Evening.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, golden light reflected upon the river. Soon, a woman in a green gown, a water deity, emerged from the Cleansword River. This disheveled water deity, without even a temple keeper or attendant, walked directly up to Lin Zhao and bowed gracefully, "Floating Duck greets Young Master Lin Zhao."
"Mm."
Lin Zhao rose, ceasing his drawing of talismans for the Thousand Cavalry Rolling Snow technique. He smiled, "Miss Floating Duck, long time no see."
"Yes~~~"
Floating Duck's eyes reddened. "The last time I saw you, my Empress was still here, but now..."
"It's alright."
Lin Zhao smiled. "Aunt will return. I can feel she's still here."
Floating Duck nodded heavily.
"That Star River Realm shrimp demon must be eliminated."
Lin Zhao picked up a stack of talismans from his table. "Here are 200 Shattering Evil Talismans. When he comes, use as many as you can when the time is right. Additionally, here are five Sword Illumination Talismans; use them when you have the chance."
Lin Zhao took a deep breath. "I will hide in the nearby woods and help you when the time is right. In any case, we must act quickly to kill this shrimp demon in the shortest possible time. After that, I will continue south. You should hide in a grotto at the bottom of the river and not reappear for a while. If the demons want to rule the Cleansword River, let them rule for a while. It doesn't matter. Aunt will return sooner or later, and then we can settle scores."
"Mm!"
Floating Duck looked at Lin Zhao with her large eyes and nodded heavily. At this moment, she felt as if she had found her anchor. With Lin Zhao here to strategize, what was there to worry about regarding the Cleansword River?
...
As night fell.
The river surged, and river traffic became increasingly prosperous.
Lin Zhao once again hid in the woods, leaving Wang Yue in the eight-sided shrine, where she was safest. She did not need to concern herself with the coming battle; watching from afar was sufficient.
Indeed, as the river traffic on this stretch of the Cleansword River grew more vigorous, the ten-realm鳌虾 demon was drawn out. Still clad in a gray robe with flowing sleeves, it seemed to envelop the starlight of the heavens and earth. It landed directly on the Cleansword River, its eyes filled with arrogance as it looked at the female deity emerging from the river. It smiled and asked, "How about this time? Can you do anything to me?"
"..."
Floating Duck's delicate brows furrowed, and she remained silent.
Just then, a flash of pure white sword light enveloped the鳌虾 demon's head. Following closely, Lin Zhao became a blur, charging from the woods into the river. Although the sword qi collision resulted in a large "miss," this was expected. The next second, Lin Zhao raised his sword, and the Rising Dragon Slash forcefully lifted the ten-realm鳌虾 demon's body into the air.
"Floating Duck, now!"
At his command, the female water deity channeled all her spiritual energy into a series of Shattering Evil Talismans, igniting more than 50 talismans and plastering them onto the ten-realm鳌虾 demon's body. Instantly, the talismans' core spirits glowed, transforming into golden cavalry figures that charged forth to vanquish demons. With just over 50 Shattering Evil Talismans, the ten-realm鳌虾 demon was left riddled with wounds, its long health bar dropping by nearly 40% in an instant!
"You dare..."
The ten-realm shrimp demon roared, its sleeves flaring open, revealing a universe within. It attempted to collect the Shattering Evil Talismans continuously thrown by Miss Floating Duck. Indeed, it was worthy of being a Star River Realm demon cultivator; its physical body and spiritual energy were exceptionally strong, by no means comparable to a Nascent Soul Realm mountain and river deity.
However, at this very moment, Lin Zhao ignited a Speed Talisman, causing the鳌虾 demon's movements to seem to freeze. In this instant, Lin Zhao ignited three Immobilization Talismans and attached them to the鳌虾 demon's forehead. One of them took effect, causing the鳌虾 demon, which had just landed on the water, to fall into a state of continuous immobilization.
Without hesitation, Miss Floating Duck threw another 70+ Shattering Evil Talismans, blasting the鳌虾 demon's remaining vitality down to only 17%!
"Don't hold back!"
Lin Zhao said in a deep voice, "Sword Illumination Talismans!"
In an instant, Miss Floating Duck threw five Sword Illumination Talismans. Five sword lights shot out from the air and instantly severed the鳌虾 demon's head, completing the kill. A Heavenly Grade Boss was felled just like that. Unfortunately, there were no rewards. As the kills were all from talismans and NPCs, Lin Zhao was heavily involved but not directly responsible for the rewards.
"Finally, we killed it..."
Floating Duck, her spiritual energy almost depleted, knelt on the water. The Shattering Evil Talismans, capable of invoking the celestial phenomena of military strategy, consumed an exorbitant amount of spiritual energy with each ignition, far beyond what she, a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, could bear. Floating Duck looked at Lin Zhao, her eyes filled with gratitude. In fact, this ten-realm鳌虾 demon had lingered in the Cleansword River for some time, leaving a trail of blood. At least a dozen river deities had died at its hands, many of whom were Floating Duck's long-time colleagues.
Thus, at this moment, Floating Duck began to weep.
"Floating Duck."
