My words have become law; I truly have no desire to display my divine power before others.

Just as the people on the shore were wondering—

"boom!!!"

A deep, muffled roar came from underwater, and the river surface suddenly surged upwards, bursting into a huge, white spray!

The water column shot up about ten feet high, then cascaded down like a sudden downpour, soaking those on the shore.

Broken shards of pottery and countless small fish and shrimp that had been stunned or killed by the shockwave floated to the surface.

"Ah!!!" The villagers on the shore had never seen such "magic" before.

Screams erupted everywhere, many people fell to the ground in fright, while others stared in disbelief, before bursting into earth-shattering cheers!

"It's a miracle! Master Huang has shown his supernatural powers!"

"It's exploded! It must be that monster!"

"Look! There's something in the water!"

Sure enough, as the murky water subsided, a huge, dark shadow slowly rose to the surface, its white belly turned up, motionless.

Li Laoshuan and Huang Youde on the small boat were also startled.

Li Laoshuan simply thought it was a monster, while Huang Youde was shocked that such a big fish had actually been blasted out.

He originally only planned to perform a ritual, throw some water mines, and say that the monster was sealed in the water and would never come out again.

But now... it seems to be more advantageous for my performance.

After regaining his composure, Li Laoshuan hurriedly used a bamboo pole with a hook to hook the dark figure and laboriously dragged it towards the shore.

When the thing was dragged ashore, everyone crowded around to take a look and gasped in shock!

It was a fish, a strange fish that was bigger than anyone could have imagined!

It is nearly ten feet long, with a flat and broad body like a boat plank, covered with dark blue scales the size of copper coins and as hard as iron, which gleam with a metallic cold light in the sunlight.

Its head was enormous, and its mouth was extremely wide, revealing fine, sharp teeth. Even though it was dead, it still exuded a ferocious and terrifying aura.

What's most peculiar is its tail, which is thick, powerful, and has a peculiar shape.

"This...this is...the Dragon King?" an old man asked, trembling.

"Bullshit! This doesn't look like a dragon at all! It's clearly a monstrous fish that's come to life!"

Now emboldened, Huang Youde pointed at the giant fish, his voice booming with the majesty of a victor.

"Fellow villagers, please look! This is the monster lurking at the bottom of the river, impersonating the Dragon King, and demanding blood!"

"I have already blasted him to death with my palm lightning magic weapon! From now on, you have nothing to fear, nor need to offer human sacrifices!"

The villagers' emotions were completely ignited! The fear of the past century, the grief and anger of their loved ones being forced into sacrifice, the long-standing oppression under the shadow of the "Dragon King"...

At this moment, with the appearance of this unprecedented "demon fish," everything transformed into boundless rage and a kind of exhausting ecstasy.

"It's not the Dragon King! It's a fish demon!"

"Kill it! Chop it up!"

"How many daughters it has harmed! Eating its flesh! Drinking its blood!"

Outraged, many people picked up stones and threw them at the fish, while others went home to get knives and axes, wishing they could tear this "monster" to pieces on the spot.

Li Laoshuan and Zhou Shi embraced and wept bitterly, while Xiao Lian peeked through the gaps in the crowd and saw the huge dead fish.

For the first time, a look of relief appeared on her pale little face as she threw herself into her mother's arms and cried loudly.

Chen Maocai stood at the edge of the boiling crowd, coldly observing everything. The villagers' gazes towards him now carried obvious doubt, dissatisfaction, and even anger.

But he remained completely calm, even sporting a faint, cold smile.

Go ahead and make a scene, make a scene to your heart's content.

The more you hate this "fish demon" now, the more terrified and desperate you will be when the real "one" is alerted and appears!

Huang Youde, you idiot, you've done me a huge favor by pushing these troublemakers' emotions to the limit...

That's perfect, the fall is when it hurts the most!

He calmly straightened his sleeves, waiting and calculating the time.

The real "killer move" should be coming soon.

Amidst this chaos of anger and ecstasy, Ye Qingfeng, led by Wang Dashan, arrived at the periphery of the crowd.

He spotted the giant fish being dragged ashore at a glance, and his pupils contracted slightly.

Based on his biological knowledge from his previous life, the shape of this fish... seems to be the legendary Arapaima?

This length is about ten feet, so it should be an adult.

However, what caught his attention even more was the faint yet strangely familiar smell of sulfur and gunpowder lingering in the air, mixed with the fishy smell and the bloody smell of fish.

His sharp gaze swept over the few black pottery shards floating on the river, and then caught sight of some unremoved debris of the same material at the feet of the yellow-robed Taoist priest.

Explosives?

A word clearly emerged in Ye Qingfeng's mind.

something wrong.

The giant arapaima in front of us is not the real thing. It can grow that big naturally. It's just that the villagers in ancient times didn't know this and it's normal for them to think of it as a monster.

The real danger, or rather the true core of this "Dragon King's Wedding" farce, lies hidden underwater.

Huang Youde was enjoying the adulation of the crowd and receiving endless thanks from Mr. and Mrs. Li.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a young Taoist priest in a green robe with a completely different air about him outside the crowd.

Seeing the other party calmly examining the giant fish and then scanning the river surface with a slight frown, Huang Youde felt a sense of displeasure and vigilance.

A competitor? Someone trying to stir things up? Trying to get a piece of the pie? Or did they see through some flaw?

He was pondering how to respond when he heard the Taoist priest in the green robe suddenly speak.

The sound wasn't loud, yet it possessed a strange penetrating power, clearly reaching the ears of those nearby:

"Although this fish has an unusual appearance, it does not display any malevolent aura. It perished due to the power of thunder and fire, which is not the appearance of a demon that demands a human sacrifice."

Upon hearing this, the villagers nearby were stunned, and the frenzied atmosphere paused slightly.

Li Laoshuan also noticed Ye Qingfeng; he saw him.

Huang Youde cursed inwardly, "They really came here to cause trouble!"

He immediately stepped forward, standing between Ye Qingfeng and the giant fish, his face contorted with anger, and his voice rose.

Pointing to the gruesome fish carcass on the ground, he shouted to Ye Qingfeng and then to all the villagers:

"What makes you say that, fellow Daoist? Are you perhaps envious of my merit in eliminating harm for the people?"

Look at those fangs! Look at those scales! Look at that ferocious appearance! What else could it be but a monster?!

So many families in our Xiahe Village, so many perfectly healthy girls, have been dragged down by this beast, their fates unknown!

Now that it has been executed here, it is a clear manifestation of divine justice! Yet you say it wasn't a monster?

Did all those girls die in vain?! How can you say such callous things? How can you face their wronged souls?!

His words were vehement, filled with righteous anger, and he cleverly deflected Ye Qingfeng's doubts.

It has been distorted into harm to the victims' families and a denial of "justice".

This tactic of emotional blackmail and shifting blame is masterful.

Sure enough, many villagers were stirred up by his words again, recalling the grief of the "brides" who had disappeared over the years and their families.

The look in his eyes as he looked at Ye Qingfeng immediately turned into one of dissatisfaction and anger.

"Master Huang is right! This is a demon!"

"If it weren't for this, our daughter would have died in vain!"

"Where did this stinking Taoist priest come from? He's talking nonsense!"

Public sentiment was once again aroused, and people voiced their support for Huang Youde.

Despite the accusations, Ye Qingfeng remained calm, though his brows furrowed even more.

He had no intention of engaging in a verbal argument with the other party at this moment, or getting bogged down in the emotions they were stirring up.

What he was really concerned about was the increasingly clear, gloomy, and restless activity beneath the surface.