Once I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will surely debate the classics for me.

The Dragon King of Guanjiang slowly emerged from the river, gradually rising higher and higher. His upper body, thousands of feet long, was above the water, while his lower body, still thousands of feet long, sank into the river. He was like a peerless demon, and with the slightest movement of his body, the earth shook and mountains roared, as if it were a catastrophe that would destroy the world.

The large fishing boat was as small as a leaf in front of the Guanjiang Dragon King. The waves crashed against the large fishing boat, making it capsize several times and drift hundreds of feet away. The mast broke and the boat was damaged. The people grabbed onto the fixed objects around them to avoid being thrown off the boat.

Fear boiled over at that moment. Everyone on the ship was stunned, staring blankly at the legendary Guanjiang Dragon King.

The Dragon King of Guanjiang stared at the ants before him with his amber-colored leopard eyes, his gaze revealing ruthlessness and cold-bloodedness.

An eerie silence fell over the room.

Zhou Qingfeng tensed up, staring intently at the Guanjiang Dragon King. He recognized what kind of demon this was.

The Record of Gods, Demons and Monsters provides a detailed description of this.

The blue leopard frog is hermaphroditic, feeds on water, and lives near rivers.

Naturally inclined to hunt fast-moving prey, the faster the prey, the clearer and slower it appears in its eyes. It generally has no interest in stationary living or dead creatures, and dislikes sewage, noise, and dry environments. It is not good at flying or long-range combat, but is best at ambushing from the shadows and launching short-range attacks. When it leaps, it is immune to all control and attacks of the same level. It can cause fatal damage in the instant of close combat, leaving its opponents either dead or crippled, making it quite terrifying.

Leopard-eyed Blue Frogs of the Poison level or higher will awaken and possess the power of rules hidden in their bloodline without needing to go through the sacrificial rituals of human cultivators; with a single opening of their mouths, they can swallow rivers and lakes, and with a single spit, they can spew out rivers and lakes that can dissolve all things, enough to submerge a land area of ​​one hundred million miles.

It's hard to say which cultivation path is superior or inferior. As long as demons and monsters have enough blood to nourish them and instinctively inhale and exhale the turbid energy of heaven and earth, they can naturally become stronger over time. However, when the turbid energy enters their minds, they have no means to prevent mental pollution. They usually have low intelligence and mostly act according to instinct. Even demons and monsters with high intelligence can be polluted by the turbid energy, become mentally unstable, go crazy, and have endless evil thoughts.

A very small number of them may retain their normal intelligence due to chance. These demons and monsters are relatively rare and are basically at the top of the food chain.

This situation does not exist for demons and monsters raised from a young age or cultivated using secret methods, because human cultivators have means of control and purification of the mind, which is sufficient to ensure that the demons and monsters they control can obey commands and communicate normally most of the time, but there is still a risk of them devouring their masters.

Because demons and monsters are inherently treacherous, fierce, vicious, bloodthirsty, and barbaric, no matter how harmless they may appear on the surface, they cannot change their true nature. If you really think you can control demons and monsters 100%, the final outcome will be being devoured and killed. For demons and monsters, the word "loyalty" will never exist.

The blue leopard-eyed frog before him was so enormous, probably reaching ten thousand feet in size. Zhou Qingfeng had absolutely no chance of defeating it; he had no chance of winning whatsoever. His chances of survival were not just almost zero, but absolutely zero. Flying away was probably the only hope of escaping.

Zhou Qingfeng was extremely anxious and desperately searched for a way out. He immediately summoned the scarlet divination bucket in his mind and silently recited: "Shake the divination sticks."

A scarlet divination bucket slowly emerged from the depths of my consciousness, from which several divination sticks flew out, swaying precariously.