Lin Zhao walked forward and patted her shoulder. "Your great vengeance is avenged, a good deed. Don't cry yet. This Star River Realm demon cultivator was an鳌虾. Quickly find its molted shell, and I'll make soup to drink. It's very nourishing..."
"Ah?!"
Floating Duck was stunned, then a smile appeared. This was his style. Raising her palm, ripples of water lifted an鳌虾 at least a meter long from the surface. Lin Zhao embraced it. "Good stuff! Such a large鳌虾 is definitely top-tier. Compared to it, any lobster, king crab, or emperor crab is garbage. They don't even compare!"
"Alright."
Lin Zhao stepped onto his flying sword, Red Leaf. "Miss Floating Duck, now that this shrimp demon is dead, the demon race might retaliate. Quickly hide in your grotto and stay put. No matter how big the commotion, don't come out. You must preserve your strength and wait for Aunt to return before settling scores."
"Yes!"
Floating Duck smiled and nodded, then submerged into the water. As the water reached her chest, she paused, cupping dozens of Shattering Evil Talismans. "Young Master, here are the remaining talismans. I'll return them to you."
"No need."
Lin Zhao, holding the large shrimp, patted its enormous tail. "I have enough from this haul. I can write as many Shattering Evil Talismans as I want. These are for you to defend yourself. While Aunt is away, you must protect yourself and don't be reckless again!"
"Yes, Young Master!"
Floating Duck flashed a sweet smile and then dove into the river, heading for its depths.
...
Lin Zhao returned to the woods, found his bamboo box, and headed north again. He flew his sword across the river, landed on the other side, and continued on foot with Wang Yue, traveling through the human world's mountains and rivers, and gradually filling the gaps in his state of mind.
Along the way, he saw scenes of human defeat everywhere.
By the roadside lay piles of Great Shang armor-clad soldiers' corpses, unburied. These soldiers were mostly from the northern three provinces, incredibly burly, but their opponents were demon cultivators of the lower five realms or even the middle five realms, whom they could not resist. Often, a squad of a hundred men could not contend with a single middle five-realm demon cultivator. Their deaths were extremely tragic. Demon cultivators ran rampant near the Cleansword River, and the Great Shang was currently powerless to deal with the situation, the stench of blood forming a vast expanse.
Lin Zhao observed this and slowed his pace. Whenever he encountered the corpses of human soldiers, he would swing his sword to cut a deep pit, then gather the remains, and erect a wooden tombstone. Wherever he passed, new graves would rise, just as Lin Zhao had done a hundred years ago when heading south. Wang Yue quietly accompanied Lin Zhao in doing all this, but as a spirit body, she could not help; otherwise, she would have surely helped with the earth.
Along the route, more and more villages were encountered, many ravaged by demons, leaving only piles of white bones. Even their flesh and blood had been sucked dry by the demons.
On a hilltop, as Lin Zhao passed with Wang Yue, he saw the soul of a young girl standing beneath a willow tree, gazing at the now ash-covered village ahead with a vacant expression.
"Little girl."
Lin Zhao squatted in front of her and wiped the bloodstains from her face. "Why haven't you left yet?"
The girl's gaze was hollow. She murmured, "I'm waiting for my brother... waiting for my brother to take me home?"
"Who is your brother, and where is he?"
"Brother took Father's long sword and went to the Cleansword River to fight the demons."
The girl's face was full of bewilderment. "Many people from the village went. They said they would definitely return..."
Lin Zhao frowned. The girl and her brother were likely both dead. Her brother's whereabouts were unknown, and his soul could not return home to reunite with his family.
However, Lin Zhao was merely a sword cultivator. He was not a Taoist priest who could expel ghosts or summon souls. He could do nothing.
"Big brother..."
The girl looked at Lin Zhao, her gaze still hollow. "Do you know where my brother is? Father and Mother are gone... I want to follow wherever my brother goes..."
Lin Zhao's eyes reddened. "What is your name, and what is your brother's name? If I meet him while traveling the world, I will bring him back to find you."
"Thank you, big brother."
The girl showed a smile. "My name is Qing Liu. My brother's name is Yin Hua. I will always wait for him to come home by the willow tree at the village entrance."
"Mm, I understand."
Lin Zhao smiled and nodded, patting the little girl's head. "Qing Liu, I'm leaving now."
"Okay."
Qing Liu turned and watched Lin Zhao and Wang Yue depart.
...
Ahead lay another mountain forest.
Suddenly, Lin Zhao sensed a dense convergence of soul power ahead. As he rushed up the slope, he saw a simple table covered with a blue cloth placed at the summit. The blue cloth was embroidered with an eight-trigram pattern that was almost indistinguishable. Behind the table stood a young Taoist priest, about fifteen or sixteen years old. His Taoist robe was severely faded, indicating it had been washed many times.
He was exceptionally clear-faced, with furrowed brows, holding a Taoist sword with an eight-trigram pattern carved on its hilt. He was chanting sutras to ferry departed souls. Before him, the souls of those who had died unjustly appeared relieved, their spirits gradually dispersing.
However, directly in front of him, a white-clothed female ghost slowly raised her head, revealing a terrifying face. She snarled, "With you, a mere lower five-realm stinking Taoist, what right do you have to ferry me?!"