Before long, Jiang Ning returned home.
After briefly explaining things to Lü Yi, he went to the pond in his courtyard and fished out the old turtle.
At this moment, the turtle was only about the size of a palm, its head and limbs completely retracted into its shell a clear difference from ordinary soft-shelled turtles, as typical turtles couldn't do this. Only true tortoises could fully retract their limbs and head.
"You really can sleep!"
Even after being pulled out of the water by Jiang Ning, the turtle remained motionless.
Seeing this, Jiang Ning smirked and conjured flames in his palm.
With a flicker of fire beneath the turtle's belly
"Fire! Fire!"
The turtle instantly sprang to life, leaping several feet into the air.
Mid-air, it finally poked its head out and caught sight of Jiang Ning's amused expression.
"My lord!" The turtle's voice was full of flattery.
"How much has your cultivation grown?"
"A year and a half!" The turtle landed in Jiang Ning's palm, excitement written all over its face.
"A year and a half?" Jiang Ning murmured before nodding. "Not bad."
He then asked, "Is it true that a thousand years of cultivation qualifies one as a Great Demon?"
The turtle nodded repeatedly. "Yes, my lord! A thousand years of cultivation allows one to condense a demon core. Once the core is formed, the creature becomes a Great Demon."
"Are there any Great Demons in Luoshui Lake?" Jiang Ning asked casually.
"There are."
"There are?"
"Yes, my lord! There's at least one Great Demon in the lake. I've seen it twice!" The turtle spoke with utmost seriousness.
Hearing this, a flash of surprise crossed Jiang Ning's eyes.
His question had been offhand, but the turtle's answer was unexpectedly concrete.
A Great Demon.
No small matter.
According to ancient records, in the primordial era, any Great Demon was a formidable figure, far beyond the realm of minor spirits.
After all, a thousand years of cultivation was no joke.
Only with a millennium of cultivation could one even qualify as a Great Demon and gain the ability to take human form.
Jiang Ning hadn't expected to hear of a Great Demon's existence in this day and age, let alone in the small Luoshui Lake.
His expression grew solemn.
The might of a Great Demon was something he'd only read about. As for how strong they truly were, he had no firsthand experience.
The descriptions in books were likely exaggerated or incomplete.
With this in mind, Jiang Ning turned his attention back to the turtle.
"Old Turtle, how does the strength of a Great Demon compare to that of a martial artist? How would a thousand-year Great Demon rank?"
"At the very least, only a Grandmaster could stand on equal footing with a Great Demon," the turtle affirmed.
"A Grandmaster?" Jiang Ning's eyes narrowed slightly before he nodded. "Understood."
"What kind of Great Demon is it?" he pressed.
From what he knew, demons placed great emphasis on innate bloodline.
For instance, a rabbit that cultivated for a thousand years to become a Great Demon would be worlds apart from a Qiongqi, a Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox, or a Taotie with the same cultivation.
Their power levels wouldn't even be comparable to heaven and earth.
Thus, the identity of the Great Demon was crucial.
If it were one of those legendary, terrifying bloodlines the kind that left their names etched in myth he'd have to seriously reconsider whether to continue venturing into Luoshui Lake. Or perhaps even move his family away from the lakeside altogether.
"A Great Demon with the bloodline of an ancient White Chi, possessing at least a thousand years of cultivation," the turtle replied truthfully.
Hearing this, Jiang Ning felt a headache coming on.
A Chi was said to be a hornless dragon.
A dragon without horns was called a Chi.
This meant the White Chi Great Demon possessed the bloodline of a dragon a truly fearsome lineage.
Such an extraordinary bloodline would grant this Great Demon power far beyond others of the same cultivation level.
Even if the old turtle had two thousand years of cultivation, as a lowly, egg-born creature, it still might not compare to the White Chi.
Jiang Ning fell into deep thought.
After a moment of hesitation, he decided to stick to his original plan.
First, the White Chi Great Demon the turtle spoke of was just one entity.
In the vast expanse of Luoshui Lake, the chances of encountering it were slim.
Second, he had mastered an innate divine ability the day before the Great Five Elements Water Escape Technique.
He had already tested the profoundness of this technique.
Merge with water, invincible by nature.
Thirty li in an instant, peerless in survival.
With this top-tier life-saving ability, even if he did encounter the White Chi Great Demon, he was confident he could protect himself.
Moreover, yesterday's harvest had shown him that he'd underestimated Luoshui Lake.
In such a massive body of water, rare treasures and natural wonders were abundant.
If he could find even a few of these treasures, his Source Energy Points would grow rapidly.
