Si Lei Zhenjun

The sunlight shines through the sparse branches and leaves, dappling onto the bluestone slabs in the courtyard. A breeze blows by, bringing a hint of coolness and a faint fragrance of flowers.

In front of the door, several pots of blooming peonies look particularly beautiful in the morning light, and the dewdrops on the petals sparkle in the refraction of the sunlight.

"Chu Xing, do you want to go for a stroll in the city? Anyway, our sect mission has been completed, so why not spend a few days there before going back?"

As soon as Chu Xing and Qu Hongjin walked out of the attic, Wang Sanyuan came to greet them.

"Yeah." Chu Xing smiled and nodded, then looked at Qu Hongjin beside him and said, "Junior Sister Hongjin, do you want to go with us?"

Qu Hongjin hesitated for a long time, then finally shook her head and said, "No, Xiaoyu and I have things to do."

At this moment, Xiaoyu suddenly walked up to Qu Hongjin, shook her arm, and cast an inquiring look at her, but was glared back by Qu Hongjin.

Chu Xing took in all the little movements of the two girls, turned his gaze to Xiaoyu, and asked softly, "What's wrong, Xiaoyu?"

Xiao Yu pouted and said, "Sir, my daughter is shy and embarrassed to ask you for help. Actually, we encountered some troubles while doing the sect mission."

After saying that, Xiaoyu glanced cautiously at Qu Hongjin beside her, as if afraid of making her unhappy.

Seeing this, Qu Hongjin glared at Xiaoyu coquettishly, and at the same time raised her hand, as if to spank Xiaoyu.

Seeing Qu Hongjin's raised hand, Xiaoyu's face changed in fear, and like a frightened deer, she trotted and hid behind Chu Xing.

"Haha." Chu Xing couldn't help laughing and patted Xiaoyu's head lovingly. At the same time, he glanced at Qu Hongjin with a slightly reproachful look and said, "Don't be afraid of Xiaoyu. Your young lady is my defeated opponent. With me here, she won't dare to act rashly!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Chu Xing cried out in pain. He looked at Qu Hongjin, who was pinching the soft flesh around his waist, with a flattering look on his face, and begged for mercy repeatedly: "Hiss~ I was wrong, Junior Sister, please let me go first."

"Who is the defeated general?"

“I, I am!!!”

Upon hearing this, Qu Hongjin raised her chin proudly and slowly loosened her fingers.

Chu Xing breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and looked at Xiaoyu and asked, "What's the trouble, Xiaoyu?"

Xiaoyu paused and said, "The river monster you're dealing with is too cunning. If you can't defeat it, it will hide in the water. We can't do anything to it."

Chu Xing nodded slightly, smiled awkwardly at the Wang siblings, and said, "Fairy Sanyuan and Fairy Eryi, you two go shopping. I'll accompany them to take a look."

Wang Eryi stood there quietly, without saying a word, but silently moved behind Chu Xing and gently took up the corner of his clothes.

"Why should I go shopping alone? Let's go together!"

Wang Sanyuan shrugged and said helplessly.

……

After Chu Xing and his four companions left the city, they boarded Chu Xing's white sedan and flew southeast for less than two hours before arriving at their destination - Sanxi Town. Although it was only a town, it was extremely prosperous because it was located near the Huntian Immortal City.

Chu Xing estimated that it was half the size of Guiyun City. Looking down from the sky, he saw that it was right at the confluence of three rivers.

"Hong Jin, is this the lake?"

Chu Xingzheng was sitting on the soft couch in the sedan chair, walking on thin ice. Qu Hongjin and Wang Eryi were beside him, one of them leaning on his arm. He pointed to a lake east of Sanxi Town, turned his head and asked Qu Hongjin in a gentle voice.

"Yes, senior brother, this lake is connected to a river. The river monster is in the lake over here. It has eaten no less than a hundred people in Sanxi Town." Qu Hongjin said.

"Okay, then let's go to that small pavilion first."

The white sedan slowly landed on the ground. Chu Xing folded up the sedan and led a few people along a small stone path into the mahogany pavilion.

