C891 Falling River

Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!

A towering horse, galloping wildly along the Cangjiang River, suddenly went berserk, dragging a black carriage uncontrollably towards the swift, murky waters.

Splash! Splash! Splash!

In an instant, all the black carriages plummeted into the river.

The surging river, like a monstrous aquatic beast, opened its gaping maw and devoured the black carriages and horses in one fell swoop.

The carriages sank rapidly to the riverbed.

There, the Dragon Head Staff shimmered in and out of sight, seemingly transforming into a dragon. The ill-tempered old woman of the Wen family was seen struggling against the current, wielding the staff as if it were a dragon.

But her resistance lasted merely a dozen seconds.

She, along with the Dragon Head Staff, the horses, and the carriages, all sank to the bottom of the river.

The catastrophe struck without warning.

Wu Dong, the merchant caravan's protector, let out a piercing scream, commanding the other horses and carriages to halt and to distance themselves from the Cangjiang River.

"Brother Wu?"

"Big Brother, what's going on? Why did all the Wen family's carriages and horses lose control and plunge into the river?"

"Has the River God been provoked?"

Several practitioners of lower realms, not yet having reached the Profound Break Stage, quickly disembarked from their carriages and clustered around Wu Dong by the riverbank, clamoring in terror.

"Back off!"

An exasperated Wu Dong stamped his foot, bringing them all to a halt.

"You..."

He soon noticed that despite the other passengers and some of his brothers heeding his call, two individuals, disregarding his warnings, made their way to the river's edge.

Qin Yun's brow furrowed, "One of my companions was just dragged into the river by a black carriage."

"Dragged?" Wu Dong was taken aback.

Qin Yun narrowed his eyes, observing the turbulent river for a moment before a peculiar smile played at his lips. He nodded slightly and walked away.

Wu Dong was left dumbfounded.

"Quite the coincidence."

Once Qin Yun and Qi Yunhong were back in their carriage, Qin Yun massaged his temples and spoke, "After Yang Chuhe was wounded by Old Cash, he didn't dare to linger in the Seven Divine Sect's domain. Instead, he concealed himself within one of the three rivers he had refined. I had assumed it was the Nine Winding River, but to my surprise, it turned out to be the Cangjiang River."

Qi Yunhong watched Wu Dong scanning the area and asked, "Was it Yang Chuhe's doing?"

"Indeed, he's targeting the Wen family," Qin Yun replied with a smile.

"Aren't you concerned with the Master inside?" Qi Yunhong's expression turned icy. "Damn it, you're always so eager to call me 'Young Master,' acting all loyal and devoted. Turns out it's all an act!"

Qin Yun was accustomed to his coarseness and the profanities that peppered his speech. "What's there to worry about? With the Young Master's combat prowess, plus the Evil Cauldron, it's Yang Chuhe who should be feeling the pressure, right?"

"But what about...?" Qi Yunhong was about to mention the ongoing pursuit by the Spirit Void Sect.

"The course of the Azure River leads straight to the Jade Peaks," Qin Yun chuckled. "My guess is that Yang Chuhe was persuaded by Hidden Dragon Lake to whisk the Wen family away from the Rainier Empire via the Azure River."

Realization dawned on Qi Yunhong. "You mean, once the Master exits the Azure River, he might just leave the Rainier Empire behind?"

"That's precisely what I'm saying!"

...

At the bottom of the Azure River, all the horses that had plunged into the water were inevitably drowned, but the black wooden carriages, bound by the water's spiritual energy, raced along the riverbed.

Their speed was comparable to Yu Yuan's flight at the Yin God Stage, not much slower at all.

"Sect Master Yang! My Wen family bears you no ill will; why play such a cruel joke?" Wen Xin, with a dragon coiled around her waist, stood atop one of the submerged carriages. She watched in desperation and fury as the situation spiraled out of control, with the other Wen family members trapped, unable to escape their carriages, their cries of despair and anger piercing through the water.

Her voice could not be muffled by the river's flow.

Beacon City was very close to the Seven Divine Sect, and as a key figure in the Wen family, Wen Xin quickly pieced things together. The perpetrator was none other than the current sect master of the Seven Divine Sect, Yang Chuhe, who had mastered the Nimo River, the Azure River, and the Nine Winding River.

