The Heavenly Court is gone, I don't want to be a True Lord.

In the afternoon, Chunniang arrived with Chen Xun, and together with Zuo Qi and the others, they tidied up the house.

The courtyard was quite large, about eight-tenths of an acre. The main structure of the house was also well preserved, but the roof was leaking. Ni Heng climbed up and quickly plugged it up.

As evening approached, Chunniang took Chen Xun back to the tavern.

Zuo Qi also saw off the three young men who helped collect the fish. These were the fishmongers that Ni Heng had poached from the fish market bosses today, and they were considered to be working for the fish market.

They would work here every day from then on.

Ni Heng exclaimed excitedly, "Brother Qi, it's going to rain! We should..."

Zuo Qi ignored him and looked at He Xiao, "Xiao'er, how are the preparations going?"

"I collected some fish blood and bought about ten kilograms of pig blood, and put them all in the dilapidated temple outside the dock."

Water ghosts are bloodthirsty, and Zuo Qi was worried that they wouldn't appear, so he thought of using some pig's blood to lure them out.

This method was actually learned from the Records of Demons and Monsters. Long ago, when there weren't so many demons, the people were ignorant and water ghosts were regarded as river gods. Initially, they were sacrificed to live animals, but later they developed into sacrificing to living people. Although this method was ignorant, the frequency of water ghosts appearing did decrease significantly.

In this day and age, no one offers sacrifices, and when it rains, no one dares to go to the riverbank. The water ghosts must be very "hungry," and some pig's blood should be able to attract them.

Rumble!

A series of thunderclaps sounded.

It was not yet August, but thunderclouds were already rolling in.

Large raindrops, accompanied by a strong wind, arrived in an instant, pounding on the ground with a pattering sound. The rain lashed against the trees, creating a cacophony of noises everywhere.

Zuo Qi stood up. "Let's go."

Ni Heng couldn't wait any longer and led Da Hong outside.

It was pitch black outside, with a fierce wind and rain. The sound of rain pounding against the trees and the Liang River crashing against the banks was deafening, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of a horror movie.

Zuo Qi's Heavenly Eye has been fully opened. Because of the rain, the flow of energy between heaven and earth is extremely chaotic, but relatively speaking, the energy is relatively balanced.

Ni Heng and He Xiao became particularly conspicuous in this view.

Like a highlighted target in a game from a past life.

Zuo Qi felt somewhat reassured and walked along the Liang River towards the direction of the River God Temple.

They walked for hundreds of meters, but still did not see the so-called water ghost.

The river god temple and a large reed bed were also close at hand, and the three of them carefully approached.

Be careful.

Zuo Qi gave a word of advice.

The other two nodded repeatedly.

Upon stepping into the reed marshes, the atmosphere instantly became strange.

Waaaaah~!

Suddenly, from somewhere, came the sound of a woman sobbing.

The gazes of the group simultaneously turned serious, and Zuo Qi looked in the direction from which the sobbing was coming.

In the reeds, there was a figure that looked like a young girl squatting down.

A rainy night, a cold wind, rustling reeds, a girl crying at midnight...

Even though Ni Heng knew they were there to hunt water ghosts, he couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.

Yu Guangzhong saw that Zuo Qi suddenly took a step forward, leaping out like a tiger, drawing a short knife and slashing fiercely towards the girl.

Rip!

The sound of clothes tearing came from behind.

Zuo Qi seemed to have anticipated this, and suddenly turned around. A jet of water-like material suddenly shot out from the tear in his clothes.

Swift as lightning.

The speed was faster than Zuo Qi had imagined.

The water-like substance fell onto his waist and abdomen.

It hurts, it's cold, and it has a sticky feel to it.

In the distance, Ni Heng and He Xiao stared wide-eyed.

A blue monster, about two meters tall, slowly crawled out of the water, stood upright, and was surrounded by water mist.

Its head was exceptionally large, and its eyes were also large; the entire large head consisted of nothing but eyes and a mouth.

And that blue, water-like column was actually the monster's tongue.

Water ghost!

The two felt a chill run down their spines.

