Strength That Got People Killed

The merman, ghostlike as a phantom, suddenly lunged at him, the sharp spines all over his body standing on end.

Chu Zeming's heart tightened, and he rapidly retreated.

From above, the cold pool did not look particularly large, only a little over a hundred square meters, but its bottom covered an extremely vast area.

Across the sprawling underwater expanse, man and merman launched into a fierce chase.

The merman was incredibly fast. Before long, he had blocked Chu Zeming's path. His deep-blue eyes were consumed by violent fury as he swung his sharp, terrifying claws, intent on tearing apart the cultivator before him who coveted the Azure-Blue Pearl.

Seeing this, Chu Zeming stirred his thoughts.

The Flowing Light Sword in his Purple Palace abruptly appeared in his hand. Red light flowed across its blade as it trembled slightly. Then he slashed out—the terrifying Sword Qi spilled in every direction, carving a vacuum-like void through the surrounding water.

After all, the underwater realm was the merman's domain. Even with the Flowing Light Sword's tremendous power, Chu Zeming could still wield less than thirty percent of his strength.

The boundless water rushed back together, filling the gap split open by the sword, and everything underwater returned to its original state.

Though the merman had dodged Chu Zeming's attack, his tail fin was still cut open by the Flowing Light Sword, leaving a sizable wound. Green-glimmering merman blood flowed out, gradually thinning and disappearing into the water.

The merman lowered his head to look at his tail fin, then let out a crazed shriek.

A strange and eerie sound rang throughout the entire body of water.

Chu Zeming's mind stalled, and he fell into a dazed state.

The merman withdrew his innate ability. A humanlike expression appeared on his ugly face as he approached the black-robed, black-haired young man. He stretched out his claws, about to tear him apart, when the young man's originally unfocused expression suddenly cleared. He even gave him a strange smile.

"Idiot."

The merman froze in place.

Before he could figure out what the word meant, a violent palpitation suddenly struck his heart.

The merman roared furiously and tried to attack Chu Zeming, but in the blink of an eye, the black-haired young man had flashed dozens of meters away. Every spine on the merman's body rose as he stared at Chu Zeming with a horrifying expression, wanting to catch him, devour him alive, and tear his corpse into ten thousand pieces. Yet after pausing for a second, the merman ultimately chose to rush back—

The terrifyingly powerful merman left.

Chu Zeming put away the Flowing Light Sword and swam toward the surface of the cold pool.

After emerging from the water, Chu Zeming went straight ashore.

The surface of the pool, once tranquil, deep, and mirrorlike, began to churn. The merman's rage beneath the water sent countless bubbles surging and tumbling upward.

Standing by the shore, Chu Zeming stared intently at the cold pool. Then, the Azure Blue Pearl, glowing with a faint radiance, floated up from the depths. Little Black's three heads clutched the pearl as his little tail paddled desperately toward the shore.

Chu Zeming scooped up Little Black and swiftly retreated, putting distance between himself and the bank.

The next second, the ugly, spine-covered merman violently appeared where Chu Zeming had just stood, his sharp claws plunging viciously into the shore. He opened his mouth in a soundless howl, the gills behind his ears fluttering wildly, yet not a single sound emerged.

Chu Zeming stopped and leaned against a tree. He waved the Azure-Blue Pearl in his hand at the merman. "Want it? Come and take it."

The merman glared at Chu Zeming with venomous hatred.

He simply could not go ashore. He could not even remain exposed to the air for too long.

Pulling his claws free from the bank, the merman rasped out two furious cries at Chu Zeming, then flicked his tail and dove back into the cold pool.

After the merman left,

Chu Zeming stroked Little Black's three little heads on his shoulder and praised, "Good job, Dragon Baby."

Little Black proudly puffed out his chest.

Chu Zeming put away the Azure-Blue Pearl.

Then he covered his chest and coughed twice.

That merman's innate ability was far too powerful. Even a Golden Core cultivator would have no resistance beneath his enchantment.

If Chu Zeming had not protected his mind in advance, he would likely have died inside long ago. Even so, his consciousness had still suffered some damage.

"What are you doing here?"

A distinctly unfriendly voice rang out.

Supporting himself against the tree, Chu Zeming raised his eyes slightly and looked toward the speaker.

"Oh, Ling Tian." Chu Zeming sounded surprised.

What Chu Zeming did not know was that he looked incredibly enticing right then.

His black hair was still dripping with water, and his black robe was soaked through and clung tightly to his body. Though nothing beneath could be seen, it perfectly outlined his model-like figure. Coupled with the faint weakness on his flamboyant, gorgeous, arrogant face after the fierce battle, the slight lift of his eyes made him unexpectedly... delicious.

Ling Tian felt his mind go hot, then abruptly turned around and covered his nose.

Warm blood flowed from it.

Ling Tian was instantly filled with indignation.

How could that dog bastard be so good-looking?

Chu Zeming glanced at Ling Tian's back, unable to tell what mischief he was up to again. Leaning against the tree, he thought for a moment, and suddenly a malicious idea surfaced in his mind.

Chu Zeming withdrew his gaze and said slowly, "Ling Tian, there's a great treasure in the cold pool. It's just that the merman guarding it is a little terrifying. Your senior brother has given up. Do you want to go down and take a look?"

