From the Carp that Brings Children to the Celestial Officials

Chapter 458 Withdrawing at the Last Minute

You Ming wandered around the entire illusion. With his current wealth, he could be considered financially independent.

If I see something I like, I just buy it on a whim.

Besides the thirteen merfolk, he also purchased some aquatic creatures such as Xuan Chi, clam spirits, and water demons.

Anyway, Mirror Lake has a lot of space, enough for all these aquatic creatures to live in.

"Om."

Just as You Ming was about to buy some underwater spiritual plants, a flash of spiritual light appeared, and a communication jade talisman appeared in front of him.

He casually opened the jade talisman, only to find a message from the River God.

The communication jade talisman was marked with five beams of light, which meant that the matter was extremely urgent.

"Hmm? Qingyue Snake Woman and Liuxia Mountain Lord have withdrawn?"

The contents of the jade talisman were short, but the matter was quite serious.

With the competition imminent, the sudden withdrawal of two people was a fatal blow to the River God.

"Even if the Crimson Scaled Dragon has Ao Yunhai's help, it shouldn't be enough to scare these two gods into backing down."

You Ming frowned slightly. After all, whether this matter succeeded or failed, everyone relied on their own abilities, and there was no question of settling scores afterward.

Is there some hidden story behind this?
You Ming had lost interest in shopping at this moment, and he returned to the [Drunken Dream Pavilion] in the direction he had come from.

The River God had been waiting there for a long time, while Fairy Taochuan and Bai Tao sat to the side, their faces looking rather grim.

"River God, what's going on?"

As You Ming approached, it was clear that He Bo's spirits had weakened considerably, despite his efforts to restrain himself.

“Fellow Daoist You Ming, that Silver Mermaid Consort must have had some good fortune, as she actually received help from two cultivators from the Heavenly Realm, and both of them are among the Twelve Immortals.”

Before the River God could speak, Fairy Taochuan spoke first.

In everyone's mind, the celestial realm, whether it be cultivators or gods, is far superior to the mortal realm.

Even though the twelve immortal disciples are of equal status, in many people's eyes, the few celestial cultivators among them are definitely ranked higher.

After hearing that a celestial cultivator had intervened, Fairy Taochuan also felt a great deal of pressure.

However, she was originally a wandering cultivator with no powerful backing. Although she felt she couldn't compare to the Twelve Immortals, she wasn't worried about being pressured.

On the contrary, the Qingchuan Snake Woman and Liuxia Mountain Lord were very wary of the forces behind the Heavenly Realm cultivators. In addition, there was Ao Yunhai on the side of the Crimson Scale Flood Dragon. The River God's side was almost certain to lose this battle, so they naturally did not want to try to stop him.

"Now that such a change has occurred, my chances of winning are almost nonexistent."

"If you gentlemen have any concerns, you are welcome to leave at any time. I will not hold it against you. However, I have troubled you all to make this trip for nothing these past few days."

The River God felt disheartened. The Silver Mermaid had attracted two powerful allies, while he had lost two more. With the balance of power shifting, his chances of winning were slim.

He didn't want everyone to have worked for nothing.

"River God, you promised me that regardless of victory or defeat, you would grant me 10,000 divine powers. This is no small sum."

"I'm short of money right now, so you can't break the contract."

Upon hearing what the River God said, Fairy Taochuan immediately became anxious.

The reason she hasn't left yet is because of the River God, her big client, isn't it? She's currently going through a tribulation and has gained ten thousand divine powers, which allows her to do many things.

Upon hearing this, the River God couldn't help but smile bitterly.

However, he was, after all, the lord of a river, and he wouldn't stoop to such a petty level with Fairy Taochuan over ten thousand divine powers. "I was originally going to leave, but when I heard that people from Taiyi Heavenly Palace were going to participate this time, I decided not to go."

Bai Tao simply responded coldly.

Previously, he served in the Heavenly Realm. Although he was only a minor eighth-rank official, the Heavenly River Commandant, he enjoyed a comfortable and prestigious job there, and the pay was quite substantial.

However, because he offended a disciple of the Taiyi Heavenly Palace, he was banished to the mortal realm and has not had the chance to return to this day.

He's been holding a grudge for a long time.

"I'm not leaving either. My Yuanling County is stuck in a corner. This is a rare opportunity, and I don't want to miss it."

You Ming didn't take the cultivators from the Heavenly Realm seriously.

Previously, when he was capturing the shadow of the Great Dao, he also faced several of the twelve immortal disciples of the Heavenly Realm, and in the end, he was also defeated by him.

Although he was not arrogant, he was always very confident in his path of cultivation.

If you can beat them once, you can beat them ten times, a hundred times.

Hearing that the three people were unwilling to leave, Hebo was deeply moved. Whatever their reasons, they were willing to stay despite the inevitable defeat, and Hebo had to accept their kindness.

……

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, the River God found several more gods and cultivators.

Although the odds of winning this time are not very high, we must try our best no matter what.

Through his efforts, he did manage to persuade two more people.

One is the Azure Ape Demon King, and the other is Lady Floating Duckweed.

However, this Azure Ape Demon King had only just begun to enter the [Sacred Body] realm, and had only mastered one supernatural power, placing him at the bottom among demon kings of the same realm.

Lady Floating Duckweed is a sixth-rank water deity, but she is in charge of things like spiritual springs and cleansing water, and her strength is not very strong.

However, in such a hurry, no other help could be found, because the grand event of vying for the title of Lord of the Azure Lake was about to begin.

……

The lake stretches to the horizon, where the sky and water merge into one.

A heavy snowfall just occurred a few days ago, making the lake appear even bluer.

Layers of rising mist spread through the air, and from the outside, the entire lake surface, including a large area of ​​land nearby, was shrouded in mist. Ordinary people who walked here could not see anything at all.

But inside the fog, it was bustling with activity.

At this moment, the entire Bibo Lake seemed to have become a huge arena, with thick fog surrounding it layer upon layer. Within this fog, there were many figures, some exchanging words, others lost in thought with their eyes closed. Some minor demons and low-level cultivators also took the opportunity to sell tea and food.

The entire lake surface was cut into an octagonal shape.

The eight water gods each led their own forces and occupied a corner.

For example, the River God of Fengshui was stationed in the northwest.

Although he felt his chances of winning were slim, after half a month of rest, he had shaken off his dejection. Now he was dressed in a purple robe, carrying a turtle shell on his back, with waves surging beneath his feet and ten thousand aquatic soldiers standing in formation behind him.

His four generals, the Green Shrimp, the Red Crab, the Black Snake, and the White Fish, each held aloft a water-patterned banner in their formation, each banner radiating brilliant divine light.

As the army formed ranks, the powerful waters were stirred up, creating huge whirlpools that seemed poised to swallow the heavens and the earth.

You Ming stood beside the River God, his eyes seemingly piercing through layers of space as he surveyed the other teams.

(End of this chapter)