Chapter 940: The River Rises

The river water surged and roared. The morning glow rose from the horizon, illuminating the Red Flame Gate tower in gold. The long-faced man sat within the tower, saying nothing, waiting until Murong Yan strolled up before him before he whispered, "Fellow Daoist Murong... do you have any thoughts?"

Murong Yan sat down casually. There was no look of embarrassment on that fat, fleshy face; instead, he seemed quite at ease. He said softly:

"He definitely has arrangements. With you and me by the river, he wants to give us a taste of his power."

He seemed to treat Shi Louyingge as one of his own, and with his divine abilities shielding them, he spoke without any reserve. He chuckled and continued, "Bai Ziyi is a smart man. He knows his own opportunities can only rely on Qi Lanyan. As for that uncle and nephew of the Helian family, they also only fear his Guanxie. Look at Tuoba Ci; he won't even take an extra step. The people from Zhao Palace are about to come down now. If we don't establish our authority... how will we be able to command them later?"

Shi Louyingge smiled and asked:

"If that is the case... what means do you estimate the fellow daoist will use? Hengli and Hengxing... they won't come, will they?"

Murong Yan stroked his beard and laughed:

"How could that be possible!"

Seeing his expression, Shi Louyingge only sighed leisurely and replied:

"That's true. In the end, the noble lords' methods are indeed superior! They only used a reincarnation to the south to get things done... They went through the True Monarch's path, leaving the Solar Orthodoxy with nothing to say, letting them fall into chaos on their own."

"My family's methods?"

Murong Yan gave a sarcastic laugh, as if there were deep hidden secrets, and only said, "In the past, my family didn't even dare to speak of it, fearing it would delay matters. Now that it is gradually becoming clear and there is no turning back, talking it over with you, fellow daoist, is not out of the question!"

"You speak of my family's methods, so let me ask you, fellow daoist: all these years as the sun has set, what has Hengzhu lost? Back then, when the various Zifu were at a stalemate, a Hengzhu direct descendant went out for no reason... Does my family have such great ability? Don't look at how everyone says the Murong family's methods caused internal discord within the Solar Orthodoxy..."

"Who desires discord, that is not yet known!"

Once these words were spoken, Shi Louyingge's pupils dilated slightly. Clearly, he had associated this with something unpleasant. He was somewhat speechless, hesitating for a long while before covering up, "Fellow daoist, this statement is wrong. Hengli and Hengxing... should not be such people..."

Murong Yan laughed heartily and replied:

"That is natural. Hengzhu's superiors do not show themselves; this matter can be blamed on anyone."

These words were highly disrespectful, implicitly pointing to someone higher up. Shi Louyingge could not handle this any further, and his heart grew cold:

'In this way... either the arrangements of that person in Hengzhu were made even earlier, having seen some clues, knowing that person in Yu Zhen had hope of attaining the Dao, and also knowing the trouble to come, making preparations early...'

'Or... the great trend of the world is about to rise. That person in Hengzhu has not appeared for many years, and someone above does not want the Hengzhu Dao to be too deeply involved, creating variables, so they deliberately used this to separate them...'

'To the extent that for so many years, Hengzhu has been almost unscathed. The true loss was merely a direct descendant who could not become a Zifu. Killing one person to pacify a prefecture...'

His pupils shook slightly: 'Hengli should not know... but in the battle of Luoxia, Hengxing was willing to come. Did he notice anything? Does he have any calculations in his heart... secretly cooperating, not daring to get too deeply involved?'

Neither of them wanted to say more, and finally, they pulled the topic back. Murong Yan whispered:

"Could it be Chi Buzi?"

Mentioning this name, Shi Louyingge was slightly silent and replied:

"I have heard of him... Qingchi's number one genius. Now he is also a Great True Person. His cultivation speed is extremely fast, especially in crossing the Purple Immortal Threshold. He crossed it as soon as he said he would. It seems even easier than Wei Wei Xuan Yin back then."

