Chapter 59: Forced Disenchantment

Thud-thud-thud—

On the central stage, the drumbeats grew increasingly dense.

The exotic fragrance of the Mad Corpse Flower drifted through the crowd, making the gamblers around them more and more frenzied; many even showed bulging veins and bloodshot eyes.

As time passed, the shouts turned into roars and howls, yet not a single person in the hall found it strange—they echoed like a troop of monkeys, joining in the shrieks:

“Ooh-ooh-ooh—”

Even though Xie Jinhuan had held his breath for a long time, he’d still inhaled some of the poison smoke, and his blood and qi began to boil.

But his body felt no discomfort—only extreme pleasure and exhilaration, as if he wanted to let out a long howl and unleash everything at once!

And clearly, he wasn’t the only one feeling this way!

When the crowd’s excitement reached a certain peak, a man in the back stared hungrily at the demon above, his hand frantically trembling inside his pants.

Others stuffed silver into their chests, laughing hysterically:

“Leopard! Again, leopard!…”

Chaos spread like a fuse, radiating outward from the hall’s center, engulfing the entire space in an instant, then surging upward to the upper floors.

Thud-thud—

Splash…

All manner of insane, bizarre acts didn’t sober the crowd—instead, having seen the first examples, they grew even wilder; some even stood on the second-floor railing and flung their trousers…

Xie Jinhuan sensed his thoughts being clouded, pulled out the “blue pill” Lin Wanyi had given him, and shoved it into his mouth; instantly, a coolness shot straight to the crown of his head, clearing his mind significantly.

After waiting an indeterminate length of time, red mist suddenly surged from the demon hanging above.

The mist, carried by the demon’s swaying, gradually filled the air, coalescing into a crimson cloud.

From within the mist emerged dozens of plump, naked women, their bodies dripping with moisture, emitting seductive smiles:

“Hahahaha~…”

Ding-ding-ding…

Countless coins of gold, silver, and copper rained down from the red mist like a storm, showering the frenzied crowd.

The chaotic crowd reached absolute madness: some trampled each other to reach the women, others crawled on the ground frantically gathering the coins.

Their smiles twisted into grotesque grins; the sweat steaming off their bodies carried faint traces of blood, rising upward in a collective stream.

Xie Jinhuan saw the illusions clouding minds—he too was affected, and immediately forced his spirit to ignore all anomalies, lest he sink into them.

At that moment, a voice whispered beside him:

“Get ready to charge!”

As soon as the words ended, the swirling red mist above the hall rippled.

Hummm~

Then, dozens of breathtakingly beautiful, naked women transformed simultaneously into Hou Da Guanji!

Still heavily made-up, they blew kisses toward the crowd:

“Mwah-mwah-mwah~”

The falling coins turned into giant spiders and toads!

What the fuck!!!

The crowd, already utterly insane and on the verge of eternal bliss, froze dead in place.

The chaotic hall fell utterly silent.

The man with his hand trembling inside his pants had clearly snapped back to his senses.

This horrifying sight—not only jolted those in the throes of ecstasy, but even Xie Jinhuan shuddered, nearly swinging his Heaven’s Might Mace straight at Hou Guanji’s face; the illusions before his eyes vanished instantly.

“Ahh—ghosts!”

“Run—!”

“Help—!”

…

The next instant, chaos and screams erupted again in the hall.

But this time, it was no longer exhilaration—it was bone-deep terror!

The crowd snapped out of their delusion, saw the unnameable horror of the hall, and scrambled toward the exit like beasts fleeing a fire.

Taishu Dan, who had been perched atop the ceiling beam, casting illusions to bewitch minds, realized someone had interfered with his spell and the hall was spiraling out of control—he immediately ordered:

“Seal the doors!”

As he spoke, he raised his left hand, revealing a bronze bell, and began shaking it rapidly:

Ding-ding-ding…

The urgent ringing seized souls and shattered wills; those who had barely taken a few steps froze in place.

