"Am I going to fail…" Fang Yuan was still swimming. Seeing this scene, his heart grew heavy. "No—as long as the final moment hasn't arrived, I still have a chance. I can't give up!"
"This is the last step!" Bi Chentian shouted.
Every immortal in the crowd held their breath, all of them tense with anticipation, eyes wide, eager to witness this monumental moment.
"Lord Mao, get ready. The moment Ma Hongyun steps out, we snatch him!" Xuan Jizi transmitted via voice, reminding the Dog-tailed Life-extension Mink.
But the latter transmitted back: "No need to snatch."
"Lord Mao, what do you mean?" Xuan Jizi grew anxious.
Just then, Ma Hongyun, holding Zhao Lianyun's hand, finally took his last step.
His left foot still lingered within the Countercurrent River. By now, the river water could no longer even cover the top of his left foot. His right foot, however, was already suspended in the air, on the verge of stepping beyond the river.
At this moment, no one could stop Ma Hongyun—unless Zhao Lianyun went mad, or Ma Hongyun gave up of his own accord.
Neither of those things happened.
Ma Hongyun planted his foot down!
*Snap.*
A soft sound rang out as water splashed in all directions.
He stepped into water.
"Why is there water?" Ma Hongyun froze. Zhao Lianyun was stunned as well.
They could see it clearly—at the very instant Ma Hongyun took that final step, the Countercurrent River's water had risen by a tiny fraction.
And so, Ma Hongyun was still within the Countercurrent River.
"How can this be?" Ma Hongyun refused to accept it. Gritting his teeth, he took a second step.
The same thing happened again—the Countercurrent River's water rose by another sliver, keeping him perpetually inside.
The crowd of immortals erupted in uproar.
What was wrong with this Countercurrent River?
This was practically cheating!
"Hahahaha!" Mao Li Qiu suddenly burst into ear-splitting laughter. "Too amusing, too amusing! Look at the expressions on all your faces—hahahaha, truly entertaining, hahahaha."
The faces of every immortal changed.
Xuan Jizi connected the dots with what Mao Li Qiu had transmitted earlier, and he suddenly understood—Mao Li Qiu had known all along that Ma Hongyun could never step out of the Countercurrent River. That was why it had been so calm and made no preparations to snatch anyone.
"Lord Mao, what's going on here?" Hong Jizi asked, impatient and curious.
"Hahahaha, you bunch of idiots, just look at yourselves!" Mao Li Qiu slapped the ground with both front paws, producing booming thumps, thoroughly delighted.
"The Countercurrent River has always been like this!"
"It has an upstream and a downstream, but forcing your way from the downstream to the upstream is utterly impossible—because the Countercurrent River has no end. Every step you take at the very head of the river, it extends one step beyond."
"In the primordial age, the Human Ancestor wished to save his eldest son. But it was Fate Gu that decreed the life and death of all things. How could a dead person live a second life? That would defy the Great Dao of heaven and earth. And so Zhi Hui Gu did not tell the Human Ancestor about this wondrous property of the Countercurrent River."
"Hahahaha, too amusing! I never expected to encounter something so entertaining this time around!"