Yuan Ji stepped through the clouds, crushing several half-formed thunder serpents beneath her feet as they writhed and crackled with electricity, their once-terrifying presence now reduced to pitiful sparks.
A’Tong watched the struggling serpents, an inexplicable ache forming in its back. “Yuan Ji… this isn’t right.”
To trample upon thunder serpents—born of heavenly tribulation—seemed almost sacrilegious.
Yuan Ji paused, considering the serpents beneath her, then nodded thoughtfully. “You’re right.”
“They’re too small. We should catch a bigger one.”
“Yes, yes,” A’Tong agreed in relief. “We should release—wait, catch a bigger one?!”
Stammering, it reached out to stop her. “H-hold on, Yuan Ji. That’s not what I meant!”
But Yuan Ji’s attention had already shifted. Spotting a shadowy figure in the distance, she raised a hand to silence A’Tong, her sharp eyes narrowing as she studied the unremarkable, dust-covered silhouette.
“A’Tong, doesn’t that figure look familiar?”
Her slender finger pointed forward, and as the dark clouds parted, a smug laugh grew clearer.
“Hah! Heaven favors me—this thunder tribulation is the perfect chance to finish him off!”
Yuan Ji’s brow furrowed slightly as she stepped closer, the figure becoming more distinct.
A tattered, gray robe hung loosely on the man, riddled with smoking holes from lightning strikes, its once-moon-white fabric now charred and crumbling.
“Cough. This thing cost me a fortune. If it can blast that wretched girl to ashes too, all the better! That’ll make up for my ruined Jade Bone Umbrella!”
When the man turned, his white hair and brows were unmistakable.
“Him.” A name flashed through Yuan Ji’s mind—Lin Heqing.
At the same moment, Lin Heqing sensed a presence behind him. Without his Jade Bone Umbrella, he looked far older, his wrinkles deepening, his face gaunt and ashen.
When their eyes met, the hatred in his gaze surged like a tidal wave, his once-deceptive kindness stripped away, leaving only a venomous desire to tear her apart.
“River God.” Lin Heqing wiped the blood from his lips, tightening his grip around an object in his hand, its sharp edges bolstering his confidence.
He sneered, slowly raising his arm. “You’ve come to me yourself. Good. Saves me the trouble of hunting you down.”
As he spoke, the object in his palm was finally revealed—a crimson crystal, pulsing like a heart, its surface swirling with blood-red mist.
An eerie sensation gripped Yuan Ji. Her blood seemed to thrum in response to the crystal’s rhythm.
Thump.
Thump-thump.
Thump.
Something was wrong.
She pressed a hand to her chest, but the heartbeat beneath her fingers felt increasingly hollow.
“A’Tong.”
“Yuan Ji?” A’Tong asked, confused.
“Nothing.” She quickly shook off the strange feeling, her lashes lifting to reveal eyes as clear and cold as ever. A faint smile touched her lips. “I underestimated you before.”
“Hmph.” Lin Heqing scoffed, the memory of his past humiliation fueling his rage. His expression darkened further, his lips twisting into a grotesque smirk.
“Indeed. That day of disgrace is one I will never forget.”
“River God? Let’s see today whether you’re truly divine—or just a worm!”
With a furious shout—”Go!”—he hurled the crystal forward.
Instantly, the red mist expanded violently, spreading like a net, swallowing Yuan Ji whole.
The next moment, her figure vanished.
The stench of blood exploded in her nostrils. Darkness engulfed her, and indistinct wails filled her ears—whether wind or weeping, she couldn’t tell.
“Yuan Ji! We’ve been swallowed!” A’Tong cried out, stunned that the crystal possessed such power.
The void around them was pitch-black, yet saturated with a deep, unsettling red, as if the darkness itself pulsed like living blood.
Yuan Ji summoned a flame, its flickering light casting shadows across her face—and for a brief moment, surprise flickered in her eyes.
That strange sensation returned.
But the light had made them a target. The drifting red mist halted, and though it had no form, an oppressive gaze bore down on them, sending a chill down their spines.
“Y-Yuan Ji…” A’Tong gulped. “What kind of trick is Lin Heqing using? This feels… wrong.“
It pressed closer to her, unnerved by the oppressive atmosphere.
“They’re watching us.“
No sooner had it spoken than the mist—as if awakened—let out a collective wail and surged toward Yuan Ji like starving beasts.
There would be no mercy.
Outside the crystal, Lin Heqing observed the scene, his grin widening as a mad laugh escaped him.
“Hahahaha! The mighty River God—”
“Is nothing at all!”
“Worth trading half my cultivation for this treasure.” Dodging the relentless thunder serpents, he flicked his sleeve, his eyes gleaming with malice. “Xu Changsheng, the River God Temple… I’ll deal with them one by one.“
Peeling off a strand of red mist, he hurled it toward the River God Temple. The thick miasma of resentment and sin agitated the heavenly tribulation, summoning countless new thunder serpents—divine retribution for this act of defiance.
A storm of serpents descended.
And the River God Temple stood on the brink of destruction.
