.

A ferry drifted away from the crossing and disappeared into the rain curtain with the current.

Inside the cabin, a person lay on the bed with both hands tucked behind his head, a bamboo hat covering his face as he dozed off to the sound of raindrops ticking against the cabin boards.

Dark clouds rolled like ink, yet they could not blot out the mountains; white rain leaped like pearls and scattered into the boat.