Chapter 329: The Great Demon Bai Chi

Chapter 329: The Great Demon Bai Chi

November 27, 2024

Two days later.

"Haaa..."

On an unknown desolate island, Jiang Ning exhaled a breath of turbid air.

White mist like a sword emerged from his mouth, piercing through the air for over three feet.

[Skill]: Inner Core Nourishing Art (Minor Success: 3831/5000)



He glanced at the skill panel and then closed it.

Since the weather had cleared up a few days ago, there had been several consecutive days of good weather, which allowed his Inner Core Nourishing Art to progress extremely fast, gaining over a hundred points of experience each day.

Now, the experience points for the Inner Core Nourishing Art were close to four thousand.

With his current efficiency and progress, as long as the weather remained clear and cloudless, he could smoothly absorb and expel the Crimson Solar Essence, and it would only take a maximum of twelve days to complete the breakthrough in the Inner Core Nourishing Art.

"It's time to continue searching for Heaven-Bestowed Treasures!"

He murmured to himself and slowly stood up.

Beside him, the Ancient Turtle flipped over, basking in the sun with its four legs up in the air.

Hearing Jiang Ning's movement, it quickly opened its eyes.

Then, it kicked off the ground with its four limbs.

"Swoosh!"

The Ancient Turtle landed on Jiang Ning's shoulder.

"Old Turtle, if you sense the aura of that Great Demon Bai Chi, be sure to let me know!" Jiang Ning reminded once again.

"Understood!" The Ancient Turtle nodded repeatedly.

Then, he went to the very edge of the nameless island beneath his feet.

In front of him was the surging lake water.

After several days of clear weather and the warmth of the sun, Luoshui Lake had completely thawed.

Now, only a few broken ice fragments floated on the lake's surface.

[Essence Energy]: 2175.37

He took another look at his Essence Energy points.

It had once again exceeded two thousand points.

This was his harvest from the past few days.

Including today, he had been away from home for three days.

He had ventured deep into Luoshui Lake for an unknown number of miles.

His footprints were scattered all over the lake bottom.

Because the search area was large enough, his harvest these days was also very good, and among his findings were Heaven-Bestowed Treasures of over a hundred years.

However, he also discovered a problem.

The Heaven-Bestowed Treasures found at the lake bottom were rarely over a hundred years old. There were not few of those seventy to eighty years old, but those of a hundred years were very rare.

As for those over a hundred years, reaching up to two hundred years, he had never seen any.

"Old Turtle, do you think there might be some kind of force in this lake?"

"Force?" The Ancient Turtle mumbled.

"That's right!!" It pondered for a moment, then suddenly rose from Jiang Ning's shoulder.

Then it continued, "Lord, I remember that about two hundred years ago, when I gained spiritual awareness, I met a large shrimp."

"A large shrimp?" Jiang Ning was surprised.

The Ancient Turtle stood on Jiang Ning's shoulder with its two legs, nodding its body upright.

"Yes, Lord!"

"A fire-red shrimp, with spiritual awareness, had already become a demon long ago."

"It invited me to join them at the time."

"But I was guarding the Imperial Elixir, so I decisively declined its invitation!"

"That shrimp didn't say anything at the time, just told me that if I wanted to find them in the future, I should keep heading northeast, and I would eventually run into them."

Northeast direction?

Jiang Ning's eyes narrowed, and he quickly compared it with the map recorded in his mind, instantly locating the general direction of the northeast that the Ancient Turtle mentioned.

It was to the east.

These past few days, after entering the lake bottom, his powerful memory, brought about by the characteristic of memorizing at a glance, allowed him to form a three-dimensional map in his mind whenever he sensed a body of water.

So, the terrain and topography of the lake bottom, from Luoshui County to his current location, were all recorded in his mind.

On the water's surface, he couldn't figure out where he was or find his way back.

However, after entering the lake bottom, with the lake bottom map in his mind, he could instantly locate his position.

Now, the nameless desolate island beneath his feet was also recorded on the map in his mind, so he easily found the general direction of the northeast that the Ancient Turtle mentioned.

Let's go and see!

After only a moment of thought, he made a decision.

These past few days, he had scoured countless places at the lake bottom.

There were a few places that left him very puzzled.

One was that there were too few Heaven-Bestowed Treasures of over a hundred years, and none at all that exceeded two hundred years.

Secondly, despite covering a vast area, he hadn't found a third small demon besides the Ancient Turtle and the Electric Eel.

This didn't make sense!

Luoshui Lake, having given birth to the Ancient Turtle and the Electric Eel, must also have the opportunity to nurture other demonic transformations.

