Chapter 902 — Old Survivors of the Yuan Realm in a Desolate Village

"Wei Suifeng? A very ordinary name. He always called himself that—was there some deeper meaning to it?"

Qikang, Human Sovereign, did not dare make a move. He watched as the gods of the Heavenly Court delivered the cage, prisoner and all, into the Yong River—and beneath the river's surface, a tower ship shrouded in black qi and chains burst suddenly from the water, heaving up a sky-high wave.

Within the black mist, figures could be faintly seen aboard the vessel, shadowy and indistinct.

This ghost ship—Qikang, Human Sovereign, had seen it before by the banks of the Yong River. Back then Shen Mu had stopped everyone from boarding it, and had even slain a prince of the Heavenly Court by the riverside.

"Wei Suifeng, you have a great history with this ghost ship. In those years, you were the master of this vessel, a general of the Yulin Guard. You fled, vanished for several hundred thousand years—and yet the Yulin Guard under your command remained aboard, becoming part of the ghost ship."

In the sky, the existence at the Imperial Throne realm within the Heavenly Court's tower ship laughed: "You see how much your old subordinates miss you? They have all emerged. You infiltrated the Heavenly Alliance, thinking yourself hidden deep enough, repeatedly sabotaging the Heavenly Court's grand designs—a crime deserving ten thousand deaths. And yet you are very useful."

The cage sank into the Yong River, while the ghost ship rose fully from the water. There truly was a wondrous power at work, displacing the substance of the Heavenly River!

Just then, the man in the cage erupted. A ceaseless clangor of snapping rang out as the thick chains binding him broke suddenly at their midpoints!

Those chains had bound the ghost ship. With a mighty surge, the cage burst from the water and landed upon the ghost ship's deck.

Clang—

One chain after another flew up, merging with the chains surrounding the ghost ship, as though these chains and those around the vessel had always been one and the same!

"Insolence!"

From the tower ship in the sky, a towering figure descended. Countless chains flew from the tower ship, swishing toward the ghost ship to bind it!

One Heavenly Court god after another urged the tower ship forward, chains wrapping around the ghost ship, intending to drag it out.

"Qingdi of the Eastern Heaven, do you dare board the ship?"

The strange man in the cage stood up. With a thunderous crash he burst the cage into fragments. His massive frame steamed with thick black qi, his entire body misting, merging with the ghost ship.

Soon he had become the black mist shrouding the ghost ship. The tower ship in the sky could not pull the ghost ship up—instead it was dragged continuously downward.

From within the black mist came Wei Suifeng's voice, chuckling: "Board the ship, and you will be assimilated into the ghost ship, just as I was! You have no idea—the ghost ship is a cycle of reincarnation for me. Sending me here was merely the beginning of that cycle!"

The ghost ship sank into the river. Qingdi of the Eastern Heaven lunged after it, pursuing the vessel—but the chains on the ghost ship interwove and crisscrossed, constantly lashing toward him, and even the Heavenly Court's tower ship was dragged down toward the river's surface.

The Heavenly Court's soldiers hurriedly unfastened the chains, and only thus avoided being pulled into the black mist.

Two existences at the Imperial Throne realm—one beneath the water, one above the river—fought furiously, instantly causing immense chaos. The Yong River was shaken skyward, and the dragon palaces and dragon halls within the water were clearly visible.

Qikang, Human Sovereign, seized the chaos to flee with Daoist Lin Xuan on his back, racing toward the Heavenly Sage Academy.

From the Yong River came the madman's cry: "My name is Wei Suifeng—follow the map and save me!"

"Is that spoken to me?" Qikang, Human Sovereign, wondered doubtfully.

In the chaos, several gods discovered him and gave chase. Qikang, Human Sovereign, sneered coldly: "Think my second life is lived for nothing? I've consulted the Divine Leg!"

His swift legs moved like wind. Under the dimming sky he raced away, leaving a trail of thunderclaps in his wake.

"That one who calls himself the Lame Elder—his Divine Leg is fine, but he does love to show off. When he runs, he always leaves a string of thunder..."

Qikang, Human Sovereign, felt helpless. He had learned the Heaven-Stealing, Day-Swapping Mystic Art from the Lame Elder. The Sky-Skimming Divine Leg was excellent in every way—except that it rumbled with thunder when one ran.

In those years the Lame Elder had stolen from all under heaven, and no one could catch him. Thus he had developed a flamboyant nature. When his victims gave chase, the Lame Elder would often leave a string of thunderclaps and vanish, and his pursuers could only follow the trail of white smoke he left behind.

But now it was several Heavenly gods pursuing Qikang, Human Sovereign. Leaving behind thunderclouds was practically pointing the way for them.

Qikang, Human Sovereign, ran for more than ten days. He was long since exhausted, his vital essence depleted, unable to run any further. That he had escaped from several Heavenly gods until now was already a remarkable feat.

"The Heavenly Sage Academy is nearby..."

He could hold on no longer. He fell from the sky. Ahead lay the Heavenly Sage Academy, but all around it drifted a white fog.

Qikang, Human Sovereign, landed in the fog and struggled toward the Heavenly Sage Academy, but saw figures standing motionless within the mist.

He walked up to one figure and could not help but shudder. The person's head was gone, and from the neck grew a vividly blooming flower.

By the attire, it should have been a Heavenly general.

Ahead was another person whose body was overgrown with green vines. The vines coiled around his bones, no flesh or blood remaining, and two leaves sprouted from the eye sockets of his skull.

There was also a Heavenly god with a large mushroom growing from his neck. Seeing him approach, the mushroom actually drew its roots from the god's neck and, waving its root tendrils, drifted slowly past Qikang, Human Sovereign.

The flying mushroom popped and sputtered, expelling white fog, and the fog was full of exceedingly tiny spores.

"This fog is poisonous..."

Qikang, Human Sovereign, immediately felt numbness spread through his body. His frame stiffened, and it seemed countless things were burrowing out from his throat.

"Jade-Faced Poison King—" he cried out, though his voice was very faint.

Behind him, the several Heavenly gods who had been pursuing him walked up and sneered: "Run. Why don't you run?"

Qikang, Human Sovereign, was completely rigid, unable to move. From the nostrils of Daoist Lin Xuan on his back, a tender green sprout popped out with a soft sound.

"It's over..." Qikang, Human Sovereign, felt something climbing up his leg bones—the root tendrils of some poisonous thing, growing within his body.

In the fog, the footsteps of those Heavenly gods also gradually slowed. Suddenly one god coughed violently, spewing mushrooms from his mouth. The mushrooms drifted past before him, silent and soundless.

"The fog is poisonous!" he roared.

Suddenly, both his eyes dropped from their sockets, replaced by two large mushrooms, comfortably lodged in his eye sockets.

And yet the god seemed unaware.

The flesh and blood of his legs were replaced by vines, and he felt nothing.

His feet were taking root. The man seemed to have become many strange plants, rooted in fertile soil.

His companions were much the same—bodies rigid, their primal spirits and divine treasuries lush and verdant, overgrown with all manner of poisonous things.