Chapter 1 The assembled spirits

The assembled aquatic spirits and monsters didn't dare to move rashly with the sharp sword pointed at them.

They obediently took the small boat and dived down into the Xiang River, originally thinking that if Wei Yuan wasn't good at swimming, they could take the opportunity to slip away. But watching the water flow split to both sides when approaching Wei Yuan, avoiding him, and seeing him sitting steadily on the boat, even more comfortable than on land, they immediately gave up the idea.

Their hearts filled with sorrow, they obediently became underwater boatmen.

Clearly, these demons were stronger in the Xiang River than on the surface.

The speed of the boat going downwards increased a lot.

And this kind of water area, hiding legends, was like the Huai River system where Wu Zhiqi was, with a hidden layer beneath the human world itself, similar to a blessed land. People who hadn't cultivated, or whose cultivation was insufficient, would be blind to it.

Wei Yuan retracted his gaze and casually asked, "How did you know I'd be by the shore today?"

The crab demon stammered, "Actually, we didn't know you'd be there today, Great Lord."

It felt bitter inside. If it had known it was such a ferocious deity, it wouldn't have joined in the fun.

Seeing Wei Yuan look over, the crab demon hurriedly raised a piece of jade, explaining, "After Lady Nüying woke up two hundred years ago, she secretly gave this jade to this lowly one, saying it contained the aura of some people from the past, and instructed me to wait by the shore. If I saw them, I should bring them to the Water Palace to meet the two ladies."

Wei Yuan's mouth twitched. He never expected Nüying to have her subordinates waiting here all this time.

She really held a grudge.

Immediately, he didn't ask any more questions. The boat was continuously descending.

The surrounding water flow gradually became quiet, and the temperature was constantly decreasing. Wei Yuan circulated his qi and blood, dispelling the surrounding cold. After about fifteen minutes, they passed through a barrier purely constructed from mana. Wei Yuan's eyes lit up; he had already entered the blessed land at the bottom of the Xiang River from the human world.

The river water was clear, and he could even see decorations similar to deep-sea coral.

Many fish that were difficult to see in the outside world swam slowly, emitting brilliant colors in the variegated light naturally emitted by the coral. The pressure here was a bit high. Wei Yuan relied on what he had gained from acting as the Huai River's temporary deity and cast a water-repelling spell before following the crab demon and the others towards the palace at the bottom of the river.

Actually, he was still a bit strange in his heart. Ehuang and Nüying were daughters of Emperor Yao.

But they didn't have particularly great achievements themselves, and didn't belong to the ancient heroes of the human tribes who fought against heaven and earth in that era. After their deaths, they actually became the origin of the Xiang River's myths and legends. Something special must have happened.

While he was thinking, the palace got closer and closer, but Wei Yuan noticed a trace of anomaly, and his brow furrowed slightly.

Why…

Was there demonic energy?

……………………

Outside the Xiang River Water Palace, which wasn't particularly luxurious, a circle of aquatic spirits and monsters belonging to the Xiang River waters surrounded it, each looking anxiously at the palace. Wei Yuan and the crab demon's arrival didn't even attract their attention.

The crab demon glanced at Wei Yuan, kept a straight face, and asked, "What's wrong? Why are you all gathered here?"

"Isn't today the two Ladies' grand sacrifice? There are temple fairs in the mountains outside, and distinguished guests will be arriving later. Why aren't you all helping out, and instead gathering here?"

One of the serving girls, draped in a thin veil and with twin hair buns, turned her head, her face pale, and whispered, "The guests have arrived, some of them."

"But, but unwelcome guests have also come…"

"Unwelcome guests?"

The crab demon was stunned.

Wei Yuan raised his hand and pulled aside the dangling pearl curtain, looking inside. He saw that in the very ancient-style hall, there were rows of tables, some with men and women in robes sitting behind them, their aura clear.

Based on Wei's experience of tearing down temples for at least three lifetimes, these were spirits transformed from the clear air of mountains and rivers. They had some minor divine powers, able to manipulate a portion of the water system's divine authority within a range of ten or thirty *li*, worshiped by the villagers as pseudo-gods, like water gods.

If they were conferred by the dynasty, they would be proper earth deities.

Right now, they were unsanctioned deities.

Each of them had a deathly pale face, some with the intention of leaving, some with anger in their hearts, but none dared to show it, and could only stiffly stay in their original positions, not knowing whether to leave or stay.

