Chapter 77
Chapter 77
Before the towering wave the River God had raised, Xie Qingling’s figure looked impossibly small, like a grain of sand swept into the river, about to be swallowed and scoured away until nothing remained.
The wave roared like ten thousand galloping horses. It surged past, rising high before crashing heavily down, descending upon Xie Qingling like a vast curtain that would smother her from head to toe.
Bloodsworn did not tremble in Xie Qingling’s hands. Her body showed no hesitation as she charged straight ahead to meet it.
She was a slender spear striking an immense and flawless shield.
Splash.
A deafening crash rang out.
It was the sound of the colossal wave breaking apart.
The wave swallowed Xie Qingling whole and wrapped around her. It carried the force to devour heaven and destroy earth, drawing upon all the river’s power to tear this frail human to pieces.
Time seemed to freeze in that instant.
Ling Fang tightened his grip on his weapon, eyes fixed upon the place where the wave had swallowed Xie Qingling. The three deep furrows between his brows had not eased for a moment.
Ye Anran had her silver needles ready to provide support at any time.
Dai Xingyu raised his shield, while Yu Wei gripped his great saber, both poised to strike.
Suddenly, the colossal wave crashed down from above like water poured out of the sky. The dense curtain of turbid water severely obstructed everyone’s view.
But…
A figure encased in a sphere of gentle, pale-blue light emerged within the wave.
Xie Qingling steadied herself amid the rushing, riverlike torrent. A blue halo enclosed her from every direction, blocking the River God’s attack.
“The protective charm…” Ling Fang murmured.
It was the protective charm he had given Xie Qingling to save her life when they first met.
The charm was embedded in the blue gemstone of her bracelet and could block one powerful attack.
Xie Qingling had never used it before. Not until today.
But could the protective charm he had made withstand the River God’s thunderous wrath?
Ling Fang’s heart leaped into his throat again.
Just then, the sound of shattering glass came through the air.
Fine cracks snaked across the pale-blue sphere of light.
The protective charm could not hold much longer.
The River God’s voice rang out once more, like muffled thunder and the unending rush of rivers, lakes, and seas.
“The Yellow River’s waters descend from heaven!” The River God swept both hands through the air, and another colossal wave rose from the ground.
“No!” Ling Fang cried. His wrist flicked, sending something flying from his fingertips.
It was a Wooden Hawk made from thin strips of bamboo.
The Wooden Hawk’s wings spread rapidly as it grew from the size of a palm to the length of a human arm. It shot forward, head held high and wings beating within the River God’s wave, utterly incapable of fear.
Quick as a swift, it wove from side to side and raced toward Xie Qingling.
In the blink of an eye, the Wooden Hawk reached her. Its talons seized her shoulders, carrying her onward.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Three times the waves rose, and three times they fell, battering Xie Qingling in a frenzy.
It was like mixed cement slurry pouring from the distant vault of heaven. The immense flow of water smashed into her head-on, almost scouring her to the ground. The Wooden Hawk’s talons still gripped her shoulders with all their strength. Xie Qingling clenched her teeth and endured. Even when she bit her lower lip bloody, she made no sound.
“Keep going! Forward!”
At Xie Qingling’s command, the trembling Wooden Hawk beat its wings and continued carrying her through the barrier of the River God’s waves.
At last, she reached her.
With a crack, the sphere of light collapsed and shattered across the ground.
Xie Qingling’s feet landed on the River God’s shoulders.
The River God froze. She could not understand how this insignificant human had broken through obstacle after obstacle, how she had risked her life to reach the deity’s side.
Or how she now stood on the River God’s shoulders.
This time, before the River God could act, Xie Qingling locked both legs around her neck and clung tightly to her body. At the same time, she raised Bloodsworn in both hands and drove it savagely into the crown of the River God’s head.
“Release!” Xie Qingling shouted. The red seal-script character *zun* on Bloodsworn rapidly lost its color, and strand after strand of black-and-red energy poured from the blade.
This was energy from hell, the energy of ghosts and monsters, carrying a bone-piercing chill. Even as Houtu’s Chosen, Xie Qingling felt a trace of discomfort.
At the same moment, the River God let out a shrill scream of agony.
She threw her head back, and both eyes turned bloodred.
The places where the blue tendrils had crawled across her face split open, revealing a liquid that looked like blood and molten rock at once.
The River God looked ready to crack apart.
Fissures spread endlessly across her face, hands, and neck, leaving her savage and horrifying.
Bracing herself with the last of her strength, Xie Qingling hurriedly leaped away.
“Heaven walks the Way; earth bears all. Great Yin takes form; the Five Elements unite. Divine ability casts its reflection. Deity, heed my call.”
“God, enter!”
Ling Fang pulled out the deity shrine, slapped it onto the ground, and began reciting the incantation.
As his final words fell, an invisible force seemed to grind the River God’s body to pieces. She could no longer retain a human shape and was crushed into an indescribable state with neither recognizable form nor substance.
The deity shrine was like a curse of death, a warrant summoning her to her doom, inviting her inside. Inside…
No. She could not go inside.
She had to escape. She had to leave this place.
The River God struggled to escape, but her efforts were ultimately futile.
