Chapter 944

On the dragon boat, Old Master Cui gazed at the golden fire clouds blazing across the sky and the emerald flames rippling beside the boat in the river.

This seasoned god of calamity, who had traveled far and wide, finally let out a bitter smile.

“The dynasty is on the verge of collapse, hence the frequent emergence of demons…”

“But not such a terrifying demon!”

Old Master Cui slumped down, dropped his drumstick, and gave up completely.

He muttered, “To forge a demon like the Nine-Eyed Fire Exorcist—using the corpse of an immortal drought demon that scorched a thousand li, and gathering the vengeful souls of hundreds of thousands of disaster victims as emerald flames—is an act unprecedented in antiquity, horrifying beyond words!”

“Yet the White Lotus Sect’s creation of the Fire Exorcist was backed by the Xuanzhen Sect.”

“Summoning deities to possess mortals, guiding divine oracles—these are common esoteric arts—but when the Xuanzhen Sect Master summoned Nezha to possess him, it was on this scale! This isn’t summoning a deity—it’s beyond even a true god’s power! What kind of divine battle is this?”

Old Master Cui cursed, “You lot in the Heavenly Empress Palace—you’re the backbone holding down Zhigu! Yet you force me, a lowly fourth-rank Daoist, to play the big shot before two terrestrial immortals!”

He hurled the dragon banner aside, grumbling, “You want me to stop them? How could I possibly stop them?”

“Just finish your fight, clean up the mess, and tell us plainly—live or die, make it clear!”

The two captains of the Canal Guild stood shoulder to shoulder, watching their tens of thousands of disciples, who now looked like mere lackeys before the Xuanzhen and White Lotus Sects. The two sects turned the tide at will; the guild members drifted helplessly, trembling before the Nine-Eyed Fire Exorcist and the six-armed Nezha, like ants.

They exchanged glances, both bursting into bitter smiles.

On the iron boat, the White Lotus Holy Maiden cried out: “Master of the Xuanzhen Sect! We are both secret sects with longstanding ties. Even if you disregard past goodwill and spare us a path to survival, surely you must recognize that this corrupt dynasty’s tyrant is our shared enemy—you wouldn’t let our common foe rejoice, would you? Today you suppress the Fire Exorcist and save Zhigu—but who benefits? The imperial court? Do you truly believe they’ll thank you?”

Lin Heier, her head wrapped in white cloth, glared upward in resentment and shouted, “If you meant to exterminate us utterly, why hand the Tai Sui over to me?”

At that moment, the trembling crowds on both banks finally understood. Though many had suspected, only now, with Lin Heier’s words, did they confirm: the deity who subdued the Fire Demon, extinguished Zhigu’s inferno, and crushed the Fire Exorcist again—was none other than the Master of the Xuanzhen Sect, transformed before their eyes!

Qian Chen drove his spear through the Fire Exorcist, pinning it to the iron boat, then revealed himself amid the blazing flames.

He still wore his refined, scholarly attire, yet four golden hands of flame extended from his back, each gripping a magic artifact, his feet resting on golden fire-and-wind wheels as he hovered high above, gazing down: “Lin Heier! I told you—the time isn’t right. When the moment arrives, I hope you’ll make the right choice. Don’t force me to push you further!”

With that, the Heaven-Turning Silk wrapped the Fire Exorcist around the iron boat, then drove the Fire Spear, along with the Nine-Eyed Fire Exorcist, deep into the canal.

Infinite flames retracted, converging toward the iron boat.

The massive Western iron vessel—dozens of meters long, nearly twenty wide—glowed red-hot.

Molten iron encased the Fire Exorcist; the various artifacts on its six arms fell away, leaving golden imprints within the molten metal.

Finally, the iron boat’s deck bloomed like a lotus, slowly sinking into the canal.

“White Lotus Sect! Before the eyes of hundreds of thousands in Zhigu today, I seal your Nine-Eyed Fire Exorcist beneath the Chaoguan Floating Bridge! Fortified as gold and bronze—this bridge shall henceforth be named Jin Tang Bridge…”

“The Fire Exorcist is no isolated case!”

“I have foreseen: one colossal demon approaches Zhigu from each of the four directions. The demons of the four quarters converge at the Sancha River Junction. Today’s city-burning calamity is but the prologue. When all four demons gather, my seal on the Fire Exorcist will shatter—and then, the true eon-spanning tribulation begins!”

