Chapter 406

Dark clouds hung low, thunder rumbled, and heavy rain poured down like a waterfall.

The river water was muddy, carrying mountain stones, broken wood, and all kinds of debris, creating giant waves that crashed against the shore, making a huge roaring sound.

Baokang County faced the Ju and Man rivers. Originally, it had mountains at its back and water in front, with a jade belt circling it, but now it had suffered a disaster.

The city wall had been washed away, and the flood poured into the city.

Most of the areas in the city had been submerged, with only the tops of some higher houses exposed, and all kinds of fragments and remains drifted in the water.

Strangely, only a few common folk were squatting on the roofs. When they saw them, they immediately cried and waved their arms.

"Get closer, don't hit the ship!"

Li Yan gave a warning, and Wu Ba immediately turned the rudder.

This kid had also made progress. He used to be terrified of water, but after running around with them and sailing several times, he had adapted.

By now, steering the ship was not a problem.

The giant ship slowly approached the county city. Li Yan immediately pulled out the armor horse, performed the Northern Emperor's Divine Movement Technique, walked on the waves, and leaped onto the city wall.

"Immortal!"

"Save us, Immortal!"

Seeing Li Yan walking on the waves, the common folk thought they had met an immortal and couldn't care about panic, kneeling one after another.

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Li Yan hurriedly stopped them, "I am not an immortal. Get on the ship first, don't be afraid!"

Afraid of what?

A commoner was about to ask when he saw Li Yan grab his belt, his dark energy exploding, his steps crossing, and he turned his body to throw the person out.

Their large ship had no sails and could only rely on the rudder to change direction, drifting with the waves. There was no time to talk nonsense here.

"Ah——!"

Accompanied by a miserable scream, the person flew out.

Lu San had already taken over the rudder, and Wu Ba ran to the deck, reaching out to catch the commoner steadily.

With this kind of strength, only he could catch him on the ship.

Li Yan couldn't care about talking nonsense. He threw all the people on the city wall out, and seeing that the giant ship had moved away from the city wall, he used the Divine Movement Technique again, walked on the waves, and jumped onto the ship.

"What about the other common folk in the city?"

"The county magistrate notified us, and we have already gone up the mountain to take refuge in advance..."

"Why didn't you leave?"

"Sigh~ The old man is a woodblock print craftsman. I got drunk yesterday and slept in the carriage shop. No one paid any attention to me..."

"The little one is a fisherman from a nearby village. I was supporting the boat to escape with my family, but who knew I would hit floating wood, woo woo~"

"Came back to get things, didn't think the water would come early..."

The reasons were strange, but they were all unlucky ghosts.

Sha Lifei tsked, "Fortunately, the county magistrate is not a fool and knows to notify people to go up the mountain in advance."

Li Yan looked at the surging tide and shook his head, "The county city was notified, but those mountain villages, I fear there will be many deaths and injuries..."

Before he could finish speaking, the ship jolted.

Lu San's ears moved, and he immediately said in a deep voice, "Careful, there is something underwater! Everyone hold on tight."

Thud!

The ship jolted violently again.

Subsequently, a huge black shadow flashed through the muddy water beside them, the visible water line lingered, and it rushed toward them again.

Sha Lifei hurriedly raised his gun and exclaimed, "Is that the black dragon?"

"It's an ordinary water demon, wait for me!"

Li Yan didn't talk nonsense either, quickly pinching the seal and chanting: "Nuogao! Heavenly Truth Supreme Purity, essence of Ren and Gui. Internally corresponding to the kidney, externally corresponding to the water star..."

In the eyes of the people around, he was quickly wrapped in water mist, and then jumped into the rolling sewage with a splash.

Very quickly, waves and blood churned in the water.

In just a few breaths, Li Yan climbed onto the deck again, and in the flood behind him, a huge black fish had already turned its belly up.

"Good fellow!"

Sha Lifei looked up and said, "Legend has it that when a flood comes, there must be demons making trouble. It's really true."