Xie Jinhuan, hidden among the dense crowd, moved toward the exit; the bell’s chime struck him like a golden hoop spell—he shuddered inwardly, his steps turning sluggish.

Without hesitation, he drew his Heaven’s Might Mace in one swift motion, gathered his full qi, and roared:

“I fuck your ancestral mother!”

Boom—

Amid a thunderous explosion, the Heaven’s Might Mace became a whirling blade!

The churning red mist was swept up by the force, instantly carving a chasm through the hall, striking straight at the source of the bell’s sound!

Taishu Dan’s face darkened instantly, but his left hand didn’t stop shaking the bell—he raised his right hand and flicked his fingers lightly:

Ssshh—

At the exact same moment, two hooded puppets burst through the railing, flying into the air to block the whirling blade!

The lead puppet raised a single saber to block—yet the instant it made contact, its upper body was shattered by the mountain-splitting strike.

Boom—

The cloak exploded, flesh and bone sprayed everywhere!

The second puppet followed close behind; though it managed to block the terrifying Heaven’s Might Mace, it was flung backward with such force it crashed through the ship’s ceiling.

Boom—

Taishu Dan saw his hard-earned assets instantly shattered and wounded—his eyes widened in shock, then burned with fury:

“It’s Xie Jinhuan! Kill him!”

He Can and the demon swinging in midair didn’t need orders—they darted from both sides, targeting the figure that had just emerged from the crowd.

But Xie Jinhuan opened with “Throwing Mace”—he had no intention of standing his ground; even as he struck, he was already leaping outward.

Splash—

The heavy door burst open.

The dozen or so bandits recruited earlier already stood on the deck, weapons drawn; the instant the white-robed figure flipped out, blades and swords flashed in unison.

Shhh-shhh-shhh—

Xie Jinhuan had barely landed when he saw over a dozen men outside—he was genuinely startled.

But after one swift glance, he saw they were mere riffraff—easily dispatched in ten seconds at most—he didn’t pause, drawing his sword in one motion and slashing horizontally!

Boom—

A violent burst of qi erupted, shearing off an entire layer of the wooden deck!

Countless wooden splinters shot forward like a swarm of locusts; the lead swordsman was instantly riddled with holes, letting out a piercing scream:

“Ahh—!”

Xie Jinhuan charged like a lone rider breaking a formation—after his Black Dragon Tail Sweep, he unleashed the Black Dragon Ramming Pillar!

Hssss—

Boom—

A white dragon of shattered water erupted across dozens of feet of deck; the flying splinters were sucked into a swirling vortex.

The lone white-robed figure vanished in an instant, racing to the very end of the deck.

But they were vastly outnumbered; behind him, He Can burst through the door, unfurling a brand-new ghostly umbrella—the dark river surface instantly erupted with ghostly energy!

Xie Jinhuan’s vision plunged into pitch-black night—he could no longer see a thing—but before the wailing ghosts appeared, his Zhenglun Sword blazed with pale-blue lightning, scouring away all ghostly energy.

Sssssss—

As his vision cleared, a figure flew through the air and landed atop the ship’s dragon-head prow, dragging a crimson mist-dragon that instantly shrouded the bow.

Hhh—

Xie Jinhuan halted instantly, glanced around—he saw none of the elite enemies from inside had followed, so he didn’t turn to flee; instead, he stood firm on the prow, sword in hand, surveying his surroundings.

At this moment, the massive treasure ship had sailed eight li downwind, rounded a bend in the river, and now rested in the center of a two-li-wide stretch of water.

Faint lights could be seen in the distance, but the Peony Pool was no longer in view; the entire river lay eerily silent.

“Xie Young Master, your skills are truly remarkable. I am Du Qingyi—pleased to meet you.”

The colorful demon, having witnessed Xie Jinhuan’s explosive power, didn’t advance immediately; he removed his mask, revealing a pale, icy face thickly painted with makeup, his eyes like venomous snakes fixed on prey:

“But I truly cannot understand—we’ve done you no harm, you’re no official, so why are you chasing us so relentlessly?”

