But I'm a proper river god, you know! - Chapter 71

“Ah! What is this!”

A Tianji Sect disciple screamed in terror, his face pale as he scrambled to hide behind his fellow disciples. He wildly swung his longsword, trying to fend off the advancing Armored Crusher.

However, when his blade fell, the illusion before him didn’t shatter as he had imagined. Instead, the iron sword clashed against the creature’s armor with a deafening “clang” that reverberated straight to his soul, stirring up massive waves within his spiritual sea.

“Roar!” The Armored Crusher let out a furious roar. With a sweep of its massive pincer, it sent the disciple’s sword flying, the blade embedding itself deep into a distant earthen mound.

“Ugh!” The disciple grunted in pain, shaking his numbed and throbbing sword hand. “E-Elder Brother… this is bad!”

“Useless! Are you so frightened by mere demons? Show some backbone worthy of a Tianji Sect disciple!”

“But…” The disciple hesitated, words catching in his throat. “Elder Brother, maybe you should look around. We’re the ones surrounded here.”

Thousands of Armored Crushers had encircled them. Each was as large as an ox, clad in armor of dark blue or bluish-black. In perfect unison, they raised their giant pincers, the sharp edges clicking together with a chilling “clack, clack” that left no doubt they could easily snap off a human head.

The addressed ‘Elder Brother’ shot him a furious, shame-filled glare. He snatched a Soul-Severing Whip from another disciple and pointed it directly at Yuan Ji.

“Witch! Reveal your true form!”

As his words fell, the whip cracked.

Perched on the roof of the River God Temple, Yuan Ji leaned on one knee, idly twirling a plum branch she had picked. Abundant spiritual power flowed through the branch, forcing several tender green buds to sprout from its tip.

Pop, pop, pop.

The buds rapidly grew and bloomed; delicate newborn blossoms now dotted the branch.

Yuan Ji lowered her long eyelashes, veiling the displeasure in her eyes. There were always people who didn’t know their place.

“Annoying,” she murmured, giving the plum branch a casual flick. A ferocious force shot out from the branch, tearing the Soul-Severing Whip to shreds mid-air before ruthlessly charging towards the imprudent disciples.

Faced with this overwhelming power descending from above, the disciples hastily activated dozens of protective talismans they had brought from their sect, hoping for a slim chance of survival.

Dozens of talismans, each capable of blocking a fatal blow, strained to intercept the attack. The disciples’ relieved smiles had barely touched their lips when the ground gave way beneath their feet. The entire group plummeted into a massive pit.

This person had just buried them with a mere flick of her wrist!

Only then did the group realize something was terribly wrong. Weren’t they told this River God Temple posed little threat, that it was just a rumor? How… how could even the Soul-Severing Whip fail to break the formation here?

What plunged them into deeper despair was the fate of the Soul-Severing Whip… it was destroyed.

That was the legendary whip even gods struggled to withstand a single strike from! And that River God had shattered it with just a casual wave.

Just how powerful was she? The disciples didn’t dare to ponder it further. What made them even more desperate was the movement of the Armored Crushers outside the pit.

The Armored Crushers roared in unison. They systematically surrounded the Tianji Sect disciples, closing in step by step.

The oppressive aura forced the disciples back, cold sweat pouring down their faces. “Elder Brother, what do we do?”

“I… I don’t want to die!”

“Elder Brother!”

“Shut up!” the addressed Elder Brother snapped through gritted teeth. “They’re just some crab demons, and you’re this scared? When we return, I will definitely report to the Master and have you severely punished!”

The chastised junior disciples looked at the Armored Crushers, each taller and broader than themselves, and felt like crying. How could these be ordinary crab demons?

Gritting their teeth, the disciples steeled themselves, raised their swords, and charged into the midst of the Armored Crushers.

What followed was a flurry of blades and flashes of steel, the clanging of swords against armor, quickly replaced by waves of miserable howls.

Yuan Ji watched from above as one Armored Crusher lifted its giant pincer, clamped onto a disciple’s hair bun, and slammed him forcefully into the ground. A web of seven or eight cracks spread out beneath the man’s body.