Not to mention the occasional stroke of luck that could lead to a dramatic increase in strength just like yesterday.
In the azure waters of the lake, Jiang Ning moved swiftly.
The old turtle now shrunk to the size of a palm, clung to Jiang Ning's shoulder, its limbs gripping his clothes tightly.
With his spiritual sense expanded, Jiang Ning could survey all activity within a five-li radius underwater.
Thanks to this wide-ranging search, his efficiency in finding treasures today had more than doubled compared to the day before.
The vast Luoshui Lake.
A water area stretching endlessly in all directions.
Jiang Ning continued to delve deeper, searching and scavenging relentlessly.
By the hour of Si (9–11 AM), as the sun rose and the sky cleared, he stepped onto the ice to begin absorbing the essence of the Great Sun.
[Internal Alchemy Cultivation Technique Skill experience +1]
[Internal Alchemy Cultivation Technique Skill experience +1]
[Internal Alchemy Cultivation Technique Skill experience +1]
[...]
As he continued his absorption, the experience points for the Internal Alchemy Cultivation Technique Skill steadily increased.
This process lasted a full two hours.
At noon, he finally stopped absorbing the solar essence.
[Skill]: Internal Alchemy Cultivation Technique Skill (Proficient 3463/5000)
"With another half-month of good weather, my inner energy will transform and condense into like steel!"
He closed the panel and returned to the lake to continue his treasure hunt.
Early the next morning.
Looking at the Lunar Yin Stone in his hand, now noticeably larger, Jiang Ning couldn't help but smile.
His greatest harvest yesterday was finding another fragment of the Lunar Yin Stone. As for the other gains, they could only be considered minor nothing that brought him a substantial improvement.
After finding the new Lunar Yin Stone fragment the day before, he placed it together with the original Lunar Yin Stone.
After a full night of fusion, the two had now completely merged, causing the original Lunar Yin Stone to grow another size.
Satisfied, he nodded and placed the Lunar Yin Stone back into the wine gourd, letting it soak in the wine and release wisps of silvery liquid.
Once that was done, he stored the gourd away again and opened his panel.
[Skill]: Water Affinity+ (7th Breakthrough 8000/8000) (Traits: Underwater Breathing, Water Manipulation+, Water Spirit Affinity, Cloud and Rain Control, Water Spirit Body, Great Five Elements Water Escape)
There had been no unexpected gains yesterday, so the increase in Source Energy points wasn't particularly high just over 500 points.
This growth was solely due to quantity over quality.
His improved search efficiency allowed him to find far more natural treasures compared to the previous two days.
Moreover, as he ventured deeper toward the heart of Luoshui Lake, the natural treasures at the lakebed gradually became older and more potent.
Just the day before, he had found three natural treasures over a century old.
Because of this, compared to the first day's gain of just over 200 Source Energy points, yesterday's harvest had more than doubled.
"Time for a breakthrough!"
As the thought arose, the Source Energy points began to rapidly decrease.
In an instant, the numbers froze.
A full 2000 Source Energy points had been consumed in the blink of an eye.
Whoosh
The sound of surging waves echoed in his mind, accompanied by the roar of furious tides.
He saw countless rivers originating from snow-capped mountains, converging into mighty streams and vast rivers.
They rushed from high to low, waves crashing, tides roaring like thunder.
He felt as though he had become one of those nameless rivers, experiencing the surging momentum of the water, its unstoppable, overwhelming force.
Passing through high mountains, deep valleys, and wild forests, the river's waters finally poured into a great lake.
At that moment, he suddenly snapped back to reality.
[Skill]: Water Affinity (8th Breakthrough 6967/9000) (Traits: Underwater Breathing, Water Manipulation+, Water Spirit Affinity, Cloud and Rain Control, Water Spirit Body, Great Five Elements Water Escape, Lord of Rivers)
He glanced at the panel. The experience points for the 9th Water Affinity Breakthrough was still insufficient, but he wasn't concerned.
For the 9th Water Affinity Breakthrough, he estimated it would require a full 5000 Source Energy points.
5000 points that was an astronomical figure for him at this stage.
Even at yesterday's efficiency, he would need to scavenge the Luoshui Lake for a full ten days to gather that much.
And that was assuming the lake's naturally spawned treasures would sustain his relentless search.
But in reality, he had no sense of direction or location in the lake.
After these past few days, he wasn't even sure which areas he had already combed through.
Just yesterday, he had noticed traces of his presence in several stretches of water, leaving him with no choice but to sigh.
Underwater, the scenery was all too similar, making it hard to distinguish one area from another.
