CHAPTER 86: CHAPTER 85: NINTH-GRADE SPIRIT FISH

"What the hell?"

"What the heck are you guys doing!"

Wang Wu was completely stunned. Wasn’t he just too unlucky? You guys are too despicable. Why would the North Mountain King and the South Mountain King join forces to blockade the Xijiang River?

Why do you all loudly condemn and curse the Big Head Water Thieves for slaughtering the West River Water Race during the day, only to turn around at night and become their accomplices?

Isn’t the King of Xijiang your beloved relative, your close friend?

And, that Cyan Wolf, didn’t the King of Xijiang save your life once?

Wang Wu was going crazy!

He tried to survive this way and that way, desperately trying to survive, but still couldn’t escape and ended up crashing right into danger.

So, is this little black strange snake wrapped around him a direct bloodline of the distinguished King of Xijiang? Is it the next King of Xijiang?

Damn, aren’t you demons, aren’t you in the Cultivation Realm, acting out The Count of Monte Cristo here?

Wang Wu was insanely scared.

At this moment, he really wanted to throw away this little strange snake or strangle it and toss it to the surface, come what may, just don’t drag me into it!

But just as he was about to take action, a pure burst of Ice Spiritual Qi suddenly emerged from the blue snake scale three inches away on the little strange snake, enveloping both him and the snake in ice. Then, not knowing what the snake did, they, along with the ice block, plummeted straight to the bottom of the river.

Wang Wu inwardly cursed his luck. As the saying goes, "When an expert shows their skills, you’ll know if they’re any good."

This little strange snake seemed quite injured, but its control over the Ice Spiritual Qi was clearly several levels, no, at least ten levels above his.

It was like he was a 690, while the snake was a 4090 in comparison.

Because releasing Ice Spiritual Qi in the river would cause it to spray and expand chaotically, like beautiful frost on a window, graceful but inherently chaotic.

This would not only disrupt water flow but also create enough noise to easily be detected by scouts.

But the little strange snake completed the ice seal so smoothly that the splash was nearly nonexistent.

So, without a doubt, he was no match for it.

At this moment, Wang Wu didn’t dare to move at all and tried to maintain Level 10 Passive Concealment as much as possible. As for the breathing problem, it wasn’t really an issue.

With his Basic Attributes increased, especially his Physical Attribute, he could now hold his breath underwater for about five hours with a single breath.

It was only when his Physical Strength was exhausted that he showed signs of breathing difficulties.

The riverbed was very deep and pitch black, but the water flow was relatively gentle.

Wang Wu squinted his eyes, seeing the little strange snake smoothly retract all the Ice Spiritual Qi, yet it still didn’t realize Wang Wu was actually a bear, just tightly winding around him, dragging him, moving agilely and swiftly underwater. Who knows what it was up to?

Logically, even if this little strange snake wanted to escape, it didn’t need to drag along a log, right?

Wang Wu couldn’t figure it out, but at this moment, he could only play dumb. What else could he do?

The little strange snake didn’t drag Wang Wu far, just to a place that looked very ordinary, full of aquatic plants and stones, yet somehow, several unrelated-looking stones slowly began to move.

The next second, before Wang Wu could see clearly, a powerful whirlpool formed, wrapping around him and pulling him down.

As for the little strange snake, it tightly coiled around him like it was clinging to a wooden stake.

Wait, is this an underground waterway?

Wang Wu had just this thought when the strong current slammed him against a rock, causing his vision to blur with golden stars, almost knocking him unconscious.

Thankfully, his 36 Points of Basic Defense kept him from severe harm beyond the pain.

But this was just the beginning. Who knew where this underground waterway led? The current grew faster, the impacts more intense, his whole body felt like it would be ripped apart.

After nearly a minute, he finally crashed into a relatively calm dark river channel with a thud.

By then, he’d been hit roughly two or three hundred times, his whole body in agony, with his Life Value brutally reduced by 128 Points, despite his 36 Points of Defense.

So what the hell kind of escape route was this?

Moreover, his Level 10 Passive Concealment was forcibly deactivated, yet this little strange snake still tightly wrapped around him, maybe planning to kill the bear to keep its mouth shut!

Just thinking that, the roaring water returned, and suddenly he was in mid-air, plunging down a waterfall into darkness, several dozen meters high, causing his Blood Qi to surge.

But the dark river’s flow became rapid once more, launching him on another head-bashing journey.

Unaware of how far the underground river carried him, Wang Wu was dizzy, unable to distinguish time or space.

His Life Value continuously decreased due to the frequent, sustained impacts, and since he hadn’t eaten in days, his Satiety was zero; it was truly miserable.

He relied solely on his 36 Points of Basic Defense to endure.

When the underground river finally carried him to a freezing, spacious area where a faint light flickered, his original 610 Points of Life Value was less than 100 Points.

This wasn’t an escape route; it was clearly a purgatory journey.

As for the little strange snake, it didn’t fare well either—it was unclear whether it was dead or alive, no longer able to coil around Wang Wu, limp and floppy like a belt floating on the pool’s water.

Damn, glancing around, Wang Wu immediately felt a surge of malice towards the little monster snake. He mainly wanted to eat it because he felt uneasy without maintaining his satiety level, and also, what kind of place was this? It was so cold, the temperature must be at least minus fifty degrees.

