Chapter 86: Believe in Me, Not in the Gods!

The girl, with her hands and feet bound, floated up, a scene that left a group of fishermen on the beach utterly stunned.

They all thought the girl's spirit was restless, and she had risen to wreak havoc! Even many villagers had already started to flee, covering their heads. Such a bizarre scene was something they had never seen before, and they feared staying would bring them misfortune.

"What the hell is that..." Even Meng An, the old man, was greatly frightened, trembling with fear. His once proud eyes now showed panic. If it weren't for the loss of face, the old man would have fled long ago. With his cultivation, he would have been the fastest to escape!

"Bang!"

At this moment, the water where the girl had floated up suddenly splashed, and a black figure carrying the girl leaped out, slowly landing on the dock.

Before long, a young man carrying the girl, who had been rendered unconscious by the lake water, approached. He was ragged and disheveled, holding a sword in his other hand. The girl, limp on his shoulder, seemed as soft as a boneless lamb, even easier to carry than a small sheep.

"Damn! I went through so much trouble to finally escape from that damned underwater, and you, a young girl, want to jump into the lake and end your life. Such a disgraceful act, your aunts and uncles can bear, but I can't!"

The young man, naturally, was Shen Chen. He walked from the dock, cursing, and with his tattered clothes from being in the water for a long time, he looked like a wild man who had just emerged from the lake!

Earlier, he had followed the cave, finally breaking free from the underground river and surfacing through a gap at the bottom of the lake. However, just as he surfaced, he saw a figure falling. Upon closer inspection, it was a girl of exceptional beauty.

Such a beautiful girl wanting to commit suicide by jumping into the water made Shen Chen, who had been trapped underwater for months, feel as if ten thousand mud-covered wild horses were galloping through his heart. Without hesitation, he reached out and lifted her.

Now, with the increasingly bright firelight, Shen Chen saw that the girl's hands and feet were bound. And with the smoke and fog on the distant beach, his experience from two lifetimes made it clear what was happening.

"Who are you? Why are you here? Why did you disrupt our ritual to sacrifice to the fish god?!"

On the other side, seeing that the one approaching was a young man, not a ghost, many of the fishermen breathed a sigh of relief. Meng An, the leader, stepped forward and coldly shouted.

Before long, the people who had fled also gathered around. Seeing Shen Chen carrying the girl used for the sacrifice, many had strange expressions, unsure of what to say. Although the young man was ragged, his face was clear and his eyes bright, not at all like a fierce person. Many had little suspicion of him.

Shen Chen ignored the fishermen and continued carrying the graceful girl, walking straight to the old man with the iron cane and coldly said, "Are you in charge here?"

Shen Chen's perception was sharp, and he could clearly sense that most of the people present were ordinary villagers with no cultivation. However, this old man had some ability, with a cultivation level of the eighth stage of Blood Fusion, which would have been enough to be a steward in the former Flowing Cloud Sect.

"Hmph! So what if I am? No matter who you are, daring to disrupt our ritual, you deserve to die!" Meng An sneered.

Earlier, he had been worried about who had emerged from the water, but upon seeing it was just a young man, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, sensing the young man's cultivation at the sixth stage of Blood Fusion, Meng An was slightly surprised but felt even more at ease. To him, a fifteen or sixteen-year-old with the sixth stage of Blood Fusion, though talented, was still too young...

"Ha ha..." Feeling the old man's contempt and arrogance, Shen Chen smiled, revealing a row of white teeth. This harmless gesture made it hard to guess what he was planning.

However, the next moment, Shen Chen suddenly lifted his right foot and kicked out, shouting, "Deserve to die? Damn, you old bastard, doing such heinous deeds and still threatening me, I think you're tired of living!"

"You—!" Meng An did not expect the young man to suddenly attack. His eyes widened in anger, and he instinctively used his iron cane to block.

"Bang!"

To his surprise, the force was far greater than he imagined. Meng An's eyes widened in shock, trying to dodge to the side, but it was too late. The iron cane, like a weak tree, was sent flying, and he was thrown several yards into the bushes.

With this kick, Shen Chen did not use any martial techniques but exerted about six or seven-tenths of his strength. Hearing that this old man was in charge, he had already decided to kill him. He detested such heinous and barbaric acts and was merely helping the girl on his shoulder get some revenge.

However, to the hundreds of fishermen watching, this scene was completely different. The Meng Lao, whom they had long revered like a god, had actually... been kicked away?

