The burlap sack sank to the bottom of the lake, quickly swallowed by the pitch-black water.
Everyone was busy with their own tasks, so no one noticed a palm-sized human-shaped paper cutout slowly floating up from the lakebed.
A blurry silhouette was etched onto the paper. It stuck lightly into a crack at the ship's stern, resembling an inconspicuous withered leaf.
The following day passed without incident, allowing Wang Er to breathe a sigh of relief. The wooden boat followed the current until it finally reached the port of Fengdao County.
The wooden trestles of the pier had fallen into disrepair. Scattered planks floated on the water's surface, and the houses along the shore were nothing but ruined walls and debris. The walls were covered in dark brown marks—it was impossible to tell if they were blood or mold.
One could only faintly discern the prosperous appearance it once had when people lived there.
"Immortal master, Lakeglow Ridge is just ahead in that direction. You can reach it in half a day by following this small path."
Wang Er pointed toward a distant ridge shrouded in mist, his voice tinged with fear. "We will wait for you here. We don't dare go any further."
After two days together, Wang Er had learned their true destination, and his respect for the demon-slaying immortals had grown even deeper.
In the past, he had only heard rumors of the sword sect's immortals protecting mortals. Now that he had truly witnessed it, he even felt that their two slightly hideous and strange sets of bone armor had become sacred, exuding an air of mercy and compassion for the world.
The two bid farewell to Wang Er and his group, then followed the weed-choked path toward Lakeglow Ridge.
At this moment, in the center of Lakeglow Ridge, Nie Hailong was perched upon the Jade Island in the middle of the lake. His crimson vertical pupils stared down at the snake demons below, his tone carrying a hint of anxiety.
"Hurry up! Why are you all dawdling? Get into the array immediately!"
Mother Snake helped organize the offspring from the side, asking in confusion, "Husband, is there a need to be in such a hurry? The array still has some flaws; it wouldn't be too late to take it slow."
"What do you know!"
Nie Hailong glanced at her, his voice full of ruthlessness.
"You know that day is fast approaching. When I went to Qudao County a few days ago, I found signs that the evil spirits are already reviving!
"Even though I devoured everyone who knew the truth in Shideng Village, that White Jade Old Ghost must have noticed something too. He's already preparing for the Immortal Celebration in advance.
"That old thing is incredibly cunning. Our Lakeglow Ridge lineage must also make preparations early; we cannot just sit and wait for death!"
Mother Snake sighed and could only speed up her urging of the snake demons to enter the array at the bottom of the lake.
She knew this array was constructed with natural treasures Nie Hailong had spent decades gathering. The energy inside was abundant, making the cultivation speed several times faster than the outside world. However, compared to directly devouring flesh and blood, it was still far too slow.
But the other territories in Thousand Isles County were all the domains of other great demons who kept human pens, and Qudao County was plagued by evil spirits.
Watching her offspring dive into the lake one by one, Mother Snake's heart was full of worry.
Nie Hailong ignored her, his gaze fixed on the lakebed, a flash of blood-red light appearing in his eyes.
Right then, a small snake demon crawled over from the shore in a panic, its voice urgent: "Great King! It's bad! Two cultivators are attacking!"
As soon as the words left its mouth, a sharp blade qi suddenly swept in from the shore. In an instant, it sliced a snake demon that didn't have time to dodge clean in half, sending blood spraying.
Immediately after, flames ignited out of thin air, enveloping another snake demon.
The fire was like a maggot on a bone. No matter how the snake demon thrashed—even when it dove into the lake—the fire continued to burn fiercely, soon reducing the demon to a lump of charcoal.
"Shitou has come to slay demons by order! Evil monsters who harm others, come and meet your deaths!"
A slightly youthful yet incredibly firm voice rang out. Accompanied by the hum of blade qi, several more snake demons lost their lives under Shitou’s bone blade.
Hearing this, Nie Hailong's pupils shrank violently.
He remembered that name!
It was the human related to the evil spirit from Dead Man’s Forest!
He had already silenced the witnesses; how could the evil spirit have found him?
Nie Hailong stared fixedly at the two on the shore, only to find they were merely two ordinary second-stage cultivators. They didn't have even the slightest aura of an evil spirit on them.
"Shameless humans! To think you would dare use the name of an evil spirit to swindle others!" Nie Hailong was consumed by rage, feeling as though he had been deceived.
Mother Snake also instantly shed her gentle appearance, revealing hideous fangs as she lunged toward the shore alongside Nie Hailong.
Shitou swung his blade to meet them. His bone blade, infused with second-stage blade qi, slashed toward Nie Hailong’s head, but it only left a scratch on the scales. Before he could follow up with another strike, Mother Snake attacked from the side, her tail whipping toward his waist like a lash.
The snake tail carried the force of a thousand pounds, making the air explode with a loud crack.
Even though Shitou hurriedly swung his blade to block, he was still sent flying, slamming heavily against the rocks on the shore. He coughed up a mouthful of blood, staining the front of his robes red.
"Shitou!" Hong Ling cried out in alarm. She raised her hand to condense a wall of fire in front of her and threw a fire talisman at Nie Hailong.
"Little girl, you dare play with fire in front of me?"
Nie Hailong laughed cruelly. He slapped his tail against the lake's surface, and dozens of water blades rose from the water, shooting toward Hong Ling.
The water blades were as sharp as knives. The fire wall was extinguished the moment it touched them. Several water blades grazed her arms as they flew past, leaving deep wounds that exposed the bone.
"Hahaha! With just this bit of skill, you dare come to my Lakeglow Ridge to act wild?"
Nie Hailong laughed even more arrogantly as he looked at the two in their pathetic state.
"Did you think that by using the name of an evil spirit and killing a few low-level snake demons, I would be too afraid to touch you? How ridiculous!
"It's perfect that you've delivered yourselves to me. I'll tear you apart and devour you right now. The flesh and blood of cultivators is a great tonic!"
Just then, a faint sigh echoed.
The blood-vein wood plaque in Shitou's arms flew out. A brilliant white light erupted, and a black deathly aura instantly permeated the area.
A white bone skeleton stepped slowly out of the light. The turbid yin energy surrounding it seemed to make the entire surface of the lake freeze.
Nie Hailong and Mother Snake stopped their movements instantly, their eyes filled with terror.
An evil spirit!!!
It was a true evil spirit!!!
Even though the skeleton only displayed a second-stage aura, Nie Hailong knew clearly that an evil spirit's true terror never lay in its raw strength.
It was the deathly aura that could assimilate and infect living beings. Even if one was an entire stage higher than the evil spirit, they might not be completely immune. Touching it meant death.
Chen Zhou's Ghost Domain instantly expanded, covering the entire lake's surface. The world turned dark in an instant.
Chen Zhou's gaze swept over the injured Shitou and Hong Ling. He walked over, pinched the scruff of the neck of the Plague Rat—who was watching the show from the shore—and lifted it up.
"Lying down and watching the play? Slacking off so blatantly... is this how you protect your little brother?"
"How dare you! Let go of your Lord Rat!" the Plague Rat squealed and shrieked, its short legs and arms flailing in struggle. "This little girl only got a little hurt; she's not dead! If she were actually about to die, obviously Lord Rat would have stepped in!"
When Nie Hailong saw the rat-like creature suspended in mid-air as if held by something, his heart trembled with even more fear.
He hadn't even noticed there was another rat hiding nearby!
What terrified him even more was that he could not sense the stage or aura of this rat at all. This meant the rat's strength far exceeded his own—it was at least at the third-stage peak!
Rate on N.U.