“Unless the Three Divine Ones destined to bear the tribulation are found, Zhigu will burn to ashes. The entire north will be engulfed in disaster—only one in a hundred will survive!”

Qian Chen’s words stirred a storm along the canal banks. Even Old Master Cui, who had barely grasped the threads of the coming tribulation, shuddered at the mention of the four demons.

He instantly understood Qian Chen spoke truth.

The people of Zhigu, hearing this, began preparing to flee to relatives.

Only when they learned the tribulation would spare no part of the north did they panic, glancing left and right, whispering in fear.

“My Xuanzhen Sect has the heart to save the world—but the four-demon tribulation is but the prelude to salvation.”

“Beneath the collapsing heavens, I shall raise five pillars to hold up this world’s sky.”

“Only three months remain until the heavens fall. I have forged only three prototypes of the five pillars of salvation. When that day comes, I will have no time to intervene—your lives will be decided by fate alone!”

With that, the divine form woven from flames slowly descended, revealing Qian Chen’s true body upon the floating bridge.

He surveyed both banks of the canal. Wu Ponu, who had already devoured the Yin-Yang Blood Road and claimed a path, hurried forward and bowed deeply: “I pay homage to the Sect Master!”

Beside him, several grotesque clay figures cowered behind him, cautiously peering out, gazing at Qian Chen with pitiful eyes.

Qian Chen’s gaze swept over the little creatures and dismissed them without interest.

From every alley, crows and other officials led groups of Xuanzhen Sect disciples clad in black robes, wearing five-colored masks.

The canal workers and porters blocking the banks parted to make way.

Crow lifted a small monkey head, cast a cold glance at the disheveled Lin Heier, and tossed it before her.

Thousands of Xuanzhen disciples, now swollen in number, bowed and clasped their hands: “We pay homage to the Sect Master!”

Their unified roar thundered with might; the far more numerous Canal Guild disciples dared not speak.

They could only watch as the Xuanzhen Sect, once merely a regional sect of the north, now stood as the dominant force in Zhigu, displaying its overwhelming authority.

The imperial officials in Zhigu had been slaughtered by the White Lotus Sect.

And the White Lotus Sect, which had just moments ago reigned supreme, now had its momentum shattered by the Xuanzhen Sect.

The final victor now strutted in triumph—who dared breathe?

Qian Chen glanced calmly at the old ruffians of the Hustler Guild and said, “Our second match is over—it seems I’ve won again. Our contest is best of three. For the final round, we’ll test our swimming skills!”

“Seven days from now, back here at the Sancha River Junction—clear the waters with the Clear-Turbid Dividing Sword, subdue the Dragon King of the Sea! Send divers into the river to retrieve the treasures!”

“Beneath the Sancha River Junction lie three treasures.”

“One is the Clear-Turbid Dividing Sword, one is the Nine-River Dragon King Pearl, and the third is a relic of the Heavenly Empress—priceless beyond measure. The diver with the finest swimming skill shall retrieve them; the most valuable treasure wins!”

With that, Qian Chen gave the Hustler Guild no chance to refuse—he turned and led his disciples away.

Zhang Sanzhi could only watch their retreating backs and mutter, “You’ve already won two out of three!”

The rolling heat, swept by the river wind across every face on the banks, finally brought them back to their senses—but they still couldn’t tell whether what they’d witnessed was madness or reality.

The might of the Nine-Eyed Fire Exorcist had surpassed all limits of human endurance—it was nearly demonic!

And the Nine-Eyed Fire Exorcist, which had just moments ago roared with intent to burn Zhigu to ashes, was now subdued and sealed beneath the floating bridge by the six-armed Nezha—this was almost mythic. Even the most superstitious peasants needed time to digest it.

The high masters summoned by the Canal Guild and the Hustler Guild had assumed this was merely the second duel between the Xuanzhen Sect and the ruffians.

Yet this battle unfolded in three twists: first, the ghost ship became an iron ship; the White Lotus Sect ambushed the imperial iron vessel transporting the drought demon corpse, severed the path of the Yin soldiers with esoteric arts, seized the vengeful souls of hundreds of thousands of disaster victims from Shandong, stole the drought demon’s vessel, and forged the unparalleled demon—the Nine-Eyed Fire Exorcist.

