Just as the old patriarch forced me to my death, I achieved the unity of Dao and fruition.

Black Mountain County suffered a severe drought for three years, leaving the land barren for thousands of miles, with riverbeds cracking and fissures extending deep into the soil.

There were no crops in the fields, no water in the wells, and even the tree bark had been scraped clean.

Outside the city, tens of thousands of ordinary people knelt like walking corpses on a cracked riverbed, looking up at the sky.

Because the dark clouds are coming, and their arrival signifies hope for survival.

However, those were not naturally occurring clouds, but rather water vapor that an old carp spirit, unable to bear the sight any longer, forcibly moved from a hundred miles away, exhausting its demonic power.

Its whiskers and hair were all white, its scales were withered and cracked, half of its body floated on the clouds, and it kept spitting out pale blue spiritual light and primordial demonic power from its mouth.

Beside it was a little sparrow demon, its wings were scorched yellow and its demonic aura was weak, yet it desperately flapped its wings, blowing the clouds and mist into rain.

The moment the rain started falling, the ordinary people on the riverbank rushed over like madmen.

Some people used broken bowls to catch it, while others used their sleeves.

Some people even lay down in the mud and water, licking it frantically.

An old woman held her grandson, her tears mingling with the rain.

It's raining...

"Thank God..."

"No, it's the great immortal who has opened their eyes!"

"Great Carp Immortal, save me!"

The demon race and the human race are irreconcilable enemies; this is an ironclad rule of the Nine Provinces. The old carp spirit, having lived for three hundred years, naturally understands this better than anyone else.

But looking down at the cracked earth, a distant memory surfaced in its murky eyes.

Three hundred years ago, it was just a small red-tailed carp that had not yet developed any intelligence.

Back then, Heishan County wasn't like this hellish place.

It remembered a mortal girl with pigtails who raised it in a large, rough porcelain bowl.

The little girl always carried a bowl as she walked along the long street paved with bluestone slabs.

Along the way, there were vendors hawking candied hawthorns, the steaming aroma of meat buns, and a little girl pointing at the bustling streets and saying, "Little Red Fish, look, this is our Black Mountain County, isn't it beautiful?"

Later, the little girl died of old age, but by chance, it became a demon.

Now that the deadline is approaching, Black Mountain County has also encountered a three-year drought.

It always felt that it should return the bowl of water it had drunk from back then to this land.

Moreover... times have changed.

As the old carp spirit exhaled blue spiritual light, it thought about the mighty decree that had come from the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains a few days ago.

The ruler of all demons, with a golden wheel of merit more dazzling than the sun, told the entire demon race: "The one who will save the people of the Nine Provinces is not that group of hypocritical righteous people, but us demons."

The old carp expert agreed.

It used to think of itself as a monstrous creature that couldn't be seen in the light, but now it feels that it is doing something upright and even greater than those righteous immortal sects!

Thinking of this, a relieved yet proud smile appeared on the old carp spirit's withered lips.

The old carp spirit swayed on the cloud, its demonic blood dripping down its scales.

It looked down at the mortals below, its voice weak.

"Don't steal it."

"Yes, we have them all."

"I can handle it."

The little sparrow fairy chimed in, "Line up! Line up! Kids drink first!"

Just when the people thought they had found a way out of their predicament, five sword lights suddenly appeared on the horizon.

The sword gleamed, and the white robes fluttered, as if a deity from the heavens had descended upon this filthy swamp.

Xie Wuchen stood on the flying sword, his brows slightly furrowed.

"Demon aura."

Qingxuan's gaze fell on the old carp spirit and the little sparrow demon on the cloud, a cold glint flashing in her eyes.

"A demon bewitches the masses."

Without asking any questions or hesitating at all.

A flash of sword light.

Before the old carp spirit could turn around, its head rolled down from the clouds.

Pale golden demon blood mixed with rainwater was sprinkled on the parched and cracked earth.

The little sparrow demon cried out in surprise, trying to take flight, but was struck by a heavenly lightning talisman in mid-air and instantly turned into ashes.

The clouds dispersed, and the rain stopped.

The soil, which had just become slightly damp, quickly began to steam under the blazing sun.

The mortals were stunned, and everyone looked up at the five celestial masters in the sky.

They had just taken a sip of water.

We just saw a glimmer of hope.

Now, it's gone.

A woman, so thin she was just a skeleton, held a baby with chapped lips in her arms.

She stared blankly at the clouds, watching the old carp spirit's corpse fall into the mud.

Fear weighed on her for a long time.

But at this moment, despair completely shattered the fear.

She grabbed a lump of mud and threw it hard into the air.

Of course, mud can't hit a flying sword.

It dissipated in mid-air.

But she still cried out in anguish.

"A Celestial Master?"

