Two days later.
"Hu"
On an unnamed deserted island, Jiang Ning let out a long exhale.
A white mist shot from his mouth like a sword, piercing the air for over three feet.
[Skill]: Internal Alchemy Cultivation Technique (Minor Achievement 3831/5000)
After glancing at the panel, he closed it.
Since the weather cleared up a few days ago, there have been several consecutive days of sunshine, greatly accelerating the progress of his Internal Alchemy Cultivation Technique. Each day, he could gain over a hundred points of experience.
Now, the accumulated experience for the technique was close to 4,000 points.
At his current efficiency and progress rate, as long as the weather remained clear and cloudless, allowing him to absorb the essence of the sun unimpeded, it would take no more than twelve days for the Internal Alchemy Cultivation Technique to break through to the next level.
"It's time to continue searching for rare treasures!"
He murmured to himself as he slowly rose to his feet.
Nearby, the old turtle lay on its back, basking in the sun with its limbs stretched upward.
Hearing Jiang Ning move, it quickly opened its eyes.
With a push of its limbs against the ground
"Whoosh!"
The old turtle landed on Jiang Ning's shoulder.
"Old Turtle, if you sense the aura of that great demon White Chi, remember to tell me!" Jiang Ning reminded it again.
"Understood!" The old turtle nodded repeatedly.
He then walked to the edge of the unnamed island where he stood.
Ahead was the surging lake water.
After several days of clear weather and warm sunlight, Luoshui Lake had completely thawed.
Now, only fragments of broken ice floated on the lake's surface.
[Source Energy]: 2175.37
He checked his source energy points again.
They had once again surpassed 2,000 points.
This was the harvest of his efforts over the past few days.
Including today, he had been away from home for three days.
He had ventured deep into Luoshui Lake, covering an untold distance.
His footsteps had traversed nearly every corner of the lakebed.
Because he had searched such a vast area, his gains over these days had been quite substantial, including several rare treasures over a hundred years old.
However, he had also noticed a problem.
The rare treasures found at the bottom of the lake were mostly below a hundred years in age. While treasures around seventy or eighty years old were not uncommon, those over a century old were exceedingly rare.
As for treasures over two hundred years old, he had yet to encounter a single one.
"Old Turtle, do you think there might be some kind of organization in this lake?"
"Organization?" The old turtle muttered in response.
"Ah!" After a moment of thought, it suddenly stood upright on Jiang Ning's shoulder.
Then it continued, "Master, I remember about two hundred years ago when I first gained sentience, I met a giant lobster."
"A giant lobster?" Jiang Ning sounded surprised.
The old turtle stood on its hind legs on Jiang Ning's shoulder and nodded.
"Yes, Master!"
"A fiery red giant lobster, already awakened and transformed into a demon."
"It invited me to join them back then."
"But I was guarding the lunar essence, so I refused its invitation without hesitation!"
"That giant lobster didn't say much at the time, just told me that if I ever wanted to find them in the future, I should head northeast and keep going until I reached them."
Northeast?
Jiang Ning's eyes narrowed as he cross-referenced the direction in his mind with the map he had memorized. He quickly pinpointed the approximate location the old turtle was referring to.
It was to his east.
Over the past few days of diving into the lake, thanks to his Photographic Memory, every area his perception swept through formed a three-dimensional map in his mind.
Thus, the underwater terrain from Luoshui County to his current location was all stored in his brain.
On the water's surface, he might not know where he was or how to retrace his steps.
But underwater, with the map in his mind, he could instantly determine his orientation.
The unnamed deserted island beneath his feet was also recorded in his mental map, making it easy to locate the general direction of the northeast the old turtle mentioned.
Let's go take a look!
After only a brief moment of deliberation, he made his decision.
Over the past few days, he had scoured countless spots at the bottom of the lake.
Several things had left him deeply puzzled.
First, rare treasures over a hundred years old were far too scarce, and he hadn't found a single one over two hundred years old.
Second, despite covering such a vast expanse of water, he hadn't encountered a third minor demon aside from the old turtle and the electric eel.
This didn't make sense!
If Luoshui Lake could give rise to two demons like the old turtle and the electric eel, it must have also produced other opportunities for creatures to awaken.
How could aquatic life that obtained such opportunities do not transform into demons?
The next moment, he plunged into the icy lake water.
"Old Turtle, let's head northeast to where that giant lobster was mentioned. What do you think?"
