White Dragon Ferry had already descended into complete chaos.
Although the River God Shrine was built outside White Dragon Ferry, it was not far from the crossing. Standing at the ferry dock, one could clearly see what was happening there.
The deceased had held considerable status in the vicinity, so the funeral procession had been grand and imposing, attracting many onlookers who paused to watch.
At the sudden corpse transformation, screams erupted continuously across the ferry.
As the green-furred corpse burst from the wooden coffin, it brought forth a foul stench that drifted with the river breeze, nauseating anyone who caught a whiff.
Its target was a robust man dressed in mourning attire—the eldest son of the green-furred corpse during life.
While the Daoist had been conducting the ritual, the man had remained kneeling before the coffin, closest of all. In his haste to stand, his legs were numb; he stumbled as he tried to flee and fell to the very back.
Blood kin stood before it, yet the green-furred corpse showed no sign of recognition whatsoever. It recognized only blood and flesh, letting out a roar that sounded like grating iron sheets.
Not only was this corpse covered in green fur, its eyes also shone with an eerie green glow, savage and malicious. Its fingernails had grown wildly long and turned pitch-black at some point, clearly laden with corpse poison—a horrifying sight.
A mere mortal, had he been pierced by those nails, the corpse poison invading his body would likely have claimed his life on the spot.
Incense pavilions and paper effigies lay scattered all over the ground, trampled and collided into until smeared with filth beyond recognition. Scared out of his wits, the man’s legs grew even more uncooperative; his ankle twisted, tumbling him into the heap of paper effigies, and only in sheer despair did he think to cry out:
"Father! It's your son!"
The man's voice was terrified, trying to awaken any lingering consciousness left in his father.
Behind him, a woman wept and wailed for the master, only to be dragged back desperately by others.
Every face was filled with dread.
Earlier, they had engaged a Daoist to calculate an auspicious hour; the funeral procession and deity veneration were originally scheduled for two hours later. At this moment, relatives and friends living farther away had not even arrived. The reason they had rushed the funeral was precisely because they had noticed anomalies in the corpse.
Last night, the family had discovered the corpse taking on a green face and fangs. In their haste, they had summoned a Daoist to chant the Soul-Calming Incantation and wedged the Seven Stars Corpse-Suppressing Nails into the coffin, saying that once they paid homage to Lord White Dragon, the corpse transformation would be suppressed.
Who could have foreseen that before the rites were even finished, it would transform into a corpse demon?
The foul stench assaulted his nostrils. Blasted full in the face with corpse qi, the man's mind grew dizzy and dim, and he slumped weakly to the ground, sapped of all strength.
Just as the corpse was about to pounce upon him, a faint glow suddenly illuminated the shrine. Characters flickered upon Lord White Dragon's spirit tablet, and the sound of surging water echoed from within the shrine. The water rippled gently, as if the interior had turned into a secluded, deep pool.
Qin Sang gazed intently at the Shrine of Lord White Dragon, surprised in his heart.
His divine sense was restricted, and the range of his spiritual perception had sharply decreased, but the shrine was not far from the ferry. When disembarking, he had noticed it, and both he and the Heavenly Eye Butterfly had discreetly observed it; there had not been the slightest fluctuation of magic power within, clearly making it an ordinary stone shrine.
Now, the shrine suddenly "came alive," a surge of magic power arriving from out of nowhere to descend upon the tablet.
Qin Sang shifted his gaze toward the Daoist who was fleeing.
The Daoist was the most alert and physically vigorous. Among everyone, he had been the quickest to recognize the danger, yet he was not fleeing in blind panic. As he ran, he continuously shook a golden bell while tossing out a yellow talisman written in cinnabar. The yellow talisman ignited without fire, turning into a ball of flame that drifted downward alongside the hurried chiming of the bell.
Once the yellow talisman ignited, anomalies arose within the shrine.
Dark, gentle ripples swayed as a stream of white silk shot forth. Formed from condensed water vapor, the mist enshrouded a deep blue chain—evidently forged from magic power—that darted straight toward the green-furred corpse.
Whoosh!
The chain pierced straight through the green-furred corpse's collarbones on the spot and instantly coiled around its body like an agile serpent.
Having transformed only recently, the green-furred corpse was driven by pure instinct with minimal intelligence. Before the chain struck, its gaze remained fixed on the flesh and blood before it, offering almost no resistance as it was bound.
