Chapter 129

The river water kept rising, and suddenly a black coffin stood upright on the river surface; the amplitude of the ground's trembling also increased, and soon everyone's gaze was drawn to it.

I didn't dare linger, nor be polite to Xiaoye; I lifted my foot and ran toward Tang Xun and the others.

While running, I shouted, "Qingying sis, bring everyone to retreat to Dang Pu! Everyone!"

Li Qingying immediately called Tang Xun; Tang Xun went to take his senior sister and summoned the black-clad men.

But the senior sister didn't move.

The Soul-Banner was surrounded by swirling black qi; clearly, it could not draw much anymore.

Beads of sweat covered the senior sister's small face, her complexion very pale; casting the spell drained too much of her energy, and she felt she could barely hold on.

But when she heard my voice, her hollow eye sockets still turned toward me.

Although she had no eyeballs, I could still feel her piercing gaze.

Tang Xun grabbed her: "Yu Nian, we retreat."

Yu Nian shook her head: "No, I cannot retreat; the yin soldiers have formed their ranks, and the moment my junior sister truly needs me has arrived!"

She said this, gripping the Soul-Banner, and strode toward me.

She couldn't see, but her steps were unusually steady.

It was as if she had measured this riverbank inch by inch with her feet countless times.

I hurriedly started running; every extra step I took meant she could take one less.

But when we were only five or six meters apart, the clatter of horse hooves rang out across heaven and earth, followed by the synchronized tread of soldiers marching through the water.

Above our heads, thunder rumbled rolling in the clouds; beneath the clouds, the yin soldier ranks stretched skyward and earthward, a black mass so dense the horizon vanished.

Yu Nian stopped moving forward; instead, she stood on the ground gripping the Soul-Banner with one hand, while her left hand kept calculating something.

Xiaoye had already led his troops to meet the yin soldier formation.

Zhao Zixun drew his waist sword, clamped his legs against the horse, and charged toward Xiaoye.

The people by the river suddenly turned and rushed to flank us.

Tonight, they intended to wipe us out in one sweep.

Li Qingying, Tang Xun and the others fought while retreating, anxiously calling for me and Yu Nian.

I had already reached Yu Nian's side and shouted, "Senior sister, we can't hold it; we must retreat immediately."

Yu Nian didn't answer me right away; she kept pinching her fingers, her hollow eye sockets glancing north, then turning toward Dang Pu, as if wavering.

But soon her eye sockets turned north again, and she whispered, "Don't be afraid; there is still a turning point."

"A turning point?"

I followed her gaze, puzzled, and in the darkness a tiny figure suddenly flickered into view on the river surface.

He was barefoot, wearing a dark red robe, his waist bound with a white sash embroidered with runes; all his hair was gathered atop his head and tied with a wooden pin.

He had blood under his feet, and in his hand he held a triangular red flag.

"It's the Red Flag Child!"

Tonight, even this little guy appeared.

Back when I handed the Red Flag to the Red Flag Child, Li Qingying also extended an olive branch to him.

But at that time the Red Flag Child politely declined, citing the need to enter seclusion.

Since then he had not appeared again, and I thought we would never have any further connection.

But tonight… he appeared at this critical juncture of life and death.

Wherever the Red Flag Child appears, there must be war and chaos.

And the red flag he holds is the ritual implement that commands the yin soldiers!

Seeing him, his small blood-stained feet kept tapping the river surface as he sprinted toward Xiaoye, waving the red flag; his childish yet resonant voice echoed over the water: "Vast and deep, dark and mysterious, heaven and earth arise together; when dispersed they become qi, when gathered they become form…"

The red flag waved, the chant reverberated, and the yin soldiers who had just been neatly aligned, ready to attack Xiaoye's troops, froze on the river surface as if their pressure points had been struck.

Xiaoye reacted just as swiftly, turning to meet the Red Flag Child.

At the moment they were about to meet, the Red Flag Child tapped his toes on the water and leapt up; Xiaoye lowered his entire right shoulder and steadfastly caught the Red Flag Child.

The Red Flag Child thus stood on Xiaoye's shoulder.

The red flag in his hand was like a conductor's baton, directing the yin soldiers behind Zhao Zixun to re-form their ranks and scatter in different directions.

That scene was grand and eerie.

Everyone was shocked.

In that eerie yet tranquil atmosphere, Yu Nian's calculating fingers suddenly stopped, and she murmured, "Not enough, far from enough! There are variables, great variables…"

Yu Nian seemed more agitated than when the yin soldiers had formed; her hollow eyes swept over the black coffin, then she lifted her gaze upward.

I followed her gaze upward and saw, atop the black coffin, flashes of lightning continually piercing the rolling dark clouds.

That light began as intermittent flickers and then merged into a continuous sheet.

Immediately, a bolt of thunder tore through the clouds and struck straight at the black coffin.

Still reeling from the shock, another thunderclap exploded behind us.

I turned my head and just saw a mass of firelight smash into the main hall.

"Liu Junyan!"

At that moment my mind went blank, and I bolted toward Dang Pu.

But after just a couple of steps, the ground shook violently; the roar like that of an ox and a tiger suddenly grew louder, the dragon formed of condensed black qi kept rolling, the river surged, the earth cracked, and I nearly fell several times.

Another thunderbolt came down, this time striking the black coffin with precision.

Within the black qi enveloping the coffin, a spray of fresh blood burst forth; it struggled and howled in pain, yet did not relent.

He wanted to break free from Dang Pu's control, to use whatever lay inside the coffin to survive the tribulation and ascend.

He wanted to become a god!

I don't know when Title: Second Master Liu, Bai Xian'er, and the big rat, etc., had all disappeared.

They fear the heavenly thunder.

If they are hit by this tribulation's heavenly thunder, they would likely lose hundreds of years of Xiūwéi; no one dares to gamble.

"Here they come!"

Yu Nian suddenly turned, their hollow eye sockets gazing toward Dang Pu.

With great difficulty I steadied my form, and I also looked toward Dang Pu.

At the entrance of Dang Pu, a tall familiar figure stood there; beside his feet stood a mighty black cat.

"Liu Junyan…"

How did he come out of Dang Pu?

During this time after his seclusion, many things disturbed me; I haven't done much business, and the merit in the Soul-guiding Lamp hasn't exceeded half.

This time, what price did he pay to exchange for the chance to come out of Dang Pu?

Furthermore, who could he make this deal with inside Dang Pu?

In my doubtful gaze, Liu Junyan strode toward the riverbank.

The black cat closely followed his steps.

Just then, another bolt of heavenly thunder struck down.

With a crack, the black coffin seemed to be split open by the heavenly thunder.

But before that crack appeared in our sight, a string of copper coins whizzed from the east, each embedding into the coffin's body.

They were like steel nails, re-nailing the spot where the black coffin was about to split.

This string of copper coins was shot from Liu Junyan's hand.

But when did he start using copper coins as a weapon?

How come I feel like I don't even know this man who's walking closer and closer?

Also, where did those prayer beads on his wrist come from…