How could aquatic creatures, having gained such opportunities, not become demons?

The next moment,

He plunged into the cold lake water.

"Old Turtle, how about going to the northeast direction mentioned by that shrimp?"

"Okay, Lord!" The Ancient Turtle's voice sounded in Jiang Ning's ear.

"Lord, I think that must be the gathering place for aquatic creatures becoming demons. Perhaps I can find my companions there!"

Jiang Ning's body continued to sink: "I think so too. Two hundred years ago, they invited you to join because you had gained spiritual awareness and become a demon.

A moment later.

He arrived at the bottom of the lake.

Using his perception of the five-mile radius of the water, he matched it with the map in his mind and instantly found his direction.

In the next instant.

A channel suddenly appeared at the bottom of the lake, resembling a vacuum tube.

Amidst the swirling undercurrents, he swiftly flew eastward.

At this moment, he also narrowed his perception range.

Because the perception encompassing the five-mile radius of water made his brain process a large amount of visual information in a short time. Under normal circumstances, this was fine as he could handle the flood of information.

However, this was different. Moving at full speed, covering hundreds of meters in a single breath, while maintaining perception of the five-mile radius of water, the deluge of visual information was overwhelming, making him feel dizzy and unable to cope.

During his high-speed advance, he maintained control over a one-mile radius of water.

After an hour.

"Old Turtle, do you think we've gone in the wrong direction?" Jiang Ning asked.

"My lord, I don't know either. I've never traveled such a long distance!" the old turtle replied.

Jiang Ning stopped his steps.

Since the beginning until now, several hours had passed, crossing the vast expanse of water.

Along the way, he had occasionally discovered a couple of Heaven-Bestowed Treasures, but no other gains.

After a brief moment of contemplation.

He matched the location with the map in his mind.

"Old Turtle, let's go back with me!" he said, reaching out to grab the turtle on his shoulder.

Then,

with a thought, his figure vanished from the spot, merging into the lake.

In the next instant.

He reappeared thirty miles away, his face turning pale.

Using the Grand Elemental Water Teleportation divine ability once drained him completely, leaving him utterly exhausted.

However, seeing the familiar surroundings and matching them with the lake bottom map imprinted in his mind, a faint smile appeared on his face.

Crossing thirty-three miles in an instant was much faster than his usual pace.

Then, he rested on the spot for a moment, and after a while, his figure vanished again.

Instantly, he reappeared thirty miles away.

"No way!!" After two attempts, he shook his head repeatedly.

Using it twice in a row made him feel weak, as if he had been completely drained.

Moreover, he noticed that although traveling thirty miles in an instant was very fast, the time it took to recover from the exertion was too long. Comparing the two, the efficiency was not high.

This time, due to the nourishment from the lake water, he took longer to recover fully.

Then, he used the Water Control technique and continued his journey at the bottom of the lake.

He planned to first reach the northeast trajectory where the turtle had been before, and then proceed in the northeast direction, searching for Heaven-Bestowed Treasures and looking for possible demon gathering sites at the bottom of the lake.

At this moment, he was still heading northeast, continuously searching for Heaven-Bestowed Treasures.

His Celestial Eye had already been opened, constantly scanning all around.

With the Celestial Eye's insight, he could see the scenery ten miles away, which was clearly farther than his perception of the five-mile radius of water.

The next day.

He swept his gaze around.

His expression immediately froze.

That!!

He saw the giant shrimp's claw, about as big as his arm, nine miles ahead.

This instantly reminded him of what the turtle had told him.

Two hundred years ago, when the turtle had just transformed into a demon, a large shrimp had invited it to join them.

They were obviously other beings like the turtle, who had awakened their spirit and transformed into demons.

Was it that shrimp?

He thought to himself.

Then, he moved, shooting through the water like an arrow. The waves before him parted, and the lake water posed no obstacle to him.

The nine-mile distance was covered in an instant.

He landed in front of the giant shrimp's claw.

"My lord, this is—" the turtle on his shoulder exclaimed upon seeing the red giant claw.

"Do you recognize it?" Jiang Ning asked.

"Recognize it!" the turtle replied immediately.

It leaped from Jiang Ning's shoulder to the giant red claw.

It sniffed it and nodded repeatedly.

"My lord, you're right! This aura is the same as the large shrimp from two hundred years ago!" the turtle stated firmly.

"However," it hesitated.

"However, what?" Jiang Ning asked.

"It seems this shrimp's Dao Virtue is very shallow, far inferior to mine! But that shouldn't be! Two hundred years have passed, how could its Dao Virtue be inferior to mine?"

