Chapter 46

As the two were speaking, sounds came from outside. “Is Xiao Ze at home?” That booming voice belonged to the third aunt from the village head’s family.

Li Mengze had just stepped over the threshold when she came face to face with her. Without a hint of courtesy, the third aunt pulled Li Mengze into the house. Spotting Aunt Wang already there, she forced a bitter smile. “Ah, you’re here too.”

Aunt Wang sighed. “You’re here because of the sacred turtle, aren’t you? I’ve already told Xiao Ze not to go out these days. If anything comes up, we’ll all look after each other.”

The third aunt nodded, clearly agreeing. “You don’t know, the city is in a panic now. Those with power and money have started openly buying people, planning in case their own family gets chosen for the sacrifice—they’ll use bought children instead.”

Aunt Wang was stunned. “Really? People are selling their own children for money? Isn’t that a sin?”

The third aunt curled her lip. “Of course they are. A girl can fetch three hundred silver dollars; even if she’s not used, you get a hundred as hush money. My father-in-law says many families are tempted.”

Aunt Wang slapped her thigh. “Those fools—what harm have the children done them? If they have so much free time, better to find someone skilled enough to deal with that so-called divine turtle.”

Li Mengze couldn’t help but laugh. This aunt, though outspoken, had a kind heart and spoke sensibly. If people put as much effort into buying children as into seeking out capable people, they’d be better off. After all, buying a child once doesn’t mean you can afford it every year. When their fortunes fail, their own children may be the first to be sacrificed.

The two aunts fussed over Li Mengze for quite some time before leaving, likely off to gossip at another house. Peach Blossom Village wasn’t far from the provincial city, nor particularly close. Normally, the mountain paths kept outsiders away, so villagers didn’t worry much, their warnings mere precautions.

Compared to the panic outside, Peach Blossom Village was tranquil and harmonious. Yet, as time passed, returning villagers brought news, and fewer young girls and children were seen on the village streets.

The day of the sacred turtle’s sacrifice was set for mid-July.

Li Mengze wasn’t skilled in divination, so she couldn’t predict the outcome. But thanks to years of Kunlun Mountain teachings and its care for its mortals, she’d heard enough to keep the matter in mind, intending to investigate when possible.

She had good intentions, but the villagers, anxious, kept constant watch over her, the orphan who lived alone. She barely had a chance to leave.

With June drawing to a close and rumors escalating, opportunists began to appear. She felt an urgent need to act.

Opportunity favors the prepared. That evening, the grandmother from the village head’s family visited, leaving a basin of sea snails and saying she wouldn’t be able to come tomorrow, urging her to stay home. Once she left, Li Mengze activated the house’s protective formation and conjured an illusion of herself at home, waiting quietly for nightfall.

As darkness settled and the village grew silent, Li Mengze retrieved her flying artifact, fitted it with spirit stones, and soared towards the provincial city.

The Mekong River encircled the city like a moat, with bridges spanning its waters. Floods shouldn’t normally reach far, yet the sacred turtle’s power was uncanny. That year, the floodwaters raged high and fierce, submerging the city, an ominous event that made people wary.

Her artifact moved faster than any vehicle, and since spirit stones were precious, she rarely used them outside of cultivation. This time, she spared no expense.

Soon, she glimpsed the Mekong River, tranquil and beautiful beneath the night sky. It was the city’s mother river, nourishing its people for generations. Now, it had become a bringer of death; each year, four or five children perished in its waters.

Without supernatural vision, she saw nothing sinister—only peace. Applying an invisibility talisman, she stowed her flying artifact, tucked her water-repelling pearl close, and slipped beneath the river’s surface. The deeper she went, the greater the pressure, yet she found no anomalies, no signs of formation.

She searched the riverbed thoroughly but found nothing, beginning to doubt whether she was in the right place. Just as she was about to ascend, she detected a faint spatial fluctuation.

After waiting a while with no further movement, she frowned and examined the source. Suddenly, it dawned on her: it was a teleportation array, enabling short-distance travel. So, there really was a cultivator present—this complicated matters. The local spiritual energy could only support cultivation to the Qi Refining stage, so if someone demanded sacrifices, they were likely a demonic practitioner, perhaps even a blood cultivator.

Though not versed in ordinary formations, she knew a bit about spatial arrays and could easily track them. She inserted spirit stones, activated the teleportation array, and after a bout of dizziness, found herself before a grand, resplendent palace gleaming brightly.

If not for the aquatic creatures nearby, she might have thought herself in a royal palace. Not feeling any oppressive force, nor sensing her presence detected, she surmised the cultivator here wasn’t all that powerful—likely someone who’d acquired a cultivation manual through dubious means.

As a true disciple of Kunlun, Li Mengze, though usually amiable, couldn’t conceal her innate pride.

Inside, the palace was far plainer than its exterior, even crude, less impressive than the training grounds of Kunlun’s outer disciples.

In the empty halls, she found an aged, black-robed cultivator in one chamber, his aura violent and twisted—a sign of reckless cultivation and spiritual backlash. Even without her intervention, he likely wouldn’t live much longer.

She immediately understood his motive for demanding boys, girls, and young maidens: he needed their blood and essence to replenish himself. She tore off her invisibility talisman, letting her aura spill.

