Black Water could mimic Xian Yuan’s appearance, but it couldn’t replicate her abilities.
In the end, no matter how lifelike it seemed, it was still just a puddle of water, not a real person.
The half-dismembered Xian Yuan reformed in just a few breaths. Meanwhile, the Little Snake Demon seized the opportunity to pull back and widen the distance.
“Not a bad body,” it said, its voice laced with amusement. “But without Innate Qi, what makes you think you can fight a mere puddle of water?”
In an instant, Yin Luan—who had retreated to a safe distance—felt her feet lock up. It was as if her shoes had frozen solid to the ground, rendering her immobile.
Looking down, she saw the viscous Black Water had solidified around her, pinning her in place.
Yin Luan yanked hard, shattering the black crust into fragments that fell away, dissolving back into the water and returning to normal.
“Take a look around you.”
One by one, figures rose from the ground, each taking on Xian Yuan’s form. At a rough glance, there were at least dozens of them.
“If only they were real…”
The Little Snake Demon sighed with a hint of regret.
Dozens of Xian Yuans lunged at her, blocking every possible escape route and leaving her nowhere to run.
Yin Luan’s lips curved into a smirk. She took a deep breath, planted her arms, and slammed her fist into the ground.
Boom!!!
A terrifying surge of monstrous strength erupted from her, sending out a shockwave that swept the Black Water away in a circle around her and exposed the solid earth beneath. The charging Xian Yuans shattered en masse, unable to even approach within thirty feet of her.
Relying solely on her physical body put her at a disadvantage against this formless entity. But when brute force and raw power came into play, the situation flipped entirely.
“I underestimated you.”
From the scattered Black Water, a Xian Yuan five times larger coalesced, looming over her before stomping down with one massive foot.
Yin Luan reacted swiftly. She grabbed the ground with both hands, heaving up a massive boulder and hurling it at the giant fake.
The water’s impact was limited; it splattered against the rock, flattening into a sheet before splashing uselessly to the earth.
But soon enough, a tenfold-sized Xian Yuan appeared on the other side, launching another assault.
Immortal and unkillable—as long as there was water, it could reform.
Yin Luan wasn’t foolish. She could see it was trying to wear her down through attrition, waiting for her to exhaust herself and claim victory without a real fight.
The best move now? Run!
Once she reached an area without Black Water coverage, it should be powerless.
“Water Prison, rise.”
But it seemed to anticipate her plan. Towering water walls erupted on all four sides, trapping her with no way out.
The walls looked incredibly thick—pure physical force probably wouldn’t breach them.
Yin Luan frowned.
She had no idea just how toxic this Black Water was or what prolonged contact with her fists might do.
Besides, the stuff was slimy and utterly disgusting to touch…
Still, staying trapped here wasn’t an option. She had no clue if Su Paopao was under attack or not, and the real Xian Yuan was unaccounted for.
The fake had lured her out, so where was the real one?
“No more waiting. If I get poisoned, I’ll just pop an Antidote Pill!”
With a cold snort, Yin Luan charged straight at the water wall.
At that moment—
“Five Elements Technique: Water Blade.”
Whoosh!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Four sharp slicing sounds rang out as the airtight water wall was carved away in a perfect square chunk.
The Little Snake Demon leaped through the gap like an eel slipping into a hole, landing steadily on the ground outside.
“Are you alright?” Xian Yuan asked. “It kept you tied up for a while. Sorry I’m late.”
“Are you the real Xian Yuan?” Yin Luan asked knowingly.
Xian Yuan didn’t hesitate. She took the Little Snake Demon’s hand and placed it on her own stomach.
Yep, the feel was right—definitely real. Heh heh…
“I got careless,” Xian Yuan said gravely. “The Immortal Lord warned us there might be remnants of its power here. We should have been more cautious about this Black Water.”
Thinking back, how could the blood flowing from the Immortal’s corpse be anything simple? Their understanding of Immortals was still too shallow.
“What now?” Yin Luan asked. “Pull back?”
“No rush,” Xian Yuan replied. “It’s resorting to dividing us like this because it lacks the power to take us head-on. In that case…”
Boom!
An explosion echoed from the distance—right from the spot where they had lit their campfire and rested.
The two immediately rushed back.
Along the way, the Black Water kept up a relentless harassment, but outside the sticky zone, its power was clearly diminished, and they brushed it off with ease.
“See, Senior? I told you that Yin Luan was a fake, right?”
“Very good, very good… How did you spot it?”
“She wasn’t lewd enough. How should I put it? The real Senior Yin Luan has this style that can make anyone burn with desire without even trying…”
By the time they arrived, Black Peach had already resolved the crisis.
From their conversation, it turned out that Yin Luan—condensed from the Black Water—hadn’t even managed to lure anyone out of the camp before her flaw was exposed…
The four women reunited, confirmed that none of them had suffered any serious injuries, and all let out a collective sigh of relief.
“It’s my fault,” Xian Yuan said proactively. “I sensed a special energy fluctuation and went to investigate. Before I knew it, I was in over my head.”
“You weren’t planning to hog all the treasures for yourself, were you?” Black Peach snorted. “That’s not very Earthly Path of you.”
Xian Yuan offered no explanation and continued.
“Now we have a problem. To search for the Divine Stele, we’ll have to venture deep into the Black Water—and it’ll definitely try to obstruct us.”
