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墨書 Inktalez
The three people on the boat saw the Boatman had been in the water for a while without any sign of movement. The boat had already begun to tilt and sink.
The River Dolphin cursed under his breath, "That little thief must have escaped by now. I'll go down and see if I can save this boat."
Sun Boning urged, "Hurry, hurry! We must save ourselves and avenge Brother Jiang's severed arm!"
With another curse, the River Dolphin plunged into the river. As he dove beneath the boat, he spotted Xunuo hanging from the bottom, looking at him with a strange expression.
Unlike the Boatman, the River Dolphin did not panic at the sight of something unusual. Although he hadn’t brought any weapons when he entered the water, he still had some confidence in his own skills. He kicked off with his legs and lunged towards Xunuo.
On land, Xunuo would never dare to confront such a fierce opponent alone. But once in the water, even with his considerable abilities, he felt diminished. He no longer feared the River Dolphin. As the River Dolphin approached, Xunuo thrust his spear forward. The River Dolphin could not maneuver as freely underwater as he could on land and did not attempt to dodge; instead, he reached out to grab the spear. However, Xunuo feigned an attack, stopping suddenly halfway through.
When the River Dolphin missed his grab, Xunuo struck fiercely with the spear.
The spear pierced through the River Dolphin's abdomen, causing him immediate pain as he instinctively reached for it. But Xunuo twisted the spear sharply, creating a gaping wound in the River Dolphin's belly. His clothes were tightly entangled by the spear. The pain was so intense that the River Dolphin nearly lost consciousness. Realizing he had been set up, he clutched one end of the spear in an attempt to free himself but soon discovered he was trapped in a dire situation with no way out.
The spear had ensnared his clothing so tightly that he could not pull free. Moving forward would only result in being impaled further. With only one arm remaining, escaping this perilous predicament was nearly impossible. He could only desperately paddle towards the surface. Meanwhile, Xunuo held onto the bottom of the boat with one hand and gripped the spear tightly with the other, allowing himself to be dragged along as the River Dolphin struggled. After a moment, the River Dolphin kicked out one last time before blood bubbled from his mouth and nose; his eyes widened in death.
Even then, Xunuo was not satisfied with his hold. He removed his belt and tied one end to the spear’s handle and secured the other end to the bottom of the boat, dragging both the River Dolphin and the ferry down to the riverbed.
Finally free from his burden, Xunuo swam towards the surface. Just as he began to rise, he felt a tightening around his legs. Looking down, he realized that in his final moments of desperation, the River Dolphin had managed to grab onto him tightly with both legs. It seemed this fierce opponent intended to take his enemy down with him even in death.
Caught off guard underwater, Xunuo felt a surge of panic rising within him. He struggled to free his legs but felt as if they were bound by iron chains. In a hurry, he reached for his Short Blade but found it ensnared as well; a chill ran through him at that realization. In an instant, he felt a constriction in his chest as if it might explode. Knowing that inhaling even a single breath of water would mean certain death, Xunuo quickly inserted two fingers into his nostrils just as he could no longer hold back and took a deep breath.
Suddenly, the suffocating feeling vanished. Xunuo, underwater, forced a bitter smile and said, "Could it be that I am already dead? If not, then what could explain this?" Reflecting on how long he had been submerged, at least a stick of incense's worth of time, he feared he might have already drowned. No wonder the Boatman had run from him as if he were a ghost. His heart sank into despair.
In a moment of defiance, he reached down and grabbed fiercely under his armpit. The pain made Xunuo's face contort, but inside, he was almost ready to shout with joy.
It seemed he was not completely dead yet; this discovery filled him with immense relief. He quickly bent down to wrap his arms around the River Dolphin that had ensnared him, prying it off finger by finger until he finally freed his legs. Looking back at the River Dolphin, it still held its arms wide open with bulging eyes, but now it truly would not close them again.
At this point, the boat had sunk to the riverbed, and Xunuo released his Divine Sense. In an instant, he noticed that the long-bearded man had also sunk with the boat. Sun Boning, however, remained on the river surface, struggling while clinging to a piece of driftwood.
