269: Chapter 269 It turns out it was all my doing; I played with fire and got burned.

Chu Sheng kept watch outside the small town for three days and three nights.

The Restriction showed no flaws whatsoever.

The Lord of the River did not appear again either.

The town was as quiet as a grave, with not even the light of a lantern shining through.

Chu Sheng sat cross-legged on a rock at the bottom of the river, his Daoist robe washed by the currents.

On the night of the fourth day, he suddenly opened his eyes.

Over these past few days, he had thoroughly studied the town from the inside out.

He had made a discovery.

This town was not a Daoist temple.

Those soul-Body Cultivators were not disciples of the Lord of the River either.

They patrolled at regular intervals, following a fixed route and never deviating.

They were like... jailers.

And the high platform where the Lord of the River resided was the place where the Restriction was tightest in the entire town.

That light barrier was not used to defend against external enemies; it was used to prevent those inside from leaving.

Chu Sheng's pupils constricted.

He thought to himself, "The Lord of the River is not the master of this place; he is its prisoner."

He stood up and walked a circle along the edge of the Restriction.

Sure enough, the patterns of the Restriction were divided into inner and outer layers.

The outer layer of the Restriction was rough and brutal, as if it had been forcefully imposed from the outside.

The inner layer of the Restriction was delicate and ancient, as if it were the work of the Lord of the River himself.

But the inner Restriction was tightly suppressed by the outer one, like a fierce tiger chained up.

Chu Sheng stopped and pondered for a moment.

He remembered that the Records of the Demon Domain mentioned... an ancient powerhouse was sealed at the bottom of the Duanhun River, dating back so far that not even the ancient texts of the Wendao Palace recorded it.

He had always thought that was just a legend.

Now it seemed that the legend was true.

The Old Grandfather's voice drifted out from the ring, carrying a hint of gravity.

"This seat remembers now. The Lord of the River of Duanhun... I heard of his name when I was young. He was a figure from the late period of the Heavenly Demon Ancestor, a generation earlier than Greed."

"What kind of Lord of the River? Old Grandfather, I thought you were dormant."

Chu Sheng asked, "How did he end up being sealed here?"

The Old Grandfather rolled his eyes at Chu Sheng and continued.

"After the Heavenly Demon Ancestor disappeared, the Five Regions set off a wave of anti-demon fervor. The Central Domain took the lead, and the four domains responded to purge the remnants of the Demon Race. An Old Ancestor of the Wanxiang Pavilion, at the Peak of the Dao Completion Realm, sealed the Lord of the River at the bottom of the Duanhun River."

"At that time, the Lord of the River was already in the Daocheng Realm, running rampant in the Central Domain and killing many Cultivators of the Righteous Path. The Old Ancestor of the Wanxiang Pavilion fought him for three days and three nights, and in the end, both were severely injured. Not long after the Old Ancestor returned, he passed away, while the Lord of the River was sealed here, trapped for thousands of years."

Chu Sheng frowned: "Then how did he get out? This doesn't look like a complete Seal. He could even attack to repel me."

"Greed. When the Demon Lord Greed rose to power, he fought against the then-inheritor of the Inheritance of Wrath. The inheritor of Wrath had extremely high cultivation, and Greed was no match, being knocked down into the Duanhun River. It was at the bottom of the river that he discovered the sealed Lord of the River."

"Greed used the power of the Reverse Demon Tower to forcefully break the Seal of the Wanxiang Pavilion's Old Ancestor and released the Lord of the River. In exchange, the Lord of the River helped him defeat the inheritor of the Inheritance of Wrath, scattering that strand of the Wrath's Devilish Qi and causing it to flee."

Chu Sheng's heart stirred.

The Devilish Qi of Wrath fled, and thousands of years later, it found a successor and set its sights on Yu Rumeng.

This matched up.

"What happened later?" Chu Sheng asked.

The Old Grandfather's voice carried a hint of mockery.

"Later? After Greed consolidated his power, he began to purge those who disagreed with him. The Lord of the River's strength was too great, and he refused to submit completely, so Greed found an excuse to send him to guard the Duanhun River, and by chance, he ended up here again."

"Guard?" Chu Sheng sneered, "It's exile, isn't it?"

The Old Grandfather said: "Exactly. On top of the Seal of the Wanxiang Pavilion's Old Ancestor, Greed added a Seal of his own. The Lord of the River was moved from one cage to another. This Seal was even more ruthless than the previous one. Greed used fragments of the Reverse Demon Tower as the core of the array; unless the Reverse Demon Tower was destroyed, the Seal would not loosen."

Chu Sheng was stunned.

The Reverse Demon Tower had already collapsed.

He had blown it up with his own hands.

Then Greed's Seal...

His eyes lit up.

So, the reason the Seal had loosened was partly because of him.

"Greed's Seal has already been broken."

Chu Sheng said, "The Reverse Demon Tower collapsed, and the array core is gone. Why doesn't the Lord of the River leave?"

The Old Grandfather was silent for a while, then said something that surprised Chu Sheng.

