Chapter 845 – Dragon King Temple
The Mistwater River, thick with fog. A small spirit boat glided silently through the haze.
Water Yama rowed at the bow. At the stern, Xie Liu stood grim-faced, clutching his sword, eyes fixed darkly on the three captives—Mo Hua and the others.
Ouyang Feng was quietly tending to his wounds. Hua Qianqian kept her lips tightly pressed, clearly uneasy.
Only Mo Hua looked completely relaxed—glancing left, looking right—like he was on a pleasant outing, taking in riverside views.
Except… this was night, and the fog was thick.
There were no views to enjoy.
Mo Hua finally asked,
"Hey, where exactly are we going?"
Xie Liu's temple twitched.
That carefree and almost cheerful tone made rage rise in his chest.
It felt as if in this little party, Water Yama was the boatman, he was the hired sword, and Mo Hua was some pampered young lord, casually asking where they were off to for leisure.
This damn brat—did he not realize what kind of situation he was in?
Did he have no sense of danger at all?
Xie Liu really wanted to cut him down with a single swing.
But… he couldn't. Not yet.
They did need hostages. And going to that place required taking a few living humans, just in case.
He forced down his killing intent and let Mo Hua chatter away.
Mo Hua, seeing Xie Liu ignore him, turned his attention to the front of the boat.
Water Yama was still rowing.
Mo Hua stared at him for a moment and commented,
"You're doing a decent job for someone with only one arm. Do you row boats for people often?"
Water Yama took a deep breath and growled coldly,
"You'd better shut up."
Mo Hua replied innocently,
"It's just so boring out here. None of you talk. Don't you find this silence dull?"
Water Yama honestly couldn't understand how this brat had survived so long in the cultivation world.
Had no one ever tried to kill him before?
Water Yama simply quieted his mind and resumed rowing.
Mo Hua, now bored, leaned against the side of the boat, trailing his fingers through the water, hoping to bump into a little silver fish that might whisper him a secret or two.
Ouyang Feng watched him silently, heart filled with admiration.
"What a firm Dao heart. Calm under pressure, unfazed in the face of danger…
Perhaps this is what a true seeker of the Dao should be like.
Three men walking—there is always something to learn.
Junior Brother Mo may be young, but there's much in him worth emulating…"
Nearby, Hua Qianqian also found herself glancing at Mo Hua, her anxious heart… oddly calmed by his presence.
The small group drifted quietly through the fog.
Only the gentle sound of Mo Hua's fingers disturbing the water echoed in the stillness.
Time passed.
Still no little silver fish.
Suddenly, Mo Hua's heart sank. He looked up—only to see, in the thick fog ahead, a massive, shadowy structure looming into view.
A strange aura was slowly spreading.
"What is that…"
Mo Hua's pupils narrowed. A faint tension crept into his chest.
Water Yama also hesitated, sensing the unusual aura.
But with the Rouge Boat incident exposed and the Dao Division cultivators in hot pursuit, this mist-shrouded place was the only spot left to hide.
Water Yama clenched his jaw and kept rowing forward.
A stick of incense's time later, the spirit boat drew closer.
The vague, massive object in the fog slowly came into view.
It was a temple.
A grand, solitary temple, built atop the water itself, like a colossal water beast rising from the river.
Mo Hua looked "shocked," and nervously asked,
"Wha… what is this place? Why would there be a temple built in the middle of the river?"
Water Yama sneered.
Now the brat's scared.
What kind of place?
This temple was where this damn little ghost would enter—and never leave.
He said flatly,
"You'll see once we're inside."
He rowed the boat up to the long staircase leading from the water's edge all the way to the temple's front gate.
Water Yama leapt ashore and turned to look at the three.
Mo Hua didn't move.
Xie Liu pointed his sword and barked,
"Get moving."
"Alright, alright… Just like a sore loser who got beaten by Uncle Gu. Useless against Golden Cores, but quite the bully to Foundation Establishments…"
Mo Hua muttered.
Xie Liu's face twitched violently.
Mo Hua, seeing his rising temper, quickly leapt ashore.
Ouyang Feng and Hua Qianqian naturally followed.
Xie Liu moored the boat and came ashore as well.
Water Yama led the way, with Xie Liu—the Golden Core escort—taking the rear, "guarding" their hostages.
Together they walked up the long staircase toward the grand temple.
As they reached the gate, Mo Hua looked up.
He saw weather-beaten red walls and golden tiles, grand eaves curling skyward. A massive plaque hung above the main entrance.
