Bearing the blue sky

Chapter 321 Enlightenment of the Great River! The Great Sorcerer Arrives!

Night completely enveloped the riverbank.

The fog was thicker than before, flowing slowly across the water's surface, as if an invisible hand was gently stirring the river's surface.

The light from the campfire was softened at the edge of the mist, casting hazy halos that formed intermittent outlines on the sand.

Zhu Ge sat on the rock, her gaze never leaving the river.

He could sense that the thing underwater was still there, neither approaching nor moving away, as if it were waiting for something, or as if it were confirming something.

Its aura is heavy but not concentrated, as if it has been scattered many times by the current and can no longer form a complete shape.

"You're saying this thing has no intelligence?" Guan Julang squatted down beside him, holding a reed in his hand and unconsciously fiddling with the sand.

"At least not now." Zhu Ge shook his head: "It has devoured too many things, its aura is too mixed, and its intelligence has been scattered."

"It's like a pot of soup that's been simmering for too long; the flavors are all mixed together, and you can't tell what each ingredient originally tasted like."

"So you just said that if someone can enlighten it, it can develop complete intelligence?" Guan Julang asked curiously, "How can one enlighten it?"

"Theoretically, it's possible." Zhu Ge nodded. "But enlightening a river is different from enlightening a person. The river is too big, and its energy is dispersed throughout the entire riverbed. To concentrate it, a sufficiently strong catalyst is needed."

Guan Julang thought for a moment, then put down the reed: "We'll wait and see."

Zhu Ge laughed: "How did you know I wanted to enlighten you?"

Guan Julang pursed his lips, too lazy to answer.

So Zhu Ge stood up, walked to the riverbank, and stood on a flat rock closest to the water, looking down at the campfire and starlight reflected in the water.

The mist flowed slowly at his feet, like a river waiting to be awakened, tentatively exploring the night with some unformed language.

He didn't rush to speak, but stood quietly for a while, as if waiting for the aura submerged in the water to sense his presence and slowly rise from the depths.

The people at the camp also quieted down, as if they sensed some kind of change that was taking place on the river that had not yet fully manifested.

The firelight flickered gently in the night breeze, causing the outline of the riverbank to constantly meet and separate from the edge of the mist.

Zhu Ge gazed at the mist, and after a moment spoke, her voice neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for the air above the river to bear her weight: "A half-acre pond opens up a new world."

When the sound of the blessing song fell on the river, the mist did not respond immediately.

The ripples on the water's surface seemed to be gently pressed down at one corner, pausing briefly before resuming their flow.

The mist swirled above the river for a while, as if trying to discern the weight of the words, or perhaps waiting for them to settle completely.

The light of the campfire flickered slightly in the night breeze, as if its edges were lowered by a gust of wind blowing from the river.

"Half an acre? A small pond?" Guan Julang put down the reeds in his hand, his gaze fixed on Zhu Ge's back, and said nothing.

"Why is the literary energy fluctuating?" At the campsite, Su Feibai also came out at some point and stood on the other side of the campfire, looking towards the river.

Zhu Ge didn't turn around, but continued speaking, her voice slightly lower than the first sentence, as if she wanted each word to fall smoothly onto the water's surface, rather than be swayed by the night wind: "The light of the sky and the shadows of the clouds linger together."

The mist on the water surface began to change as the second sentence ended.

The originally scattered and flowing mist seemed to be drawn by something, and began to slowly converge towards the center of the river, as if it were being gathered together by an invisible force.

The mist floating on the river no longer spread randomly, but began to form a faint, slowly condensing outline, like a river being reshaped and searching for its own form.

Guan Julang sat up slightly, as if to confirm that the changes he was seeing were not an illusion.

Without pausing, the congratulatory song continued with the third line: "How can the canal be so clear?"

The mist on the river surface trembled violently when that sentence was uttered.

At the center of that slowly receding mist, it was as if something was pushing up from the bottom of the water, overcoming a layer of resistance, like a door that had been sealed off by the water flow for a long time, being pushed open layer by layer.

The ripples on the river became more dense than before, as if responding to the vibrations of those sentences.

The campfires in the camp flickered at the same moment, as if a cold wind blowing from the river had suppressed their flames, but they quickly returned to normal.

The soldiers resting near the tents also looked up, their gazes turning to the river in unison.

Some people stood up, some gripped their weapons, but stopped when they saw the figure emerging on the river, as if waiting for the figure to fully take shape.

Zhu Ge recited the last line: "For there is a source of living water."

As the last word was uttered, the mist on the river completely dissipated.