“Right,” the Little Snake Demon chimed in. “When it took me deeper inside, I saw a tombstone. Not sure if that was the Divine Stele.”
“I saw it too,” Xian Yuan nodded. “But there were no energy fluctuations, so its authenticity is in doubt.”
“Let’s figure out how to deal with this Black Water first,” Black Peach said with a frown. “I’d say there’s only one possible method…”
The group exchanged tacit glances toward the God Corpse.
They would solve the Black Water at its source.
“Targeting a god’s corpse,” Su Paopao said, rubbing her stiff cheeks. “I think we’ve lost our minds…”
First they’d dug up an immortal’s grave, and now they were about to tamper with an immortal’s body. In any myth, their actions would be utter blasphemy.
“If you’re scared, don’t do it. If you’re doing it, don’t be scared!” Black Peach gritted her teeth. “It’s already dead—its head’s gone. What’s not to touch?”
“You take point then?”
“…Better if we all go together.”
The Black Water could obstruct them thanks to the faint remnant power in the immortal’s blood.
The solution wasn’t complicated: plug the gap, then use the Immortal Mark to destroy the residual power on the corpse.
Once the source was severed, the Black Water blanketing the hills and mountains would lose its sentience.
The real challenge was pushing through the mental oppression and fear to approach the massive immortal corpse.
That was actually harder to overcome than any tangible obstacle.
“No worries—we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. The more you overthink it, the scarier it gets,” the Little Snake Demon encouraged the group. “Let’s sleep first and move out at dawn!”
The other three stared at her in silence.
In a situation like this, only you could still get some shut-eye…
Sleep was still necessary, though. They took turns standing watch, and even Xian Yuan managed a moment of respite.
The next day.
They geared up and set out.
“Remember: a dead immortal isn’t an immortal! If it could take us down, it would’ve done it already! The advantage is ours!”
Yin Luan brimmed with energy. Seeing the worried looks on everyone’s faces, she boldly took the lead at the front of the group.
She felt the oppressive aura too, but it didn’t dampen her spirits in the slightest—a stark contrast to the others.
She hadn’t panicked even when facing Immortal Jing head-on. Why fear this?
One strolled along like it was a casual outing, while the other three advanced as if marching into battle. Together, they headed toward the God Corpse.
The Black Water underfoot grew thicker and stickier, and everyone stayed constantly alert to their surroundings, bracing for a sudden attack.
But nothing happened.
“Strange?” Yin Luan remarked. “Can it only pull its tricks at night?”
This immortal was way too weak then—straight-up dies in the light…
The closer they drew to the corpse, the heavier the oppression weighing on Xian Yuan, Black Peach, and Su Paopao. It grew so intense that they couldn’t help but breathe raggedly.
“M-my… l-legs… are shaking,” Su Paopao stammered. “If I… t-trip, p-please… catch me…”
The camp wasn’t far from the God Corpse, but it took them a full hour to reach its side.
Black blood bubbled ceaselessly from the wounds. Up close, they could see that the immortal’s body—from its neck to its feet—was covered in scars, a testament to the ferocious battles it had fought in life.
The most horrifying sight, however, was the headless neck.
Yin Luan stared at the God Corpse’s neck for a moment before posing a question.
“There’s one thing we’ve overlooked… Compared to the size of the corpse, isn’t the blood flowing out just too much?”
The God Corpse was enormous, but logically speaking, it shouldn’t have enough blood to flood a third of the mountain—not to mention the endless flow.
Even if you hollowed it out and wrung it dry, there shouldn’t be this much.
“Immortals, you know—maybe their blood is infinite or something…”
Su Paopao kept her head bowed, not daring to look at the immortal corpse as she mumbled her response.
“That makes even less sense. If it keeps gushing like this, won’t it pollute the entire Eastern Wastelands someday?”
“It might be the blood of an Immortal. It’s highly corrosive and has turned all the water on this mountain black,” Xian Yuan said. “No matter what, we have to block off this source.”
The God Corpse’s wounds varied in size, but if they were going to seal them, they had to start with the neck.
They made their way to the neck area and craned their heads back to gaze at the enormous gash.
“How do we block it?”
“I’m not sure… Should we try stones?”
No problem. For an ordinary person’s corpse, wouldn’t you just bury it under rocks?
Moments later, Yin Luan shouldered a boulder several times her own size. Grunting with effort, she hauled it over to the neck and shoved it firmly into place.
Xian Yuan cast a spell, conjuring a protective barrier that held back the oozing black blood and kept the Little Snake Demon safe from harm.
In short order, the massive wound on the neck was successfully sealed.
But plugging it wasn’t enough—they still had to purge the lingering Immortal power.
The four of them raised their arms, pointing the Immortal “Jing” seal on the backs of their hands toward the corpse. A faint glow shimmered to life across their skin.
“Three, two, one, activate—”
Yin Luan hadn’t even finished the countdown when the ground suddenly trembled.
At the same moment, all the Black Water across the mountaintop began flowing in reverse, surging toward the God Corpse.
“It can do that?”
Before they could fully process their shock, a thick, viscous mass of black blood roiled and twisted right in front of them, gradually taking on a humanoid form.
This time, it didn’t mimic anyone else’s appearance. Instead, it assumed a headless silhouette identical to the corpse.
“Stop.”
Even without a head, it spoke.
“This is a matter between Immortals. Do not meddle, or you will be walking to your own deaths!”