"It's not that simple."

Li Yan was already soaked through, throwing an object on the ground. It was a brick made of bronze, wrapped in red cloth, permeating with yin evil energy.

As soon as it landed, white frost spread all around.

"It's a curse technique."

Wang Daoxuan said in a deep voice, "It doesn't look like it was made temporarily. Someone wants to make trouble while the dragon is leaving!"

While speaking, the large ship traveled several more miles.

At this place, the wild winds and heavy rain became more and more violent, and thunder rumbled continuously, with giant waves surging to the sky.

"Save me! Save me!"

In the heavy rain, several small fishing boats jolted up and down.

Seeing them arrive, the common folk on the boats begged for help one after another.

However, before Li Yan could take action, a giant soft-shelled turtle the size of a round table drilled out of the flood, directly smashing a fishing boat.

Not only that, but there was also a section of dark giant wood in the flood, clearly modified, used for building beams, but it had been submerged in the water for who knows how many years.

The giant wood was surrounded by yin energy, and a vague shadow could be seen, seeming to be an old man wearing burial clothes, slowly turning his head, his face deathly pale, with an eerie smile.

Boom!

The dark giant wood smashed another fishing boat.

Before they could react, the common folk on the boat were swallowed by the flood, not knowing where they were swept.

Turtle demon!

Old wood spirit in the water!

Li Yan and Wang Daoxuan looked at each other, their expressions solemn.

Their guess was correct; someone was indeed organizing monsters to make trouble while in chaos. Needless to say, it must have been related to the Heavenly Saint Sect.

"Water ghost! Water ghost!"

The common folk on the ship were also scared out of their wits.

Sha Lifei's face turned pale, and he swallowed a mouthful of saliva, "Daoist, I remember you said that yin souls, if ordinary people want to see them, it's unless they are about to die or are extremely unlucky, right?"

Wang Daoxuan's expression was solemn, and he took out a compass from his bosom to check.

Li Yan asked in a deep voice, "What place is ahead?"

"Back to the master,"

A fisherman bowed, "Ahead is the confluence of the three rivers of Baokang. Going south is the Ju River, and going west is the Man River, leading directly to the Han River."

"Because accidents often happened before, since the Great Xing era, a Yang Si General Temple has been built on the sandbar to suppress it..."

Li Yan wanted to ask in detail, but suddenly felt a stir in his heart, turned around and looked at the flood, his eyes full of doubt.

He could feel a sharp energy roaring from under the water. Even standing on the ship, he felt as if he were being pricked by needles all over.

On the water surface ahead, waves churned. Whether it was the turtle demon or the old wood spirit, they all revealed their forms, fleeing in a panic.

However, in just an instant, the demon and the spirit had their souls flown away and scattered, and their physical bodies were swept away by the flood.

Everyone on the ship had this feeling.

"What is that?"

Lu San's expression was solemn, and he asked in a deep voice.

He was always taciturn, but now he also took the initiative to ask.

The reason was very simple: the thing that flashed by just now made his hair stand on end and feel a huge threat.

"It's the ritual for slaying the dragon and mirage water monster."

Wang Daoxuan was the most knowledgeable and saw it.

"This kind of ritual is specifically for dealing with dragon and mirage water monsters. The Mystic Sect and some Dharma lineages all have it. Judging by the situation, it is the True Martial Palace taking action, and they also used a powerful Dharma artifact..."

"I understand!"

Wang Daoxuan suddenly realized, "Performing the ritual for slaying the dragon and mirage water monster will issue an edict in advance, asking the water gods, city gods, and land temples along the river to take action and trap the dragon."

"That black dragon was likely blocked by the Yang Si General Temple, and other water demons carried curse objects to come and destroy the temple!"

"The dragon is in front!"

Sha Lifei heard this and felt a bit hair-raising, "That thing cannot be dealt with. Why don't we stay away for now?"

Li Yan shook his head, "No way, this ship can't stop."