Despite his Photographic Memory, he had been painstakingly reconstructing a mental map of the lakebed.
At best, he could only ensure he didn't search the same area twice.
If he passed through a region a second time, he could complete that part of his mental map.
But this also meant his efficiency in finding treasures would inevitably decline.
Thus, even if he did gather 5000 Source Energy points, spending them on Water Affinity at this stage would be far from cost-effective.
For now, he had no plans to pursue the 9th Water Affinity Breakthrough.
Then, his gaze shifted downward on the panel, locking onto the new trait gained from the latest breakthrough.
[Lord of Rivers]: While within a river, you may borrow the power of the river for your use.
"Lord of Rivers?"
"River's power?"
He murmured to himself, then looked outside.
Might as well test it out.
Decision made, he pushed open the door and stepped into the courtyard.
Looking up at the eastern sky.
The dim moon still hung in the sky.
"Another fine day!" He smiled.
As long as the weather didn't suddenly turn, a clear morning moon meant the entire day would be sunny and cloudless.
Northern Qiu Mountain.
Located ten miles north of Luoshui County.
The mountain stretched for dozens of miles, its ridges crisscrossing, with a great river cutting through the valley, gathering water from the many peaks of Northern Qiu Mountain.
One end of that great river in Northern Qiu Mountain flowed directly into Luoshui Lake.
Rumble
Jiang Ning arrived at the river's entrance into the lake.
It was a waterfall about forty to fifty feet high.
Even during the dry winter season, the river's descent from such a height still created a deafening roar.
Especially after yesterday's clear skies, the snow in the mountains had begun to melt, swelling the great river originating from Northern Qiu Mountain with abundant water.
Gazing up at the cascading waterfall above,
"This river should meet my requirements!"
The next moment.
Jiang Ning's figure flickered, leaping like a white ape.
A nearly fifty-foot cliff with just a light jump, he was already at the summit.
Looking ahead at the surging river rushing from the depths of the mountain forest, Jiang Ning took a deep breath and plunged in.
Splash
With a sound of entering water and a few splashes, he submerged into the river.
Once underwater,
He instantly felt as though he had resonated with this river flowing from Northern Qiu Mountain. His spiritual sense spread rapidly through the water, extending upstream and downstream.
In the blink of an eye,
He sensed his consciousness merging into every corner of the river, every stretch of water.
Wherever the river reached, his perception followed.
Compared to Luoshui Lake, his sensory ability had now multiplied exponentially.
At this moment, he saw the river's source and everything along its course the countless creatures living in the water, the schools of fish thriving in their world.
Then,
With a thought,
In an instant,
He felt boundless energy from the river converging into his body.
With his powerful spiritual sense controlling his physique, he immediately sensed this energy infusing every part of his body, every cell.
Standing in the river, Jiang Ning was like an unshakable boulder weighing thousands of pounds. The rushing currents split apart as they crashed against him.
"Is this the power of a river?"
He clenched his fist, feeling the explosive surge of strength within him, and was deeply awed.
The river's power made him feel as though a single casual punch could unleash the force of a bursting dam.
This was the might of nature, something no human could resist.
Suddenly,
He threw a punch forward.
Boom
The river water instantly exploded and then vaporized.
A visible vacuum membrane formed in front of him before dissipating under the river's pressure after expanding about eight to twelve inches.
"Incredible!!"
A gleam flashed in Jiang Ning's eyes.
Vaporizing water and creating a vacuum with a punch was a level of power he had never achieved before.
Yet now, he could do it effortlessly.
Just how strong had he become? He couldn't even gauge it himself.
Then,
With another thought, his figure vanished, completely merging into the river.
A moment later,
He reappeared deep within Northern Qiu Mountain.
Using the Great Five Elements Water Escape drained him instantly, leaving his face deathly pale.
But in less than a breath, his complexion returned to normal.
Within three breaths,
He felt fully replenished as if the massive expenditure from the technique had never happened.
After repeated experimentation,
Half a cup of tea later,
He had fully grasped the effects of River Dominion.
Within a river, he could harness its power as his own.
Every movement carried the force of a raging torrent, granting him unimaginable strength.
Against such power, he felt nothing in this world could withstand a single strike from him.
It was the kind of force that could breach riverbanks.
Moreover, in the water, his perception was amplified immensely, and any expenditure was restored at an astonishing rate.
Even after using Great Five Elements Water Escape, a divine ability that drained him completely in an instant, he could recover fully in just a few breaths!
At the same time, his water-controlling abilities were vastly enhanced within the river.
If being in water had once been his domain, now, in a river, he was truly in his element.
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