Ling Tian said nothing as he covered his nose.

He had been nearby just now and sensed what seemed to be an enormous surge of spiritual power, which was why he had come to investigate.

He had not expected Chu Zeming to be the one causing such a disturbance.

Chu Zeming did not seem interested in exchanging pleasantries with him.

After mentioning the merman and the treasure in the cold pool, he left alone.

Ling Tian wiped away his nosebleed, turned, walked to the shore, and frowned at the cold pool.

That dog of a senior brother said there was treasure inside.

—Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Ling Tian gritted his teeth and decisively jumped in.

Though he had been injured, Chu Zeming was in an excellent mood after tricking Ling Tian and snatching an opportunity. He took Little Black and continued deeper inside.

Yue Lian had gone off alone, and no one knew where.

However, Yue Lian had a jade talisman and the Little Azure Dragon by his side, so Chu Zeming was not worried that Yue Lian would meet with an accident and leave him unable to explain himself to Ling Yunzi after returning.

After all, he was the protagonist. He would not die.

Chu Zeming even secretly hoped Yue Lian would be tormented a little more in here.

Why was it so difficult for him to snatch opportunities, while Yue Lian had such excellent fortune and could obtain them with effortless ease?

Night fell quickly within the secret realm.

When the last trace of sunlight vanished beyond the horizon, darkness shrouded the entire land in an instant. Chu Zeming had yet to leave this vast, boundless sea of forest.

So he casually found a place with a water source and lit a campfire.

The night cold cut to the bone. He had also suffered some internal injuries, and his spiritual power was far from enough to ward off the bitter chill, so he could only make a fire to keep warm.

"Splash—"

A tremendous sound of water rang out. In the gurgling river, a flash of silver-white streaked past Chu Zeming's eyes, and the enormous spray nearly extinguished his fire.

Chu Zeming was startled.

What was that thing just now?

At the same time, Little Black, curled beside the fire, vigilantly raised his three heads. As though he had discovered something, the color of his scarlet eyes gradually darkened, and he kept flicking out his tongue with hissing sounds.

Ever since encountering the merman beneath the cold pool, Chu Zeming had learned that the waters below were not safe. He looked at the river, which had returned to its placid gurgling flow, and hesitated over whether he should leave.

Before he could think for long, the river churned again. The disturbance was enormous—there was clearly something in the river that he could not handle.

Chu Zeming made his decision at once and prepared to leave immediately.

He extinguished the fire, scooped up Little Black, who was staring fixedly at the river with his tongue flicking out, and raised his foot to go.

Suddenly, the usually obedient and quiet Little Black violently broke free from Chu Zeming's hand and transformed into a streak of lightning, plunging straight into the river.

Damn it!

Chu Zeming's heart thudded violently, and he felt as though his entire being had gone wrong.

After all, this was the spirit beast he had worked so hard to steal back. Though Little Black was not a dragon, he was versatile and fully equipped, and Chu Zeming was quite satisfied with him. So, after taking a deep breath where he stood, Chu Zeming dove into the river as well.

Unlike the still water of the cold pool, the flowing river was turbulent. Countless bubbles rose from the riverbed, blurring Chu Zeming's vision.

Following the faint connection with Little Black in his heart, Chu Zeming swam upstream against the current and soon entered a cave.

The cave was enormous.

Countless green vines wound around it. At the very top was a small opening, through which silver-white moonlight spilled down—

Chu Zeming surfaced, about to scold Little Black, but the sight before him left him stunned.

At the center of the cave stood a towering stone pillar steeped in ancient, timeworn majesty. A decrepit silver dragon lay silently coiled around it. Moonlight poured down from above, falling upon the silver dragon and reflecting a dazzling silver gleam.

It seemed the dragon had already died.

Its eyes were shut, without the slightest trace of life, yet its body still exuded terrifying dragon pressure. At the base of the stone pillar coiled a little silver dragon roughly five or six meters long. Little Black stood before it, his three heads hissing at it.

Chu Zeming was shocked.

This... was that thing in the water just now?

A dragon?

Dragons were not commonly seen. In the entire book, only Yue Lian had one.

Chu Zeming remembered that when he had read the book, the author had never described dragons living in the Sea of Extreme Domains. Yet there was actually a second one here?

All of a sudden, Chu Zeming felt deeply grateful for the butterfly effect he had caused.

Though the difficulty of snatching opportunities had increased, it had brought in a second dragon. No matter how he looked at it, he had come out ahead.

"Little Black, come back!" Chu Zeming scolded in a low voice.

Yet Little Black did not move. His scarlet eyes stared straight at the little silver dragon, his body poised to attack as his three snake heads continuously let out "hiss, hiss, hiss" sounds.

Chu Zeming could sense that Little Black seemed to want to eat this dragon—

The little silver dragon slowly lowered its head, and terrifying dragon breath poured toward Little Black.

Chu Zeming went completely numb.

A snake that isn't even a month old is provoking a dragon? Are you courting death?

Drawing the Flowing Light Sword, Chu Zeming was just about to rescue Little Black when a gigantic black shadow slowly rose behind Little Black. The shadow grew larger and larger, and Chu Zeming froze where he stood—

The wildly dancing black shadow had... nine heads.