Underground River! A Bountiful Harvest!

Half an hour later.

Lu Changsheng was still fighting bloodily amid the rat tide, as though he never knew fatigue.

But if this continued, the situation would not be optimistic.

His stamina was not endless. If it ran dry again, he would likely be in grave danger.

Just then, he suddenly sensed wisps of damp air drifting from ahead.

"An underground river!"

Having found a way to survive when all seemed lost, Lu Changsheng's face was filled with excitement.

These ground rats could not dive, while he had just awakened the Underwater Breathing talent. It was enough for him to shake them off.

"Kill, kill..."

Lu Changsheng wildly swung his massive claws, slaughtering the countless ground rats blocking his path as he charged toward the source of the moisture.

At this moment, he held nothing back and unleashed his full strength.

Great numbers of ground rats were slain, leaving a long trail of corpses across the ground.

The entire underground cave rang with wails of misery.

Before long.

Lu Changsheng fought his way to the bank of an underground river.

"Rush, rush, rush..."

The river was several zhang wide, flowing toward an unknown stretch of darkness with a rather fierce current.

The surrounding soil had been softened by the dampness.

At the sight of the underground river, Lu Changsheng was delighted. He kicked off hard with both legs, scattering the many ground rats before him, then plunged fiercely into the water.

"Chitter, chitter..."

Seeing this, the army of ground rats along the bank all came to a halt, their eyes filled with fear.

Even after seeing Lu Changsheng escape, they continued to pace along the shore and refused to leave for a long time.

"Hiss... So cold."

The instant he rushed into the water, the icy river sent a jolt through Lu Changsheng's mind.

He cautiously surveyed his surroundings. Everything was dim, and unknown aquatic plants at the riverbed brushed against his body.

A sweet scent drifted into his nose and mouth.

It was the scent of mountain spring water.

What was rather miraculous was that when Lu Changsheng opened his mouth, he felt no discomfort at all, as if he had been born able to adapt to life underwater.

The talent skill Underwater Breathing had already activated automatically.

At the same time, his stamina was slowly being consumed.

At this rate, he could remain underwater for a little over an hour at most.

"This is simply a divine skill."

Lu Changsheng was greatly amazed.

Then he swiftly paddled with all four limbs and swam toward the unknown region ahead.

Half the time it took to burn a stick of incense later.

Within an underground river.

"Hm... Something's happening?"

Lu Changsheng suddenly sensed a familiar fragrance coming from not far ahead, immediately invigorating his spirits.

After undergoing a Beast King-level transformation, this body's sense of smell had greatly improved. Even from several li away, he could clearly sense the strange fragrance emitted by spiritual herbs.

Without further thought, he accelerated toward the fragrance.

Before long, he arrived beside a hidden trench on the riverbed.

Looking closely.

He saw a small grass plant emitting a turquoise glow, growing from the silt at the bottom of the river as a faint fragrance wafted outward.

The grass was several inches tall and had five leaves. It looked extraordinarily mystical.

"Another spiritual herb."

He immediately rushed over and touched the herb's leaves with his claw.

Detected one fifty-year Ice Spirit Grass. Collect?

A crisp notification sounded once more.

"Collect."

Lu Changsheng answered silently.

A moment later, the Ice Spirit Grass before him completely vanished and entered his system space.

Obtaining a spiritual herb so quickly left him quite delighted.

"It seems this underground river has plenty of good things as well."

Lu Changsheng pondered as he drifted onward.

He planned to thoroughly explore the place once more. Those ground rats on the shore were still lying in wait, unwilling to give up.

In any case, the army of ground rats did not dare pursue him underwater. Going ashore now would be no different from walking straight into the jaws of death.

Besides, this underground river was extremely vast. Its outlet was surely connected to some great river, waterfall, or lake. As long as he found a lake, he could easily shake off that pack of ground rats.

Time gradually passed.

A little less than half an hour later.

Lu Changsheng sensed the strange fragrance of another spiritual herb and hurriedly swam over.