"Who do you think you are, some kind of immortal masters!"

"Where have you been during this three-year drought?"

"This water was obtained for us by a sage who risked his life!"

Why did you kill it?

"Give me back my water!"

"Save my child!"

The riverbank was deathly quiet, and all mortals were terrified.

Someone tried to pull her down to kneel, but the woman had already gone mad and was crawling forward with her child in her arms.

"Please, please, let it rain a little..."

"My child is dying..."

Qingxuan stood on the flying sword, looking down at her.

There was no remorse in his eyes, only a pity for seeing filth.

"sad."

"Your mind has been bewitched by evil spirits."

"The demonic energy has entered the body, and even the child has been tainted by the karmic consequences of the demonic act."

She sighed softly, as if she were the one who had been wronged.

"If we let you live, you will only become a scourge to humanity."

"Since your souls have been defiled, I, Qingxuan, will act on behalf of Heaven to deliver you from this stigma."

The words fell.

She pointed casually.

A faint wisp of sword energy swept across the riverbank.

The woman holding the child abruptly stopped speaking.

Along with several refugees who tried to plead for mercy, they also collapsed.

The bloodstains had barely seeped into the soil when they were dried by the scorching sun.

The remaining mortals all knelt on the ground, trembling.

No one dared to cry; even the sound of crying was choked back by fear.

Xie Wuchen watched this scene and not only did not stop it, but nodded in satisfaction.

"Junior Sister Qingxuan has a clear Dao heart, has severed worldly ties, and cut off demonic connections; she has done an excellent job."

Qingxuan said in a low voice, "It's just that these mortals are so foolish, it's truly a pity."

Xie Wuchen said calmly, "Junior Sister, you don't need to worry about these ants."

"Immortals are immortals, and mortals are mortals."

"Although we are all human beings, from the moment we established our foundation, we were no longer the same kind of beings."

He looked down at the dark mass of refugees kneeling below, his tone eerily calm.

"Mortals are nothing more than wheat and leeks on the land of Kyushu."

"If a batch dies, as long as some roots remain, they can multiply into millions in fifty years."

"It's not worth getting our flying swords dirty over a few weeds."

The young man in black in the group frowned slightly, but finally couldn't help but speak up.

"Senior brother, isn't that a bit too much?"

"They are human after all, and so are we..."

Xie Wuchen glanced at him, his tone indifferent.

"Junior Brother Ye, you've softened your heart."

"A soft heart makes one easily bewitched by evil spirits."

A female disciple standing nearby added, "These mortals, having received favors from demons, worship them as gods, which has shaken the orthodoxy of the human race."

"If we don't cut this off today, people will say tomorrow that demons can save people and that demons also have a kind heart."

"Then what about the Qi Yun Sect's thousand years of demon-slaying achievements?"

The young man in black fell silent. He looked at the trembling mortals kneeling below, his lips moved, but he ultimately said nothing more.

Xie Wuchen's gaze fell on the old carp spirit's corpse, and he suddenly sneered.

"And are these monsters really being kind?"

"They usually eat raw meat and drink blood, devouring people to refine their souls, but today they've come to bring rain and save the people?"

"I think they want to take advantage of the severe drought in Black Mountain to deceive mortals into believing in them and steal the incense offerings of our human race."

"To put it more deeply, it is an attempt to establish a demon kingdom on earth."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of several Qi Yun disciples immediately turned solemn.

Qingxuan's eyes flashed with even more murderous intent.

"What my senior brother says is absolutely right."

"Establishing a demon kingdom on earth is an attempt to undermine the foundation of my righteous path."

"Such a vicious scheme could not have been devised by just one or two minor demons."

"There must be a powerful demon behind this."

Xie Wuchen nodded.

"Our investigation into the extinction of the Japanese demon islands led us all the way to the edge of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains."

"Now we've encountered a wicked force using the drought to win over the hearts of the people."

"It seems that the giant serpent that devours islands must be setting up its scheme in the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains."

He raised his hand, and a sword light fell, completely incinerating the old carp spirit's remains into ashes.

"A demon is a demon."

"No matter what kind of guise it wears to save people from suffering, it cannot change its root cause of bringing chaos to the world."

Qingxuan turned around and looked at the distant, rolling mountains.

There, demonic energy lingered, and the secrets of heaven were obscured, like an abyss shrouded in black mist.

"Since they dare to extend their claws."

"Then let us follow the will of Heaven and charge into the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains."

"Uproot this source of evil."

Five sword lights rose again.

Below, the mortals of Black Mountain County remained kneeling.

They watched the immortal depart, not daring to curse, not daring to cry, and not daring to pray for rain again.

The sun was high in the sky, and the mud and water had dried up.

In the distance, above the Wan Yao Mountains, winds and clouds began to rise.