Chapter 261 You're Free

Darkness pressed down from the sky, an uncountable number of enemies, the impossibly powerful union of the earthly Human King and the heavenly Martial God, the gathered spirits of the Great Wilderness, the mountain gods of Kunlun bearing mountains on their shoulders, all heeding the call, and yet, the weapon in His hand did not waver in the slightest.

The troops were split at the Huai River.

The Kunlun deities, Kuilong and Tu Bo, strained with all their might, barely managing to contain the Huai River's rampage.

In a single day and night, He had already consecutively defeated the ancient mountain gods, Genglong and Tongbai, and shattered the will of the four human tribe leaders—Hongmeng Shi, Zhangshang Shi, Doulou Shi, and Lilou Shi—forcing them to flee in disarray before the eyes of all.

The Water Lord raised His weapon high.

The aquatic demons, enemies of all creation, roared, their voices shaking the heavens.

Even a man of Yu the Great’s character would have directly imprisoned those four tribe leaders.

The world was plunged into twilight.

Fierce winds and torrential rain swept down from the sky. He heard that Xiangliu had already been executed. Foolish and laughable, and yet, why did He feel a pang of sorrow? Ahead, Gengchen, the foremost Martial God of Kunlun, challenged Him. Was this His sixth opponent?

Ha… sixth? Or was it seventh?

He couldn't remember.

Even the Martial Gods only dared to engage in a battle of attrition. Cowards.

And the Human King, wielding the Xuanyuan Sword, stood watching from behind.

Come then.

This battle should come to an end…

At the bottom of the Huai River, Wuzhiqi suddenly opened his eyes. Gods rarely dreamed, but for some reason, memories of the past resurfaced—the absurd and heroic times of fighting alongside his only friend, standing against the entire world.

Golden pupils shone in the depths of the water.

Ice-cold and calm.

He reached for wine, but the cloying sweetness was unable to suppress the surging divine blood. Instead, it felt viscous. Without a doubt, who the Huai River Demon Sovereign’s true friend was had long been recorded in the writings of this land, something even Yu the Great wouldn’t doubt.

The following chapter in the ancient myths of Shenzhou could never be overturned:

Yu controlled the waters, going to Mount Tongbai three times, stirring wind and thunder, causing rocks to wail and trees to groan.

Kuilong and Tu Bo held back the river, Tian Lao commanded the troops, but their efforts were in vain.

He raised his head, sensing the misty rain and the resurgence of the water god Gonggong. He flipped his hand, and the chains around him rattled. Wuzhiqi might be a creature obsessed with games, but the Huai River Demon Sovereign was not.

He was the one who had directly suppressed Kuilong and Tu Bo with the surging waters of the Huai River.

He was the one who had thrice blocked the path of Yu the Great.

He was the one who had ultimately delayed the pursuit for Gonggong’s sake.

He was the ancient Divine Lord who had been sealed only after a joint effort by Kunlun, the myriad spirits, the Shan Hai Jing, the Martial Gods, and the Human King, in a battle of attrition.

…………………

Outside the Huai River.

Wei Yuan stopped in his tracks.

He carried a bottle of happy water in one hand and a pile of collector's edition games in the other.

Coming with so many goodies meant he had something important to tell Wuzhiqi.

After all, Gonggong's revival was a major event.

However, he saw a man with the aura of a water god blocking his path. The man was tall and held a long halberd that could cleave waves and split water. He stopped Wei Yuan because he saw Wei Yuan's strange attire and the things he was carrying. His expression was odd as he said, "Who are you?"

"Who are you?"

The tall man scanned Wei Yuan and said, "I am a subordinate of the water god, here to summon the Demon Sovereign to join our god's campaign…" Before he could finish speaking, his weapon, imbued with immense power, crashed down on Wei Yuan with the force of a river in flood.

"I cannot allow you to see the Water Lord!"

The attack was swift and ruthless, imbued with the power of a reversing river.

But as it struck, he felt his hand empty. His heart leaped, and he hurriedly turned to defend himself, only to see the youth appear before him, precisely where the water-splitting halberd could not reach. His expression changed drastically; he had clearly not expected this.