When he reached the source of the fragrance, his eyes immediately lit up.

A spiritual grass with nine leaves was growing upon the riverbed.

The entire plant emitted a faint red glow, utterly different from the previous one.

It was clearly more richly infused with spiritual energy.

Lu Changsheng immediately swam over and placed his claw on the spiritual grass.

Detected one hundred-year Ice Spirit Grass. Collect?

The system notification sounded again.

Lu Changsheng was overjoyed. Just as he had expected, this spiritual herb was older, having grown for a full hundred years.

"Collect."

A moment later, the Ice Spirit Grass entered the system space, leaving him immensely satisfied.

On his first venture out, he had already harvested two spiritual herbs. This made him look forward even more to the exploration ahead.

Seeing that he still had more than half an hour of underwater time remaining, he was in no hurry and prepared to explore a while longer.

There should still be some Ice Spirit Grass within this underground river.

Over the following period, Lu Changsheng drifted all along the underground river and gained quite a lot, discovering several more fifty-year spiritual herbs.

There were also many that had not grown long enough. He did not choose to collect them all, only gathering a few now and then.

For now, he did not lack silver, and selling a large number of spiritual herbs would not be safe either.

If certain powerful people set their sights on him, the loss would outweigh the gain.

He had always been extremely cautious.

Time passed as Lu Changsheng explored.

Another stick of incense later.

Lu Changsheng collected another fifty-year Ice Spirit Grass and was just about to leave when waves of howling suddenly came from ahead.

Turning his head, he saw a school of pitch-black strange fish charging toward him in formation, their momentum ferocious.

Each strange fish was the size of a palm, with sharp fangs covering its mouth.

In the blink of an eye, the school of strange fish surrounded Lu Changsheng.

They began madly gnawing at his scales.

"What the hell are these things?"

Lu Changsheng's expression changed in alarm.

"Shriek..."

As piercing screeches rang out, Lu Changsheng felt his scales beginning to itch. He hurriedly shielded his head and several vulnerable areas with both hands, then immediately swam toward the shore.

Even with the strength of his scales, he could feel something abnormal. Clearly, these strange fish had even stronger biting power than the ground rats.

Lu Changsheng desperately swam toward the shore, trying to shake them off.

The school of strange fish clung tightly to his body.

A moment later, just as Lu Changsheng's stamina was about to run out, he suddenly spotted a protruding boulder ahead.

He immediately leaped onto it.

More than ten strange fish were still hanging from his body and were carried out of the water with him.

They flopped and thrashed about atop the stone platform.

These strange fish resembled piranhas somewhat and looked exceptionally vicious.

He had never expected such creatures to exist at the riverbed. No wonder he had drifted around for so long without discovering any other Exotic Beasts.

Lu Changsheng then extended his sharp claws and slaughtered the piranhas one by one before quietly recovering his stamina on the shore.

For the moment, he could not go back underwater, while a large number of ground rats were still wandering along the bank, waiting for him to come ashore.

Lu Changsheng intended to wait until the piranha school had left before cautiously entering the water to continue his exploration.

The next day, at dawn, the rising sun emerged.

Changping County.

After getting up early and washing, Lu Changsheng opened his system space.

He took out all the spiritual herbs within and placed them on the stone platform in the courtyard.

Spiritual herbs of various sizes were piled together, their fragrance drifting in every direction.

Lu Changsheng took a deep breath, feeling as though even his spirits had been lifted considerably.

These spiritual herbs were all harvested during this exploration of Cangyun Mountain. Though he had encountered some danger, the rewards were not bad.

Detected an unknown energy source. Absorb?

"Absorb."

Lu Changsheng answered silently.

He then opened the panel to check his Source Energy Points.

Source Energy Points: 38.

Looking at the number before him, his face was full of delight.

Another bountiful harvest. With these Source Energy Points, his cultivation could advance another step.

He could hardly wait to find out what realm lay beyond the next level of Iron Cloth Shirt.