The Waters Were Too Deep

The sky gradually brightened, and a new day had arrived.

As the first ray of sunlight broke through the eastern horizon, countless Golden Particles rained down upon the world.

Because he was at a different height, Wang Wu saw them more clearly this time—and was even more shaken.

The dazzling sun itself was impossible to look at directly, but the number of Golden Particles it scattered was absolutely astronomical. It was as if the entire sky had been turned into golden brocade, magnificent beyond measure and steeped in mystery.

With so many Golden Particles, how much Spiritual Qi did that contain?

It felt like a galactic river of Spiritual Qi passing over this Cultivation World. Their daily encounter gave rise to endless miracles!

Wang Wu marveled inwardly.

But he immediately noticed that, high above at an altitude of ten thousand meters, there seemed to be a Sky-blocking Giant Net spread across the sea of clouds, intercepting most of the Golden Particles.

Only then did a small portion of the Golden Particles fall below.

Wang Wu saw the Sky-blocking Giant Net's interception for only an instant before it vanished from sight, because the entire sky was once again blanketed by Golden Particles.

As though it had merely been an illusion.

Without question, the descent of these Golden Particles was not a one-time event. It would continue for some time.

And in truth, even after most had been intercepted, the density of those remaining was enough to make him drool with greed.

Then, at that moment, Wang Wu suddenly saw an Azure Long Tongue lash skyward from the peak of a Snow Mountain hundreds of miles away to the northeast. Like a rope, it swept through the air and instantly knocked down who knew how many Golden Particles.

The Golden Particles in that region immediately became much thinner.

To the southeast, several hundred miles away atop another Snow Mountain, a Black Giant Claw shot up like a shadow for over a thousand meters, snatching away a considerable number of Golden Particles in one swipe.

Wang Wu swiftly turned to look north. There was no movement there, but the next second, he saw the phantom of a Golden-winged Great Bird with a wingspan exceeding a thousand meters soar above his head. With just one beat of its wings, it swept away vast quantities of Golden Particles.

He could not see the west, but there was no need to look anymore.

At that moment, Wang Wu was scared out of his wits. He had been beneath the cliff before and could not see anything, but now he finally understood that within the forest to the southwest of this valley, no more than fifty miles away, there was a powerful Great Demon.

Fuck, safety sense: -1000!

Once those Great Demons stopped moving, sparse Golden Particles finally began to fall. This was the official beginning of the Violet Gold Three Minutes that Wang Wu had previously assessed.

At that moment, his heart trembled with fear, and only one sentence filled his mind: They eat people!

This was way too cutthroat.

The waters of this world were far too deep.

He wondered whether the Giant Eagle that had taken the Black Snake Leader a few days ago was one of those three Great Demons. Probably not. At most, it was one of their underlings' underlings.

Wang Wu pondered for a long while. The Violet Gold Three Minutes were about to end, and the Golden Three Minutes were about to begin, but in the end, he obediently climbed down the cliff. He did not dare mooch off the Golden Three Minutes.

His Level 1 Spiritual Essence absorbed Golden Particles far too conspicuously. Well, it simply did not match his current strength.

He needed to keep a low profile and play it safe. He could not rush things.

The sunlight gradually shifted downward. The Golden Three Minutes soon ended, and the Silver Three Minutes arrived. This was the carnival of the even smaller Sprites, but Wang Wu only enjoyed it for one minute. Once he had gathered 20 points of Spiritual Qi, he decisively turned and ran, plunging into the bushes. First, he went to the stream for water; then he ate his fill on the Berry Plains; finally, he found a dense patch of grass at the edge and squatted inside it.

Level 4 Stealth activated. Everything proceeded step by step. He absolutely would not take risks.

As for how he should level up today?

Wang Wu was somewhat inclined to improve his other talents and attributes. Health Points, Stamina Points, strength, agility, defense, Danger Sense, and Spiritual Resonance Talent all looked like hungry chicks crying for food.

But after weighing it over and over, he still decided to continue improving his Stealth Talent.

There was no other reason. It was solely for the sake of his nowhere-to-put negative safety sense.

He was not some battle maniac, nor did he want to become any kind of king. He only wanted to live properly. Improving his Stealth ability so enemies could not easily catch him was the most cost-effective thing he could do.

Twenty points of Spiritual Qi instantly poured in, and Level 4 Stealth became Level 5 Stealth.

At the instant the upgrade succeeded, Wang Wu actually felt as though he had turned into a breeze.

It seemed that even his breathing, heartbeat, and the flow of blood could fall into rhythm with his surroundings. It was truly marvelous beyond words.

At this point, two lines of information silently flashed past—

"Because you have remained motionless for more than three seconds, you have activated Level 5 Passive Concealment. You can now blend perfectly into ordinary environments. All insects and beasts will turn a blind eye to you, and a large number of careless demons will also overlook you—unless you stand directly in their path. However, before demons, sprites, and monsters with special Reconnaissance Talents and extraordinarily keen senses, your concealment remains as clumsy as a child playing hide-and-seek."

"Friendly reminder: Because your growth has not yet reached the next stage, your Level 5 Stealth Talent cannot be further upgraded."

--

"Demons? Sprites? Monsters?"

Wang Wu was surprised by the distinctions implied by those three words. He had seen similar claims before—that plants became sprites, mountains and rocks became monsters, and insects and beasts became demons.

But more often, people simply spoke of demons and monsters in broad, muddled terms, treating them as one and the same.

The waters of this world ran deep indeed.

Wang Wu silently thought this when a resounding eagle cry suddenly rang out from high above. The entire valley seemed to be instantly shrouded beneath dark clouds, becoming utterly silent in the blink of an eye.

All the busy little Sprites froze in terror. They did not even dare to flee, only trembling in place.

They truly did not have the slightest thought or instinct to resist.

That Giant Eagle was truly like a god descended from heaven.

It had come again, and it had specifically arrived shortly after the Silver Three Minutes ended.

Fortunately, Wang Wu had run in advance. Otherwise, even with Level 5 Stealth, he would still have been caught red-handed.

At this moment, an inexplicably cold and murderous aura drifted through the valley, like several hundred horrifying invisible venomous snakes gazing down with icy indifference.

Wang Wu was badly frightened as well.

He had even prepared himself to be discovered again, yet the moment that made his heart pound in terror never came. His Level 5 Stealth Talent had worked. It had successfully deceived the Giant Eagle.

Of course, that might also have been because he was not hiding in a crack between the rocks.

For at this moment, the Giant Eagle kept circling around that cliff, like an imperial envoy touring the provinces with the Son of Heaven's sword in hand. That bearing, that majesty—damn!

Yet strangely enough, the Giant Eagle did not hunt this time. After circling for a while, it simply flew away.

Was there no food that met its standards?

Or was this simply harvesting leeks from above—spotting whichever cucumber in the garden looked plump and tender, then picking it straight away?

The thought sent a chill down Wang Wu's spine.