This immortal was clearly ordinary, yet he was unusually confident.

After hearing the boatman's description, most of the passengers looked incredulous, but they all subconsciously looked towards the small boat behind them.

There was no one else on the deck of the small boat; Old Sun was slowly rowing the boat alone...

The lake, the small boat, and the old man should have been a peaceful and serene scene, but the passengers felt a strange sense of unease.

"How about... we row faster?" a woman on the boat suggested timidly.

"Haha, there's no need to be afraid. Even if Sun Tianbao is really on the boat, it doesn't matter. He has never harmed anyone," the boatman said with a laugh.

On the other side, Zheng Zhuang walked into the cabin, nodded to the woman inside, and casually found a seat to sit down.

He glanced at the woman. She was dressed simply, even somewhat worn, but her face was quite delicate. She was holding a book in her hands and reading it attentively.

This struck Zheng Zhuang as odd. Because of the Empress, the Cangyue Kingdom did not prohibit women from studying, but those women generally came from well-off families, and this woman was clearly not one of them.

Could it be that the family has fallen on hard times?

If that's true, then it's truly commendable.

Zheng Zhuang thought that the journey would take a lot of time, and it would be good to have someone to talk to, so he took the initiative to ask, "What book are you reading, young lady?"

"The Jade Stealing Collection," the woman replied without looking up, as if she had just read an exciting part of the story.

Zheng Zhuang was slightly taken aback. The name sounded rather improper, but the woman seemed to have no qualms about it. Was he just overthinking it?

It's like when you were in school and you saw a top student secretly reading extracurricular books. You thought he was learning some profound knowledge, but when you looked at the cover, you found out it had the words "Jin Ping Mei" written on it!

But if the top student calmly says that he is studying the literary aspects of the book, you might feel guilty because of that. Why doesn't he have those worldly desires?

As Zheng Zhuang's thoughts wandered, the woman suddenly and gently closed the book, saying in a serious tone:

"This book mainly tells the story of a scholar stealing kisses and plucks. There are many women in the book, ranging from daughters of officials to prostitutes, covering a wide range of women, each with their own unique charm! As a man, I wonder which type you prefer?"

Zheng Zhuang was instantly dumbfounded. Are all women in this world this open-minded? Or is it just that the local customs are so simple and honest that they are so direct?

However, we don't even know each other, is it really okay to discuss these issues?

Sigh, being too handsome is a problem!

Hey, that’s not right!

Zheng Zhuang suddenly narrowed his eyes. This woman didn't call him "Young Master," but rather "Fellow Daoist"!

This can only mean one thing: the other party is a cultivator, and a cultivator of considerable skill.

Zheng Zhuang looked closely and discovered that although the woman did not have any power fluctuations, she had a faint aura that was connected to the entire river, as if she were the embodiment of Qujiang.

"Haha, I misjudged you!"

"This humble woman is Jiang Nishang, greetings to fellow Daoist!"

The woman bowed slightly, then chuckled softly and said:

"Fellow Daoist is far too modest. If we weren't here in Qujiang, and if I weren't so sensitive to divine auras, I would have thought you were just an ordinary person. I've seen many cultivators, but very few have reached your level of returning to simplicity and authenticity! May I ask your name and which sect you belong to?"

Zheng Zhuang quickly returned the greeting: "Fellow Daoist, you flatter me. I am Zheng Zhuang, a mere rogue cultivator. Judging from your aura, could you perhaps be the River God of Qujiang?"

Zheng Zhuang's bow was sincere. Although he didn't know much about the divine cultivators, the Jiang Zheng Shen was not to be underestimated and was not comparable to his self-proclaimed "Rain God".

"Jiang Shen? You could say that, or you could say that I'm not!" Jiang Nishang laughed self-deprecatingly.

"What does this mean?" Zheng Zhuang asked, puzzled.

Jiang Nishang gently stroked the "Collection of Stealing Jade" and sighed:

"Let me tell you a story, fellow Daoist. I was originally a green snake in this river. Although I was ignorant and carefree, I was not without worries."

--Once, I was in danger and almost lost my life, but a river turtle saved me. From then on, we became very good friends. We hunted together, played together, and practiced together. We were almost inseparable.

--Later, as our cultivation levels rose, we both sensed an opportunity: whoever could connect their own aura with this water vein would become the God of Qujiang!

--This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for beings like us to go further! Then, we gradually began to change, we communicated less and less, and he often fell into a deep sleep, and our relationship changed from being close to being suspicious of each other.

"But in the end, I was one step ahead and attracted the heavenly tribulation ahead of time."

At this point, Jiang Nishang showed a lingering fear, as if the terrifying scene was still vivid in her mind. After a long while, she continued:

"Unfortunately, I was too impatient and did not properly consolidate my cultivation. The power of the heavenly tribulation was too great, and I was about to be unable to withstand it."

--At the time, I thought, he'd be happy if I died, then no one would be competing with him anymore. Maybe that was his plan from the beginning! I hate it!

--But just as the heavenly tribulation was about to fall upon me, he actually activated his own energy and unhesitatingly blocked the fatal blow for me!

--It was at that moment that I realized that this fool had never tried to connect with the water veins. He never intended to compete with me from the beginning. In order to avoid connecting with the aura of the water veins, he even deliberately fell into a deep sleep.

It was around that time that I suddenly realized something had changed between us. No, perhaps that thing had always been there, but I just hadn't noticed it.

--I watched helplessly as he vanished into thin air under the heavenly tribulation. I cried and asked him why, but he just smiled at me. His smile was so gentle, just like how he always protected me before.

"I hate that I woke up so late; it turns out, that thing was love!"

Zheng Zhuang died silently for the one he loved, which is truly admirable and lamentable.

Generally speaking, one can only bear the heavenly tribulation alone, and no one else can interfere. However, they were both born from Qujiang, their auras were connected by the same water vein, and because they had been together day and night, they had long been tainted by each other's auras. Therefore, the heavenly tribulation regarded them as the same person.

"In the end, I successfully survived the Heavenly Tribulation, but I did not fully gain the recognition of the Heavenly Dao, so I cannot be considered a true Jiang God," Jiang Nishang added.

"And then what?" Zheng Zhuang asked curiously.

Jiang Nishang sighed, "I thought I would never see him again, but luckily, he didn't perish. Instead, he was reincarnated. So, I've been waiting for him and staying with him ever since. And in this life, his name is Sun Tianbao!"