Wei E instinctively clutched the bodhisattva pendant hanging from his neck. He stood there in a daze. Life... sure fucking has its ups and downs!

A moment later, he realized that something wasn’t right here. The fake Wang Zhiwu isn’t even doing anything. Why has that destructive power stopped thirty feet away? He’s just sitting there, but it’s like he’s completely untouchable!

“Bro, just... who exactly are you?” Wei E couldn’t help but gasp. There’s something seriously wrong with this guy!

Su Yi threw back his head and drank. “A solitary traveler and a fleeting shadow. We’ve crossed paths, but there’s no need for us to get acquainted.”

Wei E laughed dryly and was just about to respond when Su Yi interjected, “Don’t say anything just yet. Watch the show first.”

Wei E blinked, then followed Su Yi’s gaze. There, beyond the fog-shrouded Abhorrent Evil Origin Zone, a grand battle was underway.

River Emperor Thousand Hands was badly injured and covered in bloody wounds. In stark contrast, River Empress Lu Ping was so strong that it seemed downright unreasonable.

Wang Zhiwu was ferocious, too. He fought a swarm of enemies all alone. River Kings teamed up against him, but they couldn’t stop him. On the contrary, he seized the opportunity to cut several of them down.

Wei E realized something. He couldn’t help but gasp. The fake Wang Zhiwu obviously arranged this battle on purpose! He didn’t just screw me over. He tricked the real Wang Zhiwu, and he dragged River Emperor Thousand Hands underwater, too! And now, he’s sitting back and watching tigers fight from a safe distance!

Wei E’s heart churned. He was inwardly on guard, and he looked at Su Yi as if he were a ferocious beast. This guy is seriously bad news! He’s bold enough to trick even River Emperors! Is there anything he wouldn’t do?

“Strange. Since when was Wang Zhiwu a Heavenly Monarch? He’s quite strong, too...” Su Yi’s brow furrowed.

He remembered Wang Zhiwu saying that as the Master of Legends, he was a prominent expert of the River of Destiny. Su Yi, however, had turned up his nose at the notion. He thought Wang Zhiwu was full of crap and that all he knew how to do was show off the Book of Legends.

Now, when he saw Wang Zhiwu single-handedly overpower a group of River Kings, Su Yi couldn’t help but feel surprised. He suddenly realized something. Either Wang Zhiwu had been hiding his cultivation base earlier, or he’d had some sort of miraculous encounter since their last meeting!

But when he thought about it, it made sense. Wang Zhiwu wasn’t a Heavenly Sovereign, yet he’d managed to enter the River of Destiny and reach the Spirit Treasure Celestial City. That was fundamentally unusual!

As Su Yi pondered, his eyelids suddenly twitched, and a chill coursed down his spine.

A wisp of energy silently emanated from the Book of Destiny in his sleeve, making Su Yi’s Light of the Heart shine with intense radiance. It was as if an eye were hanging beneath the dome of heaven, taking in the entire area down to the finest detail. All of this information was displayed in Su Yi’s mind.

He quickly located the source of the chill.

Thirty thousand feet away, in a fog-shrouded stretch of the Abhorrent Evil Origin Zone, a figure stood atop a worn-down boulder. He was short and fat, dressed in yellow, and he carried a black cane with a gourd hanging from the tip.

This was none other than River Emperor Bai Ye!

He stood there in silence, watching a battle take place in the distance, yet keeping tabs on Su Yi all the while. He didn’t reveal so much as the barest hint of his aura. If not for the incomparable strength of Su Yi’s heart and soul, he would never have noticed that he was being watched.

A moment later, Su Yi noticed that it was thanks to a certain treasure that River Emperor Bai Ye wasn’t affected by the Abhorrent Evil Origin Zone’s corrosive energies.

It was a fiery Daoist seal roughly the size of a fist. It was hovering above River Emperor Bai Ye’s head, and the fiery light that formed on its surface formed a curtain, shielding River Emperor Bai Ye from danger.

Su Yi pondered briefly, then used the voice of his heart to transmit a message. His voice instantly echoed within Wang Zhiwu’s heart. “River Emperor Bai Ye is watching the battle from a safe distance. Be careful!”

Wang Zhiwu was stunned. He wasn’t surprised that River Emperor Bai Ye was lurking nearby, but rather that Lu Shi was still alive after fleeing into the Abhorrent Evil Origin Zone! 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

He forcefully repressed his frustration, then roared, “Fellow Daoist Lu Ping, watch out! River Emperor Bai Ye is hiding nearby. Don’t let him take advantage of our battle!”

What? River Empress Lu Ping and River Emperor Thousand Hands were stunned.

Meanwhile, the deeply hidden River Emperor Bai Ye looked stricken. Wang Zhiwu realized I was here!?

River Emperor Bai Ye was here to investigate Lu Shi on River Emperor Hong Ye’s orders. He hadn’t anticipated that he’d find a battle like this underway.

He figured he could watch, wait, and find an opportunity to ambush Lu Shi.

But now, someone had detected him, ruining his plans and filling his heart with resentment.

River Emperor Thousand Hands’ infuriated voice rang out. “Bai Ye, if you’re really here, why are you just standing there? Help me already! Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten the agreement the four of us made back then?”

River Emperor Bai Ye cursed inwardly, but out loud, he said, “Don’t be angry, Daoist Brother. I’ll be right there!”

As soon as his voice rang out, he charged out of the Abhorrent Evil Origin Zone. He was headed directly for Wang Zhiwu!