Following Zhou Cangmin's departure, Yang Chuhe, now the foremost cultivator in the Rainier Empire, was the only one capable of wielding such secret arts. Only he could have been at the Azure River, using his powers to cause the horses to run amok and drag all the black wooden carriages into the watery depths.

Yang Chuhe, a practitioner in the intermediate stage of Soul Wandering, was acutely aware that victory was out of her reach.

Could the empire have detected something unusual about that girl?

This thought plunged Wen Xin into deeper despair.

"Sect Master Yang, surely there's room for negotiation!" she implored.

Swiftly shifting her approach, Wen Xin played on their emotional ties, emphasizing the Wen family's long-standing admiration for Yang Chuhe's elegance and skill.

Alas, her pleas met with the river's silent indifference.

Time passed, unmeasured.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

One by one, the dark wooden carriages emerged from the river's current, soaring through the air to land on the bank.

Wen Xin, clutching the transformed Dragon Head Staff, descended from atop a carriage.

Creak!

The bewildered Wen family members emerged from the other carriages, having been confined for an extended period. They exchanged uncertain glances, unsure of their next steps.

It was then that Yu Yuan drew back the carriage curtain, hand in hand with Lulu, and they too stepped out.

Lulu's sudden collapse had not been the work of the green dragon's lingering spirit, but rather the swift intrusion of Yang Chuhe's soul, which had probed her sea of memories.

"Mr. Yang, this is an exquisite Dao Spell that my master has meticulously prepared for you," announced the Dragon Servitor, his neck adorned with a menacing green dragon tattoo, as he emerged from the carriage and reverently offered a jade plate shrouded in mist to Yang Chuhe.

The jade plate was intricately engraved with hundreds of tiny characters, each resembling miniature dragons and serpents.

Yang Chuhe accepted the plate with a serene expression, his fingertips grazing over the engravings. He instantly recognized that each minuscule character was crafted from the purified essence of water.

A flicker of satisfaction crossed his eyes as he gave a subtle nod, his esteem for the green dragon of Hidden Dragon Lake growing.

Despite his origins as an independent cultivator and his distinction within the Rainier Empire, he knew he could not compare to the storied depths of Hidden Dragon Lake.

Moreover, the dragons of Hidden Dragon Lake, ancient and enduring, often lived for millennia.

These venerable and youthful dragons, with their vast experiences and wealth of knowledge, found that a spell to refine water was far from a prized possession in their trove.

Yet, for him, it held significant meaning.

Yang Chuhe pondered to himself, considering forging a tighter bond with Hidden Dragon Lake in the future. He might leverage this power, shunned by the major sects, to reap greater rewards.

"Wen Xin, I hold no grudge against your Wen family."

With a cough, he fixed a righteous glare on the old woman wielding the Dragon Head Staff. "But you, and everyone who follows you, have been officially disowned by the Wen family! I don't need to confirm that, do I? The moment you stepped out of Beacon City, your ties to the Wen family were severed."

"So, my actions against you aren't a slight against the Wen family."

His eyes narrowed as he looked past the pale-faced Wen Xin to Lulu. "Since you carry the tainted blood of outsiders, you deserve to be confined. Hidden Dragon Lake has stepped forward to take responsibility for your suppression, which I believe will benefit the empire."

As for the stranger beside Wen Lu, Yang Chuhe barely gave him a second glance.

The effects of the Star Concealing Fruit persisted; he detected no unusual soul energy or life force in Yu Yuan.

To him, a commoner was not worth noting.

In that moment,

Yu Yuan gazed into the distance, smiling at the sight of the lush forest and the mountains he knew so well.

Controlling the Evil Cauldron, he soared above the expansive woodland and crossed into the territory of the Rainier Empire. He was well aware that the Jade Peak Mountain Range lay below.

The broad Cang River branched into winding streams before it reached the Jade Peak, its waters turning from muddy to clear.

But the river's once vibrant essence was nearly gone, cut off by Yang Chuhe's intervention.

"Jade Peak Mountain Range."

With the familiar woodlands within reach, Yu Yuan's spirit was steadied.

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