On it were three ancient, bold characters:
龍王廟
Dragon King Temple
Dragon King…
Mo Hua's heart shook.
He had only heard of divine beasts—true dragons, phoenixes, qilins, warding beasts, the Four Saints and Four Evils…
He had always thought of them as legends, relics of ancient cultivation myths. He'd never seen one in person.
Yet now, right before his eyes, stood a Dragon King Temple.
Even if not a true dragon—just a river dragon—that would already be extraordinary.
As Mo Hua pondered, Water Yama scanned the area and frowned.
"Where's the temple keeper?"
Xie Liu spread his divine sense and his eyes narrowed.
"Transferred out?"
Water Yama shook his head.
"Unlikely… This is a restricted place. No way it would be left unguarded."
Xie Liu nodded slightly.
Water Yama examined the temple gate and said grimly,
"Something feels off. The yin and baleful auras… they're heavier than before."
Xie Liu extended his senses but, lacking soul or eye techniques, felt nothing unusual.
"Let's check it out. The fog outside's too thick to linger."
"Mm." Water Yama nodded.
He pulled out a fishbone token, pricked his finger, and let blood drip onto it. Then he inserted it into the mouth of a bronze beast statue by the gate and bowed respectfully:
"Your servant has arrived, to present 'offerings' to the Divine Master."
Nothing happened.
Water Yama didn't dare move.
Xie Liu held his breath, ready.
Only Mo Hua stared expectantly at the temple door.
After a moment, something responded.
The fishbone token glowed red for a split second.
The bronze water-demon statue trembled. Its eyes lit up with an eerie green glow.
Then, with a deep rumble, the ancient doors of the Dragon King Temple slowly creaked open.
Water Yama straightened and exchanged a look with Xie Liu.
Then he turned to the three captives.
"Go inside."
But he gave Mo Hua a pointed glare and added:
"Let me give you a word of advice. Don't try anything clever. If you do—
that thing, I'd rather lose it than let you live."
"Mhm, mhm." Mo Hua nodded lazily.
He didn't believe for a second that Water Yama would give up that forbidden casket.
His whole skillset—the Demonic Transformation Art and Blood Prison Eye techniques—all relied on the Abyssal Water Forbidden Casket.
Without it, Water Yama's future in cultivation would be completely crippled.
What's more, the casket was a secret heirloom of the Yin Water Sect's sect master. There were likely other treasures inside—he just hadn't figured out how to open it yet.
As if Water Yama could bear to let it go…
Mo Hua quietly scoffed in his heart.
Then, Water Yama took the lead, stepping into the depths of the Dragon King Temple.
Mo Hua followed behind, but paused just before crossing the threshold.
In his sleeve-hidden hand, he held a Heavenly Secret Copper Coin.
He wanted to divine the fortune or misfortune of this trip.
But a strong premonition tugged at his heart—he absolutely must not. The moment he cast the divination, someone would sense it, and it might ruin everything.
Mo Hua rubbed the copper coin, forced down the urge to calculate fate, put the coin away, and stepped through the threshold of the Dragon King Temple.
And so, the group disappeared into the temple's depths.
A moment later, within the thick fog—a trace of blood-red light shimmered.
The ancient doors of the Dragon King Temple slowly closed—
like a giant demonic beast… sealing its blood-drenched maw.
Back on the Rouge Boat—
The battle had mostly ended.
All those cultivators—whether nobles or disciples of sects—had been completely caught off guard by Mo Hua's sudden explosion during their romantic escapades.
Then came the sea of fire.
While fleeing in panic, they ran straight into the Dao Division cultivators—
They had no strength left to resist.
The Dao Division showed no mercy—those who needed to be captured were captured, and the truly defiant were put down.
Now, cleanup was underway.
But one person was a bit of an exception: Ye Hong.
He had been brought before Gu Changhuai and Magistrate Xia.
Ye Hong presented a letter and said:
"A young master came with me aboard my boat. Before leaving, he gave me this letter and told me—if I ran into Dao Division officers, I should hand it to someone surnamed Gu. It would clear up misunderstandings and avoid trouble."
Someone surnamed Gu…
Magistrate Xia looked at Gu Changhuai.
Gu Changhuai remained calm as he accepted the letter, opened it—and raised his eyebrows slightly.
Sure enough, it was written by Mo Hua. A short and simple message:
"Uncle Gu, this man is named Ye Hong. He's Senior Sister Ye Jin's father. He's not a bad person."
Seeing that Magistrate Xia's expression had darkened, Gu Changhuai handed her the letter.