His voice was indeterminate, like a eunuch’s shrill croak.

Xie Jinhuan ignored the androgynous demon, turning instead to the umbrella-wielding ghost-witch behind him:

“Three years ago, my father encountered a demon. The demon’s movements resembled the method you used when you fled last time—was it you who killed him?”

He Can, standing with his black umbrella against the door, kept his distance due to the “Spell-Nullifying” effect of Zhenglun Sword:

“Those who use my technique are either disciples of the Mingshenjiao or demons they’ve raised. I can find out who killed him—for you, if you survive today.”

Xie Jinhuan tilted his sword’s tip toward the deck, scanning the group coldly:

"No need to ask around—I'll wipe out the entire Cult of the Ming God. As for you, since you've crossed paths with me today, you won't live to see tomorrow's sun."

"Bold words."

Du Qingyi licked his lips:

"Your body's quite fine—if turned into a puppet, I could sleep with you every night..."

Ssshh—

Before he finished speaking, a piercing sword cry rang out from the bow!

A three-foot blade of light sliced through the crimson mist, shattering the scarred deck beneath it.

Du Qingyi reacted with astonishing speed, leaping sideways to evade!

Xie Jin, after his strike, moved like a coiling dragon, launching a lateral assault.

Two bandits tried to intercept him—but in a single glance, their throats were pierced by the green blade.

Puff... puff...

After the dull thuds of steel piercing flesh, before the two warriors even fell, a white-clad figure had already pierced through their weapons and landed firmly atop the deck railing.

Tap... tap... tap...

Several bandits moved to pursue, but seeing Xie Jin hadn't fled, they abruptly halted.

Du Qingyi, following behind the bandits, shouted angrily:

"What are you waiting for? Attack!"

The bandits hesitated, unwilling to advance.

Xie Jin was thoroughly disgusted by this cursed male—he wanted to kill him on the spot—but the elite monsters inside were no easy foes. He raised his sword toward the ship's cabin instead:

"Old man, if you don't show yourself, I'll kill every last one of them."

Tai Shu Dan was reassembling the panicked crowd and couldn't break away; he had already gauged Xie Jin’s strength. To prevent excessive losses among his men, he swept his right sleeve sideways:

"You brat, ignorant of heaven’s height and earth’s depth!"

Boom—

As he spoke, the window on the ship’s top floor shattered.

A black mist dragon, thick as two men could embrace, crashed into the air above the deck, wreathed in chilling ghostly energy, descending upon Xie Jin. Two puppets burst through the window behind it!

Zzzzz—

The Zhenglun Sword erupted with pale-blue lightning, instantly scattering the ghostly mist.

Seeing the old bastard could finally act, Xie Jin didn’t linger—he leaned back and dropped over the deck railing.

Whoosh~

Tap... tap... tap...

Du Qingyi and over a dozen warriors rushed to the deck’s edge—but saw only a white-clad figure stepping lightly upon the water, leaving a white wake as he sped toward the Peony Pool!

"What do we do? Chase him?"

"Can't catch him. He’s going back to summon help—but those monsters are hunting the great demon downstream; he won’t find reinforcements."

Du Qingyi’s eyes darkened with venom as he watched Xie Jin’s retreating back, sneering:

"So bold—said we wouldn’t see tomorrow’s sun..."

"Don’t underestimate him. That kid’s terrifying—he could kill you and me like swatting flies. If he finds no help, he might circle back and sneak in to kill a few more."

He Can glanced back at the cabin: "We were interrupted earlier. Let these people settle back into their trance—it’ll take at least half a quarter-hour. You seal the smoke. I’ll go ask Master for more puppets, just in case."

Du Qingyi said nothing more, leaping onto the cabin’s roof. With a sweep of his wide sleeves, crimson poison mist poured down from the cabin, gradually engulfing the ship and spreading across the surrounding river...

(End of Chapter)