"boom!!"

Between heaven and earth, countless streams of literary energy burst forth, attempting to infuse into Zhu Ge's skeletal monster clone.

But with just a slight guidance from Zhu Ge, the literary energy changed direction and rushed into the great river in front of them.

Between heaven and earth, the spirit of literature is extremely strong and yang, a power born entirely from the human race.

It is most suitable for washing away the chaotic atmosphere of the great river in front of you.

Moreover, the river's own power will not be destroyed by this literary energy.

After all, the poem recited in the blessing song was taken from Zhu Xi's "Thoughts on Reading".

The reason is the saying, "How can the canal be so clear? Because it has a source of living water."

The power of cleansing and purifying is just right to wash away the impurities from this great river, leaving only the most essential elements.

In this way, wisdom can be gathered.

However, Zhu Ge still guessed wrong about this piece, "Thoughts on Reading".

"What's going on? This strange phenomenon—"

Zhu Ge was originally calmly waiting for the literary energy to cleanse the great river before him.

His plan was to wait for the river to develop sentience and become his helper.

One powerful demon could completely help him exterminate all the demons in the three realms of the Southern Yue and Burmese Wilderness.

However, at that moment, a series of booming sounds came from the sky.

"Rumble—"

In the sky, the phantom of a giant book was turned open.

The books transform into a small pond, where literary spirit permeates, making it bright and dazzling.

The next moment, the book flowed from the sky like water into Zhu Ge's bone monster clone.

"Another kind of meaning? This meaning—is it also a passive effect?"

Zhu Ge could feel that the body of his bone monster clone was slowly solidifying.

This time, it wasn't through bones, but through literary talent.

It's worth noting that the previous bone monster clone possessed the talent to manipulate, dissolve, refine, and utilize bones.

If Zhu Ge encounters a bone, he can manipulate the bone to fly over, turn it into bone powder, and then absorb and refine the bone powder into his own body.

To be honest, Zhu Ge's current bone monster clone is basically a walking chicken-shaped weapon, almost comparable to his Purgatory Star Staff.

At the very least, a Spirit-level or Yuan-level weapon would be suicide to directly clash with his body.

After all, his Purgatory Star Staff was made of the true-grade material Star-Picking Silver.

However, to continue improving, a massive amount of bones are needed.

In the end, even sacrificing the bones of all living beings in this world wouldn't be enough for him to improve.

Now, however, a piece of writing titled "Thoughts on Reading" has given his bone monster clone a new method and source for refining its body.

Refined and cultured!

"boom!!"

A series of soft popping sounds came from the distant city of Great River.

The unusual movement of the great river finally alarmed the local barbarian tribes in the southern Vietnamese and Burmese wilderness.

However, Zhu Ge's army was no pushover either.

Yan Liyuan and his group immediately led a group of powerful individuals to stop them, and even prepared to annihilate them.

Their original goal was also to conquer Dahe City, but after encountering Dahe, Zhu Ge had other and better ideas, so they stopped.

Otherwise, a strong attack wouldn't be impossible to take it down.

"Whoa!!!"

Just then, the river overflowed.

This great river should be the longest and widest river in the southern Vietnam-Myanmar wilderness.

The area was teeming with various powerful demons and also had many barbarian inhabitants, naturally giving rise to supernatural abilities.

However, the great river is now being eroded by the influence of literature.

As the first known poem in the world entitled "Thoughts on Reading," it ignited a literary craze.

"Whoa!!"

"Whoa!!"

"Whoa!!"

The endless flow of literary energy washed away all the resentment, demonic energy, and death energy in the river.

In the end, only the purest yin energy remained.

Big ghost!

A great demon is about to be born!

Zhu Ge's eyes lit up.

This is double happiness!

Once the Great Demon is born, he can use its power to clean up all the rivers and waterways in the southern wilderness of Myanmar.

However, at that moment, an extremely powerful force rose from the distant city of Great River, like a sun.

Zhu Ge immediately looked at it.

A powerful demon soared into the air and sat cross-legged, while Yan Liyuan and the others were sent flying backward.

"Great Demon? Interesting—" The blue soul firework in Zhu Ge's eye socket flickered.

All those above the third realm were slaughtered by the Annihilation True Monarch.

That was a slaying at the level of the Great Dao.

However, some who were about to break through to the third realm were naturally spared.

It seems that someone in Great River City has broken through to the third realm and become a Great Demon.

The great demon hovered above the city of Great River, like a black sun.

