Free Web NovelChapter 2865 - Luring the Snake Out of Its Den
That cacophony of voices continued in his heart, like countless mice whispering excitedly amongst themselves.
Su Yi still couldn’t tell what they were saying, but he knew that as the Book of Destiny heated up, the ground silently surged with pure Destiny Power, which the tome greedily absorbed.
This power was extraordinarily vast and dense. It was far more mystical than the true names of River Kings.
But Su Yi didn’t hesitate to put a stop to it. He quietly closed the Book of Destiny, and everything returned to normal. No more Destiny Power surged out of the ground, and even the cacophony of voices faded into silence.
Su Yi scanned the area and realized that no one had sensed anything strange. Only then did he relax.
I’m walking on the bones of an ancient River Ancestor. That must be what the Book of Destiny is reacting to. When I reach the city, I should find a quiet place, then try absorbing the skeleton’s power again to see how it transforms the Book of Destiny. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
This close to the city gates, there were already countless river denizens coming and going in an endless stream. It was incomparably lively.
Interestingly, regardless of their strength, most took on humanoid forms while retaining the characteristics of their true bodies. Some had snake heads on human shoulders, while others swam about with colorful fish tails. Still others had skin covered in scales.
It was clear that most of them had yet to acquire true names and true human forms.
When the Star Toad saw the city gates, he couldn’t help but gasp, his expression shifting. He transmitted, “Your Excellency, look!”
Su Yi followed his gaze and saw seven river denizens suspended from the gateway. All of them were battered, bloody, and unconscious, their breathing shallow.
Su Yi recognized them at a glance. These were the River Empress Peacock’s seven missing servants. They’d vanished not long ago, thoroughly provoking River Empress Peacock.
River Empress Peacock had disregarded her wounds and left the Five-Colored Hidden Realm because she couldn’t swallow this insult.
None of them had anticipated that the seven missing attendants would appear here, suspended over the gates of the Spirit Treasure Celestial City.
“They must be doing this to intimidate Ol’ Peacock!” said the Star Toad, his expression unsightly.
He’d taken on a silver-robed human form, but he retained his toad head to hide his true name.
“Didn’t you say that the Spirit Treasure Celestial City has always remained neutral?” Su Yi’s brow furrowed. “You said they prohibit fighting and killing in city limits, so why are the River Empress Peacock’s subordinates hanging there?”
The Star Toad had introduced the city on their way here. The four River Emperors ruling over the city were known as the Four City Lords. It was thanks to them that almost no one had ever dared to cause trouble here.
That in turn led to the city’s prosperity. The relative peacefulness drew river denizens from throughout the River of Destiny, who flocked here to do business.
“I don’t understand either,” said the Star Toad, fraught with worry. “If the Four City Lords have joined forces with River Emperor Winged Dragon, it’ll be trouble.”
Su Yi pondered briefly, then said, “Let’s try leaving and see if anything unusual happens.”
The Star Toad looked briefly stunned, but he quickly understood what Su Yi was getting at. He nodded.
The two of them turned to leave, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
About fifteen minutes later, in a dark stretch of water, the Star Toad transmitted, “Your Excellency, you were right. Someone really is following us. Should we try to shake them off?”
“No need for that,” said Su Yi. “Let’s just wait here and let them come to us. If we can’t beat them, we can run.”
The Star Toad froze, briefly stunned, then grinned. “You’re wise indeed, Your Excellency!”
The two of them stood there, and soon, the distant waters churned. A dozen or so figures were shooting right toward them.
The leaders of the group were two River Kings!
The first was a fish-like humanoid covered in inky green scales. He gripped a snowy white-bone spear, and he had a mouth full of sharp fangs. His whole body billowed with baleful energy.
The other was a hundred-foot-long pitch-black centipede. It had a pair of fiery red pincers, and its eyes were utterly cold and cruel.
The two River Kings were followed by a dozen or so other river denizens. Interestingly, all of them were in similar silver armor, making it obvious that they belonged to the same faction.
“Your Excellency, those two are River Kings serving under River Emperor Thousand Hands. The ones following them are the city’s Silver Armor Guards!” transmitted the Star Toad.
According to him, the fish with inky green scales was called River King Mo Lu, while the centipede was called River King Xue Zhe. Both were subordinates of River Emperor Thousand Hands, and they lived in the Spirit Treasure Celestial City year-round.
“Leave one of them alive,” Su Yi transmitted.
As he spoke, the distant River King Mo Lu raised his snowy white-bone spear and bellowed, “Star Toad, you’re on the Spirit Treasure Celestial City’s must-kill list. Resist, and we’ll execute you without mercy!”
I’m a wanted criminal? The Star Toad blinked. “When did I offend River Emperor Thousand Hands? Who the hell put a bounty on my head?”
It was truly unreasonable. After all, it had been thousands of years since he’d last visited the Spirit Treasure Celestial City!
“Come back with us, and all will naturally become clear.” River King Mo Lu’s eyes glinted with cold light. “Otherwise, don’t blame us for our poor manners!”
