Chapter 95: Demonic Beasts in the Ning River

After diving into the Ning River, Mo Lin felt none of the unfamiliarity from his first time entering the waters.

Instead, he had the illusion of a Flood Dragon returning to its domain.

The wings on his body pressed tightly against his sides, reducing the resistance brought about by swimming.

Mo Lin raised his head from the river’s surface, looking out at the vast Ning River.

Countless boats, large or small, were swaying downstream with the current.

Some of them sank deep in the water, some were shallow-drafted, some carried flags, while others had large characters engraved upon their hulls.

But regardless of the type of vessel, more or less every one of them had people armed and keeping a vigilant watch over the river.

“Following the river downstream will lead to the Yongzhou Chamber of Commerce. However, it’s said that the Ning River is full of demons, and demonic beasts often stir up storms here, causing great trouble for passing boats. That’s why every vessel crossing the river is equipped with men to defend against the demonic beasts within.”

Mo Lin found this understandable.

First of all, demonic beasts on land only occupied a single layer of the surface level, whereas in rivers and waterways, they could conceal themselves above, below, or to either side.

Their numbers far surpassed those of land-dwelling beasts.

Secondly, on land, demonic beasts usually occupied fixed territories and seldom trespassed without reason, while humans mostly remained in their own settlements.

The two rarely crossed paths.

Therefore, aside from merchants traveling through, incidents of demonic beasts attacking people on land were not particularly common.

But in the rivers, every boat was constantly moving.

That meant at any time they might drift, due to the current, into the territory of some demonic beast—or several.

Because of this special nature of the rivers, the law of the jungle was even more evident among aquatic demonic beasts than it was on land.

As a result, some river-dwelling beasts were far stronger than their land counterparts.

And since ships were not adept at quick maneuvers, once targeted by a demonic beast, they became exceptionally vulnerable.

Thus, it was no wonder every boat carried a sufficient number of men, eyes locked tensely on the surface of the water, fearing that a beast might suddenly leap out to attack.

It wasn’t as though no officials had ever considered clearing out the river’s demonic beasts—especially in heavily trafficked rivers like the Ning River, where merchant ships were so numerous.

After all, these merchant ships contributed directly to their political achievements.

To watch such achievements sink into the river before their very eyes—who could tolerate that?

Unfortunately, compared to land beasts, river beasts were far more difficult to deal with.

So long as a beast dove underwater, human techniques—whether crossbows or talismans—lost much of their power, rendering them ineffective.

To engage in underwater combat was to hand over every advantage to the demonic beasts.

It was a thankless task.

Even if they couldn’t win, beasts could simply flick their tails and escape.

Even experts of the Earth Rank might not be able to subdue a Profound Rank demonic beast underwater.

As time went on, people simply lost interest in attempting to clear the river of beasts.

As long as no shocking catastrophe occurred, attacks on ships were treated as if nothing had happened—and as for those who perished in such encounters, well, that was simply their misfortune.

So in this era, even crossing a river was considered a technical skill.

Mo Lin sank into the waters, following the current downstream.

Though collectively called demonic beasts, just as humans had kingdoms and dynasties, no beast would treat a stranger of its kind with goodwill.

Most might remain cautious, but a small portion were innately aggressive.

Just like the piranha now before Mo Lin.

It had sharp teeth, a body nearly three meters long.

If an angler from Mo Lin’s previous life saw it, he would certainly be stunned.

This piranha was clearly of the more aggressive kind among demonic beasts, releasing without restraint the aura of a mid-grade Profound Rank.

No other fish dared swim nearby.

So when it noticed Mo Lin swimming through the river as though no one else existed, it immediately surged forth in provocation.

“！”

It lunged straight at Mo Lin.

Mo Lin, seeing this, did not hold back.

He lashed out with his tail, coiling tightly around the piranha, trapping it.

As his tail constricted, the piranha thrashed wildly, even attempting to gnaw on Mo Lin’s body with its teeth.

In the river, due to the water’s restrictions, most ranged attacks were ineffective.

The most efficient weapons were the beasts’ own bodies—this was where river beasts fell short compared to land-dwellers.

But in exchange, their physiques were generally stronger—especially those from the deep sea, accustomed to resisting immense water pressure.

Mo Lin quickly realized that although this piranha was only a mid-grade Profound Rank beast, its struggling force was not much weaker than that of a high-grade Profound Rank Black Bear.

It was only hampered by lacking limbs, unable to exert its full power.

Of course, before Mo Lin, now at the lower Earth Rank, even a high-grade Profound Rank beast could not alter its fate.

Mo Lin unleashed his Spatial Imprisonment, instantly suppressing the piranha within the river.

His tail tightened further, crushing the creature to death alive, before swallowing it whole.

Mo Lin carefully felt the changes in his body and noticed a slight improvement in his physical attributes.

His eyes gleamed with joy.

Compared to the flexible and varied fighting styles of land beasts, the methods of river beasts were almost crude—nearly all of them relied on charging in to bite.

For Mo Lin, who often relied on strangling enemies with his body, this was very good news.

Moreover, the physical qualities of river beasts were excellent, providing him with decent enhancements.

Originally, he had considered whether to fly directly to the Yongzhou Chamber of Commerce.

Now it seemed his choice to enter the river had been a wise one.

Mo Lin resolved to devour his fill in the river!

With his decision made, Mo Lin seamlessly adapted to his role, seeking suitable prey in the waters.

Before long, he discovered a massive crocodile.

Though he did not know exactly what kind of demonic beast it was, he could tell its Strength was immense—a formidable fighter even among Profound Rank beasts.

But unfortunately for it, Mo Lin, an Earth Rank beast wielding Spatial Imprisonment, found subduing a Profound Rank crocodile far too easy.

Just as Mo Lin was about to swallow his second prey, a sudden tingling sensation coursed through his body.

「What’s going on？」

After the tingling passed, Mo Lin searched for its source and discovered it—a single electric eel attached to the crocodile’s body.

Because of the barnacles on the crocodile’s skin, Mo Lin had failed to notice it earlier.

This eel clearly disliked him and released another electric shock toward Mo Lin.

But alas, it was only a Yellow Rank beast.

Its current was nothing more than a pleasant massage to Mo Lin.

Stimulated by the electricity, Mo Lin rolled his body in comfort, leaving the eel dumbfounded—its full-powered shock had only massaged him?

Looking at the eel, Mo Lin thought.

He had just considered how most river beasts relied purely on physical strength to devour others, yet here appeared one capable of releasing electricity.

And this electricity indeed counted as a rare ranged attack method in the river.

This piqued Mo Lin’s curiosity.

If he devoured several of these electric eels, wouldn’t he also gain the ability to use “Discharge” in the Ning River?

Perhaps, by then, he might even unleash “One Hundred Thousand Volts”!