Chen Jing stood for a while, in the moonlight, wearing a coarse linen fishing robe, holding an old sword wrapped in cloth.

  After a while, he said: The immortal way cultivates the freedom of body and mind. Even if one can live forever, they will still be subject to the heavenly court. How can that compare to the carefree wandering of going to the North Sea in the morning and returning to the Cangwu Mountains in the evening?

  He finished speaking and walked away, leaving the old man shouting in the River God Temple. Even after walking far away, he still heard the old man's voice: "It is said that those who refine swords must be extremely emotional and sentimental, but it seems that you are a cold and unfeeling person."

  Chen Jingming, who had walked to the shade under the river embankment, paused for a moment, and then took big strides forward, disappearing into the night in an instant.

  The river god in the temple opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't say anything and disappeared into the fog.

  Chen Jing raised his head to look at the sky, the moon had already sunk in the west, and the east was gradually whitening, but on the ground it was still a vast expanse of gray darkness. In the silence, he felt an unusual sense of oppression.

  As I walked forward, I thought of an old swordsman's words: "If you want to learn swordsmanship, you must have perseverance in your heart. No matter what you persevere in, you must persevere, even if it seems unreasonable to others."

  He didn't know what he was getting himself into, he wanted to help the villagers but ended up bringing them trouble and possibly even disaster. As he thought this, two people approached from a distance, one dressed as a fisherman and the other in wizard attire.

  Far, far away, only the fisherman who was dressed up said: "Well, I don't know which mountain the cultivator is from. After we rescued him, he didn't leave and instead went to provoke the carp spirit in the river. Many Taoist masters and immortal sages from the mountains have tried to subdue it before, but they all ended up with nothing. Which time was it not our Heqian Village and Junling Town that suffered the wrath of the carp spirit?"

  Five years ago, there was a monk from Huayuan Mountain who claimed to have great magical powers and divine abilities. He heard that the river had an evil spirit causing trouble and boasted that he would capture it. Unexpectedly, after just a few battles, he fled for his life. Later, the carp spirit became enraged and flooded our village in front of the river, and in the end, we sacrificed four children to calm it down. Alas...

  Three years ago, a monk who called himself Mo'erling passed by and said that he saw thick evil spirits in the river. He used magic to fight with the carp for a whole day before leaving. We sacrificed six children to calm down the anger of the carp spirit.

  Is this really happening? Are they just going to ignore it?

  They are cultivators who value their own lives above all else. When they encounter someone stronger than themselves, they flee faster than rabbits.

  Alas...

  Two deep sighs, two people have approached, one of whom is staring at Chen Jing, and Chen Jing vaguely feels resentment from his eyes.

  He glanced at Chen Jing and passed by.

  Chen Jing didn't stop his footsteps, and he heard another voice behind him: As expected, just like the two in front, they turned back halfway. The clan leader asked me to invite you to preside over the sacrificial ceremony yesterday, and it was indeed correct. Ah, this time I don't know how many people will be sacrificed to that carp spirit, Yan Lao San and Luo Niang won't survive this time either.

  Chen Jing's footsteps paused for a moment, and he turned around to look back. The two figures had already walked far away into the night, their backs straight as a pen, but the fading moonlight made them appear especially thin and weak.

  He was furious when he heard about the trouble caused by the Carp Spirit that day, and wanted to kill the Carp Spirit to repay his debt of gratitude before leaving. However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't cut it down for three nights, so he had to leave reluctantly, thinking in his heart that he would definitely come back here another day. He just didn't expect to bring such big trouble to the people by the river.

  In the darkness, his eyes, which had been dull since he woke up, had changed.

  But even if I go back, what can I do? The carp spirit is hiding in the river and has already gained the upper hand. Even if I go back, what can I do?

  He turned his head and walked quickly, the morning wind was somewhat chilly.

  Before entering the Qianluo Mountains, he was also a Confucian scholar who read sacred books. Now, he can't help but think of a phrase: when one is poor, one should cultivate oneself alone. He didn't have that kind of ability, so he shouldn't do such things.

  The distant spring curve is getting farther and farther away, heading straight towards the direction of the thousand Luo Mountains in my impression.

  Suddenly, a dull rumbling sound like thunder echoed in his ears, as if mountains and rivers were collapsing, amidst which there was a fierce commotion. His figure suddenly stopped, his eyes icy cold.

  The sky had just brightened, and a ray of sunlight from the east pierced through the horizon and spilled onto this stretch of river in Xiu Chun Bay. In front of the River God Temple on the picturesque riverbank, more than 100 people gathered, each with a sorrowful and fearful expression.

  They gazed at the waves surging up on the river's surface without any wind, and looked at the swirling whirlpool, filled with fear in their hearts. Among these over a hundred people, however, there were two who were bound, namely Yan Lao Die and Yan Luo Niang.

  Yan Lao Die seemed to have been prepared, but his eyes were filled with deep sorrow as he looked at his daughter Yan Luo Niang. He regretted not throwing Chen Jing back into the water earlier, which had led to the downfall of the entire He Qian Village and now his own daughter was going to lose her life.

  Yan Luoniang's face was surprisingly calm, she asked Chen Jing and the Carp Spirit's battle who won or lost three times in a row, if Chen Jing lost, then she and her father would be sacrificed to the river, but Chen Jing didn't notice anything unusual about her, perhaps because every time she finished asking, she left, the time was too short.