Sha Lifei looked at the flood all around and felt bitter. Rumble!

The closer they got to the front, the more fierce the thunder became.

"Ang——!"

Suddenly, a miserable hiss sounded.

Standing at the bow, the crowd suddenly saw a strange scene:

Ahead was a fork in the river, one side to the west, one side to the south, and a hill, neither high nor low, separated the waterway.

And on the hill, there was an old temple, having experienced wind and rain, ancient, with blue smoke curling inside.

More than a dozen black-robed people stood outside the temple. The offering table was about to be overturned by the wild wind. Everyone was soaked by the rain, their faces full of fear.

However, they did not retreat, all knocking on wooden fish in the wind and rain, chanting loudly: "Innate cultivation, achieving the Dao at a young age, Grotto-Abyss Water Kingdom, calming the wind and waves to benefit boats and vehicles, within the Three Heavenly Gates, the edict talisman drives away plague and cures evil..."

"It's the Precious Repentance of Yang Si General!"

Wang Daoxuan heard it immediately.

He only saw the flood surging, forming giant waves one after another, crazily hitting the high ground of the hill, seeming to want to wash away the Yang Si General Temple.

!.

In the water around the hill, black shadows flashed from time to time—fish, turtles, water snakes, all huge in size, clearly river demons making trouble.

But they were not the point.

This flood center also formed a huge whirlpool, and a black dragon the thickness of a water vat and more than ten meters long rolled up and down in the whirlpool.

At this point, Li Yan finally saw the appearance of this thing clearly.

To say it was a dragon, it was more like a snake. The scales on its head had become long, like inverted halberds forming a forest, and there was a single horn in the very center of its head.

It only had a pair of front claws, small and tender, as if they were underdeveloped.

And under its chin, a precious sword was stuck.

"Ang——!"

The black dragon was in extreme pain, roaring crazily, wanting to pull out the precious sword with its underdeveloped claws, but it couldn't do it at all.

Not only that, but thunderbolts fell from the sky, and the black dragon had to dive into the water frequently to avoid them, looking extremely embarrassed, and its body was already covered in scars.

It stirred the whirlpool, dancing up and down in the water.

In an instant, dense white thread-like insects emerged from its body, drilling into the bodies of other monsters around it.

The monsters controlled by the dragon gu were as if possessed by demons, no longer attacking the Yang Si General Temple, but jumping out of the water one after another.

Boom!

Thunder fell, and a large fish was split into charred charcoal.

Boom!

Another water snake was broken into several pieces.

To save its life, this Black-Scaled Gentleman actually controlled other water demons that came to help to block the disaster for itself.

But clearly, what was truly fatal was not the heavenly thunder, but the precious sword stuck under its chin.

And Li Yan and the others were not having a good time either.

The giant ship drifted with the waves and soon was affected by the giant whirlpool ahead, changing direction and heading toward the dragon.

"Turn the rudder, turn the rudder quickly!"

Sha Lifei was sweating profusely, and Wu Ba's muscles were bulging all over, turning the heavy rudder with all his might.

However, it was of no use at all.

Crack!

The ship's rudder even snapped at the sound.

Boom!

A two-headed water snake darted up beside them, simultaneously attracting heavenly thunder, although it was directly split to death, it also sparked electric light, affecting the giant ship.

"Everyone move aside!"

Li Yan roared and stood in front of the crowd.

He raised both hands, and the Soul-Hooking Thunder Rope roared out, absorbing the falling thunder light.

Seeming to be attracted, another thunderbolt fell, but it didn't strike those water demons, but fell directly onto the Soul-Hooking Thunder Rope.

Li Yan didn't care.

Although this Soul-Hooking Rope was a divine ability, it had mutated in the Thunder Fire Refining Hall and had become something like a Dharma artifact that could store heavenly thunder.

Even without this matter, he would have drawn thunder to store it.

It was just right to take this opportunity to fill it up and use it as a trump card.