A blur, and the youth was in front of him.

Carrying things in his arms, his right foot lifted, paused for a moment, and then slammed down like a fiercely chopping executioner's blade, extremely fast. The water god barely managed to raise his weapon in defense. The halberd blocked the attack, but Wei Yuan's right foot had already landed, and the water god grunted. He hadn't expected such immense power to be contained in the other party's body.

He swayed and knelt on the water.

The Huai River rumbled and sank by three feet and three inches.

"Impressive…"

The water god murmured, but suddenly felt a sharp pain. His weapon had clearly blocked the attack.

But a tearing sensation appeared on his shoulder.

As if he had been diagonally cleaved apart. His pupils constricted, and he lowered his head instinctively, only to see that his body was intact. But although it was intact, his soul clearly felt the pain of being cut apart, the genuine sensation of being slain.

"You!"

"What kind of technique is this?!"

"Swordsmanship."

The flustered water god roared, "Nonsense! There's no such swordsmanship in the world!"

Wei Yuan's right leg snapped out in a front kick.

The water god tried his best to intercept, but was always a hair's breadth too late.

The kick landed heavily on his chest.

His movements faltered, but his aura became even more violent. The youth said calmly,

"I used it."

"It's swordsmanship."

The water god's face paled as he flew back thirty miles, the river water along the way erupting like white dragons.

But all of it was restrained.

Wei Yuan, dressed in black, dashed forward rapidly.

That kick had actually caused the water god to lose consciousness for a moment.

By the time he reacted, the opponent he was trying to stop was already close, carrying things in his arms, facing him with a single finger. For some reason, the sword on his back refused to be drawn, but the sword qi and sword intent were incredibly potent. Even with just one hand, he was suppressed. This feeling...this was the strength of an expert who could make a name for themselves even in the Age of Gods.

When did the mortal realm have such a terrifying existence?!

After a series of exchanges,

The only feeling the opponent gave him was:

Unrestrained sharpness!

Unrestrained, unreasonable sharpness!

Even when defending, guiding, and deflecting, the premonition that he would be violently cleaved apart in the next second was intense. As a god, avoiding danger was instinct, but now that instinct was frantically telling him about countless possibilities of being directly cut and severed.

He gritted his teeth and defended, standing firm, and clenched his fist, intending to forcibly control the water beneath his feet. But this was the Huai River system after all, and he wasn't the water god here, so his movements naturally faltered. Wei Yuan pointed a finger, and sword qi shot out, directly slamming into the water god's chest.

His aura was instantly sealed.

He pulled out the Immortal Binding Rope that the old Daoist had intended to use to tie up Wei Yuan and send him to the Women's Kingdom.

He had intended to return it, but the old Daoist didn't want it, saying it was compensation.

It was perfect for this situation.

"What are you doing?!"

Under the water god's horrified gaze, Wei Yuan directly tied him up.

Then, with a wave of his sleeve, he enveloped the water god, who had been pierced by sword qi.

He just stuffed him away.

He closed his eyes and had the wind hold the things he was carrying. He reached out and rubbed his cheeks hard to regain his composure, and then kicked open the surface of the Huai River, heading back towards Wuzhiqi. Wuzhiqi was sitting at the bottom of the Huai River.

As always, his golden eyes were calm.

"You came after all."

Wuzhiqi wasn't surprised by Wei Yuan's appearance.

He wasn't stupid, so he knew that this guy would definitely come looking for him, trying to trick him into joining the battle.

But he couldn't possibly go against Gonggong in this situation.

Who would turn against a past friend for the sake of a later one?

Wei Yuan smiled, handed over the things in his arms, and laughed heartily, "Didn't I just miss you, Water Lord? Here, this is the latest version of the game collection. Elden Ring is included, and there's a lot of happy water too."

Wuzhiqi immediately retorted, "Why don't you call me monkey?"

"When you need something, I'm the Water Lord?"

"This, ha, haha…"

Wei Yuan chuckled dryly and put down the things Wuzhiqi liked.

