Chapter 389: The Dust Settles

Thick black smoke hung in the air like water, and the old marsh Dragon Lord flew through the sky, his form flickering in and out of the dense smoke. At times, only his head and tail were visible, making him look just like a true dragon.

The eight-tailed fox spewed radiant, multicolored divine light from its mouth, entangling with the old marsh Dragon Lord in a fierce battle.

The divine light would frequently break through the sky or plow into the earth with devastating force.

Suddenly, the fox took a risky gamble. With its small, fragile body, it surged forward, carrying its divine light straight into the marsh Dragon Lord.

“

Whoosh

!”

The divine light burst forth in a brilliant blaze.

When the fox demon, shrouded in divine light and trailing black smoke, barely managed to escape the old marsh dragons's ferocious counterattack, the marsh dragon was left with one more grievous injury—its only remaining eye had gone blind.

The giant eye bore a fresh claw mark, blood still flowing from the wound. If not for the bleeding, it would have looked identical to the other scarred, blinded eye.

The eight-tailed fox hovered in the air, its fur dancing with the wind. Using its divine light, it dispelled the black smoke. Then, it turned its gaze toward the distance.

Far away, the earth-vein giant was locked in a brutal melee with the Great Star God. Their battle was fierce, each punch connecting with raw power, and every clash erupted with sparks and divine light. Observing that the Daoist was handling the situation without much trouble, the fox withdrew its gaze.

“Old marsh Dragon Lord, accept your fate.”

The fox’s tone was calm and gentle, as though it was advising an old acquaintance.

Just as the words fell, the fox’s head suddenly spun in a complete circle. Its eyes gleamed with a mischievous light, and a playful smile spread across its face.

“Ehehe! Now it’s completely blind!”

“

Roar...

”

An earth-shattering roar followed.

The old marsh dragon had gone mad.

***

Not far away, the earth-vein giant and the Great Star God continued their ferocious clash, matching strength against resilience in a brutal melee. Meanwhile, Song You appeared utterly unconcerned. Without even glancing at the raging battle, he landed lightly on the ground, using his staff to steady himself. He walked toward the edge of Mount Ye, which had significantly lowered in height but grown even harder.

“

Splash...

”

The water level of the great marsh had risen close to where he stood, and black smoke nearly reached his feet. As the marsh dragons darted between the marsh and the black smoke, waves surged violently, the sound of splashing water echoing in the air.

At this moment, if the marsh dragons were to launch a sudden ambush from the marsh and smoke, much like an ordinary crocodile hunting its prey, it might still have had a chance to lunge at the Daoist on the mountain top with blinding speed and swallow him whole.

But they were already too terrified to try.

Five ancient great demons had joined forces, and even if the Thunder Division or War Division of the Heavenly Palace descended in full force, they could still put up a fight. Borrowing the marsh dragons's domain, even the Heavenly Palace would struggle to purge them. Yet this Daoist had needed only a single thunderbolt and a single flame to instantly render the two great demons of the white rhinoceros clan powerless to retaliate.

Even many descendants of the legendary Hidden Dragon Temple, at the peak of their strength, could not boast such might. And this man had not even been away from the mountain for ten years. How could such a presence not inspire fear?

Song You, however, was calm and unhurried. Holding his staff, he summoned Divine Fire.

The flames in the sky had returned to their brightest, brimming with the purest and most overwhelming power of extreme yang. Under his guidance, the flames surged downward, roaring as they descended.

“

Boom...

”

The Divine Fire spread across the marshlands, illuminating the deep waters below.

The black smoke on the water's surface quickly dissipated.

In the water, the vague silhouette of the marsh dragons emerged.

The Daoist raised his staff and lightly tapped it, parting the waters to create land!

From the point where his staff touched, the vast surface of the marsh began to rapidly solidify and spread outward, forming something that resembled land. Whether it was truly land or not was uncertain, but it quickly hardened.

The three marsh dragons realized something was wrong and immediately tried to leap upward.

However, the land solidified so swiftly that, at best, only half of their bodies managed to rise above the water before they were trapped within it.

But merely trapping them like this would not be enough to hold them.

The three marsh dragons began to struggle violently, each unleashing their unique divine powers. One used brute force to shatter the ground in an attempt to break free. Another lowered its head and spewed black smoke to blast apart the earth. The third vibrated its body underwater, sending ripples of spiritual energy and tremors radiating outward—a power so great that even heaven and earth could not contain it.

The Daoist, however, simply raised his staff and pointed again—

He then casted the earth-hardening spell!

A flash of spiritual light coursed through the earth, hardening it further.

The three marsh dragons were firmly sealed beneath, unable to move.

“...”

Nearby, the Great Star God turned its head briefly to glance at the scene. Its brows furrowed, and its eyes blazed with anger, but deep down, it felt a chill of panic.

How could such a powerful trio be subdued so easily?