Murong Yan's expression sank slightly, and he said, "It is not impossible. Although Chi Buzi protects himself, if there were truly some benefits, he might not be unable to come back and get involved... It's just... how much ability does he have?"

This Yan Kingdom imperial descendant's expression carried a smile:

"You, me, and Xindu, that makes three. Near the shore, there is also Tuoxi. Three Bodhisattva seats, one Lotus seat. Even if the Great Yuanguang Hidden Mountain refuses to send people, and Tuoba Ci does not move, how many people are needed to take them down?"

Shi Louyingge, however, frowned. Those eyes slowly looked toward the south and replied:

"Here they come."

Murong Yan also raised his head to look, and saw white snow drifting on the riverbank in the early morning. However, it no longer lingered on the shore as it had in the past, but instead pushed waves of cold wind, crossing the river surface toward them.

Ning Wan held a spiritual sword in her arms, standing in the fierce cold wind with an expressionless face. Behind her, figures also emerged, and one could see the white water surging—it was the sword cultivator True Person Yushui, Chen Yin.

But Murong Yan's gaze quickly swept past their faces and landed on the golden-eyed man beside them: 'Li Zhouwei...'

"Clatter!"

The true fire above his head was quickly retracted. The long arched bridge and the true fire soldiers and armor all turned into true fire, falling into Shi Louyingge's palm, disappearing like a mirage.

This man in golden robes fluttered, standing in the air with Murong Yan, his tone flat:

"Fellow Daoist Ning... is this?"

Ning Wan did not wait for the two to say more. Twenty-eight white flags had already flown up, hanging in the sky. The fluttering white light, like small swords descending from the sky, covered the sky and earth, shrouding them from above.

For a time, the sounds of killing shook the sky. The cultivators, monks, and demonic cultivators on both sides fought. Murong Yan only gave a sinister laugh, and thick killing intent surged in his eyes:

"Good!"

The colors between heaven and earth immediately dimmed, and all kinds of dark colors surged. The originally bright and clear flying snow also appeared pale.

'Ning Wuchen'! This divine ability surged like waves. Chen Yin's figure had already disappeared, and the divine ability wandered away. The two waters struck each other, but the white Mansion Water divine ability was only enough to contain itself, standing like a reef in these waves, towering and motionless.

Li Zhouwei's golden pupils watched quietly. The brilliance between his brows had long since condensed, gathering into a bright and translucent color. He had long known the effect of Murong Yan's 'Ning Wuchen', so he was on guard. Standing quietly behind Chen Yin's Mansion Water divine ability, he easily stabilized the divine ability! "Boom—"

The 'Maternal Water' divine ability quickly spread, and the entire sky seemed to be dyed with ink, causing several operating divine abilities to stagnate together. However, a point of fierce brilliance escaped from the dark clouds.

Shi Louyingge's golden robes fluttered. Those two eyes had completely transformed into a bright crimson red. The clouds in the entire sky were quickly retreating with him as the center, presenting a scorching and vast sea of fire.

"The Gao family's 'True Fire' technique!"

As soon as the two made their move, the entire sky had been divided into two parts, upper and lower, clearly demarcated. Below, it was dark and lightless; above, true fire raged. All the flying snow evaporated into nothingness in an instant, leaving only twenty-eight white formation flags struggling to protect themselves in the fire.

"Clang!"

At this critical moment, a white jade spiritual sword appeared in the Great Void, cold as autumn water, fast as thunder, pointing straight at Shi Louyingge! 'Zhusheng...'

This Yu Zhen swordsman from the Southern Frontier had always been a good friend of Qingchi. This was the first time Li Zhouwei had seen him. His heart moved slightly, secretly remembering Ning Wan's bitter expression:

'He is actually willing to intervene! Could it be... he doesn't know that Sui Guan is behind this!'

He did not lose focus. His thoughts only turned slightly, and the color between his brows burst out, but it did not go toward Murong Yan, but struck in front of Chen Yin's empty space.

