Chapter 145: Water Within Water, White Dragonfish and the Underground Treasure

Chapter 145: Water Within Water, White Dragonfish and the Underground Treasure

Underwater.

Shi Xiaoyuan, holding the White Dragonfish, charged forward like a whip in his hand.

Jiang Ning's wrist twisted, and his blade slashed out.

The five-fold Inner Strength erupted suddenly.

With this slash, the flowing water was momentarily split apart, as if a vacuum had been carved underwater.

Ssss—

In front of the incredibly sharp longsword, the White Dragonfish, which had been hanging by a thread, was instantly cleaved in two.

The blade technique didn't stop; it continued toward Shi Xiaoyuan.

Ssss—

The sword sliced into the flesh, cutting like butter.

Shi Xiaoyuan's arm snapped off at the sound.

"Roar—"

A deep, beast-like roar erupted from his mouth.

Black-red blood spurted from his severed arm, further muddying the surrounding water.

At this moment—

The intense pain from his severed limb also cleared Shi Xiaoyuan's mind.

"Something's wrong!" he muttered to himself as he regained his senses.

Recalling his recent state of apparent madness, Shi Xiaoyuan immediately considered a possibility.

Could the divine gift be the problem?

Meanwhile, Jiang Ning didn't strike again.

Instead, he watched, curious to see if the powerful healing effect brought about by Shi Xiaoyuan's unique state could regenerate his severed arm.

On the other side, Shi Xiaoyuan glanced at Jiang Ning and instantly retreated.

Fear filled his heart at that moment.

Having witnessed the sharpness of Jiang Ning's weapon, he knew he couldn't win.

The swift blade, capable of cutting through iron, left him no chance.

Especially since the sword he had brought with him was still in the ship's cabin, and without it, he was unarmed and defenseless.

Moreover, his current state, severely injured and missing an arm, had significantly weakened him.

As Shi Xiaoyuan to demonstrate the healing effect?

Jiang Ning moved as soon as Shi Xiaoyuan did.

He knew Shi Xiaoyuan was retreating to the ship's cabin, where he had left a good sword during his battle with the White Dragonfish.

Given Shi Xiaoyuan's strength and status, that sword must be a fine weapon.

Perhaps, with that sword in his hand, Shi Xiaoyuan might create an unexpected twist.

Jiang Ning didn't waste any more time.

With a swift movement, he was as fast as the wind.

Even underwater, his figure was like a nimble fish.

In an instant, Jiang Ning was just half a zhang away from Shi Xiaoyuan.

He swung his sword, unleashing the five-fold Inner Strength.

The blade instantly split the lake water in front of him, carving a vacuum-like trace in the deep water.

Ssss—

Shi Xiaoyuan's raised left arm, used to block the attack, snapped off at the sound.

Another slash followed.

In the dimly lit lakebed, the bright sword light seemed to tear through the night sky, aiming straight for Shi Xiaoyuan's head.

"Blade technique—" Shi Xiaoyuan stared at the dazzling slash, his eyes wide with shock.

The next moment, his head was gone.

His thick neck seemed to transform into a water faucet, spewing out a torrent of dark red blood.

Seeing this, Jiang Ning slowly sheathed his sword.

Jiang Ning chuckled, feeling incredibly pleased. With Shi Xiaoyuan's death and the demise of the White Dragonfish, everything in this place now belonged to him.

He had just witnessed a warehouse full of iron ore in the sunken ship. In this era, iron ore was an extremely valuable resource, essential for crafting weapons and tools. Selling it wouldn't be an issue.

Furthermore, the White Dragonfish, which he had cut in half, was now his possession. This spirit fish was a valuable tonic, capable of advancing his Martial Path significantly within a short time.

Jiang Ning grabbed the two halves of the White Dragonfish and headed towards the ship's cabin.

On the other side, Huang San'er stood nearby, his face filled with conflict as he looked at the outline of the sunken ship below. He had heard the commotion from earlier and caught snippets of the conversation between Shi Xiaoyuan and Jiang Ning. Huang San'er realized that some unexpected change had occurred below, and there were others in the sunken ship besides his group.

"Should I stay or go?" Huang San'er asked himself. He knew he could leave if he wanted to, but he wasn't alone. His wife and daughter were under the control of the Green Serpent Gang, and his strength was insignificant compared to their power.

"No matter what happens, I can't leave without them!" Huang San'er silently vowed. "If I leave, not only will I be in trouble, but my wife and daughter will also suffer because of me."

Huang San'er decided to stay put and wait.

In the ship's cabin, Jiang Ning circled the mountain of iron ore, feeling delighted. Even though he didn't know the exact price per pound, he understood that such a vast quantity of iron ore would be incredibly valuable.

He then went to the spot where Shi Xiaoyuan had fought the White Dragonfish. From the cabin floor, he picked up the weapon Shi Xiaoyuan had discarded.

"So heavy!" Jiang Ning exclaimed as he lifted the long sword, feeling its weight of two hundred pounds. "Shi Xiaoyuan's strength is indeed extraordinary to wield a two-hundred-pound weapon."

Jiang Ning marveled at the sword's thickness and width, noting that its length of four feet and three inches was too long for ordinary people to handle effectively. Despite the saying, "An inch longer, an inch stronger," an overly long blade could sometimes be cumbersome, hindering the execution of sword techniques.

