"How dare you!"
A roar of anger echoed from the courtyard, and then the demonic beast, transformed into its true form, charged from the ground towards the sky.
Its demonic energy surged, and under the threat of death, this demon was clearly giving its all, unleashing all its demonic power. Two magical artifacts accompanied it.
However, as the six heavy water pearls fell, the demon's form was immediately engulfed by divine light and water light, and finally, a roar of unwillingness echoed.
The courtyard below was also affected by the powerful divine force, turning into ruins in a matter of seconds.
However, Ji Yuan held back some of his power, dispersing most of the divine force fluctuations so that the ground of the mansion was not destroyed.
He walked slowly forward, passing through a patch of ruins, and with his divine power, he retrieved the deer demon's inner core and storage bag, as well as two magical artifacts of decent quality.
Finally, he stopped at a corner of the mansion, waved his hand, and sent out a divine force to sweep away the collapsed rocks of the rockery on the ground. Then, a dark cave entrance was revealed.
The two mountain and marsh cultivators who had been waiting nearby had already arrived at the mansion at their fastest speed.
At Ji Yuan's signal, they entered the cave with torches. After about half an hour, they brought men and women back to the surface.
These people were at most around twenty years old, most of them seventeen or eighteen, all of them having been kidnapped from various places around Linfu County.
There were seventeen people in total. After being rescued, most of them showed expressions of numbness and bewilderment. Only when they saw the young man in a light blue divine robe, radiating a gentle divine light, did a flicker of life begin to appear.
"You are..."
A woman with an exceptional demeanor spoke, trying to step forward but her legs went weak, and she almost fell to the ground.
A wild cultivator beside her reached out and somewhat politely supported the woman, while his gaze swept over the crowd and he loudly announced, "This is the Water God Lord of Xiaoyuan Mountain. He learned that you were abducted by a demon and has specially appeared here to rescue you!"
As soon as he said this, the bewildered expressions on the faces of the seventeen rescued people deepened.
It seemed they could not believe that a deity would actually come to save them.
During their captivity by the demon, they had endured untold suffering, countless prayers to the gods had only resulted in deeper despair.
Ji Yuan swept his gaze over them, and then his divine might permeated outwards. Under the illumination of brilliant golden divine power, the weak and exhausted group suddenly felt their fatigue vanish without a trace.
It was as if a surge of strength had appeared in their bodies, they no longer felt the chill of the night, and a warmth spread through their hearts.
Then, under the divine light, Ji Yuan transformed into a golden streak of light and shot into the sky, disappearing into the night.
"It really is a god..."
The woman, no longer needing support from the wild cultivator, murmured to herself as she gazed at the golden streak of light that had disappeared into the night sky.
About an hour later, Ji Yuan's figure appeared by the side of the Linfu River, gazing from afar at the brightly lit Hebo Temple.
In a tea stall nearby, an old man was squatting on the ground, idly tending to the stove fire in front of him, keeping the tea in the copper pot warm.
"As the River God, you enjoy tending to flames. Isn't that a bit strange?"
Ji Yuan withdrew his gaze and looked at the old man, whose true identity was the River God.
The old man, looking at the vigorous stove fire before him, said with a smile, "Water can nourish all things, and fire can give people hope. They should not conflict with each other."
He sighed, slowly rose from the ground, and then walked out of the tea stall.
Looking at the young man in divine robes before him, the old man was dazed for a moment, then with a look of realization, he said, "You are the young man from earlier today."
Although his appearance was younger by three or four years, and his figure was also a bit smaller, it was still not difficult to discern their resemblances.
Initially, the old man thought they might be brothers, but after sensing the other's aura, he was certain that despite their different appearances, they were the same person.
"Is it a transformation technique? Or some other method?"
The old man murmured to himself, then stopped caring. He then asked, "Are you here for a fight?"
He appeared listless, as if he had no intention of fighting, but after glancing towards the Hebo Temple, he grumbled, "Perhaps we should still have a fight. We have to put on a show, after all!"
Hearing this, Ji Yuan frowned. In just a few short sentences, there was a deeper meaning revealed.
After a long period of thought, he slowly nodded his head, intending to use this opportunity to gauge the depth of this River God, who had become a god for over three hundred years.
"Let's be clear, on my territory, you will suffer a considerable loss."
The old man laughed heartily and reached for the rag on his shoulder.
With a fierce pull, the rag swept out. Divine power surged within it, and several Dao patterns appeared, making it an artifact of immense power!
Ji Yuan's gaze sharpened. Six heavy water pearls immediately appeared around him, spinning and releasing waves of water light.
*Boom!!!*
A loud explosion echoed in the night sky. Violent divine force fluctuations raged outwards, stirring up countless stones and earth, and even the tea stall beside them was instantly destroyed.
The old man cast a reluctant glance at the tea stall, then walked step by step towards the young man before him. His slightly bent back straightened, and divine might emanated from his body.
From this moment on, he no longer looked like a tea stall owner, but a deity who had condensed divine authority.
"My name is Yun Lu, the River God of Linfu River."
He said slowly, as a sign of respect to the person before him.
Ji Yuan pondered for a moment and then said, "My name is Tian Yi, Water God of Xiaoyuan Mountain."
Both reported their divine names. The moment they condensed their divine authority, they had shed their mortal bodies and existed in the world with their divine bodies and golden forms.
The River God's face showed surprise as he sized up the new god before him. "Water God of Xiaoyuan Mountain?"
After murmuring to himself, he couldn't help but chuckle a few times. A water god in the mountains was indeed something he had never heard of before.
After his moment of contemplation, his expression gradually became serious. He flicked the long cloth in his hand, and immediately, a surging river sound emanated, as if he were holding not a long cloth, but the Linfu River behind him.
The next moment, the long cloth suddenly broke through the air, and with divine light surging, Ji Yuan seemed to see a long river crashing down upon him.
Without hesitation, he unleashed his divine power. The six heavy water pearls beside him spun rapidly, then rose sharply. With the rippling water light, they managed to steadily support the illusion of the long river before him!
Then, he reached out and grabbed the side, flicking the Yuan Chen Whip towards the River God before him. The light blue whip body broke through the dense divine power and was about to strike the opponent.
Seeing this, the River God let out a light laugh. His rough, calloused palm slapped forward, intending to clash with an artifact without any external aid!