Ol’ Bai Ye really was hidden nearby! Wang Zhiwu’s expression darkened, and he went all out, directly tearing a page out of the Book of Legends.

Whoosh!

The page caught ablaze. The skies shook, and heaven and earth swayed as a terrifying figure appeared out of nowhere.

He wore an old-fashioned feather robe and crane cloak, with a hibiscus crown on his head and a crimson sword case on his back. His sleeves were billowing and elegant.

When the man in the hibiscus crown appeared, the entire Spirit Treasure Celestial City shook. The wind and clouds shifted, and the air was thrown into disarray.

Over in the distant Abhorrent Evil Origin Zone, turbid energies gathered into a windstorm, and the fog swept forth like a tidal wave.

This unbelievable scene left everyone who saw it feeling stricken.

River Empress Lu Ping sighed softly. Is it really okay to reveal your trump card this early?

River Emperor Thousand Hands panicked. He was already badly injured, so when he saw this, he dared not hesitate. He just turned tail and fled.

Beads of cold sweat formed on River Emperor Bai Ye’s forehead. Before he could get far, he turned around and shot back into the Abhorrent Evil Origin Zone.

Wang Zhiwu laughed coldly. “Now that I’ve revealed my trump card, how could I possibly let you escape? Die!”

The Book Soul in the feather coat attacked. A sword hum rang out, and dazzling sword qi slashed the surrounding area into pieces.

Sword light flashed by, and River Emperor Thousand Hands’ head flew through the air, his body crumbling into pieces. In the last moments before his death, he gazed at the man in the feather robes, unable to imagine what kind of existence he was.

Clang!

Another streak of sword qi exploded into being, then vanished.

A moment later, beneath countless astonished gazes, the dense fog blanketing the sky parted as a rift tore open, and the figure at its far end exploded. That was none other than River Emperor Bai Ye!

He fled with the utmost speed, and he was already hundreds of thousands of feet away, but he still couldn’t escape disaster. A single slash cleaved him to bits with one last blood-red “firework.”

Heaven and earth were thrown into upheaval. All was silent save for the echoing hum of a sword.

Everyone was startled. All of them broke out in cold sweats.

Even Su Yi was stunned. He could tell at a glance that the swordsman in the lotus crown was a Book Soul, not a living person.

However, he wasn’t at all weaker than a Heavenly Sovereign!

That was far too terrifying. Where did Wang Zhiwu find such a powerful Book Soul?

But the question had only just occurred to Su Yi when he grabbed Wei E, who’d already lost consciousness from sheer fright, and shot deeper into the Abhorrent Evil Origin Zone.

...

In the outside world, a whooshing downpour of sword qi assailed the earth.

The man in the hibiscus crown stood in midair. With a single wave of his sleeve, he slaughtered every River King present. His sword qi then bore startling holes into the ground.

When River Empress Lu Ping saw this, she couldn’t help but say with frustration, “Daoist Brother, didn’t you say that this Book Soul’s power is limited, and that you can at most use it twice? How could you waste such a precious killer weapon here? Was that really necessary?”

Wang Zhiwu raised his hand and tapped. The man in the hibiscus crown transformed into a page and landed in his hand.

He then let out a deep breath of turbid air, his heart and spirit refreshed. “I felt like it!”

River Empress Lu Ping shook her head. She understood Wang Zhiwu far too well. This was just how he was; when he lost his cool, he didn’t care about anything else.

He naturally wasn’t concerned about the advantages and disadvantages of his decisions.

River Empress Lu Ping got to work gathering the true names of the fallen. The most striking of them was naturally that of River Emperor Thousand Hands. It was a rib carved with two naturally formed, strange, contorted characters: Yu Chu.

Something suddenly occurred to Wang Zhiwu. He facepalmed, then gnashed his teeth. “I almost forgot about that bastard Lu Shi! Come on, let’s go kill him!”

“You want to go into the Abhorrent Evil Origin Zone now?”

“I can’t be bothered worrying about all that!” said Wang Zhiwu. He’d already started moving.

River Empress Lu Ping followed him.

Within moments, Wang Zhiwu jumped up and down with sheer frustration. “Damn that Lu Shi! He stole River Emperor Bai Ye’s true name!”

River Emperor Bai Ye had died brutally in the Abhorrent Evil Origin Zone. Everyone present saw it happen. But there was no sign of his true name where he’d fallen. How could Wang Zhiwu fail to realize what had happened to it?

“Come on! Let’s settle things with Lu Shi first!” said Wang Zhiwu, seething with murderous intent.

Before long, he and River Empress Lu Ping had vanished into the Abhorrent Evil Origin Zone.

Meanwhile, word of their battle swept throughout the Spirit Treasure Celestial City like a windstorm.

City Lords Bai Ye and Thousand Hands had died in battle! Numerous River Kings had fallen, too. The entire army had been vanquished!

Massive uproar ensued.

The city lords had changed several times over the years, but there had never been an incident in which two of them died in one day.

Who wouldn’t have been startled?

It was just that no one knew who the culprit was. There were numerous competing theories.

Meanwhile, River Emperor Hong Ye, who was still waiting outside the Abhorrent Evil Origin Zone, sensed the disturbance immediately. However, he didn’t go to see what was happening for himself. It was only when word spread that he finally realized what had happened.

According to the rumors, Lu Shi had been present during the battle!

There was no doubt about it. River Emperor Bai Ye had died because he’d gone looking for Lu Shi. His death was entirely undeserved.

That very day, River Emperor Hong Ye entered the Abhorrent Evil Origin Zone.

“Lu Shi and Wang Zhiwu, huh? Just you wait!”