The Great Star God knew well the capabilities of the Hidden Dragon Temple’s successors. The celestial gods of the Heavenly Palace were no strangers to their arts. However, among the temple's many disciples, not all were specialists in combat.

This generation of Hidden Dragon Temple disciples was known to practice the Four Seasons Rotation Method, which were versatile but not particularly suited for direct confrontation. Moreover, it was known that this particular Daoist had only descended from the mountain a few years ago.

With these factors in mind, they had thought it a favorable time to descend to the mortal world, intending to take advantage of their collective might to annihilate him.

But seeing the Daoist's overwhelming display of power now, the Great Star God realized that even if the Golden Spirit Officer himself were here, he might find himself forced to frown in frustration.

The earth-vein giant, at first glance, seemed to be nothing more than a mass of dirt and stone, even if it possessed great strength. The Great Star God had thought that merely standing upright and moving was likely its limit, and that a few heavy blows would be enough to shatter it.

But as the battle progressed, the Great Star God realized that the giant's hardness was no less formidable than his own divine body.

That alone was troublesome enough. And once the Daoist had a free hand...

“You wretched Daoist! To think you could single-handedly slay ancient demon clans—I truly underestimated you!” The Great Star God, standing among the hills, used brute force to push back the earth-vein giant and roared angrily, “I will retreat for now, but when I return, we shall battle for another eight hundred rounds!”

With that, he raised his hammer and pointed it toward the heavens.

“

Boom

!”

A divine light pierced through the black mist and descended upon the world.

“Stay where you are.”

Song You focused his gaze on him, his tone steady and commanding.

“Divine Thunder, descend!”

“

Rumble

!”

The countless bolts of thunder that had been brewing in the sky suddenly came crashing down, forming a vortex of purple-red lightning. The funnel illuminated the heavens and earth as it struck downward, aimed directly at the gold-armored giant deity.

The overwhelming power of the Divine Thunder and the divine punishment it carried easily severed the Great Star God’s path to the heavens. The lightning struck his divine body, and the black face, lined with muscles and fierce expressions, twisted in pain. A cry of anguish escaped him despite his best efforts.

Indeed—

As a subordinate of the Golden Spirit Officer, it was only natural that he could withstand fire. However, Divine Thunder was different; it was not only effective against demons but also suppressed gods and spirits alike.

“

Boom

!”

The thunder dissipated, and the Great Star God was forced to one knee on the trembling ground.

Before him, the earth shook, and a massive shadow loomed over him.

“I am the famed general of the Heavenly Palace, deputy commander of the War Division, the Great Star God—how dare you slay...!”

He forced the words out through gritted teeth, his voice thick with pain. Turning his anguished gaze toward the Daoist, he barely managed to finish his sentence before he saw it—a colossal fist, already drawn back and brimming with force, hurtling toward him.

The sheer momentum whipped up a fierce gale, and one could almost imagine the scene of the giant, towering like a mountain with arms that reached past its knees, twisting its massive frame to swing with full strength.

“

Boom

!”

The fist struck the Great Star God squarely on the head with brutal force.

Sparks flew, and spiritual light scattered in all directions.

Even the earth-vein giant's body—formed from countless condensed streams of spiritual energy—was partially shattered by the immense power of the blow. Half of its enormous fist crumbled, sending countless fragments of stone flying outward.

The enormous figure of the Great Star God began to tilt and collapse.

The direction in which it fell? Straight toward the location of the State Preceptor.

For the Great Star God and the earth-vein giant, the collapse felt slow and drawn out. But for the lone figure standing before them, a man who seemed as small as an ant in their presence, it was terrifyingly fast and perilous.

Countless fragments of stone rained down like a shower of stars. A piece no larger than a palm could easily crush a person, yet boulders larger than a human were also falling in droves. Each impact on the ground echoed with a deafening roar, scattering debris in every direction.

The cacophony of crashing stones and shattering earth was ceaseless.

The State Preceptor stood motionless, utterly unafraid.

As the divine light from the heavens drew closer and the Great Star God's massive body toppled in his direction, the State Preceptor simply raised his head, gazing upward with calm composure.

As expected, the outcome was already sealed.

In the face of the towering divine body, a mortal was indeed insignificant. There was no question of resistance; even with the Great Star God defeated, the mere act of his colossal form collapsing in one’s direction was enough to render any attempt to escape futile.

The State Preceptor, naturally, did not attempt to flee.

No one else could have escaped, and he was a cripple—running was out of the question.

Yet he remained unafraid.

The divine light radiating from the Great Star God’s body grew ever brighter, turning the ground beneath into a shimmering sea of gold. The details of the divine armor—the gaps between its scales—were now visible with startling clarity.

The State Preceptor casually withdrew his gaze and glanced to the distance. There, lying in the marshlands, the white rhinoceros giant, still conscious but severely injured by the Divine Thunder, weakly reached a hand toward him. Simple-minded as it was, the demon even summoned divine light in an attempt to move him away from danger. But it was all in vain. The Great Star God was already crashing down.

