Chapter 185: A flying sword, arriving through the air

River of Forgetfulness.

Continuous drizzle, a thin mist like a gauze veil shrouded the sky. The houses scattered in the mountains had long been uninhabited, broken walls overgrown with weeds—everywhere a scene of decay and desolation.

If people set foot here, they would feel the eerie and sinister atmosphere everywhere, the suffocating Death Qi.

It seemed that staying here just a few more seconds would make one’s mind collapse and go insane.

“Splat, splat.”

The sound of footsteps treading through muddy ground mixed with the rain and the Yin Wind. Three people slowly entered the area.

At the front was a middle-aged man in a Daoist robe with a straight posture, followed by a young Daoist boy.

Beside the young Daoist boy was a third person, riding a small donkey, wearing a straw rain cape, a bamboo hat, and holding a horsetail whisk. He appeared to have the air of a Reclusive master.

This person was the great exorcist and ghost catcher, the once-famous Daoist Fang of Celestial Purity Temple decades ago—Fang Tianhai.

The middle-aged man was named Zhou Qingwen. He was not only Fang Tianhai’s personal Disciple but also the current Daoist of Celestial Purity Temple. And the young Daoist boy was Zhou Qingwen’s Disciple.

So when the young Daoist boy grew up, the three of them would become three generations of Daoists of Celestial Purity Temple.

As the three passed by a ruined house, Fang Tianhai slowly raised his head. The murky eyes hidden under the bamboo hat looked at the ruined house, and he couldn’t help but sigh.

“Master, can you see?” the young Daoist boy asked upon seeing this.

“Can’t see.” Fang Tianhai shook his head, a bitter expression on his face. “It’s just that the aura there—I have never forgotten it.”

Back then, when violent spirits erupted in the “River of Forgetfulness,” Fang Tianhai rushed here to suppress and seal those vicious ghosts and evil spirits that plagued the human world together with other fellow cultivators.

Fang Tianhai and the others initially thought that perhaps a rift had appeared in the “gate” between Nether Capital and the human world, allowing countless fierce ghosts and evil spirits buried underground to take advantage and come to the human world to wreak havoc.

But later they discovered that things were not that simple.

Those evil spirits possessed the villagers in the mountain settlements, and the destructive power they unleashed exceeded everyone’s imagination.

Fang Tianhai and the others could not suppress them effectively, and several were even killed on the spot by the demons.

After the first failure, they laid down a great Formation, trapped all the evil spirits in a certain area, withdrew from the “River of Forgetfulness,” and began investigating the source of power those demons had obtained.

However, Fang Tianhai, who was still young and hot-tempered at the time, blamed the failure on the incompetence of others, saying they had held him back.

So, disregarding the advice of his fellow cultivators, he went to the “River of Forgetfulness” alone again, facing those violent demons and evil spirits by himself.

As an absolute genius Daoist, Fang Tianhai, without the help of others, showed great power instead, sealing a large number of evil spirits on his own.

But soon he discovered that his body was affected by some Rot Qi, greatly reducing his functions, and his strength grew weaker and weaker.

Because of Fang Tianhai’s insistence on going his own way, the great Formation laid down by his fellow cultivators was broken. The demons originally trapped inside began to rampage elsewhere, and countless lives were lost.

Just as Fang Tianhai was about to be devoured by the demons, a stunningly beautiful woman in a light gauze descended slowly from the sky. With a single move, she suppressed and sealed all the rampaging demons.

Before Fang Tianhai lost consciousness, he only saw her Fairy-like figure. He didn’t see her face clearly, nor did he know what she did afterward.

When Fang Tianhai woke up again, he had already been carried back to Celestial Purity Temple. Although his life was saved, his eyes had become nearly blind by then.

Although Fang Tianhai later learned that the unrest in the “River of Forgetfulness” had subsided, he had made a grave mistake. He originally wanted to die to atone, but later chose to continue living.

Because only by living could he have a chance to redeem himself.

From then on, Fang Tianhai handed over Celestial Purity Temple to his young Disciple Zhou Qingwen and disappeared for decades.

This time, hearing that the “River of Forgetfulness” was becoming unstable again, Fang Tianhai did not hesitate. He chose to leave seclusion and come here once more.

After the three continued walking for a while, Zhou Qingwen, walking at the front, suddenly stopped.

He seemed to notice something. He crouched down, used his hand to part the nearby grass, and frowned slightly.

“Qingwen, have you found something?” Fang Tianhai asked.

“Master, there are human footprints here.” Zhou Qingwen reported his discovery. “And they look very fresh, as if they were left less than a day ago.”

“That’s very abnormal.” Fang Tianhai took a deep breath and replied.

Although his eyes were nearly blind, just by sensing the surrounding aura, he could tell that the drizzle here had been falling for at least three days.

Fang Tianhai knew that this land buried people who had shed blood and sweat for Great Yan, and their descendants often came here to pay respects.

But since the “River of Forgetfulness” had recently become unstable, with continuous drizzle and fear of evil spirits causing trouble, no one should dare to come here to worship.

So why were there such fresh footprints here?

Just as Fang Tianhai was puzzled, his ears twitched, and he suddenly heard a faint sound beside him.

He was about to call out a warning, but the sound of an arrow cutting through the air preceded his words.

“Pfft—”

With the sound of flesh being pierced, Zhou Qingwen, walking at the forefront, let out a cry of pain. A sharp arrow had pierced through the palm of his hand.

Fortunately, Zhou Qingwen reacted quickly. If he had been a step slower, it wouldn’t have been his palm that was pierced, but his heart.

“Two Daoists and a young Daoist boy—you’re not welcome here.”

Then a sinister, low voice came. A black-clothed masked man was hiding in a locust tree, only his eyes visible, staring at Fang Tianhai and the others.

“Who are you? Why launch a sneak attack!?”

Zhou Qingwen endured the pain and pulled the arrow out of his palm. He quickly tore off his sleeve to bandage and stop the bleeding, then gritted his teeth and demanded of the black-clothed man.

“I am here to eliminate the evil spirits in this area. Back when the riot happened here, it was those evil spirits that had gained part of the power of the Ancient Gods. If they rise again, the Empire of Yan is in danger!”

“Oh? If that’s really the case, then that would be wonderful.”

The black-clothed man gave a sinister smile and replied.

At this moment, Fang Tianhai faintly sensed a familiar aura from the black-clothed man.

The next instant, his mouth gaped wide in shock.

The aura emanating from the black-clothed man was exactly the rotting Qi that those evil spirits had possessed back then!

This black-clothed man could actually control and use that Rot Qi!

Just as the black-clothed man nocked another arrow and was about to take the lives of Fang Tianhai and the others—

A clear sword cry pierced the sky.

A Jian, a flying sword, came through the air!