[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-name-that-echoes-through-eternity":3,"chapter-the-name-that-echoes-through-eternity-the-name-that-echoes-through-eternity-chapter-51":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Name That Echoes Through Eternity",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2282600,4466,"Chapter 51: Death River Trial","the-name-that-echoes-through-eternity-chapter-51",51,"\u003Cp>Li Hao walked along a damp, stony path for several miles until he reached another waterfall and deep pool.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Strange, I thought I just heard a flute.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Hao glanced around—was it an illusion?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The waterfall ahead hung like a curtain, but between the streams, there appeared to be a small temple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Hao felt a flicker of surprise, his figure shifting as he activated the Supreme-level White Phoenix Walk technique, slipping through the water curtain like a bird darting through trees, yet not a single drop clung to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had spent two of his three remaining Art Points on movement arts, allowing him to effortlessly comprehend this upper-tier cultivation method.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Li Hao entered the waterfall, on another moss-covered stone platform far downstream, two slender figures stood still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh, Yueyao, didn’t someone just pass by over there?” Lin Feifei exclaimed, pointing toward the waterfall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It seemed so.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Yueyao had noticed too, but the figure vanished in an instant—wearing what looked like Outer Palace robes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So it wasn’t my imagination. Why would an Outer Palace disciple come here? The new student exams haven’t started yet.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Feifei frowned: “He seems to have entered the Fangzhu Divine Temple—could he be aiming for the Death River?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Yueyao turned her gaze away, shaking her head slightly; she had no interest in such outside matters. She lifted her flute and blew a soft note.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind the waterfall, Li Hao gazed at the temple before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was tiny—barely half a person’s height.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet its design was exquisite, housing two statues: one male, one female. So ancient were they that their faces had blurred with time, but upon closer inspection, their original expressions seemed gentle and kind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But with patches of earth peeling and faces rotting, their half-smiling lips now appeared eerie and grotesque.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On either side of the temple stood a vertical inscription: Earth gives birth to all things; soil buries all living beings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Above it, a horizontal plaque read: Lord of This Realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Li Hao studied the temple, a small booklet suddenly flew out from within, opening before his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Immediately after, a sheet of paper shot forth like divine light, striking his forehead at blinding speed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Hao’s heart lurched—he tried to dodge—but even with his Fifteen-Li realm cultivation, he was too slow. The divine light pierced him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, the surrounding heavens and earth seemed drowned in watery light, then faded, revealing another world—both real and illusory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dim cave grew hazy, as if a watery barrier now enclosed him within a three-foot radius.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simultaneously, phantom golden characters floated before Li Hao’s eyes:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【You have entered the Death River】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Your registered origin confirmed: Great Yu Dynasty, Qingzhou】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Please leave your name within the Death River】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Hao froze—had he truly entered the Death River?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked around: a flowing, membrane-like barrier surrounded him. Beyond it, the light was dim, faint outlines of broken mountains visible—vast and empty, nothing like the narrow cave he had just left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the legendary, mysterious, and perilous place? How extraordinary!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he had heard tales of the Death River, experiencing it firsthand still filled him with awe—it surpassed ordinary martial arts entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet, which level of Death River was this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During his usual fishing trips, Second Uncle had mentioned there were five types of Death Rivers; even he and Wind Elder dared not lightly enter a Youdu-level one, for it held great terrors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, the golden light that had pierced Li Hao’s forehead coalesced into his palm, forming a sheet of golden paper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The paper was blank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simultaneously, streams of information flooded his mind. He understood, thought for a moment, bit his finger, and wrote his Death River name upon the golden paper:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chong Er.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he finished writing, golden light erupted from the paper, swallowing his blood-written name, then dissolved into golden radiance that sank into his body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, the surrounding watery barrier gradually faded, revealing the broken mountains and barren land beyond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his mind, an automatic message appeared: Realm: Fengshan Death River.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Death River Completion: 0%.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Hao looked up: the sky burned crimson, the setting sun like blood, half-submerged in the earth far away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before him stood a desolate mountain, within which lay a village with wisps of cooking smoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Hao’s gaze shifted—he released his spiritual sense to scout ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A spirit form identical to his own body flew from his crown, flickered once, and surged forward like a spirit traversing a thousand li, arriving above the village, overlooking the entire mountain. His spiritual vision rapidly ascended, seeking to comprehend the full scope of the Death River realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as he gazed into the distance, Li Hao saw the Death River’s end swallowed by a mass of darkness. When his spiritual sense penetrated it, a chill seized him—as if something unspeakable slumbered within that darkness, forbidden to be awakened!