She nodded in satisfaction. Not bad. They weren’t embarrassing her.

“Yuan Ji, where did they come from?” A Tong asked, wincing in sympathy for the disciple’s face. “I don’t remember seeing them in the system mall.”

Puzzled, A Tong flipped through the mall’s inventory; it didn’t seem to have such a high-damage “crab-form” weapon.

Yuan Ji gently swayed the plum branch in her hand, replying indifferently, “Them? I just grabbed them from the river.”

“Quite a coincidence. I sensed a group of crabs in the nearby river and summoned them. Turns out they’re quite useful.”

Yuan Ji’s gaze softened as she noticed one of the smaller, weaker-looking Armored Crushers. After using its pincer to knock a disciple unconscious, it carefully began scooping up small piles of soil, trying to cover its ‘prey.’

“Look, how well-behaved.”

“What? Crabs?! Just grabbed from the river?!” A Tong gasped in disbelief. “Since when do crabs look as big and strong as small hills! Yuan Ji, don’t lie to your system! Did you do something to them?”

Yuan Ji looked puzzledly at A Tong, who seemed on the verge of fainting. “I didn’t do much. I just lent them a bit of divine power. Don’t worry, they’ll revert in half the time it takes an incense stick to burn.”

She had even been worried these crabs couldn’t handle the minuscule speck of divine power she’d separated—smaller than a sesame seed—so she’d enveloped several hundred crabs just in case. Surprisingly, they had all survived the process.

“Just a pity it only lasts for half an incense stick’s time.” Any longer, and their bodies would likely collapse.

A Tong: “…”

It looked at the Armored Crushers brandishing their pincers with formidable force, then at the people inside the temple gazing up with worshipful eyes.

After a long silence, it felt an intense desire to mourn for the Tianji Sect disciples lying unconscious on the ground. They had provoked someone they shouldn’t have.

After all, not even the system knew the full extent of its host’s creativity, who could even recruit ‘volunteers’ on the spot.

Below, numerous magical arrays flickered into existence only to shatter almost instantly. The resulting display of multicolored light was rather dazzling and amusing. Yuan Ji looked down at them, silently counting in her heart.

Three.

Two.

One.

“You’re here.” The moment she finished counting, a red figure landed beside her. Yuan Ji handed the plum branch in her hand to the newcomer. “There’s a bit of my divine power inside. It should help suppress the curse temporarily, might make you more comfortable.”

Qi Guan Shang, who had been handed a sprig of plum blossoms the moment he landed, was momentarily stunned. His body reacted faster than his mind; before he could process it, he had already accepted it. A faint, cool fragrance unique to Yuan Ji still clung to the branch.

He looked down. Delicate pink plum blossoms adorned with glistening frost seemed even more charming. A slight smile touched his lips. He reached up, gathered the dark hair falling by his ears, and casually tucked the red plum branch into the makeshift bun.

Red plum against dark hair accentuated his strikingly beautiful features.

“Thank you, Yuan Ji. This flower is truly beautiful.”

Yuan Ji looked at him, hesitating to speak.

How should she tell Qi Guan Shang that this was actually a walking stick she had prepared for him? Seeing him often weak and unsteady, on the verge of falling, she thought a walking stick might be helpful.

With a single thought, that red plum branch could lengthen and thicken.

However, Yuan Ji looked at the red plum nestled by his ear and fell silent for a moment.

Forget it. It looks quite nice this way too.

Yuan Ji gave a slight nod and waved her hand casually. “Care to sit and watch the show?”

“Since Yuan Ji invites me, it would be my pleasure.” Qi Guan Shang slowly sat down. As he moved, the fragmented jade and golden shadows at his waist proved more dazzling than the spectacle below.

The two sat side-by-side, as if the scene before them wasn’t a tense battle at the River God Temple, but a picturesque landscape of blooming mountain flowers in spring.

Hu Xiong, who had arrived a step later, looked at his Lord’s utterly captivated expression and sighed inwardly.