These were the harmless types. What attracted Wei Yuan's attention was the large group of people, or rather, monsters, sitting in the center. The leader was burly, with bulging shoulder and arm muscles, and faint traces of tattoos on his upper arms.

Upon closer inspection, one could discover that those were clearly deep cyan fish scales.

"A fish demon?"

And one that had gained spirituality and tasted flesh and blood.

Wei Yuan narrowed his eyes. He really hadn't expected to see this scene after coming down. The Crouching Tiger waist token hummed softly. He held the token down, then turned to the crab demon next to him, whose expression was not good after understanding the situation, and said, "The dignified river god of the Xiang River can't even subdue a fish spirit that has become a menace?"

The crab demon was embarrassed, but didn't respond.

The girl with twin hair buns didn't know the identity of the person in front of her, and only sighed, saying, "Who told you that our two Ladies only woke up not long ago?"

"They spend more time asleep than awake usually. And people these days rarely sincerely burn incense to worship us. They only burn a few sticks of incense during festivals, and treat the temple fairs as just a place to play. With that, there definitely isn't enough incense."

"That demon is different. It's lived for over eight hundred years, with thick skin and flesh."

Wei Yuan frowned and said, "…What about the other demons in the Xiang River? Are they just letting this eight-hundred-year-old fish demon dominate?"

The delicate serving girl sighed and counted on her fingers, saying, "Originally, our Xiang River, although not big, is connected to the Huai River system, one of the Four Rivers. There used to be many subordinate gods with great magical power, but two thousand years ago, the Black Ice Terrace under the First Emperor went crazy, not only killing all the spirits and monsters in the water, but even cutting down the tree demons on the mountains."

"The Xiang River, which used to be considered a sacred place, directly fell into decline."

"We weren't even born at that time, only leaving behind a few portraits."

"Commander Crab is still alive, but it's hard to attain the Dao, and its cultivation isn't a match for that fish."

Wei Yuan: "…………"

The crab lowered its head, not daring to speak. Wei Yuan awkwardly shifted his gaze and said, "In these two thousand years, there shouldn't be no demons that have grown up, right?"

The girl said worriedly, "There are some."

"Besides this big fish spirit, there are quite a few aquatic spirits and monsters that have gained cultivation, balancing each other out, which is still alright."

"It's just that they often do evil things like causing wind and rain. Some time ago, they went to the Huai River and don't know which ferocious deity they provoked. They were all beheaded, and the blood flowed for a hundred *li*. Alas, our lives have become difficult."

Wei Yuan: "…………"

The crab demon hurriedly pulled the serving girl, frantically signaling her not to ask any more questions.

The serving girl didn't understand what she meant, and seeing Wei Yuan's awkward expression, she instead comforted Wei Yuan, saying, "But you don't have to worry."

"Although the two Ladies' strength isn't as good as it was during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, they're definitely not a match for these demons if they really fight. Besides, there will be a distinguished guest with a very high status coming later."

The serving girl's voice was gentle and comforting. Wei Yuan smiled casually and said thank you.

The serving girl felt close to him, but the crab was scared half to death.

Wei Yuan glanced at the crab's two big pincers. It was autumn, and this crab looked really fat. If he could take off two crab claws, without any other preparation, just steam them, cut tender ginger into thin strips, soak them in fragrant vinegar, and dip them in to eat, the taste would definitely be good.

What a pity…

During the Classic of Mountains and Seas period, there was no vinegar, nor ginger…/

The crab demon originally wanted to pull the serving girl, but now only felt a chill all over its body.

It had the feeling of being stared at by a top predator in the Xiang River before it became a demon. The hairs all over its body stood up, and it took a few steps back, turned its head, and watched Wei Yuan raise his hand to sweep aside the pearl curtain and walk in openly.

…………………

Wei Yuan dispelled the illusion he had just cast, still in modern attire.

The sound of the pearl curtain colliding attracted the attention of some demons, but the plump fish demon with eight hundred years of cultivation was still feasting. After walking in, Wei Yuan noticed that besides the obviously boorish fish demon, there were also two other demons, both with some cultivation.

There was a lobster that had attained the Dao, transforming into a dashing young man, holding fine wine there.

There was also one that seemed to have a bit of dragon bloodline.