"Can you feel that?" Jiang Ning asked.

The turtle nodded: "Yes, I can feel it. Dao Virtue of several hundred years is easily detectable, so it manifests outwardly and merges into the body.

"A cultivation of a thousand years or more cannot be sensed, as it is hidden within."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning asked again, "Can you sense how many years of cultivation that shrimp has?"

The old turtle replied, "Around a hundred years or so!"

As soon as it finished speaking, it took a bite.

Crack!

A crisp sound echoed, followed by a series of squeaks.

Jiang Ning watched the old turtle, and in less than a moment's time, the shrimp's pincer, as large as his arm, was completely devoured by the turtle.

"Master, you're right, it's this one!" The old turtle continued excitedly, "Master, and this pincer is very fresh, the shrimp must have died less than a week ago!"

Jiang Ning's expression turned thoughtful upon hearing this.

He glanced at the old turtle again.

"Old Turtle, you said that shrimp has about a hundred years of cultivation?"

"Yes!" The old turtle nodded, "From the feeling I get from its pincer, it should be around a hundred years of cultivation."

Hearing this, Jiang Ning chuckled.

"It seems I overestimated the cultivation of the creatures that have become demons in this lake."

"Master, why do you say that?" The old turtle asked, puzzled.

Jiang Ning explained, "You have over two hundred years of cultivation because you had the opportunity to monopolize the Imperial Flow Sap! That electric eel has over two hundred years of cultivation because it had the opportunity to monopolize the Thunderfruit Tree."

"As for the creatures in this lake, without your opportunities, their cultivation growth rate is far slower than yours."

At this moment, Jiang Ning also had some understanding in his heart.

Perhaps after a hundred years, many of the heavenly treasures and earthly treasures in the lake had been scavenged by the shrimp and other small demons.

Then, he looked ahead.

"Let's go! Keep moving forward, the shrimp's pincer came from that direction!" Jiang Ning said, picking up the old turtle and placing it on his shoulder.

The next moment, he continued to use his Celestial Eye to see ahead.

Half a cup of tea later, he stopped in his tracks.

"Master, have you discovered something again?" The old turtle asked excitedly.

Jiang Ning nodded slightly.

With the Celestial Eye's insight, he saw a turtle shell in the left distance, about four to five feet in size.

His body moved, and he shot through the water like an arrow.

In the blink of an eye, he arrived in front of the turtle shell.

"Master, the owner of this turtle shell was a demon."

"Nonsense!" Jiang Ning said.

"Master, that turtle was stronger than me!" The old turtle came to the turtle shell and sniffed twice, his tone filled with admiration.

"How many years of cultivation?"

"Around three hundred years!" The old turtle replied.

"Three hundred years?" Jiang Ning was surprised, then nodded, "It is stronger than you."

Just then—

Crack!

"Ouch!" The old turtle cried out in surprise.

Jiang Ning looked up and saw the old turtle biting into the turtle shell, but it couldn't bite through. Instead, it almost broke its teeth, leaving only two shallow tooth marks on the shell.

"Stop biting!" Jiang Ning came to the turtle shell and saw the old turtle still wanting to try. He immediately stored the turtle shell in his Sumeru Ring.

A three-hundred-year-old turtle shell was so hard that it was undoubtedly a rare treasure in this era.

Then, he continued forward.

After a brief moment, he stopped with the old turtle.

Before them was a collapsed palace.

The ground of the palace was paved with white jade bricks, and the pillars were adorned with dazzling gemstones. The collapsed walls were made of crystal, now covered in a thick layer of ice.

"Master, what's this?" The old turtle looked at the collapsed structure ahead, made of crystal and shells, with surprise.

Jiang Ning said, "This place was probably invaded by a powerful enemy!"

The old turtle nodded solemnly, "Master is right, it was indeed invaded by a powerful enemy! There's the aura of the great demon White Chi here."

"A great demon?" Jiang Ning's eyes flashed with surprise.

Then he focused his gaze, and in a flash, he appeared on a wall.

His palm rested on the thick layer of ice.

"Are these the traces left by the great demon White Chi?" He asked.

"Yes, Master!" The old turtle replied.

At this moment, Jiang Ning's palm on the ice layer felt a deep chill.

Even in his current state, he could feel this chill penetrating to his very bones.

His heart was filled with deep apprehension.

The ice crystal before him was merely the battle traces left by the great demon White Chi.

And who knew how long ago these battle traces were left.

But even these traces made him feel the chill was unstoppable.

If he were to face this great demon directly, how terrifying would it be? How could he possibly resist?

At this moment, he felt that he was still too weak.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end