novelraw Chapter 95 : The River that Roars Through Heaven and Earth
Chapter 95 : The River that Roars Through Heaven and Earth
Chapter 95: The River that Roars Through Heaven and Earth
Wind poured into their ears.
Behind them, black swamps were constantly forming.
Lu Changyuan and Mei Zhao Zhao’s figures shot out from the darkness.
“How much confidence do you have? This lady is still young and doesn’t want to die yet.”
The two were already on their way toward West City.
Lu Changyuan’s voice came through the wind: “Are you asking about defeating Xiao Qingfeng or finding the Nether Lord?”
Mei Zhao Zhao’s eyes lit up with hope. “Can you defeat Xiao Qingfeng? This lady knew you were impressive.”
“Impossible. He already possesses the Jade Radiance Technique—authentic Jade Radiance. He’s no longer on the same level as Dawning Sun.”
“Then what are you saying? What about finding the Nether Lord?”
“Not even ten percent chance.”
Mei Zhao Zhao felt that this joke in Qiu Yuehan’s style was not funny at all, so she gritted her teeth. “Can that Little Ancestor of Cihang Palace hold out?”
Lu Changyuan still shook his head, but the birdcage in his hand held Su Youwan inside. “Unclear. That’s why we must hurry.”
Su Youwan had established a strong enough connection with Lu Changyuan; the young girl had even stuffed her own emotions into his hands, exchanging his life with hers.
It could only last for one hour.
Otherwise, the moment Lu Changyuan left the small courtyard, Xiao Qingfeng would sense him and then the battle would be unwinnable.
“This lady seems able to communicate with those spirits. I’ve already called some to aid her.”
Mei Zhao Zhao said as they sped along.
Within Lu Changyuan’s small dwelling, she had finally figured out the temporary privilege the Nether Lord had granted her.
Because she possessed a Spirit-Communing Body, and with the Nether Lord’s permission, she could now command his spirits to some extent.
Lu Changyuan nodded.
Then, he suddenly halted.
Before them, the ground split open with a massive fissure, and from within crawled out something inhuman.
It was a gigantic lizard, its back covered with jagged stones, a scarlet tongue flickering from its mouth.
Mei Zhao Zhao couldn’t help exclaiming, “What is that?”
Lu Changyuan narrowed his eyes. “I don’t know either. Likely a monster created by Xiao Qingfeng through the Transformative Life Technique.”
The ground of the Nether Kingdom sank under the creature’s enormous weight, each of its steps sending tremors like shattering rock.
“It’s coming!”
Despite its bulk, the giant lizard charged toward Lu Changyuan with astonishing speed, exhaling a foul stench.
Mei Zhao Zhao raised her hand, summoning several spirits but before they could even take form, the beast had already devoured them whole.
“Be careful!”
Lu Changyuan shot forward like an arrow loosed from its bow, weaving between broken stones and leaving afterimages behind.
The lizard roared, raising a forelimb large enough to crush a city wall.
With a howling gust, it slammed down. Just as the claws were about to strike his head, Lu Changyuan slid aside, twisting his wrist Severed Thought flashed with a cold gleam, but the sword only struck sparks off the creature’s rock-like hide.
Clang!
The sound of metal and stone colliding rang in his ears.
So hard.
The rebound from the sword made his arm go numb.
Lu Changyuan had yet to reach the Fifth Realm, so Severed Thought had little effect on a corporeal monster like this.
He drew his sword into stance.
Bai Cang!
The Autumn Sword thrust precisely at the lizard’s eye.
The blade hummed; black blood clung to Severed Thought, which Lu Changyuan then drew out.
The lizard roared in pain and rage, the air around them trembling. Its massive tail, covered in jagged stones, swept sideways like a gray hurricane.
At the same time, a shadow loomed over Lu Changyuan’s head.
A shrill cry tore through the air.
A monstrous bird with three fleshy wings swooped down, its grotesque appendages flapping violently.