My Lord, please regain your senses!

“These people seem to be from the Tianji Sect. Why have they come?” Qi Guan Shang feigned sudden recognition, expressing surprise. “I’ve heard the Tianji Sect is a major sect in the cultivation world. Why do they seem so… incompetent.”

Qi Guan Shang watched as they were dragged away, one by one, by the pincers, leaving deep grooves in the ground, then stacked into a small pile like sitting ducks. He was reluctant to admit he had once shared a sect with these people.

Yuan Ji rested her chin on her hand, tapping her fingers lightly a couple of times. “They want my River God Temple.”

“Such disrespect. Yuan Ji, why not simply kill them and be done with it?” A flicker of displeasure passed through Qi Guan Shang’s eyes. He turned his gaze away, masking the shifting darkness within. “Just knocking them out seems too lenient.”

“Just playing with them out of boredom, that’s all,” Yuan Ji said with a weary sigh. “Besides, they damaged my River God Temple. There must be compensation.”

A sudden understanding dawned on Qi Guan Shang. He raised his fingertips to his thin lips, coughing lightly twice to conceal his smile.

“If Yuan Ji doesn’t mind, you could leave it to me.”

Yuan Ji’s eyes lit up. “Excellent.” She had the least patience for lengthy arguments with those people. If Qi Guan Shang could handle the negotiations on her behalf, that was for the best.

Yuan Ji looked at Qi Guan Shang, her eyes filled with approval.

Their gazes met, and encountering the intensity in his, for some reason, Yuan Ji felt a strange sensation welling up uncontrollably. Her heart had never felt so… unsettled.

Probably just hungry.

Yuan Ji withdrew her gaze, fixing it firmly on the Armored Crushers diligently burying pits below, and nodded emphatically in her heart. Later, I’ll grab a few from the river and roast them. I wonder how they’ll taste.

In stark contrast to the peaceful scene above, the ‘Elder Brother’ below, who had been knocked out and then awakened by a pincer blow, struggled to peer through his swollen eyelids. He saw a figure in red sitting beside the ‘witch.’

The red robes and the crimson demon mark beneath his eye…

It was the Demon Realm Sovereign—Qi Guan Shang.

But wasn’t he supposed to be in a deep slumber? Why was he here at the River God Temple?

His heart was instantly seized by tidal waves of shock and fear. Countless speculations raced through his mind, finally settling on the words the Sect Leader had spoken before their departure:

‘That witch falsely uses the name of River God, colludes with demons, stole our Tianji Sect’s treasure, and schemed to kill your senior brother, Qi Yan! If this person is not eliminated, our cultivation world will never know peace!’

‘River God’… He cursed inwardly, quickly crushing a hidden communication talisman concealed in his sleeve. Just you wait.

A subtle golden light shot southward along the ground at incredible speed.

Yuan Ji narrowed her eyes, watching it, then silently raised her hand to add a bit of speed to that talisman.

She was getting hungry. She couldn’t wait too long.

“Uncle Wu, tie them up. We’ll wait for someone to come and pay the ransom.”

Wu Bo Shan acknowledged the order, rolled up his sleeves, and proceeded to tie the disciples up securely. Following tradition, he administered a full large bottle of Muscle-Weakening Powder before hanging them over the temple wall.

Witnessing this, Hu Xiong’s eye twitched. The scene bore an uncanny resemblance to the kitchen maid preparing sausages. Pressing his fingers to his temple, he snorted coldly after ensuring no one was watching. Then, he stealthily approached and applied several precise bursts of energy to the disciples’ heart meridians.

Dare to disrupt His Lordship’s plans? See if old Hu doesn’t teach you a lesson!

Meanwhile, on the other side, Yuan Ji jumped down from the roof. She reached into a cluster of verdant foliage and pulled out the Thunder Snake, which was desperately trying to pretend it didn’t exist.

“Xiao Lei, long time no see.”

Thunder Snake: “…?!”

A sense of foreboding!

Help!