Chapter 75: The River of Blood
“No, no, no… Immortal… Lord Immortal Elder… we didn’t say anything!” Qi Bing stuttered, sweat beading on his pale cheeks. He wasn’t afraid of dying, but he was afraid of not being able to deliver the mushrooms he was holding.
“Still trying to argue? Don’t you know immortals are omniscient?” the strong middle-aged man pressed aggressively.
“Senior Brother Fu, there’s no need to waste any more words. We can just kill these lowly mortals.”
“Exactly. The Immortal Alliance’s order strictly prohibits acting against the will of heaven. Even discussing it is forbidden. Violators will be killed without mercy, and this applies to both immortals and cultivators, let alone two mere mortals!”
“Senior Brother Fu, hurry up and act. If we’re not decisive enough, it might invoke the wrath of heaven.”
“Isn’t that man from Qi Family Village? To be safe, I suggest we kill him and then go slaughter the entire village.” The cultivators behind him all offered their suggestions.
“Mercy, Immortal Elder! This was the reckless talk of this junior, and it has nothing to do with the elders and folks in the village!” Qi Bing’s legs went weak, and he kowtowed desperately again. He even tried his best to exonerate Lu Yao: “Moreover, she’s young and ignorant. I implore all you Immortal Elders to be lenient!”
“To repay kindness, this Qi Bing’s character is quite good,” Qi Huang praised inwardly.
Hearing this, the cultivators finally turned their attention to Lu Yao. Their eyes were all fixed on her; they never expected to encounter a woman of such beauty in this desolate wilderness. Even with her veil, she was incredibly alluring.
“Take off your veil!” the leading Senior Brother Fu commanded.
“What do you intend to do?” Lu Yao asked calmly.
“I want to see if your face can be exchanged for the lives of everyone in Qi Family Village.” Senior Brother Fu shamelessly revealed his intentions.
“Heh, you want to slaughter a village just for discussing matters against the heavens? Are you truly fearing the Heavenly Dao, or are you using it to satisfy your selfish desires?” Lu Yao taunted.
“Nonsense! The Heavenly Dao governs all worlds and holds the ultimate power over the life and death of all beings. Who isn’t afraid?” Senior Brother Fu argued vehemently.
“I believe you are afraid. But as the saying goes, an unjust act has its perpetrator. Even if the Heavenly Dao is cruel, it wouldn’t punish innocent villagers. Therefore, slaughtering the village is merely a means for you to maintain the oppressive authority of cultivators. Otherwise, you wouldn’t dare use me to exchange for the lives of the entire village!” Lu Yao pointed out the ugly thoughts within the cultivators’ hearts with sharp precision.
“Utter nonsense! Since you don’t cherish this opportunity, then you shall die alongside the people of Qi Family Village.” Senior Brother Fu, enraged, drew his sword, which shot towards Lu Yao like an arrow released from a bowstring. The blade’s edge tore through the air, emitting a sharp, piercing friction sound.
“Ah!” Qi Bing cried out in alarm, instinctively lunging towards Lu Yao, hoping to block the attack with his body. Alas, he was just an ordinary person, slow-moving. Before he could even take a step, the sword was already aimed directly at Lu Yao’s face.
“No!” Qi Bing shrieked desperately, his pupils trembling violently. He was a grateful person; if he watched his savior die before his eyes, he feared he wouldn’t rest in peace even after death.
“Ching!”
At this moment, something astonishing happened that left Qi Bing bewildered. No one knew when Lu Yao had made her move, but her slender fingers had already caught the flying sword between them, holding it as firmly as iron tongs.
“How is this possible?” Not only Qi Bing, but the cultivators also widened their mouths in unison.
“Are cultivators who aren’t even immortals daring to attack me?” Lu Yao’s expression was icy. With a slight twist of her delicate fingers, the gleaming flying sword snapped in half with a “ching” sound, as brittle as plaster. Even more deadly was the crisp sound, which, like a stone dropped into a calm lake, immediately sent ripples spreading outwards. The cultivators, mistaking them for ordinary air currents, paid them no mind, allowing the ripples to sweep over their bodies.
“Ah!” In the next moment, the features of the cultivators twisted. They then let out hysterical screams as their bodies disintegrated into neat pieces of flesh and blood, falling to the ground as if a chef were dropping Maoxuewang into a pot.