The deity shrine drew in her dispersed body and “invited” the River God inside.
Its surface was carved all over with curses that brought gods low.
Inside, she could no longer summon wind and rain with divine power. She was no longer an omnipotent deity.
The next instant, Yu Wei raised his great saber high and brought it down hard upon the deity shrine.
The shrine shattered on impact.
The River God’s figure, visible within the shrine, broke apart with it.
A god had perished.
She returned to silence and vanished without a trace.
At the same time, the venomous snakes driven by the River God stopped slithering and fell into confusion and panic.
Having lost the divine power that sustained them, the swarm was no more than a collection of ordinary creatures. The snakes could no longer regenerate or split in two.
Yu Wei handled the aftermath, swinging his great saber and eliminating the troublesome snakes one by one.
Before long, the swarm’s numbers plunged, and soon he had killed them all.
To prevent future trouble, Yu Wei piled the snakes’ bodies into a small mountain, doused them with gasoline, and burned them clean.
[Brave Spirit Wielders. Terrifying Spirit Wielders. United Spirit Wielders. With the tools in your hands and your fearless courage, you have slain a deity where she stood. From this day forward, there will be no River God in this river. Authority over its waters returns to Shuiyong, who will abolish the sacrifices and restore everything to normal.]
[Having watched a deity perish before their eyes, Shuiyong and the Fang God now huddle close together and begin to consider their fate. Kind Spirit Wielders, the River God has perished. Will you release them?]
Xie Qingling lay on the ground, gulping down breath after breath.
Breaking through three colossal waves had still taken a serious toll on her body.
Her heart, liver, spleen, and kidneys all felt as though they had shattered. Her ears throbbed with pain, and not one part of her body felt unscathed.
Ye Anran came over and took her hand, pouring the Medicine God’s divine ability into Xie Qingling as though it cost her nothing.
The blissful relief was like rain after a long drought. It restored a little of Xie Qingling’s strength and clarity.
Ye Anran asked, “How do you feel? Are you all right?”
In the chaos, Ye Anran could not immediately tell how severe Xie Qingling’s injuries were. They were certainly serious, so she could only use every technique she had first and sort out the rest later.
After finally recovering a little strength, Xie Qingling said haltingly, “Release Shuiyong and the Fang God first. They’re terrified.”
“…All right.” Seeing that she could still speak, Ye Anran relaxed.
Gradually, more strength returned to Xie Qingling, and her body began to feel much better.
Unable to bear the damp mud beneath her, she tried to get up. But when she attempted to exert herself, she discovered that her body would not move.
Xie Qingling’s face turned white. She tried again, but only managed to shift her upper body slightly. She could not feel her lower body at all, as though…
She were paralyzed.
Xie Qingling paled and murmured, “It’s over. I’m paralyzed. Senior Anran, can you cure paralysis?”
Ling Fang: “…”
Ling Fang’s face suddenly entered Xie Qingling’s field of view.
He bent over her and said, “The Wooden Hawk cursed you. Prepare to spend the next day or two in a wheelchair.”
When she heard she was not paralyzed and had merely been cursed by an object made by a sorcerer, Xie Qingling breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s wonderful.”
Ling Fang gave her one last look and snorted. “Serves you right.”
Xie Qingling: “…”
At that moment, a splash broke the surface of the now-calm river, and someone’s head emerged. Dai Xingyu, who had dived in to rescue Shen Huaizhou, had returned.
With Shen Huaizhou on his back, Dai Xingyu swam and shouted, “I brought Brother Shen back!”
Before long, Shen Huaizhou and Dai Xingyu climbed ashore, both dripping wet.
Shen Huaizhou’s long hair clung messily to his face and body. His skirt was soaked through and wound awkwardly around him like a layer of waterweed.
His face was deathly pale with a bluish cast, as though he were already half-dead.
As the team’s physician, Ye Anran hurried over. She performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation, covered him in silver needles, used healing techniques, and cast Rejuvenation more times than anyone could count. At last, she stopped and said, “All right, he’s not dead either. Thank goodness.”
Ye Anran collapsed to the ground. Her whole body looked as though it, too, had been fished out of the water. She was drenched in sweat.
All six finally gathered safely on the bank, the crisis temporarily resolved.
Ling Fang let out a breath. He gazed deeply at Xie Qingling, who lay motionless on the ground, as though he wanted to say something. In the end, all that emerged was a helpless sigh.
“Let’s return to the village first. This isn’t over yet,” Ling Fang said.
Ye Anran, Dai Xingyu, and Yu Wei, who could still move, voiced their agreement.
Xie Qingling and Shen Huaizhou lay side by side like corpses.
Yu Wei then hoisted the unconscious Shen Huaizhou onto his back, while Ling Fang carried the paralyzed and immobile Xie Qingling. Ye Anran and Yu Wei cleared the scene and released Shuiyong and the Fang God. After one final, thorough inspection confirmed that nothing was amiss, they left.
Beneath the black curtain of the sky, the six of them were filthy and bedraggled, stumbling forward on unsteady feet.
Every step left a wet footprint behind. The marks gathered into tiny puddles that looked beneath the moonlight like pools of dark, clotted blood.
They were about to return to the village nestled in the mountain hollow.