But I'm a proper river god, you know! - Chapter 76

Beneath the night sky, dozens of twisted black figures shuffled stiffly towards Yuan Ji.

Their pupils were uniformly pitch-black, making it impossible to discern any expression within. Their mouths opened and closed, emitting indistinct, low mutters. Listening closely, it sounded like evil spirits demanding life.

“What… what’s happening?” A disciple of the Tianji Sect watched in horror as his fellow disciples, one after another, lost consciousness and walked forward like marionettes.

“Junior Brother! What’s wrong with you? Wake up!”

He frantically rushed forward to stop one of them, but the response was a merciless thrust from his junior brother’s sword. The attacker quickly retracted the blade, and crimson blood instantly gushed out.

The disciple fell to the ground with a thud, his eyes wide open, as if trying to discern the reason for this betrayal from the retreating figure. The only response he received remained those few mindless, low growls.

“River God, your life is forfeit!”

“This… this is…” Hu Miao alertly placed his staff horizontally in front of himself. “Be careful, they’ve been controlled.”

“They are all disciples of the Tianji Sect. How could they be controlled? Who would dare oppose the Tianji Sect?”

“These visitors mean trouble. Lord River God, please be careful!”

Unlike everyone else’s defensive posture, a familiar feeling surfaced in Yuan Ji’s mind. She turned to look at Qi Guan Shang beside her. At that very moment, Qi Guan Shang also turned his head to look at her.

The moment their eyes met, Qi Guan Shang inwardly cursed, This is bad.

He lowered his brows, blinked rapidly, and when he raised his eyes again, there was distinct fear in them. “I’ve heard before that there’s a type of pill containing parasitic gu worms that can infest others. Could it be they took those pills?”

“It’s fine. They’re just a few small insects, nothing to fear.” Yuan Ji’s face was cold as she watched the controlled individuals, a slight frown creasing her brow.

First, the demon blood, now parasitic gu worms. Just what is the Tianji Sect trying to do?

She rotated her wrist, and a thread of white light, fine as a hair, shot out, disappearing into a person’s pupil in the blink of an eye, where it began to wrestle with the “black threads.”

“Capture them alive.”

“Heh heh, wishful thinking! A petty River God really thinks she’s a deity?” The controlled individuals spoke in unison again. Their bleak laughter mixed within the quiet night air, sending chills down people’s spines.

A fleeting, unreadable expression passed through Yuan Ji’s eyes. She hooked her fingertips as if grasping several fine threads in the air and gave a sharp tug. The black threads filling Ye Xin’s pupils were forcibly pulled out partway.

It really is the same.

Freed from the gu worm’s control, Ye Xin gradually regained control of his body. But his trembling body began to shrivel and wither, becoming even more pitiful than before.

“Gack… the Divine Pills… it’s the Divine Pills! They’re the problem!” Ye Xin clawed at his own throat, trying to vomit up the Divine Pill, but only managed to retch repeatedly.

“Han Shi gave us problematic Divine Pills.” Ye Xin watched his own hands rapidly wither and dry up within mere moments, becoming like desiccated tree bark from old age. He completely broke down.

He barely managed to squeeze a hoarse, guttural sound from his throat, unable to form a complete sentence.

“Save…”

No one had ever seen life force dissipate so quickly. For a moment, they were all at a loss.

After a few moments of terror, Ye Xin quieted down.

Perhaps I was supposed to die years ago. These extra few years of life… if I can help Lord River God in the end, then it’s a worthy death.

His fear vanished, replaced by a serene expression. He gazed at Yuan Ji, knelt respectfully before her, and kowtowed three times devoutly.

“Lord River God, if there is a next life, please allow me to follow you.”

Yuan Ji was silent for a moment, then tugged at the corner of her mouth, her expression cooling. “I don’t believe in the concept of a next life. Placing hope in the next life is inferior to living in the present.”

She slowly raised her fingertip. A beam of white light flew from her fingertip and disappeared into the space between Ye Xin’s eyebrows.

Instantly, abundant spiritual power coursed through his entire body, nourishing his parched meridians. Flesh and blood surged wildly, and vitality returned.

Within a few breaths, Ye Xin had returned to his original state.

A turbid tear rolled down from the corner of Ye Xin’s eye.

“Thank you, Lord River God! Ye Xin vows to follow you unto death!”

Yuan Ji turned her head, her gaze falling on the still-squirming gu worms. She hooked her fingertip, and a beam of white light instantly shattered the several wriggling gu worms into pieces.

Unexpectedly, after the gu worms shattered, a cloud of spores—eggs invisible to the naked eye—scattered in all directions like flying sparks.

“Hahaha, you can’t kill me!” The voice continued to linger over the River God Temple. “You’ve ruined so many of my plans, River God. It’s time you paid a price!”

“You can kill one gu worm, you can save one person. But what will you do if it’s tens of thousands of common people…?”

As the words fell, the several controlled individuals simultaneously vomited large amounts of foul blood. Tens of thousands of gu worm eggs fell in sheets, landing on branches, in the mud, or in the river.

“Yuan Ji, those eggs can parasitize instantly upon contact with people! What do we do!” A Tong floated around anxiously.

Just as he spoke, a voice was heard.

“Lord River God, it’s bad! A villager has been infected by a gu worm. His life force is fading rapidly!”

Wu Bo Shan dragged an affected young man over quickly. This person had come to help repair the River God Temple. Because he lived far away, he had stayed overnight in an empty house near the temple.

Who would have thought he’d be so unlucky as to get parasitized by a gu worm?

Yuan Ji watched as the man’s initially youthful face became, by the time he reached her, deeply wrinkled and haggard. She couldn’t help but frown.