"This lake is vast and bottomless. Hongjin, how did you two find the river monster last time?"

Chu Xing leaned on the railing of the pavilion, gazing at the rippling waves on the lake.

"Xiaoyu and I waited on the bank for half a day last time, and then we saw it break through the water and run fast on the lake." Qu Hongjin said.

"Did you see what the river monster looked like?" Chu Xing asked.

"The body is white and the tail is black, the scales on the head are the color of lapis lazuli, and the claws and fangs are like those of a tiger." Qu Hongjin replied.

"Do you have any magic weapon to avoid water?"

Chu Xing glanced at the few people with an inquiring look, and found that they all shook their heads. Then he immediately drove the Wusheng Chain Blade on his chest and wrapped it around his right arm, looking ready for battle.

"In this case, we can only wait for it to appear."

"Amitabha, I am honored to receive your respects, my humble monk, from the Zen Buddhist Temple."

At this moment, a bald monk with a handsome face, a radiant complexion, and wearing a light yellow monk's robe suddenly walked into the pavilion from the small stone path. The monk clasped his hands together and nodded slightly.

"Brother Pushe, you are polite. I am Chu Xing from the Yunxiao Sect. I am here with a few friends to exorcise demons."

Chu Xing swept his spiritual sense over the young monk, and saw that his golden elixir was complete. He walked up to him and saluted with his fists.

"The soul lamp left by my junior brother Puhua in the temple has gone out. The abbot used his supernatural powers to investigate and found out that my junior brother Puhua was killed in Sanxi Town. He sent me to investigate. I happened to hear that there was a river monster in this lake, so I came to take a look." Monk Pushe said slowly.

"So that's how it is. I wonder if senior brother has any magic weapon to avoid water? The river monster is hiding in the lake. The lake is too vast, and we can only sigh in despair." Chu Xing asked.

"I happen to have a magical treasure called the Muni Ding Water Pearl, which may be able to help you, the donors."

Monk Pushe nodded slightly and took out a yellowish-brown bead from his bosom, with precious light flowing on the surface of the bead.

"Then I'll trouble you, senior brother." Chu Xingdao.

Monk Pushe nodded and smiled slightly, gently closed his eyes, and muttered something. The low and rhythmic voice echoed in the air. As the mantra was chanted, the yellow light of the Muni Water-Dividing Pearl held in his right hand increased and flew to the top of his head.

Waves of magical power flowed from the beads into the lake, ripples began to appear on the surface of the lake, and the water was gradually separated to form a wide waterway.

"Please follow me, benefactors."

Monk Pushe made a gesture of invitation and flew into the waterway first. The Muni Water Bead was suspended above his head, and the lake water retreated wherever he passed.

"Let's go too."

Chu Xing couldn't help but marvel at this scene. He greeted a few people and flashed behind Monk Pushe.

The group of six used their spiritual sense to search for the river monster at the bottom of the lake.

Three hours later, they finally saw a cave at the bottom of the lake with an entrance more than two meters wide. The cave was pitch black, and they could vaguely see a huge black shadow inside, as if a giant beast was lurking in the darkness.

"Moo~"

A long and deep sound like a drum was heard, and a monster more than ten feet tall jumped out of the cave. It had a white body and a black tail, green eyes, and its head was covered with glazed scales. It walked up to the few people, with a puzzled look in its eyes, and looked at them with its head tilted.

"Bind!"

Chu Xing had the Wusheng Chain Blade wrapped around his right arm, ready for battle. Seeing the monster appear, wind and thunder magic power continuously flowed from the golden elixir in his dantian into the Wusheng Chain Blade. Demonic energy surged in his body, and he was surrounded by cold wind and thunder, and he shouted softly.

In an instant, the body of the Wusheng Chain Blade continued to split, and the two short blades rushed towards the monster in front of him with lightning speed.

"Moo~Moo~Moo~"

The monster dodged and tried to escape, but the short blade was so fast that it was tied up tightly in a short while. It kept rolling and struggling on the ground, making mournful cries.

