Chapter 52

Chapter 52: Is This the Thousand Dragon Pool Monster?

“Plop!”

Lin Wangchuan dove headfirst into the pond, splashing water everywhere.

But he quickly resurfaced.

“Big Brother Holy Son, this water is freezing!” he yelled.

“Didn’t I say not to rush into the water?” Xiao Yang was at a loss for words.

Lin Wangchuan was too playful; whenever curiosity struck him, he acted without hesitation.

The fisherman had warned them about a monster in the pond, advising them not to go in. But here he was, diving in without even figuring out the situation first.

Of course, they were sword cultivators, protected by Sword Qi, so they weren’t really afraid of any monster.

“Haha… I just wanted to see what the monster looked like,” Lin Wangchuan said as he plunged back under, diving deeper.

Xiao Yang could only shake his head in resignation.

Suddenly, he noticed someone in the distant woods peeking in their direction.

“Hmph!” Xiao Yang sneered but chose to ignore it.

He took out a box from his possession.

Opening it, a blinding white light burst forth.

Inside the box was a sparkling orb.

This was the Star Pearl.

It was called the Star Pearl because it emitted the light of the stars.

The light from the Star Pearl could illuminate an area of a hundred feet like it was daytime.

This wasn’t a magical pearl, but cultivators liked to use it for lighting.

Of course, to ordinary people, this kind of pearl was a rare treasure.

Xiao Yang had actually prepared to retrieve a certain treasure from the bottom of the pond long ago.

If it weren’t for Qin Fei and Jiang Ting’s meddling, altering their route through South Stone Town, he wouldn’t have rushed to take the treasure from the Thousand Dragon Pool’s bottom.

Qin Fei, oh Qin Fei, you never imagined that in scheming against me, you would seal your own path to becoming a Saint!

With the treasure in hand, he could advance to the Sacred Martial Realm earlier than in his previous life.

This time around, how could you, Qin Fei, compete with me?

Xiao Yang tossed the Star Pearl into the pond.

As it fell, a sphere of light descended, illuminating the dark water.

At that moment, he surrounded himself with Sword Qi and leaped into the water.

“Hmm?”

The coldness of the water was noticeably more intense than on the shore.

Xiao Yang could feel the chill wrapping around him in tendrils through the pond’s icy water.

If someone without Sword Qi fell in, they would likely freeze instantly and sink to the bottom—end of story.

While he descended, the sphere of starlight continued to sink.

The Thousand Dragon Pool was deep.

Xiao Yang utilized the light from the Star Pearl to survey his surroundings.

He noticed that the pool was narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, where the coldness intensified further down.

Just as he had descended several dozens of feet, the sphere of starlight suddenly vanished, plunging him into darkness.

“Dang it!” Xiao Yang exclaimed in surprise.

The next moment, a brilliant light suddenly flared up below him.

A powerful wave of Sword Qi surged from beneath.

Xiao Yang felt the vibrations traveling through the water.

That was Lin Wangchuan using his flying sword.

Being a Pristine Holy Body, he could harness any spiritual energy from the heavens and earth.

However, even with his peak Divine Ability Realm cultivation, he couldn’t draw in external spiritual energy for his own use.

Lin Wangchuan’s sword light sparkled like the sun, instantly dispersing the darkness in the pond and illuminating it completely.

His sword light was far more dazzling than any Star Pearl.

At that moment, Xiao Yang suddenly saw a massive shadow rush by him, disturbing the once tranquil water, which began to swirl violently.

He quickly steadied himself.

He noticed the shadow’s abdomen had a glowing mass flickering inside.

Was there really a monster in this pond?

And did this monster just eat his pearl?

Xiao Yang felt frustrated.

No matter how he calculated, he never anticipated that the Star Pearl he tossed into the pond would end up in the belly of this creature.

Suddenly, he sensed the water around him being stirred by an invisible force.

Then he spotted a huge shadow barreling toward him from the front—it was a giant golden-scaled dragon carp.

This golden-scaled dragon carp was enormous, and under Lin Wangchuan’s sword light, its scales glimmered in an eerie blue hue, with golden patterns running down either side from its eyes to its tail.

“…”

Xiao Yang’s heart raced, instinctively making him want to retreat.

This creature was essentially the king of fish.

Was this the man-eating monster the fisherman spoke of?

In that moment, the golden-scaled dragon carp charged at Xiao Yang, suddenly opening its massive mouth full of sharp teeth and clamped down hard on his waist.

The next second, blood spread throughout the water.

But the giant fish soon released Xiao Yang and swam away.

Several of its teeth fell out.

Instead of leaving, the beast circled around Xiao Yang.

If an ordinary person had been bitten by this creature, they’d be sliced in half on the spot.

Fortunately, with Sword Qi protecting him, the dragon carp’s sharp teeth couldn’t break through his defenses.

However, when the giant fish clamped down on him, it shattered several of its teeth, with blood seeping from its mouth.

Xiao Yang raised his sword finger and pointed.

The next moment, a gold sword beam shot from his fingertip, piercing through the water and directly obliterating the dragon carp’s head.

Just then, Lin Wangchuan swam up from below.

Xiao Yang swiped his sword finger, slicing open the dragon carp’s belly to retrieve the Star Pearl that it had swallowed.

Unable to speak underwater, he gestured for Lin Wangchuan to wait outside while he checked the bottom of the pond.

Lin Wangchuan nodded in response.

Then, he grabbed hold of the carp’s “whiskers” and started dragging the massive fish toward the surface.

Holding the Star Pearl tightly, Xiao Yang continued swimming deeper into the pond.

Soon, he reached the bottom.

Xiao Yang surveyed his surroundings.

He saw that the bottom was littered with white bones.

He even spotted several skulls.

Aside from human remains, there were also large bones scattered about, likely from giant beasts.

These bones showed signs of having been gnawed on by something.

At that moment, the coldness at the bottom had become unbearable.

Even with his Sword Qi, he couldn’t fully fend off the chill creeping in.

Xiao Yang felt as if his blood was congealing.

He had to utilize all his strength to operate his Mysterious Skill to withstand the cold.

If he, a powerful cultivator, could hardly endure the cold here, an ordinary person sinking to the bottom would certainly have no chance of survival.

The Thousand Dragon Pool was over a thousand feet deep.

Weaker cultivators would never reach the bottom.

Moreover, despite the extreme cold, the water here was surprisingly devoid of ice.

Xiao Yang was astonished to find that not a single piece of ice could be seen around.

He began searching carefully at the bottom.

Before long, he discovered a stone door among the massive bones.

The ancient stone door had collapsed, revealing a dark opening.

This was actually an ancient ruin.

Xiao Yang stepped inside, aware that it posed no danger.

In his previous life, someone had found this ancient ruin beneath the Thousand Dragon Pool, leading to the emergence of a legendary treasure that sparked a bloody conflict among powerful cultivators in the northern region.

At that time, it was a scene of chaos and bloodshed.

This time around, no one would need to fight for it.

Xiao Yang walked right through the stone door.

He passed through a membrane of water, and surprisingly, the chamber beyond was dry.

An invisible force kept the water at bay.

Without hesitating, he held the Star Pearl to light his way and strode confidently down the passage ahead.