Sanhe Prefecture and Shang’an Prefecture were demarcated by the Baihua River, a tributary of the Five Divine Rivers. The river was lined with countless unnamed wildflowers, and over time, it came to be known as the ’Baihua River’.

One section of the river was particularly wide and teemed with a species of blackfish prized for its tender flesh. As a result, a permanent village-town had formed on its banks.

Over time, the wide surface of the river became covered with the fishing nets of the local villagers, used for farming the blackfish. They densely occupied the entire waterway, crisscrossed by a tight network of wooden plank bridges, each only wide enough for a single person to cross.

Every morning at dawn, regardless of wind or rain, season by season, there were always bare-chested men walking along the plank bridges, inspecting the blackfish being raised in the nets below.

This morning was no exception. Before the sun was even up, the most diligent fisherman emerged bare-chested from his small waterside hut, setting out to earnestly patrol his nets and check on the blackfish.

The only difference was that this morning, some uninvited guests had appeared on the plank bridges. They were deliberately surrounding a fisherman in the middle of the waterway.

"Do you know what blackfish eat to grow so big?" the surrounded fisherman asked, maintaining a calm smile as he addressed the numerous Qi Cultivators closing in on him.

"They love to eat other fish and—"

Before he could finish, someone next to him drew a blade and charged. The fisherman, however, seemed to have no intention of resisting. Facing the sharp blade, he instead looked up at the sky with great interest, then activated a signal flare in his hand and threw it into the air.

The flare never exploded. It was destroyed by a burst of Sword Qi.

But flares exploded in other locations.

At that moment, the same scene was playing out in several other spots across the hazy and gloomy village-town.

The early-rising fishermen on both sides of the river all looked up, watching the brilliant colors that blossomed across the sky as the flares burst.

At the same time, four streaks of light rose from the town and split into two groups, fleeing in opposite directions.

"Haha, who would’ve thought there’d be four little thieves? This is quite a haul..."

It was Tianshan’s voice. As his words faded, an invisible curtain of light enveloped the village-town, cutting off the four figures’ escape routes.

Then, with a wave of his left hand, a Jade Green Gourd landed in his palm. A visible gray stream of light shot out from it, creating a massive pulling force. The sky seemed to tear open like a thin veil, and beneath it, five figures flashed into view.

These five were Wang Ping, Yu Cheng, Elder Wu, Zuo Xuan, and Yunshan. With the addition of Tianshan, a Star God on par with a Third Realm Cultivator, the lineup could only be described as formidable.

"Make it quick. Their memories are the key!"

As Wang Ping sent the telepathic message to the others, he sized up the four figures trapped by Tianshan’s technique...

Two of them were particularly conspicuous. Their bodies seemed to be disintegrating, constantly shedding a fine dust. Their faces were indistinct, but through spiritual perception, one could sense that their heads were like masses of countless black insects tangled together. A closer look revealed that the insects seemed to be gnawing on some kind of black metal.

’These must be the two mad Star Gods the Star Demoness mentioned.’

Each of the two Star Gods was accompanied by another person. They were both bare-chested and looked much like the local fishermen, except for the cracks that spiderwebbed across their faces from channeling their Qi Sea. These fissures revealed their true, slightly darker complexions beneath. A triangular object hovered beside each of them, surrounded by floating specks of black metal, making it look as if they were feeding the insects on the Star Gods’ bodies.

"This is far weirder than any monster from a horror story," Yu Lian remarked. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Wang Ping felt nauseated as well. His gaze instinctively met the eyes of one of the Star Gods. The Star God’s eyes appeared to be being devoured by countless insects, while tiny fleshy tendrils writhed and twisted around the sockets.

Just then, the Star God’s crazed eyes locked with Wang Ping’s.

The instant their eyes met, brilliant colors flared around Wang Ping as he activated his Spirit Gathering Array. In response, countless spikes formed from black powder materialized before the opposing Star God’s chest. They were swarmed by disgusting little insects that stared at Wang Ping and his group with open hostility.

Just then, Yunshan sent a telepathic message: "Be careful of those insects. They are the companion beasts of Star Iron, called Iron-Eating Insects. A normal person could crush one with a single hand, but a single bite from them is hard for even a Third Realm Cultivator to withstand. Plus, they’re immune to illusions."

Upon hearing this, a thought flashed through Wang Ping’s mind, and an Armor Talisman materialized on everyone in the group.

"Their memories are what’s most important!" Wang Ping reminded them again.

As the words left his mouth, he instantly manifested his iron bamboo swords, forming a killing array as he became the first to charge forward.

As the one who initiated this operation, he couldn’t just stand by and watch.

But just as he launched his attack, he felt the pressure on his body suddenly intensify, as if the laws of gravity in this area had been altered.

"Watch your feet!" Yu Cheng Taoist warned.

Down below, a dense cloud of black dust had now appeared in the village-town.

It was this dust that was altering the region’s magnetic field. The townspeople panicked, instinctively trying to flee, but they fell to the ground after just two steps, overcome by the sudden increase in pressure.

In the distance, the river water began to churn, and some of the older houses collapsed one after another.

On the plank bridge, the captured fisherman had been decapitated, and someone was now reading his memories. When these Qi Cultivators felt the pressure, they summoned a gray, towering pagoda—a magic artifact of the Earth Cave Sect. The moment it appeared, the pressure vanished without a trace.

Similarly, Elder Wu did the same from his position in the sky. He brought out the unique towering pagoda of the Earth Cave Sect, borrowing the power of the earth to suppress the magnetic field. This was a tactic they had planned in advance.

At this moment, Tianshan Daoist stopped Wang Ping. With a "heh heh" chuckle, he stared at the countless metal spikes hurtling toward them. He gently tossed his Jade Green Gourd into the air, formed a hand seal for a Spell, and channeled the Star God power within him. A powerful suction formed at the mouth of the gourd, and all the black dust was instantly sucked inside.

For a moment, it felt to Wang Ping and the others as if the world itself had changed color.

"Whether it’s Star Iron or Iron-Eating Insects, they’re all good stuff." Tianshan Daoist shook the Jade Green Gourd in his hand and looked at Wang Ping’s group. "Hurry up and make your move. If I have to act again, all the good things on them will be mine."

With the Star Iron and Iron-Eating Insects collected, the two Star Gods’ true forms were revealed. Their heads were masses of skinless flesh, with small tendrils still pulsing amidst the muscle. Combined with the exposed bone, they looked like living, rotting corpses. No, that wasn’t right—a rotting corpse’s flesh would be decayed, but theirs was fresh.

"Are you sure you want to read *their* memories?" Elder Wu was the first to quip.

While he was making his remark, the others were already moving...

First was Yunshan. He cast a barrier that enveloped the village-town below, all while chanting some strange scriptures.

Wang Ping and his master coordinated their attack on the pair to the left, while Zuo Xuan and Elder Wu moved against the other two.