After reading it, she nodded, then said after some thought:
"We understand. While you may not have known about the Rouge Boat's secrets or been involved in its dealings… one of the boats here does belong to you. You'll still need to come with us to the Dao Division, explain everything, give a statement, sign a spirit contract—formal procedure."
Ye Hong let out a long breath and respectfully cupped his hands:
"Of course."
"Alright then, you may go for now," Magistrate Xia said.
"Yes," Ye Hong saluted again, though hesitating slightly before asking in a low voice:
"That young master… do you know where he is now?"
The boat had exploded. The flames were intense.
Ye Hong had searched high and low but hadn't seen any trace of Mo Hua. Naturally, he was worried.
He didn't know Mo Hua had been the one to cause the explosion, so he feared the boy might've been caught in it.
Gu Changhuai replied:
"Don't worry. He's most likely fine."
With how cunning Mo Hua is, if he were hurt by his own array… that would be more surprising.
"Yes," Ye Hong bowed again.
As merely a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator from a third-rank family, he was extremely respectful toward Gu Changhuai, a Golden Core Dao Division officer.
As Ye Hong turned to leave, he suddenly ran into someone at the door and paused, surprised—
"Executive Officer Xiao?"
Xiao Tianquan also looked briefly startled—but quickly masked it and nodded courteously:
"Elder Ye."
Gu Changhuai's gaze narrowed slightly.
"You two know each other?"
Ye Hong explained:
"My Ye family is a third-rank family based in Mistwater City. Officer Xiao once stayed in the city for work, and by chance, we met a few times and became somewhat acquainted."
Xiao Tianquan also bowed and added:
"I was well received by Elder Ye in the past. However…"
His eyes glinted as he asked:
"Elder Ye, why are you here?"
"That… is a long story…" Ye Hong sighed. Seeing that this wasn't the right time to explain, he said instead:
"Officer Xiao, you must be busy. I won't take up your time. If we meet again, I'll treat you properly."
Xiao Tianquan cupped his fists.
"Much appreciated, Elder Ye."
The two seemed to have a good relationship.
Gu Changhuai, watching, didn't find it odd.
Cultivators from the Dao Division might have official duties, but behind closed doors, it wasn't unusual to maintain private connections.
After Ye Hong left, Xiao Tianquan gave his report:
"Magistrate Xia, Officer Gu—the matter is handled."
"The fire has been put out. The fallen cultivators—those who could be saved were rescued. The rest were devoured by water demons."
"Those injured by the formation explosion have been treated with pills. They're currently tied with Spirit Binding Chains aboard the Dao Division's ship. We'll verify identities later and handle them accordingly."
"The key players have all been captured and recorded."
"…Except for Water Yama. He's gone."
His tone turned serious.
As he spoke, another man entered the room.
He wore the Dao Division magistrate's robe, his aura deep and steps firm. Clearly a Golden Core cultivator.
His eyes were slightly squinted, his smile forced and artificial, with a vaguely unsettling air.
This was Magistrate Xiao.
Mo Hua had once given him a nickname:
The Smiling Tiger.
Magistrate Xiao greeted Gu Changhuai and Magistrate Xia, then got to the point:
"I've investigated. There was indeed a Golden Core on that boat."
"The man's name is Xie Liu. He used to be an inner sect instructor in the Yin Water Sect, with decent seniority—if he'd stayed a few more years, he'd have been promoted to Elder."
"But… he was very close with the Broken Gold Sect. Got tangled up in a case involving their core members."
"The case wasn't huge, but it still brought shame to the Yin Water Sect. So Xie Liu was expelled."
"Never thought he'd turn around and keep doing dirty work like this…"
"The Yin Water Sect… really unlucky with their people these days."
He sighed, eyes squinting even tighter.
Gu Changhuai's expression turned somewhat odd.
He understood that while Xie Liu might have been doing dirty work, that dirty work was originally part of the Yin Water Sect's operations. If one were to seriously dig into it, the sect was even dirtier.
Still, since they were all Dao Division officials, formalities had to be maintained on the surface.
"That Xie Liu... seems to have escaped," Gu said.
Magistrate Xiao continued,
"I interrogated a few people under torture. Got a few leads."
"According to them, someone secretly set up an array formation on the Rouge Boat, which suddenly exploded and caught fire. Then, that Golden Core cultivator Xie Liu, along with the wanted man 'Water Yama,' fled into the thick fog while holding three young cultivators hostage…"
Gu Changhuai frowned.
"Hostage…"
He glanced at Magistrate Xia. Their eyes met—both faces serious.