"Sure, Master!" The old turtle's voice rang in Jiang Ning's ears.
"Master, I think that must be a gathering place for awakened aquatic creatures. Maybe we'll find others like me there!"
Jiang Ning continued descending: "I think so too. When they invited you to join them two hundred years ago, it must have been because you'd awakened and become a demon."
A moment later.
He arrived at the bottom of the lake.
With his perception extending across a five-li radius of the water, he quickly matched it with the map in his mind and instantly found his direction.
The next moment.
A passage appeared at the bottom of the lake, like a vacuum pipeline.
Amid the surging undercurrents, he swiftly headed east.
At the same time, he began narrowing the range of his perception.
Maintaining awareness of a five-li radius meant his brain had to process an overwhelming flood of visual information in a short time. At normal speeds, this wasn't an issue he could handle the deluge of data effortlessly.
But now, moving at full speed, covering hundreds of meters in a single breath, keeping his perception at a five-li range would flood his mind with far more information than he could handle, leaving him dizzy and overwhelmed.
As he raced forward, he limited his perception to a one-li radius.
An hour later.
"Old Turtle, do you think we might be going the wrong way?" Jiang Ning asked.
"My lord, I'm not sure. I've never traveled this far before!" the old turtle replied.
Jiang Ning came to a stop.
Several hours had passed since they set out, and they had crossed vast stretches of water.
Along the way, aside from occasionally spotting one or two rare treasures, he had found nothing of note.
After a moment of contemplation, he compared his current location to the map in his mind.
"Old Turtle, let's head back first!" he said, grabbing the turtle on his shoulder.
Then
With a thought, his figure vanished, merging into the lake water.
The next moment.
His body reappeared thirty li away, his face now deathly pale.
Using the Great Five Elements Water Escape technique even once drained him completely, leaving him exhausted.
But as he took in the familiar surroundings, matching them to the memorized map of the lakebed in his mind, a faint smile touched his lips.
Covering thirty-three li in an instant was far faster than his usual speed.
After resting briefly, his figure disappeared once more.
In a flash, he reappeared another thirty li away.
"No good!" After two attempts, he shook his head repeatedly.
Using the technique twice in a row left him feeling utterly drained as if he had been squeezed dry.
Moreover, he realized that while teleporting thirty li in an instant was fast, the time needed to recover his energy was too long. Comparing the two, the efficiency simply wasn't worth it.
This time, with the lake water nourishing him, it took even longer before he felt fully restored.
Then, he resumed his journey along the lakebed using water manipulation techniques.
He planned to first retrace the old turtle's previous path to the northeast before continuing along that direction, gathering rare treasures and searching for any possible gathering spots of lake creatures.
This detour took several more hours.
Now, he was moving northeast, collecting treasures along the way.
The celestial eye on his forehead had long since opened, scanning the surroundings.
With its vision, he could see up to ten li away far beyond his five-li water perception range.
The next day.
His gaze swept the area.
Then he froze.
There!
About nine li ahead, he spotted a massive lobster claw, as thick as his arm.
Instantly, he recalled the story the old turtle had told him.
Over two hundred years ago, when the turtle had just become a spirit, a giant lobster had invited it to join their group.
The "they" in question was undoubtedly a gathering of other awakened spirits, just like the old turtle.
Was this that same lobster?
He wondered silently.
Then, with a swift movement, he shot forward like an arrow through the water. The currents parted before him, offering no resistance.
The nine-li distance vanished in an instant.
He landed in front of the enormous lobster claw.
"My lord, this is" The old turtle on his shoulder gasped at the sight of the red claw.
"You recognize it?" Jiang Ning asked.
"I do!" the turtle replied immediately.
It leaped from Jiang Ning's shoulder and scurried over to the claw.
After sniffing it a few times, it nodded emphatically.
"My lord, there's no mistake! This aura belongs to that same lobster from over two hundred years ago!" the turtle declared with certainty.
"But..." It hesitated.
"But what?" Jiang Ning pressed.
"But this lobster's cultivation seems far weaker than mine. That doesn't make sense! After two hundred years, how could its cultivation still be so far behind?"
"You can sense that?" Jiang Ning asked.
The turtle nodded. "I can. Decades or centuries of cultivation are easy to detect because the energy manifests outwardly, merging with the body."
"Cultivation beyond a thousand years, however, becomes undetectable, as the energy turns inward and hides."
