Stone Fairy!

The overwhelming killing intent that Tu Jikai had gathered through his ritual had now transformed into a dark red blood cloud covering the river bend.

The blood-red cloud pressed low over the water's surface, churning and rolling, with faint, thunderous sounds emanating from within, muffled and oppressive, each sound causing the river to tremble.

The Heavenly Blade hovered in mid-air, its tip pointing diagonally at Tu Ji.

"Buzz!" The Heavenly Blade trembled slightly, and then it fell.

Under Tu Ji's manipulation, the blood cloud also pressed down.

There was no major collision as I had imagined.

On the contrary, the moment the blade touched the blood cloud, the dark red blood cloud that covered the entire river bend and was churning suddenly stopped.

It was like being suddenly bound by an invisible chain, stopping in an instant.

Then the blood cloud split open, and a straight crack appeared from the point in the middle where the blade had touched it.

The crack stretched from the top of the blood cloud all the way to the bottom, neatly dividing the entire blood cloud into two halves. The two halves of the blood cloud floated quietly, their cross-sections smooth.

The Heavenly Blade did not stop; it pierced through the blood-red clouds and continued its descent.

Wherever the blade passes, its force is unstoppable.

Tu Ji watched the knife fall towards him, his pupils constricted, and he desperately resisted.

But the blade still landed on his head, and then a flash of white light appeared, rendering all his attempts futile.

Tu Ji's body stiffened, and even the expression on his face remained frozen in that moment of fear and resentment.

"puff!"

A soft sound, like the wind blowing out a candle flame.

Tu Ji's body split in the middle, also dividing into two.

Then Tu Ji's body was ignited by the blade, burning fiercely and turning into ashes that fluttered down onto the river surface. Once soaked in the water, they dispersed, leaving nothing behind.

Those evil magical artifacts and talismans also shattered at the same time, turning into dust, which mixed with the black ash and disappeared into the rain when blown by the wind.

The Heavenly Blade hovered in the air for a moment before dissipating into a sky full of azure light.

The blackness on the river surface gradually faded.

Without the support of Tu Ji's magic, the black, sinister energy surging up from the riverbed began to slowly dissipate. The turbid river water gradually cleared, though it was still a muddy, yellowish-brown, it was no longer that chilling, thick, inky black.

The surging waves subsided, and the waves, having lost their driving force, turned into increasingly faint ripples, eventually disappearing into the wide river surface.

Only the rain was still falling, hitting the water's surface and splashing up countless tiny droplets, making a soft, rustling sound.

The turtle and the green snake remained suspended on the water's surface, motionless for a long time.

The green snake's blood-red vertical pupils stared intently at the now empty riverbank, at the place where the heavenly blade had once appeared.

Its scales were still slightly open and closed, its tail trembled slightly involuntarily, and its whole body was taut.

After a long while, it slowly exhaled.

The old turtle remained silent, its heart equally unsettled.

The two spirits, who had cultivated for hundreds of years, remained silent at this moment.

The moment the Heavenly Blade fell, even they felt themselves trembling under its power, and that was even when the Heavenly Blade wasn't targeting them.

They had cultivated for hundreds of years, absorbing the essence of the sun and moon and the spiritual energy of the water veins, and considered themselves powerful beings. But they had never seen such power before, that a mere talisman could transform into such a heavenly blade, cleaving through blood clouds and annihilating demons.

The green snake and the old turtle exchanged a glance, both seeing the same thing in each other's eyes.

Reverence and longing.

"Transform into human form." The green snake suddenly spoke, its voice filled with an unprecedented seriousness. "I must transform into human form."

The old turtle had the same thought, and it grew stronger.

Transformation is not simply about shedding one's animal form and taking on a human form.

Transformation is the biggest hurdle on the path of cultivation for spirits and monsters. Overcoming it means a complete transformation, like a fish leaping over the dragon gate, and transforming from a wild beast that can only rely on instinct and talent into a true cultivator who can seek immortality.

"Let's go." The old turtle flicked its tail, turned around, and swam downstream. "It's time to go back."

The green snake nodded and followed behind it.

A turtle and a snake swam slowly in the drizzle, crossing the gradually calming water, heading towards Yunmei City.

Yunmei City, Xie Mansion.

Daozhen sat in the study of that quiet courtyard, with an ancient book spread out on the desk in front of him. The pages of the book were yellowed, showing that it was quite old.

Outside the window, the rain was pattering softly.

Daozhen suddenly raised his gaze and turned towards the direction of the Black River.

His eyes narrowed slightly, and after a moment, he sighed softly and whispered.

"In the end, it still came in handy."

Ten days later,

The sky finally cleared up.

Xie Ning was practicing her spear in her courtyard. The spear moved like a dragon in her hands, its tip drawing silver arcs in the morning light. The red tassel fluttered like blood, and the sound of it cutting through the air was sharp and crisp.

Her movements were more agile than before, each thrust carrying a sharp and unstoppable momentum, clearly showing that her recent training had greatly improved her skills.

Xie Ning put away his gun, about to practice again, when suddenly his vision cleared up.

She looked up.

A crack appeared in the clouds on the horizon.

A beam of golden sunlight poured down from the crack, like a golden sword cleaving through the gray sky and falling straight onto the earth.

The clouds were breaking apart faster and faster, and golden sunlight poured down through the gaps.

The rain stopped.

The people of Yunmei City poured out from under their eaves, in their doorways, and in their temples, standing on the streets, at the entrances of alleys, and at their own doorsteps, looking up at the long-awaited sun.

Some people cried, some laughed, and some let out a long sigh of relief.

It's finally over.

The soldiers and laborers who had been fighting on the dike for more than ten days were either slumped over with sandbags, lying directly in the mud, or helping each other walk back step by step.

Xie Tian stood on the city wall, his hands braced against the crenellations, gazing at the river surface outside the city, illuminated by the sunlight.

"Pass down the order." His voice was hoarse, but clear and forceful: "Each battalion shall take turns resting, the dikes shall not be removed, and people shall be sent to patrol them daily."

"The government treasury was opened to provide relief to the disaster-stricken people, and the refugees in the outer city were registered and resettled in a unified manner."

The general behind him clasped his hands in acceptance of the order, then turned and left.

Although the rain has stopped, the water level of the Heihe River has not completely receded. The flooded farmland, washed-out roads, and destroyed houses will all need time to recover.

There's still a lot to do, but at least the rain has stopped.

In the small courtyard where Daozhen lived, sunlight bathed the ground.

The green snake and the old turtle were lying on the warm stone slab, basking comfortably in the sun.