Only then did it realize something was wrong. Throwing its head back, it let out an enraged roar. The wound seemed to affect it not at all; bracing its arms, it lunged violently backward to grab, its hands like iron pincers clenching the chain in a bid to break free.
Yet that chain was forged of magic power, sheathed in a layer of watery mist. Not only could the corpse's hands fail to pierce it, but its surface was exceedingly slick, making it impossible to grip.
With several swift whooshes, the chain bound the green-furred corpse's four limbs in succession, tying it up firmly. Then, with a sudden snap of tension, it yanked the corpse back—at which point the corpse’s face was practically pressed against the man's.
The man caught only a glimpse of those eerie green ghostly eyes before his head lolled to the side, fainting on the spot from terror.
Captured, the green-furred corpse roared incessantly, yet its struggles were futile. Tightly bound by the chain, it was dragged forcibly before the shrine, its feet plowing two deep furrows into the ground.
Qin Sang, meanwhile, was watching the river surface.
At that moment, waves inexplicably stirred across the river.
Not long after the shrine manifested its divine presence, Qin Sang noticed two auras appearing in the river, rushing up at high speed from downstream.
Channeling the sight of the Heavenly Eye Butterfly, he saw they were two crab demons, one azure and one black.
The black crab possessed a pair of front pincers nearly the size of its body, like two iron hammers.
The azure crab's pincers were slender and sharp like forks; though a size smaller than the black crab, it was still as large as a calf.
Swimming through the water, they arrived at the section of the river behind the shrine just as the chain dragged the green-furred corpse back.
With a loud splash, thick mist rose over the river, rolling in so quickly that it blanketed the entire stretch of water in an instant. Then, a white dragon breached the surface. After circling briefly in the mist, its pair of colossal eyes swept across White Dragon Ferry, fixing upon the bound green-furred corpse before the shrine. Diving downward, it reached out with dragon claws to seize the corpse tightly, flicked its tail, and flew back toward the river.
Once the white dragon had carried the corpse away, the shrine returned to normal, not a scrap of magic power remaining on the spirit tablet.
"Lord Dragon has manifested!"
"Lord Dragon has manifested!"
...
Watching this happen before their very eyes, the commoners at the ferry turned from terror to joy, dropping to their knees to kowtow repeatedly toward the River God Shrine. Full of awe and reverence, they chanted Lord Dragon's praises.
Qin Sang, however, saw through it clearly. There was no Lord Dragon here at all; it was plainly a trick orchestrated by the two crab demons using an ability to summon clouds and breathe mist.
The white dragon was actually an illusion conjured by the crab demons, and the dragon claws were their pincers, holding the green-furred corpse like iron shackles so that it could not break free in the least.
Mortals with their mortal eyes could not tell the difference and assumed this white dragon was Lord White Dragon.
Having captured the green-furred corpse and manifested divinity before mortals, the two crab demons were thoroughly satisfied. Ceasing their showmanship, they were about to dive back into the river, failing to notice two clusters of dark light emerging within the corpse's green pupils, a gleam of savagery flashing across them.
Awooo!
The green-furred corpse's limbs suddenly tensed. It unleashed an eerie howl akin to a wolf's baying, its internal bones crackling like thunder, and spewed a cloud of black smoke from its mouth.
When this black smoke touched the magic chains, it was like the scorching sun melting snow; cracking sounds rang out immediately, and the chain shattered inch by inch.
The two crab demons were horrified. Before they could react, they felt a tremendous force surge through their front pincers.
Snap, snap!
Within the mist, the white dragon's body convulsed a few times before exploding into a cloud of water vapor. Two severed crab pincers tumbled out first, demon blood staining the river surface.
A dead silence fell over the shore. The crowd, who had just been kowtowing to thank Lord Dragon for capturing the evil spirit, were struck dumb with shock at this sudden turn of events.
"Could Lord Dragon not be a match for the corpse demon?"
This thought welled up in everyone's hearts, and panic took hold.
The next moment, two giant crabs plummeted from the sky, attempting to escape into the river. Unexpectedly, the green-furred corpse even possessed the power of flight; sweeping through the sky in a billow of black smoke, it overtook the black crab. Thrusting its hand with force, its five fingers like swords, it cracked the hard carapace with a single strike with a sharp crunch.