Everyone thought they were seeing things, unable to believe it was real!

"Boy, you're asking for death!"

After a moment, Meng An climbed out of the bushes, angrily raising his iron cane. Although he had only suffered minor injuries due to the bushes, he was now like a mad beast, determined to kill the young man.

Shen Chen's actions had completely humiliated him. In front of so many villagers, the old man was already furious, and when he charged, he was full of killing intent.

"Snake Staff!"

However, Meng An did not dare to underestimate Shen Chen again. This time, he directly used his strongest martial technique, the iron cane swirling with black energy, like a venomous snake charging forward.

The force of that kick had left him trembling. If not for his cultivation advantage, he would have fled long ago. Now, he was using his ultimate skill to kill from a distance, not daring to get close to Shen Chen for a close combat.

Unfortunately, the old man had miscalculated. Shen Chen's physical strength was terrifying, but his skills were no less impressive. Watching the old man charge with a derisive look, he didn't even put down the girl on his shoulder. He merely shook his right hand slightly.

"Clang!"

The next moment, the sword was drawn, and Shen Chen's body did not move. A purple aura instantly shot out, like a purple beam slicing through the air.

With his bloodline power at its peak, he now had an endless supply of blood energy. Using "Purple Qi from the East" was effortless and swift, so fast that no one could see it clearly!

Ten yards away from the bushes, Meng An's forward momentum suddenly stopped. Then, a bloodline appeared on his withered neck, tearing open, and blood spurted out.

"You..." Meng An's eyes were filled with fear and unwillingness as he slowly fell, still wide open at the moment of death, as if he had seen a young demon descending.

A full two levels of cultivation difference, yet the result was still so unequivocal. The old man never believed it was real until his last breath.

"Hmph!"

Shen Chen coldly glanced at the scene and then turned around, looking at the group of fishermen and said indifferently, "What do you say, are you still going to use this girl to sacrifice to that fish god?"

As soon as he spoke, the area fell into complete silence. Then, hundreds of fishermen, like seeing a demon, all fell to their knees, trembling and prostrating on the ground, their faces pale, fearing that the same fate would befall them.

"Mercy, young hero, we didn't want to harm the innocent, it was all forced by Meng Lao!"

"Please, young hero, show mercy and spare us, these simple villagers, we had no ill intentions!"

"We can swear to the heavens, we had no evil intentions, it was all forced by Meng Lao and the fish god, we had no choice..."

The fishermen all lay on the ground, shouting. In a sense, they were also accomplices to Meng An. Now that the girl was saved and Meng An was dead, if the young man were to take action, they would surely lose their lives. Everyone was pleading for mercy.

"Cough... young hero..."

At this moment, in a corner, the middle-aged man Liu Gu had woken up. Seeing the scene, he was also stunned. Realizing what had happened, he was both overjoyed and worried, unsure of what the young man carrying his beloved daughter intended. He dared not speak loudly, only weakly calling out.

"Alright, all of you get up. I have no interest in killing innocents!" Shen Chen was speechless, glancing at the villagers on the ground and said indifferently, "The fish god you mentioned has already been dealt with by me underwater. Don't bother with such useless things in the future. You believe in gods and that old man, but you should believe in me!"

Shen Chen's words were just a casual remark, but to his surprise, after he spoke, hundreds of fishermen actually began to worship him.

"May I ask the young hero's name? I am the village chief of He Kou Village. After returning, I will transfer Meng Lao's worship to the young hero, no, not transfer, it will be even more than before!"

"We in Shi Mo Village will also believe in the young hero, to thank the young hero for clearing away the deception and slaying the evil fish for us!"

"In the future, the ancestral hall of Zhu Village will have a statue of the young hero..."

The fishermen all called out obediently, many of them terrified. Hearing that the young man had killed the so-called "fish god," they were both delighted and fearful, becoming even more cautious, afraid of offending this young man.

"Well... fine, do as you please!" Shen Chen rolled his eyes, wanting to say more but, seeing the fishermen's lost appearance after the old man's death, decided not to explain further.

Perhaps, this outcome was the best for these ignorant villagers. At least he didn't want to be like Meng An, needing the villagers to serve and support him. After he left, the villagers would not lose anything...

"Cough... cough..." At this moment, a series of light coughs came from the girl on his back.

"Awake, finally! I didn't go through all this trouble for nothing!" Shen