Chapter 340: Chapter 342: River Immortal Ghost
Bai Qin’an and Wen Mengru were currently standing on two white flying swords, suspended in the air under this terrifying scene, insignificant as two moths that couldn’t attract any attention.
The Mountain Immortal Ghost, like a Heavenly God, paid no heed to those who fled like birds and beasts, the so-called group of heroes. It directly snapped off a peak from the mountains of Guangshan and, holding it high in its arms, ruthlessly smashed it down onto the remaining palaces of the Guangshan Zizong Forest!
The Guangshan Zizong Forest crumbled along with Guangshan, including the town of Guanglin at the foot of the mountain that also suffered a great disaster.
Countless stones, rolling down with formidable force along the collapsing mountain, could flatten all the houses on a street with just one large rock…
The mountain was not moist, and it was not an enormous amount of sand and soil that slid down, but heavy, hard boulders. Even with many cultivators who had gathered in the town, they were crushed to pieces!!
The Mountain Immortal Ghost still stood in the area of Guangshan, its body almost level with the mountain range. With the ghost moon overhead and the stars dimmed, the vast heavens and boundless earth seemed too narrow for such a god demon, let alone the struggling creatures in this mortal world!
“Leave this place,” Bai Qin’an said, her face deathly pale, having never seen a more evil creature than this, powerful enough to be indistinguishable from real gods.
Bai Qin’an and Wen Mengru were fortunate; they set off on their flying swords as the Mountain Immortal Ghost began its slaughter. To the Mountain Immortal Ghost, the so-called Monarch Levels were no different from ordinary birds and sparrows.
Bai Qin’an and Wen Mengru were like two moths slipping through the fingers of a colossal being, surviving not because they were particularly fast or had fled far, but simply because they were too inconspicuous, and the Mountain Immortal Ghost was preoccupied with other places!
The two of them were distraught, no longer remembering in which direction they had fled.
Wen Mengru’s eyes were lifeless, her beliefs completely overturned at the moment she saw the true face of the Mountain Immortal Ghost.
Once upon a time, she believed that the Sect Forest was the strongest, commanding all cultivators, the authority of this world, transcending all things.
But she had witnessed the Mountain Immortal Ghost.
She saw the Guangshan Zizong Forest trampled and brought down in a brief moment, countless Monarch Level Powerhouses slain like flies, her heart collapsing along with Guangshan!
She herself was merely at Monarch Level, struggling through twenty years of cultivation, surviving merely because she was insignificant…
What then was the meaning of cultivation?
What was the Heavenly Dao they pursued??
As a Hall Master and an elder, Bai Qin’an’s heart wasn’t much different from Wen Mengru’s.
She too had never heard of such beings as Immortal Ghosts, nor did she know that a Mountain Immortal Ghost could be so powerful.
One moment, the Purple Sect Clan was brightly lit, with many renowned and strong cultivators gathered together, acting righteously under the open heavens. The next, they were being brutally murdered, with the Mountain Immortal Ghost looking down upon them like a god demon watching a bunch of ridiculous crawling insects…
“I… I’ll get some water,” Bai Qin’an said, looking at the unsettled Wen Mengru and trying to muster some spirit.
There was a river ahead, albeit a bit cold and with some turbidity floating on it, but she was beyond caring at this point.
As she unscrewed the water bottle, gazing at the slightly muddy river water, just about to collect some water, the river suddenly became turbulent, nearly sweeping away the water bottle from Bai Qin’an’s hand.
Bai Qin’an stared blankly for a moment, then turned her gaze to the surface of the river.
This river…
…appeared abruptly on the flat lands.
Typically, rivers have their own channels, lying lower than the ground, with wetland plants like reeds growing around; if it hasn’t rained recently, the contours of the banks can usually be clearly seen.
But this river had no so-called riverbed.
The water flowed as if on level ground, more precisely, it seemed like water flooding over rather than regularly surging in a channel!
Suddenly, Bai Qin’an realized something and hurriedly drew out her white flying sword!
At the same time, the abrupt river water rose like a dragon, its surging flow forming its elongated body, and limbs of crawling creatures extended from the sides!
The increasingly muddy water, near where the chest would be, revealed a sinister face, emitting a cruel, eerie laugh. It moved like a spider centipede, but rapidly crawled through the air.
Its turbid, watery body danced above Bai Qin’an and Wen Mengru, mocking the two humans. The foul smell of the river’s silt filled the air, making Bai Qin’an, who almost drank the water, feel nauseated.
As for Wen Mengru, already deeply unsettled, seeing the river turn into a ghost was too much to bear, and she collapsed on the ground.
“River Immortal Ghost!”
“The River Immortal Ghost has appeared!”
“River Immortal Ghost!!!”
Piercing cries came from not far away, where a post station was located, which also responded to the Four Great Sects’ Sealing Demon Order.
“There are two women trapped by the River Immortal Ghost; help them!” a man from the Haoqi Martial School exclaimed.
“The River Immortal Ghost likes to toy with people. It will allow them to resist for a while until it gets bored, then fill their lungs with river water, drowning them alive. If you want to save them, you go ahead—I… I dare not!”
“Are we just going to watch them be tormented to death?”