The corpse howled maniacally. Just as it was about to deal the fatal blow and feast on fresh blood, massive waves abruptly surged across the river, and a white shadow emerged from beneath the surface.
The white shadow possessed a slender physique and stepped forth riding the waves—it was a white flood dragon. Seeing its subordinate crab general about to perish at the corpse's hands, it glared furiously. Water mist condensed into a water arrow that shot straight toward the corpse's glabella.
The corpse's intelligence seemed to have increased; it snapped its head up to look, fixing its eerie gaze on the white flood dragon, and spewed another blast of corpse qi to intercept the water arrow.
Yet the white flood dragon's strength was far beyond what the two crab generals possessed. The water arrow pierced effortlessly through the corpse qi, penetrating the green-furred corpse between the brows before it could dodge.
"This must be the River God, Lord White Dragon?"
Qin Sang examined the white flood dragon closely.
He could be certain that this white flood dragon was a demon beast, not any deity.
The dragon's strength was not weak, roughly at the Demon Spirit stage, but from Qin Sang's observation, its intellect was exceptionally high, the light in its eyes indistinguishable from a human's.
Flood dragons at the Demon Spirit stage had not yet reached the point of opening their wisdom, unless enlightened by Emperor Flowing Dew.
What drew Qin Sang's attention most was that this flood dragon's aura was balanced, upright, and peaceful, devoid of any ferocious, sinister air!
The white flood dragon succeeded in one strike, but did not obliterate the green-furred corpse directly, also finding it strange how this corpse, having transformed only just now and without cultivating in a place of gathered yin, possessed such formidable strength.
Its eyes flickered. Conjuring a pair of shackles out of thin air, it subdued the corpse, then summoned waves to sweep up the green-furred corpse and its injured subordinate, preparing to return to the riverbed.
Right at that moment, the boom of a cannon charge sounded from the reed marshes on the bank. Withered grasses swayed as a massive plume of black smoke billowed upward.
Rolling black smoke rose, faintly revealing a three-tiered high altar within. The smoke split into three streams midair, advancing with tremendous speed to flank and encircle the white flood dragon.
From the middle plume of black smoke came a shrill screech: "Boys! Follow me to slice this scaly worm to pieces, storm the City God and Water Domain here, and let you all have a feast of meat!"
"Awoooo..."
Excited howls rose from all three plumes of black smoke, their momentum surging wildly.
For a moment, black smoke blotted out the sky above White Dragon Ferry, accompanied by chorus after chorus of bizarre cries, as if countless demons and monsters were invading.
The mortals were plunged into sheer terror.
Looking at the black smoke, Qin Sang showed a look of surprise.
Within the black smoke were actually three columns of demon troops, and all of them were wolf demons.
On the flanks were white wolf demons, several dozen in each detachment, smaller in size. In the center was a troop of over a dozen black-furred giant wolves; their leader had smooth, glossy fur and was exceptionally gigantic, standing upright as tall as a two-story building, awe-inspiring and imposing.
Not only could the giant wolf speak human speech, the demon troops under its command maintained disciplined ranks, their auras harmonized as one, moving with strict order and formation—clearly having undergone meticulous military drilling.
Earlier, Qin Sang had sensed an aura lurking in the marsh, but there had clearly been only a single presence. From where had so many demon troops sprung?
The giant wolf acted with extreme caution. The white wolf soldiers flanked from both sides, cutting off the white flood dragon's escape routes upstream and downstream along the great river, while he personally led a contingent straight toward the dragon.
Encircled on three sides, a look of horror flashed through the white flood dragon's eyes. It had come in person to investigate this time, while the troops under its command were still trailing behind; how could it alone contend with this pack of wolf demons?
The green-furred corpse had actually been a ploy to lure the snake from its hole!
In its desperation, the white flood dragon opened its mouth wide and unleashed a dragon roar that shook heaven and earth, loud enough to halt the passing clouds.
The roar rolled across and convulsed the river surface, while the dragon made a frantic dive for the riverbed.
Seeing this, the giant wolf let out an eerie chuckle and spat a beam of black light from its mouth. The demon soldiers behind followed suit, globes of black light crashing into the black light above the giant wolf's head to gather into a dark cloud midair. In an instant, three beams of black light shot down from the sky—one aimed at the dragon's neck, one at its belly, and one at its tail.