From them flung sticky, crimson droplets that rained from the sky.
Lu Changyuan’s pupils shrank as he retreated sharply.
Even so, the gust from the lizard’s tail tore his robes and left a shallow cut across his waist.
The blood rain spattered onto his left hand, quickly corroding the flesh.
“This lady will summon more spirits!”
Just as Mei Zhao Zhao was about to act, her heart jolted violently—she had to leap aside.
The next second—
Boom!
A massive fist crashed down, enough to shatter everything.
“What is that!?”
Mei Zhao Zhao screamed, turning back—out of the darkness emerged a headless humanoid giant, dead and yet moving.
It raised its pillar-like arm again. Though its motion seemed stiff, it was unimaginably fast.
The air howled under the weight of that punch—no technique, no variation, only pure, primal, brutal power!
“Lu Langjun, think of something!”
“What’s there to think about?” Lu Changyuan raised Severed Thought. “We can’t get entangled with these things—they’re Xiao Qingfeng’s creations. Even if we kill them, they’ll revive.”
Just like Wang Lian and Xiao Hai before.
But now the monsters surrounded them completely, leaving no escape route.
Lu Changyuan stomped down hard, snatching Mei Zhao Zhao up and charging forward like a released arrow.
There was still some distance before the border between the two cities.
They couldn’t afford to be delayed here.
Yet fate never went as one wished. A cold gust swept from the side—a giant serpent, hidden beneath the ground, sprang out just as they passed. Its reeking maw and sharp fangs were inches away.
“We’re going to die, we’re going to die, we’re going to die!”
“Quiet.”
Lu Changyuan gripped Severed Thought tightly, vaulted upward with Mei Zhao Zhao, and kicked the serpent’s head aside. The sword plunged down through the top of its skull.
Rip.
Blood burst out as the blade pinned the serpent’s head to the ground.
But the delay was enough—the rock-scaled lizard and the headless giant reappeared before them.
Lu Changyuan frowned.
The Transformative Life Dao was truly disgusting—especially in a place like the Nether Kingdom, where life and death blurred, perfect for Xiao Qingfeng’s use.
【You are about to die.】
Can you shut up?
Lu Changyuan took a deep breath, raising his sword horizontally.
One Sword from the West!
But his target wasn’t the headless giant or the rock lizard—it was the flying monster above.
The creature, caught off guard, let out a harsh shriek and plummeted from the sky.
Even then, Lu Changyuan didn’t relax.
The hardest enemies were still the lizard and the giant, both nearly impervious to attack.
“What about your Pleasure Sect’s Red Desire Technique? Use it.”
Only now did Mei Zhao Zhao remember. The Pleasure Sect was not known for close combat, but for manipulating minds.
A moment later, a massive sigil formed in her hands and shot straight into the lizard’s body.
The creature froze, its sense of direction lost—it no longer knew where Lu Changyuan or Mei Zhao Zhao were.
But only for a brief while—the three-winged bird and the giant serpent were already showing signs of revival.
“Lu Langjun, it’s useless! The headless giant is immune to this lady’s technique!”
What kind of species was this?
What kind of era had the ancient world been, to breed such thick-skinned monsters immune to mental arts?
The giant’s massive fist slammed toward Lu Changyuan again.
He clutched Mei Zhao Zhao, sprinted up the giant’s arm, gathering all his strength into a single point. Severed Thought’s tip faced downward—its sword qi streaked like a meteor as it plunged into the giant’s neck stump.
Boom!
A deafening roar, like thunder cracking open the heavens! Violent sword energy exploded outward from the point of impact. Lu Changyuan kicked off, narrowly evading another blow.
He gritted his teeth. “What in the world is this thing?”
Its flesh was tougher than some Sixth Realm body cultivators.
If they were dragged down any longer, and Xiao Qingfeng freed his hands—it would be over.
“Luo?”