After that, it was obvious that he had other things to do. He didn't leave, but sat down cross-legged and took a sip of happy water himself. It was only because he had some ability to avoid and control water that he was able to do this.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Wei Yuan took a sip of happy water and said, "Gonggong has pretty much revived."

"Mm."

"To be honest, our human race has a pretty big grudge against Gonggong, so we're probably going to have to fight."

Wuzhiqi took a sip of happy water.

Wei Yuan also felt that there was no point in bringing this up. He stood up, finished all the happy water, thought for a moment, sorted out his thoughts, and said in a gentle and relaxed tone, "So, for the next period of time, I probably won't be able to come often. There are enough games for you to play for a while, and there's also happy water. Drink it sparingly. There won't be time to produce this stuff when the fighting starts."

"When I come back, I'll chat with you again."

"Huh?!"

Wuzhiqi was stunned and suddenly looked up, his golden pupils looking ahead.

"You?!"

Wei Yuan was taken aback. "What's wrong with me?"

"No…"

Wuzhiqi's thoughts were a little mixed up. He frowned and said slowly,

"Aren't you here to ask me to help you fight Gonggong?"

"You?"

The museum curator said in confusion, "Why would I ask you for help?"

He smiled and shook his head, "I can take you with me to North India, I can ask you to help me in the Shan Hai Jing."

"But I can't let you help me with Gonggong."

The youth smiled and said frankly, "You and I are friends, but I also know that you and Gonggong are also close friends. Am I supposed to morally blackmail you, forcing you to fight your other friend? What kind of person do you take me for, Wei Yuan? I would never do such a thing, even if it meant death."

"Using friends for one's own benefit and position is unbenevolent."

"Using the pressure of the situation to force friends to fight former friends is unjust."

"I once heard someone say that ambitious people can be moved with righteousness, those who love money can be enticed with profit, those who love beauty can be offered beautiful women, those who crave power can be given a future, those who love the people can be threatened with reputation, everything in the world can be used, everything is a bargaining chip that can be exchanged."

"But these are ultimately just skills. When we interact with people, we only seek sincerity, and we disdain such things."

"Confucius said, 'I examine myself thrice daily: Have I been unfaithful in my dealings with friends?'"

The former Tang Dynasty chivalrous hero swayed as he stood up:

"I don't want you to get involved in this battle."

Wuzhiqi's eyes drooped slightly and said coldly, "Hmph, are you afraid of seeing me on the battlefield?"

"Stop being so stubborn."

Wei Yuan retorted impolitely, and then said with emotion:

"Maybe I'm just overestimating myself, but people always tend to overestimate themselves, which is normal."

"But no matter who you help in this battle, I feel like you'll feel bad."

"If Yu and Qin Shi Huang were to fight, I think I would still be able to imagine that situation."

He shook his head, turned around, and left, really not intending to say anything more.

Wuzhiqi watched him leave.

His footsteps faltered, and he drew his sword.

Sword qi shot out.

Directly cleaving at the gap in the chains, cleaving at the link that Wei Yuan himself had forged. Along with the crisp sound, the chains representing the seal of the Age of Gods shattered bit by bit. As Wei Yuan sheathed his sword, he glanced at Wuzhiqi.

Across the fragmented, chaotic, and dissipating ancient seal.

Wuzhiqi's eyes widened slightly, as if he saw the roaring human youth on the banks of the Huai River, waving and smashing at him. The two faces merged into one, and after a long time, someone whispered—

"Congratulations, you're free."

"My friend."

ps: Second update of the day… or rather, third update? Three thousand six hundred words.

Thanks to CrazyFlag for the 29,000 Qidian Coins, thank you~

I don't know if anyone remembers, but in the two futures that Wei Yuan saw, no matter where he went, Wuzhiqi never left.

Stirring wind and thunder, causing rocks to wail and trees to groan, Kuilong and Tu Bo held back the river, Tian Lao commanded the troops, but their efforts were in vain. Yu was furious, summoned the myriad spirits, and ordered Genglong, Tongbai, and other mountain gods to bow their heads and plead for orders. Yu then imprisoned Hongmeng Shi, Zhangshang Shi, Doulou Shi, and Lilou Shi.