His body was emaciated, and his skin was covered with intricate tattoos. The tattoos glowed with a ghostly green light under the moonlight, as if they were living things slowly moving across his body.

His gaze fell on Zhu Ge's direction, carrying a displeasure at being disturbed from his long slumber.

He slowly raised his hand, palm facing upward, and a wisp of dark red aura gathered at his fingertips, like a snake being awakened.

"I am the Great Sorcerer! Humans, get out of here!"

His voice wasn't loud, but it pierced the night wind and reached everyone's ears clearly: "This is my territory. This river, this city, are all mine."

"A great sorcerer?" Zhu Ge asked indifferently. "A sorcerer dares to call himself great?"

He stood on the riverbank, where he met the great demon across the night, across the great river that was being washed away by the spirit of literature.

He could sense that the great demon's aura was more complete than he had expected. It didn't seem like a sudden breakthrough, but rather someone who had been preparing for a long time, just waiting for the right moment to let him fully surface.

Compared to the Central Plains region, such as the lords of Qin territory.

The Yunjiang region borders the southern Vietnamese and Burmese wilderness, and the intelligent beings on both sides are incredibly patient and tolerant.

At the same time, because of its remote location and scarce resources, the people here are all ruthless.

Mushroom God, Straw-Cloaked Fisherman, Red Rice Immortal, and so on are all such beings.

"You've been waiting for this moment for a long time," Zhu Ge said.

The Great Demon did not deny it: "I've waited in this city for ten years, just waiting for the right opportunity. Hahaha, who knew that the Annihilation True Lord would arrive and slaughter my Southern Yue Burmese Wilderness? What a wonderful thing!"

"And now, you've arrived. Hmm, perfect timing! I need a sacrifice to solidify my realm."

"I'm not here to be a sacrifice," Zhu Ge said lightly. "I'm here to collect the river's bounty."

The Great Demon sneered, as if he had heard something laughable in Zhu Ge's words.

He raised his hand and pointed at Zhu Ge: "You can't accept it."

The wisp of dark red aura condensed at his fingertips, transforming into a slender beam of light that pierced through the night and headed straight for Zhu Ge's chest.

Like a thin thread being stretched, it has already passed through the layer of mist that has not yet completely dissipated above the river.

Zhu Ge neither dodged nor retreated.

He raised his bone wings and held them in front of him.

The moment the beam of light made contact with the bone wings, a sharp friction sound erupted, as if two pieces of metal were being squeezed together.

The beam of light slid a short distance across the surface of the bone wing, leaving a faint scorch mark, before dissipating in the night wind.

Zhu Ge lowered the bone wings, and the scorch marks were slowly fading, as if the gaps on the surface were being filled again by the literary energy.

The Great Demon's gaze lingered on Zhu Ge's bone wings for a moment: "You possess the aura of Confucianism and Taoism, as well as the aura of martial arts, and you are also a bone monster—"

Before he could finish speaking, he quickly raised his hand.

This time, the dark red aura in his palm was even more intense than before, like a ball of flame being compressed.

He made a grasping motion toward Zhu Ge, and the dark red aura exploded in the air, turning into countless tiny specks of light, like ashes scattered by the wind, covering most of the area above the river.

Zhu Ge did not stay where she was. Instead, she activated her bone wings and slid backward several feet, avoiding the area with the densest concentration of light spots.

Then turn to the side, spreading your bone wings to your sides, leaving enough room to adjust for the upcoming confrontation.

The spots of light landed where he had just stood, scorching the ground and leaving tiny scorch marks, as if the ground had been repeatedly baked by high temperatures.

He couldn't be bothered to listen to what the other person was saying.

Want to chat with these cunning old foxes?

They died without even knowing how they died.

At this moment, the sorcerer raised his hand again.

This time, his tattoos began to glow, the eerie green light seeping from his skin and forming fine lines in the air, like a net being unfurled.

The lines intertwined around him, forming a complex pattern that then slowly extended downwards.

The next moment, he clasped his hands together.

The eerie green lines gathered in his palm, shrinking back into a denser mass of energy.

This ball of energy resembled a human head with very long hair, suggesting it was a woman's head.

"This power is something I cultivated using the heads of two thousand seven hundred pregnant women. It was originally meant for that old codger, but now I'll let you, a man from the Central Plains, have a taste of it first!"

Just as the Great Demon was about to make another move, a slight sound came from the river surface, as if something was slowly rising from the bottom of the water.

"Hahaha, after countless years of ignorance, today I, this demon, have finally gained sentience. From this day forward, the Southern Yue and Myanmar wilderness will be my watery kingdom!"