Chapter 1965: Naihe Oblivion River
Ji Xiaoxi nearly fainted from the immense pressure of being eyed by those three heads, but she was able to slowly calm down thanks to Zu An holding her hand and sending a surge of warm ki over.
Ji Dengtu turned pale too. He struggled to stand his ground with his cultivation, but it was lucky Zu An was attracting the bulk of the monster’s attention.
Meanwhile, Zu An calmly assessed the monster and asked, “What’s your name?”
“I am the War Priest. My name echoes in the Myriad Worlds,” the monster said as it proudly lifted its three heads up.
Zu An scanned it from head to toe before telling Ji Dengtu, “It’s smaller than I thought.”
Ji Dengtu rolled his eyes. Small?
The three-headed monster was outraged. It cried, “How dare you, a measly ant, insult me?!”
You have successfully trolled War Priest for +444 +444 +444…
Zu An shrugged, replying, “You caused such a huge commotion that I thought you would be some kind of apocalyptic being. I would have expected someone at least the size of a mountain. And yet, you’re barely more than ten meters tall. You tiny little thing.”
Ji Dengtu was speechless. Is this brat out of his mind? Why is he provoking that terrifying monster?
Ji Xiaoxi stared at Zu An with large blinking eyes. Big brother Zu sure is brave! He’s able to stay composed even when faced with such a powerful being. I feel cowardly and useless.
“Ant, what do you know? We only appear small because your world is too weak to withstand our full power…” the War Priest’s left head sneered.
“Shut up! That ant is taunting us, but you’re still explaining things to him. Are you dumb?” the right head snapped.
The left head was taken aback, but it quickly retorted, “You think I wouldn’t know that? I just felt like answering!”
“Idiot!” The right head sneered.
The middle head couldn’t take it anymore and roared, “Stop arguing!”
The left and right heads harrumphed before turning away from each other. The middle head glared at Zu An and said, “Ant, you've succeeded in provoking me. I’ll retract my decision to allow you to serve me.”
You have successfully trolled the War Priest for +500 +500 +500…
The right head harrumphed. “How dare you make fun of me? I’ll siphon your soul and make you suffer a fate worse than death!”
The left head took out what appeared to be a Soul Summoning Banner and waved it at Zu An. Black apparitions appeared around Zu An, and merry laughter echoed in the surroundings.
“Come, let’s have some fun together.” Not a person spoke a word, but the voice reverberated inside one’s head as if it were directed at the very soul.
Ji Dengtu felt dazed for a brief moment. His body suddenly felt much lighter, as if something was about to escape from his body. This isn’t good! As the old libationer’s disciple, he quickly deduced this was a soul attack, and it would be terrible if he succumbed to it.
Unfortunately, it was one thing to know about it and another thing to guard against. Before he could warn Zu An about it, he could already feel himself rising into the air. In a matter of moments, those black silhouettes had already beckoned half of his soul out of his body.
Damn it. Why did that brat have to insist on showing off? Now we’re all going to die.
Ji Xiaoxi had also already half-fainted. If not for Zu An protecting her, her soul would have flown out as soon as those black apparitions appeared.
Just then, there was a crisp wooden tapping sound, followed by dharmic chanting. Silhouettes of chanting Buddhas appeared above Zu An amid rays of golden light.
The black apparitions screeched in agony as they fled back into the banner faster than they had appeared. The Soul Summoning Banner that had been swaying imposingly a moment prior fell limp.
“My treasure! You dare hurt my treasure!” the left head exclaimed.
“Your treasure was hurt by my treasure. That shows yours can’t handle it,” Zu An said as he stowed away the Violet-Gold Alms he had duped from the monk in the tomb. He hadn’t expected it to be so formidable as to overwhelm the War Priest’s treasure so quickly.
Ji Dengtu and Ji Xiaoxi regained their clarity.
Ji Dengtu looked at the alms bowl in Zu An’s hands. How did that brat get so many treasures? Well, it’s not as if any of those treasures can compete with Teacher Bai’s book, though.
Ji Xiaoxi, on the other hand, was worried. Why does big brother Zu have a monk’s alms bowl? Does he intend to renounce his secularism and become a monk?
The three heads of the War Priest stared at Zu An’s Violet-Gold Alms with a mixture of greed and resentment, as they spoke in unison, “You actually have such a treasure in your possession.”
“Your Soul Summoning Banner isn’t too bad either,” Zu An replied with a grim expression as he eyed the War Priest's Soul Summoning Banner. He had seen the effect it had on Ji Dengtu and Ji Xiaoxi. The two of them would have lost their souls if not for the Violet-Gold Alms.
It can disregard a person’s defenses and remotely claim their souls; it’s not a treasure to be underestimated.
The right head turned to the left head and cackled. It said, “You were so proud of your Soul Summoning Banner, but that’s all it’s capable of. Let me show you what a true treasure is.”