Lu Changyuan glanced toward the street corner.
There, a spectral figure appeared—it was Luo from the Sin Prison.
Luo roared.
Mei Zhao Zhao somehow understood: “Luo says he wants to help you, Lu Langjun.”
“How can you help me?”
You’re just a wisp of spirit—imprisoned in the Sin Prison for who knows how many years. When I released you, you were already fading. How can you possibly help?
He soon found out.
Luo’s spirit surged upward, turning into a stream of blue mist that entered the giant’s towering body.
Lu Changyuan froze, watching as the rampaging giant suddenly stilled—turning into a statue that seemed to exist since ancient times.
A moment later, the giant raised its arm again. Instinctively, Lu Changyuan tightened his grip on his sword—yet the mountain-sized fist turned, smashing sideways at the lurking serpent!
With a single blow—
Scales shattered, blood mist filled the air, and the once-ferocious serpent was crushed into pulp.
Lu Changyuan stared in disbelief. “That’s your body?!”
The giant, headless as it was, could not nod—but continued pounding the serpent with earth-shaking fists.
The reason was clear enough.
Xiao Qingfeng’s Transformative Life Dao had recreated the giant’s body, but only the flesh—without spirit. It was a puppet that obeyed his command.
So what if its soul returned?
Naturally, it would reclaim its body.
Luo was a spirit of the Nether Kingdom—ancient and powerful. Lu Changyuan had fought him countless times before and knew his strength was extraordinary. But never had he imagined this extraordinary.
Xiao Qingfeng had, by chance, provided him with a vessel capable of housing his final wisp of will.
And so, in that instant, the tide turned.
The headless giant raised one massive hand and waved at Lu Changyuan.
The meaning was very clear.
Everyone should just do what they were supposed to do.
Lu Changyuan lifted the birdcage once more, nodded slightly toward Mei Zhao Zhao, and then turned into a beam of light that departed again.
“Changed position again?”
Xiao Qingfeng let out a cold snort.
He had already noticed that Yu had separated from the other woman.
This time, he would no longer be deceived.
Rage surged from deep within his heart—the fierce flame born from being toyed with and grievously wounded.
Thus, he accelerated once more. The Sun-Moon Sundial bloomed again in his hand, and his blurred fate became ever clearer.
‘I can attain the Dao.’
‘I will attain the Dao!’
‘Whoever stands in my way of attaining the Dao, I shall kill them!’
“Has the incarnation been taken away?”
At the very instant the headless giant’s body changed masters, Xiao Qingfeng sensed it—but he didn’t care. It was only an incarnation; it couldn’t stir up any great waves.
Xiao Qingfeng directly gave up observing Mei Zhao Zhao and also abandoned retrieving his incarnation. Instead, he chose to descend directly.
Lu Changyuan was not far away.
At the border between Eastern and Western City, apart from a stone stele as a landmark, there was nothing else.
Xiao Qingfeng still didn’t know what Lu Changyuan was planning.
This time, he did not strike rashly.
The Sixteen Bright Moon Flower Needles of Cihang Palace had truly frightened him.
That woman held one needle—did this man perhaps have a sword as well?
If another sword came forth, he might suffer a wound to his very origin. He had yet to fully ascend to Jade Radiance, and at such a moment, an injury to his origin would leave a Dao wound for life.
Moreover, he had long suspected that the true Yu’s strength was not limited to the Sixth Realm.
The Sun-Moon Palace’s techniques had reappeared in the world. Could it be that the remnants of the Sun-Moon Palace sought to reclaim the Sun-Moon Sundial? Then this Yu—perhaps, like his master Chen An, was also someone of the Sun-Moon Palace.
Xiao Qingfeng recalled a saying once spread across the cultivation world during his early years of cultivation—words from Daoist Chang’an.
“Some old undying ones love to pretend weakness to deceive others.”
Better be cautious.
Caution preserves the ship for ten thousand years.
