Chapter 30: The Grand Performance Begins and the River God Appears

Wang Ping felt as if his heart were in a state of utter turmoil. His face was etched with bitterness, and the food and wine he consumed tasted like wax, lacking any of the pleasure they once provided. Had he known this trip to Qingshan County would be so perilous, he would never have come here to invite such misery upon himself. He had clearly forgotten how much he had enjoyed himself in Qingshan County previously; now that he was being asked to risk his life, he was naturally unwilling.

However, Zhang Qing had originally allowed these rogue cultivators to indulge themselves in Qingshan County, even shielding them when trouble arose, precisely to ensure they would be available to lay down their lives at this very moment. How could she possibly allow a single one of them to escape?

In the end, all the Qi-Refining rogue cultivators were forced to drink a bowl of fine wine. This wine was provided by Young Master Kongxu and Qiao Xuan; if they did not receive the antidote from them, they would surely die within two days! Currently, their only hope of survival lay in whether they could slay the demon in the Taiping River tomorrow. If they succeeded, they would receive the antidote; if they failed, there would be no need for one. It was a situation that forced them to fight for their lives, but did Wang Ping and the others have any other choice?

Ultimately, Zhang Qing consulted with the eight Foundation Establishment cultivators. They decided that Young Master Kongxu would lead Wang Tianfang and Li Hao—two early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators—along with all the Qi-Refining rogue cultivators, to act in coordination with Zhang Qing and Xu Xiao. Meanwhile, Qiao Xuan, Wen Renjie, Qian Ming, and Han Li would rush to Donghe Town overnight to set up, ready to launch the operation early the next morning.

Wang Ping and the other rogue cultivators waited in restless anxiety. When the time reached 5:15 AM, Zhang Qing glanced at Xu Xiao. Xu Xiao nodded, stood up, and commanded, "Everyone, move out!"

The rogue cultivators stood up instinctively. They watched as Xu Xiao produced a piece of silk fabric, which expanded to ten zhang in size as it caught the wind. Only then did they realize they were to travel to Donghe Town aboard this magical artifact. Xu Xiao and Zhang Qing boarded first, followed by Young Master Kongxu, who watched the cultivators climb onto the silk, staying behind with Wang Tianfang and Li Hao to bring up the rear—clearly leaving no room for anyone to flee. Once everyone was aboard, Xu Xiao steered the silk into the air, flying toward Donghe Town.

At that moment, deep within the murky waters of the Taiping River outside Donghe Town, there stood a mansion shrouded by a magical formation. The words "Taiping River Mansion" were inscribed in gilded characters above the entrance. The layout of the mansion was modeled after a prefectural government office, yet it was completely empty, save for a ten-foot-tall statue of a River God with a green face, fangs, fish fins on its back, and a sharp trident in its hand.

A formation covered the entire mansion, and the River God statue was enshrined upon an altar. The altar sat at the very center of the formation, surrounded by red candles the height of a half-grown person, burning slowly and channeling faint, invisible wisps of incense power into the statue. If one were to look closely, they would discover that those red candles were, in fact, children under the age of six! The flesh and blood of the children had been transformed into red candles, and their fresh blood served as the catalyst. Twelve such candles were placed at key points of the formation to maintain its operation and provide spiritual energy.

Although this formation was cast from human lives, it exuded a strange sense of holiness amidst its malevolence. Just like the River God statue—despite its hideous, green-faced, fanged appearance—it had been gilded, looking solemn and grand. All these bizarre sights were hidden hundreds of feet deep in the Taiping River; no one had discovered them, or rather, those who had sensed something was wrong were already dead. Tracing this back, one would find that the central section of the eight-thousand-li Taiping River lay just outside the Dongjun Prefectural City.

This location was where the Taiping River reached its greatest width and depth, plunging a full thousand zhang. The River Mansion here was even more magnificent and imposing, appearing truly like a dragon palace, profoundly sacred. This mansion was also covered by a formation, and the true River God resided within it. The formation here was divided into Yin and Yang, connecting north and south. The true body of the River God sat in the center of the Yang formation, while the statue sat in the center of the Yin formation, each surrounded by six candles that also used children as catalysts to draw in incense.

Furthermore, wisps of pure incense were being transmitted from thirteen different directions. These, combined with the incense from the various counties of Dongjun and the Prefectural City, were refined by the statue in the Yin formation before being infused into the true body of the River God in the Yang formation.

Sensing the time, the River God slowly opened his eyes. "The time has come. The ants from Qingshan County are coming to throw their lives away."

No one knew that the River God had once been a formidable "False Core" cultivator who had shaken the region! At this moment, however, his hair was gray and white, his body withered and hunched, making him look like a dying, skeletal old man. Only the slight bulge at his lower abdomen emitted a faint glow. Who could have imagined that this had once been the majestic master of a prominent sect?

Thinking of the rumors he had accidentally stumbled upon, his subsequent near-death experience deep within the ruins while seeking a true Buddhist scripture, and his return to the sect only to be betrayed and harmed by his subordinates, the River God felt his heart swell with rage. It had all been a plot by the traitors in his sect, who deliberately leaked information about changing a False Core into a Golden Core to lure him to his death in those ruins. They had never expected him to return alive, let alone obtain the secret technique!

