A two-meter-long river dolphin was gliding gracefully along the riverbed. When it realized it was surrounded by strange fish, panic immediately spread across its adorable face. Its streamlined body surged forward as it tried to escape.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
Hundreds of strange fish swarmed toward it, baring their fangs. Like a colony of ants, they clung to the river dolphin and devoured its flesh in no time, leaving only a skeleton that slowly sank to the riverbed.
Shen Xuan watched quietly as the strange fish finished eating.
The next moment.
Shen Xuan shot forward. The omnipresent, terrifying water pressure and immense resistance seemed to have no effect on him.
Fifty meters per second!
What an exhilarating rush!
At that moment, he was as comfortable as a fish in water, as if he had returned home.
The vast Longze River had become Shen Xuan's absolute domain.
His Divine Sense stirred.
He stopped concealing the aura around him.
A powerful, ferocious aura spread in every direction, with Shen Xuan at its center.
The strange fish abruptly sensed Shen Xuan's presence. As if they had encountered the most terrifying natural enemy in the world, they shrieked and fled in every direction.
Still trying to run?
Shen Xuan smiled faintly.
A Water-Splitting Emei Dagger was already in each of his hands.
Then he began to perform the Water Condensation Edge Shaping Art.
With the enhancement of his Water Control and Critical Strike talents, the Water-Splitting Emei Daggers immediately grew larger. Half-moon-shaped Ice Blades formed at both ends, each a zhang long and radiating a bone-chilling cold.
The next moment, the two Water-Splitting Emei Daggers transformed into four Ice Divine Dragons, emanating a terrifying aura of destruction that made one's heart tremble.
"Go!"
At Shen Xuan's shout, the four Ice Divine Dragons shot forward. Seemingly tangible, they continuously devoured the Water Spiritual Qi in the river, unleashing an immense aura as they cleaved through the waves and pounced fiercely on the strange fish.
"Crash!"
With a series of thunderous roars, the four Ice Divine Dragons formed from the Water-Splitting Emei Daggers swept over. Their terrifying power tore the strange fish to pieces in an instant, and the surrounding waters shook violently.
The strange fish that had just fled were now all reduced to specks of debris scattered across the riverbed.
"What a waste!"
Shen Xuan sighed inwardly.
With his Water Control and Critical Strike talents boosting it, the Water Condensation Edge Shaping Art he performed with the Water-Splitting Emei Daggers had unleashed overwhelming power, blasting the entire school of valuable strange fish into fragments.
If he could have collected the strange fish intact, that many would have fetched at least a dozen spirit stones.
Schools of unremarkable little fish swam over one after another, greedily devouring the scraps of strange fish.
With the Water-Splitting Emei Daggers, along with his Water Control and Critical Strike talents, the power of the Water Condensation Edge Shaping Art had exceeded his imagination.
Its range of lethality in the river had more than doubled, reaching seven or eight zhang.
And this was underwater!
Shen Xuan estimated that on land, its range could reach a hundred zhang.
"I wonder if a Late Qi Refining Stage cultivator could withstand my full-force strike!"
When a whale sang, the vast sea fell silent. When a whale fell, all things thrived.
Shen Xuan watched quietly for a while, then stopped attacking.
He swam up to the shallows, skimmed across the water, returned to the riverbank, and headed straight home.
In the days that followed, Shen Xuan made Spring Return Talismans to build up his wealth, while also visiting the bottom of the Longze River to improve his Critical Strike talent.
As long as he cast a spell and attacked, his Critical Strike talent's Proficiency increased.
Shen Xuan was extremely cautious.
He always left in the dead of night.
Walking along the riverbank, he first used the Breath Concealment Technique and Invisibility Technique, blending into the darkness.
Only after circling around a few times and confirming that no one was nearby did he quietly slip to the bottom of the Longze River.
At the bottom of the Longze River, Shen Xuan practiced for half an hour each time. Once he had expended half his spiritual power, he quietly returned to the riverbank.
He used the Breath Concealment Technique and Invisibility Technique again.
He did not reveal himself to register his return home until he was near the Market entrance.
After three months, he had raised his Critical Strike Proficiency to the Proficient Level.
[Talent: Critical Strike Proficient (3/100)]
Its range of lethality underwater had risen to ten zhang!
Moreover, Shen Xuan could now control the four Ice Divine Dragons formed at the ends of the Water-Splitting Emei Daggers as he pleased.