At this moment, waves surged downstream along the river. Amid the billowing crests, a forest of banners became visible in the distance as yet another neatly arrayed company of demon soldiers crossed the river, advancing forward.
Not only that, farther downstream, the City God Temple in Fulong City had also received Lord White Dragon's call for aid, shooting forth soaring beams of brilliance into the sky.
These demon soldiers were all aquatic demons such as shrimp soldiers, crab generals, and fish demons—the regional garrison troops of Lord White Dragon's water domain.
Seeing reinforcements arrive for its quarry, the black wolf was not alarmed but delighted. Without haste, it howled an order, and the white wolf soldiers on both flanks immediately wheeled around, lunging together toward the water garrison.
At the same time, it did not neglect controlling the black light. No matter how the dragon dodged, it could not escape, and finally the three beams of black light transformed into three black hoops that tightly bound its head, body, and tail.
At this sight, the black wolf laughed wildly and insolently.
"Boys, shatter their battle formation for me!"
Lord White Dragon and his spirit troops were inextricably bound. So long as Lord White Dragon was captured and the troops lost their commander, the forces of the water domain would inevitably suffer a crushing blow to their morale, left entirely at their mercy, at which point they could concentrate on dealing with the City God of this city.
The black wolf stifled its wild laughter and fixed a vicious glare upon the struggling dragon. Baring a maw of fangs, it prepared to pounce upon Lord White Dragon.
Right then, a sharp, delicate shout rang in its ears.
On the opposite bank of the river.
A streak of light suddenly rose from a solitary peak.
A graceful woman with her hair in a high topknot, dressed in Daoist robes, flew through the air across the river. An azure light flashed over her, instantly clothing her in ritual vestments.
Atop her head rested a Seven Stars Harmonious Conjunction Crown secured with a rhinoceros-horn hairpin, and over her shoulders hung a pale-yellow ritual mantle.
Her Daoist robe and ritual mantle were similar in color; below, she wore a pale-yellow five-gored ritual skirt traced with three-colored clouds. At her waist hung a bronze pendant, and upon her feet were black cloth shoes.
Amid flickering radiance, an altar manifested beneath her at some unknown moment.
The ritual altar was not built of earth and stone; beneath the daylight it appeared limpid and transparent, yet flowed like starlight and moonlight, both illusory and real.
The moment the ritual altar appeared, the worldly energy on both banks of the great river turned solemn and still.
The altar was divided into three tiers: a circular upper tier, an octagonal middle tier, and a square lower tier, symbolizing the Three Heavens and Three Realms.
Four pillars stood around it, representing Heaven, Earth, Sun, and Moon, with Eight Gates and Ten Directions laid out.
A palm-sized seal hovered within the altar. Carved with intricate patterns, it bore four thunder-script seal characters reading "Manifest Proclamation to All Spirits," glittering with brilliant spiritual light.
Just as the altar formed, the Daoist priestess stood atop it, looking down from above, shifting her lotus steps lightly.
An ethereal incantation echoed through the sky:
"Heaven is pure, Earth is divine,
Soldiers and generals follow the sign;
Troops turn as the seal commands,
Generals march as the decree demands."
At the fall of the incantation,
the precious seal in the altar vibrated gently.
Two of the Eight Gates swung open with a resounding boom. Amid the sound of rushing water and rumbling thunder, two plumes of silver-white water mist spewed forth. Silver flashes of lightning flickered within the mist as two columns of silver-scaled water serpents glided out from behind the gates. Each had a massive, burly physique, with four legs bearing five digits, clad in flexible armor.
The river lord's water soldiers and the demon wolf troops were considered well-disciplined, yet compared to these water serpent demon soldiers, they appeared somewhat ragged.
Like heavenly soldiers and divine generals, the water serpent demon troops deployed in formation over the river, sealing off the four quarters.
"The Seal of Manifest Proclamation to All Spirits!"
The black wolf was thoroughly shocked, hurriedly recalling the wolf soldiers under its command to its side, crying out in alarm, "Who are you from the Tianshu Court?!"
"I am the Altar Master of the Ninth Branch Altar under the Xuanmiao Yingzhen Grand Altar! What manner of rogue sorcerers are you, daring to harm a river god under my jurisdiction?!"
The Daoist priestess's eyes flashed like lightning as she barked her rebuke.
Chapter 1747