Chapter 172: Blessing the Golden Body, Bones Nurture Resentment (5k)

The small temple was destroyed, and Jiang Yanyan was getting riled up too.

He surfaced from the water, golden mace in hand, striding across the waves, going against the current. He looked absolutely imposing.

He swept the golden mace down into the water. Instantly, the raging torrent looked like a mad dog receiving a blow to the head—it settled right down and became obedient.

The river calmed, and the mountain critters that had gotten swept into the water were carried back to shore with the current.

Pushed forward by the waves, Jiang Yanyan shot upstream. With every mighty blow of his mace, it was like underwater mines exploding—thick resentment congealed into rolling black smoke, rising violently into the sky.

But as soon as that black smoke started to climb, it got forcefully evaporated by the fierce Yang Qi. Under the bright blue sky and blazing sun, the black smoke barely made it a few meters before it began to be evaporated and purified.

Within the roiling black aura, a woman with a livid, ashen face and long, flowing hair gradually emerged.

Her eyes were filled with intense resentment; black energy swirled around her like burning black flame.

Before she could say anything, Jiang Yanyan was already gripping the golden mace, striding forward, hacking and smashing wildly in an unpretentious way that made the woman retreat again and again.

Up on the slope, the Taoist priest who had been conducting a ritual earlier had gone green in the face—this time, he finally lost his cool and rushed over to Cai Qidong.

"Minister Cai, aren’t you just setting me up? I’ve only got so many pounds to throw around, and you want me to take on a river god who can manifest a golden body and has a magic artifact? Even if you put my whole hundred-something pounds on the scale, the needle wouldn’t even budge."

Cai Qidong’s face was dark as water. Watching the chaos on the river, he was even more confused than the Taoist priest—he had no idea what on earth was going on.

Didn’t we just give official recognition? How come the golden body’s already showing up?

He looked at the woman locked in combat with Jiang Yanyan—or rather, getting pounded by him—and quickly steered the conversation elsewhere.

"That’s the Water Ghost, Wang Xueqi, isn’t it?"

The Taoist priest saw Cai Qidong’s furrowed brow and grim expression, so he held his tongue. Business first, complaints later. He looked closely, then shook his head.

"No, that’s the Water Ghost’s bones. No wonder they didn’t want to hand the remains over before—there’s a heretic spirit occupying the Water Ghost’s bones.

But even that doesn’t add up. What kind of heretic spirit could take over a Water Ghost’s bones at the place where they drowned, and even the ghost herself didn’t know?

There’s honestly way too much weirdness about this place.

Minister Cai, I really can’t handle this one. I’ve got elderly masters above me and little disciples waiting to be fed below—there’s no way I can throw my life away on this.

Besides, even if I had the skills, I wouldn’t dare go up against a Water God who can manifest a golden body.

My Taoist temple has barely survived ups and downs to see today, and I still have to go out and hustle for it.

If retribution came, those little disciples would be left too pitiful.

Minister Cai, please understand. Honestly, I’m just powerless..."

The Taoist priest spoke with tears of bitterness. Whatever you say, he had no intention of getting involved now.

The tears were half genuine sorrow, half from sheer fright.

The Scorching Sun Department people are just too reckless—if I knew I was here to go after a Water God with a golden body, I’d have broken my own leg to avoid coming.

Cai Qidong watched the Taoist priest wipe away bitter tears, and he didn’t even know what to say anymore.

But there was no way he’d let outsiders know this was all because of some massive misunderstanding—that was absolutely out of the question.

"Taoist priest, just observe from here on, you don’t need to get involved. Honestly, this is a bit outside our expectations too."

"Glad you understand, Minister Cai. My abilities really are limited."

"Then tell me, Taoist priest, what’s actually happening now? I can’t quite figure it out."

The Taoist priest watched the fight carefully, gradually finding his composure.

"Nothing to worry about now. The local Water God’s energy is pure—it’s as proper Dao as proper gets.

He may not be a great fighter, but he’s got the strength of a dragon or tiger as his foundation, and a magic artifact in hand.

That heretic spirit is definitely not a match for the Water God.

Most likely the Water God was always focused on the right path and uninvolved in worldly matters, which gave that heretic spirit a chance.

But now, with the heretic spirit daring to drown the Water God’s golden statue and completely angering him... that was just reckless beyond belief.

Let’s just watch—won’t be long before there’s a result."

Jiang Yanyan had received a hard-earned blessing from Wen Yan, now wielding the golden mace with wild ferocity.

The heretic spirit, having seized Wang Xueqi’s bones and amassed towering resentment and evil power—none of that did her any good anymore.

After being pummeled by Jiang Yanyan’s golden mace, the resentment began to dissipate.

Finally, with a blow to the forehead and a wretched scream—

A man shrouded in the aura of incense and worship was violently forced out of the pile of bones.

Wang Xueqi’s body instantly turned into a white skeleton and dropped into the water.

Seeing the man cloaked in the aura of incense, Jiang Yanyan immediately recalled Wen Yan’s warning. Emboldened, he yelled out loudly,

"Where did this heretic rite come from! Get over here and die!"

Jiang Yanyan strode forward and smashed at him twice with the golden mace, nearly dispelling all the incense aura from his body. When the man was lying half-dead in the water, he grabbed him and dragged him off, disappearing into the water.

He plunged under, dragging the man, and swiftly followed the current back to where his physical body lay.

He surfaced and stood on the water, tossing the now half-transparent man onto the shore.

"Brother Wen, it’s him—the Water God from earlier, the one who stole that sister’s bones to raise resentment. There’s no way he’d give them up willingly."

Wen Yan looked at the man lying on the ground—looked like a ghost, but had no sign of Yin Qi and even appeared in broad daylight.

Looked like something else, but for a moment, he couldn’t say exactly what.

"Old Xi, can you tell what this is?"

"I can’t tell either."

But on the side, Feng Yao saw the man’s face and his expression changed slightly.

He immediately opened his laptop and began frantically searching through some files.

Soon, information about a man appeared on the screen.

"I knew it, I thought his face looked really familiar."