She quickly separated a wisp of divine power to replenish the young man’s diminished life force. Seeing him gradually improve, Yuan Ji pressed her lips together.

“Tch. Being threatened.”

Yuan Ji tilted her head, a nameless fury rising in her heart.

She laughed in extreme anger, raising her hand as a surge of divine power shot straight into the sky.

“Yuan Ji?” A Tong exclaimed in surprise. “What are you planning to do?”

Qi Guan Shang beside her also looked at Yuan Ji with considerable surprise, but the expression in his eyes held more of an unrestrainable smile.

Yuan Ji leisurely smoothed her slightly wrinkled sleeves and said, “Nothing much.”

A Tong was half-convinced, half-doubting: Really?

“Mm.” Yuan Ji gradually widened her smile. “Nothing much. Just planning to smash the Tianji Sect for fun.”

A Tong nodded seriously: Oh oh, just planning to smash the Tianji Sect for f-fun…?!

A Tong sucked in a sharp breath, hugged Yuan Ji’s arm, and cried out, “Yuan Ji, you’re joking, right?”

Yuan Ji cast a light glance at A Tong, a hint of irritation faintly detectable in her tone.

“A Tong, the river is dirty.”

“I am very angry.”

These eggs had fallen within the borders of Wangchuan, and she could perceive everything within Wangchuan at any time and place. That person hadn’t just scattered some eggs; they were dancing right on her trigger point.

Moreover, those eggs were absorbing the villagers’ life force, which was no different from slapping Yuan Ji squarely across the face and laughing at her uselessness.

Yuan Ji raised her hand and pointed towards the sky. Vast amounts of divine power, like falling stars, shot out in all directions to seek out and destroy those disgusting gu worms.

Within a hundred-mile radius, white light flashed from time to time, then quickly returned to calm, not causing the slightest disturbance.

Just like that, a disaster that would have been catastrophic for others was nipped in the bud.

For the few gu worms that were occasionally missed, Yuan Ji had also prepared countermeasures, unafraid they could cause panic.

That person had guessed wrong. What she lacked the least was divine power.

The divine power within her body slightly depleted, but the clusters of white light in the River God’s residence sensed it and vied to be first surge into her body.

Tens of thousands of gu worms? It was merely the matter of a snap of her fingers.

After exterminating the gu worms, the expression on Yuan Ji’s face didn’t change much, but one glance was enough to tell her mood hadn’t improved; it had, in fact, worsened.

She turned her head and beckoned to Qi Guan Shang, “Let’s go. Now it’s our turn to collect a debt.”

As soon as the words fell, Yuan Ji flashed, transforming into a beam of white light heading straight for the Tianji Sect. Qi Guan Shang immediately followed close behind.

Wu Bo Shan and the others wanted to follow but found a spirit stone had suddenly appeared in their embrace. Unlike ordinary spirit stones, this one was warm to the touch, with a faint layer of misty water vapor shimmering on its surface. It didn’t feel sticky; instead, holding it for a while made one feel exceptionally comfortable.

A transmitted message from Yuan Ji remained in Wu Bo Shan’s mind:

“If villagers seek help, use this spirit stone to restore their life force.”

Just as Yuan Ji predicted, before dawn, several villagers ran over in terror, clutching their faces, seeking treatment.

Wu Bo Shan followed Yuan Ji’s instructions and placed the spirit stone above their heads. In just a few breaths, the villagers returned to normal, even feeling as if years of ailments had vanished overnight.

Immediately, the villagers paid their respects at the River God Temple and, upon returning, told their friends and relatives:

“I’m telling you secretly, don’t tell anyone else. I was almost dead today, but then I went and prayed at the River God Temple. Look at me now, full of vitality! Even my old injuries are healed!”

“Let me tell you, the family next door went to the River God Temple to pray today, and Old Wang, who was bedridden, can now run and jump!”

“Listen, Lord River God can bless your son to eat eight bowls of rice in one go…”

For a time, smoke from incense rose from every household in the village. Everyone reverently offered fresh fruits and vegetables to the River God’s statue. Even three-year-old toddlers devoutly placed their only milk candy before the shrine.

In stark contrast to the villagers’ happy expressions, within the Tianji Sect, a disciple guarding the mountain gate stumbled and rushed into the main hall to report.

“It’s… it’s bad!”

“The River God… the River God is attacking!”

“What!” Several Tianji Sect elders and stewards were so angry they bristled. “That demon woman actually dares to attack us, not knowing her place! Quickly, report to the Sect Leader!”

“Did she say why she’s coming?” An elder with a white beard stroked his long beard. “Did Elder Han Shi return with her?”

The gatekeeping disciple swallowed hard, large beads of sweat rolling down his temples. “Elder Han Shi isn’t with her. It’s that River God and a man in red clothes.”

Hearing this, the white-bearded elder was so enraged he slammed the table. The solid wood desk collapsed with a crash, showing the extent of his anger.

“Demon woman! She doesn’t hold our Tianji Sect in any regard! Tell her to wait at the mountain foot. Otherwise, we’ll make sure she regrets it!”

The disciple kneeling on the ground stammered, “I’m af-afraid… it’s too late. Sh-she’s already attacking the gate.”

“What?!”

Before their words fully faded, they saw a figure arrive gracefully.

Yuan Ji stepped forward as if treading on starlight. Her gaze slowly swept over the several old men before her, and she curled her lips into a terrifying, cold smile.

“You all have quite the nerve.”

The white-bearded elder’s beard twitched with anger. “Hah! Demon woman, what do you intend to do?”

Now that she had arrived, Yuan Ji was in no hurry. She leisurely walked up to the main seat and sat down gracefully.

“Naturally, I’m here to smash your Tianji Sect.”