"Boom—"

The bright Yang colorful light quickly rose, opening up a place of light in this world shrouded by 'Ning Wuchen'. And at the landing point of 【Upper Radiance Subduing Light】, a man dressed in white, wearing a gray cloak, was slowly appearing, his face somewhat embarrassed.

It was precisely the demonic cultivator 【Xindu】! He had originally wanted to catch the two off guard, but ended up being seen through without knowing it. At this moment, the brilliant 【Upper Radiance Subduing Light】 descended, and he himself was caught off guard, having to grab his robe hem and use his divine ability to resist this light.

But the flickering speed of 【Upper Radiance Subduing Light】 was extremely fast, fleeting, making him cough. Chen Yin had already bullied his way forward, but Li Zhouwei's figure soared into the air, his ape-like arms stretched lightly, and the long halberd swept across with flowing light. The long branches flickered in the flowing light, hitting the incoming black shadow heavily, exploding into a patch of sparks.

The divine abilities in the sky temporarily condensed. The 'Ning Wuchen', which had too large a range, was finally broken by the divine abilities of several Zifu, revealing the morning glow in the distance, illuminating the long halberd in gold, and holding the spiritual weapon, which was half-stick and half-mace, in the demonic smoke.

There were dots of light in the long halberd, like the rising sun. The 【Lanzhao】 divine mystery operated, and a white flowing light the size of a fist, dragging a tail flame, jumped out from it, circling around the halberd shaft.

Li Zhouwei's pupils were reflected in Murong Yan's pupils again. This Li family prodigy held up his weapon and finally had some smiles: "Fellow Daoist Murong... today we can have a proper fight!"

Seeing him make a move to stop him, the killing intent in Murong Yan's eyes slowly faded, and his gaze moved away from Chen Yin, instead showing a bit of excitement, eager to try, and he laughed:

"Good!"

As soon as these words fell, Murong Yan's figure disappeared from the spot. Replacing it was a circular halo the size of a person, emitting a brilliant white light, surrounded by sixteen scales.

And he himself moved three feet horizontally out of thin air, his fingers together in front of him, releasing two golden lights that intertwined into a ring-shaped magic light. Inside that circular halo, an identical magic light immediately roared out, coming to bind him together.

Li Zhouwei lifted his long halberd back, turned his arms and jumped, but held 【Dasheng】 upside down, the long handle against his arm, standing behind him, unhurriedly freeing a hand to untie the golden axe hanging diagonally at his waist.

'【Huayang King Axe】!'

Murong Yan had been paying attention to him early on, his expression complex for a moment, fear and helplessness intertwined, his heart lost for a moment: 'The 【Huayang King Axe】 of Li Shu and Li Guangfu, father and son... This object is famous for being blunt and heavy... Taking it out at this time, what is the plan!'

But he saw his palm facing upward, and the long axe, which symbolized preciousness and power, floated lightly in his palm. Inch by inch, soft brilliance was released from the axe, illuminating all directions.

【Brightness】! The pale white brilliance shone out, covering the entire battlefield in an instant. Whether it was Zhusheng and Chen Yin fighting with swords, or Ning Wan controlling the great formation to assist with heavy snow, all felt the pale white brilliance shining, draped over their bodies, resisting the intrusion of true fire and maternal water.

Li Zhouwei had fought alone several times before, so naturally, he was not in a hurry to use this technique. Now that the various Zifu were fighting, naturally, he took it out early to defend against the enemy.

"Whoosh..."

But in just this instant, two magic lights draped in pale blue light, like golden rings inside, had already reached in front of him. Li Zhouwei was unhurried, slightly opening his mouth.

"Sss..."

Immediately, surging purple fire flew out from between his lips and teeth, sweeping across. The power of this purple fire was unusual, rushing and crashing, immediately shaking the two magic lights away.

It was precisely the 【Spitting Flame】 ability of the 【Huayang King Axe】! In just a split second, Li Zhouwei's bright sky waves surrounded his body, the Sun Yingli technique was bright, climbing up along his arm. With a flick of the long halberd, he had already thrown the two techniques behind him, killing toward Murong Yan!