In the Longze River, a mere stir of his Divine Sense brought the four Ice Divine Dragons into view.
What was more, the four Ice Divine Dragons seemed almost sentient. They coiled around the ends of the Water-Splitting Emei Daggers, letting out low, soul-stirring dragon roars.
The temperature of the waters within a hundred zhang abruptly plummeted.
Shen Xuan could now summon and withdraw them at will.
When he withdrew the spiritual power of the Water Condensation Edge Shaping Art, the four Ice Divine Dragons vanished back into the Water-Splitting Emei Daggers, ready to burst out and attack at any moment.
Their attack speed was astonishing.
From the instant he cast the spell to the Ice Divine Dragons appearing and shooting over like afterimages, covering a distance of fifteen zhang took only half a second.
It was practically an instant cast.
With such terrifying attack power and speed, Shen Xuan was certain that an ordinary Late Qi Refining Stage cultivator would not be able to withstand it without bringing out a High-grade Defensive Magic Tool.
At least, even with his Mid-grade Defensive Magic Tool, the Water Cloud Shield, bolstered by his Water Control talent, Shen Xuan could only just manage to block the Water-Splitting Emei Daggers' attacks from a distance of ten zhang.
That day, Shen Xuan walked out of the Talisman Crafting Room as usual.
The hushed voices of two women came from the inner residence.
The other woman was Zhao Chunsheng's wife, Jiang Xueqi.
After Zhao Chunsheng had been conscripted for corvée labor, Jiang Xueqi often came to the Shen Family to keep Ding Yuyao company.
When Shen Xuan entered, he saw a trace of alarm on Ding Yuyao's face.
"What's wrong?"
"Husband, Sister Jiang said several cultivators' corpses were found outside the Qinglong Bay Market!"
Ding Yuyao looked toward Jiang Xueqi.
"Talisman Master Shen, yesterday four cultivators' corpses were found in the woods ten li outside the Qinglong Bay Market. They were naked and unrecognizable. It's quite possible that Robbing Cultivators have set their sights on Qinglong Bay."
At this, Shen Xuan's brows furrowed.
The Qinglong Bay Market had always been fairly safe.
There were very few cases of mass killings and robbery.
Several thousand impoverished Rogue Cultivators lived in the Shantytown on the outskirts of the Market.
The woods ten li away were actually right on the edge of the Shantytown.
"Don't be afraid, dear."
"As long as you don't leave the Market, you'll be safe."
"For now, don't go out." Shen Xuan warned her.
"All right, I'll listen to you, husband." Ding Yuyao nodded.
But a few days later, several more cultivators' corpses were found on the edge of the Shantytown.
They had been left in the same grisly, bloodied state, with all their belongings stripped away.
Jiang Xueqi looked even more worried.
She was concerned about her husband, Zhao Chunsheng, who had gone to take part in Wilderness Reclamation.
"With the Robbing Cultivators acting so brazenly, something must have happened to the Ding Family!"
Shen Xuan hurried to caution her. "Fellow Daoist Jiang, be careful what you say. You don't want to bring trouble upon yourself!"
Jiang Xueqi fell silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Talisman Master Shen, I have an impertinent request."
"I'd like to move in here and keep little sister Yuyao company."
At this, Shen Xuan couldn't help but pause.
"Why is that, Fellow Daoist Jiang?"
"Lately, I've had this persistent sense of foreboding. If I move in here with Talisman Master Shen, we can weather the storm together. That's better than facing it alone."
Shen Xuan was speechless.
With his Breath Concealment, Invisibility, and Water Control talents, among others, he could slip away at any time.
Jiang Xueqi was a Mid Qi Refining Stage Monster Hunter, and quite capable.
But if something happened to the Market, her strength would hardly be enough.
"What? Talisman Master Shen, I'm a Monster Hunter at Qi Refining Level 5. You're telling me you're unwilling to team up with me?"
"That's not it!" Shen Xuan thought it over.
For Zhao Chunsheng's sake, he had no choice but to agree.
"Here are some High-grade Breath Concealing Talismans, Invisibility Talismans, Water Control Talismans, and Spring Return Talismans. Please keep them safe, Fellow Daoist Jiang."
Shen Xuan generously took out more than a dozen high-grade talismans.
"If anything happens, we'll fight our way out together!"
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