Chapter 76: Utmost Treasure of the Divines (1/2)

“That’s the previous Dusk River God?” Lu Yun threw Qing Han a disbelieving glance before checking the remains of the corpsefish with his Spectral Eye. “Well, it really is! How did a corpsefish become a god??”

It made no sense whatsoever. Corpsefish were zombie-like creatures born out of fish that were contaminated with human grievances after eating corpses. How could something like that become a god?

Qing Han shook his head, as confused as Lu Yun. “But that is indeed the corpse of a god....”

Grotesque shadows swarmed out of the abyss, advancing on the two. The tortured cries grew louder and more intense, and a pungent smell assaulted their senses. Something big was coming their way.

Heavy breathing sent a shudder down their spines as a mysterious power weighed down on their chests like a mountain, making their breathing difficult.

Hum.

A soft white light radiated from Qing Han as an empty scroll rose from his body. It was the Scroll of Shepherding Immortals, made by combining the Panorama of Clarity, Portrait of Emptiness, and the Profile of Harmony. Its light drove away the enormous thing silently shuffling toward them from the dark. In fact, it even seemed capable of suppressing the power of the abyss.

“Why is that painting in your hands?” A hoarse voice traveled out from the underwater palace, followed by the emergence of a strange-looking woman.

She was completely naked, but her shrivelled face and exposed skin looked lifelessly grey, as if she hadn’t seen sunlight for a long time. What surprised Lu Yun most was the tail attached to her torso in lieu of a human lower body.

A mermaid?

Wait, is she dead or alive?!

Lu Yun shuddered. All that was left of her tail were bones! It looked like the flesh had been eaten away by something. Closer inspection revealed that not only had her tail turned into a skeleton, her entire body was a dried husk that lacked the color and shine of a living being.

He pulled Qing Han behind him and took a few steps back, unsure if the creature was dead or alive.

“Why is the treasure of the divine race in your possession?” The mermaid asked again when Qing Han didn’t answer, slowly drifting toward them.

“The utmost treasure of… the divine race?” Lu Yun blinked. She means the Scroll of Shepherding Immortals?

“Are you the Dusk River God?” demanded Qing Han, his body enveloped by the treasure’s light.

“...I am,” the mermaid bit out, then abruptly erupted with a piercing shriek. Violence entered her lifeless eyes. “Speak! Why would the most precious treasure of my kind fall into the hands of a human slave—”

The entire underwater palace shook as corpsefish after corpsefish ventured out. A dense swarm of white tentacles sealed off and isolated the space. There was no water here, yet the creatures swam as if they were underwater.

……

“What’s happened to them?” Qi Shenghui asked in a quavering voice when he saw Lu Yun and Qing Han suddenly stop moving. The three supposedly lofty august immortals were as lost as headless chickens here. Terrors lurking within the darkness and the strange young woman in front of them had triggered their deepest fears.

“They see what you can’t see,” the zombie king said faintly. “You will be able to see the same if you walk out of the barrier. If you dare think about doing that, however, I will kill you.”

The eunuch shuddered, too frightened to respond.

“What does that young lad possess that keeps even the monsters from approaching?” If the zombie king left the barrier, the monsters in the dark would swallow her whole. However, the giant thing had cautiously inched its way toward Lu Yun like it was wary.

The zombie king pursed her lips, eyes flashing with a trace of anguish. A living soul trapped in a dead body and enduring daily torment… that kind of agony was one that few could imagine.

……