[The worst possible outcome: Head-on confrontation, ominous]

[The worst possible outcome: Fleeing into the sky, an ominous sign]

[The worst possible outcome: Jumping off a boat into the water, an ominous sign]

Upon seeing this, Zhou Qingfeng's heart sank to the bottom. His forehead was covered with fine water droplets, and he could no longer tell whether they were river water or sweat.

Panic surged within him. Zhou Qingfeng clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and calmed the despair and fear in his heart.

His mental fortitude honed over the years provides him with strong support, enabling him to quickly regain composure even in dire situations.

Because he believed that there was always a way out, and even if he was surrounded by enemies and faced a powerful demon, he would not give up.

He decided not to cast a divination, since he had already cast one before, and the divination indicated that he would be safe on the ship. So he was certain that he would not die or be maimed while on the ship. All he could do was trust the divination and believe that he could handle whatever happened next while on the ship.

The Dragon King of Guanjiang moved and leaped toward the fishing boat.

"Don't move, don't move at all!!!" Zhou Qingfeng pressed down on Jin Wei's shoulder, his eyes fixed firmly on the approaching Guanjiang Demon King.

Jiang Manzi, Li Hongji, Pang Xie and other crew members suppressed their fear and stayed on the ship, not daring to make any move.

The Dragon King of Guanjiang shrank in the air, his ten-thousand-foot-tall demonic body instantly transforming into a seven-foot-tall figure. He nimbly landed on the bow of the ship, his leopard-like eyes scanning the still-standing people on board. He strode left and right, his movements clumsy and slow, his tail thrashing wildly as he approached the group.

"Gulp~~~" Overwhelmed by fear, one of the crew members lost his mind and charged forward with a fishing knife, yelling, "Fuck your mother, I'll fight you to the death!"

With a "whoosh!" The Dragon King of Guanjiang's leopard eyes instantly locked onto the man, and its sharp tail pierced through the crew member's chest. Then, dragging the sailor's body, it crashed through the main deck and fell into the cargo hold below, disappearing into the darkness.

"Zhang Laoba, Zhang Laoba!!" Jiang Manzi roared angrily, took a few steps, and reached the hole to look down. Pang Xie, Li Hongji, and the other two crew members all gathered around, their faces filled with horror. Looking at the brand-new hole on the deck, no one dared to jump in, nor did anyone dare to chase after Zhang Laoba to see if he was dead or alive.

Seeing this, Zhou Qingfeng breathed a deep sigh of relief; he had made the right bet.

The person in the shadows lured the Dragon King of Guanjiang here with the intention of hiding behind the scenes and using the demon to kill people. However, for some unknown reason, the Dragon King of Guanjiang did not kill him. Instead, he boarded the ship and hid in the cargo hold. This probably caused the person behind the scenes to miscalculate.

It's now certain that the person behind the scenes is definitely not as capable as I am.

Otherwise, there would be no need for such elaborate schemes to harm oneself.

Is it Ma Guai?

The name popped into Zhou Qingfeng's mind. This person's inexplicable disappearance was highly suspicious. Moreover, this person was familiar with the Guanjiang River and was the best navigator, able to move freely in the Guanjiang River and distinguish waterways with the naked eye. If he had set a trap, it would make sense.

But what about the reasons? There's always a reason for everything. You can't just set up a trap on the river to slaughter people because you can't stand them.

While it's not impossible, the probability is extremely low, so there must be other reasons.

Murder for money? That's highly likely. Perhaps before boarding the ship, Qu Sanjiu told Ma Guai that he and Jin Wei were rich. Ma Guai, seeing the wealth, wanted to set a trap for him and steal his money. The two hit it off immediately. Later, Qu Sanjiu and Ma Guai might have disagreed, argued, and fought. Qu Sanjiu, in a fit of anger, suffered a relapse of his old injury and died unexpectedly in bed. Ma Guai then jumped ship that night and hid in the shadows to set a trap for him. This seems very reasonable, and the whole story makes sense.

There's no time for detailed analysis, because there are more important and pressing issues to address right now.