And this pond, it’s so cold yet it doesn’t freeze...

"Splash!"

A small silver fish, like a blind creature, bumped into Wang Wu, and he scooped it up with a paw.

Well, it came right to me.

After a brief hesitation, Wang Wu took a bite and munched it down.

"Hiss! Delicious!"

The silver fish was surprisingly delicious, making Wang Wu feel almost euphoric.

And as the silver fish entered his stomach, it immediately transformed into a cold sensation spreading throughout his body. But instead of being cold, it was incredibly comfortable.

Wang Wu, who was just feeling like his bones were about to break and his whole body was bruised, suddenly felt a rapid relief under the influence of this cold sensation. In the end, this cold sensation continued to transform, turning into a significant amount of ice spiritual qi, which was truly miraculous.

At this moment, a line of information quickly emerged.

"You have consumed a ninth-grade spirit fish. You have gained 800 points of spiritual qi, 100 points of ice spiritual qi, 1500 points of satiety, 10% conventional growth level, 5% special growth level, and your bloodline evolution level increased by 0.5%!"

"Your Level 10 Self-Healing is being activated..."

"Your stored spiritual qi exceeds the limit, and the excess will dissipate after twelve hours."

——

"Wow!"

Wang Wu was dumbfounded!

He couldn’t believe it!

What a windfall from the heavens, not only directly increasing the special growth level by 5%, but also boosting the bloodline evolution level by 0.5%. Wait a minute, was this ninth-grade spirit fish meant for that little monster snake?

Wang Wu quickly realized.

Piecing together the clues, he could basically outline the true story.

The King of Xijiang was attempting to transform into a dragon and entrusted its successor to the North Mountain King, South Mountain King, and Black Mountain King, three dear friends. Originally, everything should have been harmonious. Even if something happened, it should last for a few years. However, less than twenty days had passed, and news reached them that the King of Xijiang failed in its transformation.

Hmm, no matter whether there was another plot involved, the King of Xijiang definitely failed. What bad luck; the news of the transformation attempt was leaked, resulting in an ambush by the human race cultivators, wasn’t it?

Then the Big Head Water Thieves rampaged, the three dear friends turned against each other, blockading the river banks, severely injuring the little monster snake to seize its resources...

Originally, all of this had nothing to do with Wang Wu. The real issue was that he lay low so well that even when the three dear friends cleared the area, they overlooked him.

The performance by the Cyan Wolf and Gray Fox earlier during the day was really meant to be witnessed by the little monster snake. Wang Wu only knew part of it, thinking they were part of the same group. Resulting in him almost being detected on his night crossing of the river, and being mistaken by the little monster snake as a piece of wood, dragged into the underground waterway to bear the brunt of the injuries.

Indeed, without him as that piece of wood for support, the severely wounded little monster snake could not possibly sustain itself in that turbulent underground river and might have ended up washed away to some Jawa Country.

Through the twists and turns, they successfully reached the secret hideaway prepared by the King of Xijiang for the little monster snake.

Alas, who would believe the intricacies of this story if told!

Wang Wu himself felt that reality was just absurd and illogical.

At this moment, he urgently consumed 500 points of spiritual qi to raise his basic defense from 36 points to 37 points – the only quick solution to the spiritual qi storage limit issue.

Moreover, basic defense was incredibly gratifying.

Then, he planned to first eat that little monster snake! Eh, where is the snake?

At that moment, Wang Wu was truly drenched in a cold sweat. In just a moment of distraction, the little monster snake, who should have been on the verge of death and unconscious, had disappeared.

After searching everywhere and still finding no trace, just as he felt his scalp tingle.

"You ate my spirit fish!"

A voice, very cold and crisp, yet articulate with a man’s tone echoed. Looking towards the source, Wang Wu saw that the creature had hidden behind a rock by the cold pond. Although it was still the same size, less than five meters long and as thick as an arm, looking at it, Wang Wu felt a sense of being overawed by its might.

This guy was undoubtedly very powerful!

Seeing Wang Wu silent, the little monster snake suddenly laughed, "So you’re not yet enlightened, not good with words—well, I can’t blame you for that. I am the direct descendant of the King of Xijiang, the overlord of the West River Water Race. For saving my life this time, I owe you a debt. What compensation do you want?"

Wang Wu still couldn’t speak, but he was indeed tempted. Since the guy was a direct descendant of the King of Xijiang, his status was notable. More importantly, Wang Wu felt that with their shared ordeal, he could definitely find himself a formidable ally and leader—why not?

The little monster snake seemingly understood Wang Wu’s changing expressions, slowly crawled out from behind the rock, looked at Wang Wu with a regal gaze, "Or, you can be my subordinate. If I ever reclaim the West River and rebuild the water race, you’ll be my Bear Vanguard!"

"Now, come over. I’ll enlighten you so you can be good with words, comprehend Daoist techniques, and master transformations!"

Hearing this, Wang Wu no longer hesitated. Whether he could speak was irrelevant, but ’Daoist techniques’ and ’transformations’—those four words truly piqued his interest. He glanced at his fully restored life value and eagerly approached.

But just as he was about to get close to the little monster snake, the snake suddenly shot up from the ground like lightning, biting his throat.

Crap!