Yet Lu Changyuan had actually stopped at the border between Eastern and Western City, unmoving, even sitting directly beneath the stone stele.
He was looking at him?
Xiao Qingfeng was startled.
Lu Changyuan truly was looking exactly at the spot where he stood.
“Come out.”
Xiao Qingfeng pondered again and again, yet he still couldn’t see through Lu Changyuan. Even when he used the Sun-Moon Sundial to divine, he gained nothing.
So he emerged from the darkness.
“Yu, I think we can talk.”
Lu Changyuan sneered. “Talk about what? You don’t want to kill me anymore?”
From every angle, he appeared to have only the strength at the edge of the Fifth Realm, someone who shouldn’t last even a single exchange against him.
Too calm. Too indifferent.
What was he relying on?
Such thoughts filled Xiao Qingfeng’s mind, and his expression grew more and more grave. He said, “You came to the Nether Kingdom—for what purpose?”
Lu Changyuan said calmly, “To find the Sun-Moon Sundial, and by the way, to take a look at the Nether River.”
“Only that?”
“Yes.”
Xiao Qingfeng breathed a sigh of relief and asked again, “Are you from the Sun-Moon Palace? If you weren’t, you couldn’t possibly have known that the Sun-Moon Sundial was in the Nether Kingdom.”
Lu Changyuan waved his hand. “I’ve betrayed the Sun-Moon Palace for many years now.”
Xiao Qingfeng exhaled once more. He took out the Sun-Moon Sundial: “If you came for the Sundial, I can give it to you.”
He had already used the Sun-Moon Sundial to deceive Heaven’s Dao and had completed his life-and-death reversal. Now, the Sundial held little value to him.
Lu Changyuan still smiled. “And then?”
“As long as you give up the title of Yu.”
If he gave up the title of Yu, Xiao Qingfeng could step fully into Jade Radiance and devour the entire Nether Kingdom.
And Lu Changyuan would achieve his goal of entering the Nether Kingdom.
It seemed a fine deal.
But Lu Changyuan merely leaned against the stone stele and said, “You want me to voluntarily relinquish my title, help you ascend to Jade Radiance, and then after you ascend, you’ll kill me, right?”
Now, only three living people remained in the Nether Kingdom—three who were not citizens of his realm.
Xiao Qingfeng’s eyes narrowed, and the Sun-Moon Sundial floated before Lu Changyuan. “There’s no deep hatred between us. You and your two women can leave the Nether Kingdom. To show sincerity, I can even give you the Sun-Moon Sundial first.”
He truly was generous.
Lu Changyuan looked at the familiar artifact before him and thought of the Sun-Moon Palace Mistress.
Then he said softly, “If you don’t kill the three of us, your ascent to Jade Radiance will always be imperfect. Are you truly willing to accept that?”
Xiao Qingfeng answered as if it were natural, “I don’t dare kill her. It’s already imperfect anyway—what’s a bit more imperfection? I’ll find a way to make up for it in the future.”
He was, of course, referring to Su Youwan.
The Little Ancestor of Cihang Palace—if he killed her, who knew what Cihang Palace would do in retaliation?
It sounded reasonable.
But don’t forget—
The man before him was not some merchant making deals.
He was one who had schemed for hundreds of years, who could retain his sanity while transforming within the Nether Kingdom, who defied Heaven’s will to ascend to Jade Radiance.
Would such a man truly resign himself? Would he truly fear Cihang Palace?
Once he ascended to Jade Radiance—even if the Sun-Moon Palace Mistress were still alive—what could she do to him?
For anyone to ascend to Jade Radiance, heart, fate, and talent must all be flawless.
Su Wu Xiang had only glimpsed the scenery of Jade Radiance; True Person Han Ze hadn’t even glimpsed it. Yet Xiao Qingfeng had truly attained the Law of Jade Radiance.
Would Lu Changyuan believe such a person could accept imperfection?
Of course not.