Jin Wei asked in a low voice, "What should we do? The Dragon King has boarded the ship. Should we jump ship and leave?"

Zhou Qingfeng remained calm and said, "There's no need. It's more dangerous outside the ship. The Dragon King may have his reasons for boarding the ship, but we can be sure he doesn't intend to kill us. Otherwise, we would have died eight hundred times over. Let's figure out what the Dragon King wants to do first, otherwise he will always be a deadly hidden danger."

Jin Wei frowned and said, "Then we need to send someone to talk to the Dragon King. Who should we send?"

Zhou Qingfeng glanced at the crew members surrounding the hole in the deck not far away, his eyes growing increasingly cold.

The sailors, led by Jiang Manzi, weren't stupid either; they immediately looked at Zhou Qingfeng and Jin Wei warily.

Just moments ago they were in the same boat, but now their positions are clearly divided, and they are hostile to each other. No one wants to go down to the lower level to face the Dragon King of Guanjiang. In Jiang Manzi and the others' view, going down to the cabin to talk to the Dragon King of Guanjiang is simply courting death. However, they are sure they cannot win against Zhou Qingfeng and Jin Wei, and they will die anyway.

Jiang Manzi slowly drew his fishing knife from his waist, his eyes sharp and his face fierce: "Brother Jiang, Brother Tian, ​​don't force us to go down just because you're stronger. Otherwise, we'll jump off the boat immediately. We'll die either way, so we'd rather take our fate into our own hands. With our swimming skills, we'll still have a chance to survive if we fall into the river."

The three sailors following Jiang Manzi also drew their fishing knives to show their resolve. Having spent years on the boat, these sailors were not lacking in the wildness of fighting to the death. They didn't care much about gains and losses. If you force me to my death, I'd rather jump into the river and we'd all go our separate ways.

Only Li Hongji was at a loss: "Don't be like this, let's talk it out. There's no need to make it a fight to the death. We're all friends who are in the same boat."

"Shut up!" Jiang Manzi snapped sharply. "You fool, can't you see the situation? You treat him as a friend, but does he treat us as friends? Can't you see he's trying to use our lives to test the Dragon King of Guanjiang? If you don't want to die, shut up!"

Li Hongji ran out, trying his best to stop the situation from sliding into the abyss: "Brother Tian, ​​let's talk this out, don't fight. Brother Manzi, Brother Tian didn't say we were going to use our lives to test the Dragon King of Guanjiang. Don't do anything rash either. Let's talk this out and not fight amongst ourselves, or we'll all die."

Zhou Qingfeng narrowed his eyes, casually flicked his hand, and a large amount of Devouring Thief Blood floated out of his palm, condensing into a blood sword: "Jiang barbarian, I advise you not to seek death. I need you to take me to Qiantang City. I won't kill you, but I do need someone to go down below to test the Guanjiang Dragon King. As for who goes, we can decide by drawing lots. Fate is determined by heaven. Whoever is drawn goes. It's fair and just, so no one can complain."

"If you agree, then put away your swords and let's all sit down and draw lots to decide our fates."

"If you don't agree, then jump into the river. I won't stop you."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Manzi's resolute expression wavered, and the three sailors beside him also wavered somewhat.

They felt that Zhou Qingfeng's suggestion was indeed reasonable, so the four of them whispered among themselves.

"Pang Xie, do you think his words are credible?"

"Brother Manzi, I think it's worth a try. It's fair to decide by drawing lots."

"What if the other party cheats?"

"Then let's come up with a lottery system that can't be cheated."

After a brief, hushed discussion, the four decided to compromise. Compared to jumping into the river together and facing certain death, the chances of survival through a lottery were much higher, and it was also fairer. The two sword cultivators at the Devouring Fiend Realm were already willing to make concessions, so if they didn't know better, they would be forcing the other party to completely turn against them.