It carefully took out a jade bottle and prepared to pour out its contents.
Zu An’s heart skipped a beat. He sensed extreme danger from the jade bottle, thinking, These fellows aren’t as powerful as those beings inside the tomb, but the treasures they have are formidable. It’s unlikely this jade bottle will be any weaker than the Soul Summoning Banner.
Thus, Zu An pushed Ji Dengtu and Ji Xiaoxi over a kilometer away, saying, “Old man, protect Xiaoxi.” As much as he didn’t fear the monster, it would be terrible if Ji Xiaoxi was caught in their clash. For their safety, it would be best not to keep them by his side.
“You skank! Of course I’ll protect my daughter. You don’t even have to say that!” Ji Dengtu harrumphed as he retreated farther away with his daughter.
Ji Xiaoxi was worried. She said, “Father, go and help big brother Zu. I am fine alone.”
Ji Dengtu was speechless Xiaoxi, you have a high opinion of me. The likes of me can’t hope to get involved with a battle of that caliber. Even a mere shockwave from their clash could jolt me to death.
Of course, he wouldn’t say those words aloud before his daughter. He feigned a cough and said, “We’ll let that brat accumulate some combat experience. I can always step in when he’s in danger…” Inwardly, he thought, I’ll flee with my daughter right away as soon as it looks like things are going awry.
Ji Xiaoxi looked at her father in admiration, saying, “Father, you’re amazing!”
It had been several years since she parted ways with Zu An, and she still thought of him as the same youth from Brightmoon City. Even though she had been awed by his means several times now, she still instinctively worried about him.
“Cough cough…” Even with Ji Dengtu’s thick skin, his face still turned red.
The War Priest finally uncorked the jade bottle, and a droplet of turbid yellow liquid dripped out. One could see vague traces of blood in the liquid.
Zu An narrowed his eyes. A chilling wind blew, carrying the howls of countless vengeful spirits. It was as if these vengeful spirits were trapped inside that droplet. However, unlike the Soul Summoning Banner, this droplet didn’t feel eerie. If anything, it felt holy, which was bizarre to Zu An. He couldn’t understand how that droplet could impeccably embody two vastly different traits.
The War Priest carefully retreated, fearful that it would come into contact with that droplet.
“Go!” It raised its finger, and the droplet of turbid yellow liquid slowly floated toward Zu An.
In the distance, Ji Dengtu felt that perhaps he had overestimated the War Priest. Even I can dodge the droplet with how slow it is, let alone that brat…
However, he was soon forced to abandon that thought. Before his eyes, he saw the droplet slowly expanding into a small stream, followed by a raging river that charged straight at Zu An.
Zu An thought that given his high water affinity through the Blue Luan’s ability, he wouldn’t face a threat from the river water, but he started sweating profusely as the river approached him. His instincts told him it wasn't a good idea to come into contact with it. Thus, he activated Grandgale and fled in another direction.
The bloody yellow river missed him, but it swiftly changed its direction and charged at him once more. Zu An unleashed the power of the snow phoenix and executed the Snowflake Sword, causing countless ice crystals to form in the surroundings. A white light glowed on the raging river, and its surface began to crystallize. Ice is the go-to element to curb water, after all.
The War Priest’s left head was startled. It wondered, “How does he have such powerful ice ki?”
The right head wasn’t worried in the least, saying, “No matter how powerful his ice ki is, it’s futile before that droplet.”
Right after it said those words, cracks appeared on the surface of the frozen river, and all of the ice abruptly vanished into thin air. It didn’t even go through the usual melting process!
Zu An was alarmed. In the instant his ice vanished, he felt his connection with his ice ki abruptly severing, as if it had just simply disappeared.
The right head laughed gleefully and said, “It took me a lot of trouble to obtain this droplet of Naihe Oblivion Water. There’s no way it would be frozen by mere ice ki.”
“Naihe Oblivion?” Ji Dengtu repeated, his expression darkening. He anxiously shouted, “Brat, you mustn’t let that water touch you. The River of Oblivion under the Naihe Bridge is a famous legend. It’s said that any being who comes into contact with this water will lose all their memories and abilities.”
It was said that the deceased would first pass through the Gate of Hell and walk down the Yellow Springs Road, before eventually arriving before the River of Oblivion. On the other side of the River of Oblivion was the Underworld. The River of Oblivion was also known as Naihe, and in its bloody yellow water floated wandering spirits who had been locked out of reincarnation, insects, and snakes. It was a gruesome place. Above the River of Oblivion was the Naihe Bridge, and Granny Meng sat on the bridge. Those who sought to cross the River of Oblivion had to drink Granny Meng’s Soup to let go of their past memories, or else they wouldn’t be able to cross the Naihe Bridge and be reincarnated…
Zu An was taken aback. He had seen the River of Oblivion before, but it hadn’t harnessed the same power as the droplet before him.
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