Upon the tall mud throne sat a gigantic, bloated mud figure.
A dense aura of sinister energy radiated from its colossal body.
It remained motionless—unclear whether awake or asleep.
Could this be the River Lord?
With such a massive frame, its face was naturally enormous too. Perhaps this was the face Old Xing Si had glimpsed through the carriage window?
Staring at the shadowy figure from a distance, Lu Fei and Jing Jian were deeply unsettled.
I thought the sudden appearance of Zheng Lao-ge was a trap, but he actually led them to the River Lord?
"Is this the monster you mentioned?"
Lu Fei looked suspiciously at Zheng Lao-ge.
"Yes, it's him. I saw with my own eyes—anyone who disobeyed was devoured in one bite." Zheng Lao-ge trembled, cautiously glancing at Lu Fei and the others. "It's too powerful. What do we do? Do you have a way to deal with it?"
Jing Jian was about to speak when Lu Fei pressed a hand on his shoulder.
"Of course we do. Come closer, and I'll tell you quietly."
He smiled faintly and beckoned Zheng Lao-ge over.
"What?" Zheng Lao-ge hurriedly leaned in.
*Thud!*
Lu Fei stabbed his staff into the man's belly.
His abdomen burst instantly, mud gushing out. The man melted like a candle in stunned disbelief, collapsing into a pool of sludge.
"That's the solution!"
"Why strike so suddenly?" Jing Jian jolted, then realized. "This thing was a mud figure sent by the River Lord to test us? Damn, that bastard's cunning!"
Sure enough, the giant mud figure on the throne began to move the next moment.
"Fun! Fun!"
Mud flowed as the colossal figure shifted, slowly turning its body toward the two.
"After capturing so many, finally two amusing ones have come! Turns out, only the living are fun!"
A deep, eerie voice resonated.
The shadow cast by its massive frame alone could engulf both men.
It didn't seem angry—instead, it radiated wild excitement, as if discovering a fascinating new toy.
"Let me see, what other fun stuff do you have?"
The water rippled.
A gigantic mud hand reached out to grab the two.
"Lu Fei, it's coming!"
"Charge!"
Now that we're face to face, what else is there to say?
The two exchanged a glance and immediately sprang into coordinated action, splitting off to the left and right to evade the terrifying gigantic palm.
Boom!
The palm slams down heavily.
The water churns violently, leaving a deep palm imprint in the silt in an instant.
This terrifying force, if a person were struck by it, would likely be flattened into a meat pancake on the spot.
Both men were sent tumbling through the water by the shockwave, struggling to stabilize themselves.
"I'll distract it! You find its weakness!"
Lu Fei shouted, channeling magic energy into his hands as he swung his staff at the colossal mud creature.
An electric streak flashed through the water like a swimming dragon, hurtling toward the mud figure.
Boom!
Mud cascaded down in sheets.
The river water instantly turned turbid beyond recognition.
Jing Jian approached the mud creature from the flank.
Struck by Lu Fei's attack, the giant mud creature lost over half its mass. It looked down at its diminished form and revealed a grotesque smile rather than showing anger.
"Haha! So fun, so fun!"
A hoarse voice emerged from its black hole-like mouth.
Its face had only a vague outline with three dark voids representing eyes and mouth.
Jing Jian quietly circled around it, observing intently through the murky water, yet finding no flaws.
This evil creature, completely covered in sludge, was clearly a mud figure.
Seeing this, Lu Fei swung his staff again.
The mud figure shrank by half once more, yet this merely made its movements nimbler without dealing fatal damage.
"What is this thing? It doesn't even fear heavenly thunder!"
Lu Fei had never encountered such an eerie situation before.
In past encounters with evil spirits, even the most formidable ones showed some fear of celestial lightning.
But this underwater monster treated thunder's power like mere tickling.
"Haha! So amusing! Got more? Come again!"
The mud figure hopped around watching Lu Fei. When no immediate attack came, its mouth drooped in disappointment.
"No more? Then it's my turn to play!"
Its grotesque face twisted viciously as it writhed, preparing to charge at Lu Fei.
"No panic, I'm still here!"
Jing Jian immediately took action.
Faint starlight glimmered underwater as his ritual sword pierced through the mud figure's back.
Sludge cascaded downward.
Three dark voids formed a sinister face on the creature's occiput, staring fixedly at Jing Jian.
"Any more?"
"Yes! As much as you want!"
Jing Jian was startled. Clenching his teeth, he pulled out his enchanted sword and stabbed several more times.
Starlight flickered within the mud.
The mud figure's body kept melting, its hollow eyes fixed intently on Jing Jian.
"Any more? If not, then it's my turn!"
The mud suddenly dispersed, transforming into a long water snake upon hitting the ground, which swiftly slithered toward Jing Jian's legs.
Jing Jian retreated step by step, swinging his sword to block.
At this moment, Lu Fei rushed over. He first struck the serpent with his staff to slow it down, then drew his black umbrella.
The black umbrella couldn't open underwater, but strands of hair could emerge.
Thin strands of hair flew out, coiling around the water snake in concentric circles before abruptly tightening.
The water snake instantly shattered into fragments.
"Is it dead?"
Jing Jian halted, watching nervously.
But the next moment—
The viscous mud coalesced again, reforming into a humanoid shape.
"Hahaha! Being alive is so amusing after all. I almost don't want to kill you now. Come! Play with me some more."
The mud figure advanced toward the two men with grotesque laughter.
Their scalps tingled with fear.
"It still won't die!"
If it were any other malevolent entity, being blasted by heavenly lightning, pierced through by an enchanted sword, and sliced into fragments by strands of hair, it would have long been reduced to nothingness.
Yet this thing remained completely unharmed, immediately coalescing back together.
"Lu Fei, this thing doesn't seem to have a physical form at all—it's just a pile of sludge! Our attacks are completely useless."" Jing Jian felt a chill run down his spine. ""Have you figured out what it is yet?""
"A formless sludge... Could it be... a Mud-bound Spirit?"" Lu Fei frowned deeply, finally voicing his suspicion.
The two were forced to retreat step by step under the mud creature's advance.
Since attacks proved futile, it was better to conserve energy and devise a new strategy.
""What kind of evil spirit is this?"" Jing Jian was sweating anxiously, though sweat couldn't actually form underwater.
""The resentment of drowned souls fused with river silt creates this special type of malevolence. It has no true form and can morph into any shape..."" Lu Fei answered rapidly. ""This kind of evil spirit only fears sunlight...""
""We're at the bottom of a river—where are we supposed to find sunlight?"" Jing Jian felt utterly defeated.
""Tsk, no more fun? How boring. Killing you now would be such a waste—let me think of other games to play.""
Seeing the pair remain inactive, the mud creature's three hollow eyes revealed profound disappointment. Tilting its head, it suddenly became excited again.
""I know! Why don't you two play with each other!""
As the words faded:
The sludge churned as the mud creature split into two identical figures.
One resembled Lu Fei, the other Jing Jian.