Seeing the dark evil spirit surging from Chu Xing, Pushe's face suddenly changed color. A golden light shone from his body, and a tin staff suddenly appeared in his hand. He stared at Chu Xing with a defensive look on his face and shouted angrily:

"Are you a demon cultivator?"

Seeing that he was about to fight if he disagreed with something, Chu Xing quickly explained:

"Brother, don't panic. I am a cultivator from the immortal sect. It's just that my magic weapon is a little bit strange. The people around here are all fellow immortals and can prove my point."

"Yes, I am Wang Sanyuan from the Yunxiao Sect. This fairy is Qu Hongjin from the Yuhuang Yin Sect. Next to her is her maid Xiaoyu. This is my sister Wang Eryi, a disciple of the Tiangang Sect."

Wang Sanyuan grabbed Pushe's arm and introduced the three women next to him.

The women nodded.

Only then did Pushe's expression ease a little, he exhaled, and said earnestly:

"Junior Brother Chu Xing, although the magic weapons of the devil are powerful, they can easily confuse people's minds. I hope you will abandon them in time, otherwise it will be too late to regret once you fall into the devil's way!"

"Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother. I will definitely keep it in mind."

Chu Xing didn't feel that there was anything evil about the Lifeless Chain Blade, except that it liked to suck people dry. It might also be because he hadn't used it many times, so the effect was not obvious. He decided to ask his eldest brother for help after returning to the sect.

"Moo~"

Chu Xing and the others were attracted by the sound and their gaze returned to the monster. The monster's eyes were filled with anger, and bloody marks were left on its body by the Wusheng Chain Blade.

"Does anyone know what kind of monster it is?"

Chu Xing touched the scales on the monster's face.

"It might be the Vast Sea Glazed Beast. I've seen records of it in ancient books: it has a white body and a black tail, a head covered in glazed glass, a single horn, and likes to eat magical herbs." Wang Eryi said softly.

"Sister, are you remembering correctly? If it eats grass, then why did it eat more than a hundred people in Sanxi Town?" Wang Sanyuan said.

"No, cultivators all have photographic memories, and it is difficult for them to make mistakes in remembering things they have seen." Wang Eryi said.

"Moo~moo~"

The Vast Sea Glazed Beast suddenly began to let out a wail of grievance, with tears as big as beans flowing from the corners of its eyes.

Wang Eryi and Xiaoyu both felt a little uncomfortable watching this, and looked like they wanted to say something but hesitated.

"I'll go explore the cave. You guys use your spiritual sense to look for any human remains or body parts around here. If it ate a human, there would definitely be these left behind."

Afterwards, Chu Xing took out an illuminating bead and walked straight into the cave at the bottom of the lake.

The cave was not deep and one could see the end at a glance. It was full of water plants and mud. He used his spiritual sense to scan the cave but did not find any human corpses or body parts.

After a while, Chu Xing walked out of the cave and returned to the others: "Did you find anything?"

Several people shook their heads.

Chu Xing frowned and thought for a moment, then said:

"Then this is strange. This beast is not very big, so it would be very difficult for it to swallow a person whole. There are no remains in or around its cave, so the murderer is likely someone else.

Why don't we take it back to town and ask if anyone has seen it eat a human."

……

In an inn in Sanxi Town.

Chu Xing first brought the Vast Sea Glazed Beast to the inn stable alone and left the Lifeless Chain Blade on it. After warning it not to run away, he turned around and met up with the five people at the door of the inn.

Then a group of six people entered the inn.

"Six upper rooms."

Chu Xing walked to the counter and handed the shopkeeper a gold ingot.

"Hello, sir!"

The shopkeeper smiled happily, took out six keys from the cabinet and handed them to Chu Xing, saying:

"On the second floor, turn left and you'll find Rooms 1 to 6. Could you please ask the waiter to take you there?"

"No need, we can go by ourselves." Chu Xing waved his hand, then called out to the five people behind him and went straight upstairs.

"It's already night. Let's go ask the people in Sanxi Town tomorrow. Let's rest for tonight."

After arriving upstairs, Chu Xing handed the five keys to the five people.