  The whole scene was quiet, probably everyone had already gotten used to such a sacrifice.

  The shaman who presided over the sacrificial ritual arrived, three animals and six domesticated animals were laid out on the altar, incense burner and offering table, all in order. More than a hundred people knelt down to the ground, the shaman danced with his hands and feet in front of them, reciting the prayer for the sacrifice.

  Suddenly, a loud crash, as if the riverbank was shaken, a huge carp jumped out of the water, soared into the air, waves rolled over, and then dived back into the river.

  People in front of the River God Temple hurriedly kowtowed, each reciting the sacrificial scripture, apparently very familiar with the ritual procedure.

  The sun slowly rose, and all that could be heard was the wizard shouting towards the sky: Make an offering to the River God.

  Three birds and six beasts were driven into the river, Yan Lao Ye and Yan Luo Niang walked towards the water, they didn't say anything, because what they did was to calm down the anger of the carp spirit in the river, it was to save the lives of all the people in Heqian Village.

  The two of them walked step by step into the river, while the people on the shore just silently watched, not a single one making a sound. Among them were several children standing beside their parents, who were also to be sacrificed when the carp spirit's anger had not subsided, only they themselves did not know it, curiously watching the father and daughter walking step by step into the river.

  Three birds and six beasts, chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, cattle, and dogs struggled in the river, they also felt death, their cries and howls were mournful.

  Behind those animals were two silent people, an old and a young one, a man and a woman. The sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl turned her head back to look at the calm eyes that finally showed affection for life, her gaze slid over the familiar villagers behind her, fell on the River God Temple, and then looked up at the sky where birds were flying in circles.

  Many years ago, when she was still a child, she saw other children of the same age being thrown into the river. For so many years, she has been waiting for this day to fall on herself.

  She didn't know whether she should resent Chen Jing or not, looking at the sky and thinking to herself: I hope in my next life I'll be a bird, able to fly freely in the sky.

  Slowly close your eyes.

  A huge whirlpool appeared on the river surface in front of them, and all the animals were swallowed up by the river water instantly.

  Right next to it, a huge fish head appeared on the water surface, with golden eyes as big as lanterns, and its pupils were filled with coldness.

  A strange and eerie atmosphere filled the air, and the people standing on the shore felt a foul wind blowing towards them. Suddenly, they felt a heavy weight on their shoulders, and with a loud thud, they all knelt down to the ground in unison.

  The carp demon opened its huge mouth like a mountain cave, and with one suck, the Yan family father and daughter were about to be swallowed into its mouth.

  Everything happened in silent stillness, and the child's mouth was covered in front of the River God Temple.

  The sky was bright and sunny, but a thin mist appeared in the River God Temple. A white-haired old man seemed to be inside. The people in front of the temple didn't know that he had appeared twice before when they were sacrificing fish demons in the river. As the River God, he watched with open eyes as the people in his protected territory worshipped monsters.

  Just then, the people of Heqian Village suddenly heard a shrill sound in their ears. From far away, a sword drew out a dazzling white light, cutting through the air and coming from afar, shining with brilliant light in the sunlight, and killing intent overflowed the fields.

  Before anyone could look up at the sky, the sword had already pierced into the fish spirit in the river.

  The sword dragged out an extremely long shadow, flashing down from high altitude.

  The carp spirit seemed unprepared, hastily spouting a wave of water and diving into the river. The sword skillfully drew an arc to avoid the wave, flashing on the surface of the water with a single stab. The river waves were shocked and rose up, the sword soared into the air, avoiding the surging waves.

  A shrill and mournful cry echoed through the river, accompanied by a strong aura of evil. At the same time, a cluster of red blood surged up. Just then, someone stepped into the air and walked on the water, picking up Yan's father and daughter, and flew back to the front of the River God Temple.

  Everyone was watching the person who had injured the carp spirit, with complex emotions in their hearts. They naturally hoped that he could kill the carp spirit, but he had already been fighting it for several days and couldn't kill it at all. Thinking of the consequences, a surge of horror and worry suddenly arose in their hearts.

  The newcomer was Chen Jing, who didn't go to see them, but simply wiped off a bit of fresh blood from the tip of his sword. The cultivator's keen perception allowed him to feel the gaze of the crowd behind him, and everyone was looking at him from behind, unable to see his face, yet heard him say: I will kill the carp spirit before leaving.

  The crowd didn't say anything, the clan leader took a step forward, wanting to say something, but looked at the river surface again and finally sighed and left with the crowd. In his heart, Chen Jing was not capable of killing the Carp Demon, which could be seen from three nights ago. He just didn't know when he would leave, and when he did, the village in front of the river would suffer even more severe anger from the Carp Demon. However, deep down inside, he also hoped that Chen Jing could really kill the Carp Demon, so in the end, he didn't speak up.

  "It's all about sacrifice anyway, what difference does it make whether it's earlier or later? It's just a matter of one or two more lives." The tribe leader thought helplessly.

  Everyone left, and Yan Lao Die pulled Yan Luo Niang away, but Yan Luo Niang didn't leave. She stood beside Chen Jing, seeing the killing intent deep in his eyes, although it was hidden very deeply, she caught it.