Then they burned down Wanghai Tower, annihilating all the imperial officials gathered there.

Then the Xuanzhen Sect official Wu Ponu blocked the river with red threads, halting the iron ship’s path.

Amid this, they seized the Hustler Guild’s ancestral path, devoured the Yin-Yang Blood Road, and forged a true Yin-Yang Path.

Then, when the iron ship was blocked and the White Lotus Sect set fire to Zhigu, it triggered the Xuanzhen Sect’s hidden plan: disciples performed a grand ritual at every Fire God temple, summoning countless Fire Gods into one man, achieving the miracle of the Summoning Path—merging nearly a hundred Fire Gods into one body, transforming into the Third Prince Nezha, sealing the Nine-Eyed Fire Exorcist in the river, and leaving behind the prophecy of Three Divine Ones against Four Demons and the declaration of five pillars holding up the collapsing sky.

Finally, they stirred the waters of the Three Rivers, leaving only murky silt behind!

This tale alone could sustain Zhigu’s storytellers for centuries.

The divine traces left behind made the people of Zhigu gather around them the next morning, marveling in awe.

The ruins left by the burning of Wanghai Tower…

The several high platforms along the canal banks…

The floating bridge severed across the middle…

The two colossal stone oxen, each leaving dragging and pulling marks in every direction along the banks…

One stone ox sunk into the river, the other buried underground—both vanished, save for a single red thread tied between them: the Demon-Sealing Rope!

Even within the Fire God Temple, incense burned thickly; the three-headed, six-armed statue, now clad in a new red robe, had shed its charred black residue, appearing pristine—as if newly carved—with the faint likeness of Qian Chen visible in its three faces and six arms.

In a quiet courtyard, a member of the Tai Sui Alliance tapped his pipe like an old farmer, squatting on the threshold, smoking his dried tobacco.

Yang Qin and Fan Cun hunched beside him. After a long silence, the big man Yang Qin shook his head: “I didn’t report all the chaos the Xuanzhen Sect stirred up—not because I was negligent, nor because of battle failure. That Sect Master is at least sixth-rank—a True Immortal who has attained longevity. His calculations are so precise—I admit, even we Lunhuizhe with knowledge of the future couldn’t match him. Besides, Fan Cun and I took the Tai Sui elixir—every move we make might be watched. We dare not send any messages lightly.”

“And we know far less than you think we do!”

“I suspect only the Xuanzhen Sect Master knows the true critical points. What we know are mere fragments—what use are they?”

“Before the grand Fire God Temple ritual yesterday, we were all at the Drum Tower casting the bell. The prominent official Chang Yan was there too—but that bell never served any purpose. I thought it might be crucial…”

The old farmer-like man calmly stuffed more tobacco into his copper pipe and said, “You’re right. The Xuanzhen Sect Master is a true great figure. The plot he’s involved in is beyond the interference of creatures like us.”

“So the Alliance has spent a great price to summon a great one into this world!”

“We now have the right to place our own stones on this board laid by a True Immortal!”

Yu Meiren, who had been flirting with Fan Cun, immediately dropped her coquettishness, sat cross-legged, and said gravely, “Which great one has come?”

The old man glanced at her coolly: “Of course, one of the Alliance’s Primordial Spirit Immortals—the Heavenly Demon Lord Chi Fen Ruo.”

Yu Meiren gasped: “It’s Lord Chi Fen Ruo! He’s the second-ranked Heavenly Demon Lord of the Alliance—does our mission truly warrant his attention?”

The old man shook his head: “Lord Chi Fen Ruo came primarily because a traitor from our Alliance stole a crucial artifact and fled into this world, intending to attain Primordial Spirit and condense a Dao Seed.”

“Who dared such a thing?” Yang Qin cried in fear. “What vital object did he steal to draw the Heavenly Demon Lord’s pursuit?”

“You should know him—he’s that cowardly Daoist who communicates with spirits!”

The old man frowned, puzzled: “I’d have bet on Master Miaokong instead—but he vanished several missions ago. The Spirit-Communicating Daoist supposedly spent a fortune investigating Miaokong’s death, and ever since, he’s become a coward, constantly claiming he offended some great figure.”