Episode 155

  And so, above the Heavenly Creek, on that day a fierce and intense battle took place, which had already startled the demonic creatures in the creek. The people who fell into the water were all cultivators with years of cultivation, their bodies containing a huge amount of spiritual energy and primordial force, which was what demons, monsters, evil spirits, and devils liked to feed on. At this time, they became a delicious meal for the demonic creatures in the creek. There was an alligator with a three-zhang-long body, its demonic power at level three, its strength small and its skills weak, unable to compete for the human cultivators' bodies rich in heavenly and earthly primordial force, so it quietly waited at the bottom of the water.

  At that time, he was not enough to be hit and fell into the water, and he had already fainted. The cliff was over a hundred feet away from the water's surface, and it was not enough to withstand another impact of the huge force hitting him again. He entered the water very deeply. The big alligator had just opened its mouth wide, and was about to swallow him whole. The alligator was overjoyed, opening its mouth with great effort to chew, but it felt as if it had swallowed gold or stone, and suddenly several teeth fell out. The alligator was in pain, stirring up the blood food in its mouth, and then saw several demons coming to steal its food, and it directly swallowed the bloody food in its mouth! A big fish demon came angrily to attack, and the alligator saw this, swam against the current, and rushed into a cave at the intersection of the cliff side and the water's surface half a mile away.

  This is the lair of the giant crocodile, a rock protrudes into the water, and the entrance to the cave is hidden under the rock. From the outside, it just looks like a slightly raised rock, where is the hole? The big crocodile enters the cave, turns its head, opens its mouth and guards the entrance. The fish demon dives several times, seeing that it can't break in, it leaves with a huff.

  A huge alligator in the cave, with a full belly, happily fell asleep on the stone inside the cave, gradually falling into a deep sleep.

  Three days later, at the time of Tianxi's blood rain and strong wind, the giant alligator that was sleeping in the stone cave was in extreme pain, rolling around in the cave, making a mournful humming noise. After half a day, the giant alligator opened its bloody big mouth, and a human figure slowly crawled out of its mouth, leaning against the side of the alligator's body, opening its mouth to breathe with difficulty. Its eyes were slightly open, but its face was no longer human-like; its entire body had lost all clothing, except for a beastly belt around its waist; its skin was covered in dense wounds, with fresh blood dripping down, making one feel shocked and frightened.

  The big alligator saw this and slowly backed out of its cave step by step, but the man said:

  "You beast, I didn't kill you because it was your lucky chance that saved a life in my household. However, if you want to die, then get out of this cave!"

  The big alligator saw that it couldn't move, and with a flash of cunning in its eyes, it quickly escaped and plunged into the water, swimming rapidly to a distant place. As it looked back constantly, it saw that the repair hadn't chased out, and felt greatly relieved. However, at this moment, it suddenly realized that the surroundings were quiet, except for the sound of rushing water, and there was no longer any aura of fish, turtles, or other aquatic beasts! Just as it was wondering about this, its neck suddenly felt a sharp pain, and before it could react, it saw a headless alligator body with blood gushing out, flowing down with the current, and the nearby water had all been dyed red.

  "Which poor kid, actually got separated from their body! Ah no! Wait, could it be mine?!"

  He hastily looked back at his body, only to see that only his head was left, and he was greatly frightened! He wanted to open his mouth and cry out loudly, but unfortunately the part of his throat had already gone with the rest of his body. He could only open his mouth wide, thinking about the strange words spoken by the person in the cave, and slowly closed his eyes. In his heart, there was only one sentence left:

  "I regret it! I should have listened to good advice!"

  Another three days passed, and he gradually regained his spirit. He crawled to the entrance of the cave by the water's edge, washed his face in the water, and felt that his appearance was dull and different from before. Looking carefully at the reflection on the water's surface, he was shocked and lost color. Clearly, the figure in the water was himself, but it was disfigured, with only seven orifices recognizable, his flesh and bones distorted, his face ugly, not even comparable to that of a pig or dog!

  "This is no longer a human appearance! Even if you leave with half of your life, how can you walk among humans with such an inhuman and ghostly appearance?"

  Insufficient words to express the sorrow, observing its body surface flesh lost and bone fracture place concave and convex uneven shape, just like a zombie sitting stupidly in the cave.

  More than a dozen days have passed, and the collision between humans and demons on the Eastern Continent has been fierce. The cultivators of both sides have clashed, with countless deaths and injuries. The war has affected a wide area, and many ordinary people and animals have died or been injured. At this time, high-level officials from both sides intervened in negotiations. Large-scale killings temporarily ceased, but sporadic fighting continued, and mutual assassinations actually increased. The land of Tianxi is now forbidden, with many human and demon guards watching over it. Almost no one dares to enter the creek, although occasionally a few cultivators or demons sneak in, mostly to search for the bodies of their lost loved ones. Those who enter with hope emerge wailing in grief, their expressions heartbreaking and pitiful, moving the hearts of all who see them. The high-level officials from both sides have sent people and demons to keep watch, but they all pretend not to know what is happening.

  Insufficient quiet sitting for half a month, suddenly sighed and said:

  "What's the point of just looking good on the outside? Since we have our lives, we should work hard and struggle to survive."