The bloodline was naturally thin, but in this era, just that little bit of dragon bloodline was enough for it to be proud of for a long time. With these two demons present, Wei Yuan also knew the situation of Ehuang and Nüying. They had become the gods of the Xiang River for some unknown reason, and the sacrifices and incense were getting weaker year by year.

Perhaps they wouldn't be afraid of one demon, and could also take care of two.

But if three great demons joined forces, they would inevitably fall into a disadvantage.

Wei Yuan openly sat down at a table to the side.

He raised his eyes and saw Ehuang and Nüying in the seats of honor, smiling and nodding, as if he didn't know about the grudges between them at all. Ehuang was only surprised at first, then maintained her composure, but Nüying widened her eyes, her dark eyes seemed to be burning with fire, and she gnashed her teeth as she watched Wei Yuan sit down.

When she saw Wei munch on a few grapes from the table, the flames almost burst out.

His calm and composed appearance and expression seemed to be saying to her.

'Come down and hit me if you have the ability, come on.'

Nüying, whose personality was originally more lively, gnashed her teeth.

Next to Wei Yuan, there was a water snake that had become a spirit. It sniffed the smell, lowered its voice, and asked curiously, "Hey bro, what kind of fish are you? Why don't you have any fishy smell at all?"

Wei Yuan retracted his gaze and casually smiled, "Human."

The water snake spirit suddenly understood, and said, "Oh, oh, a merman spirit."

"I didn't expect that there would be merman spirits in our inland waters. I thought they only existed in the sea."

"Hey bro, does your family have any mermaid sisters? Can you introduce me?"

"No, our family is all male."

The water snake spirit regretted, then glanced at Wei Yuan and added, "If it's a mermaid clan, males are actually not out of the question either."

??!

The corner of Wei Yuan's mouth twitched, and he casually brushed off the snake spirit.

Over there, the fish demon was gulping down wine, drinking a jar of wine, and suddenly used force to smash the wine jar heavily, shouting, "Ladies Ehuang and Nüying, we've given you two gifts. Today is the day of the grand sacrifice. Now we're bringing our own wine, not to mention the dishes. What kind of stuff is this? We came early, and this is how you treat us?"

"You're not even bringing out any real good stuff. Are you looking down on us?!"

A group of demons around them all shouted, banging on the table.

"That's right!"

"That's what I'm saying!"

"Exactly!"

Ehuang and Nüying frowned. The fish demon seemed to see that no one could control it, and laughed even more wantonly, deliberately speaking rudely, winking and grinning, "If you don't want to take out that treasure, there are other ways."

"Actually, I'm over eight hundred years old, and I only have some concubines, not a proper wife. I think that Ladies Ehuang and Nüying are really as beautiful as celestial beings. If you don't mind me, old Yu, we can make do."

"I, ah, will also be linked brothers with that human ancestor."

A group of demons all laughed together.

Wei Yuan, who had been drinking casually, raised his eyes slightly.

A slight chill flashed in his eyes. His palm pressed on the hidden sword hilt, and the sharp blade was unsheathed by an inch. The cold light was contained within the scabbard, but the cold sword energy that radiated made the water snake spirit next to him uncomfortable, and he shuddered, his body stiff.

Ehuang and Nüying had committed suicide for love after Emperor Shun's death, and their personalities were naturally strong. Nüying was furious at the words, and raised her hand to slap the table, saying, "You're being presumptuous!"

She was about to make a move regardless of the consequences.

But Ehuang could still hold her breath, and pulled her sister, sweeping over the demons in the hall, and said in a cold tone, "There have been many people throughout history who have coveted my Xiang River treasure, but no one has been able to succeed. If you want to try, that's naturally fine, but let me say it first, if you fail, you will bear all the consequences yourself."

She flipped her hand and took out an object, and a powerful and ancient mana fluctuation emanated out, causing ripples in the water flow.

The eyes of all the spirits and demons present gathered over.

The treasure was hidden in a ball of flowing light.

Wei Yuan paused slightly and subconsciously looked over.

He felt an extremely familiar aura on the Xiang River treasure.

ps: Today's first update… four thousand words, a buffer chapter~ Thank you innocent灬潇 for the reward, thank you very much~

Regarding the extra updates, I want to implement a standard, which is to add updates without reducing the quality of the chapter. So in thirty days, I will probably write an extra thousand words every day, and save them up to release them every three days. This should be able to achieve sustainable development and not die and stop updating a few days later. Please approve.