The moment the water ghost appeared, both of them felt a sense of repulsion, as if the monster before them was completely out of place in the world.

The two were not afraid, or rather, after practicing martial arts, as they became stronger, some things that ordinary people feared were no longer so frightening.

They reacted quickly, rushing over with Big Red almost the instant the water ghost crawled out of the puddle.

At the same time, the short knife tied to the long stick in his hand stabbed at the water ghost.

The water ghost's enormous eyes were filled with cruelty; his target seemed to be only Zuo Qi.

He completely ignored He Xiao and Ni Heng's attacks, shaking his head as if he wanted to drag Zuo Qi over.

When Zuo Qitian opened his eyes, he could see the energy flow patterns on the water ghost's body, which was completely different from when he looked at people.

The eerie blue energy within this monster passes through its mouth, which is its weak point.

Zuo Qi suddenly reached out and grabbed that disgusting tongue.

It was icy cold.

The water ghost's head-shaking motion was synchronized with the force exerted by his arm.

The cold, blue tongue emitted a squeaking sound, like a taut rope.

Zuo Qi was very confident in his strength. After breaking through to the second level of training, his strength had exceeded two thousand jin. A large vat filled with pickled vegetables weighed at least six hundred jin, and Zuo Qi could easily carry it while walking.

But he didn't expect that the water ghost's power was far greater than he had imagined.

The immense force of two thousand catties was slowly dragged by the water ghost. It was very slow, but He Xiao and Ni Heng could see it clearly.

In the contest between the two, Zuo Qi lost.

He Xiao and Ni Heng, wielding their short swords and long sticks, also struck the water ghost. However, both of them changed color at the same time, as the short swords failed to penetrate the water ghost's body. It was as if the water ghost's body was covered with several layers of cowhide, making it incredibly tough.

"Brother Qi, retreat quickly!"

This water ghost was much more difficult to deal with than they had imagined.

With its terrifying power, super strong defense, and unpredictable methods, it's no wonder that demonic essences can increase one's cultivation level, yet few dare to covet them.

Hearing the two exclamations, Zuo Qi ignored them, his three eyes fixed on the water ghost's mouth, and his arm suddenly loosened.

His entire body was instantly dragged over.

The ferocity in the water ghost's eyes was clearly visible.

In a flash, Zuo Qi suddenly reached for the dagger at his waist, twisted his body into a strange posture, and flew into the air, stabbing fiercely at the water ghost's mouth.

It was blocked by the tongue.

Pfft!

It sounded like piercing tough cowhide.

Zuo Qi hardened his heart and disregarded everything else. All the blood and qi in his body surged up, making his arms stronger. He twisted his palm and slid the dagger from above his tongue to below, stabbing with all his might.

The water ghost's mouth gaped open, completely unprepared for Zuo Qi's attack in this manner.

The dagger pierced through without any doubt, but the water ghost's interior remained as hard as cowhide. Zuo Qi held the dagger and rotated his hand.

In the chaos, the dagger seemed to pierce a soft spot, and an extremely cold sensation flowed from the dagger into the palm of the hand.

[Slay demons and monsters, Heavenly Fortune +2]

The ferocity in the water ghost's eyes slowly dissipated, and its form was washed away by the rain like ashes.

Only two items remained in the same spot.

A fist-sized, soft sculpture of a water ghost that looks like it could disappear at any moment.

The other one is an ice-blue bead.

That thing that looks like a statue should be the essence of a demon, and the ice-blue bead must be a demonic spirit.

Good luck! When a demon dies, it will surely leave behind its spirit, but this is not necessarily true for a spiritual creature.

The essence needs to be preserved in topaz. If you don't have topaz, you can simply touch it with your hands and it will be absorbed.

Zuo Qi didn't have any topaz, so he went straight for it.

In an instant, his essence, like smoke, rapidly surged into his palm.

Zuo Qi didn't have time to talk to He Xiao and the others. He sat cross-legged, breathing through his nose and mouth, practicing his breathing technique.

Two white wisps of smoke, like long snakes, lingered around his chest for a long time.