But it was then that Su Yi used Speaking Divine Writ without warning. A low, inscrutable voice spread throughout the surrounding waters.
Boom!
It was as if River King Mo Lu’s head was struck by lightning. It almost split on impact. He let out an agonized howl.
Practically simultaneously, the Star Toad blurred into a beam of light and shot straight at River King Xue Zhe.
The moment something happened to River King Mo Lu, the cautious River King Xue Zhe fled immediately.
But the Star Toad gave him no opportunity to dodge. His eyes glowed with silver moonlight as he prevented River King Xue Zhe from fleeing.
The Silver Armor Guards weren’t slow to react, either. All of them attacked immediately. Half of them went for Su Yi, the other half, the Star Toad.
As mighty as the Silver Armor Guards were, they’d yet to acquire true names. Even the mightiest of them was at most comparable to a Silent Realm expert, while the weakest was at best comparable to a Divine Wandering Dao Lord.
When a group charged at Su Yi, he didn’t hesitate to take a step forward and swing his right arm like a sword.
Dazzling sword light illuminated the black, turbid water.
A moment later, the group of charging Silver Armor Guards exploded into pieces. That unstoppable sword qi had reduced them to powder!
River King Xue Zhe was still locked in combat with the Star Toad when he saw this. His expression shifted dramatically.
He’d watched as River King Mo Lu’s body split inexplicably, then collapsed into chunks of flesh.
In the last moments before his death, Mo Lu shouted in terror, “This is impossible! How could you possibly know my true name!?”
Before his voice had even finished echoing through the air, Mo Lu was destroyed, body and soul. All that remained of him was an unassuming inky green scale.
His name floated on its inner surface: Lu Ning.
River King Xue Zhe was scared out of his wits. He unleashed a forbidden technique in a desperate attempt to flee, heedless of the cost.
But it was then that another inscrutable sound rang out, like the first sound of the Grand Dao during the earliest days of the Primordial Era.
It spread throughout the water, and when it reached River King Xue Ye, he felt rending agony in his soul, and his heart seemed to split. He screamed in agony.
The Star Toad inwardly sighed in relief. There was no need for him to fight any longer; River King Xue Zhe was doomed.
He flashed through the air and charged at the Silver Armor Guards. Within just a few blinks of an eye, the battle was over. One of the Silver Armor Guards had been knocked unconscious, as requested.
The others had been massacred.
“Your Excellency, this feels great! It’s as easy as chopping vegetables!” the Star Toad said with a hearty laugh.
Inwardly, he felt shaken.
He’d first witnessed the unbelievable power of the Book of Destiny when they fought River King Whistling Moon.
Now that both River King Mo Lu and River King Xue Zhe had died, the Star Toad was certain. Destiny’s Chosen had mastered a portion of the Book of Destiny’s power!
Whoever’s true name he called died.
Those River Kings were each the hegemons of their respective territories. So long as they avoided offending the River Emperors, they could act as they pleased anywhere in the River of Destiny!
But none of that meant anything in the face of Destiny’s Chosen.
Su Yi waved his sleeve, and the two remnants inscribed with true names landed in his palm: a bloody scale carved with the name “Lu Ning” and a fragmented gallbladder emblazoned with the name “Chang Yu.”
True names were written in highly strange, contorted characters, as if naturally formed. They emanated an ancient, primeval charm.
Su Yi suspected that true names were written in natural Dao Markings rather than an invented script.
“Your Excellency, are we still going to visit the Spirit Treasure Celestial City?” asked the Star Toad.
“Yes,” said Su Yi. “Don’t you think we can use ourselves as bait to lure the snakes out of their nest? We can just sit back and gather their true names.”
The Star Toad’s eyes lit up, and he rubbed his palms together gleefully. “Wondrous! Truly wondrous!” fгeewebnovёl.com
Suddenly, Su Yi spoke once more. A low, inscrutable voice spread throughout the surrounding waters, and a muffled scream emanated from the depths.
The Star Toad froze, stunned. His expression shifted.
He shot toward the source of the scream, and just as he thought, he discovered an enormous, dark red turtle crying out in agony, chunks of its body sloughing off like rain. It was extraordinarily unsettling.
The Star Toad recognized the turtle at a glance. That was River King Fei An, another general of River Emperor Thousand Hands. He was extraordinarily dangerous, too; River Kings Mo Lu and Xue Zhe weren’t even remotely comparable.
That aside, River King Fei An’s innate divine ability was highly distinctive. It let him hide in the shadows so thoroughly that even River Emperors couldn’t reliably discover him.
Throughout the ages, the denizens of these waters said that those targeted by River King Fei An died without ever realizing what had hit them!
Because River King Fei An was a natural assassin. He attacked silently and out of nowhere.
Even if you’d hit the Star Toad over the head, he would never have guessed that River King Fei An was hiding in the shadows!
But it was obvious that no matter how skilled the turtle was at hiding himself, he couldn’t escape the senses of Destiny’s Chosen!