“The River Immortal Ghost is the weakest, isn’t it? If we all join hands, there is still hope of driving it back.”
Inside the post station, many cultivators were terrified, and some righteous individuals wanted to extend a helping hand. But they did nothing more than rally others and no one dared to approach the area the River Immortal Ghost had ensnared.
The River Immortal Ghost descended from the sky, turning into a ring-shaped river, trapping Wen Mengru and Bai Qin’an within its waters.
Wen Mengru and Bai Qin’an were like damsels in distress stranded on a sandbar during a flood, forced to watch helplessly as the water raged more fiercely and their foothold shrunk increasingly smaller.
Their helplessness and fear were clear on their faces, and the temperament of the two female sword masters-cum-cultivators had been completely shattered, leaving them no different from any other vulnerable woman.
“What evil spirit is causing trouble here?”
Just then, someone at the post station bellowed angrily and quickly charged toward the sinister river.
A flowing face, twisted and malevolent, surfaced within the river, exuding mockery and disdain.
“Young man, don’t go over there, that’s the River Immortal Ghost! Do you know about the offerings to the River God? Those two girls are out of luck; they’ve fallen into the water and offered themselves to the River God. Don’t just look at them struggling; they’re already dead. If you go over now and anger the River God, our villages will suffer,” an old man said frantically.
“Old man, do you think I’m blind? They’re still alive and well. Stop spreading these outdated superstitions. It’s just something in the river that has become a spirit. I’ll destroy it completely,” Zhu Minglang said.
Rushing toward the river, Zhu Minglang caught sight of the two helpless female sword masters.
On a closer look, they were two acquaintances!
“Senior Bai, Wen Junior Sister!” Zhu Minglang exclaimed in surprise.
“Zhu Minglang??” Bai Qin’an saw him and a glimmer of joy appeared on her face, but then dimmed again as she thought of her current predicament.
“What kind of monster is this, toying and humiliating you like this?” Zhu Minglang asked.
“It’s the River Immortal Ghost. Zhu Minglang, please hurry to the Miao Mountain Sword Sect and ask Sect Leader Meng to intervene. We’ve seen… We’ve seen the Mountain Immortal Ghost; it has destroyed the Guangshan Zizong Forest,” Bai Qin’an said as if she had accepted her fate.
“You’re in a bad situation now!” As Zhu Minglang approached the river, it thrashed like an irate Jiaolong, its body twisting wildly.
“We can’t survive, and you’re probably not a match for this River Immortal Ghost either. Don’t waste your life for us in vain,” Bai Qin’an said.
“Senior Bai, you’re really funny. Just this little trickster spirit, I’ll take care of it as easily as picking teeth,” Zhu Minglang said.
Having said that, Zhu Minglang opened his Spirit Realm, intending to summon the Sword Spirit Dragon and the Ice Morning White Dragon to beat up this life-toying creature…
Soon Zhu Minglang noticed his two Dragons were sleeping soundly, like babies, and they were so weak that not even a strong wind could wake them.
“Um, Heavenly Slaughter Dragon, you must be thirsty by now, see if this River Immortal Ghost’s water is to your taste,” Zhu Minglang said to the Heavenly Slaughter Dragon.
The Heavenly Slaughter Dragon poked its head out from the totem, squinting as it took stock of the River Immortal Ghost.
It had a heavenly journey of ten thousand years.
But it had no blood.
It wasn’t its food.
Yet, the essence of the river could indeed quench its thirst, replenishing its body’s fluids substantially.
The Heavenly Slaughter Dragon eventually flew out from the Spirit Realm.
Having undergone the tribulation of crossing and ascension and the reshaping by the fire from the stars above, its body had indeed lost a lot of fluids, and the River Immortal Ghost, which had just emerged as a Holy Spirit for ten thousand years, would serve well to replenish its marrow and living blood.
“Ngh!!!!!”
The Heavenly Slaughter Dragon couldn’t be bothered to unfold its wings and simply glided along the ground.
Its scale feathers were dark yet dazzlingly bright, and its jet jade skin showcased the Dragon King’s majesty!
With its body held high, exuding the intimidatory aura like a royal serpent, it opened its mouth, revealing a throat like a profound universe, from where the terrifying destructive starlight poured out!!!
The destructive starlight pierced through the River Immortal Ghost, revealing its defiant and gruesome facade in agony, followed by a scream like that of a Ghost Monkey!
The murky river body disintegrated, revealing a Demonic Bone, resembling a centipede but with a huge human face hidden within the water, invisible to the ordinary eye.
A single Dragon Breath from the Heavenly Slaughter Dragon revealed its true form.
“Hu” A breath, like spark powder, dispersed from the Heavenly Slaughter Dragon’s nose, as if it were a contemptuous snort at something beneath its notice.
The Heavenly Slaughter Dragon opened its mouth and nonchalantly bit down on the River Immortal Ghost’s true form.
The River Immortal Ghost let out another piercing scream, struggling furiously, but to no avail.
The River Immortal Ghost gradually lost all signs of life, and the Heavenly Slaughter Dragon, undisturbed by the shocked onlookers at the post station, nonchalantly spat out the Immortal Ghost’s remains, akin to discarding trash, and then contentedly absorbed the essence of the water…