"Xie Liu must be brought in," Magistrate Xia said. "Water Yama must not be allowed to escape again. In that case, Gu and I will pursue them. I'll leave the aftermath of the Rouge Boat to Magistrate Xiao."
"A wise decision," Magistrate Xiao said, narrowing his eyes slightly. Though his tone remained courteous, it carried a trace of worry:
"But… I'm afraid the two of you heading in alone might not be safe. Xie Liu's conduct is dubious, and Water Yama is extremely cunning. Neither will be easy to handle."
"What's more, if they've fled into the depths of the mist, that may be because there's some forbidden or demonic hideout there. It's entirely possible other Golden Core-level evil cultivators are involved…"
Then his tone changed:
"Of course, with Magistrates Xia and Gu's deep cultivation and sharp minds, you two are among the Dao Division's finest. Naturally, you wouldn't fear these heretical scum."
"But it's exactly because of that… that if either of you suffered any mishap, it would be a huge loss to the Dao Division. I urge you to act with caution. Consider this carefully."
Years of navigating Dao Division politics had clearly honed Xiao's silver tongue.
Magistrate Xia asked:
"Then in Magistrate Xiao's view, what should we do?"
Magistrate Xiao mused for a moment.
"In that case… why don't I accompany you both?"
"Even a lion uses its full strength to catch a rabbit. With three Golden Core cultivators working together, even if Xie Liu and Water Yama had three heads and six arms, they'd still be captured without trouble."
Magistrate Xia hesitated.
"But… the Rouge Boat—"
Xiao replied confidently:
"Everything's handled. The Dao Division will send people to take over shortly. From here on out, it's all trivial paperwork—not worth our time."
"The real problem is Xie Liu. If we delay any longer, we may lose our chance to catch him."
Magistrate Xia considered for a moment, then nodded slowly.
Yes, bringing all three of them was the better move.
Besides, she understood that although Magistrate Xiao was putting on a humble front, they were all magistrates of equal standing. The only reason she appeared to be "in charge" was because of the Xia family's influence.
In truth, she had no authority to order others around.
Xiao had already shown great courtesy. It would be inappropriate to reject him.
"Very well," she said. "Let's go together. We'll bring Xie Liu and Water Yama to justice."
No sooner had she spoken than Xiao Tianquan, who had been standing nearby, stepped forward and saluted:
"Magistrate Xia, if I may, I would like to come along."
"You?" she blinked in surprise.
Xiao Tianquan replied with righteous fervor:
"Water Yama's crimes are monstrous. He deserves death at every hand. I've not slept well since letting him escape last time. This time, I must bring him to justice. Please grant me this chance."
Magistrate Xia glanced at him, recalling something her uncle had told her before they left, and nodded:
"Alright. You may come."
"Yes, ma'am." Xiao Tianquan bowed gratefully.
Gu Changhuai thought nothing of it—figuring Xiao was just eager to earn merit.
But Magistrate Xiao, standing nearby, cast a cold and subtly hostile glance at Xiao Tianquan.
Soon after, the Dao Division prepared a spirit boat.
Gu Changhuai, Magistrate Xia, Magistrate Xiao, and Xiao Tianquan boarded together, heading into the depths of the fog.
As they traveled, Magistrate Xiao—still squinting, wearing that insincere smile—turned back to look at the wreckage of the Rouge Boat, where blood and flame still lingered.
His half-closed eyes briefly opened wider.
Reflected in his pupils—a sea of blood.
Traces of killing intent flickered within.
Inside the Dragon King Temple—
Mo Hua and the others were still walking deeper into the structure.
The temple was vast—its high walls and sweeping eaves imposing in grandeur.
But… the halls were empty.
Dead silent.
Not a single sound.
Both Water Yama and Xie Liu grew more uneasy with every step.
Even Mo Hua felt an uncomfortable tension tightening in his chest.
Eventually, they reached a large ceremonial hall.
Water Yama paused, stepped forward, knocked on the door, and called:
"Mr. Wu, I've brought the 'offerings.'"
No response.
"Mr. Wu?"
Water Yama frowned.
"Where are the people in the temple? Where did they all go?"
"Mr. Wu, are you there?"
"Mr. Wu…"
His voice grew quieter with each call, his mood more and more grave.
Then— drip… drip…
A wet sound echoed above.
Water Yama's expression shifted—he immediately stepped back several paces from his original spot.
At that moment, something dropped from the beams overhead, landing with a thud.
Everyone looked closely— It was a blood-soaked corpse.
(End of this Chapter)