82: Chapter 82 The Returning God

The arrogance of Lord River God was rooted in the confidence accumulated over thousands of years, layered upon itself until it had long since seeped into his marrow.

He had once bewitched monarchs of many different eras on this land, making them build temples for him and offer up the Power of Incense Vows.

For thousands and tens of thousands of years, he had sat securely in the position of the River God of the Four Drains, receiving the worship and adoration of the human world.

He was a True Dragon with a noble bloodline, viewing all living beings under heaven as mere ants. Even Li Xiuyuan, that White Flood Dragon, was nothing more than a slightly larger ant in his eyes.

He also never believed that Li Xiuyuan could do anything to shock him, even if the other party had swallowed his dragon origin.

These various layers of arrogance combined to create the current situation.

At this moment, he could only watch helplessly as Li Xiuyuan charged toward him, carrying a golden blade and wrapped in thunderous light, without any room to resist.

The golden blade slashed through the middle of the black dragon's body, producing only a crisp sound, like tearing cloth, or perhaps like severing some ancient shackle.

"Boom!"

That black dragon, woven from Spiritual Sense and the cold aura from the bottom of the Yangtze River, saw its shell explode violently after being compressed to the extreme.

Even at the very last moment, disbelief remained frozen in the depths of Lord River God's eyes. This White Flood Dragon, whom he had regarded as an ant, had just been fleeing in a panic through the clouds, hiding everywhere while being chased like prey, yet he had died so cleanly.

"Was this guy hiding his true strength just now?"

"Insidious! Cunning! Despicable! Shameless! He is simply unworthy of being a flood dragon!"

"You..."

He only had time to spit out this one word. Then, his shell completely shattered, and everything condensed from his Spiritual Sense exploded in the same instant, turning into black light spots filling the sky, like a black rain flowing in reverse, rising high into the air and dissipating into the long-lost sunlight.

That vast, ocean-like Spiritual Sense let out a roar of unwillingness, then receded like a tide, disappearing between heaven and earth. The dark clouds, having lost their source of support, rapidly dissipated from the center outward. The torrential rain stopped abruptly, and the sky along the Yangtze River saw the clear sun once again.

The blood-stained White Flood Dragon circled in the air several times, then flew in a certain direction, gradually fading from people's sight.

The people, seeing the light of day again, took out their phones to record this moment. On the ground, the dead silence was completely dispelled by cheers.

Gu Xiao stood on the mountaintop, looking at the returning figure, a smile appearing on his face involuntarily.

"I told you he was trustworthy."

On the other side, in the cave on Phoenix Mountain, the Buddhist chanting had ceased. A trace of fatigue appeared on Qing'er's face as she sat on one of the tree branches, looking at Jingxin, who was wiping sweat on the ground.

"Little monk, did you see it?" Qing'er asked.

Jingxin raised his head upon hearing this, stunned: "See what?"

"Nothing." Qing'er opened her mouth, then shook her head as if considering something.

Just now, when she and Jingxin were working together to purify the Power of Incense Vows, Buddhist light had surrounded the area, and she noticed that there seemed to be a figure condensed from Buddhist light on Jingxin's back.

That figure had a kind and peaceful face, a white tuft of hair between the eyebrows, wore a red cassock, held a precious pearl in the left hand and a tin staff in the right, and sat upright upon a thousand-petaled blue lotus flower. The base of the lotus flower was an auspicious beast that looked like a fierce tiger, yet also resembled a lion.

These images were exactly the same as the description of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva in Buddhism.

Just now, Jingxin had not seen it because he was chanting with his eyes closed.

After Jingxin left, Qing'er cast her gaze toward the direction of Li Xiuyuan's return, establishing a connection with that figure in the dark.

The returning White Flood Dragon received the news, crossed Yunfeng Mountain, and arrived inside the cave on Phoenix Mountain.

Although Li Xiuyuan was injured, it was not particularly serious. Several scales were shattered, and his flood dragon body was stained with dark red blood, but his muscles and bones were undamaged, and Qing'er could assist with the healing.

The White Flood Dragon coiled under the sacred tree inside the cave, which emitted a warm glow. Qing'er took this opportunity to tell Li Xiuyuan that this time he had heavily damaged the Spiritual Sense of Lord River God, so even if the other party found a carrier to reshape his physical body later, his own strength would be greatly reduced. Therefore, Li Xiuyuan could rest easy for the time being; furthermore, he would be able to obtain more Power of Incense Vows from now on.

"There is one more thing. After that Dragon Lord dissipated just now, I recalled some things. Perhaps some long-dormant deities are about to appear."

Qing'er's expression gradually became serious. Upon hearing this, Li Xiuyuan's vertical pupils narrowed slightly: "Hasn't the Ancient Heavenly Court long since collapsed? Are the deities still alive?"

"According to my memories, although the Ancient Heavenly Court has collapsed, some deities still left behind some abilities for reincarnation and revival before they died."

Judging by Qing'er's tone and demeanor, the appearance of those deities did not seem to be a good thing.

"What is the inside story and cause and effect?" Li Xiuyuan asked.

Qing'er was silent for a moment, then slowly spoke: "There were many factors in the collapse of the Ancient Heavenly Court, and the most direct one was internal chaos."

From Qing'er, Li Xiuyuan learned some unknown secrets about the Ancient Heavenly Court. On the eve of the collapse of the Ancient Heavenly Court, some deities seemed to have suddenly changed their temperaments; some originally gentle and kind beings suddenly became cruel and bloodthirsty. This caused a great impact, and the deities were quickly divided into two factions from within: the mad and cruel, and the orderly and kind.

The mad portion of the deities had already lost their sanity before the Ancient Heavenly Court collapsed. They no longer protected the human world, no longer obeyed the heavenly laws, and instead took pleasure in slaughter and sacrifice. They demanded that the human race use living people for sacrifices and offer blood; if there was the slightest disobedience, they would bring down disasters. During that time, the human world was devastated, and countless cities were turned into ruins.

Li Xiuyuan's vertical pupils narrowed slightly: "There is such a past?"

The number of mad deities increased, and they occupied the core key areas of the Ancient Heavenly Court, holding part of the authority of the investiture of the gods. Those deities who had not yet gone mad resisted to the death, and in the end, both sides were injured. The Ancient Heavenly Court collapsed in that civil war. The investiture of the gods shattered, three hundred and sixty-five divine temples fell, and the deities were either dead, mad, or sleeping.

As for the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva who appeared on Jingxin's back while he was chanting, He did not participate in the chaotic war of the Ancient Heavenly Court, but due to the collapse of the Ancient Heavenly Court, His connection with the human world and the Ancient Heavenly Court had been severed. Now that He has taken the initiative to manifest using Jingxin's body, surely something must have happened.

"However, you can rest easy for now. After the collapse of the Ancient Heavenly Court, the golden bodies of these deities have long since shattered. Even if they are revived, at most they can only use a medium, such as a human body or an object, and their great power is completely incomparable to what it was in the past."

Li Xiuyuan nodded. Although that was what was said, no one could say for sure what the future would hold. It just so happened that the Yangtze River Dragon Lord was seriously injured because of this battle. After exploring the eight Ancient Grotto-Heavens, he would immediately set off on the flood dragon's journey; strike while the iron is hot—or rather, strike while he is sick.