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Hao swiftly retracted his spiritual perception, limiting his awareness to the village and its immediate surroundings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within the village, the old and young moved about, men tilling, women weaving—everything appeared harmonious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…Provided one ignored their faces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each person had withered, dried-out features: elders like mummified corpses, children with pupil-less black holes for eyes, tongues dangling to their chests. Women wove at windows, nails like knives, teeth sharp, smiling with a chilling serenity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Truly a peach-blossom haven beyond death… Li Hao sighed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having seen the grotesque forms of various fish spirits, these dead within the Death River didn’t seem so terrifying to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do I need to eliminate them all to complete it?” Li Hao pondered. He considered retreating, but first he had to reach the corresponding temple within the Death River.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Through his spiritual survey, he had located the temple—it sat atop a stage-like platform at the village’s center.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What a despicable location…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That man—could he be the leader here? A Soul-Continuation realm cultivator. Can the dead even possess their own spirit forms?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Hao’s gaze settled on the mountain behind the village, where a black-robed scholar sat, a female spirit form wreathed in black smoke clinging to his back—an unsettling, eerie sight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having surveyed the situation, Li Hao did not linger. His spirit returned to his body, and he strode boldly into the village.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, villagers loitering at the village entrance spotted Li Hao.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hello, hello…” Li Hao smiled and waved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man who had been holding a child suddenly roared, lunging at him with a grotesque snarl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The child, moments before appearing innocent and vacant, now wore a violent expression, baring sharp teeth as he charged forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So enthusiastic,” Li Hao sighed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He casually snapped off a dry branch and flicked it lightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snowflakes fell from the air. Before the old man and child reached within two zhang of Li Hao, their bodies froze rigid, heads cleanly severed—the wounds razor-sharp and perfectly smooth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, Li Hao simply picked up the branch and walked calmly along the ancient path into the village.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Along the way, villagers planting rice in the fields, upon noticing him, abruptly turned violent, roaring as they charged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some farmers, wearing straw hats and carrying baskets of grain, seized their shoulder poles and rushed forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you too dream of conquering the sea?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Hao did not pause. He swung the branch casually, as if snowflakes drifted down—each flake landing on the villagers like a seal, instantly freezing their bodies in place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Li Hao advanced deeper into the village, more villagers surged toward him: women carrying pots and bowls, long-tongued weavers, and others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“All Zhou Tian realm. Hmph. A few even Zhou Tian peak.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Hao flicked the branch idly, walking steadily along the wide road, leaving behind a trail of severed corpses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These dead seemed like ghosts—normally without physical form—but within the Death River, they possessed flesh and blood, and when severed, spewed black blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Could this be the Death River they’ll test next year?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Hao muttered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The strength of this Death River didn’t seem high.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only real threat he’d seen so far was the black-robed scholar behind the village—Soul-Continuation realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Using a Soul-Continuation cultivator to test Jia Academy disciples was indeed reasonable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As each villager fell, Li Hao glanced at the golden paper in his palm—it displayed:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Death River Completion: 89%.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each villager slain seemed to contribute roughly 1% progress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Given the nature of the Death River, even eliminating them all won’t reach 100% completion or true dissolution.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Hao murmured to himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The difficulty in suppressing a Death River lies here: only by fully solving it can it vanish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some had tried killing every dead soul and destroying every object within—but still failed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Death River cannot be destroyed or erased. If unsolved, it reforms, rising again to spread anywhere in the world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Hao passed before the temple beside the stage, glanced at it, but chose not to exit yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since he had come, he intended to test how far he could go—after all, this was his first encounter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1505,"2026-06-20T02:15:40.176Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","e6d1289d11936f522f25030e831e81ba6210d2f056ea3fac253f48ad58dfd74f","the-name-that-echoes-through-eternity-chapter-52","the-name-that-echoes-through-eternity-chapter-50",929,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-name-that-echoes-through-eternity-cover.jpg"]