If only I had such powers myself.

This was the State Preceptor’s final thought in life.

“

Boom

!”

A muffled roar resounded as the mountain peak was flattened under the immense impact.

The earth-vein giant charged forward again without hesitation.

“Boom!”

“Boom!”

“Boom!”

Each punch landed with unrelenting force.

Mountains were flattened, and the ground was pounded into ruin.

At first, the Great Star God attempted to resist, but his struggles proved futile. Before long, he stopped moving entirely. Time passed, and the divine light that had once radiated from the deity's form began to dim, flickering weakly a few times before finally fading into nothingness.

“

Huff

...”

The god’s body dissolved into countless points of starlight, which slowly dissipated into the air.

With this, the battle had essentially come to an end.

Song You retracted his gaze and looked toward the heavens.

The earth-vein giant, too, finally straightened its towering form. Its arms, though shortened from the earlier clash, were still impressively long. It let them hang at its sides as it stood tall amidst the marshes and mountains, its presence commanding and awe-inspiring, resembling the primordial giants of ancient myths.

This colossal being, standing as though it had emerged from the very fabric of a legend, now joined the Daoist in lifting its gaze skyward.

“War Division...” Song You murmured softly, his voice trailing off into silence.

He turned his head to glance into the distance.

The largest of the marsh dragons, whose strength had been closest to that of the ancient great beings, was already dead. Its upper body sank into the water, its massive tail draped over a nearby mountain. The fox, however, was nowhere to be seen.

Song You looked upward again. The five-colored divine pearl still hung in the sky, radiating divine light that illuminated the dim, desolate world, painting a scene reminiscent of the apocalypse.

“

Tap

...”

Song You’s bamboo staff touched the ground, and in an instant, he soared into the wind, rising straight into the black clouds.

“

Buzz

...”

A golden light rippled across the sky.

The black clouds began to dissipate, slowly retreating from the center outward.

For a moment, it was as if yin and yang had reversed, and the heavens were being restored to light.

The sunlight streamed down, illuminating the world below.

What it revealed was a devastated expanse of desolate mountains stretching for dozens of miles, the golden, collapsed remnants of Mount Ye, the solidified marshlands with waves frozen in mid-motion like a painting, the giant marsh dragons trapped within, and in the distance, the corpse of the old marsh Dragon Lord.

Lying in the marshlands, half-sealed and still gasping faintly, was the colossal form of the white rhinoceros demon.

Carried by the wind, Song You descended and landed on the hardened land formed by the marsh. He began walking forward, his small figure dwarfed by the primordial battlefield-like scene around him. It took him a long time to reach a spot not far from the giant.

The giant’s head alone was as large as a palace.

Leaning on his staff, the Daoist looked up at the towering figure.

The giant rolled its eyes slowly to meet his gaze, its mouth slightly open, as if lost in thought.

“My name is Song You,” the Daoist introduced himself.

“

Whoosh...

”

The giant’s exhale was like a gust of wind.

“I’ve heard of your clan’s plight,” Song You said calmly. “Your White Bull King fell into disgrace, but you did not follow his path. Yet you were dragged down by association. Now, it’s understandable that you’re helping the State Preceptor in the hope of earning a chance at survival in the underworld. Considering that neither of you harmed mortal souls or wreaked havoc on the world, and acknowledging your loyalty and integrity, I will spare your lives.”

He continued, “When the river waters recede, follow the Yin River eastward to the sea. Stay far from the Great Yan—beyond the reach of the Heavenly Palace’s gods—and you may survive. I advise you to remain true to yourselves and never harm others again.”

Surprise flickered in the giant’s eyes.

It hadn’t expected this Daoist—who had ruthlessly killed even the Great Star God, a famed warrior of the Heavenly Palace—would spare its life.

Without waiting for a response, Song You turned silently and walked away.

The giant could only watch his retreating figure, its ears catching the faint words drifting back, “If the desolation of the untamed seas becomes unbearable, and the spiritual energy too scarce, when the day comes that you sense a great shift in the heavens and earth, you may return. Perhaps, at that time, you can aid me once more...”

As the Daoist’s figure grew smaller and his voice faded, a sudden loud crash echoed—

“

Boom

!”

The thunderous roar of waves crashing against the shore split the air.

The frozen waves suddenly crashed down with a thunderous roar. During the fierce battle, the sound had gone unnoticed, but now that the world had fallen silent, the deafening crash of the waves was almost overwhelming.

The river water gently brushed against his skin, cool and damp. He wasn’t sure if he could move; he simply remained still for a long while.

“

Splash

...”

Gradually, he became aware of the retreating waters. The water level dropped rapidly.

The giant’s other eye slowly shifted, observing the scene. The water in the marshlands was quickly flowing back along the path it had come, returning to its original course in the Yin River. All that remained were the desolate mountains scarred by the flood’s devastation.

In the distance, the spiritual light atop Mount Ye was also fading away.