“We agree, but your cultivation level is higher than ours. If you try to cheat, we won’t be able to detect it. We must ensure that you cannot cheat.” Jiang Manzi was the first to put away his fishing knife, and the three sailors beside him also put away their fishing knives. However, the four of them still stood by the side of the boat, ready to jump into the river and dive at any time, on guard against Zhou Qingfeng trying to trick them.

Zhou Qingfeng summoned back the Blood of the Devourer and calmly said, "Then how do you want to draw the life-or-death lottery?"

Jiang Manzi said, "We have a custom on the water where we draw lots to determine life or death. If there are seven people present, we will prepare seven beans and put them in a bag, six white and one black. The black bean represents the death lot. The person who draws the death lot goes down to the cabin to test the Dragon King of Guanjiang. The person who draws the white bean does not have to go."

Zhou Qingfeng nodded: "Okay, that's fair."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Manzi reached into his robes and pulled out two black bags, one containing black beans and the other containing white beans. These were common items carried by veteran sailors on the Guanjiang River, as sailing was dangerous and dangerous situations were encountered every year and every month, inevitably requiring them to draw lots to determine their fate.

Besides being used as a death warrant, beans can also be occasionally eaten as a snack, so they can be considered a dual-purpose food.

This method is simple and straightforward, and because everyone has an equal chance of drawing beans, it reflects the principle of fairness.

Of course, some people will try to cheat in order to avoid being drawn into a bad lottery, but the premise is that the cheating will not be discovered.

"Who wants to draw first?" Jiang Manzi calmly poured the beans from the two bags, selected six white beans and one black bean, and threw them into the black bag in front of everyone.

Jin Wei said, "I'll do it."

Jiang Manzi hummed in agreement, letting Jin Wei reach into the black bag: "Hold the beans you draw in your hand, and we'll show them together later."

Jin Wei remained silent, holding the beans in his hand, and took a few steps back.

"I'll do it." Pang Xie stepped forward, put his hand into the black bag, grabbed a bean and held it in his palm, then pulled it out with his fist and stepped back to the side of the boat.

Jiang Manzi looked at Zhou Qingfeng, indicating that Zhou Qingfeng should draw lots.

Zhou Qingfeng calmly stepped forward, reached into the black bag, grasped a bean, and stepped back.

People drew lots one after another until finally only one bean remained in the bag.

Jiang Manzi reached into the bag, took out the last bean, held it in his palm, and said, "Then everyone, open your palms."

Zhou Qingfeng casually spread his palms, without any psychological pressure, because he couldn't possibly draw a death sign. It wasn't because he had cast lots or consulted the oracle, but because no one dared to let him draw a death sign. He had the power to overturn the table, and he made the rules of the game, so he didn't need to cheat. On the contrary, Jiang Manzi had to do everything he could to cheat and ensure that Zhou Qingfeng wouldn't draw a death sign, otherwise, if Zhou Qingfeng overturned the table, no one would survive.

As expected, the beans in Zhou Qingfeng's and Jin Wei's palms were both white.

Lee Hong-ki's lips trembled, and in his palm was a black bean.

Seeing this, Zhou Qingfeng remained silent and glanced at Jiang Manzi indifferently.

Jiang Manzi remained calm. His uncle had taught him how to draw life-or-death lots, ensuring that he wouldn't draw a death lot and that it would fall precisely into the hands of the designated person. This was a cheating method, completely unrelated to magic, and no one could detect it.

Of course, Jiang Manzi also felt that cheating was shameful, but his uncle had said that cheating was not shameful, but being caught cheating was shameful. Drawing lots for life and death was gambling with one's life. Since it was gambling, how could one entrust one's life and death entirely to vague luck? Gambling relied on the brain. Gambling on luck was for gamblers, and gamblers were bound to die.

"Li Hongji, accept your fate." Jiang Manzi looked at Li Hongji coldly, having already sentenced him to death in his heart.