From the very beginning, life and death between Lu Changyuan and Xiao Qingfeng had already been decided—one of them must die.
“Sounds tempting.”
Xiao Qingfeng saw Lu Changyuan stand, pat the dust from his clothes. He looked like a youth, his voice calm. “But I have a bad habit—I like saying no to those who think too highly of themselves.”
The moment Lu Changyuan finished speaking—
The sound of air being torn apart came instantly.
It wasn’t Lu Changyuan who struck first, but Xiao Qingfeng who directly attacked with the Sun-Moon Sundial.
Lu Changyuan was decisive, and Xiao Qingfeng, too, showed no hesitation.
Seeing that words were useless, he no longer spoke further.
This was also a test.
Before Lu Changyuan revealed his trump card, Xiao Qingfeng did not intend to get too close.
But, greatly beyond his expectations—
That strike blasted Lu Changyuan away directly.
Blood spilled from his mouth, and his back slammed against the stone stele.
With a loud crash, Lu Changyuan and the stele fell together.
Xiao Qingfeng stared in shock.
How could he be this weak?
Truly Fifth Realm?
Was this Yu? The one who had stayed a hundred years in the Nether Kingdom and cultivated to Dawning Sun?
Xiao Qingfeng gave a savage grin. “So you were bluffing all along?”
Lu Changyuan, bracing himself against the shattered stele, slowly stood and swallowed the blood pooling in his mouth.
【You are about to die】
“Xiao Qingfeng, you’ve stayed in the Nether Kingdom for over three hundred years—do you truly feel nothing for this place?”
Xiao Qingfeng froze for only a moment before waving his hand sharply. The stone stele exploded completely, and Lu Changyuan’s body was lifted into the air; Severed Thought clanged to the ground.
Lu Changyuan’s body floated upward until Xiao Qingfeng seized him by the throat.
“Feelings? This place tormented me for three hundred years, and you think I’d feel affection for it?” Xiao Qingfeng said scornfully. “Emotions are not something cultivators should concern themselves with—you should understand that.”
Xiao Qingfeng sneered. “I was too cautious. I truly thought you had some hidden card. You played your act of bluffing quite well.”
As his words ended—
He was about to twist Lu Changyuan’s neck and crush him completely.
But he saw no trace of fear on Lu Changyuan’s face.
The man wasn’t afraid of death? That gave Xiao Qingfeng a dreadful sense of foreboding.
Lu Changyuan truly was Yu.
Right—
Where was the other one? Where was the other person?
Using half his authority, Xiao Qingfeng sensed—the other was in the royal palace.
What was being done there?
He hurled Lu Changyuan to the ground, creating a massive pit overflowing with crimson blood. “What are you plotting? Do you want the Nether Lord to return?”
At least seven bones had broken.
So thought Lu Changyuan.
He laughed.
Blood flowed into his airway, choking him painfully.
Pale-faced, Lu Changyuan said, “The Nether Lord will not return. I never wanted him to return. To tell the truth, I truly have nothing to do with the Nether Lord, and I don’t even know why he gave me the title.”
Xiao Qingfeng suddenly lifted his head—he had heard a sound that made his heart tremble.
Clang!
A clear and ancient bell tone rang out.
The ground began to quake, as if gaining a pulse.
Thump!
That was a drumbeat!
Xiao Qingfeng saw Lu Changyuan’s laughter grow even wilder.
His pupils shrank violently as he heard Lu Changyuan’s cheerful voice say:
“I accept the name of Yu.”
The wind stopped.
Then came a torrent so violent it tore the eardrums apart.
A rift split across the heavens like a black eye opening in the night.
The Nether River, long sealed by Xiao Qingfeng’s spell, finally broke free of all restraints.
It was as if the weight of the entire Nether Kingdom had gathered within it.
That dark river water, carrying a will to annihilate everything, let out a roar that shook both Heaven and Earth.
It fell with unstoppable might!