“Ah!” This scream came from Qi Bing. Trembling with fear, he retreated, as the scene before him was too bloody and shocking.
“This… this is a spatial fluctuation… Who… who exactly are you?” Senior Brother Fu’s Life Soul emerged from his body. He suppressed his fear and asked with resentment. As for the Life Souls of the other cultivators, they fled in desperation.
Lu Yao remained silent. Yin Energy surged from her body like a raging tide, sweeping forward and engulfing the Life Souls of the cultivators within moments.
“See… it seems Tian Jizi was… right… Heaven’s will cannot be defied… I am destined to die today… and become a sacrifice for the River of Blood,” Senior Brother Fu sighed as he screamed.
Tian Jizi again! River of Blood again! Qi Huang’s mood grew solemn. From what she saw, it was evident that Lu Yao’s every move had been foretold by the Heavenly Dao. What exactly was the Heavenly Dao that it could predict a person’s future? Qi Huang began to ponder this question seriously for the first time. Though she was powerful now, the idea of “predicting the future” seemed utterly unbelievable.
Lu Yao clearly felt the same. She felt as though she were stripped bare, with no secrets. If she couldn’t find a solution, even if she found the Heavenly Dao, revenging herself would be impossible. Lu Yao retracted some of her Yin Energy and questioned Senior Brother Fu, “Answer me, what exactly is the River of Blood?”
“Hmph, since I know I’m going to die today, why should I answer you?” Senior Brother Fu, however, was unusually resolute.
“Then go to hell!” Without hesitation, Lu Yao immediately manipulated the dark Yin Energy, consuming Senior Brother Fu’s Life Soul.
“Do you know what the River of Blood is?” Lu Yao slowly turned and asked Qi Bing.
“N… No!” Qi Bing answered calmly now, but his trembling body betrayed him.
“It seems I’ve found the wrong person. Ordinary people truly know very little,” Lu Yao muttered, and her body vanished from where she stood like a ghost.
Not long after, Lu Yao arrived at the nearest large town. She saw that the immortals and cultivators here were all in a state of panic, as if preparing for something. Lu Yao had come to inquire about the “River of Blood,” but she soon realized she didn’t need to ask. These cultivators were all preparing to deal with the “River of Blood.”
The so-called “River of Blood” is actually a shortened term for the idiom “blood flows like a river”! As everyone knows, from the moment a person is born, they are subject to divine punishment, which includes both “natural calamities” and “man-made calamities.” Most ordinary people only need to endure “man-made calamities,” with very few experiencing “divine retribution” in their early years. Cultivators, however, must face both “natural calamities” and “man-made calamities,” even after becoming immortals. Therefore, immortals and cultivators in the Immortal Realm strive to inquire with Tian Jizi about their “tribulations” to be better prepared for potential dangers. Although no one has yet managed to overcome the “death tribulation,” being able to overcome other smaller trials is still considered good.
Beginning about a hundred years ago, most people who inquired with Tian Jizi about their “death tribulation” received the dire news that they would die on the second day of the second month of the 9903rd year of the Immortal Realm’s calendar. At that time, a great disaster would erupt, with the corpses of immortals and cultivators littering the starry sky, blood flowing like a river, and the sun and moon losing their light. Thus, cultivators called this disaster the “River of Blood,” and the second day of the second month of the 9903rd year became the “Day of the River of Blood.”
Lu Yao calculated carefully: it was now the fourth day of the first month of the 9903rd year of the Immortal Realm, less than a month away from the Day of the River of Blood. No wonder these cultivators were so flustered.
If I am truly the instigator of the River of Blood, does that mean I will go on a killing spree in a month? Lu Yao murmured to herself. Killing cultivators held no psychological burden for her. The crucial point was that the Heavenly Dao had already foretold all of this. If she didn’t make any changes, it would mean she couldn’t escape the Heavenly Dao’s control.
“But the problem is, how can I change it? And how will I know if my changes are effective?” Lu Yao fell into deep thought. After a moment, a flash of inspiration struck her mind: if there was anyone in this Immortal Realm who could answer these questions for her, it would be the legendary “Tian Jizi.”
Lu Yao inquired about Tian Jizi’s whereabouts. To her surprise, there wasn’t a single Tian Jizi in the entire Floating Light Immortal Kingdom. Thus, she left Cloud Mist Star and flew towards an Immortal Kingdom where Tian Jizi was said to reside.
