Early the next morning, at the Angry River docks.
Dawn had just broken, and a thin mist drifted over the river.
The Flying Horse Merchant Association had arrived early.
Besides Qian Tong, there were four guards in tight-fitting black watersuits.
All four had steady auras, bulging temples, and sharp eyes. They were clearly elite fighters.
The tall, slender man in black behind Qian Tong was especially striking. He hadn't said a word, yet the chill emanating from him made the air around them feel oppressive.
Lu Chen saw at a glance that he was a master.
At least at the pinnacle of the Body Tempering Realm—perhaps even on the threshold of the Meridian Connecting Realm.
"Hall Master Lu, good morning!"
When he saw Lu Chen arrive with Wang Xiaoliu, Qian Tong greeted them warmly.
"Good morning, Manager Qian."
Lu Chen nodded and glanced over the four guards. "Looks like you've brought all your best men this time, Manager Qian."
"Hey, better safe than sorry."
Qian Tong smiled. "The Dragon Palace is exceptionally dangerous. Bringing a few extra hands means more people to watch each other's backs. You don't mind, do you, Hall Master Lu?"
"I don't mind."
Lu Chen shrugged. "As long as they don't hold us back."
Anger flashed in the guards' eyes, but Qian Tong silenced them with a look.
"Have you got everything ready?" Lu Chen asked.
"All ready."
Qian Tong clapped his hands.
Someone brought over several exquisite wooden boxes.
Qian Tong opened one. Inside lay a pearl the size of a dragon's eye, gleaming with a faint blue light.
"This is a Water Repelling Pearl. It's only a low-grade, single-use item, but it can form a three-foot bubble underwater and keep it going for half an hour."
Qian Tong looked pained. "I paid a fortune for these in the Prefectural City. There are only five in all."
Lu Chen was a little surprised.
So this was the legendary Magic Tool?
The Flying Horse Merchant Association really was a major outfit, rich enough to throw its money around. He'd been in Nujiang County for ages and had never even heard of anything this good.
"Not bad."
Lu Chen nodded. "These will certainly make things easier."
Besides the Water Repelling Pearls, the Flying Horse Merchant Association had prepared specially made Underwater Crossbows, Water Splitting Daggers, and even several Underwater Burning Talismans.
The fully armed setup had Wang Xiaoliu drooling.
"All right, let's go."
Lu Chen didn't want to waste time.
The group boarded a modified speedboat and headed toward the middle of the river.
The Ghost's Worry whirlpool.
Half a month had passed, but the waters here still churned violently.
But for Lu Chen now, even this current posed no threat.
"Into the water."
Lu Chen was the first to plunge into the river.
Splash!
Water flew everywhere.
Qian Tong and the others crushed their Water Repelling Pearls and jumped in after him.
A pale blue shield enveloped each of them, pushing the water away.
They could breathe freely inside the shields. Their movements were hampered, but it was far better than being completely submerged.
Lu Chen had no Water Repelling Pearl.
He darted through the rapids like a fish.
With his Iron Cloth Shirt mastered and the cold protecting him from his Profound Nether Hand, he feared neither the pressure nor the chill.
Watching his nimble figure ahead, Qian Tong grew even more wary.
"That kid's practically a monster in the water."
He murmured to the man in black beside him, "Once we get there, keep your eyes on him. The moment we get our hands on the goods, move."
"Understood." The man in black nodded coldly.
The group quickly descended.
They encountered no obstacles along the way.
After the Water Ghost King died, Lu Chen had killed nearly all the ordinary Water Ghosts. The rest had fled.
Soon, the familiar ruins came into view.
Seeing the magnificent underwater palace again, Lu Chen was still awestruck.
Qian Tong and his men were even more dumbstruck.
"It really is the Dragon Palace..."
Qian Tong stared greedily at the enormous stone pillars and collapsed walls. "We're rich... We're really rich this time!"
He could tell this was an Ancient Sect Ruins.
Even a single brick might be worth a fortune if they took it back.
"Stop staring."
Lu Chen swam over and gestured. "The entrance is that way."
He pointed to the Stone Gate he had kicked to pieces.
The group swam into the main hall.
The temperature plunged as soon as they entered.
Even with their Water Repelling Pearls, Qian Tong and the others shuddered.
"What a heavy aura of yin!"
The man in black blanched. "There must be something terribly evil in here!"
"Don't make a fuss."
Lu Chen said calmly, "This is the Profound Nether Sect's ruins. A heavy yin aura is normal. Stay with me, and don't go wandering off."
He led them through the front hall and deeper inside.
The pockmarked holes in the walls made Qian Tong's heart race.
"Hall Master Lu, were things originally embedded in these walls?" Qian Tong couldn't help asking.
"Oh, those were some glowing stones."
Lu Chen lied without batting an eye. "I thought they looked nice, so I dug some out to take back as gifts."
Qian Tong's mouth twitched.
Glowing stones?
Those damn things had to be Netherworld Stones!
And this wastrel had given them away?
His heart bled, but he still had to keep smiling.
Soon, they reached the middle of the main hall.
The Cold Jade Chair stood there in silence.
Though Lu Chen had moved the skeleton, it still sat cross-legged.
The moment they saw it, Qian Tong and the guards' eyes reddened.
They looked ravenous, like wolves catching the scent of meat.
"That's..."
Qian Tong's voice trembled. "The remains of an elder of the Profound Nether Sect!"
"He must have a Storage Pouch on him! And a Cultivation Manual!"
Forgetting all restraint, he charged forward.
Lu Chen stood to one side, watching coldly.
He didn't stop him.
The most valuable things on the skeleton—the Profound Nether Hand and the Netherworld Stones—were already in his possession.
What remained was just an empty shell.
But Qian Tong didn't know that.
He pounced in front of the skeleton and began rummaging over it.
Just then—
Crack.
A sharp sound rang out.
The skull suddenly moved.
Two eerie green Ghost Fires blazed in its empty eye sockets!
"Watch out!" the man in black barked.
Too late.
The skeleton abruptly raised its hand, and its bony fingers plunged into Qian Tong's shoulder.
"Argh—!"
Qian Tong let out a bloodcurdling scream.
Blood gushed out, staining the Cold Jade Chair red.
"It's come back to life!"
The guards fell into chaos.
Behind them, Lu Chen wore a strange smile.
The skeleton hadn't come back to life, of course.
It had moved because several nearly invisible strands, connected to Lu Chen's fingers, were hidden in the gaps between its bones.
They were Puppet Silk, specially prepared by Wang Xiaoliu the night before.
Before you continue