The Tian Water surged.

When Lord Wang's singing stopped, the sounds of slaughter on both sides of the river abruptly ceased.

The flatboat, only ten yards away from the boat, shouted, "Wang Qingzhi, lend me your head to mourn the three thousand souls of my Yanfu Mountain!"

As the words fell, he leaped into the air, and his snake spear transformed into a three-zhang-long giant snake, crashing down from mid-air.

"Too much nonsense." In the midst of speaking, Lord Wang leaped into the air, and the Autumn Water Sword unsheathed with a flash of cold light. Under Lord Wang's force, the stern of the boat sank into the river, then, with a gentle touch from Old Man Lv, it returned to its original state. The movements were so gentle that, apart from the monk, the Taoist, and the demon at the stern, no one noticed.

In the air, the Autumn Water Sword held by Lord Wang turned into numerous sword shadows, slashing horizontally, chopping vertically, or stabbing straight, each strike hitting the seven-inch spot of the giant snake.

The blocking iron cable transformed into an arched shape, then shattered into a straight line. The old man standing on it shot out like an arrow.

In mid-air, he shouted loudly at Lord Wang, "Do you think I don't exist? Take this, and die!"

Lord Wang didn't bother with him, swiftly wielding the Autumn Water Sword.

Old Man Lv stood up.

He threw the sharpening stone on the deck, picked up two pieces of the spear shaft, aligned them, and with a crisp sound, the two pieces merged into one. Then, seemingly slow but actually fast, he installed the spearhead and, like a child throwing a stone, tossed it towards the flying old man.

As he waved his hand, he muttered two words with dissatisfaction, "Too noisy!"

When Old Man Lv installed the spearhead, the old man regretted it.

Regretted using the iron cable enhanced by the accompanying demon evolution to accelerate just now. Now, he just wanted to leave this place.

He recognized Old Man Lv.

There was only one old man in the Demon-Sealing Bureau who used a spear, the second-rank guardian of the forbidden area, a Daoist without practicing Taoism or chanting scriptures, Lü Chonglou.

The swordsmanship used on the spear aimed at simplicity, seeking only to destroy the enemy with a single thrust.

A cold light flashed.

The giant dragon shadow formed by the blue light entwined around the flying spear, and under rapid rotation, it accelerated the incoming steel spear.

The old man, flying rapidly, didn't hesitate to lower his cultivation level, reversing his technique to forcefully dodge, sacrificing half of his body. By doing so, he used the momentum of the giant dragon's long spear to sink into the water.

There was a great probability that he could escape with the help of the big demon he had made a pact with underwater, using water evasion techniques.

As for why he didn't turn directly into the water, it was because Lü Chonglou's heavenly Daoist realm long spear could not be diverted once it missed the target.

As a half-step second-rank warrior, there was no escape.

Without leaving something to feed the steel spear, he would surely die body and soul.

Choosing the lesser of two evils.

Whether it was the river wind or the dragon illusion adjusted its direction, the steel spear entered from above the old man's head, passing through his body.

In a scene where flesh mixed with visceral and bone fragments, scattered into the river, the old man had not yet completely died. The iron cables hanging over the river quietly dispersed, and the great demon, who had once been highly anticipated by the old man in the water, turned into a small handful of deep blue water. Ignoring the backlash of the contract, it silently drifted away.

The steel spear wrapped in a blue dragon did not turn back. Instead, it plunged deep into the celestial water, carrying the flesh and blood of the old man. As the spear returned, it fell into the hands of Old Man Lü.

A four-meter-long, bowl-sized eel hung from the tip of the spear.

On the other side, a young man in green robes wielded a large snake, barely blocking the sword shadows of Autumn Water. Just as Old Man Lü's long spear flew out, Lord Wang took advantage of a moment when the young man in green robes lost focus. A shadow swiftly flew out of his left sleeve, piercing his left shoulder and suspending him in the air for a moment.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

In an instant, the Autumn Water Sword bypassed the paused giant snake and split through the young man's forehead. A bloodline, tinged with ice chips, appeared from the young man's forehead, cutting through a pair of eyes filled with incredulous red glow.

Retrieving the Autumn Water Sword, pulling out the Split Soul Arrow from the young man's shoulder, and taking back the snake spear that had returned to its original form from the young man's hand, Lord Wang then flew back to the black canopy boat.

A resentful and angry roar erupted from behind Lord Wang, "A third-tier warrior dares to sneak attack? Wang Qingzhi, are you still a martial artist?"

As the angry roar fell, the green robe tore open, revealing a bloodline that appeared from the forehead and extended down to between the legs. Lord Wang sarcastically commented without turning his head, "Idiot."

The man in the green robe stared with wide eyes, unblinking in death.

His corpse fell into the river, the bloodline dissolving and splitting into two halves. Blood mixed with viscera and the two halves of the body submerged in the rolling river.