Xunuo felt a chill run through him and thought darkly: This time I must finish the job; no one can be left alive. He swiftly swam beneath Sun Boning and drew out his Short Blade, slicing off one of Sun Boning's legs. In pain, Sun Boning let go of the driftwood with both hands and instinctively clutched his injured leg. He gulped down several mouthfuls of river water before realizing the driftwood had drifted too far away. After flailing helplessly for a few moments, he sank to the river bottom.
Only then did Xunuo surface for air, exhaling a cloud of murky breath and inhaling fresh air with satisfaction. With the enemy gone, Xunuo felt a wave of relaxation wash over him. He was in no hurry to reach shore; he feared encountering the Boatman demanding payment from him. Instead, he floated downstream with the current.
Yet Xunuo was still puzzled about how he had managed to hold his breath for so long without drowning. He mused: Ever since practicing the Huayang Classic, my body has undergone tremendous changes—changes that are beyond comprehension. Now even breathing seems optional. Could it be that I am becoming immortal? I just don't know how long I can hold my breath like this; perhaps I should test it in these waters.
With that thought in mind, he submerged again and followed the river's undercurrents downstream. Time passed without him noticing; Xunuo realized he no longer felt any discomfort from holding his breath. Upon reflection, the earlier panic might have stemmed from being suddenly embraced by the River Dolphin and his ensuing fear. Now that he was underwater for much longer than before, he felt no discomfort at all.
When his Divine Sense probed again, he found that night had fallen. Xunuo thought: I've been down here for several hours; if I keep drifting like this, who knows where I'll end up? Surely I can't stay underwater for ten days or half a month just to test my breath-holding ability.
He soon surfaced and climbed ashore. Looking around revealed fields stretching out before him; Xunuo sighed in relief—he hadn't drifted to an uninhabited area.
Having completely lost his sense of direction during this downstream journey, he knew he needed to find someone to ask for directions before setting off again. Not wanting to disturb anyone late at night by knocking on doors for directions, he found a clean spot along the riverbank and sat cross-legged to practice Huayang Skill.
It wasn't until dawn that Xunuo finished his training and walked toward a few Thatched Cottages nearby. Outside one of them stood a farmer with a hoe in hand, preparing to head out for work. Xunuo hurried over to inquire about directions and learned that by drifting downstream, he had strayed from the path to Wuhua Mountain.
Reaching into his pocket, Xunuo pulled out an oiled paper package containing the Huayang Classic and a map. He unfolded the map and located his position before recalibrating his route based on where he needed to go. After folding up the map again, he strode forward confidently.
Although the journey had deviated from the intended path, Xunuo estimated that it would only take an extra month or two at most. After all, they hadn't wasted any time practicing along the way, so a little extra travel wouldn't hurt. Thus, Xunuo continued to travel at night and sought a secluded spot to practice during the day.
After more than three months of this routine, they finally arrived at the foot of Wuhua Mountain. Xunuo's Huayang Skill had also finally broken through to the fourth layer after reaching the third. The Eight Extremes Fist was practiced to perfection as well. However, what surprised Xunuo the most was that after thoroughly understanding the first layer of the Elixir Formula, their Divine Sense had greatly increased upon beginning to cultivate it. Now, with their Divine Sense fully activated, everything within a hundred feet was clearly visible.
The first layer of the Elixir Formula was divided into five stages. Only by completing these five stages could one advance to the next layer and cultivate the profound methods of Divine Sense differentiation. Currently, Xunuo had only begun to practice the first stage but had already experienced a significant boost in Divine Sense. This gave Xunuo high hopes for the Elixir Formula. However, regarding such an extraordinary cultivation method, Xunuo remained extremely cautious and decided to keep it under wraps, just like with the Huayang Classic—never revealing even a hint of it.
Upon reaching Wuhua Mountain, Xunuo dared not show any signs of their practiced skills. They concealed both their cultivation method and Divine Sense as they walked up the mountain path.
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