Although he had fled into the Taiping River and been washed to this place, surviving by sheer luck, his sect must now be firmly in the hands of those traitors. It was his sect—how could he be content? Fortunately, the Buddhist scripture contained a technique to seize the fortune of heaven and earth, a formation to shed one’s mortal shell. That was what had given him a chance to make a comeback.

Whenever he thought of his current plight and the fickle, double-dealing noble families of Dongjun, the River God’s face twisted. "They are all ants, all cattle. It is one thing that they are not willing to serve me wholeheartedly, but they dare to play tricks in front of me! When I recover my cultivation, I will surely make them all die without a burial place!"

"Once I gather fifty years of incense from the thirteen counties of Dongjun, I can recast my body and transform the False Core within me into an Incense Golden Core! By then, I will no longer be a mere False Core cultivator with only six hundred years of lifespan and no hope of advancement—I will be a true Golden Core master!"

"And a superior-grade Golden Core at that! The Nascent Soul or even the Deity Transformation realm might not be beyond my reach!"

"You ants who plotted against me, just wait!"

From a high-spirited sect leader to a figure forced to languish at the bottom of a river in Dongjun for forty-eight years, the River God’s heart had long since twisted. He was desperate to see the light of day again and exact his revenge. There were only two years left before he could completely shed his mortality and use the incense to forge a superior-grade Golden Core! Every time he thought of this, the River God could hardly suppress his inner excitement. Had he not suffered and dwelled here for so many years for the sake of the Golden Core path, so that he could return for vengeance in full glory?

Only two years remained. He only had to endure for two more years! He was a man of great destiny; not only had he obtained the secret technique to reshape the world, but he had also survived countless calamities. This time, he would surely shed his mortal coil and transform from a False Core into a superior-grade Golden Core!

Calming his excitement, the River God separated a wisp of his divine sense. This sense used the River God statue in the Prefectural City as a hub, and in the blink of an eye, it descended upon the River Mansion outside Donghe Town in Qingshan County. As his divine sense touched the ten-foot-tall statue, it came to life in an instant.

The power of the incense within the statue brought a surge of strength to the River God. Sensing the power within, he smiled. "Once I dispose of these ants from Qingshan County who dare to rebel, and pass these two years in peace, everything will be different."

With that, the ten-foot-tall, green-faced, fanged River God statue stepped down from the altar, ignoring the red candles made of children, and walked out of the mansion, head held high, clutching its sharp trident.

When the morning of the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month arrived, Zhang Qing had already led all the cultivators to secure Donghe Town. Looking at the elderly, black-robed head priest of the River God, Zhang Qing comforted him kindly, "Rest assured, this Great River God Ceremony will surely result in the death of that demon."

"For now, I ask that you begin the sacrifice and summon the demon."

Every year during the Great River God Ceremony, the head priest would preside over the rites, offering livestock, leading the gentry of the county and the commoners of the towns to bow before the statue of the River God in Donghe Town, and finally offering incense and six pairs of boys and girls at the riverside. Although it was not yet the day for the annual Great River God Ceremony, the demon in the river had always been in a stupor, showing no movement except during the annual rites. Starting the sacrifice now would surely stir it.

The head priest did not refuse. He nodded and rasped, "Let us begin."

Soon, the livestock were brought forward. The head priest led the commoners and gentry of Donghe Town in bowing before the River God statue in the temple, offering the animals. Zhang Qing, Xu Xiao, and the rogue cultivators watched the grand sacrificial scene of over ten thousand people, each of them wearing a grave expression. Wang Ping and the other Qi-Refining rogue cultivators, in particular, looked as if their faces were clouded with thunder. If their lives had not already been held in someone else's hands, why would they have come to this godforsaken place?

As the sacrifice began, these rogue cultivators, who had spent their lives dancing on the edge of death, sensed that something was wrong. This inexplicable feeling of unease was an instinct born from years of life-and-death struggles; their bodies were telling them that the situation was not right. But they had no choice now; they could only suppress their inner anxiety and watch as the Great River God Ceremony proceeded step by step.

Once the head priest and the townsfolk had finished their kowtowing and offerings, they presented ceremonial flowers, fruits, and gifts. Among them were six pairs of monkeys bound by ropes, clearly intended to replace the six pairs of boys and girls. These monkeys appeared even more terrified, but their mouths were sealed, leaving them to stare with wide eyes as the dense crowd decorated them with red silk and pushed them onto bamboo rafts to be sent into the river.

As the rafts neared the center of the river, the head priest led the people in bowing once more. His dry, raspy voice echoed along the riverbank: "Present the offerings, welcome the River God!"

Suddenly, the monkeys on the rafts began to struggle frantically, as if they had sensed something. On the previously calm surface of the river, a whirlpool appeared. As the vortex grew larger, a dangerous aura began to spill out. The gentry and commoners of Donghe Town were already kneeling on the ground, their heads pressed tightly against the earth, not daring to look up. The rogue cultivators brought by Zhang Qing turned pale with fear.

The aura emanating from the vortex grew increasingly powerful, climbing until, finally, it was undoubtedly that of the Purple Mansion realm!

The River God was about to reveal himself!