"Because the Seal of the Wanxiang Pavilion's Old Ancestor is still there. Greed's Seal is broken, but the Old Ancestor's Seal remains. That Seal locks the Origin of the Lord of the River and cannot be undone by external force. Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless there is the unique unlocking method of the Wanxiang Pavilion. Or, someone can forcefully break it from the outside."

Chu Sheng looked at the light barrier in the center of the town, and the corners of his mouth slowly curled up.

He thought to himself: He did not have the Wanxiang Pavilion's unlocking method, but to break it by force... he had the zhu xian sword.

Although two of them were missing, the power of two zhu xian swords, combined with the wendao bell and the Heavenly Demon Body, might just be worth a try.

But he was not impulsive.

He needed leverage.

Chu Sheng walked back to the edge of the Restriction and shouted toward the depths of the town.

"Senior Lord of the River, this Junior has something to discuss."

There was no response.

He shouted again: "Regarding Greed's Seal, this Junior might be able to help."

On the high platform in the center of the town, a figure slowly appeared.

The Lord of the River of Duanhun stood in the moonlight, looking at Chu Sheng with deep eyes.

"How do you know about Greed's Seal?" His voice was cold.

Chu Sheng said, "I blew up the Reverse Demon Tower. The array core of Greed's Seal was the fragments of the Reverse Demon Tower. The tower collapsed, and the array core is gone."

The Lord of the River's pupils constricted sharply.

He stared at Chu Sheng for a good while, then slowly spoke: "You blew up the Reverse Demon Tower?"

Chu Sheng said, "It wasn't just me who blew it up. But I contributed."

The Lord of the River was silent for a long time.

His gaze shifted from Chu Sheng's face to the darkness in the distance.

That was the upper reaches of the Duanhun River, the direction of the Reverse Demon Tower.

The tower had indeed collapsed; he could sense it.

But he hadn't expected it to be this young man before him.

"What do you want?" The Lord of the River's voice returned to calm.

Chu Sheng said, "My two swords. And..."

The Lord of the River looked at him, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

"Those two swords are not with me. I said, you lost them yourself."

Chu Sheng did not believe him.

The Lord of the River did not explain, simply waving his hand.

On the high platform in the center of the town, two dark golden rays of light appeared.

That was the aura of the zhu xian sword.

But the light was very faint, as if separated by a thick layer of crystal.

"See that? Your swords are indeed here. But I did not steal them."

The Lord of the River's voice carried a hint of helplessness, "They flew here on their own."

Chu Sheng was stunned.

The swords flew here on their own?

What did that mean?

The Lord of the River said: "The bottom of the Duanhun River has gathered thousands of years of Resentful Souls and Spiritual Qi, which resonated with your swords. Your swords have spirits; they sensed something here. As for what it is..."

He shook his head, "I do not know either."

Chu Sheng was silent for a moment, then said: "Senior, this Junior will help you break the Seal of the Wanxiang Pavilion. You return the swords to this Junior. In addition, there are some things I would like to ask for advice on."

The Lord of the River looked at him, his gaze containing a bit more scrutiny.

"You can break it?"

Chu Sheng said, "I can give it a try."

The Lord of the River was silent for a long time.

Then he nodded.

"Very well. This seat agrees."

But he did not move.

He just stood there, looking at Chu Sheng, with a faint, almost imperceptible smile at the corners of his mouth.

A bad premonition suddenly surged in Chu Sheng's heart.

Before he could speak, the Lord of the River waved his hand.

The light in the center of the town flared up, and those two dark golden sword lights flew out from the high platform, shooting straight toward Chu Sheng.

Chu Sheng reached out and caught them; as the two zhu xian swords entered his hands, the Sword Qi resonated.

Four swords, complete.

But he was not happy.

Because he discovered that he could not get out.

That light barrier had already shrouded him at some point.

The Lord of the River's voice came from the high platform, carrying a hint of a smile.

"Little friend, since you are willing to help this seat break the Seal, then stay for a while. Once the Seal is broken, this seat will naturally tell you the whereabouts of the Devilish Qi of Wrath."

Chu Sheng's expression darkened.

He had been tricked.

The Lord of the River never intended to let him go.

All that talk about "the swords flying here on their own" and "I don't know either" was all nonsense.

The Lord of the River just wanted to trick him inside and use him to break the Seal.

Chu Sheng gripped the zhu xian sword in his hand, looked at the refined figure on the high platform, and coldly said: "Senior, you are playing with fire."

The Lord of the River laughed, a very gentle laugh.

"This seat has been playing with fire for thousands of years; one more time won't hurt."

He turned and disappeared into the shadows of the high platform.

Chu Sheng stood inside the light barrier, looking at the soul-Body Cultivators eyeing him covetously, and took a deep breath.

He summoned all four zhu xian swords, suspending them at his sides.

The dark golden Sword Qi illuminated the entire town.

He thought to himself: Playing with fire, are you? Let's see whose fire is bigger.

He made his move.