However, a sudden change occurred.

After another heavenly thunder struck, Li Yan suddenly felt his brain go blank, and the scene before his eyes changed.

Everyone on the ship had disappeared.

On the hill opposite, a divine general sat, wearing precious armor, a golden helmet, holding a battle-axe in his right hand, and a precious document in his left, his skin fair, his appearance handsome.

It was exactly the appearance of Yang Si General.

He raised the precious document in his left hand, seeming to be ordering the black dragon not to cross the boundary, and held the battle-axe in his right hand high, as if ready to strike at any time.

And in the flood, black energy formed a whirlpool, and a strange scholar wearing a black robe and covered in scales stood in the whirlpool, his throat stuck with a precious sword, roaring in pain.

This is the Divine Communication Technique!

Li Yan instantly understood what had happened.

Why did the Divine Communication Technique suddenly appear?

This was not a good thing. The divine soul is extremely fragile. If discovered by that black dragon, I fear he would be doomed forever.

Boom!

Just at this moment, another thunderbolt struck down.

Li Yan was surprised to find that the thunder light spread along the Soul-Hooking Thunder Rope, electric light flickering, like an immortal's ribbon, floating on both sides of his shoulders.

Like an immortal, he actually floated up directly...

"Brother Li Yan!"

Sha Lifei exclaimed.

In their eyes, Li Yan suddenly tilted his neck after being struck by the thunder, fell to the ground, and was surrounded by electric light.

The crowd wanted to step forward, but were shocked by the electricity until they trembled all over.

"Daoist, think of a way quickly!"

Sha Lifei was so anxious that he lost his head.

Wang Daoxuan was also panicked in his heart, but didn't know what to do.

Suddenly, Li Yan actually turned over, as if he were asleep, and in the wind and rain, he began to snore with his eyes closed.

Seeing this, the crowd looked at each other in dismay.

And in the illusion of the Divine Communication Technique, Li Yan suddenly looked at his waist, and the Soul-Hooking Certificate was gradually getting hot.

He hurriedly picked it up, his eyes lost focus, and then instantly regained clarity, his face full of doubt.

Just a moment ago, the False False Yin Si issued a mission again: Slay the dragon!

Li Yan was somewhat puzzled. He was only responsible for hooking souls. Since when did the False False Yin Si have to intervene in things like slaying dragons?

Although he didn't know the reason, he looked at that black dragon.

With just a thought, the Soul-Hooking Thunder Rope roared out, instantly arriving in front of the black-robed scholar.

Li Yan was full of questions, but he wouldn't miss the opportunity. He grabbed the hilt of the precious sword, pushed it hard, and turned it along the way.

Immediately after, everything went black before his eyes, and he slowly opened his eyes.

Boom!

Above the sky, a thunderbolt as thick as a water vat struck down, actually splitting its head directly.

The huge dragon head flew high and fell into the water.

And the charred corpse also stopped moving, swept away by the flood, disappearing without a trace.

With the black dragon slain, the flood immediately became calm, and the wild winds and heavy rain became smaller and smaller.

"This long worm is finally dead!"

Sha Lifei breathed a sigh of relief and laughed loudly.

The others on the ship were also limp all over, sitting on the ground.

Li Yan looked at his own hands, somewhat dazed.

Suddenly, he remembered one thing.

Wei Zheng, who slew the dragon in a dream during the Tang Dynasty, seemed to be a living False False Yin Si messenger too.

Could it be that there was some secret to the identity of a living False False Yin Si messenger?

Just as he was puzzled, Lu San suddenly moved his ears and hurriedly came to the front of the ship, "Quick, there's treasure!"

Li Yan stepped forward to look and saw the charred dragon head floating to the side of the ship at some point, bobbing up and down in the water.

The precious sword had disappeared, but the area under the dragon's chin and that single horn were still emitting a faint light.

Li Yan felt something, looked at the Yang Si General Temple, bowed slightly, and jumped into the water...

(End of chapter)