The old cultivator, startled by a stronger presence, demanded, “Who are you?” He’d always believed himself the sole cultivator here, once wishing for a companion, but as time passed, he relished his freedom as the world’s only “immortal.” With no peers, why invite competition?

Now confronted by someone stronger, he wondered if she’d come to contest his territory. No way—he’d spent years selecting this spot: the prosperous city, delectable children, all his and not to be shared.

His eyes darted craftily, clearly scheming. Li Mengze sensed his long exhale upon seeing her.

She found it amusing—didn’t this old Taoist know that ambition mattered more than age, and that in the cultivation world, strength ruled?

Seeing a young girl, the old cultivator sneered, thinking her naive—a perfect target for him to absorb, perhaps enough to extend his life by decades.

He grinned wickedly. “Little lady, no need to hurry. You’ve come to me so soon, can’t wait for the immortal’s affection, can you?”

Such words, if spoken by a handsome young man, might be intriguing—even romantic. But coming from a grizzled old man, it was simply lecherous and infuriating.

Li Mengze felt the same and wasted no words. With a flick of her hand, she unleashed a fiery dragon. The old cultivator, bold but foolish, had vastly underestimated the chasm between their abilities. He didn’t even have time to counter before he was reduced to ashes.

With that done, Li Mengze clapped her hands—life without rivals was truly lonely!

After eliminating him, she scoured the palace for treasures; missing out would be regretful. Other than the old Taoist’s chamber, the rest was empty. The only unusual find was a medium-sized blood pool in the adjacent room, filled with fresh blood—not something amassed from just a few people. Using blood for cultivation, he’d tormented countless children before their deaths. She’d arrived too late; had she come earlier, she might have saved many lives.

In his chamber, she found two jade slips. One contained a fragmented cultivation manual—originally for righteous cultivation, but the old cultivator’s incomplete understanding had turned it into a demonic technique. She couldn’t decide whether to pity his misfortune or admire his ingenuity for creating a new method. Destroying the useless manual to prevent further harm, she crushed it to ashes and let it dissolve in the water.

The other jade slip was his autobiography—she wondered at his reasoning, writing his life story before dying, as if he were some great figure. Curious, she read it. It began, “This immortal was born in the year of...” Li Mengze rolled her eyes. For a mid-stage Qi Refiner, with no hope of advancement, to call himself an immortal and boast of moving mountains, flying through the heavens, lamenting his lone fate as the world’s only immortal, planning to return to the celestial realm, and leaving his techniques for a future successor—such delusions were beyond her understanding. Fortunately, she’d dealt with him; otherwise, he’d continue harming people even in death.

But now that he was gone, how could she inform the people—without revealing herself—that no more sacrifices were needed? She pondered.

Suddenly, she slapped her palm. Luckily, she wore her celestial robes today.

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Within two days, the entire provincial city buzzed with tales of that night’s marvels. Everyone recounted the event as if they’d witnessed it themselves: a fairy descended from the heavens to slay the demon turtle in the Mekong River; the night was as bright as day; the fairy and the demon turtle battled fiercely, shaking the city; the demon turtle was defeated and killed, the fairy clad in rainbow robes, wielding a precious sword, majestic and awe-inspiring.

By the time the story reached Peach Blossom Village, the fairy had transformed from an ethereal beauty into a five-foot-tall, broad-shouldered woman.

Listening to the aunts gossip, Li Mengze was perplexed. Was the fairy they described the illusion she’d conjured that night?

If she remembered correctly, her celestial robes were plain white trimmed with gold, and she held nothing in her hands. Besides, her figure, while not petite, was certainly not broad-shouldered.

She sighed deeply. As the saying goes, rumors end with the wise.

That night, all she’d done was use a bit more force: she blasted the underwater palace with explosive talismans, then hovered above the river with levitation magic. Her attire, by local standards, was indeed celestial, but nothing extraordinary. She announced to the crowd that sacrifices were no longer needed—the demon cultivator was slain—then scattered the treasures she’d gathered among them, vanished midair with an invisibility talisman. This spectacle became legend, and she heard there was even a new opera, “The Handsome Fairy Slays the Demon Taoist,” which was both amusing and exasperating.

She thought the matter settled, but it didn’t end there. After July fifteenth passed with no further dreams demanding sacrifices, and the Mekong River remained calm, people were convinced the sacred turtle was truly slain. They began discussing plans to build a temple to honor the fairy who saved them.

Such a commotion was problematic. If they built a temple, and she returned to Water Blue Star, never performing miracles again, wouldn’t she be cursed and her character questioned? That was unacceptable.

She had no idea how to send dreams, but she could tamper with memories. That night, she entered the city again, heading to the chief commander’s mansion. The commander, lounging naked on the kang with his fourth concubine, humming contentedly after intimacy, was thoroughly enjoying life.

No need to show herself—she invaded his mind with her divine sense, inserting the desired memories.

No sooner had Li Mengze left than Zhao Lei leapt from his fourth concubine’s bed, hurriedly dressing. The seductive woman refused to let him go. “So you’re just going to leave after enjoying yourself? If I let you go, the whole courtyard will know tomorrow that I failed to please you. How will I survive among those older women? They’ll surely put me in my place!”

She rolled over and grabbed Zhao Lei’s military belt.