On the prow of the black canopy boat, the Autumn Water Sword was sheathed, the Split Soul Arrow tucked away in the sleeve, and the snake spear was casually thrown onto the deck. Lord Wang looked towards the north bank of the celestial water, where a figure wearing a white mask and black armor appeared and gestured from a distance.

The Keeper of Demons, Black Rider.

Lord Wang nodded, and the Black Rider disappeared into the reeds.

Leaning forward, Lord Wang opened his mouth to instruct Chen Xuanze, who was sitting at the square table, "I said, remember this and submit it to the record in the Archive of Yellow Scrolls when we return to the office."

"Elder Lü Chonglou and the first-level exorcist Wang Qingzhi of the Keeper of Demons beheaded the remnants of the demonic cultivator Yan Snake Qing, a third-tier martial artist, and Yan Qing, a half-step second-tier martial artist, along with their companion, the yellow eel demon with a five-hundred-year cultivation. The Black Rider of the Keeper of Demons beheaded forty-seven remnants of Yan Floating Mountain, with one casualty in the battle. Yan Floating Mountain, eradicated, stricken from the human world."

Chen Xuanze, who was immersed in copying the Soul Departure Scripture, finally came back to his senses. He looked confused, not knowing what had just happened.

Seeing Chen Xuanze concentrating on copying scriptures, completely oblivious to his surroundings, Lord Wang became more satisfied.

Whether it was the martial arts cultivation of a warrior or the comprehension of Daoist techniques, most of the training relied on persistent efforts.

Talent and understanding were important, but without the dedication of tireless practice, even innate talent couldn't lead to significant achievements.

This kid is not bad at all.

Thinking about this, Lord Wang, with a satisfied expression, walked to Chen Xuanze's side.

The table was a bit small, and there were seven or eight neatly copied scriptures stacked at the corner of the table. The one in front of Chen Xuanze was mostly copied, blocked by his body, making it unclear to Lord Wang.

To avoid disturbing Chen Xuanze's concentration, Lord Wang reached out, took one of the neatly copied sheets of paper from the corner of the table, and slowly unfolded it to examine the densely packed content.

The handwriting resembled a dog's crawl, infuriating Lord Wang. He kicked Chen Xuanze off the boat into the celestial water, not fearing for Chen Xuanze's life but to avoid damaging the table.

When Chen Xuanze swam back onto the boat with a bewildered look, Lord Wang, disregarding his manners, pointed at him and scolded, "I told you to copy scriptures, not draw symbols. All you do every day is sneak around and fish. With that time, can't you practice your handwriting? This dog-like writing is embarrassing!"

Chen Xuanze looked aggrieved. As a ninth-tier exorcist, not holding any official position and not selling calligraphy, why bother practicing handwriting?

Besides, he had never used a brush before, and traditional characters were already intricate. Being able to concentrate and copy them was already impressive, what more did he want?

Seeing his pitiful expression, Lord Wang couldn't contain his laughter. He scolded him without mercy, pointing at the stern and shouting, "Little Daoist, come here!"

After the battle, Wang Qingxuan, still praying with Sanzang for Chen Xuanze, was relieved to find that Chen Xuanze was just kicked off the boat by Lord Wang and not turned into minced meat to feed the turtles. Just as he sighed in relief, he heard Lord Wang calling him.

Wang Qingxuan had no choice but to reluctantly return to the bow.

"Write the lyrics I just sang once, show this calligraphy-challenged guy what real handwriting looks like!"

Hearing Lord Wang's command, Wang Qingxuan hesitated.

Not that he was afraid of offending Chen Xuanze, or that his handwriting was not good enough.

He had been practicing copying texts since he was a child and had reached a decent level.

The main issue was that he didn't remember the lyrics Lord Wang had just sung.

Thinking that Wang Qingxuan was concerned about his face, Chen Xuanze casually said, "If the big man asks you to write, just write. Why bother making a fuss like an old woman?"

Wang Qingxuan looked helpless, not because he was afraid of offending Chen Xuanze or that his handwriting was lacking. Writing the lyrics was not a problem for him.

The main issue was that he couldn't remember the lyrics Lord Wang had just sung.

Chen Xuanze thought that Wang Qingxuan was concerned about his face and said casually, "If the big man asks you to write, just write. Don't act like an old woman, making a fuss about everything."

Wang Qingxuan had a helpless expression, internally complaining about why Lord Wang didn't call Three Burials instead of him.

Unable to refuse, he replied to Lord Wang, "Reporting to the big man, the little Daoist, uh, didn't remember the lyrics just now."

While speaking, he was sweating profusely. In the scorching heat of August, his body shook like a sieve.

Lord Wang chuckled, saying unkindly, "Just write something randomly. Let this calligraphy-challenged guy see what real handwriting is! Also, you're responsible for teaching him. Before we reach Qingyun View, if his handwriting still looks like a dog's crawl, I'll demolish Qingyun View!"

Lord Wang turned and returned to the cabin.

Wang Qingxuan stood there with a bitter smile, quite envious of Sanzang's vow of silence.

What was this, an undeserved calamity?