Jiang Ning drew his own sword and slashed at Shi Xiaoyuan's heavy sword, creating sparks and a loud clanging sound. The impact sent ripples across the lake, and the cabin became murky again.

"Indeed, a fine sword!" Jiang Ning praised, holding the sword that once belonged to Shi Xiaoyuan. He was well aware of the sharpness of his spirit blade.

Ordinary weapons would be sliced in half by his sword with a single strike. But in this case, he had only managed to create a one-centimeter deep notch in Shi Xiaoyuan's sword, which was already impressive. If Shi Xiaoyuan had retrieved his weapon, the situation would have been several times more difficult.

Jiang Ning now had a clearer understanding of the sharpness of his sword. He took Shi Xiaoyuan's long sword and continued exploring the sunken ship, searching for the heavenly treasures that might be hidden within.

The White Dragonfish was a unique spirit fish, and even ordinary people could capture them with proper equipment. However, this particular White Dragonfish was extraordinary. A Ninth Stage Martial Artist of the Ninth Stage would be killed in a single encounter with this fish. Even Shi Xiaoyuan, an Eighth Stage Divine Strength Realm expert, had to transform to subdue it.

Too special, too abnormal.

Adding to its unique physique, Jiang Ning determined that there might be some kind of heavenly treasure in this place.

Without the help of heavenly treasures, this White Dragonfish would not possess such formidable power.

The passage of time alone is insufficient to support its growth to this extent.

After searching the sunken ship, Jiang Ning continued his investigation around the ship.

Time slowly passed.

Huang San'er, who had been waiting underwater, had already returned to the surface.

The fish bladder containing fresh air that he carried with him had been completely used up.

As for the sunken ship below, all movement had long ceased, and none of Shi Xiaoyuan's group had emerged.

In this situation, Huang San'er had no choice but to return to the surface from underwater.

However, at this moment, he dared not leave, nor did he dare to let the people on the ship know that he had returned.

Since Shi Xiaoyuan did not come back with him, he knew that if he appeared alone before those people, he would inevitably face some trouble.

The members of the Green Serpent Gang would not show him any mercy.

As for leaving, he also dared not do so temporarily.

Firstly, it was because Shi Xiaoyuan and the others' fate was unknown. If they were still alive and found out that he had left, even if he managed to escape for now, he would not be able to escape the consequences later.

Secondly, he had family members to consider.

Additionally, in the vast expanse of the Lo River, without a place to stay, even with his water proficiency, it would be difficult to survive in this vast body of water.

Moreover, his injured arm was causing him immense pain after being immersed in the water for an extended period.

At this moment, he could only choose to continue waiting secretly beneath the large ship, waiting for an opportunity.

Meanwhile, in an underwater cave.

"Is this the source of the White Dragonfish's transformation?"

Jiang Ning stared at the small pool of water beneath the stone wall in front of him, his eyes widening in surprise.

The existence of a small pool of water at the bottom of the river was astonishing.

Water within water.

He had never seen anything like this before.

Jiang Ning approached the pool, slowly squatting down.

Upon closer inspection, the pool became even clearer.

Weak silver-white sparkles floated in the water, providing him with some visibility.

At this moment, the pool made Jiang Ning feel as if he was not underwater but in a different realm.

"This must be the source of the White Dragonfish's transformation."

With this thought.

Jiang Ning placed the spirit blade he was holding to the side and gently touched the pool with his fingers.

As soon as his skin made contact, he instantly felt a chill permeating his body.

Aside from this, there were no other sensations.

After a while.

Jiang Ning nodded slightly.

"It should be fine!" he thought to himself.

Then, he tried to extract a drop of water from the pool.

He didn't recognize this peculiar water with its unusual phenomena, nor did he know its purpose.

However, his intuition told him that this must be the source of the White Dragonfish's transformation.

But to be safe, he couldn't be too careless.

So, he decided to taste a small drop of the water to be cautious."

After trying, he easily separated a small drop of water.

This drop of water, like a tiny pearl, landed in his palm.

Although it was water, it was clearly different from ordinary water.

"Let's test its effect!" Jiang Ning thought to himself.

Then, he swallowed the drop of water that remained intact, like a peculiar pearl.

With just this mouthful of water.

Gulp!

As soon as the water drop entered his stomach, a chill instantly rose from his abdomen, as if he was in an ice vault.

The chill dissipated within his body.

[Water Proficiency EXP +1]



[Water Proficiency EXP +1]



Jiang Ning was astonished as the prompt appeared rapidly before his eyes.

"Is this the effect of that water drop?"

He couldn't help but think of this as he saw the prompt's frequency change.

Then, he continued to observe.

[Water Proficiency EXP +1]



[Water Proficiency EXP +1]



[Water Proficiency EXP +1]



[.]



In a short time, prompts about Water Proficiency EXP appeared one after another in front of him.

The increase in frequency was several times faster than before.

At this moment, he had a sudden realization.

The surge in Water Proficiency EXP must be due to the drop of water he had swallowed.

After a while.

The prompt in front of him returned to normal.

[Skill]: Water Proficiency (One Break Limit 1855/2000) (Attribute: Underwater Breathing)

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end