He had long seen that the sixteen scales in the halo thrown out were the magic scales of the 【Green-Necked Dragon】, so this light must be the light of water confusion, which was not easy to resolve. The best method was naturally to attack what the enemy must save, making him disperse the magic! Murong Yan's 【Heyuan Stick】 immediately set up, slightly raising his eyebrows. The 'Ning Wuchen' divine ability brilliance no longer expanded, tightly circling his own three feet, locking all brightness.

"Clang!"

The sound of spiritual weapon collision was as loud as thunder. Murong Yan indeed broke the magic, slightly stagnating. 【Dasheng】 brilliance overflowed, and another 【Lanzhao White Light】 jumped out. Two points of white light circled around the long halberd, resisting the 'Ning Wuchen' divine ability brilliance.

But just as Murong Yan held up Dasheng, a hazy golden light rose on the Dasheng long halberd. This long halberd was clearly still in place holding up the Heyuan Stick, but a golden long halberd shadow swung out a beautiful arc, stabbing toward his neck!

Dasheng 【Effect Attachment】's clone mystery!

'This is to use the shadow clone to force my maternal appearance to appear!'

A flash of surprise flashed in Murong Yan's eyes. He already understood the opponent's intention, but he had to raise his head, revealing that disheveled, white and beautiful woman's face, biting onto this light shadow with a 'clanging' sound.

'When his maternal appearance appears, the main body is indeed temporarily powerless!'

The 【Effect Attachment】 clone shattered with a bang, but the main body of the weapon in Li Zhouwei's hand finally did not have the constraints of the first fight. The golden light was brilliant, and with a flip, it had already swept away the 【Heyuan Stick】, whose magic power was dim, and advanced again, smashing the woman's head to pieces.

"So powerful!"

Amidst the black energy, the white-as-jade hand once again grasped the short handle of the 【Heyuan Stick】. The fat skin that Murong Yan had revealed was finally thrown away completely. The mighty man stood in the air, his shining arms white as jade amidst the rolling purple flames that rushed over.

The form of the 【Heyuan Stick】 expanded infinitely in the air, condensing into a huge black demonic blade, slashing down from the sky! "Boom—"

The sound of gold and iron collision resounded, and the dazzling bright Yang brilliance soared into the sky. The rolling maternal water gray light flowed like water. This huge black demonic blade, like a mountain peak, stagnated in the sky, casting a huge shadow on the ground.

A point of golden long halberd, like a branch in comparison, stood in the air, holding up this demonic blade. Li Zhouwei descended a full hundred feet, almost falling into the river. His hands were pale from gripping, and the river surface under his feet was pressed into a depression by the divine ability, rushing to both sides. A waterless hole appeared on the surging river surface in an instant.

"Boom—"

Gorgeous sparks erupted along with purple flames at the point of collision. The scenery in the sky was divided into two halves along the boundary in an instant, half brilliant, half gray surging.

The two sides of cultivators fighting on the river surface were immediately scared out of their wits, scrambling to retreat, making the chaotic battlefield present a fault-like blank space.

This imagery, presented due to the powerful collision of divine abilities, only lasted for an instant. The divine abilities of the various True Persons once again shrouded the sky. The true fire and Yu Zhen light in the sky were bright again, red and white intertwined, illuminating Li Zhouwei's face with brilliance. His gaze was burning, quietly looking at Murong Yan.

"Bang..."

Phoenix cries, dragon roars, flags rising, banners moving, muffled sounds were boiling in the clouds. That white gate tower descended from the sky again. The scene of the first encounter appeared again. Murong Yan stared at the pupils of the other party that floated with smiles, and finally noticed something wrong.

The target of 'Yetian Gate' was not him, but...

【Heyuan Stick】! Characters appearing in this chapter

——

Ning Wan 【Zifu Early Stage】

Chen Yin 【Zifu Early Stage】

Murong Yan 【Zifu Early Stage】

Shi Louyingge 【Zifu Middle Stage】

Zhusheng 【Zifu Early Stage】

Li Zhouwei 【Zifu Early Stage】