Jiang Ning asked again, "Can you tell how many years of cultivation this lobster had?"
The turtle replied, "About a hundred years."
Then, without warning, it took a bite of the claw.
Crack
A crisp sound rang out, followed by a series of crunching noises.
Jiang Ning looked at the old turtle. In less than a moment,
the lobster claw, as large as his arm, had been completely devoured by the turtle.
"Master, it's the one!" The old turtle spoke, still craving more. "Master and this lobster claw is very fresh. That giant lobster must have died less than a week ago!"
Hearing this, Jiang Ning fell into thought.
He glanced at the old turtle again. "Old turtle, you said that giant lobster had about a hundred years of cultivation?"
"Yes!" The turtle nodded. "From the feel of its claw, it should indeed be a hundred years of cultivation."
At this, Jiang Ning couldn't help but chuckle.
"It seems I overestimated the demonic creatures in this lake before."
"Master, why do you say that?" The old turtle's voice was full of confusion.
Jiang Ning explained, "You were able to reach over two hundred years of cultivation because you monopolized the opportunity of the 'Emperor's Nectar.' That electric eel reached over two hundred years of cultivation because it monopolized the Thunderclap Tree's opportunity."
"As for the other creatures in this lake, without such opportunities, their cultivation progress is far slower than yours."
At this point, Jiang Ning began to understand.
Perhaps many of the century-old spiritual treasures in the lake had already been scavenged by creatures like the giant lobster and other minor demons.
Then, he looked ahead again.
"Let's keep moving forward. That lobster claw came from up ahead," Jiang Ning said, picking up the old turtle and placing it on his shoulder.
The next moment,
he activated his Heavenly Eye and continued forward.
Half a cup of tea later,
he suddenly stopped.
"Master, have you found something again?" The old turtle's voice was brimming with excitement.
Jiang Ning nodded slightly.
Thanks to the insight of his Heavenly Eye, he spotted a turtle shell to his left a shell nearly five feet wide.
With a swift movement, his body shot through the water like an arrow.
In an instant,
he arrived before the turtle shell.
"Master, the owner of this shell was a demonic creature in its lifetime."
"Obviously," Jiang Ning replied.
"Master, that turtle was stronger than me!" The old turtle sniffed the shell a couple of times, its tone suddenly filled with admiration.
"How many years of cultivation?"
"About three hundred years!" the old turtle answered.
"Three hundred years?" Jiang Ning was surprised but nodded. "Indeed, stronger than you."
Just then,
Crack
"Ouch" The old turtle let out a sharp cry.
Jiang Ning looked over and couldn't help but laugh.
The old turtle had bitten the shell but failed to take even a chunk out of it. Instead, it nearly broke its teeth, leaving only two faint tooth marks on the shell.
"Stop biting!" Jiang Ning walked over to the shell and, seeing the turtle still eager to try again, stored the shell in his spatial ring.
A turtle shell with three hundred years of cultivation, so incredibly tough, was undoubtedly a rare treasure in this era.
Then, he pressed onward.
Only a short while later, he and the old turtle came to another halt.
Before them lay the ruins of a collapsed palace.
The ground was paved with white jade bricks, and the pillars were inlaid with gemstones that emitted a dazzling glow. The fallen walls were built of crystal, now covered in a thick layer of frost.
"Master, this is..." The old turtle stared at the collapsed structure made of crystal and shells, astonished.
Jiang Ning said, "This place was likely invaded by a powerful enemy!"
The old turtle nodded solemnly. "You're right, Master. It was indeed a powerful enemy. There are traces of the great demon White Chi here."
"Great demon?" A flicker of surprise passed through Jiang Ning's eyes.
Then his gaze sharpened, and he flashed to a nearby wall.
He placed his hand on the thick layer of ice.
"Is this a trace left by the great demon White Chi?" he asked.
"Yes, Master!" the old turtle confirmed.
As Jiang Ning touched the ice, he immediately felt an intense chill.
Even in his current state, the cold seemed to pierce straight into his bones.
A deep sense of caution rose in his heart.
After all, this layer of frost was merely a remnant of the great demon White Chi's battle.
And it was left behind who knows how long ago.
Yet, just this remnant was enough to make him feel utterly powerless against its cold.
If he were to face this great demon directly, how terrifying would that be? How could he possibly resist?
At this moment, he realized just how weak he still was.
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