  He then reached into his waist and pulled out a small package from under the animal skin belt. Inside, there was a stone coffin half a foot long and as wide as a fist, still intact. As for the clothes left by Chang'e, they had been torn and damaged during the fight while he was dressed in women's clothing. Only one old robe remained, which was not enough to be taken into the Xian prison, and Chang'e could not bear to throw it away, so she washed and dried it and put it in the package. Several new robes were destroyed at that time, and his body was almost naked. With a long sigh, he slowly hid the stone coffin under his waistband, wrapped a large package around his lower body, and then dove into the water surface of the stone cave entrance, entering the Tianxi River.

  In the Tianxi River, only the endless waves remain! Those countless demonic cultivators and unknown fish, shrimp, turtles, and crocodiles have all disappeared without a trace!

  "Huh? How can it be so quiet? Have those enemies already returned? But how come there's no sign of the demon tribe in this Tianxi?"

  Insufficient to dive underwater, the divine consciousness will quietly diffuse and emerge, and everything within a hundred miles is visible. Only see human and demon cultivators, in groups of three or five, scattered throughout the mountains, forests, rivers, and roads. Only after careful eavesdropping can one understand the underlying situation.

  "It turns out that this matter has affected such a wide range! The humans and demons are already in an uproar. In such chaos, it's actually a good opportunity for a certain family to escape, and it must be seized!"

  Then he carefully planned at the bottom of the water.

  "Take advantage of the Tianxi River's water and there is no good opportunity to repair and patrol, or first follow this water down, escape from this life-and-death terrain, and then plan again."

  The land of Tianxi is flanked by high mountains, with deep valleys and gorges. Its waters originate from the Snowy Peaks and High Lakes, flowing straight down to the ancient continent's plains. Although the river valley is wide, its currents are rapid and unstoppable! Insufficient to mobilize the divine energy within one's body, forming a protective aura that flows smoothly along the riverbed.

  More than a month later, downstream of the Tianxi River, the river gradually widened and flowed smoothly, and the water slowed down and the waves calmed. It was just at sunset, when the sun sank to the west, the clouds on the horizon seemed to be burning, reflecting the calm and vast waters like lakes and seas, with the sky and water meeting, two rays of light competing, shining in all directions, everything was dyed, and the golden light spread everywhere. The fishermen and guests on the river were like gods and immortals! The strange scenery was so beautiful that it couldn't be described. There were also fishermen and passengers coming and going on the river, sometimes singing a few songs, or shouting a few times. At that time, it was as peaceful as the prosperous world; the scene was like a dreamy fairyland. At a fork in the river near the shore, there were several fishing boats on the river, with ten or more fishermen returning from fishing, and five or six fishermen on a larger boat cheering and shouting loudly.

  "Hey! Ah San, this time when you return home, your wife will no longer scold you, right?"

  A sturdy man on a small boat beside him shouted loudly:

  "Yes! Recently I've been unable to catch any fish, and that weirdo at home has been gambling again, and he's lost!"

  "It's true! The Tianxi River has been a rich fishing spot since ancient times, and it's always been like this in all four seasons. There has never been a time when there were no fish to catch! Recently, however, things have become extremely strange! Even the old folks don't know what's going on!"

  "Haha! The heavens are unpredictable, even if the Heavenly Creek dries up, what's so strange about it? Besides, there aren't any fish anyway!"

  A man in his late 50s, dressed as a Confucian scholar, stood on the deck of a large ship and let out a deep sigh towards the sky.

  "Sir, you are absolutely right! Alright, let's set sail and go home!"

  It was at this moment that a strange creature suddenly emerged from the water's surface on the left side of the big ship. Its appearance was bizarre, resembling a human shape, but with a concave and convex face, its entire body pockmarked, only its seven orifices and four limbs could be discerned.

  "Oh no! There's a monster!"

  "What? Monster? Where? Ahhh! Mother! Monster!"

  "Don't panic, everyone! This house isn't a monster... Ahh! Oh no! Don't hit! Don't hit!"

  A boat was nearby, and a fisherman named Ah San, who had been there before, raised his oar and struck the monster with all his might.

  "Use harpoons!"

  The Confucian scholar said loudly.

  "Don't hit! Listen to this one thing...... Ah yeah!"

  The brave fishermen picked up their fishing spears and stabbed fiercely at the monster.

  "It's a monster! It's a monster! Even a pitchfork can't kill it!"

  "Run quickly! Save your life!"

  The fishermen and boat passengers scattered in all directions and fled.

  The monster floated up to the surface again, looked around and found that those fishing boats had gone far away!

  "Alas! Not even a human being can be relied upon! A certain family has fallen to such a state!"

  He sighed repeatedly and couldn't stop.

  It was he who was insufficient in history. Going with the flow, hiding and hiding for more than a month before arriving at this place.

  "Can't go any further forward, they'll probably disperse and settle down in the lower reaches, becoming ordinary bodies. But then, let's follow this branch of the river upstream and find a safe place to rest!"

  Then he dived to the bottom of the water, went against the current and came out at Tianxi. He followed the winding river course as he walked. After traveling for more than a hundred days, he arrived at a lake. The lake was less than a hundred miles in circumference, and the water was not more than three or four feet deep. The lake water was clear and calm, reflecting everything like a mirror. The pebbles were at the bottom, the aquatic plants swayed gently, and the fish swam in the water, as if they were birds flying in the clear sky, all seemed to be wandering without any support.

  "This place is as it is, but cannot be hidden."